canopy

Nice, but hey 20 of those tanks is not much if it needs to supply water across the dry season. I read in a book Thailand started making a widely available 11 cubic meter ferrocement tank in the 1980's. I have not noticed any. Imagine how small your water storage area would be with just 3 tanks and you would have even more water. Seems the advantages of the bigger tank is less footprint and generally better water pressure due to the increased height. Getting a few jars the size you are using seems fine for a backup water supply but I am looking for year round supply.

Rainwater catchment jars are commonly 2 cubic meters. I would like enough water to make it through the dry season. Rather than buy a bunch of smaller tanks I was interested in just one big one since it will allow for a smaller footprint. I read somewhere Thailand was (still is?) producing a 11 cubic meter ferrocement jar. Anyone know if really big jars like that are available anywhere?

Another question: regardless of size (within reason) I would actually prefer a real clay jar rather than the normal ferrocement jars painted brown. Is there such a thing?

Are the eco blocks mentioned still available and if so, where?

Just before Panthip I went to Fortune Town, as this place seems to be liked by members, and to be honest I don't get it why...very few people mulling around and only bored to death faces in the shops.

No reason to wonder why, you just said it.

...but few shops actually selling computer parts

True, Pantip has many more shops. But guess what, they sell the same selection of things at the exact same prices. And these same things at these same prices are at Fortune Town too. Beyond that, in several cases I learned the hard way if one place in Pantip is out of stock, methodically browsing the whole complex showed so are all the res. So it wouldn't surprise me if they are all stores with the same owner getting stuff from the same stock pile. I don't see the point of needing more than one big shop selling parts given the current model. For general purpose parts, I have yet to find a compelling reason to shop around in Pantip, or anywhere in Thailand for that matter. But Pantip has its merits too. There are some specialty shops that are worth a look. That is the only reason I would go there as it is harder to get to.

Thank you, I am glad to see someone got my point. The prices of farmland do not seem to have a relationship to what they are capable of returning. Fork out millions of baht for a muddy field and it seems dubious the investment could ever be returned by farming. The only possibility is the speculation keeps escalating which it seems it will and then hit the jackpot by finding a sucker so you can get out. I sometimes wonder if a property tax of just 100 baht a rai would cause the most massive property dumping ever seen on the planet as all the dirt poor sellers sitting pat on land they got for free or next to nothing dreaming of becoming rich from the speculation suddenly all race to dump it.

If it's rice land 400k to 500k a rai

How much profit does a rai of rice land typically make a year?

Do note that it is not a 1 year visa per se, you need to get extensions very 90 days at a cost of 1900 Baht. You do not leave the country though, just go to your local immigration office.

Is it necessary to do 90 day reporting as well?

I bet you have had some heavy rains on it now. How's it working out? Anything learned along the way that is useful to pass on?

Nice! Looking forward to seeing it. I would think the next steps would be compact it, then wait 1-2 days staying off it if possible, then add the top layer.

Sure, you can take a look. I am debating whether to start right or wait for the rains to stop which I am told is somewhat imminent. My future place that is getting a road is in kao kho but I live close to Phetchabun city as of now.

I recommend going to a place that sells rock and explain what you want. The luke lang I saw in kao kho is part clay with small rock. That is the cheapest thing but there are other alternatives. The key is you need something that will harden and shed water to keep the surface rock from sinking in.

That is the "ideal situation" as it says, but it is doubtful your soil is suitable as is. You can either amend it as it specifies or haul in a suitable base. I think the latter may be cheaper and makes it a bit higher at the same time so recommended that.

I will start soon so no first hand experience to share yet.

I recently posted a similar topic "How to Build a Road". Some good comments there plus this article is a must:

http://theurbanrancher.tamu.edu/constructi...vewaydesign.htm

In simple terms:

-excavate a crowned road with drainage ditches making sure the road is higher than grade

-add a road base that can harden and compact it

-add a rock surface

I am also in Phetchabun and recently costed this out: road base is about 150 baht per cubic meter and surface rock goes for around 500 baht per cube. The former is called luke lang and the latter heen klook. Sounded cheap until costing out a zillion truckloads of it...

I have had this happen, albeit in Bangkok at establishments with mostly Thai clientelle. Exact same situation: after a drinking session 100 baht is missing from the change and when detected a 100 baht note is immediately placed on the tray no questions asked. It is equally important to check your change as it is to verify the bill is right. It's also wise to always know how much an establishment charges for something before you order instead of just assuming it will be ball park range.

Thanks all. Good news to report. I didn't know Thailand has True Value stores, that along with Trader Joe's are my most missed stores! So I made the trip to Bangkok and all the hard to find tools there made it seem like I was in heaven. To my surprise hidden in the back they have a very nice range of shovels; chinese & US made, fiberglass & wood, long & short handles, and contractor quality shovels. Prices go up to 2000 baht for the top of the line. They have everything else too: spades, trenching shovels, you name it.

Now here is the nice part. I normally don't bother with annoying club cards. But if you spend 1000 baht, they let you get a true value card. Then the rest of your purchase gets a 30% discount (yes, 30%)!!! I saved a bundle because I was buying various other stuff anyway. The 30% is a one shot deal, then 5% afterwards purchases. The 30% is also promotional so take advantage if you are going there soon.

Someone mentioned where to find nice wheel barrows. I didn't see any there. The best I was able to do was find a two wheel type, but also wished for a soft tire, contractor quality one though have not seen them anywhere.

That's great information, but I wonder if you can speak of the quality. The following is from the pun pun in Chiang Mai that has experience using Linseed found in Thailand:

The linseed oil we have access to getting in Thailand presently is very diluted with turpentine degrading the quality quite severely. It has still proven a good sealant for walls (even walls with no roofing) and helps on earthen floors but does not give nearly the quality 100% linseed oil can achieve

If pun pun can't make it work for floors, I doubt anyone can as pun pun is very forgiving if things aren't just so.

In my area they are advertising 9 megabit. If the greater speeds do not apply to international then what is the point? I suspect many expats and tourists have no interest at all in domestic speeds. I don't notice Thai's using much domestic bandwidth; just light games, chat, and low bandwidth videos. Just my observation.

On the other hand I can't watch youtube or a news clip without it stuttering most times of the day. I am on TOT and speeds gradually dwindle as the day progresses. Until they fix that, I can't see the point of signing up for a higher speed. If they could just figure out how to make a 1megabit connection actually deliver 1megabit all the time that would make a great deal of difference to me. But that is hard to market and since few people complain I am resignd to the fact they will continue to pocket my fees rather than provide a real connection.

Thai's use shovels that are nothing like what I am used to and I don't find them efficient enough for my needs. I would like to move quite a few wheelbarrow loads of dirt and wonder if a normal western shovel is sold anywhere. I did not see any at HomePro. The specs I am interested in are a long handle for a taller person, wide & rounded blade, heavy gauge steel that won't bend in clay, and a place to put your feet to lay into it. This would be the regular shovel found in the USA but I have yet to find anything like it here. A spade would be nice too, but maybe wishful thinking.

I wish to plant a 200 meter line of coconut trees spaced 20 meters apart in Phetchabun. The primary function is to serve as a land boundary perimeter, but also I would like to select a variety of coconut good for drinking. Is there a type best used for this or will just any old type do? Is there a good time to plant or other tips for helping them get going?

While lower than 10m, even 5-6m for an M5 is high considering it is only a 3m car elsewhere in the world.

In my observation it is a significant cultural difference. At my latest BBQ I did not receive any thanks, donations, or people bringing things nor did I expect it. What I did get without asking is lots of helpers taking care of everything before, during, and after the event. I also got a chuckle from your experience as it seems like who would get the leftovers was predetermined. They especially took good care of me and I never needed to leave my chair for anything and felt like a prince. That was enough for me. I was just happy so many turned up.

If someone cuts in front of me while driving on the road I just accept they are in a hurry or whatever and gladly let them move on to their next target. But queue jumping seems personal to me as they size me up and kick me down in full view of the attendant and everyone else. That gets the blood flowing.

When it happens at an immigration office I dare not risk escalating a situation that might impact my visa situation in front of the officers. I have had bad experiences in this area, the worst was patiently waiting several hours and on my turn an agent arrives and butts in as if I wasn't there and slams a huge pile of applications on the counter. I stood still, looking at the officer but the officer did not look back but rather started taking his stuff so I eventually went back to my chair for what seemed an eternity for the agents apps to clear before I was called again.

I almost never do anything to queue jumpers but once I did. At a skytrain stop I was patiently standing in line with everyone else waiting for the next train as I have done countless times. There wasn't much space in front of me, but there was enough for someone to squeeze in. And that is exactly what happens, a girl 20 something just squeezes right there in front of me. The lines were not long and I could care less where I end up in line as it's a short hop and standing/seating doesn't matter to me. But I decided to try an experiment to better understand this cutting in behavior. In front of her there was now not enough space to squeeze a person in, but I shouldered my way in anyway, forcing her back a bit. I was curious what her reaction would be and she just looked at me like how arrogant and that was that.

There is currently a dirt road a half kilometer long to the property. It is mainly used by farm implements and gets muddy and rutted to where it can be impassable without 4WD and is slightly hilly. The PYB says in about 4 years the road will be paved but I would rather not wait for that and he has given me the ok to improve it anyway I wish. So I would like to improve this road so that vehicles can ride through cleanly but not spend more than necessary. Are there any suggestions on the options out there to achieve this / price?

I got a frantic call earlier today from a Thai to turn on the TV. I wasn't able to watch it but what was described to me is a breaking news story that a huge number of foreigners with chanote titles are having the land taken away from them and this is happening in many provinces with Phitsanulok cited. The other details are sketchy so I'll leave them out. I haven't seen anything in the press yet. Am I being duped or is there something going on out there?

Right, nowadays the advice is 3 square meals a day is not enough. People need to be eating every 3 hours or so and not just one thing, but getting a little everything per time. That is theory but reality is many have busy life styles and are on the run so it is not practical plus it can be difficult to adapt to radically different eating patterns. But just getting a little extra here and there in the day between meals is good. Supplements are one way to fill in gaps, but food can also do the job perfectly well if one wishes to.

The meat of the post was that even a vegan who takes no supplements can pack on muscle whereas someone who take massive supplements might not get any results. Forget the vegan part. If you are eating right you don't need more protein. You certainly can get your protein from supplements, but there are no requirements to do so.