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bobbin
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Posts posted by bobbin
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There was/is a small town between Peshawar and the Khyber Pass name of Londi Khotal, which was a thriving hub of self-taught gunsmiths, still turning out faithful copies of late 1800's British Raj-era rifles. They were much in demand from the local tribesmen. Both they and the town were in the autonomous Tribal area of Pakistan, now more famous for drone strikes piloted by computer game graduates from somewhere in the American Southwest, I believe.
I bought a revolver there and had it with me for months without ever firing it, aside from the demo, which was part of the sales pitch. the seller was the one who fired it. I was afraid it would blow up and take my hand off!
After the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, I'm pretty sure that gun manufacturing skill died out, as the whole area was being inundated by modern American (mostly) supplied automatic weapons. They preferred to supply Kalashnikovs, for deniability reasons, though.
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Again with the photo..
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nisakiman's post are stirring more memories for me also!
Afghanistan in the early '70's was firmly anchored in the 1800's everywhere outside Kabul. There, as noted, chadoor-clad ladies shared the streets with ladies wearing the latest European fashions. I spent quite a lot of time there. One year I cooked a complete Christmas dinner, including turkey, in a wood-burning stove built in Chicago in 1896, IIRC. If you were lucky enough to have hot water in your house, it came from a wood-burning hot water heater! Thankfully, I had been a Boy Scout and was able to reliably get those small fires going..
Afghanistan also had surprisingly good highways. I had a conversation with a high-ranking policeman in the mid-70's regarding these highways. Americans had built the roads from Pakistan to Kabul, while the Russians had built the roads from the USSR's Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to Kabul. The Russian roads were somewhat better; a fact explained by the Afghan. The Russian roads were built to handle much heavier traffic, i.e. 100 ton tanks!
In those days, if you arrived in India with a vehicle, it came with a carnet and was entered in your passport. It had to leave with you unless transferred to another foreign passport. That was how I came to acquire a VW Combi-Van free when a fellow Canadian had to return home for an extended time. It was almost 2 years before he returned and had the van transferred back into his passport. I made the drive from Goa to Afghanistan and back twice.
Pre-internet and MTV, each country and it's culture was much more unique. I never made it to Chitral though I kept meaning to go. It had a reputation for longevity then due to dried apricots and fantastic hashish combined with pure mountain air... But I spent a fair bit of time in Indian-controlled Kashmir which is geographically close.
Those original full-moon parties in Goa were incredible. A well-known fellow from California named Owsley would arrive every winter season with a lot of liquid acid which was freely distributed. The beaches were all nude and some of those parties were like a Roman bacchanal.
Along with naskiman, my years in this almost fantasy-land precluded a university education but I had received a first-class worldly education. Re-entry into western culture was problematic at first but soon achieved.
Every so often I would send photos back as proof-of life!
Unfortunately, I never carried a camera so would stop by a photo studio. Here i am in Goa in 1972 with my English girlfriend, who worked in the London Playboy Club before setting off to India. Two great years with that lady.
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Well blether, there are still a few originals kicking around...
In 1970 I flew from Canada to Bombay. I traveled with a friend who had recently returned from London, where he had heard the early stories of the overland route to India. I was 18 years old and spent the next 7 years bouncing around India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Every winter season I spent in Goa, attending the original full-moon parties on Anjuna Beach.
As someone noted, Burma only allowed 7 day visas in those times and no overland connection to India. Travel from India to Thailand was done by air, and I first flew into Don Muang airport in 1971. They used buses to transport passengers from the aircraft to the terminal. I returned to Thailand a few times over the next years. It was so modern compared to the countries in which I was spending my youth! Supermarkets, modern cars and fashions. Lovely girls, not many farang who weren't embassy people or American servicemen on R and R. As for the GI's, we were about the same age but our lives were so different! Nobody was shooting at me, even in Afghanistan! The heyday of the Atlantis hotel. I first formulated the idea of retiring in Thailand. I left the hippie paradise (already slipping away) in 1977 to return to Canada and joined the rat-race, but Thailand was always on my mind.
I returned to Thailand for holidays a few times in the '90's to see if I still thought it a good idea to retire here. In 2001, I did just that.
Now I have spent almost 1/3 of my life in this part of the world and live, apart from more luxuries, very much as I did 40 years ago....
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Again.
edit darn...again
It say attach and I do but as you can see..no pic
edit 2 spoke too soon. There she is.
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This is sitting in a garage 12 years now awaiting my (increasingly unlikely) return.
1981 Turbo Trans Am. 4.9 litre turbocharged V-8.
I purchased it new in 1981 and held on to it while other vehicles came and went. I sort of hoped it would be part of my retirement package but it's probably worth about Bt. 600,000 - 750,000.
This picture was taken 6 years ago on a brief visit. Sitting 6 years already by then, but a battery charge and air in the tires and I drove it for 3 weeks with no problems. I think it would be a bit more of a problem after 6 more years of storage.
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Remind me me how to attach photo please.
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Why?
Because eco isn't just about fuel economy. Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to buy it at it's price-point.
I just parked next to one this afternoon. That is a small car! And you are a big man.
About the small brain...at least I was able to fit two languages into one post.
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120kg and you're unhappy with the seats in an eco-car?
Quelle surprise....
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There was a similar problem in Goa so they local government changed the property laws in response & stopped the problem in it's tracks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morjim
http://news.outlooki...px?artid=771612
http://news.bbc.co.u...ess/7507766.stm (the BBC are to PC to deal with the issue directly)
I'm .....shocked!
One article said 75% of chartered flights arriving in Goa originate from Russian Federation ( not other eastern European countries).
Another article quotes a local government official as saying " all other tourists flee when an area is predominantly Russian populated" or words very similar.
I've been too busy ogling the Russian hotties
to get alarmed.I spent several magic winters in Goa as a young man, so a bit sad to think that I might feel out of place if I was to visit Goa now. And that one day in the not too distant future it might be so here.
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What a sad experience it is to see so many Americans displaying such an abysmal lack of sophistication. A democratic state will always feature rivalry between the competing parties, but the anti-Obama set have no counterparts in any democracy of which I have reasonable knowledge.
I can almost hear them wiping the froth from their lips as they pound out another attack.
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just got mine yesterday at Banchang Rayong. 125,000 baht. comes with rice cooker, electric fan, jacket, helmet, key chain, cable lock, hand bag. overall good quality. the only downside i see is the weight. I'm yet to see how it perform in technical trails.
I like the white much better than the red. First time I've seen it.
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It's a de facto marriage if they represented themselves as married. Thai law is very protective of a husband's honour.
Minimal, if any, jail time.
Mark my words.
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Regardless of the pertinent legal issues in connection with this needless accident I wonder how the relevant international entities feel about this. For example Red Bull in Austria now know they have a partner in Thailand who openly tries to avert the course of justice on behalf of his sons actions and this will surely have international repercusions and also Ferrari, who have a sole distributor in Thailand who by the actions of this family bring the Ferrari name into disrepute.Not to mention that their local technicians /mechanics were supposedly unable to lift the data from the vehicles black box.
It would appear that apathy is no longer a Thai perogative and it has spread globaly, at least amongst the priviledged.
It hasn't reached the tipping point yet.....if it ever will.
Red Bull (Austrian branch) is no doubt unhappy about the negative publicity regarding the "Red Bull heir" but they must be one of the most promoted products in the world. They sponsor every sport imaginable, so the publicity scales are in their favour. Ferrari likewise is a little embarrassed with the high-profile crashes in Asia but will laugh all the way to the bank.
but if it does reach that tipping point there will be repercussions for the family. All his sponsors stood by Lance Armstrong until the evidence was in, then they acted to distance themselves quickly. Human nature to do so, and good business practice also.
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I fear that neither this thread nor the story will end well....
OP, why on earth would you let everyone see what a miserable waste of skin you are?
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Sad to hear. It brings back fond memories of the true entertainment he and Sellers provided....
So many years ago!
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I love hi-tech solutions!!
TuneIn Radio app (for Android also) is great but you have to have unlimited (maybe not?) data plan.
Edit: I guess it's not a solution unless the Mitsu head unit has bluetooth already...
Sony and Alpine have so-so tuners?
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It seems the squid boats all switched to green lights this year. Before, they used white lights. I have a great sea-view and have been seeing them for years now.
Green lights are prettier!
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Good news/bad news..
Bad news, sounds like the GF is a goner. You're working too hard...
Ever seen the T-shirt with "No matter how beautiful she is, somebody is tired of putting up with her s_it!" ?
Good news, you're well placed for an easy replacement! Just start doing all the things you wanted her to do. You'll meet some fine women for sure.
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What are they protesting about? They want America to pass a law banning religious criticisms of Islam? Last time I checked, the prophet of Islam was a pedophile by any measure of the word.
Truth hurts. Especially for the illiterate inbreds living in some 3rd world hell hole.
You fellows are as bad. Obviously you have given up the ability to think and just lash out. The child-bride thing is still being done by adherents of the same faith as a current American Presidential candidate. How do you reconcile that with your statement and the me-too guy's follow-up? Your ideology is fueled by Faux News and the like, no different from the misguided folks you're on about.
I expect this post to disappear when your posts and replies are removed.
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Sub...
Needlessly provocative.
Better to stick to the Bikes in Thailand forum. We're all biking brothers there.... But we still fight with each other.
Bottom line is, Humans have to strive to be nice, because most aren't.
Civil wars are the nastiest. Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. Doesn't seem to take much to strip away the veneer of civilization.
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To me this is insane because the amount they pay out for votes can be many thousands of Baht for very little pay but then again I suppose there are other perks.
Because once in office they accept ridiculously overpriced construction projects and pay way over the top for land purchases; and rake in huge kick backs for doing it, not to mention going on all expenses paid vacations around the world every month.
Ummm...maybe...
Somehow I doubt village officials get much opportunity for this kind of thing. Benefits will be a bit closer to home, methinks.
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Wow. I was enjoying that thread too. All you professional chefs must eat like kings at home.
I like to cook too, but only from recipes.
People like cooking shows, because it's fun to watch someone really skillful in the kitchen, and the food makes them hungry. Like me now... -
When I first arrived in Thailand to live 12 years ago, (though first visited in 1971), I quickly had my fill of Brits. At least the ones in the majority, the overly-tatooed, shaven (or naturally bald) headed version. It was so bad, that I used to joke that it was obvious the British Gov't was up to it's old tricks . The difference being this time, the detritus were paying their own air fare...
Changes in the visa policy slashed their numbers, leaving the old Brits in the majority.. They are a lot closer to the days of the Raj, in fact were born with it as a reality. If they could graft the weather, women and cost of living onto England, they would be there in a flash. But many Brits were adventurous enough to make their lives in the outer Empire and left many fine institutions and assorted infra-structure behind when they left (voluntarily for the most part).
Not saying Thailand was part of the Empire mind you. The recently arrived (now 3rd and 4th gen) Chinese have that role here...
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The Hippie Trail......
in General Topics
Posted
One evening in Peshawar was spent with Dr. Timothy Leary, who was on the run at that time, having been broken out of a California (minimum security, I believe) jail by the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was a loose cabal of long-haired dope dealers who gained local (Afghanistan) notoriety for for their importing of centrifuges, thus automating the production of hash oil!
Another memorable evening in Bombay (Mumbai) I was dragged along by a friend to see his latest guru at a private reception in a posh Malabar Hill apartment. There I was introduced to a then little-known Rajneesh, he of the multiple Rolls Royce automobiles and communes in Oregon and Pune India. He had the largest private library I have ever seen and had the most hypnotic gaze. I sometimes think I missed a bet by not signing on in those very early days. I might have ended up with one of those Rolls Royce cars myself.....But there was no way I was going to walk around in orange robes!