jay-uk

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ent-death.html#

Another British Guy Killed By His Thai Wife.

On a more serious note. I think I have come up with a solution to the problem. These karaoke girls can seriously infect your ears when you hear them sing with a new strain of HIV (Hear In Voice) so use a condom.......on yer head!

Method can be seen here with the AID of the attached photo.

There are a few "Dome Depot" type stores popping up around Ubon now. The biggest is the one bergen mentioned but if you go straight past makro keeping makro on your right then go for about 5-10 mins drive and another big store has opened I think its named "Home Mart" but I could wrong.

I found this website/page and hope it is useful: http://www.surinmap.com/health.html

Health and medical

Surin Hospital (โรงพยาบาลสุรินทร์)

68 Lak Muang Rd., Muang, Surin 32000

Sanom Hospital (โรงพยาบาลสนม)

110 Moo3, Sanom Sub-District, Sanom District, Surin 32160

Tel: 044-589025

www.sanomhospital.tht.in

Surin Ruam Pat1 Hospital (โรงพยาบาลรวมแพทย์ 1)

16/2-3 Moo 10, Nai Muang Sub-District, Muang, Surin 3200

Tel: 044-511523, 044-511796

Surin Ruam Pat 2 Hospital (โรงพยาบาลรวมแพทย์ 2)

16 Moo 3, Nok Muang Sub-District, Muang, Surin

Tel: 044-516108-10

Hi Suruswadee

You can send a PM to us also and my wife will give you her phone number here in UK and you can chat sometime if you like.

Jay

Hello My wife is from Ubon Ratchathani also but lives here in UK now for the last 8 years. A good source of information on Ubon can be found on the following website:

http://www.weloveubon.com

This should be a good start point but feel free to send us a PM if you would like to know anything else.

Hi RY

I'm not sure you are going to get much in terms of guarantees and warranty's with that kind of budget. Lets put this into prospective you are planning to spend in the order of US$ 9,000 (UK£ 4,000) to complete the whole house including materials and labour. This is not a great sum of money and you pay for what you get even out in Thailand. If you want a builder to put some kind of warranty forward my guess is he would be looking to charge alot more than you have budgeted and any warranty would be useless as many offer them verbally but rarely would they be around if anything went wrong. My advice for what it may be worth is if you want guarantees you'll need to reasses things financially with a view to possibly spending more with a larger reputable building outfit and that's going to take you well away from your original figure and more likely starting above 1 million baht plus.

Hi Bergen how are you? No percentage for me just like to keep my father-in-law busy. All his work is usually word of mouth around the village and he does most jobs on his own or with very few people (1 or 2 friends/neighbours) to keep himself occupied. Never big jobs just small projects and he never takes anything on if he thinks it is outside of his capabilities. I've never found him work myself other than when he obviously built our house for us but apart from that he generally finds his own work and when not busy turns to making things out of bamboo. I have respect for the guy not just because he's my wife's dad but i find he is very hard working and in the last 9 years i've never seen him sit for more than 5 mins. Spent his younger years in Singapore building office blocks.

Hi RY

My father-in-law is a builder and completes small projects locally such as shops, brick salas, garages, walls and small houses/bungalows etc. Can you PM your Ubon location as he may be suitable for your project if close by. Obviously if you are too far away then travel to/from the project can be an issue. We are about 5 mins drive from bigC and city centre.

sounds tasty Bergen...i'd eat one of those myself!

Korean Beef style grill restaurants seem to do well also in Ubon if you have the right location.

If you have a house/shop on the road side then how successful you may be in future will depend on how busy the road is. If the road has a good flow of traffic on foot and by car or bike then you could be reasonably successful with most little ventures. We know someone who runs a little 7/11 style mini-mart from the front of their house in Ubon and it is quite small with a couple of upright double door fridge units and many racks for dry food products such as sauces, noodles and obviously a few whisky bottles & cold beers. The type of stuff' people want to pop next door to get rather than going down the town. She makes on average 10,000 baht per month profit. Not a great amount I know but she basically sits on her bum all day talking with customers and takes the occassonal trip to Makro for stock. If you want to supliment your income then there are much worse ventures and by Thai standards 10k/month of extra income is usually welcomed.

Google earth software offer directions within Thailand. If you've got the free software downloaded on your pc you can map from Pattaya to Ubon. I've just tried it and it works fine as follows. Here are the directions it gave which I have cut and pasted to this post:

Drive: 648 km – about 9 hours 21 mins

1. Head northwest on Phatthaya sai 2 0.2 km

2. At the roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Phatthaya Huea 2.0 km

3. Turn left at Sukhumvit 6.8 km

4. Turn right toward 36 53 m

5. Turn right at 36 8.1 km

6. Take the exit toward 3240 0.5 km

7. Keep left at the fork to continue toward 3240 and merge onto 3240 3.5 km

8. Turn right to stay on 3240 3.4 km

9. Turn left at National Highway No. 331 17.4 km

10. Continue on 331 66.2 km

11. Continue on 304 179 km

12. Turn right at 24 88.0 km

13. Slight right to stay on 24 64.7 km

14. Turn left at 214 24.7 km

15. Turn right to stay on 214 9.4 km

16. Turn right at 226 101 km

17. Turn right at Khu Khan 0.6 km

18. Turn left at Ubon 1.5 km

19. Continue on 226 53.9 km

20. Turn left at National Highway No. 231 6.7 km

21. Continue on 231 3.8 km

22. Turn left at Chayang Kun 4.4 km

Hope this is helpful.

Just eating my breakfast and listening to the UK local news here and 20 mins drive from my home two teenagers one 13 one 14 set poured fuel over another teenager and set him a light. He has over 40% burns to the body and critical in hospital. This is a problem all over the world now. Knife and Gun crimes are seriously on the rise here in UK and the government are losing the battle to bring this under control.

Very sorry to hear your news and your family loss. You could maybe post an appeal in a local newspaper such as the Korat post or one of the other Korat forums which may have people closer to your area and maybe have more information. What are the national newspapers saying on this incident have they reported on this yet and would you be able to contact the investigating assigned police on this matter through your wife to see what they have to say on matters.

I don't think it is impossible at all. I just think we in the western world think it is impossible because we are too lazy to do it. My thai in laws seem to manage quite well growing what they need. I will not say the have totally dispensed with the need for a shop or market visit but they have minimised their outgoings by growing the majority of what they eat. In that respect I would not see my wife and I in retirement becoming hermits and never venturing out from the house. However, it would be nice to think that I could reduce what I spend from my pension by having some of our own produce. Even though Thailand is experiencing some high inflation same as here in the west but Thai prices are still relatively low by comparison and therefore most living in Thailand don't yet feel the pinch unless Thai themselves.

Here in the UK we are entering a period of uncertainty as prices in the shops and some of the highest oil/fuel & utility costs have really started to have an effect of peoples pockets. Maybe self sufficiency is a long way off for some but in future we may have to rely on old methods as the world and economy go full circle. I remember my grandfather here in UK had a small holding when I was a young boy and my mother told storys how people used to trade amongst themselves during and after the war. No one used to go to supermarkets back then yet we feel we cannot do without them now. Maybe we can't because we have forgotten or chose to forget old traditions and pride convinces us we are better than having to revisit these methods of taking care of ourselves.

Nice to hear someone is growing spuds in Ubon. I've argued with my wife so many times over growing potatoes as she always tells me they grow potatoes up in Chiang Mai as the weather is much cooler up there. Now I can say no they grown them in Ubon also.

My son s disabled with Cerebral Palsy, Blindness and has Epilepsy. He is 5 yo now and his seizures are well controlled with Epilim (Sodium Valproate). He has a seizure for 3 minutes every month or so at the most but at the satrt identifying the correct medication to suit him best was more of an issue and we had to try several types before the Epilim was introduced and had a positive effect. In thailand we found people are more ignorant about disability in general but the medicines are readily available over there as long as you find the right doctor to identify which one for your child. Always find the best Paediatric Consultant Neurologist to monitor your child and prescribe the right medicines. The equivalent cost through Rajavej hospital pharmacy counter was 500baht for 7 day supply but that was for a Thai local brand of Sodium valproate. I don't know how much the original brand costs.

Sorry to hear about your son Jay!

I wish all of you with disabled kids the very best for the future

Thank you for your note Bergen. My wife and I have come to terms now with our son's illness after 5 years. At the start we were devestated but as times goes on you start to manage much better.

My son's triggers for a seizure are if he is too alert and active, when he has taken less medicine than he should, high temperature 38c+ from colds or infections and/or if he is finding something irratating such as hay fever or dust in his eyes things like that. He's never had a fit so far from bright lights but we have heard some people are more sensitive than others to flashing lights and strobes etc... When my son had CT-Scans you could see calclification spots within the brain that were ultimately blocking signals and causing his eplileptic episodes. Sometime it is good under then consulation of the neurosurgeons and Neurologists to view scans to see where the underlying problems are. Again good Neurologists will share this with you so that you can understand the condition better.

My son s disabled with Cerebral Palsy, Blindness and has Epilepsy. He is 5 yo now and his seizures are well controlled with Epilim (Sodium Valproate). He has a seizure for 3 minutes every month or so at the most but at the satrt identifying the correct medication to suit him best was more of an issue and we had to try several types before the Epilim was introduced and had a positive effect. In thailand we found people are more ignorant about disability in general but the medicines are readily available over there as long as you find the right doctor to identify which one for your child. Always find the best Paediatric Consultant Neurologist to monitor your child and prescribe the right medicines. The equivalent cost through Rajavej hospital pharmacy counter was 500baht for 7 day supply but that was for a Thai local brand of Sodium valproate. I don't know how much the original brand costs.

most BigC and Tesco shopping malls have a photo shop which will take a picture and print for you

Self-sufficiency is totally impractical in the modern world, unless you want to live in total isolation....

It would imply buying nothing. Think about it.

Not really. Self-sufficeincy is a relative concept, not an absolute.

It implies producing as much as possible by your own labour and being as independent as possible from outside market forces. It doesn't mean withdrawing totally from the market or society. In fact, on the contrary it means engaging with society in a non-exploitative way and minimising one's dependence on market forces outside one's own control. Self-sufficiency practitioners are born survivors who are cushioned from external shocks by the choices they make.

I had a good friend who practiced self-sufficiency/permaculture in Chaiyaphum up until last year when he sadly died at the age of 82. He grew most, but not all, of his own food and relied on solar, woodfuel and wind for energy needs. He had a vehicle, but rarely used it and only travelled outside his farm when necessary. He was extremely attached to the land he farmed, but allowed nature to do most of the hard work. He lived a life of leisure that many would be jealous of who work all hours for their two week breaks in the sun. He could work on the farm for a few hours morning and evening and spend the rest of the day reading/meditating/sleeping as the mood took. One of the most content and satisfied persons I've ever known.

Anyone could live this lifestyle with the right vision, mental attitude and a few rai of land to nurture.

I am strong of the belief that most of us in the western world are trapped within our own lives and the more we see and want the more we become miserable with our everyday existence. However, I am one of those where mental attitude would be the problem. Our land is only 5 mins from BigC and most days out of boredom or to get away from the missus for an hour I would walk around the shopping malls and come back home with some useless crap that i didn't really need in the first place. Yet when I come home back to UK everytime I miss the potential simplicity of the life out in Ubon and how things could be very much less complicated.

It is probably a ridiculous thought to become that involved in growing your own food and my wife laughs her head off about me becoming a keen gardner. She seems to think its a big joke when I talk about our retirement and is quick to tell her mom who thinks its funny also. Maybe becuase I've worked in an office all my life so she is under the impression I would not survive long in a garden. Ah well so much for the green fingers...

I am curious to know about anyone who has managed to become totally self sufficient within their own home & land and what lengths they have had to go to get to that stage. In a world where energy costs are continually on the rise and food proces with them. Most who have a small holding may be able to support themselves from their own home grown produce and/or reduce utility bills from a combination of solar or wind power if they have the land or space to do so. For a typical 4/5 person household in Thailand what would be the example needed to ensure you could keep out of the local BigC and Tesco Lotus. Would it be somthing like the following:

100 chickens (averaging two whole chickens per week to eat) plus any eggs laid

4 or 5 cows

2 or 3 Pigs

small to medium sized fish pond (cat fish to eat)

Solar Panels on the roof

Wind Turbine at the rear of house

Water well 1 or 2 to feed plants and main house (drinking and bathing water) once filtered

Chillie plants (Must have thse for the Thais)

Eggs Plants (A must for my mother-in-law) she can't live without them

Fruit trees and Vegetables patches

Has anyone managed to make a clean break from all the creature comforts that the supermarkets offer in favour of a simple life whereby the become totally localised. My wife and I have a little land but always seem to need the supermarkets when on holiday in Thailand and we often debate how we would live off the land if possible when we retire. Is it possible ?

Maybe a stupid topic to debate but maybe interesting to here peoples views...

Oh and I forgot the important and last point to be added to the overall plan which most of us men could not probably live without....A little shed at the back of the house where we make home brew larger if possible .......THEN we may be able to become self sufficient! has anyone brewed their own beers in Isaan?

Jay

No worries JC...

See lots of em out there.

My wife is leaving me tomorrow. ( no shit and in some ways, "don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out"...)

I hope I can be as lucky as you.

Choc dii

If you truely love your wife then you may need to accomodate her feelings and make her feel better about the fact you had contact with another woman on skype. There were many relationships in my past where I was not prepared to bend my ways for any lady that entered my world but that changed when I met my wife. Marriage is a compromise. Those who say they carry on regardless of their wives feelings usually do so because they have an arrangement not love holding them together. Would you have been arguing if you had not had contact with an ex-girlfriend. How is your relationship otherwise?