Another Year Goes By

Next week will be the end of our first year in Thailand.  Here is a collection of photos taken during that time to give an idea of where we came from and how we fared this year.  Looking back, I see we have been quite busy.

January

We started the year with an ice storm that left us without heat and light for two days while we trying to pack. Our garage sale died because the roads were icy.

We managed to get going and on to your flight and the beginning of a new life.

Upon landing we headed for a fresh market in Bangkok.

Next to the market was Rama 9 Garden.  Being gardeners we had to explore.  I was already dying from the heat and humidity.

Nee's family kept us fed and comfortable.

And her girlfriends took us to the beach.

Ah, crab.  My entertainment for the day.

You can't have crab without a good fish, too.

February

   

Bangkok quickly wore us out, and two weeks later we were enjoying the company of new friends in Chiang Mai.

And then there was even more fruit.

While I was attending my TEFL class, we got to see the Royal Garden Show and this was an exhibit there.

March

We had been stranded at our apartment without a car.  One of Nee's brothers came up to take us to the nearby mountain, Doi Sutep.  We climbed the stairs to the temple there.

One of the waterfalls near Chiang Mai.

April

I had my TEFL and no job which resulted in my visa expiring.  I had to run to Myanmar to get a 15 day extension, hoping I would find work soon.

May

For a brief time, I considered staying in our house in Bangkok and working for this school across the street.  Our dream was for the north, though, so we persisted.

June

For a few days, I had a job in the sound and there I got my introduction to the condition of a Thai classroom.  The biggest store in town was the 7/11 and that had only been there for a few weeks.

I decided the job was too isolated and took the first train north.We stopped at Hua Hin to rest at a beach on the way back.

Wherever we went we saw beautiful temples and fruit for sale along the road.

Finally, I got a job in Fang at Rangsee where I spent the rest of the year.

A walk around town found this temple.

July

The school had shirts made for me at a local tailor.  He didn't seem to understand Mr. Roy and this is what he wrote.

August

We got to see our first hill tribe village when a friend took us to Doi Mai Selong.  

September
We took a trip to Chiang Mai and drove up Doi Sutep, this time stopping at a Royal garden.

October

A trip to Bangkok for a break and we took time to try some cooking and visiting with friends.

During the rainy season, students had to stand under the balcony of school to do their daily sing of the Thai national anthem.

November

Now the parties began.  This was one of my favorites, Loy Kratong.  What could be better than hot air balloons, food and flowers?

We managed to take a drive to Chiang Rai one day.

December

Back to Fang, I began to ride my bike in the mornings and this is what I found.

Our day at the geysers.

Hill tribes are all around us and they wear some beautiful costumes.

January 2013

I finish January with Scouting Day, Children's Day and a walk around Chiang Mai.  Wherever you turn, there are beautiful temples.

Jane and Peter, our friends.  Peter saw us off in Washington and we met him again on our first trip to Chiang Mai.  He returned this month fo complete my year in Thailand.  I cannot imagine where the next 12 months will take us.