Prubangboy

Like most Americans, I never think of Canada one iota -even less so since Bachman Turner Overdrive had their acrimonious split.

I have been to Vancouver and Montreal. Nice 3 day towns (at the outside) with tremendous bagels. And Nova Scotia, which makes Maine look shabby.

Net Impression: Socialist Ohio with one tenth the black people. Def. heavily blah (the no black people problem), but the locals are smarter than Americans.

I'd retire there if I could, since Canada is like the dull milk of magnesia antidote to Trumpism.

If a one bedroom apartment cost $500 in Toronto and you could date Thai transplants on a budget, would you?

On 10/26/2023 at 12:53 PM, charleskerins said:

Cmon man   The Impressions

I worship 60's Soul, but Rod The Mod did it better.

My wife feinted into a bowl of Khao Soi Noodles. 3 times. Put her right off Khao Soi noodles.

She said, she was there, and then she was not.

As she went face down, she felt bad for me, and then she felt absolutely nothing. (She's had that looked at and is better now). 

5 hours ago, Purdey said:

I still have a couple of Fela albums from uni here in Thailand.

 

Gagging to know the titles. My top 3: Zombie, He Miss The Road, Black President. Basically, James Brown with 6 drummers.

If anyone wants to dip a toe into Afrobeat:

Not to be crass, but we're sort of waiting for Mama to you know, buy the farm, so that we can sell the farm.

We're the opposite of a lot of the Issan happy endings here. We had a great rural life (home grown veggies, old growth wood lot), and now we're more like, bring on the sushi options.

I can see why someone coming from a dank mid-sized English town would find the raw nature of Issan healing. I've just had enough of nature. Doi Suthep viewed from my balcony covers it.

Also, rural living here is very cheap. In the states, it costs a lot of money to be a back to the land minimalist hippie. I'm sure that each of my San Marzano tomato's cost me $7 -but they were good 'uns.

Which so-called original thought are you plucking off of the well-worn original thought shelf and claiming as your new original thought?

35 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Keeping homes in the US as rentals is a pain. 

Agreed. It's not a huge money-spinner for us after the agent, air BNB fee etc. It's a giant lump of capital netting out at 4% return. 

Plus, we are sick of home (and farm) owning. A one bedroom apartment that the maid cleans is more our old age-style.

If we ever went back, we'd buy a small condo. But why would we? Whatever health needs we might have can be done here cheerier for a third the money. We don't have any family ties (or at least no family ties that we're not actively dodging).

This doomsday scenario where we must suddenly flee, exodus-style, from Yuppie-Nimman Chiang Mai seems a little drama queeny.

End of life-wise, I am moderately covered. My wife is 10 years younger, my best friend is 20 years younger. Someone will (probably) be on hand to sign me into somewhere decent if it comes down to it.

13 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Bhundu Boys!! 

....post album #2, they were driving cabs in London.

The DJ's, Andy Kershaw and John Peel were major boosters. Andy has a website with some good playlists on it.

Mid 80's, England had a bit of Afro-interest with Peter Gabriel, Sting etc playing with international players, plus The Real World festival. King Sunny Ade could sell out 5K seats. Y'sou N'Dour seems to still be in that prestige, $100+ a ticket world music market. 

18 hours ago, proton said:

Duay, had a few African girl friends, my mate married a Ugandan. Looking back it was a lucky escape for me, never go back there. Some of the music is still good, esp Ugandan- Sheebah

 

 

 

Mibilia was great in the 80's

 

 

I've seen M'bila -twice. In that Soukous-style dance music, for me Kanda Bongo Man -with the guitar genius Diblo doing the same riff sometimes 30 chorus's in a row- is the peak.

Best ever Congolese show was Franco at the Rumble in the Jungle Ali fight. He opened for James Brown (another killer performance worth seeking out). James was impressed.

If anyone wants to hijack this thread to talk about old African pop records, I'd be grateful. I saw Fela 4 times.

Like Marin said, good for a couple-ish honeymoon vibe, but for a little life, restaurants etc, Ko Chang is better.

Ko Mak is another good quiet one, a little less upscale than KK, flat as board, but a lush coconut plantation feel. Both KK and KM have a rep for sand flies, but I never saw any. You can drift between them on pretty boats.

Dakar, Senegal had Goree Island, one of the big slave trading ports.

It was like Luang Prubang or Old City Chiang Mai -a classy guest house/nice restaurant/crafty shop kind of place. I could def see a stay there.

In general tho, I seem to enjoy my African-ness second hand; in Harlem or Brixton.  

Paris is the best second-hand African experience. There's enough of an Afrophile market to fill a mid-sized theatre with a big name like Salif Keita or Baba Maal.

The audience will be 95% white, like I used to see at a B B King blues show in the states.

18 minutes ago, Bobthegimp said:

 

 

What was less good was the number of Africans hanging about for no discernable reason 

-Boomer racism alert.

7 minutes ago, Goat said:

Maybe Bobs mother had children with more than one man.

Half bro maybe?

Are you saying Bob is 'alf a pint of Guiness? 

(learned that phrase from Jade Goody).

They kept calling you Bro?

I believe that is their highest honor, an abbreviation of the complement, Soul Brother.

Like getting big upped by Malcom X.

He said he wanted a virgin.

In a lot of Japanese marriages, it's a one and done on the wedding night. 

So close enough?

I'm here for Gamma.

His posts are like Dadaist collage haiku's:

"Spot on my windowsill, Thelonious Monk -What say you?"

We have to look to ourselves.

Bignok, Bob -Really, they're only one man.

Been a few years, but I used to go to African disco's in a side-soi across from The Grace Hotel.

I'm a world music fan and they def had the afro-beats. I gave them some cd's a couple of times. It would be hard to visit an African nigh club in Africa as a solo-whitie.

Super-friendly people. All kinds of downers like like Xanax for sale in the bathroom. A few marriage proposals from women who really need to lay off of the all grease and yucca diet.  

I fell under the inexorable sway of Charon Optics: their mesmerizing blue and white stripped logo, their baffling number of stores in every single retail strip in Thailand, their demented pricing that makes you get 3 pairs of glasses when you just came in for one.

And: Most physical exam packages include an optometrist appointment. Chiang Mai Ram Hospital would prob cost under 500 baht to break it out separately.

We used 66 Realty. Owner pays the fee. Service was above and beyond. Diana was our agent. Take a look at their website.

Def prefer the older buildings for larger rooms and details like marble flooring. I live in The Boonymas Mansion. Def some vacancies at the moment. No gym or pool ect. but a super location in low-traffic, very walkable Nimman.

You def want to live on the Nimman1 Mall side of Nimman Road, since crossing that very busy road is stressful.