bergen

To those who pass my (wife's) place on Saturday, I will not be there, but will come down to Jim from Ubon.

The July Ubon Hash Run will be moved from Saturday 7th, to be a Friday 6th evening pub to pub run, just to give those interested a chance to have a double p ss.

Btw. Jim, - SantiSuk is a maybe on Sat.

I've never heard of Khao Phra Wihan National Forest, but I've lived next door to Khao Phra Wiharn National Park for more than 8 years..........

Am on my no 7 bottle of beer and several shots of lao kow and about to step through what used th be my lounge room and have more lao kow. This is day one 2 to go, were are the salvos and there de tocic center when you need one, Can't see the key so by for now, Jim

I'm waiting for tomorrows chapter 2. I guess it won't come too early............?

Bergen, we will be back for the meet up! Count us in!

Jim, get the count adjusted................

Thai culture to me, appears to be "take as much as you can by any means possible, especially from the weak, gullible or foolish"

Have I got it wrong?

Not my experience, but what do I know?

I agree with bergen, not my experiece either and I've been here for 7 years now.

But then again, neither of you married your wife for financial reasons.

Gweiloman - What do you know?

Wow James, why all the negativity?

P.S - Most of the wines I've bought from Laos have been off due to poor storage facilities, heat etc. Even Thai's know this.

Never had a bad bottle from a proper store in Lao, but like everything from smokes to whiskey you need to learn to see the fakes. Good fakes at times, got done on a carton of LM last week perfect in every way until you lite one up.

As to this day I have never tasted a Thai wine that I would call good, most are barely drinkable at best. Willing to try some if some one can recommend a brand or vineyard. Jim

Hi Jim, I thought the same as you about Thai wine. Very Sceptical... but couple people recommended this place... Try Hua Hin HillsVinyard about 30 ,in west of Hua Hin. They have pretty decent wine. it is the same price as a bottle of decent import. But It aint that cheap, I think about 1000+ THB per. They also have a beautiful restaurant with excellent 5star quality food. Its a very good day out..But again... it is same as Western costs. Not sure how much it is distributed. I lived in Hua Hin for 4 months and I was there 4 times.

Any reports on the vineyards in Loei? What about Khao Yai wines.

If I ever get down that far again will give them a try or if I see a bottle around, 1000 Baht is a bit pricey thought. Chong Mek , the duty free shop has some good reds around 400 Baht [ not Thai ] All in all wine is a tipple here, this is beer country. Jim

Tesco Lotus in Ubon have a decent selection of wines from Australia, South Africa, Chile, France, Italy, and more, for plus/minus 500 baht/bottle.

Bergen, Harry and I will be in bkk, till the 8th.

Maybe we will have to reschedule. If we do, we will both come.

Ok, keep me updated..........

normal thai,what the hell do u know about normal thais.My partner is a normal thai,hardly drinks,works,does not gamble,has no debts,has money in the bank for things like house improvements,trips to uk etc etc.

How can anybody treat your posts serriouysly with that garbage,or is your gf like that

I seriously doubt any Thai person living with a foreigner could be classed as "A normal Thai"

What a strange statement!

" Why would you buy a cow, when you only want to drink a glass of milk?"

Building a house in Issan is like buying a Jumbo jet because you like peanuts.

I guess I missed something here

Well it is getting closer. The wife and I will be bringing a guest couple as well, the sausage guy Roger Payne, and he is bringing a stock of sausages. For those of you who are attending you will get to sample some and be expected to buy lots! Post 38 has the brochure details for anyone who wants to preorder. If you cant make it but want to try some, send me a PM.

Isaanaussie

Looking forward to trying some of the sausages.

Blind brutal ingnorance I am afraid. Even the former PM in exile said that Thailand would never amount to much if the population kept watching the mindless crap on Telly and reading comic books. Was he chastised by the public for saying this ? No the Thais said he was right. !!!

I just came back from the UK the other week and the BBC had their Spring Watch programme showing live coverage all over the country about Britains wildlife. Millions of (well educated ) viewers watch and take part around the nation and have a genuine interest in wildlife and its well being.

In S.E. Asia the only interest is money and food. If you can get money from making an elephant ride a bike and tightrope walk or if you can deep fry the critter all the better. Any and every opportunity is exploited Tigers penis, bears bile, fried water beetles and scorpions for crying out loud. How about exporting thousands of peoples pet dogs across the border to feed the Koreans. Lets shoot every Rhino and cut its horn off cos the Chniese believe utter sh*t that it is an aphrodisiac.

Thailand has no room for stampeding herds of Wildebeest and I have met locals that think this is "not real" when watching the Discovery channel. But, they just don't get it when there is the possibility that his country would be flooded with even more tourists if they did have "real" nature reserves like Kasiranga in India with its Tigers and Asian Rhino. The make a fast buck mind set and rampant corruption buggers up any chance of that happening.

I feel for the OP, he/she maybe lives very close to what was a garden of Eden and now is an image of Hell.

The fact of the matter is nothing will stop this madness on the planet until it is all gone.

Meanwhile the rest of the planet is hoodwinked by government sponsored <deleted> called climate change. If corporate carbon credits were re-directed at educating the masses that they are killing the planet by just simply killing insects on their vegetables, they might wake up to real facts about how this tiny planet is doomed soon if we dont stop slashing, burning, shooting, over fishing, illegal logging and dumping all our crap over whats left.

So on that cheery note I'll end this rant about my fellow humans. Is that the right word to call people that behave like this ?

Over 100 species of Life go extinct everyday because of US HUMANS or Parasites should be the right word to call ourselves. A good book for all of you to get started would be to read the book "ISHMAEL", by Daniel Quinn. Written entirely in the wonderful English Language , as for the misfortunes of people like Kerry I believe they have an edition in Brail. Thats a great 1st step..

So I guess you don't have any concrete suggestions as to actions people who are reading Thai Visa can take other than read a book. If your suggestion is that we go out and buy and read a book then your post should be eliminated because that is spam.

I didnt start this topic to create hostile arguments. I wanted to find likeminded people who wanted to find a solution. If you think that the Book 'Ishmael" is Spam. WHy not give it a read first before judging it as spam. Assumptions are the unflushable Diarrhea of all toilets. Get a big black garbage bag and clean up the neighborhood and reuse or recycle garbage. I like the idea about starting a forest monastery and in fact I have an Idea I'm working on with some politicians here to Bring back an endangered species or primate to be bred and released everywhere in the near vicinity here.

I think that would be considered progress huh?

What exact location are you talking about?

I only drink Espresso with no sugar. Perhaps bitter is not the right word. Sour may be better. I don't like it at all. Of the coffee places that I find Espresso good in Ubon and nearby areas are Spago, Dao in down town Ubon and the Amazon coffee shops at PTT Amnart (road north) and Yasothon (first on right before reaching Yasothon from Ubon). Most other places are hopeless.

Yep; agree with all your locations above. The ones on the side of the road are quite,as you politely say, hopeless.

Have you tried Pantae in Warin. Cracking little coffee shop.

Don't give away all the secrets. Besides I don't think the girls wear uniforms...........

-"Your relationship is with her not the family. If she can't accept that then bye bye." you obviously don't understand Thai culture. That is why I said in my reply, "Learn about Thai culture, ......."

Thai culture to me, appears to be "take as much as you can by any means possible, especially from the weak, gullible or foolish"

Have I got it wrong?

Not my experience, but what do I know?

What is her education/employment background? If she can't support herself, then that makes her a taker not a giver.

If she can take care of, and support her man, that makes her a contributer!

Quote:

You can count on Tequila Sunset new in "Sickit" from Pattaya H3, and I'll bring along Ninety-six. We're headed to Phuket for the Hash Bash July 3-7 but will be back for the Hash Run #1 in Sisaket if you let us know when and where the start is, and the ONON ON can be at the CooKoo Nest. ONON Tequila

Always good to meet new faces at the Ubon Hash (in Sisaket). OnOn location sounds good too, but keep it a secret!

The hare and GM might have other plans...........

I will let some one else have fun with the above

What's so funny Sirineou ? Do you lack the ability to respond to my post yourself ?

Ok I will take a shot at it

You said:

. Put your foot down from the start and you make the decisions, not her. That applies to her family also. Give them an inch and.............Your relationship is with her not the family. If she can't accept that then bye bye.

While you're away from your lady does she have a gik? Does she gamble? Has she got hidden debts ? (Thais live in debt) Does she drink? My guess would be yes to all those, as she's a normal Thai. The answer is not easy, but obviously you have reservations and these need to be addressed. So my advice would be to walk away until you need to ask no more questions on a Thai forum.

-" Put your foot down from the start and you make the decisions, not her." : That is not a Marriage that is a dictatorship,

Dont you think it is time to come out of the cave? come on.. it is nice out here... we have made great strides, we now have fire and a new device called the wheel.

-"Your relationship is with her not the family. If she can't accept that then bye bye." you obviously don't understand Thai culture. That is why I said in my reply, "Learn about Thai culture, ......."

​When you marry an isaan girl, (in fact any girl in the world) but much more so an Isaan girl, your relationship is not only with her but with her family.

Family is a very important part of Isaan life, if you marry a girl that is having problems with her family, you can very well bet that there is a problem with either her, or her family.

-"While you're away from your lady does she have a gik? Does she gamble? Has she got hidden debts ? (Thais live in debt) Does she drink? ":

Why would you even marry such person?

-"My guess would be yes to all those, as she's a normal Thai": How do you arrive to such conclusion? perhaps, it is true with in the circles you move, but certainly not normal. and if it was normal then , then I come back to my previous question , why would any one marry such person? if it was true then Isaan girls would be totally unsuited as wife material.

It was this kind of talk that I warned the OP against.

Married to a very nice Isaan girl, for 3 years, being together for 6years,

she is a woman, I am a man, and as such we have our moments, but all in all I could not imagine a life with out her.

Well said!

No one attends more knee and hip courses in the states (Mayo Clinic I believe) than Chanakarn, not that means a lot, but at least he keeps updated with the latest procedures and I hear he is a bit of a whiz with an arthroscope. He also goes to various countries giving lectures. Ask him how many he's done he's a nice guy and will tell you. Whether or not the numbers with be manipulated or not who knows?

Big plus he drives a BMW owned by his father not one of the poncy Benz which ladies drive.

hmm, yes that must be of major importance...........

Hi James, First time Poster, My wife and I went to the last two meetings, we are looking forward to meeting you and all the other people we met before , Is the ''ROO SIGN '' up in front of your factory yet? what colour is it?, See you there, i'm comming from UBON. Helmuth

Will be good to meet you again Helmut.........

The "British Gentleman" now has a Bar / Restaurant very near the Laithong Hotel called TC Kitchen. He serves Thai and Farang food, excellent homemade Pies and Pasties and a "Kabab Night" on Saturdays (One is not enough!!!)

"English" Gentleman

English Gentleman indeed!

Is N'joy reopened? Checked there a while ago, no more British gentleman with his delicious buffet. Only some strange looking and of course overcharging girls. An Archa for 85 baht is a kind of expensive I'd say.........

The "British Gentleman" now has a Bar / Restaurant very near the Laithong Hotel called TC Kitchen. He serves Thai and Farang food, excellent homemade Pies and Pasties and a "Kabab Night" on Saturdays (One is not enough!!!)

Good bunch of guys and gals - with the exception of a strange guy who used to live in Phibun

Thanks for the useful information. Did you mean one day/week or one Kebab isn't enough? Sorry Kabab.

Hope the strange guy from Phibun isn't a serial killer.........

The "strange guy from Phibun" is what I will call a real British Gentleman!!

Ah, some topic action................

I will bring BkkHarry, and maybe one more, so keep the rooms ready and the fridges filled up.

Not much rain around here down by the Cambodian border in Ubon province between Nam Yun and Khao Phra Wiharn.

Had an hour of downfall yesterday afternoon, and that is normal for the season......

Using the witch doc was not so good for two of my friends.............

The started proper treament in hospital too late and died.

There are areas in Thailand, such as Khao Yai and Chiang Dao Mountain, which are 'more or less' protected, and in which the remaining wildlife has a reasonable chance of survival. In Khao Yai, for example, it is easy to see gibbons. It is far more important to tighten up the protection on these areas than to fritter away precious resources on a porous border area. The police won't help; the border guards will shoot the wildlife; the locals will trap what they can.

Laos and Cambodia both have nature reserves, and are trying, with far less resources than Thailand, to conserve their wildlife; they are unlikely to help in the border areas. Add to the porosity of the area, the danger of landmines, and the widespread smuggling of consumer goods.

Good post!

On the Sisaket map Bergen - see Spacemands map posting #14

Maybe soon time for a hash run in Sisaket SantiSuk.........