rickudon

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.

Saw a video on Thai news of his body being collected from his room, he was using a hospital style bed, so maybe he had health issues.

He should add 300 baht to the cost of his Pizzas (already expensive) - see how long his business lasts then. I will avoid HIS brand from now on.

That Covid is still around, and a danger, is obvious if you look at the various statistics. First 2 years yes a lot of people died, but less now due to vaccinations and milder versions - BUT in the UK 20,000 still died in the last 6 months with/of Covid. It is hard of course to say if some of them would have died anyway, but Covid was a factor which may have caused those deaths. I am sure the same applies with flu - it is a factor in death, but possibly not the only one.. At 20,000 Covid deaths over the warmer months it is like a never ending flu epidemic. Unfortunately the newer variants are just so infectious that it is near impossible to avoid getting it sooner or later; we just have to grit out teeth and get on with life. Nearly everybody i know only got it this year, all vaccinated, all survived. One distant relative died of it in the first year. One person i know suffered long covid and hasn't worked in nearly 2 years (in his 30's). To put it in another context, death rate/cases is now about one in a thousand, similar to dengue.

Only once had a problem with my card (a foreign card) being spat out without the money. Yes, only using ATMs in the bank is safer. Better still do not use an ATM at all but do a counter withdrawal - especially if a foreign card where being eaten becomes a major problem - only takes a few minutes longer (or plan ahead and go when the bank is quiet, only 2-3 minutes lost), and save the ATM fee if a foreign card at most banks.

Unfortunately a common occurrence. Happened to a family about a mile away from us - mother planting rice - kid playing nearby, fell into deeper water.

Although tragic, this accident is not the fault of the pickup driver. As has been said, for many it is the only way to transport your extended family around, not everybody can afford a car. Secondly, many countries allow passengers in the back of Pickup trucks - it is legal in 20 states in the USA! If i had to choose between the back of a pickup truck and a motorcycle, no way would i choose 2 wheels. Motorbikes and passengers would have stood no chance in this accident. The issue is Thai driving standards and lack of enforcement of rules.

Although my politics are left of centre, immigration in the UK is a problem. Forget 'human rights' people in the UK have rights too. Time to get tough. 1. legal migration exists, and will continue to do so. 2 Illegal entry into the UK is a crime, and anyone who lands in the UK should be considered as a criminal. Automatic fine for illegal entry. All services provided to them have to be paid for, including making them pay the NHS surcharge. All debts must be paid before the possibility of right of remain can be given. 3. Anyone from a safe country is automatically deported (40,000 of this years illegal migrants are Albanians). 4. Failed Asylum seekers get one appeal only, then automatic deportation. 5. No rights to benefits for asylum seekers until right to remain given. 6. No family members can join them unless they are employed and repaying their debts, usual migration rules apply. 7. Failure to obtain work or pay debts can result in deportation. If cannot be deported, they will be detained. That's for starters. Obviously a lot more involved than this.

Got to destroy the payoff lists before the public sees them.

Official statistics say not wonderful, but only a few monitoring stations all on major routes. You can get those stats here - https://www.iqair.com/th-en/thailand/changwat-udon-thani/udon-thani However, rainy season quality is usually good. Problem with the monitors is that a lot of the pollution is from diesel exhaust or infrastructure building projects around the main routes. Get 300 metres outside the ring road, where i live, and air quality is a lot better, I cannot usually 'taste' the air pollution, unlike Bangkok which always seems to reek of diesel. Visibility usually over a kilometre (hard to see further, as quite flat). You can see a haze if you drive down the ring road at busy times. Get away from the major roads and air is a lot better. Field burning has also declined a fair bit in 10 years near the city. Dust is the main problem rather than smoke. Pick your location carefully!

I think the scheme will see few takers as it is too restrictive. And the current Thai policy protects HIso greed. On the other hand, i do think that foreign land ownership (and landlords with many properties) causes land and house prices to spiral upwards, and the poor end up renting. This has happened in the UK. 40 years ago, practically anyone could buy property if they had any job and were not a spendthrift. Now we have an entire generation of those under 40 who have little chance of doing that - those with money buy up a lot of the property that comes on the market, pushing prices up, and then rent it out. Because they cannot buy houses, younger people have to rent - and then the rents keep going up as well. My son has just rented a room in London - he wanted a flat, but prices were a joke. How much 1400 GBP a month for a ROOM. That's over 60% of his net salary. how the hell will he ever save enough to buy? Last year, he was paying under a 1,000 GBP.

When i moved to my village 12 years ago, there was a lot of rubbish burning (including M-in-L who burnt leaves about twice a week). Now the only burning IN the village is garden waste, nearly every house has a bin. Litter has also declined a lot, except for the damn soi dogs 'recycling' it back on the ground. Still a fair bit of field burning, but this rarely reaches the village. I did buy an air purifier about 5 years ago, but only need to use one or two days a year now.

My daughter went to a free public kindergarten near our village for about 18 months, food included. She had previously gone to a private one but that only lasted one day - we went to pick her up early and wife saw them abusing her because she wouldn't sleep. We were quite satisfied with the free one. When she was 4 she moved to a kindergarten that was part of a catholic school (school receives some state funds, but not state run), that had fees similar to what OP said.

So now Terrorist groups will prioritise kidnapping Thais as they pay up.

In Udon Thani, last week wife and daughter applied for new passports on Thursday, delivered to home address on Tuesday

I would try to write my autobiography. Not for sale, just a family heirloom. When you get older you regret not finding out about what your parents and grandparents did, or what they thought about. You know some, but to late for the details.

Two factors involved here. First, nearly everyone is finding inflation hurting. Airfares up at least 50% compared to last year or 2019; forget the official UK inflation rate, rents are up 20% in London compared with last year, and fuel bills about 100%. And many employers are offering a derisory 3% pay rise! People not sure if they can afford an expensive flight now. Other factor is many people have been forced to Holiday in their home country the last 2 years, and realise they CAN have a good time there as well. And if your money runs out at home before your holiday finishes, can just pack and go home at no extra cost.

Lots of Russian business people have had 'accidents' this year - the hit squads have been busy?

Just make sure the external units for your air conditioners blow hot air straight into their windows .......

Could be an idea if you can work remotely. My son just started work in London after a year off, now impossible to find a place to rent ( 30-40 viewers a day, most places snapped up within 48 hours) and rents have increased by 20% since last year - near impossible to find even a room for 900 GBP a month, What with utility bills and commuting costs, 75% of his net income will be gone before he even thinks of food. He is hoping to get a posting to a job in Asia.