GarryP

Also, I think you'll find quite a few people who were at one time interested in PR decided to skip it and go straight for citizenship. I believe that more than half of PR applicants would also qualify for citizenship based on marriage, so why waste the time and money on PR. As a result the number of PR applicants could have dropped since the laws on citizenship changed in 2008.

Boasting, are you?

I tried to update my tax ID at the tax office in Prakanong district but no one knew what to do. In the end I just submitted my Por Ngor Dor 91 using my ID card number and all was fine. I assume that my office updated their records accordingly. This is going back about 6 years so things may have changed since then.

You've got to be joking. I am no Thaksin supporter, in fact I seriously dislike the man, however, he did far more for the country than this lot did. The generals taking over and claiming they'd clear up the corruption. Look where that got the country. Thailand's corruption levels have gone through the roof. Make Thaksin and his cohorts look like saints in comparison. Even a military appointed senator came out the other day to pan the ridiculous levels of corruption so it must be bad.

That is great considering you have not be back into rowing for long. I am nowhere near where I used to be. My best time this season for 5,000m was back in July 2021 when I hit 20:27.6 which was an average pace of 2:02.7/500m. I don't think I will hit that again though. But my all time best at 5,000m was back in October 2019 when I hit 19:36.2 (pace 1:57.6/500m). Looking back, I have no idea how I managed that. Age is certainly catching up with me and I think I can say good by to those times.

What's wrong with that? It is sometimes used as a term of endearment. My nephew's nickname is Hampuang.

He's doing the bidding of others. He's a total hypocrite. Amnesty actually came out to protect/defend him when he was a red shirt.

Many of us have a horse in the race too. We have family here, we have lived here for ages and want what's best for the country and for the benefit of those we love. Surely, we have the right to comment on the rights and the wrongs in this country. And one of the biggest wrongs is this administration and Prayuth's lapdogs who are totally lacking in ethics.

I saw him on Sheryl's recommendation and confirm that he is really good. Excellent communication skills too.

So pedantic, even taking the Thais to task for misidentifying one of the languages of their own country. ????

Thai friend: What are you going to do when you retire? Me: Move to my wife’s hometown in Kalasin? Thai friend: Really? Do you speak passa Isan? Me: .................. Choose your answer a. or b. a. Me: Yes, I do. b. Me: Let me check with (you know who). I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by misnaming the language.

This Thursday will put me at 13 weeks post treatment. My flow is much better than pre-treatment now. As reported last time, I'm still getting up at night but the flow is so much better and starts instantly. Daytime flow is also much better, but I'm still suffering from urgency and increased frequency from time to time, resulting in low volume each time. I'm peeing in a jug to measure volume and I am still not where I want to be. I think this will improve as inflammation reduces which will perhaps reduce frequency. Yes, I am still suffering from inflammation as there is very slight burning/discomfort when urinating if my urine is very concentrated, i.e. dark yellow. However, when I manage to keep fully hydrated urinating is painless and the flow very strong. Up until a few days ago I was still seeing tissue in my urine so it would seem to be healing very slowly in my case. However, I take the tissue issue and occasional discomfort as a positive as it indicates a likelihood of further improvement.

The last time I used the certificate was at the Land Office in Somdej, Kalasin 2 years ago. There was no real bother, it was just that the member of staff that handles the queue numbers couldn't get her head round the fact that I was a Thai citizen and could own land. She wasn't impolite, just a tad confused. She passed the matter on to her boss who just smiled and said that everything was in order and to give me a queue number. I only took my certificate as a back up as I knew they wouldn't have handled land matters for many farangs before in Kalasin. In Bangkok, since getting all my accounts and documents in order, I have only presented my ID card to officialdom without any problems.

That's for sure. I can row a straight 6 or even 10km, but I couldn't run the same. It uses a different muscle set and I would be wiped out. I've never really liked running though so it would be even harder to force myself to do it rather than rowing. Now cycling is another matter, I love it, but never found it really good for cardio as I am never racing anywhere

I didn't know that copies could be purchased. From where? SB?

My wife and her family all refer to the language as Lao or Isan (even though some members of her family speak Phu Thai). Just about every Thai person I have ever met who mentioned languages of the North East refer to it in the same way, except some from the provinces of Buriram, Sisaket and Surin. Yes, of course there are multiple dialects, including those derived from the Khmer language, but the vast majority speak dialects derived from Lao (aka passa Isan or Lao). As a result the most common reference to languages of the region is Isan or Lao. When Thais learn that I will be retiring to Kalasin, most ask whether I can speak passa Isan. They never ever refer to any particular Northeastern dialect which may be specific to the area to which I'll be moving, and that is because they don't even know that there is one. Are they wrong to do that? Of course not. I know this may be upsetting to some.

I am not sure. I did it with birth certificates and marriage certificates and there was never a problem. However, when I laminated my British birth certificate it was rejected by the authorities in the UK. They advised that lamination is not allowed to reduce the risk of forgery. I am not sure if Thailand will follow suit in the future so I never laminated my Citizenship Certificate.

Mask under my chin when on my motorbike. Mask up in public, but if walking anywhere where there are very few, if any, people, mask under chin and only pull up when coming close to others. Hate the mask thing but I believe I've got to go with the flow. Can't wait for mask mandates to be removed.

No, it is a seat cover. Bought it from Aviron Racing in Malaysia. But if you wish to buy one, check that normal post is available. When I ordered, Covid had stopped normal post between Malaysia and Thailand so it was sent by courier (only option at the time) and I got hit by customs. I bought my phone holder from them too long before covid. They are very responsive to queries via their Facebook page. I know of some who have bought their Concept2s from them and imported them. Even after import duty, much cheaper than those available locally.

I use a smartphone holder on mine. But then I don't have a tablet. As you'll note from one of the pictures, I have a gel seat pad. The reason for this is that I have such a skinny bum so longer distances can get quite uncomfortable.

???? And then he woke up and realized it was a dream. Stay on your current path.

Tropo used to be really into the rower but has not been active on the site for a while, so I do not know whether he is still rowing as part of his exercise regime. Since I resumed rowing after nearly 2 months away, I have started to mix up my routines even more than before. One of the reasons for this is that I need to slowly get back to the level I was at before but another one is that I read mixing routines is better for the body so it does not get used to a single routine. My January routines are as follows for those who are interested: 2 Jan: 3000m single followed by 6 x 500ms intervals 4 Jan: 12 x 500ms intervals 6 Jan: 6000m single 7 Jan: 2000m single followed by 8 x 500ms intervals 9 Jan: 2000m single followed by 2000m single followed by 4 x 500ms intervals 10 Jan: 5000m single followed by 5 x 200ms intervals 11 Jan: 3000m single followed by 6 x 500ms intervals 13 Jan: 2000m single followed by 2000m single followed by 4 x 500ms intervals

Since I took two months off and have only just got back into it my times have dropped considerably. To get the drag factor to 115, which is the optimum for me I have to set my damper at 5. For regular exercise they recommend a setting of between 3 to 5. But the drag factor can vary from machine to machine. In the past my target for 500ms was anything below 2.05. But on my return to exercise it is closer to 2.10. I've also got to factor in aging I suppose, but I don't want to (I'm in denial). My straight 2,000ms are down a bit too. This time around though I have lowered my target from 160kms a month to 120. I think I was overdoing it before and was mostly hitting higher than 170 a month. I think I need to give my back and muscles more time off and accept that I'm not a youngster.

I received interest with BBL before I became a citizen. And updating my accounts was simple enough. It seems to not only vary from bank to bank, but also branch to branch.

It is part of the points scheme. Points for speaking, reading and writing. If you already have enough points then this is not a major issue. Just being able to speak would be sufficient.