cooked

Getting back to the OP, what do pedestrian crossings mean? Like many other potentially useful innovations, maybe things went like this:

somewhere a politician + police chief got themselves profiled in the news about this project.

Funds were then allocated, some of which mysteriously disappeared, a con-tractor/friend of somebody then carried out work under spec. Maybe funds were allocated for maintenance, most of this disappeared also. That's what they mean, or meant: they have now fulfilled their function so nobody maintains or supervises them.

I don't really know this of course, but old cynical fart that I am, this is the kind of explanation that works for me when trying to understand things. There are many good people here also of course, please don't accuse me of Thai bashing, you find this to some extent more or less everywhere. The Thais however don't seem to care that it is obvious what is going on.

One of the best pieces of advice I received after I arrived to Thailand:

When you want to cross a street, follow a soi dog, the older and mangier the better.

I agree, and am proud that I discovered this for myself. In fact I started looking for the same dog every time I was near Asok.

I don't mind buying a beer or two for a guy that honestly says that he is broke (I might even get him something to eat) but being 'conned' into doing what I would have done anyway does annoy me. I once found myself in London 500 Km from home without a penny and begging. My fault, but I never forgot that.

Out of interest how much approx would the monthly bill be if you had say 2 units running at say 18 hours a day (goverment rate)

Also, is it true that the lower the temp the more it will cost?

I've recently moved from a condo into a house and the heat is incredible, it's like walking into a furness, everything is hot, even the clothes in the wardrobe, it is going to drive me insane soon. The fans just blow warm air around.

It depends on the size of the unit (# of BTU's). Many are about 12,000 btu's. The lower temps mean the compressor is working harder (duty cycle higher) and yes, the cost goes up dramatically the lower the temp. Anyway, if you want my opinion, i'd estimate 5000 to 6000 baht a month for the situation you described. If you are having to fight the sun and/or bad insulation that is just the worst, I feel you. I bet most of your heat comes down from the attic. Those things that twirl on the top of houses are amazing (don't know what they are called, ha). I actually installed one once in the US, it wasn't so bad. Cheap and effective. Sounds like you could use 3 or 4 of them up there.

whirlygigs for most people, otherwise roof ventilators. Try http://www.coolthaihouse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2351

I agree think your house is probably not insulated at all, south facing walls should also be insulated.

Mr Dinger:

I looked at your old thread, and I found some useful references there that I didn't know about. If you had been able to use the link to the home brew Thailand forum you would have found the infos you were looking for. I didn't see any posts that were ruder than the norm on these forums (which admittedly can be pretty rude). It is illegal to brew (including distilling) in Thailand, the BIB may fine you the 600 Baht and 'confiscate' your beer, so you may want to invite them for a beer tasting in advance. Just don't sell it.

I was wondering if I had as part of my qualifications money in the bank say 400,000 Baht and the rest in income if the money in the bank could be in a joint account with my wife in case I died.

Also could I have 200,000 Baht in the bank and proof of 50,000 Baht for my retirement visa?

No, I had to find out also, the combination yearly income + bank balance = 400 000 doesn't apply to marriage extension. It's either the one or the other. That's another reason why retirement visa is more attractive.

being married counts double?

happy to keep the debate going... reactions remind me of what happened when I suggested that people might want to learn Thai as long as they were going to stay here. Goodness me, the indignation.

Same when I suggested people learn to cook their favourite foods instead of moaning about a lack of it.

I once spent 30 minutes in London at a train station waiting for my wife to turn up. Not ONE of those 1000^s of people that went by made eye contact. T-shirt? how about 'avoid eye contact'?. That would make you look like a prat, wouldn't it?

ignore is at the root of the word ignorance. What's an uninvited greeting? I think it's abnormal not to greet people.

Farnag = something between a Balrog and a person that has lost touch with his humanity. I am proud of this word and will carry on using it

Achtung, RANT: you guys are WEIRD. You also, none of you, seem to have ever lived in a village. I will be leaving Switzerland for Thailand soon after 40 years. If you take the liberty in a small village here of not replying when someone wishes you a bad day or a good day come to that ,the guy may well stop his tractor and come over to ask what's wrong. (actually happened). I have no problem with meeting peoples' eyes, be they street traders, royalty, lady boys or raddled old whores. I learnt quickly how to give the Thai smile meaning don't come near me you piece of s**t, and this doesn't cost me anything. In a small village some people say hello, some don't, no big deal although I have been known on occasion to make a remark letting them know what I think about people that don't respond to your pious wish that they have a good day. (ok I was drunk).

I did get fazed once when a Farnag said good morning and made a remark, then made it clear that he wasn't interested in my answer.

Just look at the guy for f***'s sake, who cares if he likes it or not. By the way I can get very rude in elevators when people don't answer my greeting, so next time be careful.

Is there not a passage in the Bible about shaking the dust of a house from your feet when the people there are not hospitable?

Peace and love

well alright, trust all your money to banks and really honest investment brokers.

wow, not sure if I can handle that. you have pH under 6.0? we definitely have over 6.0. I thought it was like that all over Thailand. I'll contact a local university to see if I can get a comparable soil test done, no rush in my case as we won't be starting seriously until next year. Thanks

cool it guys. Just look at the bigger picture, look at the education system, look at the manipulation of the media here and then start drawing conclusions about how stupid people are EVERY F+++ING WHERE.

I think that Americans in general are stupid also if it comes to passing racist remarks. Yeah and what about the Brits... and the French, oh boy they are way beyond the pale...did I mention the Krauts, Spicks, Arabs and Eyties?

well obviously I have to step in here and calm the panic. About 20 years ago you could buy shares and 'miraculously' you would be getting, sometimes, 10 - 15 even 20% comeback in a year. That is to say those among us that had the wherewithal to invest went whistling to the bank to collect. Well, the methods whereby you invested money in technology that was going to cost future generations a lot of money are now coming to roost. Japan has had to leave nuclear technology behind, at least for the moment. Oil companies that made enormous profits by dumping their gunk into the oceans and forests are being obliged, kicking and screaming, to pay their bill. Fish stocks are being seriously deplenished. Thailand is being flooded because of corrupt forest 'management'. Rant, drool, how long do you guys think we can go on doubling the population every 40 years without a serious belly up?

Gold: anywhere in the world you can use it as currency, for mystical reasons, but this is a fact. That is why the Chinese always head towards gold when there is a crisis. I also think that about 10 - 15 % of your investment should be in gold.

Comparisons with what happened in America with the housing market are preposterous, the guys weren't buying houses they were buying ridiculous credit. I built two houses in my youth and plan to build now in my dotage another one, just bought the land and built them, very little credit and they are still bringing in a steady income 30 years later.

The above mentioned site will sell you malt and yeast. I have been brewing for years without using cleaning tablets. Once you get a good yeast you turn it into live yeast and let it live in the fridge. Stop worrying for goodness sakes it'll be ok, just don't lie if asked a direct question, avoid the truth where possible. Be naif, shouldn't be too difficult, I always manage.

.. sorry thought we couldn't post links here

can you show us an example of the results please?

i was told that u couldnt join bupa after the age of 65, so what would the options be for the 66 yr olds?

Any info will be swelly bros

plenty of options, the best ones are the most expensive. I have quite a list of offers from different companies but I have decided to go visit an insurance broker in Pattaya to discuss face to face. I will be 65 in January). As I stated above, Nordic and Cynaglobal seem to give what they say they are going to give, that is lifetime coverage without raising premiums. I found most of the addresses using Google.

I agree that a repatriation insurance is a very good investment if you can get treated at home. I plan to die at my home in Thailand, but you never know..

until your first episode of any significance.

Agreed. That's when you spend hours on internet looking for complaints about the different companies. Doing this put me off April International for instance, Nordic has a good reputation.

and invaliding your Jailbreak?

brewing for your own consumption leaves you with a 600 Baht fine. Look on the Home Brew Thailand site. Getting a license is very expensive and is meant for commercial production.

yahoo recommends changing your password. My Hotmail account got hacked as well, suddenly I couldn't log in. Firefox will tell you if someone has logged into your account from China or Russia for example.

A friend got hysterical because she thought I was sending her Viagra ads and got so stupid and distrustful that i stopped having anything to do with her.

yeah yeah. The UK 45 years ago was about the same as Thailand now as far as safety is concerned. I can remember standing up on a second story brick wall demolishing the wall with a sledgehammer bit by bit as I was walking backwards. It's a macho thing, I was being sized up by the other guys when they sent me up there... we had no safety helmets, no toe protection... now the UK has gone completely overboard in the wrong direction. I wouldn't want to see the UK health and safety crap anywhere else in the world ,let alone Thailand.

I had just as many problems in Switzerland getting my guys to put on protective masks, not stand under trees that were about to be felled... come on, guys, drop the holier than thou stuff please.

Plenty of expats getting electrocuted because they can't be bothered to get their systems earthed, having sex without protection..

i was told that u couldnt join bupa after the age of 65, so what would the options be for the 66 yr olds?

Any info will be swelly bros

plenty of options, the best ones are the most expensive. I have quite a list of offers from different companies but I have decided to go visit an insurance broker in Pattaya to discuss face to face. I will be 65 in January). As I stated above, Nordic and Cynaglobal seem to give what they say they are going to give, that is lifetime coverage without raising premiums. I found most of the addresses using Google.

I agree that a repatriation insurance is a very good investment if you can get treated at home. I plan to die at my home in Thailand, but you never know..

A house is definitely the best investment you can make in your life, so in Thailand that's out. Gold has always been a good long term investment, when the world banking system and the ATMs stop working, this is what will save your life /get you killed. Seems simple enough to me.

Which company you choose may depend on how long you intend to stay in Thailand AND your age. These companies are there to make money, as you approach an age where you might start to be a risk, many of them start putting up your premium by 50, then 100%, accompanied by restrictions about already existing conditions. Read the small print, some of them even reserve the right to increase premiums at any time or just cut you off at any time.

I may be going for Cynaglobal or Nordic, both expensive (about Bahts 10 - 14 000 a month) but both promising not to increase premiums when you get to 65, 75 or whatever. Forget Bupa, they drop you like a lump of shit when you get to 50, or charge huge sums.

Don't forget that a large part of insurance is about peace of mind and the suspicion that your asthma problem might exclude you from treatment for lung cancer is not zen.

Self insurance is also an option, if you go suddenly, your family gets the nest egg, in my case I also have a repatriation insurance to get me home where I get treatment 'free', in case I get really bad. Putting 10 000 a month in the bank is maybe a good idea if you plan on staying healthy for 20 years or so.