THE DOCTOR -----IS IN

THE DOCTOR -----IS IN

And at this window you get your MEDS

Get your blood pressure checked

and weight and height

pick up your records at the window

tell the nurse what ails you and get assigned to the right Dr. and care for your problem

Sit and wait till they call your name

If you have a dental problem you cane make a appointment to have work done , but if emergency there is a dentist on duty.

Don't worry they WILL call your name before the day is over .

After living in the LOS for almost 6 years I have come to realize that there are soooo many things that amaze me, and some amaze me more than others . The one think that really amazes me is the way the local hospital and clinics can take care of so many folks at one time.Making sure everyone sees the right Dr , and that none is left behind. I remember in the USA that if there were more than 10 folks waiting to see the Dr. that day you might as well forget it , and most of the time you have to make a appointment weeks in advance just to get in , and sometimes to be told " Sorry the Dr, is booked solid for the next 3 months and then he is taking a month long vacation, can I make an appointment for you at that time ??"And so you call another Dr. hoping you can get to see him or her and you are told " sorry the Dr. is not taking on any new patience at this time" . It sounds like a joke , but this is real in the part of the country we lived in and , even if you had company insurance coverage , you still had to wait till there was an opening.If it is a real emergency , you could always go to the "Emergency Room" and wait sometimes for hours until a inter-Dr. or a Nurse would see if they could help you , if not ,they would make you an appointment to see a real Dr. next month maybe. And they would have to come and give you smelling salts after you fainted, when they handed you the bill for the Emergency Service and you saw how much ,and that had to be paid for NOW, and you said to yourself "was I really THAT sick "
I have noticed that this is not the case in Thailand , the Doctor is always in and they will take care of you to the best of their ability and if they can't help you, they will take you to the nearest hospital that can. This has been my experience here in the LOS. Ciejay has to go to the hospital every month, because she has had a valve replacement and she takes warfin to keep her blood thin to prevent a stroke, every time we go the place is full of all kind of sick folks and the Dr. and Nurses are sooo busy taking care of them and I can see that they do it with a smile too, they are sooo good to Ciejay and none in all of our Six years of going to the hospital in Kanchanaburi has she ever been mistreated, and not only Ciejay , but all the hundreds that are there and most with out an appointment and no calling ahead , and they are taken care of just the same , you may have to sit and wait your turn , but before the day is finished the DOCTOR will see you .
That is just another one of the reasons why we are Retired in Thailand and Loving It.

Took a few pictures today while we were there you can see a little of what I'm talking about .

Organic Yard and flowers

Organic Yard

We don't live on a farm , but we have farm animals in the yard from time to time .
Just when I was saying to Ciejay
that I needed to go to the Farm Store to buy some fertilizer for the grass and plants , here comes the neighbor to the rescue and brings a couple of organic fertilizer producing walking machines to take care of the job for me and it's all for free, I just had to stand guard around my flowers , they like them as a appetizer, ha ha . You never know what you're going to find in your yard some days, that's what makes life here in the LOS interesting . Ever have cows grazing in your front yard??? well it's a first for us too, but it does have a side benefit, I'm just glad we have some sunshine to dry the cow dung quickly. Malcolm

Loving Thailand

A few things we love about Thailand

All my life,everywhere I have lived, I have always looked for things to be proud of ,rather than looking for things to criticize or complain about or find fault with,and here in my adopted home of Thailand I try to do the same. I am proud of the fact that here in Thailand we have to freedom to live and love and enjoy all that life has to offer , as long as we live by the rules.I am proud of the fact that most expat folks who make Thailand their home and realize their dreams come true ,are very decent people. I could go on and on about things that I am proud of here in the Land Of Smiles And Gentle People . I would like to say that the thing that I am most proud of is the little village that I call home ,Wang

Pho. All of our local leaders do all they possibly can to make sure that all the people that call Sai Yok their home ,live in the cleanest , safest,and most enjoyable place they can make it . I have even notice that they pay close attention to even the smallest detail to make sure that it looks good and not a eye sore , and the thing that amazes me the most, is that they seen to understand the meaning of maintenance.

This coming year , my goal is to look for all I can be proud of and if at all possible to thank the person or persons responsible and give them a big pat on the back, and to remind myself that  This is Thailand. Lets all give it a try. Just one more reason why We're Retired in Thailand and Loving It.  Malcolm and Ciejay

Fresh Bamboo Shoots --hunting , cleaning , and eating

Every season in Thailand ,brings with it a special fruit or vegetable that can be harvested during it's time, usually for a couple months.This time of the year is no exception (the rainy season) and with it comes two of my favorites.And additions, to use in cooking many Western and Thai dishes .Mushrooms and Bamboo Shoots are plentiful this time of the year , and can be found at every Tuesday and Thursday market here in our small village of Whang Pho , you can also find then for sell on roadside stands all along the highway between here and Kanchanaburi , with most of their customers coming from Bangkok, after a trip in the country ,to visit the many caves and waterfalls and the famous hot springs ,up the road from us .They love to stop on their way home and buy fresh veggies along the side of the road and from the country farmers , they just taste better than the supermarket veggies for some reason, maybe it's all in our minds.

 Ciejay and me grabbed a bucket and a long knife and headed up to the mountain just a few hundred yards, from our house. Ott, our neighbor always goes there every few days during the rainy season and ,always comes back with a rice bag full of bamboo shoots for the meals she cooks for her family , and she always shares fresh bamboo shoots with us . We wanted to give it a try for myself and also to be able to write home to my family back in the USA , that I had cut,boiled and peeled and cooked bamboo shoots fresh, right out of the jungle , what an adventure. And what a adventure it turned out to be , noone warned me about all the mosquitos, that we would encounter while cutting fresh bamboo shoots, I thought they were going to eat me alive, we got a bucket full and then got out of there . I did it one time and that's enough for me , now it's Market Day for my bamboo shoots from now on. We haven't given mushroom picking a try yet because, most of the places where they grow are closely guarded, and also a secret known only to the gathers, because mushrooms are a real money crop for lots of the Thai families in our area,lots of mushrooms grow around our mountains and jungles.

Today ,while we were visting a neighbors new home being built , the workers were taking their lunch break and they were eating fresh bamboo shoots , they invited me to share (and you know me when food is offered ) so I joined in and what a wonderful tasty dish they had prepared right there on the construction site , fresh bamboo shoots and scrambled eggs with thai chilies and onions, of course. WOW, was it ever good.. When we were leaving the boss came up to me and gave me a bag of fresh bamboo shoots to take home and cook and enjoy, which I did .

A bamboo shoot is the start of a young bamboo plant,if not harvested, it will grow into a tall bamboo plant.The leaves that cover the shoot are black and covered with tiny hairs. The black leaves are peeled off untill you can see the off-white meat inside.The white meat turns yellowish after it is cooked.When the shoot is cooked on the day that it is harvested it is very sweet.

There are many different types and sizes of bamboo shoots depending on the plant. Big ones are usually sliced and used as an ingredient in a main course dish.The little ones (half a inch in dismeter) are cut into finger size pieces and eaten as a vegetable with sauces like nam prig gapi.

In Thailand, bamboo shoots are available during the rainy season,May through October.Otherwise,they are available in cans and jars . In the US,bamboo shoots come in cans and glass jars, pickled or sour, non pickled.

When I lived in America ,I never saw fresh bamboo shoots for sell ever, but then again, I was not married to my sweet Thai wife ,except the last few years we lived there .And I had never visited an Asian Market until , I married Ciejay, and even then before ,moving to Thailand ,I was not use to the spicy and smelly (sometimes)Thai dishes, or their way of cooking things .Ciejay's sister would come for a visit and bring all kind of strange stuff with her and when they started to cook , most of the time ,I would leave the house until all the smells were gone ,and I would try and eat a little of what they had cook and act like I was enjoying it , some things I did , but some things I endured, for my sweet Ciejay's sake .

Now I am happy to report , that after 15  years here in the LOS , that, I not only love the Thai food (almost everything ) , but I also love all the strange and wonderful , spicy and pepper, smells that come out of the kitchen when Ciejay is cooking .

One of my favorite dishes of course ( the reason for this post ) is FRESH BAMBOO SHOOTS, added to many Thai dishes and also to eat as a fresh veggie dish with various sauces that Ciejay mixes up, I love them hot ,drizzled ,with fish sauce and served over a steaming hot cup of Jasmine rice . Wow I'm making myself hungry, glad dinner is almost ready , and of course there will be several dishes made with the fresh bamboo shoots from our friends, the builders. For those of you living here in Thailand, do you like fresh bamboo shoots? and do they grow in your area and do you or your Thai family or neighbors harvest them for cooking at home or as a money crop ?

Some of my info came from a site that has lots of recipes using fresh bamboo shoots , visit them sometimes if you have a chance or need a recipe for a Thai dish, you can find them at http://www.thaitable.com/ . Thanks for the read and hope you