kickstart

Ops, thanks for that and the information, Storks not Herons, I am in Lopburi province, not a lot of rice grown in this area, mainly cassava, maize, sugar cane up to a few years ago never saw any Storks in this area, This year being so dry everything is late very little rice being harvested, I would say that is why they is so many on one field.

Not quit a garden, this rice field was cut a couple of weeks ago, still a lot of water in it, these Herons are feeding on the water snails, they are doing the farmer a favor, the snails will eat the young rice plants on the next crop.

Do what, a plug is a piece of flexible rubber, the last time I looked at a tyer it is hard rubber, they is no way you can insert a plug without a special tool. Go down to your local tyer place and watch them repair a tyer, they will be doing on a lose wheel, not on a bike with the wheel still in situ, next to a road .

That is all right, you get a puncture in a tubeless tyer, you are beside a road, unless they is a 1/2/3, inch nail sticking out of the tyer that you can see, the odds of you finding the hole are remote even with your mini compressor, and where is the tool for inserting the plug in to the tyer.

I would not bother with any repair kits, problem with tubeless tyers is that your average shop cannot fix them, the ones I have seen done use plugs, our local tubeless bike tyer shop is also a car tyer repair place. I have had a good few punchers over the years many a time I just ride very slowly, to one of our local shops, never had any tyer damage, they just replace the innertube, or in your case plug the tyer. Drive belt you will know when that will need replacing, some just make a horrible noise . For motor bikes no organization that will fix a broken down bike for you, the times I have broken down I phone the wife up and she comes and tows me home

Not easy to find Nappier has all but taken over, but a Thai dairy farmer friend of mine found some on Thai Facebook. So, try typing elephant grass, or in Thai หญ้าอาฟริน, Yar Elar-Fat, I think the spelling is right.

Drone applying fertilizer to a crop of sugar cane.

You can build on rented land, just make sure when you build the house and then the owner decides he wants the land back, or buy one of those ready built homes on posts, any problems pick it up and move on. Over the past few years, a couple of members have got a 10-year lease on a piece of land, and have they name on the chernot, land title deed, which unless the goal post have been moved, is perfectly legal for a farang to do, then the landowner cannot say I what my land back. But 10 years is a long time finding someone who is willing to lease land that long will be hard. and the cost of leasing /renting, you might have to say in x years I will increase the cost x baht.

Been like it for a good few years' gasoline has nearly always been 4-5 baht dearer than diesel, you could say gasoline is subsidizing diesel. Expensive diesel increases inflation, as 90%??? of all goods in Thailand are hauled be road, this happened 10-12 years ago when fuel prices went up big time, my then bowl of lunch time noddle's went up twice in as many weeks.

But, a good few insurances polices have an excess, mine new one from this year is 500 GBP, say 20000 baht, my old one was 1500 GBP 60 000 baht, if so, the OP would still have to pay most of the bill. But saying that, my old Thai AIA would have paid it all, but that was up to a maximin of 60000 baht, but again, this year's renewal premium was 32000 baht, big increase age related, now not using that, you cannot win with insurance.

You think with coalition government and MF as the main opposition party will any work get done? , it will be non-stop arguments /horse trading, what will that do to the economy, and then one morning we will wake up find a new government they excuse will be, for a more stable government, and a certain person will do a runner down to Cambodia, like his sister. Maybe the above is BS, maybe, but where else dose a party win an election and does not get to govern the country.

This was on the BBC yesterday, taken 5 years to publish, verdict was due to a series of mechanical failures, maybe I have been living here too long, but that sounds like lack of servicing, like a lot of Thai forms of transport, i.e. brake failure.

Following on, I come across the contractors making the baled silage, this is a crop of Napier grass, the machine is a first for me it cuts and bales the grass, the back lifts up and the bale pops out, the rapper picks the bale up itself the bale rotates on a turn table as the rapping arms go round. To pick the bales up the loader tractor has a squeeze grab. Each bale weighs about 500 kg, this field was 15 rie the said they got 100 bales, the grass was old passed its best for feed value, but better than rice straw, the owner was they I said how much per bale, he said as of, yet he did not know the cost, same guy as the baled maize silage. The contractor sad to bale 100 bales the machine used 100 liters of fuel. The company are based in Bangkok.

Ambrosia This apple is a homegrown original and we’re pretty proud of it around here. It was discovered by the Mennells in the 1990s in Cawston B.C. as a chance seedling. No one really knows its parentage. The original orchard was full of Jonagolds and had previously been home to both Golden Delicious and Red Delicious trees. Originated in Canada, can you get them over here ??, probably grown else were now and imported into Thailand, ?? that is what the OP asked, IMO anything with Golden delicious in not my idea of a good apple, in the UK they come from France, Le Crunch, if you can remember the TV advert.

Looking at that photo a 360 backhoe with a small bucket on could dig a hole, it would only take him a couple of hours. Diggers seem the latest thing, I see them being towed about all the time you should get one in for 600 baht/hour ask him to do the job on a price, and he could drop the concrete rings in, most back hoes can go down3-4 meters.

Most European top fruit trees will not grow in Thailand just too hot, about the only place would be on top pf a mountain in the North of the country. Almost like trying to grow potatoes, which I have tried, and they never even put any shots out, also like trying to grow tropical fruits in our temperate climate.

Ambrosia is a tin of rice pudding

A lot /most Triumph parts are made in the UK then shipped here, and the bikes are assembled then exported, I would say it would be the same for most other manufactures. Could Thailand produce a modern-day engine for a big bike, I know you have CNC lathes to do most of the work, but someone still has to set them up, the steel still would still have to be imported.

Been driving past this marijuana farm for the past couple of months, I think they started the farm and gave up, you can see all the plants have gone to seed, further down the shade cloth has blown off, no sign of life,

I would say no, the only hope would be the Paragon in Bangkok, do not even think what they would cost. An alternative some Grany Smiths I have brought can be a bit on the tart side they could be used, but thing about Bramley's is that when cooked they will go down, ideal for apple sauce, I would have my doubts if any eating apples would made a sauce, you could try.

It is missing the heated rear window to keep your hands warm when pushing it.

We have two Shell petrol stations near me, one only been open a year and the fuel is always more expensive than other companies.

Apples in Thailand come down from China, as Dr T said it how they are grown, probable well forced with all the chemicals and fertilizer you can think of. My wife gets them from our local market I find most are OK , last time I was in the UK I had some Braeburn's, they were not nice, tasteless. I used to go down to Malasia a lot down they that have Granny Smiths, they are not bad have seen them around here. I would say the USA is like the UK a lot of the old verities are now gone, just not economical to grow just a few growers growing them, now just verities that just make money taste is coming in a poor second.

I think you will find it was the Thaksin government that made the final payment back to the IMF after the 1997 crash. And I think it was Chavalit that was PM when the crash happened, and the IMF said Choen-Lie Pie had to be PM, knowing that the past two PM's Bann-Han, and Chavalit made a Compleat pigs' ear of the job.

The op is right in my area Lopburi, it has been a bad year very little rain, affecting all crops. But. The investment in new technology bit, has a very long way to go ,farmers are already in debt ,mainly to the BAAC ,the government owned bank for farmers and farming co-op's ,any new technology will be shyed away ,a lot of farmers afraid that it will cost them and may not work ,and as a lot will come from abroad ,with the impot tax for most farmers it will be to expensive for them. Herd last week ,a second hand sugar cane harvester ,imported, has cost 2-2.5 million baht we have a good few about ,using a machine means cane is not burnt ,but now the government has increased the import tax on the machines, and one now costs 5 million baht ,so I was told, way out of the reach of most growers ,so now will more cane be burnt before harvest ??,good thinking on behalf of our government.