Living In A Village - Was It Tolerable For You?

[Geekfreaklover]

yes, living in a village is a pain in the butt, but also a lot of. just ask these kids

I can't see the picture right now, but saying 'living in the village is a pain in the butt, just ask these kids'

is wrong no matter what your intentions. Consider rephrasing that one.

Edited October 1, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[skipvice]

yes, living in a village is a pain in the butt, but also a lot of FUN. just ask these kids

The word fun was left out, my bad

there aways is someone

[Lopburi99]

Has anyone told you to leave the village sir. Its obvious in your writings you dont want to be there.

Welcome to ThaiVisa.

I don't expect you to have read over 200 posts, but let me just say I have no choice but to remain here at through year end. During that time I am trying to adapt because my wife VERY MUCH wants to life here.

We'll see. The next three months will tell a lot.

Regards.

...Mr. Maigo's comments have been haunting me:

....

Lopburi 99, I do know how you feel, but believe me, if you are on a budget, and by your posts I gather you are, stay up country for now, and use those earplugs, you'll get used to them after a few days.

Your wife will be incredibly upset if you move away. If you feel you have to move away, please try to exhaust all avenues first mate, cos otherwise, I fear your whole relationship may break down beyond repair.

The wife and family may take it as a snub if you insist on moving away, so you have to tread carefully, don't give any ultimatums, like " It's your family or me ! " it may cause you a lot of grief.

You'll need an understanding wife, and she'll need you to be understanding too.

Best of luck and take care.

I'm not always the biggest Maigo fan, but this advice is most likely right on target. I need to tread very carefully on the subject of possibly leaving the village. This is a fact. Thanks Maigo.

[Thongkorn]

I have lived in The jungles in South Thailand , Maybe now i think about it it could have been quite dangerous. I like it, you lose all track of time , all you know is when its light you get up and when it starts to get dark you go to bed, The people are fantastic, the kids come to have look at you , most have never seen a falang, I can only speak for myself but that is the real Thailand and Thai people.kind caring and friendly.I could not speak Thai, A little old man of about 70 took me under his wing , he tough me A Thai word every day, usually A threat to me , like Snakes, leaches , all the biting insects and animals.Then the weather, and food and drink . he now calls me son and i call him papa. He and his family have never ever asked for one baht from me, I built him an Extension on his house, just another room , he use to go to work cutting down trees for a living, i bought him satellite TV and had it installed while he was at work , he came home and took one look and was nearly in tears, the look was worth a million baht, he now watches Thai boxing his favorite past time .I could easy live there just dont have the Bottle to sell up and Do it,

[gpdjohn]

I have lived in The jungles in South Thailand , Maybe now i think about it it could have been quite dangerous. I like it, you lose all track of time , all you know is when its light you get up and when it starts to get dark you go to bed, The people are fantastic, the kids come to have look at you , most have never seen a falang, I can only speak for myself but that is the real Thailand and Thai people.kind caring and friendly.I could not speak Thai, A little old man of about 70 took me under his wing , he tough me A Thai word every day, usually A threat to me , like Snakes, leaches , all the biting insects and animals.Then the weather, and food and drink . he now calls me son and i call him papa. He and his family have never ever asked for one baht from me, I built him an Extension on his house, just another room , he use to go to work cutting down trees for a living, i bought him satellite TV and had it installed while he was at work , he came home and took one look and was nearly in tears, the look was worth a million baht, he now watches Thai boxing his favorite past time .I could easy live there just dont have the Bottle to sell up and Do it,

Out for a walk this morning..legs are sore so no run, just a walk..it's raining, not hard but enough. An older Thai guy rides by on his motorcycle and looks over his shoulder at me...I often get this "oh look, it's a Martian" stare..his suddenly stops. Turns around and drives back to me. He speaks in English, " Where you go?" I tell him in Thai that I'm out for a walk, going to the Wat and then going back home..exercise thangy ya know..He smiles and speaks again in English " OK, I would drive you home but ok". big smile on his face. Off he goes.

Brings faith back to me of the human race. ( I'm a retired cop, so I hate the human race anyway)

Never had that happen in the year and a half of living in Chiang Mai. Would never have that happen in the U.S. unless I was a 21 yr old chick with big tits wearing thong.

Oh yeah..who was going to teach a grade school class the Hokey Pokey? I told my cousin's wife, who is also a teacher of small human types here and she loved it...not that I'm gunna do it, but was curious on how that went.

[mohalaa]

moohala is not mr maigo. if it was he would have signed in under mr maigo.

leave the village you know you dont want to be there. if you hab too leave the wife.

[Lopburi99]

Oh yeah..who was going to teach a grade school class the Hokey Pokey? I told my cousin's wife, who is also a teacher of small human types here and she loved it...not that I'm gunna do it, but was curious on how that went.

I'm the guilty party.

It was a total BLAST! The kids laughed and laughed, as did I!

Now the other 2 kindergarten classes are begging me to do it!

[Mosha]

moohala is not mr maigo. if it was he would have signed in under mr maigo.

leave the village you know you dont want to be there. if you hab too leave the wife.

Does plonker mean anything to you?

[gpdjohn]

Oh yeah..who was going to teach a grade school class the Hokey Pokey? I told my cousin's wife, who is also a teacher of small human types here and she loved it...not that I'm gunna do it, but was curious on how that went.

I'm the guilty party.

It was a total BLAST! The kids laughed and laughed, as did I!

Now the other 2 kindergarten classes are begging me to do it!

Excellent!!!!

[villagefarang]

When I first started taking my wife to Hawaii, I told her there was a 6 month rule. It would take her at least that long to get over the hump, maybe more. Adjusting to a new place just doesn't happen overnight.

You seem to be doing better already so if you give it some more time, I'm sure it will work itself out. You also mentioned some health problems elsewhere, that could be making it just that much more difficult. Just hang in there and share your thoughts and concerns with your wife. You guys are on the same team and need to elicit each other's help in finding mutually beneficial solutions.

[mahtin]

moohala is not mr maigo. if it was he would have signed in under mr maigo.

leave the village you know you dont want to be there. if you hab too leave the wife.

Does plonker mean anything to you?

Dr Pat Pong has ways with Blizzards

[Maigo6]

Apart from your Wife and her family, what about the rest of the villagers ?

I cannot get my head around all this talk of laziness, I would love to see a Farang try to survive like many Thai people have to!! I would love to see a group of Farangs who are basically uneducated farmers build a house that actually stands up. And all for 170 Baht per day.

!00's of houses have been built all over Thailand by such guys, and they're still standing !

Thai country folk are so versatile, so adaptable it's unbelievable,

You have a Cobra in the house who ya gonna call, a Farang hero, or a Thai guy ?

You have a Hornets nest nest in a tree in the garden, who ya gonna call, a Farang or a Thai guy ?

Sorry guys, but in my eyes, it's Thai guys 1 - 0 Farangs in the non laziness cup.

And the list can go on and on........

Edited October 1, 2009 by Lite Beer

[phutoie2]

I cannot get my head around all this talk of laziness, I would love to see a Farang try to survive like many Thai people have to!! I would love to see a group of Farangs who are basically uneducated farmers build a house that actually stands up. And all for 170 Baht per day.

!00's of houses have been built all over Thailand by such guys, and they're still standing !

This may come as a shock, but some farangs have been to college/ served apprenticeships in the construction industry and amazingly enough know about the use of spirit levels/set squares/ correct use of power tools and mixing cement. As for H & S, lets not even go there.

My wife's brother fell 40 floors from a Bangkok building project in 07 and the family received 40k compensation, they have moved on ,but it was criminal negligence of the highest order, and do'nt bother replying "oh that never happens in farang land".

You need to place the rose coloured specs to one side, Thai's do not need your too frequent posturing.

[F1fanatic]

Apart from your Wife and her family, what about the rest of the villagers ?

I cannot get my head around all this talk of laziness, I would love to see a Farang try to survive like many Thai people have to!! I would love to see a group of Farangs who are basically uneducated farmers build a house that actually stands up. And all for 170 Baht per day.

!00's of houses have been built all over Thailand by such guys, and they're still standing !

Thai country folk are so versatile, so adaptable it's unbelievable,

You have a Cobra in the house who ya gonna call, a Farang hero, or a Thai guy ?

You have a Hornets nest nest in a tree in the garden, who ya gonna call, a Farang or a Thai guy ?

Sorry guys, but in my eyes, it's Thai guys 1 - 0 Farangs in the non laziness cup.

And the list can go on and on........

Now you mention it, when I find a snake I call a farang (all but one of the Thais I know just want to kill it).

A hornets nest? Must admit the farangs were as keen to destroy it as the farangs (even though I'd watered plants around it for a week or so with no problems). Can't blame them, when they pointed out they could attack my dogs I became a lot less tolerant!

[Maigo6]

This may come as a shock, but some farangs have been to college/ served apprenticeships in the construction industry

Funnily enough Pluto,

That's how I got my HNC in civil engineering actually, why would it come as a shock to me ?

Rose tinted spectacles, you're having a laugh, I'm a realist pal, you swan into a developing country expecting everything to be up or down to your standards, getting it all at the lowest possible price.

Now you will tell me you came to Thailand for the quality of workmanship and health and safety code, I can't fathom people like you out, you must know it's a developing country, yet you seem unable to adapt to the reality of life in a developing country, and you accuse me of wearing rose tinted spectacles, after 19 years in Thailand ?

You're just wearing blinkers my friend, old colonialist blinkers at that.

Open your eyes, see the reality, not what you want to see, see what you actually see, then adapt !!!

I will assume you have very limited experience living in different countries, I only assume that because you seem oblivious to the obvious.

Time for another Asahi I think...Now, if you talk about Beer being crap in Thailand, yes it is, if they sold real Japanese beer in Thailand, ( Not the crap brewed in Khon Kaen they call Asahi ), Boon Rawd Brewery would go out of business.

Cheers.

Edited October 1, 2009 by Maigo6

[chriswatson]

Not quite a village, but I spent three months on a Thai island and built a house. Never built anything bigger than Lego before. In fact I still haven't. A clan of Thai's did. I just oversaw it and told them, or rather drew, what I wanted. I couldn't speak a word of Thai and the experience, strangely enough, was a pain. Arguments with the wife over translation. Dust and insects everywhere. Touched a live wire in the bathroom nobody told me about and slipped over four feet. Accidently ran over a dog sleeping in a crater behind the car I hired. People seemingly coming out of the jungle every time I stepped out of the house needing payment for this and that. Water rates seem to double every month. I hired a boat and took the whole clan helping me on a fishing trip. Needed a break. It was a great day. A few days later I got asked for petrol money because they had to all drive about 200 meters to the coast. Had to pay someone 20 bht for some fishing wire or something too. Boat owner said engine was damaged and asked me to pay. I didn't. It was fine when we left it. Saw women older than me carrying materials twice my weight with scarfs wrapped around their heads in a heat I could die in. Sipped Chang moderately as the whole thing got banged upright around me. Bought about 5 fans from the mainland as each one broke one after the other. I had never seen a bee/wasp/hornet active after dark before. Our baby stopped crying at night after showing her the geckos. Clan kids ran in and out of the house leaving dirt on the tiles.

The house got built and has been let nearly every month since. Over 100 sq feet with 2 bedrooms and huge terrace. This was several years ago and it's still doing fine. I lived it for about 2 weeks once it was finished and got bored and we left. I'd already been there about 12 weeks and it felt like I'd been everywhere of interest on the island already. The gang I had somehow inherited within 24 hours of meeting a "foreman" were poor but respectful to me. Never had one argument with them. Even if the original cost of building the place magnified weekly. They did a good job. One thing I did was made sure I bought all the materials. Best cement. I couldn't help with the construction because when I did I got in the way as they seemed to need to bow before me. Now I know I'd probably have needed a work permit anyway. Read "War And Peace". Thrice. I don't normally read books but glad I took it with me. No TV. No i-pod. Plenty of stars and jungle noises. Eagles soared in the mountains. Saw wiry nearly-toothless island folk 40-something's balancing large doors on rickety scaffolds not jumping into the entrances without slipping their sandals off first. Drank beer at sunset with the clan on vantage points I'd never know. Got woken with food cooked from recently-shot jungle creatures that were probably endangered species for all I knew. Perhaps they were the eagles. Got given baskets of fish in exchange of a couple of Chang when we visited other islands on canoes. Ate the meanest laab. Got to know the local chief. Got drunk with the head of police. Met some cool expats. Met some not so cool. Sold latex the clan I had hired had collected from the trees my wife now owned. Split it 50/50. With the clan, not the wife

This wasn't some real backwater, it was a relatively popular island with a tourist trade, but I knew I couldn't ever live there - which was my blissfully ignorant plan when the wife bought the land. We both thought it might be a good idea at the time. Typical Thai eh? Typical falang too. A local expat called it a "green hel_l" in between the 20 cans of beer he seemed to polish off before breakfast. More like "God's waiting room" I thought as I did the same.

The point of this post? Well, I'm more than sure others have similar and certainly far more extreme experiences than the above, but I knew island life was not tolerable for me so I'm sure the way the OP lives would send me insane. Of course this is no criticism simply an answer to a post. Yet it was an important experience for me and I'd like to think being forewarned will be forearmed for me when we finally move out to Thailand in the not too distant future. But it'll be up north and in a city for us though. I'm a city boy who can appreciate the countryside but, for now at least, couldn't live in an English village let alone a Thai one.

Oo-arr

Edited October 1, 2009 by chriswatson

[enyaw]

Sounds great. Trying to picture the whereabouts... must be Koh Chang?

[chriswatson]

Close but no cigar. Is a little known paradise called Koh Trumpton. Know it? It's a riot.

[enyaw]

Close but no cigar. Is a little known paradise called Koh Trumpton. Know it? It's a riot.

Thought as much.

Edited October 2, 2009 by enyaw

[Mosha]

A minor irritation. We had that much rain last night, it overwhelmed the village water pump. Not usually much of a problem, but the guy who usually fixed it died last month. I've just seen the bloke who helped him ride past with his BS uniform on. So I reckon he thinks it's not a priority.

[soundman]

Not quite a village,

<snip>

Oo-arr

Great post.

[imaneggspurt]

Not quite a village, but I spent three months on a Thai island and built a house. Never built anything bigger than Lego before. In fact I still haven't. A clan of Thai's did. I just oversaw it and told them, or rather drew, what I wanted. I couldn't speak a word of Thai and the experience, strangely enough, was a pain. Arguments with the wife over translation. Dust and insects everywhere. Touched a live wire in the bathroom nobody told me about and slipped over four feet. Accidently ran over a dog sleeping in a crater behind the car I hired. People seemingly coming out of the jungle every time I stepped out of the house needing payment for this and that. Water rates seem to double every month. I hired a boat and took the whole clan helping me on a fishing trip. Needed a break. It was a great day. A few days later I got asked for petrol money because they had to all drive about 200 meters to the coast. Had to pay someone 20 bht for some fishing wire or something too. Boat owner said engine was damaged and asked me to pay. I didn't. It was fine when we left it. Saw women older than me carrying materials twice my weight with scarfs wrapped around their heads in a heat I could die in. Sipped Chang moderately as the whole thing got banged upright around me. Bought about 5 fans from the mainland as each one broke one after the other. I had never seen a bee/wasp/hornet active after dark before. Our baby stopped crying at night after showing her the geckos. Clan kids ran in and out of the house leaving dirt on the tiles.

The house got built and has been let nearly every month since. Over 100 sq feet with 2 bedrooms and huge terrace. This was several years ago and it's still doing fine. I lived it for about 2 weeks once it was finished and got bored and we left. I'd already been there about 12 weeks and it felt like I'd been everywhere of interest on the island already. The gang I had somehow inherited within 24 hours of meeting a "foreman" were poor but respectful to me. Never had one argument with them. Even if the original cost of building the place magnified weekly. They did a good job. One thing I did was made sure I bought all the materials. Best cement. I couldn't help with the construction because when I did I got in the way as they seemed to need to bow before me. Now I know I'd probably have needed a work permit anyway. Read "War And Peace". Thrice. I don't normally read books but glad I took it with me. No TV. No i-pod. Plenty of stars and jungle noises. Eagles soared in the mountains. Saw wiry nearly-toothless island folk 40-something's balancing large doors on rickety scaffolds not jumping into the entrances without slipping their sandals off first. Drank beer at sunset with the clan on vantage points I'd never know. Got woken with food cooked from recently-shot jungle creatures that were probably endangered species for all I knew. Perhaps they were the eagles. Got given baskets of fish in exchange of a couple of Chang when we visited other islands on canoes. Ate the meanest laab. Got to know the local chief. Got drunk with the head of police. Met some cool expats. Met some not so cool. Sold latex the clan I had hired had collected from the trees my wife now owned. Split it 50/50. With the clan, not the wife

This wasn't some real backwater, it was a relatively popular island with a tourist trade, but I knew I couldn't ever live there - which was my blissfully ignorant plan when the wife bought the land. We both thought it might be a good idea at the time. Typical Thai eh? Typical falang too. A local expat called it a "green hel_l" in between the 20 cans of beer he seemed to polish off before breakfast. More like "God's waiting room" I thought as I did the same.

The point of this post? Well, I'm more than sure others have similar and certainly far more extreme experiences than the above, but I knew island life was not tolerable for me so I'm sure the way the OP lives would send me insane. Of course this is no criticism simply an answer to a post. Yet it was an important experience for me and I'd like to think being forewarned will be forearmed for me when we finally move out to Thailand in the not too distant future. But it'll be up north and in a city for us though. I'm a city boy who can appreciate the countryside but, for now at least, couldn't live in an English village let alone a Thai one.

Oo-arr

As soundman said, great post, ,could have been me, except i cant write that well,. not for me, but to each his own,.

[Geekfreaklover]

Close but no cigar. Is a little known paradise called Koh Trumpton. Know it? It's a riot.

Ah, thats the one adjacent to Koh Brixton?

[Lopburi99]

Not quite a village

<snip>

As soundman said, great post, ,could have been me, except i cant write that well,. not for me, but to each his own,.

Yes, terrific post. While reading it I felt as though I was there myself. If Chris isn't a writer he should be.

Please feel free to post again <hint><urge>.

[Lopburi99]

..

I cannot get my head around all this talk of laziness, I would love to see a Farang try to survive like many Thai people have to!! I would love to see a group of Farangs who are basically uneducated farmers build a house that actually stands up. And all for 170 Baht per day.

!00's of houses have been built all over Thailand by such guys, and they're still standing !

Thai country folk are so versatile, so adaptable it's unbelievable,

You have a Cobra in the house who ya gonna call, a Farang hero, or a Thai guy ?

You have a Hornets nest nest in a tree in the garden, who ya gonna call, a Farang or a Thai guy ?

Sorry guys, but in my eyes, it's Thai guys 1 - 0 Farangs in the non laziness cup.

And the list can go on and on........

You have a point Mr. Maigo, plus in the Thai men's defense it is so ungodly hot here how could anybody not be lazy a good part of the day?

As far as dealing with the Cobras and the other creepy crawlies, Thais have been living near them forever. Most of us westerners have only been visited by them in our worst nightmares. And NEVER in our home!

BTW, I doubt if there is one Thai (or farang for that matter) in the village more lazy than I am. I have always had a laziness problem, especially in the heat and humidity. And now with my weight creeping up higher and higher the laziness is compounded. But I can remember being energy-charged not many years ago on a cool, dry Michigan day working from early morning into the late evening hours on my yard, garden, house, cars, boat, in my garage workshop, what have you. Impossible for me in the blistering Thailand heat.

I know, then why the hel_l am I in Thailand? I'll be honest. It is the best option available to me at the time, everything considered. When I fine-tune living here somewhat, such as where, etc, I think everything will be OK. It is not a definite, but I hope so. Then someday if somehow I have more financial resources to work with I would love to split our time between Canada or the U.S. and Thailand, as Ian Forbes does. About 75-25% I think would be about ideal, or maybe 60% west 40% Thailand.

[billd766]

moohala is not mr maigo. if it was he would have signed in under mr maigo.

leave the village you know you dont want to be there. if you hab too leave the wife.

Oh really?

yeah right as they say in NZ.

I told my wife that and I don't know who laughed the most, her or me.

From your comments I can only assume that you are not married, do not live in or have ever been to a Thai village and are basically brain dead.

[nakkonhhom]

..

I cannot get my head around all this talk of laziness, I would love to see a Farang try to survive like many Thai people have to!! I would love to see a group of Farangs who are basically uneducated farmers build a house that actually stands up. And all for 170 Baht per day.

!00's of houses have been built all over Thailand by such guys, and they're still standing !

Thai country folk are so versatile, so adaptable it's unbelievable,

You have a Cobra in the house who ya gonna call, a Farang hero, or a Thai guy ?

You have a Hornets nest nest in a tree in the garden, who ya gonna call, a Farang or a Thai guy ?

Sorry guys, but in my eyes, it's Thai guys 1 - 0 Farangs in the non laziness cup.

And the list can go on and on........

You have a point Mr. Maigo, plus in the Thai men's defense it is so ungodly hot here how could anybody not be lazy a good part of the day?

As far as dealing with the Cobras and the other creepy crawlies, Thais have been living near them forever. Most of us westerners have only been visited by them in our worst nightmares. And NEVER in our home!

BTW, I doubt if there is one Thai (or farang for that matter) in the village more lazy than I am. I have always had a laziness problem, especially in the heat and humidity. And now with my weight creeping up higher and higher the laziness is compounded. But I can remember being energy-charged not many years ago on a cool, dry Michigan day working from early morning into the late evening hours on my yard, garden, house, cars, boat, in my garage workshop, what have you. Impossible for me in the blistering Thailand heat.

I know, then why the hel_l am I in Thailand? I'll be honest. It is the best option available to me at the time, everything considered. When I fine-tune living here somewhat, such as where, etc, I think everything will be OK. It is not a definite, but I hope so. Then someday if somehow I have more financial resources to work with I would love to split our time between Canada or the U.S. and Thailand, as Ian Forbes does. About 75-25% I think would be about ideal, or maybe 60% west 40% Thailand.

How you gonna get your finances together living in a village? 170 baht only for qualified thai men. Someone needs to kick you in the butt to get you to stop being delusional!

Mr maigo is anti farang so if you are farang , welll he not exactly trying to steer you right!

[Chinavet]

A very interesting and informative thread about country Thailand living. But even more, I think it has given some great insight into the diverse cross section of nationalities, backgrounds, personalities and expectations of those of us that do, or have lived in rural Thailand.

Many of the responses, especially the negative ones, are focused around 'rural' and some variation of those issues is probably true in small rural communities everywhere. Then there is family and relationships. Again as diverse and unique as anywhere else. Standards of housing and proximity to family, neighbors, Wat or Phu Yai Ban have had great influence on posters enjoyment or despair in where and how they live. Probably most important is the attitude and expectations of those that choose to come and live in a village. Most of the unhappy posters seem to have arrived blissfully unaware of much of what they would encounter and a romantic vision of what life would be like.

There is one Italian and one German living within a couple of kilometers from me (Aussie). We all have quite different housing, ages, family arrangements and daily lives. All happy and really enjoy being here (lower Surin).

I am far enough from the Phu Yai that the daily speakers are not a problem, have to open a door or window to really hear the message. I find the chanting from the Wat relaxing background noise. We do get the occasional neighbor that pumps up the boom box powered by lao kao, but not enough to be a deal breaker. Noise is not unique to rural Thailand. Try urban China, or living near a mosque.

If we do get smoke, it is usually wood smoke from making charcoal, I enjoy the smell. Mostly beautiful clean air.

We are fenced off with some distance (100m) from our neighbors so we don't get many random visitors. It is far enough that their dogs barking are not a real problem, but sometimes they set our dogs off (10) and that takes 10 minutes to settle them down. They are getting better as they get older and now mostly bark only when I want them to, at snakes and visitors.

We built 3m above ground. We get lots of geckos of course but the cat keeps the inside of the house mostly gecko free. I hit all the underside and pillars of the house regularly with high pressure water and we seem to have the upper hand on ants, bugs and reptiles.

Those issues, noise, smoke and crawlies seemed to dominate the lives of the posters that find village life hard going. Understandable, and worthwhile for new arrivals to check out thoroughly before committing to location and building.

Boredom. Not enough time in the day for me and I don't do much. Internet, mail, TV, photography, fishing, canoeing, motor bike trips, 4WD exploring and on rare occasions some house maintenance/duties. We have a condo in Bangkok and visit invitations from friends all over Thailand, but a week of Bangers is plenty for me these days. We get together with village folk, do the weddings and funerals, meet with expats and families for BBQ and beer. Sorry, boredom is unforgivable. If you don't know yourself well enough to be sure you can live and enjoy a remote location, you should not commit much until you have tried it for a long period.

Family. Same anywhere, you can get good or bad. It is not unique to village life but it can sure have a big impact on your life. Unfortunately, most of us didn't really consider the in-laws in the days the little head was in the driver's seat. I consider myself very lucky. The sister/husband/son that live with us are great, as are the brother a couple of houses away and the brother in Bangkok. I have given family wide support for 19 years but have never felt imposed upon. Pickups, iron buffalo etc are still running and well cared for 15-18 years later. Educations are paying off. Now I am underemployed, everyone understands things are tighter.

Finally, many posts on this thread (and all of TV) bring out the worn out stereotypes and hold them up as the norm. Most of us can laugh off the old fat guy with the 60 years junior wife, even when it's close to the truth, the joke is not on us. But after 30 years of knowing Thailand, much of it working and living here, so far as I am concerned, Thai men in particular get a bad rap. Yes there are thieves, cheats, laziness and alcoholics. Hello...where do you come from? My brothers in law and most of the men in our village I find are capable of very hard work, enjoy a drink but rarely get drunk, share all house duties and take the best care they can of their families.

That should bring the flamers and trolls out. My point is as related to this thread....there is so much of this crap on TV that readers, maybe people considering our way of life can hardly be expected to see the woods from the trees.

Bottom line, village life can be heaven or hel_l or anywhere in between, it is up to the individual to know himself and take a long hard look at the environment he/she will make or step into.

[gpdjohn]

Excellent rambling Chinavet.

A big thumbs up.

When we moved here privacy was a major issue. I was used to living alone, nice and quiet. When we lived in Chiang Mai it was just her and I..nice and quiet.

Here, it's family all the time. Something that was still difficult for me to deal with.

Last weekend we ( all the rual country folk )loaded up in several vehicles and went to Rangsit for my wifes brother's wedding.

Something happened to me there, cannot put my finger on it, but it was just this feeling of ..ah hel_l...I don't know how to express it in words..I enjoy having them all around.

I really feel accepted by all of 'em, even if they still think that me having some eggs and bacon in the morning is strange.

and I can beat any Thai guy around here in the lazy department...I am the King of Lazy.

[Lopburi99]

How you gonna get your finances together living in a village? 170 baht only for qualified thai men. Someone needs to kick you in the butt to get you to stop being delusional!

Actually I was referring to the possibility of creating another e-commerce website. Once I get another idea which makes sense, I can be up and running in no time. I used to have a site called SuperFlames.com which was a reseller of auto trim items, specializing in flames (magnetic or vinyl) designs. Also offered were "flamed" watches, shirts, caps, and even shoes. It was very successful for five years but the flames fad started wearing off (along with the drop in sales of PT Cruisers, the owners of which were my best customers) so I was in the process of diversifying into skulls designs. About that time I started coming to Thailand and decided to concentrate on other business activities I had going. It was a mistake not keeping the site alive. A business like that can be run and managed from anywhere on the globe. Even from a rural village in Thailand.

C'mon now. Me working in the village? Try thinking outside the box ... just a little.

Edited October 2, 2009 by Lopburi99