Gecko123

True enough, no argument here. The ultimate test of financial health for the expat is the ability to repatriate, and inflation, especially with housing costs, can really throw a monkey wrench into even the best laid plans. On the other hand...the risks of property ownership are soaring. Sea level rise, sargassum and plankton blooms, hurricanes, flooding, drought, ground water depletion, forest fires, unavailability of insurance, rising property taxes, and potential degradation of neighborhoods due to homelessness and influxes of climate refugees (both internal and cross-border) seem to be making home ownership less attractive. The value of maintaining your mobility options seems to be growing. With global debt levels hitting new all-time highs and the era of free money coming to an end, there is also a growing risk that real estate valuations will correct in the future as well. So it's not as cut and dried as it might appear at first glance.

Per Yahoo article summarizing Bloomberg interview given by Srettha Thavisin on 9/20/23, he has set a 6 month time-frame for introducing legislation to roll back recreational use. "The government will seek to “rectify” its cannabis policy and rampant sprouting of dispensaries that freely sell the drug within a six-month time frame, Srettha Thavisin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin on Wednesday in New York. “The law will need to be rewritten,” Srettha said. “It needs to be rectified. We can have that regulated for medical use only,” he said, adding that there can’t be a middle ground for recreational use." https://www.yahoo.com/news/thai-pm-vows-end-free-041423931.html

OP: I'm almost positive those aren't bai grapao leaves in the picture. Looks more like baby collards, possibly some other green. Key is the quality of the ingredients, especially the bai grapao leaves. When the plant gets older or has been stressed from heat, leaves are still usable, but can get a woody off taste. Quality of other ingredients is important too: cut of meat, type of cooking oil. Flavor comes from fragrance of bai grapao leaves, sautéed with red prik kii nu peppers, garlic, ginger. With high quality ingredients, hard to mess up because it's so simple. Served over a plate of fluffy par-boiled rice, it's a Thai classic. Unless you really can't tolerate spicy food, let the cook do his/her thing. Don't try to tinker with the spiciness, because it's all about the balance of the different flavors. One of my favorite dishes. Eat it at home fairly often.

Good luck, Bob. I would like to offer the suggestion that if you are serious about stopping drinking you may want to consider taking a break from posting at least during your initial efforts to abstain. Why do I suggest this? Three reasons: #1 You have developed a persona on the forum which I suspect is at least partially fueled by alcohol. If you continue to post, you may be under a strong temptation to have a drink in order to get your repartee mojo in gear, that is to get in a upbeat, animated frame of mind. #2 You have posted many threads discussing drinking, the pleasures of drinking, and trying to quit and then throwing in the towel. In the process you have probably developed a following of similar minded people who enjoy drinking, who enjoy having you as a cheerleader for drinkers, who may encourage you to fall off the wagon, who may undermine your efforts to quit, and who do not especially want to see you kick the sauce. It 's kind of like an alcoholic who still wants to hang out at the local tavern and tells themselves they'll still go to the tavern, just drink non-alcoholic beer. You need to remove yourself from any environment which you associate with drinking. #3 This forum can often be harsh and abusive. While you do a good job of projecting an image of having a thick skin and letting slings and arrows roll off your back, I'm sure it sometimes gets to you, as it would anyone. If the pattern in the past has been to use alcohol as a buffer against abuse you encounter here, it may be better to avoid exposing yourself to any abuse that may trigger wanting to have a drink. The final piece of advice I would offer to anyone trying to kick a habit is to allow yourself to sleep as much as you want, drink tons of water, allow yourself any food you want, and try to have as completely stress-free and responsibility-free an environment as possible. Again, good luck. I have a sibling who recently got diagnosed with bile duct and liver cancer, so I have been reading up on liver disease. Apparently, liver disease is often asymptomatic until it is advanced, so if your body is telling you you need to take better care of yourself, don't ignore it, and endeavor to make your health a top priority.

Example of "thainess": Old woman gives food to guy arrested for shoplifting after hearing he did so out of hunger.

Will be very surprised if a gag order is not imposed by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan after this fiasco interview where Trump was allowed to spew lies and gaslight the American people once again with only meek protest from Kristin Welker. If a gag order proves ineffective, this desperate, dangerous, and deranged despot needs to be jailed pending trial. Full, unedited interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOCRo97NoJ8

I know this is off-topic and I apologize to other readers, but a while back you posted about a phlegm problem you were experiencing. I don't have any answers for the root cause of the problem, but my advice would be to take a close look at your indoor air quality, especially around your work station and in the kitchen, especially if you use cooking gas. I recall your ham radio hobby and that you teach on-line. It's been my observation that electronics and other mechanical devices can degrade air quality significantly, and there has been a lot in the news lately about how cooking gas degrades air quality in the home.

"the sticks" seems to generally carry an uncomplimentary connotation, although perhaps more so in the US and Canada than in other English speaking countries. It's also the type of word you could use in a self-deprecating way as in "What (am I) are we doing living out here in the sticks?" without causing offense, but if someone not from the area says something like "Why on earth are you living out in the sticks?" (implying that you live in an undesirable location) that could cause offense. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stick stick noun (COUNTRYSIDE) the sticks [ plural ] informal disapproving https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sticks sticks plural : remote usually rural districts regarded especially as backward, dull, or unsophisticated https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/stick If you say that someone lives in the sticks, you mean that they live a long way from any large cities. [informal, disapproval] He lived out in the sticks somewhere. https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/stick the sticks informal : an area in the country that is far away from towns and cities We live way out in the sticks. [=the boonies, the boondocks] https://www.quora.com/What-does-sticks-mean-in-slang What does 'sticks' mean in slang? It simply means you’re referring to someone - or to a place - a bit isolated, a bigger bit of one-mindedness, adamant about maintaining a particular lifestyle without any outside interference. It could also include a crude mindset, a hillbilly attitude that can be either “gosh darn” friendly or else “puff up” antagonistic. “Backward” comes to mind; so does “ignorant.” Although they might be intelligent, by standard measurements, they have a mindblock that has created a membrane between themselves and others who are talking about them. At any rate, it’s not a complimentary word to throw around, alluding to a deep lack of formal education but a hefty dose of family education, hardly ever to the understanding of those beyond the “sticks” boundaries. It’s growing up and growing old in a comparatively backward part of the country. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_sticks the sticks (uncountable) (Canada, US, informal, derogatory) A remote, rural area; a place that is removed from civilization such as the boondocks.

No, I lived in mostly large cities: NYC, LA, SF, Seattle. Lived in a lot of areas with a fair amount of traffic noise, and always told myself I wanted peace and quiet when I stopped working. I'm shooting for a blue zone life style, which I believe can be replicated here in Thailand. The key to maintaining a farm life style is maintaining your health, which I'm pretty focused on these days. At some point I realize keeping up with the yard and the gardens may no longer be possible, and I imagine myself moving to a more manageable housing situation with better health care, probably, but only out of necessity, closer to a city.

I apologize if my comments offended you or anyone else. This was not my intention.

I don't understand your analogy, but I would like to comment on the value of going to Italy, and travel in general, something which I have given a lot of thought to, considering the impact travel has on climate change. Who has the richer experience? Is it the guy who hops on a plane without so much as cracking open a guide book, or doing any research about the culture and history, or reading up on cheese making and wine making, or studying Italian artwork, or learning to make some new Italian dishes? Or is it the guy who does do all this research but never gets on a plane? Increasingly, I say it's the guy who stayed home and did the research. And two other climate related points. If flying to Italy in a CO2 spewing plane contributes to global warming, causing Alpine glaciers to melt, and key waterways to dry up thus degrading local agriculture, that person is actually helping to destroy the very culture that they are going to see first hand. Yes, they're having a memorable experience in a cheese cavern whiffing and sampling a just cracked open wheel of Parmesan cheese, but at the same time they're making it less likely that people will be able to have the same experience in the future. And another point directed at those who pride themselves on availing themselves of all the convenience and comforts of urban life, and having a consumption oriented lifestyle. Did you know that those Korean strawberries you eat are actually grown in the winter and they burn natural gas in order to keep the berries from freezing? The point being that as the climate changes, cultivating strawberries is going to become more and more difficult. There was a thread a while back about how people use their air conditioning, and how some people love to keep their homes nice and chilled. All fine and good. That's their choice. But what if in the process of air conditioning our homes to a super comfortable degree, strawberries become no longer available or prohibitively expensive because of climate change? You've mentioned on several occasions how much you love sushi. That's probably going to become more expensive and less variety as the oceans heat up. Uni is rarely available these days, am I right? So my question is: what's it gonna be gents? Jet planes and air conditioned comfort, or strawberries and sushi? Cause chances are you're probably not going to be able to have both. Just to bring this full circle back to the thread topic, I think we are rapidly moving into a brave new world with unprecedented climate change. With this in mind, I have been studying potential places to live for many years now, and I increasingly believe that rural Thailand will be high on the list - globally - in terms of desirability and livability in the coming years.

Dude, make up your mind. Whose friggin' side are you on? ????

First of all, we don't call it the sticks. We call it living in the countryside. Interesting that you should mention healthcare. The countryside is no place for someone looking to lead an unhealthy sedentary life style which requires taking a long list of medications and frequent visits to the doctor just to stay alive. It's for people who like to stay active, eat home cooked garden fresh food and have healthy gut microbiomes because they work with and stay connected to the soil. Besides supporting a healthier lifestyle, and keeping medical expenses to a minimum, there are plenty of other savings to be had as well. For starters, produce from the vegetable garden and fruit orchards significantly help keep food costs down. This also allows you to regularly splurge on gourmet foods such as imported fruits and vegetables, coffees, nuts, seafood, condiments, etc., which you otherwise might only be able to afford occasionally. As far as the comment about there being nothing to do, there's plenty to do in the countryside. You have just as much access to on-line and streaming services, can stay just as current on world affairs with newspaper subscriptions, order just as many books from Amazon, and do as much on-line shopping as you can anywhere else in Thailand, or in the world, for that matter. True, your "entertainment" activities are more limited in the countryside, but who needs all that diversion and distraction anyway? You want a chance to grow philosophically and spiritually, commune with nature, enjoy peaceful living, you've come to the right place. You save money in other more subtle ways as well. It's a lot cooler out in the countryside than in an urban environment. I really notice this whenever I travel to a large city. With good cross-ventilation, you can dispense with not only air con, but even fans, so you can save a lot on electricity. Your wardrobe doesn't have to be quite as snazzy as might otherwise need to be in the big city, so there too you can save money. Instead of paying for a gym membership, you end up doing push ups and sit ups and riding your bike on back country roads, which saves a lot of money as well. Labor costs for things like lawnmower repairs, body work on a car, home repair, septic tank pumping, electricians, bicycle repair are still lower than they are in more urban areas. Parking is almost always free, you're less likely to be ticketed by the cops out in the countryside, and if you get into car trouble of some sort or need a ride back home because you got a flat tire on your bicycle, somebody will probably help you out for free or a small gratuity.

Check out this CCTV footage of what happened after the rear end collision. Pretty bizarre!

OP: Sorry for belaboring the point, but... that e-mail she says she received from him telling her she was the beneficiary on the life insurance policy, he may have only sent it just before he killed himself or even timed the delivery to arrive posthumously. She may have never even known that she was a beneficiary until after he was already dead.

I was primarily talking about your speculating about potential foul play with your neighbors and people in your area. Speculating that someone might have had something to do with someone's suicide not only can get you into hot water with slander laws but obviously would anger and cause resentment in anyone unfairly gossiped about. Your case for suspecting foul play is weak. As others have pointed out, plenty of young, handsome people, with seemingly everything to live for commit suicide. If the deceased sent her an email alerting her that she was a beneficiary on his life insurance, it's not abnormal for someone to ask those who might be handling his affairs for help in filing a claim. As far as her demeanor being insufficiently mournful, you said they had broken up and moved out some time back. Maybe she wasn't heartbroken that he died. That doesn't mean she killed him, now does it? If your goal in posting was to raise awareness that people might have a motive to kill you, what lessons would you have us draw from your neighbor's death? Don't take out life insurance naming your evil, unappreciative, skanky girlfriend as a beneficiary? OK. Duly noted. Not trying to be a smart-aleck here. All I was trying to do was caution you about spreading largely unfounded rumors about possible foul play around your neighborhood because it could get you in trouble.

I would completely cease and desist from speculating with anyone, including your wife, about the possibility of foul play. You simply have no basis whatsoever to do this. The foreign guy's next of kin will be able to verify that he sent the girlfriend the email she claims he did, and the insurance company will probably want to conduct an autopsy. Presumably, his death has been reported to the police and a report is available. You and your wife can help the next of kin if by helping to coordinate and by providing translation services if needed. That's about all you can and should do.

According to the below referenced article, the police have identified the victim as 39 year old Mr. Phichai Busayapaichit who got out of jail in 2022 on drug and robbery offenses. Police believe murder was drug related, and seem to have already identified the prime suspect(s) and are presently in the process of trying to locate them. https://www.thairath.co.th/news/crime/2724919

I've heard of the parents returning a portion of the sin sot to the newly married couple, but I've never heard of it being returned solely to the wife. Sounds to me like both the parents and the bride-to-be are preying on the American's cultural disorientation. Think about it. When you pay sin sot to the parents, you are basically giving a third party (the parents) money up front in exchange for what is essentially an unenforceable future promise that the daughter will be a dependable and loving wife. The parents have little to no control over whether the daughter will live up to this commitment, and if the daughter reneges on her commitment she doesn't have to forfeit any money, because the sin sot was given to the parents not her. I have found in life that the ethical mores of "keeping your end of the bargain" too often evaporates once the other party gets what they're after. Yes, it's true all over the world, but when you're a foreigner in a foreign land, perceived as having more wealth and opportunities than you perhaps deserve, the willingness to rationalize reneging on promises, if not outright fraudulently making commitments you have no intention of keeping, is much greater, and a greater degree of caution is called for. The old adage "don't front your money" which you probably first heard in high school, is, sadly, as applicable today when it comes to paying sin sot up front.

The handcuffs don't fit the drinking circle gone sideways theory. Why do you criminally handcuff someone? You want them incapacitated, but still able to give you the information you want. Combination to a safe? Where's the money?

They're likely gonna catch these guys very quickly. Whoever knew about that road where the body was dumped was very familiar with the area, which tells me the perps are local. The body was burned in the naive hope that this would prevent identification, which tells me that now that the cops know who the victim is, an investigation into known associates, and who he was last seen with will quickly lead to whoever did this. I'm thinking the motive might have been as simple as a drinking circle argument gone sideways, but then again if victim was a Chinese foreigner what are the chances he'd be in a drinking circle with locals? Just skeptical about drug dealing bad debts as a motive. The fact that this happened on a road leading up to what was formerly more of a monastery than a temple, makes me wonder if one of them had some incidental contact with the temple at some time, i.e., got ordained as a monk there. Just thinking out loud here. Please, no Inspector Clouseau comments.

I initially had a similar reaction, however the Thaiger article appears to have been based on very preliminary reports. Please keep in mind that Chai Badan's police station is relatively small. Later news reports show that a full forensics team was very quickly on scene, the police managed to identified the charred remains of the victim in a remarkably short period of time and are actively reviewing CCTV footage, and have expressed confidence that they will catch the perpetrators. I would also remind people that it was Lopburi's police department that caught the masked shooter who killed three people, including a small child, in that botched Lopburi shopping mall jewelry store robbery about 3-4 years ago.

In case anyone is wondering, according to the below news report the body was found "along the entrance to Khao Hin Kling Monastery Lam Narai Subdistrict Chai Badan District Lopburi Province." https://news.ch7.com/detail/670946 Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/สำนักสงฆ์+วัดเขาหินกลิ้ง/@15.0896421,100.6570361,10z/data=!4m10!1m2!2m1!1sKhao+Hin+Kling+Monastery+!3m6!1s0x311e4395a0aa1083:0xd430a16c5e82162c!8m2!3d15.184199!4d101.103121!15sChhLaGFvIEhpbiBLbGluZyBNb25hc3RlcnmSAQ9idWRkaGlzdF90ZW1wbGXgAQA!16s%2Fg%2F11r6rbb8h9?entry=ttu Thai language TV news report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Vnc2EMj98

Maybe it's different in more cosmopolitan settings, but upcountry the expat demographic seems to be getting poorer. A lot of guys dressed in flea market attire, getting around on motorbikes, not many McMansions have been built recently either. Currently appears to be something of a post-covid travel restriction influx of guys who have either returned after a long absence or are newly arrived economic refugees. Wives and hubbies seem to be a lot closer in age than what you might have seen 20 years ago too (guys in mid-to-late 50's, wife in mid-to-late 40's). Appears to be very little social interaction between foreigners where I live. Maybe they're all getting together secretly and just not telling me, but I don't think so. A lot of guys seem like they avoid contact with other foreigners like the plague, but they also seem to be rather anti-social and not very outgoing around Thais as well.

If all this is true Frits, why is it that you seem so dismissive of those who caution about the risks of getting into physical altercations? You bragged about your martial arts skills, but how much good will they do you if you're set upon by a group of crow bar, hoe handle, two-by-four wielding guys? You're dishing out in-your-face advice as if everyone on here is Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Rambo, and Claude van Damme rolled into one. How old are you? You think you could unequivocally kick the butt of any 27 year old Thai guy out there? I have my doubts, tough guy. You say you speak Thai. Great, but if the desk cop down at the police station decides the best way to keep the peace and squirm out of taking a police report is to arbitrarily believe the Thai person's version of events, all the Thai language skills in the world are probably not going to count for much. You said you're not afraid of dying. OK. Talk is cheap. How about fear of physical debilitation or disfigurement from getting into a fight? Or fear that you'll sustain huge medical bills from an injury? Please don't confuse being prudent with being a coward. I've been coming to Thailand for 36 years and have lived here for the past 20. I'll admit I've gotten into a few physical altercations over the years, and have had a chance to understand what the risks and aftermath of doing so are. There are a lot of risks, and a bull-in-a-china shop approach rarely, if ever, produces the best outcome, especially in a village environment. You can think of a Thai village as an interconnected eco system. Lots of family connections by blood and marriage, lots of life long acquaintances and friends dating back to grade school. A foreigner is going to be clueless about the full extent of these connections, no matter how long they live in a village. When you pick a fight with someone, you can oftentimes inadvertently end up antagonizing a large number of people who are backing the person you picked a fight with. In other words, there are often lasting repercussions arising out of tense disputes. Those that devolve into violence, can easily morph into physical altercations involving far more people than you initially anticipated. And I would not give Thais high marks in terms of willingness to let go of grudges or to bury the peace pipe. I have definitely come to the conclusion that any type of physical confrontation should be avoided almost at all costs. There are good reasons why Thais in villages generally try to avoid hot confrontations, if only because they live next door to one another and they're probably going to be seeing one another every day for the rest of their lives. I have found that being patient and taking a very considered approach to conflict resolution is the best practice when living in a village. Faced with a potential confrontation, I will often cogitate for long stretches about how best to approach the person, how they might react, and how I will react to how they react. Sometimes, (let's say a noise complaint) the problem ends up going away during this cogitation phase. It's not clear to me what environment you have been living in during your years here, but I am genuinely surprised that someone who has lived here as long as you claim you have, is so disinclined to at least acknowledge that this approach has considerable merits.