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The Last WordAnother edition. Whew what a close call.For most of you this will have comethrough a friend, Gordon Breedyk. He isreturning to Canada the 16th of themonth. He is also carrying a parcel ofgoodies for my family.If you have noticed I skipped aneditlon, well skipped a month. It takesme less time to put it together. Nowthat I have macro' d most of thefunctions. But I still can't find thetime. It is strange. I try to schedulelife but things get in the way.Traffic, work, visitors, and unscheduledevents make most planning fruitless. Itmust be the climate.This edition was rushed together. I wasin Chachaengsao, computerless for awhole week. Aaaagh. I get home and the286 is acting up, moreover WordPerfect5.0 keeps SWl t.c hi.ng over to the Greekcharacter set on the ATI EGA displavadaptor (I know most of this soundsGreek anywayl. No problem just switch toversion 4.2 then convert it and formatit at the Pilot Pen building.No problem ~ot all the articles enteredin. So off 1 go to play squash with mybu d dy Harry. After two hours of greatrallies I found that my wallet wasamiss. Aaaagh, headaches.I only lost about 3,000 baht, not muchreally. But my ATM card, MasterCard andother assorted ID were in the wallet.What a hassle.I tried to find the number to cancellost ATM cards but the phone book was nohel~. Finally I called directoryasslstance and got one number (lets callit Al. I called A and they said call B.Ok I called B and they transferred me toC. C told me I had to call D. D wasbusy. Called five minutes later andconnected. D said sorry I had to call E.E responded saying B was the rightnumber. Back to B. B tried to give methe line that had to call C. But Icaught him and said. B told me to callC and in turn C said D, D said E and Esaid I should have talked to B. "Sorry"he says. and tranfers me to his boss.His boss apologizes. They thought I wascalling to cancel my American Express.After explaining my number was at homeso I gave him my names (t.he v use mycomplete passport official name I andwithin seconds (ok minutes) they frozemy account and said that I' could'unfreeze' it should I recover my card.Kudos to the guys with the keyboard (andI guess the software designe~s too).Next was the MasterCard. I wasn't tooworried about this but still I tried tocall the lost card number. The onlynumber I had was for Canada. So I triedcalling my brother. Mike, where are yOUat five in the morning. Okay sure 1tsyour birthday but five in th~ morning.Anyway called my folks home and talkedto Andrea. She sounds pretty funny atfive in the morning. So after convincing

her she wasn't dreaming I got her to geton to Mike to try to straighten thingsout.Done. Now hopefully I can get to a Banksometime soon and grab some cash.So there I am wrappin~ up the Last Word.Really is the last. 1 usually write itwhile the photocopy does overtime makingthe Chronicle a reality.As this is the last edition of this vhearI'd like to thank a few folks who avehelp make this paper a reality. FirstBrian Dunlop, without him I wouldn't bein Thailand. Then I guess it would beShad who gave a kid a break a whileback. And in turn Mike and Ron atFederal for letting me work sans degree.I guess then there's the profs atHerltage Campus cum College. And ofcourse John for convincing me thatcomputers might be a little moreinteresting than Poli-Sci. Most of myfriends have helped in my decisionmaking process. Last but not least myfolks~ Without the rope they gave me totry things I would have never ended upin this paradise.Then there is the folks at the PilotPen, Gai, Nid and Udomsin. Their officeis where the KTC gets printed. Thenthere are my Thai friends who give meinsights to life here and help me withmy 'I'hai .Thanks to all.Since the last edition I have recieveda few Xmas Cards. Hopefully you have allrecieved mine by the time dVOU get thislet ter. If not sorry. I id try realhard to get things out on time.New subscriberl well new in location isSue Beeb. 'I'a.ki ng up residence on theisland some people call England. What'sit like to be an Eng, Sue?-Enough already the time is getting lateand I really should print the last page.Y'all be good and we'll try to have thefirst edition of 1989 out ~n time.Later .....

Here isa list of my travel plans fOT·

11 the next biLAs>ofDecember 1Dthitis as acc'u rat.e '.a.s I can .g~:t;•....

Provinc.eReg I. Olrac harrg s ao c··ChierigMB:i· NPhetburi ..CNara.thiwatsChantaburi C

SakkonakornNE·

DateDecember 6-9December 11-16December 20-23.Dec.emb.er-25~3LJanuary 02-06January 09-13

Wlthaiittlebl t of' Chol\:-Di'I willarri vesafeand .sound each weekend

Vol. I No. 5

Many Thai handicraft shopscarry ornaments andtrimmings with definitewestern influence. Rudolphand the elves on silknapkins, elegant lace workin holly and ivy patterns.Some of these ventures

The Kr'ung Thep.Chronic1eI:n.sideAnnouncements 6Classified : 6Development 4Entertainemnt •......5.Insight ....~.3We~ther ..•... 2The Kr-urig ThepChronicleis a publicationof RayTeske. It is for the

lIen,Joyment·of friendsandfamily.Distributionworld-wide via var'iousmethods.

.. ............... ",",' .

. <Ray> I'eske ...Apartment- 7B-Esmeralda. Apts..·64/66 <Soi NgamDuplee

Ramii··IV···Road··.·

11 ~~2it~~1012011

Life l:n.Life has sunk tounbearable enjoyment.Phuket became the islandhideaway to take a breakfrom the toils ofmetropilitan life. Thisbeautlful resort is gracedwi th lush rolling hills,snow white sand and greatsurf. -After a one hour flightfrom Don Muang airportpassengers were greetedwith - slight warmertemperatures and bluerskies. We boarded acourtesy bus to get to theresort we were staying at.After the hour or so drivewe settled into our roomsand agreed to check outthe sea.Phuket is in the AdamanSea, just off the westerncoast of Thailand. Severalof the beaches areexcellent for bodysurfing, except our beach:It had just a little toomuch coral for comfort .Fortunately the hotel has

.111

.11

With the magic ofChristmas and theexcitement of New Year.Bangkok is a neat place tospend the Holiday season,beats shovelling snow!

PhL.:lKetshuttle boat to an nearbyisland with a much betterbeach. After an hour or soI got the hang of bodysurfing and spent thebetter part of anafternoon in the rollingthunder. -Saturday we took a trip toPi Pi island. This is abeautiful island two hoursaway. It is an example ofhow the tourist industryis slowly robbing Thailandof some of its naturalbeauties. True the islandis still beautiful, but ithas become crowded withbungalows. The narrowstretch of land betweentwo of its popular beachesis an array (literaly agrid) of these thatchedcottages. Cute but itlooks like a mini-scaleversion of New York'sstreets and Avenues.Nonetheless, sippingm' aprow under at coconuttree was nothing to sneerat.(cont. page 2)

2

Phuket (from page 1)My final day was Sunday.Went back to the beach andgot a nasty burn thatlater developed to a finetan. The sky was overcastbut didn't dampen myattempts to catch that onelast wave. Finally I gavein and headed for home.Phuket, nice place tovisit before it getsoverrun with beer bars-andsouvenir stands.

The Krung Thep Chronicle - December 25th, 1988

Pai Teeow Mai?In a further attempt tosee parts of Thai life notnormally the venue formany westerners, mycolleague and I wereinvited to visit a Thaico-worker's relatives.Khun Wiwat, one of theofficers in the section wework in (and a mighty finesinger too) took us to A look at the beaches on Phuket. Love them white Caps!ViSlt his brother, Pi Tih.We left Bangkok earlySaturday morning and aftera few hours - dri ve wearrived at Pi Tih's farm.The farm had a herd ofdairy cattle, hogs, sugarcane, as well as a varietyof fruit trees. Pi Tih isalso the principle at thelocal school.The schedule for the dayincluded a visit to Poo-Yai Wiboon, to see hisconcept of self-reliantfarming. Poo-Yai Wiboon isa recently bankruptedfarmer who had to sellmost of his land as aresult of a poor crop andhuge debts to coverfertilizer costs. Histheory is that with areduced area and multi-cr-o pp i ng a farmer canprovlde for the welfare ofhis family. He sees areturn to more traditionalmethods of farming toavoid high capital costsof fertilizers.Khun Wiboon, grows a widevariety of medicinal herbsand teaches traditionalmethods to groups ofvisitors. He also has asmall museum show ing theway of farmers in daysgone by.Our visit to Poo-YaiWiboon was interesting andwe plan to go again toexplore further hisconcept.We then return to Pi Tih'sfarm for a delicious meal.

The meal was followed bysome serious drinking andsinging. Gord and Itreated them to a rowdy(if not somewhatcacophonic) version of theRover's 'Wasn't That IParty.' I had forgottenjust how bad of a singer Iwas, but our Thai friendstreated us to a roaringround of applause. Theevening ended rather latebut everyone had a greattime.We awoke the next morningfeeling the effects of ourexcess~ but it did notstop us from enj oy Lnzbreakfast complete witfi'nom sot' (fresh milk).Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

MoreAnother of my collegues,Khun Wanida invited me toher and her husband's homeon the Thonburi side ofthe Chao Phya river. On abright Saturday morning Iwas picked up and drivento her home.I have rarely been to theThonburi side the oddoccasions had been when Igot on the wrong bus andended up on the wrong sideof the river. Traffic isjust as bad on this side.But the trip to her housewas only forty-fiveminutes. Her husband and Ihad a good conversationand I learned thatshopping malls and salesdirectly affect the volumeof traffic.

We left shortly beforelunch and decided to driveto Pattaya and laze aroundon the beach. Khun Yakintroduced me to a newbeach, far more beautifulthan the one I visitedlast year. After lunch anda few hours on the beachwe headed back to Bangkok.We took the longer morescenic route on the wayback. The Thai countryside is beatiful. Dottedwith brightly colouredtemples and 'traditionalThai houses, the trif woreaway at the city-inf ictedstresses. We look forwardto going 'pai-teeyow' morewith our good friend andhis family.VisitsThe day started off with atour of her home. Theirfairly modern home islocated on a nice sizedplot of land along acanal. They had plenty ofcoconut trees and offeredme one of its fruit. Howdid thev know that ma'~rowwas mi favourite. Theyalso had papaya, lemon, andchompu trees. Chompu 1S asmall reddish f ru i t thathas a sour tang to it. Itis not unlike an applealthough smaller and lesscrunchy. They offered me abag, which I have sinceenjoyed thouroughly.This was followed bvlunch. Again more of myfavouri tes. I think Khun(cont. page 4)

-> - •f'

The Krung Thep Chronicle - December 25th 1988 3

INSIGHT

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"Well, this is Christmas"said John Lennon and indeedit is. Although I am halfwayaround the world and the nextsnowfall isn't expected for afew million vears, I stillhave the Christmas bug.The Yule Tide has always meant familvand friends more than anything else. Ifondly remember sitting ln th~ parlourof The Teske's Farm, listening to mycousins twang away, smelling theturkey basting away in the woodstove,seeing the glows on the little one'sfaces when one of the older kidsdresses up in Santa garb anddistributes presents, feelingcomfortably numb after a few spirits.This will be the first year away fromhome, the first Christmas I will miss.Always has it been the people. For methe presents were nice but you folksare what I remember most. Heck Iforget what I got for last Christmas,but I know where I was and who I waswith for most every Christmas since myown birth. From the little gatheringsin offices, meetings afterwork in ourfavourite watering holes, to moreformal sit-downgatherings all leftthat unshakeable ~eling of happiness.Sure I may sound like a hopelessromantic (hopeless yes, romantic wellmy wife's a 286) or a idyllic dreamer.But it is nothing that severe. I justlike Christmas.Christmas has also been that time ofyear when I get to spoil people. Iview it as a proper excuse for me topart with my not-so-hard-earned cashand be ext r'av agant.. Maybe its stemsfrom the time my parents went out oftheir way to, buy me a saxophone oneyear. I was ln awe. My folks are notin the upper income brackets but thesacrificed a lot to make sure theirkids had everything. That kind offeeling is what got me hooked onChristmas.This year the distance and time Lagleaves me without the joys of bundlingu~ and fighting the hoards flocking toplck up that last minute gift. Yes Iwill send some small things but itsnot the same. Well more to spend nextyear I guess.Before get too misty and ruin mykeyboard, I'll mention that life hereis not without its perks. Sure I willbe on a train for the south onChristmas Day but I am not wi thoutfriends here. Thev make it easv to befar away. Most I suspect will take offhome for the holidavs but I won't getin my way of havlng a Very MerryChristmas. And hev when's the lasttime you went body surfing New Year'sEyE:'.

There are several get togetherssponsored by different groups. And theHead of Aid promises a nice luncheon.But I will be away for most of it.

(Cue violins). Ah but its not so bad.It mi~ht be kind of nice after twentyfour -editions of 'Twas the NightBefore Christmas. That's somethln~else I'll miss. Christmas Specials. Aliwhat will life be like without Frostythe Snow Man or The Grinch that StoleChristmas. Hey I don't even have a TV.Oh well if there are anv new ones I amsure they will be played next year.Enough whining! I will enjoy myself nomatter how green it is.So, Merry Christmas everybody and hopethe New Year will be prosperous andhappy for all.

4 The Krung Thep Chronicle - December 25th, 1988

Visit (from page 2lWanida asked my secret~ryto spy on my eat i nghabits. The menu consistedof Tom Kha Kai (spicy soupwith coconut milk andchicken), deep fried prawnand chicken, brocolli, andmixed vegetables withpork. Ahhh people spoilme.After lunch we went toPhuttamonthon. This is amemorial gard.en tocelebrate 2500 si.nc e theEnlightenment of Buddha.Its main feature is atowering Buddha image inthe standing position. Thesurrounding gardens arebeatiful and featurethemes and art prominentto the Buddhistphilisophy.The familv asked me tojoin in their 'waiphra' orpaying respect to theimage of Buddha. Theyfirst asked me if thisinterfered with myreligion. I said no, sincetechnically Buddha is nota god and Buddhism is moreway of life than religion.I 'did draw the attentionof several people as Iperformed the traditionalforms of respect.After touring the gardenswe headed - for home,stopping along the way topick up some sorn+o , moreof my favourites. We alsodropped by the school hernephew attends to send himoff to spend the longweekend with his parents.

Ki:n.g's Birthda,y

Last year this reporterhad the pri veLage to seethe celebrations on theoccasion of His Majestvhthe Kings Sixtiet

Birthday. This yearsversion'was in my opinioneven more spectacular.The weekend had beenbri ght.end by marching ofthe guard, parades andseveral concerts. But theHighlight of thecelebration was a massivegathering at Sanam-Luang(The Kings Fieldl onMonday the Fifth ofDecember.On my way to the event Iwalked past street vendorswho took advantage of themasses out having a goodtime. The area around theGrand Palace had become agiant street market. Food,

Pi Thi, Gord, Yak, Me and Yak's mother-in-law late inthe evening.

Khun Wanida, husband and sone in front of their home.tOYS andev'eryt hi n gbargainable

through loud speakers. ButI got the gist of some ofthe things.Just after seven 0' clockthe governor of Bangkokgave a speech to honourthe King. Afterwhich heled the crowd in a pledgeof loyalty to the Monarchfollowed by the singing ofthe King's Theme. Thelatter part of thisceremony was done by(cont. page 5)

clothing,souvenirsavailable atprices.Hoards of people flockedto the field to see thecelebrations. I found ap lace about two footballfields away from the mainstage that'was wide enoughto berth my wide farangframe. Unfortunately myThai is not good enoughthat I can make out words

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King (from page 4)candle light. Littleyellow candles were givenout as you entered thegrounds and every lit thema gave three cheers forthe King. It evolved intoa competition amongsections of the crowd forthe greatest volume.The evening wrapped upwith a display offireworks that rivaled anyI have seen. The light andnoise seemed to encouragethe cheers to grow stilllouder. The rockets werefired from three locationsgiving ev~ryone aspectacular v i.e w . I woremy neck out trying tocatch all the colours.After the fireworks I hadto get on home, buteveryone else stayed wellon till late in theevening. Once again I seethat the Thai people trulylove their Great King.

Elec:tiC>r1 W"c>es

Is it True? Has Quebecreally lost its Liberalattitude and votedConserva tive . I wouldthink that the electionfurour has died down inCanada, but I am stillreeling from the shock.I wasn't surprise with thewin just the majority.Aaaagh! I found it strangethat the Public Service(aka Ottawa-Hull) chose tovote a~ainst theincumbantparty.- What do they knowthat I don't.Maybe the "New Deal" willhelp our economv,strengthen our position 'inthe world marketplace. Butwhy do I have tEe feelingthat there is somethingsomebody's not telling me.Yes I am paranoid. IdonJt trust businessmen.Heck I am one. I wouldn'ttrust myself solely on myword, when opportunity wasat hand.I do trust t.hough , thatshould anything - developthat we as Canadians justdon't want, we will standup and wave our tiny nuke-powered submarines.Who said ~h,is rag isn't

. > ...•• c~~i~tlll·a.sB()nlls· •.....Since. we lost the 2nd .

.edition -o f ·the···KTC ··we·at-esendi~g·rte'W.cOl>res·

DevelopmentWe are off and installing!The ~roject just finishedtestlng and training atthe Kao Hin Sorn RoyalDevelopment Study Centerin Chachaengsao Province.The team consisting ofKhun Wanida, Khun Sutinee,Khun Sanut, Adjan Sinchalfrom Compaq, Khun Jenjirafrom Multiman, Gordon andRay.We left on the Tuesdayfollowing The King'sBirthdav. On the way westo~ped' for a large 1unch(WhlCh proved to be aforeshadowing of the weeksevents) in the centralcity of the province.Upon arriving at thecenter we were greeted byKhun Udon, coordinator ofthe Study Center. Heoffered us fresh coconut(someone is looking afterme!) before we started ourwork.After the greetings we satdown to work. AdjanSinchai had the traineeshuddled around the Compaq286 right away. The timewas spent reviewinglessons learned in thesessions held in Bangkok amonth earlier. The Adjanhad a captive audience.The students were so ea~erthey stayed after work-topractice. The lights werestill on when I retiredaround 22.00.

NewsThe testing team set aboutconnecting the computer tothe telepbone. The phoneline was digital andconnected to a -radio linkto the local office. Thelocal office in turn usemicrowave to connect toBangkok.Once connected we triedcommunicating with theBangkok Offlce. After afew problems we had asession. We were able tosend messages (in Thai andEnglish) and send files.The tests were carried outover the next few days andincluded getting on tobulletin boards based inBangkok.Every evening we went outto feast. The first nightwe went to a town 17kilometers out from theCentre. More squid. Yumm!Yumm! The next evening wewent to the main towna~ain and took a boat ridedown the Bang PakongRiver. More great sitesand better food. On ourfinal evening we drove apiece down to Bang PhraFarm for some greatseafood. If this trip isan indication I will comeback a few kilos heavier.So far so good I guess itis safe to say. If thingsgo as smoothly for therest of the installation Iwill be one very happycamper.

Picture of Pi Pi island. Sorry I just had to include..+