Bangkok Week 188 — Mika's Photos

We're off to Lopburi province for our Habitat for Humanity build! Our planned departure time was 7am. Some people arrived late. Then a downpour hit. So a 7:30 start wasn't that bad, considering.

Is Tak dressed like a ninja, or a true laborer?

At the site, after a 3-hour drive -- the extended family whose houses we were rebuilding had lots of cute dogs.

Robert is puzzled... as to why Thomas came dressed for a day at the office!

Got our work gloves! Now we're set.

Getting a briefing from the Habitat for Humanity staff. Look at the house in the background. See the water line at the height of the top of the front door?

The head of the sub-district greets our group.

And Pam (our head Partner) gives an intro, too.

Having the shade of that tent was a lifesaver!

Our donations will go to the building of a new house on this plot, too. But we didn't have time to start the construction ourselves.

Plenty of hardhats for those working under overhead work.

Our safety briefing.

And some warm-up exercises. Of questionable utility.

Also part of the warm-up: massage the back of the person in front of you!

The elevated row houses that our donations paid for. It will be three individual units for an extended family.

This is what I did all day: shovel gravel into buckets, for spreading evenly throughout the underside of the house.

This little boy was very hard-working. He helped us all day, by returning the empty buckets to the shovelers.

We were sweating buckets after only 30 minutes. Good thing we had so much water on hand.

My fellow dedicated shovelers, Keaw and Robert (also an MIT alum).

There was another group who had it worse-off than us: digging holes for septic tanks.

Working or chatting?

Time for a well-deserved lunch break.

The young men relax as they bathe in their sweat.

Pooped and hot -- but the ice on the head was quite refreshing.

The men in black relax.

Pui and I can still stand! Barely.

A scrumptious lunch, prepared by local villagers.

And lots of fresh local fruit, too.

Our support staff came in matching stylish grey.

The interior walls of the houses are made with these pre-fabricated fiber cement boards. The local laborers who were also on site were able to carry these sheets single-handedly...

...but we needed four people per sheet.

Giant trucks carrying sugar cane kept whizzing by.

A local ice cream vendor made a killing when he stopped by our site.

Matt (also an MIT alum) was really intrigued by the ice cream truck. He'd never seen one before! The kids were probably really confused.

Ice cream break for all!

This dog is wondering who all these people are at his home!

While we were taking our break, our little helper decided he'd resume where we left off.

Both are pooped.

Upstairs, some more intellectually-stimulating work was going on.

Ali (our chief organizer) was attaching walls to the steel frame.

Elsewhere, there was a much larger screwing crew.

The septic tank diggers are still going... but now, I think it's only the laborers left.

Ble, our IT guy, gets to put more than just his fingertips to use.

What a beautiful view they'll have from their new home!

Luckily, none of these hats were actually needed.

The family had recently had puppies! They were only 10 days old.

The mum was white, and the dad was black. Seems like it was a litter of 4.

This cutie got a mix of his parents' coloring.

These two don't look related!

Can I bring one back as a souvenir?

Before we left, the Habitat staff wanted a picture taken with my colleague -- who's a former soap opera actor.

More beautiful rice fields.

Could live up here! Reminds me of Bali.

The life of the consultant: always with a suitcase.

Still with energy to smile!

We were some of the only few who stayed awake on the drive back.

The rest of the bus was fast asleep.

The birthday boy gets a new aluminum Swatch for his 32nd.

On Saturday, we were invited to stay the night at a new hotel on the other side of the river. The ferries depart from a river-side temple.

The ferry is the easiest way for motorcyclists to cross the river.

Lots of students use it, too.

Here's one of the mighty Chao Phraya tug boats -- he's resting up before his next long haul.

Standing room only on this popular boat.

On the other side of the river, cyclists queue up for the next ferry's arrival. See the refinery in the background?

The ferry dock on the other side of the river is also at a temple. This one has a jolly buddha.

Here we are: Bangkok Tree House. It opens officially sometime in February.

Since it hasn't officially opened yet, we're the only guests this Saturday night. Still, they have freshly-made local juice for us.

We stayed in a "Tree Top Nest" -- a 2-story unit with lounge chairs on the roof.

The rooms have one of 4 natural themes. We got... an ant room!

It's a very cute idea, if you're not creeped out.

The ants are hand-made in Chiang Mai.

The hotel makes good use of mirrors throughout its property. This mirror is also the doorway at the top of the 2nd floor.

The landing at the top of the stairs is solid glass -- and the river is right below your feet (at high tide, anyway).

This may just be the most natural environment you've ever peed in. Don't look down!

The shower (on the ground floor) can open to the outside. They told us -- open or shut, whichever you prefer!

Here's a view of the 4-person family next -- with deluxe bathroom for all the world to see! (He'll put up curtains soon.)

This was going to be a tree house, until the tree fell down in a storm! So for now, it's a yoga area.

Here's the main lobby and restaurant (above). The bamboo hanging from the ceiling is leftover scaffolding.

The walkways throughout the property are lined with these mini-gardens -- which grow the restaurant's herbs.

Here you can get a sense for the maze-like feel of the property. It'll look nice once it's grown in a bit more.

Each unit has a rooftop bed for stargazing at night.

Here you can see his wind turbine. He also has solar panels, that heat all the warm water.

See all the herbs growing at the edge of the walkways?

This is the staircase leading up to the entrance of the Family Nest.

Vines will soon be grown on the bamboo siding.

Here's the famous swimming pond -- still a work in progress.

Hmm. Not sure if it's ready to swim in yet. (He's testing if the plans really keep the bacteria in the water at safe levels. Ultimately, the plants will only be grown in half the pool.)

They have bikes for their guests to borrow. We're off to the floating market!

These elevated walkways are a bit precarious. Don't loose your balance, or you'll end up in the mangroves!

Unfortunately, the floating market was wrapping up for the day. Here, a seller is paddling home.

This noodle vendor is still open for business. The market's not at all catered toward tourists, which is refreshing.

Um, excuse me.

You can also walk or bike alongside the river. (This is not the Chao Praya, by the way, but a smaller canal that winds through the area.)

We found a more major rode, and went for a peddle.

Here we go, through the jungle and back to the hotel. You can see how they've recently elevated all the walkways by an additional couple feet.

Lots of fruit trees (of many varieties) lined the paths.

A mesmerizing palm.

At night, we tried out the constellation app on the iPad. Success! It tells us that we see the moon!

The next morning, a family who lives in the house next door comes out to pick fresh coconuts for breakfast.

A giant lizard is out bathing in the morning sun.

We go for a stroll along the river. Quite scenic!

And wait -- is that a giant cruise ship looming on the horizon? Why yes!

A romantic breakfast table for two, overlooking the Chao Phraya.

Lots of fresh local fruit and juice!

That's a veggie sausage next to the omelette and toast.

Joey, the owner of the hotel, shows us the solar cooker they just bought, which will be used for BBQing at lunch time.

Mid-week in Jakarta, we had a team dinner. This is the biggest lobster I've never eaten!

Thursday is Batik Shirt Day at our client... so we're joining in. It's definitely a new look for me!