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wrongway
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Posts posted by wrongway
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There seems to be a surprising reticence on the part of the Ubon expats to communicate the virtues of their city when it comes to 'watering holes'. Before I made a visit a few months ago, I did various web searches but found only a large number of posts saying 'if you want nightlife don't come to Ubon'. Actually my own preferences don't extend far beyond a quiet drink, so my perspective is more that of an observer than a participant, but I was surprised how many entertainment options Ubon has. I would say it is at least on a par with Khon Kaen (though perhaps not Udon) and certainly puts anything in Surin (Soi Cola or Memorial) or Buriram (entertainment plaza) in the shade in terms of scale and the number of venues. I would start at the Swing Party bar on Chayongkul Road, close to the intersection with Uppaleesan Road, and ask the locals for directions. It is a pleasant bar with attractive waitresses moonlighting from the Rajhabat, a nice Farang crowd and okay music. I like Ubon's Thai-style cafe bars of which there are many, including the cafe at the Regent Hotel a few hundred yards north on the left, and a more risque establishment (I think known as Annie's) in a Soi directly behind the Swing Party. Ubon even has at least one a-go-go bar in the shape of PPs Bar just past the Regent (interestingly it has Farang-style vertical dancing poles rather than the horizontal ones of Surin's over-rated Hard Rock Cafe). For those who are interested there are also at least five fish bowls. Soi Robinson just off Chayongkul Road had a large number of bars but is said to be under re-development. Further north on Chayongkul Road there is the Nevada Entertainment Complex with its bars and discos, but this attracts a very young, noisy crowd and you may need your ear plugs. There is another area with many bars to the east close to the Laithong Hotel. Perhaps the Ubon residents who are not in bed by 8.30pm will enlighten the questioner further!
Citizen33,
Great post. I've been living in Ubon for 3 years and you've made your point much better than I could. As I'll have to advise the wide variety of farang who will visit my establishment (opening Friday, to be announced on this forum soon), I've got to get to know more about my own city. A website with an Ubon guide to everything including nightlife is on the way. Once I have my wife resticted to our bar/restaurant, I'll have a greater opportunity to explore. How's that for an ulterior motive?
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I just had a look at the map and it must be about 300 kilometers from Korat to Ubon. I'd have to get my Korat friend's wife to approve an overnighter like that. I really thought it was closer than that. I get that far from home and the wife would want to go with me.
Gary,
We've hijacked this thread, but Steve seems to be gone and not likely to return, though he's welcome, as far as I'm concerned. I bought some firebricks for my wood-burning oven recently and had to go to Korat to get them as that's as far they would deliver them from Saraburi. Had my first night there. I liked it, but maybe it is thanks to the Pizza Place (sorry, don't have the complete name on me as I'm just overseeing construction at the moment). It took me about 5 hours to get there from here and six hours back with a ton of bricks in the back of my pickup. I think you could get here quicker directly, but I'd have to look at a map. Anyway, if you're ever exploring the area, please do drop in. Yes, women fear physical distance because they relate it to emotional distance. Just tell her you can be as bad a boy near home as far away. On second thought, better not do that.
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Wrongway
I'll be there next Friday, - fools, trolls or both.
I will try to remember a lot of difficult questions
which I probably will forget when I start drinking, but who can play pool without beer!? You might wanna give me some handicap???????
See you
Gary, you stuck that in while I was "composing." Yes, we're into virtual hugs when we're sober, and the physical ones that luckilly we can't remember when we've been drunk. Come on down from Loei and get either. If your from the US, as it seems, we can tell each other why we like it here better. One night might not be enough time though.
Bergen,
About the handicap, I was thinking that some vodka from Norway would handicap you to a satisfactory level (no puking on the pool table, though). I think I saw some (vodka from Norway, not puke) in Lotus Tesco. Shall I put it on our tiny menu?
Cheers!
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Wrongway
I'll be there next Friday, - fools, trolls or both.
I will try to remember a lot of difficult questions
which I probably will forget when I start drinking, but who can play pool without beer!? You might wanna give me some handicap???????
See you
Bergen,
You got a driver or are you staying over? If you're staying over, let me know so I can reserve a room here for you, if you want. It's Tim we have to worry about regarding pool playing, so we'll both have to think of some difficult questions that he can ponder over while trying to make the difficult shots. Thaibites0, you are most welcome, too. Let's all just forget our forum names and have a good time. Wish I could do something special Friday night, but I'll have something special when the food begins in May. Until then, enjoy the drinks!
Regarding nuking Bangkok, you've all been drunk and written something you probably regret. Let it go. Or maybe, when the GF has run off with all your money, and it's only a few days before you have to return to that nightmare known as working for a living, it's a perfectly reasonable wish.
Defeated my wife at least 8 times now. Good pool table. She's improving faster than me, though. So, who's going to be the first Ubon champion?
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One does of course have to add the post from another section of TV where good old steven W asked for the UK government to drop a nuclear bomb on Bangkok
I think you are wasting your time wrongway - he's a fool or a Troll.
I will pop in when you open though!
Bites
Any link for that post? im sure would like to see that,, and maybe other's as well who are living here.
Wrongway,,,nice pool and hang out place,,,will be there for one nigh when im back in July.
Marco,
Again, you need some help with your English. I'm sure you mean you'll be in "every night," not "one night." And we've got a bucket of water but no "pool." The "pool table," however, is really good. Broke it in with Tim, the owner of Polar Bear Cafe, last night before more serious business (drinking). Managed one win and one loss. I learned that asking extraordinarilly difficult questions while playing keeps us fairly even. Thinking of having a small competition next Friday on our "soft opening" day to determine the "first" Ubon pool champion. All are welcome.
I don't make assumptions about anyone until I meet them. And even then, even a real fool can teach you something (does that make me a bigger fool?). I find people are much more cival when meeting face to face; posting on a forum gives one a sense of immunity an anonymity, almost like the Japanese when they leave their islands (maybe the English, too) and are no longer bound by their cultural mores-- they tend to make superb asses of themselves all over the world. But that is true of groups mainly, not individuals. Anyway, all are welcome and nobody will be judged thorougly until I've known them for 20 years.
Oh, got off the point, but the best place to base oneself if exploring Ubon Ratchathani province is most certainly the city itself. If the city and its population don't charm you and you want to explore every nook and cranny of the province, this is the center, and even here you will meet Thais from all the Amphurs. I would imagine there is at least one farang living in any given Amphur, as well. Maybe you can meet them here. There are other nice venues here for live music, etc., which is welcoming after a day of exploring areas outside of the city. I'm sure this is true of any province in Isaan.
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I am moving with my missus from Pattaya we want to rent a room apartment or house until we find our feet she is fro Issan
Is there an availability of such accomodation in Ubon or around surrounding area?
steve
Oops! Forgot the welcoming committee!
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I am moving with my missus from Pattaya we want to rent a room apartment or house until we find our feet she is fro Issan
Is there an availability of such accomodation in Ubon or around surrounding area?
steve
Steven,
Hope you haven't been scared away. Sometimes everybody has a bad day at the same time. I have a vested interest in your question and have some advice.
I'm opening a restaunt/pub/cafe sort of place right in the center of Ubon. Drinks begin on April 7, food most likely from May. We've got nice rooms for rent by the day in back, 24 of them, actually. They are fully furnished, have cable TV, hot water, air con, etc. 350 to 450 baht a night. Daily cleaning service. You'll probably want something with larger but this would give you a place to start searching from. Hopefully there will be people around my place that can give you more help when your needs are more fully understood. Feel free to send me a personal mail if you want more information. I'm trying not to advertise on the forum too much while advertising as much as I can! Here is a photo of the outside of the rooms behind our place. Will have some of the rooms shortly (kind of busy). Also I've attached a photo of the chairgirl of our welcoming committee.
Good luck
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Thanks for the tax document, which I'll have a look at.
In your previous post you suggest I don't need a work permit because the income would not be taking away anybody's job in Thailand. Fair enough.
But how could I file a tax return for income received from abroad if I have a retirement visa that doesn't give me the right to work?
As I said in a previous post, I wouldn't have to pay taxes in the countries from which I receive work (in the European Union) as, according to EU logic, tax is levied in your country of residence.
Purplesage,
Being in a similar situation, I'm following this with interest. The more I read, the more I think about returning to that low profile. I am in thailand, visa-on-entry, for about 330 days a year. The other days I am in Japan or Europe on business. Sounds like I should be paying taxes according to the post by Thohts. I think I'm too stupid to understand this. . . so, back to my low profile.
As for the US, the $80,000 thing, it refers to salaried (employed) individuals, not those who are self employed. That was my status for 14 years in Japan. The $80,000 also refers to income after your foreign tax office has given you all the deductions and exemptions you are allowed. So, I was earning around $80,000 a year depending on the exchange rate, but after this and that was taken out of it for tax purposes the official number was around $45,000. I didn't even know I was required to file until many years later. My brother is a CPA in the US and he helped me take advantage of a program to bring back non-filers like myself. Filed for a number of years though didn't have to pay anything. Then I fell down and landed in Thailand, living for a number of years under the US poverty level, so I couldn't be bothered about filing, especially when I learned I owe them roughly 15% of my income no matter the amount earned as self-employed. Now I could continue taking my main source of income in the self-employed form, or I could have the Japanese company arrange it as a salary. Then they'd have to take out 20% withholding, some of which I may or may not get back. But the Japanese tax office is much less frightening than the US IRS who is happy to pursue individuals like me to set an example. Amazing the worries that arise in conjunction with rising income. . . And it seems so easy to just lay low, as they (the Thai side) probably don't care.
There must be a lot of retired individuals out there who still have businesses or are in some way generating income. Are any of you paying Thai taxes? No replies? Well, that would mean no, then.
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You're up early mate! Nice looking house. Probably cheaper to do it in a development as we did, but all the houses look the same. Nice to have a big piece of land an the only house of it's type around, maybe. Here's what a view down the street looks like back when a lot of them were still being built:
I'm virtually always up at the crack of dawn.
Yes, it is the only house of this type in Amphur, at least as far as I know. Regarding having a big piece of land, I would have preferred less. The house and front/side garden occupy around 250 tallang wah. The whole plot is 1.00 rai therefore I have 150 talang wah which I really don't know what to do with. We tried a number of "crops" but either the 'soil' isn't good enough or we both have 'red fingers'.
C'est la vie.
Jayenram,
Having had a few (too many) beers, in regards to your problem about growing anything on the 150 talang wah that you've got no other use for, have you tried picking your nose to cure yourself of those "red fingers?" Seriously, I don't farm but having two brothers who are successful organic farmer in the US, I guess I have a strange attachment to it. Question: Are your neighbors able to grow anything useful? Have you thought of a European style swimming pond (50% swimming area and 50% fairly attractive water plants that clean the water without chlorine or other chemicals, one pump circulating the water through a gravel bed? That would be a 75 talang wah swimming area, not including the barbeque pit. When's the party?
Okay, I'll shut up and sleep. I wake up a the crack of dawn too. An Isaan life malady that I've no cure for. . .
Cheers!
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the original house would have cost us nearly 900,000 baht. This one, after all the changes, cost us almost exactly 1 million baht.
Oi! What are you doing living in my house?
Btw, mine cost around Bht 750,00.00 excluding land and European style kitchen, 6 years ago.
Jayenram,
You're up early mate! Nice looking house. Probably cheaper to do it in a development as we did, but all the houses look the same. Nice to have a big piece of land an the only house of it's type around, maybe. Here's what a view down the street looks like back when a lot of them were still being built:
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I would appreciate any comments from those with experience in getting electricity set up for rural farm. We have farm 1 km from nearest electric power pole and wonder what the cost is likely to be to get the power company to run lines for us.
I know that I can run the lines myself and piggy back with someone that now has electricity but am told that those type of lines are very likely to dissapear as a midnight requisition for resale by some one.
Are there sensible generator alternatives to help get some power to the farm to run pump and rest of normal electrical needs? Also would consider solar but have no idea of how to proceed with that project.
Thank you for any advice you have on the subject.
Sign me "Powerless in Issan"
Dear "Powerless in Isaan,"
I don't have much experience in this; you might have been better off posting on the main Thaivisa forum or doing a search, as I assume your question pertains to matters common throughout Thailand, not just Isaan. If it's any help, I've got a friend in Krabi who built some apartments about the same distance off the grid. If you go through the normal application procedures there shouldn't be much trouble. I think you can put up the poles yourself and then you pay some amount per meter for them to bring in the power lines. In my friend's case, he needed a lot of power and I owned land next to him, so we agreed to share some of the cost. He (we) payed to have what I think is called a transformer (big cylinder-shaped thing at the top of the pole) put in to ensure maximum power. When the locals nearby, also without power, learned of this they got excited, thinking they could tap it, but we were smart and, since we were paying for it, had it erected on his property. This caused a bit of resentment, but we paid for everything. If you want maximum, stable power, you might want to consider this option. I'm sure others out there know more about this than me, though.
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JRC1,
Paid for this three-bedroom house in a nice (great neighbors) new development about 5km outside of the center of Ubon Rathchathani, 1km from BigC, about six months ago. We actually moved into another house, one of the first, in the development (now 50 total) a year ago, but just before they finished that one we learned from one of the carpenters that the foreman had made a mistake and that house was 10cm lower than the others. Never would have noticed, and it hasn't seemed to cause the new owners any problems, but I used that as leverage and sort of demanded that they build us another house. The only lot left was the corner lot that I originally wanted but, because it's 20% larger, and more expensive, we didn't go for it initially. I convinced them to give us that extra 20% of land for free for our trouble. They accepted. So, we stayed rent-free in the other house until this one was finished. That gave us the advantage of staying on top of their work. Also, by then, we'd learned which teams were better at what, such as tiling, and would ask for the best team to perform particular construction. Worked out pretty good. Also, we knew what design improvements (our cost) we wanted having had the experience of living in one of the homes. We had the house widened by about a meter and the front roof extended (see photo) to make a covered patio. That was my idea and the developer did everything he could to convince me it wouldn't look good. When they took photos for their brochure for their next development, guess which house they chose! Anyway, three-bedrooms, large living room, two bathrooms (one attached to the master bedroom), and an acceptable kitchen; the original house would have cost us nearly 900,000 baht. This one, after all the changes, cost us almost exactly 1 million baht.
The shiny new pickup in the photo was purchased on credit (Chevrolet's). This was tough to pull off as my wife is unemployed (but soon she will be the owner of a restaurant) and I'm here visa-on-entry, earning money from work I do over the internet for a company in Japan. Also, on paper, my wife is a "single mother." The total price for the pickup, a Chevrolet Colorado with a 2.5l commonrail engine, was 520,000 baht. The first downpayment we made was 70,000 baht. The guy in charge of credit here sort of fudged my wife's application for credit, making her the proprieter of a small shop selling clothes outside of BigC. We'd been putting 30 or 40 thousand in her account monthly to give her some credit standing. Also, the house was paid in cash (put in my daughter's name), and her brother, who has a small metal fabrication/welding business here co-signed. They told us not to worry and just follow that storyline if anyone from the head office in Bangkok calls. In fact, even before being approved, they brought the car over. Then the head office called. They noticed in her bank book copies that rather large transfers of cash from the United States were made. They new the "shop propieter" story was bogus. I thought we'd have to go through the extreme embarassment of having to return the car, but it turns out that another 50,000 deposit settled things. The "published" interest rate is 3.35%, but WATCH OUT. It's actually much higher, something like 7% if you do the math. They calculate it as if you borrowed the entire amount for, in our case, 4 years, and then paid it all back on the last day. In other words, you are paying interest on money you've paid back. For a 48-month loan, we pay 9,300 baht a month. The first year's insurance is expensive, full coverage, 20,000. I was surprised to learn that there is a guy who poses for us for insurance purposes because neither I nor my wife have a Thai driver's license. We had to pay him 1,500 baht recently for taking care of a broken latch and a dented (drunken) fender. This was cheaper than paying ourselves, I was told. This bit sounds somewhat dodgy, so be careful. Hope this information has helped.
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Arriving April
Mid range hotel please?
Furnished condo?
Farang watering hole?
Car/pickup hire?
Thanks in advance
Hello Korat Correct,
Yes, there are a lot of us farang here in all shapes and sizes. We seem to be just realizing there are advantages in getting together now and then. To that end, my wife and I are opening a cafe/restaurant/pub kind of place right in the center of the city. I've been hesitant to announce this, as it's tough to fix a date, but yesterday the Bangkok company selling me my pool table confirmed that it would be installed March 31, so a soft opening on Friday, April 7, is sort of official now. For a while the place will be just a watering hole; when the wood-burning pizza oven is complete and broken in. Eventually we will have a full menu, Thai and farang, mostly centered on what can be prepared in the traditional oven. Also, we are planning a variety of proper aritison breads (has a San Francisco Sourdough culture sent to me from the US). Any particular beer you like? Let me know and I'll make sure it's available (assuming it's available in Thailand).
As for a place to stay, we have 24 rooms available right behind us. They are fully furnished, have cable TV, air-con, hot water, etc., and range in price from 350 to 450 baht per night. Daily cleaning service is provided. The advantage is, of course, the particularly short staggering distance to your room after a bit of drinking.
Your question about car rental deserves some study, as I'll probably be asked that again and again. I'll try to get an answer today and post it here.
In the meantime, here's the Contact info for our place (no sign up yet):
Wrong Way Cafe
49/5 Phadang Road
Tambon Nai Muang
Amphor Muang
Ubon Rathchathani
Thailand 34000
045-245921
01-7186091
I'm Richard, from the US but lost in Asia for 20 years.
Cheers!
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Lotburi3,
Thanks for the advice. My intention in the restaurant/pub/cafe is to sit at the counter and chat with nice fellows while keeping an eye on the staff. In Japan the right to work to support your Japanese spouse was a given. Not the same here, it seems. My main interest is in whether there is a right to help with the family business or not. There's no salary, of course, what's left over at the end of the month just puts food on the table. Working for a company is a different matter. If helping out were not allowed and strictly enforced, then giving your wife a ride to her shop would be putting a driver out of work, taking care of the kids while she's away would be putting a maid out of work, etc. I think as long as I'm not standing in front of a crowd of customers wearing a chef's hat and tossing a pizza, it will be all right. Sure would like to know if the "law" this guy I met really does stipulate that assisting in a family business (not incorporated) is legal. Understood about the divorce thing. That was seven years ago and I expect she's probably sorted it out as she's the one who "forgot" to bring some document, promised to soon, and then pissed off. She's probably run into the "polygamy" problem before me. Anyway, thanks for the advice.
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Purplesage,
This is getting a bit off-topic, but if you are a UK national, I believe they do not (or did not) tax you on income generated overseas. I'm a US citizen, and if you are self-employed you still owe the US government Social Security and Medicare. Somewhere around 15% of your income no matter what your costs are, I believe, though others may know better. My Japanese company was asked about my taxes by the accounting firm they employ (iif I'm not being taxed elsewhere, they were kind enough to offer taxing me). I began sending invoices with my name plus "& Associates, Inc." attached. I use my US address for billing purposes, though I'm paid into a Japanese bank account. I withdraw here with an ATM card. As I've been out of the US for 20 years, half my life, and never paid into the system, I'm in the odd position of not paying any taxes at all. Don't, by any means, take this as a recommendation. I'll probably find myself in trouble some day. However, you should consider whether the Thai authorities may consider your income "taxable." If you can prove you are paying taxes already, you should be okay. There are others here on the forum who know much more about this than me, though. I think I've said enough; better go back to hiding. . . Best advice, as others seem to suggest, is to just keep a low profile.
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Hello,
Along with my other work for a Japanese company, I am also a freelance translator (Japanese to English). Even with my work in Japan, which is just a matter of acting as interface between the Japanese company and its customers in Europe, via email, telephone, etc., I do it all sitting right here in Thailand. For years I've kept an extremely low profile for fear of "being caught working." While a bit of caution is merited, I think I've been overly cautious. I, too, however, have recently been giving a lot of thought to what the best visa strategy is (hence my other post on this section of the forum). The way I understand it, as I go in and out every month, I am the perfect tourist, providing services for a company outside of Thailand and spending the money earned here. It's getting to be a pain in the butt, though. I would suggest you come and retire. If people wonder why you are always typing, tell them you have many friends to send emails to. By the way, are you taxed in Italy?
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
I hope these questions have not been asked before. Did a search prior to posting, with no luck. Anyway, really two questions here.
I met a very nice guy (farang) in a provincial capital (I'm puposely being vague to protect him in case he's wrong) whose wife is the owner of a restaurant (not incorporated). When busy, he helps out by serving food, taking orders, or just staying out of the way. They've been doing this for nearly 10 years. I assumed he had a work permit, but he said he didn't need one. He said a farang may help in his wife's business if he is legally married. Said he has an extremely good lawer with whom he confirmed this, the lawer showing the relative law in both Thai and English. He said you need to have a work permit if you want to be on the payroll of a company, but if you are just helping the wife out, it's not necessary.
This case is interesting for me because my wife and I are opening a restaurant/pub in Ubon soon. I am from the US, 41, so too young for the retirement visa option. I lived in Japan for 14 years prior to coming here and still earn 70- 100,000 baht per month. My wife and I are not legally married, but I am shown as the father on my daughter's birth certificate. I could clear up a technicality (I might still be married to another Thai), marry my wife (I know that sounds strange), get an "O" visa, and stop doing this in-and-out of Thailand every 30 days hassle. It also occured to me that, leaving the marriage issue out of it, I might be able to get and "O" visa as I am supporting my daughter. I could have my company in Japan issue a statement as to my annual income, or monthly salary, or something to that effect, but I'm not able to show them I have 400,000 in the bank because we just bought a house by cash and every remaining baht is being put into the restaurant. Can anyone tell me what my chances of getting an "O" visa are, and whether I need to be concerned about helping out in the restaurant?
Thanks in advance for any comments.
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Hi,
Sounds like your wife has a very good head on her shoulders. As the Isaan people are generally very friendly, you shouldn't have any trouble. I suggest, however, you tie yourselves loosely to a good provincial university. Find a professor who is sympathetic to your interests and get advice. Even if you could simply tell the locals you chose their community to live in based on the recommendation of professor ?? at ?? university, they will likely respect you more and forgive your foreigness (by this I mean your wife, too). Stay somewhere within an easy drive of the provincial capital so you can shop, get together with some of the friendly farang residents, etc.
Good luck!
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Hmm. . .
I'm from the US, but if someone were to ask me "Where's the best place to live in the US?" I'd have trouble. Even if I were asked what the best part of my small Massachusetts hometown to live in would be, I'd have trouble. But isn't the question pointless? What life is like wherever you live is pretty much up to you. So many people just passively go about things, and blame insufficiencies on their environment, etc. Try to be the type of person who can be happy anywhere, and you will be.
Jesus, I just reread the above. Okay, come to Ubon Ratchathani and be a would-be pholosopher ###### like me! Time to log out. . .
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Hey,
Just asked my (Thai) wife how much we need to live a month. This is a nice city, Ubon Ratchathani, and the house's paid for. She says we need at least 50,000 a month, 40,000 if we don't drink. Our big cost is our daughter. Those diapers and powdered milk. . . The shiny new pickup is included, 10,000 a month. We don't have air cons or cleaners. I've lived on various budgets in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Krabi, and have some experience in a villiage that I'm not at liberty to discuss. If you don't drink and don't smoke, 30,000 will still give you change for toilets at the bus terminals. If your wife gambles, get out when the going is good.
Watch out about judging how some villiages can survive. They may be OTOP (One Tambon One Product) on the surface, but it "may" be the concientious young daughters who are providing that sense of affluance.
Though I live in Ubon, my wife is from Surin. The Ubon people, anyway, haven't got a problem about "outsiders." They assume you are here because Ubon has something special. It does, I just can't pin it down yet. If your wife is a well-educated, sophisticated Bangkok-girl, she may or may not fit in. I know that's a "no help" comment. It's really about who she is and how she interacts with people. If she's in a villiage in "East Bumf##k," and somebody tells her about the black dog that is bigger than an elephant and has been killing people left and right at night, she might be wise to thank them for the information and let it pass. I can't recall how many times I've asked for names and addresses of the victims of that big black elephant-sized dog. I think they made it up so I wouldn't go out buying more beer after dark.
Anyway, you've got time. Take your time and make a well-informed decision.
Cheers!
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Congratulations FreedomDude,
My daugher was born here in Ubon Ratchathani just a year and a half ago, so this information is fairly current. Before rushing into childbirth, I suggest you take some trips to a clinic across the road from Supphasit Hospital on the street with the same name. That's a big hospital; everybody knows it. The name of the clinic is Sontaya. Tried to get the phone number but it got lost when we moved and my wife couldn't find it in the phone book. When the time comes, the doctor at Sontaya will be at the hospital across the street to deliver the baby.
Your wife should have a "pink book" already. She should take that with her when she goes to see the doctor at Sontaya. As the pregnancy progresses, visits are more frequent. Something like once a week. I'm opening a cafe/pub/restaurant nearby, so come and have a beer while you wait. The clinic costs are trivial, a few hundred baht for medicine.
When the time comes, don't panic, even if you are 40 km away. They don't usually pop out of the oven while you're driving to town. Go to Supphasit Hospital. They will ask if you have "special," so say yes and they will get the same doctor your wife has been seeing at Sontaya Clinic. My wife says he's a very good doctor. I checked in my wife and they just told me to go home. So, at two in the morning, I had a small Sangsom to celebrate the fast-approching event, then overslept. When I got back to the hospital my daughter was already born. At first my wife was put in a room with about 30 ladies. I've attached a photo. Then she moved to a private room which was about 1,200 baht or so a day (can't remember). All together, it cost about 10,000 baht. I've also attached a photo of the private room.
For vaccines, etc., we prefer going to Ubonrak Hospital.
Hope this helps.
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Hello,
I assume you have or will have a mobile phone and that you've got some signal with it where you are. Seems to me Korat shouldn't be too bad. It doesn't cost much more to get GPRS. I used it a lot for a time and it worked well. I mean, not so fast but fine for email and a bit of surfing. If the mooban you're in has a better signal with AIS, go with them, otherwise check DTAC. I just switched to DTAC but that's mainly about politics.
Having your basic, at-least-email connection, check and see, as others have suggested, if you can get ADSL. I've got it here in Ubon Ratchathani. You get it, and you won't touch the GPRS anymore, but GPRS is always good to have for backup or when visiting people (sorry, I'm assuming, probably incorrectly, that you've got a laptop).
The dish option may be a true turd. A turd or not, I don't like the price. GPRS requires a somewhat sophisticated phone, but they all seem to be sophisticated these days. I'd say, give me bluetooth, stick the camera function up your. . . . well, you know what I mean. Ever since the camera function has been coming with the phones, kids have been asking me for photos almost everywhere I go (they come in groups, but at first you tell them you're busy and will submit to one photo, but then you have to go through all six or seven in the group. I don't know why, but sometimes schools give homework assignments, "get a farang photo." Yes, they teach them to invade one's privacy.
Of course, if you've got a phone line, but are too far away to get ADSL, well then there's the standard dial-up. I might be a rare case but I hate going and buying minutes. Get GPRS and hope to get ADSL sometime, that's my advice.
Good luck!
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Vermiculite
in Isaan
I went out to check about the temperatures just to see if my memory had indeed gone bad....and....I discovered that there is quite range of temps for cooking pizza and your 450 C temp is on the high side but is indeed what some people use....I think it depends on the style of pizza you make. A thin, white crust pizza with a small amount of toppings can be cooked very fast with a very hot oven. In the US where I made pizza we made a whole wheat crust that was moderately thin and we used a thick layer of sauce, cheese, and toppings. If we had our oven too hot the toppings would singe while the crust would still be "raw" on the side where it contacted the suace.....I guess its all a matter of style.Chownah,
This topic should have it's name changed. 450C is the "recommended" temperature for pizza done the Naples way-- thin crust, not so heavy on the toppings, as you say. The last two years I lived in Japan (I was there about 14 years), on the weekends I had sort of a hobby restaurant. I used a wood-burning brick oven imported from Italy. I don't think I ever pushed it that high. My pizzas took 3 or 4 minutes to bake (got to turn them as they bake as the edge nearest the fire will burn). They say (there is actually a specification that you have to adhere to if you want to call your pizza "genuine Napoli-style) a pizza should take 2 minutes or less to bake. I'm building an oven with much more mass than the clay one I used in Japan. I'll have it going every day (assuming I have customers!!) and hope to keep it around 400 or so during "pizza hours." Put a cover on the door at 10:00 p.m. and the oven should be at a bread-baking temperature (200 to 250C) in the morning. There is no rule about where temperature is measured. The dome is usually hotter than the hearth when doing pizza. It evens out when you do bread because you don't have the fire going. Your oven would have been convection, but wood-burning ovens cook throuh a combination of, mainly, radiation, followed by convection and conduction (from the hearth it sits upon). I didn't do bread when I was in Japan but since I want to do sandwiches and maybe even sell the bread, I'm intending to learn. Already got a sourdough culture mailed to me from a US company.
Just got back an hour ago from Korat where I picked up a delivery of 250 firebricks. My wife wants me to unload them now because my pickup looks "jep." Now, I wonder if I can just put them all together in a shape resembling an oven. . .
Thanks to you, too, brew. I think I'll go with the ash for the insulation, but I might just pick up enough vermiculite at the place you mentioned to do the insulating concrete I want.
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Vermiculite
in Isaan
Thank you Farangnoi and Chownah for your helpful replies. Chownah, you are right about using the ash from rice husks. That is what they use for insulating the charcoal hibachi-like burners you can buy anywhere. I am making an oven out of firebrick to make pizza, bake bread, etc. The rice husk ash will work fine for the insulation, very good idea. I also wanted to use some vermiculite mixed in the concrete base upon which the oven will rest, the bottom ten cm of a total 20 cm as it's recommended to insulate the bottom of the oven (the first 10 cm of concrete retain heat, and the 10 cm under that insulate). The idea is to have a high-mass oven that could, for instance, bake pizza at 450 C in the evening, be closed, and still be about 250 C the next morning for baking bread.
which I probably will forget when I start drinking, but who can play pool without beer!? 
Ubon Ratchathani
in Isaan
Posted
Bergen,
One more reservation confirmed. 350 baht for the night. MalcomInTheMiddle, hope you can make it. I'll be announcing this officially soon so we can start a separate thread.
Cheers!