Årskrönika av en god vän
"Yet another year is about to become history according to the Gregorian calendar and it may be time to reflect a bit over the last 12 months of events and to take out the crystal ball so to see, what is in the plans for next year – I do have a crystal ball on my desk at home for the purpose of being able to predict events and it is as helpful as dirty laundry.
Hua Hin has often been referred to as “ a place far from worries “. Hua Hin is a quiet, generally peaceful town with pleasant, if not stunning views to the sea and to the mountains – only few souls are lost here. Of course, there are a lot to worry about in Hua Hin and in this world generally , which world surely is full of lost souls, politicians and other subjects craving for power, money and status, but for us ordinary folks, we stay away from worries as best as we can.
Therefore, as much as we are painfully aware, some of you reading this report are facing adverse circumstances and our thoughts are with you more often than you may think, then we dare dedicating the theme of this report to the basic concept, that “Life is Beautiful” and life is there to be lived.
Let it be said at the outset of this Report, that Nee and I are having the time of our life together and with our many good friends here in Hua Hin, from other parts of the country and abroad – we are thankful for the good life and the great experience you offer us with your friendship. We are privileged and thankful for the circumstances we are living in and for the good time we enjoy together and with you.
One of the main worries at the present time at our Villa Pillo in Baan Ing Phu is how long it will take our tree fence around the land plot to grow high enough so to completely cover our neighbors terrace and their view to our terrace. As you will realize, we have got a real problem to deal with here and we call for your unconditional sympathy in dealing with this matter.
On the subject of neighborhood, then it must be noted, that we have massive amounts of bullshit next door stemming from the buffalos, which have their living quarters just beneath our plot – the smell coming from this little buffalo pitch is unbelievable strong. The monks, who manage the land next door, bring the buffalos to grass down the road and I tell you what, our little road leading to the main road towards Hua Hin cannot be called anything else than “ Bullshit Road”, as it is full of their fertilizer.
The more civilized reader, of whom there may be some, will by now have said, that the writer is lost and this Report has got nothing to do with a Christmas and a New Year’s letter. I object completely with such analysis– this is the perfect time to let family and friends understand ones problems and real concerns.
I find the political Western world is a bit lost in its obsessed rightness feeling about all and everything it does and stands for. Then far from worries does win by a big margin, sorry to report this to all of you, who live your lives in the West. A degree of anger may turn up, when you hear how fast these countries are to condemn things they have no clue about. Thailand is safer today than at any time in the last decade, thanks to a military Coup, so brilliantly implemented, that the Italian Mafioso are pure amateurs in comparison. The Coup has brought peace, stability and sanity to this country’s political process. Having said that, the politics of the previous Government have and continue to be hurting the economics of the country and not at least the tourist businesses, which essentially is the business we are in – C’est la Vie.
You from the West, will be right in saying, that here is a long way to go for the local society to become qualified as a democratic country ruled by the laws and not by corrupt politicians and other corrupt local authorities and all that – things are improving and we find, that we are in good hands for the time being. However, to democratize a country with little or almost no democratic experience and a country in which corruption is more widespread than good deeds, is a long and difficult process also taking into account a very diversified electorate, both in terms of educational background and economically, but the process has to start somewhere."
Gott Nytt År!
