rickudon

Would seem to be more sensible to put the train on a bridge, no need for extra land, or to reroute the roads, and helps prevent animals and humans getting on the tracks. Worked for 150 years in the UK!

Dr Jong just used to regurgitate the opinions expressed by other international virologists/disease experts. I never saw anything he said that i hadn't seen already somewhere in international news or science journals. All i know was that i was already convinced we were in a Pandemic by end of January 2020 from the information i had seen, and cancelled my 2020 travel plans by Early February. Also advised relatives who were coming on holiday to Thailand that the country would lock down by the end of March. One chose to ignore this and had her holiday extended by 6 months..... Also second guessed most other developments. Covid is not going away, just another respiratory infection in the common cold group of viruses. One type of Coronavirus that can cause colds has recently been linked as a possible culprit to a 19th Century pandemic, Russian flu. Governments themselves are unreliable sources as what they say is distorted by 'economic' considerations - like in UK with BSE. When Selwyn Gummer was feeding his daughter a Hamburger for the press to see, I had already banned beef in my household, as i knew about Kuru (a somewhat similar disease in new Guinea) and didn't eat it for 15 years.

Vetifer grass, yes used to stop soil erosion in Thailand. Also need to think about maintenance - some plants grow like crazy and will need cutting every 2 weeks in wet season. Initially, first year, need anything which will rapidly provide ground cover to stop erosion in the wet season. Once the soil consolidates a bit, can think of planting more permanent plants like trees. Expect to loose about 10 cms of the lower bank in the first year while plants establish and soil compacts. I wouldn't plant any trees on the lower bank as you could end up with a tree waiting to collapse into the pond in a few years. Mango trees around our pond were the only ones to survive flooding which was bad the first 2 years. Aquatic plants - depends on if the pond is for fishing or beauty, Some nice colourful water lilies here in Thailand - but may spread rapidly or die off - usually one or the other! Do not put water hyacinth, water lettuce or Hornwort in the pond - can spread rapidly and choke pond.

Owl, If your passport expires in December, remember that your next extension of stay from immigration will only last until December. So best to replace your passport 3 months before your extension expires.

Disagree with both Connda and Finnsk. First, safety. Coal, oil and gas can all catch fire as well. When it comes to ICE vehicles, fires are not uncommon. Ex-wife lost a car to an engine fire and a Thai in-law died in a coach fire. Sure accidents to batteries can happen, early days for stats, but i expect lithium batteries (with the possible exception of cheap ones in mobile devices) will be safer than fossil fuelled powered engines. Sustainability? Metals can be recycled, just needs the economic will to drive it. You cannot recycle coal, oil and gas back into their original forms easily if at all. Hydrogen? so overhyped. Generating hydrogen from electrolysis is very energy inefficient, and then burning it again to get electricity, you loose about 80% of the energy. It would have some niche uses, but economically doesn't make sense. To put in context, if that renewable electricity was worth 5 baht per KWH, the electricity from green hydrogen would cost 25 baht a KWH or more. There are also issues over large scale hydrogen storage and transport; hydrogen can leak through most containers due to it's small atomic size, causing a safety issue. Fusion energy - money has been poured into this for 60 years, and so far more energy is produced than what was put in only a couple of times, and this for one time reactions lasting micro seconds. An actual power station, running continuous fusion reactions, is still a dream. Probably will take another 60 years, if ever. Renewable energy, whether from wind solar, tides, hydro or other, are technologies that have been around for some time, just they were uneconomic while fossil fuels were cheap and the main drawback was inconsistent rates of generation; battery power can resolve this. For the next 20 years, renewable power and nuclear fission are the only alternatives to fossil fuels.

Or the USA. Has Rishi still got his green card?

Interesting graph, although some countries not on it. What is appalling is that most of the countries with the higher homicide rates are in central America and the Caribbean. What is the common factor? I am sure supply of illegal drugs to the USA is a major factor. And where do the guns come from? Drugs, guns, USA. A toxic combination.

First, where to fish. Unless you have a running river near you, bear in mind that most smaller ponds (some very small) have an owner. It may look neglected, but usually they will be netted/pumped dry once or twice a year. Owners may not take kindly to you fishing there without permission. Also the banks are often steep and slippery clay, so safety is an issue (particularly with kids). Khlongs may be free, but often polluted. So yes, best bet is probably a fishing park or private pond. Three or four of us used to fish the parks, but some were an absolute ripoff - One was 200 baht a day but in 8 man days fishing we only caught one fish. Now i just fish my own ponds - much more likely to catch something, and more variety of species. As most Thais fish to eat, a pond can be cleared out pretty quick - a large pond very close to us is free currently but many thai anglers use 3 or more rods at a time there. You will need to do a fair bit of research to find the best places; there are some upmarket lakes stocked with large fish but also expensive and not really suitable for kids. Try speaking to other local expats, if you find a few anglers they can give good local advice - or maybe they have a farm pond you can wet a line in. In the parks, mainly striped catfish, because they are tough and can survive a lot of fishing pressure. Other fish are mainly Java barb or Tilapia and assorted types of carp. For the catfish you will need fairly heavy gear - 10 lb line, ledger tackle. If Tilapia and barbs, can go lighter - 6lb line (possibly with a lighter trace) and float tackle. My personal ponds have mekong and striped catfish, java barb, Tilapia, a few carp, Climbing perch, snakeskin Gourami and snakeheads. Also a few giant gourami and Pacu. Baits - most fish here are mainly vegetarians, so bread (or cake!), sticky rice will work; worms as well but hard to get in dry season. Also fruit, prawns, small bits of chicken, liver, even a bit of cabbage can work. Snakeheads are predatory but hard to catch - have good eyesight and will ignore a lure if they know you are there. ground baiting will pull more fish to your swim, particularly the herbivores. Time of day? before noon or after 4 p.m. Amazing how bites slow down at midday! Tackle - hard to get very light lines or very small hooks here - I buy those in the UK.

I compost, but though it turns out good, when you use it on the soil it disappears quickly. When i have enough, i dig in a 2-3 inch layer at the start of the cold season, but gone completely by the wet season. Rots away or termites eat it. I just cannot make enough especially as my M-in-L destroys all grass and weeds in the garden, and bins it along with all the leaves unless i get there first. Training her is working, but it has taken 10 years!

I think the record is about 40 kg. but yes, unlikely to see one over 20 kg. I do have at least one in my main private pond which is around 2-3 kg. Should also be some smaller ones, but not seen them for 6 months. I feed the pond every day with the previous days food waste (family creates a lot, cannot understand why they are not more careful). but mainly see plaa sawai which particularly like star fruit. The Jeramid only comes sometimes, and a Giant Gourami rarely. Haven't fished for 2 months as too much repair work around the banks. Also nightmare doing daughters passport and wife's visa for hopefully trip to UK in April. Talk about stress!

Mango wine ....... Had a friend made some a few years ago. He just fermented it then bottled it up into the 1.25 litre coke bottles. Was OK (certainly strong) but wine stayed cloudy and did have a slight bitter taste. Could have maybe done with a while maturing, but didn't last long enough! Other things .. Plaa jeramid (Pacu) caught from one of our fishing ponds by a customer - 16 kg ! .

Never had an account with a bank in Thailand that didn't pay interest. Maybe the staff are stealing the interest payments?????

Not just sex criminals in the Met police in London. My brother worked in Customs doing drug busts and they had to always take police with them on any bust. But they found out if they informed the Met. about where the raid was going to be, suspects and evidence all missing at the bust location. They had to specify a place to meet, then tell the Met officers 'follow me' until they got to the address, THEN tell them..... draw your own conclusions. Same world over - the bigger the town or city, the more corruption you will find.

At the grandparents... visiting was an experience ...... outside toilet, no light (remember to take the torch), Izal if you were lucky, newspaper if not. Yes, tin bath and a clothes horse for modesty. some lights were gas..... but modernity had arrived, there was a black and white TV, but only one channel (BBC). Food. The dreaded mince beef, boiled potatoes and cabbage once a week. Cold fatty lamb from Sunday lunch on a Monday. And sugar sandwiches (needed butter, margarine just wouldn't cut it). And Polo mints.

Being born in the UK in the fifties, wasting food was a no-no. 2 world wars and food rationing meant that you tried to use everything. I know now that in the UK under the age of 60 are less conscious of this, but still rare for most typical families to throw away more than about a lire of waste a day (i am sticking with volumes). In my family situations i had, it would be rare to throw away more than 2 litres a week. In Thailand, with most on lower incomes, you would expect that Thai families would also be careful about waste....... NO! My family here produce about 5 litres a day. that is from about 4-5 for Breakfast and Lunch, and 5-8 in the evening, normally. Yes, a lot of it is down to Thai soups, sauces etc., a lot more liquid. And of course the climate means spoilage happens faster. But i reckon what gets binned (allowing for what isn't fit to eat) would still feed another 2 people, I put it down to preparing multiple dishes at nearly every meal, and always having something for people who drop in at meal time. No portion control. What is your experience? And what do you do to change habits? We have a slops bucket which goes to the fish every day (has to be every day, hard to carry after 2 days!), so not totally wasted. But still find them throwing peelings and left overs into the rubbish bin because too lazy to walk 3 metres. Also have a compost heap (which if not for me, would be empty!). I moan, but changing habits is hard.

Hmm.... Maybe we can sell all that <deleted> land the family owns but Thais will not buy.....

My son was lucky. He just wanted to drive my wife's scooter around the village - i wasn't happy, but he is an adult. 5 days later he had an accident. He wore a crash helmet, but was just wearing flip-flops and his foot was sliced open. He had travel insurance, but i doubt if it covered riding a motorbike and no licence. Took him to Bangkok hospital, with my wife in tow - they accepted her motorbike insurance! Bill was about 27,000 baht including redressing wound every few days. Wrecked his holiday. But now he has a wicked looking 8 inch scar as a memento.... he no longer wants a motorbike. All of the families nieces and nephews have had motorbike accidents - fortunately nothing worse than broken arms and legs. I will no longer even go on the wife's bike as a passenger - last time was 5 years ago. With the state of Thai driving skills, and some substandard roads/safety issues, it is almost certain that you WILL have an accident eventually. If inexperienced, almost certainly sooner. In a car, may still have accidents - but 90% of the time only the car gets hurt.

so the population has fallen by about 80,000.

Happy New year! Always an interesting thread. Saw that Owl posted about Bookhouse, Nong Sim. That closed about 7 years ago. Wife kicked out husband who then returned to UK with his young son. She ran the place for a year or so then site owners kicked her out so they could redevelop it. Tenure in Udon is always a risky thing. Spend loads doing up your rental, and next year lease not renewed. Other places to go in Udon. Upmarket, try the Gallery, near the Honda Big Wing showroom at the Kutchap turn on the ringroad . Nice restaurant although a little bit expensive, can get directions on internet easy enough. Or Papa Farangs. the pie man, up the Kutchap road at Baan Hansa; however opening limited as Dean who runs it has some health problems. Do not know about any chess players, haven't played for 10 years. You are welcome to drop in if coming to Udon - I live in Nong Na Lam near Bobae and global house. Next door to Wat Burapa Wanaram.

Yes, when tourism crashed many Thai workers returned to their homes. Apart from the strictest lockdowns and nightlife, the only way you knew about the pandemic in Udon when out and about were the masks and handgel. Shops were busy and plenty of partying in the villages. At least 3 businesses opened on the regular routes i use at this time, probably funded from the tourism savings. They haven't closed down, one was expanding this week. Most of the workers found jobs here, or started their own, maybe paid a bit less, but living at home, costs are lower. Haven't heard about anyone saying they want to go back to Phuket or Pattaya to work. Employers are notorious for wanting long hours, unpaid overtime, and few advancement opportunities. Until employees are treated as a valuable resource then recruiting good staff will not be easy. In my own family a couple of examples of this. My wife worked 10 years for Charoen Optical, but was still paid the same as those just starting. Left to run a village bottle shop, then a restaurant at home. MY niece recently got a job as an accounts clerk, but was made to work 2 hours unpaid overtime most days. An 11 hour day. She left and now is a shop assistant - less money, less responsibility but an 8 hour day.

May not be any help to Bannork, but i use a UK credit card to get all my money. Halifax have a fee free card (Clarity) and a couple of other banks also. I get the mastercard exchange rate, which is similar to the interbank exchange rates, I check with XE.com and usually similar to their quoted rates (the interbank rate, not their transfer rate) and when Wise's fee is taken into account, normally better than Wise. I can use it to pay in Thailand, rarely any trouble, or by doing a counter withdrawal at a bank for cash - then no fees like at ATM's. Only have to pay off quickly to keep interest on the credit down. I would strongly advise anyone from the UK moving to Thailand to maintain a UK bank account and address if at all possible, it solves a lot of problems and helps if you have to return to the UK. Did use Wise about 4 times in the past, but twice the transfer from my UK bank to Wise or Thailand failed. My card is a better rate and i get my money when i want

Been away from the thread for a couple of weeks, so didn't see Owl's Cheese post. have the information he wanted. Chern Chim - the owner sold it to concentrate on a new beer bar and mainly wholesale farang foods. The new owners (2) only had it for a few months and one died, it closed and never reopened. There is a cheese shop - Called 'Cheese to meet you' - has been open a couple of years, on the same road as St Mary's school - take the Soi Nong bua road from the ringroad, turn left at the main road (Posri road?) and it is about 200 metres up, half way to the St Mary's school. Has cheeses, meats and other farang food.

Covid hasn't stopped killing people, it just is killing less. In the UK, even though the majority by 2022 were vaccinated, it still killed 50,000 in the last year (estimated from worldometer). For those who go on about dying with Covid rather than from Covid, it is still a factor in these deaths. Also looking at Excess deaths (probably a better indicator of how many people actually died of the disease) they have been above average for most weeks since March 2020 - and still about 30-50,000 in total in 2022. Which does seem to suggest that yes, Covid still kills. The similarity to Influenza? Well Spanish flu killed about 200,000 in the UK, and Covid has achieved about the same, The difference is, there is no sign that Covid is ending yet, if ever.

Yes, carp in the wrong place can be a pest. I once went fishing at lake Burley-griffin in Canberra. All i could catch were carp, mainly stunted. A passer by had the biggest for his cat. The Australian CSIRO were looking at Carp herpes virus when i was there as the myxomatosis equivalent for carp. Do not think they went country wide with it, just not deadly enough. Most of the indigenous fish in southern parts of Australia are now rare due to carp, and of course agricultural practices/dams polluting the rivers or changing the aquatic environment. In the far North the fish were still the indigenous ones (Catfish similar to Plaa sawai and barramundi were main ones, also Tarpon, saratoga (a type of arrowana), archer fish and longtoms). At that time no cane toads, i fear many of the rarer predatory animals are on their way to extinction due to Cane toad poison - although some birds seem to have learned how to deal with them). An interesting 18 months of my life mainly spent in the Northern territory, with more crocs than humans.

Hacking a government website to put an advert on for your illegal gambling operation sounds pretty dumb.