Lewthetraveler

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Set up a Paypal account and ask for donations

Luang Namtha

There were 32 people playing. Each would hold a maximum of 13 cards per deal. So NO individual possessed more than 120 playing cards. Is that clear? As there were 8 tables in play the total number of cards in the room would exceed 120 cards (probably 8*52=416 cards in total. I suspect you've never played bridge or have any idea about it, so your highlight defines your ignorance.

Party bridge is played with two decks per table, a deck being shuffled and mixed by the 'dummy'while the previous hand is being plated. Thus eight tables require 16 decks, plus an backup deck or two.

Duplicatebridge is a bit different in that there are usually metal carriers, called 'boards', for dealt hands that are kept intact throught the evening as the boards and people are moved around.

There are usually 36 boards, thus 36 decks of cards required plus an backup deck or two.

Since the responses have long drifted away from anything to do with my original question, I will unfollow and thank you all now who actually did respond to me.

L

Thanks again, not so much for the actual advice but for the revealing personalities behind the comments.

For my sake, I think I am quick to avoid the kinds of people that annoy me, life is too short to waste time in that kind of company.

Thanks all for the information.

Several people referred to there being 'sharks' amongst the other ex-pats.

What is meant by that?

Thanks.

If the first 6 months are good, I will stay on (I think)

I hope to eventually live in Chiang Mai for at least a few months and am wondering how to get some sort of social like.

By that I don't mean specifically dating, but just meeting people with approximately the same interests. I come from an academinc background, while not a confirmed non-drinker, I don't enjoy the bar scene and don't plan on 25 year old bar girls for my soul mates.

(Money is not an issue, I have plenty enough so I don't need to earn any.)

I am an avid photographer and traveler, like the outdoors and read a lot.

While not a gym rat, I go 3x a week to keep myself from aging any faster than necessary.

During my years as a research scientist, I taught basic statistics and would be happy tutoring as an entree to the academic life in some way.

Any suggestions on how to craft a life when I'm finally there?

TIA,

L

Chiang Rai, Feb, 2015

Sony A7 II Zeis 24-70

If you want to avoid too many 30 day visa on arrival stamps. Do 2 back to back countries. Such as Myanmar/Laos, Cambodia/Vietnam and China/South Korea.

Thanks for info.

Is it possible to get from Myanmar to Laos overland or must I fly from Vientianne or LP to Yangon?

Thank you all for these comments.

I have some indefinite amount of time to plan so I can proceed with some caution.

When I come to a point that isn't covered in this thread, I will come back with more questions.

I didn't work for 60 years to have to count my pennies. I find that 300,000 baht a month satisfies my needs barely

I don't know what this response is about in this thread.

Thank you, Rob.

My experience has been different; I have been a brokerage client for 20+ years and trust my broker.

ML has changed a lot since the merger with BA and the growth of internet banking.

Is Merril Lynch Intl used by anyone here?

I did, biggest mistake of my life. Run away.

What happened?

All I want is a fee-free access to my stateside accounts.

L

Based on the bills issue alone (which I hadn't really considered), I will probably get a Thai bank account as per Rob13.

I haven't decided where I will end up on a semi-permanent basis; perhaps somewhere I haven't been yet.

I do want time to see the more out-of-the-way places that I haven't visited like the further north places in Laos and Myanmar and the North-east parts of India.

Chiang Mai seems attractive, good restaurants, good medical care, lots of activity.

Cost of living is not exorbitant and weather seems more tolerable than BKK.

Is Merril Lynch Intl used by anyone here?

thanks john,

I am hoping not to need an in-country bank account as it seems more trouble than its worth.

The exception is that I may need local bank account for rent payments and, in that case, I'll do what I have to do and fund it with wire transfer from US.

My intent is to use a low fee credit card for all travel expenses but that can be figured out when the time arises.

Thank you for the answers.

The Thai Elite Visa may not be worthwhile for me; I had a look at their perqs and they weren't attractive for me.

All the rest seems workable and I will look into retirement visa when the situation develops.

Thanks

My future plans are to travel most of the time with a changing fixed base in different areas of the world.

I plan on Thailand (probably Chiang Mai) as my fixed base for travel in Asia because I am reasonably familiar with Thailand and I can get anything I need there.

Then I would travel for the length of a visitor's visa in each of the adjacent countries (China, India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia), returning to Thailand to rest up and restock.

I plan on visa exempt entries for each return to Thailand but keeping a room/apartment for as long as this all will take.

Is there anything about apartment rental in Thailand, repeated visa-exempt entry, etc. that I have misunderstood and will keep this plan from working?

Thanks in advance.

^ thanks for the comment - appreciated.

That vignette issue is actually an old blue and heavily discoloured fishing net strung across. I saw in PP and considered dodging it out but the effect looked even more artificial. Maybe I'll give it another look and see what comes about.

Kind of you to comment.

Just another interesting example of how reality can look unreal.

IMO, comment/critique is really important to allow the photographer to see through another's eyes.

I am happy you responded so graciously and didn't take offense.

Lew

The image of the three generations is really nice.

(a small nit - the edges of the vignette above the middle woman's head and on the right side seem very obvious and defined.)

Shaggy,

I will certainly ask in advance next time.

In regards editing.

Our brain does a lot of editing when we see a situation but the camera catches what is there.

While actually taking pictures is difficult enough, it is even more difficult to look at the image that results and understand how to make it so it is perceived by others in the same way you see it in your own mind's eye.

If you would care to send me - or post a link to - a high resolution version of your first picture, I might be able to point out some ways to get to a different result.

My email is [email protected].

I have started a thread for un-themed pictures of Thailand - usually of people at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/862502-un-themed-street-photographs/

I have always shied away from themes because that meant to me that I was forcing the image into something it wasn't, forcing me to look for shots with a certain 'meaning' or tucking a shot into a specific category because of some minor elements.

I do think shots should convey something, whether it can be translated adequtely into language isn't necessarily true.

This shot is a favorite of mine because it indicates, to me at least, something typically Thai about the beauty and homogeneity of Thai children. Each of them has a different pose and the viewer can intuit what they may be thinking. It was important to me to catch the entire child, top to toes, at a time when almost all the faces were visible.

There's no magic in street photography.

Be prepared to make the shot and compose the shot in your head.

All of the tips in the world don't mean anything if the shooter doesn't know why he/she is taking the shot.

If the shot doesn't have all the information and impact needed to reach out and grab the viewer, then all the fancy processing and moody shadows don't mean crap.

http://lewlortonphoto.com/p279473813

Sorry, had to run out and found I couldn't edit my entry on return.

The first full sentence should read:

Don't think that any random picture of people in the street taken fairly up close and rendered in B&W is street photography and meaningful.