Sawankhalok
The holiday season, the dreaded Songkran of water drenching notoriety, approaches.
Elodie has taken to the bath on her own and with her sister!!??
Sawankhalok is brimming with people. The markets almost impassable. There are new motorbikes and pickups everywhere. The hidden wealth of this town never ceases to astonish. Two pieces of information. There is a shop for sale in the main road. This is quite unusual. K went to investigate. Emerges the whole of the main road, on both sides belongs to the State Railway of Thailand. So there are no freeholds only leases. It then emerges that all the land from the river to the main road belongs to the Water Authority….so not much freehold land in Sawankhalok. No wonder what we bought was expensive. Then. K talking to the owner of the ‘hardware stores’ which sells everything from screws to building steel..We turn over about 20m B a year ie about 300,000 GBP, which means they are taking a profit on sales of some 2500GBP or 165000 Baht a month. Average wage in Thailand? C 16000Baht a month!! At the most..that would include BKK; for the rest of the country less than 9000Baht a month.
Of all the places in the UK it reminds me of Shropshire. Fertile land explored, developed, used, industrialised over several centuries. It so happened they developed a ceramics industry here too, but I suppose Etruria was not so far from Ironbridge and Manafon, was it?
It has been a bizarre week. Both the computers broken. One sent off to Phitsanulok to be mended, the other binned. One in Phitsanulok apparently ‘stolen’ who knows in Thailand. However Acer Thailand produced a replacement in 48 hours, so here I sit!
We are having endless lorry loads of earth shipped in, at 5GBP a lorry-20 so far- to raise the height of the land above floodwater level. I call it the Canute operation. Cannot see it will work. But it might alleviate the flood damage. Alternatively it might deviate the water from its natural path into the house!
Reminds me of all those woodcuts of busy Japanese altering the face of the earth. However here we live and to avoid inundation we need to do it
Elodie has discovered glue, paper, glitter, shapes, scissors etc. So the house is awash with off cuts, sticky floors and glit!
I went down the market and got some pig’s hearts and courgettes which will make decent grilled hors d’oeuvres. Then there is more gazpacho and what is known as Pak Nam Prik ie. Boiled, steamed or grilled vegetables and a decently fiery dipping sauce.
K came back with two sheepskins which she tells me she is putting in the car-well that will help to counter the ferocious air conditioning
We have just been doing the final costings of the ‘sala’ !:
4m x 3m building 3m high
4 pillars
Steel Roof, insulated with heat repelling foil and ‘provencal’ cement tiles
Bargeboards, drainpipes and gutters
Raised 1m Cement Floor with Ceramic Duragres Tiles
Cost including all materials and labor and decorators finish and that is 3 persons for 10 days and 10 hour days too!: c 650GBP
What would that have cost in the UK? 10,000GBP? Think of the labor cost, never mind the materials-best quality cement , sand tiles and steel etc.
Oh and we did not need planning permission or to have the attentive ‘services; of ‘Building regulations officers’!
Though with the house the ‘Council’ will draw up the plans. 100GBP for full architectural drawings, elevations, specifications , and whatever other ‘permits’ might be needed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,expected April28..and then on our way!!
