%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  This is my blog & my hope, writing daily will help me see my progress and log supporters. |
  |
| March 7, 2025, marked exactly one year since I relocated to Thailand. It has been a good experience so far. There have been some ups and downs, but overall, I've enjoyed the last twelve months and look forward to many more years here in the land of smiles. Another, even more important occurrence/celebration, was marking one year since I last used methamphetamines. Despite the timeframe, I still consider myself to be in recovery. I no longer suffer from cravings and only occasionally experience drug dreams that haunt me at night. The question of whether I could remain drug-free if I were to return to Australia is one I am not planning on testing...and that leads me to my next concern. On the last day before Nada and I were due to return to Hua Hin from Suwannaphum, I decided to buy a few beers for the workers renovating Nada's house. It is customary towards the end of a job for the owners to 'shout' a few drinks to show appreciation for their efforts. Life in rural Thailand is not immune from addiction, in fact, because of the isolation and with little else to do, alcohol consumption is rampant, especially among Thai men. It was only the second time I had consumed alcohol since relocating to Thailand. Nobody got drunk, and my generosity also served a second purpose by helping make the Farang less of an outsider. At this time, there was an old lady in the village who was dying, and Nada and her sister left me with the workers to pay their respects and say goodbye. This was my first experience being alone with Thais without Nada to translate for me. While Nada was away, I just sat and allowed all of them to talk among themselves. Translation Apps are good for short conversations, and there was one guy in the crew who attempted to use his phone to speak with me. He was a lot more excitable than his friends, and earlier, I had noticed him singing and dancing as he worked. Then, as we spoke, I noticed his movements were jerky and just how hyped up he was. I suspect he was under the influence of Yaba...methamphetamine pills mixed with caffeine. Twice in four days whilst we traversed from our hotel to the village, we saw police checkpoints that were testing for drugs and alcohol. Yaba is a huge problem throughout Thailand, but in particular up north, where millions of tablets are smuggled across the Myanmar border. Corruption is rife, and the vast amounts of money that are made from the sale of substances like meth and Yaba make importations almost impossible to stop. If I were to move to Nada's village, it wouldn't be long before someone offered me drugs. And although I hope I would be strong enough to say no, I think it would be wise to avoid any situation where drugs are involved. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
