Thread: Marty's New Home in the sticks

^

Exactly the same as high flying executives who still get their massive bonuses even though their company has not performed.

Way it is mate, us little people can't play this game.

But hey Waspy, Lots of people made a killing buying property in the last decade.

Prices in Perth had continued to raise steadily and huge gains piled up.

The trick for the speculator is to cash in before the market stalled.

Many called it and sold and many held on and got caught up.

All relative innit.

I know guys who got caught and I know guys who minted it.

Myself was never a speculator in property, my long term game plan was to own one property outright on retirement, rent it out and collect income to top up my Super.

I could of owned more but I used the other money to fund my Traveling life style.

Lucky I did that because now my Super is parked in Cash making very little but at the same time protected from this downturn and my Rental return is keeping me going.

Long term plan Waspy, that's where its at.

Good if you called it at the right time, bloody annoying when you stuff it up! I have at many times in my life been relatively well off, and relatively broke. I have made many silly mistakes and now I need to get some capital together before another crunch hits so I can retire comfortably.

Hi All,
We are going to have a house warming/blessing ceremony on new years eve/new years day. The main Monk around our place has told us this is the best time to hold it. So my wife has been talking to me about planning and I thought I'd see if anyone on TD has any comments or suggestions. She will fly to LOS about 2 weeks before me, I can't leave Oz until after Xmas. She has to walk around the village and personally invite all the households. She has lined up some young pigs to roast that will be ready by then. She says we need to rent some tables and chairs and covering, and can borrow most of the cutlery and plates from the village. The monks will come on New Years Day early morning and serious drinking will be done after they leave. Maybe we could get a local band? Ideas?

Originally Posted by FatOne

The main Monk around our place has told us this is the best time to hold it.

Probably cuz that's a free day in his diary.

Originally Posted by FatOne

Ideas?

Don't get a local band. Don't have any alcohol. Don't invite any locals.

Get some good quality ear plugs

Don't let a Thai control the Volume levels on the sound system.

ESPECIALLY not a young Thai .



Wasp

Originally Posted by FatOne

She has to walk around the village and personally invite all the households.

I never heard that one before. Usually, invitations are a card in an envelope and handed out to basically everyone they know. The invitation envelope is then used to donate money to the party and collected during the event.

Maybe it's a thing in her village?
Volume won't matter, everyone in village will be there.

Don't worry about any rubbish bins.

Originally Posted by FatOne

Volume won't matter, everyone in village will be there.

Can you go to Bankgkok or Hua Hin for the weekend? This sounds like my worst nightmare!

Fuck being woken by the whole village and a load of chanting monks with a raving New Years hangover

It does sound dire.

Absolute Hell.


Just what the Somchais love.



Wasp

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by FatOne

She has to walk around the village and personally invite all the households.

I never heard that one before. Usually, invitations are a card in an envelope and handed out to basically everyone they know. The invitation envelope is then used to donate money to the party and collected during the event.

Yep, that's how it is usually done.


Seems a lot of fuss/face for a house warming.

It ain't a mansion. Or a wedding ... forget the band.


If it starts costing more then B30,000, have the balls to say NO

Originally Posted by David48atTD

If it starts costing more then B30,000, have the balls to say NO

I would imagine, as with the Villagers prolonged New Years festivities, that decision wont be his.

Originally Posted by JohnG

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by FatOne

She has to walk around the village and personally invite all the households.

I never heard that one before. Usually, invitations are a card in an envelope and handed out to basically everyone they know. The invitation envelope is then used to donate money to the party and collected during the event.

Ditto.

Not only that.

The amount received by each guest is all noted down and kept on a big sheet, so that when someone else has an event, the same amount will be given back them.



Foking bunch of tight-ass, fake-ass, uptight weirdos the lot of them.

^ ahhh........................................so that's how you got the cash envelope back to pay for the BMW keyring

Originally Posted by Luigi

...Foking bunch of tight-ass, fake-ass, uptight weirdos the lot of them.

I've always thought it was rather a good system.

Everyone "chips-in" when someone's just finished paying for their new house and is probably short of money, so they have money when they need it, and at the same time friends can make merit by helping to provide and prepare the food for the monks and to share afterwards - albeit I've never known it to include suckling pigs, a band or all-day boozing other than at a look chin party or a free merit-making, which has nothing to do with the monks and the house being blessed.

Two completely different events in my experience.

Everyone usually chips in the same amount so there are no free-loaders, while those that can't are still invited and included but they just get a similar amount back when it's 'their turn' and those who want to splash the cash and
show off, on the other hand, can do so by making merit and throwing a free party. It's just the community supporting those in it when they need it - I really can't see why you find that so 'weird'.

Many villages run a similar system for funerals too, like life insurance - or more accurately death insurance. Everyone pays in 20 baht a month and in return everyone is guaranteed a decent funeral, whether they're one year old or a hundred. Do you find that 'weird' too?

Originally Posted by Luigi

Originally Posted by JohnG

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by FatOne

She has to walk around the village and personally invite all the households.

I never heard that one before. Usually, invitations are a card in an envelope and handed out to basically everyone they know. The invitation envelope is then used to donate money to the party and collected during the event.

Ditto.

Not only that.

The amount received by each guest is all noted down and kept on a big sheet, so that when someone else has an event, the same amount will be given back them.



Foking bunch of tight-ass, fake-ass, uptight weirdos the lot of them.

That's a new one for me, I've not seen the reciprocal accounting arrangement in practice.

We are Central Thailand ... where do you mostly see that?

What counts as a house warming from my experiences usually is ...

10 / 20 / 30 / 40 relatives/acquaintances rock up, maybe a couple of Monks, early like.

Simple food, sit on the new tiled floor.

If there is a pig on, maybe an outside do, sitting on the patio/verandah floor.


After the Monks have gone and a few Leo's are downed, anyone interested gets into a game of cards.


That said, I did go to a posh do once, a Thai Man, built a mansion ... he had some serious coin.

The one that stevefarang did looked pretty similar to what I plan, pics on his building thread. You there Steve? Any ideas? He had tables and chairs and a singer. I believe the done thing is for visitors to leave some money. And yes, they all pay into some sort of death insurance system in our village too.

If you're not too worried about doing what everyone else does, why not just do whatever you want?

Doing it on New Year's Day, plus pigs, band, and all day booze for the entire village isn't my idea of a traditional house blessing and there's no way I'd want to do anything like that for a whole range of reasons, but if it's what you want to do, why not?

Following on about the payment insurance for funerals.

Some 10 years ago my wife joined 2 schemes for funeral payments.
The first was run by a local Rice co-op, and every second Saturday the payment collector would turn up looking for payment. The deal was that when a member died, all surviving members would pay in 10 baht per deceased member.

Most times he had 5 members names to show us and we coughed up 50 baht. From day one I called him "HA SIP BAHT." Some times he called and had 10 names, so we paid 100 baht.

The second scheme was run by the local temple and was exactly the same idea.

About 8 months ago I asked my wife what had happened to the two schemes as I hadn't seen either collector for several weeks.
The first scheme had fallen over as the collector had stolen all the funds collected over the previous couple of years. Was he caught? No but still lives in the town, and now is the right hand man to the Head Monk at the local temple. Large as life and at any of the major functions held in the town.
The second scheme run by the Temple has also fallen over and no payments have been made for over a year. Officially it was run by the Head Monk so nobody says a word. Several thousands of baht are missing and and families not getting paid insurance after paying monies in for years.

Confirms my understanding that Thai's do love each other, and go the extra mile to help each other in difficult times.

HAWKEYE.