The three of us, Peter, Tatjana, and Chester, took a trip to Bangkok and we drove all the way there with our own car. Its quite a long ride at about 800 kilometers (500 miles) and 11 hours of driving if you don’t stop for bathroom breaks or to eat. In other words, add a few hours and you will have a more accurate time. And since we were doing this during our vacation we decided to take it slow and do it in stages. One of the nice parts during this trip was that all three of us now have driver’s licenses and we could therefore take turns driving which lightened the load for everyone.

Our first stop was in Phitsanulok at a place we have stopped at before and has now become one of our planned stops on pretty much every trip to the south. Our next stop was in Lopburi where we visited distant relatives and then we went on to Bangkok where we stayed at the YWAM National Office. This is where Chester worked and lived near for a year. In Bangkok there is an IKEA that we wanted to go to to do some shopping. It is funny that for a minute you can imagine that you are back in the Netherlands.

The next day we picked up grandpa and grandma van Tongeren, Tatjana’s parents, from the airport. They flew in for a vacation with us. Chester got to see people he knows in Bangkok and hangout with his friend. All in all it was a great time!

    

We, Peter, Tatjana, and Chester, are currently in a season of goodbyes. People we have known for a long time, since we first moved here. People who supported us during the hard times when we first arrived. People who were here for us through thick and thin. People who were first the boys’ babysitters and is now Chester’s boss. We are going to have to say goodbye to two very sweet couples.
One of the couples is older than Peter and I and has worked in Thailand for 16 years with the Akha hilltribe and as teacher at the International School where our boys studied. They are going back to take care of their parents and to be closer to their kids. They also feel that the work they started with the Akha hilltribes has progressed to the point where a foreigner is no longer necessary to run things. The Akha should now be able to continue on their own.
The other couple is a bit younger than us and was just married when they came here 10 years ago, and has since had a son. Together with their little boy they are going to continue the work they started here on a bigger scale elsewhere more centrally located.
Saying goodbye is a painful business but it also makes you think about what those people mean to you and often that is much more than you initially thought. It is awesome to be able to tell the other person how much they have meant to you over the years and thus encourage them. We have been blessed enormously with these people in our lives the past 10 years.

In Thailand you can only drive a car if you have a license. Foreigners can do this in 1 of 2 ways. The first way is to get an international driver’s license in the country of origin and then you can get it switched here for a Thai license. The second way is to go take the written and driving tests and if you pass they give you a license.
Because the system here doesnt work the same as in the Netherlands, Chester decided to take driving lessons in the Netherlands. Once he was back in Thailand he went and took his written test, which he passed, and had to do the driving test on a dedicated course. You only have to pass the driving test in 3 areas. When you start the test you have to drive up to a line and park it a certain distance from the curb and line to pass. Next up you have to drive forward between 2 rows of sticks and then backwards out of there again. Then you drive around a bit until you get to the parking test. If you do all of that correctly the first time around then you pass but if you don’t drive up close enough to the curb in the first part then you fail and they use you, while laughing, as a bad example for the other candidates. You are told to come back three days later to redo the parts that you failed.
After that there is still a bit of paperwork and you have to pay. Then you are finally the proud owner of a driver’s license.
It’s great to finally be allowed to drive!

We wish you a very Happy New Year!!!!

We have been in Thailand for 9 years now and because this is a very special milestone we have made a video for you. To watch that video please click on the image below.