Thread: Farm House near Nong Bua Lamphu

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

and it will be my final resting place.

keep that to yourself or you'll be giving folk ideas.

Originally Posted by billy the kid

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

and it will be my final resting place.

keep that to yourself or you'll be giving folk ideas.

I know what you mean. Not that it would come to that, but I'm sure my wife's family would reap more benefits with me out of the way.

After the government workers finished drilling our new water well, it was time to complete the paperwork and make payment. Thip did the former and I did the later. Cost for the well was 11,500 baht.

We had some problems with obstructions in the well on the following day and needed to call the guys back. We were fortunate that they hadn’t left the area; had other jobs around to do. They came back, cleaned out the well and even drilled a few more meters down into the aquifer. They wouldn’t take payment, but accepted a 1,500 baht gratuity that probably covered their beer for a couple of nights.

During those subsequent days, we had Lott and Naht build a concrete/rebar pad for the well and finish up the PVC work. By the time everything was done, we had spent an extra 6,000 baht on PVC, cement, rebar and labor. The pump – we already had it from when 9 rai was 17 rai. So, total cost for all well-related expenses -- including food for the drillers and ourselves that first day – totaled about 20,000 baht (about $600 USD).




On the first day, after the drillers left, everyone was in great spirits. The well would mean running water for our “farm house” and another source of water for rice field irrigation.

So, we proceeded to have a mini-party for the rest of the afternoon, hanging out in the outdoor kitchen area. Women prepared and bought more food and I bought the beer. It was a family affair, but Thip’s family is large and extended, so we had no shortage of visitors – usually for short periods, but some for the duration. Most of the guys drank Leo beer, but a couple (as previously noted) went for the stronger stuff (lao khao).




A rain squall came in, but didn’t shutdown the festivities. Actually, it was a pretty low key affair and reminded me a lot of just a larger version of an after-work Bann Nah relaxer. The usual protocols for beer drinking were observed, along with eating a diverse number of different Isaan dishes. Of these, I partake a little, to be polite, relying on my wife to pick the foods she knows I like and/or can handle (i.e. lean, well-cooked meat; no MSG; no sugar; low salt; nothing exotic, etc.).

Once the squall had passed and the sun set, it was time to leave. I usually make it a point to be the last to leave Bann Nah, so I can take a final look around in case things are forgotten (like tools left out or trash down low where dogs might get to it).

Several days later, everything was completed and we now have running water at Bann Nah.



[Originally posted at THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

The Monsoon rains finally kicked-in from mid-July to about mid-August. It was, by far, a late start to the rice growing season and of very short duration. Usually, you can count on rain for the rice crops for a solid four-to-five months (May-September).

During the time the rains fell every day, we continued to suffer significant rain damage both inside the rooms at Bann Nah and on the porch, especially. Rather than address the problem of rain water continuing to soak into the tongue and grooves of the upstairs floor boards, our workers proceeded to build the cement support posts for the stairs and then put in the roof for the stairs-to-be. I did my best to Keep My Kool, but I wasn’t happy about this seemingly illogical progression to the building.









Only thing I can think of is that Lott and Naht wanted something dramatically visible for Lungpaw to see, when viewed from the temple or chedi site, so that he felt confident progress was being made. After all, when our workers weren’t working for us or themselves, they were employed regularly at the temple. Lungpaw had recommended them and we had donated and sold land cheap for the chedi, so there were stakes to consider.





[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

Looking like home now. Hope you have many happy years in it, thanks for sharing .

I’ve never seen so many people so happy about so much rain. I have to admit, so was I. Our Thai/Lao family’s bounty of rice for the year depended on it, so everyone wanted the rain to fall.



During the one-month period it rained every day, a portion of the Bann Nah porch floor buckled – just as I had predicted it would. As I mentioned in the previous post, I wasn’t happy with our workers’ failure to address the on-going rain damage. But, we left them free to organize their work, so we bore some of the responsibility, too.

On top of this, I should have never let myself be talked into a tongue and groove porch floor. But, my wife had wanted it and our workers had assured me it would be fine and look better. My feeling now is that – maybe not this year, but possibly in 2016 or 2017, I will need to have the tongues and grooves of the porch floor sawed out, so that we don’t have an on-going problem with the floor boards every Monsoon Season. After all, this was a very dry rainy season. Again, I take responsibility for the buckling, as I should have stuck to the original design.

To forestall the same kind of damage happening to the inside room floor, Lott and Naht finally installed our windows: three standard sliders and 3 small.

[Originally posted at: THE ISAAN - Life in a Thai-Lao Village]

Are you thinking of ever living here full time mate ? and if so what will you do with your time all day ?

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

Are you thinking of ever living here full time mate ? and if so what will you do with your time all day ?

Thank you, Dead Metal and Nigel for responding and your well wishes.

My wife keeps asking me the same thing, Nigel. I tell her, "let's see what happens." My feeling is that we will be living in the new house and our village house will end-up being a storage facility. There will probably be pressure from the family for members to move into the village house, but we already have one brother and his wife living in one of our houses at our other farm and it's become very difficult to try to move him out. He keeps coming up with excuses why he should stay. So, I don't want to get into another situation like that. Better to leave it vacant or lightly used.

Once living in "Bann Nah," I'm sure my daily routines won't be much different than they are now. Mornings I sometimes go to the temple, but most of the time is spent writing, gaming and on the Internet (before it gets too hot). Afternoons I do physical work like brush cutting, road repair, tree trimming, planting, etc. We have about 17 rai, all tolled, so just looking after the land keeps me plenty busy. Night times I'll relax with some beer, either in company or alone.

^

I really like your House mate, it's great. Add, Internet, hot Water and A/C things are good.

Hope you do not have mobility issues in the future, getting up and down would be a real Bitch.

Good luck with it.

Originally Posted by terry57

^

I really like your House mate, it's great. Add, Internet, hot Water and A/C things are good.

Hope you do not have mobility issues in the future, getting up and down would be a real Bitch.

Good luck with it.

Thanks, Terry. All those things will be going in, along with others. Once the wood portion is complete, we will have house warming ceremonies and move in (after the rice harvest, probably around the time of the US Thanksgiving). After that, the order of business is roughly: internet > bathrooms > water tank > hot water > AC.

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

Once living in "Bann Nah," I'm sure my daily routines won't be much different than they are now. Mornings I sometimes go to the temple, but most of the time is spent writing, gaming and on the Internet (before it gets too hot). Afternoons I do physical work like brush cutting, road repair, tree trimming, planting, etc. We have about 17 rai, all tolled, so just looking after the land keeps me plenty busy. Night times I'll relax with some beer, either in company or alone.

Well thats answered my question fully thank you . I have to say I take my hat off to you , it seems you have settled well into the Issan simple lifestyle indeed . I only wish in some ways I could as we to have a rather nice bungalow in remote Issan but short spells there are all I can manage before I begin to hanker for civilisation . Personally I drink very little these days , however I have to be 100% honest with myself and say I would end up drinking everyday if I was there full time.

Its looking evermore like Spain for us and mabe 2 months over winter in our Issan home . I shall look forward to meeting you in Nong Bua when we are over , indeed I believe there is a ( plan ) for a month in March next year .

Its great to see someone like yourself very happy in such a simple lifestyle enjoying what is naturally around you in the environment your living in .

Good on ya mate , all the best to you and your wife I hope your both very happy there

Thanks, Nigel. I'm a pretty adaptable guy and have lived in basic situations before, so it's not too hard for me to live similarly to Khon Thai. I actually pride myself in that, so thank you for your recognitions, also.

I drink a little too much beer and I'm working on that. The main problem is that if the scheduling were all up to me, I would be doing better in that department. But, I can't foresee when my wife's brothers will show up -- always separately, but then together -- and they like to drink my beer. It tastes better, I guess!

Some weeks I don't even make it into the provincial center 7 kilometers away. Partly because I don't have a driver's license, so I'm limited to the back roads which I prefer, anyway. I let my wife do the running around and focus myself pretty much in the villages and on the farms.

I've never been to Spain (song?!), but I once read a travelogue that impressed me greatly about walking through Spain earlier in the previous century. The title was something along the line of: "As I Went Out Walking" - You may know of it, but if you don't, I recommend searching on the string and checking it out.

March 2016 is when I plan to go back to The States for a couple of months to visit my sons and parents and falang friends. I'm sure we will meet up, though, at some point.

Hi and good luck, Hope all goes very well for you both. Look forward to seeing your posts.

Originally Posted by Mas Gib

Hi and good luck, Hope all goes very well for you both. Look forward to seeing your posts.

Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!

Good philosophy to have in life in general mate , what you have here is what makes YOU and your missus happy and content in your lives . That IMHO is where happiness + contentment is found in life. That is the path I have always followed , some people laugh at some of the cars I drive , I just smile inside , its all mine and I have made them chuckle along the way .

Unfortunately so many people are caught in that bloody rat wheel to have the biggest , the latest to vainly try to impress OTHERS .

My boss who is a multi millionaire tries to carry a happy persona about himself BUT the reality of it is he is only one sentence away from an exploding fit of rage .

He once said to me " why are you always so bloody happy Nigel ?" " am I paying you too much ? "

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

Thanks, Mas. It's not the grandest, but it's not meant to be. A simple structure, built with quality (a rarity, here in The Isaan) and fantastic views!

Good philosophy to have in life in general mate , what you have here is what makes YOU and your missus happy and content in your lives . That IMHO is where happiness + contentment is found in life. That is the path I have always followed , some people laugh at some of the cars I drive , I just smile inside , its all mine and I have made them chuckle along the way .

Unfortunately so many people are caught in that bloody rat wheel to have the biggest , the latest to vainly try to impress OTHERS .

My boss who is a multi millionaire tries to carry a happy persona about himself BUT the reality of it is he is only one sentence away from an exploding fit of rage .

He once said to me " why are you always so bloody happy Nigel ?" " am I paying you too much ? "

Nicely sais, Nige.......even though most never live as they're dreamy philosophies promote.

Originally Posted by LEGENDARY

Thanks, Nigel. I'm a pretty adaptable guy and have lived in basic situations before, so it's not too hard for me to live similarly to Khon Thai. I actually pride myself in that, so thank you for your recognitions, also.

I drink a little too much beer and I'm working on that. The main problem is that if the scheduling were all up to me, I would be doing better in that department. But, I can't foresee when my wife's brothers will show up -- always separately, but then together -- and they like to drink my beer. It tastes better, I guess!

Hey mate we are all different - Personally I prefer to live "bush", but that's me. These days I am so busy that I crash about 9-10 at night. Don't consume alcohol, dead animals, or smoke (anything). Again that is how me and my beautiful bride choose to live. But hey, our life is full and rewarding.

You can always get in touch with Bill W, he is online and been known to help fellows who over imbibe... Just a suggestion, please don't read anything in to it. Never know it can change your life.

Good luck mate.
Regards Ennis

Thanks, Guys. We try to live as simply as we can. Sometimes, people tell my wife we have money and she always retorts: see where I live.



I always congratulate her on this, as I purposely have not improved the outward look of our village house on purpose. I mean, who's going to break into a house that looks like this?!

Of course, the building of Bann Nah is putting a little kink in this grand scheme...


Thanks for the suggestion, Ennis. My wife just came up with the directive that i now cannot drink on Buddha Days (every 8th day, more or less in conjunction with the moon phases) and the day leading to it and following. So, that's gonna slow me down or speed me up, depending on how you look at it.

Surely you would at least want to take down those rusted corrugated tin sheets ?

They are pretty dreadful .



W.

There are people in the US that would love to have those rusted corrugated sheets on their interior walls. Dennis Hooper's house was sided with corrugated steel sheets.

Originally Posted by Wasp

Surely you would at least want to take down those rusted corrugated tin sheets ?

They are pretty dreadful .



W.

Ha, Hah... I know what you mean, Wasp, but think about it:

If it were you or any other rational falang, you'd want a facade that was pleasing to you every day and maybe even demonstrate your success. I don't want either. In fact, it suits my purposes to keep it the way it is. My wife's very large family is poor and the pressures on us to help them out of their very poor financial decisions are substantial. Using visuals, we can easily keep them in line. Hate to say this, but it's true.

Also, I am reminded of the story I once read on a falang forum a number of years ago. The guy built a beautiful home and had to then build a substantial fence around it to protect the assets within. He was eventually robbed, quite effectively, by robbers who used the fence to hide their entry into the building. Man, I don't need any of that.

I'm fine. You drive by some time, take a look and cringe. But for me, I'm happy.

What I mean is - if you picked up some old timber to match the timber that you can see on the front . It wouldn't make the house look suddenly "salubrious " . Suddenly worth robbing .
I just think there's a level that is too far down and those rusted sheets are just about at the bottom .
Missy's mum had them too . And I just thought " For Christ's sake NO ! Too much !!! " .
Plus they were bloody hot all the time .
If there's one thing that's going to help with their life it's removing corrugated sheets from the roof and walls .

imnhaao.


Wasp

Where are you Legendary ?

We need a nice photo of the completed job .



Wasp

Originally Posted by Wasp

Where are you Legendary ?

We need a nice photo of the completed job .

I'm hoping we can have a house warming ceremony in December, but I've given up on predictions with this project. It's Ohpensa, which means another work stoppage. Then it will be Boon Katin; stoppage still. Both followed by the rice harvest. Don't see getting much time out of our workers this month going forward. Plus, my wife doesn't want the ceremony unless there's a bathroom for people and the monks to use, as necessary (could be porta potty time). Bottom line is, I can't move in and sleep in the structure until the Buddhist ceremony is done.

Wasp

Originally Posted by Wasp

What I mean is - if you picked up some old timber to match the timber that you can see on the front . It wouldn't make the house look suddenly "salubrious " . Suddenly worth robbing .
I just think there's a level that is too far down and those rusted sheets are just about at the bottom .
Missy's mum had them too . And I just thought " For Christ's sake NO ! Too much !!! " .
Plus they were bloody hot all the time .
If there's one thing that's going to help with their life it's removing corrugated sheets from the roof and walls .

imnhaao.

Wasp

Yeah, I know what you mean, Wasp... Eventually, I suppose. Right now, the focus is and has been for the past two years, the building of "Bann Nah" which would be better called a "cabin on stilts." Then, we'll have to see what our usage is in both homes when we are free to use them both at the same time. If family ends up occupying our village home, there's no sense in me upgrading it for them. If we continue to use it, even if only partially, then, yeah, the front metal's got to go, as well as the broken smartboard.