Christmas in Isaan Thailand and a Qantas 380.

Well not a lot to report as we run into Christmas. I do have a funny story to do with Christmas but to that in a minute.

There has been a festival going on across from our house all week on the road near Big C Shopping Centre. We have been across a couple of times to browse amongst the clothes and other bits and pieces on offer.

At these festivals there are always games where you can win fluffy toys or dolls and countless other things. I will often have a go on pop the balloons as I usually go alright. It used to be 20 baht for 7 darts and pop 7 balloons to win a prize. Now it is 20 baht for 3 darts, the odds are much better right? Well not really as they glue extra plastic onto the feather area and the darts don’t fly real well.

Anyway, I had a go and the first time didn’t even pop a balloon and was going to give up, Ja insisted I try again. First dart popped two balloons and the next another and we were winners. Ja had her eye on the prize and it wasn’t a fluffy toy but a large airplane.

We got home and I put it together and that was when I realized it was a Qantas Airbus 380. I laughed and thought what were the chances of that. It had the Qantas kangaroo logo and even the “Spirit of Australia” catch phrase.

Ja had also chosen a Santa doll as a prize, she is a lot more switched on now at three and a half. The year difference has made a big difference. She takes everything in and the questions keep coming non stop about everything she sees or hears.


Ja with her new toy of the moment.

Another thing I have noticed is how much Ja retains that you tell her. She still cannot tell all the alphabet letters apart by looking at them but she can sing the song and she can relate many letters to pictures already. A for apple and so forth. Same as her Thai, she cannot read the Thai yet but knows all the pictures and can tell you each one and sings this song with Noot and Ben that reminds the kids of each symbol.

Here is the funny story or frustrating for me that I mentioned before. I am looking forward to Christmas just because Ja is so aware and been excited since seeing the tree in Big C and Santa and all the decorations. So on the 1st of December Noot had gone to pick up Ja from school and I had planned to pull the tree down and get the decorations out and we could decorate the tree together, great idea right?

So the tree came down and then I scoured for the plain white box that keeps all the decorations and bundles of lights. Couldn’t see it anywhere. There are some very large boxes on top of the clothes wardrobes so I thought Noot must have put them into one of these two boxes.

I get the first one down and pull everything out, nothing. That goes back up and the other one comes down and that also comes up empty. Okay I thought, Noot has put the box somewhere else. I look in our room, Ben’s room and then scour the spare room again, nothing. Check under the bench in the kitchen but nothing. Look inside the wardrobes but again nothing.

Noot arrives home and I asked her if she knew where the box was and she of course replied, “on top of the wardrobe!” and I politely let her know this wasn’t the case and she of course trusted me and then made me pull the two large boxes down, even though I said I had been through them thoroughly. She searched the rooms and then came to the same conclusion as me, the box was gone.

While all this was going on, Ja was asking a million questions and then Ben arrived home from univeristy.

“Ben, have you seen the white box with the decorations and lights?” I asked.

“Yes, I took it to the village for New Years Eve last year.” She replied.

I might have turned a little red, maybe. I had already told them before they don’t leave the house but Thai people never listen or just think “mai pen rai” (never mind).

Then Ben came out with this. “You go and buy new ones!”

Now I am sure I was red. I mean there were 6 years of collections in the box. Heaps of decorations and six sets of lights.

I could have driven the 20klms out to the village and then tried to find the box and if everything was still together, but I knew the girls were going their tonight (Sunday) as tomorrow they are off to the temple for Father’s Day.

I told them I wanted the box returned on the Monday with them and especially the large star that goes on top of the tree as I cannot find a replacement. This was met with looks of, “what is the problem, just buy some more, don’t worry about it, take it easy, and I am a pain in the ass foreigner.”

Anyway, so Ja and I went across to Big C and bought new Christmas stuff, and we will see what comes back tomorrow.


Ja was very happy to help Noot with the tree.

One thing about new decorations meant that Ja got to open some packages.


The tree quickly took shape and Ja was more than keen to help.

On Friday Ja came home from school and told me I had to take a picture of her and the tree.

And again today. We were off to Big C to run the gauntlet of Sunday shopping. It means the centre is full of barn nawk (hillbilly villagers) and I dread going but we had a few things to do and wanted to kill some time. (P.S. It was dreadful, absolutely jam packed with clans and out of control kids). Ja loves Ben 10, Power Rangers. She used to watch a bit of Power Rangers but hardly ever Ben 10 but insists she wears when we venture out. We have tried girlie clothes and dresses but they get rejected.

This is our neighbour’s dog Café. He was bought for the youngest daughter as a present from her boyfriend. She now spends most of her time away from the house and her mum and dad don’t really look after him. I bath him, and we give him leftovers. He is a lovely dog, incredibly stupid but we like him. Ja was having her toast and she offered some to Café and he was more than happy to accept.

That is about all that has been going on of late. Looking forward to Christmas with my little girl.

Brunty