rickudon

tell the builder some roof sheets are loose. He will probably fix it. If he doesn't come, just get the wife to moan to a neighbour about the builder and the roof. News spreads quickly. Then you get a result either way.

what you eat is decided by culture, not ethnicity.

My Thai wife was older than my daughter, but not old enough to be a step mother. Daughter didn't want me to have more kids, thought it would be unlikely, but it happened pretty quick. I think my UK daughter had issues with me being out of the UK, but has got to accept now she has a family of her own. And for the neigh Sayers, i had no problem becoming a father at age 60, have a good relationship with my Thai daughter (now 11). Someone said you should have a Vasectomy at 40? sad person. Age difference of 20 years is fine, works in Thailand. UK relatives a bit funny about me having non-British wives and younger ones, got called the 'black sheep of the family' by a cousin! And all my aunts and Uncles expected that quiet retiring lad to stay a Batchelor..

Sounds like me 12 years ago..... I wanted a small hobby style farm income and had some good ideas - all came to nothing. 1. Bell peppers. when i first arrived, they could cost as much as 100 baht each. Surely it would be a winner? Soon found out Isaan climate too hot, lucky if they grew bigger than fingernail size. And died off in hot season. 2. Duck eggs. F-in-L did this and seemed to make a small profit. I did it for one year, and money from eggs just about paid for the food the ducks ate. 3. Fish farming. I had training in this, so knew what i should be doing. stocked a pond with 2 fingerlings per sq. metre, and started feeding. But wife, because she is Thai, knows best and put 3,000 more fish in. Pond now overstocked and fish stunted. spent 8,000 baht on food, a year later got 1500 baht back for fish..... some were probably stolen, but fish were far too small. Also water was poor quality, growth was always slow in all ponds we had bar one. Tilapia fingerlings should grow to over 500 grams in less than a year, but ours would take 3 years! (and sometimes survival rate very low). We get a modest income from running fishing lakes. Tried many vegetables. Soil was mainly clay. about 50% of vegetables tried either failed to grow, suffered disease and pest problems or cropped poorly. Some vegetables would do much better in cool years, but would do well once in about 4 years. Only vegetable i tried that worked most years was Okra - but couldn't find a market, Thais not keen on it. After a slow start, have had limited success growing limes, now harvest enough to feed extended family - my lime trees grow extremely well, look much healthier than those grown the 'Thai way'. Mine organic. Eucalyptus usually quite successful, but not a monthly crop. And bare in mind that if you want to change to anything else afterwards, restoring the land is a major exercise. And not a big earner. As to what will work, depends on your local climate, soil, water, drainage and security. Can only experiment small scale and see if anything works. There is no magic answer, if there was, all the Thais would be rich!

My wife doesn't have a birth certificate, the amphoe couldn't find a record of it - we needed it to get our daughter a UK passport. Wife having thai passport, ID card and in the blue book didn't matter to the Amphoe. Wife had to find a teacher at her old school who would vouch that she attended there to get a replacement document from the Amphoe. Amazingly, still a teacher at her old school who remembered her 35 years ago! Thai bureaucracy can be pretty ridiculous. The daughter has school reports from her old Thai school? Then good chance the school will provide the 'proof'.

No witness required?

The one aspect of whether you should get health insurance that has not been mentioned, is cost versus income. Many of us moved to Thailand for the cheaper cost of living, but paying insurance premiums means an impact on your quality of life options. Some of the premiums mentioned here are over 50% of my annual income - getting health insurance would mean having to choose whether to eat or turn on the air-conditioning. Or feeding the wife. I would be reasonably happy to spend 10% of my income on health insurance, but whenever i have got quotes, it was around 25% plus. That would have meant burning through my savings (which i did have to anyway, to attain a reasonably comfortable existence here over the first 5 years), or only existing, not living. So, i have chosen to 'self insure'. Over the last 12 years, this has meant a saving of about 2 million baht in premiums, against an expenditure of around 60,000 baht (including one potential health emergency which resulted in a quick return to the UK for diagnosis). If i had used my savings to maintain my lifestyle and pay health insurance, i would now be broke. A gamble, yes, but paying off so far. By the time i will be in my 80's, insurance premiums could exceed my annual income. Health insurance is for the rich.

So many people say get a job. Not that easy. Age 64 (or there abouts), heart condition, no recent employment history, no address. Most applications will be ignored. And an alcoholic. I found it damn difficult to find a job when i was just 55 and recently made redundant. The only job i could get involved some lifting and physical work, i ended up at the chiropractor (not free) or in Physiotherapy every few months. In my last year of work i was signed off on sick leave more than 50% of the time. I gave up, took early retirement and came to Thailand. Fortunately i have survived here for 13 years without any major issues and have enough pension money to live comfortably if not lavishly. But major surgery like the OP would wipe me out. Reality - getting somewhere PERMANENT to live is an issue. Rents have gone through the roof. He would be dependent on help from his local council, if he can find one which will take him on (you have to prove a connection to the area). Also because he has been living outside the UK, no automatic benefits (JSA, universal credit, etc.) will be paid for 3 months. Those first 3 months will be a struggle. Some financial assistance may be found, but not a given thing. Yes, the local council has a responsibility, but they are hopelessly overstretched. Do not know how much the OP has left in cash or what monthly income he has if any, but if he cannot survive 3 months it will be a struggle. A van, if he can afford it, is a possible thing. As for living on the streets, even in the summer temperatures can fall below 10 degrees Centigrade in summer; i remember night fishing some years ago and 3-5 a.m. it was COLD even in summer. I doubt if the OP would survive 6 months with his age and health. I feel sorry for the OP, but he has some tough decisions to make. My advice to everyone - circumstances change, and you need to maintain a lifeline to your home country if it has a decent social system. 3 important things to maintain.... 1. A bank account. You cannot open a UK bank account without an address and utility bills, and without one you cannot rent accommodation. 2. Maintain an address - either with relatives or friends, it helps (with point one, for instance). 3. Keep enough money there to survive 3 months - if you have been living abroad, you are a non-person for those first 3 months (my son experienced this TWICE on returning to the UK, after living abroad for over 6 months).

Their lice.

Actually probably Golden eels. They are not that rare, we have had 2 as lottery fortune tellers in the last 5 years or so. The first one provided 3 wins, the second zero.

1, Worst advice - "invest in stocks and funds" from a financial advisor of what to do with my redundancy money in 2007. I decided he was an idiot, and was proved right. 2. Best advice - Always have a backup plan. 3. What i will be remembered for, and what i would like to be remembered for, are totally different (and depends on who you ask, one relative called me "The black sheep of the family")

In the cars. There talking about petrol, diesel, LPG. As for in houses, you would be surprised. In our village, hardly any air conditioners 12 years ago, now in about 30% of houses. And it is not a rich village.

Knowledge of History, Geography and even Science is sadly lacking. Very few people comprehend that the world as we know it today was shaped by events of the past - that famous quote "those who do not know history are destined to repeat it". Unfortunately even in the west people make bad decisions because they have little understanding of WHY and WHAT motivates people in other countries. In Thailand, my F-in-L has a wealth of skills and local knowledge, he knows many herbs etc. Unfortunately it is all learnt by watching others - not necessarily from those who were actually good themselves. As a result poor quality is perpetuated. My personal experience here - i was trained in freshwater biology and some aquaculture. But when it comes to managing, stocking ponds with fish, the Thai family know best - so we get abysmal growth rates due to overstocking, never make a profit. I stock the right amount of fish, of the right types, 1 week later the wife puts in 3 times as many - but often will not tell me, so i have no idea what fish are in the water until i see/catch some..... I have largely given up after wasting thousands of baht. Just let them grow by themselves, get enough to feed family only.

3% increase in fuel consumption more likely to be because the air-conditioning has been turned up higher in the cars due to the extremely hot weather.....

Cheese in Makro went up by over 10% last week. I know, probably not in the Thai CPI. Main problem is shrinking packet sizes, e.g. 85g instead of 100g, same price. Bet that isn't accounted for.

It does amaze me how many empty properties there are in Thailand (and i am not counting old derelict farm houses). Just 2 cases - 1. I drive past a small block of condos every day on the school run, in 6 years i have never seen a sign of any occupant - guess just for money laundering. 2. A whole row of about 10 shophouses was built on the ring road here in Udon about 8 years ago, rent was quite high i heard (about 14,000 baht a month, back then). They stayed empty for about 2 years, last time i drove past i had a good look and only about 3 appear to be occupied. Just doesn't seem to make financial sense.

Thailand has become a middle income country. Thirty years ago, most of the rural population didn't buy much food, they depended on growing or catching it - all of which required effort, and a lot of the time you were under nourished. Hence many were slim, and also short. Now better nourished and taller. Yes, obesity is becoming an issue, and lack of exercise more so. But still more slim people than fat. Beauty - not any different, just average age is older! The availability of instant, delivered food also a factor in weight gain. Baby steps have been made towards improving Junk food, as in sugar levels in drinks, but still 20 years behind the west. The problems are made worse by the climate - exercise is not only uncomfortable, but actually dangerous if you over exert yourself. Thais need better cooking facilities and appropriate exercise opportunities; but many have limited time (working hours can be long).

This is farcical. Thai population is only 70 million (about) so there are less than 11 million under the age of 15, students, housewives, disabled people and 'others' (presumably including old age pensioners?). Very dubious.

Had a similar issue many years ago, recurring urethritis. In the end the doctor asked ME what i thought would work. The best result previously had been one large dose of penicillin, and i assumed that the antibiotic had knocked out most of the bacteria, but left a few semi-resistant ones behind. So i suggested 2 large doses, taken a week apart. It worked. I would say that taking low doses of antibiotics for a prolonged period is dangerous, as it could result in antibiotic resistance occurring

Been a while since i looked at the thread. Mainly because once my daughters passport arrived the family trip to the UK went into full swing - and the problems. Tickets were expensive and some flights had already been fully booked, business class only! So had to book the tickets early, best deal was Emirates. But .... the wife had given a different date to the visa agency (i told her we had to go earlier). Her visa arrived - not valid until 22nd April. <deleted>. Had to change tickets, another 300 GBP down the drain. Also, real reason for wife's sudden enthusiasm, it is because her sister in the UK is getting married. More expense, lots of new clothes, hotel bookings, and the 2 weeks with my UK kids now shrinks to one. I just have that feeling that it will all go terribly wrong, and the cost has really depleted my savings. Finally (I think) everything is in order. Just wish we could have gone for more than 20 days. Now busy trying to get farm tidy etc. before leaving. The brutal weather is not helping. No rain since November, and average temperature this month has been about 39 C. , half the days over 40 C. Fortunately fish ponds not dry yet, as deeper since dug out 5 years ago, but lowest yet. The pet fish in bowls at the house struggling, M-in-L steals water from them to water her veg, do not hold much hope for their survival in this heat once we leave. Goldfish will probably end up in the plaa raa. But cannot wait to get out from this heat. Still 34 C at 11 p.m. outdoors. Driest and hottest year so far in my experience - didn't even get my jacket out once in the 'winter'. Hope Owl gets some rain for his ponds. Last day tomorrow, then we are off.

Waste of time. I bought one when i first retired here (limited income, as pensions not all taken yet) 11 years ago, about 2000 baht, took water and a little ice. Not effective. Once i took a thermometer to the inlet and outlet to see how much cooler the air was - answer 0.5 C! Got a better effect from a bowl of ice and a fan, and cheaper too..... Next year bought a second hand air-conditioner.

I make little attempt to hide my identity (KhunLA knows who i am, but i doubt many others do), but i am not afraid to leave clues, as i do not troll. Would probably post a photo if necessary. Someone said you would be surprised how much data about you is on the internet, and you should google your name. Long time since i did that, so did again. I have an uncommon name, but google gave me more than 10 pages of links - none of which was me! The sheer quantity of data out there means most of your data/activity is very hard to retrieve.

My experience is SCB will either refuse or add a substantial fee. Never go near them now.

The joys of living in an Isaan Backwater. No hordes of Tourists doing extensions, i rarely have to wait more than 30 minutes for an extension of stay and a 90 day report often done in 90 seconds!

The joys of living in an Isaan Backwater. No hordes of Tourists doing extensions, i rarely have to wait more than 30 minutes for an extension of stay and a 90 day report often done in 90 seconds!