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Diary of a farang in Isaan


owl sees all

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3 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Good photo Asterix*-it certainly shows it how it is at times-there were certainly plenty of dumps like that around my neck of the woods..

The worst thing about Thailand for me is when I visit mums and each morning she lights the fire in the backyard to cook whatever, but she uses strips of rubber as firelighters ????

The foul rubber/plastic smoke that hangs over the villages all over Thailand is probably the greatest change they could make (aside from political change...)

I remember my childhood in Australia when everyone burnt their rubbish in the backyard, yuk !

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10 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

The worst thing about Thailand for me is when I visit mums and each morning she lights the fire in the backyard to cook whatever, but she uses strips of rubber as firelighters ????

The foul rubber/plastic smoke that hangs over the villages all over Thailand is probably the greatest change they could make (aside from political change...)

I remember my childhood in Australia when everyone burnt their rubbish in the backyard, yuk !

Well..that's the great thing about this topic as it seems to take Isaan as it is...the good the bad and the indifferent..

My village had a garbage service but the little pyromaniacs sure did like to light up!

However the chronic dumping along the roads got me down after a while-seeing Asterix's photo reminded me of that.

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47 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

Yes, understand Owl, sometimes I need to remind my wife that it’s the hansum farang’s burden... ????????????

????

It's not our fault if we are handsome ;

 

When we have lived here for long years, which we all have on this line, ..we notice things that tourists do not see.
The number of Thai-Thai couples where the guy is ugly and old while the woman or the girlfriend is young and super cute ...
I'm sure there are many more than Thai-Farang couples .

and then, when I walk almost lovingly with my 32-year-old daughter-in-law:w00t:, many tourists might believe and believe, moreover, that I am an old-handsome with my gik while this couple is father and daughter. :giggle:

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56 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Good photo Asterix*-it certainly shows it how it is at times-there were certainly plenty of dumps like that around my neck of the woods..

Thank you Odysseus ;

 

Unfortunately yes; far too many secondary roads where ditches are full of garbage;
not to mention the places dedicated to these places which are obviously not maintained;
or the boilers have broken down for ages.
I put, a few weeks ago on this forum, a small report on the place where the garbage trucks of the city of Sawang Daen Din dump their contents.
It has become a huge field of <deleted> which must cover the surface of several football fields over a considerable thickness.
There are a few famine dogs and thousands of birds, it stinks not possible, and some recuperators have built their houses on the spot.
They have kids who live year-round in unbearable filth and smell;
This is also Thailand; as soon as you get out of your house, it looks furiously like what you see in the shocking BBC documentaries on India.

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3 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

This is also Thailand; as soon as you get out of your house, it looks furiously like what you see in the shocking BBC documentaries on India.

Actually India (rather like Thailand) is patchy-where I lived and worked-a poorish railway town north of Mumbai-was quite clean or as clean as they could get it..

 

HOWEVER may I remind you that your bike is still slap bang in the middle of the photo?

Oh ha..ha..ha!????

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1 hour ago, HighPriority said:

The worst thing about Thailand for me is when I visit mums and each morning she lights the fire in the backyard to cook whatever, but she uses strips of rubber as firelighters ????

The foul rubber/plastic smoke that hangs over the villages all over Thailand is probably the greatest change they could make (aside from political change...)

I remember my childhood in Australia when everyone burnt their rubbish in the backyard, yuk !

I'll be brewing my reishi later this morning. I've found the best thing to get the fire started is the compressed paper egg trays. I tear one into smallish pieces and spread them about in the pot. Half a tray is enough to get the fire under way. Put small pieces of charcoal on first and then a big bit on top.

 

When I do the fire, I'll take a couple of pics.

 

Reminds me of my time is special, undercover work. Lighting fires with damp wood and without creating smoke. Didn't want the enemy to know where we were hiding out. They might have come to get us. No, no no! Not easy to light a fire in the jungle, by just using the materials that are lying around.

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26 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I'll be brewing my reishi later this morning. I've found the best thing to get the fire started is the compressed paper egg trays. I tear one into smallish pieces and spread them about in the pot. Half a tray is enough to get the fire under way. Put small pieces of charcoal on first and then a big bit on top.

 

When I do the fire, I'll take a couple of pics.

 

Reminds me of my time is special, undercover work. Lighting fires with damp wood and without creating smoke. Didn't want the enemy to know where we were hiding out. They might have come to get us. No, no no! Not easy to light a fire in the jungle, by just using the materials that are lying around.

Reminds me of when I bought MIL a new gas double hob cooker. She still got up early every day to start the charcoal fire. Made her own charcoal.

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6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Reminds me of when I bought MIL a new gas double hob cooker. She still got up early every day to start the charcoal fire. Made her own charcoal.

Mate Fritz built a lovely house over Don Chillit way. Huge, well equipped kitchen. Visited him three months later and he said his wife had yet to use the kitchen to cook anything. Just used it for storage.

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5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If that's a reference to bar girls, not so, IMO. Every year they go through diminished earnings in low season and either saved enough to get by or just go home and work on the farm. Only difference is that this is destroying the high season and better prospects for a couple of months.

Thais have a far better family support than most farangs are used to.

It's not just bar girls, there are plenty of other women looking for a good provider. A quick look at ThaiFriendly shows that. While I can't say how many on there are hookers, they can't all be.

I agree family support for Thais is better. However, that assumes resources. I just had an example of that yesterday, loading a 30 kg sack of rice on my GF's scooter so her brother could take it to his house to feed his family. He's out of a job now. No prize for guessing who paid for the rice.

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10 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

It's not just bar girls, there are plenty of other women looking for a good provider. A quick look at ThaiFriendly shows that. While I can't say how many on there are hookers, they can't all be.

I agree family support for Thais is better. However, that assumes resources. I just had an example of that yesterday, loading a 30 kg sack of rice on my GF's scooter so her brother could take it to his house to feed his family. He's out of a job now. No prize for guessing who paid for the rice.

My ex will never starve. She has rice growing land and the family house has a huge garden. Veges grow like gangbusters in LOS.

Last I heard she was working in a resort near Pai, so I guess she will now be planting and harvesting at home.

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22 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My ex will never starve. She has rice growing land and the family house has a huge garden. Veges grow like gangbusters in LOS.

Last I heard she was working in a resort near Pai, so I guess she will now be planting and harvesting at home.

Next door neighbor trades bananas for my GF's mangoes, another neighbor trades chickens, her father grows frogs. A lot of barter economies in the villages.

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12 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I'll be brewing my reishi later this morning. I've found the best thing to get the fire started is the compressed paper egg trays. I tear one into smallish pieces and spread them about in the pot. Half a tray is enough to get the fire under way. Put small pieces of charcoal on first and then a big bit on top.

 

When I do the fire, I'll take a couple of pics.

 

Reminds me of my time is special, undercover work. Lighting fires with damp wood and without creating smoke. Didn't want the enemy to know where we were hiding out. They might have come to get us. No, no no! Not easy to light a fire in the jungle, by just using the materials that are lying around.

I love the waft of a fire, dare I say burning eucas... ????

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10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Just done the fire outside.

 

No smoke. No foul smell. No problem. Five minute job.

 

Break up the egg tray. Cats always willing to help.

 

717612391_fire02.jpg.0e5e5d92168287d63e156724e76bffc0.jpg

 

I usually use bamboo, but didn't have any at hand. Put a couple of pieces of wood across the top.

 

1709429100_fire03.jpg.754bef463beee5c4d5557351555430e1.jpg

 

Put on the charcoal. Stick a couple of bits a of paper round the edge and light them.

 

1975949956_fire04.jpg.fba2ca05af55d618a901616283fd37fd.jpg

 

Roaring success.

 

1157755421_fire06.jpg.73bc1f45de7329e29d21b94b12ebb041.jpg

 

Get the ingredients sorted.

 

187260591_fire07.jpg.7db4a83da6955e8abbcf9887c8ff00e7.jpg

 

And, Bob's yer uncle.

 

1060345464_fire08.jpg.2d94a4ce07a25985845781ee876e4a70.jpg

 

A couple of hours time; all done.

 

If we pass this method on to all the Thais we meet. Thailand's air quality might improve.

 

 

 

 

You’re a wizard Owl... !

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41 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

I love the waft of a fire, dare I say burning eucas... ????

I think the euca farms sometimes go up in flames - at least in Thailand - because the debris between, and around, the trees is not cleared. Also have to watch out for arsonists, and Thais throwing their fag butts away.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

It is also the use that my wife and daughter make of it;
a piece of inner tube to light the fire

 

( allumer le feu - a song by Johnny Halliday )

 

 

Listening to Johnny singing about burning inner-tubes reminded me of the yellow vest movement. COVID certainly stopped that. Start up again once the virus has gone; perhaps.

 

Suggest to the good ladies that they use the egg tray method AT.

Edited by owl sees all
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5 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Suggest to the good ladies that they use the egg tray method AT.

I just have to find some ..
My scrap dealer has closed its doors.
I will see with the itinerant sellers of eggs who continue to pass in the villages.
and I'm also going to do away with all the old inner tubes :giggle:

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Keep it up, please. Better than reading about <deleted> Corona all the time- it's like it's the only thing going on in the world!

Sorry that you seem to be having troubles with the wife. I've been there, done that, got the T shirt.

Even in paradise.......................................

At least Millie seems willing to help. My Thai ratbag nephew never did anything he could get out of.

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