After 20 years i've yet to see any Thai 'Workman' that makes a proper job of just about anything you could name.  They have no teaching of Job Skills, it's all Monkey see, Monkey do and dare you ask for the slightest change to anything the answer is usually....''Can only do one way ''.    They have no pride in their quality of workmanship and it's only ever about Money....grab the Money and away to the next job.

For "pruning", read "Hacking"

 

No secateurs, just machetes and chain saws

 

To be fair, they look terrible at first but after a few months these trees seem to recover better than I would have thought!!

Just now, trainman34014 said:

After 20 years i've yet to see any Thai 'Workman' that makes a proper job of just about anything you could name.  They have no teaching of Job Skills, it's all Monkey see, Monkey do and dare you ask for the slightest change to anything the answer is usually....''Can only do one way ''.    They have no pride in their quality of workmanship and it's only ever about Money....grab the Money and away to the next job.

utter rubbish. There are many Thai tradesman in many categories who do excellent work and do it correctly.

You are obviously hiring the wrong people or are somewhat prestigious against Thai workmen in general.

Maybe change your attitude.

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

One of the sadder aspects of life in Thailand is the dislike/contempt Thais have for trees. When, supposedly, trimming a tree they appear to attack it with what seems to be venom and hate. Strange. This must be a relatively new phenomenon. Many will remember when Sathorn, in Bangkok, was an attractive tree-lined a avenue, only to wake up one morning and see that all the trees had been chopped down in the dead of night. Sacrilege.

 

Many Thais DO keep great gardens and one of the features of the country are the numerous coffee shops which are very decorated with gardens and pleasant seating areas. It's really  the wide and expansive lower class which has no use for gardens and is only ever looking 24 hours in the future. 

 

We have this problem with developers too. This is the Chiang Mai, the so-called "rose of the north". The city is littered with the horrible housing projects. They've created miserable concrete jungles baking in the sun and are totally tasteless built for maximum profits. This and all the cars heat up the city and create the urban heat island effect. 

 

2 hours ago, couchpotato said:

utter rubbish. There are many Thai tradesman in many categories who do excellent work and do it correctly.

You are obviously hiring the wrong people or are somewhat prestigious against Thai workmen in general.

Maybe change your attitude.

The builder who constructed our house and outbuildings at our place in Rayong had great skills and knowledge. He and his team were hardworking, and they finished the project on time and to perfection. Could not have been bettered by anyone anywhere else in the world.

 

 

2 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

After 20 years i've yet to see any Thai 'Workman' that makes a proper job of just about anything you could name.  They have no teaching of Job Skills, it's all Monkey see, Monkey do and dare you ask for the slightest change to anything the answer is usually....''Can only do one way ''.    They have no pride in their quality of workmanship and it's only ever about Money....grab the Money and away to the next job.

You haven't been looking hard enough.

 

If you want an excellent builder, plumber, mechanic, electrician or painter, let me know.

3 friends of mine ended up at the Pattaya city hospital last year because of filthy water ingestion causing vomiting, diarrhea etc.

Avoid

It's all about hack, hack and hack.

 

The amazing thing is the recovery is so quick.

 

When in Rome etc

33 minutes ago, Andycoops said:

3 friends of mine ended up at the Pattaya city hospital last year because of filthy water ingestion causing vomiting, diarrhea etc.

Avoid

And this has to do with pruning trees...explain.

Thai pruning simply simulates nature, where a herd of elephants comes through ripping off branches and snapping trunks. It's ugly for a while, then the trees grow back with an even healthier root system.

22 hours ago, couchpotato said:

You are obviously hiring the wrong people or are somewhat prestigious against Thai workmen in general.

Is that a Freudian slip, or did you mean 'prejudice'? 

On 4/7/2025 at 9:24 AM, marin said:

After just 3 months they are growing out quite well. The climate encourages fast growth. If we did not prune our trees yearly the trees and the power lines would be down in September and October the heaviest rainfall and winds month

The trees I had pruned exactly a year ago are already 2 meters higher. That tree in the original post is pretty bad though.

2 minutes ago, bunnydrops said:

The trees I had pruned exactly a year ago are already 2 meters higher. That tree in the original post is pretty bad though.

That tree was a "hoo gra jong" (not sure the english name, hoo as in ear) and it's very fast growing but won't do meters a year.

 

Which tree are you talking about which grows so fast?

35 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

Is that a Freudian slip, or did you mean 'prejudice'? 

Whoops..yes wrong word.cheers

On 4/6/2025 at 7:57 PM, NorthernRyland said:

 

no this is really a thing. Of course it's not everyone but I see way too much concrete and dirt where it doesn't need to be. It's harder here to keep gardens though because they can explode in jungles very easily.

 

Ever see the houses where they concrete over everything and let it bake in the sun? Looks miserable to me but many people do this because it's easier to maintain. 

 

Many housing projects are big offenders here. Pure concrete from house to house with barely any privacy and scorching hot.

I see the same thing in rural subdivisions. Concrete instead of lawns.  Then they wonder why flooding is so common.

On 4/8/2025 at 9:46 AM, Gottfrid said:

Oh, sorry, It was taken from a disco song and altered a little bit. when did I lump everyone for being older? When did I talk about strength? What I did was making same stupid reply as you did. So, there are no animals left in Thailand? Why does people get hurt by elephants and gaurs then? What about all the snakes that turn up in gardens all the time? What about all the roaming dogs and cats on the streets. Why are they not eradicated, if it is like you say? Niether of the examples comes from zoo´s or reservations where people take care. This was just a few examples. There are much more.

The only difference in that, is that I don't make stupid replies but you surely do, as that one was. Of course there are animals in Thailand. Many dogs and cats, plus elephants. Most wildlife is in protected parks. If they weren't, they would be Pad Krapow. Snakes are killed here daily, and some leave them alone,, as all snakes aren't tasty. If they were all good to eat like Rattlesnakes, they would be eaten all the time. Dogs and cats are domestic animals,. and not eaten here like they are in Korea and Vietnam. If they were, you wouldn't see many around. People get hurt here by elephants mostly because they are cruel to them, or they are protecting their young. People get hurt by animals because they are treated bad, they don't know how to handle them, or they are wild animals that should be left alone and unpredictable.

48 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Dogs and cats are domestic animals

 

Stray dogs, lizards and birds are the only abundant wildlife I see in Thailand and I live in the frickin' mountains surrounded by miles of touched forests. I really don't understand how everything could cleaned out to this extent since there's really not that many people even. Never once saw a wild monkey in all my years here even. The forest fires must be the culprit.

22 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

Stray dogs, lizards and birds are the only abundant wildlife I see in Thailand and I live in the frickin' mountains surrounded by miles of touched forests. I really don't understand how everything could cleaned out to this extent since there's really not that many people even. Never once saw a wild monkey in all my years here even. The forest fires must be the culprit.

They've eaten all that is legal to eat, and much that wasn't, and Thailand isn't known for dog or cat eating like Vietnam and Korea is. If it was, you wouldn't see many cats or dogs around. Lizards are eaten, but mostly the bigger ones. Any birds they can shoot are shot, but most birds don't have enough meat to  bother with. Luckily for some animals, some smart people set aside land as p[arks where no hunting is allowed, although some do poach. Monkeys were prevalent in much Thailand at one time, but now are localized in the parks and some cities like Lopburi, where tourist dollars has them popular, although they cause a lot of problems. Netting is done all over, and all fish are kept, as conservation means little here.

10 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

The only difference in that, is that I don't make stupid replies but you surely do, as that one was. Of course there are animals in Thailand. Many dogs and cats, plus elephants. Most wildlife is in protected parks. If they weren't, they would be Pad Krapow. Snakes are killed here daily, and some leave them alone,, as all snakes aren't tasty. If they were all good to eat like Rattlesnakes, they would be eaten all the time. Dogs and cats are domestic animals,. and not eaten here like they are in Korea and Vietnam. If they were, you wouldn't see many around. People get hurt here by elephants mostly because they are cruel to them, or they are protecting their young. People get hurt by animals because they are treated bad, they don't know how to handle them, or they are wild animals that should be left alone and unpredictable.

No, people in Thailand does not know how to treat animals. Only people in your precious country do. You are truly deluded.

7 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

No, people in Thailand does not know how to treat animals. Only people in your precious country do. You are truly deluded.

Some people here obviously do, but you can see the neglect that happens all over by how these animals are treated. I've never seen this happen to any degree in the US. Nowhere near deluded but definitely more aware than you seem to be.

 

Thought the OP might be interested. This was a new word for me.

 

pollard noun: a tree cut back to the trunk to promote a dense head of foliage

 

pollard verb: to make a pollard of a tree

 

 

49 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Some people here obviously do, but you can see the neglect that happens all over by how these animals are treated. I've never seen this happen to any degree in the US. Nowhere near deluded but definitely more aware than you seem to be.

I cycle past many show quality cows every morning.

I doubt very much your American farmers take such good care of their livestock.

 

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I cycle past many show quality cows every morning.

I doubt very much your American farmers take such good care of their livestock.

 

The health departments and animal welfare is always on the ball, making sure animal cruelty is as non existent as possible. Cows here are food, as they are in America, so measures are taken to see they are well taken care of, but most of the cows you see here are skinny, meaning they aren't eating enough quality food. ................https://aldf.org/article/laws-that-protect-animals/.The US has the 4H, which teaches children how to take care of livestock, and many are awarded for prize animals,........... which are then used as breeding stock..................https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_welfare_in_the_United_States