Mousehound

As anew arrival on "Retirement" I couldn't nominate a Thai friend.  Does anyone have experience with this situation?

Wai ing is just supporting the hierarchical and outdated social structure, OK if Thais want to do it but i'd rather not be part of it myself. These days I hold a hand up in recognition but do not wai and never a public servant. All this feudal kow towing should not be encouraged and I try to stop Thai kids doing it to me at least. I like people to be treated as equals and not upper and lower class just cos they are older, richer or have some 'respectable' job.

Well people are not all equals. I object to young kids pushing in front of me and I don't like to see young people take a seat when there are old, infirm or pregnant women standing. It really comes down to common courtesy. If you mean that everyone should be courteous regardless of age or status I would agree. Personally I rather like the Wai. We don't all have to end up with every culture ignoring its heritage.

Most of the great discoveries have been made by academics, or people at least academically inclined. In this case an old man lost his house. I wouldn't have thought that was really so funny.

It might be an idea that if birds are shown from other parts of the world then they should have a "hook" to a picture of a Thailand bird. Many are of course migratory or have clinal changes in plumage. Or are I do enjoy this forum in particular and anything that gets people into looking more closely at the world about them seems a good thing.

Blue eyes

I love these Peacock spiders. Great shot.

As a diabetic I take interest in the latest scientific studies. The most interesting was one made on two 30s twin doctors in the UK done by Cambridge University. In essence it found that for normally healthy people that exert a high sugar diet made little difference and far less of a problem than a high The high fat diet had higher sugar readings than the high sugar diet - for some reason the very high sugar diet caused the body to adjust its ability to cope. The fat diet was the opposite and had the additional problem that when heavy exercise was used to get weight off the high fat diet subject lost more weight (had also gained more weight) but half the weight loss was actual muscle. Not so with the high sugar twin who did not put on as much weight initially and lost less than the brother but most of his weight loss was actual fat and not muscle tissue. In fact a pure sugar diet or a pure fat diet almost self regulate as the subject just feels sick and eats far less. However, the study clearly showed that we can not resist foods that are roughly 50% fat and 50% sugar. This actually not only blocks our feeling of sickness at huge doses of one or the other but gives us cravings. So, ice cream and cheesecake are irresistible. Tests with pastries - where a mix was offered show that we are conditioned to chose the one that has the closest even mix of fat and sugar. Manufacturers know this and play on it. Try just eating a block of butter or just 16 oz of raw sugar. You most likely wont do it. But blend the two together and see the difference. By the way, they found not a single fad diet was worth while. In reality just avoid any processed food, eat raw vegies and if you are overweight constant, but not high stress exercise such as swimming or walking were the answer. Get your weight of and you will cope with sugar better. They also found that low GI products made very little difference - a bit disappointing as I have searched these products out. Of course a low fat and low sugar diet is what we should all try for. They are also looking at the genetic disposition of those that are especially drawn to that deadly mix of sugar and fat.

If it ain't sweet tasting Thais won't eat or drink it. Gotta have that sugar!!! And don't forget to throw in plenty of foods high in cholesterol. In a market have you even noticed how many of the stalls sell deserts, sweet foods, usually with bees flying around getting their sugar high...probably around 1 in 5 stalls.

I can't believe they put sugar in bread and milk here.

Fatty foods is not the cause of the current explosion in obesity, sugar is.

W

Actually there is sugar in bread and milk in the west also.

Idea Leuconoe ( Rice paper )

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Very nice shot. I like that this is also called The Siam Tree Nymph.

I am waiting for they day they do this with non-stop crying children, together with their ignorant parents,

Well genius, pray enlighten us all on how a crying child can be silenced to your liking?

Or there again, cough up and fly business or first so you don't get put with all those little urchins.

Whilst I acknowledge that infants can't always be silenced, airlines should have a sub cabin for a.holes with children, it should be sealed and sound proofed & under no circumstances should children be booked in other sections of the plane.

Drunk grubs should be 1 strike u are OUT - Never allowed to fly again.

Fat slobs and chain smoking cretins should travel by boat.

What about just desirable folk with decent human behaviour allowed to fly

Belligerent oafs like this group should be dealt with. However, following on and whole heartedly with you sentiment People with a chip on their shoulder should be off loaded as well. I don't know any airline that allows smoking in the cabin. But, I agree we should ban anyone that annoys one. Playing electronic games, putting seats back, turning lights on or off, reaching over, using overhead lockers, getting on or off the plane before one, asking to be let out of the row to go to the toilet, doing anything that requires cabin crew, anyone overweight, anyone tall, anyone that makes me queue to go to the toilet, anyone that wants to talk, anyone that gets their luggage before me at the carousel, anyone....All one needs is one's private jet and all will be resolved.

If there are 10 000 expats in Thailand (I have no idea how many there really are) and the average age is as low as 60 then if you give them a generous average 25 years to live there would be an average of one death per day anyway. (the actuarial math would be lower than this I am sure but it is beyond me) The death rate for tourists is possibly higher than their own country most likely because they are out of their comfort zone and put themselves at risk. I take many more risks in Thailand than I do in my home country. But my star burns a lot brighter in Thailand and even if it is shorter lived, I prefer that brief spark.

I can assure you, having lived and worked in Somalia, New Guinea and New York I feel safer in Thailand. In fact I feel safer in Thailand than my present home in Australia and safer than in many parts of the UK I have lived - especially Glasgow.

My advise is to stop listening to doomsayers. News is all about fear - it attracts attention.

Hello Ron

Malaysian Pied Fantail (Pied fantail) in Thailand

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They look very alike, Willie have the grey stripes under the bill and the Thai have the stripes on top of the head. And the Thai fantail have a black band on the chest

And as you say, the Malaysian Pied Fantail is a little more brownish

Willie Wagtail, maybe the Australian Fantail looks a wee bit more sullen

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296-3.gifBut the Australian fantail takes the prize with the name

I really like the Noongar Australian Aboriginal name for the Willie Wagtail (a Flycatcher not really a wagtail) which is "Chitty Chitty" - exactly the sound they make.

Blue and green butterfly in Chumphon province. i think ''Green-banded Swallowtail''. D90 , Tamron 90 macro.

Papillon bleu 4.jpg

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Stunning animal. Great shot. These are not common. Papilio palinurus These "Birdwings" are truly the jewels of the lepidopteron world.

Another couple of visitors yesterday, they look a bit like Magpies, but smaller, the tails stick straight up. Nice song too!

I think these are what the Thai use for bird singing competitions?... a life in a cage

As ugly as electric wires are most of the time, these prove quite useful...

Oriental Magpie-Robin

When he dies he will be reincarnated as a soi dog ....

No wonder my cat food bill is so high...

A Myna irritation I would think!

Darn wasp like thing building it's nest on my desk, each day one more little house.... I guess eggs inside?

Must get the vacuum out tomorrow!

Look like Potter Wasp - they are usually spider hunters so I leave them alone.

Hello Plahgat

Yes, it can be dangerous with the wild life, especially when walking around looking for birds in the middle of nowhere. I like your picture of the Plover. I was also at a small islets where I went by boat. Just me and a few wadders (not any room for much more as it was high water)

I don't mind watching wadders but I have given up trying to identify them as they look very alike. Like the birds below, exactly the same but different sizes

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Some of them are of course easy to identify, not many birds looking like the Black winged stilt

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I put this bird down as a Greater Sand Plover out of pure frustration. They all look the same in the bird book, so just to leave the bird behind I put it as a Greater Sand Plover.

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Even though I have given up identifying the birds at the sea front I still go there to enjoy watching the birds. And some of the birds down at the sea front are easy to recognize

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Where do you live? I will be back home in Bangkok in a few days time and I will try to explore two new birding places before I leave for Australia. Weather depending. Are you in Bangkok and fancy some birding?

Yes waders can be hard to identify!

I'm only an amateur birdwatcher and nature lover, but my guess would be Common Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper on the two lookalikes in your first picture?

I used to travel around a lot in National Parks in Thailand in the past, but now in my old age I've got stuck in the "swamps" of Pattaya and Bangkok.... chasing a different kind of two-legged animals !

I'm in Sweden now and only come to holiday in Thailand 5 months every year for 29 years now!

Won't be back until next year.

Have a nice day!

Plahgat

+1

Since my wife put a shrine in the garden and a small feast of food on it every day, the bird population around our house slowly increased to the point of it looking like a Hitchcock movie every day, just before she puts her daily offerings out. I googled the problem on the basis of a repellent, and the most common response was WD40!

I have tried it and reckon it is about 90% effective. There are certainly a lot less birds on my sills and on top of the AC compressor, with them now seeming to prefer to hang out on the neighbours sills and walls. With it being a spray you can reach out of the window to get the spots a bit further away. A small re-aplying every few weeks initially seems to have done the trick. They seem to have gotten the message. Worth a try. I couldn't find WD40 in the store i went to, but the copy product worked for me.

Ha ha. Brilliant. Au de 40 - gets rid of warts as well! Does actually work. I tried it.

I would go to transfer office - write out a statement that you have transferred the vehicle. if someone has an accident that is their problem but if the vehicle is not notified as transferred and you do not renew the license than there can be a problem.

I suggest you contact the Chiang Mai Photographic Club. They have several very experienced photographers that would have no problem doing the work you require.

Well, the world of Shakespeare is long gone, also but "All the world's a stage.... " still seems to ring true. We are all playing a part, one way or another. The problem with the (Man and) Superman complex is, like Icarus, you can get too close to the sun. Some of us prefer a small part in the play, one where we are content, even if it is a brief walk-on part. I've had my fifteen minutes of fame and I found I was frightened by success. It distanced me from family, true friends and reality. I prefer to be an observer of life in the land I really have come to enjoy - Thailand.