AmeriThai

There might be some expat forums specific to Saraburi, but I haven't heard of any, which you'll better understand below.

We spend our time split between Thailand and the US. We have a modest house at Hin Kong, in the district of Nong Khae, which is located south of the city of Saraburi, roughly halfway between Saraburi and Wang Noi along Hwy 1, although we're somewhat in the sticks. About the only time we go to Saraburi is to go the bank or pick up a few things at the talat there. IMO, as cities go, Saraburi is a bit on the small side. As a central location, Saraburi (city) makes it reasonably easy to get to Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Lopburi, Ayuttaya, or BKK. Travel to BKK, via Hwy 1, can take a couple of hours or so (by air-con bus), depending on how many stops are made along the way and BKK rush hours, although you may want to do your own driving. It's roughly 108 kilometers between Saraburi and BKK,

There are farangs scattered around the province, but I haven't seen many, other than occasional backpacking tourists passing through by bus. That's probably because there aren't a lot of things of special interest to foreigners in the province or the city. As you can probably assume, agriculture (rice farming) is the primary income producer in the province. For day-to-day interactions and activities, it's probably a good idea to brush up on your Thai language skills.

On the plus side, it's cheaper in the long run to live there. Since we have our own place, I can't really tell you about the availability of rental housing, although there are certainly some to be found. What about staying with your wife's family for a while to give yourself some time to look around. There might be some real estate agents that are located in Saraburi who handle rentals as well. It might also be worth checking TV's "Real Estate, housing and land ownership" forum. If there's nothing specific to Saraburi, then start a new thread of inquiry there. On the other hand, if most of your business dealings are in or near BKK, you might be better off finding a place that's closer to BKK.

The entire province or just the city? Why not just ask what you want to know about Saraburi here?

but since this may be my final holiday to Thailand I think I should do some of the tourist things.

Just curious, but why do you say this might be your final holiday to Thailand?

A few typical places to visit:

- Wat Traimit is small, but worth a visit to see the Gold Buddha

- Since you mentioned the Grand Palace, it's worth a visit

- If you visit the Grand Palace, then you might as well visit Wat Po with its gigantic reclining Buddha

- The Weekend Market at Chatuchak where you can mingle among the crush of hot sweaty people

- Maybe a dash to Ayuttaya to see some of the historical ruins. There's a lot in the area, but you can manage some of them on a day trip.

- Loads of other places that are out of the BKK area, but maybe not enough time for a 2-3 day spree

LOL! I forgot about April Fools Day. I was having a hard time imagining why on earth the Zoo would want to be so reckless to let "younger children" pet a panda.

My Thai wife and I are pushing close to 20 years of marriage. She just went over to Thailand last week. As soon as she arrived, she called me to let me know she arrived safely, and she called me a couple of days ago. We're both close in age. We were friends before we married, and have been very supportive to each other. We're still best friends, and I still see her as the love of my life. I feel very fortunate when I hear about things that didn't work out so well for others. We're growing old together, and enjoy sharing life together with each other. I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world. She's an excellent cook too.

ive had no luck with the rechargeables, after a few charges, theyve died

We picked up one about 4 years ago, still works like a champ. Has a light too that can be turned on and off. I'm not sure what the point is for having a light. Ours came in a plastic bag. I can't remember the cost, but it was cheap. I figured it'd be a piece of junk, but it's still going strong. The only problem was a part that holds the screw for the plug sort of broke, but I managed to rig it up again so we can still recharge it. Recharge time seems to be around 8-10 hours. It has two mesh wire screens (that's big enough for insects to get in) that sandwich a tight mesh wire screen (the zapper). Flys, spiders, and mozzies snap and pop like fireworks.

Thanks for the above advice, but although I am not the best DIY person I have already tried boiling water, bleach, the crystal drain unblocker and even a coat hanger. all pipes have been done as far as i can go as they now travel under the house and i don't think me ripping up the floor will go down to well with the owners!!

It sounds like it's just the kitchen sink pipes that are clogged, and that bathroom sink and toilet are draining fine. My guess is would be a buildup of grease, along with other slimy stuff like rice rinsed off from the dishes, etc. The crystal drain cleaners can take some time to break through, and may need more than one or two applications. If it still doesn't help, then a plumber may be the only other solution. My wife has a bad habit of pouring grease and oil down the drain, which ultimately ends up getting clogged. On one occasion the clog was in deep and required having to tear things apart to some degree to get to it. We have screens in the sink now to prevent rice and so forth from going down the drain only to get stuck by the grease. Grease is now poured into a metal pot with a lid. If you opt for the plumber, I too would be interested i hearing the results. Never know when it might be handy to know someone who can get the job done.

How about areas east of Don Meung/Rangsit, slightly NE of Sapan Mai? Loads of gated townhouse communities, some with community swimming pools. Some farangs in the area, but I haven't seen too many there. Traffic is busy during morning and evening rush hours, but nothing like Bangkok proper. Reasonably close to expressways, malls, etc. I'd say air quality is somewhat similar to Nonthaburi, both of which are certainly better than Bangkok, IMO. Good Internet connections too.

Hi AmeriThai,

I actually don't object to being around expats. I actually enjoyed many of the expats I met in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and a few in Pattaya.

What is the condo situation in that area? Quiet serviced apartments would be one alternative.

If you mean high rise apartments condos, I can't think of any in particular. Most of the gated communities I mentioned include resident owned townhouse style residences and free-standing houses. I don't know if any are actually rented out, although I suppose it's possible in some areas. Most locations I can think of seem to have staff that clean up along the streets, some trim shrubs and plants in front of the townhouse lot walls (streetside). No interior service that I know of, although you might be able to arrange that.

I enjoy meeting expats as well. I've seen some farangs in that area, but not many. And there are some Thais who do speak English. The point was only for the benefit that it might not be great for farangs who don't speak Thai very well. Other than my son-in-law, I just haven't met any locals who speak English, or not very well for those who do.

I live in a 2 bedroom apartment complex with a swimming pool at Nonthaburi. Paying Baht7000/mth.

Big C, Carrefour, Central is near. Can get connected to True Internet which is what I have, very consistent between 3-4Mbps. A few farangs here too.

What is the air quality, traffic and noise level like?

The reason I keep harping on air quality, I have had one bad case of pneumonia many years ago .. and chemical bronchitis during my last stay in BKK (about 8 years ago).

How about areas east of Don Meung/Rangsit, slightly NE of Sapan Mai? Loads of gated townhouse communities, some with community swimming pools. Some farangs in the area, but I haven't seen too many there. Traffic is busy during morning and evening rush hours, but nothing like Bangkok proper. Reasonably close to expressways, malls, etc. I'd say air quality is somewhat similar to Nonthaburi, both of which are certainly better than Bangkok, IMO. Good Internet connections too.

Screens on the inside could be a hassle for sliding windows depending on the kind of screens. We have flyscreens on the inside as well. <snip>

G'day Amerithai.

Are you back in the jungle?

Greeting GungaDin! I wish I were. Feeling a bit homesick. No, I'm still stuck abroad with pressing matters. The Mrs. is over there for 5 weeks.

Screens on the inside could be a hassle for sliding windows depending on the kind of screens. We have flyscreens on the inside as well. But the screens are on hinges and have handles which allow them to be easily opened inward. Security bars are installed between the screens and windows, are hinged and secured with sliding bolts that allow for opening in case of emergency. The windows are on the outside abd hinged to open outward. Hooks attached to the bottom of the windows can be slid into slots on the window frame to keep the windows open. Latches secure the windows when closed. The arrangement means having the screens opened when opening or closing the windows, but it's so brief that insects don't really have time to get in, and hinges help simplify things but still provide security.

Best wishes and hopes for a quick restoration to good health for HRM.

Im sure the original post said horses, but do not see an edit-?? Maybe the brew factor was working at the time??

Things can look different like that. A few brews and even an ugly girl can start looking like a super model.

Do you know anything more about the fire?

Thanks, AmeriThai. I actually understood "hoses", but the reference to "horses" makes one wonder if certain folks may need specs .. and/or a bit less brew?

That's been known to happen.

Can someone please translate this thread for me? :D

Looks like Mumbo and Harrry just misspelled the word, "houses". A bit humorous. On the serious side though, the loss of property and possessions from any major fire like that would be bad enough. Injury or loss of life would be worse, although there was no indication of anything like that. I tried doing a search online, but couldn't find any articles about it - just links to this thread.

Yeah, burning horses put off extremely large plumes of smoke, make sure u dont breath the smoke.

There's nothing worse than burning horses.

Hi guys,

cheers first of all for the well wishes - the wedding will take place just outside of lampang in mid november...

The reception area is a little isolated from the inlaw's house, albeit there is a 'stranger's' house in the adjacent plot, who of course, is not really a stranger, but not a relative. This house would be the most logical place to have the bog installed as it would be during the reception time that all the beers will be sunk...

I shall look into all the options suggested so far, please keep 'em coming!

cheers

Just curious, but there are no other houses near the house of the non-relative? Regardless, I would imagine they'd be receptive to having a western style toilet installed. Depending on how much space there is, installing a separate shed with the western style toilet would be ideal if a fairly good numner of people are expected for the reception party.

Several years ago, we hosted a bash on a vacant piece of land that was located next to a small compound of about 5 or 6 houses. The party was spread out over a 4-day period, 2 days being the most active. Everyone was more than happy to be involved in the event. Two houses were directly next to the vacant land, one belonged to my sister-in-law, and the other to friend who is not related. My sister-in-law had the usual small-sized hong nam with the traditional squat pot, no lights, large pots containing water, etc. The neighbor's hong nam was a bit larger, more modern, with electric lights, a western-style sit-down (but non-flushing) toilet, and an improvised shower area. There were about 500 people that showed up for the party. Needless to say, people need to relieve themselves from time to time. You might not be expecting as many people as we had, but there was an obvious advantage in having additional, but separate hong nams available.

As stated here by others, the cost to put up a new one is not really expensive, and will probably be used and appreciated long after your reception party is over. Whatever you decide to do, you should get it done it rather soon since time can pass by rather quickly. If the house of family friend is part of a group of houses, then that may be helpful as well. It wouldn't be too surprising that the party will continue on well after the bride and groom have left. While most of the attendees will be locals, there will probably be friends and relatives from all over the country attending the event as well, not to mention your parents. Word of special events such like this gets around pretty quick.

Hmmmm sinsot just for show, so in reality the net sum will be 0. Now you have your answer..

Not always Brit. It depends on how much a family relies on the girl's income.

I was always told that Sin Sot is for two purposes: To show your perceived worth of the bride (especially in Chinese families_ - i.e. face; and secondly to pay the family for the loss of a daughter from their hearth (i.e. traditionally the wife would move to the husband's family and thus they would loose her 'work' (now possibly income of course) that she used to contribute).

I agree about the perceived worth in a well-to-do family, middle class and up. However, with regard to a lost income when the daughter leaves home, I'd be inclined to guess it depends on how significant her income is to the family. If she's the family's primary source of income, then I doubt very much, if any of the sin sod would be returned, especially if the groom is a farang. Also, if the bride retains her career, then I doubt the family is going to be losing their source of income, although they might emphasize that. If anything, she'll most likely continue sending money home, and may even up the amount since her personal living expenses would be greatly reduced. In other words, in many cases, the end result is more likely to be that not only will they receive the sin sod, but their daughter will still be their primary source of income. For them, the marriage may be more like hitting the jackpot. An intermediary may be able to reduce the amount of the sin sod, but for families below middle class and dependent on their daughter's income, the sin sod is about the only thing that's going to be reduced.

In the case of the nurse the OP is talking about, nothing was said about her family. If they are middle class or greater, then it's a different matter.

I fell like a kicker who's been iced. Was ready to lay down some fun tracks, but some of the steam has gone out of my locomotive.

In my former town in northern California, about 1/20th the size of C.Rai, there were dozens of independent little studios (and a few larger ones). Any one of which would be glad to get some added business, and possibly have some fun in the process.

Since you're able to play all the instruments and and vocals, and have done some jamming, I presume you have more than a passing interest in music to be concerned that a little steam has gone out of your locomotive because some of the local studios are busy, not interested, etc. That should be all the more incentive to have your own recorder.

Yah yah! Listen to track number two on this link.

This is what I did 12 or more years ago in my boy room in a cellar without anything but my computer and racks. No studio. Still works.

I was able to hear track two. Sounds like techno jazz. Nice work! I agree that impressive recordings can be made at home with a computer and racks without needing to go to a studio to have it done. That's not to say there are no advantages to using a studio, but technology today has certainly made it a lot easier for anyone to make some great sounding recordings.

I'm with those who have suggested going with your own home digital recording studio.

Advantages:

- You can do multitracks.

- Add some nice effects.

- Do your own mixing.

- Record on your own time whenever the mood hits you or you feel inspired.

You'll need to add your own mic and instruments.

You'll also need space that's fairly quiet and won't disturb neighbors.

Not sure how available the following are in Thailand.

Boss BR-1600CD

Pretty much ready to go right out of the box. 16 tracks with up to 256 virtual tracks. 40GB hard drive. Built-in R/RW drive to cut your own CDs. This one runs around US$1200, but can be found much cheaper on EBay.

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=574

Korg D3200

Also ready to use out of the box, although it's more for the technical minded in my opinion. Still, 32 tracks, records up to 272 tracks via 8 v-tracks per track, 80GB hard drive. Pricewise, around US$1600 (I think). Again, you can find them cheaper on EBay.

http://www.korg.com/product.aspx?&pd=223

Digidesign Mbox 2

These differ from those above in that it's based on using your computer. A few models to choose from: Mbox 2 Mini (USB based), Mbox 2 (USB based & MIDI interface), MBox 2 Pro (FireWire based). I'm thinking about getting the Mbox 2 Pro Factory. Don't bother with the Mbox 2 Micro, it's not what you'd want. Install all the software on your computer. Can lay down multiple tracks. Plug your mics and instruments in. You'll need to cut CDs with your own computer, but I think it includes software to do the job easier.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php...ox&go=Go%21

There's plenty of digital recording software around, but they don't include the hardware you can plug into, so that's something you'd need to add. And you'd want to be sure the software is compatible with your computer's sound cards, etc.

Overall drawbacks compared to Thai recording studios you've looked at:

- Probably more expensive than the studios you've looked at, but that all depends on how much recording time you'd ultimately use (especially if you need more than one take).

- You'll need some time playing around with these tools. Fortunately, there are forums, as well as a variety of reading material and videos that can be helpful.

As far as I know, there are only two in Thailand on display in a Wat. Not sure where. They are not mummies. They are suppose to be seed pods that look like tiny women. I don't know if they are actually seed pods either. According to my wife, they were brought to Thailand from India as a gift to the Wat. As far as I know, again according to my wife, the Wat doesn't actually claim these were ever living creatures, but rather are on display as fake things that can be seen in Thailand. They are supposed to grow from flowers on a tree. I've seen photos of the greenish-white pods hanging from a tree, but there was no information about where the tree can be seen. The trees are also said to grow in Petchaboon province. Maybe. But my wife doesn't believe it. I have no idea if the photos of the tree is real or just a photoshopped image. But as I said, there are two of them on display in Thailand. If these are real pods, they certainly have a strange but interesting shape to them. There's a legend about how these things came to be as they are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11AFooDM_i0

4 months on with the Mosq-eraser.....

Very effective, I also run the large bug light from Tesco at 600bt, that too is very good.

No zapping noise!

My house & carport are now virtually free of mossies.

The Mosq might not be good in the bedroom because of the fan noise.

Tip! Leave both on 24/7, you'll get longer bulb life that way.

GungaDin, thanks for the success report about the Mosq Eraser! Too many mossies to count, eh?

I looks for the Light in Uttaradit and Si Nakhon too, but i dont found. Only White and violet Light

SiamPower

Get some yellow paper and place over the globe or fluro until you can get the real thing. Yellow repels bugs and ultra/violet light attracts bugs.

Sounds too risky to me. You'd need to be absolutely sure the paper doesn't touch the lightbulb. The paper should be a good distance from the bulb. Otherwise it could heat up enough to set the paper on fire, and possibly your house as well.