linno2

Does anyone know where you can acquire a blue heeler in Thailand?  I have looked but have not found a breeder.  I had one on my farm before. Smart, loyal, friendly and a great property protector. Mine nipped the tyres of all cars coming onto the farm and new comers were too frightened to get out of the car.  They have a natural immunity to ticks which is handy in Queensland. Not sure if the paralysis tick is in Thailand.

Cheers!

2 weeks ago I took my Yellow Book and ID card to Thai Farmers Bank in Phimai.  I have a 12 month multiple entry O visa and a marriage extention.  I was asked for my work permit. I explained that I worked as a consultant in other countries.  I was told I need a work permit or a retirement visa to open a bank.  I spoke with head office and the customer service guy was understanding and helpful. He spoke to the deputry branch manager several times however was unable to convince her that she should open an account. My wife and 2 sons have accounts at the branch which was behind my choice of the bank.  According to the customer service hot line each branch makes its own decision about how it chooses to follow the bank policies. BTW the web site states that proof of your registered address is required and a passport or ID is required to open the account.  Anyway I walked to Bangkok Bank and walked out 20 minutes later with an ATM card and passbook.  All's well that ends well.

In terms of clinical expertise, Thailand has the penis reattachment centre of the world. This article sheds some light on this decades old phenomenon....http://www.samuitimes.com/thai-women-cut-husbands-penises/ 

I am nearing completion of raising the house by 1.2 meters. There was a local sense that we didn't have to get permission as it was the same house- I am glad that we did as in fact you do need to notify and comply. Local builder OK - my wife beneficially advised to make regular visits and discuss the farung requirements in managable amounts - in other words do not bombard the team with too much detail as she advised this would not be to everyones benefit. We made sure that a positive relationship was maintained despite needing to knock down a half built wall and extend an eve and so on. I always came with some fluro spray paint and sketch pads and downloaded photos of what I wanted for things like moisture barrier under the slab, roof insulation, septic tanks, the hinging direction for doors etc. Many aspects I adopted from Thai Visa subscribers with much thanks! The builder and many visitors often thought I was crazy with the insultation, using the large cement blocks, extra circuits, installing earth and so on - but after lots of discussion there has been much approval with progressive understanding of the benefits and risk mangement. Close to finishing up and will post pictures and details.

Cheers!

My wife makes me separate the coke bottles and aluminium cans before I put them in the bin.

She doesn't take them to the recycling people herself though. My mother-in-law does that when she's in Bangkok. Apparently it adds up, along with any scrap metal (we changed the fence around our garden to a wall after the floods) and other things...

same for my extended family - nothign seems to go to waste (which can be an eyesore) - old broken fans. any metal of any kind including old burned out pots and pans, plastic of any kind and bottles. Every couple of months a motorcycle with side trolly trundles up with scales and exchanges it for a few THB. Good stuff from my perspective - although I would not like to live next door to the collector!

Just had a call from people who left from BKK for a normally 4hr trip to Buri Ram - it took them nearly 12 hours to get there.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

I made a big mistake - arrived at Suvarnabhumi at 8.10 from Oz last night drove to Korat arriving at 9.15 this morning - bumper to bumper most of the way - nowhere to park at the service stations - took my wife 25 minutes to go to the loo because of the queue. Its hard not to be too close to the car in front - as soon as you leave some road space a car jumps in front to close the gap! No major accidents but hundreds of white spray paint marks onthe tarmac where the many bumper to bumper crashes have occured. I should have known better.

Dear All,

I cannot upload photos to my post -

Not sure why you are using the Toolbar as the correct method of adding a photo attachment is the following: After you hit the Reply to a topic, click on the More Reply Options at the bottom right of the reply window. Then you will see an Attach Files section on the bottom left. Click on the Browse button to select a file from your local disk then click on Attach This File to do the actual upload of the file to Thaivisa. When done, just hit Add Reply.

many thanks - I was too thick to understand the help file on attaching pictures as it looked like I needed to use the 'toolbar' - learn something every day - cheers!

To address the issue above ... the reason that the Farm doesn't have 'flush toilets' is simply because the effluent (sh*it) retention system they have couldn't cope the that level of volume flow.

Maybe a lot of the other guys living in remote locations have experienced this?

Yes I have, Simple to fix. Install an outlet and a soak away drain. The containment vessel can be coverted into a double chamber septic tank. A capful of EM every few days and you're set.

To survive in the village you just have to toe the line. Follow the lead of those around you. A little like this:

Those who fall off, drown or get eaten by the sharks

We have a selection of loos installed at different times. One that might suit and is cheap and easy to install. It is a normal looking seat and toilet bowl but the flush system is manual requiring you to ladle in the flush water from the usual bucket within the bathroom/toilet. So easy plumbing, the comfort of sitting rather than squatting, low water volume, much lower cost to buy.

Spent the first half of 2012 in Afghanistan and the 2nd half off and on in Pakistan - apart from the tragic episodes in the South, the rest of Thailand is truly like a paradise in comparison.

Dear All,

I cannot upload photos to my post - my guess is that this is because I don't seem to be able to download the 'Toolbar' from the MORE menu. When I click the 'toolbar' option it seems to start the process but eventually times out before anything is downloaded. tried many times and same response. It may be because I am currently in Pakistan and it could be barred like UTube etc. Any ideas? I am back in BKK on Sunday so will try again then unless a solution in the meantime. Cheers

Perhaps one factor is that the other places referred to, are much more focussed on catering for tourists and foreigeners which brings a higer number of them and consequently more dissatisfied people? I find where I live there are very few services that cater for farungs. Only Thai style hotels and guest houses, cannot buy real cheese or real bread, no foreign fast food joints, only one shop that sells the Nation/BKK Post - and always sold out of the few copies per day, only instant coffee at the one large 'supermarket' more like a warehouse selling moslty bulk packed items for village shops, no western restaurants, no bars playing covers of 70's 80's and 90's rock, no obvious raunchy night spots (well none that I have seen or been shown) - just a couple of places with a line up of male and female singers belting out Isaan hits of he blitz and of course a great desire to serve more beers and 'whisky' - and I must admit to enjoying some large parties at these places with the boat race team or football team after winning the finals! My sense is that the folks who decide to live here do not need to be entertained and stay because they have decided to make a commitment - to their partner/wife and embrace what the place has to offer - a tremendous amout as many have shared!

What mistakes did I make last time I stayed there a few nights?

I paid over B1,000 for one of those fancy mosquito killers. The ones with the fancy light that attracts the mossie then has a suction fan which then sucks then into the high voltage grid below.

An adjoining landowner had turned his unused parcel of land into a rubbish tip and the fly population was almost unbearable.

I thought the mossie zapper might have attracted and killed them also ... WRONG!

Anyone want a hardly used mozzie zapper ... free to a good home ... just pay postage ...

There are some compensations for staying at the Farm ...

Sunsets

the items that I am glad to have brought to a village in Isaan include a coffee plunger (Frech Press) (I can buy the grounds in the Mall Korat), a cork screw, a decent can opener, a programmable water timer for the gardens, a decent heavy based flat bottom fry pan for cooking a steak, decent sized heavy duty kitchen/BBQ tongs and tea towels

Front page of The Express Tribune Punjab Pakistan - "The allegedly toxic Tyno cough syrup manufactured by Reko Pharma recently blamed for the death of some 19 people has been cleared by the drug labs in Karachi and Punjab." but the story goes on to say that the results have not officially been released AND that none of the parents of the 19 dead would allow autopsies. So the commonly expressed feeling of Pakistanis is that this is 'being swept under the carpet' is a coverup due to some corruption payments etc etc. SO essentially if no autopsies then nothing to compare and contrast. Probably the end of story and families will not get compensation s they victims who all died in a couple of days 'were all addicts' - all sounds incredible!!!

Very much appreciated! I will be back from work in Pakistan this coming Sunday - sparky to start work next week so I can make sure all happens properly. Will keep you posted and take up your generous offer to comment on my discussion, findings etc

cheers!

5 more days before returning to BKK!! Update on the cough mixture........

"Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique has stated that the investigation report into the incident took place at Shahdrah, where 19 people died after taking toxic cough syrup, would be released soon." from yeterday's Lahore Tribune where the deaths occurred.

Nothing in todays paper and this is already off the radar. Sadly 19 deaths is not a standout event worth reporting any more considering the daily newspaper reporting of large number of deaths due to gang rivalry in Karachi, drone strikes in Waziristan, suicide bombings, car bombs, Taliban attacks, outbreaks of disease (340 Dengue fever deaths in November last year in Lahore alone), neonatal mortality rates, bus accidents, natural disaters and so on. Thailand truly is paradise in comparison! Can't wait to get back on that plane!

Cheers

I have, and like ceiling fans - I suppose the other option, apologies if already mentioned, is to get a wall mounted one. My wife prefers this over the ceiling fan - easier to clean and not so prone to wobbling. Cheers!

Boy, I hope the Thai sparky has a handle on all this! He has not started working yet but is a polytech college graduate from Korat with a good reputation. I will see if he has any ideas about the grounding and TTs RCD etc. Before the house commenced ist lifting off the ground as flood protection we didn't have earth as the laptop tingled on its metal parts. Always worried me with washing machine and hot water heater etc. Thanks Electau and Forkinhades for the info and advice which I will work hard at getting installed.

Cheers!

Finally, for those of you who have been overdosed by numbers thrown around here, all that can end with an accurate and true understanding of the so-called AIDS epidemic.

I have been reading news on this forum for years. Though I’ve felt the desire to communicate some critical information concerning this topic, I never felt there were enough open or skeptical (of the party line) readers, who could suspend their beliefs long enough to digest what I intended to write. This time around things feel different. Some people have noticed that the numbers don't add up. Many participants have statistics and many statistical tables to back up the conventional medical ruse confirming that (non-monogamous) sexual intercourse is an activity which is certain to end in AIDS.

How many people have contemplated the AIDS story that bgean with some tribal African and a monkey? That story is crazier than the tooth fairy and Santa Claus myth wrapped together. Goebbels has been linked to the famous quote, "When you tell a lie, tell a big one, and then reinforce it often." The whole "medical" drama concerning AIDS is almost totally fabrication. This virus is transmitted through blood. Without blood there can be no transmission. AIDS is transmitted via needles, blood donors, and mother-to-baby. It is almost impossible to be infected from unprotected sex. Unprotected sex is about happiness. Protected sex is about the AIDS industry and another aspect of conventional societies to limit happiness. The objective is to generate enough fear that the AIDS industry can continue to thrive…at your emotional and financial expense.

Consider this, in commercial sex situations how many condoms break? How many slip off or applied incorrectly? Where are the AIDS patients that result from this situation? Ask your wife if she knows anyone from her village that died of AIDS (excluding drug users). Where are these millions of infected people? There are not in the hospitals nor in the Wats…that population is minuscule. Some readers suggest that there of millions of invisible, yet to be detected, carriers. They say millions have the virus but don't know that they do. Utter hogwash. The whole scam is intended to sell more condoms, plastic gloves, throw away needles, etc. A multi-billion pound industry. Go visit a Wat or hospital with AIDS patients...there are more people in bowling alleys than in these centers. And it’s not because infected people don’t recognize the situation, it’s because it’s a lie that is continually being reinforced by public relations companies with huge budgets. Don't believe in this cocamammy story and you will find you won't be prey to believing that Saddam had WMD’s, Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman, SARS is a really potent killer, etc. And a bunch of other fabricated pieces of propaganda.

M. Bauma

In four years this is my first post.

I worked in a public hospital in Thailand in the late 1990's early 2000's that cared for patients with HIV AIDS. During this time before anti-retrovirals were freely available (except for clinical trials) there was an average of 11 AIDS deaths per day (in our hospital alone). Of these deaths 2% were children, 5% injecting drug users and 7% men who had been having sex with men. The remaining 86% acquired HIV through heterosexual intercourse. HIV virus has been isolated in all body fluids. Breast milk has also been responsible for transmission of the virus from mother to many babies. We treated about 2,000 HIV+ outpatients per day. We also had a link to a Wat 90 minutes from BKK which had 60 beds continuously full with terminal AIDS patients. They averaged about 7 deaths per day. The major reasons that hospitals and the Wats are no longer full of dying AIDS patients is due to the availability of low cost anti-retrovirals plus people being aware of and having the means for safer sex. I am however sure that drug companies have made a substantial profit for their shareholders from the 'HIV industry'

One other option if it turns out that there are problems with the ceiling support could be to use high rating building adhesive to stick a mounting bracket or wood block to the concrete ceiling that reached down to the height of the ceiling [snip]

DANGER, DANGER WILL ROGERS!!!

much concrete construction uses a form-release chemical that is left on the concrete if it is intended to be concealed, no finish applied later. It will impede the bond of many chemicals/coatings. We wouldn't want to depend on it to hold up a heavy metal object over our bed, complete with rotating blades, if we'd appreciate a sound night's sleep, now would we?!

Yes understand!! In my place no form release chemical - just rough cast concrete with some remaining bits of wood! It was not a new house when I bought it! Cheers!

I agree about the rats being too expensive to waste on the likes of us! Here are a few photos from my local market with rats selling at 150 baht each. http://www.memock.co...on-in-thailand/

That is some serious money in these parts. I figured it must taste really good for that price so last night when my BIL shot one I had to try it. Silly decision that was - the taste was pretty awful and worst yet was that it lingered for hours! Only vegemite could get rid of the taste!

I think as a Pom I would prefer the taste of rat to Vegemite.

Living in a rice village there are lots of rats consumed - especially when they now capture them by electrocution with a generator and wire mesh. I can handle eating the hind legs - there is at least some meat on them and the spice makes them taste OK - I just dont like the head or tail attached. Now that you mention vegemite i think I will see what rat basted in vegemite tastes like - ha ha!

You are serious....

I can handle a ngoo/mouse because i think this critter walks around in nature and eats natural things and is a more or less clean animal.

But my brain associates a rat with dirt and filth so that's why i have 1 or 2 problems with it when it's served on a plate.

Yes I have eaten them on a number of occasions. They actually taste OK - I like you, have a problem with the association with filth and disease - but theses are 'grain fed rats' - just like they advertise beef! I recall the Thai Ministry of Health once running a competition for the best rat recipie - no joke! I also eat prawns and crabs which are supposed to be the 'cockroaches of the sea' according to some folks. Have not been ill whilst eating rats over the last 5 or 6 years. cheers!

Had same problem - the sewerage drained into so called septic tanks that were not sealed - seepage tanks instead of septic tanks. As the water table rises so does the level within the tank - tried the suction truck and by the end of the day the tanks were full again. For kitchen water I have installed a grease trap - no matter how much discussion we have as a family I simply cannot get people to stop washing everything down the sink - at least the old oil from the wok goes out to compost these days. The grease trap needs emptying avery 2 weeks - a job I enjoy watchinbg my sons do as they are major contributors to the contents! So I am now installing a 1600 litre black plastic egg shaped septic tank - with baffle, vent and pump out holes. This collects the solids that get 'eaten' by friendly bacteria. If the solids ever build up too much I will get it sucked out THB250 per tank. I think this will be after a few years. The fluids overflow into a seepage tank (5 concrete rings in a tube) which then overflows into a 2nd identical seepage tank. Laundry drains out to water the lawn. The black septic ball is one of the larger sizes as we have 3 toilets and showers. It costs THB5,450 from global house. Smaller ones around THB3,000 (some peoople maker them with concrete rings but do not seem to have the 'baffle') Grease trap was about THB450. Larger sized pipes are preferable and incorporate some inspection openings. This topic is covered in the DIY housing forum.

One other option if it turns out that there are problems with the ceiling support could be to use high rating building adhesive to stick a mounting bracket or wood block to the concrete ceiling that reached down to the height of the ceiling - you could hold it in place until it sets by using a pole from the floor to the base of the mounting. I have seen the capacity of these adhesives in a demolition - the block of wood had a chunk of concrete still attached - in other words the bond between the wood and concrete was stronger than the bond within the structure of the concrete. Some high performance exotic cars are also 'glued' together in some places these days as well (as per doco on Discovery channel). Good luck and let us know the outcome.