"I Like Walking".......

Said my sister who is visiting from Scotland.......

"Yes but"......said I......

" No but's about it" said she......"point me in the right direction and I'll see you in a couple of hours"

So off in the right direction she did go........three hours later she returned.......

" Do they not have pavements ( sidewalks for our Americans ) in Thailand "?........." You were walking on them "............." No I wasn't "......." You were too, I saw you "

" What, those things "......"yes, those things" ......." get away with you, I've seen better on a building site "..........." I know already "

" wait a minute blether"........" it's theblether if you don't mind"

" Right, theblether, they can't be pavements"........" why? "

" Well every 2 yards ( 1.8 metres for our European members, I'm sick of haing to convert all my sizes ) there's a big hole, a crack, an undulation, street furniture, a lamp post, horrible unused phone box, unfinished surface, a kerb with a four foot ( 1,2 metre and that's the last conversion I'm doing ) drop and two dead dogs.

"They're not dead, they're sleeping "

" They look dead to me" ......... " go kick one and see what happens "

" and another thing, what's with all these guys pulling up behind you and shouting Tuk Tuk "

" Count yourself lucky it's not after midnight, then it would be Ladyboys giving you a fright from the shadows and saying helloooooo, where you go "

* theblethers sister takes a quick note to self, be in bed by 10,00 just to be on the safe side

" theblether, I can't believe that Thais would accept pavements that every 2 yards, there's a big hole, a crack, an undulation, street furniture, a lamp post, horrible unused phone box, unfinished surface, a kerb with a four foot drop and two dead dogs, tuk tuks harassing them and Ladyboys asking them where they go.............I cannot believe Thais would accept it "

" It's not a problem for Thais "

" Why? "

" They don't walk anywhere ".

.

To fix holes, use chewing gum...

Take her to Blackburn next.

When people used to ask me:

"Aren't you afraid to ride a motorbike in Thailand?" I would answer:

"I was more afraid being a pedestrian"

Pavements in Chiang Mai are NOT for people to walk on.

" It's not a problem for Thais "

" Why? "

" They don't walk anywhere ".

When I first came to Thailand and was trying to learn some Thai ... starting with the basics of counting ... and best with the steps you take.

One

Two

Three

Four

...Taxi

My Thai has improved a little from that early lesson.

Actually, I just read, theblether, that story to MissFarmGirl in the conversation style that you wrote ... she's still smiling ...

.

there is a good walking foot path all around the moat. and yes you are unlikely to see any thais walking it or sitting on the seats or children out playing there. they are vehemently thai but just dont go out into thailand public. that is for someone to enjoy. not thais.

Whenever we visit any of my wife's upcountry relatives I enjoy the opportunity to walk around and explore the countryside. This is, inexplicable to most of the country folk that I meet. I usually get lot's of practice speaking Thai: "No, I'm not lost, thank you" "I'm just walking for exercise" etc..

I try to use the walkway.

Walk any wich way you can.

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

hey the blether...

Are you sure she isn't talking about the roads????and not pavements........sounds like she is...

Your entries never fail to raise a smile, you should clip them all together one day in abook, make an informative and amusing book. To quote a well known phrase from back home " its the way you tell 'em"

Keep em coming!

Yet i am sure she will come visiting again if at all possible!

My wife's sister lives 100 meters down the road. Never seen either one of them walk, always the motorbike. To me, it's more trouble to get the bike out and start it than it is to walk.

Thais hate walking for sure. Just moved to a new moo baan and I'm receiving unsubtle hints that we have to buy a second scooter, because the closest 7/11 is too far away and if I'm out on the scooter, causes a problem.

I paced it out last night - 200 metres to the moo baan gate, a further 120 metres to the 7/11. The round trip is a bit more than half a kilometre - in Thai speak, that's nearly a marathon distance.

When the staff were planning a 'walkable community' from a town Planning perspective, the study showed that about 400 metres was the distance we walk before hopping in a car/bike etc, so given the Thai's aversion to walking ... that is indeed a long distance.

Whenever I go for a walk after supper I always ask (being polite) if anyone would like to join me- before I can even get the words out I hear NO.

The FIL is always shocked when I buy ice and it's still frozen when I arrive home (7 minute walk), I freaked him out and loaded a pedometer on his phone - he broke 1000 steps the other day actually 1088 and is now looking for lotto tickets with those numbers.

Thanks for the funny story, theblether. I had a good belly laugh. Good humour always needs a good dose of truth to it.

Thais hate walking for sure. Just moved to a new moo baan and I'm receiving unsubtle hints that we have to buy a second scooter, because the closest 7/11 is too far away and if I'm out on the scooter, causes a problem.

I paced it out last night - 200 metres to the moo baan gate, a further 120 metres to the 7/11. The round trip is a bit more than half a kilometre - in Thai speak, that's nearly a marathon distance.

Meet in the middle, buy her a bicycle

Sometimes I like to go out outside into the garden and cover myself in dirt and pretend I'm a carrot.

I'll never forget that first trip to Patts - walking down a sidewalk that suddenly became roadway complete with motorbikes in 'my' zone. It's an eye-opener, but fortunately the presence of motorbikes on pedestrian footways all over Asia made it slightly less traumatic, and they did slow down to about 50km/h ....

Cluttered Pavement.jpg

Pavements in Chiang Mai are NOT for people to walk on.

If you allow me...

I would say: Pavements in Chiang Mai are Not pavements

Send her out to Lat Krabang and she can walk along the canals to her hearts content if she can dodge the dog turds....

this is my favorite piece of thai footpath engineering

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Thonburi+Train+Station+Dusit+Bangkok+Thailand&hl=en&ll=13.761202,100.482639&spn=0.001053,0.001625&sll=13.763093,100.473055&sspn=0.001052,0.001625&oq=thonbkk+Thailand&t=h&hq=Thonburi+Train+Station&hnear=Dusit,+Bangkok,+Thailand&filter=0&fll=13.761332,100.480195&fspn=0.004168,0.006502&z=19&layer=c&cbll=13.761361,100.482648&panoid=fVzczuIN0io3yl9wcSeksg&cbp=12,257.37,,2,10

pan left and right in the street view and you will see that the footpath disappears in the middle of the bridge over the river. the road is very busy. umm but ..!!!!

The streets (pavements) here are meant for drunks so you can weave in and out and appear sober. Same applies when you stumble along drunkenly and can blame it on the potholes and cracks in the pavement.

Seems the perfect solution to me

I like walking too. I walk very day. My doctor told me to. I walk with an umbrella that has a sharpened point covered with a rubber tip.

On my walks this week I have not seen anything dangerous. But when I walk to the trash area at night to throw out the garbage I have seen a monocled cobra, Malaysian pit viper and a bunch of big black scorpions. The scorpions walk slowly; an odd kind of walk like a little tank with two turrets. They get run over a lot. The pit vipers have just been sitting there coiled up not bothering anyone and the cobras were always on the move when the saw me.

Now if it was my sister, I would tell her, Sis walk anywhere you like but keep an eye out for the pit vipers, cobras and black scorpions. Of course there is the mosquito with Malaria and Dengue fever too. I hear the Dengue ones are biting at night now too. Odd that Thai people don't like to walk isn't it.

40 years ago it used not be like that. I used to walk every morning from Prakanong to my office on Patpong. There were nice footpaths then and the nice policemen on duty at the road crossings used to salute me and stop traffic for me to cross the road.

did not need the salute but would like the pavements back.

40 years ago it used not be like that. I used to walk every morning from Prakanong to my office on Patpong. There were nice footpaths then and the nice policemen on duty at the road crossings used to salute me and stop traffic for me to cross the road.

did not need the salute but would like the pavements back.

That's a fair trot though harrry. I bet you had a fair wallop of swazz in the old trunks by the time you got to the office...?

Come on now gent's i have seen loads of Walking Streets here.

I must try them sometime.

You'll never walk alone.

40 years ago it used not be like that. I used to walk every morning from Prakanong to my office on Patpong. There were nice footpaths then and the nice policemen on duty at the road crossings used to salute me and stop traffic for me to cross the road.

did not need the salute but would like the pavements back.

That's a fair trot though harrry. I bet you had a fair wallop of swazz in the old trunks by the time you got to the office...?

Was a lot fitter then than now....well I guess that happens to everyone.