Service

[aviador88]

I have been a quiet reader of the forum for over two years and gleaned many excellent ideas from it. I have lived in Southern Thailand now for a little over a year, love the climate and (most) of the people. I was a professional pilot for over 40 years in the USA and after my sons grew up and went teir own way, my wife divorced me after 30 years I decided to pack it in. I sold my home and pulled up stakes. I am on a non O retirement visa, built a house at the edge of the jungle east of Khao Lak away from the tourists and all the bull. The only female living with me now is my Thai dog whom I got as a puppy. Sorry for the long introduction, I just wanted to tell you a few things about me before I start with the bitching.

When I moved into my new house in August, The sink drain leaked, (gasket in backwards) The toilet kept running after flushing (Float hitting wall), The water supply to the bathroom sink leaked, (used hose ,had a hole) The wooden doors wouldn't close, (swelling due to high humidity).

I paid TOT 14,000 Baht to have a 1,5 km phone line strung to my home just to have internet access. The word "prung nee" was mentioned several times which I understood to mean "tomorrow". I have a feeling though that it means more like "some other day", because it took 12 prung nees to get the line installed. Even then, the line was full, of knots and only about 2 cm from the electric lines. A magnet for lightning bolts which cost me 2 modems, including one DSL modem.

I had purchased a used Mitsubishi sedan last year which turned out to be a disaster mainly because of the condition of the road leading to my jungle hide away. Suddenly the air contitioning quit working, because the belt had snapped. I drove to Mitsubishi in Kokloy where I was informed that: "no have" belt. OK, they sent some guy to Phuket to get one which took care of most of the afternoon. A few days later the car bucked and stalled. When I returned to Mitsubishi I saw a brand new fully equipped pickup in their showroom. A deal was made. I paid 700,000 Baht cash and thought, well with a 100,000 km guarantee I would never have to worry about any repairs. Wishfull thinking. I really don't drive much, in fact I hate to drive here. Most drivers here are "nuts". I have the truck now for about 11 months and have less than 10,000 km on it. At around 3000 km I noticed that the truck was smoking at any speed and burned about 11 to 12 liters Diesel/100km. I took it back to Mitsubishi where the "mechanic" told me: You drive too fast, she smoke". At 40 km/hr ???? I found a fellow in Tap Lamu who workes on ship diesels. He adusted the injection timing. 600 baht and I was on my way. Around 5000 km the electric passenger side window refused to go up and after several tries the carrier came up and the glass fell into the door. When I had Mitsu check it I was told, that "I ABUSED" the window, therefore there would be a charge. The right windshield wiper mounting had been loose and wobbling. They checked it and told me "no have part" must be ordered from Mitsubishi. OK order it and let me know when it comes in. That was last October, I still don't have it. 2 weeks ago, the air conditioner was weak and worked not at all at idle. The genious at Mitsu pulle the drain hose off the bottom and said: See is dripping, is OK. No shit Sherlock With this heat it should be running like a fawcet and not just drip. Take a look at the receiver dryer. There are bubbles in it. Also the suction line is hand warm. It leaks somewhere and needs freon. (I used to repair air conditioners for a living years ago) Then came the stock answer:" NO HAVE." You mean to tell me that a certified Mitsubishi service center has no means to repair airconditioning when every damned car around here has AC ? I found some Schmo in Baniang who was supposed to be an expert. He added a few pounds of freon (500 baht) which got me going (for a week) After it went dead again I stopped at the same guy and told him to check for leaks. He looked at me like I just came from Mars. His only test equipment wa a manifold set with the high pressure gage minus the glass and a bent pointer, which he tried to coax into moving by bending the needle. I should probably take it to Mitsubishi in Phuket, but like I said I hate to drive there.

I had bought a washing machine last June in Phuket and opted for the 2 year warrantee, at the suggestion of the sales person. In October it quit. I was told to bing it back (to Phuket) So I called a local guy who took it to his shop. 4 days later he called and told me it needed a micro chip which had to ordered from Japan. Well it was still waiting for the chip December 26th when the Tsunami confiscated it and took it into the Andaman sea. Lucky for me I had bought another less high tech washer in November.

Naturally I also lost my telephone service December 26th and received a temporary one around the middle of March. TOT had the gall to bill me for services rendered, including DSL, for January, February and March 2,200 baht. I am waiting for some Satellite Internet service, then they can stick their telephone up their respective noses. Sunday night before Songkran the line wend dead again. I called TOT and was told: You know many people go to temple and many travel to visist relatives far away. Sooo? The world stands still meanwhile ???

It was out until 10 days later

Like I said, I love it here. I have some nice Thai friends. But does anyone know of a competent automoblie repair shop int the Phang Nga - Takuapa area? I had only 2 sons, but between them, mine and my wife's there were 7 cars in the family. I know how to help myself, but I am 70 years old and don't feel like crawling under cars any more.

Best regards, The ol' captain (retired at last)

[Ajarn]

Like I said, I love it here

That part at the end kinda threw me

In my experience, living here will either cure you, or kill you.

Sorry I can't help you with your practical questions...

Somehow, I can't help sense that SNAFU's are something you're quite well acquainted with, and you know how to handle most of it in stride. Maybe you even 'love' it sometimes

Best to you in your life here, sir.

[aviador88]

Hi Adjarn.

Thanks for the answer.

I had typed a rather lengthy reply when Microshit informed me that " windows had encountered an unexplained problem and will be shut down. Sorry for any in convenience".Everything disappeared in Nirvana. This is what I mean. Has nothing to do with Thailand. As a pilot I had to prove to the FAA every 6 months that I was still competent to drive an airplane when the inspector himself was an idiot. One becomes sort of a perfectionist himself.

Btw. I paid TOT 24,000 Baht not 14,000 for the phone line. (typo)

Best regards, the ol captain retired at last.

[RDN]

...Best to you in your life here, sir. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seconded! Glad I'm not the only one with a few little problems. Misery loves company. But still we love it here. What a place!

[aviador88]

Hi RDN.

I am glad you too have had your share of "little" problems and met them in stride.

It has been an interesting 14 months for me. Prior to my arrival here in March of 2004 I contracted with an American shipping company to have a 1 CM container, weighing about 500 kg, containing assorted household goods and memorabilia to be shipped from the east coast of the US to Phuket. Everything went as planned. 5 weeks later I received a telephone call from a fellow who introduced himself as the Thai agent of the US forwarder. "Hello your container has arrived here in Bangkok and is ready for pickup by you." "You must be kidding. I am not going to drive 1000 km to retrieve this thing. Ship it to my home here in Khao Lak and if there are any additional charges let me know." (A Swiss friend of mine in Tap Lamu had a ship Diesel motor weighing 2 tons shipped there from Bangkok for 1,800 Baht, so how much could it cost) "No, you need to mail me your passport first". "No way José I am not sending my passport to just anybody, but wait, 2 of my Thai friends will be driving to Chiang Mai for Songkran next week, I will have them stop by and hand you the passport. 2 days later I get a call from my friends stating that this guy needs 8000 Baht for "expenses" but we don't have that much cash on hand. I wired them the money, they handed the creep my passport as well as the 8000 Baht.

About 3 days later I get an e-mail saying that my container is now in Phuket because the truck could not negotiate the narrow roads in Khao Lak. What ??? Route 4 ain't exactly a dirt path. I e-mailed the guy back and told him. OK, forget it. I will pick up the container in Phuket, just tell me where. Another few days went by when I get another e-mail. Your container is with the authorities at the pier in Bangkok ready for release to you. We will not release the container as well as your passport until the following charges have been paid.

Pier fee: 3,500 Baht

Handling: 4,800 Baht

Transportation:26,000 Baht

Customs fees: 12,600 Baht

Miscellaneous: 5,200 Baht

Grad total: 52,100 Baht

At the pier in Bangkok ? Are we talking about the same container which was supposed to be in Phuket ??

I sent two guys with a rental truck on a 3 day trip to Bangkok. Expenses including overnight meals ect 14,000 baht.

This creep would not disclose the location of my passport until he had the cash in hand. The container was actually still sitting at the pier where the cargo ship had dropped it of. It had never even been moved one foot.

Welcome to Thailand: Bend over, I'll drive you home.

Back in June of 2003 I was involved in an accident with a motorbike in Phuket driven by a guy who had an illegal side car attached to it, no insurance as well as no driver's license (what else is new). Well the man had a badly injured knee. The hospital they had taken him to, wanted to amputate his leg therefore I had him tranferred to the International Hospital in Phuket. Since the hospital did not trust my insurance company (I found out later why) I paid the daily charges, such as private room, ICU, surgery etc. All in all it came to around 260,000 Baht. I did visit the man at the hospital several times and remember when I met his family right after the accident. Instead of a grieving wife and daughter I found smiling faces. "Hot dog, we are in fat city now. A Falang and looks like one with lots of money" !!!!! facit, it cost me over halve a Million Baht to settle the case. Then.......

About 3 months later I received a check for 240,000 Baht to re-imburse me for the hospital expenses. It promptly bounced due to insufficient funds. A trip to their office in Phuket revealed that they had closed their doors and disappeared. I also had to pay 22,000 Baht in advance for the repair of the motor bike, because it was fixed at an "unauthorized" (per insurance) repair shop.

Minor annoyances, aren't they. :>)

I had invested 750,000 Baht in the transportation company of my Thai friend. We operated 10 minibuses. Business was booming. Until December 26th. Out of the 10 vehicles, only 2 survived. We also lost one driver and 4 tourists. The insurance company balked at paying, citing something like "act of nature" We did get 500,000 Baht for one brand new bus which had cost 1,6 Million. My Thai friend promised to repay me as soon as he can get on his feet but I explained to him that it was an investment and not his fault the money was lost. I told him "it's only money at least we are alive". He thinks I am the greatest thing since sliced bread, since most of his Thai investors are haunding him.

How to spend a Million Baht in one short year without really trying ???

Minor annoyances.

Well yesterday my second washing machine quit. It will be an adventure to see how I get this thing fixed unter warrantee.

Minor annoyances, having to buy a new washer very 6 or 7 months ;>)

Truly I still love it here. Btw as a pilot I managed to get around in the world and was particularly intrigued with Ecuador. I toyed with the idea to retire to the place due to the climate, especially since I speak Spanish as well as German but as things go in Latin America, there always seems to be open season on Presidentes every few years. Well, there was another change in Presidents yesterday. I think I'll hang in here for the few years I have left. Another reason why I picked Thailand is the fact that it is very pro American, something that is rare in today's world. I can buy property, own a busines 100% own a car and all of this without getting involved with another female. (I think I mentioned, that I was married for 30 years and lived with a lady for another 10) The only female who lives and sleeps with me is my "genuine" Thai dog, a very intelligent animal whom I got as a puppy.

Best regards, the ol' Captain.

[Thetyim]

Thanks for sharing all that with us.

I feel a lot better now, knowing that some-one else has received ten times more sh1t than me.

Wish I could help you.

[Tornado]

I enjoyed reading your posts, I think we have all had some of the same problems.

Anyway congrats to you for taking the time to let us know - it is not just us that have problems

[aviador88]

Hey Thetyim. Thanks.

A few corrections. I should either proof read my postings better or it is Alzheimer’s. I was mainly afraid that my trusty (untrustworthy) TOT ISP was going to disconnected me, therefore I was in a hurry.

The container weighed exactly 227 kg ( I am stickler for correctness) and the accident occurred in 2004. Again Alzheimer's or "time flies when you’re having fun" Hey, I survived the Tsunami, what could be worse.

Best regards, the ol Capt. retired at last.

PS another story. How to learn to dislike some people (not Thai in this case).

On the morning of the tsunami an American couple brought a little blond boy up to my home. Some Thais found him amongst the debris. The youngster was barely breathing his face and upper body all bloody. He only moaned with shallow breathing. The Yankee had lost all of his clothes (he was stark naked when he fled the hotel but found a pair of dirty shorts in the debris.) I gave him a shirt, which wasn’t easy because he was big fellow His girlfriend though was dressed. I put them up in my home and laid the little tyke on the floor. I didn't like the way the boy acted and decided that he definitely needed to go to a hospital. Everybody was against it because most of the roads were blocked by downed power lines and other junk. But we left anyway. Takuapa which was the closest was out of the question. Everything was blocked yet the road to Thiamuang seemed ok. The police up on the hill in Khaolak would not let us go at first, but Police major Nippon a recent acquaintance passed us, but advised utmost caution. Well, to make a long story longer, it was a horrific ride but we got the boy to the hospital where they determined that he had ingested salt water as well as sand and a transfer to Phuket was the only solution. After we returned, again the police stopped us and would not let us through had it not been for Major Nippon again. The two stayed overnight at my home. The next morning the guy asked if he could borrow my digital camera to take pictures of demolished hotel they had been staying. Since he had nothing. No cloths no money, no passport, no camera I let him have the 5 MB chip out of my camera when he left with the promise to either return it or reimburse me. I even gave him my last 1000 Baht to catch a ride to Phuket, since the supermarket was destroyed anyway as were all the ATM machines. The police provided us with supplies for several days. A few days later I turned on CNN and here was the guy being interviewed in Khao Lak by some female reporter. He told of his narrow escape and finding the little boy. I thought, hmm here comes my part. Nothing…. The reporter only asked. “:So you took the boy to the hospital and therefore saved his life”. “Yes I did”. I wasn’t really looking for laurels, but pray tell how did he get to the hospital she should have asked ???? By subway, on an elephant ? 2 days later the same thing on Larry King live. Same ending. Neither he nor I saved the little boy’s life. It was the hospitals in Thaimuang and Phuket who did it. He could have at the least mentioned that some Yankee happened to be there with a car. Again , who cares, but writing to friends and relatives in the US about it made it look like I made the entire thing up. I am still waiting for my chip and the 1000 Baht. The big spender who bragged about traveling all over the world because of his successful real estate business.

The little boy turned out Hannes something or other, 2 years old from Sweden who made the headlines when he was re-united with his father at the hospital in Phuket. Just recently while cleaning my car I found a tiny sock under the front seat, a reminder of my adventure.

The creeps name was Ronald Ruben from Seattle WA. Some day I hope to be able to talk to him.

[RDN]

...The creeps name was Ronald Ruben from Seattle WA.  Some day I hope to be able to talk to him.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I remember a story about a child being reunited with his father in hospital - his father was quite naturally in tears as he thought he'd lost his child. It was shown many times on TV news and on follow up stories. Let's just think that the guy who found the boy had been through the most terrifying ordeal of his life, and to remember to acknowledge the guy who gave him shelter and took him to the hospital was - probably in his mind - just a small part in a very big and traumatic experience. Don't feel too bad about it Cap'n - we know you did your bit . Good luck to you and your dog!

[aviador88]

The saga continues.

I am probably boring you good people with my constant bitching ? But

My call to the business which sold me the washing machine was futile, because the tsunami claimed the the building as well as the inventory. Luckily the owner escaped with his life and advised me to just have the machine repaired at my own expense. OK, what else is new. I called a local shop who promised to be here "prung nee", which was 3 days ago.

I sent one of our out of work drivers and paid him for the day to Mitsubishi in Phuket with my Pickup to have the air conditoner taken care of. According to him they too are not equipped to take on the work. (unbeliveable but true ) He took it to one of his "friend's" shop who in his words was an "expert". Sure enough the guy discovered that the shop who had repaired the truck after the accident had used the old bent high pressure line to the evaporator and patched a hole in it with Superglue. However it needed a new receiver dryer which was, as he said "full of water ?" OK, change it. On the way home yesterday the compressor apparently exploded in Thaimuang. The estimate now stands at 22,000 Baht. So much for a 100,000 km warrantee

God, I love this country (am I masochistic)

Best regards, the ol' Captn who is trying to maintain his sanity

[yeti]

God, I love this country (am I masochistic)

Yes you are

You'll soon have enough to write a book. But readers in us or europe will never understand why you still love this country

[aviador88]

Does anyone know a publisher ? I think I am ready for my book

Do cars have a personality, or even some kind of 6th sense ? I firmly believe that they do. Years back, whenever I decided to sell a car which had faithfully served me for tousands of miles without problems, when it suddenly broke down just as the prospective buyer showed up.

Anyway, my Mitsu pickup picked Thaimuang as the place to scare halve the town when the compressor jammed, the fan belt smoked and finally snapped. (Everybody thought the car was on fire .) But directly in front of a place called THAI MUANG AUTOSOUND AND AIR. Why didn't anybody tell me about this place ? My driver told me that they are the best equipped shop within 200 km. I was told that the "expert" in Phucket overcharged the the system, lost most of the oil causing the compressor to jam. (sounds logical). End of story. The very next day. Replaced Compressor, dryer, belt, Freon ? (probably not the right stuff but who cares ) 22,750 Baht. (No wonder we yankees have to prove an income of 60,000 Baht per months or more Back in the US I could probably sue the guy as well as Mitsubishi for not living up to their warrantee, but who cares at this point. The air conditoner works (for now anyway )

You gotta love it

The ol Capt.

Btw. The washing machine guy hasn't shown up yet

[triplegee]

Great stuff skipper.

Love your writing style and can relate to the fact that things rarely go as they should in the LOS.

Keep it coming!

BTW - I would hate to be your financial advisor!!!

[mouse]

Does anyone know a publisher ? I think I am ready for my book

Take a look at http://www.insiciliancompany.com it may fit your idea of being published Sent you a PM with more information.

[aviador88]

Hey tripplegee.

Financial advisors.

When I bought my home in 1967 for $ 26,900.oo I was advised by a very good friend of mine who was an executive with Chase Manhattan Bank at the time that I made "the biggest mistake of my life" "Why would you saddle yourself with a mortgage when you can invest your money he said ?" Besides, taking advantages of the tax deductions I felt it was better than paying rent. Then the real estate boom took off.

Well, I sold that same house for just under $ 400,000.oo last year. ( It left me with about $ 200,000.oo after my ex-wife took a cut ) Cést la vie.

My philsosophy right now is to do the most good to wherever it is needed. Like I said, I am 70 years old and the track record of my ancestors and immediate family is not very good. (they all died in their 70's) Quien sabe, who knows. I don't want to leave my ungrateful childen anyting. Money is there to be spent.

The property where my home is build "was" owned by a wealthy property owner here in Khao Lak. The cheapest person I ever met. Nickles and dimes. He questioned every kilowatt of electricity. Well, he perished in the tsumani and has been fish food since December 26th. They found his car 2, 4 million worth but never did find his body.

I recently had a visit from a former client of mine in the States (I flew his multi million dollar airplane for about 10 years) He was thrilled to know that I only lived about 120 km from where his charitable organisation was donating money. After I showed him the devastation in Baniang, Khuckkack, as well as Bansak, which never really made the headlines, because very few tourist perishesd there, he pledged 500,000 Baht for the reconstruction of the local school which I had to match evenly. So, I did.

Well, I always want to give someting back to the community, although the folks are a little too early with their sign, beause his money is going to take a few days (weeks ?) to get here.

So be it. I don't want to die tomorrow, but if I do I may just leave a litte something that aids the commuity.

(BUT NOT FOR THE REPAIR PEOPLE )

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Avia...ngschool022.jpg

Best regards the ol' Capt.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Lovely stories Cap. You have a talent But I'll pass on sharing a lottery ticket with you I hope that preung nee comes soon

[aviador88]

Thanks Doc.

It certainly hasn't been a boring year.

Here is something I wrote to friends and relatives last summer.

The great telephone robbery:

An amazing thing happened to me yesterday.

Mehn and I went to the bank in the morning. My S.S. check had arrived with the paltry sum of $ 1,800.oo (around 71,000 Baht, which is probably more than the average Thai worker makes in 4 months) Then on to the supermarket. It was a beautiful day. 80 degrees, a few clouds and a nice breeze. In the sub-tropics the barometer is constantly between 30.1 and .3 inches and the temperatures this time of year around 80 to 85, dipping to about 76 to 78 at night.

But I am getting off the original reason for writing this. We were supposed to take a boat trip with my business partner T. (Everybody calls him Mr. T. for “Transportation” than to pronounce his real name: “Suwan Ramkaew takes a bit of practice). One of his uncles owns a million dollar resort on an Island. However T. had a business appointment and could not make it, so we went back to the house. Mehn took the motorbike to visit some Burmese friends who live in the woods and work on the construction of my house. I poured myself a beer and went over to see how things were coming along. At the same time I marked the spots where I wanted the electrical outlets, and switches etc. These Burmese are really amazing. They are not just day laborers. No they are skilled people doing everything from digging the foundation (by hand) making the forms and mixing cement, (by hand) laying the bricks and finishing the walls, doing carpentry and tile work, erecting the roof and shingle it. They earn the princely sum of 350 Baht ($ 8.58) per day and since they work 7 days a week they make around 9,800 baht per month, which to them is a fortune. They come to visit occasionally at night, some bring their kids, watch satellite TV (something they never saw before) empty my refrigerator :>) and the kids play video games on the computer.

Anyway, while I was over at the site, a strange person (also Burmese) was watching too. I did not take too much notice because there are many of them living here in the jungle who work on the rubber plantations. Later T showed up, with some Thai money people, all uncles. We were sitting around drinking Thai whiskey, conversing with whatever means, although T speaks reasonably good English, when Mehn showed up and said my telephone was off, because it went right into voicemail. Sure enough my phone was not with me. But this had happened many times before. I would forget where I had put the ###### thing, call my number and it will ring in the closet, the bathroom, or god knows where. This time because it was off ( I never turn it off) so no luck. We combed the house and decided that someone must have stolen it, probably while I was in the new house and had laid it down outside. T called the chief of police (who is also an uncle :>)) and the search began.

Actually it was no big deal to me. So I’d have to buy another phone. They are very cheap here. However I would have gotten a new number, my business cards were wrong, the application for my one year work visa on which we have been working for over a month would have to be started all over again. I was tired by then. It was going on 7 PM but after consuming a goodly amount of that horrible Thai whiskey I needed a nap. 10 minutes before 10 PM, Mehn woke me up and said: “Papa, Police come to the house!” The chief, with a grin on his face, handed me my phone and said: “Very sorry for problem” and bid me “ratree savat”. (Good night. :>))) I asked Mehn, my “interpreter” (It is amazing how much English this kid has learned) to find out how and what happened.

Well, this is how it seems to works in Thailand. First the police arrested every Burmese in town. (about 100 of them) One of them had “heard” through the grapevine that someone had an American cell-phone for sale. After beating the shit out of the guy, he finally confessed that he knew who the person was, but not where he lived and would get to him in the morning. “In the morning”? screamed the chief.? “If that phone is not back where it belongs by 10 PM tonight all of you will be deported the next day“.

This is where my Burmese neighbors came in. They went, knives in pockets looking for this guy and actually found him. They could have killed him, nobody would have cared. Burmese are treated like second class citizens anyway. This actually goes back centuries. They are basically of the same stock but have been fighting each other for a long time. It’s almost like the Germans and the French. Archenemies for ages. I did have a few problems in the beginning, when Thai and Burmese kids came to play video games. There were some arguments, racial slurs and shouting. But I put a stop to this right away. “Hey, this is my house and if you want to be here, you will have to learn to get along. You want to fight each other, go out into the street I don’t care” became the rule. Amazingly, Mehn and Bigun the Thai boy are the best of friends today. :>))

Anyway, they beat this guy to a pulp, retrieved the phone, gave it to the chief of police who personally delivered it to me with his apologies just before the deadline. He also chided me for not having a gun and promised to bring me a .38 revolver for 1000 baht ($ 24.oo) :>) (even though possession of a firearm other than in law enforcement is strictly forbidden in Thailand.)

All of this over a lousy cell-phone ??????

This morning, when the people walked past my house, all had big smiles on their faces. They gave me a big “thumbs up”.

How can one not love a place, where “neighbors are still neighbors”. Even though I am the “Falang” (white foreigner)

PS. Today I had lunch with the Commander of the Thai Royal Marine Base in Tap Lamu one of the largest in Thailand (also an uncle of T.’s :>) a complex that stretches over 10 square miles at the harbor. He is in charge of 6000 marines. Some of his boys serve in Iraq to this day. I found out, it pays to know people here. I went, all dressed up in my pilot’s uniform, actually the only clothes I have that are somewhat “formal”, wore socks and shoes. (the first time in almost 5 months). All the soldiers saluted me :>) At the same time I met the chief of the Tourist police here (Also an uncle :>))) who gave me his card and told me to call him anytime I had a problem.

[aviador88]

While the going is good. TOT miraculously only disconnected me twice all morning

Again, the following was part of an e-mail I sent last summer.

The story of Lucky.

I was at T's when he introduced me to his nephew Lucky. His name is actually Anoluksawarathan. Luck is what they call him is 12 years old and because of a severe head injury he received the age of 4 never learned to read and write. The boy spoke well, was very polite and seemed quite normal to me, even saw him ride his sister’s motorbike. I invited him to come to my house to play video games. This kid mastered a complicated game within 20 minutes, which I can not play to this day and on an English keyboard no less. “Wait a minute“…………., I said to myself. “There is nothing wrong with this child“. I asked T, if he was ever tested ? No, came the answer, but his teacher told the parents that he was brain damaged and unable to learn.

Now the whole story. He comes from a very poor family about 2000 km from here near the Cambodian border. They don't even have electricity there. The stupid parents sent this boy to school at the age of 5, after falling off a tree at age 4 undergoing brain surgery and having been in a coma for 3 months. The teacher, underpaid and overworked (which is the rule here) simply could not cope with the boy's special needs, so he, or she pronounced him mentally retarded.

Also, as is customary here, he did not measure up to the parent’s standards so he was shipped off to some relatives here.

I am no genius but I know that the human brain at a young age is very resilient. I volunteered to hire a special teacher at the horrendous rate of 300 Baht per hour (about $ 7.50 :>)) which is normally a day’ s pay for a teacher) twice a week for 3 hours per day to see if he was capable of learning. That was about 8 weeks ago. Lucky is making tremendous progress and is a whiz at math.

Last week the parents came to visit, after a 22 hour bus ride and stopped by to thank me for what I had done for their son. They casually mentioned, if I wanted to "have" the boy? For 5000 Baht, (around $ 120.oo) they would give (sell I suppose) the child to me. “Hey, no way José, I am not in the habit of buying children. I like the kid but thanks for the offer“. That was that. They thanked me again and left.

As usual, Luck showed up every day (walking about 8 km from Baniang to my home) and like all the other kids in the neighborhood to play video games and watch satellite TV. About 3 days ago, he came with all his meager possessions in a plastic bag and politely asked if he could stay overnight. “OK I said. “No problem, although my bed is sort of small“. "No“, he said “I like to sleep on the floor anyway, because it is cooler there". Later that day I received a phone call from T, saying the parents "gave" me the kid as a present. But wait!!!! THAT DID NOT FIT INTO THE EQUATION. Well what could I say, or do? He really had no place to go and was shoved from relative to relative, the last one happy to have found someone like me. Mehn too, took a liking to him and since he now also goes to a regular school, takes him to Baniang with his motorbike every morning at 7 AM. Which sometimes represents a bit of a problem too, since it is the rainy season. Yesterday it was raining cats and dogs. Luck had no rainwear. Well a big plastic garbage bag with a hole cut in the top did the trick. :>))) Mehn also picks him up in the afternoon.

So, I always wanted a grandson (I have 2 granddaughters back in the USA) but never thought it would be this way though. He is a bit of a handful at times because he never really learned discipline. Luck does his own cooking and cleans up afterwards. I love to see him smile. The hugs I get from him every morning and when he comes back in the afternoon make up for all the trouble

Greets, the ol' Capt.

[andy50]

great posts captn!ive just read through all of your posts and enjoyed reading them!

,i too was caught up in the tsunami ,but i was lucky, i was staying in patong ,but a bit further back from the beach ,but i saw things i dont to see again .

good luck to you in the future captn!!

[Teach]

While the going is good. TOT miraculously only disconnected me twice all morning

Again, the following was part of an e-mail I sent last summer.

The story of Lucky.

I was at T's when he introduced me to his nephew Lucky. His name is actually Anoluksawarathan.  Luck is what they call him is 12 years old and because of a severe head injury he received the age of 4 never learned to read and write. The boy spoke well, was very polite and seemed quite normal to me, even saw him ride his sister’s  motorbike. I invited him to come to my house to play video games. This kid mastered a complicated game within 20 minutes, which I can not play to this day and on an English keyboard no less. “Wait a minute“…………., I said to myself. “There is nothing wrong with this child“. I asked T, if he was ever tested ? No, came the answer, but his teacher told the parents that he was brain damaged and unable to learn.

Now the whole story. He comes from a very poor family about 2000 km from here near the Cambodian border. They don't even have electricity there. The stupid parents sent this boy to school at the age of  5, after falling off a tree at age 4 undergoing brain surgery and having been in a coma for 3 months. The teacher, underpaid and overworked (which is the rule here) simply could not cope with the boy's special needs, so he, or she pronounced him mentally retarded. 

Also, as is customary here, he did not measure up to the parent’s  standards so he was shipped off to some relatives here.

I am no genius but I know that the human brain at a young age is very resilient.  I volunteered to hire a special teacher at the horrendous rate of 300 Baht per hour (about $ 7.50 :>)) which is normally a day’ s pay for a teacher) twice a week for 3 hours per day to see if he was capable of learning. That was about 8 weeks ago. Lucky is making tremendous progress and is a whiz at math. 

Last week the parents came to visit, after a 22 hour bus ride and stopped by to thank me for what I had done for their son. They casually mentioned, if I wanted to "have" the boy? For 5000 Baht, (around $ 120.oo) they would give (sell I suppose) the child to me. “Hey, no way José, I am not in the habit of buying children. I like the kid but thanks for the offer“. That was that. They thanked me again and  left.

As usual, Luck showed up every day (walking  about 8 km from Baniang to my home) and like all the other kids in the neighborhood to play video games and watch satellite TV.  About 3 days ago, he came with all his meager possessions in a plastic bag and politely asked if he could stay overnight. “OK  I said. “No problem, although my bed is sort of small“. "No“, he said “I like to sleep on the floor anyway, because it is cooler there". Later that day I received a phone call from T, saying the parents "gave" me the kid as a present. But wait!!!! THAT  DID NOT FIT INTO THE EQUATION. Well what could I say, or do?  He really had no place to go and was shoved from relative to relative, the last one  happy to have found someone like me. Mehn too, took a liking to him and since he now also goes to a regular school, takes him to Baniang with his motorbike every morning at 7 AM. Which sometimes represents a bit of a problem too, since it is the rainy season. Yesterday it was raining cats and dogs.  Luck  had no rainwear. Well a big plastic garbage bag with a hole cut in the top did the trick. :>))) Mehn also picks him up in the afternoon.

So, I always wanted a grandson (I have 2 granddaughters back in the USA) but never thought it would be this way though.   He is a bit of a handful at times because he never really learned discipline. Luck does his own cooking and cleans up afterwards. I love to see him smile. The hugs  I get from him every morning and when he comes back in the afternoon make up for all the trouble 

Greets, the ol' Capt.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Holy Jesus Skipper I'd love to see your diary must bethe size of war and peace shizenhousen.

Anyway I may be able to throw some assistance your way with the original problems.

No sarcasm meant here.

1. Lose the truck, claim on the insurance and buy either a Isuzu or better still a Toyota. There is a reason why they are the biggest here...service.

2. Domestic machinery. Visit a high end condo unit and make friends with the engineer. Standard practice is an engineer here in Thailand will have a very good working knowledge of all things mechanical and electrical. He will also know how to access parts. He will probably appreciate the extra income but be warned you get what you pay for. Offer him something he cannot refuse and he will give you excellent service.

T.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The ole Cap will have the guy eating out of his hand in no time

[aviador88]

Thanks guys.

Re: High end condos. Well, I don't think there are any in this neighborhood. But I will look around and take your advise to heart.

I don't have a diary, but a good memory (still ) many of my former first officers have told me to write a book about my 40 years of flying and the "war stries" that go with it.

Anyway, TOT went dead since last night and just returned. Since I had nothing else to do last night I wrote down some of the things tahs were on my mind.

Error 718: The connection was terminated because the remote computer did not respond in a timely manner.

I has been telling me this now since around 5PM Thursday the 28th. After loosing DSL December 26th I have had my share of aggravation with CSLOX and recently purchased “TRUE”. Unlimited access one month for 499 Baht. At 22,2/bps it wasn’t speedy Gonzales but at least I wasn’t “dumped” every 5 minutes. That was 10 days ago, so now what ? I was told that TOT was the culprit and needed the lines for the test of the tsunami warning system. That will take place on Saturday ??? No, the service will be back “preung nee”. For the very first time they were right

Preung nee, mañana, Morgen has arrived. Nothing… But it is another beautiful cloudless sunny day. We need some rain, darned !! Bangkok has flooding and my well is going dry. I know a fellow pilot in Arizona a genuine American Indian, (sorry "Native American" to be politicalley correct ) whose grandfather can still perform the “rain dance”. Perhaps it’s time to get this old guy a ticket to southern Thailand.. Wouldn’t even cost anything because crew member’s families fly for free. So here we are waiting for TOT. (appropriate name, because TOT means “dead” in German)

I have in he past tried several alternates. Last year one satellite provider tried to sell me a system which involved a huge dish antenna. It looked like a tracking station used to contact space aliens. The price was right but then DSL came into town. Recently I found out about another satellite provider for “supposedly” 1200 Baht per month, unlimited service. The only stipulation was that I must purchase the dish antenna as well as the converter for 13,500 Baht. No problem, I just spent twice that much to get air-conditioning back on my truck which is still under warrantee. I sent my trusty Thai representative to Phuket to buy the thing. Done deal. To have it hooked up involved contacting an authorized installer. A very nice English speaking lady answered my query but her first question to me was: “Are you familiar with the monthly charges?” “Sure sweetheart, 1200 Baht a month”. “Oh no” she purred, “It is 12,000 Baht per month”. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat ?? I screamed.

“I don’t want to buy your company, just your service” I said softly trying not to scare the sweet sounding thing on the other end .

Another thing. I have been told and have read many things about Thailand before I decided to move here. Thai people are supposed to be a gentle lot. Never raise their voices or display anger. Therefore I always try to accommodate them by acting appropriately even though there are times when I feel like screaming my head off. Many neighborhood kids come to my home to watch Thai movies and soap operas on my satellite TV. Never in my life did I see more domestic and other violence displayed. The guys are forever screaming and the women bawling to no end. Everybody seems to have a gun ready to use... Gory scenes that make your blood curl, but if someone smokes, the cigarette is blacked out. Is this “gentleness” a myth ?

Today someone came up with another solution. GSM internet access thru your cell phone. A Swiss fellow who runs a diving company in Tap Lamu has the service and swears by it. Umpteen MB/sec up and download, all for only 800 Baht per month (unlimited). My US Motorola phone does not have the capability, so another trip by my Thai connection to Phuket. Purchased one Motorola GSM phone that plays Beethoven’s 7th, takes pictures, makes coffee, walks the dog and whatnot. I don’t really need all of this crap but he assured me it was the latest and greatest. Came with a USB cable and an installation CD. All for the paltry sum of 12,800 Baht. Free of TOT at last I thought, now I can tell them to stick their telephone line up their respective noses. But,… it doesn’t work (at least not in Khao Lak) NO SERVICE, emergency only. Back to square one. DSL availability, so they tell me will be another 5 to 6 months at the very least. By then I will probably have lost my sanity. I already smashed one keyboard and was ready to throw the computer off the back balcony when, after typing a fairly long e-mail, the connection was severed causing me to loose everything.

A few years ago we had a Russian immigrant comedian in the US, I think his name was Smirnoff who’s punch line at the end of his dialog, with his Russian accent after encountering some strange and unfamiliar things in the US was always: “What a country but I love it”.

Preung nee number 5, I think, but the washing machine Mensch hasn’t shown up yet. :

Best to you'all the ol' Capt.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

55555555555 another day in the life of the Cap

[udon]

Keep 'em coming Cap'n

In 5 years I must be one lucky S.O.B.

I only had probs with clearing personal effects (400+kgs) thru the ripoffs at DonMuang. 22000bt.

I have all the usual house toys and only the new tv went u.s.

Maybe I should go with you to the mall one day, just for luck, but no lotto tickets

[yeti]

“I don’t want to buy your company, just your service”

I love this one

[aviador88]

OK, if you insist.

I am flattered by your responses. I was always fond of children, in fact my wife and I hoped to have at least 6, but when we discovered how much it costs to raise a child we quit after the birth of our second son. I adored those two but they grew up much too fast.

As they left home, off to college I began to suffer the typical symptoms of the “empty nest” syndrome especially around the holidays. I would be the first one to volunteer for holiday charter trips. The pay doubled the destination was usually some exotic place in the Caribbean or South America.

It was Christmas 1990 or 91, I am not exactly sure, because I had stopped keeping logs after more than 15,000 hours in the air since the companies kept records of trips. We departed December 23rd with a couple and their 2 teen age children for La Romana in the Dominican Republic. I had been there before but only to drop off passengers, refuel and head for other places. This time it was for 4 days and 3 nights. My first officer decided to airline it home to spend the holiday with his family. I checked in at an exclusive resort called Casa de Campo. $ 300.oo a night, all expenses plus my fee, sunshine and BOREDOM. Christmas eve I couldn‘t stand it any more. I spoke to a couple of young maintenance workers. Perdone me. Es navidad y el navidad está para los ninos solamente. ¿Es verdad? ¿Usted conoce cualquier lugar con muchod nines? (It’s Chrismas isn´t it? Christmas is only for children. Do you know of a place with many children ?) Por supuesto (Sure) hop on my Motorbike said one fellow. We are going to the place where I live with my wife and new baby. There are many children there.

In town we stopped at narrow alley which led to large courtyard containing 6 or seven cubicles, about the size of my one car garage back home. Enough room for a bed, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling as well as a propane stove. Each hovel had 5 or 6 people living in it. 2 little girls were cooking a chicken over an open fire on the dirt floor of the lot. I asked myself, is this the 20th century ? These people are supposted to be the working class? When I announced that I would play Santa Claus and take wish-lists, it wasn’t long before I was surrounded by about 25 or 30 kids ages 4 to 12 or so. The orders came flying like a Manhattan restaurant during lunch hour. Quiero una pistola, una muñeca, yo deseo un bicicleta. (I want a pistol, I want a doll and I want a bicycle) Hm not shy, are you ? Here was the cutest 9 year old boy with large begging eyes. OK kids I will see what I can do. I called a taxi, took a young lady along who also worked at the resort and went shopping.

The taxi bulged with all the stuff but we made it back safely. It was the most satisfying feeling, surrounded by laughing kids handing out presents. Geraldo had been told the “Gringo” was only kidding and not to expect a bike but when I handed the boy the bike he was elated, jumped up to me and hugged me.

Of course we also bought food. Arroz, con puerco, bollo, vino and all the good stuff for a fiesta. We celebrated late into the night. Geraldo fell asleep on my lap.

I spent more than $ 1000.oo but it was one of the best Christmases in a long time.

I returned the next morning to ask Geraldos’s father (who was 69 years old , fathered 9 children including a newborn, (are these people crazy?) if I could take Geraldo to the hotel pool for a swim. Sure he said, as long as his older brother goes along. I had no problems with that. I wouldn’t let any of my kids go with a complete stranger. His brother, 19 a nice guy eyed my new Reebok sneakers which I wound up giving him. When we entered the resort, the guards balked at admitting the two natives. But my insistence that “they are my guests” sufficed. The boys had a good time in the pool, we ordered room service, but then it was time to take them home.

I discovered that Geraldo at age 9 could neither read nor write, because the father did not have enough money to send him to school. I promised the old man that I would send $ 25.oo every month to pay for the boy’s schooling.

Returning to the house again the next day for some more merry making it was also time to tell the boy that I had to leave the following morning. My god, did he ever sob. I don’t remember anyone crying the way he did when told I had to leave. We subsequently departed as scheduled but not before a quick trip into town to say good bye to everybody and receive a big hug and a kiss on the cheek from Geraldo.

As promised I kept sending $ 25.oo for about 5 or 6 months until I received an e-mail from the girl at hotel asking me not to send any more money. Geraldo is not going to school, but the father is using the money as a cash cow to support his drinking habit.

Sadly there were no more trips to the DR after that. I kept e-mailing the young lady several times, to no avail. A phone call to the hotel revealed that she wasn’t working there any more. Flying over the island later on many occasions on the way to some South American country, looking down thinking and wondering what happened to him. I hope he is well. He must be 15 or 16 by now.

Below, my "steady" customers. My neighbors think I am out of my mind putting up with these brats, but they keep me young.

Best regards, the ol' Capt.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Avia...ergarten001.jpg

[RDN]

...TOT went dead since last night and just returned. Since I had nothing else to do last night I wrote down some of the things tahs were on my mind.

Error 718: The connection was terminated because the remote computer did not respond in a timely manner. ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wonderful stuff, cap'n, and if it's any consolation, I got the exact same message for 24 hours from the 28th. Perhaps the cleaner lady forgot to plug in the server again after using it's socket for her electric floor polisher.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

OK, if you insist.

I am flattered by your responses. I was always fond of children, in fact my wife and I  hoped to have at least 6, but when we discovered how much it costs to raise a child we quit after  the birth of our second son. I adored those two but they  grew up much too fast.

As they left home,  off to college I began to suffer the typical symptoms of the “empty nest” syndrome especially  around the holidays. I would be the first one to volunteer for holiday charter trips. The pay doubled the destination was usually some exotic place in the Caribbean or South America.

It was Christmas 1990 or 91, I am not exactly sure, because I had stopped keeping logs after more than 15,000 hours in the air since the companies kept records of trips. We departed December 23rd with a couple and their 2 teen age children for La Romana in the Dominican Republic. I had been there before but only to drop off passengers, refuel and head for other places. This time it was for 4 days and 3 nights. My first officer decided to airline it home to spend the holiday with his family. I checked in at an exclusive resort called Casa de Campo. $ 300.oo a night, all expenses plus my fee, sunshine and BOREDOM. Christmas eve I couldn‘t stand it any more. I spoke to a couple of young maintenance workers. Perdone me. Es navidad y el navidad está  para los ninos solamente. ¿Es verdad? ¿Usted conoce cualquier lugar con muchod nines? (It’s Chrismas isn´t it?  Christmas is only for children. Do you know of a place with many children ?) Por supuesto (Sure) hop on my Motorbike said one fellow. We are going to the place where I live with my wife and new baby. There are many children there.

In town we stopped at narrow alley which led to large courtyard containing 6 or seven cubicles, about the size of my one car garage back home. Enough room for a bed, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling as well as a propane stove. Each hovel had 5 or 6 people living in it. 2 little girls were cooking a chicken over an open fire on the dirt floor of the lot. I asked myself, is this the 20th century ? These people are supposted to be the working class? When I announced that I would play Santa Claus and take wish-lists, it wasn’t long before I was surrounded by about 25 or 30 kids ages 4 to 12 or so. The orders came flying like  a Manhattan restaurant during lunch hour.    Quiero  una pistola, una muñeca, yo deseo un bicicleta. (I want  a pistol, I want a doll and I want a bicycle) Hm not shy, are you ? Here was the cutest 9 year old boy  with large begging eyes. OK kids I will see what I can do. I called a taxi, took a young lady along who also worked at the resort and  went shopping.

The taxi bulged with all the stuff but we made it back safely. It was the most satisfying feeling,  surrounded by laughing kids handing out presents.  Geraldo had been told  the “Gringo” was only kidding and not to expect a bike but when I handed the boy the bike he was elated, jumped up to me and hugged me.

Of course we also bought  food.  Arroz, con puerco,  bollo, vino and all the good stuff for a fiesta. We celebrated late into the night. Geraldo fell asleep on my lap.

I spent more than $ 1000.oo but it was one of the best Christmases  in a long time.

I returned the next morning to ask Geraldos’s father (who was 69 years old , fathered 9 children including a newborn,   (are these people crazy?) if I could take Geraldo to the hotel pool for a swim. Sure he said, as long as his older brother goes along. I had no problems with that. I wouldn’t let any of my kids go with a complete stranger. His brother, 19 a nice guy eyed my new Reebok sneakers which I wound up giving him. When we  entered the resort, the guards balked at admitting the two natives.  But my insistence that “they are my guests” sufficed. The boys had a good time in the pool, we ordered room service, but then it was time to take them home.

I discovered that Geraldo at age 9 could neither read nor write, because the father did not have enough money to send him to school. I promised the old man that I would  send  $ 25.oo every month to pay for the boy’s schooling.

Returning to the house again the next day for some more merry making it was also time to tell the boy that I had to leave the following morning. My god, did he ever sob. I don’t remember anyone crying the way he did when  told  I had to leave. We subsequently departed as scheduled  but not before  a quick trip into town to say good bye to everybody and receive a big hug and a kiss on the cheek from Geraldo.

As promised  I kept sending  $ 25.oo  for about 5 or 6 months until I received an e-mail from the girl at hotel asking me not to send any more money. Geraldo is not going to school, but the father is using the money as a cash cow to support his drinking habit.

Sadly there were no more trips to the DR after that. I kept e-mailing the young lady several times, to no avail. A phone call to the hotel revealed that she wasn’t working there any more. Flying over the island later on many occasions on the way to some South American country, looking down thinking  and wondering what happened to him. I hope he is well. He must be 15 or 16 by now.

Below, my "steady" customers. My neighbors think I am out of my mind putting up with these brats, but they keep me young.

Best regards, the ol' Capt.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Avia...ergarten001.jpg

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You've been a busy, busy chappie Cap'n Well done

[D Vince]

If you ever need a hand from a fellow Farang here in Phuket, feel free to give me a call.

I have a small diving bussiness, and have gone through seven circles of ###### to keep it open here.

Felt like packing it in a few times because of the same sort of stuff you seem to be having fun with.

anyway, I know a lot of ppl here, and can get most anything done, so if I can help feel free.

Cheers from a fellow North American ( the better part though, Canada )

[rossiok]

Great stuff