kikoman

I lived in Sattahip for 3 years and went to the Queen Sirikit Hospital in Kilo Sip (Ten Kilometers past Sattahip going towards Rayong) for medical treatment, I paid cash for treatment and medication ,the cost of a doctors visit was 20 baht, never received in hospital care.

My brother had a heart attack at his residence, in Sattahip, kilo Hok, he was taken to the Queen Sirikit Hospital where he received in-hospital treatment for a week, Which was very inexpensive for treatment for a heart attack, and in hospital after care.

I still have my registration card for eligibility for medical treatment at that facility.I also received treatment,

I also receive treatment at the Royal Thai Navy Hospital in Sattahip (proper) Instead of turning left into Sattahip You turn right towards the Sattahip Naval Base, the hospital is on the right,you do not have to enter the Naval Base it Self.

Cheers:

I understand what you are saying ,same conclusion I came too, It is not a question of just medical care, Some one will have to pay for your treatment, If the State dose not.

Why at my age of 72 spent all the money, I saved to take care of my family when I am gone, to seek to prolong my life at the expense of my familys well being.

I have seen this done so many times, and I will not even think of doing that, my wife is of a different opinion that the medical treatment is more important. But on this subject I am the one making the decision ,without the emotion and guilt free.

I also advised my children not to come to Thailand for my Funeral, If they come to Thailand, I want them to come while I am still alive,So I can enjoy their visit!

I do not mean to try to put words in your mouth, but that is the under standing I get from your post, Not to have your passing on, impact negatively financially on your family.

If I am wrong ,please forgive my misunderstanding!

Cheers:

My wife dose, she puts x amount of dollars in the house expenses only jar, the rest of the money we both agree on how it will be spent, what are the priories. She can account for almost every satang she spends as, she keeps a book on all the money she spends (her own idea).

It been that way for 5 years, no problems!

Cheers:

One must remember when driving in Thailand or anywhere else to have the proper documents required by the power to be, that give you the right to drive, If you are not licenced or insured, if it is required you are at fault, I do not know if that is the law in Thailand.

But it is in the State of Arizona, if you do not meet the legal requirments by law, YOU ARE AT FAULT!

If you had not been on the street the accident would not have happened, No matter who caused the accident.The other driver may have cause the accident but you will be cited.

So when you drive in Thailand make sure you are legally eligible to do so.

Cheers:

I was asked many times for my passport to be checked by Thai police or Army troops at the checkpoint going to Cambodia ,the only other time I was checked when the police stopped a bus I was on checking all farangs after the bank robbery by some Russians in Pattaya, in which they murdered a police officer about 6-7 years ago.

Why are normal doing their duty is seen as a scram by farangs, if you were not complying with the law of proving you are in the country legally, Who would be at fault you or the policeman?

A scam would be a attempt to extort money, which by your description of the incident never happened, I can not tell your the number of times I have been stopped by US police to be checked in affluent neighborhoods as a suspicious person, when I have never been stopped in ethnic neighborhoods for the same reason. Most of you would agree that the US officers were doing their job. but when it happens to you there has to be another sinister motive!

Cheers:

I am receiving medical care at the Thai Army hospital, very good medical care and a lot cheaper then the farang oriented hospitals. I have received same quality treatment in Sattahip prior to my moving north.

One of my brothers suffered a heart attack and received great medical care at the hospital in Sattahip and his week stay was not expensive.

At my age, I do not understand the wish for expensive medical care. None of us are going to leave this world alive. I would rather pass away than live as a vegetable. When your time is up, its up!

I feel healthy enough and hope I live at least 10 more years, but I am making arrangements all ready, for that date with destiny we must all face.

I wish you good health, with your present medical condition, that your decision not just be based on money-instead be based on where you will be happier when the end comes be it your home country or Thailand.

I have already made my decision and it will be in Thailand.

Again I wish you good health, enjoy your life while you can!

Cheers:

<snip>

I find Falang do not attempt to interact with Thais on a person to person basis, as a result they miss out on the opportunity of making friends with the local Thais, and fulfill their social needs for friends or to try to change Thais into doing things their way.

I enjoy my life as it is in my village, just like it is!

Cheers:

I would very much like to interact with Thais on a person to person basis, but the reality is we are unable to communicate much beyond smiles and hand gestures since I speak only a very little Thai, or they speak little or no English. We seem to enjoy each others presence but after a few minutes we just sit there looking at each other and feeling uncomfortable. For that reason I have had to seek out other farangs, just to be able to communicate with and to have more areas of common interest. Just a few friends, two or three are fine because I am not into group activities, etc.

I do not speak Thai, I am Hearing Impaired with nerve damage that hearing aids do not rectify. I get along on what little Thai I know and my sign language gestures. My wife usually accompanies me as we get together on a family basis and she interpetes for me.

Where there is a will there is a way!

Good luck:

Cheers:

As a business owner ,you do not understand that your customers are doing you a favor by dining at your place, you should be the one saying thanks to them.

Have you ever thought that your attitude is what causes other people to dislike you, also that going away for a long period of time, what is your girl friend to do in her loneliness, wait for your return or find another boy friend.

If you think the west is safer than Thailand you are greatly mistaken, The Bronx New York? 5 years ago I spent a month in Tucson Az, and there was a crimewave going on, with many murders, drive-by shootings,

rapes, robberies etc.

Why would the US (land of the free) have the largest prison population in the world?

Sources:The US Gulag Prison System: http://www.globalresearch.ca?PrintArticle.php?articleId=2113

Incarcerated America: http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/usa/incarceration/

Crime in Thailand is not comparable to crime in the west?

Cheers:

Some of the post on the thread are the exact reason I love the village having a masters degree from an US university, having held political office, having been employed in the DVA system, I have no need to discuss what time it is in New York or anything else going on in the world, Been there,Done that.

Life in the village is not for everyone, If you need someone else ( from the West) to help complete your meaning for life by all means go back to Pattaya, if you can make happiness for yourself out of your own element, by all means come back to the village.

If anyone can claim that life in Bangkok, Pattaya or Chiang Mai is less polluted and quieter than the village,

It makes me question other points in their post.

When in the village one dose not knock on someones door and aggressively complain about motor bikes speeding around at night, confrontation only lead to more confrontation. If one has a problem, have your wife talk to the village headman about it and if he see your complaint has merit ,he will talk to the neighbors.

One thing you need to understand you as a falang do not own your house your wife dose, no matter who she brought it from. So action that work in the West are not the actions one is to use in the village.

Cheers:

Thanks for the info, I will try the, Chia Tai Waxy corn as in my area the plants ,Pinto Beans,Zucchini squash (even Thai varieties) grow good to about 6-8 inches high and then die.

My wife has been very successful in planting Thai Sweet corn, We will purchase the Thai seed and see if she can get the same results..

Also if you can let me know how the Mexican seeds turn out. My brother lives in the northwest mountains and all grows well there, but here outside of Nakhon Sawan, we have no luck, we even gave the seeds to some local farmers with green thumbs and the same thing happened.

Thanks again for the lead we will try it!

Cheers:

I would say that the girl cared for you but your refusal to help her Mom in her time of need and your long absences. Gave her time to consider her options, a boy friend that I can not depend on to help my mother and is gone for long periods of time without sending a least the basic sum for her living needs, her loneliness during your absence.

Was a disaster waiting to happen. Do not get a Girl friend in LOS if you are not going to be here most of the time. You must also remember that Thai families are very close and the children will take care of the parents in their old age.

Mark it down as a learning experience and do not get into a relationship with a Thai girl without taking into consideration of what her culture is all about.

I wish you luck and godspeed in getting over your feelings for her, she has someone else and moved on. you need to do the same!

Again good luck!

Cheers:

I live in a small village going on 5 years now, I do not have the problem of being awaken by the speaker at 6;00 AM ,as I am up at 5 in the morning. If I had problems sleeping late (need of more sleep) I would go to bed earlier the night before, thus getting my alloted hours of sleep per night,This a rice growing village, and the whole village is up and working, a that time in the morning. I would not think of asking the village to change their ways to appease me. I chose to live there and not visa-versa. The smoke in the village is something ,I live with as part of the rice growing cycle in my area , two rice crops are grown each year,

I am the only falang in the village and I do not need other falangs so I can make friends! I have more friends than I need with my Thai friends, family and nieghbors.I occassionally see other falangs in Lat Yao and they do not seek any interaction and niether do I.

For food I like Thai food, and my wife has learned to cook Mexican food, So I have no problem in seeking Western food. also I make a lot of my own food, Kim Chee,Mayo,mustard dip for my chicken nuggets my wife buys frozen in Lat Yao, I make my own pizzas, pickled pigs feet, pickles, bacon, and have a ham curing now.

I find that village life is great for me as I do not need other falangs to make me happy. give the Thais a chance and you will find some very good, caring , understanding friends as I have. I do not go to any larger cities with a big expat population, except to Bangkok to get needed visa information from my Embassy and do some shopping for foods not available locally.

My wife has a large garden and grows a lot of our own food, we have all kinds of fruit trees that we get a lot of seasonal fruit ,what we do not have we trade with our family and friends.

I find falangs do not attempt to interact with Thais on a person to person basis, as a result they miss out on the opportunity of making friends with the local Thais, and fulfill thier social needs for friends or to try to change Thais into doing things thier way.

I enjoy my life as it is in my village, just like it is!

Cheers:

Growing up in a little town just North of Baja California we ate a lot of Mexican food! I still love it and my Thai partner enjoys eating and cooking it also (her salsa fresca is better than mine, she is a whiz with cutting things up small). One restaurant in that area made a 'special quesadilla' which was very oily and arroy maak maak. It came all puffed up and when you put your fork into it, cheese and steam gushed out. Unhealthy, but a family favorite. I never saw it anywhere else, even in my travels throughout Mexico. My sister finally found out the secret: it is just a raw flour tortilla (uncooked tortilla dough) which has some meltable cheese folded into the center and then has the edges pinched shut (a little bit of water on your fingers helps when doing this). You then just fry it in plenty of hot oil till it gets brown spots and puffs up. Add the salsa of your choice and then make plans to work off the calories

Thanks to everyone for the posts on Mexican food in Thailand. Anyone know where to get corn flour or whole corn kernels suitable for making corn tortillas? How about canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce?

An interesting recipe, need to try it some time. I have been looking for that corn for a long time, my brother grew some corn up north, dried it and sent me some, it was very hard to take the outside husk off of the corn kernals in the Nixtamalation process. My Thai wife peeled each one off by hand made good menudo and masa enchiladas. But is not the proper corn to do that with. I contacted a long time corn farmer, and he did not know the type of field/dent corn available in Thailand. When I find out I will let you know!

Cheers:

My Thai advisor says that your customary goodbye and goodnight are perceived to be words which excuse you from prayers or from later thoughtfulness for those you depart. To pay respects to mother and father with a goodnight is perceived as a gesture of gratitude and beholding. Thai feeling for this is simple: You convey gratitude with actions, and this will be enough. To say thanks is to cheapen the gift for which you hold gratitude. To repay in turn is more right. To make farewell is uncomfortably close to stating that you have premonition you will not meet again. If you believe you will see each other again tomorrow, it is not necessary to say this. It creates good karma to keep these people in your thoughts and include them in your wishes or prayers while you are away, and to anticipate what good may come from this when you next see them.

I don't know about all of that, but the vibe I get, is Thai people do not feel like they are leaving you if you are close with them. Just leaving the room for whatever is next. They feel connected to each other even when they are not in each others sight. Goodbye serves to break that connectedness, and Thank You is a poor substitute fot the acts of kindness we share every day to express how we feel. That I see, and understand. Do what you will with the rest of the mojo there. Him being a retired monk, I try to mull it over when he looks at me and talks about something. I try.

2satg,

SPQR

Very well written, a good background into the Thai culture!

In the village all people "Wai" upon arriving and leaving my house. I see this done all over our part of rural Thailand. There is not a lot of the emotions as associated with Western cultures.

Cheers:

I could not agree with you more, having downed my share of Tacos de Puerco Pibil in Sonora ,great taste thanks for the recipe!

Cheers :

This is something I've thought about too, so here is a serious non-flame answer:

When I first retired, I tried living in Pattaya. It didn't work out. Now I live in Australia and pop over to LOS whenever I feel like it. I think I get the best of both worlds this way: the non stop party of Pattaya and the boring sanity of Melbourne.

Here is my list of reasons to live in Australia:

- COST OF LIVING

Since 2002 I've kept careful records of every cent of my expenditure on excel spreadsheets. Crunching the numbers, I find it is cheaper for me to live in Australia. And this is at a higher standard of western style living than I could have in Pattaya.

When I turn 65, Australia will become even cheaper for me. I will get the Aged Pension and concessions on utility bills, public transport, pharmacy, etc.

In Australia, we have universal free health care. The two times I've been hospitalized here (for serious burns and for a growth inside my nose) it was totally free. A visit to the doctor here costs about $25 after the medicare rebate. For elective surgery and dentistry which aren't covered by Medicare, I pop over to Thailand where treatment is cheaper than Australia, and possibly better.

- UTILITIES (In Australian Dollars).

What I pay in Australia (for one person living alone) :

Water is about $24 per quarter

electricity is about $200 per quarter

ADSL2 internet with free landline rental and landline calls is about $90 per month

Rent of one bedroom flat about 5 km from the city centre = $782/month.

- INTERNET ACCESS

Australia has a reliable, though not superfast internet.I trade the ASX and forex online as a hobby, so this is important to me.

- FOOD

In Australia it is easier to buy and prepare my own meals - mainly fresh, clean salads and fruit. Western foods are cheaper here.

- PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I got rid of my car as soon as I retired. I now use public transport. The City Circle tram does the same sort of route as the Pattaya baht bus, only it's free. (But it is only 10am to 6pm). An all day metcard for train/bus/tram is $6.80 for about a 10km range around Melbourne.

Melbournians complain about their public transport, but this is mainly people who have to use it in the morning and evening rush hour to get to work.

- CLEAN STREETS

There are areas of Melbourne that are absolutely filthy. But there are no stray dogs. There are a few beggars but they are usually druggies sitting on city footpaths with cardboard signs. They aren't limbless cripples or mothers with babies. There are no wandering vendors or Indian tailors to hassle you.

- CRIME AND VIOLENCE

There is increasing crime and violence in Melbourne. But I've lived here since 1980 and I have never been assaulted or even threatened. My flat was burgled once in 1992. The police here are a bit weak - they are reactive, not proactive, which I think is wrong and I think it is why we are seeing the increasing bashings in Melbourne.

- CORRUPTION

There is minor corruption involving police and politicians in Melbourne but it doesn't affect normal folk. In Melbourne I don't have to worry about police stopping me for 'tea money' or setting me up in a scam.

- CONSUMER RIGHTS

If you are dudded here, you can complain and get compensated.

- QUIET

For a day or two after a trip to LOS, I think there is something wrong with my hearing because it seems so quiet back in Melbourne.

- NO VISA REQUIREMENTS

I have an Australian passport, so obviously I can live in Australia forever without stuffing around with Immigration.

This also a well thought out, non flame answer.

The only thing I miss about the US is my Grown Childen, there is nothing else I miss about that country|

When I retired I moved back to my native Mexico, The long arm of the U.S. via the North American Free Trade Agreement, with all the realtors from the US buying up all the property in my little Fishing village of Puerto Penasco Sonora known as Rocky Point in US. Driving the cost of living equal to that of the US.

Cost of living: for a family of 4, US dollar at 33.2 Thai baht

Elecrtric, pay a total of 2,500 baht for month.

water, 200 baht house, drinking 210 baht.

Internet access, 600 baht

Land line telephone, 200 baht (I call my childern at least once a week with internet phone service) 500 baht for about 8 months of calls)

Food: meat is expensive, all else is cheap!

Transportation, Have 3 motor bikes in family ,0ne with a side car for hauling!

Crime and violence= have no police presence in the village' I know no incidents of violence in my village, vs the daily crime wave in Tucson Az. ( many murders /year)

Consumer Rights, you have 7 days after a purchase, to return item to place of purchase, after that you deal directly with the Producer.

Quiet= life in rural Thailand is quiet; If you do not chose to live in tourist centers, Pattaya, etc

House/rent=my wife owns our paid in full home. 0 payment.

TV, 1,600 baht per month for UBC.

Retirement Visa- once a year trip to Bangkok to get US income letter, 90 day address requirement by mail, Thai Immigration office 50 kilometers trip to Nakhon Sawan,

.

Those are only the economic reasons I stay in Thailand, Not to mention the great family and many friends I have here.

I Love Life in Thailand ,Thats why I am choosing to live here!

I look at the positives of life in Thailand, Which out weight the positives of going back to the US.

To each His/Her own.

Cheers:

Slackjawchef,

Sorry this is the best I can do for you, I was looking for a Huevos Rancheros recipe, that I could duplicate for you, add pictures.

I have found that the recipes vary so much, that I will give you the Option of picking your own.

Just enter into search: You Tube," Huevos Rancheros, How to make". Take your pick of a recipe that most fits your taste.

I guess you could do the same in how to make Fajitas.

Good cooking .

Cheers:

Sabaijai,

Thank you for adding your recipes, Mexican food different and is diverse from state to state in Mexico, now adding the U.S. versions, You can add almost any filling that you desire, shrimp , fish, pork, beef, machaca etc.

I always prefer cheese as my mother made them.

But as you say"To each his/her own, companeros" !

Cheers

I would agreed with Latinas, as more passionate and expressive, I love to dance and being Latino myself, they exhibit the cultural norms of my culture.

I love Thai women, but I feel the difference is religion and culture of each country. In Thailand the open showing of affection in public places is not approved of in Thailand, that alone has a great impact on Thai women ( not including Bar girls). They keep all intimate interactions confined to the bedroom. They are as passionate as any other women!

Their culture dictates what is acceptable for a Traditional Thai Women.

In my village every morning Thai school girls biking to school always past and wave and say good morning. As the years go by the little girls turn into young women and a new set of moral value are applied to them.They no longer wave, or say good morning they pass with their eyes focused on the road.

I love them all.

Cheers:

Canned refried beans are pricey in Thailand, usually about 72 baht per can at Foodland, or 80 at Carrefour.

I prefer home made refried beans, as well. I like to add bacon, and a smoked ham hock, but I haven't seen smoked ham hocks in Thailand.

I smoked some pork to put in my beans while smoking my bacon.

I have seem smoked pork ( can not say what cut of pork) at Food Land on Pattaya central road. So There is smoked pork _ the price for a little package was 350 baht at the ham & bacon counter , that price I was unwilling to pay.

Cheers:

Slackjawchef,

Once you get your web site running, PM me the address!

sbk,

I tried the black beans here, they were very little and the taste was one that was not to my liking, as I made a big pot of them, I put a serving in little bags and put them in the freezer and my wife uses them to make me tostadas and they taste great on Tostadas, I have been meaning to try different types of beans to see if I find one to substitute for pinto beans, which are very expensive in Thailand, India has a pinto kidney bean, that I want to see if they are sold in Indian food Markets here in Thailand, I planted pinto beans in my village, they grow great until about 6-8 inches high -then they died.

Black beans in Mexico taste great, the one I brought at Macro, were use in making Thai Sweets.

Cheers:

Cooking is fun, keep the ingredients as close as possible to what the recipes calls for until you get it right and then you can change it to what you want to add or subtract ingredients that will improve the flavor to you.

An almost foolproof method of cooking is a Crock pot, put in what the recipe calls for put it on low or automatic.plug it in overnight to eat for breakfast, or in the morning for dinner.

Most slow cooking method make more flavorful food.

Keep on trying;

Cheer:

Slackjawchef sorry to cause you any grief.

But I do not know how to make fajitas, was invented after my time. I went to a fajita party once in Tucson, but the Tequila Cuervo was flowing to long before the fajitas were served ( I plead with any one that knows how to make fajitas to post it please) the only thing I remember the Bar -B-quering the meat (skirt steak) and having a banquet stlye set up, where you added what ever you wanted to your plate.

For Huevos Rancheros, I can pick up a recipe, I have been to busy eating the homemade bacon from your post. I was waiting for your 'what is needed to smoke ham' answer to my request, I made maybe two weeks ago. Re: pump for brining the inside of a ham that I am planning to make in the smoker that your post ,encourage me to make.

So I will be looking how to answer your request after you answer my long overdue request!

I will try to come up with a recipe for Huevos Rancheros and do a picture take on it , you realize this is going to cost me One baht Thawng.

Cheers:

last weekend went to the local market and found some bell peppers Green, Yellow and Red, I purchased one of each and will see what I can do with them!

The long light green Chiles here are quite hot/ spicy ,Reminds me of Hatch Valley Chiles in New Mexico.

My brother planted some U.S. Chile Verde up north near Chaiyaphum, see if they grow well, he will send me some, he grew a good crop of squash, summer,zucchini, and yellow butternut , was inexpensive to mail.His Jalapenos and Serrano's grew very well.

I will try your marinade, I boil chicken, then de-bone it spice it up a little, put my store brought corn tortillas, wet them a little heat them in the micro-wave for a while, makes them soft, lay them flat and tight roll up some chicken in each stick a toothpick in it to hold it together, fry them in hot oil, bag and freeze them , when I want a snack I take out a baggie of four and put them in the Micro wave until hot, eat them by dipping them in hot salsa, If my wife makes them she serves them with shredded cabbage and cheese with limon slices.

Next time I make them will try your marinade. Thanks.

Cheers:

I was hoping that this tread could be used by people to share their recipes, of their Mexican food with ingredients that are available in Thailand. So that persons that don't have a clue how to make Mexican food, Can try them. Not to debate the question, of what is authentic and what is not, That accomplishes nothing , just playing into someone hand.

In the past I made Chile Con Carne de Puerco, Used (Khao-niao) Sticky Rice, seasoned it with some red Chile to kick-up the taste, spread it on a banana leaf, and place my Chile con Carne mixture in the center, wrapped it in the banana leaves and steamed them.

By anyones stretch of the imagination, that is not an Authentic Mexican tamale, but it was close enough using the ingredients available in Thailand, and they did not tastes bad. Also made Some like Sonora/ Arizona "Tamales de Elote" Green Corn Tamales, Just filling the Sticky rice with cheese and hot/spicy Thai Chiles.

Here there is no right or wrong way, just your way!

In Rome use what the Romans Use!

Cheers: