I tried livng very cheap for 1 month

bkk6060 · November 3, 2017

19 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

A correct Englishman would not be in Pattaya...like what I is.

HAHA. You are probably right....

Naam · November 3, 2017

4 hours ago, bow said:

I speak thai quite well which makes many things in daily life easier and cheaper.

a claim that i hear quite often which makes me yawn. buy a car, book a flight, shop in a supermarket, go for a medical treatment... the list is nearly endless and then tell me how much cheaper you fared speaking Thai.

bow · November 3, 2017

Well, i was thinking of going to the fresh market buying veggies. In the supermarket, try asking where the black peppar is in english. Buy new car, book flight, health care; not cheaper but people are much more friendly and helpful if you speak thai. You use the nickname naam. Does that stand for a thai name/word ? (Warning, trick question :) )

bkk6060 · November 3, 2017

54 minutes ago, bow said:

Well, i was thinking of going to the fresh market buying veggies. In the supermarket, try asking where the black peppar is in english. Buy new car, book flight, health care; not cheaper but people are much more friendly and helpful if you speak thai. You use the nickname naam. Does that stand for a thai name/word ? (Warning, trick question :) )

If you want the best price have one of your aggressive B GF's do the negotiations for you. That has always worked for me...

tropo · November 3, 2017

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

If correct English is used it should actually be living cheaply. :)

sorry...

Being a grammar and spelling nazi on a forum is bad form, but if you want to split hairs - I was going by the original spelling of the thread's title. You may note it was in inverted commas.

tropo · November 3, 2017

1 hour ago, bow said:

Well, i was thinking of going to the fresh market buying veggies. In the supermarket, try asking where the black peppar is in english. Buy new car, book flight, health care; not cheaper but people are much more friendly and helpful if you speak thai. You use the nickname naam. Does that stand for a thai name/word ? (Warning, trick question :) )

If you have trouble finding stuff like black pepper in a supermarket, Thai speaking may help. I've never had to ask anyone where the black pepper is. Geez, in most supermarkets they have English signs indicating where the spices are. Failing that, you can use your eyesight as spices are not usually difficult to find. Even if you have trouble the first time, you'll know on future visits hence negating your Thai-speaking advantage.

Rimmer · November 3, 2017

A grammar police post and multiple replies have been removed, please understand the only purpose these kind of posts serve is to hijack the topic as happened here.

3. If possible please proofread your post first, poor grammar and spelling can make the post difficult to understand. However be aware that not every member is a native English speaker and excessive posts regarding others spelling and grammar not only hijacks the topic but is poor netiquette.

talahtnut · November 3, 2017

1 hour ago, Naam said:

a claim that i hear quite often which makes me yawn. buy a car, book a flight, shop in a supermarket, go for a medical treatment... the list is nearly endless and then tell me how much cheaper you fared speaking Thai.

A very polite lady shop assistant said to me, "You speak very good Thai..but we don't understand you".

Typical Thai diplomatic excellence. You gotta luv'em.

bazza73 · November 3, 2017

20 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

A very polite lady shop assistant said to me, "You speak very good Thai..but we don't understand you".

Typical Thai diplomatic excellence. You gotta luv'em.

It cuts both ways. I can converse in Thai quite well with my Thai GF. And understand her Thai as well. Her father has never been outside his moo baan. After perhaps 6 years in contact with him, I still can't understand a <deleted> word he says.

Naam · November 3, 2017

2 hours ago, bow said:

You use the nickname naam. Does that stand for a thai name/word ? (Warning, trick question :) )

naam is the Thai word for water. Thais call me Khun Water because they can't pronounce my first name Walter. that's why i selected the handle "Naam".

Naam · November 3, 2017

1 hour ago, talahtnut said:

A very polite lady shop assistant said to me, "You speak very good Thai..but we don't understand you".

Typical Thai diplomatic excellence. You gotta luv'em.

and i get a roaring laughter when i'm addressed in Thai and answer "sorrrry, Thai mai rrrrroo rrrrrong rrrroi."

Naam · November 3, 2017

2 hours ago, bow said:

Well, i was thinking of going to the fresh market buying veggies. In the supermarket, try asking where the black peppar is in english. Buy new car, book flight, health care; not cheaper but people are much more friendly and helpful if you speak thai. You use the nickname naam. Does that stand for a thai name/word ? (Warning, trick question :) )

i apologise bow. i knew of course that you did not refer to any of the purchases i referred to. i just can't help it pulling leg once in while.

peace?

talahtnut · November 3, 2017

59 minutes ago, Naam said:

and i get a roaring laughter when i'm addressed in Thai and answer "sorrrry, Thai mai rrrrroo rrrrrong rrrroi."

My wife sometimes introduces me to her friends as 'Sky Lab' which seems to cause amusement.

On balance, I think I am better off not knowing why.

bazza73 · November 3, 2017

2 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

My wife sometimes introduces me to her friends as 'Sky Lab' which seems to cause amusement.

On balance, I think I am better off not knowing why.

Perhaps she means you get falling down drunk on occasion. I asked my GF, and the descent seemed to be foremost in her mind.

Tofer · November 3, 2017

On 31 October 2017 at 6:31 PM, Naam said:

it was rather easy. last empty lot cul-de-sac in rather small development, we met three direct neighbours personally, all lots in the vicinity one rai, 11 years living in this moo baan, not the slightest problem. perhaps the gods were smiling on us.

Glad to hear it worked / is working out for you.

We had a similar experience to Tropo, bought a piece of virgin / jungle land with no neighbours, and were told the people who bought the adjacent land were going to build private homes / holiday homes. We've got a 5m wide private road to the beach between us and the nasty neighbours (who actually issued death threats over a minor dispute yesterday) basically jealous of our generous plot and quality development, as their scrappy bungalows are shoe horned into less than 1 rai.

The other side is now to be a beach resort. Of course they can all do what they wish once they have permission, and we bought 4 rai plot for just this eventuality, so that we would have a generous space between our house and the neighbours (30m each side to their boundaries). Hopefully this will be enough to ensure a modicum of peace and privacy, particularly as my wife is busy reinstating a jungle along our boundaries.

It's very hard to predict / establish what is going to happen in a neighbourhood, particularly of private plots, housing developments on compounds and condos are reasonably assured in terms of standards albeit not the occupants.

Tofer · November 3, 2017

4 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

If you want the best price have one of your aggressive B GF's do the negotiations for you. That has always worked for me...

My wife insists I drop her 2 doors away and stay in the car out of sight to get the true local price.

Tofer · November 3, 2017

2 hours ago, Naam said:

naam is the Thai word for water. Thais call me Khun Water because they can't pronounce my first name Walter. that's why i selected the handle "Naam".

I am known around 3 villages in ChiangRai plus all my wife's family and friends as lung kiss (uncle Chris), perhaps I should change my site name to 'inner tube'....

Tofer · November 3, 2017

1 hour ago, talahtnut said:

My wife sometimes introduces me to her friends as 'Sky Lab' which seems to cause amusement.

On balance, I think I am better off not knowing why.

If you really want to know I'll give you my take on it....

Tofer · November 3, 2017

8 hours ago, adammike said:

OK but the thread is about " living cheap for one month" it's not about I spend 4000 a day or I eat lobster.stay on the page and you shouldn't get flamed.

So if I tell you I'm gonna live real cheap by 'bringing home the bacon' (seafood) caught off my yacht moored in front of our land I won't get flamed...

adammike · November 3, 2017

17 minutes ago, Tofer said:

So if I tell you I'm gonna live real cheap by 'bringing home the bacon' (seafood) caught off my yacht moored in front of our land I won't get flamed...

Hopefully we will all be invited round for the bbq.

Tofer · November 3, 2017

3 minutes ago, adammike said:

Hopefully we will all be invited round for the bbq.

Huh, another freeloader! Naam wants my beer and now you want my catch of the day

talahtnut · November 3, 2017

1 hour ago, Tofer said:

If you really want to know I'll give you my take on it....

I'm sure it means 'sexy man', I return the compliment by saying that she is my lovely 'Bagmar'.

torrzent · November 4, 2017

10 hours ago, Tofer said:

Glad to hear it worked / is working out for you.

We had a similar experience to Tropo, bought a piece of virgin / jungle land with no neighbours, and were told the people who bought the adjacent land were going to build private homes / holiday homes. We've got a 5m wide private road to the beach between us and the nasty neighbours (who actually issued death threats over a minor dispute yesterday) basically jealous of our generous plot and quality development, as their scrappy bungalows are shoe horned into less than 1 rai.

The other side is now to be a beach resort. Of course they can all do what they wish once they have permission, and we bought 4 rai plot for just this eventuality, so that we would have a generous space between our house and the neighbours (30m each side to their boundaries). Hopefully this will be enough to ensure a modicum of peace and privacy, particularly as my wife is busy reinstating a jungle along our boundaries.

It's very hard to predict / establish what is going to happen in a neighbourhood, particularly of private plots, housing developments on compounds and condos are reasonably assured in terms of standards albeit not the occupants.

Not sure "we" bought is accurate if you are a foreigner. She bought and you paid, if it is in her name.

bow · November 4, 2017

13 hours ago, Naam said:

naam is the Thai word for water. Thais call me Khun Water because they can't pronounce my first name Walter. that's why i selected the handle "Naam".

Good answer. If you ever feel like complicating things, ask a thai about the two words นำ น้ำ

Naam · November 4, 2017

13 hours ago, Tofer said:

My wife insists I drop her 2 doors away and stay in the car out of sight to get the true local price.

there are occasions when i use my Thai assistant to negotiate not only a fair price but also a commission for him.

Naam · November 4, 2017

2 hours ago, bow said:

Good answer. If you ever feel like complicating things, ask a thai about the two words นำ น้ำ

will do. after my next rebirth when i learned to read and speak Thai.

talahtnut · November 4, 2017

14 minutes ago, Naam said:

will do. after my next rebirth when i learned to read and speak Thai.

I read somewhere that Thais use both sides of the brain to converse, whereas the farang only uses the left half....if at all...Cockneys and the Essex men are particularly disadvantaged..

Naam · November 4, 2017

3 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

I read somewhere that Thais use both sides of the brain to converse, whereas the farang only uses the left half...

i can confirm that! happens all the time.

me: "ask him whether it can be delivered today"