Our Fun Visit to Burapha

About a month ago the kids & I decided to take a road trip back down to the neighborhood where we used to live in the Chonburi province near Rayong & Pattaya to see some good friends of ours, one of which had come back from America to visit. As we prepared for the day, I realized that it had been almost 2 years since we last visited our friends down there. One of the reasons we don't go often is because it is a 2 hour drive. It just seems so far away. It used to take us longer to go from this area down to our neighborhood there before the road construction was finished. But now it feels like a breeze. Honestly, compared to the 3 plus hours we could used to spend on the road 1 way, the new road makes the travel very enjoyable. Consider that we used to make the trip back & forth every Sunday for church. The chapel isn't quite as far as our home now is, but it was still a 2 hour trip then to get from our house in Burapha to church. It is unneccessary to say that we don't miss that drive every Sunday.



I thought that since I had never gotten pictures of the scenery along the drive before, I would take out the camera & take pictures of our drive. Even though we drove that stretch of road frequently, & at times sat in construction for hours on end & got very bored of it, I have to say that we were very blessed that the views were gorgeous. We really loved looking at the beautiful banana, palm, & coconut trees that dotted the landscape. It was wonderful to look out & see the real Thailand, much of it still untouched.




It doesn't look like most of you will ever be able to make the trip here to see us or the beautiful countryside & cities that we have called home for the past 5 1/2 years. So I guess I will just have to keep posting pictures so that you have an idea of why we love it here so much.


I know that the view of the blacktop highway isn't that neat of a sight, but if you saw what we used to drive on, you would be excited to take a picture of the brand new road too. If Scott & Heidi Hansen ever read this, I'm sure that they will be nodding their heads in agreement! They were our next door neighbors for the year & 1/2 that we lived in Burapha. They lived there for 4 years & hardly ever missed a Sunday. They honestly were incredible examples to us! I'm sure that they miss Thailand, but they must love only having to drive 10 minutes or less to church now. We miss you Hansens!!











The little red thing in the picture below is a spirit house. The land owner must have put it there at the entrance to his field in hopes of protecting his crops from bad spirits, weather, or thieves. You can see the road off to the right that leads down in between his plants. I'm not sure what the plants are.









Below are some pictures of a little mountain that we nicknamed the Elephant Hill. During the dry season the trees would lose their leaves & would stand tall & bare on the top of the mountain. The shape of the mountain kind of resembles the top of an elephant's head & back, & the bare trees looked like the hairs on the top of the elephant's head. I don't know if you can see that from the picture or not. It was while we were so enthralled in reminiscing about Elephant Hill & I was trying to take pictures of it, that I totally missed the fork in the road where I was supposed to go. Oops! Generally in this country, if you miss a turn or an exit, it costs you no less than 45 minutes to recover from the mistake, so I was really bugged that I had done such a dumb thing. But lucky for us, we were right at a spot where a nearby U-turn on a small country road looped us directly back onto the road we were supposed to be on. Whew! That honestly was more than luck! Oh the tender mercies.






We finally arrived at Burapha & made our first stop at the International School Eastern Seaboard where Rhees & Ambrian attended most of 3rd & 1st grades, & 1/2 of 4th & 2nd. We got to spend some time with the counselor, Joan Fedoruk, who we just adore, & also Rhees' 3rd grade teacher Ms. Lindon, whom we also love. I really can't believe that I didn't take my camera in with me! Grrrrrrrr! We will go back down again though in a week or so, because Ms. Lindon is retiring & we want to go say goodbye to her. It was so great to see both of them. We also got to see Mr. Jones, the art teacher, & Mr. "R" , the PE teacher. They remembered the kids, & the kids were just thrilled to be back there. I felt a tinge of sadness, as we walked through the halls, that they aren't still attending school. It was a good experience for the kids to get to have a typical school experience during the short time we lived there.

After we left the school we went down to the clubhouse to meet our friends at the pool. And here she is, the beautiful Sally McPhail & her darling daughter Ainsley.




It was wonderful to see them. Ainsley was only a year & 1/2 when they moved back home last year, & so I knew that she wouldn't remember us. But while we were sitting there beside the pool she came up from behind me & put her arms around me & just hugged me. It was the sweetest thing!! I wish that I could have gotten a picture of it. At first I thought that she had just come up to me by mistake meaning to go to her mom. But she didn't, she knew her mom was sitting next to me. I don't know why she was so affectionate in that moment, but it certainly was adorable.




Lisa Sofiar & her daughter Ashley also met us up at the pool. We tried to get a picture of everyone together right at the beginning because we knew it would be impossible to get one later. But inevitably one of the kids would keep running off, so we decided to wait, & we then we didn't end up getting one of everyone. Sorry I missed you & Ashley in the pictures.


Here is Rhees enjoying the rays.



Kalen just loved the kid friendly wading pool & beach that this pool has. You can go from the big pool to the small pool very easily. It is a nice design.




Here is Aybrielle having fun playing with Ainsley.



Ambrian preparing for a dive into the water.



Kambren was having fun splashing water on everyone.



Why are the showers just as much fun as the pool itself??





Eventually Aybrielle & Kambren got bored of the pool & decided to go hang out on the swings. I don't know if Aybrielle wanted to be pushed or not?? But Kambren was a nice brother to help her out if she did want to be pushed.




Here is the little Monkey just being his usual self, hanging or climbing on something.




After we finished swimming we hopped back in the car & drove about 15 minutes to another neighborhood to see our old dog Sadie. When we were preparing to move back up to Bangkok we decided that it wouldn't be fair to Sadie, a golden retriever, to make her move from the country up to the city. I wouldn't allow her to live in the house, & so she would have to stay behind the house on the hard patio. There is a big open yard here at Samakee Place, with lots of grass, but dogs aren't allowed on the grass anymore because people weren't good at cleaning up after them. So we gave her to the Hansen's domestic helper's neighbor. They are Thai & loved animals. Hansen's helper, Maow, took their dog Champ when they moved, & we thought it would be nice for Champ & Sadie to get to still be neighbors. Each time we have gone back to visit Burapha we have also stopped to visit Sadie. So it was with this day. We stopped at an outdoor market to buy some mangos & bananas for Maow & her neighbors, & also some jerky & dog bones for Sadie.

When we arrived at their house, I told the kids to stay in the car & I would go see if Maow was home from work yet. (She works for an Indian family now, still in Burapha.) She wasn't home, but the family who took Sadie was. I asked the girls if I could get the kids out to see Sadie & they suddenly got very quiet. I asked them what was the matter & they just looked at one another. I asked them again if there was something wrong & then they told me that Sadie wasn't there. I was a little confused & asked them where she was. Then they told me that Sadie had died. I just stood there. Rhees had been asking me for months when we were going to go see Sadie again & now we were finally there, but Sadie wasn't. Apparently Champ had gotten sick & died. Champ was crippled since the Hansen's found him on the side of the road after having been hit by a car. Well, after Champ died, Sadie started to become sad & wouldn't play anymore. She also got a cold. Maow got back from work a few minutes later & said it was like she just didn't have the will to live after Champ died. She thought that she must have been lonely.

I went back to the car to tell the kids. I think that they knew something was wrong because of the look on my face. They just had that worried look on their faces after I opened the door to the car. As soon as I got the words out that Sadie had passed away, Rhees & Aybrielle burst into tears. It was very sad. Rhees refused to get out of the car, but the rest of the kids were happy to take the people up on their offer to come & play with their 2 new dogs. Eventually Rhees got out of the car to go see the puppies. I think it was good for him to play with them for a minute.



Can you tell who is the true animal lover in the family??




But once Rhees got the dog up over his shoulder it just reminded him too much of Sadie & he lost it again. He has really missed her. They were good friends. He has cried many times over the past 2 years since we left her there because he missed her so much. Rhees really is a tenderheart.



Rhees & Ambrian went back to the car with Kalen, & Aybrielle & Kambren went around back to take the dogs back. Here they are with Maow & the puppies.


This is where Maow lives. She is the nicest lady. She felt so bad about Sadie & tears rolled down her face when she saw Rhees crying. The table behind them is what would be equivilent to the top of a cupboard in our kitchen. Outdoor kitchens are very common in Thailand.



Here they are with Maow's neighbor sitting at the kitchen table.



I just love this picture! It is so ....... Thai!!! There just isn't a nicer culture of people than the Thai people!



Here we are back at the entrance to Burapha. That little hill is so beautiful. It sits back up behind another golf course just across the street & around the corner. I miss going to get noodle soup & SomTam at the Laem Chabang restaurant there!!



We were very fortunate to get to live in such a beautiful neighborhood! It was so peaceful & quiet looking out the window at the foliage on the golf course. What a relaxing place to be. Sometimes I still can't believe that we got to live there for a year & a half. Wonderful memories!!



Once back at Lisa's house, she treated us to a lovely dinner of chicken strips & fries for the kids, & quiche for the adults. I had stopped & bought some Mangos & sweet, sticky rice for dessert because I was sure that Sally hadn't had any in a LONG time. Everything was delicious!

Here are all the friends! Aybrielle, Maddy McPhail, Arianne Sofiar, Ambrian, & Rhees. (We wish you could have been with us too Myra, Heidi, Erin, Brooke, & Paige! )



Kambren & Ashley are playing with the hamsters on the stairs.



Here is the whole group after dinner, minus Ainsley who went home early to go to sleep.
Thank you Lisa for your wonderful hospitality! It means even more knowing that you hadn't been feeling well due to being brand new pregnant. We are so happy for you!! And thank you Sally for coming back to Thailand to see us! Love you guys so much!!!


What a SUPER FUN day!!!!!