#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Thailands Travellers Tales >  >  Thailand  (not so) adventures '18

## naptownmike

Just arrived back home after another yearly trip back to the wife's homeland. Here are a few pictures of our travels up and down from Pattaya to Ban Tak. Last year we decided that we've had our fill of Pattaya and wanted to relocate to Ban Tak where the wife's family live so that really consumed most of our 5 week trip.

Oh yeah so exited to be in this for 14.5 hours


Did get to watch a classic Bond film


Hurry up and eat so I can try and sleep for 10 hours.



Had about a 45 minute layover in Soul. The new terminal 2 looked cool. Next stop Bangkok only 5 hour to go.

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## naptownmike

It's always a bit unnerving to pull up to the house after being away for a year. 

This snake kept the place company.




And a few termites. Luckily they only got three walls.




and...



Everything else seemed to be normal. Two less neighborhood dogs than last year.

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## Luigi

> Ban Tak


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_Tak_District

Very nice place for motorbiking, if you're into it at all.

Cheers for the thread, looking forward to it.

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## naptownmike

First morning headed down for breakfast at Baywatch it's not really great but more of a tradition.

 

Made it down passed all the bus loads of Chinese.

Saw this cool old 2 stroke outside Big C.

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## naptownmike

After two days we were ready to head up. 

This would put a real hurting on your hand if you weren't careful.


When I first visited Thailand I imagined all the cars would be like this. Bit of a tard.

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## naptownmike

Almost there.

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## naptownmike

We stopped off for a look at these in case we ended up with a piece of  land without an existing house we could use one for a temporary bungalow.




They look alot better when passing by at 120kph



We didn't end up needing one.

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## naptownmike

This is more like it.



I used to hate going up to the village as the years have passed I really prefer it. Nice and clean fresh air and best of all no tourist although I guess that's what I am. 



They planted wild flowers on some of the islands and put up a cool bridge.





Cool red dragonfly

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## naptownmike

This is the local coffee shop. The local aloof westerner hangout.



Not a bad cappuccino.







 And waffle set



There was nothing like this 10-12 years ago not even a 7-11. It does make it nice to have place to sit and have a coffee.

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## AntRobertson

Some great pics!

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## fishlocker

Nice pics. How much for one of those wood cabins btw. Just curious as I've heard the cost of lumber has really gone up over the years.

Seems it's more cost effective to use concrete these days when building a home. Although I do like the look of wood it does need more maintenance. 

Fouteen hours in a plane is never fun though it looks like you had pretty good seating. I usually opt for the cheep seats because that's the kind of guy I am. I'm used to being around crying babies and such, just another day at the office. Cheers and please post a few pics of your place. After touring around Laos I've seen just about every kind of dwelling out there but am still curious as to what people call home or vacation home in your case. 

I must have missed the snake pic but that lizzard looks familiar. I believe it's called a Gopgai in Laos. We have one that calls out each night about ten or twelve calls and then quiet all night. It lives in the rafters by the outside stairs and is supposed to be good luck. It hasn't bit anyone yet so yea, I guess it's good luck.

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## naptownmike

One of these was for sale. We looked at it pretty cool view but not what we were looking for. None of these have a chanote maybe could risk a million but by the time you fixed it up would be twice that much.



This is the one. Pretty slummy. Hasn't been lived in for years except for pidgins.



The view was nice but nothing else was.

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## naptownmike

Fish,  The wood cabins were priced by the sq. meter I forgot how much but the ones we looked at were around 450,000-500,000.  

That big lizard has been there for years sometimes there are two I looked up there and think I saw eggs too. I could sell it on so some Chinaman. My wife is scared to go look at it.

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## naptownmike

P.S. our flight was from Washington D.C. that long of a flight sucks no mater where you sitting. I needed a few year break from economy.

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## naptownmike

The next place we looked at was ok. We where only interested in riverfront places so there wasn't a ton of choices. Also no chanote on this one I had a bit of a laugh when the owner told my wife they will be giving one soon. This place was on one of the small channels off the main river. The owner was really trying he said the government was planning to remove the big island out there. 

I wonder if he put on these shorts for me.



This is the view. I looked it up on google earth and the river was dry so not really a contender.

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## naptownmike

I guess word got out since last year and the leads trickled in but most of the places were a disappointment or stupidly priced.

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## naptownmike

Time for a visit to the temple for luck with the house hunting.

I like to poke around the fringes while the family does there thing.

All that stuff just piles up.






Someones Grandma taking a rest



Other than being the designated driver this is why I tag along.

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## naptownmike

Jet lag is kicking in. I'll leave it with this for tonight one of the things that has drawn me to love the place.

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## idareu

This is a great thread, got to love an insight into the countryside.  We had considered Uttaradit but I feel I’ll end up quite bored very quickly.  I still really like Hua Hin but we have found ourselves looking at Jomtien more recently.  Thanks for the pics!

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## naptownmike

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_Tak_District
> 
> Very nice place for motorbiking, if you're into it at all.
> 
> Cheers for the thread, looking forward to it.



I have seen a few dirt bikers around up there. I would love to get one we met a local who said I could join in some time.


We also see some road bike around. This was a group of Thai's that came into the coffee shop when we were there.



It was a real cool looking bike.

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## naptownmike

Since we didn't really have time for a family road trip this year the wife organised an overnight at the Bhumibol dam on one of those huge barges. There were about 20 people in all. The family loved it, me not so much. I do love being on the water but I knew I was in trouble when I saw the stage and huge speakers on the boat. What is it with Thai's and music at having music at blood curdling levels. I made a few attempts to lower the volume but was met with some heavy resistance. It's ok the family liked it and I can do deal with just about anything for only on day.

This is what it looks like. 


Here is a shot of the stage dam that karaoke.


Here are the "beds"

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## misskit

Enjoying your pics, naptown. Looking forward to more.

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## naptownmike

They tied up for the night at some small island. It had a bunch of goats on it not sure why or how they got there.



Didn't seem like a nice spot for them.

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## happynz

I'm looking at those goats and thinking "BARBECUE!"

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## naptownmike

We were towed out by this little tug boat.

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## naptownmike

The views up on the island were nice at sundown.



These two came out to drop off some fish. I had my wife ask about the boats as I'd like on for the river. They make them in Chiang Mai and cost 30,000 baht with the engine.

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## naptownmike

I can't remember the last time I was so happy to see the sunrise.



It was ok fun but agreed with the family that next time they can go without me.

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## naptownmike

> I'm looking at those goats and thinking "BARBECUE!"



Yeah not sure what end the goats will meet.

hopefully something harmless

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## naptownmike

> This is a great thread, got to love an insight into the countryside.  We had considered Uttaradit but I feel I’ll end up quite bored very quickly.  I still really like Hua Hin but we have found ourselves looking at Jomtien more recently.  Thanks for the pics!


I felt the same before but found I didn't want to be in a busy tourist area . Having access to western food and malls or bars didn't seem necessary anymore. I got burned out on all the traffic, packs of soi dogs around our house that came alive at 2am and trash everywhere. The number of buses driving around Pattaya these days really is something. I used to like a coffee in the evening at Bon cafe or La Baguette but I think now it would be more relaxing to sit on the side of the motorway. There will be some things i'll miss about the area but I can just go down and stay at a hotel for a day or two if I must go back. If I need a break from the village it's easy enough to just travel out somewhere for a bit.

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## Neverna

Nice pics, nice thread, Mike.  :Smile:

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## HuangLao

> Nice pics, nice thread, Mike.


Agreed.
Well done....

 :Smile:

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## naptownmike

With the big raft adventure behind us it was time to get back to working on our search. Last year a family member showed us a place that was for sale we were taken over for a look. Unfortunately it was perfect I mean exactly what I would have dreamed of so we agreed to the asking price and it was done. So I thought, the guy called three days later and said he changed his mind and didn't want to sell. We were real disappointed and everything we looked at after seemed shit. Having a year to let go of that we revisited a place that we saw last year, out of all the places it was second best. The people that lived there grow mushrooms It's just over two Rai with a house and several other buildings on the property on a nice part of the river. There is a small road that runs down the rivers edge witch the other place from last year didn't have but it's ok we still have a decent amount of area on the river side two.

here are some pics of the mushroom operation. The people are taking all that stuff with them (thank god)



oyster mushrooms

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## katie23

Thanks for the pics, mike. Very interesting, more pics please!  :Smile:

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## naptownmike

We got a local to cut back some of the brush on the river bank.



The view across in the evening.




The house is pretty rough inside and out. We're going to have it painted and gut both bathrooms as there a horror and retile the inside as well. 

Here is the contractor leaving. A real nice local lady.



And the house.



The usual blue water lines running everywhere.

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## naptownmike

Here are some pictures I took while out on my bike.

The water man


These guys seemed pretty amused to see a westerner on a bike.


There are alot of really cool old wooden houses around the area.


Some must be 60-70 years old 


All these are down the road along the river.

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## naptownmike

This Chinese burial site is right on the river all perfectly maintained. Must have been pretty well off the place was huge.

 

Someones ghost won't be happy about that bottle on the ground there.

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## David48atTD

Mike ... great trip report ... something I've not done.

Never seen that Dam Barge before ... costs?
Sleeps how many?
What's included?
Details

So, the house you looked at initially, agreed to a price, then the Vender pulled out.
Is that the same one you are buying now?

Good luck with it.

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## naptownmike

Well It's time to haul back to Pattaya to get the house ready to sell and try to get it listed.

I will miss the sea. 



You never know what you will find on the beach.


This beach just before you get into town must be drop off for unwanted dogs. There are so many I've seen people down there feeding them.

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## Neverna

> Here is the contractor leaving. A real nice local lady.


I like the checker-plate body work. Built to last!

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## naptownmike

A nice waffle and cappuccino. While watching a Russian lady take hundreds of pictures of herself inside.




My wife will miss the seafood.

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## naptownmike

^ Yeah they tell me she built that herself.

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## idareu

Such a wonderful and informative thread!  I e never seen the mushroom set up before so I’ve already learnt one new thing today! Thanks!

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## naptownmike

> Mike ... great trip report ... something I've not done.
> 
> Never seen that Dam Barge before ... costs?
> Sleeps how many?
> What's included?
> Details
> 
> So, the house you looked at initially, agreed to a price, then the Vender pulled out.
> Is that the same one you are buying now?
> ...



Hi David, The barges vary in size and layout and can go all the way to Chiang Mai. The one we were on can sleep 25 people all food is included we brought our own drink. It's basic Thai food though family brought ingredients to make me something as well. The one day trip I think you can choose three locations to anchor for the night we stayed near Valentine island the one with the goats. It was 15,000 baht. There are alot to choose from. 

The house from last year still isn't for sale I stewed over it for an entire year. Even offered more money but in the end had to move on. The place we got is on the other side of the river.
Here is the offending property 3 rai if it comes up for sale I'll still give it serious thought.

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## David48atTD

^ Thanks for that.

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## naptownmike

When I came to Thailand in 2005 my friend and I stayed at the Royal Cliff I haven't been back since so went up there for lunch and a look around. 

Had a nice lunch outside. Pad thai shrimp and panang chicken.




There is a cool coffee place up on the overlook.

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## naptownmike

Ah they tell me it used to be a quiet fishing village to bad there's no resemblance of it now. You can just see the top off the temporarily  abandoned condo tower.



A couple dogs taking some shade.

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## naptownmike

It does look much nicer down there no that all those speed boats are gone. It was a real junk yard before all covered in oil.

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## naptownmike

We Headed to Bangkok for the weekend stayed on Sukhumvit 11 at Frasier not the greatest but we like the location. 

Saw these poor bugers on the way there.




I can't imagine driving a Lambo in Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand actually.



I remember watching this place open I guess it didn't work out.

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## naptownmike

This old house is near the hotel it's funny to see tucked in next to all the condos and hotels.



Heading to China Town.

The boat was fully loaded.



Flying past Jim Thompson



I love these boat rides so chaotic.



made it.

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## naptownmike

This was a big one. Must be hardy to live in there.

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## Phuketrichard

> When I came to Thailand in 2005 my friend and I stayed at the Royal Cliff I haven't been back since so went up there for lunch and a look around.


I had a nice 2 bedroom house behind the Royal cliff back in 1985, 6,000 baht/month on 1/4 rai of land, 
times have changed

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## naptownmike

^Yeah the place is probably unrecognizable from then. That probably seemed far out country back in 1985.

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## Nicethaiza

great thread..I am very happy to read and look at all pics...

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## naptownmike

A few sights on the walk to Chinatown.

This place had a nice selection of trim.


I can just see the big swing though those wires.



And a classic old Thai house.

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## naptownmike

And now for some bizarre sightings.

Not sure how someone can let a dog get this big.



I wondered what was in those bags went in for a close up and...

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## naptownmike

That was about it for Bangkok. Had to go back to Pattaya to put the house up for sale then head back to Ban Tak to close the deal up there. Mixed in with some truly maddening banking adventures. 
When we bought that house in Pattaya I figured we would be stuck with it forever so was a bit skeptical about trying to sell it. My wife listed it with a Thai realtor and I was surprised how much interest there was.


Using the rental car like a pickup truck. Had to replace the wood base molding that the termites ate. What a pain to do without a decent saw. This is turning out to be some holiday.

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## Chittychangchang

Jeez that dog is big.

Quality pics Mike!

Thanks for taking the time to post and share.

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## naptownmike

Thanks. Yeah may be the fattest dog I've ever seen.

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## naptownmike

On The road back up north. A few amusements on the road.

I wonder who the target demographic for these. Asian kids acting like gangstas.




Fun roadside stop off's



Not sure what was more frightening the bathrooms or this.




Interesting name.

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## naptownmike

Arrived back at the family compound. 

Sundown on the porch.




Off to the made to order restaurant for dinner. Not bad really if you don't mind dirt floors.

 

A view down main street.

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## naptownmike

Having my morning coffee I noticed something jumping around in the trees it was a pair of these squirrels. 

They were camera shy but I had all day to kill. They were really going for those little seeds.

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## naptownmike

We had to get a few cement posts for the house and went to the local shop.
I love these small shops a bit of everything.


We got this ring for a evening fire.




It worked great. Nothing like sitting around an open fire.




Fine dinning again hotdogs and sweet potatoes.




The sun or my coals? It sure was hot.

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## Thailandbound

That is a FAT dog...wow! 



Great pics, thanks!

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## naptownmike

All settled down back in the village out for an evening ride.

With any luck this will be me next year. There was a lot of water in the river this year. Perfect for a little boat.



This was the closest I got to boating this year.



All set for another day of tubing.

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## naptownmike

With the house deal all done we had to go back to the local temple with an offering from the wife.

199 eggs glad she didn't promise anything expensive.

surprisingly heavy.



Keep an eye on that cat.



Right in the crate for a look.



This was great. Took off in the back somewhere with that yellow fabric. Oh well killed some time waiting for our candle to burn out. Just another morning in small town Thailand.

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## fiddler

Oh yeah, I went on one of those barges once. 
Pretty cool day but you're right: Way too loud!
Luckily I brought earplugs.

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## rickschoppers

> This is the local coffee shop. The local aloof westerner hangout.
> 
> 
> 
> Not a bad cappuccino.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not a bad looking place to have a cup along with a pretty healthy, fruit packed meal. I would spend a bit of time there.

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## Matthew

Nice thread!

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## naptownmike

^^ Yeah it's a nice quiet place to hang out next to the river. Seems to be popular with the hand full of westerners in the area. That waffle plate is my fav. it's always a bit different each time I order it.

^Thanks

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## happynz

five star thread *****

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## Luigi

Great thread, cheers Mike.




> When we bought that house in Pattaya I figured we would be stuck with it forever so was a bit skeptical about trying to sell it. My wife listed it with a Thai realtor and I was surprised how much interest there was.


I've always been impressed in my property dealings in Thailand. Buying is a cinch. Takes 3 or so days, and that's only because of the documents needed to get together. Go into the DoLT at 9am for the first time, leave at 11am with the Chanote, everything bought and transferred. Renting out has seen 100% occupancy from the the first week they were put on the market.

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## happynz

> And now for some bizarre sightings.


Those wee piggies ended up as something lip-smackingly good, guaranteed.

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## OhOh

> With any luck this will be me next year. There was a lot of water in the river this year. Perfect for a little boat.




How high are you above the water level? Presumably it gets higher during the wet season? Any evidence of flooding in the area?

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## crackerjack101

> ^^ Yeah it's a nice quiet place to hang out next to the river. Seems to be popular with the hand full of westerners in the area. That waffle plate is my fav. it's always a bit different each time I order it.
> 
> ^Thanks


excellent thread mate. Good luck for the future.

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## naptownmike

> Great thread, cheers Mike.
> 
> 
> 
> I've always been impressed in my property dealings in Thailand. Buying is a cinch. Takes 3 or so days, and that's only because of the documents needed to get together. Go into the DoLT at 9am for the first time, leave at 11am with the Chanote, everything bought and transferred. Renting out has seen 100% occupancy from the the first week they were put on the market.


Thanks.

Buying is surprisingly  simple if everything goes as planned. This is our first attempt at selling, we had it listed originally with a western company in Pattaya and got 0 action I was quite discouraged. Then two days before we left to return home the wife decided to switch to a Thai realtor and they were great. Came right out and took pictures and put a sign up (the other company were out of signs) and before we left to head back there were three interested groups. In a holding pattern now hopefully it works out.

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## naptownmike

Thanks for all the kind words. This years holiday was a bit of work but that's how it is when you have to get a lot stuff done in five weeks. There was still time for a bit of fun.

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## naptownmike

> How high are you above the water level? Presumably it gets higher during the wet season? Any evidence of flooding in the area?



The water can get pretty high but not close to the top of the river bank. The village did flood back in like 2007 or 08 but apparently that was very unusual none of the old timers had ever experienced anything like that before. Our place is about 2-3 meters above the water.

Here is a shot of our untamed water front you can see it's a good way up from the river.

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## naptownmike

I like this improvised net. This is in the soon to be filled in pond on the property.



We will have to get someone to drain it and take all the fish out.

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## naptownmike

Not even the chicken wants to walk down there. This place is down low near the river.




Improvised dog bed. To bad it was hauled away a few days later.



Got to close. Sleeping with one eye open.

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## OhOh

Thanks. Nice thread and a place to indulge your fantasies. Good luck.

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## Hugh Cow

Great thread Mike. Are you looking at spending more time than five weeks per year there?

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## naptownmike

Thanks. Unfortunately for now we are only able to come for 4-5 weeks. My wife and I still work here in the U.S. eventually will spend more time there. We often talk about coming back in summer but the flight is brutal and we usually skip it.

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## Dead Metal

Hi naptownmike

That was an excellent trip through another mans eyes, thanks for sharing . 

I hope we hear more from you, thank you.

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## grasshopper

A very welcome read, Mike. Just noticed it this morning & got to read it as one. Great pictures as well.

According to your pics you seem to be pretty young. Hope you enjoy many years spending time in that nice place. I assume that it's somewhere nearish to Chiang Mai, is that right?

Good luck.

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## naptownmike

Thanks I do enjoy my time in the village. There's no forgetting I'm half way around the world there. As apposed to some of the more touristy areas with loads of westerners and all the western chains from back home. I may crave that after some time away but it hasn't hapend yet.

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## naptownmike

Here are a few pictures from my last evening bike ride.

Giving way to the cattle. Just like beach road when a bus full off Chinese pulls up.




A cool old house with a bit of character.



a bit of farming action.

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## naptownmike

Passed by this basic old school looked like part of it had burned down recently.

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## naptownmike

Nice little house for rent. Right on the river. Dog included.




Another little gem.



There are loads of these cool trees around.



That's about it really. Headed back to Pattaya the next morning for our last couple days of "holiday"

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## zzzz

...very nice,great area to live in ,thanks for sharing ! :Smile:

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## claynlr

Hey Mike. Just finished a home in Kamphaeng Phet. Came up to Tak and bought a wonderful dining room table with 8 chairs and a bed frame. Then had some night stands made to match the bed. Very pleased!

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## naptownmike

Did you get it out on the main road just north of Kamphaeng Phet? They have some nice stuff at those places on the road side. We plan to get some stuff from there next year as we left everything at the house we sold in Pattaya were starting from scratch again. Good luck with your new house.

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## claynlr

> Did you get it out on the main road just north of Kamphaeng Phet? They have some nice stuff at those places on the road side. We plan to get some stuff from there next year as we left everything at the house we sold in Pattaya were starting from scratch again. Good luck with your new house.


Actually Mike it was on the main road on the east side but about 3-4 km past Tak. There was a long line of furniture shops and we bought at the 2nd shop coming from the north after a U-turn...hope that made sense.

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