CTO

Do you want a city car or country car?

Serious question as the Pajaro, Fortuner Ford Everest (Which the wife just got) are good, but if your living in a city I'd go for something like the other suggestions here, I liked the Malaysian Proton People Carrier, the Hyundai is also great but double the cost.

If your out in the country, then those cars (based on previous 2 cars we owned) will not be as good as a Fortuner/Everest/Pajaro etc.

So think about where your going to be doing day to day driving.

A big car in the city and narrow Soi's isn't fun.

Thank God Catholics aren't Xtians then eh?

Tartie, you've met my kids , my son was quadrilingual at age 4, daughter tri-lingual just placed in top 5 in Sakon Nakorn the written English competition for all schools and corrects my English (FARK) ,

It takes the parent to inspire them, I bought them a book a week from about 2 years on. They LOVE books, showing them off to their friends and explaining what adventures and knowledge is in them.

Mind you, I was travelling so much when my daughter was young I sent her to a school that taught in English when she was 2 and a bit. Her request.

Both kids like to study during holidays, but love Tai Kwan Do, Kick Boxing and the usual rougher sports.

Your the one who has to install the love in them of books and learning.

Wife and kids got their passports new passports just a few months back, very good system same as used in Bangkok, took less than 30 minutes.

Kids can't get the passport renewed must get a new one and wife's had been renewed too often.

It's up with all the other City Council buildings, just near a canal. Easy to find.

Looks a little larger than the usual Caravans we go too up here.

German is a nice chap.

Pizza is called Ken's Kangaroo Pizza, I'm not Ken

They do home delivery now as well, so if it's raining get them to deliver.

Beer Garden (Stumps or Porns's Coffee shop) is a great spot in the evening,

The bar around the corner from it has been closed for the last week or more. Barp Bar.

There is also a new Sushi Place opened in Town, all you can eat from about 100 baht with a Electric Korean style hot plates and Sushi.

Opposite the two High Schools, same side as Bjorns Steak house, which is no longer Bjorn's steak house but a nice Thai Restaurant.

Only just seen this thread. How could I have missed it. Live 8 months of the year just outside SDD. Getting better every year.

Anybody looking for a house should contact the German builder who lives behind the temple on the east side of town. Met him a few weeks ago. Builds nice houses and has one for sale. Good bloke and he speaks good English. Forgotten how much.

Now SDD has passable pizzas not far from Beer Garden. Ken's something or other it's called.

Any posters actually live in SDD or are there at the moment. I return next month.

SMO is getting boring by the way, rarely have Coyote girls, and the current band is pretty boring compared to the last few.

Kevin - the main double road is pretty good but as always, as soon as it rains the road in front of Tesco dissolves. It's a pain driving out, as most people, (me included) forget people are turning in, it's NOT Tesco's laneway!

Which Tesco would do something, as the traffic is all theirs.

Cinema may be coming later this year, haven't found the land yet.

I do Halloween, wife's idea as kids love monsters and such.

We don't go door to door as can't expect Thais to jump onto that.

Instead we hold a "Monster" party, with music, sound effects, I dress up as a montser, chase kids around the houses, wife drinks with parents, kids get lollies and sweets then go home.

We decorate the party in Pumpkins etc.

Note I'm an Aussie, we don't do Halloween there either!

Purely the Thai/Laos wifes idea - and locals have a fun themed party.

Xmas we do, again in similar vein. Easter I usually have games for kids, find the small chocolate eggs at SongKran - similar time as Easter, that's it for Easter.

Making dough is one of the easiest parts. With Thailand being so warm, just add everything same time, no need for hot water to get the yeast active, as those recipes are written for much colder places (Unless you air-con your kitchen)

Cooking the dough and forming it, that's the trickier part. Learning to stretch it etc

The sauces etc are hared, but fun if you want to be creative.

Years ago I had Tandoori Chicken Pizza, which was great and made me realise pretty much anything that tastes good when soaked up in Bread would make a good Pizza Topping.

Another one is Green or Red Chicken Curry, make the sauce "thick" not soupy though! Add some cashew nuts, yum!

Feel free to drop into wife's place in Sawang Daen Din to swap recipes, she has the only Pizza restaurant there, her bases aren't perfect yet, you really need a round dome oven to do that, so that's stage 2 of her plans, getting a better oven, not just a bread oven, which doesn't go hot enough,

That said for years I made good pizza in a normal oven, but the trick then is to oil the base.

No one mentioned if they want thin or thick bases?

The trick there for a thick base is to make it on the tray, then sit and "rise" more, that give a thick base. But you need to form the base and let it sit to get that thickness,

The wife's Pizza Shop is selling to 95% Thai's only, She rarely gets a farang in as we don't have many in Sawang Daen Din.

Thai's love the pizza, she's doing a good business, but worked hard - and still working, to get the tastes right.

Oddly someone asked for a Kappow Gai Pizza, which I overheard and tried - dam nice!

Her next site may be just outside Sakon Nakorn -

The wife makes most her own basic Pizza's from scratch, the base and sauce she does from scratch.

For cheese Makro isn't bad. They have frozen bases, but they aren't that nice, "Bread" is all they are.

Makro have ok salami as well.

For the base, learn to make it, it's not hard at all.

A Christian will tell you no, A Buddhist will say go for it.

They are not really compatible if you take either one seriously.

In one salvation from sin is made possible through faith. In the other salvation(end of suffering) is dependent on your ability to live (practice) perfectly.

One takes a lifetime. The other takes infinite lifetimes.

Christianity declares there is one truth, one path. Buddhism requires you to find your own truth.

Christianity has a God that will not tolerate worship of anything thing else. Buddhism has no God, but the followers may have many gods.

My daughter is brought up in our predominately Buddhist village.

However she goes to a local Catholic school and asked to get confirmed.

The Nun asked the Head local Priest.

"Can she (my daughter) be a Buddhist and Catholic" in front of me one day after Mass."

He replied

"It's up to her, let HER decide when she is older, about 18 or so, but for know, why stop her from going to the Buddhist Wat with her mother and family? That would upset people and she learns important things there too.

So let her do both, and when she is older, she can decide which is best for her"

That was coming from the horses mouth so to speak,

Being the Head Priest whatever in charge of the large area he covers for the local Catholics.

Nice guy, Nun and daughter happy with answer, wife very happy.

Never say an never, applies to concepts as well.

<<My fridges where free one from Pepsi and 1 from coca cola >>

OK - Just HOW do you get that? I have tried and failed, would be good to know.

Most people buy in bulk at a local wholesaler, one of the big rip offs is a "Fridge". they never think through the cost of a MUST HAVE A FRIDGE and the return of kleeping things cold.

My in-laws use ice boxes, ice truck comes through every second day, they buy ice, keep things cold.

MUCH cheaper,

She has a noodle shop, very profitable, more so than having to re-sell things from a wholesaler, but you have to be a good cook to make it work and have no competition around.

Some wholesalers deliver. That works too, otherwise sometimes a trip to Macro you see people stocking up for the small village shops too.

Teaching people the basics of business is a good idea, sometimes they are keen, my in-laws where, they just need a few 1000's baht to get going and are totally self sufficient, so I had no problems helping them get going, and give a few tips on how to price things, and she is very popular in the village.

Why not? Kee Neo Farang!

All good advice so far, only thing I would add is make sure you know what it is you want. Spend what your comfortable with, understand the climate isn't the same as back home, and remember if you build a "farang' palace, you may not be able to recoup your investment very easily from a sale.

I like the place I had built, but then I also built cheaper than the average, and built in Thai style, so the cost was low, and the places, if for some reason we had to ever move, could be sold easily. The amount something I wouldn't miss too much, and the style suits the climate,

Arrrr - Buckle down your Kway , Plunder your Rice Paddy and Burn your Go-Go poles,

Ken's Jing-Joe Pizza in Sawang Daen Din, is holding a "Talk like a Pirate Day Party" - for my son who loves pirates,

This Wednesday, free drink if you dress like a Pirate, it's a small town, but the locals love a Pirate Pizza,

Rrrrrrrrrr

CTO

(who isn't Ken! That's his wife's First mate!)

Just bought the Everest, as I like that look, a lot more roomier inside than any of the others, but then I carry a larger load than most with 7 all the time.

If I was going for a Pick Up I'd go the new Mazda Racer. 6 speed manual, very nice 150 hp.

But very happy with the Everest. Not as flash as the others, but more the wife and my style.

How does the 7 days get calculated, I came back on Thursday to see the ad again as I had a busy week and the ad was gone, maybe bad maths but I thought the ad still there - or did it get sold, in which case can we get a "GOT SOLD" notification?

Twice now ads I've wanted have disappeared, going to give up on this as a venue soon for bike ads.

Very nice - love the speedboat

leafs

Well then how did they make this movie I thought it was a true story 555

http://www.thaicinema.org/reviews_56thatsoundgood.asp

A small clip from the film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3plmcKwxS0

What happened to the add?

Second Silver Reef - It's not noisy - well - I am a tad deaf, but it's cheap too.