END OF THE LINE

I feel this is a good time to end my Blog.  This will be my last posting.  I hope some of you found it interesting, educational,  humorous, and time consuming if you were at work.  The Blog gave me time to process every day and reflect on the events of that day.  I believe it was especially helpful to me since I was given a distraction while I was visiting the hospital in Bangkok.  Time and place became irrelevant and that gave me more awareness of how much stress we place on ourselves to meet deadlines, appointments and life's overall demands.  My procedure at the BKK Hospital was my only commitment.  It gave me a different perspective by not needing to squeeze so many things into each and every day. The cultural differences in Thailand vs the USA that I elaborated on in the Blog are overwhelming.  I think to myself that it would be nice to change the world, but that is my perspective being imposed on others.  We all know that Thailand is the land of smiles and I believe those smiles are sincere and exemplify their happiness, contentment and patriotism toward their wonderful country of Thailand.  Thank you everyone for letting me share my adventures with you and for taking some time out of your life to be part of my trip.  I know for a fact that kindness, empathy and love can change a person's day if not their life.

Above:   The Military Coup in Thailand is still in charge of the government.  It is very peaceful but.............................
                                                                  BELOW: THAI FLAG

 I am very lucky to live in the United States Of America. God Bless America, now and forever more.

cut and paste the song below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9_vhYpR9xo

Born in the USA

Hello everyone, I am back at the family farm that I was born and raised at in Goffstown, New Hampshire.  I was actually born at the Moore General Hospital in Goffstown, NH.  It is now a Ford Garage.  From the time that I left Ponsak's house to arriving at my parents farm, it took 42 hours.  I slept well, but for only 7 hours.  The sun was shining in my eyes and I wanted to see my mother, who was already awake (I could smell the coffee).  I plan to settle here through Saturday and arrive back in Freeport, Florida on Saturday at 11 pm.  Until then I will be visiting family and friends for the next several days.  I look forward to my visit, but inside I an anxious to see my wife and boys.  I took a couple pictures from my mothers house looking out the back door.

The farm is home to many animals that find refuge in the many acres of woods.  White tailed deer, moose and black bear are the largest of the mammals.

The deer was by our pond this morning and the picture just above is flying over LA.  Thank God I'm a country boy!

Take the long way home

Morning has broken, albeit  3:00 AM.  I spent several hours packing and shifting clothe to my carry on and golf bag.  The limit is 50 lbs. or there is a 75 dollar surcharge from 50-70 lbs. and then over  70 pounds requires the passenger to pay 200 dollars.  I bought my boys many soccer jerseys and I even picked up a few things for myself. I bought two 30 inch shoe horns, glass relaxation balls, incent bottles, sixteen World Cup soccer jerseys, and a dozen ties from Thailand.  I added a few things to my golf bag and checked the weight until there was not any place to put anything else. I weighed myself and then stood on the scale holding my golf bag.  My scale registered 23KG(1 KG = 2.2 pounds).  With simple multiplication, I calculated 50.6 pounds.  To be safe, I took out 30 golf balls and gave them to Ponsak.  That should have been close to one Kilo.  I was able to sleep three hours before the maids woke me with a loud KNOCK!  “a run soowat”. (Good morning from the maid).  That is not what I was thinking in my mind.  I wanted to check in and go to sleep on the plane.  I gave the head maid 1500 baht and the other two maids 1000 baht for their kindness and tolerance while I was there.  They earn 2000 Baht per month or 65 dollars.  As in my previous posts, I talked about how Ponsak relies on the maids to do everything.  Last night there was an ant on the table.  He called, “Saa, Saa” and she came in a hurry to remove the ant from the table and scrub it clean.  Any drink that he desires is brought to him once he calls their name.  

Ponsak’s driver, Sumit arrived to pick me up at 3:50 A.M.  He was twenty minutes late but little did I know the consequence of that.  I loaded all my bags into the pickup truck, gave hugs to Ponsak and the maids(you could tell they were very uncomfortable to be hugged by someone who is elite socially compared to themselves.  It made me feel really good to show them that in America, you can be kind and respectful to all people regardless of their social status.  There is a distinctive separateness and dominance that is constantly maintained in my friend's house.  

We are off to the airport, running late.  Here is the consequence that I was not ready for.  Summit pulled away from Krung Kavee onto the highway.  Sumit wasted no time in accelerating the truck to 120 MPH, not  KM per hour, Miles Per Hour.  It usually takes 35 minutes to get to or from the airport but this morning we made the trip in 17 minutes.  I thought I was back on Audobon Highway in Germany. Check-in at the airport went smoothly.  We began to board the 747-400 at 5:05 am.  It is absolutely amazing that this airplane can get off the ground with its enormous size and weight.  We were given the OK for take-off and with a roar of the engines we picked up speed for take-off.  It seemed like eternity when the plane finally lifted off the runway .  There was no more than 100 yards of runway left when the plane began its flight.  We are into the 9^th hour of the flight with another 8 hours to LAX.  We have had significant turbulence on both flights, Bangkok to Tokyo and Tokyo to LAX.  I can only hope that LAX to New Hampshire will be a smoother flight.tained.  You are NOT supposed to share thoughts, ask opinions or physically touch your servants unless it is for discipline.  That’s how you keep the moral high around the house.  

The second leg of the trip, Tokyo to LAX, was very smooth and comfortable.  I met Emily and Lauren from California.  They were sitting directly in back of my seat.  They were returning from Thailand after a two week stay.  As with most people who visit Thailand, they would like to return in the near future.   We were served two meals and coffee, soda or juice throughout the trip.  The lights were shut out for 5 hours of bed time.  Each seat had its own video screen in the seat headrest in front of you.  Games, movies and current flight information was available. 

 We had a 152 mile per hour tailwind to help us be 50 minutes ahead of schedule.  The outside temperature is 95 degrees below zero and a ground speed of 700 mph.  LAX is 44 minutes away.  I will have a five hour layover in Delta Sky Club.  I plan to shower, eat and then onto Southwest Airlines to visit my family in New Hampshire.  It is another 6 hours flight with a stop in Chicago.

The couple hours between flights in LAX was welcomed after 22 hours of flying.  I was able to shower, eat some snacks and work a little on my blog.  Update will be posted tomorrow since I arrive in New Hampshire at 1:00 AM Tuesday.

LAST SUPPER..........In Thailand

My last full day in Thailand. Twenty-five days and now it is time to pack my bags(leaving the shaving cream with my buddy here in Thailand). Ponsak and I coincidentally had a doctor's appointment the same day and within an hour of each other. He had his checkup scheduled months ago and my last follow-up appointment was emailed to me on Thursday. We both had blood work done and then we were seen by our doctors. Finally, the last visit and now it is just a waiting game of up to 4 months to determine if all this time was worth my efforts. Only time will tell. The first three pictures are in the hospital and then there is a collection of pictures from the world famous Continental Hotel in Bangkok. We had our last meal at this exquisite hotel.

Ponsak made reservations for use to eat at the Continental Hotel in Bangkok. It is one of the top three hotels in BKK and also one of the most expensive. A double room at the hotel is 550 dollars per night. I paid less than 50 dollars for my rooms in Chiang Mai and Bangkok..................and I slept just fine. The reservation that my pal made was for a very delectable buffet(77 dollars per person). We each began our meal with a Maine lobster, shrimp, scallops and a tenderloin steak. Salad, rice and veggies were also added to our plates. The most enjoyment came when we order For Gausse or goose liver pate'. They are on the menu for 22 dollars for three little goose livers (but amazingly delicious).

It is famous throughout Thailand. The food was all unique in it's preparation and flavor. I like ranking meals, events, visits etc. on a scale of 1-10. I don't think I have ever ranked a meal a perfect ten, but this was for sure a "10". Even the Russian judge would give it a 10.

After a 3 hour meal, we walked the streets of Bangkok one last time. The traffic was so bad that the motorcycles and scooters took to the sidewalk to go around the traffic and lights. It is a 50 dollar fine if caught. It can be very dangerous if you are unaware that this is the nature of these two wheel crazed individuals. Included is Esso's Asia headquarters, litter in a major way and general scenes of Bangkok. The long escalator is used in many shopping centers because the grocery stores are on the second or third floor. You can use this moving belt to bring your shopping cart to your car. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I will sleep for a few hours and get up at 3 AM for my 6 AM international departure. It is a 24 hour flight. I will be wrapping up this blog in a few days when I arrive in New Hampshire to visit my family farm where I was raised. My brother Duston manages and farms 500 acres of land that my mother owns. It is a beautiful area and you know I will share some pictures on this blog.

Internet Issue

This is to make everyone aware that my email has been down for 24 hours. I am not able to receive or send emails. I will post again when it is resolved. Ponsak told me this is a frequent occurrence here in Thailand, sometime for up to a week. Family, bloggers and friends, I have received many emails on the adventure and appreciate the feedback. If my Japanese girls read this, please use my work email: shostb@walton.k12.fl.us I will read it when I return to the United States. Maybe my family is not paying our bill so I cannot email or they moved while I was away. My drive on this par 3 hit the flag and pin in the air and the ball dropped 9 inches from the cup. My only birdie of the day.

Golf Tournament

Germany vs. France and Columbia vs. Brazil in futbal (soccer) was the rage overnight. Every bar and hotel were showing the games on TV. My hotel had a 148” TV screen to enjoy watching the game. The first game began at 11 PM and the next game showed at 3 AM. I was up for both games and in the 87th minute (they play 90), my taxi arrived at 4:45 to take me to the airport. My flight was not until 7AM, but I did not want any problems like I encountered going to Chiang Mai. We made it to the airport in 15 minutes because we did not have any traffic. Everyone else was in bed after the soccer games. I did not check in online so I needed a boarding pass. Nobody was working at the Thai Airways counter so I had a seat. Two hours until my flight, so I was in plenty of time. I sat for one hour and finally, a ticket person arrived 30 minutes before boarding. Thai airlines uses the motto, “smooth as silk” to advertise their company. They do everything possible to make your flight as nice as it can be. We finally boarded the plane and I said good-bye to Chiang Mai. I fell asleep on take-off and awoke upon landing in Bangkok. Ponsak and his driver Sumit were at the airport waiting for me. Ponsak entered us in a golf tournament that was a two hour drive from the airport to the golf course. We went directly from the airport to the country club and arrived 2 hours before our tee time. I had asked Ponsak to play one really nice course before I head back to the states. He did not let me down.

This course is considered the Pebble Beach of Thailand. It was designed by Arnold Palmer twenty years ago. The name of the course is Laem Chabung. Laem in Thai means peninsula and Chabung was the settler of the region. There was water on most every hole and the tee shots were always over some river, pond or marsh. We were teamed up with Somsak and Somchai. Both spoke little English, but we were able to learn many words from each other. The familiarity of the game of golf has its own spoken and unspoken language. Once the common words are known relating to golf, it is easy to add a couple new terms to spice it up a little bit. The golf course was meticulous in every way. The course required that you take a cart and also have a caddie golf with you. My caddie Deend has been at the same course for 22 years. She was an exceptional greens reader and helped greatly with my putting. It was a championship course and I set my goal to break 90 for 18 holes. My goal was met, 89!!! The day was extremely hot and the cart was a blessing. My caddie was very good with back and neck massaging and in between each hole I was giving the pleasure of a short massage. Deend lives with her two sisters and her parents and grandmother in a three room apartment. She had never been married and she commutes on her 14 year old scooter. I cannot help feel for many of these people who are living the one life they have been given and have such limited social mobility. I gave her a 15 dollar tip at the end of the round. I understand 4 dollars is the normal tip. She did an excellent job and helped me immensely with a golf course I had never played. She earned the tip. I was exceptionally pleased since I achieved my goal and shot an 89!!! The pictures below are from our day on the links.

ABOVE: The Payette tree has beautiful flowers but the fruit is not edible. It will give you a severe stomach ache and it

will keep you in the bathroom.

The clubhouse has 4 stories and has an attached hotel with 88 rooms.

Above: You can see that the back nine holes have stadium lights to allow for evening golf. This time of year it is very comfortable after the sun goes down rather than playing during the day when it is hot. Along with the golfing that was fabulous, we had a buffet meal of Thai food. I missed breakfast on Thai airways so I had a huge appetite and I think the other Thai golfers thought I had a hollow leg. The greens fee at the country club was 280 dollars but that included a meal.

Can you guess who the only American was that was good enough to make it into this tournament? His initials are BS.

This rock was at the entrance to the golf course. When we drove by the rock on hole number 18, my caddie said, "you warm my heart how kind you have been to me all day". Somchai was flirting with my caddie all day

UPDATE: The avocados that I picked five days ago at the golf course were perfectly ripe upon returning from Chiang Mai. This is my second plate of the avocados. I called my taxi driver and told him to eat the ones that I had given him. He told me his wife cut them up today and put them in their salad. It was the first time he had ever had avocado in his life.