How to live like a flood refugee

Abandoning a home to high water is a sad thing, but with the right plan and attitude your family can find rewards in surviving simply in a new safe and dry locale

Many Thais are unwilling to abandon their flooded homes because they are worried about their possessions. What's more, if the family is large _ with children and perhaps members who are sick or elderly _ finding an alternative place to live can be difficult and expensive.

PLENTY OF FISH: Markets like the one pictured top right can be found in any town along the coast and are a great source of fresh seafood, above.

But a decision to stick it out at home also comes with great stress.

Generally speaking, when floodwaters have invaded the house or are on the way, it is time to find a new place to stay as quickly as possible.

Even on the run there are still opportunities to look for a safe place to stay, and with luck you might find something that suits your needs.

There's no time to waste, but once you have made the decision the move will be easier if you don't hurry too much. Then everyone will have time to prepare themselves thoroughly and decide what to take along. This includes medications, a limited amount of clothing and any necessary utensils or other items. Equipment for preparing food is especially important. 

There should be a small gas stove, one pot for cooking rice and another one for other kinds of food, a wok, knives, a cutting block and a spatula. This should be enough. Plates, cups and eating utensils can probably be bought later.

When driving to the new location, make sure to choose a safe route. During the current flooding there are only two ways to go _ eastward to destinations like Chon Buri, Rayong, and Chanthaburi, or westward to Cha-am, Hua Hin, and Prachuap Khiri Khan. Avoid major tourist destinations like Pattaya, Cha-am or Hua Hin, because they will be crowded. Prices for rooms will be high and necessities will be sold out in many stores. What remains may be priced higher than usual.

Having meals might also be a problem. Even if there are plenty of restaurants, they are likely to be packed and expensive. Traffic in popular tourist cities can also be heavy.

So choose a quiet town or community far away from tourist centres.

When you first arrive, you might stay at a resort or guest house because they are more convenient than hotels, and then seek a suitable and inexpensive house to rent for a longer time.

The best place to find out where a house is available is a local Buddhist temple. Ask a monk or the temple's abbot, explaining that you have left the city to get away from the flooding and would like to know where there is a house that you might rent for the duration. 

In the countryside the local society is closely knit and people feel great reverence for monks. When they ask for information, people are quick to respond.

When you have found a place, the first order of business is getting settled in. Next come the arrangements concerning food, which are easy these days because there are informal markets called talat nat everywhere.

When you have found a place, the first order of business is getting settled in. Next come the arrangements concerning food, which are easy these days because there are informal markets called talat nat everywhere.

There is sure to be one operating on any given day, as they convene at different places on a rotating basis, and it is never necessary to travel far to find one. The talad nat will have most everything that you need. 

Clothing, cooking and eating utensils and items for food preparation such as vegetables, chillies, limes, pork, chicken, eggs, vegetable oil, nam pla and other sauces will all be there. 

Prepared foods such as curries are also likely to be available, and prices for all items will be low. If the location is near the sea, there should be a fisherman's wharf. Sometimes you may be able to buy fish directly from the fishermen when their boats arrive in the morning.

Today, getting fresh seafood can be even easier than that, however. There are shops and private houses, called saphan pla or ''fish bridges'', that act as middlemen between the fishermen and buyers. 

You may pay a little more than when buying directly from the fishermen, but they have all kinds of seafood as well as ice and plastic bags to keep your purchases fresh.

Once you have bought your fish, it is time for family fun, with everyone pitching in to cook some simple seafood dishes.

If you have some squid, it can be steamed or stir-fried with the sweet-spicy chilli paste called nam prik phao, adding fish sauce, sugar, and spring onion. It is also delicious fried with garlic and pepper. 

The meaty crab called pu ma in Thai is also good family eating and best when everyone sits down together and pitches in. The mother of the household might crack open the shell and extract the meat for elderly relatives, and she can also teach the technique to children. A simple dipping sauce of nam pla, chopped chillies and lime is the ideal accompaniment.

If you buy a big fish _ the local type called pla insee, for example _ it can be fried with nam pla or fried and then doused with ''three flavours'' sauce. Another possibility is to remove the meat from the bones and serve it in khao tom, or rice soup. 

This makes a good breakfast for children, and elderly or sick people find it easy to eat and digest. The mackerel called pla thu in Thai can be prepared as the sour-spicy soup called tom yam or deep-fried with nam pla. 

Here again the meat can be used to make khao tom, or it can be made into a spicy stir-fry with fresh basil leaves and chillies. Shrimp and prawns may be more expensive, but they are delicious seasoned with a sauce of chillies in nam pla. 

They might also be cooked into an omelette, stir-fried with nam prik phao, or prepared as a fried rice or khao tom dish. All are delectable.

Finding things to do during leisure time will not be hard. If the location is next to the sea, adults will enjoy just sitting and enjoying the surroundings while the children swim. 

Going into town and looking around can be interesting, and older people might enjoy going to the temple to talk with the monks, something they may not have time to do back in the city.

Once you have made the adjustment to simple living in harmony with the local environment, eating good food and spending little money, you may find yourself feeling better both physically and mentally.

 While enjoying the experience you'll worry less about the things that you had to leave behind. In the future you may recall that escaping from the flooded city gave you time to enjoy things you are usually too busy to consider.