simon43

.. and there was I trying to work out the connection between kegal exercises and cannabis!

Is Sam Smith 'famous' in Thailand? I don't think so. How about Ed Sheeran? Probably not either. The point I'm making is that some of us on this forum actually live in Thailand full-time and not in the UK, EU or USA. For me, 'famous' singers are Mike Piromphon, Jintara Poonlarp etc. I live in Thailand, not in England. In fact, I often wonder how many forum posters actually live in Thailand, and how many live with their mum in Luton.....

Almost all of my online Chinese students and their parents have told me that they currently have tested positive for Covid. Fortunately, the youngsters only have mild symptoms and their parents a little less mild. The fact that Covid is now running rife in China is IMHO a good thing. It means that the vast majority of the citizens will gain natural immunity to this virus. Now, what about Xi's stupid policy over the last couple of years thinking that he could beat the virus down to zero cases?

In other news, a street vendor from Surat Thani visited Samui.....

Last B&J that I ate was maybe 20 years ago. Stuff makes you fat - I'll pass ????

Cardiac arrest? Not something that you can always fortell.....

Do what I do when asked for my age - I lie!!

[quote] but in reality, you're not going to be hooking your portable heater or welder up to it. [/quote] My incompetent Thai brother-in-law wired up his arc-welder to the temporary electricity supply when I was building a small hotel in Phuket many years ago. I was surprised when he called me late one evening shouting 'Fai Mai!' (fire!). Indeed, when I raced to the building site, he had managed to create so much heat in the wires that he had set the plastic box housing the electricity connection alight, as well as the wooden pole that it was fixed to.... Nice fire! Having ascertained that there was no risk of electric shock (the electricity company wires had burnt away about 3 metres above the box), I went back to bed and left him to explain to the electricity company next day what he had done!

I have given blood in both Thailand and Laos. I'm over 55 years old and simply lie about my age because I know that giving blood is important. No-one has ever asked to see my passport to confirm DoB...

I think all of my farang friends from my time in Phuket have died already - some old and some not so old. I hope for another 37 years! ???? (to reach 100...)

Well, it can be a fatal disease, but not the norm. My father contracted malaria at a young age after growing up in Egypt. He had occasional malaria fevers throughout his life and died of other causes at 89 years old. You would have to be very unlucky to contract malaria in Thailand. I travelled and worked in remote areas of Laos and Burma, but malaria vaccine/medication was not part of my first aid kit - I was more likely to get bitten by a rabid dog!

Well, they can do that if you took out a cheap-charlie insurance policy, (or even a not-so-cheap Thai policy). If you take out 'expat' medical insurance with an insurance company in the EU or UK, then by law, once you are signed up, they cannot refuse you new cover if you make a claim, and they cannot increase your premium because you made a claim. They can only increase your premium as you enter the next age band, and your premium will be the same as everyone else in that age band. I was recently diagnosed (at 63) with prostate cancer, and my insurance company (April International (France), will pay for all diagnostic costs and surgery. Stats tell me that a cancer may return in 10-15 years from now, so it makes absolute sense for me to stay with this insurance company so that any further cancer treatment will be covered. I have an idea of how the premiums will increase for each age band, and I can still afford this cover when I'm in my 80's...

I've told this story before on this forum ???? My mad ex#3 believed that she could decipher lottery numbers in the patterns of toads that were in our garden. So one evening, I grabbed a few of said toads and wrote numbers in indelible ink on their backs. You should have heard the screams of excitement when she found these toads. No, she didn't win......

I came from Donsak to Koh Phangan on Thursday and the old Raja ferry couldn't load vehicles because of the wave swell. It left Donsak, did a few circles and came back when the swell subsided. It loaded the vehicles, managed to get about 3 Km from the port and then caught fire!! We made a quick return to Donsak and I had to wait another 3 or so hours for the next ferry..... (The fire was somewhere in the engine room).

Having worked/lived in Burma for many years, I'm quite used to wearing a Paso (that's a male longyi). I currently teach Burmese kids on Koh Phangan, and wearing a Paso (boys) or longyi (girls) is the norm.

The answer is to lie about your age! I regularly gave blood when I lived in Luang Prabang, where the upper age limit for donations was 55 years old. I was never asked to show my passport, but was asked for my date of birth, which I made up on the spot. On one occasion, the nurse looked confused and told me that according to her records, I was now a year younger than my previous occasion.... but she smiled and happily accepted my donation!

Woollen kilt? You are crazy. Much too hot, even in the cooler season. I had a lightweight cotton kilt custom-made for me in Bangkok. I sometimes wear it outside (with sporran of course), and growl at anyone who dares to suggest that I'm some sort of transvestite. Some women in particular, were very 'friendly' when they saw my handsome legs...

I lived in north Phuket between about 2002 - 2012, and it was getting busy then. I visited again a few months ago and found the peaceful areas of north Phuket had all but disappeared. Where am I living now? North coast of Phangan! Unspoilt, no traffic, quiet beaches, cheap rental accommodation. I'm happy there ????

That's very sad news. She had been a member of this forum for many years, and always very helpful with her advice. RIP Nancy

Update: MRI scan results: 2 lumps wholly within my prostate, both grade 5 (highly likely to be cancerous). No surprise there. The good news is that nothing suspicious was found outside my prostate, seminal vesicles all good, lymph nodes all ok, bones all OK and apparently I have an "unremarkable rectum"!! Next will be a biopsy after Xmas to confirm the cancer and then RP surgery, (my decision and my doctor fully agrees with this decision). Today is a good day!

When I lived in Phuket, there were many "deadly-poisonous" cobra snakes living in my garden amongst the rubber trees. I saw them many times. I always stamped my feet when I walked so the snakes had time to move away from me. They never approached me, they never bit me - why on earth kill snakes?

I remember reading about a woman who owned a parrot which of course mimicked her voice. Rather than teach it to say "Who's a pretty polly" or "f88k off you <deleted>", she taught it to repeat her mobile phone number....

Why on earth didn't he hop over the safety barrier and then take a pee? Common sense would suggest...oh wait, this is Thailand!

Slipping over in the shower is quite a common cause of death for older folk I think. I've read of several deaths of forum/other forum members in this manner.

If I consider those farang friends of mine who have died in Thailand: Suicide - 1 Motorbike accident - 2 Diabetes - 1 Cancer - 1 old age - none