jobin

A bad boy to get DQ.   What did he do wrong?

So, all pig farms should be located far from any farangs?  And if any farangs desire to live somewhere near to the pig farm, then move the farm?   Is that the attitude i read here?

'flying our private vehicles'?   And where would that be...in heaven.  Nice thought.

In my mind T'land rates at least #6 in global retirement venues.  But, full disclosure, i've never lived in any of the other places, and i'm not rich.  Decide for yourself and go to Slovenia if you like.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-great-places-in-the-world-to-retire-if-youre-not-rich-2016-08-10

The New York Times turns to a respected Thai scholar based in Japan to outline the facets of the year long (or longer) military vs Buddhist Temple standoff at giant temple near Bangkok. Sure the Thai names are hard to remember but the recent photos offer vivid instruction on religion/military/politics of Thailand. 

Only younger 'retired' folks can find reasonably priced health insurance.  If age 70+, cheaper to get sick and pay cash for treatment.

And regarding Malaysia, i would not care to live in a muslim country, not for one minute. 

Very widespread practice in China.  Univ students carry cases of beer into the restaurant, then order plates of food and drink their own.  Univ teachers carry in new bottles of 'bai jiu', (a white spirit, rather like kerosine) all wrapped up pretty, and drink thru the nite.  I have never seen a restaurant complain or attempt to deny these bottle carriers entrance.

The overriding thing about China is the population and competition for money.  If any restaurant denied alcohol carry-in they would soon be out of business.  Too many shops accepting the practice means all must comply, or go broke. 

Same goes for carry-in food, generally.  I have seen signs at MCD which tell us 'no outside food/drink' but this is ignored by all.

Just read this report on animals in Thailand, both wild and domestic animals.  The conditions of the elephant and tiger parks, the cock fighting, the dog eating, the total lack of laws, the inept government response, the corruption, the fake mahouts...all get scrutinized.  

If you are interested in animals, in any way, i can recommend looking at this non-govt report, complied by a private person with obvious knowledge;

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/20-things-to-think-about-when-interacting-with-animals-in-thailand.cfm

All this Loy Krathong thing on Monday night?   That's the night of the giant moon rising, so get your seat along the river marked out.

Joey, you are obviously a 'promoter' of your point of view.  Whether your P-O-V is totally correct in all cases, or sometimes correct, or never correct is immaterial to you.  

You want to sell your product which is YOURSELF.

I eat Thai bananas, mangoes, passionfruits, potatoes, eggplants, rice, chicken...etc.  So i'd say i eat about 90% Thai. I avoid sugar, about 75% of the time, same with MSG.  Never take tobacco, low alcohol consumption, very low animal fat and processed food, and thus far, feeling pretty good.  Biggest Thai health issue for me is solar radiation, for which i have a very low tolerance. 

Saturday 28 January begins the Year of the Rooster.  Cock-a-doodle-do!  or is it 'coco-ri-co'?

Like a few other folks here, i was there way back when, 1962-3.  Almost entirely in the Western Highlands bush.  The mission station i lived at was on one of the walking routes up Mt. Wilhelm but we never saw any hikers. It was truly a step back in time as the locals had very few clothes, as we know them, and depended on the forest for 99% of life's needs, including the daily dress, which was exceedingly tiny. The females went bare-breasted and all wore clumps of leaves round the arse. Life was simple but short. 

If you choose to go, i suggest only to the north coast with Madang as a base.  Much safer than Moresby and easy air transport to the various highland towns. Some diving etc near there, maybe a boat to Rabaul.

You are getting old, mate.  Look to your future and those folks who will be willing and able to care for a geriatric farang; your extended Thai family.

My advice: put up half the dough, and let the extended family find the balance.

Is this the place to inquire about renewal of car registration?  At first go, 1 or 2 yrs ago, i needed to get an 'inspection', since my car was old. Will i need the inspection again?  

What kind of paperwork will i need to present?

Eye pigment varies with genetic component.  Thais don't need sunblock, hats or sunglasses coz they have plenty of pigment in the skin and eyes. Really only a few folks have blue eyes, white skin (genetic recessives) and they are at a big disadvantage, esp in the tropics where the sun's radiation is maximum. The additional problem of the reflected radiation, off the concrete roads, buildings and esp beaches, makes life here even more troublesome for those with little pigmentation.  Out in the forest, or golf course, the radiation is absorbed the the leaves, so under the big tree is good.

  Sure, if you are blue eyed and come from Scotland maybe you did not need sunglasses or sunblock there, but here your eyes will hurt and your skin easily damaged by the radiation.  The radiation will easily damage the light colored eyes too; permanently. 

OZ has a very high rate of skin cancer amongst the farmers coz they mostly have the white sun-sensitive skin as inherited from the ancestors, former Brits.  Of course, skin cancer almost unknown amongst the local black folks of OZ.

Unless for fashion reasons, sunglasses for Thais are totally un-needed and not part of the traditional culture.  

Written from Bangkok and published online from Japan, in the Nikkei Asian Review, this new, historically correct and interesting short read can help all of us, esp farangs, understand the situation in Thailand under the current military rule.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Viewpoints/Matthew-Wheeler-Thailand-struggles-to-break-out-of-the-cycle-of-unrest

How could i get to the golf course without a car?  Oh, i know some guys who carry the golf bag on the back while motorbiking a Honda tiny, but that is not my style at all. When i pull up at the clubhouse bag drop and pop the boot of the Bentley then i know both, comfort and happiness.  And the caddies do swoon, so that too is nice for me.  Motorbike?  Not even a Harley, or big BMW, will get that much attention.

Winter in Canada is the 'high season' here and golf courses are loaded with players. In Chiang Mai our group must tee off at 7am to avoid the rush of Korean and Japanese folks. Expect to pay, even with some kind of membership, during the high season, at least 2000 baht, all in, per 18 holes. And that would be the very least, with some up to 4500 baht.

At one nearby course if you want to play alone and hit two balls, for the practice, over the 18 holes, you must take 2 caddies.

Why such drama? Seems the solution is simple: never shop there again.

And as far as the Mars bar, the Coke can, and all the other items from yesteryear, learn to read the label and make a judgement. Take a look around you and learn everything costs more compared to 25 yrs ago.

It's a scam when the label says beef but only horse meat can be found in the bag.

I used grubby US single dollars, ten in all, to pay the Burmese Immig at Tachiliek. He was grateful to get them.

What's Ngat? And should i concern myself about its refill rate?

A bit more rain and this thread will make 3000 entries. Unless of course folks like you and i press it forward even without the rain. We only need 14 (i think).

And a nice, parking lot flooding downpour at Lanna golf today at 5.30. Can take that daily for 3 months.

YIKES! Spring City, golf 18 holes, weekday, green fee 13000 thai baht. Maybe i'll pass on that.

This stuff, agar-agar, is a sea plant substance widely used in microbiology. So, OP might try various chemical supply vendors in her area.

Absolutely: the high solar radiation. Everything else is insignificant, IMO.