GarryP

I got Thai citizenship in early 2016 and we bought them as joint owners.

Two houses and land.

In my case, the last one is not that difficult. I have lived here for 41 years, we've been married for nearly 7 years and we jointly own property here.

I usually go overboard. Last visa we applied for was granted but unused due to Covid hitting. Hopefully, that in itself will be a positive when we submit a new visa application later this year.

I'd rather not have him influence anything. He never has worked for the interests of the people and never will. Yes, there were some good changes under his rule, particularly letting the upcountry folks know that their voices mattered, but I believe that was done out of self-interest. Like the digital 10k scheme PT is touting, which is pretty much a "legal" vote buying scheme. I am not saying that he was definitely guilty of the charges brought against him, but if they let him free, they should let all those political prisoners free too, people for the most part who just stated their opinion. It is clearly a two tier justice system and this needs to stop. The same treatment for all is needed.

All my savings are in Thai Baht and I would not exchange the maximum allowed for these accounts, as the maximum is pretty minimal. Even SCB's ETFs available via SCBAM Fund Click are capped at 1 million Baht, and that is a combined cap, not a cap per fund. I wish I knew where I could hold my money with a decent interest rate here in Thailand, but even with a Thai ID card, there really isn't much out there.

Seems to be a little bit more burning going on in Cambodia. Wonder if sugar cane burning is involved? Seem to recall that a couple of Thai companies operate some of the biggest refineries over there. Only accepting unburned cane? I doubt it.

Yes, Tha Rae market was famous for it for many years.

Married twice and sinsod was never mentioned either time. The parents just wanted us to be happy together and, no, the families were not well off. For my latest marriage 6 years ago, I paid Baht 20k to cover the reception at the mother-in-law's house, nothing more.

My wife gives her mum and dad 1,000 Baht a month, as do her three sisters. I give nothing.

That is an interesting idea. My dad's hobby was beekeeping until he could no longer lift the bee boxes full of honey laden frames. I think I'd go with the stingless bees though.

One of my main complaints about living upcountry is those bloody PA systems, often on trucks. I have to stick my fingers in my ears when they pass. Absolutely insane. However, when I am in my home, the sound is greatly reduced, so I think the double AAC block cavity walls and roof insulation are helping a bit. Luckily, for me the negatives are very few and I'm glad I retired to the countryside. Now back on subject, a friend has a knock-down house and I really like it, but he had to hire a contractor from a different province, i.e. not Kalasin, as none of the local contractors could meet his requirements.

I am a country lad by birth so my biggest love of this place, I now call home (apart from my wife ), is the countryside. I am very near the mountains (within cycling distance) and can see the tops of some from my front door. A couple of photos from one of my pushbike rides. First is actually in Udon but only 34 km from my house, and the second is in Sakhon Nakhon and 29 kms away. I also love wildlife, the birds, insects and reptiles (including snakes). Actually whenever I go fishing I spend more time looking at nature than I do my float. Probably why I'm not very good at fishing.

Yep, I am very happy with my Huawei Watch Fit 2. However, the sleep tracker is not very accurate when compared to other models. Some of the posters may wish to check out this guy on Youtube (The Quantified Scientist). He gives very detailed reports on fitness trackers/smart watches and provides comparisons between a very wide range of models, from low budget to high. Here is one he did a year ago for heart rate tracking:

I am now up in Isaan (northern Kalasin) after 40 years in Bangkok. It is very different but I love it for the most part. I think the key thing is to have something to keep you occupied, which Owl certainly has. Otherwise, life could spiral into boredom and depression. Post retirement, I have been kept on contract to the end of June, working 3 days a week online, but I am nervous about what I will do when I am fully retired. I like cycling and fishing but I can't depend on that seven days a week and I don't want to be online or watching TV most of the time. Contemplating buying a bit of land but other than that, anyone got any suggestions?

I thought second hand prices in Thailand were very high, and from checking car sales websites it still seems to be the case, at least for Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Benz and a few others. The price difference between a brand new car and a 2 year old secondhand one (same model) is so little that for me it would be a no brainer but to buy brand new.

They no longer make the Jazz. It has been replaced by a City hatchback but much smaller enngine. BTW I love my Jazz, but will eventually replace it with an SUV or pick-up as they are better suited to the upcountry roads.

Had an EKG as part of my annual health check. Last time I was diagnosed with sinus bradycardia and 1st degree AV block, the latter of which was a new one for me. However, this time there was no sign of the 1st degree thing. The Exercise Stress Test came back normal too. Waiting for the full report, but the doctor said everything looked okay apart from high BP, which was the highest it has ever been during a health check. Not sure whether the cuff was too small as mentioned by you in an earlier post. However, the doctor told me that I should rely more on my home testing if I am doing it regularly. He also mentioned white coat syndrome, which is me to a T.

Nope.

I understand that there are window bars on his room in the hospital. Would that count?

It does seem very much touch and go. Over the years my wife's family have had quite a few bore drilled, but with very different results, even though some of them were not far apart. My concern is the bedrock as we are in quite a hilly area. The only thing going for me seems to be that there is still water in the field behind my house despite the rice being harvested more than a month ago, so that would indicate good water retention or a high water table (I just assume that's good, but I don't know much about this subject). Fingers crossed.

We are going to have a well drilled next year, just for the house and garden, as the local water supply is not that good and gets pretty smelly and dirty in April and May. No idea if it will work though as it appears that our house is built over bedrock that is not very deep. Sister in law had a well drilled a few years agao and they could only go down about 10 meters before hitting rock, so that bore ended in failure. We'll see how it goes.

Nice to hear that Mildred is doing really well in English. One of my biggest regrets was only speaking Thai at home, resulting in my son being far from fluent. It just seemed more convenient for me as his mother didn't speak English so I only spoke Thai with her and I didn't switch to English with him. I thought the best time of year for drilling wells was the dry season as the water table is at it lowest then. Heard of people drilling too soon only to be without water heading into March. Having said that 48 meters does sound very deep.

Is that what a DILF is?

Not if the people who reported on it were located overseas. Can you imagine Thailand trying to press charges and getting someone extradited for this? Thailand would just become an even bigger joke. Extradition for defamation charges for telling the truth about air quality and the causes. You couldn't get any more pathetic than that. But then some of those in power are so blind to their own incompetence that I wouldn't put it past a few of them to push for extradition, idiots that they are.