Cold Days

It is really cold today and we have all had to wrap up warm...one thing we expect to do in England.. though not in Thailand a hot tropical countries.

There were not many really cold days, mostly cold mornings. There would be that hazy cold air which often comes in hot countries on cold mornings, the smell of wood burning and desire to wrapp up warm with what ever you can find.

We would wake up and feel the cold seeping through the walls of the house. Our house was made of wood, nailed in ship lap style. On the inside you could still feel the roughness of the wood and sometimes see through a wood knot to the world outside.
Most of the time it was great to have these little cracks because the cooling air would come through and shift the hot air to somewhere else. The front of the house had big tall doors which folded back to allow the air in and as part of the culture in Thailand, to have an open house.
On a cold morning all you wanted to do was hibernate until it got warmer. On mornings like that we would only oen one door until it had warmed up enough, usually aroung 9:30-10:00.

From November to February was cold season. Most of the time during the day it was a nice warm temperature and we went around in t-shirts and shorts but when it started to get dark around 7 pm the air became quite cool and in the morning we could sometimes see our breathe.
It was such a novelty to have to wear jumpers, thick sock and wander round with blankets draped around our shoulders.

In the evening, mum would light a fire on the charcaol cooker on the lower porch and put this big blackened kettle on it. This water would be for our bath. She put it in a big tin washtub in our bathroom and we could have a warm bath. I think if there was any water left over she would make a cup of tea with it!!! We did have a gas cooker but I think it was easier to heat the bath water on the charcoal stove as it got in the way of her cooking dinner.

Ovaltine and Milo are another memory I have of cold days. It was the only hot chocolate you could get. Whenever we were travelling and wanted a warm drink we would buy ovaltine or milo depending on what the shop sold. Ovaltine was in orange tins and milo green tins. The thai make it up with hot water and an inch thick layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom....children's idea of heaven...horribly sweet!!!

Rain

Whenever it rains and I smell that unmistakable moist earth smell it draws me right back to my childhood. When we moved up into the mountains, I was very young, about five, our house had a woven leaf roof. I never liked this roof because when it rained hard it used to leak.

I remember one night in particular. There had been a ceremony in the village where we lived 'a rain dance' because there had been no rain for ages. Well that night there was rain. The sky went an inky black and the thunder was deafening. It was raining so hard that our poor roof had sprung several leaks and was pouring into the store room (under the gutter which was not great planning on the part of the previous owner) As neither me or my brother could sleep my mum had ropes us in to empty the containers dotted around the house collecting water.

I vividly remember going out on the veranda of the house (which was a good six feet off the ground) to empty the container over the side. Water was pouring off the roof like a waterfall, which was quite scary for a 5 year old! Suddenly across the yard and in the yard opposite there was a deafening noise and a blinding light of a lightening bolt. It scared me so much that I threw the whole container of water over me. I remember being really cross because they were my favourite 'moon and star ' pyjamas!

No, my most fond memories of rain were in the new house, which had a type of tiled asbestos roof. When the rain fell it was a gentle drumming noise.
The wind used to blow through the house bringing the scent of water in the air. then we would wait with anticipation. Sometimes we could even see the rain coming along the path. One time it rained on one side of the house but not the other.
If it rained hard during the day, we would put on our 'rain clothes' and go out in the warm rain. Sometimes we would put the tin wash basins on our heads and run up and down under the water as it poured off the roof. This was deafening and great fun.
The favorite game was to slide down the slope by our house in the mud. The more we slid the more slippery it became and the faster we would go. We would get covered from head to toe in red, brown mud but we did have fun!!
Then at night I would put my head down on my pillow and go to sleep to the gentle drumming on the roof.
Even now I love that gentle, therapeutic sound, the smell of rain on the wind, and thunder streaking the skies.