islandguy

That paper and your passport 

Never use poison but had some nests in the patio. Local guy sprayed directly into nest with an aerosol can and managed to quickly kill them without getting stung. Removed the nest a few minutes later before returning hornets showed up. The big paper looking one on the edge of the property up a tree the neighbor farmers snuck in and stole for the larvae.   

And certainly didn’t enjoy the loud and smug antivax conspiracy idiots bunched behind me sharing misinformation. Just ignored them except when one said that everybody there just wanted the piece of paper like them, not the vaccination. 

Went last week, 23rd. Thought it would be smooth sailing but they consolidated some of the first shot groups so more people than on the day I went for the first shot. Then computer system went down just before I got through queue. So twice as long as first time. The master of ceremonies, who reminds me of many Swiss hotel gm’s I have met at work was in fine form. Patiently repeating info, urging people to move into the smaller queue, and jumping in when they gave queue numbers to people (when they had to pause for the computer problem) and some people rushed the poor nurses handing out numbers. Had to laugh when he chastised me for missing the restart by a couple of minutes, told him I was back before the time he had announced so it was his mistake, not mine. That quieted down his bossiness, but I’m sure he was a part of the reason that everything went pretty well with this program and thanks to him for volunteering.

1 hour ago, nickcar said:

Is this somewhere that I can get a Pfizer injection? I am 77 year old New Zealander with lung disease. I also have Thai citizenship which seems to default me from some expat sites.  So Far I have still not had any vaccine, Sinovec it seems to me is a waste of time and I am afraid of Astrazeneca. I have booked a Medina but that’s probably going to be January February next year

Contact the group doing the Promenada program. They put out at least one phone number for people to call if they don’t fit into the schedule of the announced vaccination events. I saw number here on forum in a post from Ben Sastri(?) who was kind enough to post screen shots from a Chiang Mai Facebook group that was set up for vaccination info. Near bottom of second screenshot. 

I’m propagating seeds from the tree so I could wait to identify a male and then plant nearby. Another angle would be to get some bees. So far no luck with attracting them to our empty hive, but someone here sells beehives with small stingless native bees good for pollinating smaller flowers (he has a cacao nursery). Since we did get moderate fruiting there must be a male plant not far away. This is one of the few trees I have where I would be excited to get a much larger yield. Chestnut along with chocolate sapote and finger lime.

Thanks for the tips and research. Our soil has come back after 8 years of no spray, but more inoculation is a good idea. Seems very likely there is a set of organisms that are copasetic with chestnuts.   

The border crossing at Arunothai has never officially opened. All the borders are currently closed to recreational travel, I believe. While the political situation in the area of Myranmar next to Arunothai is relatively stable, the area around Arunothai has historically and currently been a place where drugs cross the border. When the army intercepts groups carrying loads through the mountains, shootouts are common. 

If you want to line up a good bike, Chiang Mai would have a far larger selection. In Chiang Dao, the managers of Dek Doi Khamin Springs love that kind of stuff and have done adventure tours in the area. Check with them. As far as staying in the Arunothai area, maybe better to start closer to Chiang Dao for a few days and look around there on day trips to find something. Also, the son/manager of the new food court in Arunothai is trilingual and very well connected. Seemed fairly friendly. 

Never seen any resident farang when I go to the market there, or any sign of farang hangout places. Definitely check out Mikrocosmos craft beer restaurant in Chiang Dao (not open every day) for really good craft beer and very good farang food (like wild boar sausage, Belgium frites). Hipster kind of place, but if you start talking beer you’ve got a conversation.

know a couple of younger guys who like to go adventuring up in that area. They’ve strayed over the border a few times and run into some heavy Wa (yes, Wa, not Shan) soldiers with big automatic weapons, so keep that in mind.

18 hours ago, thcosh said:

 

when someone is asking a mattress it means that he knows that he wants a mattress, not a topper...

some people are able to have an opinion and know that it's correct...

 

 

Some people are interested in new ideas and capable of changing their minds. Others are are always correct so never need to listen to others.

I have a Chinese chestnut tree (Sterculia Monosperma) that is about 8 meters tall. We are enjoying the nuts now as well as the striking red seed cases. My question is, is this tree self pollinating? The fruit set was not very great, and mostly on lower branches. While we only have the one tree, there are almost certainly some in the neighborhood as we were asked if we wanted to go into the woods to pick some.

Make sure the hole for the toilet in the floor is far enough away from the wall or both the tank lid and the seat won’t fit right.

Year 5 of landscaping 10 rai. Laundry, which I don’t mind, especially since my wife does most of the cleaning and all of the cooking (expertly).

Consider using a mattress ‘topper’ instead of a mattress. Can be rolled up, but might be enough mattress if you like a firm one. Forget coconut fiber.

Quote:  600 baht is a fair price for that distance on Samui, it's about $20 for comparison.

Could we maybe substitute ‘normally exorbitant’ for fair? Or are you just comparing that price to what it would be in Phuket? 

57 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

East Asians usually look younger than Western men of the same age. I met one East Asian at the vaccination center who is 60 years old but still have all black hair and look like 40s.

 

Agreed, I had the same thought. Also, I should have said that a large majority of the people there were Westerners, both men and women. Maybe 70/30 with about 30% (rough estimate) being Western women of the same age group.

18 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

I think they dropped the age requirement from 65 to 55 after a few days for the Pfizer shot. It was preplanned and not an exception.

 

What do you mean by 'none of those few I noticed'?

 

 

This was the first day. I think they saw they would have enough vaccines that day and let him get his earlier than his group was scheduled. It was an exception to the announced criteria for that day if he didn’t have any co morbidities.

There were several hundred people there. A large majority were Western men who looked like they were in the 65-70 age range. I was only paying attention to those people close to me and a handful did not look as old as 65. Those few individuals were all Asian looking. No conclusion, just a small observation.

I fit right into the 65 to 70 age range that was supposed to be vaccinated that day. Another person there who got vaccine was 61, my impression was that they made an exception for him but he may have had comorbidities and been in a higher priority group. There were a handful of people I noticed that were not young but obviously younger than 65. None of those few I noticed were Westerners.

I got there about 9:30 to 9:45 and had a queue number of 140. Crowd was thinning out at 11:30.

Went today, all smooth as could be. Took a while, but lines were thinning out as I left at 11:30. Not totally strict with age criteria. Passport and WallofChiangMai platform number needed.

In Chiang Dao, commonly seen

22 hours ago, Nowisee said:

You'll likely never see the Asian Owlets that are all over Chiang Mai as they difficult to see in the trees.
BUT, you will hear them all the time, distinct sound.   

  

Owl 1.m4a 69.76 kB · 7 downloads

Thanks!

My wife is happy with https://www.ppseeds.com/

Facebook, LINE also

I quick Google translate showed Herbs(22) as a category