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The Fruit Lady on the Thai Beach

3/20/2019

3 Comments

 
Picture
        “Madam, you want I cut up your mango? You want I roast your corn…open your beer?”
        Kohsoom (meaning lotus in Thai) is a welcome addition to this gorgeous beach at the end of the lane that runs alongside our condo complex in Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand. She is a remarkable reminder that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.
       Kohsoom, she of the laughing black eyes and a smile as warm as the Thai morning ocean breeze, is mother to 4 children, one of which---a girl---has gone with her ex-husband. “I no see her again,” she laments, quickly changing the subject. With 3 children by her current husband, Kohsoom sells fruit and drinks to throngs of tourists who flock to this popular 4 km long beach fronting turquoise ocean water with a sandy sea bed.

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        One of Thailand’s many poor, Kohsoom’s story unfolds little by little as we chat with her day by day. She lives on the beach with her 3-year-old son, Noon. From early morning until almost dusk when tourists desert the beach, Kohsoom serves from her stand while Noon plays around her. Every day except Wednesdays. All year. For five years now. A small round grill to roast corn nestles close to the sand. The ubiquitous tools of her vendor trade are scattered around her postage size site: cooler, trailer she hitches to her motorbike, large open umbrella, plastic chairs, plastic water bottles, table and knives for cutting fruit, garbage can, and those inevitable, environmentally-damaging plastic bags.
        She works hard, this lady, charging less for a standard Styrofoam tray of freshly---and neatly---sliced mango, jackfruit, watermelon, pineapple…slightly undercutting the shiny new market stores in nearby malls.
        The Big Boss collects an annual “minimal” sum for her small patch of sandy beach, she says. Her husband, one of a group of Beach Patrol Volunteers who ride horseback (each owns his/her horse) along the beach, is obliged to pay half his profits from horseback riding to the Big Boss. Each morning, before he heads off on his horse, he rakes the sand on her territory and helps set up her stand. Each night, they take it down.

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        Despite precautions, she must also guard against thievery “by my own people”. Although the couple dutifully chains their meagre belongings securely to a nearby tree overnight, covering their belongings with a tarp, they are robbed. “We knows who does this,” she shrugs. “They bad people.” All part of living on the beach.
It is young Soon who captures the tourists’ attention. They buy him cold treats from the visiting ice cream truck. Bring him toys. When his sisters are home from school and at the beach with their mom, they play house on the concrete lane and sandy beach. Large banana leaves transform into plates. Bougainvillea blossoms, shells, rocks magically resemble a food feast. Mini sea crabs sometimes capture Soon’s imagination as the tiny crustaceans skitter, scatter to and from their hole homes, forming raised grid patterns across the beach. And, oh yes, the mobile phone gives Soon lots of electronic exposure. The kids ignore the sea, the turquoise sea tourists pay mega bucks to experience.

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        Weather elements play a big role in the Fruit Lady’s business. And with the health of her family. When the temperature is in the mid-30s from morn til dusk---when afternoon winds kick up into ferocious velocities allowing kiteboarders to leap and dash and fly across the ocean surface---and your life is on the beach, it’s not so good for little Soon. “He get fever from wind. Heat not good,” she says. We feel the boy’s forehead. Hot. Hot. Hot. He lies listlessly in the open trailer. Half-sleeping.  Whimpering in a never-never land.
        She powders his face. And hers. To protect their skin from the relentless sun.

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        The beach is a hive of activity: horseback riders, kiteboarders, sun worshippers, sun strollers, clothing vendors. A background for professional wedding photos. And if you hanker for relaxation, Meow Massage beckons with shaded tables.
        In the end, though, the Fruit Lady epitomizes the beach. She grabs many foreign hearts with her honest, genuine style. “I make okay living,” she says. “Save for my children.” Pauses. Flashes a smile showing even white teeth.
        “Yes. My children. So they grow up good. To study.”

Maps:   Thailand
             Hua Hin
3 Comments
Anne
3/21/2019 09:09:44 am

Heather ... wonderful story!
The names and characters could change to any one of a number here in Bucerias! Geography may separate them but what they all have in common is such a strong work ethic and desire for a different life for their kids.
Salud!

Reply
heather rath link
3/21/2019 11:24:54 pm

Right on, Anne! Sometimes we do not realize how lucky we are. Ciao until we see you again...

Reply
Scott
3/23/2019 11:18:35 am

Hi Heather,

Well written! Lost myself in the story, I find when one is away from their 'routine' (and hone) the writing juices flow. Yes we have much in Canada, and we aim to be grateful for it and keep it that way. But they have the weather and the beach. Still, it is a very heart warming story. Your pics of Vietnam are wonderful, lovely plant with all the flowers you were standing under, we have the variegated variety. They adore and thrive in heat, so no surprise it was doing so well. That Vietnamese 'hot dog' looked greasy good...I'd skip the egg...the bread looks scrumptious...buckle your reality seat belt...big news on the horizon....you will know when it comes out. Have a safe journey back, winter is slowly receding in the Canadian North, when you come back, all should be good.

Love Scott

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All authored material and photographs contained on this site are copyrighted © and the property of Heather Rath and cannot be reproduced without her written permission.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Bazar del Bizzarro, roland, Mike Kniec