Thailand 2024 / 25

[Peter Hendricks]

Hello Friends,

Fuer unsere Deutschen:

Wir sind (hoffentlich beide) vom 13. - 17.7. und vom 26.7. bis 16.8. in Kreuznach. Wir freuen uns darauf, möglichst viele von euch zu treffen. Schickt uns einfach mal eine Email, wann es fuer euch passt.

What can I say? I just checked and it's about 18 months since our last update. Not a lot of things worth reporting have happened.

Su's health roller coaster has continued, but it's on the up at present. I have had my doubts about the paediatrician who treats everything. One day Su and her sisters took her mom to the hospital in Bangkok, as they do at least every 3 months. (150 km one way, takes all day, starting at 3 am.) She managed to see doctors there and that got things moving. Today, as I write these lines she is in Suphanburi Hospital where they finally gave her a biologic.

While Su is getting better, her mother is not. This could still kill Su's travel plans, as she was taken to hospital by ambulance twice last week.

The forest Su has planted is thriving and the trees now provide shade to the house in the morning. After that the aircon takes over, mostly solar powered. We seem to have an endless supply of short bananas and mangos. Su doesn't eat mangos (too sweet) and I have trouble keeping up. My mom visited us this last winter and the one before. Last year, we took her down South for a few days, to the beach and an elephant safari. That was a new one for me, too and yes, we did get to see elephants. One of them got a little too close for comfort. This year we only went on short day trips. Instead, she insisted on helping us strip the paint of the container in preparation for a repaint. The original paint was coming off in large sheets. Made in China, where else?

Early last year we were visited by an orange cat with 3 kittens, all looking the same. One of the kittens had a badly injured leg. I guess the mother decided that this injury was threatening the chances of the other 2 to survive, so one morning we found that she had left with the two healthy ones and left one behind. Naturally, we had to adopt her and that's how we ended up with Susie. In the last year she has grown from a cute and playful kitten into an orange wildlife menace. Today she brought home a large skink and a mynah. Most of the animals she brings home we can rescue from her clutches, but I am worried what horrors we will find on the terrace when we get home from Germany.

Around the same time Jenny came for a visit. Su was feeling bad at the time, so she stayed home while I showed Jenny the sights of North Thailand. I let her take most of the pictures, but there are a couple included in the batch I prepared for you.

In summer I visited Germany alone, as Su was still not good. My family had arranged for a reunion in a rented house on the shores of Lago di Como, Italia. I think we were 17 and had a great week. Naturally, I visited the Moto Guzzi museum on the other side of the lake. Also naturally, it was closed, without even a notice posted on the door. Who would want to visit a bike museum in Summer? What a strange idea. This is the 2nd time for me... We met a few other people who were also wandering around the area, trying to find the entrance (no sign...).

That wraps it up for this time. There is a link to the pictures and video clips below. As usual, make sure to click the little i in a circle to be able to read the comments and many of them have a small map to show where they were taken. If you have time on your hands you can click the map and for many places there is more info on Google Maps along with pictures other people have shared.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QbPnDQsrjVzGhCYP9

Kind regards,

Peter and Su.