xeniv23

I was lucky. During my time living in Phuket the neighbors on my soi, there were only 11 houses, were from Belarus, Iran, Belgium, Poland, Uruguay, Great Britain and Australia. I walked every morning at dawn out to the end of the Palai Pier and along the embankment to Chalong Creek and back. There was an informal community of people with many familiar faces each day walking the same route. I met many Thai people and foreigners as well and had so many interesting conversations. Leaning on the rail of the pier watching the Sun come up over Cape Panwa and chatting with new aquaintances from different countries and cultures was extremely pleasant. I'm an old white guy and I tended to avoid old white guys and it worked out well.

I lived in Nonthaburi for a year then almost three years on the south of Phuket near Chalong Bay. The temps stated in the above article are not even close. Thailand has three seasons: Warm and pretty nice. Dry and very hot. 37+ most days and humid as hell. Dry meaning only that it is not pouring rain. Hot and very wet. I have been kayaking on the khlongs and on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok and the heat index has been in excess of 140 F. If, like most people of retirement age, you have had some healthcare adventures the insurance companies will know all about it already. You must fill out the forms honestly and include everything. Don't be tempted not to because you are now in Thailand. You have a tail. It follows you everywhere. What does this mean? Your healthcare policy will have so many exclusions that you are effectively uncovered for anything that is likely to develop. To keep the policy affordable your deductible will be large, very large. As you age out of the system your premiums will climb, not quite exponentially, but it can seem so. You will be paying for all the routine stuff anyway from your pocket. I was paying just under 2,600 usd a year. I switched from an O-A retirement visa to an O visa which did not require the health insurance policy. Perhaps that will change in the future. In any event, I felt that all the health insurance premium money I gave out was a complete waste. You will have to decide that for yourself but the above rosy picture is painted by someone trying to sell you health insurance. A bit like being in AARP: An insurance company masquerading as an advocacy group for Seniors.

I did my open water dive training and certification course while I still lived in Oregon. The first part of the course was done in the local municipal swimming pool at night after it closed. I remember vividly sitting with 8 or so other students and two instructors on the bottom in the deep end. The bottom six inches of the pool were covered with this gelatinous mixture of snot, spit, piss and smears of brown material. That was in 1986. I have never been in another pool.

Most, not all, problems with heavy exhaust are usually problems with unregulated air either on the combustion/turbo side (old cracked hoses to/from the turbo) or an air leak on the exhaust side. A new mass airflow switch or air cleaner can help a lot. When I lived in Phuket my diesel suv was older than seven years so I had to do the annual check to renew the registration. Without fail when the exhaust was checked the probe was lined up about a meter to one side so as to be completely clear of the exhaust stream. The underlying problem is that those Thai people who need vehicles as part of their work don't have the extra cash to stay on top of such things. The government frequently announces crackdowns but I never saw anything concrete happening.

Hand shoots into the air....."I know this one! I know this one!" The purpose of all life is to hydrogenate carbon dioxide.

I spent some time in Chiang Rai and liked it. Hiked to some waterfalls in the mountains. Saw the white temple, ate on the barge. It was the middle of Covid and I drove up from Nonthaburi during one of the windows when you could travel. Only complaint that I had was the air pollution. Passing through Chiang Mai you sort of had the sense that there might be a mountain to the west but you could not see it. No tourists. It was nice.

1953 Chevrolet Coupe. 35 dollars in 1967. Flathead 6 with 3 on the column. Ran so quiet and smooth that, in the beginning, I would grind the starter at stop signs not realizing that it was indeed running. Capacious backseat (fun zone). Best car I ever owned.

Boone's Farm Apple.....lol

Avoid Chevys like the plague.

English is hard. There was no viewing audience in the studio where the debate took place. There were millions of people viewing via tv etc. No live audience present.

Picasso said it best "The best aphrodisiac is a new woman." If you know, you know.

McBoeing: When the job absolutely has to be done wrong.

In the 70s and 80s I ran a business on the road from phone booths and motel phones. Is it easier now? Absolutely but it's obvious that it all got done before the advent of the internet and cell phones. I still remember my first cell phone: Had a regular handset and a keypad. Weighed about 5 lbs. Just about zero coverage. Had to use phone booths most of the time. The range on that thing was about as far as I could throw it.

RFK jr trying to plant a brain worm in Convicted Felon Trump.

RFK jr. That guy is seriously out of plumb. Maybe Convicted Felon Trump will replace jd vance with RFK jr. The potential excitement is palpable.