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

[linno2]

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.

Living in a rice village there are lots of rats consumed - especially when they now capture them by electrocution with a generator and wire mesh. I can handle eating the hind legs - there is at least some meat on them and the spice makes them taste OK - I just dont like the head or tail attached. Now that you mention vegemite i think I will see what rat basted in vegemite tastes like - ha ha!

[Dancealot]

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.

Living in a rice village there are lots of rats consumed - especially when they now capture them by electrocution with a generator and wire mesh. I can handle eating the hind legs - there is at least some meat on them and the spice makes them taste OK - I just dont like the head or tail attached. Now that you mention vegemite i think I will see what rat basted in vegemite tastes like - ha ha!

You are serious....

I can handle a ngoo/mouse because i think this critter walks around in nature and eats natural things and is a more or less clean animal.

But my brain associates a rat with dirt and filth so that's why i have 1 or 2 problems with it when it's served on a plate.

[linno2]

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.

Living in a rice village there are lots of rats consumed - especially when they now capture them by electrocution with a generator and wire mesh. I can handle eating the hind legs - there is at least some meat on them and the spice makes them taste OK - I just dont like the head or tail attached. Now that you mention vegemite i think I will see what rat basted in vegemite tastes like - ha ha!

You are serious....

I can handle a ngoo/mouse because i think this critter walks around in nature and eats natural things and is a more or less clean animal.

But my brain associates a rat with dirt and filth so that's why i have 1 or 2 problems with it when it's served on a plate.

Yes I have eaten them on a number of occasions. They actually taste OK - I like you, have a problem with the association with filth and disease - but theses are 'grain fed rats' - just like they advertise beef! I recall the Thai Ministry of Health once running a competition for the best rat recipie - no joke! I also eat prawns and crabs which are supposed to be the 'cockroaches of the sea' according to some folks. Have not been ill whilst eating rats over the last 5 or 6 years. cheers!

[Dancealot]

Cheerio! Hang in there.

[nev]

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!

Haha thats why everyone was running around at the back of our home when we was plowing some rai, there was a few of these critters running around, mama caught on had it in a bag, and a few people was asking for the rat, well don't know where it ended up, maybe the nights meal and i ate it, as anything that is on offer i try.

[Humbugged]

Be yourself at the farm.

Just not with the dresses and lingerie.

[cooked]

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

That is excellent!

You might have a problem when your wife proudly comes into the bedroom at 05.00 with a tasty pre-breakfast snack of crickets, cockroaches or 'little birds'... I certainly do. I think I have that particular problem sorted. now, no divorce on the offing.

Edited December 6, 2012 by cooked

[linno2]

What mistakes did I make last time I stayed there a few nights?

I paid over B1,000 for one of those fancy mosquito killers. The ones with the fancy light that attracts the mossie then has a suction fan which then sucks then into the high voltage grid below.

An adjoining landowner had turned his unused parcel of land into a rubbish tip and the fly population was almost unbearable.

I thought the mossie zapper might have attracted and killed them also ... WRONG!

Anyone want a hardly used mozzie zapper ... free to a good home ... just pay postage ...

There are some compensations for staying at the Farm ...

Sunsets

the items that I am glad to have brought to a village in Isaan include a coffee plunger (Frech Press) (I can buy the grounds in the Mall Korat), a cork screw, a decent can opener, a programmable water timer for the gardens, a decent heavy based flat bottom fry pan for cooking a steak, decent sized heavy duty kitchen/BBQ tongs and tea towels

[cooked]

In a box labelled 'tea pot' in Makro Buriram I found a coffee plunger! Amazing Thailand to be sure.

[onionluke]

My old dad brought me a second hand bread machine from Glasgow , all the way to Ubon , it is the best thing for miles and miles . When I am up country I make my bread and sometimes bread machine a loaf for my old German pal . He says " a ya iz gut fur toast makin ..

[Dancealot]

My old dad brought me a second hand bread machine from Glasgow , all the way to Ubon , it is the best thing for miles and miles . When I am up country I make my bread and sometimes bread machine a loaf for my old German pal . He says " a ya iz gut fur toast makin ..

a ya iz... Gut! very funny. Smart idea to get the machine all over there. You have the ingredients but lack the easy tool to make/bake the bread. I will make a personal mental note on this. Respect to your old dad from myself.

Some constructive critisism: When a German tells you your loaf is good for toast making it means your loaf is not fresh!

But out of politeness he puts it in a nice way not to offend you nor your gift...

Germans love fresh bread just out of the oven. In Germany they actually go to the bakery in the mornings to get their daily fresh bread. ;-)

I feel confident i am not jumping into premature conclusions on this.

So, tip from me: Bake the bread, fresh. And go on the motorbike right away to give it to your friend. Let him smell it and await his facial expression..

Edited December 6, 2012 by Dancealot

[farangme]

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!

Agreed. I couldn't hang more than a few days until I got internet. Now also have english television with True TV. Very content now.

Sent from my PC36100 using Thaivisa Connect App

[Dancealot]

1 I think it is beautiful to observe some guys discover what life is really about when enjoying the country life.

2 I feel sorrow in observing many guys let themselves be conditioned by the western system so much in their lives they have to come to realize this(1).

3 It is never too late to learn.

[onionluke]

My old dad brought me a second hand bread machine from Glasgow , all the way to Ubon , it is the best thing for miles and miles . When I am up country I make my bread and sometimes bread machine a loaf for my old German pal . He says " a ya iz gut fur toast makin ..

a ya iz... Gut! very funny. Smart idea to get the machine all over there. You have the ingredients but lack the easy tool to make/bake the bread. I will make a personal mental note on this. Respect to your old dad from myself.

Some constructive critisism: When a German tells you your loaf is good for toast making it means your loaf is not fresh!

But out of politeness he puts it in a nice way not to offend you nor your gift...

Germans love fresh bread just out of the oven. In Germany they actually go to the bakery in the mornings to get their daily fresh bread. ;-)

I feel confident i am not jumping into premature conclusions on this.

So, tip from me: Bake the bread, fresh. And go on the motorbike right away to give it to your friend. Let him smell it and await his facial expression..

You are bang on , its a running joke . I made a few whole wheat bricks and took one round , he said the same thing , almost with a sigh .

[MeMock]

My old dad brought me a second hand bread machine from Glasgow , all the way to Ubon , it is the best thing for miles and miles . When I am up country I make my bread and sometimes bread machine a loaf for my old German pal . He says " a ya iz gut fur toast makin ..

a ya iz... Gut! very funny. Smart idea to get the machine all over there. You have the ingredients but lack the easy tool to make/bake the bread. I will make a personal mental note on this. Respect to your old dad from myself.

Some constructive critisism: When a German tells you your loaf is good for toast making it means your loaf is not fresh!

But out of politeness he puts it in a nice way not to offend you nor your gift...

Germans love fresh bread just out of the oven. In Germany they actually go to the bakery in the mornings to get their daily fresh bread. ;-)

I feel confident i am not jumping into premature conclusions on this.

So, tip from me: Bake the bread, fresh. And go on the motorbike right away to give it to your friend. Let him smell it and await his facial expression..

I bought my bread maker online from within Thailand and it was delivered within three days!

[elwood]

In a box labelled 'tea pot' in Makro Buriram I found a coffee plunger! Amazing Thailand to be sure.

Yea, well they were correct actually! A plunger can also be used for making tea when using loose leaves; my neighbour used to use his for both back in the old country.

[cooked]

Correct! But It is used almost uniquely for making coffee in Europe. I was just wondering how many people would be walking past it in ignorance.

[David48]

Sorry for being inattentive for a week or so ...

Was down at the local TESCO (not that local actually) I bought a toaster

Was an instant hit with the family.

Farm Father is a real machine man ... and a jolly joker.

His eyes lit up then the first slice popped up when ready ... then had great joy in explaining the process to Farm Mother.

Toast is a regular item on the breakfast menu now ... though not every morning.

I even made a toasted cheese sandwich by getting two slices of bread, slapping a slice of cheese in between them, into the toaster and hey presto ... a culinary delight ...

The tick is to place the cheese slightly higher then the bread (let it stick out a few mil at the top) to allow for the cheese melt ... we don't want a kitchen fire now do we ...

[cooked]

Toast is not necessarily high class bread but the stuff you buy here seems to have been made for people that can't eat without assistance. Pap is the word I think. I suppose that toasting what passes for cheese here is the only way to make it eatable. Must get my bread oven built asap.

[linno2]

To address the issue above ... the reason that the Farm doesn't have 'flush toilets' is simply because the effluent (sh*it) retention system they have couldn't cope the that level of volume flow.

Maybe a lot of the other guys living in remote locations have experienced this?

Yes I have, Simple to fix. Install an outlet and a soak away drain. The containment vessel can be coverted into a double chamber septic tank. A capful of EM every few days and you're set.

To survive in the village you just have to toe the line. Follow the lead of those around you. A little like this:

Those who fall off, drown or get eaten by the sharks

We have a selection of loos installed at different times. One that might suit and is cheap and easy to install. It is a normal looking seat and toilet bowl but the flush system is manual requiring you to ladle in the flush water from the usual bucket within the bathroom/toilet. So easy plumbing, the comfort of sitting rather than squatting, low water volume, much lower cost to buy.

[elwood]

Correct! But It is used almost uniquely for making coffee in Europe. I was just wondering how many people would be walking past it in ignorance.

Well if I hadn't had that neighbour, I would have been one of the ignorant ones! The first time I saw him making tea in one I thought he had made a mistake.

[David48]

Toast is not necessarily high class bread but the stuff you buy here seems to have been made for people that can't eat without assistance. Pap is the word I think. I suppose that toasting what passes for cheese here is the only way to make it eatable. Must get my bread oven built asap.

I understand what you mean about the cheese ...

I actually bought my own cheese over here ... so far, halfway through the stash and the Thai Family know it's mine and thus far ... the mice have devoured only a few slices!

Was lucky recently also, had a small holiday in Chiang Rai/Mai and the Mai Market was exceptional and bought close to a kilo of the freshest champion Mushrooms.

Also bought some Avocados.

The mushies were great (and cheap) ... the Avos ... were disappointing.

.

[Lickey]

About 4 years ago, we used to buy english bread in Udon on our monthly shopping trip, very good, but a short shelf life and not so good after being frozen for a few days or so,

We took one of these rolls to my wifes friend, she has a bakery, she tried it, "No Sugar" was her first remark, I said Yes, thats what i want, no sugar, she made a batch, great, then some loaves, these are about 10in long and 5in wide,about 6in high, and they are great, 20bht a loaf, order today, delivered next day, half the loaf for sandwiches and the other half for toast, weeks supply of bread for 20 bht, no messy mixing and hoping it will be ok ect,

{Jon at Arkwrights, if you read this, sorry, but still love your pork pies and steak & kidney pies and your great selection of cheeses ect,}

Cheers, Lickey,,

[David48]

Nice post Lickey ^^

For some humour re Toasters.

A nod to the member Dancealot who originally posted that ...

.

Edited December 8, 2012 by David48

[villagefarang]

Toast is not necessarily high class bread but the stuff you buy here seems to have been made for people that can't eat without assistance. Pap is the word I think. I suppose that toasting what passes for cheese here is the only way to make it eatable. Must get my bread oven built asap.

I understand what you mean about the cheese ...

I actually bought my own cheese over here ... so far, halfway through the stash and the Thai Family know it's mine and thus far ... the mice have devoured only a few slices!

Was lucky recently also, had a small holiday in Chiang Rai/Mai and the Mai Market was exceptional and bought close to a kilo of the freshest champion Mushrooms.

Also bought some Avocados.

The mushies were great (and cheap) ... the Avos ... were disappointing.

.

This year my wife discovered a neighbor who had some Avocado trees but didn’t know what to do with the fruit. My wife is quit picky about her Avocados but found these quite delicious and ate one pretty much everyday, while the season lasted.

To encourage our neighbor we bought everything her trees produced, at a price she was happy with but we found very cheap, and gave away bag after bag to friends. What you find locally grown, and in the markets, are often very mushy and not very good but some also find the price of the imports off-putting, so ours was quite a find.

Now to the point of this post. How was your trip to my neck of the woods? A trip report would be greatly appreciated.

[billd766]

Toast is not necessarily high class bread but the stuff you buy here seems to have been made for people that can't eat without assistance. Pap is the word I think. I suppose that toasting what passes for cheese here is the only way to make it eatable. Must get my bread oven built asap.

I understand what you mean about the cheese ...

I actually bought my own cheese over here ... so far, halfway through the stash and the Thai Family know it's mine and thus far ... the mice have devoured only a few slices!

Was lucky recently also, had a small holiday in Chiang Rai/Mai and the Mai Market was exceptional and bought close to a kilo of the freshest champion Mushrooms.

Also bought some Avocados.

The mushies were great (and cheap) ... the Avos ... were disappointing.

.

I have a similar problem with my cheese slices out here in the sticks and two rats.

One is my son at 8 and the other is my friends daughter from next door at 7 years old.

In a way I get a little mad but at the same time at least ehy are trying different things and liking them.

Bread is no problem as I have a breadmaker I bought in Enn Zzed 3 years ago so I make my own bread and sometimes little fingers sneak in and grab some of that too.

[villagefarang]

I have always wondered about this bread maker talk. My wife is my "bread maker" and makes amazing bread by hand with nothing more than a counter top, measuring devices, mixing bowl and an oven. In Chiang Rai ingredients are not difficult to find but I suppose that may not be the case everywhere.

[David48]

...

Now to the point of this post. How was your trip to my neck of the woods? A trip report would be greatly appreciated.

Trip report is defiantly planned.

Will be with you lot in the Chiang Rai/Mai Forum.

Just busy at the moment with the Farm Family and the bedlam that is Farm life here.

Also have 2 new threads for the Farming Forum and just finished off the wheres-theres-smoke-theres ... in the Farming Forum about Charcoal making.

.

[David48]

After feeding the mozzies religiously now for a month ... I finally got bitten by something else yesterday.

Standing still for more then 10 seconds trying to do justice to the setting sun ...

I felt this sharp pain between my toes.

Kicked the flip-flop off, nothing to be seen, then maybe 1/2 a metre away, this largish black ant snickering to itself.

God dam it had a kick to that bite ...

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[David48]

So ... there you have it ... I have survived, thanks to the tips and tricks that you all have suggested ... my 1st month at the farm.

Only have cornies for breakfast twice ... Thai food for every other meal.

Bought them/us a toaster and it's the most used kitchen item apart from their trusty wok.

I'll start a similarly themed thread soon with some of the experiences and some photos and once I have that link ... I'll post that here.

To each and everyone who read, contributed and fought with each other about the crapper ... thanks, one and all.

Was/is it all worth it ... sure 100%

The Family* on King's Birthday (yes, I'm the guy at the back) ... a few of the clan missing from the photo ... including my gf ... the photographer.

* Have permission to display this photo ... well the gf say I have ... enough for me.

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