apache9441

no doub't You could pick up on my bad grammar and punctuation instantly VF, so nowhere to Hide for us lesser individuals. Alas, my Identities are sometimes 'disappeared' . Plenty of Indian tribes still though, although I doub't I would bother signing up again .

If someone asks a question then someone will answer I guess, so It's not dead but it sure is quiet. Other Forums have there quite times too. The vast majority of forum readers seem to want to read but don't put anything back in the way of a contribution. I can't see that changing anytime soon.

A lot of people seem to have gone quiet but it would appear they are still around although maybe lurking for when the inevitable 'mediation' takes place. we are not allowed to discuss something that sounds like mediation so I won't . but it sure is entertaining when it takes place, but you get to miss the Gist of the conversation.

It would seem there are still a lot of Good folks around like Scea and Harrry and a few others and I've had quite a lot of fun over the years with VF. I don't bare a grudge, it's not like forums are the realworld. I wish other people wouldn't too but I may as well be barking at that frog that ate the Moon. I just wish we could get over ourselves and contribute to any forum we like, when we like.

This will probably be my last contribution to any forum for a while

Some People will take advantage of your Generosity anywhere. it's about setting the boundaries. I suspect your wife is happy with the situation for whatever reason. Family do tend to help each other in Villages but taking things without asking is not always the Norm here. I've seen disputes over Thai's helping themselves to another Thai's fish or bunch of banana's worth 20 baht and the Village headman has had to be consulted on appropriate recompense, usually a lot more than that because they've lost a lot of Banana's over the years and have caught someone in the act. It can get pretty serious. I've known people clean out a Neighbours fish pond over night and then have breakfast with them the next day. it's unlikely that accusations will be made lightly in this Culture in my opinion so it's diffiicult to protect your Corn for instance without sleeping with it. If they get caught in the act it's a very different story .

Joel, I thought that road development your talking about was just part of the Ring road. If it's a true ring road then it's certainly welcome. I hadn't heard it was going to Chiang Saen though. They have built a huge inland port there just off the Mekhong which I doubt has any traffic at the moment. People say the Chinese are coming although I've only really witnessed a trickle personally but people are saying a Huge city's is being built over the border in Laos but I wouldn't really know, I never saw any evidence of it a few years ago that last time I was riding there. I don't know if you've been up Chiang Khong way recently but it's like a ghost Town as far as Tourists are concerned but the place is booming construction wise. new Hotels, new Coffee Shops... New Bus station. They can't all be wrong can they ? .

I've started wearing a yellow high-Viz , belt, sash type thing similar to the ones on the Police Bike Photo's but only half the material. I was getting cut up from pickup drivers pulling out in front of me several times a day. you could see the head swivel once and then ride straight into my path. Now I can see two swivels of the head and know they have seen me. It really works, only takes a couple of minutes to put on and doesn't make the jacket any warmer or anything. Yeah, I guess I look a Dick but I'm convinced it's made a real difference

I tend to get stung quite often this time of year tidying up hedges etc. never really had much of a problem apart from a bit of swelling and only tend to get stung by one or two wasps/hornets or whatever at a time. I do run away as fast as I can just to be sure though. But never worried about any Allergic reaction as I thought I was used to it after 17 or so years of being stung here.

There are always a type of bee nesting around our place, usually a swarm that has perhaps been moved on by locals stealing the nests for honey. These small Bees never seem to sting intentionally but I trapped one between my safety glasses and the bridge of my nose and it stung me. hardly felt a think but after a few minutes my eyes swelled up like I had had a few rounds with Tyson.

I managed to take an Anti-histamine before collapsing on the bathroom floor convulsing and and with extreme itching(hives) all over my body. I'll spare you the other details but I was lucky it was a wet room type of bathroom. I really thought I was a gonna. I recovered after a few hours but looked like the Elephant man for a few days. That was just the one Bee or whatever it was. makes you think

The part about not Planting Pine Trees maybe sound advice, I've lost about 3 very large pine trees in the garden over the last 2-3 years to storms. they are very brittle and don't give much, I'm talking about real pine trees though, not the Ornamental Conifers that may be mistaken as Pine Trees and that are so flexible you could use as a catapult

The Don't Honk your Horn suggestion is probably a bit out of date though , probably from the 1930's or something, never noticed Mildew on Banana leaves but they can become a Fire hazard in the dry Season so I would trim them for that reason

I suspect you want something to pitch and forget so it's probably not what your looking for but Tammila Guesthouse in Chiang Khong sell a very good quality 'backpacking' type hammock. Type 'Siam Hammock' into facebook and you can get the info.

I also recall seeing the string type hammocks for sale on the main road just up from Tammila but not sure if they are still there..

I guess you could pitch the siam Hammock permanently if it was shaded so the Sun didn't Kill it

you can buy 'Fat wood' which is like pine wood with lots of resin. the resin helps it burn longer like a candle effect. you can buy a small bundle in local markets for 5 baht or so. split it as fine as you can and then light it and place a few sticks under your Charcoal or whatever wood your using.

It's just been done in our Village . no one had 'Skin ' in the teak market.

anyway, I'm out of here, back to my parallel Universe.

Regards to you too

If the Guy wants to clean up an Area well good look to him. You can volunteer or not as the case maybe.

The Whitening Cream is very big in Thailand, nothing Racist about the comment; It's based on an observation that some Thai people don't like the 'healthy (or not) Sun Kissed complexion. and again it's their choice.

you can take 15-20 year old teak trees that you've grown, chop them down as near to the ground as you can. Tell the teak mafia Guy to shove it where the Sun don't shine and then build yourself (with the help of the Old Guys in the Village) a beautiful natural 'green wood' teak house on Stilts that you wouldn't swap for a million baht.

The remaining roots will start to shoot within a few weeks, and due to the massive root system underground will probably grow you a teak tree of the same size in about 10 years.

someone said you had to wait 70 years for decent teak. maybe so but young teak is used to make furniture here. Lots of the young teak stuff about, looks like pine garden furniture. OK it's not ship building material but it does have some of the qualities. And it does have value. a 15 year old teak tree which has grown well has a value of over 5000 baht to me and it does to the Guys who may come in the night (if it's not an old wives tale) to steal them. If the teaks only worth 150 baht then they would be better foraging for mushrooms or ants eggs and leave your teak alone.

I thought all the language in a mosque is arabic. They teach arabic in madrassas all over the world because the scriptures are in arabic

Joel , do you know of a language/dialect that is spoken west of Chiang Kham that sounds similar to Nan.?.

I don't know Chiang Kham too well either but I'd guess that west of it would most likely be typical northern Thai as it's quite lowland in it's terrain.

Chiang Kham itself is well known for a large Thai Lue population.

Christmas, Yule tide, or whatever you want to call it is actually a pagan festival, usually associated with the Winter Solstice.

and has been celebrated for thousands of years BC.

nothing to stop Christians, pagan's , animist's , Buddhists or Atheists or other heathen's celebrating it.

as you've already said 'Everyone loves a party' ..... especially the Thai's

I'll probably build a bonfire and dance around my totem pole .

Good Luck with it Muppy7

What seems to me an even greater mystery is why truck drivers put pictures of Rambo and George Michael dressed as a cowboy on the rear mud flaps of their trucks. I'm convinced there's a hidden message somewhere, but my simple mind just can't crack it. Help, please.

years ago I used to think it was Che Guevara (in Sunglasses ) and all the Truck Drivers were Marxists or something ;-)

Seems it's something to do with Truckers making a united stand against a perceived injustice by the BIB

for me Sunglasses, although almost clear lenses are a necessity here (I seem to have a Light Sensitivity problem). I have worn them inside from time to time but they usually end up perched on my forehead. I wear a Baseball Cap outdoors most of the time to keep the Sun off my head sometimes with a small towel under it for added protection at the back of my neck. These Items/accessories are practical, not designed to hide my insecurities or project Wealth or upset the fashion police. My Baseball Cap usually goes in my cargo pants pocket when I enter a building because I have an old fashioned Idea that it's impolite to wear a hat indoors. I wouldn't have given the Guy much thought to be honest, it's none of my business and he was the wrong Sex to pay much attention to.

Maybe it's a game, perhaps he gets a kick out of Shallow farangs changing direction when he approaches them in Big C ?

Maybe he's famous !?

I guess if you really wanted to know why you should have asked him . I'm sure it would have been a very interesting conversation and one you could have shared with us here on TV

I have a KLX250 from Kawa CM.

I have a Cb500X from Honda Big disapointment wing.

The service and everything at Kawasaki has been first Class.

The Service and everything at Honda has been abysmal.

I'm pretty sure they didn't check the Valves at 1000K but they ticked the box on the book so it's my word against there's.

they admitted not changing the Filter because they basically couldn't be arsed. it was changed an hour later when I insisted.

can't say anything more really. obviously it was all my fault due to my lack of Thainess

Like Loong say's you'll build up a resistance to the Weaver Ants to the point where the bite will hardly bother you.

We've lost two of these routers in thunderstorms. recommend you remove the phone cable from the back of the router.

they replace them free of charge but they must be replacing hundreds if not thousands, or recycling them back to customers.

I think the TP-LINK routers they are using are not up to the Job. maybe worth buying your own.

I've had a few sheep, they do fine.

Sheep like to browse just like Goats, they will browse your trees and everything else to about a Metre high and leave the grass alone. if the trees are tall and established then it's no problem.

most people see sheep in a pastoral setting eating grass as far as the eye can see. no trees, no bushes, nothing but grass. The sheep made it that way, be careful

seems to be about 32 inside in my place most of the time, no insulation. I've been sleeping in the Sala for a few weeks, get the night time breezes and a Cool 32 . no need for a fan or Aircon.

I will switch the aircon on this afternoon for a nap for the first time this year.

feels like the humidity is up although heaven knows why

The service book says 1k and 24k and then every 24k. They didn't check my Valve clearance at 1k in Chiang Mai. I'm a bit miffed but really it shouldn't need doing and is sort of overkill .