KIWILEE

These seawalls can be a double edged sword and need very careful specific design. A vertical one can cause more erosion behind it than it saves. Rock walls can also cause erosion if not designed correctly. Be very careful. 

I understand that Thais are not allowed dual citizenship BUT it never seems to be policed. My wife has had dual passports for 15 years and it has never been a hastle, in fact the Thai immigration advised her what passport to use. Basically when entering or leaving Thailand, use your Thai passport.  

I went to Chiang Mai Immigration at the airport yesterday - drive in. In at 1.03pm driving out at 1.05pm. Gave them my passport and completed TM47. No requirement for GPS coords. Very easy.

It is a little concerning that the current Thai program is to vaccinate half of the Thai population by the end of the year. If private hospitals are not allowed to  import the product it looks like all Falangs will have to wait until sometime late next year.

I get a pension from the NZ  govt. paid direct into my Thai account. It is not taxed in NZ as I have been out of the country for more than 180 days so I declare it here and "pay my tax". Every year the allowable deductions exceed my income so there is nothing to pay but I can show that I am a taxpayer should immigration ever ask. I have another income which is taxed in NZ so I do not declare that for my Thai tax. I am better off because I would be paying tax on  my pension income in NZ.

 

For the simple reason Starbucks' coffee is really good (despite at all the haters say

 

 

Each to their own but I have never had what I call a good coffee at Starbucks. My tastes have adapted a locally grown and roasted coffee which I am really enjoying. 220Baht/500gms.

I just renewed my 5yr licence last week in Chiang Mai with a Marriage visa extension "under consideration" stamp in my passport - no problems.

He may well have been over the alcohol limit and got killed in an accident but the real question is "who got him into that state and then put him on his bike." The answer could be interesting.

I don't necessarily agree that there is an oversupply on the market. There seems to be more of an undermarketing problem. There are many places in the world that have never heard of a Longan (Lum Yai) and with proper marketing we could probably sell more than what we produce. It appears to me that we have just relied on the Chinese markets and not tried anywhere else. Instead of handing out money to the growers (and I am one) the money should be spent setting up a Marketing Board to help increase the worlds knowledge and demand for the fruit.

If we take this crazy PC argument to its logical conclusion we can't use dogs to round up sheep and cattle, Can't use huskies to pull sleds, can't ride horses, can't use cats to catch rats and mice etc. Obviously all the animals that work with mankind must be treated and fed well but otherwise all the animals I have worked with loved getting out and working.

I have built two buildings here, one on a concrete slab and the other up on piles. Both are timber framed (imported timber treated so termites won't touch it) construction with gibrok lining on walls and ceiling. I have had problems with the termites eating the cardboard on the framing side of the wall and also eating the plaster such that you just brush against the wall and it crumbles. This is only on the concrete slab. In 6 years there has been no sign of any problems with the building on piles.

I recall that those that had encroached onto forest land with resorts had to remove the structures or alternatively pay for them to be removed. No mention of the occupier removing the structures here. Has she just walked off leaving it to someone else to sort out ???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somebody obviously made some money on this but it was't the primary producer in this area of the country. Generally all had an abysmal season with abysmal prices. most lost money.

In Thailand I have never seen any backflow preventers on any property connections from a "mains" supply. This means that if the water is turned off and the supply pipe empties, it can syphon water from hoses left lying in very unsanitary areas, back into the mains pipes only to be supplied to all users when the water is turned on again. Another reason I will not drink tapwater here.

One night in Nong Khai 20 years ago I had this gorgeous young woman staying with me and cleaned my teeth with tap water before bed. Twenty minutes later I had to run to the toilet and spent the rest of the night there. Next morning lady left untouched and I had to stay close to the loo. Never ever cleaned my teeth with tap water again. Cooking at least boils the water and by now I have probably built up some immunity.

I am still not convinced that glysophate is dangerous enough to require banning. Certainly educate or even licence users and maybe ban its use on vegetables but does it need a blanket ban. I am currently using it on my orchard to spot spray invasive weeds. I tried manually grubbing these out but could not keep up. I also hope that the local roading authority has some sort of plan in place as I  have been happy to spray my 600metres of roadside twice a year but I am not going to employ labour for a couple of days to do the work. I am still waiting to see what is being advised as a replacement for this product. 

I must admit to a bit of laughter at the moment trying to imagine the confusion a roundabout would introduce. Thai drivers seem to have no concept of giving way to your right.

For the cost of 1 submarine the govt.could have purchased a few helicopters with monsoon buckets that would go on standby in the northern regions and douse these fires before they became too established. From the air they would probably identify a few of the arsonists as well. Imho a far better use of the money.

A year ago I purchased a CBR 150 motorcycle which I am delighted with (although another 500cc would be nice for passing sometimes) and over that time I have had it cleaned 4 or 5 times. Recently I noticed that the plastic face to the speedo was becoming crazed with small cracks and now in some lights it is getting hard to read. A couple of months ago I took it back to the dealer and was told that it was normal and caused by sunlight. However it has become worse and I have asked for it to be replaced under warranty. This time I am told that it is my fault as the cleaners have used a wax product on it and therefore it is not covered. They also said that if wax has been used on any parts of the bike they will also crack. At this stage no other parts (fairings, headlight and tail light) have shown any signs of cracking yet. I have disputed this as at no time have I ever been advised that a wax product should not be used. Can't find it anywhere in the handbook. Is this just part of the normal Thai consumer guarantee or is there some truth in this. Has anyone else experienced this? They want me to pay B1200 to replace it with a glass one.

Another interesting contrast in Thai culture. I have been impressed with the number of women in senior, including CEO, positions within the private sector here. However, when it comes to "the forces" the male arrogance (or is it insecurity) shines through and keeps Thailands public image in the dark ages and way behind much of the modern world.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Some people still like manual only a pain in heavy traffic, didn't know Tunas were status though just another SUV.

I am old fashioned enough to prefer a manual box for any off road work.

We have full insurance but it did take a bit of work and several visits from the company. Not sure how it compares to a concrete house but it seems reasonable.

I am interested to note that everybody is talking concrete construction. I looked at it and felt that concrete would be just a big storage heater so went for timber. Conscious of the termite issue here I designed a European style house with modifications to suit the climate, precut it at home, and loaded it all into a container along with large Bifold windows and doors. Advantages of this were that all the timber was treated to exclude termites, could be nailed without drilling and stayed nice and straight when drying. It all made for easy concealed electrical wiring and plumbing, and the structural design was to full earthquake standards. The house definitely remains cooler inside  than the outside and I put this down to the exterior walls not being storage heaters and the Bifold windows open the house wide allowing for plenty of air movement. We have been in the house now for 6 years and have had absolutely no termite or cracking issues anywhere. No regrets at all. 

3 hours ago, malibukid said:

get something practical like a nice Honda Click 125cc or the bigger 155 which i would like to demo. but  the Honda dealers here are kinda of weird when it comes to a test  drive.  i have encountered the same problem at high end audio shops here.  pay now to demo in home.  no borrow overnight.  no returns.  in the States i just give them a credit card and they will authorize a charge for the price of the amp or whatever.  no problem and off i go.  not charged unless i buy it.  anyone ride the new 155 Click or the new automatic Yammy's which are a little bigger but same CC and look pretty good?

Had the same problem when investigating buying a CBR150. Ended up asking the dealer the name of a hire place where he had sold one. The  dealer rang the place and organised a days hire (at my expense). Not what I am used to but it was very worthwhile. I now own one.