Introduction ... yeah, i am new here

**whiteboy namkhiao** · 21-02-2024, 06:03 AM

Just wanted to introduce myself. Feels weird to be on a forum.. been 15 years since i was active on one (fishkeeping, cars, etc). But, figured I could learn something here. lots of people with lots of experiences..

I am an old white dude. A bit beyond middle age I suppose. Live in USA (California) currently in a rural area. Lived in Thailand for a couple years when I was in college in the early 90's. When I was there I lived my first year with a Thai host family and have kept in very close touch with them all these years (they are just "my family" to me.. the far away family. my host mom and dad, my host sisters, all the cousins.. its just my family, except far away). I also got married back then to a really cool badass girl, so my wife (of damn near 30 years) is also Thai. We have always gone back to visit yearly. Her family. My family. My friends. Her friends.

We have a little piece land in the mountains of Korat and have a very tiny, very basic little retirement shack there we just built. Not ready to retire and move yet (waiting for my teenagers to finish high school) , but we want to stay in our own place and stay for longer when we visit so needed to get started and work our way into more time there gradually. So, I don't live in Thailand, and its been so long since if have, but I have some familiarity and somewhat connected beyond just visiting or "wanting to retire" there. But still 30 years removed from actually living there.

my interests are fishkeeping (large freshwater fish.. what they call "monster fish") and gardening and nature stuff . And I do some vintage auto racing as a hobby (old Datsun 510, Sports 2000, etc.. stuff like that) but I will probably be winding that down in the next few years.. pass that on to my daughter to keep racing!

yeah.. so.. that me in a nutshell.. tried to give enough info to actually be an introduction, but keep it vague enough to be safe.. i don't trust the internet or people much and normally keep shiat to myself. But I wanted to be friendly in my intro! Cheers everybody.

**Stumpy** · 21-02-2024, 07:57 AM

Welcome aboard. California Native here and a motorsports guy.

Keep a thick skin until indoctrinated to the site. There will be a few along shortly to start the process.

**Pragmatic** · 21-02-2024, 08:32 AM

Good luck and stick with it.

**Edmond** · 21-02-2024, 11:22 AM

Welcome.

I'm Edmond. 18 years here full-time. A year near Khorat, 10 years in Big Bad Bkk, 6 years in Chiang Mai all up, and now a year (and well settled for the rest of me days) in Phuket.

Hobbies: food, fitness, making friends. Just got a deaf girl preggers, who then disappeared 'back home', which could make life even more exciting in the coming years.

Seeing pics of your car hobby would be interesting.

What did you study in Thai uni in the early 90s?

**Shutree** · 21-02-2024, 11:32 AM

Welcome Whiteboy. You should check out Mendip's Isan Pond thread, he has no monsters yet, maybe you can help him out.
There are a few bottom dwellers lurking in the depths of the forum, they'll probably turn up to nibble your toes at some point.

**whiteboy namkhiao** · 22-02-2024, 03:58 AM

saw the issan pond thread.. very cool we have the usualy country big water storage pond, but we want to do a garden / landscape pond like his if / when we start spending more time at the house (have one here in the california). He has a really cool setup.

Edmond... your hobbies.. best thing i have heard / read today. It reminded me of my own very weird (and embarassing) def girl experience in bkk about 1994.. oh.. i drank way too much.. i thought she was somebody else until i woke up next morning next to her and she spoke and i was like .. wait.. why does she speak like that ? who the f is this? what am i doing? .. not one of my proud moments in life. But a fun drinking story.

when i was in thailand i was a volunteed english teacher at a temple school in Prachin province.. i was i guess 23-24 years old came for 6 months. stayed for 2 years... eventually had to go back and finish college and start making money (instead of freeloading off my wife who worked her ass off to support me for about the first 8+ years of our marriage)

If i figure hot to post pics (and which subforum??) i will post some a few pics of my race cars. and other shit. its not really thailand related at all.. but.

**whiteboy namkhiao** · 22-02-2024, 05:24 AM

Will see if i can do this right

a few pics of my race cars / track cars.. The Datsun 510 Wagon is kind of my "baby".. my 17 year old daughter now races that one (i do maybe one race per year). The Sports 2000 *(that open cockpit one) is what i am TRYING to race now.. i am pretty bad at it, but learning. other cars were former cars or friends / family cars.