After three and a half years of living in a remote village, the last nine months of so on my own, I decided that I just couldn't hack it any longer.

I spent several weeks looking at rental properties in the town, but couldn't find anything suitable, the only house I wanted already had a farang in it, luckily he was in the process of building his own place and two days ago he moved out and I moved in today.

It took many calls and quite a bit of bribing to get TOT to put in a line, but I'm now on ADSL instead of that crappy ipstar thing...... yaaay.

I can walk or bicycle to the local market (and the expat bar) and I already feel much more relaxed.

Village life is fine when you are a family unit, but in solitary I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Wow! I always thought you liked it out there in the jungle, but now realise you were toughing it out and putting a brave face on it.

Good man, never one to complain either I believe if you don't like your situation it's best to be courageous enough to make a change.

Good luck in the future. Sounds like things are on the up and up. Here's to a few cold ones in the local bar. Cheers.

Good on ya taddy - just go for it and be happy!

Good Luck Thad

Moss

Wow! I always thought you liked it out there in the jungle, but now realise you were toughing it out and putting a brave face on it.

Rob, trust me on this one, I did love it when it was me, wifey, little-girl and the outlaws, it's a great lifestyle and I could have carried on with that way of life for ever, but when three becomes one, your outlook tends to change a little bit.

I wasn't being brave, I just don't hang out all my laundry in public,,,, there is very little point in that, the sympathy-o-meter tends not to give even the faintest signs of movement on the net (and that's the last place I would go looking for some if I needed it, which I don't)

I've made this move to, hopefully, save my marriage, if it works, great, if it doesn't, mai pben rai.

I'm only guessin here, but was one of the factors the fact that your wife couldn't tolerate the solitude?

Just wondering as we all know how "sociable" many thais are.

Good luck with it, Thad. Sensible move.

Good luck

I'm only guessin here, but was one of the factors the fact that your wife couldn't tolerate the solitude?

Just wondering as we all know how "sociable" many thais are.

Actually, it was the close proximity to her mother that first started to annoy wifey.

I don't think that I have put this down in type before, but this is what happened.

We started a small business in the village, and it was Ok, wasn't going to make us rich, but it was Ok. Wifey wanted more and suggested that we set up in the town, and I agreed, in hindsight, without thinking it through properly. The upside was, business was better, but the problem was that it's 12km away, on a road that you do not travel on by motorcy at night, so if the kids were playing late, it was better for her to sleep there, this quickly became a permanent arrangement. That irked, but it was liveable with.

Then she started to go missing for days at a time, she wouldn't tell me where she was or what she was doing and would fly into a rage if I asked, this was not just worrying but completely out of character, I'm sure you can imagine what I suspected she was doing, the truth turned out to be far worse.

Her bestest friend in the whole world (bitch) had introduced her to the joys of the casino, and even better, yaba (that explained the violent mood swings)

One day, without any prompting from me, she broke down and admitted she had a serious problem, she told me that she needed to get away from this area for a while and she was off to stay with some good friends in Bangkok for a while. What option did I have but to let her go, but I did know the friends that she was talking about and they are good people.

She was gone for three months, but we were talking on the phone every day and the shouting stopped, so her self imposed exile was working as far as I could tell. She came back around four months ago, told her bestest friend to go <deleted> herself, and started to run the business again.

But we were still living in separate locations (for one reason or another, there is no way I could live in the shop) so, that is why I have rented this house. She has been visiting her sister in Buriram over the weekend while I got all the furniture moved over, but she will be back tomorrow and hopefully we can start living like a family again.

P.S. cheers Pingy and eeky.

Sounds like you're on the right rack mate. Best wishes.

...thank you for sharing your story. It was very sad reading, until the end, which is full of hope. I wish you and your family all the best. We all make errors in life, and your wife seems to be a strong and intelligent lady in that she recognised that she had a problem and then went on to beat it. Good luck.

Hope the future will be full of smiles.

Wow Thad, just a bit of a story. Had my doubts when I first read about the trip to BKK, but seems like it worked out in the end - great stuff!

No way I could handle it out in the sticks alone. It's interesting and relaxing for a few days, but anything after that the isolation would really start grating away.

For all its faults, the convenience of living in BKK, along with the community, wins nearly every time compared to other places.

You're in my thoughts and prayers Taddy.

You're in my thoughts and prayers Taddy.

Thanks Tigs, you know that I am no longer a believer in the bible stuff, but I have the utmost respect for some that do, being in your thoughts and prayers means more than them possibly being answered by a third party.

No way I could handle it out in the sticks alone. It's interesting and relaxing for a few days, but anything after that the isolation would really start grating away.

For all its faults, the convenience of living in BKK, along with the community, wins nearly every time compared to other places.

Well, it wasn't that bad, and to be quite honest, if I had chosen that lifestyle before I became a family I probably could have handled it quite easily, I was born and raised in a village called Haydock (Tigs will know where that is, and any horse racing fans) it's a fairly large village now, but in my youth it was one road, half a dozen pubs and farm-land as far as the eye could see, granted I became a little bit more used to the heady cosmopolitan surroundings as I got older, but to this day, you will never find me wanting to live in a city (unless it's a very small one where cows are still walking on the road and the traffic lights change once every two weeks, a bit like Frodsham)

The part that really got to me was, I'm happy with my own company, but not 24/7, I love solitude, sometimes I crave it, on the days, especially school holidays, and little girl had her mates round to watch Cartoon Network or sing out of tune for hours, I would go for a long walk...... coming home to an empty house night after night, however, is a completely different matter.

BKK, I just couldn't handle, that would really drive me insane.

You're in my thoughts and prayers Taddy.

Thanks Tigs, you know that I am no longer a believer in the bible stuff, but I have the utmost respect for some that do, being in your thoughts and prayers means more than them possibly being answered by a third party.

I know that Taddy, but I still believe in the Third Party so that's what matters!

ps know Haydock well, cool place too...

Thad, indeed a moving tale.

Good luck for the future.

Yes, moving in both senses. But at least, thankfully, it looks like having a happy ending. Best wishes and the best of luck for the future.

Frodsham. Now there's a name that conjures up happy memories of evenings spent in the Helter Skelter or the big Sam Smiths pub on the corner (Golden Eagle?).

If you want a town where cows roam free you could do no better than Dung Quat. A picture of the high street Sunday afternoon. No bars but loads of cafes that sell beer. Problem is that the concept of cold beer has not caught on out here in the sticks, you either have warm beer or ice in at least the first two (while the bucket full of bottles, water and ice is arranged and allowed to cool down).

Frodsham. Now there's a name that conjures up happy memories of evenings spent in the Helter Skelter or the big Sam Smiths pub on the corner (Golden Eagle?).

OMG, you know the place!!

Good on you I wish I have the courage to step out of my shell too.

All the best, mate; I hope it all works-out.

Thaddy - I know the problem well. Have lived through a somewhat similar scenario, bue we are now on an even keel and have been for a long time. Hope everything works out as well for you as it did for us.

Frodsham. Now there's a name that conjures up happy memories of evenings spent in the Helter Skelter or the big Sam Smiths pub on the corner (Golden Eagle?).

OMG, you know the place!!

Used to work for Kellogg Brown & Root down the road in Runcorn (the old ICI headquarter campus). My digs was in a converted farmhouse doing B&B out past Kingsley so a stop off in Frodsham was de rigeur. Also virtually next to the Helter Skelter was the best fish and chip shop for miles. Run by an English woman and her Malaysian husband it did all the chippy stuff plus a reasonable Chinese Malay menu including the best nasi goreng I've ever tasted .

any news here, thaddy? (sorry, I've been out and about and not online much these past weeks)

SNAFU mate..... totally FUBAR

SNAFU mate..... totally FUBAR

Speak English MAN!

Translations

SNAFU Situation Normal All F**ked Up

FUBAR F**ked Up Beyond All Repair {or Recognition}

Military slang origin 1940/41

Regards

Translations

SNAFU Situation Normal All F**ked Up

FUBAR F**ked Up Beyond All Repair {or Recognition}

Military slang origin 1940/41

Regards

Thanks honey! you just made it "decent" clear to me!

but you're still with us, right buddy? You're not one of these chaps qho's getting the bullet from his wife's mates I hope?

but you're still with us, right buddy? You're not one of these chaps who's getting the bullet from his wife's mates I hope?

Still with us? ....... of course, large as life and half as ugly (CB will get that hopefully)

I don't think wifey has any friends left, she has managed to alienate everyone she has ever known, including her family...... when I do see them and ask what she is up to, they just shrug, I'm a fairly good reader of body language, and it isn't a 'we don't want to tell you' shrug, it's more of a 'we have given up to' shrug.

Patsy mentioned a song in a different thread by a group called 'The Bare Naked Ladies' ...... in my digging to find the mp3 file for her, I found another one of theirs called 'One Week' ....... great tune ......

Here's the lyrics........

Its been one week since you looked at me

Cocked your head to the side and said Im angry.

Five days since you laughed at me

Saying get that together come back and see me.

Three days since the living room

I realized its all my fault, but couldnt tell you

Yesterday youd forgiven me

But itll still be two days till I say Im sorry

Hold it now and watch the hoodwink

As I make you stop, think

Youll think youre looking at aquaman

I summon fish to the dish, although I like the chalet swiss

I like the sushi cause its never touched a frying pan

Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes

Big like Lee Anne Rimes

Because Im all about value

Bert kaempferts got the mad hits

You try to match wits

You try to hold me but I bust through

Gonna make a break and take a fake

Id like a stinkin achin shake

I like vanilla, its the finest of the flavours

Gotta see the show, cause then youll know

The vertigo is gonna grow

Cause its so dangerous, youll have to sign a waiver

How can I help it if I think youre funny when youre mad

Trying hard not to smile though I feel bad

Im the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral

Cant understand what I mean?

Well, you soon will

I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve

I have a history of taking off my shirt

Its been one week since you looked at me

Threw your arms in the air and said youre crazy

Five days since you tackled me

Ive still got the rug burns on both my knees

Its been three days since the afternoon

You realized its not my fault not a moment too soon

Yesterday youd forgiven me

And now I sit back and wait till you say youre sorry

Chickity china the chinese chicken

You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin

Watchin x-files with no lights on, were dans la maison

I hope the smoking mans in this one

Like harrison ford Im getting frantic

Like sting Im tantric

Like snickers, guaranteed to satisfy

Like kurasawa I make mad films

Okay I dont make films

But if I did theyd have a samurai

Gonna get a set of better clubs

Gonna find the kind with tiny nubs just so my

Irons arent always flying off the back-swing

Gotta get in tune with sailor moon

Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes

That make me think the wrong thing

How can I help it if I think youre funny when youre mad

Trying hard not to smile though I feel bad

Im the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral

Cant understand what I mean? you soon will

I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve

I have a history of losing my shirt

Its been one week since you looked at me

Dropped your arms to your sides and said Im sorry

Five days since I laughed at you

And said you just did just what I thought you were gonna do

Three days since the living room

We realized were both to blame, but what could we do?

Yesterday you just smiled at me

Cause itll still be two days till we say were sorry

Itll still be two days till we say were sorry

Itll still be two days till we say were sorry

Birchmount stadium, home of the robbie

Three lines I really like and that are particularly applicable to me are...

"I have a history of losing my shirt"

"I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve"

and the best one

"I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral"

Don't worry about me, take care of yourself, and if the worst does happen..... what the heck, it's been a giggle.