How Do I Survive Living At The Farm ... Tips And Tricks Please!

[bunnydrops]

Mozzie bites are nothing compared to the ants. The red ones that live in the trees are bad but those little brown piss ants make me itch for a week.

[Dancealot]

Unless you eat 1/2kilo of chillies/garlic/ginger everyday you will never be free of mossies bites, i dont eat a lot of issan food, and the only protection i have from mossies is a 20% Dettoll ,80% cheap after shower skin moisterizer, mix this together in a diffueser bottle and spray on bare skin,

Ok, it might smell like a pox doctors clinic at first, but the smell wears off quick and you will be protected for up to 4 hours, Ive been using this for 5 years now, and unless i forget, no irritating bites,,

lot better than the DDT chemical <deleted> i used to use,,,

Hmm I do eat a lot of chilis and garlic everyday and they dont seem to bother me so much. Are you suggesting the mozzies are more lickey to fly to someone who is on a western diet? Never thought of it that way..

Edited November 24, 2012 by Dancealot

[transam]

Unless you eat 1/2kilo of chillies/garlic/ginger everyday you will never be free of mossies bites, i dont eat a lot of issan food, and the only protection i have from mossies is a 20% Dettoll ,80% cheap after shower skin moisterizer, mix this together in a diffueser bottle and spray on bare skin,

Ok, it might smell like a pox doctors clinic at first, but the smell wears off quick and you will be protected for up to 4 hours, Ive been using this for 5 years now, and unless i forget, no irritating bites,,

lot better than the DDT chemical <deleted> i used to use,,,

Hmm I do eat a lot of chilis and garlic everyday and they dont seem to bother me so much. Are you suggesting the mozzies are more lickey to fly to someone who is on a western diet? Never thought of it that way..

Skin type . AND, the soap us farangs might use.

[DerkMR]

Hmm I do eat a lot of chilis and garlic everyday and they dont seem to bother me so much. Are you suggesting the mozzies are more lickey to fly to someone who is on a western diet? Never thought of it that way..

Skin type . AND, the soap us farangs might use.

Pretty sure it's more the milk and it's products in the western food as mozzies are attracted by ammonium and butyric acid.

So eating no milk, cheese and so on plus having non-smelly feet definitely reduces the attraction to mozzies...

Bye,

Derk

[David48]

Hmm I do eat a lot of chilis and garlic everyday and they dont seem to bother me so much. Are you suggesting the mozzies are more lickey to fly to someone who is on a western diet? Never thought of it that way..

Skin type . AND, the soap us farangs might use.

Pretty sure it's more the milk and it's products in the western food as mozzies are attracted by ammonium and butyric acid.

So eating no milk, cheese and so on plus having non-smelly feet definitely reduces the attraction to mozzies...

Bye,

Derk

Thankfully I don't suffer from the smelly feet but I love my cheese and milk.

I actually bought 3 packets of cheese over with me!

Off to TESCO to buy some Dettol to make one of those aforementioned home lotions to keep the Mozzies at bay.

Plus it's the big fight afternoon and maybe a bottle of Whisky to have with the odd soda to drink with the gf's father while watching the Muay Thai this arvo.

.

[Humbugged]

Do you look like this

[David48]

^^ WOW ... that's some serious <deleted>!

No ... nothing like that thankfully.

More like this* ...

On the lighter side ...

* Not my actual foot ...

.

[transam]

Had to mow the lawn, sooooooo got my garden hat with the neck shade, gave it a good shake to get any spiders or pesky lizards out. Plonked it on my head, a bloody great Centipede had made it's home there and didn't like my bonce intrusion, ouch, hat off and it's hanging there injecting i's stuff in my hansum head. It shortly met it's maker BUT l have a scar which will be noticed by the ladies. I will have to say it was a combat thing. ............

[kimamey]

No electricity in the house you stay? No running water to? 4.500 Baht and you have a nice warm water heater

Yeh, it has elec, so no problems there ...

As for the water heater ... couple of things.

I read the Housing Forum quite a bit and the Farm only has the low pressure town water and it appears not strong enough to make the electric hot water system to work.

Sure ... I could install a boosting pump ...BUT.

BUT ... I don't want to be the foreigner, coming to their home and implying that how they have lived over the past few decades is sh*it (even if it is).

I want to earn their respect buy toughing it out with them ... with some home comforts that I enjoy ...

endure ... I don't own a kindle, but have a computer ... so enough.

.

Just started reading this and it's great. I'm in the UK right now but I'll be back on 11th December for 7 months. We're not too isolated being about 8 km from the centre of Mahasarakham.

Personally I've never had a problem with showering with a bowl and the big water container. In the hot months I've actually wished for ice in it but it can be a bit cold on the back in the cool months. I would think a bit of water boiled and added to to container when it's not too full would be a help. Gf's sister has a house next to use and she's had an electric shower put in but I don't know if water pressure, or rather lack of it is a problem. I know the washing machine has problems sometimes. I do worry about the combining of water and Thai electrics.

The squat toilet is OK although I can't squat as well as some and I do have some balance problems due to an operation. I think the problem is it's something many people do but you can't really watch and it may not be right to ask. I like the bum guns but we don't have one so I have to use the scoop although I must confess to not being too good at it. Sometimes I just combine toilet activity with a shower which makes life easier. I think you need to master this skill as even if you change your toilet you'll still have to cope with them when you're out. I've thought about upgrading stuff but in a sense I'd feel I was cheating. There's a certain satisfaction when someone says they spend time or live in Thailand and you find they live in a condo with western facilities in Phuket or another major city and you know you've lived in what might be called the real Thailand and survived.

I think that trying to integrate at least a little is a good idea. Even if you have some western food they seem to be impressed if you eat Thai food as well and remember they don't all eat rats. Let's face it a lot of Thais, particularly the younger ones eat some western food. If they didn't you wouldn't find Mc Donalds, KFC, Swensons and all the Thai owned places selling burgers in places where there are few non Thais.

I'll probably come back to this thread to read a bit more but for now best of luck.

[jcb2001]

Without the internet isolation will set in...

I have to agree. Not having access to English TV or newspapers in English here near Ubon, the internet are my eyes and ears and sanity to the outside world. I have a AIS air card that I use with my laptop. Super slow speeds, but it works. I love the country life and get by very nicely without all the other options we depend on back home. But, internet is a must!

[ALFREDO]

You can buy adapted chairs, ask a hospital. Not comfortable, apparently.

JUst ask your pharmacy in your next Lotus, Big C. In the small Pharmacy in Sakhon Nakhons province "Sawang Den Ding" small Lotus shopping center,

they have the -Special adapted chairs- but not cheap! 2-3.000 B.?

[ALFREDO]

Mozzies don't bite me any more. I have no idea why.

Used to bite me lots, but the past couple of years, hardly ever.

The only protection I have is a fan blowing over the bed at night.

Think it's the blood alcohol levels, word gets around in mozzy circles.

I remember to read, in the good old days when India was a colony of Great Britain an English officer said about the Mosquito problem.

"The first half of the night you have to drink so much, that you do not care and feel the stings of the Mosquitoes

and the second half of the night, the Mosquitoes are so drunk, that they cannot find you!"

[ALFREDO]

I do wish to look like I fit in ... but also want to some palatable food.

just dont ask for the ingredients and you will be fine i unkowingly ate noo rat once tasted ok till my girl told what we just had for dinner her family found it very amusing watching me bring up dinner,

I was reading a similar story, here in a Thai Visa thread.

A man posted,

he was asked by his Thai GF/Wife, if she shall take some rats with them for the upcoming road trip from Isaan to Bangkok to visit relatives.

The man replied, "Up to you, if you like, you know, I do not eat that stuff anyway!"

His GF/wife answered,

"Really? But you did eat them the last three days without a problem and good appetite in that "Goulash style stuff" I served you.

[transam]

I do wish to look like I fit in ... but also want to some palatable food.

just dont ask for the ingredients and you will be fine i unkowingly ate noo rat once tasted ok till my girl told what we just had for dinner her family found it very amusing watching me bring up dinner,

I was reading a similar story, here in a Thai Visa thread.

A man posted,

he was asked by his Thai GF/Wife, if she shall take some rats with them for the upcoming road trip from Isaan to Bangkok to visit relatives.

The man replied, "Up to you, if you like, you know, I do not eat that stuff anyway!"

His GF/wife answered,

"Really? But you did eat them the last three days without a problem and good appetite in that "Goulash style stuff" I served you.

[blue eyes]

Just read through the comments. Good God , why would anybody want to live like that. It beggers belief but i guess much younger fluff as a partner has lots to do with it. My advise , go take a look for a few weeks. It'll be an experience you'll never forget. Then high tail it to somewhere resembling normality..

It is normal.Just not for you.

[blue eyes]

Fix the place up, they'll break everything soon enough

So true.Happened to me.

[David48]

Fix the place up, they'll break everything soon enough

So true.Happened to me.

I can't 'fix or install' anything of substance at the Farm, because I am a guest and respect that.

However, I understand your thoughts.

Last Christmas I bought over a 'Kerplunk' game because easy for the kids to play and we had a ball for the first few days.

When I arrived at the Farm this time (about 11 months later) I'd thought that it'd be fun to play again .

DOH ... silly me ...

The youngest (5 yo) had got hold of it, somehow broke the body of the unit and all the sticks and marbles are well gone ...

Such is life.

.

[Gary A]

I do wish to look like I fit in ... but also want to some palatable food.

just dont ask for the ingredients and you will be fine i unkowingly ate noo rat once tasted ok till my girl told what we just had for dinner her family found it very amusing watching me bring up dinner,

I was reading a similar story, here in a Thai Visa thread.

A man posted,

he was asked by his Thai GF/Wife, if she shall take some rats with them for the upcoming road trip from Isaan to Bangkok to visit relatives.

The man replied, "Up to you, if you like, you know, I do not eat that stuff anyway!"

His GF/wife answered,

"Really? But you did eat them the last three days without a problem and good appetite in that "Goulash style stuff" I served you.

I asked my wife if she would ever pull that rat trick on me. She had a logical reply. "I would never do that, rat meat is too expensive".

[ALFREDO]

-Gary A-

It seems, she really "loves" you!

[poanoi]

Don't do it to yourself.

Send your gf and stay in a city yourself.

[MeMock]

I agree about the rats being too expensive to waste on the likes of us! Here are a few photos from my local market with rats selling at 150 baht each. http://www.memock.com/2012/11/28/rat-season-in-thailand/

That is some serious money in these parts. I figured it must taste really good for that price so last night when my BIL shot one I had to try it. Silly decision that was - the taste was pretty awful and worst yet was that it lingered for hours! Only vegemite could get rid of the taste!

[billd766]

I agree about the rats being too expensive to waste on the likes of us! Here are a few photos from my local market with rats selling at 150 baht each. http://www.memock.co...on-in-thailand/

That is some serious money in these parts. I figured it must taste really good for that price so last night when my BIL shot one I had to try it. Silly decision that was - the taste was pretty awful and worst yet was that it lingered for hours! Only vegemite could get rid of the taste!

I think as a Pom I would prefer the taste of rat to Vegemite.

[Dancealot]

Be yourself at the farm.

[MeMock]

Be yourself at the farm.

For some people that really is not a good idea.....

[onionluke]

I had some om gnoo ( rat and dill stew ) , it was prepared with ma lat ( bitter melon ) and so I couldn't really taste the rat . The elders in the village love the bitter taste .

[David48]

I had some om gnoo ( rat and dill stew ) , it was prepared with ma lat ( bitter melon ) and so I couldn't really taste the rat . The elders in the village love the bitter taste .

Is it something that you would eat again?

.

[David48]

Be yourself at the farm.

For some people that really is not a good idea.....

... just trying to show my best side.

[onionluke]

I had some om gnoo ( rat and dill stew ) , it was prepared with ma lat ( bitter melon ) and so I couldn't really taste the rat . The elders in the village love the bitter taste .

Is it something that you would eat again?

.

I would take a bit of the sauce with sticky rice .

Is it any good roasted ?

[DILLIGAD]

Just remember, you can take an Isaan girl outa the village but you can never take the village outa the girl.......

[Dancealot]

Be yourself at the farm.

For some people that really is not a good idea.....

hahahahahahahahahahahaahaaaahaha