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When I went to live in Thailand 20 years ago the rate for the pound was 40 (25 for $US). This was the norm (+or - a few baht) until, for sterling, the UK crash from the E.R.M. and floating of the pound took it to 34/35 in 1993/94. The only reason for the generous rates of recent years was the Asian economic crash. The pound was already falling before the present credit crunch, which is worse in UK than in many other countries.

In a perfect world people would stash away money when times are good but this rarely happens so many in UK lose their homes when times get rough.

Could you advise on requirements for a child with a British passport travelling with a Thai mother on Thai passport. The visit will be up to 3 months - the child will be 3 years old and the British father will be on a 2 or 3 month visitors visa. Thanks for any advice.

Sorry, I didn't realise a mild four-letter word beginning with ' D ' wasn't allowed. I assume an American does the censoring because in UK words with a religious root are often used in any company.

Could any of the long term residents give an opinion as to the air quality in the area apart from March and April? Does it vary much beyond the city area etc..? Even back in the early 90's I never stayed in the North in April because of the heat and the ten day Songkran ###### water-throwing in the country-side. How long would it be necessary to head for the beaches to give you a reasonable and healthy life for the rest of the year?

Thanks very much

Although related to the "burning season" topic I wanted a new post as more people may read it. We want to return to Thailand to live in a couple of years time and as my wife is a Lamphun girl she would prefer to live in the North. Could anyone help with suggestions of where to live to avoid the worst of the air pollution or at least reduce it to an acceptable level for as much of the year as possible. We would prefer to be somewhere between Chiang Mai and Lamphun but not necessarily on the direct route. How far out does the worst pollution extend? There must be somewhere to escape from it. We may even consider Lamphun town area as I have always found it a friendly place and it is fairly close to Chiang Mai

Thanks in advance for any advice

When I lived in Banhong,Lamphun Province in the early '90s I used to watch the mountains burning during the dry season. This did not seem to produce any smoke in the villages and as Ken stated rural folk carried on their traditional life-styles. The problem is with the semi-rural who live a semi-urban lifestyle and burning leaves and garbage is just a cosmetic operation. The village shops that produce the most plastic waste just pile it up and burn it or add it to a pile on the village outskirts prior to burning.

No matter if the majority are aware of a problem and behave in a reasonable manner it can still leave a large enough minority to carry on as usual. In UK the vast majority are aware and don't throw litter, allow their dogs to foul and vandalise but the place is still a tip. Many years of do-gooder control, lack of discipline in schools and no enforcement of laws have produced a very active minority.

Being a Newbie is unimportant as this can mean just new to the forum asin my case. As stated earlier I was living in North Thailand when Pontius was still a navigator! and I have always been a people observer(nosey git!) Being idealistic and seeing others of different cultures in the same light as your fellow citizens back home just won't work. Still, you are entitled to be the captain on the bridge of the sinking ship and not join us rats who are leaving. I feel sorry for the locals who don't have the wherewithall to up sticks and move to somewhere healthier - last man out please switch the lights off!

It does seem, for some, that once someone is labled a 'tree hugger', etc., reasoned thinking goes out the window...

Sorry about that, the more of the posts that I read written in what I considered a superior manner ,just got up my nose. It all reminded me of the kind of people that make policy in UK. and have, by believing there is good in all people, dragged the country down. If people behave like morons then it is unlikely you will change them by pointing out that a few of their compatriots are the salt of the earth. Singapore citizens were similar to Thais before Lee Kuan Yu came on the scene and realised you needed an iron fist in a velvet glove to produce a society that would benefit the vast majority of citizens. Even so, the idealists constantly bemoan the loss of individual rights and prefer a society where people can behave as they wish.

I lived in a village in Lamphun for four years up to 1994 and on a recent visit found the environment much worse today. Many houses had some sweeping-up of lamyai leaves and burning with household waste including the usual plastic bags into which every purchase you make are deposited. Some of the worst burners are the food stalls and other small eateries who produce much more waste than households. Unfortunately, in Thailand, the apparent stupidity seems to start at the top so it is unlikely the people at the other end are going to behave in a reasonable manner. Also the age thing in LOS means it is impossible for a younger environment-aware person to influence an older polluter so they must grin and bear it. I remember when the government decided to do something about the road casualties and insisted on seatbelts being worn. What's wrong with that you may ask - well it doesn't do a lot for the twenty odd people sitting in the back of a pick-up. Just an example of inept government decision-making and it won't get any better by saying nice things about people who for whatever reason(cultural, traditional, poor education or congenital stupidity) won't change. But it is their country and as visitors we have a choice - like it or lump it, just move on.

We seem to have disagreements between a do-gooder, tree-hugging academocrat and people who live in the real world. Mingling with the occasional professor isn't the same as experiencing how many thousand indifferent souls there are in the Thai countryside. There is a"they" out there and unfortunately it is the majority. There is only one thing the burners and other polluters will understand and that is a big stick and this won't be coming from any Thai government or police force in the near future. On a recent visit to Penang (not the most disciplined society) I noticed that every single motorcyclist was wearing a crash helmet. The reason - big fines for non-compliance and there was little police presence unlike in Thailand where they can be regularly seen riding motorbikes without crash helmets.

please go easy with me as I am a forum virgin and a techno-peasant.

How far out of town do you need to go to get away from the worst of the pollution?

I'm thinking of the Hangdong direction.