Moving to the Moo Ban - Permanently????

[Propagator]

Change of scenery perhaps, or to assist family member starting a business in Bangers.

[El Gibbon]

Nope, not the food - the ms is quite the cook and can make anything I want with the exception of not having a proper oven. If you recall I also make monthly trips to Bangers to get the stuff not available here. Also, I've noted that the Tesco store and Tops have started to carry a larger selection of 'falang' food. An example is that Tesco is now carrying a full line of cheeses from NZ.

Lack of things to do is close but not quite.

Work? There is a possibility of some work coming my way but it would be the type of work done easily from here. Basically some writing/editing. It would also only be occasional and prolly just beer money.

Lack of Tarts? Not really as WE have a pretty decent relationship. The lack of eye candy is a little troubling as the local village is not overly populated with tender young morsels.

The scenery here would be hard to beat to take it literally. As you've seen with some of the photos it is quite idyllic out here in the boonies.

Basically it comes down to one word RAIN. Flock me, I've lived in some pretty rainy climates, Fiji where it rained every day at 4 PM for 30 - 45 minutes, Phuket which has a long rainy season and a couple of other spots. Never have I seen rain like this place.

It started shortly after Songkran and has just now given us a breather. I kept track of the days without rain from 1 May to the 17 of June. 1 FUCKING DAY! It got a little better after that, we had 3 days from then until 14 of July.

It is a little more complicated than just some rain though so don't call me the 'P' word just yet. I knowingly moved here to an isolated area with the idea that my working with plants ( orchids and vegetables) along with my photography would provide me with the necessary "entertainment". Those activities took up a lot of time and provided great enjoyment until the rains came.

Rain brought an unexpected problem BUGS. My orchids are being eaten alive, the makua has been destroyed a couple of times despite using some of the most effective professional insecticides known to man, the tomatoes were great when I could keep them from destruction. The ONLY way to work with plants that are tender, relative to fruit trees, is to have an enclosed environment. That ain't gonna happen in this area, for me anyway.

In May I kept track of the rain fall, or tried to, using an old rubber process pan that is 4 inches deep. Quite often I had to empty that pan more than once a day.

I've owned a car in Thailand and have found it to be more of a pain-in-the-ass than an asset. Yes, it is nice to be able to drive to wherever you choose, but then you spend twice the time of the commute trying to find a place to park..... Once is enough, I now use local transport for anything outside the immediate area where we use our motosai.

Being without a vehicle in the rain poses a problem, since your house bound most of the day it would be nice to get out for a meal in the evening, just to break the boredom. Well, the nearest decent meal is in Chantaburi 13 K away, not a trip to make on a bike in rainy season. Especially as its along one of the more notorious roads in Eastern Thailand, Rte 317.

Doing the shopping etc was never a problem as we hired the cousin and his songtaew for trips to Robinson, Tesco, Macro and the shops we used in Muang Chantaburi. With a decent local 'General Store' in the village, trips to Chantaburi were only 2 or 3 times a month. (To be continued)

E. G.

[panama hat]

EG, sad to hear you're leaving our area.

With respect to the rain, you do know that the rainy season is almost over in our neck of the woods - then it will be dry for 9 months.

I don't envy your lungs when you move to BKK, but good luck, mate. All the best.

[El Gibbon]

^
Don't bet on the 9 months dry. Your about to endure the 2nd season shortly. That's a small part of the reason for moving. I KNOW it rains just about as much in Sept. and Oct., believe me I moved here at the end of the 2nd season last year.

Even the locals (i.e. rubber growers) plan on it.

I expected the fall season but not the drenching we sustained recently. As a matter of fact three days ago the water had reached my neighbor's base wall on his house and he is worried that this wet season will be even worse. He is a life-long resident in the same house. The monsoon ditches in front of our place were just about overflowing and they are at least 4.5 ft. deep, tried to take a photo of a 2.5 meter cobra swimming for his life but the light was too bad.

We will not be right in Bangers but know what you mean. The air won't be as clean as here but can't have everything.

Good luck to you also, hope the new venture goes well. How's the wife finding Chantaburi?

E. G.

[panama hat]

^
The venture is about to take off - as soon as we get the import permit . . . a lot of pre-sales and demo installations (about 1000 so far). The response is overwhelmingly good and we'd be selling if we had the papers.

Our other product is even more liked, and we can sell it already - just counting the days before one of the big guys has it analysed and copies it.

My wife is busy with the kids and doing the groundwork for her English-language playschool after deciding she can't use her law degree here.

Generally we like it here - and have taken to accept the bizarre driving 'skills' of Thais as well as the dog barking and general me-me concept.

Having said that, we have met some very good people who have gone out of their way to help in many ways.

So far, so good . . . even the bureaucracy isn't that bad.


As for moving to Bangkok from your Moo Ban . . . I'm sure you'll make the best of it . . . though I was looking forward to a coffee and doughnut at Robinson again!

[El Gibbon]

As for moving to Bangkok from your Moo Ban . . . I'm sure you'll make the best of it . . . though I was looking forward to a coffee and doughnut at Robinson again!

We won't desert the area totally, the family is still here and I really do enjoy them. They are a hoot when you get a glass of beer in them. Nice folks really.

I'll contact you if we're in the area and we can still get together for a "coffee" and you can fill me in on the progress made.

As it turns out the family's orchards are not appropriate for you yet, either too old or too young.

E. G.