Dakling

If the tappers are making 450 baht/tap that ain't too shabby at all. Considering that the work is not strenuous when compared to other locally available work and at 450/tap pays 50% more than most rural day rate jobs I think they should be pretty happy at 40%. If output was lower and the workers were below 300 baht/tap I think you might have trouble keeping them (unless they are family and are willing to ride out the rough spots with you).

If you got good workers and they are splitting the chemicals with you I think 50:50 is not so bad. Better to have a happy reliable workforce even if it costs a bit more. I wouldn't risk loosing them if they balk at going back to 40% in future. Granted if the price goes back up to 50/kilo or something they would likely accept 40% no problem (but I wouldn't hold my breath).

On the other hand if they aren't reliable then it doesn't really matter.

I recently built my mother in law a 200sqm house in my wife's village for 500k baht. It certainly isn't a show home at that price point but it is comfortable enough and has near western standard plumbing and elec. There were a number of factors that allowed us to build so cheaply.

1. Free Labour - All the labor was donated with the exception of a few things. (This resulted lots of rework as most of the guys were unskilled, luckily the welder and electrical guy reasonably good and free)

2. Steel Roof - Using a steel roof allowed us to reduce structural steel costs for the roofing support as well as reduced the cost of the columns and other structural components as our loading is much lighter.

3. Scavenging the old wooden floor, beams and posts from the old wood house that was there allowed us to build a second floor with mostly scavenged materials.

We built a separate 60sqm suite for ourselves for when we visit that is included in the 200sqm.

I can't see how anyone could do it cheaper than we did at only 2,500 baht/square meter and I think you should likely budget for about double that cost.

I would budget 5,000 baht/sqm for a local quality build using concrete, aluminum windows, light weight roof, modest plumbing and kitchen facilities.

10,000 baht/sqm gets you up to more farang quality but it isn't until you get pu into the 15,000 baht/sqm range that you start to get amenities like a western quality kitchen and appliances.

Above prices don't include the land.

It might be an easier transition for him to go into an MEP program (Mini English Program). There are a couple of MEP programs in Sisaket. At 13 I am assuming you are looking for a placement in Matayom 1 (grade 7). Here is a link to a facebook page from one of the schools.

A quick google search came up with this link.

https://www.facebook.com/epsiriket

There is a princess nagarinda school or (something like that) on the outskirts of town that has an MEP but it may only be a boarding school, not too sure on that.

If I am wrong and he is finishing up Pratom you could look into either Marie (catholic school but no MEP) or Anuban Sisaket (has some form of MEP but not too familiar).

For better info stop in at Frank's bar "Living in the Past" or Brian's bar "Cukoo's Next". You can chat with the proprietors, local expats and teachers and find out more info on the local schools. Both Frank and Brian are good sources of info when it comes to Sisaket.

Feb is not the best time to be swapping schools either, he will be joining classes that are almost finished.

I agree with Dilligad that Huai Thap Tan is going to be a long enough commute into Sisaket (likely 45 min each way in a van if you can find one), anything other than a boarding school in Ubon would be too far of a daily commute to consider.

I get asked to teach every time I go into my little guys school. Many schools won't care if you have the qualifications or not. It is true you can get in crap if you are caught out with no work permit but this seems to be a very rare occurrence. Oddly enough I don't think this law applies for Universities though so you might be able to get on at a Rajabaht without the degree. Be sure to go in well dressed and presentable when you go to inquire. Being ready on the spot to show qualifications and perhaps do a short demonstration is also a good idea.

Any of the 120hr Tefl programs are good to take provided they have critiqued classroom lesson practice with real students. I noticed in the OP you seem to be focused on Sisaket. Most of the jobs in Sisaket seem to be concentrated in The city of Sisaket or the smaller center of Kanthalalak though I have heard of people teaching in Khu Khan and Sri Rattana. Once you get into the area do the rounds at the local pubs and you will eventually run into some teachers who can help you out with more specific info.

Cuckoo's is a great spot for a drink or a bite. I frequent it often and enjoy the atmosphere and the food. Tends to be a mix of folks that frequent it which I like, some locals, some expats, some teachers, some tourists. The other spots mentioned are all good as well. Try them all and decide which one you like, they are all worth a visit. There are enough places that you will find one that suits your tastes, or just cycle through them so you don't get bored with only one hangout.

"Pizza 4 You", is also a nice spot to check out if you are near Kanthalalak, it is near the bus station, they have a proper pizza oven and good bread too.

I was doing a bit of reading on synthetic rubber production because I couldn't figure how synthetic rubber is still economic at these prices when oil costs have only gone down by about 10% while rubber prices have gone down 50%. My thinking was that even with increased natural rubber production coming online that the low rubber prices could not last for too long as people would shift from synthetic to natural rubber if there was a significant cost difference. Unfortunately my thinking was flawed because synthetic rubber costs don't follow oil costs, they follow natural gas costs (or ethanol when natural gas spikes).

I don't really understand the chemistry but apparently they can use off-gasses from natural gas production and even ethanol can be used to extract butadiene (the primary souse material for synthetic rubber production). This means that with natural gas at very low prices in the US synthetic rubber feed stock prices are low allowing synthetic rubber producers to survive the low prices. Now with very high shale oil production in the united states the associated natural gas production has also risen dramatically and since natural gas is difficult to export without significant infrastructure, natural gas is currently a surplus product with limited storage capacity. Current natural gas well head prices are not much higher than they were in the 1980's and in real terms are much cheaper if you adjust for inflation. US shale production is expected to remain high until at least 2025 so this suggests natural gas prices, (and synthetic rubber production costs) will remain low until that time. I have only looked at the US but the US is a significant synthetic rubber producer so I think my reasoning is valid though possibly overly pessimistic as other synthetic rubber producers may see higher natural gas prices than the US.

I am no expert on economics or chemistry but what this all means to me is that the only way we will see prices going up is if the developing world economies (China, India, etc.), start booming again and consumption goes up higher than supply. With the increase in natural production capacity being developed in many countries and the long term expected low cost of natural gas it is going to take one hell of an economic boom to consume all this supply and also to exhaust high inventories throughout the rubber world. I am not holding my breath.

To OP, it really depends on what the issue is with your back and but as to what will be more comfortable to you. I find the straight up and down position on a typical cruiser or scooter is worse for my back than a modest forward lean from something like a CBR250. Granted I also have issues with my wrists and fingers going numb and the forward lean is worse for that.

Good luck with whatever you choose. I think from your comments the CBR might be better for you than the ninja but maybe a cruiser style would be best of all.

Thanks for the reply everyone. I won't be waiting for the last day but I may have to wait until about a week before my current stamp expires. I should have a minimum of 5 days left on the current entry when I apply.

I looked through the forum but I didn't find the info I need, forgive me if I am asking a question that has been asked and answered.

I got myself in a bit of a bind and I can't get to immigration to extend my non-imm O visa until near the end of the allowed stay on my latest stamp.

Can I apply in the last week of my current allowed stay or do they need it earlier for processing or something?

I am on the last entry of my Non-Imm O and I don't want to have to do a border run to get another one.

If I am too late to apply for the one year extension, is it possible to get the 60 day extension and then apply for the annual extension while on the 60 day extension?

Anyone know what the rules are on this?

I thought about the 300 but then figured maybe the smaller engine might get boring too quickly, so I threw in another 17k and got the 500 with less than 1000km on the clock...

But the 300 would have been my choice for new bike, good value and looks great..

That tail above looks schweeeet

i believe you got a better value than 300f!

I really like the 300f but I am just not sure if I want to buy one. When I see clean CBR250s with low mileage going for 70k it is difficult to justify the 300f at nearly double the cost. I also am starting to see some low mileage CB500f's going for 150 to 170k. If I could find a clean, low mileage, used CB300f for around 90k I would likely jump at it but you won't see that for another year or two at the earliest.

Granted if you really want a "new" bike then the CB300f is priced reasonably. Personally since I view these bikes as utilitarian models (low bling) as apposed to performance models (high bling), buying used doesn't phase me at all. Different strokes for different folks, I really like the CB300f, I am just not sure I want to buy one.

Your opinion makes sense.

"I have one of the two 12 rai plots with 3 & 4 year old trees (mostly 600's with some 3001's as replants"

Would you mind to post some pictures from your 3&4 years old trees, so it would be possible to compare the 3001specie and 600specie.

What is your view on it as you can see it in real.

Are they growing the same?

Thank you,

J.

Jacqui

I don't have any pictures handy to post but I don't think they would answer your questions anyhow. All of our 3 & 4 year old trees are RIM600s, the 3001 replants are all only 3 months to 1yr old. The handful of 3001 trees we planted a year ago where very small as we had some difficulty finding a good supplier. This year we put in about 200 of new 3001 trees and they were much larger when we bought them than the ones from last year. They are currently about the same size (this years and last years). You cant really compare them because of the age difference. Most of our 3001 trees are under 1m and our 600s are generally 5m or taller.

One issue we had this year is that our trees really started putting out their canopy this year and my aggressive pruning has resulted in trees that are top heavy for their girth. They seem to like to be bent over most of the time. I am trying to stay on-top of this by pulling them back vertical as often as I can but it is allot of work and only seems to last until the next big wind. My hope is that this will rectify itself over the next year or two as the trees girth increases. I think I might have been a bit too diligent on the 3m pruning as many of the trees have no branches for the first 4 or 5 m. If i were to do it again I would let trees branch out a bit lower (maybe 2.5 or 2.7 m minimum).

In my experience, the new 3001 trees are bit higher maintenance than the 600s were in their first year. The 2 main reasons for that is that they seem to throw out more buds and the buds grow out quickly so you have to stay on them, the second reason is that the graft is more on the side of the root stock so you have to be try promote the upper graft to go vertical. I am not sure if the vertical thing is really that big of an issue as they will eventually try to get vertical I suppose but I worry a bit about the graft joint and long term trunk development around the graft. Part of the reason for the higher budding rate is that we are more diligent in caring for the replants than we were with the initial planting. It is allot easier to take care of 200 young trees than it is to look after 2,000+. The 3001's are getting fertilized on a more regular schedule (4 times/year) and they get watered anytime we go more than 2 weeks without rain.

I think regarding the 3001's you just have to trust the literature. They are supposed to produce 1-2 years earlier and are supposed to yield 50% to 100% more rubber and also have much more useful timber at end of life. I know the life of production is a bit shorter but the other benefits outweigh this. If I could have sourced 3001's when I initially planted I would have gone with them exclusively. The cost of the trees is so small when you consider how much your total outlay is going to be it is a no brainier to buy the best trees you can find. Your annual fertilizer budget will likely be double the difference in the cost of the trees.

Yes darkling . Kings project say 2% of it should be damed , so u have water for dry season.

Pak wan is a good shade plant , grows like a weed .

Yes it does tie u to the farm . Im thinking . Just go 2 or 3 types of fruit . Then some beens for regular cash flow . Not too many ducks or chooks if any because they tie you to the farm however free eggs are good

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I agree on the birds,

I wouldn't want too many. I like ducks because if you don't have too many they can pretty much take care of themselves. I see lots of people in our area who keep ducks or chickens under their trees. They just use that cheep blue netting stuff to keep them from running away. The fruit trees would just be a side thing but since I am thinking about my own consumption I would rather go with only 2 or two trees but maybe have 4 or 5 varieties. Maybe a little patch of dragon fruit and papaya. As long as you are intentionally keeping everything low cost and small scale you really can't lose anything other than your time.

Palm oil would likely be ok in Issan provided you have an unlimited water supply (river access), otherwise I don't think I would try it. We have 34 rai, 24 in rubber and another 10 we rent out to folks who want to do Cassava. The rental makes us almost no money but it keeps the land from reverting to jungle while I try to think of what to do with it. Our rubber trees are only 3 years old but I think we will stick with them. I have one of the two 12 rai plots with 3 & 4 year old trees (mostly 600's with some 3001's as replants), for sale at 100k/rai, no offers yet. We bought our land for an average price of 20k/rai around 4 years ago and I figure we have spent about 200k on trees, fertilizer, labour, fencing, etc. so I can't see us loosing money but we have put allot of work in for a pretty tiny profit. In retrospect I likely could have found better ways to invest my money but who knows maybe in 3-4 years when we start production prices may have recovered.

I am thinking now what I would like to do is have a small integrated operation on 4 or 5 rai. next to the house with a few hundred rubber trees, a modest fish pond or two, a veggie patch with some fruit trees and some ducks and/or chickens. Maybe even put in a few mushroom huts under the trees once the canopy is established. Doing it that way (staying small) we could sell our produce, fish and foul at the gate and at the local markets and cut out the middle men. You would never get rich doing this but you would likely bring in 10 or 20 k baht per month and you would have your own free supply of veg, fish, eggs, mushrooms, chicken and ducks. As long as you keep stocking rates low and use the land under the canopy for secondary products and use the water from the fish as a fertilizer supplement I think you could keep the costs down to a minimum. I think you could manage the entire thing in under 4 hours a day including tapping 200 trees/day yourself.

I think the 2 biggest issues to set up something like this would be that you would need lots of water for the fish ponds and you would be really tied to the farm no more trips to the mountains or the coast on holiday.

Better just to follow highway 36 to get to Rayong ASAP and then follow the beach road that runs along Hadmaerlampung, Suan Son and Laem MaePhim. I don't think there is a good route to get to Rayong from Pattaya, they are all high traffic,low scenery slogs. The best rides are all east of Rayong city. Follow highway 36 until it joins highway 3 and then follow highway 3 for about 5km and then turn right on the road that takes you to Hadmaerlampung (route1001).

If the stickier sport tires have minimum allowable tread the sport touring tires with more tread could easily be better in the wet. Don't forget in the rain that tire is going to be running allot cooler too. Running a slick is awesome in the dry, sucks in the wet. I am not familiar with the tires being mentioned but I can easily see how a cheaper tire intended for all weather could be better in the rain than a sport tire that maximizes dry performance by minimizing the tread pattern.

I cannot promise much but one company that I work with is thinking of developing jeans trousers, and other denim clothing that would protect motorcycle riders more than the average clothing while not costing much more than an average jeans or jacket you by at any shopping mall.

 

I love to to hear what people think about this...?

 

To be clear this will never be a replacement of real motorcycle protective clothing, it gives protection to the average budget Thai rider...

I am all over it provided it provides some minimal protection, is not too hot, not too uncomfortable and it doesn't make me look like even more of a tool.Price is no object, I would pay 10,000 baht or more for pants/trousers that meet my criteria.

In answer to the thread title....rarely, yes.

I rarely wear my gear though I believe that yes protective gear does reduce the likely hood and severity of injuries if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident.

The reason I rarely wear my gear now is because of convenience/comfort and because of my own assessment of my accident risk and injury potential. Currently my only bike is a Honda click and I only drive it on back roads near our home at relatively low speeds (very rarely do I get over 60km/hr). I know about the stats regarding accidents and proximity to your home and I am aware that you can die or be seriously injured in low speed crashes but this is how I choose to do things. Personally I am more worried about getting killed by the stupid, slippery tile in the bathroom of my condo than I am about farting around on the click with no gear. I don't plan on wearing my helmet in the shower either.

I hope to buy a larger bike soon and once I do I will start to wear my gear much more often. I am not suggesting that my practices are good for others to emulate I am just stating what I generally do.

I actually got out of the ticket thanks to my wife arguing at length with the cops. I guess I should have titled the OP "almost got done by the cops..." I still have no idea what the real rules for the tollway are though. There will be a fixed sign saying 120 km/hr directly below a flashing LED sign that says 90 km/hr. Very frustrating.

I wish there was a more clearly defined list of rules but then again they seem to make them up on the spot. I remember once being stopped for 10 minutes by a cop in Burriram who asked to see my licence, tax sticker, passport, and even the blue book, and then clearly pissed off that I had everything demanded 200 baht. I asked what for and he said "you go too fast" which was utter bullshit as I wasn't speeding and he had no radar equipment anyway.

I have also been done on the 304 for being in the right lane. There is a stretch of road where the left lane is pounded out and they keep a guy off to the side of the road radioing plate numbers of the people who avoid the broken pavement by going into the right hand lane. Over the next hill they pull you over and give you a ticket. Trying to argue about the road condition is futile because that's why they are there in the first place.

I also used to get done on my motorbike on Vipavadi going past Don Muang. There was a buss stop there and the cops waited on the other side. If you stayed in the left lane they would say you drove through the bus stop and give you a ticket. If you went over into the second lane to avoid the buss stop they would do you for not being in the left lane.

Getting done on the Tollway is a real bitch though because the fine is often 1,000 baht instead of the normal 200 baht cash grab.

The blue would look better if the black plastic accents on the fairing were a different colour. The black looks good with red but I don't like it with the blue. A white pearl colour, yellow or even graphite grey colour would look better.

I just got done the other day by a cop on the tollway. He told me that pick-up trucks (I have a 4 door Navara), must stay in the 2 leftmost lanes and can not exceed 85km/hr on the tollway. I have never heard this before and generally assume that my pick-up is regarded as 4 wheel light passenger vehicle the same as any car as far as rules of the road go. I had nothing in the back of the truck as well, the bed was completely empty.

So was the cop trying to pull one over on me or are the rules different for pick-ups/utes?

If you want a cb300x just put dual purpose tires and a windscreen on a cb300f and you are 90% of the way there.

Personally I am not a big fan of upside down forks on entry level bikes and I don't get why people get hung up on them. The only performance differences I know of is that having the larger diameter tube at the triple clamp makes it a bit less likely to flex and a minor difference in un-sprung weight. The effect of this on performance is minimal. You just aren't gonna find adjustable inverted forks with radial brakes at this price point. This is not a performance oriented naked hooligan bike like a speed triple, a brutal or a monster, this is an entry level learner/commuter bike.

Despite the conflict of interest moto-journalists have with the manufacturers being their primary advertisers I don't think they would neglect to mention it if the front forks were a concern. i would prefer to have an adjustable conventional fork over an nonadjustable inverted fork.

The other minor benefit to conventional forks is that the fork cylinder coating/finish is a bit less prone to nicks and other damage from rocks, etc .

My biggest issue with the CB300f and the CB500f is that I am not a big fan of singles or inline twins but it is hard to argue their practicality. I really wish the folks at Honda had decided to base the 250/300 bikes on the old V-Twin VTR but I suppose a V-Twin would up the price somewhat.

The 300f seems to be a pretty great all rounder. I am considering the 300f, the 500f and the 650f for my next bike. Obviously the performance goes up with the displacement but I am not sure if the performance gains are worth the cost increase. All 3 bikes look like good value for money. I used to have higher performance bikes (VFR800FI and a CBR954RR) but my go fast days are in the past especially considering the traffic and roads in my area.

I think simplicity, versatility and fun are what I am really after these days, the recent offerings from Honda seem to fit my needs.

I'd rather see the 636.

I was in my truck today following someone on a cb650f. It looked good but there was one thing that looked funny to me. The bike had a tail tidy and no plate so the whole rear wheel was easy to see. The rear wheel looked really fat but small in diameter. I know its a 17 but it looked oddly short and fat on the bike. Might have been from the angle I was looking from. The header pipes also looked good but I could only see those in my mirror after I passed the bike.