bil2054

For those who do not see the cuteness/humour in some of this, I am sorry for you. I am sure from the giggles that accompany my efforts to speak Thai that it is very much a two way street.

One of my favourites is "Open the fire" for "Turn on the light". Then the Thai equivalent of an English speaker trying to make a non-English speaker understand by repeating forcefully..."Open ... open....o-o-o-pen!"

"Open the fire" doesn't make much sense to me ........

Light the fire?

Open the boiler door?

And what are you burning?

"Turn on the gas hob" and "light a wood fire" would use completely different words.

(bert fai) Vs (poo)

I've no idea, which is the point of the thread, after all. I think my sweetheart is old enough and from a sufficiently rural background that probably lighting was by lantern or candle. Hell, I can just remember when our farm in NW New Jersey did not yet have electric power.

Anyway, I find it cute as can be, and sometimes feel guilty about not performing my sworn duty to "correct English" because I do enjoy some of the more colourful lapses.

For those who do not see the cuteness/humour in some of this, I am sorry for you. I am sure from the giggles that accompany my efforts to speak Thai that it is very much a two way street.

One of my favourites is "Open the fire" for "Turn on the light". Then the Thai equivalent of an English speaker trying to make a non-English speaker understand by repeating forcefully..."Open ... open....o-o-o-pen!"

Please forgive me for the shameless segue... math vs. maths

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbZCECvoaTA

"Maths" to most commonwealth citizens. As me mum was from The Midlands, and who d'ya suppose taught me to speak, read and write, then "maths" it often though not invariably remains.

Thanks all who understood the question. I will readily admit to a lack of communications clarity.

I think that 1,200,000 BT/annum should be plenty, as it is more than many Thai doctors or airline pilots make, from what I have read. The lady keeps telling me I do not understand how expensive it is to live in Thailand. I DO understand from the past sixty years how expensive it is to live in the US. I was looking for the experience of folks who have lived here and know what the cost of living for sober (mostly) responsible (somewhat) people is like.

Several folks figured out that a woman with a grown daughter is not herself a youngster. Yes, I am older... 61 vs 48... not the most extreme case of cradle robbing. Any younger and I doubt we could communicate on any level other than ATM.

Please excuse me, those who have indicated impatience with my response time. I did not hang drooling over the keyboard awaiting your sage advice, luckily, as none was forth coming; merely commentary on my dilatory response time.

Thanks to those who understood that my question pertained, as might be ascertained from the title, to whether a couple could reasonably expect to live alright on 100,000+ BT/month. The daughter, who I view somewhat as mine own as I have none else, is a graduate of the Thai Naval Nursing college, and makes a pretty good income for a young woman here. The idea is to give her a good start in life. What a good "dad" would want, I have heard. After we retire to the north she would be responsible for taking up the mortgage payments, perhaps with the help of the rather nice young man she "keeps company" with.

All in all it sounds like we could do well enough. I think we could even manage the occasional vacation trip. I just need to find out what the real hold-up is as it seems someone of her age and education level, basically none, is not going to attract a "real" farang millionaire, not just a baht millionaire, and no Thai guy apparently would want such an "old lady".

I will be requiring certain conditions, and they will be formalized in a pre-nup. Again, thanks for the good advice from those who had some, and I hope those who were looking for amusement were gratified.

I do hold this gal in high regard, but I will nor be played for a fool, either. I have turned aside a number of proposals already, and am not sufficiently misguided to think it is because of my svelte physique.

Okay, I am sure this has been discussed before, but I think it is a subject perhaps needing an occasional refresher as the economy is always a changing.

I have a girlfriend who works very hard, and has been for a long time as she raised a wonderful daughter on her own. One of the attractions for me about her.

She would like to retire from her position, and I do not blame her. They work the heck out of her, and of course "promoted" her to a salaried position.

Now the problem.... I only have 104,000+ BT income per month. That is nearly four times what she has been getting by on.... not thriving, but getting by.

"We" have put a deposit on a house, which we were supposed to be looking at. I asked her daughter, who would be contributing a little to the household expenses, and she "Really, really likes" the place. Good enough for dear old potential step-dad... the idea is that after s few years we will "retire" to Chiang Mai and leave the daughter sole possessor of the house.

Mortgage would run about 26,000BT a month. a new car about 10,000. That leaves about 70,000BT for a couple to live on. Given that the government requires 40,000 for a married couple that seems pretty good, especially with no rent to be concerned about.

The dear woman can squeeze a vapour out of a bhat, and I do not have any costly vices....about a six pack of Heineken a month.

Is she right? Or is she trying to "gently" ease me aside, d'ya think?

I am more than happy to contribute to family maintenance.... that has been around 20,000 a month, and about the same for past debt, which would be retired in about ten months more.

Am I nuts, or are Thais just not really good with maths?

As an infant I was unable to have either my mother's milk or cows milk. Goats to the rescue! Now I crave cow's milk and cheese .

It seems true that SE Asians are among the most lactose intolerant folks after infancy, so why the insistence on giving the kids cow's milk? Or if it must be, then at least make it in a more digestible form, like yoghurt or a hard cheese snack. My vote would be for yoghurt as a healthy alternative.

As evidenced by the above "discussion" about whether thirty days means thirty days or twenty-nine days, this visa stuff can be very confuzzling.

Okay, I have a two entry tourist visa issued on 26 August, 2015. I arrived 18 September, 2015 at the airport. The immigration stamp says "Admitted until 16 Nov 2015". The actual visa says "Enter before 25 Feb 2016".
Now, to maximize my stay do I need to go to immigration here in BKK before 16 Nov. for a thirty day extension on this first entry? Will I then need to go out of the kingdom to activate the next sixty day "leg", and get a second extension at the end of that? What does the "Enter before 25 Feb. 2016 "actually signify?
Thanks for your consideration about something I am sure has been answered before, but I have not been able to get a sure enough understanding from all of the variations I have read.

You know, in the old days, I mean the ancient days, people didn't take these things so serious. Depending on the geographical area, huge floods, droughts, storms etc. sometimes with heavy loss of life, were considered normal. TODAY, then, we expect COMFORT. We expect everything to WORK. We expect to be troubled by nature as little as is possible. I daresay this sort of expectation attitude is apt to encounter disappointment once in a while.

In the old day, also, people sometimes just abandoned an area that in the wake of natural disasters, climate changes etc. had proved unsuitable for living. They simply established their capital elsewhere. This might not be the most unwise of approaches. If we consider this, then perhaps we don't need MORE infrastructure, but LESS...? Bangkok was founded near a river, as so many other cities. At that time waterways were the only sort of transportation that could provide some volume and safety. With this choice, major disadvantages were traded in. A city near a river is always sweaty, prone to disease, and to floods. Seriously, who needs such waterways today? Ok you can laugh if you want but I say: MOVE THE CITY. That is something that the people in the old days did a lot. But they hadn't built multimillion - dollar skyscrapers...

Non solus sed etiam... as the ice caps continue to melt and the sea levels to rise, Bangkok is odds on to become an Asiatic Venice, minus some of the more elegant features of the European model.

Were I of acquaintance with some of the powers I would mention the probability in passing. If I survive long enough for it to be a real factor I will likely have retired to the north with my sweetheart. I nonetheless like all of the Thai I have met and seen, and would like them to be aware of the chance. It would not be the first time for moving the Thai capitol, after all.

A question that has plagued farmers since the beginning of farming;" how can I increase my profitability?" The short answer is that you cannot, not on any small scale. The only really profitable farmers in the US for instance are the giant agricorps, and most of the profit in that scheme comes from governmental subsidies.
There would be an advantage in some diversification, but I would not expect much from a complete change in cropping practice. Rice farmers know how to grow rice, and at least know their families will be able to eat.
The pig raising scheme sounds good, if you happen to have a few extra rai. In the old days in US farming the farm wife's egg money might be the only source of cash between harvests. Again nobody got rich, but everybody ate well.
I would recommend as previously suggested checking with the Ag Ministry, and talk with the monasteries that do this kind of thing. Then approach it as a small scale diversification at first.

From what I understand Thailand is sitting on tons of rice for which there is no current market. I see there are still some buffalo out in the countryside, for when fuel for tractors, etc., is no longer available. Fruit and coconuts seem to be growing everywhere. I suspect the people in Issan, for instance, are not that far removed from a subsistence agrarian society that they could not readily adapt.
Survival for any given individual may not have good statistical odds, but I think Thailand and the rest of SEA has a better profile for species survival than many other areas of the world.
Malthus will likely prove correct at some point. There will be war, famine and plague. Many will believe "Aha! Revelation was correct!" I believe at some point there will be a massive population correction, but there will be a nucleus of survivors to begin a new cycle. I just hope that they retain a memory of what happenned and do not allow a repeat "Duggarization" of society.

Just my 2 cents worth.

There's all wheel drive & 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive is constant, like Subaru. Four wheel drive in most SUV. You have to select 4x4, you always have 4x4 with all wheel drive.

On wet roads all wheel or four wheel drive is somewhat of an advantage. Most sensible drivers adjust their driving to suit the prevailing conditions, so unless you are in a real hurry, you don't need any sort of 4x4. Yes, I know, I'll get conflicting opinions from some purists.

I've driven the length & breadth of Australia, beach, deserts, mountains. Bad tracks & no tracks, total wilderness. From memory have only ever needed 4x4 on 2 occasions. The main advantage of most 4x4 vehicles is the extra ground clearance. If you are sensible & use some caution there's few places you can't reach with a 2wd vehicle. As mentioned, ground clearance is the big advantage of 4x4.

So, unless you are tempted to explore the unexplored, driving where you were never meant to drive, have sufficient baht not to have to think about economics, you really don't need a 4 x 4.

To all the 4 x 4 experts out there.. I've owned & driven numerous Mitsubishi, Toyota & Nissan 4 x 4's All great vehicles. But in most instances you just don't need them.

Cheers..... Mal.

I don't understand how you and some other respondents to this post can belittle the importance of 4WD, as well as the increased likeliehood of breakdown and the extra expense.

My experience in driving 2WD pickups and sedans in the deserts of Southern California and Arizona and Utah has been than any vehicle is likely to get stuck out there in the boondocks and especially so if you are not very careful where you point your front wheels. Places where it rains very little in a year, if at all, there are lots of sandy areas, even on the dirt roads, that will catch your 2WD pickup, no matter what kind of tires you have. And if it has rained recently - though the sky is plain blue at present - there are puddles here and there where clayey soil has held the rainwater. So your tires spin and get clogged with clay and become clogged with clay in a minute. Then you sit and spin. You find out your 2WD is really 1-wheel drive, unless you have positraction - so the off-side wheel doesn't turn while the spinning wheel just digs in. It works much the same in snow.

I drive as sensibly, carefully as most people and I have gotten stuck in seemingly safe places and have blasted through flooded areas sometimes where momentum perhaps, with the weight of a small trailer behind the truck, helped push me through.

I remember in Borrego Springs, California, that rich kids from the city would come out to the desert in 4WD vehicles and party and - get stuck. Because they don't know how to drive off-road, and their expensive pickups are not the same as tanks.

And I feel like others who have mentioned the extra expense for 4WD and more parts to break and more chips to fail.

The Reason it matters to me is I have 20 acres of dirt in remote Utah - where people go because that is where they live - and they get stuck there - sometimes have to leave the truck and walk the remaining distance to the home and walk back to the truck in the morining after the water has maybe evaporated - or in the night, after the slush has frozen so they can drive over it - and I have ordinary Dodge pickup. When I start building there I will be driving in and out a lot and hauling materials. In the past I have driven off the dirt track over bushes to go around puddles in the low spots.

So, what i would like to know is what type of 4WD/AWD rig do you advise?

(Besides go back to Thailand and ride a motor scooter).

My two or three cents worth. I have been driving for 45 years, worked as a certified mechanic, ranch hand, driven through 48 out of fifty states as well as across Canada. Had a NASCAR license, and moonlighted as a wrecker driver. Bus driver and motorcycles.Just establishing my creds for my opinions.

Similar deal here. I have been living for ten years on thirty off-grid acres in Arizona, except for some time spent living with a woman in even more rugged country in NW New Mexico. She had a Dodge power wagon.

Lots depends on the terrain and soil composition of where you operate. In New Mexico I have gotten my 4WD 2500 series Dodge stuck both in deep snow, and on the level when monsoon weather turns the clayey soil of the back roads into snot. The only time I could not "work" the truck out was when it side slipped into a deep ditch after an 18 inch snow fall. That required shovels, shoring up with logs, etc., etc.

Two wheel drive vehicles are really alternating one wheel drive, unless you have a limited slip or posi rear differential, as mentioned before on this thread. Four wheel drive vehicles are in their simplest iterations really alternating two wheel drive. Again a posi rear diff will give you an effective three wheel drive. AWD are pretty cool. Really hard to get stuck, especially if you have rugged tires.

A truck like mine does lose a little in the fuel efficiency department, but not enough to risk doing without when you need to haul a couple of tons of material over questionable terrain. Yes, over the course of 300,000 miles on this truck there have been expenses greater than for a similar two wheel drive truck. However, the two wheel drive would simply not have gone where I have to go, hauling what I have to haul. Also, when folks have gotten their two wheel drive vehicles stuck, they come knocking on my door.

I like my Dodge. It is 4WD, has a Cummins diesel engine, a limited slip differential, and if I tied a ten dollar bill to the steering wheel and sent it careening down into the canyon it would owe me no change..It can, and has, hauled in excess of 10,000 lbs.

I liked Nissan diesel 4WD trucks, Jeeps, and International scouts I have owned. The Toyota Land Cruiser when it first came along was great, (no experience with the latest models). I have sold a number of GMC trucks with the Duramax diesel engine and locker rear end... they are pretty cool, but pricey compared to the Dodge. Ford has a pretty good product, but seemed to have a tranny weakness. Maybe they have addressed that by now.

One ranch I worked in Nevada had a couple of surplus Dodge Power wagons, a six wheel drive weapons carrier, and a ten wheel drive recovery vehicle that could go anywhere. Maintenance and fuel would be a bitch on them, though.

Standard vs automatic, I call BS on some claims of one being innately superior to the other. I have driven most varieties, and actually learned to drive on a Model T Ford with a planetary transmission, so yes, I am claiming expertise. These days with creaky hips and knees I like the auto.

Thailand would be a good place for one outside of the cities. I have not driven there much so far, but I have seen places out in the boonies of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Son that I would want a 4WD.

Hospitals in India have a high burden of infections in their ICUs and wards, many of which are resistant to antibiotic treatment, according to the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP)-India Working Group and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP)

In Indian ICUs, the rate of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), a dangerous hospital infection, is five times the rate in the rest of the world. Rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Indian ICUs are also high, with one study finding over 80 per cent of S aureus samples testing positive for resistance to methicillin and closely related antibiotics.

GARP research estimates that of the approximately 190,000 neonatal deaths in India each year due to sepsis - a bacterial infection that overwhelms the bloodstream -, over 30 per cent are attributable to antibiotic resistance.

http://archivehealthcare.financialexpress.com/201111/market16.shtml

There is a high chance that the medicines prescribed routinely may not be helping people as they are just duds.

In January 2014, at least 32 medicines sold in hospitals and chemist shops across India, including the national Capital, have failed government tests and have been declared 'not of standard quality' by the Health Ministry's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2573236/Sub-standard-fake-medicines-flood-nation-warns-government-report.html

The Central government of India informed the result of drug testing which they conducted in the last three years. 4.4% of drugs were found to be of substandard in India: 9092 were found to be of substandard quality out of 2,05,448 samples tested collected from 36 states. In a written reply to Lok Shabha, JP Nadda, Health Minister in India has given the split up values of substandard drugs in the country tested in the years 2012 – 2013, 2013 – 2014, and 2014 – 2015. READ ALSO: Check out the recent biggest drug quality testing.

http://www.morulaa.com/news/10067-how-many-substandard-drugs-in-india/#post_content

Interesting about the drug quality reports, in that I had a look at the country of origin declarations on my 'scrips. Most of them, you guessed it, are made in India. One in Canada, and one in Denmark. Glucose test strips from Germany.

Are we getting the screws put to us in the US with substandard medicine from India? Or just on the pricing?

Sourced from one of the cheapest places to buy drugs, and sold at the highest prices in the world in the USA.

I think you (OP) are on thin ice on two counts. One, throwing someone's own culture up at them to win a morality argument is just never a good idea. Two, Thai Buddhism is really a combination of Theravada Buddhism and animism. It's a "folk-style" Buddhism, and I would think any outsider, even a devout Buddhist adherent. would have a tough time carrying on an intelligent conversation about Buddhism with the average Thai.

If the problem is greed, then talk about greed with the GF, not religion. If you can't do that, for sure trying to put it in religious terms isn't going to get you anywhere, nowhere you really want to be anyway.

I wish I had read all the commentary pages before sticking my oar in the water.

You covered pretty much what I had to say, Hawker.

Thai people practice a fairly unique form of Theravada Buddhism, and with many local variations.
Aside from the inadvisability of "lecturing" ones love on any subject, unless you are a scholar on the subject you risk falling afoul of the Buddhist tenets as practiced in Thailand.
The art of negotiation in such a situation might include "Gosh, I would love to, dear, but we really cannot afford that right now. Maybe next month"... year... decade, etc., whatever the true case is. IMO.

Good advice from several folks above. I must wear compression stockings when flying, due to cardiovascular issues, diabetes, etc. Some swelling is due to the condition, and some to some of my medication.
Another tip is to lay off of the sodium as much as possible, especially for a couple of weeks before flying.
The folks who suggest getting an MD's opinion are spot on. If you are experiencing "pitting edema", swelling that if you poke a finger in the swelling and a crater persists for a time after you take your finger away, that MAY be a sign of heart failure. Not something you want to ignore. The condition can be fairly well treated with medication if you catch it in time.
If there is nothing to prevent you doing so, lots of walking will cause the leg muscles to assist in pumping the fluid back into circulation.
Good luck!

Not everything is the government's fault - Soi 38 is closing because the landowners want to redevelop the area.

That will keep up until the next financial meltdown. Maybe 2017 will look like 2007: half built sky-trains going nowhere and a lot of half-built construction projects looking to crumble into dust over the next decade.

Let's just say I don't see Thailand being considered part of the 'developed world' until way after my life-time.

I had wondered about all those abandoned construction projects. It would seem that entrepreneurial types with a bit of spare cash could take some of those and complete the buildings.

Anyone have an idea why they don't? Is it like the folks "selling" houses that seemingly would rather let them rot into the ground than take one baht less than their 500% inflated notion of what they think they are worth?

I just had the thought, one of those completed buildings might be a decent venue for some of the displaced street markets. How to finance the idea? Haven't gone that far.

I agree that the prohibition against volunteer workers teaching these skills is not well thought out. I do not think such would put many Thai Nationals out of a job. If the 30% figure is anywhere near accurate it would seem they are not performing the job well in any case.
Literacy volunteers here in the US do a good job. People who want to teach do a better job of it than people who just want a teaching job, IMO.
I will be in BKK from 18 September, and would like to get a start on learning Thai, both spoken and written. My gf says she will teach me, but has a more than full time job for at least the next few months. If I could get a start and get the more boring (for her) "Dick and Jane" type elements sorted I think it would be well.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Damn. I composed a lengthy, thoughtful, and socially relavent reply, only to get "This page cannot be displayed" when hitting the "post" button, and comment bye-bye.

I will just say that I have a low opinion of those commenters who display a low and insulting opinion of all Thai women. Grow up, boys.
Drink is a problem in just about every nation where it is not forbidden, and even in many of those. It does seem to be prevalent in LOS.
There, my two cents.

You've gone too far in the other direction.

Yes Thailand is only dangerous, not very dangerous compared to war zones, but war zones don't enjoy mass tourism industries.

Also, there is no way that Thailand is only "slightly" less safe than Switzerland. It's a lot less safe. Of course people don't ski in Thailand ... so what you plan to do on holiday makes a difference too.

I would really like to see statistics of number of accidental/unnatural deaths/serious wounds by country, number of tourists and duration of stay.

My point is that even if the risk in Thailand was 100 times higher than the risk in, say, France, it would still be so ridiculously low to be considered in a decision of where to go.

I agree on this point. There are many who throw out opinions without much data to illustrate them.

I, too, would like to see some statistics on just how many farangs die of violent interactions. Typical elderly sex tourists should not be considered in the context of what the OP is asking.

Bangkok is rated as the tenth most hazardous traffic city in the world. I cannot give the link, but it is a statistic I have read, and worth consideration. As a sixty odd year old cardiac patient I had no business taking several of the motorbike taxi rides I did last trip! They were on the high side of "exhilarating".

I think I would give a personal thumbs up to Chiang Mai, ....Koh Larn was lovely.... Udon Thani in Issan is rather under appreciated, I think, though there are fewer English speaking folks in general.

I also agree it is a long, hard trip for a brief visit. I came for two months last time. Mid September I return for probably six months minimum.... probably will be applying for either a retirement or marriage arrangement.

I remember being tasked by my grandmother with running her knives and scissors down to the knife sharpener guy on the upper east side in Manhattan.
My mother was a professional knife destroyer, using one of those gadgets that you draw the blade through.
The bottom of the bowl trick is akin to using a steel to touch up a blade, not an actual sharpening. A good edge needs real reshaping from time to time on a properly flat stone. I use a medium and fine carborundum oil stone, and a variety of India stones if a really razor finish is required. You can usually shave a few arm hairs with my chef's knife.

How about if the cops just stop assaulting people at every turn? They are simply not held sufficiently accountable for incidents of real brutality.
I lost a good deal of respect for the general run of police when footage was released of an SOB pepper spraying a group of girls who were quietly watching a Wall Street protest. He just walked down the line of spectators dousing them with the stuff.

Then somebody announced open season on young black men, young kids getting shot when some overzealous storm troopers serve warrants on the wrong bloody house. Did you see the footage of the highway patrolman mercilessly punching the daylights out of an older woman on the side of the road?
In just a few months American police will kill more people than other nations will in a hundred years. Not hyperbole, established fact.
The majority of police are good guys, but for some reason the bullying, overly aggressive element has been increasing enormously over the past few years.
I do not think "less lethal" munitions are the key... less lethal uniformed thugs are the real need. IMO.

Hooters? Meh. Maybe for a bachelor party or something.
The prospect of a Fudruckers, now...

I spent last December/January in BKK. Walk walk walk said my little friend, and I did. Ate healthy Thai food; love the little fresh markets all over.
Air China had insisted on wheeling me around in a wheelchair at the airports on the way over. I returned from LOS able to walk about ten miles, and about ten kilos lighter.
Returned to 6,000' elevation I gradually lost the ability to walk any distance at all... not for lack of trying, but cardiovascular and COPD troubles gradually just knock the stuffing out of one. Lack of activity and the weight came back as well.

Next month I will be back in Thailand and starting over. I think I will get a bike as well and peddle, I mean pedal, my ass around Ubon. I will be getting married, too, and wanting to stick around with my bride for a few years will be a great incentive, I think. She has some plans for me that involve a certain amount of work.

I have spent literally years drilling holes in all kinds of materials, for all kinds of purposes. One job was drilling holes in the bottoms of nuclear submarines.
Here is a link for a video that I think does a really good job of putting the above suggestions into a simple and useful tutorial:

https://youtu.be/NpEPVLOX4Gc

I think a pilot hole will not be necessary for the usual towel bar installation.
Good luck, and enjoy!

IMHO.... They all suck...I have used a French press for 30 years...wonder coffee,

And I drink 6 cups a day....oh, Bon Cafe All Day roast is great....grind your own

Beans for fresh taste.

This is my solution as well. I boil fresh, filtered water in my kettle. While that is going on I grind the beans, which usually I roasted no more than two or three days beforehand in a hot air popcorn popper. When the water has just come to a boil I put about half a cup in the press and swish it about to take the chill off. That water gets poured into my cup for the same purpose. Ground coffee into the press, fill with the hot water, stir. I will usually stir one or two more times over the next several minutes as I pass by on other missions. Use the plunger and enjoy the best coffee you can have, IMO.

The press I use is under the Thermos Brand. It is stainless steel, and insulated. It makes two very large cups.... I use soup cups for my coffee.

I look forward to my return coffee wise as the beans I bought in the hill country of Chiang Mai were excellent.

I know this is not what OP was after, but I am a little particular about my coffee, and being retired have no excuse to not enjoy the best brew for a small investment of time.