Ombra

I know this man. He approached me in Lotus in Muang Prachuap with a story about his Thai girlfriend having stolen all his money, and he offered me a very cheap-looking watch in exchange for money. He claimed to be an Italian, but he looked like someone from Iran or Afghanistan (I worked in the former country in the early 1970s). When I walked out to the car park, I saw him getting into a nice, big SUV, so I figured that a little deception was needed to fund his trip.

In Thap Sakae district, we have had two days of heavy rain in seven months. Given that the southern part of the province has had a shortage of water for decades, some planning would have improved the situation rather than pie/plane in the sky.

I wonder why they didn't choose the quieter roads from Thap Sakae to Chumphon?

This is of tremendous help. Thank you very much.

Mosquitoes have disappeared from my house. There was a time when the first thing I did each morning was to zap a few dozen in the kitchen, and mosquito repellant was often on the shopping list, but I haven't bought any in at least six months. Insects are endangered. I saw a solitary butterfly (or moth) a few days ago.

Thanks very much indeed.

Is Royal Ploughing Day a holiday for government employees? I looked on Google, but I couldn't find a clear answer. Thanks.

My apologies!

"forcing residential consumers to use their ... refrigerators for longer." Do some people turn off their refrigerators when it is not so hot?

I think that Covid and the rise of the motorcycle delivery people has made things worse in a short period of time. I live near Rangsit University, and in the evenings I used to see many people walking to the market. Now, the motorcycles are around all day long and there are fewer people to be seen.

Thais consume 25 tablespoonfuls of sugar a day? That cannot be right - can it?

I wonder how much the hundreds of u-turn bridges cost. Could some engineer tell us whether that is the best way of crossing the line?

Thanks for telling me about these two coffee shops. They both look very attractive. I am surprised that I don't know the Srisanor because I am often along that soi. However, because of the parked cars and motorcycles, it is a little risky to look around. I am not often in the street where Yai Coffee is, but I will take the back entrance to Lotus some time and take a look at it. Thanks again.

Thanks a lot. I know exactly where you mean. We found this place a few weeks ago, and the shop has the best selection of plants that I have seen. I'll being going back this coming week. Thanks also for recommending the coffee shop, which I will certainly try.

I think you are right about the the plants at the Dan Singkorn market being open all week. It would be too much trouble to move them. As for the nursery to the north of PKK, I will look out for it the next time I drive to Bangkok. Thanks for the tip. The problem I have, though, is that I live less than a hundred yards from the beach, and the salty air seems to affect the plants I bring from Bangkok or which I buy online. Three-quarters don't survive. It may be that I am a poor gardener, but I am talking about three or four years' experience of buying plants. My wife bought a beautiful 'mussaenda philippica' online a couple of months ago, and we are watching it wither away. That is why I am looking for nurseries in places close to the sea.

Thank you very much. That's a good idea. There are one or two small nurseries on the way to the Immigration Office, but I hadn't thought about going beyond there, mainly because the frontier was closed for a long time during Covid. I had forgotten that the market existed.

Thank you, George. I was wondering about this.

We have bird-shaped kites hanging in various places, old CDs spinning around and flashing light at the birds, mothballs on various surfaces, bird repelling tablets from Daiso, and so on, but the pigeons get used to these things after a while. Keeping the cat's food indoors all the time has made a big difference, as have the plastic spikes from HomePro, but these birds are amazingly persistent. What surprises me, though, is that we live in a lightly populated rural area, but there are so many pigeons. I though pigeons were urban creatures.

Isn't that what we mean by leasehold? It is familiar to many people.

Could anyone recommend a nursery with a good selection of flowering plants in Prachuap town? I've seen a few small places in the soi between Lotus and HomePro, but I was looking for something more. Nothing unusual; just some colorful or sweet-smelling plants. The ones I brought from Bangkok didn't do well in the sea air. Thanks.

A more honest report would note that Thailand shows almost no change on the corruption index. Its score has only risen by one point from 2021 and it shares 101st position with eight other countries.

Before Covid, I used to see my neighbours walking to the market in the evening, but now many rely on motorcyclists to bring them food and the motorbikes are around all day long, not just at mealtimes.

There are uniformed police officers working in gold shops in their off-duty hours, and I am sure they have other part-time jobs. Working for extra cash is much better than taking 200 baht off a poor motorcyclist. I don't understand why providing a motorcycle escort service is that much different. They ought to be congratulated for their creativity in providing a much sought-after service.

Yes, they could start by being honest.

Yes, thank you, I've seen that, but I was wondering about working days.