Well, where do I start..... may as well be on the 15th of last month.

I had to do a visa run to Laos, to get a non-imm 'o', for what should hopefully be the last time as I will be 50 years old in about 3 weeks. That part was easy, I just slip a laos bloke a few sheckles, he takes my passport in the evening and brings it back before lunch the next day, I don't go anywhere near the consulate myself, which is worth it, it felt a bit odd the first time but as his name is 'Boon Mee' he sounded trustworthy.

Previously, I've stayed in laos that night, but this time I decided to cross back as soon as I had my passport back. big mistake, it was a Friday afternoon, and it did take all afternoon. I thought that I would stay one night in Nong Khai at the hotel where my car was locked up, just watch a movie with a couple of cans and get an early night ready for the drive back in the morning. Got shown to a room, sat down on the bed and flicked through the tv channels, all 157 of them...... and not a single one in English.

I went to reception and told the chap that I couldn't stay there, when he asked why and I told him, he seamed genuinely surprised that that was a problem..... so I went in search of another hotel, found one, a big pink thing, it had True and the room had a bath, I was sold .... until 8pm when the rock concert started next door, I was on the 6th floor, and the windows were still rattling at 3am.

drove back to Buriram the next day, very slowly, so as to avoid crashing, stopped at the bar when i got back and told Yoon that I was going to the house to sleep..... she failed to tell me that her niece was over from Norway and the family were having a party next door, no sleep again.

I then slept for two and a half days, 2 and a half days with no food and no liquids..... they carried me off to the local hospital, I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, I didn't even know my own name and I had been having some strange dreams, I was watching various scenes from my life and when it got to a bit I didn't like I wiped the image away like Tom Cruise in Minority Report, and wiped in a bit I did like instead...... very odd I can tell you.

The local hospital decided they couldn't help me, so the shipped me off to the main one in Buriram, I vaguely remember having x-rays, being plugged into machines that made various sorts of beeping noises, having some tubes that were pumping stuff into me, and some pumping stuff out, after a few days I became more aware of what was going on. I also became aware that I was feeling better and asked to be moved into a private room where I could get some real rest instead of being surrounded by people who were dropping dead..... This was refused as I didn't have anyone who could stay with me, which sort of defeats the objective of a private room as far as I care..... that's what the red button is for isn't it.

Anyway, by this time, I could get around myself, make it to the toilet and back, pay one of the next blokes rellies to get me coffee from the 7 and I was getting mightily pissed off, and I wanted out, they either didn't know what had been wrong or did not want to tell me, the worst explanation was that my kidneys had failed..... hmmmmmmm.

They wouldn't let me leave, So I called my mate Niyom (the old police chief) he turned up with his wife, took one look at the situation and asked that I was released into his care, they tried to explain that they still wanted to keep me under observation for a few more days, now Niyom is a big cuddly teddy bear, his wife Benjawan has the claws and she went into overdrive, she told them that they were only concerned with observing my wallet and they had better let me go. She found out what medication I needed, which is basically drinks that are high in sodium, potassium and glucose.... and I've been home since and feeling better everyday, not ready to run a marathon yet but much better than I was........ nap time.

Bugger.................

On a more serious note than bugger, when you feel a lot better get off the salty. health drinks.

Pal of mine here decided as he is cheap, to clean the shit of the bottom of his boat himself. Hauled the thing ashore and in blinding heat went about scrubbing the arse out of it. All day long in the sun drinking " sports health drinks " and nothing else. As the sun went down whammo !!! Complete system failure. Started off with unimaginable pain as every muscle in his body cramped, and then got better as his major organs began to shut down. Lucky for him a near bye boat-boy heard the screams and he just made it to the quake before the final curtain.

Quake told him you can only take so much of that electrolyte shit, before the old frame says no more !!!!

Get back on the beer asap, for the sake of your health.

Hope you're feeling better, Thadds.

That is a rough go, Thad. Dehydration can have all sorts of ill effects. Muscles and tendons tend to tear if you are dehydrated. It happened to me last January and my leg hasn't been the same since.

I find that a diet of great sex and bottled water with a touch of lime (min-ow) serves the purpose for me.

Get back on the beer asap, for the sake of your health.

Oh, I'm doing that, but very slowly, no more than two cans a night, the first one I had tasted like heaven.

Quake told him you can only take so much of that electrolyte shit, before the old frame says no more !!!!

I'm taking no more than the daily recommendation, I do realise there is a recommendation for a reason.

Sure you haven't had a spot of Dengue Thaddy? Its rife up in your area at the moment.

Sure you haven't had a spot of Dengue Thaddy? Its rife up in your area at the moment.

No fever mate, or if there was , I slept through it

Oki, I threatened to post this ages ago, but things have kept cropping up preventing me from making more than one para posts.

I'd better give you a little bit of my family background, I may use false names, I may not.

I have a younger brother in the UK (5 years younger) and we have been in regular contact via email and FaceBook since I moved here, we predominantly only kept in touch via email while I was in the UK for a few years before I moved, we were both working our socks off.

I have an older sister in the UK (12 years older) neither Mark or myself have spoken to her for around 9 years, there was a huge family dispute over my mother's will when she passed away. Mark and I had a fall-out for a few days over it, but I eventually saw sense and Mum had written her will very fairly at the time she wrote it and hadn't updated it when situations changed, not Mark's fault. Our sister however (or mainly her greedy husband) wouldn't let it go, so we have a rift in the family.

I used to have another older sister (11 years older) called Norma, she died of a heroin overdose a long time ago..... I'll give you the time-line. Norma left home when I was 12 years old, she had a boyfriend called Ian, and Dad really didn't like him, the constant arguing made them both up and disappear when they had had enough, I didn't blame Dad for this, but Ian was an Ok guy, he was just replacing Dad was all, and Dad's don't like that.

Norma returned very briefly when I was around 16, she and Ian were now married and they had two daughters, one still a babe-in-arms and one a toddler no more than two years old. They only stayed for one night as the arguments with Dad started all over again, this time mainly because Dad was under treatment for a brain tumour and would argue with a brick over anything.

Anyway, we never saw Norma again. Mum told us that she had died when I was 25, she had actually died the same month as Dad, but Mum thought that one bit of bad news for two young boys was bad enough at the time and waited until Mark was older.

So, Mark and I have two nieces out there somewhere that we haven't seen for 34 years and we were discussing a couple of months ago about trying to trace them. We came to the conclusion that as we didn't know Ian's surname, only had the girls given names and didn't know their last location, it was going to be pretty much impossible.

Mark was at home a couple of weeks ago and got a phone call from a woman, the conversation went like this.....

Woman "Hello, is that Mark xxxx xxxxxxxx"

Mark "Yes"

Woman "Did you have a sister called Norma"

Mark "Yes"

Woman "Hello, I'm your niece Kesha"

Mark's wife then picked him up from the floor.

They had traced us..... how cool is that.

Brilliant Thad, I wish you all the best for the reunion.

Brilliant Thad, I wish you all the best for the reunion.

You know what Scea, some things that happen to you during the course of this journey that we call life take some explaining, why did my Bro' get a call a scant few weeks after we had a discussion about trying to trace our nieces, from a long lost niece.... a few years later, ok, but the echo hadn't even died out.

And when I started this thread, the subtitle was and still is 'for Kayo not Esther'... that was just a play on words,a parody on 'That's Life' the Esther Rantzen TV show, Thaddeus is not my real name, although it is the only name I have used on the net for quite some considerable time and I will quite happily respond in real life to Thad, Thaddy, Taddy or the more mundane Colin.... also, Kayo is not Kayo's real name.

Guess what, the only real name in this thread is one that has only been mentioned in the subtitle, the babe-in-arms niece is called Esther.

That's the sort of stuff that makes you go hmmmm....

But, yes, thank you, it does feel good to know that my fave sisters kids are doing Ok, more than Ok in fact, and I can stay in contact with them, and I am just a little bit jealous of my Bro' as he can just get in a car and go see them any time he wants..... I'm hatching a devious plan that starts with "so, what do you think about Buddhist temples then?"

Excellent news Thad. Not been in Bedlam much lately so didn't see your post from a couple of months ago. Hope all is fine now.

Hope all is fine now.

I can't complain about anything, well except, I've put back on all the weight I lost during my sick-time, but instead of going back where it came from, it's all gone to one place, I must exercise more.

Lovely story.

Everyday I watch the Jeremy Kyle Show, really for the amusement of the fat, greasy, yobs that are on it.

Not saying that your family are anything like that.

But, occasionally there is a story that pulls at the heart strings. And it is stories like yours - finding family members after so long. I had a wee tear in my eye reading about your nieces, now you have to get yourself well enough to go and visit them!!

Or have them go and visit you.

My brother's name is Colin, by the way.

Great story, Thad. Thanks for telling us. I also come from a dysfunctional family of 4 siblings. My older sister hates my younger sister for really what amounts to jealousy. My younger sister tries to stay away from everyone, and my brother hates everyone who isn't perfect, and most of all hated our parents. I've always tried to be the mediator and got a lot of flack because of it.

I can relate to your story about the will. Where money rears its ugly head there always seems to be problems. My brother didn't speak to my parents for 30 years and wouldn't visit my them on their death bed. But, he insisted on being the executor of their will. Had it not been for me, my parents would have cut him out of the will. I could go on and on, but this is your thread. All I'm saying is I can relate to your stories.

Same sort of thing in my family. My mother is 80 and is in great health. Every time my sister calls me it is about my mum's will and what we will get out of it and "you know it will take at least two years until we touch the cash"

I don't care, my mother is the most precious thing i have in my life.

And to have my sis sully that is horrible. To say things about property and bank accounts and whatever before the woman is even dead is evil.

I think that when my mum kicks the bucket there are going to be some very bad arguments. Unfortunately.

I think that when my mum kicks the bucket there are going to be some very bad arguments. Unfortunately.

Well, hope that doesn't happen Patts, it can be very upsetting.

I think that when my mum kicks the bucket there are going to be some very bad arguments. Unfortunately.

Well, hope that doesn't happen Patts, it can be very upsetting.

True that, Thad. After my mother's funeral I've hardly spoken to my brother or older sister. And, it's not because of hard feelings on my part. I don't hold grudges. Life is too good to worry about the messy bits and grumpy people.

One of the worse aspects of it, and I'm sure you will agree Ian, is the other people who get hit with some shrapnel and not deserving it.

The still alive sister has a son who is not that much younger than my brother. I found his FaceBook page the other day, he has an unusual spelling of an uncommon name, so it wasn't difficult. I just couldn't bring myself to hit the "Add as a Friend" button, not from not wanting to contact him, but because I wouldn't know how I would feel if the request was rejected.

Family conflicts never stay within the confines of the protagonists.

Facebook can be a killer or a great thing to happen.

I would go for it, I have actually re found some old school friends on there.

It doesn't mean we are bosom buddies but at least we know where we are.

Hey, go for it. If anything - you will be zapped. And as you don't know them in the first place you will not have lost anything. But they shall...

Good luck.

Well Patts, my nephew I know very well and his Dad raised him to be very much like his Dad, so I don't think I will bother.

..also, Kayo is not Kayo's real name.

WHAT ?????

totster

..also, Kayo is not Kayo's real name.

WHAT ?????

totster

First the Tooth Fairy, then Father Christmas, now this..............I'm not sure I can take any more

Hmnnnn Nothing Changes Does it !!!!

Blimey

..also, Kayo is not Kayo's real name.

WHAT ?????

totster

First the Tooth Fairy, then Father Christmas, now this..............I'm not sure I can take any more

lol....

Thaddy, Are we friends on facebook? How do you know my FB name isn't false?

Nice to catch up on your tales, trials and tribulations!

I know the Klown's name is not real too. Tee Hee.

My name is not patsycat either...

I know the Klown's name is not real too. Tee Hee.

My name is not patsycat either...

Stop it stop it.....The lights, the pain............arrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh

I know the Klown's name is not real too. Tee Hee.

My name is not patsycat either...

Stop it stop it.....The lights, the pain............arrrrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh

And your name is Swinging?

Oh dear, i spelt it wrong...