(Part 15)
I’ve posted a fair bit about Thailand’s culture, its social peculiarities, food, and so on, but I have not mentioned much about me, probably because I am not what this series is about, at least in general terms, however… Recently, more people have asked me, “How are you?” or “How are you doing?” With that in mind, I write the following.
Firstly, for those who don’t know me so well, I am no Spring Chicken. Some may say I’m middle-aged, which would be nice, but I doubt if I shall live until I am 132.
Some years ago, I broke some bones in right my foot. They have never healed correctly and often cause me pain when walking. The doctors advised that surgery could leave me worse off and allowing things to remain as they are is best. So, I’ve let my foot mend as far as it can naturally.
When I am cold my foot often pains me. Causing me to limp. The limp changes my gate which, in turn, hurts my knees as my weight is then abnormally distributed. This affects my left hip as it takes more strain, and so to my lower back.
Another infirmity is my right shoulder. My shoulder blade is misaligned. This is due to repetitive strain through the many years I worked as a chef and restaurateur.
I have the initial aches and creaks of Rheumatoid arthritis. Some days when my wrists are extremely painful, and my fingers hurt. I find it difficult to grip, to undo a screw top jar or bottle, or simply to lift something. Even holding a paintbrush, or a vacuum cleaner hose for a few minutes can become exceedingly uncomfortable.
Before I left Britain, all these ailments were daily nagging pains. A constant in my life. I became accustomed to living with them.
I left England, after being back ‘home’ for three months, in June 2023. The entire year up until that point had been grey, damp, and miserable. The weather forecast that morning said it was going to be overcast, with light showers and a high of 14°.
Twenty-two hours after closing the front door of my house in Yorkshire, I was baking in 34° of glorious, wall-to-wall, sky-to-sea sunshine.
Initially, I stayed at a wonderful small boutique hotel, The Nova Gold, in the Hollywood Klang area of Pattaya, which is only a short ten-minute walk to the madness of central Pattaya’s bars, shops, restaurants, and nightlife, and about fifteen minutes to Beach Road/Pattaya Beach.
Once settled into my room, which was of generous proportions, and had scouted out the swimming pool and gym, I took my first walk down to the beach, stopping for a Latte Yen (an iced Latte,) on the way.
I limped. My knees, particularly my left knee hurt. But I knew, in a day or two, those pains would start to abate, as they had on my previous visits to Thailand.
You see, the constant heat soaks into your body, not just your skin, but your muscles, tendons, and bones. It saturates into your very core. As it does, the muscular and skeletal pains fade, eventually waning away. (Then there are the benefits of the sunlight itself; It helps promote the quality of sleep, increases the production of vitamin D, and boosts Serotonin and Melatonin production. Research shows plentiful sunlight helps protect you from type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, colon, breast, and prostate cancers, along with non-Hodgkin lymphoma).
This allows one to walk further and more frequently, which in turn stretches, loosens, relaxes, and strengthens the body. Soon swimming, walking along sandy beaches, and even a short stint in the gym become a pleasure, not a torturous activity.
The beautiful weather is one reason I love it here.
My body is now a comfortable place to live. I am no longer in constant pain from my injuries. Even the nagging tenderness, the form of discomfort we brush aside and conclude are simply inevitable symptoms of ageing have long gone.
I have not taken any form of painkilling medicine for several months. I have no call for them now.
But this is only one part of my well-being, there is more… read on…
Food.
I mentioned above that I was a chef.
I was a chef who advocated good, wholesome, natural food. Food made from scratch, from produce, not from products. I preach that red meat is healthy, as is real butter, along with lard, and saturated fats, and these things are not detrimental to health. (The reason is simple. Ultra-processed foodstuffs are unnatural, they are either chemicals or processed with derivatives of the Petrochemical industry. They are slowly poisoning you. Their effect is more devastating than Smoking and Alcohol abuse combined. They are insidious, stealthy, crippling, incapacitating poisons).
While some foods in Thailand are prepacked processed foods, they are the minority of the diet for Thais and most foreigners who are residents here. Food in Thailand is not controlled by major supermarkets. Most are produced and sold by local people, in markets, from small stores, and shophouses. The vast majority is made from fresh produce which is prepared from scratch and cooked to order.
Eating this way has had an amazing effect on my ‘gut health’; an area many medical professionals claim to be the most important for overall well-being. I must agree. I have never felt better than I do now after eating this way for such an extended period.
Below are other things which have majorly impacted my well-being.
Medical care is good. Hospitals (both government-run and private enterprises) abound, as do Clinics, Optometrists, Dentists, Masseurs, and chiropractors. Health care is not free. However, the government facilities are heavily subsidised and therefore extremely affordable. Most government hospitals are simply walk-in and be-treated establishments. They are efficient and waiting times, from registration or triage to treatment can be counted in minutes rather than hours.
Socially, the Thais have a wonderful outlook on life. Family and community are major parts of every Thais life. In this village alone there seems to be an event or party, religious (Buddhist), or private (still open to the entire village), official calendar (New Year, Chinese New Year, Christmas, etc.), or celebratory festival, every week or two.
While this village has a central area, where the larger events are held, most parties… the Thais love to party, are held in the street, outside of people’s homes. Marquees are set up, and music blares out from 4 am until late, possibly 4 am the following day. People of the community gather, come and go, bring food and drink and… well… socialise. No red tape, no local authority interference, no special (and costly) licences, just genuine community doing general community things… real social community.
When not hosting an event, this area is used for activities, badminton, for teaching traditional Thai dance, aerobic exercise, young children’s five-a-side football, and many more. To one side is a street gym, like those that one may see along a beach. Meetings are held here on occasion too.
Halfway along the street in which I live is a fenced off area. This is a small, all-weather football/hockey/basketball pitch. The village teenagers use this every single day, older folk once or twice a week. It is floodlit, a necessity here as it gets dark around 19:00 hrs. all year around.
Nowhere do you find drugs paraphernalia or discarded alcohol containers. No needles, wrap packages, no cans or glass bottles. The facilities are respected by all, young, teens, and adults alike.
This sense of community has a wonderful benefit to mental wellbeing, mine included. This is just one aspect of the cultural difference I am experiencing.
I could mention several other areas which have had an impact on my health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally, but I think I have covered enough items for one post.
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Thank you for reading My Thailand Oddity – part 15
Keep Happy, Paul
Wild Geese 