connda

Well, don't have to worry about this for another year. Hellllloooooo Songkran!

I just use ebay for my supplements. I buy loads of fish oil capsules for a fraction of the Thai price.

How much do you end up paying for fish oil including postage? Watson's does 200 x 1g caps for 550 baht.

I got 900 at 1426 baht. So i saved a bit. 900 at watsons would be 2475. Its not a great deal (must say most of the fish oil i seen was more expensive than the one you mentioned.

Is customs hitting you up for any fees?

Da_m! Still here?

Everyone is spending too much money. I had an inguinal hernia repaired at Mahajah Government Hospital in Chiang Mai in 2010. Cost for the operation plus three days in a private room - 18000 baht (~ $600). I paid out of pocket. Very professional.

Not everyone is spending too much....I have medical aid paid for by the company...so in reality cost me nothing...including the "VIP" private room

I have an in-patient policy with a deductible. The deductible would have cost me more at a private hospital than the out-of-pocket expense at the government hospital. And for someone without insurance? It's the only way to go imho.

Anyway, you'll find the doctors at Maharaj government hospital also working at Chiang Mai RAM private hospital. Revolving door.

Hit the wrong button. Duplicate post.

Agree with you that balanced diet and regular workout is essential. But if you have certain goals then supplements can help you to reach this a little faster and easier - I don't know if that is cheating already. I personally think the only supplements that are worth their money are: Whey, creatine, BCAAs, multivitamin tablets and maybe glutamine when dieting.

I am dieting right now and planning to go for competition next year but even my supplements are very basic (whey, L-carnitine, multivitamin, ginger and gotu kola tablets, 7-keto) and I am trying to get as much as I can out from food. The stuff is also really expensive here in Thailand...

I'm going to chime in on this. Supplements can be expensive. If I only had the money to buy one supplement, it would be creatine. If I had the money to buy two supplements, I would buy creatine and a high quality whey isolate. Man, supplements are expensive back home, but in Thailand -- holy cow -- Pang Mak Mak!!!

@connda,

Talking about misinformation... reaching muscle failure each and every training day will be hard and will lead to over training. How do you define muscle failure ?

About training shedules.. there are so many out there. I am sure you have tried many too. Some work for you and some don't. I done many too and must say the one i do now keeps working the longest so far. Does not mean i will go on with it forever. If i get bored with it i might have to change.

You are right about being consistent that is the biggest problem and it affects me too. Actually it affects me more then i want at least once a year something happens that gets me off training for a month or so. (mostly my parents visiting for a month and going with them on a holiday). I think many people have stuff like this. Its bad.. but almost unavoidable.

@robblok

I understand what you're saying, but you could write pages upon pages regarding techniques to use based on the goals you want to reach. And there is good info in this thread, and some of it is silliness. This 40 something year old guy is looking to bulk. But a 40 year old needs to train differently than a 20 year old. A body builder is going to train differently than a power lifter. I trained throughout my 40s. Been there, done that.

Muscle failure -- lifting in isolation until the muscle fail to contract anymore. I use that technique -- it works to bulk. No I don't over-train. Look up Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy. Actually I should have just recommended that @sidjameson look that term up and do his own research.

Over-training: One other reason I don't over train. The schedule I gave is an example. I do a couple of things that prevents me from over training. First, I listen to my body. If the muscle group is fatigued and sore, I either push the training out a day or two, or I train less intensively. Lower the weight, up the reps. Second, I don't do the same routine over and over again. I mix it up. I try to attack the muscles at different angles on different days. Maybe I concentrate on inclined bench presses one day, and decline benches the next training day. I hit each muscle group with three to four different exercises if I'm training for intensity, but I will mix those exercise up the next training day. I usually will have a primary compound movement lift, followed by isolation lifts. Attack the muscles at different angles, listen to your body, mix it up -- you won't over-train. Jing jing!

And taking a month off every year really isn't so bad -- well, as long as your not swilling brew and eating pizza. If you train consistently and go off for a month, you whole body recovers. When you get back into gym, you'll probably see some great gains in strength, mass, or both.

I hear ya...we're on the same page!

A lot of misinformation out there. First, don't be too serious. Your not shooting to be a world class body builder. I've been weight training for 30 years. I'm now 60. I weight train to maintain the muscle I have. With that said:

• Get a gym membership so you have access to free weight and machines
  
• Supplement with Creatine Monohydrate. 2 to 5 mg / day. This supplement helps with muscle endurance. You can crank out more reps with higher intensity
  
• Train upper and lower body on alternate days. Example:
  
  • Day 1: upper body
    
  • Day 2: lower body
    
  • Day 3: Cardio
    
  • Day 4: upper body
    
  • Day 5 Cardio
    
  • Day 6: lower body
    
  • Day 7: rest
    

  [*]Train between 3 to 6 sets per muscle group using 8 to 12 reps

  [*]Isolate the muscle you are training by using slow, deliberate lifts

  • Count of 3 lifting / count of 3 lowering
    

  [*]Use sufficient weight to fully fatigue the muscle by the last lift of you repetition. You should reach muscle failure.

  [*]After your workout, eat a high protein meal. Watch your eating though. Posters will tell you that you need to eat, eat, eat!!! Yeah, if you're in your 20s. How old are you? As you get older, as you eat,eat, eat, where do you think that food is going -- some muscle, a lot of fat. Your gonna put both muscle and fat on, but you need to watch how much. It's a balancing act as you get older. Eat high quality, nutrition dense foods. Watch your carbs and don't skip the cardio.

  [*]Be patient. Gauge you progress in months, not days. Take pictures now, then one month, two month, three month. You'll see progress over time.

  [*]Be consistent. If you train hard this week, and get lazy next week -- don't bother. Make a schedule and stick to it for at least 3 months. Then modify what your doing to meet you future goals.

Have fun!

Everyone is spending too much money. I had an inguinal hernia repaired at Mahajah Government Hospital in Chiang Mai in 2010. Cost for the operation plus three days in a private room - 18000 baht (~ $600). I paid out of pocket. Very professional.

Humm, if it was the daughter of a rural farmer, the payout would have been closer to 100,000 baht. The university student must have a daddy who is a "somebody".

And good luck getting that 9 million baht. But interesting precedent. The judge must watch reruns of Judge Judy on satellite TV. That's getting up there with the payouts in US civil court. However, in the US, the bus company would have an insurance policy that would probably have paid out that much and more.

Just go into a hilltribe village and arrest every male over the age of 10. Then you have a good chance of catching the culprit. Burning the forest is a way of life for these people and they donot care about the health of themselves or others.

There isn't a hill tribe member within 150 kilometers of my wife's village, but the locals are lighting up the fires in the National forest with glee. Don't make the hill tribes your "whipping boy". There is plenty of blame to be handed out to everyone engaged in burning. Using your model, the government should arrest every farming family in rural Thailand. Get real.

This never happens in Thailand, does it?

I got a note from one of the posters asking me for an epilog. So here we go...

Wife is up and wife is down. The "Silent Treatment" lasted less than one day and by the following evening she was her old, happy self. Well, until she woke up the next day, and suddenly I have a quiet, unhappy wife on the verge of tears and quite uncommunicative. And again, by the evening she started to settle out and talk again. This morning she is fine.

As probably is apparent, my wife has her demons to deal with, as do we all. I'll share this much: A mother who told my wife (as a child) that she didn't love her and then kicked her out of the house at 15 year old to go live with her father; her first son died at 7 years old on my wife's birthday. The son lived with an Aunt while my wife worked in Bangkok (not a bargirl guys so don't go there). 24 years later and the grief and regret she experiences is truly sorrowful. Yeah, she has her demons, but she's a fighter and has worked very hard to support her surviving son.

To answer another poster, we've been together for 5 years. It's been good and bad, smooth and rocky. My wife is very un-Thai in that she thinks and plans. Yes! A Thai person who actually thinks into the future -- hard to believe. But there is a curse associated with that trait -- worry. So I have a wife who is ripped apart by the past, who has a love/hate relationship with a mother who is a nasty, hateful women (even folks in the village dislike her because she treats everyone bad), who is torn apart by grief and regret for her dead son, and who thinks too much. Yep, that's the gal I married. And she has developed a thick skin while outwardly (public side of her) she is a friendly, smiling, and one of the most service oriented Thais (at her business) that I have ever met. She's like one of those hard lemon drop candies (hard but sweet and sour on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside). But she can get her Thai Sulk on with the best of them. So we take one day at a time. I care for her, and she loves me like any Thai women does her man (no comment needed on this -- you know what I mean). We'll work our way though these little struggles and will both come out the other end stronger. And there you have it!

I'd like to thank all the posters who replied. I re-read the entire thread this morning -- A lot of thoughtful, intelligent people out there for the most part. I appreciate it -- Cheers!

<24 years later and the grief and regret she experiences is truly sorrowful.>

Speaking from experience, some women never get "over" it. Something that is not understood by most that have never had to deal with that situation.

Yeah, well we're in a unique club. She lost her first son 24 years ago, and I lost my 18 year old daughter (and my only child) in a one car accident 15 years ago this May 21st. That's not a club you want to belong too. And trust me, I understand exactly where she is coming from on that issue. There is no miscommunication with us on children we have outlived. And it's not a "women" thing. I'll never be over it either, but...I've come to terms with it better than she has. It would make it easier on me if the young man that was driving the car she died in would have the decency to talk with me, but it seems he has no spine to speak of. I don't know what to think of him: coward, craven, chicken-shit, pussy, nancy-boy! I can only imagine what will be going through his head the first time one of his children get in a car with another testosterone infused teenager who likes to drive fast. But not my problem. Now you probably understand why I have a bit of a thick skin. You don't go down that path and come back unscathed.

"Hummm, I've no idea where the body came from. Must have been there before I bought the house...and the gun too."

I got a note from one of the posters asking me for an epilog. So here we go...

Wife is up and wife is down. The "Silent Treatment" lasted less than one day and by the following evening she was her old, happy self. Well, until she woke up the next day, and suddenly I have a quiet, unhappy wife on the verge of tears and quite uncommunicative. And again, by the evening she started to settle out and talk again. This morning she is fine.

As probably is apparent, my wife has her demons to deal with, as do we all. I'll share this much: A mother who told my wife (as a child) that she didn't love her and then kicked her out of the house at 15 year old to go live with her father; her first son died at 7 years old on my wife's birthday. The son lived with an Aunt while my wife worked in Bangkok (not a bargirl guys so don't go there). 24 years later and the grief and regret she experiences is truly sorrowful. Yeah, she has her demons, but she's a fighter and has worked very hard to support her surviving son.

To answer another poster, we've been together for 5 years. It's been good and bad, smooth and rocky. My wife is very un-Thai in that she thinks and plans. Yes! A Thai person who actually thinks into the future -- hard to believe. But there is a curse associated with that trait -- worry. So I have a wife who is ripped apart by the past, who has a love/hate relationship with a mother who is a nasty, hateful women (even folks in the village dislike her because she treats everyone bad), who is torn apart by grief and regret for her dead son, and who thinks too much. Yep, that's the gal I married. And she has developed a thick skin while outwardly (public side of her) she is a friendly, smiling, and one of the most service oriented Thais (at her business) that I have ever met. She's like one of those hard lemon drop candies (hard but sweet and sour on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside). But she can get her Thai Sulk on with the best of them. So we take one day at a time. I care for her, and she loves me like any Thai women does her man (no comment needed on this -- you know what I mean). We'll work our way though these little struggles and will both come out the other end stronger. And there you have it!

I'd like to thank all the posters who replied. I re-read the entire thread this morning -- A lot of thoughtful, intelligent people out there for the most part. I appreciate it -- Cheers!

Most of the people I know are delighted to tell you about the positive influences that they're parents have upon them. I was very lucky, very very laucky with parents.

I did point out that my fathers only real flaw was that he was too Directional, he wanted to run my life for me. As a result of that I was too easy on my kids.

Anyone pretending that their parents had no influence on them is a moron.

Even people that never knew their parents would have been influenced by that fact.

That being said, your personality then kicks in and it is up to you how you react or deal with the influences. Some people who have had difficult upbringings then play the part of the victim for the rest of their lives. Others use it as motivation and get on with life, and do fantastically well.

So the people that say buck up your ideas and get on with life......I'm on your side, but we are not all the same personality types.....so make space for other opinions too.

Agreed!

How can anyone complain of silence in this country???

Unfortunately when mine goes into "Silent Mode", the TV usually go on, channel changed to a good, sappy Thai soap, and the volume goes up. Ha ha ha!

About 25 years ago my sister convince me to attend a support group of adults who had shitty childhoods. I attended a few sessions with her; 2 hours of crying and moaning and finger-pointing and complaining about how their parents had wronged them.

I really did appreciate my sister taking me to those groups; I quit going after I decided that, "No, my emotional conditions are NOT my parents FAULT." I am who I am. Many factors produced the person I was 25 years ago, and the person I am today. The ONLY person responsible for my emotional state is -- Me!

My wife had a shitty childhood, and the only person responsible for her emotional state is -- Her.

Buck up and develop thicker skins gents. And by the way -- wife is back to normal today! Hurrah!!!

I don't worry anymore -- don't drink. And for everybody else -- most of the bars on Kaow San or your local bar if they pay Tea Money. But why not just take the day off, sip a Coke, and enjoy a day of sobriety.

Let's put things into perspective. The MP vote themselves 50 million baht worth of iPads and iPhones. In order to control the haze, a reward of 5000 baht is offered to turn in offenders.

What's wrong with this picture?

In a country like the US, setting fire to a national forest is arson. Rewards upward of $10000 are offered for the identification and prosecution of offenders. That would be about 300,000 baht. So, make turning in offender worthwhile. 5000 baht is peanuts for becoming a snitch, even to poor villagers. But 50,000 baht? 100,000 baht. With those sums they might start catching the folks setting the fires to the forests. And blaming it on the wealthy. Scapegoating! I'm sure it happens, but most of the fires set in the forests around the village I live in are set by the locals clearing the undergrowth in order to harvest mushrooms during the rainy season. No "Wealthy" folk involved. And I'm definitely not a proponent of the practice considering the abysmal air quality in our village in Lamphun, and the fact that two years ago we lost 1/3 of my wifes Lumyai orchard to a fire that came down out of the Khun Tan national forest. And this year the locals are burning up the Khun Tan national forest with unusual zeal. It's like pissing in your bath water -- Very ignorant people out here.

The government should reallocate some of money earmarked for pork barrel spending (like iPads for MPs), and use those moneys to focus on re-education efforts with the farmers. Instead of burning field, the farmers need to be shown how to recycle the organic materials into composts which will ultimately increase their crop yields. The farmers are "ignorant" not stupid. Slash and burn has been done for so long it's engrained into their culture. But there are too many people and farms to continue the practice. The government need to act as an agent of change. There is a solution to this problem.

Come-on fellas -- jump on the gravy-train at the taxpayer's expense. Why stop at iPads and iPhones -- Why not cars, home stereo systems, TVs, laptop computers -- you know, everything you need to be an effective MP.

By the way, this isn't unique to Thailand. Politicians world-wide are parasites who feed off of society. Nowadays they don't even try to cover it up -- they simply do it in the open. What a slap to the face of the general population. There is absolutely no shame to these creeps.

Gosh, guys, have you ever actually thought of asking the little lady what's on her mind and then listening -- really listening? You know, a real live conversation?

For example, the OP could have gotten a conversation going by saying something like "yeah, it was a real bummer that I couldn't play Songkran last year. That dengue fever really hit me hard. I'm feeling great now and really looking foward to Songkran this year. What would you like to do for Songkran?"

All this heat, smoke and dusty air (at least up here in the north) probably got the lady thinking about how much she's looking forward to Songkran. Then she remembered how she didn't enjoy it last year, then she thought about why and then....... (clearly she forgot her thii rak was ill during the holiday)

Think you know nothing about Thai women.

Well obviously I'm not a Thai woman, but I am friends with some. They aren't all that much different than western women of similar age, education and socio-economic class when it comes to interaction with men.

I know better than to try to converse once the wife is in "The Mood." I just keep it light, talk to her like normal, and wait for her to snap out of it. Anyway, I have a very good friend of mine from the US who is coming over with her husband for Songkran. She'll just put an arm around my wife and talk her into having fun, and that will be that. What I thought was interesting was after having a really nice day together, she went to the bathroom to shower and worked herself into "The Mood" about something that happened almost a year ago. An angel went into the shower and a mɛ̂ɛmót came out -- na-glua maak maak. It really confused that heck out of me, but I just kept a smile on and I'll let her work through whatever she needs to work through. I really am a pretty understanding guy.

Actualy my wife and i speak to each other properly ,not in pidgeon english

That's impossible. You couldn't possible know pidgeon English as that is only spoken by the birds in Trafalgar Square in London.

Do you mean Pidgin English?

Da_m!!! My bad. Although I did speak pidgeon to the pigeons in Trafalgar Square whence I was I young lad during a Buckingham College field trip. Oh so many moons ago.

Actualy my wife and i speak to each other properly ,not in pidgeon english

I speak in proper English to her. She speaks what she speaks to me, usually minus English articles (a, an, the), mixed tenses, and misplaced adverbs and adjective. But I understand what she is saying, and I like the way she talks. Me? I don't do pidgeon, and I don't recommend that any English speaker do. It's makes one sound....I'm thinking of a word......Stupid! LOL