BBQueen

Meh, I rarely got ill from Thai vendor food, and that was only the seafood variety. Just have to be careful and ensure the food is fresh. A few germs are good for your immune system.

You only have to catch him once! When they know you want regular pickup and know where you live, they will come by regularly.

A huge protected ecological zone with wildlife, which used to live here before tourism came with educational walking trails and places for relaxation.

Any white herons still going to and from work in Bangrak? There used to be thousands of them.

A public library would be great.

I hated the arrival of the chain stores and fast food shops. Wet market, local grocery and bars/restaurants were fine by me. Knew the hours and shopped accordingly. We lamented the day the first 7-11 opened in Maenam. We still kept shopping at Gai's Pharmacy & Grocery. She's the best.

Late-night ferries -- scary enough in the daytime when the seas are rough.

That's the reason TV is great. Good information from helpful people. Much better than wading through the trash and insults that can be found on other sites !

Totster

Erm, I asked about him and got that reply here.

Funny the Postman never found me until I put my number at the gate, now all I get is flyers from Macro, & Tesco!

...in Maenam & away from the maddening crowds!

Aww! Do you use the PO on the ring road? They are lovely and will get the postman to find you. I never had a prob with that. Flyers are good for specials like TP and dog food. Wouldn't buy any food there, tho. You have an excellent morning market in Maenam!

And, erm, it's "madding" crowd.

I'd give a pass to Subway or Angela's anything. Both inferior and overpriced, IMHO. And I'm not a fan of ring-road-side dining either.

Sorry, you are only telling us YOUR version of HER side of the story. But, any of the liberal lawyers who abound here in Canada would help this lady out pro bono (we Canadians will pay for it, of course, not of our own free will).

My skin was the best when I was in Thailand with the high humidity. If I'd worked in an air-con office I would have worn the full warrior facial armour, but I found no need. Always had my DIY weekly facials and body grooming tho. I used to have many skin problems when I was stressed or angry.

Friends just reminded me of the lovely Manfred who managed Harry's Bungalows for years. Knew he started a restaurant in 2005 or so. Forget the name. Anyone have info? Would love to say hello to him and his cats.

Montana Saloon, Lamai. They always show the games. 5am for the Superbowl.

Montana Saloon is gone. They have built a resort where it once was.

Wow! ^Thanks for that snippet! I just asked here a few weeks ago if anyone had seen Jim at Montana. The reply was yes, same as always...so Al sold out? Bummer.

Usually sell them at the temple fairs, too. Lots of free and colourful guppies in the rivers. Kids brought them to me all the time. Skitter eaters!

Montana Saloon, Lamai. They always show the games. 5am for the Superbowl.

Ah, the Gecko. Only place I had my bag stolen on Samui.

Major bummer! The west coast is beautiful. A Thai friend who grew up in Nathon said it was the loveliest beach before they built that ugly wall and the piers. And the water in that area is so clear and turquoise-coloured, it's a real pity.

It's a horrid problem, and even if you buy 30 rai and build in the middle, coconut trees are lousy noise barriers. Construction sites usually work 8am-5pm, no? But private biz, including techno and or noisy boom bars, are sooo annoying and uncontrollable. If you decide to move, best to check out the neighbourhood throughout the day and night a few times to see what you're getting into. I went to a friend's bar on the beach in Maenam once as I could hear techno. No, not us! It's coming from Haadrin! Sure enough, it was. Yikes! My pet hate is the guys in the big trucks with the boom bass stereos.

Anyway, good luck with your quest. Hope you can sort things out amicably.

^ True. The motocyc-sidecar man always came down my small soi after I flagged him the first time. Took near everything -- old monitors, boxes, magazines, bottles. Just left out the empty water jugs with Bt10 on top and the man would drop news ones at the doorstep. My fav is the cooking gas man. No matter what time of day or evening you run out of gas, give a holler and he's there in 5 mins with a new one. Even the postman will find you if you move. No secrets in the village, especially Maenam.

do you know the recycling number samuijimmy pls?

Recycling #? The guy drives by every other day on his motorbike. Just flag him down or tell your neighbours you need him.

Always used Clarins cleansing in Thailand. Makeup? For what? Nice slight tan is enough with some eyeliner and a slicker of Chanel gloss on the lips at night. Done! Oh, and lots of silky body lotion several times a day, and lots of water orally. M-up in Thailand is useless, IMO.

it's a monarchy, so think about a mixture of feudalism and national capitalism

Constitutional monarchy.

You know, a public hospital would still treat a Thai or farang for free if it was an emergency.

You bet! Friends (one Thai, one farang) were in a serious bike accident at about midnight. Only had to wait til 8am when the docs arrived for their shifts to get treated.

Talk to Al Gore.

I gave a lot of computer stuff to the local recycle guy. I told him it was Kaput but he was happy to take it.

Half a day is totally inadequate to learn first aid

Agree. And you must update at least once a year.

As Sir Burr noted, it's a beetle infestation. Started several years ago. One reason noted was the loss of squirrels, which the Isaan workers snare and eat.

Liked me at first -- two rounds of dengue -- but after a few years, skitters always went for the newbies. They did attack my dogs' ankles. Sprayed those parts with citronella.

In this one, over 20 houses are build, only 7 plots of land is not yet build. but all roads, infrastructure, management in done. Furthermore, the house I am interested is not close to one of those not-yet-build plots

Coconut trees are lousy sound-proofing units.