My Thailand Diary

From Chiang Mai to Switzerland

lielie — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:33:01 +0000

Come and read about my new life in Switzerland!
http://www.myswissdiary.com

Goodbye Chiang Mai

lielie — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:37:12 +0000

Thankyou.
For the food, the kind people, the pets were were able to have for a couple of years, my friends from Thailand and all over the world. Thankyou for the sun, and then the rain, the storms, the flowers, etc. I will miss you. I will not miss the smog, or the way everything gets moldy, the flood waters or the snakes in our garden !

last day at school

lielie — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:25:47 +0000

Today was another goodbye.At school. After so many years of being the one ‘left behing’ it is nice to be the one leaving. Sad though. Very sad. I would like to see my childrens friends graduate, go to their wedding and see them as parents. Call me sentimental… it makes me so sad. Also seeing how hard it is for my children. The distance is huge.

BUT i must say, we have loved many and have experianced alot if love in return, Like tonight some new friends invited us to their home for bengali food. Thankyou!!

moving continents

lielie — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:18:06 +0000

My friends are getting tired of hearing me talk about moving. But believe me, moving a family of 5 across continents is a huge endeavor ! We are trying.. I say T R Y I N G to move as little as possible. So many things have sentimental value.. so we go through things, and go through them again.

When I was 16 I moved continents, my parents did the packing while I was still in boarding school. I miss things I had growing up.. a parent never knows what is precious to the children. I let my kids pick what they want to take or leave. Sometimes, the scrap paper I want to trash has more worth then say, toy cars.

One advantage of not leaving in a rush is that we have time to do this. One disadvantage of not leaving in a rush is that we have time. We have been leaving for over a year……ARRRRRRRGHHHHH

Trees in Bloom in Chiang Mai

lielie — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:02:34 +0000

At the moment Chiang Mai looks beautiful with so many trees, bushes and shrubs blooming. They must love the heat

Letting go.

lielie — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:08:42 +0000

As I started to picture the trees in the storm,
the answer began to dawn on me. The trees in the
storm don’t try to stand up straight and tall and
erect. They allow themselves to bend and be blown
with the wind. They understand the power of
letting go. Those trees and those branches that
try too hard to stand up strong and straight are
the ones that break. Now is not the time for you
to be strong, or you, too, will break.
Julia Butterfly Hill

Adopt a dog !!

lielie — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:29:25 +0000

Shela was born in 2004, my daughter found her at a riding stable and I was not able to say no to her. She is intelligent and recognises new people. Shela is not good with small children, seeing she only likes to be patted on her conditions which small children often do not respect. Seeing we are leaving the country, we need a new home for her. Please please help us find a nice place for her !

Hot season

lielie — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:29:15 +0000

… has arrived ! The temperature today was up to 38C. This is our last hot season and I am not going to complain. My skin feels lovely, the air is abit cleaner than the fast few months. Nice ! All the trees are blooming or green again, and we can even see the blue sky occasionally! Most of all.. its warm, actually hot. Very hot. The car seat heats up something terrible and holding the steering wheel almost causes blisters on my hands. But.. I am not complaining haha.

Songkran- Thai New Year is over

lielie — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:00:51 +0000

”The three days of Songkran has a special name and meaning.

April 13, the beginning of the festival, is called Wan Sang Khan Long. Northern Thais believe that on this day they should clean their houses, wear only new clothes, and pray that bad luck and karma resulting from bad deeds during the previous year will not follow them in to the New Year.

On the next day of the celebrations, April 14, people should only speak positively and pleasantly; if they become angry or unpleasant, bad luck will follow them throughout the New Year.

April 15, the last day of the festival, is called Wan Paya Wan, “The Great Day”, during which all people should pray, make merit to their ancestors, and visit their elder relatives in order to ask for forgiveness and blessings for the New Year. ” From here

” At the Thai New Year there are rites and rituals that people participate in as part of the New Year blessings and Buddhist merit-making, One of these is the splashing of water. Water runs deep in the Thai New Year traditions, both as a symbol of cleansing and as a symbol of renewal.” More about Rites of Songkran here.

Today is a public holiday. Songkran is over. Tomorrow school starts again for my kids. The weeks before their lives change dramatically ! I need lots of water … to keep renewing my strength and courage to go through with our plans !

สวัสดีปีใหม่ :-)

lielie — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:35:24 +0000

Happy Thai New Year !

Have fun, stay safe

I got the photos from here.. lovely shots !