2 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

I get that some people love a good story of misery and woe but that has never been me.  There is nothing better than a friend's story of success, in my opinion. 

I like stories of troubles overcome, that help me avoid the same troubles,    Or at least provide pointers that may be useful in the future.

And slapstick; everyone loves stories about blokes carrying ladders, don’t they?

Never ring the bell on your bicycle when you’re passing a bloke with a ladder....

2 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

I like stories of troubles overcome, that help me avoid the same troubles,    Or at least provide pointers that may be useful in the future.

And slapstick; everyone loves stories about blokes carrying ladders, don’t they?

Never ring the bell on your bicycle when you’re passing a bloke with a ladder....

Nope, I like inspirational stories of success but I may very well be in the minority.  It is great that we all like different things as long as we don't demand that others agree with us.????

name that camera and the filters you use, one would hope you keep these in an album from dark room work, i treasure my old photos from the 50s to today.

5 hours ago, JLCrab said:

So my question after reading 14 pages of virtual air-kisses: Does anybody actually know this guy?

As long as we don't know you that's all that matters.

7 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

Nope, I like inspirational stories of success but I may very well be in the minority.  It is great that we all like different things as long as we don't demand that others agree with us.????

 

I went to school with David Watts, and some time later, when I fondly imagined I might wish to have all he has been, I thought again about his hard work and the risks he had taken and the sacrifices he had made, and I concluded if I’d really wished I was like David Watts I might be, but based on my effort to date, that’s apparently not what I really wished for, so when I read tales of peoples’ success It’s like looking at postcards

3 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

As long as we don't know you that's all that matters.

We’re all mates together, here on TV

46 minutes ago, Liverpudlian said:

name that camera and the filters you use, one would hope you keep these in an album from dark room work, i treasure my old photos from the 50s to today.

iPhone XS Max.  I don't have any of my own photos going back very far but I have scanned some of the old photos of my parents and grandparents to keep for posterity.  The thing is there really isn't anyone who will want to look at them after I am gone.  At least they are not in boxes collecting dust and one click of the mouse and they are gone.

31 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

We’re all mates together, here on TV

Some are mates and some are trolls, in my opinion.  When someone makes 13 attempts to derail a topic or joins TVF two hours before and their first post is on this topic, both of which we have had here, those people are not mates.???? 

iPhone XS Max.  I don't have any of my own photos going back very far but I have scanned some of the old photos of my parents and grandparents.

I’ve just bought an XS Max and I’m very happy with the results, i had a 7 plus before that and it was pretty good too.

I’m looking for a decent scanning app as my father has a large collection of family photos which I wish to preserve as he’s now in a home and my brother is due to sell the family house soon, nobody ( except for me ) seems to care about the old photos !!

I did scan some using photoscan app but the results were poor, have now downloaded Photomyne and seems promising.

What do you use ?

15 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I’ve just bought an XS Max and I’m very happy with the results, i had a 7 plus before that and it was pretty good too.

I’m looking for a decent scanning app as my father has a large collection of family photos which I wish to preserve as he’s now in a home and my brother is due to sell the family house soon, nobody ( except for me ) seems to care about the old photos !!

I did scan some using photoscan app but the results were poor, have now downloaded Photomyne and seems promising.

What do you use ?

My parents passed away about five years ago so memories of going through all their stuff is still clear. I borrowed a friend's scanner initially but I have also used my HP printer.  I got better results by setting 300 dpi.

 

I also upgraded from a 7 plus.

7 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

Some are mates and some are trolls, in my opinion.  When someone makes 13 attempts to derail a topic or joins TVF two hours before and their first post is on this topic, both of which we have had here, those people are not mates.???? 

We could try and kid ourselves that they were doing their best from their own mediocratic perspective, rather than your own meritocratic viewpoint.

OK, not doing their best, but expressing their own meritophobia as best they can.

Reported post removed.

Some more troll posts of trolling nature have been removed. 

Some pies my wife bakes when she has a few days off. I taught her how to make them years ago and she just has improved them.
 
I love my food as well

My wife made this masterpiece for me yesterday, bless her!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I've been wracked with guilt and now I simply must confess that the Bangkok dwellers were right all along and I have been living and posting a lie.  I apologise to fellow upcountry residents, but the truth must come out. 

 

What actually happens when I travel back upcountry is that I arrive at the local station on the third class train, pickin’ the splinters from the wooden seats out of my arse.  Ma brings the ox cart around and we ride on out to the farm, ‘ceptin’ when I’m lucky and Khun Somchai, the local squire, brings his I’tahn truck into town with a load of turnips and I can hitch a ride back with him.  If I'm really lucky there'll be a turnip that was missed still sittin' in the back and I can munch on that while I ride.  Gettin’ to the house, I go over to my corner of the room, the one that's divided off by the fertiliser sacks, chase the chickens out, and turn the straw mattress over to hide their droppings, and then I sit out on the porch playin’ my banjo and a sippin’ lao khao while Ma fetches up a plate of pig offal, grasshoppers and unhusked rice to chow down on.  When the sun goes down it’s time to hit the bed, as we can only afford one candle per week and we save that for Fridays when some of the other families come by.  We men play cards and chew terbaccy while the women folk gut and fillet the week’s frog, rat and turtle catch.  One advantage of being in Thailand is that it's usually nice and warm, but if it’s a cold night I grab one of the dogs that aint scratchin’ itself too much at the time to keep warm, and bed down for the night.  We get up when the cocks crow, around 04:00, and Ma lights the fire while I carry out my ablutions down at the waterin' hole.  Following a quick breakfast of crickets washed down with a cup of betel nut tea, I start my chores by mucking out the pigs, feeding the chickens and counting the children to see just how many we have now, and then start diggin’ in my garden patch.  Depending on the day, sometimes we ride the buffalo into town and trade a few veges for some batteries for the wireless, but most days we just work around our dust bowl in the morning, drink a case of homemade rice wine for lunch and sleep it off in the haystack all afternoon.  Evening time I’m back out on the porch a strummin’ my banjo and thankin' the good lord for giving me the 6th finger on my frettin’ hand, while a sippin’ the lao khao and waitin’ on Ma to finish cookin’ up whatever we shot out in the field that day.  Then the sun goes down and it’s off to bed again.  It’s a complicated life, but I can just about keep up with it.

 

 

The workers are taking the day off so I slept in this morning and it seems I missed whatever transpired.  While part of me is obviously curious as to what was said, I am also grateful I don't have to read it with my morning coffee.????

 

Ballpoint's humor is greatly appreciated.????

1 minute ago, villagefarang said:

The workers are taking the day off so I slept in this morning and it seems I missed whatever transpired.  While part of me is obviously curious as to what was said, I am also grateful I don't have to read it with my morning coffee.????

 

Ballpoint's humor is greatly appreciated.????

It wasn't an offensive post, it just doubted your credibility. I thought it was daft & really quite unnecessary.

 

Keep this great thread going, I really appreciate it.

Life is easy in the North. But lets be clear though, location is everything. "The North" is used loosely by most. Is it North North or North East? North East has an entirely different life as most call that Isaan.

 

I have been up and around Chiang Rai a few times, its beautiful country as is anywhere basically Tak to CM, you just have to get out and go look.  I have gone to Mae Sot 3 or 4 times and the mountain passes there are quite scenic and have some beautiful forests and hiking locations. Lets not forget Bhumibol Dam. One should visit and take a "long" boat ride. There are numerous lakes hidden away in Northern Thailand. 

 

Here are a few pics

 

 

Bhumibol Dam

 

 

One of my favorite fishing lakes in Lampang province

 

 

20 minute ride from my place and a nice hike up gets me this view

 

 

 

A beautiful secluded lake and we rented a house boat for 2 days and had a blast.

 

 

Another lake area I fish from time to time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather has taken a turn the last day or two.  We were out for a little stroll today (my app says 15k total) and it was noticeably hazier with the distant mountains not being as clear as usual.  The rubber-wood trees have lost most of their leaves so parts of the trail were bare and brown with a thick covering of leaves on the forest floor.  I still managed to get a few decent shots.

 

I'm not sure if an arty rendering of bananas in the forest counts as a food shot or not.????

 

 

 

 

After living most of my life in the city I truly enjoy my physical surroundings these days.  The views from the house, direct access to hiking trails and backcountry roads for cycling are in the forefront of my love for this location.

 

To be fair, however, adapting to the social environment may pose more of a challenge than coming to grips with the physical one for many people.  I don’t have a formula for making it work because we are all different and find ourselves in different circumstances.  For me, I speak the language, have a great relationship with my wife and I don’t need daily interaction with others.  We are both healthy and athletic so can easily take advantage of all this area has to offer.  My wife is younger with varied interests and a broad range of friends so that keeps our social life interesting and exciting.  I can plugin whenever I feel like it.

 

I can understand how this life might not be ideal for everyone.  It is easy for people to take their own experience, generalize it and give advice to others.  The thing is we are all different and have to find our own way.  In my opinion the important thing is to be aware of what you need and whether you can find that in a particular location because if it doesn’t already exist, there is little chance you will create it.  Your environment will not adjust to you, that will be your job.

17 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

adapting to the social environment may pose more of a challenge than coming to grips with the physical one for many people.  I don’t have a formula for making it work because we are all different and find ourselves in different circumstances.  For me, I speak the language, have a great relationship with my wife and I don’t need daily interaction with others.

And that's really the key VF. I have always told people who ask me about where is the best place to live in Thailand that you make it what it is. For me, personally I prefer the laid back life here in the North and told my wife Its easier to visit BKK or a beach resort versus living there and fighting the tourists and chaos. I, like you, require minimal social interaction from others as I am usually far too busy doing things and most I have met here are on completely different wavelengths and activity capabilities. I enjoy sharing pictures of my travels. However I am not the "Foody" type that take pics and posts them for others to see, never really understood that and it seems to have taken over social media on all levels. Food is food. ????

 

I speak remedial Thai but you know in all my time here that has virtually no impact on me, in fact I find most want to speak English and I spend the time to do so. But to your point, there is no formula for all. Far too many variables to have a solution to fit all. All folks can do can do is share a slice of their life. Some may like and appreciate it, others may find it rather boring and uneventful.

While I understand where you are coming from, I feel my life would be dramatically different if I did not speak Thai.  I am often in situations where I am the only foreigner and the whole dynamic would be thrown off if I were not able to communicate with everyone else.  It also makes it easier to read people which I find important and interesting.

 

I picked up the food thing from my wife.  We communicate a lot on LINE when we are not together and she sends me pictures of who she is with and what they are doing, so that includes food photos. We also pass on photos of items we might want the other one to pick up on the way home.  So we have gotten very accustomed to taking pictures of objects and food.

18 minutes ago, villagefarang said:

While I understand where you are coming from, I feel my life would be dramatically different if I did not speak Thai.  I am often in situations where I am the only foreigner and the whole dynamic would be thrown off if I were not able to communicate with everyone else.  It also makes it easier to read people which I find important and interesting.

 

I picked up the food thing from my wife.  We communicate a lot on LINE when we are not together and she sends me pictures of who she is with and what they are doing, so that includes food photos. We also pass on photos of items we might want the other one to pick up on the way home.  So we have gotten very accustomed to taking pictures of objects and food.

I too understand.  Learning the countries local language can be fun and enjoyable.  I know enough to get by but honestly most I seem to meet speak enough English.  In fact the other day I was sitting on a bench in our local city and a police officer came and sat by me.  He spoke English about the same as I spoke Thai.  We laughed and joked.  My wife came up and saw us and asked both of us "what are you guys laughing about". We both laughed.  It's those simple moments.

 

Btw I understand on Line and food pics.  My wife and her sister and niece do it all the time. It's all good.

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

I too understand.  Learning the countries local language can be fun and enjoyable.  I know enough to get by but honestly most I seem to meet speak enough English.  In fact the other day I was sitting on a bench in our local city and a police officer came and sat by me.  He spoke English about the same as I spoke Thai.  We laughed and joked.  My wife came up and saw us and asked both of us "what are you guys laughing about". We both laughed.  It's those simple moments.

 

Btw I understand on Line and food pics.  My wife and her sister and niece do it all the time. It's all good.

That is interesting, because I have a recent police officer story too.  I have seen this one guy in the gym many times and there was something about the way he went about his exercise routine which caught my eye.  He was quiet and didn’t seem to interact much with others but was occasionally on his phone.  His posture and general demeanor had me guessing he must be a pretty high ranking police officer but I couldn’t be sure.

 

The other day we were sitting at adjacent machines and there was nobody else around so I mentioned that I noticed that he seemed to workout quite often at the same time I do in the early afternoon.  The conversation continued on from there and we talked about many things with me trying to keep things light.  He did volunteer he is police and goes to work at 4 pm but was a little guarded so I made no effort to pry.  When we exchanged names he only gave me his nickname which told me a lot.

 

I was still working out when he left but he looked my way from across the gym on the way out and gave me a smile and slight nod of the head.  It may take awhile but one day I will find out who he is.  I find it is best not to be too nosy and to observer other people’s boundaries especially when you haven’t been properly introduced, which is the custom.

4 hours ago, villagefarang said:

 

...It is easy for people to take their own experience, generalize it and give advice to others.  ...

Buy a bicycle.  Spend more than you want, so that you have to ride it a lot.

 

When you only have one piece of advice, you need to use it a lot

11 hours ago, JAFO said:

Life is easy in the North. But lets be clear though, location is everything. "The North" is used loosely by most. Is it North North or North East? North East has an entirely different life as most call that Isaan.

 

I have been up and around Chiang Rai a few times, its beautiful country as is anywhere basically Tak to CM, you just have to get out and go look.  I have gone to Mae Sot 3 or 4 times and the mountain passes there are quite scenic and have some beautiful forests and hiking locations. Lets not forget Bhumibol Dam. One should visit and take a "long" boat ride. There are numerous lakes hidden away in Northern Thailand. 

 

Here are a few pics

 

 

Bhumibol Dam

 

 

One of my favorite fishing lakes in Lampang province

 

 

20 minute ride from my place and a nice hike up gets me this view

 

 

 

A beautiful secluded lake and we rented a house boat for 2 days and had a blast.

 

 

Another lake area I fish from time to time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You guys are killing me (in a good way) with all the incredible photos. Thank you both!!  

     

 

2 hours ago, HuskerDo said:

You guys are killing me (in a good way) with all the incredible photos. Thank you both!!  

     

 

The one with the houseboat immediately reminded me of one of the Rambo movies where he returns to Vietnam to rescue POWs. ???? 

We are not big joiners and don’t participate in all the expat activities available.  We pick and choose the activities and events we frequent based on what we are interested in and whether we are free, regardless of whether they are Thai or Farang in nature.  There are three or four Thai wives who like to go to lunch occasionally and they often decide on a theme of some sort, showing up in the same color or style of dress.  They even dress the menfolk sometimes, like yesterday.

 

With Chinese New Year coming up, yesterday’s attire was in that spirit.  Four couples, two British, two American, two working and two not.  We were all seated at one table but the girls were at one end and the men at the other, the way it often is.  With good location, good food and good service this restaurant is popular with most nationalities, Thai, Asian and Western.

 

I do of course have group photos but I’m not sure it would be appropriate to out the others in our group, yesterday.  We went upstairs for a photo opportunity after we finished eating and I will share with you some nonfood shots to give you an idea of the day.

 

Happy Chinese New Year 

 

 

 

I remember visiting that restaurant a few years ago. It was an item of the itinerary of our office outing. Really nice place. 

4 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I remember visiting that restaurant a few years ago. It was an item of the itinerary of our office outing. Really nice place. 

I am glad you liked it.  It is a favorite around here and the owners are lovely people.