The Neighbours

[engrin]

We live on a little Thai soi that consists of some small attached houses.

The neighbors across have wild chickens. When we first moved here the chickens would go through our gate and dig up my wife's garden. Even when the gate is closed, the spaces between the bars are big enough for them to get in.

So I bought some netting and we covered the gate so the gaps in the bars were filled. Now the chicken just sleep outside our gate. No problem there no damage anymore. Cost for netting 100baht. Cost for repairs to garden I forget.

My wife likes to leave things in our driveway. Mop, brooms, barbecue, washing bins, and soap. No problem there for me she keeps them tidy and out of the way.

One of our mops is missing. Someone opened the gate and borrowed the mop and hasn't left it outside their house or returned. And we're not sure which neighbor. Cost of mop 200baht? I forget.

There was a time that I needed a ladder to change a light bulb. I went next door to one of the neighbors but the family was not home. I took the ladder from their driveway and used it. When I was done, I returned it. All this happened while they were out. So, I don't even know if they are aware that I borrowed their ladder for 10 minutes..

We have a beautiful huge mango tree. There's maybe 50 mangoes up there. In Thailand, unlike North America, the Thais like to eat the mangoes at all stages of ripeness. They enjoy sour and sweet mangoes.

Anyways, my wife and I left the house for a few days to go somewhere. Got back and there were maybe 8 mangoes missing. My wife was very upset.

So she put up a sign in Thai telling everyone that she doesn't want the mangoes picked by anyone but herself. She also bagged a lot of the mangoes to give more of an indication that these mangos on the trees are special. She is waiting for a certain ripeness before picking.

About 1 hour ago we had a craving for some 7-11 chocolate. We took the motorbike. When we returned, I was cruising up to our driveway and a lady with a VERY LONG (maybe 15 foot) pole with net on the end was walking towards our tree. She noticed us an did a sharp u-turn and walked back towards her house without saying anything to us and her net was empty.

This ladies chickens are right outside our gate. One of them is cockle doodling right now. I've watched them grow. They are a good size now. Good for eating.

Edited April 5, 2007 by engrin

[mrt273nva]

This ladies chickens are right outside our gate. One of them is cockle doodling right now. I've watched them grow. They are a good size now. Good for eating.

you should invite the lady over to your house for mangos and bbq chicken. then spill something on the ground and start looking for the mop.

sometimes nieghbors take liberties. that is the same the world over i believe.

[hellohello]

love it ! life in thailand... i think a little bbq gai for dinner 2night?

funny as i was reading this post i told my hubby lets make tom yum gai tonight- luckily the neighbors have a nice patch of stuff across or street- where i will pillage for lemon grass and ginger. but its ok... coz they all come pick our prick!

[Crow Boy]

This ladies chickens are right outside our gate. One of them is cockle doodling right now. I've watched them grow. They are a good size now. Good for eating.

you should invite the lady over to your house for mangos and bbq chicken. then spill something on the ground and start looking for the mop.

sometimes nieghbors take liberties. that is the same the world over i believe.

We have a mango tree in our garden and I am happy to share them with my neighbours - sometimes they will mention it to me after the fact but a lot of time they don't bother. I had a neighbour ask me for some of the small ones to pickle and she gave me a jar of them a couple of weeks later. I came home one day and a neighbour had given me a bag of tamarind because she borrowed some on the mangos. In any year we get maybe 200 mangoes off the tree over the season - no matter how much I like them and I do, there is no way I am going to eat them all. We share amongst eachother and help to protect against the occasional outsider who tries to take them. It is a community thing and not to get worried about.

btw I understand the chicken situation too - I put in some seeds, sprouted them in pots, then transplanted them into the vegetable garden. I think chickens for miles around came and dug over the fresh dirt and ate the lot. You really going to get upset about a few baht worth of seed? If so I gently suggest you reconsider living here because it is a way of life.

CB

[canuckamuck]

Neighborhood ethics in Thailand are considerably grey. I built a garden beside the road at my place a couple of years ago. The original intent was so my wife could grow veggies in her own garden and quit messing up my decorative hobby garden that I have been working on for years. She set off right away planting tomatoes, basil, chilies, and a few other things I forget the name of. We then discovered that our neighbors appreciated this gesture, and they waited patiently for things to be nearly ripe before taking them. Our efforts to eat from our own garden were futile. We never saw anyone take our veggies, but we rarely got to pick anything for ourselves. Eventually this garden became a decorative garden too. My wife won’t even plant a chili bush any more.

Gai yang does sound good for tonight though, the neighbors up the road have a few spares running around

[Wolfie]

isn't there a law against this kind of thing, i was once told (but haven't researched it) that you can get arrested and fined for 'stealing' fruit/produce from another persons land.

but in the big scheme of things, i wouldn't get stressed about it

[bangkapiboy]

feed the chickens some rat poison.

[Tywais]

Our neighbor 'used' to have chickens, but any that came into our yard were quickly dispatched by our dogs.

[Jockstar]

they all come pick our prick!

:D

[Crow Boy]

isn't there a law against this kind of thing, i was once told (but haven't researched it) that you can get arrested and fined for 'stealing' fruit/produce from another persons land.

That is absolutely correct - stealing of any sort is a crime but so is not wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle - my neighbours think it hilareous that our 2 year old wears his helmet whenever he travels with his mother or me. It is a crime to drive while drunk - but I have a neighbour who drove all the way home but couldn't manage the drivewayI personally have never had a neighbour walk into my garden and take any of the vegetables which are grown in the front yard amongst flowers etc. I have never had a neighbour steal/take any plants from the beds outside the fence line but maybe I am lucky to have this situation I don't know. I have neighbours who have borrowed tools and yes they often "forget" to return them so I simply walk over and get it back - never an issue or problem.

but in the big scheme of things, i wouldn't get stressed about it

Agreed - too easy to get stressed about someting that is so minor

CB

[markr]

Eat some chicken!

Mark

[Nikkijah]

Same same

My partner planted 5 or 6 papaya trees, waited for them to ripen but as our land didn't have a fence at the time, somebody decided they would steal and eat the things un-ripe, it made me angry, for a minute, then I realised that they were simply greedy, cheeky 8astards who thought nothing of stealing from a neighbour

Get angry for a moment (on the inside, of course), then let it go...

It's a nice idea thinking about those chickens on your plate but you know how it goes, you'll get completely blanked and everybody will call you a greedy falang!

[Clipped]

watching a ripening fruit is like watching a child grow....then one day some bastard abducts it.... lol

you should inject some kind of liquid laxative into the fruit.

[peter991]

Neighbours can be wonderful people. In our remote Issan village, I wanted to go to the local shop - didn't feel like walking there so I asked BF where our motor-bike was - as I couldn't find it.

HIM: points vaguely down the street: 'Lady borrow.'

ME: How can I get to the shop?

HIM: Borrow motor-bike.

ME: From who? How? Where?

HIM: From neighbour.

ME: Which one?

HIM: Any one.

We live in a nice trusting village. I ended up borrowing a neighbour's motor-bike. Turns out the lady who borrowed out bike had a flat tyre on hers. Sure enough - ours turned up 2 hours later.

Peter

[markr]

you should inject some kind of liquid laxative into the fruit.

This is perfect

[dave111223]

you should inject some kind of liquid laxative into the fruit.

This is perfect

Yes indeed.

Better yet put up some kind of shrine near the tree (as if you just found out someone once died from falling out of it). Then inject the laxtive, and if there are any people bold enough to brave the ghosts they surely will never be back after the ghosts punish their stomachs

[t.s]

you should inject some kind of liquid laxative into the fruit.

This is perfect

no, this is petty.

[engrin]

Neighbours can be wonderful people. In our remote Issan village, I wanted to go to the local shop - didn't feel like walking there so I asked BF where our motor-bike was - as I couldn't find it.

HIM: points vaguely down the street: 'Lady borrow.'

ME: How can I get to the shop?

HIM: Borrow motor-bike.

ME: From who? How? Where?

HIM: From neighbour.

ME: Which one?

HIM: Any one.

We live in a nice trusting village. I ended up borrowing a neighbour's motor-bike. Turns out the lady who borrowed out bike had a flat tyre on hers. Sure enough - ours turned up 2 hours later.

Peter

Maybe I should move to your neghborhood. I am also in "Issan", But around here I bet if I gave my neighbors my motorbike it would be sold or wrecked.

I'm a being a little bit harsh here, but its all in good fun. Half serious and half kidding!

Funny thing happened just now.

We went to the families house. Took the kids for a swim in the lake. Got back to the family's house and mama was preparing a chicken. You know, plucking.

I thought she was preparing it for them too eat...

We were on our way out and she gave it to us. I tried to refuse (thinking of the chickens outside our gate) but my wife took the chicken. So, I will be eating wild chicken tonight, just not my neighbor's!!

[duratanium]

This ladies chickens are right outside our gate. One of them is cockle doodling right now. I've watched them grow. They are a good size now. Good for eating.

Cock-a-doodle .... SQUAWK!!! sounds good to me and the feathers could come in handy too. Food and a duster

[soundman]

Simple answer.

Forget the vegies, no mango trees, only poison ivy on the fences, and cover the whole yard with concrete - nothing for the chickens to scratch arround in.

Soundman.

[onzestan]

I don't think the chickens are responsable for their owners stealing your mangos.

Then again chicken with mango sauce, very nice

Cheers

Onzestan

[PaulUSA302]

When I was a kid, there were many days when I could be found in a neighbors tree eating cherries fresh from the branches.. Or I was picking peaches from some of the better tree in the area, or I was picking apples from many of the apple trees in the area. There was one house with very tasty dinosaur plumbs! we use to sneak into the yard to get them but the lady of the house caught me, gave me a rake and 2 baskets and told me to shake the tree and to fill the two baskets. One basket was for her and the other one I could take. It was her idea that if most of the ripe fruit was picked than it would not fall to ground, rot and attract bees. After she put me to work a few more times I decided to cross her tree off my list.

[jaiyenyen]

watching a ripening fruit is like watching a child grow....then one day some bastard abducts it.... lol

you should inject some kind of liquid laxative into the fruit.

my mum used to do this to my dads food when they had a falling out, I remember one occasion when he only made it half way up the stairs to the bathroom, before the "world fell out of his bottom"

They are still going strong after 60 years of marriage

[Totster]

I have to say it is part of the village life that people share the fruit on the trees etc, the same way as meals and drinks are always shared.

Saying that, it seems that your neighbour is being a little underhand... not very neighbourly.

We don't have a mango shortage in our village, the school has about 40 large mango trees in the grounds which anyone is free to take.. people don't abuse it either..

totster