simon43

This is a terrible idea. What century are the authorities living in? Wai kru should be condemned as an outdated ceremony that has no place in a modern education system.

Is it my imagination, but are there more posters with mental health problems nowadays than previously? 20 years ago NO-ONE on this forum had mental health problems - nowadays you can't read 20 posts without encountering a poster who clearly should either be arrested, sedated or committed to a loony asylum......

I'm up in Luang Prabang, north Laos. I'm often awake in the wee small hours because: - Some of my online students live in EU/USA and their classes at at midnight or 1am my time. They were my students a few years ago when they lived in China and Russia, but they relocated to 'the West'. I don't want to stop teaching them, besides... - I'm a shortwave radio amateur (about the only one in Laos), and the radio signal propagation god decreed that the best time to hear radio signals from afar is in the middle of the night!!

He was trying to get to Koh Larn. Could the Navy chaps not have dropped him off on that island, rather than bringing back to the mainland? Now he will only go and try again!

The thought of Abbot and Corbyn going at it like a couple of dogs on heat is too much for my imagination to contemplate......

Hi Swissie, yes the health issue concerns me. I decided against returning to teach in Myanmar because of some small health issues that could make a big problem if access to hospitals are difficult. The nearest decent hospital would be the new private hospital in Vientiane....... LP has no decent hospital for serious accidents/sudden illnesses - you just accept your death! The ham radio hobby is going well. My antennas now have camouflage paint and blend in well with the trees 🙂

Shack for free.... not quite comparable to the mansion(s) that the family lives in right now 🙂

Later this month I will make a quick trip from my home in North Laos to Bangkok for the graduation ceremony of my Thai son 🙂 I'd like to buy some basic (means cheap) motorcycle clothing such as a jacket and trousers, leather gloves etc. Can anyone recommend a shop in central Bangkok? Thanks!

China usually will not accept teachers who are older than 60 (there can be exceptions). From experience, Myanmar will accept teachers who are not older than 120... I'm 65 now and have various employment offers to return to teach again in Myanmar, typically paying $2,500 USD tax-free per month. Although I'm keen to go (the civil war doesn't really disrupt daily life in the larger cities), some underlying small health issues mean that it's probably not wise for me to go there, in case those small health issues flare up and then I'm in the poo-poo with no access to a decent hospital etc.

A quick Google search reveals that these are sold on Amazon... https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Automatic-Thrusting-Attahcments-Adjustable/dp/B0BM8MJ2LC?th=1 Apparently it can 'thrust' up to 350 times per minute!!

I'll bite! Next is lot number 24, a massive black dildo, complete with realistic veins, only slightly used. Do I hear 100 baht? Yes! 100 baht from the ... er ... plus size 'lady' at the back. Do I hear 200 baht? 200 baht anyone? Yes! Thank-you. Any more bids? Going, going gone! Sold to the gentleman at the back who insists on standing all the time... 🙂

Yes, now there are many Chinese. Typically each morning there are 50+ minivans all parked up in the town with Chinese tourists, causing traffic jams on the narrow streets etc. For me, it doesn't create disturbance because I live outside the town and walk/ride into town just to go shopping and eat at my favourite restaurant right at the end of the peninsula, where it's usually devoid of Chinese (they climb Phosi Hill or go to the local morning market etc).

LoL, when I built those 4 small hotels in North Phuket between 2002-2012 I did all plumbing, electrical, sewerage work etc in full view of the local Thais and no-one batted an eyelid!! I guess the situation has changed now (at least reading news of foreigners being arrested suggests so). Laos has similar laws, but 'out in the stix' no-one cares what you do. Even if I was accosted by the local police, a few $$ and some Lao beer would keep them happy. Now, as Gecko123 has said, a possible future problem could be if my friend does and his family want to kick me off the land and take possession of the house. Well, I would say "good luck and here are the keys!!", because my investment is absolutely minimal and not worth fighting over 🙂 That drawing that I previously posted is just a general design from the internet. I would construct a layout with a bedroom and bathroom at either end of the house (upstairs) with a living room in the middle and a long balcony running along the long side with access fr4om all rooms. A kitchenette would run along the opposite side of the living room. Downstairs would be an open area with concrete slab for my 'play-pool' etc and a lockable storage area with extra bathroom/wc. Downsides? I can think of a few: - The land is about 2km outside the riverside village that lies opposite Luang Prabang. So it is a little remote. - What would happen if I fell seriously ill? No-one would hear my shouts for help - Ditto if burglars broke in - No popping round the corner to the local shop. It's a 2km walk or a ride on my motorbike TBH, the possibility of falling ill is my biggest concern. At 65 years old, I'm in reasonably good health, but it can only go downhill from here 🙂. I'm not worried by burglars etc - they steer clear of people who appear to be mentally ill/crazy!! 🙂

Yes I do realise 🙂 I've built before using exactly the manner you show in your photos. By 'concrete slab', I refer to laying down a base slab with DPC underneath to provide a dry ground floor surface - that slab has no relevance to support of the building. Here are some photos of my building work in Thailand around 2012, 2 different small hotels.

Hmm, let's see about the projects that I've invested in: Project 1 - Phuket Airport Hotel - sold for a profit Project 2 - Phuket Airport Overnight Hotel - still operating at a profit after 12 years Project 3 - 24/7 Hotel - sold with no profit since mad ex wasn't prepared to look after it Project 4 - Bed and Breakfast - a total loss after 'stolen' by the local Thai drug mafia So some good, some bad... And my own business of teaching online (since 2018) still seems to be going fine 6 years later and earning $2,500 each month and with about 300 private students around the world 🙂 That's why it's no big loss if I lose $10k - $20k in this idea. As theblether comments, it's also a new project, and I always like building projects 🙂 The important point is that if I move forward with this project, I should only do so if I have a viable alternative of residence/living/income etc, should it all go t*ts up!

You have misunderstood a few facts. I have known this Lao man for 12 years. He is the manager of the bank and his rich family own various houses and land in and around this town and they have absolutely no need of a 'shack' built on a piece of land outside the town. A few million baht is nothing to them..... Having built before in Thailand, I know how much it will cost to build this house - no more than $10,000, because the local labour only needs to lay down the base concrete slab, build a few concrete support columns and put on the roof work. I can do the rest of the work (as I did in Thailand). But of course people can change and while I trust my friend, I do not know his family members well enough to trust them. The loss of $10,000 wouldn't make any problems for me since I will have a monthly retirement income. As to renting a cheaper house right now, reducing my monthly outgoings by say $100 (eg - renting a house for $300 and not $400) really doesn't make any difference to my finances. Of course, the best solution would be to buy a small piece of land and build on it, but that would require similar 'fiddles' that foreigners use in Thailand to buy land....

I previously lived in Nong Khai - the city has grown a lot since I lived there. I have no urge to move back to Thailand, I'm very happy living in Laos. The chance of a new wife #4 is probably zero because I realise that any nice woman would only show interest in me for my money (not much of that!!), and certainly would not be out of love fror me. My rent in LP is quite expensive because I'm renting a traditional Lao teak house. I could rent cheaper if it were necessary.

Wow! A 2-finger point..... 🙂

For Heaven's sake, are some forum members incapable of reading simple English?! The Swiss man in Phuket did not reject low bail, did not reject making an apology etc etc. These are 2 completely different news stories about 2 completely different Swiss nationals living in completely different parts of Thailand. Stop mixing the 2 reports together! Jeez - talk about Chinese whispers 🙂

10 years rent for me at $400/month is about 1,600,000 baht. LoL, I get the general opinion that this is not a good idea! Certainly there is the unknown of what might happen to the owner of the land in the future. If he has a change of heart then I could be forced off the land by whatever means and he has a nice weekend home for free.... Rental prices will certainly increase in the coming years, but if I'm renting then that just means that I will have to downgrade to a cheaper property. Yonks ago someone on this forum made the joke about living in a hut by the side of the Mekong, and that might just happen! (As long as it has a nice bed with a mozzie net, I wouldn't be too bothered). Swissie's idea of a moveable/knockdown house is a good idea, but the usual idea of those is that one rents land to place it on. Actually, renting a plot of land could be extremely cheap here in north Laos. I'm still very happy in my current rented property (which is the same property on the outskirts of LP that I rented around 2020-2022). I might keep an eye open for a plot of land to rent (at a fixed annual rent) for 30 years.

Although this topic refers to Laos, the advice sought is common to both Laos and Thailand. I live in Luang Prabang, north Laos. Having moved between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar over the past 22 years or so, I always like to live in Luang Prabang. The natural beauty, low cost of living, friendly people etc suits my lifestyle. I rent a house, currently paying $400 each month. Naturally, this rent will increase in the future, and I'm concerned that this unknown price increase might stretch my income in the future. I am about 12 months away from receiving my UK State pension, which will be equivalent to about $1,000, quite adequate for a single guy to live comfortably on in north Laos, unless property rental prices increase... I have no private pension, but I am still earning about $2,500 per month from online teaching, and I don't have to stop that work when I retire. The local bank manager in town is a good friend of mine. His family seem well off in terms of land assets. One piece of land that they own is just on the other side of the Mekong river, with wonderful sunset views, raised land not prone to flooding etc etc. No-one lives or looks after this piece of land, and that is a concern for my friend and his family. They have no interest in developing the land for themselves to live. He has proposed to me that I can build a small house on this land (at my own cost). I can then live rent-free in this house for the rest of my years. Upon my demise, since none of my family members in the UK and Thailand would ever think to live in this location, the ownership of the house would pass to my Lao friend. The cost to build the house would be extremely low (I know this from building 4 small hotels in Phuket). I built my own house in the UK and I would undertake the build of the well, sewerage system, water pipes, electrical work etc. I would only need to employ general labourers to lay down the concrete slab, construct the reinforced concrete pillars and install the roof. The style would be similar to the photo, with an open ground floor and then 2 bedrooms/bathrooms upstairs at either end of the house, with a living room and kitchenette in the middle, all opening out onto a balcony. My friend has a lot of hardwood from a dismantled old house that could be used for the upper floor and walls etc. This proposal interest me because it removes the unknown factor of rental rate increase, should I continue to rent a property in Luang Prabang. I would be able to build the house to my own tastes and layout. So,... my question is: What factors should I include in the legal contract between myself and my Lao friend? I can think of terms such as ensuring unfettered access to my house/garden etc, but what else should be included in a contract like this to protect my interests? What could go wrong?!

190 up here in Luang Prabang - the sun looks a nice colour as it shines through the smoke....

Yep, the UK has even made it illegal to use correct punctuation, such as capital letters at the start of a new sentence, commas and full stops in the correct place and (the worst offence IMHO), new paragraphs to make a chunk of text readable!! 🙂

Anyway, the good news about all of this is that the UK is rid of a loser, (at least until he comes crying back to mummy...)

What it demonstrates to me is how absolutely useless a degree in Economics from Reading University really is! 🙂