Do You Live In A Thai Village Full Time

[TBWG]

Further to earlier post think I have cracked attachments...time will tell[

I'm not really a luddite! but sometimes things are best left alone

Hope you like pics

TBWG

[TBWG]

Further to earlier post think I have cracked attachments...time will tell[

I'm not really a luddite! but sometimes things are best left alone

Hope you like pics

TBWG

Back to the drawing board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[girlx]

this is a great thread, probably my favorite i have read on thai visa!

[macb]

TBWG why are you having a problem uplaoding look I am not hahaha, but I discovered anything over 100KB it does not particularly like, the system it appears will outomatically adjust a pic size but then you can click on it once poasted to enlarge..

See thats how you do it

[macb]

Girlx:::::::: Thanks for you comments and of course to those folks that have helped make this thread so interesting as it is today.

Well this morning we had a lay in hahaha got up at 0625 hrs. I took the laundry downstairs and did the washing machine excercise and hung it out the wife (Now 8months pregnant) cleaned the house as she does every day, then coffee time wander round the garden the dog came to give me his morning greeting as if to say come on Dad time to play.

Shower on here do the weather report etc. Today TBWG is coming over I am going over to Huairat Rail Station on my bike to meet him as he is not sure where we are in the Jungle. Again we have been conversing on here but not met yet so looking forward to that.

[TBWG]

TBWG why are you having a problem uplaoding look I am not hahaha, but I discovered anything over 100KB it does not particularly like, the system it appears will outomatically adjust a pic size but then you can click on it once poasted to enlarge..

See thats how you do it

Clever clogs!!

Well now you will have the opportunity to show me how is done

Put the kettle on .....See you soon!

TBWG

[macb]

TBWG why are you having a problem uplaoding look I am not hahaha, but I discovered anything over 100KB it does not particularly like, the system it appears will outomatically adjust a pic size but then you can click on it once poasted to enlarge..

See thats how you do it

Clever clogs!!

Well now you will have the opportunity to show me how is done

Put the kettle on .....See you soon!

TBWG

1 lump or 2 hahaha

Now I will get to see this new m/c jealous

[billd766]

I live about 6km outside of the village and a couple of months ago I bought my wife a Yamaha Mio Fino automatic scooter for her birthday (generous fool that I am).

It is used just for knocking around and for taking my son to school and back and I am usually the school bus!! driver.

Up here crash helmets come usually in one size only so my son wears it to school and while it is not too loose it works. However on me it looks like a pimple so I generally don't wear it.

This morning I dropped him of then went to the 7/11 for some bread. I stopped next to the breakfast cart where the trusty village constable was munching on his kin khao chao and got my stuff.

I came out and he was waiting for me and I though Oh Oh. Flashes of pictures of the King on read paper went before my eyes. All he said was put the helmet on. I did and he said thank you (in English) smiled and went on his way wearing his helmet and I went oin mine wearing a blue pimple on my head.

I will be going to the "big city", Nakhon Sawan next week to Big C and I will see if I can find one there.

The village fair is this week for 5 days and that is always good fun.

[macb]

Further to earlier post think I have cracked attachments...time will tell[

I'm not really a luddite! but sometimes things are best left alone

Hope you like pics

TBWG

Back to the drawing board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well here goe's another attempt with macb's help

Yippee at last

TBWG

[macb]

Those of you that are living in the villages full time, whats the Festive Season between 24th December and the 1st 2007 going to be bringing for you?

Have you put up any Decorations?

Well I know in my Khmer village they dont recognise the Traditional Xmas 24th 25th 26th.

But I have put my Xmas tree up, if my Mum at 86yrs can still make the effort then so can I.

The Family will be returning to the village for the New Year then a few beers in the village, input here on the subject of Xmas in the villages will add more interesting reading for viewers.

On Xmas day there will be 8 of us goiing to Surin to the FC for Xmas lunch, I will post pics after the event.

[jimbabe]

I go along with thads comments.

you can even live comfortably on the than that if you need to.

PM me for more of a breakdown if you wish.

macb

Ill be your neighbor soon macb, building in muuban 10km east of phrakon chai. Next stay starts feb22. Like motorbikes best but we do have pickup.I want to know about growing some grapes there. Seems cold weather variety might not do? Jimbabe

[Thaddeus]

Ill be your neighbor soon macb, building in muuban 10km east of phrakon chai.

You will probably be closer to me then

They do grow grapes here, have to be well protected from direct sunlight.

//edit/spelling

[Dave the Dude]

Further to earlier post think I have cracked attachments...time will tell[

Great pic's TBWG

which one is you

Good thread about the surprise party!! hey you could have been talking about my 'House party' last May. I didnt know I had 600 friends till that night.Scaffolding stage,sexy dancers,Kareoke,Band,radio celebs,more speakers than Wembley! and more Leo & Regency than BIG C and Tesco/Lotus put together !The whole village cooked/drank/served tables (in 'David & Sri' T-shirts). WOW! wot a day

BEST WISHES and a HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL IN ISAAN

In the words of the Californian limping Governor 'I'll be back'

[macb]

I go along with thads comments.

you can even live comfortably on the than that if you need to.

PM me for more of a breakdown if you wish.

macb

Ill be your neighbor soon macb, building in muuban 10km east of phrakon chai. Next stay starts feb22. Like motorbikes best but we do have pickup.I want to know about growing some grapes there. Seems cold weather variety might not do? Jimbabe

Have to make contact when you get over here and come visit stay over if you want my daughter will be born by then well she will be just over 1 month old

[macb]

Well the builders having finished yesterday sat with them had a few beers then thay left and walked with the wife down to the parents and ate and drank more beer wifes youn brother was there with some of the village teenagers who I know yep loud music mixture Farang and Thai hip hop.

Retired about 10-30 pm time for sleep

[TBWG]

Great pic's TBWG

which one is you

Good thread about the surprise party!! hey you could have been talking about my 'House party' last May. I didnt know I had 600 friends till that night.Scaffolding stage,sexy dancers,Kareoke,Band,radio celebs,more speakers than Wembley! and more Leo & Regency than BIG C and Tesco/Lotus put together !The whole village cooked/drank/served tables (in 'David & Sri' T-shirts). WOW! wot a day

BEST WISHES and a HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL IN ISAAN

In the words of the Californian limping Governor 'I'll be back'

Hi D the D

It's tough over here! for the last three days all i've been doing is drinking beer and trying to make my way through piles of food which seem to be getting larger despite my best efforts.

Everybody that visits seems to bring a basket of fruit. I'll soon have enough to open a greengrocery shop!

Trust all is well in Easebourne!! Happy New Year

TBWG

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Thank you lads and ladies for a wonderfully informative thread.

Not only that, the posts were entertaining and fun. Can't say that about too many TV threads.

I've read every word on these 14 pages and will reread them when I feel low here in the wasteland, waiting for a time I too can make Isaan my home. That's the plan.

I just returned to Canada a couple of weeks ago after a tour of the east and northeast of Thailand. Started on the bus in Chiang Mai. Visited and stayed in Sukhothai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Nong Kai. I regret I didn't stay in Lampang, Uttaradit, Pitsanulok, Lom Sak, etc. I also regret not visiting the villages. But there's always next time and that's next year. Without a doubt.

I met many expats who sometimes spent hours with me at the "coffee shops" in Udon speaking glowingly of their village lives, their Thai wives, their own and step-kids, the in-laws (okay I'm lying here about the glowing thing -- maybe that was red for frustration). In summary what a happy bunch, just as many of you are. Nice to know it happens to good folks.

I'm not so sure of Isaan's boundaries. I checked the maps at the top of the forum but really wasn't sure which provinces lay in or comprise the Isaan experience.

BTW, I loved every boring/surprising/revealing/happy/sad detail. They really gave me a sense of the communities -- felt I was lying right there at the bottom of a beer bottle pyramid with TBWG

Someone did give a pretty extensive report on the reno costs of an inlaw's home. What does a modest new home cost to build? (Love the house above with the extensive tilework outside. Whoa! Very nice!)

[TBWG]

Thank you lads and ladies for a wonderfully informative thread.

BTW, I loved every boring/surprising/revealing/happy/sad detail. They really gave me a sense of the communities -- felt I was lying right there at the bottom of a beer bottle pyramid with TBWG

Hi KB

Pleased to serve my adoring public

TBWG

[billd766]

I got an ear infection 29th December, well it has been ongoing for a while so last Saturday I went to the lady doctor in the amphur about 14 km away as she speaks English and explained my problem an taht I had an allergy to penicillin so she agve me some thing else and to me to come back on Sunday. Total cost was 400 baht

Most doctors clinics in the villages are basically a shophouse and you just join the queue and sit around until it is your turn.

Anyway by Monday I was full of wind and my stomach was tight and painful so I carried on the tablets until Tuesday night. By now my minor ear problems had grown to having a permanent headache and a lovely rash that was working its way around my head.

I stopped the tablets on Tuesday and just used Tylenol to kill the headache and went back on Wednesday and told the doctor what I had done and explained that stopping the tablets had eased my stomach wind so I no longer sounded like a ships foghorn and the swlling allergy rash was going away as well. She suggested that I went to the hospital in Khampaeng Phet but all they would do is take my temperature and bloog pressure 4 times a day and the doctor may talk to me in English if he can twice a day. So for 1/2 an hour a day I get looked at and the rest I have nothing to do. I can do that at home cheaper and more comfortably so I declined.

Friday of this week I saw the doctor again at the local hospital and got some different tablets to get rid of the allergy and they seem to be working. The hospital visit, blood pressure test, 3 lots of tablets and a consultation with the doctor cost 90 baht.

The only other side effect of this is that I have been getting up around 7 am, going to sleep for an hour or so about 11 am and going to bed before 10pm.

The nearest western style hospital to me is in Nakhon Sawan 125 km away and while I have never been there it is supposedly OK, however I suspect that the food will be Thai though in NS there is Big C plus KFC and the Pizza Company si I wouldn't starve.

Living in a Thai village has taught me that I need to take care of myself a bit more.

On the other hand the last time I was in the UK sort of full time it was impossible to get a doctors appointment in less than 3 days and the cost of medicines wa very expensive.

[TBWG]

Hi All

Join us on our Sunday bike ride was casually dropped into the conversation whilst having a few beers with some farang buddies. We just have a slow tour of the local villages stopping for a beer now and again, Hmm, why not I can use my stepsons bike and the exercise will do me good.

So in anticipation I started using stepson’s bike for local trips to get used to a zillion gears and a saddle that at a push you could use to shave with, but at least it has some suspension on it which is more than can be said for my trusty sit up and beg Mary Poppins job.

After a few days I am quietly confident as I begin to rack up the kilometers and feel all the better for it despite the saddle!

So it’s eleven o’clock on Sunday morning and my 2 buddies turn up and ask the boss lady if I can come out to play.

Now this was pretty good timing as she was just about to loose it in a big way over my inability to open a rice sack without resorting to a pair of scissors. Didn’t I know that it ruins the bag and I can’t use it for storing more bags in… Huh?!!… Even little kids know just to pull that elusive string and hey presto open sesame! Now it’s not for the want of trying but whichever string I pull the same result ….nothing happens. Every time I go to the rice shop I ask the attractive teenage girls to give me advice on which one to pull, string that is and they can’t understand my inability to grasp such a simple task.

The boss lady now jumps at the opportunity of seeing the back of her retarded farang husband for a few hours and positively pushes me out of the gate. So far so good! out with a few mates the opportunity for a beer or 2 and the chance to annoy a few unsuspecting local’s. What more could one ask for!

Off we set at a fairly brisk pace to skirt the local lakes which just happen to have a nice selection of bars scattered round them. It appears that they already have a method of picking which bar to frequent i.e. the one with the most numerous attractive teenage girls in, now you can’t argue with that.

It was half way through my beer that It came out in conversation that the previous Sunday they had covered 70 odd kilometers! However this week nothing like that was envisaged as one of their wives had suggested a circular route that would eventually bring us back onto the main road leading to town. (It transpires that the wives often suggested routes so that they could come out and check up on them mid afternoon). This had the effect of them riding off in the exact opposite direction!

But today we would take up their suggestion, so off we set further round the lakes, I should have suspected something when we had to cross some sort of concrete dyke but the water was only about 10 inches deep and thankfully warm! The so called farm track that we where supposed to follow was initially just that but after a few kilometers it petered out a bit and had an occasional hole big enough to swallow a small Volkswagen. We also came across the odd local who looked on in bewilderment at the sight of 3 farangs on bikes miles from anywhere some of them were gesticulating and shouting encouragement.

The ground now had a black crust on it and had obviously been underwater in the wet season and smelt none to pleasant but at least you could ride on it without too much difficulty, which is more than can be said for the sand which soon replaced it. Well now it was get off and push time but with know obvious direction to take, it was decided to send someone onto high ground on foot to scan the area. Bearing in mind that high ground was only about 1 foot higher this did nothing but confirm that we where lost with no obvious way forward. We now agreed that the only way forward was back and that the locals we had passed where not shouting encouragement but more along the lines of where do you daft buggers think your going.

So after 18 kms and the best part of 2 hours we are nearly back where we started, I am already knackered and it is bloody hot but at least the next beer is not too far away. They ask if I am alright and I say no problem (male ego getting the better of commonsense) So over the next beer we decide to stick to a well traveled route and was I up for it? No problem mate (male ego getting…etc).

Off we go again but this time on proper roads and at a reasonable speed, now one of the bikes has a gizmo on it that tells you how far you have gone, average speed, top speed and how many calories burnt off …fortunately it does not tell you how many you have put on due to beer consumption. We pass lots of locals in the fields who all shout greetings and the Thai equivalent of “Where you go” to which we are obliged to reply and wave.

Now I am beginning to lag a bit and my legs are feeling second hand but I refuse to admit it and focus on the next beer stop. As no attractive teenage girls are at this stop the conversation turns to how much slower they are this week averaging only 13km per hour rather than the usual 18 odd and was I still OK, no problem says I. (male ego getting…etc).

Off we go again and to save this getting repetitive I’ll miss out the next couple of beer stops suffice to say that by now I am absolutely shagged, my arse is red raw I’m fairly pissed and my legs are under someone else’s control cause they are certainly not doing what my brain is telling them too! On top of that because of my slow pace nightfall is now rapidly approaching and we are still some 10kms from home with no lights!!

We decide to make for one of their house’s which happens to be 5kms nearer, do I want him to phone his wife and get her to pick me up on the motorsai. No way I might be only semi conscious but I am determined to go the distance. (male ego getting…etc).

Well that last 5 kms was tough going, the locals now shouting encouragement as I wandered all over the road where greeted by me with a get stuffed or silence. Sheer bloody mindedness got me the last few kms where I then reluctantly agreed that it was not sensible for me to ride any further due to lack of lights.

So 7 hours and 50.4 kms later at an average 13 odd kms per hour I finally arrive home on the back of a strange females motorsai only to be greeted by the boss lady who was organizing a family search party to go out and find her stupid farang husband!

I then vaguely recall getting one hel_l of an earbashing, but quite frankly I could not care less I just wanted a shower and my bed, the last thing I recall before drifting off into a blissful 15 hour sleep was that neither of my so called mates had even broken into a sweat despite one of them being considerably older than me!

God I love Thailand!!

TBWG

[bina]

Didn’t I know that it ruins the bag and I can’t use it for storing more bags in… Huh?!!… Even little kids know just to pull that elusive string and hey presto open sesame! Now it’s not for the want of trying but whichever string I pull the same result ….nothing happens. Every time I go to the rice shop I ask the attractive teenage girls to give me advice on which one to pull, string that is rolleyes.gif and they can’t understand my inability to grasp such a simple task.

rice bags are like feed/grain sacks: on one side, the string is doubled back and forth to close it well, at the other end , its double back but if u pull the 'shnivelled' end, , ziiiip.... it undose the thread all across the sack and there u have the sack in use for an other time...

i have to point out that men seem to have more problems grasping the string pulling part....

whatever, your posts always make me laugh in the a.m..

bina

[TBWG]

Didn’t I know that it ruins the bag and I can’t use it for storing more bags in… Huh?!!… Even little kids know just to pull that elusive string and hey presto open sesame! Now it’s not for the want of trying but whichever string I pull the same result ….nothing happens. Every time I go to the rice shop I ask the attractive teenage girls to give me advice on which one to pull, string that is rolleyes.gif and they can’t understand my inability to grasp such a simple task.

rice bags are like feed/grain sacks: on one side, the string is doubled back and forth to close it well, at the other end , its double back but if u pull the 'shnivelled' end, , ziiiip.... it undose the thread all across the sack and there u have the sack in use for an other time...

i have to point out that men seem to have more problems grasping the string pulling part....

bina

Hi Bina

Still can't do it!!! Obviously I'm a hopeless case

TBWG

[Rooo]

Thank you,one of the best THREADS I have read on TV. Read all 14 pages.My wife thought I was crazy laughing so much.

[macb]

WEll the wifes dad is 63 yrs and the grandfather is about 80 yrs: Father-in-law last year had gout really bad and we took him to Surin hospital for treatment for whicxh he recovered and stopped drinking. But it lok like he has Arthritis etc , and the grandfather is just down to old age.

I have been getting medication for father from Surin and now he needs more I think, but I notice a lot of folks become so they dont eat or just sleep, so off to the clinic this morning with both men and they are on re-hydration drip basically Dextrose and Sodium Chloride seems to be popular treatment for the thais.

Heres some pics of the local clinic which was opened in 2540 to the cost of 2.591 million baht

[macb]

Heres the pics of father-in-law and Grandfather: I am particularly pleased at the way the Granfather pic came out

[redwooddrive]

'Heres some pics of the local clinic which was opened in 2540 to the cost of 2.591 million baht'

I never realized it. The clinic in your photos is a carbon copy of the one at Khok Yang near our place. It was opened about the same time Tahksin came into office. My wife now tells me that they used a standard plan for them.

[bina]

i think alot of the older people suffer from mild malnutrition due to lack of teeth, so eat lots of rice but not other stuff... and alcohol too, and in general they absorb less nutrients..

my husband fed several very old guys (bedridden basically) with the cartons of soymilk, and then they got a rolled cigarette when we were visiting. he said thats all they can eat besides some rice soup (jok).

thereing the need for iv's of ringers/hartmanns solutions.

[macb]

Bina sounds like you got some medical background or is that just local knowledge, last Xmas we bought all the old folks in the village blankets for the col season.

After drip papa now has appetite but wife says Grandpapa could do with another dose, probably his age contributary as well 80 I think while papa is 63

[macb]

WEll the last couple of days having kept some plastic pipe and wood over from the builders I got my idea head on and made what I call a kitchen Tidy type thing.

Patent reserved of course.

Well I thought it was good

[oceanrover]

LOL

That is great. My wife would kill me if I tried to put that in the kitchen.

Mike in Seattle