The day was bright and sunny so I decided to cycle towards the village to visit some elderly villagers whom I hadn’t seen for a few weeks. These were the people whom I met when I first arrived at the village years ago. They did help looking after my land for two years. I let them plant lemongrass on the land to earn some income. I also asked them to plant some banana plants for me so they could also earn some pocket money from selling bananas. They used to have many plots of land by they sold almost all the land to pay for their children’s education.
As I cycled along the dirt road, old memories about my experiences with local villagers came flooding back. How things had irreversibly changed during the years. This dirt road used to be surrounded by thick woods on both sides. The air was always very cool and the road was shaded from tall trees. Now there were three big houses with gardens making it all very neat and tidy. The jungle effects with birds and snakes were gone. We rarely saw any big snakes these days.
The local children have grown up, some had got a family with small baby. Some has become a soldier to have a more secured life. The one who liked to steal bananas had gone to work overseas to accumulate some money. The elderly grandparents continued to grow vegetables and fudging for their livelihood. Recently the nephew who went to university had some personal problem and couldn’t finish his degree. This nephew came back home to start a new life. As he’s a very good cook, the family helped him setting up a noodle stall by the main road. The grandmother had to help her nephew in the small restaurant everyday. So, I hardly see the couples by the river these days.
Older generations of villagers had very basic education so they wanted their children to have higher education and go to universities. They hoped that their children would have well paid jobs and more secured future. They didn’t want their children to work hard in the fields with unpredictable income. These villagers could never become rich with agriculture as a career. The middlemen always suppressed the prices and the government didn’t bother to protect these villagers. Villagers had no power to negotiate for better prices for their rice and other produce. These middlemen were big contributors to local politicians and controlled a large voting base during elections. So politicians wouldn’t want to make them dissatisfied for fear of losing their voting base in the provinces.
I was lucky to befriend these nice and honest villagers. I used to give small jobs to their nephews so they could earn pocket money. Nowadays these young children were all grownups and went to local schools and colleges. They have changed so much in a few years and they grew up too fast. Bad friends got them all addicted to ‘ya-ba’ or speed pills. Drug addict has become a serious and wide spread problem in most villages.
This reflected a growing social problems among villagers. Young children were left in the care of grandparents while parents went to work in other towns or abroad. Villagers could hardly find good jobs for a decent living in the countryside, so many had to work in Korea, Taiwan or in factories far away. The elderly grandparents couldn’t possibly cope with the changes of modern society and they didn’t have the skills to keep their nieces and nephews away from bad influences. Young children were very impressionable and followed the trend to be accepted by friends.
Once they became addicted to these ‘feel good’ pills, their bahaviours changed dramatically. They would become irresponsible and aggressive as they needed to get money from the elderly to buy more pills everyday. The effect on their education was very disruptive and many had to leave schools. So, these elderly couples had a tough time with their eldest nephew who threatened them if he couldn’t get any money. Sometimes he came to steal bananas from my garden. My gardener was quite annoyed as they were relatives and he should ask for permission instead to stealing behind her back.
I took pity on the grandparents so I never complained and told my gardener to let go. It’s better that he stole bananas from our garden. This would save lots of problems. Had he stollen from other people, he could have been arrested or shot at by the land’s owners. The parents of these youngsters went to work in other provinces for several years, when they came back home they could no longer connect with their children. The problems of drug trafficking were largely caused by the government officials who were involved with some drug lords and big bribes. So, total suppression of drug smuggling and trafficking became almost impossible. There would always be some officials who were willing to turn a blind eye for lucrative incentives.
I decided to visit the elderly villagers and to observe the new noodle shop. My neighbour told me that the noodles were very tasty and her American husband enjoyed the noodle a lot. It took me less than ten minutes to reach the noodle shop. I was quite impressed by the setting of wooden tables with ample space for parking cars and motorbikes. The tall trees and wooden structures made the whole place very rustic and natural. The small eatery looked over a large fish pond.
The elderly grandparents were quite surprised by my visit. They introduced me to their nephew whom I have never met before as he was at school in other town. I had a look around and was quite impressed by his skills in cooking and his politeness. Being half vegetarian, I told him that I couldn’t order his noodles though it looked so good. The menu was quite good creative with many choices of ingredients. The prices were standard. The noodle shop looked very cleaved and well organised. The grandmother helped in serving noodles at various tables. There’s also a lot of dish washing to be done.
I found the grandfather resting under the wooden house by the fish pond. He was still quite strong though he looked very skinny. I took a photo of his younger looking photo hanging on the wall. He was an active members in the special force fighting against the communist invasion from across the river. In the past, bullets would be flying across the river and people had to dig trenches for safety. Sometimes the communist soldiers would be firing heavy artillery across the river. Life was full of excitement in those days.
Fortunately the river has become very calm and peaceful during the last fifty years. People’s lifestyles have become rather slow and hopeful for better economic situation. Luckily, people could grow their own vegetables, raise some chickens and cows, and go fishing or go hunting in the woods. The changes in the big cities would eventually impact the lives of ordinary people in the near future. So many towns have been earmarked for becoming ‘smart cities’ while most villagers only had twelve years of schooling. Modern and sophisticated technologies would widen the digital divide between the rich and the poor. People with minimum education and skills would be left behind in ‘unsmart’ countryside.
However, the political struggles and situations in the country would slow down the implementation of smart city policy according to the WEF’s criteria. The governor of Bangkok had tried to implement bicycle lane in Bangkok with the result of terrible traffic jams throughout the connecting roads. This project had to be scrapped within two days. Commuters and drivers had criticised the authority for inept project which badly affected the whole city for two days. When the bigger part of the smart city project would be implemented without any public hearing and consultations, people would start making noises and protest. So, I hope that the majority of city dwellers wouldn’t accept the dictum “you will own nothing, but you will be happy” by the WEF.
Meanwhile I tried to be mindful and conscious of my thoughts and feelings as much as possible so that I could solve my own problems more effectively within the time constraint. Life has to go on everyday amidst changes and uncertainty on top on existing conditions and circumstances. More villagers told my gardener to ask me for some medicine for detoxing the effects of the Covid shots. Fortunately I had been able to acquire some ivermectin for myself and friends in need. So, I could share this gift with some poor villagers. I felt so good to be able to do some good karma as often as I could.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.