simon43

When I was headmaster of a school in Luang Prabang some 11 years ago, I used to check the classrooms after the students had left for home. For some reason, one of those rooms would have a young and pretty Lao teacher (female) sitting in the room all alone who would simply smile at me and say 'Good afternoon Headmaster'. I found out later that various female staff members had heard that I was a bachelor (after 3 marriages) and that getting hooked up with the foreign Headmaster was nothing to lose.... Alas, my previous 3 marriages had put me off marriage for good (no shacking up with a Lao lady if unmarried!), and my sex life has been relegated to investment in the Kleenex company and Marigold rubber gloves!

I seem to recall a previous thread on AN where the person on overstay reported to the airport to pay the fine etc and was promptly arrested and put in the IDC! Just saying... you can't always assume that immigration officers will stick to the rules...

I spent half of my working life as a space and satellite design engineer. Little stress, great team, great pay. Then I spent time building/running small hotels in Phuket. That was the most stressful and tiring time, working in a 24/7 airport hotel and having to put up with the cr*p from mad ex #2. Then many years teaching mostly in Burma and Laos, no stress, lots of fun. I'm precisely 20 months away from my official UK retirement date. I only teach science to young students online now, no stress, some tiring times since I teach in both local and EU time-zones. Overall not a bad working career.

Bhundu Boys!! Brilliant music. Most of the band died of Aids... 😞

Get well soon!! Why not tell the police that you will sell the bike cheaply to them if they find the hit and run driver? While we're relating previous accidents, I'll recount mine that happened at 5amy on Christmas Day 2 years ago at my home in Laos. I'm a radio amateur and my listening pleasure was being interrupted by the electrical interference caused by the 'buzzing' power supply of a streetlight that was directly outside my village home. I noted that the power supply wires were connected to the main 220 volt power line cables. So I got a pair of insulated wire cutters, leant the heavy wooden ladder that was in the house against the streetlight pole, climbed up to the top and cut the wires! The electrical interference stopped, as of course did the street light. However, the next event was unforeseen. The wooden ladder had been completely eaten away from the inside by termites! The ladder suddenly broke, propelling me from 3-4 metres up onto the solid concrete of my front garden.... After hitting the deck (I twisted my body on the way down to protect my head), I was amazed to discover that I was actually still alive! Several broken ribs (that hurts!), a cracked cheekbone and numerous scratches and bruises all over my face. The electricity company happened to come round a few days later, having noticed that the light wasn't working. "What happened to the light?" they asked. "Oh, I saw a big owl fly into the wires, ripped out the wires and the light stopped" I replied. "No problem, we have fixed it for you".... and the electrical interference returned! I moved house soon after......

[quote] ... I remember going to France for the first time in the late 1960's and being struck by the fact that in many cafés and restaurants the toilets were not separated by gender - there was just one set for everyone. ... [/quote] Ah! I see here a great opportunity to pull this post completely off-topic and score 1 against the insanitary habits of the French! 🙂 When in France some decades ago, I asked the cafe owner where the toilet was. He directed me to the wall that was between the cafe room and the cafe kitchen. It was a normal wall but with a drain running along the floor. The kitchen staff busied themselves going between the kitchen and cafe while I 'used' the toilet. "Oh, do you have any toilet paper" I shouted when I had finished! (sorry but that was the joke line....)

[quote] ... . Infinitely better than bronchitis in a cold Blackpool attic and the food bank. ... [/quote] Lol, that was me back in February when I had to go back to the UK for cancer investigation. Living in a mouldy hotel room in Blackpool for 3 months. I didn't have to rely on food banks (I mostly eat fresh fruit/veg which is similar price to Thailand. A bitter experience in the UK and it took me about 2 months to recover back in Thailand/Laos from the bronchitus!

Oh dear, so I wonder what they were doing when they gave me a bladder/kidney urine infection test last year.....

I always use Lifecare Labs for blood and urine tests (infections, PSA etc)

For heaven's sake, what is up with this forum?!! It seems populated with trolls who post inane questions, over and over again. It completely detracts from the forum offering and reduces it to the level of kid's tik-tok postings. Any decent forum would have banned these posters.

Always clean-shaven. For me, a beard is a sign of a lack of self-confidence, trying to hide behind the hair. Makes me think of history teachers...

No mention of a crash helmet, no mention if she had a motorbike licence (ie experienced rider), medical insurance expired etc etc. I wish her well, but yet again (sigh), we have a situation which probably didn't need to happen...

[quote] ... but I will not deal with more bureaucracy and zero rights. ... [/quote] Zero rights only seems to be a problem when you're trying to do something wrong.... If we are having a p*ssing competition as to who hasn't paid tax for the longest time, I might win since I have legally avoided paying any income/personal tax for more than 20 years (5 flags strategy!). I keep 100% of what I earn ????

I have to disagree with Google's opinion of Vang Vieng. I stayed for a week about 2 months ago because I was considering relocating from Luang Prabang to live in VV. While the view of the limestone karsks is great, IMHO that's about it! The small town is bisected by the remains of the Air America runway, now full of muddy potholes, unlit and the hunting ground for packs of dogs (I know 'cos I had to cross the runway at night to get back to my hotel!). Despite searching up and down many roads for several days by motorbike, I was unable to locate a single semi-decent house to rent long-term. There were 'hovels' and there were short-term expensive tourist accommodations, but lacking facilities for long-term stayers. No decent supermarket, just one rather small supermarket stocking tourist supplies. So... I gave up relocating to VV for these various reasons. Nice view, shame about the rest!

I live in Luang Prabang, have done so for the last 5 years, with the occasional teaching stint in Myanmar. Although tourism is down, local industry seems to be doing fine - it's always busy in my part of town and the fresh markets are very busy. No power cuts, fast internet for my online teaching, cheap annual visa etc. Certainly the inflation rate is high, but that doesn't affect me since I'm paid in USD. Most citizens in this region are (like most of Laos) working the land which at least means that they can put food on the table. I'm not sure about tourist prices. I eat every day at a small restaurant near the Mekong - 25,000 kip (45 baht) for a freshly-made Luang Prabang salad. At the weekend I'll go and eat at one of the swanky restaurants on the main street, 150 baht for eggs, sausages, salad, toast, orange juice, cappucino and fresh fruit salad - hardly going to break the bank ????

Do you also tell people in wheelchairs that they will never be able to enjoy walking and running? Do you tell impoverished people that they will probably always be hungry and poor and never able to enjoy those things that most people take for granted? Do you tell cancer victims that they will probably be dead by this time next year? You sound like a useless piece of ****, exactly the type of person I'm happy to avoid.

No, I have private Lao language lessons every weekday morning, (because I live in north Laos). After that I go and teach English to a class of students at the local school.

Since divorcing my 3rd wife (for spending my hard-earned $ on a nice car for herself, rather than building material for our small hotel project that she had previously agreed), I have lived alone and could never contemplate shacking up with anyone in the future. No woman would willingly shack up with an old guy unless she was after something and I doubt that it's love. But living alone doesn't make you lonely. I tend to agree that living alone and without any social interaction, one could become somewhat eccentric. Luckily for me, my parents were both eccentrics and I had good schooling in doing crazy things from my mad Thai ex-wife No. 2... Social interaction is healthy and I obtain mine (currently) by attending Lao language lessons every weekday morning, then over to a local school to help the students practice/learn English. My online teaching after lunch and in the evening is not 'in-person' interaction, but still counts for social interaction. Finally, I obtain stressful interaction every evening by doing my shortwave ham radio hobby, where the ability to communicate with like-minded people across the globe in a relaxed manner is hampered by the inability of my DIY radio antennas to launch my puny radio signal into the ether! This hobby often frustrates me ????

As CharlieH said, this guy joined in 2021. If he claims to be a TV member for the past 10 years, I have to ask what made him FLIP into a nutter in 2021, because his current posting style bears no resemblance to any member prior to 2021, even those members who were already mentally-damaged.

The Golden Man of Pattaya...

Absolutely. I don't give a flying fack what people think or say about me. That's their problem. I just get on and enjoy my life ????

Perhaps the 20-year Elite visa is not the best option...

Seems to be that you earn tokens, not $$ cash...

This one I believe in: "The world owes you nothing"

Her speech did not go far enough IMHO. Time to start a new population of illegals on the island of St. Kilda....