mr78

The trick is to be confident and secure in yourself, and it's not enough to fake it because women sense that miles away.

Prostitution is a choice.

And not something which is "forced on poor victimized women", as political correctness teaches you.

Whatever makes the guilt go away...

Anybody notice that every suspected criminal apprehended in Thailand confesses? Must have some great detectives like on TV that can outsmart the suspects.

I've noticed this too and I find it very strange. What is the point of confessing, is it that they get reduced centences or what? If I ever sunk till a level where I made a living as a thief and got caught by the law I would deny everything until proven guilty, everything else is just plain stupid...

Shock, horror, country actually standing up for itself and deciding who should live within its borders, rather than being dictated to by others.

Great well done Thailand, way to go.

Perhaps you would be kind enough to forward this to the UKBA for them to consider.

I feel sure the good citizens of Lampedusa would welcome such an initiative.

Yes! A wery good idea indeed. The next step while working backwards should be to go back to Japans system for the first traders. They let the Dutch traders stay on a small island large enough for a few houses. The only people allowed to socialise with the barbarians were prostitutes. The barbarians were only allowed into the country once a year to make funny dances and play drunk for the Shogun.

With the influx of farangs to Los they would have to set aside a larger island for this system to work. I think Phuket would be ideal for this purpouse.

Borrowing this thread since I have long wondered about the toilets on the trains, how are those? Do they have running water or not? I guess that it's squat toilets, if so, is there anything to hold on to if one have to do a number two, or do one just try to balance as best one can when the train wobbles?

Burn me and flush me down the toilet, or whatever is most convenient.

On second thought, put me in the freezer and revive me in the future, I'd like to drive a flying car and holiday on Mars!

Maybe they don't have an opportunity to live with the kids in LOS and doesn't want the kids growing up in farangland and adopt the mindset that comes with growing up in farangland (weird sex, money is everything, stress e.t.c). Better for the kids to grow up in LOS and then move to farangland before turning 18 to get a citizenship and maybe a university education.

Hi I live about 80km west of Nakhon Sawan and a friend of mine from England is ready to harvest his crop of white raddish and he would like to know who you sell them to at 30bht/kilo,and the name of the village where your land is. We live in the Mae Wong area after Lat Yoa. Cheers Nigel.

The 30b/kilo is a someone told someone and that someone told someone in the village, and then my Gf's family heard it and told it to us (you know how it goes). So I have no idea how much it really sells for, or where (somwhere in the Nakhonsawan city is all we heard). Sorry that I can't be of more assistance in the matter. If we can get some more info on it I'll let you know.

Our land is in Baan Laan. I had a look at a map and did a rough estimate that it was about 70km west of the city, but judging from your post and Khonwan's post it seems more likely that it's 100km or so from the city. So not very far from you it seems. If/when we get there I'll pm you guys and maybe we can meet over a cup of coffee or a beer for a chat

mr78, I suggest you simply do what others are doing in your area for the first couple of years whilst you settle into your new life. Use the time to identify strengths and weaknesses, e.g. your wife’s relationship with the community and her (and your own) commitment to farming, the availability of labour and their skill-sets, etc.

If your land is not subject to water-logging, is not clay, is not too stony, I suggest you consider cassava since it is a relatively easy crop for a farming novice to grow and your investment should not be at risk since it is highly unlikely that you would make a loss.

Use the first couple of years to consider alternatives for later on. There are plenty of farming alternatives that can make a lot more money than basic crops like cassava, maize, rice, etc. but most of them will require a lot more effort from you. Learn to walk before you learn to run.

I’m not far from you – I’m in Mae Wong district; I’m a 100km drive west of Nakhon Sawan city. You’re welcome to visit.

Rgds

Khonwan

This friday we got some not so good news and it seems that we won't be able to go to LOS for atleast 3-4 months, maybe even a year. We are trying to work around it, but we'll probably be too late for cassava. We'll see.

Anyway, thanks for the good advice, I think we'll follow it if we're able to get there in time. We'll be in Mae Poen district so I'll take you up on the invite when/if we make it to LOS

I don't think it's a racist thing, I think it's about cultural differences. Thais have a more "laid back/we can do it tomorrow" attitude than westeners, this often causes irritation that can look like racism, but it's not (in my opinion).

Then you have a problem, doubt you can up grade the title to sam/ 3 or Gor, if the land has another title under another Government department. If the land is possession land [ no title] maybe. Otherwise you will just have to wait until the charnote surveys come. Out my way, think I will be pushing up daisy's before then.

A lot to think about and a lot to read, step carefully, a farang and his money can soon be departed. Jim

She has a certificate of possession on the land. I don't doubt what you are saying as you surely have more knowlege than me in the matter, but people around there have had no problems (from what I've understood) to upgrade their land to nor sor sam. Maybe it's a fee involved or maybe I'm just misinformed... We'll find out eventually and I'll make sure to post about it and let you know how it turned out.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll see what google can tell me about it.

What do you do now, is it a skill that can be used here, there are many things that are open to try, not just growing. Farm land can be used with permission for other things that a farming related. Look at the big picture, not just what the locals do. Jim

I used to be a construction worker, mainly escavation (spelling) but also some carpenting. But I gave that up a couple of years ago and became a struggling film editor/computer generated graphic "artist" working mainly on tv commercials. I have some ideas on doing something with my editing skills, but it's a very competitive field out there.

As for doing something with the land, there is a huge dam that the government expanded a while back and is now about 1 km from her land, this has more than doubled the price on the land and people from the village are starting to move there, and her land has 4 rai road frontage which is very good. So I have some ideas about that too, only our funds are not sufficient for these plans, and therefore I haven't done any research on wether my ideas are any good or not. First step is to try and get Nor Sor Sam (or better) titles on the land and take it from there. This should not be a problem as long we make sure to clear all the land first. Many people around there have got Nor Sor Sam titles during the years.

Edit. Sometimes I think the problem is that I have too many big ideas and they kinda get in the way of eachother...

OP try and think outside the square, there are opportunities a plenty out here if you see a need, or a market. Locals do things the safe way, they need to live, but some try something new and fail. Others Thai and farang sometimes try and win big time. Few and far between, but if you see the niche, you can do well. Jim

We have thought about this and cracked quite a few "masterplans" on the subject. Problem is that we haven't been back in the village for quite some time and dont really know much about what the current market looks like. So we want to get something going to see how I adapt to the village life, and during that time have a look around and try to identify potential markets.

I have thought about everything from growing oaktrees to blueberrys

Thanks for all the solid advice and food for thought guys! I need it.

I'll try to answer some of the questions in this post.

The land is about 50 kilometers west of Nakhonsawan.

There is a dug pond on the sisters land, it's about 6*6m and is at the lowest level about 2 meters deep, I'm not sure exactly how far away it is but somwhere around 300 meters or so. The gf's land is on a lower elevation than the sisters so I figure that if we dig a pond we should get water? Or in worst case use a hose and a pump? Nobody have any use for the water so I don't know how quick the pond refills.

About 13 rai is cleared and have been recently farmed (cassava and rice), about 4 rai has last been farmed 2 years ago (rice) and the rest has never been cleared. The gf says that the soil on the cleared land (13 rai) is not the best as it has been farmed alot, but it produces normal crops of cassava and rice. The soil is neither sandy nor clay, so regular soil I guess?

There is good access to machines and operators in the area, and there wouldn't be a problem to get land cleared or soil turned(?) with a couple of days notice. There's pretty good access to local workers unless we plan to harvest at cassava harvest times when it can get a bit hectic.

Crops grown in the village area are mainly cassava sugar corn and rice. Less usual are mung beans and white radish.

Gf owns the land and has farmed before, the family are experienced farmers, but they stick with what they know and dont want to try something new as the old works fine, which is understandable if you can't afford to loose money.

We have done some research on market prices, but it's hard to know what is reliable and not. We got some idea about the market but have alot more research to do before deciding on what to go with.

Stuff we are thinking of growing are rice (to keep for ourself and maybe sell a bit) on about 5 rai, white radish, chilli, mung beans and sweet bamboo(?) for (what i hope) profit. These are just ideas and not written in stone, we have not decided on anything and are bouncing ideas back and forth, and doing some research.

And thanks again for taking the time to help us out, we are grateful for it!

I like your positiveness.

Do not allow your little step to turn into a big change. And try 'the life' first, so to say: have taste before you commit to this.

I think I will make sure to get the first crop planted as soon as possible after we arrive, and if I cant cope with the lifestyle we'll get her family to harvest it when the time comes.

I have thought about what you said about "the life" and as far as I know I am the only farang in the village, this might be a bit hard after a while as I like to have someone likeminded to talk to every once in a while. I will have to do some farang spotting in the surroundings and see if I can find someone to have a chat and a beer with from time to time.

To do list.

1. Farang spotting.

Good question Mr. 78. As a fellow newbie i advice you what i learned from the farmers here. Do it yourself first and try it out.

Try and see if you can cope with this.

Hopefully I'll take the leap of faith soon and give it a go, my hope is that thaivisa will make my leap of faith into a little step of faith

I have thought alot about if I can cope with the farming lifestyle, and to be honest I really don't know, I can imagine it could be pretty stressful if a crop or two fails for instance. But there is only one way to find out and I am optimistic about the whole thing.

Me and the gf are planning to move back to Los in the (hopefully) near future. We're planning on starting up a business or two that may or may not generate some money, these businesses will take some time to get up and running, so we got the idea to grow something on her 25 rai that is not in use. And maybe if it turns out good skip the other ideas as they are not foolproof by any means.

The land is in a village outside of Nakhonsawan and people around there are mostly growing cassava corn and sugar. What I hope to learn from you is if we should just do what they do or are there something more profitable and/or easier to manage that we could grow? Someone told my gf that White Radish (hua pak gard?) would get a pretty good profit at 30b/kilo and we could get up to 3 crops during the cold season depending on the soil quality. Good/bad idea?

I also thought about a fish pond or two, but after reading some of the topics on that I realized that I would be in too deep (hehehe) trying that.

As you probably have figured out by now, I'm a newbie when it comes to this stuff. My gf and her family knows their stuff, but I would feel a bit more comfortable hearing what you guys have to say about it. Any advice/suggestion would be highly apprerciated!

Edit. I should probably say that we're not planning on getting rich from this, just get enough money to get by and maybe save a satang or two. We're easy going and are happy with the village life as long as we have a internet connection.

Since most Thaivisa posters come from countries with welfare systems, including myself, I can't see how anyone can truly go 'all in' as they can always go running back to their own country and get some health care, some social security, some accommodation relatively easily.

Health care I can get in my country, accommodation is VERY hard to get unless you are willing to pay 150 000euro or more, I have no idea about welfare but i once tried to get money when I busted a couple of disks in my back but got a big no, so I dont have very high hopes on the welfare system either, especially when I see more and more homeless Swedes on the streets. Our social security system is reserved for other people than Swedes. I agree that you have a point, but it's not as easy as you make it sound.

Y do she need 3 sim cards?

Well, one is an emergency card for whenever the tak tak breaks down, as you can imagine things get a little hectic when that happens and it's crucial to have one line open at all times as a decision/funding might be needed at any given moment.

Another card is used to communicate with thai/Chinese hi-so family and friends. She would'nt want to miss any of the important hi-so gatherings in the finest restaurants and ballrooms in Bkk, Hk Kl and on occation New York London and Paris.

The third number is mainly used to communicate with our servants. For example to call our tak tak chauffeur to pick us up when we feel we've had too much champagne at any of the many Thai/Chinese hi-so parties we attend.

So you see how important it is for her to have three simcards. Though she pesters me to get a mobile so she could throw away a card or two, but I dont use phones as I rely solely on telephaty to communicate. Did you hear that? That was me doing some telephathy, spooky stuff, right?

Stoneyboy the other eight are,

Not smoke

Not drink

Never worked in a bar

Never had a Farang BF before

No tatoos

Speak some English but not too much

Dont need money for her family

Dont have a buffalo in her family

This list gave me quite a scare! I was just about to grab my most important stuff and make a run for it when i realized that my Gf does'nt have any Skype accounts. So I guess I'm safe!

But I'll make sure too keep an watchful eye on her computer for any suspicious Skype activitys...

So how many facebooks does she have? And bloggang.com? a Profil in thailovelink? Not to forget the nice mobils with two simcards!

You don't know?

http://download.cnet...4-10383364.html

Well, the list did not mention anything about Facebook or Bloggang. So I'm safe. Her family does'nt have any buffaloes either, but the Tak Tak seems to get sick every now and then. But thats just life I guess. About the mobile, she has one that can hold up to five simcards at once but she only uses three, so nothing to suspect there either.