Drinking a Chang beer with a chang! Nov. ’04

Drinking a Chang beer with a chang! Nov. ’04

Well, it is an honor to finally write a blog on this webpage. I have been reading everyone’s postings for about one month now, and I have to say that coming to this site to read blogs has been something that I have looked forward to each and everyday.

Since this is my first entry, I would like to tell everyone a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle to be specific). I made my first trip to Thailand in March of 2000. Ever since then I have tried to make yearly treks back, as it is truly the loveliest place on earth. The food, the people, the language…okay, everything!

I don’t wish to get too specific on my maiden voyage into blog-land, so allow me the indulgence of rambling on a bit out of chronological order. My intent, later on, is to write about how I came to know about Thailand, and how I became enthralled with everything that is the Land of Smiles, and my ensuing adventures!

Back to a little introduction of myself. I recently was married (Feb. 14, ’05) to a Thai woman. Her name is Sudaporn and she’s the love of my life. I met her in Bangkok back in November of 2003. I was fortunate enough to meet her on the second day of my 30-day trip (my third trip to Thailand). We went everywhere together. It made my vacation, as Bill & Ted would say, “most excellent!”

Anyways, I made two more trips back to see her and to spend time with her family. Then she came back to live with me. I couldn’t believe how smooth it was to get her Fiancee Visa. I heard all sorts of horror stories; but our saga went off without a hitch. She has been here in the States since December ’04. We were married 2 1/2 months later. She’s now in ESL classes at a nearby technical college.

Sudaporn (Pon)

Okay, so that is where I’m at now. Let me tell you where I’m going. In 12 years and 2 days (yep, it’s that exact) I am going to retire from my job and move to Thailand to live permanently. My wife, I will now refer to her as Pon, bought some land near her parents’ village and we are going to build a house there, hopefully as early as three years from now. It’s a small village 31km outside of Chiang Rai called Bahn Bong Chang. It’s a pretty cool place.

Pon’s parents are rice farmers. They are lovely people and they readily accepted me as one of their own (a somewhat pale version of a Thai son, I reckon!) Pon has two siblings; an older brother and an older sister. Both of them have moved to Bangkok for a better life. Pon’s sister is a seamstress and her brother is a manager at a disco.

Pon’s dad headed for the fields!

I hope I haven’t rambled on too much. Like I wrote earlier, this is my very first blog ever. I’m feeling my way around, so please bear with me. My intention is to not only tell you about my adventures, but I would like to write blogs that are subject-specific. My aim is to produce a blog that is thoughtful, entertaining, and at times, thought-provoking. Thank you very much!

On the river in Chiang Rai