Children having their photos taken with a thunderbird...I mean pilot. Deaw's niece is wearing the red cap.
The second Saturday of January each year is Children's Day in Thailand. It's a great day which is entirely devoted to children and something that we don't have in the UK, although some would argue that Christmas is for children ( I entirely disagree by the way).
Unlike Christmas, Children's Day is not a home based festival but one that takes place in the communities around Thailand. It's not so much about gifts but about activities for children, although there are a good number of freebies to be had if you're a kid. Each village/town will put on a morning of games, food and festivities for any children to attend and the activities are free. Last year I was hob-knobbing with three Jack Sparrows in Klang Dong's community hall, but this year was to see me further afield.
Just as Christmas can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, so can Children's Day. Deaw's cousin is a secret plane spotter and, being a recovering one myself, I was unable to resist the invitation to tag along to the Royal Thai Air force's air show in Nakhon Ratchisima. It was an amazing morning, not only for the airshow itself, but for the atmosphere too. The airshow was perfectly planned and had short displays beginning with paragliders, moving through a range of aircraft and culminating with F16s. The displays were short but perfect for the attention span of your average 3 year old. There was little waiting around either, no sooner had one aircraft disappeared out of the sky (hopefully landing safely somewhere) than a different one had appeared. Deaw's nieces aged 13, 5 and 2 were all enthralled, as were his 40 year old cousin and 60 year old father....and of course ..moi!
If you got neck ache from looking up then you could take a break and go and meet pilots, have your photo taken with them (no, that wasn't me you saw in the queue..honestly) or get yourself an F16 tattoo...a temporary one that is.
If for a moment you forgot you were in Thailand, you only had to look around at the mass of stalls selling cheap, delicious food or see the darts bouncing off the 'burst a balloon stall' and hitting passers by, to know you weren't in the West.
And where was Deaw during all this? Well, he was with guests in the jungle doing jungly things...which you can be doing too if you come and visit us :0)
Unlike Christmas, Children's Day is not a home based festival but one that takes place in the communities around Thailand. It's not so much about gifts but about activities for children, although there are a good number of freebies to be had if you're a kid. Each village/town will put on a morning of games, food and festivities for any children to attend and the activities are free. Last year I was hob-knobbing with three Jack Sparrows in Klang Dong's community hall, but this year was to see me further afield.
Just as Christmas can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, so can Children's Day. Deaw's cousin is a secret plane spotter and, being a recovering one myself, I was unable to resist the invitation to tag along to the Royal Thai Air force's air show in Nakhon Ratchisima. It was an amazing morning, not only for the airshow itself, but for the atmosphere too. The airshow was perfectly planned and had short displays beginning with paragliders, moving through a range of aircraft and culminating with F16s. The displays were short but perfect for the attention span of your average 3 year old. There was little waiting around either, no sooner had one aircraft disappeared out of the sky (hopefully landing safely somewhere) than a different one had appeared. Deaw's nieces aged 13, 5 and 2 were all enthralled, as were his 40 year old cousin and 60 year old father....and of course ..moi!
If you got neck ache from looking up then you could take a break and go and meet pilots, have your photo taken with them (no, that wasn't me you saw in the queue..honestly) or get yourself an F16 tattoo...a temporary one that is.
If for a moment you forgot you were in Thailand, you only had to look around at the mass of stalls selling cheap, delicious food or see the darts bouncing off the 'burst a balloon stall' and hitting passers by, to know you weren't in the West.
And where was Deaw during all this? Well, he was with guests in the jungle doing jungly things...which you can be doing too if you come and visit us :0)
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