rickudon

We had a golden eel in a tank, M-in-L used to put it in a bowl and divinate the lottery numbers - 3 small wins in 3 months..... But then she killed it by overfeeding.

A 200% increase in trade sounds wildly optimistic......

Of course, if you want to be 100% careful replace everything. But the chances are that it will be OK. In the UK, had a 10 year old small car, which i left on the driveway my first year here. Just charged the battery up and after 5 minutes turning engine over, it started. Next year left inside a garage, came back, charged battery, started first time! I then took the car on a tour of Scotland with my son. Had a 110,000 miles on the clock, and never had to change any parts those last 2 years. I then sold it, as I didn't really need a car in UK anymore, but mainly because finding parking for 9-10 months a year was a hassle, plus the tax, MOT and insurance. Car tyres? Deterioration is similar whether used or not in Thailand, depends on if in the sun or not, but you should get at least 5 years, just check for cracks and drive slowly for a few miles at first. All my tyres i have retired in Thailand due to nail punctures or low tread.

Why do you get methane? Because (apart from dead plants rotting) is because as the paddy field is flooded, the soil is waterlogged and all the oxygen in the soil is used up by microbes - so only the methane producing ones are left. Cereal crops grown on 'dry' land have more oxygen in the soil as not waterlogged, so methane production is low. Rice farmers should change to Corn, Millet or Sorghum, then methane production would drop - however hard to get fields which are not waterlogged in tropical wet seasons - hence rice.

Farang buffalo also becoming hard to find, need government protection - very important as an important income generator for Isaan!

Rubbish. Was in BigC at weekend, and many brands available and shelves full, only Sunflower oil was in short supply. Typical price was 63-69 baht a litre.

Before i came to Thailand, i researched places i might like. Then i talked to a girl from Udon Thani, so researched that (Udonmap was a brilliant resource for that 14 years ago). It seemed promising, so that was my first ever visit in Thailand (I do not consider Bangkok, i do not like big cities). It exceeded my expectations (maybe, with some experience of wilderness areas and Africa, i was prepared for the worst), and have spent 99% of my time in Udon. Didn't take long for the girls to find me, i soon had a couple of friends, and soon after, a wife and daughter. If my wife died, i would still stay in the area. It has 95% of what i want.

Good luck at getting dolphin stock from another country, they are rare everywhere. Getting agreement on catching, transporting and successfully releasing dolphins is not as simple as shifting a few bulls around.

There are other oils, at a similar price. Shopping 2 days ago and Palm oil, Soya oil, Corn oil, even rice bran oil varieties under 70 baht a litre. And no shortage on the shelves. Sunflower oil is more expensive and less available, but THAT is the oil in short supply.

This means 100% of bribes/skimming now complete. Just need to actually build it now.......

The average wage in Thailand is about 14,000 baht per month. Obviously western expats are not going to work for that, but good luck in finding a well paid job, not easy. https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/wages

Most shark populations have been severely depleted by fishing boats, either as accidental bycatch or for shark fin soup. They are an important part of the marine ecology, help maintain healthy fish populations. Typically there are under a hundred shark bites reported per year GLOBALLY. And average deaths is 5 per year. OP just paranoid. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/yearly-worldwide-summary/#:~:text=However%2C unprovoked case numbers were,five unprovoked fatalities per year.

Thai figures are pretty meaningless. Here in Udon, 'Official' case numbers have changed very little in months, but the number of reported deaths have shot up - about 5% Cases to deaths in the latest local report. If the case numbers were realistic, it would make Omicron the deadliest variant! As said, most people now test at home and do not report it. Personally i know 5 families who have had cases in the last couple of weeks - and that is more than during the first 2 years of the pandemic.

I arrived back in November, was not asked to download app at airport, not at hotel, not when leaving Bangkok airport for provinces, not at local airport, and never asked for it since. Only ever been asked for vax certificate.

Time to think about political asylum in Australia ....... Is the truth good enough for another Aljazeera documentary?

In Udon Thani, definitely cooler overall this year. I had a bumper crop of beetroot and carrots, which usually start to die end of March. Highest temperature on my Maximum-minimum thermometer has been 39.5 Centigrade - usually would have had a half dozen 40 plus days by now. Last couple of days have been hot, 37-38 Centigrade, but has only done that about 7 or 8 times so far. I have lived here for 12 years, so know what to expect. Climate change, yes, but it affects areas differently - the highs have not gone up, but the lows have. Ten years ago, in the cold season, you would see people dressed like Eskimos in the morning, or sitting around wood fires to warm up, very rare now. In the cold season, now temperatures overnight about 15 Centigrade, or more. Now, last few days overnight temperatures have barely fallen below 30 Centigrade - indoors lowest has been 31.3 Centigrade. Just checked, and 35 Centigrade already and not even midday. The sun hasn't even got round to my room, does that about 2 p.m. and it will rise quickly then! Rain - practically zero from October to March, very different 10 years ago. Well dry for only the second time in 12 years, but fish ponds slightly better due to the cooler winter.

Not offended. I find Englishman slightly offensive, even if true...... I prefer British.

As a man, it is never too late to have kids (unless you have a physical problem). When i came to live in Thailand, i was open to having kids, but had 2 in the UK so it was not a priority. I was 59, wife 40, when daughter was born, 10 and a half years ago. I wouldn't change that. Is every thing perfect? Of course not, paradise is a idea, not reality. Life is good enough. I have 3 children who love me, and a good family here in Thailand. Would i have liked to see more of the world, had more women, yes, but you have to be realistic. I think cities are a bad place for Kids - i agree a house, garden, nature are best for a child. As for education, no need to spend millions - I have seen many of the selfish entitled jerks who come from 'top' schools. Just need a reasonably good school, you can get ones in most places - i pay about 40,000 baht a year all in. Money isn't everything in life, but western culture emphasises 'success' but makes home ownership beyond the reach of most these days. I do actually think us baby boomers had a better life than most of our children will. I do try to instil a belief in caring for the planet in my children, rather than just for themselves.

I had a nasty accident due to Microsleep. I arrived back in UK after a Holiday and car MOT had run out (it was at my parents, near airport) - Turned out not worth repairing so took train home to Birmingham and bought another car a few days later. I had left some of my luggage behind at parents, so drove down in the new car to collect it, them drove back overnight. On the M6, 15 miles from home, got sleepy. felt the tyres go bump bump on the cats eyes at the edge of the lane, so turned the steering wheel to the right - car swerved off at an angle of 30 plus degrees, and rolled over 3 times when i tried to correct it ...... why? The new car had power steering and my usual turn on the wheel was too positive. I was lucky, crawled out of the wreck with only 2 broken hands. When i saw the car the next day, the entire roof had collapsed apart from over the drivers seat. My head had ended up just a couple of inches from the roof - good job i am only 5 foot 6 inches! I never drove solo on the motorways at night again if i could help it.

So nobody knew the safe was there....... they said. And thieves of course do not know where a safe is likely to be. Reminds me of my ex-wife - she inherited a load of gold Jewellery and decided to 'hide' it in the bottom of her wardrobe - thieves found it of course. And i didn't realise how much she had, the assessor thought value about 12,000 GBP. We didn't get that much back from the insurance. My stuff was hidden behind books and some toys, not found. Did she learn? 5 years later robbed again, what was left was - in the wardrobe or under the bed........

Common problem in Thailand - double counting zeroes.......

Buffalo still prized in Isaan - as food and as source of fertilizer. Have eaten wild Water buffalo steaks in Australia - not tough. Still also useful for clearing the rice paddies of stubble/weeds. See them frequently.

I very much doubt that the flooding had much to do with it. They are water buffaloes - they will happily live in flooded land, rice paddies, swamps; will eat many aquatic plants. Lack of access to grazing most likely, or as KhunLA said, poisoning.

In the early days of GPS, i was driving my daughter to her new flat in a new town, and the GPS insisted i turn right (on a motorway). There was of course, no right turn. It only decided a few miles later, that i needed to do a U turn and then turn left ......? Also sometimes the maps are out of date - when major roadworks (making a tunnel) were happening, it tried to make me take a non-existent route - which would have led to a dead end. GPS is only as good as the data it is programmed with. Same with driverless cars.

Yes, but the high temperatures are the most negative factor in living here, for me. Obviously there are positives, or i wouldn't be here. All countries come with positives and negatives. If i find paradise, i will let you know - or on reflection, not, wouldn't want to spoil it!