The Fugitive

Agree most definitely! Doing what you do is more adventurous and closer to nature.

We (eight of us plus hired driver of luxury van) went to Nan to check out 'long lost' relatives. Pleasant enough but what Thai's call mountains are really only hills to me. Stayed at a couple of resorts that were adequate but that's about all.

Agree with that! Went to Nan for the first time recently (March 2566). Stayed overnight in Phrae and at Bo Kluea. Very pleasant.

Definitely! Haven't heard the term 'Obotor' previously. My Mrs refers to a guy she calls 'The Prefect'. He was wearing a gold chain on one occasion. Once we were in the same restaurant and when we came to settle our bill the owner told us; 'No need, the Prefect paid for you'. Apparently, he was impressed that I am the only foreign blood donor at our local collection sessions.

10 out of 10 plus a lot more! Surely the owner of the Honda CBR 650 should find a way to express his gratitude?

Our village head man has a shop next door to my Mrs. He is most knowledgeable and helpful and works very long hours for the community. Meetings almost everyday until late. Not something many people would want to do. He certainly deserves whatever money and goods people give him.

Agreed, it certainly was. Great to have alternative routes and options. You would have expected that, by now, flights would have reverted to pre-Covid levels?

Thanks for the info. Positive news at last. I guess the problem was that U-Tapao wasn't built as a civilian airport. With you-know-who building islands in the South China Sea and no longer having Clark USAF base it might be needed again! I understand that in the early days of low cost airlines, lower landing fees attracted them to out-of-town airports. However, that makes onward connections awkward. Even if there was eventually a regular (or even high-speed) rail link, passengers requiring connections at Suvarnabhumi aren't going to consider flying via U-Tapao when they can already fly low cost into either swampy or Don Mueang.

Very good info thanks. Most useful to know!

Thanks for the suggestions! Looks and sounds a most pleasant journey.

10C and heavy rain at the moment. Can't wait to get back to Thailand.

Most sensible advice thank you. Our house is unoccupied during daylight hours. We have a family friend electrician who charges us 300 baht labour per day (we always give him several times that of course). Even with 2 baht per unit Feed In Tariff it doesn't make sense for us. My house in UK has a completely free 'Rent a Roof' PV installation which gives me unrestricted daytime use. Overall, a one-third reduction in my electricity bills. Feed in Tariff not payable to me of course.

Spot on about the pub. That was when there were a lot more open! Guys I used to work with would drink up to five pints at lunch time and then go in again after work. Weekends involved some serious drinking!

All a matter of opinion and choices. Pattaya isn't only LK Metro. Personally, I like it and much prefer Patts to Phuket.

That's some punishment! Having said that, third class seats even today are most uncomfortable (at least they are on North Eastern Line). Mrs won't entertain rail travel on the basis that you need to book so far in advance.

Thanks for the warning. Best to steer clear for a while then!

Looks fine to me! I'd like to visit Chiang Mai (never been) although travelling from Khon Kaen by railway is rather a long way around!

Prior to Covid there was a direct flight to UK. I have flown from Khon Kaen but, alas, no longer.

Thanks for posting. No problem with these! I'd enjoy living in one myself.

Doesn't say whether insured or not. Would PV panels generate under bullet proof glass shields? However, the cost of protecting such a large surface area in that way would be immense.

It's a question of degree. For example, if your wife runs a shop, she needs to go to the wholesalers, take meal and toilet breaks. It is not unreasonable for her husband to assist her in her business on such occasions. If wife opens a second shop and her husband runs it then that is 'crossing the line' IMHO.

Absolutely! There was a posting maybe only a fortnight ago when an immigration officer was quoted as saying; 'Of course you can assist your wife with her farm. You are a married couple and that's what couples do'.

Very good question. I'm over 65 too. We have a family friend who is headmaster of a local school. Everytime we meet at social occasions he asks when I am coming to his school to teach English?

Good info on this thread thanks. I'm looking for them too. I use mine in a USB adapter. Recently, one card limited itself to read only and another died completely. My USB pens seem to be longer lasting. Anyone else found that to be the case?

Would agree about delays. One example only last week. My niece was coming home for the weekend from college. Distance 156 km. Rail journey time is 1hr 30mins. I was concerned as we set off in the car 15 minutes late to pick her up. My Mrs said; 'No worry, trains in Thailand are always late'. Correct, when we got to the railway station her train was running 30 minutes late which finally became 45 minutes.