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Diary of a farang in Isaan


owl sees all

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2 hours ago, bannork said:

I don't know about you Owl but I'm fed up with the constant trawling through our village of pickups blaring out the same prerecorded messages for candidates 1 and 2 in the upcoming council election. The same message, the same promises are boomed out day after day. We heard them the first time. We're not thick, you know!

I wish I was an aspiring Thai local councillor. I would hire pickups broadcasting the message that canvassing from pickups would be banned.

Their salary is only 8000- 9000 baht a month, yet they hire all these pickups and people. Something tells me something ain't quite right!

We are just in a small, quiet soi, but we still get them 2/3/4 times a day.

 

The wages money is not what it's about. Bit like those MPs in the UK; opens doors to lucrative things.

 

Actually our village number two, tried to flog me some health insurance about 8 years ago. Only 30k a year, he said.

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On 11/20/2021 at 6:19 PM, HighPriority said:

Mrs HP’s birthday today and her family back in the village are celebrating with moogatah (Thai bbq).

Another reason to celebrate is that they have just finished the rice harvest, 80 bags from 14 Rai.

How does that compare to your harvest @owl sees all ?
Family is very happy with life and the youngest one seems to have escaped the Covid scare at her school.

Happy birthday to the Mrs HP.

 

Rice; 80 bags from 14 rai!?? Are you sure you got that correct HP? That only works out at 6 bags a rai. A really good harvest would see 25 a rai. Average this way is 12-15. Rice harvests have not been good for the last couple of years. Mostly due to the lack of early rain. A lot of the paddies in our parts were over run with grass and weeds.

 

Mildred went back to school last week. Now she is on alternate days. This week; Mon-Wed-Fri. Next week; Tues and Thus. All the children at her school had a covid test. (pics later today) Not heard any news on the testing.

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Mrs HP claims that the rice is in 40 or 50kg sacks and that her sister grows “special rice” ????????‍♂️
Apparently this year instead of planting rice shoots she broadcast the rice by hand.

She maintains that she’s happy with the harvest… “Great news darling” ????

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1 hour ago, HighPriority said:

Mrs HP claims that the rice is in 40 or 50kg sacks and that her sister grows “special rice” ????????‍♂️
Apparently this year instead of planting rice shoots she broadcast the rice by hand.

She maintains that she’s happy with the harvest… “Great news darling” ????

I'm happy that there is 'Great news' in the family HP.

 

I must ask you where can the extra large sacks can be gotten? A 'normal' sack - pig feed sack - weighs 20 to 25kg when full of rice. Never heard of a 50, or even a 40kg sack of rice. Learn something every day here.

 

Isaan; land of mystery.

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2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Owl Log - 02-12-2021 - Thursday afternoon

 

 

 

Had a small problem on Tuesday. Me and Mildred went fishing and my chair nearly put me in the drink. Not going to fix this one. Only 100 baht each. Although, in saying that, the pink one I sorted, is still doing good. Could have been  a nasty one if I'd,,,,,,.

 

1865703183_bustedchair.png.b6dd50e75da079539a44a093366ce834.png

 

 

You should probably invest in some Kevlar undercrackers if you are considering using that chair !!

 

Looks like it would play havoc with the low hanging fruit !! ????

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43 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

You should probably invest in some Kevlar undercrackers if you are considering using that chair !!

 

Looks like it would play havoc with the low hanging fruit !! ????

Bang on the money there as usual AD.

 

A close one. It opened up quite a lot when I sat on it.

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1 hour ago, HighPriority said:

Are we still talking about the mysterious hat lady ?

She is on my mind HP.

 

Things are difficult at the mo. Don't get to town so much on my own. I've been pondering the situation. Ting - the hat lady - wants to do some exploring with me. But I want to stay true to Mrs Owl. It's a dilemma. The way I'm being treated over the DinL might be the decider.

 

Will I be overcome with melancholy?  Will there be regret? Time will tell.

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11 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Really, I'm trying to equip Mildred with knowledge and understanding, through a range of things, that will help her in the future. It's a tough world out there for Thai youngsters growing into adulthood; especially those from Isaan.

Yeah, thats what im trying to do with my kids. Expose them to a bunch of different ideas and projects so they can see some of what all is available to them and see what interests them.

 

Anything computer related should be a good basis for future job prospects. Anecdotally, I've heard that employers in the US are having a hard time finding people with "computer experience" that's more that just using a phone or a tablet. A lot of younger folks know how to use those but not the network or server infrastructure on the back end that makes all of the online services possible.

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11 hours ago, bannork said:

Owl,regarding the deserted restaurant, on the Ban Dung- Phen road, right? A great drive in places, reminds me of French country roads lined with tall trees, but can be suddenly dangerous with tractors pulling out on the narrow two lane road and pick-ups haring along.

Regarding the failed restaurant project, what was the investor thinking? Folks from Ban Dung, Udon and the surrounding area would be attracted by the river/ waterway and restaurant? But it's no easy ride from any urban location, could it even have been a money laundering scheme?

My youngest daughter was working in Udon recently, going to see her on her day off, we drove up the Udon-Nong Khai road in search of a restaurant. A few miles north of Udon we found this restaurant in the fields east of the road. Bamboo huts with good service and tasty food amid rice fields and banana trees. It was midweek and busy. No need for fancy decorations, a pleasant natural open air atmosphere and good food was enough. Sukjailand restaurant.  สุขใจแลนด์ อุดรธานี

 

 

Some new news on the failed Restaurant Project.

 

864591192_xxeatout.png.c12b157de6ed3bec8baf0687f2cc9ff2.png

 

The Mrs saw the pics on the computer, and expressed some surprise that I was only now discovering the mystery. She, and everyone else, in her Thai circle that is, knows the story.

 

The whole area was developed with no channot on the land. Indeed it was 'Government' land. There was some 'argee bargee' and the developer was forced to close. The Mrs informing me that he was ex-government and rich. The total loss was in the region of 40 million baht.

 

No way of verifying the 'facts' of the case. But an interesting saga. I pass that way about once a month. I'll keep an eye on things.

 

 

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On 12/2/2021 at 3:03 PM, owl sees all said:

Last post, I asked if it could be possible to make charcoal from bamboo. Mrs Owl says 'NO'. It most definitely is though!

Maybe you're already aware that putting bamboo on a fire can be an explosive experience. Each section is sealed tight and full of air, sounding like a gun when it goes off. To make charcoal you might have to chop or grind the bamboo first before burning intact sections???

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42 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

Maybe you're already aware that putting bamboo on a fire can be an explosive experience. Each section is sealed tight and full of air, sounding like a gun when it goes off. To make charcoal you might have to chop or grind the bamboo first before burning intact sections???

You are right about the bamboo when it's being burnt. It gives off a loud crack that can be heard miles away. A lot of the bamboo in our parts have a tiny hole; or even none at all. Maybe they would sound even more like a 'firecracker'.

 

Strange that I should have asked the bamboo charcoal question, as I lived in Jamaica for a long time due to my wife's heritage. Should have taken more notice when the 'Jerk Pork' was being prepared.

 

 

 

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On 11/25/2021 at 8:07 PM, owl sees all said:

I'm happy that there is 'Great news' in the family HP.

 

I must ask you where can the extra large sacks can be gotten? A 'normal' sack - pig feed sack - weighs 20 to 25kg when full of rice. Never heard of a 50, or even a 40kg sack of rice. Learn something every day here.

 

Isaan; land of mystery.

I'm doing some rice cleaning at the moment.

The bigger sugar bags max out at 40kg for us.

 

 

20211209_103502.jpg

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3 hours ago, farmerjo said:

I'm doing some rice cleaning at the moment.

The bigger sugar bags max out at 40kg for us.

 

 

20211209_103502.jpg

Thank you farmerjo, I was having no luck with my questions @ my end.

Maybe Owl needs to pay a closer inspection to his stores… maybe there are farangsacks and thaisacks, farang are so easy to trick…

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On 12/9/2021 at 7:29 PM, HighPriority said:

Thank you farmerjo, I was having no luck with my questions @ my end.

Maybe Owl needs to pay a closer inspection to his stores… maybe there are farangsacks and thaisacks, farang are so easy to trick…

I think a lot comes down to what screens the thresher has installed.

I just had the mother in law out watching me clean rice,she said i waste to much when in fact some grains are smaller and called screenings even though they look like rice.

Come time to mill your just giving them to the miller for free and losing sack weight.

A question for Owl,can i ask the dimensions of your rice shed and how many bags it holds.

I don't have one and just store in my ground level shed which will be prone to rat carnage later on.

 

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