Sarge

stopped in customs

shipped to australia

What Luscious Liquid Are You Currently Slipping Past The Tonsils?

St George

I never criticise or laugh at Thais when they mangle the English language as my Thai skills are no existent. In fact I appreciate their effort to communicate with foreigners in an other language. That couldn't be said of Brits or Americans (aussies don't count as they don't really speak the lingo) in their own countries. One thing, I noticed that Thais can't spell / pronounce the word "tired", they invariably spell it "tried"; as in, 'ah I worked hard today, I am tried'. I have never figure that one out. Even my ex gf who's a qualified English teacher made the same mistake.

every time I travel to Thailand or back to Europe (in fact anywhere in the world but aussie-land) it feels so good, never a bad thought crossing my mind. Is it my lifestyle that I'm enjoying or their lifestyle I'm getting away from? Go figure

I do think that Scalawag makes a really good point there, nothing better than giving your life a (new) sense of purpose to make you feel alive and focussed. The birth of my daughter in Thailand injected fresh lifeblood in my veins, things taking a new turn in my life. People like to think that there is a purpose in their life, working to leave something behind them.

The Aussie Rules Football Thread - The Greatest Game On Earth, Whaddaya reckon?

thanks for the morning laff

I once saw an AFL game live at Telstra Stadium in Sydney, I think it was Sydney Swans v Brisbane Lions. I can’t remember the final score, it was a confusing game with lots of things happening at the same time at both ends of the pitch. Several referees running in out of the pitch, players fighting each other well away from the ball. Backroom staff storming in to pass water bottles to players, coaches and reserves jumping up and down the bench, I couldn’t but laugh at the going. It didn’t make any sense but boy wasn’t it funny? 555 lol I didn’t watch the whole charade as I was at the stadium for other reasons but I enjoyed the show, maybe not as the aussies would have appreciated. 555 lol again

Once thing that I had noticed (also at AFL & Rugby events everywhere in Australia) is the fans are well behaved (by European standards anyway) and saw Swans & Lions supporters going in the stadium shoulder to shoulder, whole families wearing jersey of opposing teams merrily strolling along. Amazing, that would never happen in Blighty or anywhere in Europe. Credit to them.

Here a pic I had taken that day, if the memory serves me right it must have been August 2005.

Silly little game

this is a good article to read: 39 Ways to Live and Not Merely Exist

oh i forgot to add to the list of things to ward off depression- TRAVEL! plan your next trip!

Am running out of other good asian countries though.

go to south or central america!

now that's talking, I still have fond memories of my time in Colombia & Venezuela. Unsafe countries, disorganised but it's a hel_l of fun filled, full on life experience, never a boring moment. and the girls are hot ...

Funny you should mention that. have been in oz about six weeks now and have never been this depressed. I knew it - its the ###### Australians doing this too me. Am running out of other good asian countries though.

only 6 weeks and you already feel depressed about the place? Imagine how'd you feel after 2 and half years .... Thank's God I'm outta here soon, moving back to civilization. Seriously, I too feel restless after a while and yearn to see if things are better elsewhere, life is too short and one country feels like a straightjacket.

dunno 'bout depression but expats can suffer from "culture shock", having to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings and different way of life. That along with demands of high power jobs can lead (over a period of time) to serious stress. I've lived and travelled to several countries and never really experienced cultural shock, maybe because I have always done my homework on customs and traditions of the host country, so never got surprised. Until I went down under .... It's deeply ironic that the only country I've suffered massive cultural shock is the one that has no culture to speak of, kind of 3rd world country in terms of human and social development. Funny innit? At least you guys in Thailand live among human beings.

what you saw were weevils, a bug that infests wheat products, they're commonly found in tropical countries. You should question Carrefour's food storing practices, betcha they keep food in humid, dirty environment. Btw Sanremo is sh*te pasta produced in Adelaide, Australia, hard to believe but true

on the whole customer service is good in Thailand, most of the time you get serviced with a smile and respectful manner. In my experience most Thai are keen to secure the sale and will do or say almost anything to get it. On the hand the after sales service is poor, definitely not to western standard. But you lot should count your blessings to live there and not in Australia, here they have refined horrid customer service to higher level.

Found a parking ticket on my window yesterday. Apparently I was parked in one of those areas of odd and even day bans (wan kii / wan koo) and a keen BIB ticketed me whilst I was in the Internet cafe. No sign around but that doesn't surprise me.

OK, fair dos.........400 Baht was the stated fine......not a fortune and first time been done, so can't complain, unlike the monster traffic wardens of Little Britain.

Went round the copshop in town and found the grandly named "Command Centre" where they collect fines. Raised a few eyebrows that they'd caught a farang and that this one could speak Thai "better than Southerners" (cop's words). So I handed over the ticket and 400 Baht with a smile and was gobsmacked when they handed back a 100 baht note with a smile. Whether this reduction was for prompt payment or for me joking with them that they should put some prominent signs up warning the motorist which days were off days for parking, I'm not sure, but I know it wouldn't happen in UK.

One BIB was extremely chatty and friendly (maybe because he sensed a potential future customer for his minibus side-business) and we got on great. So much so that when I left, he said "If we can be for service for anything, just let me know". Was tempted to see if he could rustle up a kilo of weed, but thought best not to push my luck to far......am pretty sure he could have obliged on reflection though.

What a great country!

some people complain about the corrupt police but sometimes the system works extremely well, especially if you are a cool customer.

be calm and polite and most police any where including thailand are mostly nice and understanding

fair comment, but you cant pay them off in australia and its cost you 50$ for a bloody parking ticket.

also theres no way on earth that you will be getting any money back.

actually our parking inspectors are throw backs to the gestapo as they are way more hard core than the cops.

yes but sometimes one gets surprised by them. The other week I got done on a suburban street of Sydney. I turned left on a side street (for some unphantomable reason there is a stop sign on a main road of a T junction, forcing cars to give way from traffic coming from that side street .... but hey this is assie-land so nothing surprise me anymore), and nobody ever cares to stop, we all just slow down. As soon as I turned into the side street 2 police cars were waiting to catch unsuspecting drivers (they had already stopped 2 cars), the coppers craftily positioned themselves in the blind spot, drivers couldn't see them until it was too late. To compound the matter I was on the phone with a customer. Geee, you should have seen the righteous look on the copper's face and heard his imperious voice ordering him to stop there and then. A discussion ensued because I stopped a few yards ahead as there were no gaps between parked cars. The copper threatened me with 6 points and 460 bucks fine, for not stopping at the stop sign and for driving whilst on the phone. Wot! are you for real? (I intentionally used this toe curling aussie expression), lo and behold he softened up and come up with this gem: "I know you're a good man .... I'm only giving you 3 points and $230 fine. Have a g'day" To**er! What pi**ed me off more than anything else was his obnoxious attitude and rudeness (after 2 years I still can't get used to that), in the UK one doesn't get discounts from the Old Bill but at least they conduct themselves in a more civilised manner.

The only brush with the law I had in Thailand, was the time I was riding pillion on my ex teerak's scooter in Jomtien. Both of us weren't wearing the compulsory helmet (we were returning from a restaurant to her office, a 300 yards ride), a cop stopped us and handed over the fine. He handled the whole thing with a smile, almost apologetic for doing his duty. My ex just laughed it off saying she had no intention to go to police station to pay the fine. I think she never did.

Good thread. After 20 years of high heels, I first wore only Bt20 flipflops in Thailand. But I did notice my feet starting to spread after several years and also noticed this on Thai folks who wore flippies. I started buying small-heeled slippers then. Comfy and gave more support to my feet (also make your legs look better, 555). Flips are OK for mucking about but I also get backaches if I have to stand in them too long. And not de rigeur for BKK.

And, guys, OK you don't have to paint your toenails but at least trim them every week. It takes two minutes.

so true, I guess you never set foot (pun intended ) in Sydney Australia (aka the flip flop nation), here the epitome of fashion is to wear them at any times (hot, cold, rainy, windy days). The sad part is that they think they are cool 555 lol. I never understood this desire to wear thongs when walking around in the city. Isn't this penchant for thongs (wearing them outside their natural habitat; beaches/swimming pool) an indication of one's personality? Food for thought ....

sydney opera house?

surely they're having a laff .... have they actually seen it up close? It resembles a 60s EE council building style housing political party conferences / state sponsored exhibitions. Soulless, naff to the core, an embarrassing indictment of architectural design gone wrong. When short listing heritage sites the history, the indigenous cultural setting and the overall magic feeling behind it have to have equal consideration alongside with architectural design.

It's a truism that beauty is everywhere, one can find attractive women in 193 out of 194 classified countries in the world. The odd one out has NO women, not as we know them anyway. I am fond of Latinas, they're sexy and coquettish but for charm and finesse stakes Asians and Thai in particular are hard to beat. Being in BKK is like being in a candy store, high concentration of attractive and well dressed girls. Just when I thought I saw a gorgeous sexy little thing, a better another comes along, and another, and another, and another ......

yep the Karon Beach Resort is right on the beach, no need to cross roads while pushing the pram. It looks classy and relaxed, I hope it's family orientated and (young) children friendly.

I'm planning to spend a week in Phuket end of July / beginning of August. I've never been there so I'm looking for advice on a family hotel next to the beach in a safe and relaxed area, I'm going with my Thai fiancee and our 6 months old baby daughter. I have been doing online search for hotels/resorts in Karon Beach and I quite like the look of Karon Beach Resort, one can book it through an agency at much cheaper rate. Any of you guys stayed there? Any other alternative resorts I should consider?

Thx, Sarge

yes there is a phone line, no problem there. Not sure how far is from the exchange though. She once had a dial-up connection there but the account has long expired and her computer is too ancient to cope with today demands. So, I'm starting from scratch and want to set up a modern ADSL connection with a new-ish computer. My question is there a telecom branch there (like True or whatever) where one can walk in, purchase a plan and a modem. Take it back home, plug it in and register online?

I'm taking a spare laptop computer to my fiancee's house in mahasarakham and would like to set up a broadband internet connection. The idea is to leave it there so we can skype each other when I'm back home. How do I go about in finding an internet providers there? Is there a telecom shop where one can purchase a broadband plan and a modem, take it home register online, as I would normally do back in farangland? or things are done differently over there, any advice and info is greatly appreciated. Thx

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaackin hells bells .

Well ,I thought that word REVENGE had been spoken a bit too much leading up to the final .

Thanx to all you muppets who were calling me and texting me after the final , I had to be up at 5:30 for work you benny's , call yourselves family\mates .

I am man enough to be gracious in defeat , well on tv anyway ( I got sent home early from work today , nuff said ).

Congrats to milan , I'm feeling just a bit of what you lot felt in 2005 and its not nice.

I was going to post along the lines revenge, justice is done blah blah... but your gracious post took the wind out of any intentions of doing so. To be fair, I think Liverpool acquainted themselves better on the pitch and were close to scoring goal on occasion. But for most Milan (and Italian) supporters it was most gratifying to give Liverpool a taste of their own medicine. If only the British tabloids (and some TV pundits) would follow scousemouse's lead then British teams will enjoy a better reception abroad. Among tons of comments flooding the net about this final, one geordie git said that out of 3 of 4 teams in the CL seminal were British but the winner come from a different nation. That sums it up all really.

wow, reading about all these caring relationships make me feel inadequate. I (almost) never experienced any of those behaviours with past teeraks and current partner. I always had to ask for something in fact most of the times I just take what I need or want (i.e. fruits and snacks when I feel peckish or water and juice when thirsty). When I go shopping they seem to follow me rather then lead and take the initiative. I went out for shopping on my own and they never seemed to be overly concerned, even though I don't speak Thai and I'm unfamiliar with the area.

Surely I must do something wrong here or I just seem to attract un-Thai type of women. It could be either they don't show or have caring feelings or they think I'm too dominant to be fussed about or treated like a child. Who knows ...

Thanks folks for all your helpful replies. I've stopped the job for now, I will find a builder/plumber when I'm Maha Sarakham in mid January. I'm budgeting 400 baht per worker, per day just for labour, materials and plumbing supplies are extra; I want the job done in 4 or 5 day max.

Does anyone here live in Maha Sarakham or nearby villages who knows a reliable builder/plumber or shops in the city that sell bathroom supplies and accessories? They are always a good source for finding builders/plumbers in the area. You can pm me if you so prefer.

Thanks again

Sarge

Guys, thanks for your replies; you said what I thought all along.

My fiancée is heavily pregnant (8 months) and as I coming next month for the birth of our baby daughter we thought that I could stay at her family's house rather than staying in at nearby hotel, as I normally do. To make my stay more bearable we decided to have a farang toilet fitted (also to her benefit as squatting when you are 8 months preggy ain’t the easiest tasks), the idea is to, over a period of time (months, years and step by step), upgrade the house to a farang style, so we can enjoy living there in future.

Middle next year she will come and live with me in farang-land and we'll return to Thailand twice a year for holiday; during which time we would visit her family and stay there a week or so at times (we'll also travel to other parts of Thailand).

I'm sending her monthly allowance to live on until such time (7 months from now) she has the permanent visa sorted out to allow her to live with me abroad, and the baby old enough to travel. I told her that the 16 grand are all inclusive (allowance + toilet job), so effectively the building work cost me in the region you guys have said it would cost. I'm quite blunt with her about these things (she's naive girl but this being Isaan she gets pressurised by her family, friends etc.) and she knows what I think. Obviously being abroad makes harder for me to control things but as you said this is a learning experience. I’ve demanded to have 2nd and 3rd quote for the job and I'm determined to drive the cost down to a more realistic market price.

Cheers

Sarge

Thanks guys for your input, much appreciated

Sarge

I live in the north and of course costs do vary region from region so I'll analyze your labor cost of 12,000 baht (let's be optimistic!) as if it was being done in my village.

I pay 170 baht for most carpentry, concrete, electrical, plumbing, labor, etc. type work.....but.....putting in a farang toilet takes special skills so let's double the pay to 340 baht per day.....this should be more than enough to hire someone with some experience.

So....12,000 baht for labor paid at 340 baht per day means you could hire someone for 35 days working to install the toilet. Seems like alot but let's look at what all they must do.

Assuming that there is already a squat toilet in the room and that it is on the first floor so there is dirt under the floor then they have to break up enough of the floor and dig out enough dirt so they can add drain pipe from whereever the squat toilet is to the location for the new toilet.....this could be fairly easy or it could be alot of work depending on what is between them..like a bathtub or shower. Then they have to glue in the new pipes (one drain pipe and maybe a water supply pipe)which shouldn't take long and then they have to put some dirt back and then poor new concrete for the floor. Then they have to put in new tiling...maybe the entire floor if you want all the tile to match and if they do the entire floor then they need to remove all of the old tile. Once the new floor is tiled then you install the toilet and connect the water.

So, the expensive scenerio is that the squat and the new toilets are at opposite ends of the bathroom and you want to replace all the tile. Two people 3 days to break up the floor for the pipes and to remove all the tiles and the dirt. One person one day to put some dirt back and poor concrete do rebuild the floor. One person one day to retile the floor. One person one day to install the toilet. This meant it should take 9 worker days to do the job....but to be prudent let's double everything so then it would take 18 worker days.....still seems like the price is a bit high.

Let's take a minimalist look on costs. Let's say that you are going to get rid of the squat toilet and replace it with the farang toilet and you have some extra matching tiles or you don't care if there are a few tiles around the toilet base that don't match. One person two days to remove the squat and break out the floor and dig out the dirt. One person one day to modify the drain pipe for the farang toilet and replace the dirt and poor a new little section of floor. One person one day to lay about six tiles and install the toilet. So this takes 4 worker days and let's double this to 8 worker days.....This makes it seem like the labor cost of 12,000 baht is too high.

The variable which I have not covered very well is the water supply for the new toilet. If you have to break open a wall in a shower or behind a sink and then break open some more floor etc. then you could be adding four or five worker days to the job...or even more depending on just exactly what must be done......or on the other hand you might just run the pipe on the exterior surface of the wall and you might be able to get the supply pipe installed with one person in half a day.

Lot's of variables here and I hope I have given you some ideas about how to evaluate whether the labor price is appropriate.

Chownah

chownah,

great post, some of the things you mentioned I even didn't think about it. The bathroom is on the ground floor next to the kitchen (Isaan style) the room comprises a squat toilet, huge water open tank next to it (to scoop out water to flush down body fluids) and a sink). I guess they're going to remove the Thai toilet and replace it with a farang one. After I complained that the initial quotes were too high, we have found a family's friend who'll do it for 8k plus materials. I gave my fiancée 16k for the whole job; labour + materials.

Sarge