Other than some basic appliances, we of course needed an adult play pen and some form of table with seating.

Off we went again to the downtown market outside of Robinsons in C-buri town.

Wooden furniture, may favorite for many reasons, is a buy in Thailand. I find that they use quality wood and have decent, strong design capabilities. The problem I find is they spend little or absolutely no time in finish. A quality finish is the most important esthetic when looking at wooden furniture. More on this in another post.

I find a nice queen size bed and a good dining table with eight chairs. We get a couple of those light weight aluminum kitchen cupboards and we're done. Delivery took about an hour and a half. Nice.

One small problem, duh, when is there not a 'small' problem. They had taped the price of the table to the top with masking tape. There is almost no way to remove old masking tape from a finished surface with readily available products without ruining the finish. No problem, the installers came prepared. This had obviously happened before, why they still use this method is beyond me.

Out comes some fine grit sandpaper and a bottle of solvent along with more 'varnish' and a brush that was older than I am. (I'm youger than dirt but older than dust ) Table top was refinished with the following admonition - "don't touch for 24 hours". Great I just bought a table I can watch dry for a day. TIT

With all that goes on in getting settled, about the only time we sat for any time was in the evening, having our cocktails on the veranda.

When we did finally get to use the table and chairs it was an experience. None of the chairs had been balanced. (cabinet speak for making sure that all the legs touch the floor at the same time.) In some cases one or more legs would be up to an inch longer than the others. Maybe it was an inch shorter who knows whether the chair was finished too short or too long. lol

On a subsequent trip to Robinsons Ms. E gives the shop keeper a total earfull, one of those times when I'm really glad I don't do Thai. By the time we get home the staff is there waiting to repair and refinish all the chairs. Guess what? Same same, "Ok finished, don't use for 24 hours". Yep I get to watch my chairs for a day.

Thank god no problems with the play pen. Nice solid foundation finished reasonably and provide a great play/sleep spot.

E. L.