Diary of a farang in Isaan

[owl sees all]

4 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I much prefer when we are visited by pythons; beautiful slow moving creatures.

Indeed.

 

The terrain here in Isaan is not suited to the python. They do prefer wet and swampy areas; like down in the deep south.

 

Occasionally they venture out to feast on the occasional dog or goat.

 

[Old Croc]

21 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Probably too small/young to hurt you BB.

 

They might bite, but it would be a 'dry bite'. Once they get to about half metre they should be taken seriously. Best thing is to grab its tail and hold it at arms length. That stops their ability to spring up and strike.

 

 

Incorrect and potentially dangerous advice!

From Cobra.org:

 

"A baby snake has no control over the amount of venom delivered by its bite, thus always giving a full dose. A baby cobra is fully able to defend itself in as little as three hours after entering the world." 

 

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

 

Incorrect and potentially dangerous advice!

From Cobra.org:

 

"A baby snake has no control over the amount of venom delivered by its bite, thus always giving a full dose. A baby cobra is fully able to defend itself in as little as three hours after entering the world." 

 

You are bang on the money Old Croc. Thanks!

I didn't notice the date yesterday. So it was not a ruse.

 

Siddharth Dixit -M.Sc. Zoology, Government Science College, Jabalpur.

 

"Venomous snakes have potent venom since their birth, hence in this case, a young Cobra is potentially just as lethal as an older one. Perhaps even more dangerous as they are more aggressive and easily frightened when they are young.

Older snakes tend to give empty bites in which they don't inject venom into the victim’s body. This is a way for them to frighten the potentially dangerous animal and also to conserve their venom, but young snakes tend to not hold back on to their venom and would bite with full intensity. That makes them a bit more dangerous than the older ones."

 

Sorry if anyone actually grabbed a cobra - after reading my post - and got a nip. Old Croc is right; so keep clear, unless you are confident in handling them.

Edited April 2, 2021 by owl sees all

[Peter Denis]

8 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

...

Sorry if anyone actually grabbed a cobra - after reading my post - and got a nip. Old Croc is right; so keep clear, unless you are confident in handling them.

Snake warning

 

 

[bluesofa]

9 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Sorry if anyone actually grabbed a cobra - after reading my post - and got a nip. Old Croc is right; so keep clear, unless you are confident in handling them.

Don't worry Owl, I didn't grab one.
 

I have a real phobia about snakes, I'm petrified of them.

Someone who knew it, thought it would be funny to come up to me with a snake which one of those guys in Pattaya used to tout around.

This was in a bar. I threw a bar stool at him and the snake, then bolted into the toilets.

I wouldn't even get close to a snake in this state:

[Peter Denis]

6 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Don't worry Owl, I didn't grab one.

I have a real phobia about snakes, I'm petrified of them.

...

Maybe you should go for Professor Gallagher's controversial technique of simultaneously confronting the fear of heights, snakes and the dark...

[Bredbury Blue]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:54 AM, Bredbury Blue said:

If anyone is worried about the welfare of liccle snakey, well the cobra was kindly dumped out of the bottle on the other side of our garden wall where there's a khlong and fields. Hopefully one of the big monitor lizards there will come eat it.

One more point on the baby cobra.

 

When my lads were toddlers, we saw cobras mating in the garden  on a few occasions. When were were going out of the house one day, i opened the door, was just about to open the mosi-screen when i noticed outside about 1m in front of me , a baby cobra. As my youngest was about 2 years old, scared of nothing, fascinated by animals, no doubt he would have gone to pick it up. We decided there and then to clear our garden of all ground shrubs and just have trees and grass so that it would be easier to see any snakes.

 

Anytime we have snakes since, we've usually been tipped off to it by the birds or squirrels in the garden making a right racket - great warning system. 

 

Forward 13-14 years, in recent times the wife has been planting lots of scrubs and plants, and we see the first cobra since 'Operation Clear Shrubs'.

 

Coincidence?

 

[owl sees all]

13 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

One more point on the baby cobra.

 

When my lads were toddlers, we saw cobras mating in the garden  on a few occasions. When were were going out of the house one day, i opened the door, was just about to open the mosi-screen when i noticed outside about 1m in front of me , a baby cobra. As my youngest was about 2 years old, scared of nothing, fascinated by animals, no doubt he would have gone to pick it up. We decided there and then to clear our garden of all ground shrubs and just have trees and grass so that it would be easier to see any snakes.

 

Anytime we have snakes since, we've usually been tipped off to it by the birds or squirrels in the garden making a right racket - great warning system. 

 

Forward 13-14 years, in recent times the wife has been planting lots of scrubs and plants, and we see the first cobra since 'Operation Clear Shrubs'.

 

Coincidence?

 

 

You must be in a cobra hotspot BB.

 

 

In special forces we were taught how to deal with potentially dangerous creatures. Croc's, pumas and snakes. Fist step, to get confidence, is to make friends with a baby; then move on to mum and dad.

 

 

Personally, I found polar bears and ostriches to be somewhat unpredictable.

 

Since being in Thailand, I have learnt not to underestimate the ladies here.

 

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 02-04-2021 - Friday evening

 

I could see it in my mirror. Stopped but was too slow for a side-on shot.

 

 

US Army jeep. Hope to see it again.

 

The bridge repairs are doing just great.

 

Formwork has arrived.

 

 

Be interesting to see how it progresses.

 

 

Next time along there; Sunday.

 

 

And the night-lanterns are in place; operational even. Not sure where they are getting their leccy. I'll have a closer look next week.

 

Mildred catching - well anything that comes along - in pond five.

 

 

While she was fishing I had a walk around part of the euca farm. These trees are just nine months in the ground. Doing very well.

 

 

England did indeed make it three out of three. Are we gonna be world-beaters once again? Thrash USA in the final 7-0.

 

Mildred has finished school until May 14th. She did well on her end-of-term-tests. Except History. Must have been Thai History. Shouldn't think they teach 'World History' anywhere in Isaan.

 

She was focusing today about 12 months time. Will be finished at the current school then. Asked me where I thought she should go. "Any art and music college anywhere about Mil?" She didn't know. I'll have to ask around.

 

Tiny storms this week. Rumbling thunder and little gusts of wind. No rain!

 

Listening to Rosa Ponselle singing Schubert as I type this. What a voice!!!! Am I stuck in a musical  time-prison?

 

Not visited any covid threads since coming back from holiday. Early days yet though. I think it best not to read any posts on these topics; or I get tempted. Mr Vous will not be around to bail me out for a couple of months.

 

Bye y'all.

 

[Golden Triangle]

Don't be tempted to respond Owl, I sometimes sail a bit close to the wind for my own good & it's oh so easy to have a pop at some of the goons lurking on here, much easier to bite ones tongue than suffer another holiday or complete ban.

 

This is a good place for general information, specific help on a particular subject, or the covid problem & vaccination in general, yes there are other more lenient sites but it can take a while to build up a trustworthiness rating for those, not only that, we actually like you ????

[sotonowl]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:27 AM, owl sees all said:

Indeed.

 

The terrain here in Isaan is not suited to the python. They do prefer wet and swampy areas; like down in the deep south.

 

Occasionally they venture out to feast on the occasional dog or goat.

 

Fancy bumping into that on a dark night with it's angry head on. I'm with Blue Sofa, I just hate snakes.????

[Golden Triangle]

10 minutes ago, sotonowl said:

Fancy bumping into that on a dark night with it's angry head on. I'm with Blue Sofa, I just hate snakes.????

Not keen on sa nakes either ???? but via a Facebook page I am trying to educate myself, albeit slowly, spiders on the other hand are a big no no for me ????‍♂️????‍♂️????‍♂️ 

[owl sees all]

12 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Not keen on sa nakes either ???? but via a Facebook page I am trying to educate myself, albeit slowly, spiders on the other hand are a big no no for me ????‍♂️????‍♂️????‍♂️ 

I think you have to stand back and consider these creatures.

 

Take the humble fly. It eats by being sick on our food and then slurping it up. Not a nice thought. But if we scare a fly away and it has not finished its meal then we are eating its 'sick'.

 

And then we have the mosquito. It's best not to give it a slap when it's been on our leg. Don't want to break that little drinking straw and have a skin irritation.

 

Here is Isaan, snakes are everywhere. But like most creatures, they are always considering where their next meal is coming from. What I have found at the farm, is that a strict no litter approach mostly  sorts out the problem. Especially food containers and drink cans. These attract vermin; and they attract snakes.

 

I burn the rubbish about once a week. This seems to work in keeping the farm snake free. Of course, sometimes a stupid one comes near, and has to be dealt with.

 

 

[Peter Denis]

14 hours ago, sotonowl said:

Fancy bumping into that on a dark night with it's angry head on. I'm with Blue Sofa, I just hate snakes.????

Voyeur snake

> You can see him literally providing an A+ score for Miss Sotonowl in the shower...

 

[owl sees all]

5 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Voyeur snake

> You can see him literally providing an A+ score for Miss Sotonowl in the shower...

 

 

Great pic.

 

I caught a long one at the farm a few years back.

 

 

Two and a bit metres long.

 

 

 

Not seen a snake at the farm this year.

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 04-04-2021 - Sunday evening

 

Quite dark this morning, but very still. TBH it didn't look like rain. We were off to the number four market at Ban Dung. Called number four as it's always on the 4th of the month.

 

Bought some reishi strips and a plastic chair. Mrs Owl bought six kilos of mangoes. Tried them tonight for my supper and they were horrid. Beyond sweet. Almost sickly.

 

Me and Mildred were looking at the koi carp stand when the heavens opened. It went from calm and dry to wild and wet inside two minutes I'd say. So no kois. I didn't like them anyway. The cheaper ones were too small and the bigger ones too expensive. And that was that; time to go. There for no more that 20 minutes.

 

 

All the stalls were panicking to pack up quickly.

 

 

Street lights went on.

 

 

 

Opposite side of the road told a familiar story.

 

 

I recall Chan-o-cha saying he was impressed with the cleanliness when he visited Europe. Forgot to pass his thoughts on when he returned.

 

Went into seven eleven before coming back from Ban Dung. They have started giving plastic bags again.

 

Mildred's fish pond had some white froth yesterday. Mrs Owl said it was frog eggs.

 

 

Her old round fish pond got chopped by a blade on the grass cutter, I've tried to fix it, with some cement but it's still leaking. Really it's a waste of time. Best to chuck it and get her something better.

 

 

Some lovely flowers on the tree opposite us.

 

 

Didn't go to the farm today. Mrs owl reckoned it was OK with the shower of rain. I had run out of fish food so I spent the afternoon reading my latest book.

 

I did read somewhere that 2021 in Thailand was gonna be a wet year. I'm sure they are right. Get that particular department to broadcast winning lottery numbers.

 

And speaking of lottery numbers. No one in the village that we know of won last time out. So sadness shrouded the whole area for a couple of days. I blame it on the new green croc. Everything was lucky 'til he came along.

 

 

At the moment listening to Newcastle vs Spurs. Exciting game by the sound of it. Ten minutes to go and it looks like an away win. Kane just hit the post. No! Geordies have just scored; 2 -2.

 

Take care out there.

 

Bye y'all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by owl sees all

[Golden Triangle]

The heavens opened here on the Darkside of Pattaya today, coming down in stair rods it was, the road works have screwed everything up, I walked down to the shop where I have a beer or three with like minded guys who are 10 to 14 years older than me, I truly hope I age as well and for as long as those guys ????

 

I'll see if I can find some pics of the work, my slip on deck shoes are about a kilo heavier ???? 

 

Night all, GT.

[Golden Triangle]

[Golden Triangle]

Just now, Golden Triangle said:

That's at the bottom of my soil ????????

[Golden Triangle]

3 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

That's at the bottom of my soi????????

I will try and add more to give a clearer picture, I can't understand why the pics aren't on my tablet, that would've been easier than my phone ????

Edited April 4, 2021 by Golden Triangle

[paddypower]

On 11/19/2019 at 8:06 AM, EVENKEEL said:

My first time in Isaan I thought it was great, did the farang dance with land and house. I was still working so only stayed for 2 mos at a time. As time went by realized I wouldn't make this my retirement home, my reasoning was that I've worked too hard all my life to settle for this.....this being living in a rice paddie. Don't get me wrong, a lot of good hard working people. I didn't have to move to Thailand to live in the country, I grew up in the country, I have property in the country in the US. I would like to be nearer things that interest me, going to see a movie in English if I choose plus I love living near the sea.

 

Anyway, school for our daughter was becoming a topic of concern. Long story short we moved south to a little fishing village close to a nice beach, good schools, the move was for me as much as it was for our daughter. Plus, I'm a good 11 hrs by car away from THE family.

NST ?

[Golden Triangle]

Tried to get out the bottom of the Soi tonight on foot to go for a couple of wets with the lads, 78 & 82 respectively ???? 2 Hope's, Bob Hope & no hope, so went the long way around the back way, mind you the rain hasn't helped, no work done yesterday or today, not to worry, one day it'll all be done ????????????

[owl sees all]

11 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Tried to get out the bottom of the Soi tonight on foot to go for a couple of wets with the lads, 78 & 82 respectively ???? 2 Hope's, Bob Hope & no hope, so went the long way around the back way, mind you the rain hasn't helped, no work done yesterday or today, not to worry, one day it'll all be done ????????????

 

Couldn't you have just jumped across the ditch GT?

 

Is that your motor?

 

 

[Golden Triangle]

16 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Couldn't you have just jumped across the ditch GT?

 

Is that your motor?

 

 

Not mine I'm afraid, there are other ways to get there just a bit longer that's all ????

[owl sees all]

Owl Log 07-04-2021 - Wednesday morning

 

Lottery number chat has been pushed aside. New number one topic in the village is 'rain'. Will there be any? Rain in Udon. Rain in Khon Kaen. Rain in Ning Khai. Some rain in the market on Sunday. Nothing in our area. We are 15km from Ban Dung. Might as well be in another country. Mrs Owl thinks it's the masts at VoA.

 

Items me and Milly bought at the number four market:

 

New chair. A bit higher than what we normally get. As long as it's sat on flat ground it should lat for months. 100 baht.

 

 

Reishi strips. Three packs for 100 baht.

 

 

Went into seven eleven on the way back from the market. Bought a couple of my favourite snacks. Has lots of currants inside.

 

 

Went to the farm and spent an hour picking up the rubbish from number four. Use a oil-palm spiker. Got half a sack. The toot comes from the next farm.

 

 

Chickens came over for grub.

 

 

 

I think this is the tallest of the euca trees that were planted last June. Well over four metres now. Don't think I'll ever cut that one.

 

 

My books arrived. Three in one go. Gonna have to build a book shelf soon.

 

 

Found out where they get the leccy from to light up the road works. Pretty obvious now I look. Just plug it in.

 

 

Work on the new bridge progressing nicely.

 

 

Great stuff. That wasn't formwork as I thought. It is used for supporting the old structure while the new is built. Silly me.

 

 

Snapped a couple of zebras in Ban Dung. They do like their animals here.

 

 

Mrs Owl found a big hornet nest at the farm, behind the rice barn in a mango tree. Have to be careful around there. If they attack, the only way out is to jump in a pond and stay underwater for a while.

 

 

A couple of vids contrasting modern life.

 

 

 

We have changed our water supplier. The water from the old supplier tasted like ditch-water.

 

 

Mrs Owl's daughter's eight-year-old son is staying for a month. Me, Mildred and Mrs Owl, met him for the first time on Monday evening. He seems quite shy. Mildred is shy as it is. Not seen them converse yet. Perhaps they will find things difficult for a while. I'll find out if he can play chess. That could be an ice-breaker. If he like fish he'll be fine.

 

Since I stopped putting in three hours work at the farm every day, I've been getting out of condition. So! Get back into running again. Did four 80m sprints yesterday. From the farm house to number eight pond and back twice. Got to get back on the bike too.

 

More strange footy results. Chelsea 2 - Baggies 5. So all the top doggies have been substantially rolled over this season. Villa 7 vs The Reds. United 1 Spurs 6. City 2 foxes 5. Irons 0 - Geordies 2. Foxes 0 Irons 3. Although that last one turned out to be not so big of a surprise, but it was at the time. It was Foxes next game after their City win. Looks like Norwich for promotion. I'd like to see Reading and Barnsley join them.

 

Watched one of my favourite films again yesterday: Sublime. Not seen it for a couple of years. Still sends shivers though. Also watched 'Who is America' with Baron Sasha Cohen on Showtime. Amazing what those Americans were persuaded to do for a couple of dollars or a bit of fame.

 

Forgot to pay my internet bill yesterday. Hope I can post this before they cut me off. Have to find out how to do these things on the internet.

 

The University boat-race thrilled many of us English over the week end. Cambridge won both the men's and the girl's races on the Ouse. The reserve crews didn't race for the second year running. I couldn't get excited about the rowing this year. Only watched it hoping there would be a calamity; a sinking or a major clash of oars. Caught a couple of Zander (Pike-perch) in that river a few years back. Not very big; about 3/4 pounds each.

 

Gonna do a bit of fishing this afternoon.

 

That's it for now.

 

Bye y'all.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by owl sees all

[Kadilo]

5 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Owl Log 07-04-2021 - Wednesday morning

 

Lottery number chat has been pushed aside. New number one topic in the village is 'rain'. Will there be any? Rain in Udon. Rain in Khon Kaen. Rain in Ning Khai. Some rain in the market on Sunday. Nothing in our area. We are 15km from Ban Dung. Might as well be in another country. Mrs Owl thinks it's the masts at VoA.

 

Items me and Milly bought at the number four market:

 

New chair. A bit higher than what we normally get. As long as it's sat on flat ground it should lat for months. 100 baht.

 

 

Reishi strips. Three packs for 100 baht.

 

 

Went into seven eleven on the way back from the market. Bought a couple of my favourite snacks. Has lots of currants inside.

 

 

Went to the farm and spent an hour picking up the rubbish from number four. Use a oil-palm spiker. Got half a sack. The toot comes from the next farm.

 

 

Chickens came over for grub.

 

 

 

I think this is the tallest of the euca trees that were planted last June. Well over four metres now. Don't think I'll ever cut that one.

 

 

My books arrived. Three in one go. Gonna have to build a book shelf soon.

 

 

Found out where they get the leccy from to light up the road works. Pretty obvious now I look. Just plug it in.

 

 

Work on the new bridge progressing nicely.

 

 

Great stuff. That wasn't formwork as I thought. It is used for supporting the old structure while the new is built. Silly me.

 

 

Snapped a couple of zebras in Ban Dung. They do like their animals here.

 

 

Mrs Owl found a big hornet nest at the farm, behind the rice barn in a mango tree. Have to be careful around there. If they attack, the only way out is to jump in a pond and stay underwater for a while.

 

 

A couple of vids contrasting modern life.

 

 

 

 

 

We have changed our water supplier. The water from the old supplier tasted like ditch-water.

 

 

Mrs Owl's daughter's eight-year-old son is staying for a month. Me, Mildred and Mrs Owl, met him for the first time on Monday evening. He seems quite shy. Mildred is shy as it is. Not seen them converse yet. Perhaps they will find things difficult for a while. I'll find out if he can play chess. That could be an ice-breaker. If he like fish he'll be fine.

 

Since I stopped putting in three hours work at the farm every day, I've been getting out of condition. So! Get back into running again. Did four 80m sprints yesterday. From the farm house to number eight pond and back twice. Got to get back on the bike too.

 

More strange footy results. Chelsea 2 - Baggies 5. So all the top doggies have been substantially rolled over this season. Villa 7 vs The Reds. United 1 Spurs 6. City 2 foxes 5. Irons 0 - Geordies 2. Foxes 0 Irons 3. Although that last one turned out to be not so big of a surprise, but it was at the time. It was Foxes next game after their City win. Looks like Norwich for promotion. I'd like to see Reading and Barnsley join them.

 

Watched one of my favourite films again yesterday: Sublime. Not seen it for a couple of years. Still sends shivers though. Also watched 'Who is America' with Baron Sasha Cohen on Showtime. Amazing what those Americans were persuaded to do for a couple of dollars or a bit of fame.

 

Forgot to pay my internet bill yesterday. Hope I can post this before they cut me off. Have to find out how to do these things on the internet.

 

The University boat-race thrilled many of us English over the week end. Cambridge won both the men's and the girl's races on the Ouse. The reserve crews didn't race for the second year running. I couldn't get excited about the rowing this year. Only watched it hoping there would be a calamity; a sinking or a major clash of oars. Caught a couple of Zander (Pike-perch) in that river a few years back. Not very big; about 3/4 pounds each.

 

Gonna do a bit of fishing this afternoon.

 

That's it for now.

 

Bye y'all.

 

 

Virus Book Alert!!! Another potential ban coming ????

 

In the same re the boat race. Only interest is seeing one of them sink or crash onto each other. I guess if you’ve been to either Uni you may get more passionate. 
 

The strange footie results have been a theme of this season. Another good win for the hammers at Wolves. Now in their hands playing Leicester and Chelsea. Beauty is the pressures off us and on the likes of Chelsea and Spurs. No one expected us to be anywhere near top 4. 
 

I envy seeing the pics. Stick over here over a year now. Reading about Thailand’s plans to reduce quarantine, trial Phuket for zero quarantine etc but I’m just gonna sit it out til some kind of normality returns. I have mentally given up on this year. 
 

The girlfriend is coping ok as they do. Set her up selling some creams to her friends via the internet. Ain’t gonna give me an early retirement but keeps her busy and thinking along the right lines. 
 

Stuck in Aberdeen an extra day before work as the snow (Yes snow in April!) has meant no choppers flying for a day. Ive been up here the past week and the snow has been on and off for a few days. God i miss the sun! Another 2-3 years and can kiss goodbye to all this. 
 

The BIL home is coming on. The old man has now taken on the painting. They do love a bright colour. We got a little extension onto the family home on the same land and I asked the old fella to paint the exterior of mine after. They want me to have it done in the same grey. Apart from the fact that it’s prob because I’ll end up buying the paint for his, mine and the BIL home I’m not keen on the grey, so white it will be. 
 

The girlfriend planted some trees on the land I bought last year. Surprisingly coming on with a couple of mangoes sprouting. 
 

Stay safe .............and ban free ????
 

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

On 4/7/2021 at 5:30 PM, Kadilo said:

In the same re the boat race. Only interest is seeing one of them sink or crash onto each other. I guess if you’ve been to either Uni you may get more passionate. 

 

I've not been to either Oxford or Cambridge. Others; but not those two. However, I knew a mature lady who went to Oxford back in the 50's (pillow talk) and I used to go fishing near Cambridge town.

 

But you raise a good point. Why did I ever watch stuff like the boat race or F1? With F1, I wanted to see fires in the pit-lane, fisticuffs at the hair-pin and races where more than two cars have not been lapped.

 

But back to more probable thoughts. Want to see Orient back in the top-flight (soon) and The Irons to get top 4 (this season). Also Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal all to be relegated next season, to be replaced by Accrington, Gillingham and Crewe (bit of a long shot with Crewe; I know).

 

Now back to Essex. When you are back in beautiful Essex; whether walking or riding your bike, along the Thames or Blackwater or Crouch; take care.

 

 

 

 

They are everywhere in our county Kadilo.

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by owl sees all

[bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I've not been to either Oxford or Cambridge. Others; but not those two. However I knew a girl that went to Oxford (pillow talk) and I used to go fishing near Cambridge town.

I had the same fortune regarding pillow talk. I used to go out with a girl from Cambridge who got in at Oxford.

She went to New College, so-named because when it was completed in 1386 it was the newest college in Oxford. Typical British understatement.

[Andrew Dwyer]

43 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I had the same fortune regarding pillow talk. I used to go out with a girl from Cambridge who got in at Oxford.

She went to New College, so-named because when it was completed in 1386 it was the newest college in Oxford. Typical British understatement.

Maybe more to this story than you are telling us ...............

 

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Maybe more to this story than you are telling us ...............

 

I didn't think there were any surviving photos before my sex change operation.