My Burmese Mum

One thing I didn’t write about in my previous post about the elephant camp was the people who lived on the camp. Although I forged some real lasting friendships, I particularly wanted to share the story of Mee Gah and her son Goh.

Mee Gah was one of the ladies who manned the stall where we sold upwards of 1,000 bananas each day at the camp, henceforth referred to as the Banana Ladies. When we were introduced she told me that her husband had died the month before. I was quite shocked because she said it in a very matter of fact manner, as if she’d said something as trivial “it rained last night.” I have to admit I had absolutely no idea how to react to that disclosure!
As the month progressed, it somehow came to be a running joke, I forget how, that Mee Gah was my mum, and as a result I took to calling her “Mair”, (which is mum in Thai) and she called me “Luk” (child). The fact that she was 26 didn’t seem to be a factor. As a result of our new familial status I played with Goh, who was now my little brother, which gave Mee Gah some time to herself.

Becoming friends with the Burmese workers means I was invited to dinner in the Burmese quarter several times, and it was great to try some traditional Burmese dishes, which seemed to lean towards Indian curries more than Thai food does. Near the end of the month it emerged that Mee Dtae no longer wanted to work on the elephant camp and wanted to leave and work in Bangkok. We’d got to be quite good friends and so it was quite sad when she left. Her sales pitch, “Banana-por-elephaaaant” was noticeably absent.

Fortunately, I told Mee Gah that when I went to Bangkok I would come and visit her. That proved to be rather difficult – On the phone her brother told me she lived near The Mall Bankapi, which is quite far away from where I was staying. After 30-40 minutes on the canal boats, I arrived at The Mall and called again. I was given the name of the area they were in, and I hopped on a motorcycle taxi. He drove for 30 minutes, literally out of the city! Hardy “near” The Mall! Eventually we managed to meet up, where we spent a few hours eating, before she had to go to work and I went back to town to buy a shot-put. A strange and very convoluted reunion, but a very nice one nonetheless. I hope I can stay in contact with my Burmese mum.

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