siberianwarcat

Hello All!

Just found out my 40-year old Thai girlfriend is pregnant (6 weeks).

I am 40-years old too and British but have lived and worked in Thailand for 5-years now. We are both overjoyed so please keep the all-knowing condemnation to a minimum please.

Family and most friends are in the UK still so, pretty isolated. Girlfriends parents have passed away as have mine so don't have too many folk to ask basic questions.

Right now, gf is super tired. The truth is that I just thought she was getting fat because of eating too much and not doing any exercise. Classic mistake I am sure. Anyhow we have overcome that hump and now I want to do the right thing.

I have bought folic acid yesterday and I have been tipped off about where I can by Vitamin D pills.

Looking to access a forum of folks in similar situation locally and wanted to know if there are any suggestions of new fathers groups meeting in Pattaya/Jomtien, any useful places (apart from the internet) where I might access support.

The reality is that I work at home online whist gf works in sales across the city, so the plan is for me to be the main care provider which suits me perfectly.

We have had our first scan and will be going back in a month.

You might want to think about termites setting up home in there?

Good point. I'll investigate what others have done to overcome the termite risk and paste their replies to this.

MOVED to DIY Housing

Thanks. I did try to find the right place for this and had no luck. This area is far more appropriate.

I have been looking at this idea on and off for several years.

Earthship Biotecture (http://earthship.com) have completed examples in tropical heat with positive feedback.

If anyone has any success in this type of eco build, including sand bag builds or adobe in Thailand or elsewhere with similar climate, I'd like to learn from your experiences.

The principle seems straight forward, environmentally and economically sound, although I do recognise that the engineering does need some adaptation from that used in Taos. I am not sure that the 'greenhouse' portion of the design needs to be built in with glass. In fact, I think that this section of the design could very easily be built within a veranda if it has to be under a roof to stop rain from inadvertently falling into it.

The main principle I like about Earthship design is the water utilisation and the ancient system for cooling the air which, here in Thailand, would seem really useful.

There was a cool 'Grand Designs Australia' which was based on the earthship principle: https://youtu.be/0c_kNnsZEcA (I know it was in Australia but it was in an area which was very hot and dry, cracked earth, combined with very wet periods).

The principle of sourcing materials seems straight forward enough too in regards to plastic and glass bottles, tyres etc. I think once I have identified the plot (as I said, this is a feasibility study) i guess just advertising that i'd buy plastic or glass bottles, or tyres, might get some informal suppliers knocking on the door. Of course, if anyone knows of a good source for wholesale second hand tyres, i'd like to hear about it.

I am looking at incorporating compressed earth bricks into my design. I understand that Startop Interlocking Block systems http://www.blockprasan.com/startop/ are the leading supplier (or most reliable) provider of the machine used for this. Obviously if anyone has any better machines, either manual or hydraulic, then please do tell me about them.

I saw elsewhere on YouTube bags of rice husks packs into the roof cavity can work as a good insulation. Not sure if this is better than fibreglass or modern equivalent, but certainly rice husks are plentiful for next to nothing.

I am also interested at determining the best mix of earth, clay and possibly elephant dung/sugar cane leaves as an adobe. Again all three ingredients are plentiful and if anyone has experience working with organic mix bricks, i'd be grateful for your feedback.

Thanks for your time.

Does anyone know a source of Lino blocks for home Lino cut printing or Oil Ink for mono printing? I am based in Jomtien/Pattaya.

I have tried the school supply shops on Pattaya Central up from Big C Xtra and the one on the road down from the Dolphin Roundabout toward Wongamat. I have also tried the Friendship supermarket and B2S. All - no joy!

Any ideas?

I think the fact she left the capital could be designed to demonstrate that she is neither held to ransom nor imprisoned within the capital.

I understood that the reality is that the neck is not in fact longer, rather the rings impair the bone development and push down the collar bones/shoulders.

I am not sure about the trafficking allegation. Surely anti-trafficking international NGO's can be informed?

I flew on Thai from the UK and arrived here on Thursday. On the plane including first and business, I counted 37 passengers. I was the last to board.

Seemed pretty empty.

Spoke to my hotels GM who informed me in his 200+ room hotel he has suffered over 2000 room bookings being cancelled over the last three weeks.

This is striking if a proportion of this effect has been felt by the 500+ hotels, big and small, in town.

He suggests it's not crime etc in Pattaya keeping the hordes at bay, but rather the events in BKK.

I am not a doom and gloom harbinger, but I am interested in what the actual tourist figures are if ever they are released.

Sorry for the delay.

Firstly, my camera has low megapixel and I don't have a lighting rig.

I need the best image possible. If scanned by a very large flat bed hi res scanner, the image will have a high print quality for full size reproductions.

Likewise if the image is taken as a photograph and if it's a fine art photographer who does it, I would assume they have the right equipment, both camera and lighting/flash rig to get the desired effect and therefore again I will be in a position to get high quality reproductions.

Bottom line, either people know where there are specialist services which I know I need or they don't.

P.S. I have found a specialist photographer in Bangkok who are able to photograph 3 large paintings and 9 sketches and burn the images to disk. Even with a 10% discount, they want 17,334thb.

This is just too expensive. I appreciate that the images will be 39 mega pixel but it just seems steep. Anyone know anyone in PattayaJomtien with the right equipment who can do it for less?

I put this in the interests and hobbies section, but got no bites.

I am trying to find out where I can get a painting (36 inches x 48 inches) scanned.

1) Does anyone know where (between Pattaya/Bangkok) have a large high resolution colour scanner?

2) If anyone knows where I can go please do you know how much it costs to scan a painting of this size.

3) If you don't know anyone with a scanner, does anyone know any specialist fine art photographers, and again how much it might cost to have my paintings professionally photographed?

I have found a specialist photographer in Bangkok who are able to photograph 3 large paintings and 9 sketches and burn the images to disk. Even with a 10% discount, they want 17,334thb.

This is just too expensive. I appreciate that the images will be 39 mega pixel but it just seems steep. Anyone know anyone in Pattaya with the right equipment who can do it for less?

I am trying to find out where I can get a painting (36 inches x 48 inches) scanned.

1) Does anyone know where (between Pattaya/Bangkok) have a large high resolution colour scanner?

2) If anyone knows where I can go please do you know how much it costs to scan a painting of this size.

3) If you don't know anyone with a scanner, does anyone know any specialist fine art photographers, and again how much it might cost to have my paintings professionally photographed?

I finally got it here:

I once saw on a TV show called Qi the question "What age is the perfect woman?".

The answer; Half the man's age + 8 years (if the result includes half years, round up to the nearest whole number).

It means a 15 year old boy gets a 16 year old girlfriend (Cool).

A 21 year old gets a 19 year old.

A 40 year old gets a 28 year old.

Or, an 80 year old marries a woman aged 48.

Ok, I am sure there are some who would moralize such a crude rule of thumb, but it seems pretty good to me.

I am not sure who originally wrote it, but it is cool.

That being said my former relationship of 7 years was with a British woman 5 months younger than me.

My current (Thai) partner of two years is the same age as me too.

So although I like the 'idea' of the perfect woman formula, I have never applied it myself.

I was chatting to a friend about this. There appear to be two lobbies represented here in this thread. Smoking and alcohol which has often been used despite the context of the original post.

Just because the seals on the smoking room doors are rubbish and any extractors are insufficient, it does not necessarily follow that smoking everywhere should be banned or the resource of a space for those addicted to nicotine removed.

It does seem reasonable that non-smokers should have the right to a smoke free environment insofar as any of us should be free from unpleasant smells such as alcohol leaking from a drunken sot or even for that matter, body odor oozing from some sweaty pores.

Despite its irrelevance and only to stoke further debate, I find it interesting how the pro smoking/anti mobile lobby has always been able to protect smoking drivers from legislation. I have been a passenger in two separate RTA's with drivers lighting cigarettes.

BTW - I am a member of the pro smoking, booze and mobile brigade, but do think all things should be done in moderation and not when operating machinery.

Is that it then, we all just like it or lump it?

Why can't our ideas simply be fed into the city's planning process?

Even if collective foreign voices carry little to no weight, surely good ideas simply help?

Thanks Mr Phil!

I have found a supplier thanks to t'internet. As soon as I have the finished article in my hands I will provide everyone with the contact details in order that pickles such as mine might be avoided by others in the future.

Thanks again!

Thanks bytebuster for the link to the former thread, but the final question on the thread remains unanswered, as does mine.

Where in Pattaya/Jomtien?

I am not sure why we might be unable to name names on this forum, which developers are good or bad in users experience. Why is this principle any different to other discussions found on this forum detailing where to get a good breakfast or which taxi company is reliable or not?

I live in Jomtien and am looking for a manufacturer of paper embossing seals.

I have tried several of the small rubber stamp shops, but they couldn't help. I have also tried the general stationary and office supply shop just up from BigC Extra and I have been to B2S.

Does anyone know the quickest/easiest closest place to buy one. Friends have suggested HK, but there must be someone in this town doing them, with so many notary and lawyers about.

Any leads would be very helpful.

I have found the Thai statutory processes to be the most amenable to my needs. Dates can be changed, deadlines pushed back, guidelines or rules seemingly disappeared. I think it's about playing the game following the laws, customs and practice. At first glance they can appear conflicting but in reality, as far as my experience is concerned, it has been very straight forward. The OP I think is trying to draw an albeit strange comparison, I think based on an assumption of a rule of law. Strange.

Who?

Dear Mod,

I have got the details now. You are very welcome to delete this thread now thanks.