Diary of a farang in Isaan

[Odysseus123]

In the spirit of ATX and a tribute to trees in general..Ody presents 'The Lonely Mobility Scooter'

"look upon my photos ye mighty and despair!"????

 

[bluesofa]

12 hours ago, voulez vous said:

Lovely pictures Mr Odysseus

 

Mr Owl has passed a couple pictures on to me for posting.

I'm assuming he sent them telepathically?

[voulez vous]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I'm assuming he sent them telepathically?

Good morning everyone.

 

Mr Owl is well. He is looking forward to rejoining the forum, and engaging with regular posters later this week. He has lots of pictures to show.

 

[Odysseus123]

My wife has just informed me that the village "wise woman" has died.She was 93 or thereabouts as elderly Thai people are somewhat hazy as to birthdays.

 

At first we wai'ed each other..but in the end I used to give her a big hug..she radiated matriarchal strength and wisdom to quite an astonishing degree-a natural medium for animism..which was,essentially,along with shamanism the basic bedrock of the village's spiritual perceptions.

 

[bluesofa]

31 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

My wife has just informed me that the village "wise woman" has died.She was 93 or thereabouts as elderly Thai people are somewhat hazy as to birthdays.

You say elderly Thai people are vague about birthdays.

I remember thirty years ago hardly any Thais could remember their birthday, as so few people celebrated them.They just weren't important.

It occurs to me (being cynical) birthday parties might be a foreign concept which have become popular in more recent years, especially when there's a 'sponsor' willing to pay.

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by bluesofa

[Neeranam]

On 11/18/2019 at 10:34 AM, owl sees all said:

The wife was on the loo and couldn't give rice to the monk the other day. She asked me to give it. No problem! But I didn't get on my knees; just called him over and tipped it into his pot. I got the 'thank you' verse all the same. Later, when the wife found out that I'd not even bowed my head she was not best amused. "You must not be higher than monk," said she.

When the monks came round to bless my house, along with many friends, I did a cultural faux pas by stepping over the food on the floor for the monks as there was no way around it. She was well-<deleted> but the monks found it rather amusing. 

[Neeranam]

22 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

You say elderly Thai people are vague about birthdays.

I remember thirty years ago hardly any Thais could remember their birthday, as so few people celebrated them.They just weren't important.

It occurs to me (being cynical) birthday parties might be a foreign concept which have become popular in more recent years, especially when there's a 'sponsor' willing to pay.

 

Especially rural Thais. My wife has 2 birthdays, one the day she was born and another the day her parents registered the birth, 3 months later. It could have been as her father was in Vietnam with the army. 

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

Especially rural Thais. My wife has 2 birthdays, one the day she was born and another the day her parents registered the birth, 3 months later. It could have been as her father was in Vietnam with the army. 

Rather like the queen in the UK then. She has two birthdays.

[Neeranam]

On 1/9/2021 at 1:27 PM, voulez vous said:

Mr Owl will be back soon. He would like to thank all the posters for any concern. At the present time he has vacated his shed.

I wonder whatever happened to the member called "Udon" who lived in a shed in Oz. 

[Odysseus123]

32 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

You say elderly Thai people are vague about birthdays.

I remember thirty years ago hardly any Thais could remember their birthday, as so few people celebrated them.They just weren't important.

It occurs to me (being cynical) birthday parties might be a foreign concept which have become popular in more recent years, especially when there's a 'sponsor' willing to pay.

 

My Mother-in-Law's earliest memory is of an air attack on her village which was adjacent to the ford crossing the Mun river to Ubon Ratchathani..

 

I think she was a bit young for the Japanese attack in '42 but,quite possibly,it could have been a US or British attack in late '44 or '45.

 

It was not until the Americans came in '66 (or thereabouts)that they built a bridge across the river..but most Thai's continued to cross the river at the ford at low tide or in cockleshell boats...and she's a mighty river when she's in spate.

 

Modern navigational equipment on the Mun...

 

PS-Perhaps I should have said Date of Birth.A lot of elderly village Thai when finally roped into the administrative system appeared to have chosen the King or Queens birthday and just guessed at a year..

 

My M-i-L is between 77 and 82 years of age...by my estimate.

 

[gamb00ler]

24 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Especially rural Thais. My wife has 2 birthdays, one the day she was born and another the day her parents registered the birth, 3 months later. It could have been as her father was in Vietnam with the army. 

I know what you mean.... my wife also has 2 but only about 3 weeks apart.  She was born at her paternal grandmother's house in Nakhon Nowhere.  Birth registration had to wait for a convenient time.  Date was adjusted so that no late registration fine would be levied.

Edited January 12, 2021 by gamb00ler

[HighPriority]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

I wonder whatever happened to the member called "Udon" who lived in a shed in Oz. 

I don’t recall him, but I live in a shed that makes my thai MiL’s place look like a castle... ????

[Odysseus123]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

I wonder whatever happened to the member called "Udon" who lived in a shed in Oz. 

There has been no-one called "Udon" on this thread as far as I know..

 

Sheds in Oz can be the most amazing structures..anyway.

[Odysseus123]

33 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

I don’t recall him, but I live in a shed that makes my thai MiL’s place look like a castle... ????

Ssssh...everyone knows that you live in a shed with the most amazing water tank NASA cries whenever it sees it but,by gum,it's yours and never,ever,let a feral goanna take it away from you...????

[HighPriority]

3 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Ssssh...everyone knows that you live in a shed with the most amazing water tank NASA cries whenever it sees it but,by gum,it's yours and never,ever,let a feral goanna take it away from you...????

A 3/4 full tank at that ! ????

23 deg, a beer in hand, a gentle rain falling and the mozzies have eased off... wouldn’t be dead for quids ????????
I’m glad you got your scooter back from those hoodlums that pinched it Ode !
Also, good to see you out and about, but I do worry about Owl and his welfare, I mean that “Do you want” bloke seems ok but I’m not sure I really trust him... maybe Owl really is locked up in the shed and it’s Mrs Owl up to no good...? 
Maybe he was fixing the bloody roof (again ????) and she’s nicked his ladder and left him up there ?

 

[Kadilo]

I think he has simply been banned. 

He does come across as a bit of a trouble maker ????

[Odysseus123]

Just now, HighPriority said:

A 3/4 full tank at that ! ????

23 deg, a beer in hand, a gentle rain falling and the mozzies have eased off... wouldn’t be dead for quids ????????
I’m glad you got your scooter back from those hoodlums that pinched it Ode !
Also, good to see you out and about, but I do worry about Owl and his welfare, I mean that “Do you want” bloke seems ok but I’m not sure I really trust him... maybe Owl really is locked up in the shed and it’s Mrs Owl up to no good...? 
Maybe he was fixing the bloody roof (again ????) and she’s nicked his ladder and left him up there ?

 

It's good to see you gambolling about in "Godzown" country (as a depressed Canadian once put it to me-but why are Canadians always depressed?)???? but I am very sure that "Owl" will overcome his administrative difficulties -busted to buck private perhaps?

 

In the meantime it behooves us to continue to support the thread until the 14 days Field Punishment is over....

[Andrew Dwyer]

My guess is that he went against the narrative, used some of David Icke’s philosophy and said something anti Covid or anti vaxxer or anti masker and the gestapo swooped and confined him to barracks for a week ( or 10 days ) !

Seems like the way the forum is going nowadays ☹️

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

My guess is that he went against the narrative, used some of David Icke’s philosophy and said something anti Covid or anti vaxxer or anti masker and the gestapo swooped and confined him to barracks for a week ( or 10 days ) !

Seems like the way the forum is going nowadays ☹️

Goodness me....

Gawd..if it was the Great War they would have tied him to the wheel of a general service wagon for 8 hours a day..and fed him Marmite..

 

We live in degenerate times..????

[bannork]

Last night and this morning was one of the coldest spells I've ever experienced in Thailand. The cold and biting wind from China raged all night, I feared for our newly born calves with the wind chill but we put up some tarpaulin on the north and eastern sides of the cattle shed which helped shelter the gang.

Tough dudes.

 

 

[HighPriority]

1 minute ago, bannork said:

Last night and this morning was one of the coldest spells I've ever experienced in Thailand. The cold and biting wind from China raged all night, I feared for our newly born calves with the wind chill but we put up some tarpaulin on the north and eastern sides of the cattle shed which helped shelter the gang.

Tough dudes.

 

 

Good luck with your mooies, I’ve still got 4-5 months until I get the cold weather.

[Andrew Dwyer]

5 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Goodness me....

Gawd..if it was the Great War they would have tied him to the wheel of a general service wagon for 8 hours a day..and fed him Marmite..

 

We live in degenerate times..????

Marmite would be heaven for a Pom , if they wanted him to suffer he would be spoon fed that poor imitation, Vegemite !! ????

[HighPriority]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Marmite would be heaven for a Pom , if they wanted him to suffer he would be spoon fed that poor imitation, Vegemite !! ????

I’m reporting this post...

 

 

 

 

 

 

????

[Odysseus123]

8 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Marmite would be heaven for a Pom , if they wanted him to suffer he would be spoon fed that poor imitation, Vegemite !! ????

Ah..I take your point...Poms can cope with Marmite but real men (Aussies) like the stuff that could kill a brown dog instantly whilst licking his goolies...

 

Empires are won and lost on this sort of thing...as we read in Tacitus.????

[sirineou]

On 1/11/2021 at 8:20 AM, voulez vous said:

Lovely pictures Mr Odysseus

 

Mr Owl has passed a couple pictures on to me for posting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been stuck in the US for now over a year, lucky for us we have my brother in law taking care of the house, and car.  I thought that by now the fish in our small pond would be dead, but much to my surprise , the guppies seem to be doing better without my help and has multiplied tenfold, and some small fancy goldfish I  had bought are doing great., I think I was killing them with love LOL

My Sister in law send me this picture. Meet Ms Bubblehead

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by sirineou

[HighPriority]

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

We have been stuck in the US for now over a year, lucky for us we have my brother in law taking care of the house, and car.  I thought that by now the fish in our small pond would be dead, but much to my surprise , the guppies seem to be doing better without my help and has multiplied tenfold, and some small fancy goldfish I  had bought are doing great., I think I was killing them with love LOL

My Sister in law send me this picture. Meet Ms Bubblehead

 

We’ve already met, one night in Bangla...

[Odysseus123]

5 minutes ago, sirineou said:

We have been stuck in the US for now over a year, lucky for us we have my brother in law taking care of the house, and car.  I thought that by now the fish in our small pond would be dead, but much to my surprise , the guppies seem to be doing better without my help and has multiplied tenfold, and some small fancy goldfish I  had bought are doing great., I think I was killing them with love LOL

My Sister in law send me this picture. Meet Ms Bubblehead

 

It's good to see you back Mr Sireneou.......

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, HighPriority said:

We’ve already met, one night in Bangla...

Sounds like a fishy story to me

[HighPriority]

3 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Sounds like a fishy story to me

As they often are, but my one is different... ????

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, Odysseus123 said:

It's good to see you back Mr Sireneou.......

Good to see you too my friend, Hope you are doing well. Cant wait for the Vaccine to be distributed here in the US (I have an appointment with my Cardiologist the 19th to see if he can put me in the cue,) and hope to be back in Thailand as soon as restrictions are relaxed a bit. No way am I spending 15 days locked up in hotel room with the misses,  I am sure she will kill me. and if she doesn't I might just kill myself. LOL