Lacessit

I didn't know that, did the Spanish have barbed wire?

Perhaps this is a case of police not getting brown envelopes. AFAIK there are two "entertainment" venues in Chiang Mai that are owned by very senior policemen.

Today, playing golf after an overnight soaking, I observed one of the ground staff mowing a fairway along with a fair amount of water. Did not bother to deviate from the pools. The military course I play at has just sanded all its greens. I fail to understand what the greenkeepers think they are achieving, because without coring a green before it is sanded, all that is going to happen is extra wear on the mower blades. There are two more upmarket courses in Chiang Rai that also sand without coring. I also don't understand why a greenkeeper would apply fertiliser to a green, then fail to water it in. Of course, as a farang, if I raised these observations I might cause loss of face. Anyone else see these things happening at the golf course they play on?

I have no desire whatsoever to repeat that experience. Bangkok to Chiang Mai, with a female bus conductor who would have been quite at home in a Nazi concentration camp. Or should I say British, because they started them.

He was called behind his back Duck's Bum, because he was as tight as one.

I took my clothes, towels etc. in Chiang Mai to a laundry which was run by an ex-policeman, his wife, and daughter. In ten years, they never lost or damaged a single item, and the socks always were matched perfectly. From memory, a very packed basket was about 140 baht.

All very nice, but what are they charging for the return fare?

As usual, I post facts, you post opinions.

I revised my Australian will in Thailand by contacting a solicitor in Australia via email, then setting up a ZOOM video meeting with her. Most solicitors now have ZOOM meeting software, it's easy to download from the internet. How else would lawyers have survived during the pandemic? The will was sent to me by post for signing in front of two Thai witnesses, and I returned it to the solicitor for safe-keeping after making a copy.

I used to know a guy who would do that, then present a hotel laundry bill from everywhere he stayed while traveling on business. Added up when he was billing the company accountants about $20 per day.

That doesn't sound like a person who claims to be way happier than someone else.

Can't argue with that, although on a military course I seem to get mostly 50 - 60 year olds.

Some of us don't make mountains out of molehills. You're talking about self-respect, when you are on your own admission off to score some nookie in another country? Wow.

You can't manage about 2 minutes of your time online to do a 90 day report? Life is so hard.

Figure of speech, I could probably move to Cambodia or Laos, but Thailand has better infrastructure, and I'm too old to be learning yet another Asian language. I could go back to Australia and buy a mobile home, but I'd be bored out of my skull there. Wrinkled whales don't appeal either.

I am desperate to stay in Thailand because it offers me the best lifestyle i could imagine, can't think of anywhere else as good on my pension and assets. I don't have any Immigration problems, do my 90 day report online and front up once a year with my 800K bank book and all the paperwork. Usually done in an hour. I'm not married, no intention of ever doing so. The extra 400K I would be able to spend is not worth the extra hassle. I'm just wondering what the OP is tired of, the paperwork or his wife.

Most I met were dry as the Sahara, and not wet behind the ears.

You'll have to post your BP, pulse rate, FBS, BMI and eGFR before I'll start believing the last assertion.

Everyone in the world is affected by the war in Ukraine; however, what you are proposing could inflame the situation further. The Ukrainians are doing a good job of bleeding the Russian army. It can only advance with artillery. I'd suggest continuing the supply of weapons to the Ukrainians. All they need is the tools.

First question: It depends on what age you are asking. I was long off the tee in my youth, now I can't hit it over a jam tin. Age 79, about 200 yards at best. Second question: I have not played Augusta. I have played Pine Valley, Oakmont, La Cantera, St. Andrew's Old Course, Banff and Kananaskis in Canada, Millbrook in New Zealand. A host of great courses all over Australia. Third question: No. I was eligible to turn professional in Australia. I did not, because I knew I was not good enough to be a touring pro. Fourth question: I had my first gainful employment as a caddie at age 13. It provides employment for a host of people, administrators, bar staff, ground staff and caddies. The grass and trees suck up the carbon dioxide mankind generates. You'd create a lot of unemployment if you closed all the golf courses in Thailand. What do I get out of golf? Enjoyment. Watching a well-flighted iron settle to a few feet from the pin, striping a drive to optimum position, judging a chip to either hole out or be given by an opponent. Even scrambling a par from a poor tee shot. My current focus is on breaking my age. I have done it once. My role model is Legh Winser, who regularly broke his age in his nineties. I take it you have never been in "the zone", when the combination of adrenalin and awareness means you know you are going to win in match or stroke play, no matter what any other competitor does. It's better than sex. Speaking of which, a question for you. I have already observed people with an animus towards golf are usually incapable of playing it. Could it be your self-declared celibacy has the same origins? P.S. My standard tipple after a round is tea or coffee.

I went down to the practice range at the National in Melbourne about 15 years ago, before a morning round of golf. There was a lesser-known pro there practicing wedge play. After the round and lunch, I went back to the range to straighten out an errant driver. The pro was still there, practicing wedges. Two weeks later, he won a tournament on a nearby course. John Daly is a freak of nature, no-one with his build has any right to be as flexible as he is.

Presumably you have not observed the physical conditioning of modern professional golfers, they are athletes. Golf is a metaphor for life. AFAIK it is the only game which relies on personal integrity in observing its rules. It takes character, resolve, physical ability and mental toughness to win championships. Like life, one gets out of golf what one is prepared to put into it. Quite obviously, you have never been in that position, which is why you feel free to disrespect it.

Valid point. I wouldn't say I get the best food and services. I try to get the best value for money. I know good mechanics for my car and scooter, and where a good dentist is.

When I played golf in Port Hedland many moons ago, it was dirt fairways and oiled sand greens, with preferred lies. The Tom Price course was tee up, fairways were coarse gravel. Not a drop of water in sight. I agree most golf courses are overwatered. It would be better to allow native grasses to do their thing without water, and put some work into developing hybrids that are salt-tolerant. I started my golfing life at Royal Melbourne, as a caddie. In the fifties, only the greens were watered. The couch fairways flourished with any rain. When dry, divots turned to powder. That's what golf needs to get back to.

The life skills I have acquired in Thailand are: 1/ Being able to communicate in Thai when needed. 2/ Expecting to be lied to. 3/ Expecting to be told what someone thinks I want to hear. 4/ Keeping calm when a Thai person does something egregiously stupid. 5/ Drive in Thai traffic for 10 years successfully, touch wood. 6/ Assemble paperwork for Immigration in perfect order, and complete.