kimamey

I know you're just trying to help Vegemite, but you're also being too protective like an overbearing parent. Why not let him discover the joys, trials and tribulations of staying in a village all by himself? Just because you have a delicate constitution and it doesn't suit you, then that doesn't mean he is not going to fall in love with the place and pace of village life; honking pigs, crowing chickens, grinning grannies, roasted rats, warts and all. A bit of hardship and deprivation from the luxuries of modern life never hurt anyone and in fact, can do many people a lot of good. Just let him go and discover it without all this "great white adventurer" and nannying bull. We're all so impressed with your Ray Mears-like ability to survive in deepest, darkest Isaan.

Congratulations!

And what difference does it make how many times I've "done the village thing"? How does ten years plus sound? Make you feel any better?

Beaue pen yang ! Don't get upset it is Christmas time. Let's see if we can come together in MahaSarakam in middle of February and try to meet Kimamey and listen to his experiences so far. It could be nice being welcomed by the expat community here. I think he will do.

Merry Christmas to all of you. And welcome to Kimamey !!

P.S.

Don't count the years ! You only realize how old you are.

Well that sounds a great idea although right now I've no idea how to organise it. I suppose I could say which nights I will be in MSK and see if anyone could make it. Not sure about communicating whilst I'm there although mobile/cell phones seem ok as that's how I call my gf. Whatever happens I'm fascinated by all the information here. I'm really glad that as well as visiting Bangkok I will get to see the other perhaps more genuine side of Thailand.

Well it's almost time for me to fly out to Thailand for my first visit. I leave Heathrow on Thursday 5th and arrive the next morning. Then it's 3 days in Bangkok followed by a drive north to Isaan on Monday. After that I'm not sure until I go back to Bangkok on the 20th.

I do know that I will be on my own on 10th and 11th when my gf is at work so I my just explore on my own although the prospect is quite scary. I'm not sure if it would be possible to meet anyone on those 2 days or maybe another if I am around. Might be able to get out in the evening though. As I said to my gf, if I do end up moving to Thailand to be with her I will need non Thai contact I think if only because only a non Thai will be able to see things a little from my point of view. Not sure if I will be able to log into here while I'm away as I know she doesn't have iternet access in her home.

Anyway here's hoping I have a good time and you never know I might just meet someone from here.

How long can he and his family live on the 1.2mio Bath?That was not very clever he will loose his job and further tea money sources.

How long he can live will depend on where he goes now. I would think this would be good money in poor areas of Thailand especially if he could put it in a bank account and live on the interest although that is less these days. The problem is will he have to bribe anyone to keep quiet? He would have to get another job and not be obvious about his extra income. I don't know how easy it is to live in Thailand without coming to the attention of the national and local officials, not to mention the police? Maybe he could cross one of the borders although this could involve a bribe as well. He may well find that his biggest problem is the loss of friends and family if he moves away and has to keep a low profile.

Merry Christmas all........

(Here's the closet we came to a Christmas tree last year here in Prasat)

Merry Christmas everyone

I don't come out for my first visit until February so I'll miss all the fun but don't worry start without me.

Gentlemen,

Since it was I who started all this I have to say that the responses have been incredible........I never expected anything like this.

I would also like to thank everyone for their sincerity in the replies as I have not seen any of the bitter and twisted replies you see on other forums. I think we are indeed a breed apart.......

So to move forward a little and get the ball rolling albeit on short notice, My wife and I hold a little Christmas party (evening of the 25th) for all the kids in our village on the years we are up here (and this is one). It is also for their parents (May God go with them) so that they can consume what it is they like to consume at my expense. Actually very little to pay for them having to tolerate me in their midst.....

It is always a fun do so if any of you would like to come and join in then please send me a PM with your phone number and I will give you a call back with details of how to get here. We are only about 15kms out of MS on the 2040 (Wapi road)

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

Irrigator

I really wish I was there now so I could join you although I sprained my ankle quite badly yesterday and I'm finding it difficult to walk so maybe for the best. I hope it goes well for you and perhaps you could post some pics for those who can't be there.

I have also noticed some of the bad tempered forums. It's a sad reflection that WE are the 'breed apart'

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all until I can make it out myself in February.

I know you're just trying to help Vegemite, but you're also being too protective like an overbearing parent. Why not let him discover the joys, trials and tribulations of staying in a village all by himself? Just because you have a delicate constitution and it doesn't suit you, then that doesn't mean he is not going to fall in love with the place and pace of village life; honking pigs, crowing chickens, grinning grannies, roasted rats, warts and all. A bit of hardship and deprivation from the luxuries of modern life never hurt anyone and in fact, can do many people a lot of good. Just let him go and discover it without all this "great white adventurer" and nannying bull. We're all so impressed with your Ray Mears-like ability to survive in deepest, darkest Isaan.

Congratulations!

And what difference does it make how many times I've "done the village thing"? How does ten years plus sound? Make you feel any better?

Beaue pen yang ! Don't get upset it is Christmas time. Let's see if we can come together in MahaSarakam in middle of February and try to meet Kimamey and listen to his experiences so far. It could be nice being welcomed by the expat community here. I think he will do.

Merry Christmas to all of you. And welcome to Kimamey !!

P.S.

Don't count the years ! You only realize how old you are.

Well that sounds a great idea although right now I've no idea how to organise it. I suppose I could say which nights I will be in MSK and see if anyone could make it. Not sure about communicating whilst I'm there although mobile/cell phones seem ok as that's how I call my gf. Whatever happens I'm fascinated by all the information here. I'm really glad that as well as visiting Bangkok I will get to see the other perhaps more genuine side of Thailand.

hi all I just got a little netbook for an upcomming trip (Acer Aspire One)

I downloaded FF3 from www.getfirefox.com and installed it but it keeps coming out in Thai.

Where is the setting that i need to flip to have the install in english?

any clues?

Running XP

Try "options" "content" tab and then set the language near the bottom. Hope this works. It may choose language based on region settings not an expert though.

Buy the mother a heap of gold and the father a merc for Christmas, train to be a Doctor for the next 8 years and ask your G/f to wait for you while you`re doing this.

If this fails, you can have my sister in law who after a couple of cans of beer, is anybodies.

I hope your sister in law doesn't come on this site, she might be aggressive when she's drunk as well. Still I'll keep a note of your name just in case I've ever got a couple of cans and a bit of time free.

Which injections?

Agree ! What injections ? An up to date tetanus protection should be enough to worry about.

If you are healthy otherwise it would be a waste of money to take extra injections.

Maha Sarakam is quite healthy all around the year. When you come in February the weather will be very nice. No rain ! No humidity. Maybe in Bangkok but not up here.

Some things are already dealt with or just need boosters: Tetanus, TB and Hepatitis B for instance. Japanese encephalitis shouldn't be a problem in February so the main one is Rabies. I have heard several dogs during phone calls although my girlfriend seems to think that there isn't much of a problem. The only trouble is that sometimes her english, although quite good leaves me unsure if she understands exactly what I'm saying. I've read a lot on this forum about rabies and the views seem mixed but as far as I can see the level of rabies has dropped due to measures that have been taken.

I suppose the main thing is that I need to be sure that if the worst happens and I do catch something, there is a hospital available and that I have done all I can to protect myself so my travel insurance company can't say it's my own fault. Just call me cynical.

I'm fairly healthy for my age (54) the only problems I do have are not related to infection risk.

I assume that the medication I take for high blood pressure and high cholesterol which is prescribed by my doctor shouldn't cause problems entering the country.

I am about to get my injections for my first trip to Thailand and which ones I need seems to depend to some extent on how far I am away from a hospital and how good it is. I will be spending some time in my girlfriend's village near Sarakham and I wonder if anyone has experience of the local hospital there or in places nearby .

I can't offer any advice as I am in UK but I felt I had to write something as I have been through something similar. My wife was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis in late 1996 and died in August 2005 about 3 weeks short of 31 years of marriage. Although we never got to the stage of assisted suicide I know she felt she'd had enough especially when she got to the point she could do nothing for herself. At least we were in our own country although even then knowing what to do and how and what help we could get was difficult.

All I can say is I hope you and your wife get the help you need and you are able to live the rest of your life in as much happiness as possible.

I'm impressed that so many people have taken the time to help. Thanks for all the advice some of which backs up what I had already considered so it must be worth taking.

I had decided that a car would be a good idea, with or without a stay in an hotel since it gives me more flexibility. My gf suggested that she meet me in Bangkok which has 2 advantages. Firstly as has been mentioned it will give me time to get used to the change of culture and secondly it will mean that I can avoid the problem of making my own way to her village. She also suggested going in February because of the weather. I'm not sure what to expect from the climate although I think that the humidity will be the problem. For the last 2 years I have visited a friend in the USA. She lives in Springfield Virginia just south of DC and she said I would find the heat a real problem but although the temperature was around 36^oC (98^oF) and peaked at 40^oC (104^oF) I found it less of a problem than the high 20's in the UK. It was undoubtedly hot but it didn't make me feel drained of energy like back home and I put this down to the lack of humidity so Thailand may be worse not so much for the high temperature but the high humitity.

Oh I nearly forgot I will be there from 6th February to the 22nd.

Hi

I'm pretty new here so if I get things wrong please tell me. I will be offended but I've been married so I can take most things.

I have recently met a woman on the internet and I will be making my first visit to Thailand on 5th February 2009 til 22nd to meet her. She is coming to BKK to meet me so at least that should avoid me making a mess of things with my limited Thai language skills. Although exact dates haven't been decided we will eventually end up in her village 'ban dong noi' about 4.5km southeast of mahasarakham. For part of this time she will be at work so I will be able to find out first hand what it is like to be alone in the village.

Although she speaks reasonably good english I think she may be an exception in her village. She studies at the university and works at a local education centre that seems to focus on vocational skills such as carpentry, electrics and that sort of thing. This may be why she speaks good english although we can still hit a bit of a brick wall sometimes even if I can find the word I'm looking for in my phrase book.

I don't know if anyone knows this village, unfortunately it's just outside of the higher resolution area on Google maps so I can't even see how big it is. It would be good to meet another english speaker but as yet I'm not really sure how I would manage this.

I think this could be something of a culture shock but as they say " what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" so here's to strength or death.

Hi there,

could you tell me where in the world you are coming from and have you been to upcountry Thailand before.

It seems to make a difference where you come from as some people do better than others.

Do you know what real Issan food is like? Do you know what you will be sleeping in?

All the best and welcome.

I'm from UK and this will be my first visit anywhere in Thailand. I've only had Thai food in Thai restaurant in UK and I'm not expecting it to be anything like that. As for where I'm sleeping I don't want to tempt fate but I think it will be in a normal bed.

As I said I think this will be a culture shock but at least I'm prepared for that and I'm looking forward to the callenge although that may change when I get there. I think it's a case of not knowing til I try and I think if I was absolutely sure of how things were going to go then I could end up being totally shocked if it turned out different.

Thanks for the welcome.

Hi

I'm pretty new here so if I get things wrong please tell me. I will be offended but I've been married so I can take most things.

I have recently met a woman on the internet and I will be making my first visit to Thailand on 5th February 2009 til 22nd to meet her. She is coming to BKK to meet me so at least that should avoid me making a mess of things with my limited Thai language skills. Although exact dates haven't been decided we will eventually end up in her village 'ban dong noi' about 4.5km southeast of mahasarakham. For part of this time she will be at work so I will be able to find out first hand what it is like to be alone in the village.

Although she speaks reasonably good english I think she may be an exception in her village. She studies at the university and works at a local education centre that seems to focus on vocational skills such as carpentry, electrics and that sort of thing. This may be why she speaks good english although we can still hit a bit of a brick wall sometimes even if I can find the word I'm looking for in my phrase book.

I don't know if anyone knows this village, unfortunately it's just outside of the higher resolution area on Google maps so I can't even see how big it is. It would be good to meet another english speaker but as yet I'm not really sure how I would manage this.

I think this could be something of a culture shock but as they say " what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" so here's to strength or death.