onionluke

And, I don't want to come across as holier-than-thou, because I'm not. I would like to become permanently raw vegan, but I have health issues that prevent it on a longterm basis. So, yes, I do eat meat. I try to eat free range eggs and meat, but in Asia that is a little tough. I would pay more money and eat less meat if that meant more humane treatment of animals as food, though. I definitely would not relish the DELIBERATE and BRUTAL TORTURE of animals because of some mythical and selfish belief system. There are necessities in life: many animals eat other animals (although they say we humans don't need any animal products to stay healthy, that can be debatable for some on a longterm basis), however we don't need to needlessly torture animals to make them "taste good."

You could go and live up country where you can raise chickens and frogs and stuff in your own yard for to make the soup and so on . You don't need to have more money to eat free range you just need the inclination and butchering skills .

That is a disturbing photo . It is not uncommon to see animals treated this way in Asia . Is it any consolation that they were destined for human consumption ?

I was once told " you is very hansum man , only one big ear " by an aging pub dragon . Oh how I laughed .

So for me the question is why do pub girls learn to say the things they say ?

Initially ,it is because ,they have no English language skills.But they DO get corrected, and develop more than passable English. As I have said before ,IF you are using any language daily, your proficiency automaticaly increases. And they are using English every day.But , given the dearth of English speaking tourists, They n\might , now be developing so well. Speak Russian, my love?Is that the way to go?

That's a bit of a da / neit answer . They wouldn't really need to learn Russian propper , they could just watch loads of cold war era spy movies and learn the baddies lines by heart in English but with a Russian accent . "Now yoo die capitalist pig", and so on.

Vrom Russky wiv lov .

Who is "us" ?

English is not my mother-tongue. But I understood every word.

And sometime ,you might like to sober up enough , for us to understand, what you are trying to say.

Exackery Seabear . And Afarang , my squeezing a couple of limes into a shaker is in no way a slur on the English .

Luke when will you be back, I will spring for a good highland single malt. Jim

Jim ,

How do ? I hope the rubber is bouncing along nicely . I am busy on this new job but it is a bit of alright . I guess the next time I will be up country will be into October . Howz about a MacCallan or a Lagavuilin .

Luke

When I get fed up drinking Leo I go for the Sang Som but I find it nesheshary to disguise the taste a bit . Do you have any Hooch em ups ?

I like to tart up my Song Sam .

I glug a big measure into a shaker filled with ice .

I squeeze the juice from a couple of limes into the shaker .

I then glug some of that honey you get in whisky bottles into the shaker .

Then I shake it for a while .

I add some soda water to the shaker .

I then pour this into a long glass (pint) over fresh ice with a bit of mint from the garden . To be enjoyed with toasted tomatoe sandwiches .

I was once told " you is very hansum man , only one big ear " by an aging pub dragon . Oh how I laughed .

So for me the question is why do pub girls learn to say the things they say ?

Here's a none attraction in my part of Issan. Not one day in 2 months that it hasn't rained. Can't ride your bike far, if you don't want to get soaked, can't go for a walk in the jungle unless you want to hike through mud. Then again, can always use the car and get the wife to drive so, you can drink in town. Better than working for a living I guess.

Really wounldn't change it for all the fish in china. Plus the rain has stopped for today and the rubber tappers are on their way to work. Jim

One shouldn't shed too much negativity on the rains, James.

Just go with it - it's quite the blessing.

I say ! I had a spell when it didn't rain for four months . Every now and then I would see a shower way off and travelling further and I would pine for it rain this way . On the other hand when I am out day tripping on my bike I like racing the showers , to keep ahead of them .

I miss a good north westerly gale blowing in from the Atlantic .

To far out of town? Where do you consider 'town' to be?

Book by email? Yeah sure, you need to call them.

What about laitong, for around 1200baht /nite, you get air con room, with all amenities, swim pool, breakfast, close to restaurants, market, and of course close to lance's new bar 4 ice cold leo's.

regards songhklasid. P. S. try agoda or hotels2 thailand on internet.

In fact you can book through TC Kitchen and Lance will get you a cheaper rate . Sorry but not got the number handy .

I like the one across the road from Robinsons and along a bit . It does a very tasty BBQ with a selection of beef cuts , pork or sea food .It was a bit pricy at about 1500 bhat for two adults and one child but then again you can pay that at that M place at Tesco . The food was magic and the asashi beer was nearly cold but needed a bit of ice . They serve a choice of kimchi , salads and fried dumplings .

Yummy .

You haven't traveled Isan much. There are national parks, caves, forests, waterfalls, and hikes all over Isan. There are at least 25 waterfalls in Ubon alone. Not to mention the Mekong river and gorgeous rice fields when they are bright green or brown and ready to harvest. Obviously the beaches of the south, the mountains of the north and city life of Bangkok trump Isan for most tourists but Isan is a great place to live and there are many natural attractions.

Please tell me about these attractions, in all my travels throughout Issan I have never seen any.

The only thing that attractive to me is the highway 2 south from Korat.

I am so terribly sorry to hear of your affliction, I know no-one who can cure blindness. Highway 2 attractive .?From Saraburi in ,it would have to be one of the worlds most boring roads.I now limit myself to one forced bus trip a year( as part of my visa extension).

Affliction, my eyes are wide open, depends on what you use as the benchmark.

Agreed the No 2 is one of the most boring roads I have ever driven, the town of Saraburi belongs in one of those shouldnt visit this town at all costs. You will be pleased to know there is now a bypass.

However I digress, these days I prefer to take the 304 via Chachoengsao, or if coming from Chan the 317 to Sa Kaeo.

To the poster at the top, I am well travelled in Issan, as I mentioned above whats your benchmark?

Please do tell me where in Issan I can experience sights on a par with,

The Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, Ayres Rock (apologies to our Ozzy readers I dont recall the correct PC name these days, I visited prior to PC BS), Ankor Wat, The Great Wall Of China, the fjords of Norway, Edinburgh Castle (please tell me of any city in the world that has such a dramatic enterance to the city as Edinburgh), Sanna (Yemen for those who have never been), Ethipoia the churches at Lalibela, do you want me to go on?

I can fully understand if your partener thinks Doi Suthep is the highest mountain in the world, I gave up long ago being ripped off paying a farang sucker price to visit some poxy waterrfall, drive the 317 south and see them for free.

As I say HW No2 the best road in the world, gets me back to reality.

I suppose anyone who has had the chance to behold any , say three or two even , of the above has done well although they might comment that when there it was difficult to get away from the crowds .

Issan has its own magic moments even if it is a tough old bird .

Issan is a big old gaff . There are large cities and tiny little villages and all that . I live in a small village .I like the fresh air and and the 180 degree sky at night , the quiet , the fresh produce , the jolly locals , my son's happyness , our big hoose and if I want to go the city ,Ubon , I can go to bars or clubs and do the drunk uncle dance and eat foriegn food or go to the cinema .The fact that I can be in Hong Kong for work in half a day is most convenient . There are no attractions round the way , a few Khamer prasats and the odd prehistoric rock carving and that is all well and good because I don't see many tourists as yet . And yet the old adage " time waits for no man " rings true as progress rolls on and every last bit of greenery becomes the concrete slab .

The pure - the name given to white dog <deleted> in the good old days when it was collected and used by tannerys in the leather making process .

The Han Chinese have been trying for ever to validate their theory that they were not descendent from Africa but are a seperate race .

I am going to change my spots by declaring that I am Globbish and proud of it .

So u are saying issan has nothing to offer apart from your lady or lady boy in some cases i think quite insulting to issan as a place on the world map.

I didn't say anything of the sort .

It is a big old country . Are you talking about anywhere in particular ?

I usually get the bus or a plane but sometimes I take the train.

I knew this other guy, who after joining the SWP would always be saying " So what's the general consensus then ?"

To which the reply " You're a wanke_r " might have shut him up.

Nah , he would av begged to differ .

People whinge and moan about immigrants not integrating and being a part of British society and culture yet when they do, they get put down with racist jibes and insults.

Some should be ashamed of themselves.

Why should I be ashamed of complaining that someone is pouring too much Pepsi in my milk, and my milk is beginning to taste like Pepsi?

Firstly, no one ever asked me if I even WANTED Pepsi in my milk.

Secondly; now that my milk is beginning to taste like Pepsi, I am beginning to attract Pepsi lovers, and they are complaining that my "Pepsi" tastes like milk.

Should I be ashamed of being a milk lover? I don't hate Pepsi. I respect Pepsi. Some people truly enjoy its flavor, I just want Pepsi to remain in its own container, and not interfere with my love of the taste of milk. I just want Pepsi to have its own place, and not over run the market where I can find milk, and milk only!!!

That's a challenge .

i don't think the figures for other western Nationalities would be that much different. In an age of mass travel, there are still some people that really shouldn't!

I guess Mr Asif Ahmad is going to come in for grief every time his name is mentioned for the foreseeable future, but for the record and having met him, he is a a former businessman who was a late entrant to the diplomatic service and was based at the FCO in London advising embassies throughout SEA. He earned his spurs in the field during the monk riots in Burma last year when Britain ended up without an ambassador when we really needed one and Mr. Ahmad was sent to fulfil the role.

He is a typical diplomat - says nice things without ever promising anything. He is intelligent and articulate. As a Moslem Briton of I believe, Bangladeshi origin, he doesn't drink, though he seems to have no problem being in the company of those of us that do! He is a decent representative of modern Briton. Unlike our former ambassador, the hugely likeable, Mr Quentin Quayle, I would guess he is unlikely to quit and join Beer Chang!!!

He's got a difficult job to do representing Britain - and especially Britons in Thailand and the sooner we can quit the 'Paki Bashing' stage and get on with supporting him the better for all of us!

To right! It's not the likes of Mr. Ahmad who make me ashamed to be British it's the racist slurs and digs that i regularly see on TV aimed at the poor man based solely on his origins and not his performance. Why these racist fools move to South East Asia to be surrounded by Asians is beyond me. Mind you they tend to be the same types who are constantly moaning about Thailand. All I can say is that this country has always treated me well.

I suppose we like to immerse ourselves in the lower end of a foreign society, so that we can feel superior to our swarthy neighbours, and the ability of a compatriot of colour to thrive in our own society when we could not simply highlights our own inadequacies. The level of wit of many of us is such that we have to post "SATIRE" warnings on notthenation quotes; perhaps Alf Garnett should have had a "LAMPOON" warning round his neck. At least it would have enhanced our vocabulary, and given us exercise in working a dictionary.

Personally, I am not sure that British louts comprise a larger proportion of our compatriots compared to other nationalities, but because our ears are tuned to their accents, we can hear an English lout or a chancing scouser or a miserable scotch git from three pubs' away.

SC

And the three of them both could well be Mr Khan , Mr Park and Mr Gil .

" All he wanted was a stereo "

"Uncle Joe never had a stereo"

What's the betting if there were a Thai folks equivalent of TVF in the west there'd be a myriad of Thai posters generalizing about westerners? " I saw a farang the other day......" " I was in a shop being served and the farang behind the counter....." etc.

Generalizing isn't the exclusive domain of westerners.

Bit off topic .

Neither is, funnily enough , expecting everyone to understand their language and getting irate when answered with a shrug of the shoulders or a pppffff jesture .

Mainland Chinese show many stereotypical behaviours when abroad that were once only given to the Brits/Yanks or masterrace of the moment .

It says here it is a kind of trampoline .

That would only apply to the fine and upstanding Pattaya community and environs.

Plenty of Pattayaphiles kicking about whithout much experience or interest in anywhere else .

Best leave em to it .

A simple plan for a house build can easily turn into the blue print of a smoke and mirrors folly .

Have you tried sketching out what you want . When you get ignored you can colour them in with crayons to pass the time until you are required .

It says here it is a kind of trampoline .