Village venting

[Dakling]

So I live in a pretty remote village. Not exceptionally remote but remote enough that there are quite a few challenges to staying here long term. Normally I get along with the neighbours and the fam damily pretty well but the other day completely did my head in.

Where we are it hasn't rained in months, I think the last rain was in November. The water in our well has been slowly going down over the past few months to the point that the other day, our pump was struggling to maintain suction. The water was only down 6 or 7 meters and the pump is rated for an 8 meter suction head but as the packing and impeller are likely worn out, it was struggling to get the water up out of the hole. We had the impeller and packing replaced a year ago but we get a lot of fines coming out of our well so the pumps wear quickly. I had already been thinking of changing to a down the hole pump so this would have been a good time to do it until the neighbours got involved!

I didn't find out about the water problem until I noticed a little meeting of the erudite village elders around the well head. When I inquired as the the nature of this august assembly I was told "well no good, no water, need new well". Trying to ask a few questions regarding the nature of the problem was fruitless as I was repeatedly told "well no good, no water, need new well". Using my high tech forensic skills, I got a long stick put it down the well and sure enough it came out wet at about the 8 m point. Unfortunately, the assembled geniuses were not impressed by my trickery as they could see that the pump was not producing any water and the general consensus was, "well no good, no water come out, need new well". Despite my efforts at obfuscation the assembly convinced the mother in law that a new well was required forthwith. Once the decision was made, my wife stopped helping with translations as there was no point in further discussion. Trying to explain that drilling a new well would result in hitting the same water table at the same distance below ground was met with hilarity, as how could I know such things prior to actually drilling the well. At this point I surrendered and with a disheartened "up to you" and left it to the enlightened villagers to sort the solution.

Later that day, I asked my wife where do you suppose they will want to drill the new well. She seemed a bit vague on the answer so I suggested it might be best to figure that out before they came so we didn't end up with a well in the middle of the front yard. The rest of the morning was spent trying to keep my cool, both literally and figuratively. Early in the afternoon my lovely wife asked me to take her to a local shop to pick up a feast which had been ordered to celebrate songkran and the new well to be. I was hesitant to leave as I feared the imminent arrival of the well digging conglomerate. I wanted to have some chance to influence where the well was located. My wife put the pout on as everyone was hungry and we needed to get the food and since I am the only one who has a vehicle, off we went.

On my return, lo and behold, there was a drill rig all set up in the middle of the front yard with a well hole already drilled down about 8 meters. I not so casually mentioned to my wife, "looks like they managed to get the hole exactly where I didn't want it". My negativity was not appreciated. They highly organized, highly efficient, highly professional drilling crew managed to destroy about half the garden with an oversize mud pit. After an hour or so of wonton destruction the crew declared the well complete to a full 12m depth (roughly the same depth as the original well), and demonstrated their competence by throwing a down hole pump in and demonstrating the marvelous water flow produced by the shiny new well. They then packed up their traveling menagerie and moved on to solve the rest of the worlds water related issues.

Oddly enough later that evening (yes this was a full days debacle), when the old pump was hooked up to the new well once again the flow of H2O was underwhelming. Thankfully once again the august assembly of erudite villagers convened to untangle this Gordian knot. After a lengthy discussion they determined that the problem was "new well not deep enough". This was despite my attempts at deflecting their deliberations by demonstrating that there was indeed at least 4 meters of water in the bottom of the 12 meter well. Needless to say the well digging miscreants who had cheated us by digging a non artesian well we summoned with all haste to rectify their poor performance, despite my objections.

With tails between legs they returned once again with their down hole pump to demonstrate to the villagers the wondrous flow that their new shiny well could produce. The erudite villagers were unimpressed and determined that some form of vile trickery was being perpetrated upon them. After much admonishment the well digging fiends agreed to deepen the well at their own cost to remove the stain of villainy from their reputation. They then proceeded to once again destroy the garden with another mud pit and relocated their high tech drilling machine over the hole. In a short period of time the well was deepened a further 4 meters and all and sundry toasted Thai togetherness and ingenuity as the devilish problem of "no water" had finally been solved.

After the drilling company demobilized and moved on everyone retired for their evening repast secure in the knowledge that the crisis of "no have water" has been averted. the next morning we all awake anticipating a wonderous flow of water from the shiny new well only to be disappointed. Only a sputtering feeble flow emits from the pump and the dejected illuminati have had enough. They all wander off home to their village abodes to lament the influence of water sprites that have conspired to confound their efforts. There is no doubt that their approach was both true and noble the only possible explanation is that there is some spirit who has cursed our land to be an arid wasteland and the only remedy would be to approach the local monk to come and excise the spirits to return the heavenly flow of water to our domicile.

At this point I started drinking.....the rest is a bit of a blur.....

Next week I think I will go buy a down-hole pump and install it at night.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Dakling

[Crossy]

Next week I think I will go buy a down-hole pump and install it at night.

In the original well I hope

[SunsetT]

My God! You are a very patient man!

Edited April 17, 2016 by SunsetT

[macksview]

you could have lifetime of water drilling experience in the rest of the world, backed with degrees in engineneering and earth sciences.

but old somchai and his four simple relatives will always know better than a farang.

welcome to issan.

[Crossy]

My God! You are a very patient man!

Sometimes one just has to go with the flow (or lack of flow in our OP's case).

[Dakling]

Yeah, been here a long time already and normally shit like this is water off a ducks back but for some reason this one did my head in. Thought posting it as a vent was better than acting out on it in real life.

At the end of the day the whole thing only cost be about 2,500 baht but the money was trivial compared to the high blood pressure.

[Stray]

Never a dull moment.

Save a seat in the shade of a tree and I'll bring along some more cold beers. After a saga like that, you wouldn't want to also end up with a 'dry' esky/cooler/chilly bin.

[cooked]

A suction pump, despite what is claimed by the manufacturers, will have difficulties bringing up water from deeper than 8 metres. An immersed pump will do better.

[Marcel1]

Great story, made me smile probably more than you. Wish you all the luck and don't forget to enjoy the good things

[Naam]

My God! You are a very patient man!

Sometimes one just has to go with the flow (or lack of flow in our OP's case).

...and suppress the urge to crack skulls with a baseball bat.

[Naam]

My God! You are a very patient man!

he's not patient, he's a saint!

[tennala]

Haha had some of this with building a house often from another country. Very frustrating and still putting things right 3 years on ?

[1FinickyOne]

I get the feeling some of the original episode was well planned before the event.... and your wife was committed to go along with it.

Have surely had similar here and at greater expense.

Always bugs me when they try and repair again the same problem with the same fix that did not work the first time...

good luck to you and all of us...

[macksview]

My God! You are a very patient man!

he's not patient, he's a saint!

st dakling the patron saint of farangs suffering from the issan mental road block

lie in your hammock in the shade, forget it happened, i think every farang in issan would have done this.

[impulse]

Next week I think I will go buy a down-hole pump and install it at night.

In the original well I hope

I'll kick in 500 baht toward the project if he runs it into the original well...

The next chapter in the story will be worth it.

[SunsetT]

My God! You are a very patient man!

he's not patient, he's a saint!

st dakling the patron saint of farangs suffering from the issan mental road block

lie in your hammock in the shade, forget it happened, i think every farang in issan would have done this.

I think my tactic would have been to feign great pain saying: 'kor tot krap' ....'pom mai sabai krap'.....'kor tot krap'....'<deleted> off and come back tomorrow krap',

(Sorry Im feeling very unwell and cannot deal with this now...... please <deleted> off and come back tomorrow). Then after they go make a miraculous recovery and go buy the down hole pump to test the well next day and prove it is OK.....But I know that hindsight is a fine thing.

[ThaiKneeTim]

Bloody Blimey, I thought I was struggling to get my fiendish farang ways understood, but my problems pale into insignificance compared to the OP's situation. The only person I had to overcome was the girlfriends father, and he doesn't come round much since I dug up his sh1t concrete, with bits of ceramic tile embedded in it.

The only thing that frustrates me is the inordinate length of time between me asking for something and anything being done about it, no one seems in a rush to do anything around here.

Part of the problem is her indoors thinking that my projects are crazy farang stuff and a waste of my money. She would rather be inconvenienced than spend 500 Baht. A classic case is the truck load of water we're having delivered tomorrow; it's taken three trips to her father's farm in a pickup with three 250 litre barrels and the associated hard Labour every time we need to fill our water tanks.

Not tomorrow, but the next tomorrow we're getting our well drilled, so it looks as though I'm doing a lot better than you.

Edited April 17, 2016 by ThaiKneeTim

[Dakling]

Not tomorrow, but the next tomorrow we're getting our well drilled, so it looks as though I'm doing a lot better than you.

Maybe, then again my whole problem was related to well drilling. You may have jinxed yourself.

[ThaiKneeTim]

Not tomorrow, but the next tomorrow we're getting our well drilled, so it looks as though I'm doing a lot better than you.

Maybe, then again my whole problem was related to well drilling. You may have jinxed yourself.

But I won't have a village committee offering their wisdom, and there is no mother in law to worry about.

[Dakling]

you could have lifetime of water drilling experience in the rest of the world, backed with degrees in engineneering and earth sciences.

Oddly enough I do have a degree in engineering and have worked in mining and oil and gas for most of my adult life......Stands for little once a few of the puyai get involved.

[Happy Grumpy]

They'd never have gotten over my barbwired wall to begin with.

Best way to have things.

[macksview]

you could have lifetime of water drilling experience in the rest of the world, backed with degrees in engineneering and earth sciences.

Oddly enough I do have a degree in engineering and have worked in mining and oil and gas for most of my adult life......Stands for little once a few of the puyai get involved.

puck me, you are a very patient man

as we know a farang knows nothing once he crosses the korat line

i fixed the neighbours electric car window once, it took 15 minutes to do, but took 2 hours of issan discussion to let me do it.

worst thing was i fixed the same problem on my wife's car in australia a month before.

[Happy Grumpy]

Stands for little once a few of the puyai get involved.

Like many very stupid people, the Thai are mainly experts at everything. They know everything, and are the best at everything.

just pat them on the head, as you would a 5 year old child that informs you of their brilliance.

[BritManToo]

The obvious answer being, don't pay for shit you don't need.

1 the feast

2 the well

3 the wife that doesn't listen

I'm thinking you were footing the bill for it all?

As for Thais being stupid, they all got a feast and probably a kickback from the well diggers.

Not to mention a Thai lady who didn't listen to her Thai husband would often have been beaten until she did.

Edited April 17, 2016 by BritManToo

[impulse]

Like many very stupid people, the Thai are mainly experts at everything. They know everything, and are the best at everything.

Still, my hat's off to a 4th grade graduate living in a house and driving a car funded collectively by 4 or 5 of the most educated men in the world.

Who, of course, know nothing about each other- or her brother who lives in the house with her.

[Dakling]

I'm thinking you were footing the bill for it all?

As for Thais being stupid, they all got a feast and probably a kickback from the well diggers.

Not to mention a Thai lady who didn't listen to her Thai husband would often have been beaten until she did.

Answering in order....

I'm thinking you were footing the bill for it all?

1. No, I paid for half the well, the MIL paid for the other half.

As for Thais being stupid, they all got a feast

2. Yes, the family got a feast but I only paid for 1/2 and it was planned a few days in advance.

and probably a kickback from the well diggers.

3. No, there was no kickback, even if you think there was one and I simply didn't know there was so little money involved it would have been trivial. Also the well diggers weren't pleased at being called back out, I don't think there was any collusion.

Not to mention a Thai lady who didn't listen to her Thai husband would often have been beaten until she did.

4. I hope you are not suggesting that this would be an appropriate response.

[BritManToo]

^^

No I'm suggesting you are allowing the 'stupid Thais' to manipulate you the 'intelligent foreigner'.

Let them pay for everything they want, and you pay for everything you want.

That way, you don't get so angry and frustrated with those around you. It works for me.

[taotoo]

I wonder how many locals you could bury in 16 meters.

[Happy Grumpy]

I wonder how many locals you could bury in 16 meters.

Ask the local police chief.

[Nuddy]

There are people on here suggesting you were'put over one". I do not think so'

I have experienced as much as you in the building of the house and there is nothing one can do once they ...the bunch of people ...convince your partner/wife.

As I understand it you do not have a solution? Yes you may not come back to these posts but if you do, I suggest you put a bore down rather than a well!

I was lucky and I got a bore put down 34 meters. It was not expensive and sure you need a submersible pump with the contractor supples with the electrics and all.

Sure I didn't go through what you had to but you still need to solve your water problem. Ring this guy because he goes every where from KK province.

He is AutoMan phone number is ...043-312-137, and 089-841-6720. I get no commission but his team can put a bore down anywhere and it will bring up water

You are looking at 50,000 baht though at least

Best regards