These photos of Life in a Rural Thai Village are published with the kind permission of Lode Engelen. In previous articles, I have given a link to his website, where you can see, and are welcome to comment on, some very professionally produced images.
And, if this newsletter is truncated in an email, readers can click on "View entire message" and they'll be able to view the entire post in their email app. It reads well on a mobile phone.
Removing the stems from the fruit. One bowl is for stems, the other for the fruit which will be used to make the tea.
Busy doing nothing? Just looking around so as not to miss anything?
Chatting and sharing news
An old lady outside her house.
Many houses are on stilts. Useful space for storage. In lowland areas, they have proved invaluable in preventing flood water entering the house.
Thais can’t exist without their mobile phones. Even the elderly get addicted.
Thais like to make the front of their houses beautiful.
A typical small road, a soi, in the Thai countryside.
These sois are always very narrow. Okay for bikes. But cars and trucks have to reverse sometimes to get through.
Most houses have no guttering to collect the rainwater. It just falls to the ground. The green sheeting is to provide some shade from the hot sun.
Making baskets for keeping Mieng, fermented tea leaves.
Baskets for sale.
Taking a break from basket weaving.
Most houses are on stilts. This village in the mountains is not prone to flooding, so not all the houses are built in that style.
I wonder what she’s thinking.
A car repair shop
A typical village general store. Thais prefer these, and street markets, to the big stores. Here, they can gossip and listen to the latest news and propaganda.
A villager buying goods in a village shop. Many are made and packed by the shop owner.
Look how narrow this soi is.
Talking to neighbours across the street.
A slightly wider road. At the foot of the mountain. Don’t miss the small house nestled among the trees.
A shop, sleeping dogs, and some colourful lettering.
A cosy place to sit and have a coffee.
Note the electric wires, and the potted plants. Rooves are more angled in Thailand get rainwater away more quickly.
On the phone again.
Note the plastic animal decorations.
Very few tourists ever see tranquil scenes like this.
Note the tangle of electric cable. And the shrine to the Thai’s ancestors, the San Phra Phum.
This is the brand name of products made in the village.
A family compound. It’s very common for members of the same family to live on the same piece of land. Can you see the dog, the wood pile, and how they dry clothes?
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