TBT: Bangkok 1976

We arrived in Thailand in January 1976. A culture and climate change to be sure after 7 years in England and several months in Maryland for a fall season.  We soon found a house to rent in Bangkok and there were many things to surprise us there.

In the backyard was a hammock or perhaps we bought it, I don't recall. (This is one of the reasons to scrap the daily, daily! But then who knew about scrapbooking back then, over there.) In any case, I had never been in a hammock but my then husband gave it a go first. Yes, he flipped out of it.

Then little Iain and I had our turns. These two shots were scanned at a different time and reflect the true colors of the tropical country, including a hazy hazy sky. Iain was engulfed by this hammock

My mother who took these photos said that "Uncle Jack says that your stance, Maureen is typically Nana." Who knows, maybe I was ahead of the curve with the ubiquitous hand-on-hip pose done by teenage girls these days.

 Me? well this was my one and only time in the hammock. It also rotted quite very quickly in the tropical weather.   Yes, I had a hard life with a little blond 'hammock boy' to fan me in the heat.

TBT: 1976 Children in Pattaya

In addition to my daughter, my one of my sons is in this photo with a friend. Our life was such that we were able to rent a beach house in addition to our regular home in Bangkok. While the drive to Pattaya could be hectic and dangerous, the 5 of us plus our maid and her husband made this trek every month. My husband could sit back and let our maid's husband drive as he was skilled in driving and taking care of our Peugeot 504. It was a win-win situation for all of us.

Pattaya still had areas that were quiet and family oriented. It was also still a place where Thai families went. As much as I still love the beach, these years cured me of a desire to go to the beach in the summer. Hot and humid and I do not play well together. Furthermore, I still have various bits of skin damage from those days, the days before sunblock. We didn't know what we didn't know.