BoganInParasite

The wife's small and highly regarded homestay in northern Nan province had an unexplained fourfold increase in bookings from Europeans this last high season. Made up for the near collapse of bookings by Thais. Bookings by expats living in Thailand stayed the same.

Speak occasionally to tourist farang guests at my wife's small homestay but in terms of expat farangs living in Thailand it has been at least over a year. Just glorious.

Have seen enough before and since COVID to say that 15-18 months is about the expected lifetime of the majority of these types of small businesses. I've got pretty good at predicting those that will not survive. You look at them and ask yourself what are they offering that will stand out in a saturated market, where will the customers come from...foot or motor vehicle, where is the parking, adequate signage, no website/Facebook, not on Google Maps or if they are, without the correct or any GMB categories.

Would have thought both organisations would be better served cleaning up their own forces first.

I'm just too lazy to apply myself to it. Lived here seven years now and have never failed to communicate my wants and needs when out and about in some manner. Always smiling, pleasant and thanking them for their assistance. Google translate and images are generally my go-to tools.

We make our own bread and baguettes and eat most of it still warm about thirty minutes after coming out of the oven. My favourites are slabs of salted butter slightly softened by the residual heat and vegemite mashed into it on at least two slices and the rest JIF creamy peanut butter. I'll occasionally indulge with some warmed baked beans and pan fried pork sausages.

Left Australia in 2009. Singapore 3 years for work. Dubai 3 years for work. Tried to settle in Aus for 6 months but got headhunted to... 18 months in Phoenix for work. 8 months world travelling. In Thailand since May 2018.

We had a three week very hot and air polluted period up here in northern Nan province that stopped about two weeks ago. Since then the temps have dropped 3-8 degrees and we've had two spells of rain for 3-4 days each. Even woke this morning to a couple of hours of unforecast light rain. First summer here is seven years that the farmland in the valley below us actually stayed a pretty good shade of green rather than dusty and brown. Even clear air and blue sky yesterday.

Not aware of any limits. But I only use it a couple of times a month so unlikely to ever encounter a limit.

Yeah, I've been using Viber for at least seven years to call back to Australia. Pay a subscription of about $5 AUD a month.

In Thailand I will stop for people on a zebra crossing. But if I see someone waiting on the edge of a crossing I will first check to see if there is traffic behind me before deciding whether to stop. I hold a genuine fear that whenever stopped in a traffic lane in Thailand for any reason there is a non-trivial chance of being run into by someone not paying attention. And we all know who would most likely get pressured to pay irrespective of fault. I've driven in a large number of countries and Thailand is the only one where I don't automatically stop. I think I've commented before how shocked my Thai wife was on her first trip to Australia when we and others stopped for pedestrians and she as a pedestrian was afforded the same courtesy.

Felt nothing in upper Nan province.

Felt nothing in upper Nan province.

Nan city. There are a couple of large local supermarkets in the central area that are very walkable but transport needed if Big C, Lotus's, Makro, Global House and Thai Watsadu are your thing.

Unpleasant this week in upper Nan province. Had a slight chuckle yesterday when the weather app said visibility in my area was 13 klms as I stared at where the mountain only 4 klms away should be. In fact the valley ridge only 2 klms away was quite faint. Very much the indoor period of the year now.