rickudon

How to keep busy .... I have 2 fish ponds for angling, and the banks require a bit of maintenance. Tried to get Thais to do it ( hired by wife) but usually end up with more work due to their mistakes (incompetence?). For example, one man with his bush cutter cut all the grass - and 2 date palms and a couple of other shrubs. Wasn't as if they were tiny - about 60 cms tall and 5 cm thick. 3 years of nurture down the drain. When ploughing the rice field. end up with marginal bananas and small trees bulldozed, and piles of soil and grass a metre high and all over the ponds nice flat bank. So I have to do it myself if possible. Also grow veggies and limes. I am finding that since getting to 70 i get tired faster, so 2 hours a day of gardening/farm maintenance is enough. When not outside, i spend an hour or 2 on computer games (for the brain), researching stuff about Victorian ships on the internet or browsing news (including Aseannow). Once a week play Bridge (although we are nearly out of Bridge players), and for when i want to completely relax, have Netflix. Also may start a climate blog, but never enough time! Apart from the Bridge, not much socialising as not into drinking and most expats i know either stay mainly at home (because older) or they just drink....

Here's wishing all the posters a prosperous new year. Last year has been eventful, just would like a quiet one in 2024! Do get some good tips on this thread - Owl mentioned he bought some tinned Cat food from BigC, and the pets enjoyed it. I saw it in BigC so bought some for our cat. Had previously bought some from Makro but the cat wasn't keen on it. The BigC cat food was eaten with Gusto. Also cheaper! Also comes in pouches as well. Busy in the veg garden now it is cool season. Only problem is quite a lot of the Thai seeds have been duds this year - suspect during the very hot weather last year they were not stored properly. I keep my seeds in the fridge - and ones from the UK from 3 years ago all came up, except the beetroot.

Pla Hang - do you mean Guppy? I think most livebearers can take a bit of salt

No negativity. I have a hearing deficit so the difference between Thai tones just does not register in my brain. I tried learning Thai, but beyond a list of nouns never got far enough to hold a conversation. i can buy petrol in Thai, and understand numbers (if you repeat it). In my experience 90% of shop assistants reply to me in English, but as most shops are self service, need for Thai is very rare. Anyway language issues are why you have a Thai wife!

At my daughters school in Udon about 1% have Farang fathers. Hardly enough to take the place over, and this is a farang hot spot.

In London have low emission zones - have to pay to enter in a ICE vehicle. That would work better (if they enforced it).

By the time these airports are operational, either CO2 reduction laws will have curtailed flying, or the planet will be on a one way trip to the next extinction event.

It only takes one quick look to see he has no weapons and the only danger to the policeman is being smothered.... Still an embarrassment to the UK and should have his passport confiscated.

Agricultural land in the UK would be less than a million baht an acre, let alone a rai. Unless the land has serious development potential, land in Thailand is never worth more than 500,000 baht a rai. Our family has had land for sale for years, all totally overpriced - none has ever actually been sold.

Yeah, shafted twice. They upped the price to 18,600 GBP just as i got married in Thailand. On a pension, so going to Uk which was being considered was out the window. And as another said, income was just getting to the 18,600 level and they have upped it again ... will probably die alone in the Uk if i end up having a long term terminal illness.

10,000 baht visa fine? If true, just another idiot. In 14 years living in Thailand i have been fined exactly 700 baht total. Corruption? maybe have paid about 2000 baht in tea money to immigration in total in that time, nothing anywhere else.

My Thai Nephew and his girlfriend just moved to Bangkok - to work. He has civil engineering qualifications but here in Udon good jobs hard to find (mainly was helping his father kill chickens). Other family members have worked in Bangkok, they all came back after a while, our village has a lot of family members in it. Personally, I hate Bangkok. Humid, always smells of diesel, little greenery; the taxi drivers are mainly obnoxious. I only go when i have to. Only time i lived in a large city was Birmingham UK, and then i lived in a suburb on a small hill with a garden. Small cities are fine, easy to get around and you do not get lost. Any city i cannot comfortably walk across in a day is too big. I live just outside Udon, can get to nearly everywhere in town i need in 15 minutes, air quality mainly good, I have trees, ponds and nature on my doorstep.

I hate golf because it is a threat to the environment - golf courses use vast amounts of water (responsible for desertification in Spain), and a lot of chemicals to keep those greens perfect. My fishing clubs carp lake used to have water lilies in it until they built a golf course next door. Three years later all dead, herbicides were in the water from the greens.

No problem, it has been sitting there for a year already!

Owl, if your good at fixing pumps we have one down on the farm not working. You are welcome to it next time you come to Udon. If you can fix it, you win. If not, well it was free.

Not sure what part of Udon you live but i have never experienced multiple days when the temperature stayed under 20, except in February about 10 years ago. Night time, OK, can get down to under 10. I have a maximum/minimum thermometer.

If Israel's bombing of Gaza is legitimate, then the USA after the twin towers attack could have legitimately committed genocide in Afghanistan? You cannot destroy Hamas by bombing civilians (unless you intend killing all Gaza residents). Israel admits it's invasion will take months - meanwhile Palestine civilians are being bombed, starved, are dying from lack of medical treatment and at risk of epidemics of water born disease. What aid is Israel providing? When this invasion is over, Gaza will be a wasteland. And will Israel accept responsibility for that? I doubt it. Probably expect the UN/USA/Europe to deal with it.

Except for all the dual carriageway bits - which means most of it. Between Udon and Nong Khai all dual carriageway, some 6 lanes. South of Udon, mainly dual carriageway, although haven't travelled that part much recently. Maybe they have grassed over a lane or two....

When i moved to Udon in 2010, you needed a duvet at night in cool season and a hot wife ..... In the mornings the locals would be shivering around wood fires at the side of the road, trying to warm up. Haven't seen that for years. Nights and early mornings are still cool, but hits 30 by 9 a.m. We did have a week in November in the high 20's, but that's it. This the first cool season when we still need air-conditioning to cool the bedroom at bed time nearly every day. Global average temperatures have broken monthly records for the last 6 months. 2023 will be the new warmest year. 2024? Wait and see. If ENSO persists, probably yet another record.

It is true that opening a bank account in Thailand can now be difficult. You used to be able to open an account on a visa exempt or a tourist visa years ago (i did in 2010) but the next time i tried it was a different story - and i had an annual Visa extension for marriage! took me 3 banks and 4 branches to do it, AND they asked for a Thai guarantor who was a house owner with a blue book (wife lives in family home, blue book not in her name, was not accepted). That was about 5 years ago. Last account (same bank) was a bit easier but not much in 2019. Also have heard that some bank managers do not want USA customers because of FATCA. Thai banks need to get their act together or retirees will get the message and choose another country to retire. In the UK, i can open a new account online in 5 minutes.

Reminds me of my USA B-in-L who decided to use an agent instead of getting a marriage extension -'less hassle' he said. Then he went to do his 90 day report and was told 'go to Jomtien'. In the end cost him 2,000 baht and a bottle of whisky! (back before the online reporting worked). Marriage extension only 2 days of hassle and about 2500 baht. I do use the 400,000 in the bank, but will run it down next year as i can use it for 8 months of the year, and i can get 5-8% interest in the UK. Did that a bit this year but had to top up again for extension next month.

The Tories will loose the next election because they have failed. They have failed to deal with immigration, they have failed to support the NHS, they have impoverished University students, hardly anyone below the age of 30 can afford to buy a house (now or in the future), and have to pay astronomically high prices to rent even a single room. Only the rich will vote for them. Starmer just has to do nothing to get elected.

West Bank Palestinians were not involved in the Hamas attack. Hasn't stopped them being killed, arrested, work permits revoked, houses bulldozed by Jewish settlers, prevented from working and kept under curfew, and prevented from tending to their farms (especially olive groves, which should be being harvested). Guilt by association. Is it any wonder that hatred of Israel is increasing on the west bank?

I was made redundant at 55 in the UK, worked part-time too pay the bills, but got work related injuries so fully retired at age 57, moved to Thailand a year later. i had about 40,000 baht a month (depended on exchange rate). Income mainly pension. First few years were great, but health issues started at 64. If i had waited until i was 65 to retire i would have missed those first few good years. No regrets about retiring, never really bored. Money was tight, so couldn't do everything i wanted, but if i had waited, would have missed the experience. Still hoping to make 80....

Typical time wasting .... Teachers Birthday - someone bought a cake, students ate it, teacher just told a story, no lesson today!