Spirit houses and the sailing business

We enjoyed our time sailing over the last few days. It was interesting to get to know the skipper and crew, as was inevitable really since we were living together in close quarters for a few days. I suspect that if you live with just about anyone for a little while, and show some interest, you'll get their life story soon enough. The skipper Kunta was the German business owner of the boat, who also owned a couple of catamarans and one or two smaller mono-hull sailboats. He was a little older than us and has been in Thailand making a living ever since he arrived as a backpacker in the early '90's.

He is now married to a Norwegian gal and his kids and wife are currently back in Norway for the summer break. He has a staff of about ten Thai employees who skipper and crew the other boats. The first mate Dont is a typical example of his staff. As Kunta explained it, he can't advertise in the newspaper for a qualified employee, and he needs to hire Thai people. So through word of mouth he would ask for referrals for someone with potential. Dont was hired five years ago at age 16 and didn't speak any English or have any sailing experience. Nor does Kunta speak much Thai, which he said is very difficult to learn. I'm told most Thais do not finish high school, so Kunta usually ends up hiring those without a great deal of schooling.

Now Dont skippers one of Kunta's other boats most of the time and is completing his high school education on the side. Kunta said he invests so much time in each employee that it is very disruptive when one of his staff leaves. It was quite interesting to interact with a young Thai person and get some glimpse into his world. If Dont were to improve his English some more and continue to apply himself, I'm sure he could run a business like Kunta's one day. I think as I get older I think more about the younger generation and wish them well as they start their careers.

We woke up today in a hotel after a restful sleep with fresh sheets and towels. What a treat. I like our bathroom, with its bathtub exposed to the the sky. Once I cleared out a few leaves which fell into the tub, I enjoyed a relaxing soak with the birds chirping. I think I also smelled marijuana wafting by, perhaps from a neighbouring bathroom. This is a very small resort with one small pool which we have to ourselves most of the time. Catheleen and Elizabeth went out for pedicures and to drop off the laundry, John went along the beach for an adventure, and I enjoyed some time by the pool.

By the pool I noticed yet another spirit house - they are everywhere. Most Thai houses or buildings have a house of spirits. Every morning the owner is supposed to feed the spirits of the land, to calm them and assure good blessings for the owner of the house. At these places you usually find all sorts of things for the spirits including incense, flowers, food, drink and little figurines representing servants to serve the spirits, dancers for entertainment, and elephants and horses for transportation. This one has all of the above.