My Thai Farm Life

I haven't dropped off the face of the planet.  I've just dropped out of internet access.  My usb mobile broadband doesn't want to play with my Thai sim card, but thankfully there are internet cafes.

After visiting some Thai cities, I'm now in the countryside staying at a permaculture farm.  The farm is just a little ways outside of Chiang Mai.  It's an easy ride back into the city if I want, but still far away.  I'm the only one at the farm at the moment.  The owner comes out every couple days to work on things and hang out.  But things are taken slowly as per instructions.  I have lots of time to do what I want.  The pace of life here is about perfect.  I haven't run out of things to do and it doesn't look like that will ever be a problem.

A field on the way to the farm.

At the farm I have electricity and running water.  I have a refrigerator and fans.  There are hammocks set up outside.  I have a mosquito net to keep the vampires and other scaries away at night.  I also have a mountain bike I can use, which is awesome for exploring the area.  The toilets are new, but don't flush.  You have to use a bucket of water to do the flushing manually.  The water temperature depends on how hot it was that day.  I get hot showers when it's hottest and cold showers when it's coldest.

There's a bird that I call the crosswalk bird because it makes a regular beeping sound like a crosswalk telling you it's okay to cross.  I hear that one during the day and get disoriented.  The neighbors seem friendly.  This morning a grandma was working on some banana trees as I was passing by.  She offered me a banana heart she just cut down.  I'm not sure if that means we're engaged or something, but I guess I'll find out if someone else is under my mosquito net tonight.

Lately I have been waking up at sunrise or even a bit before.  The sun and ambient noises (feral things and neighbors' loud speakers) are enough to wake me.  Since the rainy season hasn't arrived yet, my job is to help the plants fight off the oppresive heat.  There is an electric pump that sits in a fishy pond and I hook up hoses to that and then spray water on the plants before the sun really gets brutal.  If the water falls while it's still cool it might soak into the ground instead of evaporate instantly.  After that I have time to make breakfast.  They provide me with food here, so I just need to think about what I want to eat and make it.  There is lots of fruit (especially mangos) available so I eat that often.

If the owners are coming out to the land they might arrive around this time.  We work on special projects when they come out.  The latest project is getting an outdoors kitchen set up.  We finished installing a sink.  There will also obviously be farming related work to do.  The farm is still starting out so most of the plants are not established yet.  We weed or plant new things, but planting has been put on hold until the rain starts.

These mangoes want to turn yellow so I can eat them and the fire ants on the trees want to eat me.

But if the owners don't come out then I mostly have the rest of the day to myself.  I have a couple other projects I could work on, but they don't take long and there's no deadline I'm working against and they aren't strictly required anyways.  So I might read one of the books I have.  By this time it's time to sit in front of a fan.  I only got them out here recently, so they are a welcome addition.  Another fun thing to do is to ride around the country roads.  Drivers are few and courteous.  People love to smile when you pass them.  The nice thing about the countryside here is that all over the place people set up little shops in front of their homes.  It's not always apparent what each place is.  Riding slowly and checking things out is a good way to learn about the place.  Everything I need is within a short bicycle distance.  Internet cafe, purified water machine, restaurants, markets, barber, fresh produce.

Once the sun gets low I like to be back at the house.  I'll make some dinner from the food I have available.  I make lots of stir fries and fried rice dishes.  Fresh fruit for dessert.  Then I'll sit in front of the fan and either read or check out some of the things I downloaded from the internet cafe.  I go to bed early.  And as I dream away another wonderful day I'll hear through my sleep the large lizard on the other side of the wall that screams with rage like it's trying to be heard over grandpa's TV at volume 20.

Getting Around Penang

Public Transportation

One of the many reasons I choose to come to Penang is because they have a modern bus system.  The bus system is called Rapid Penang and it is pretty well connected.  You can get from one mode of transport to another using the bus.  Regular fees range from RM1.40 to RM4 for rides depending on distance.  The fatal flaw of the system currently is that the drivers need to make that determination when you get on the bus and you tell them where you want to go.  It leaves room for human error, which unfortunately I've seen.  They seem to be in a long period of testing a new tap in tap out electronic fare system, but it's not fully operational yet.  The other problem aside from your driver having to accurately calculate how much it should cost to go from here to there is that if "there" is not a tourist location or main stop then you might have a hard time describing where you want to get off.  I often had to tell the driver I wanted to get off at "the sleeping Buddha" even though it's a mile past where I actually get off the bus.

You pay in cash and get a receipt for your payment.  They can't give change, so you always need small bills and coins if you'll be taking the bus.  Sometimes checkers will come on the bus and make sure everyone has a ticket.  I guess they're trying to prevent cheating.

It's possible to buy bus passes.  Unless you're doing a lot of bussing around, it might not be worth it.  You can get a month pass for RM90 plus you have to fill out an application and give them a passport photo and passport copy.  You can also buy weekly passes for RM30 without the extra requirements.  Because it was less hassle I got the weekly passes a couple times.  The nice thing about the passes is I can get on whatever bus I want and not have to worry about the extra expense because it's already been paid for.  It's also easier because you don't have to try to explain to the driver where you want to go.  You just show your card and get on.

Walking

In Penang I probably walk a minimum of two miles per day.  A normal day might have me walk double that.  A long day might be around six miles.  I can't say for sure, since I don't actually measure my walking, but Google Maps seems to think that's fair.

Penang is a lot like some of the other countries I've visited in regards to walking.  There are sidewalks in places, but they aren't always cleared for pedestrians.  It's inevitable that sometimes you'll need to walk in the street.  Malaysia is a very car-centric country, so you will find yourself competing for space with cars.  It can be hard to cross the street sometimes.  It's common that intersections will have turning lanes without stop lights, so it seems there is an almost constant flow of traffic.  You have to be alert and quick to cross.  The constant, fast moving traffic can be stressful to navigate on foot.  I was happy to learn that in a select few spots there are crosswalks where you can press the button and the traffic stops.  It's an amazing sense of power to stop the unstoppable flow of traffic.  Like you were stopping the tide from coming in.  :)  Oddly though, the crosswalks are less common at intersections.

Sometimes during the day the sun wants to kill you and pound you into the ground.  But it's only for a short time and not really that bad.  Put some sunscreen on, drink some water, and keep walking.  Penang is quite urban, so it's not likely that you'll be out of walking distance of food or necessities anywhere on the east or north side of the island.  Or at the very least a bus stop that can take you to them.

Biking

I haven't biked in Penang.  I think the amount and unpredictability of traffic on the road would make it something you should undertake carefully.  If you have a good route then you can find quieter streets.  The west side of the island is a calm place which would be great for riding.  The center of the island is mountainous/hilly so you would definitely get a work out if you rode around that, but the east and west sides of the island are pretty flat.  On Sundays they close off a portion of a couple streets in the downtown area, but it's more gimmicky than an actual place for riding.  I'm glad they're trying to raise awareness though.

I don't see many people riding bikes.  Occasionally you will see someone ride past on a pre-war era bike.  You also less occasionally see a foreign bike tourist roll past laden with gear.  Or a local expat who is out riding for sport.  And sometimes you may find a group biking together for fun or whatever they are doing.  Biking may make a comeback in Penang, but I guess it's a ways off still.  If I could find a cheap place on the rural west side of the island I would totally move there and get a bike.