thank you teak door

[tugboat]

hello all,been lurking for a couple of weeks so i thought i would make a post.i have not managed to go back to thailand for five years due to a serious illness but i miss it everyday,i really enjoy some of the posts on teak door. i have travelled quite widely in asia and firstwent to thailand 23 years ago and and seen many changes over the years.thank you teakdoor and fellow posters for some
really interesting threads and photographs -to mention three- bustak, mathos and royal surin are particularly enjoyable -best regards tugboat

[smeden]

welcome here hope you will get well and return to thailand

[tugboat]

thank you smeden for your kind reply.i have actually recovered from my illness,it
is financial constraints holding me back at the moment.i lived in chiang mai for about three years back in the nineties and had an absolute ball,first went to koh samui in about 1985 i went back with my wife to lamai beach in 2005 to show her this wondeful bungalow i stayed in previously and i could not believe what they had done to it!it was bloody awful-luckily we were booked into the blue lagoon hotel on chaweng beach. not sure i would go back to samui anymore
i would prefer a long holiday in chiang mai over the winter but i hear the smog does not get any better. i assume you are danish -are you living in thailand or on holiday? best regards tugboat

[smeden]

i live in denmark and spend my holidays in thailand

[Thetyim]

Try Chiang Rai instead.
It is not as developed and still has the rural feel of Thailand 20 years ago.



P.S. Welcome to Teakdoor

[Loy Toy]

Welcome to the forum tugboat and I hope you recover soon enough and return to the country that you love.

All the best.

[nedwalk]

i live in denmark and spend my holidays in thailand

ME TOO!!! apart from the liveing in DENMARK, though i hear i might know a shiela who lives there, who might be good for a loan ......
oh yea SORRY, welcome mate, i hope luck is a fortune and yer situation improves and you can get back to your 'HAPPY PLACE' soon

[oky]

Welcome! I was in Samui in 1986 for the first time. True, it changed a lot....I still go there from time to time and still like it, but the good times are gone.

[Mr Lick]

Welcome aboard Tugboat, it'll be nice for a young whippersnapper such as myself to read some of your past adventures in LOS. Any photo's? In the meantime let's all hope you can get back to the land of your dreams in double quick time.

[tugboat]

thank you mr lick,oky,nedwalkand thetyim for your replies.yes mr lick i certainly
do have some stories to tell a young "whippersnapper" such as your self-such as do not get really drunk and start cuddling a katoey in biker gear in the nana
plaza and try and live that down with your mates the next day!-i am still embarassed about it today.i would like to make afew more posts before i really
start telling any stories-but here is a short one thatcomes to mind.

when i firstwent to thailand i was ultra cautious with money and personal safety,but after a while you tend to get comfortable with your surroundings and
can be lulled into a false sense of security.any way i arriived in bangkok from the night train from chiang mai with about 200 baht in my pocket and checked into the infamous miami hotel in sukhumvit road and explained i was tired and could i sleep for a couple of hours then i would go to bank get some money from the cashpoint -they said yes as i had stayed there before and even got credit at the bar.so had my kip went to cashpoint [i had 50,000 pounds in my account] and
no i could not get any money cashpoint refused-sd without thinking straight i
went back into the miami and told them this-well to cut along story short i was homeless without my baggage as i was not allowed to retrieve my bag-bearing in mind i was also about 67 days on overstay i was in no position to go and kick the door down to get my baggage.

it was friday afternoon my own bankwas beyond reach and i really started to panic what the hell was i going to do? for those who do not know the miami hotel they are the rudest most arrogant thai chinese on the planet and seem to revel in arguments with their customers-i previously enjoyed watching the spats
never thinking it would be my turn!

anyway i needed some roof over my head and i promise you when you go from being completly in control of your surroundings to being homeless and skint in
a big city with no friends and no money in the space of five minutes you mind
really does do strange things-so found a small backstreet guesthouse that took visa and checked in went to my room and phoned the british embassy to explain my plight and finally spoke to some britsh official on saturday morning who explained they could lend me some money but it was going to cost 40 quid to bail myself out-i thouhgt this was too much aggro and decided to make a back
to chiang mai where i had plenty of mates and could hole up until i got my money sorted-i had just enough cash on me to return by bus and it was a close run thing -nearly missed the bus ,but after i long journey arrived in chiang mai and very angry with the miami hotel for being so bloody rude.
time for revenge-i returned with an aussie mate by train about two weeks later and decided to exact revnge by buying a large quantity of potassium permangantae from a chemist on sukhimvit -i paid the deposit to collect the next day-this was to drop into their pool when they were not looking-it would have dyed there pool and anyone who swam in it purple so it would have been a good laugh! any way paul my aussie mate went out for a beer and after much thought and consideration we decided not to do it and do you know i am really quite glad i didnt because years later i found out that the main ingredient for
processing heroin is potassium permangate and thta explians why the chemist gave us such a funny look when two backpacking farangs wanted such a large
quantity-to this day i do not know what i would have siad to the policeman with my overstay and the chemicals i think i would be writing this from bangkok prison -hope this has amusedbest regards tugboat

[Mr Lick]

A very funny story Tugboat despite your plight in Bangkok. I'm sure you have lots more to pass on to us but plenty of time.

Any pictures of you in your biker gear and the Katoey together? (not that i'm into leather mind you!)

[tugboat]

yea but the thing is mr lick it was the katoey wearing the biker gear not me!

[Mr Lick]

Bit of a let down that, i take it you were wearing something then?

[Bower]

Welcome Tugboat, great start with good tale.
I hope you get your wish and return to Thailand soon, meanwhile keep us amused with more 'tales of old'.

[tugboat]

the only thing i think iwas wearing was my beer goggles

[tugboat]

well mr bower here is another tale that might amuse you.when i lived in chiang mai we used to go to laos for visa run and back in 1989ish there were a lot of russians still living in vientiene and russian script on some of buildings wwhich was very strange to see. any way there was a lovable old canadian rogue called dale who was a steel rigger back in canada and who was without being unkind was
a bit rough and ready and a bit thick -he also liked his beer.
it was recommended to dale that when he went on his visa run to go and find the russian club which was a very simple bar by the mekong which was very popular with the local russian expats-but the trouble was this is not the bars actual name but nobody explained this to dale so in due course dale arrives in vientiene checks into his hotel and ventures out for a beer-as i said earlier dale
likes his beer and was not going to be defeated when looking for the russian club.well dale asked all over vientiene where this russian club was to no avail until one helpful soul pointed him in the direction of the russian embassy.
so dale hammers on the door of said embassy and a rosa klebb opens the door and dale demands to be let in to the "club" -well after much misunderstanding
and confusion dale is ushered into a side room fro a minute or two and then this great big russian brute walks into the room and violently interrogates dale as to what the hell he is doing trying to get a beer at the russian embassy gives a few slaps and throws him out onto the street-it is a true story

[Mathos]

hello all,been lurking for a couple of weeks so i thought i would make a post.i have not managed to go back to thailand for five years due to a serious illness but i miss it everyday,i really enjoy some of the posts on teak door. i have travelled quite widely in asia and firstwent to thailand 23 years ago and and seen many changes over the years.thank you teakdoor and fellow posters for some
really interesting threads and photographs -to mention three- bustak, mathos and royal surin are particularly enjoyable -best regards tugboat

Glad you are enjoying Tug.

Welcome to Teakdoor.

[Stinky]

well mr bower here is another tale that might amuse you.when i lived in chiang mai we used to go to laos for visa run and back in 1989ish there were a lot of russians still living in vientiene and russian script on some of buildings wwhich was very strange to see. any way there was a lovable old canadian rogue called dale who was a steel rigger back in canada and who was without being unkind was
a bit rough and ready and a bit thick -he also liked his beer.
it was recommended to dale that when he went on his visa run to go and find the russian club which was a very simple bar by the mekong which was very popular with the local russian expats-but the trouble was this is not the bars actual name but nobody explained this to dale so in due course dale arrives in vientiene checks into his hotel and ventures out for a beer-as i said earlier dale
likes his beer and was not going to be defeated when looking for the russian club.well dale asked all over vientiene where this russian club was to no avail until one helpful soul pointed him in the direction of the russian embassy.
so dale hammers on the door of said embassy and a rosa klebb opens the door and dale demands to be let in to the "club" -well after much misunderstanding
and confusion dale is ushered into a side room fro a minute or two and then this great big russian brute walks into the room and violently interrogates dale as to what the hell he is doing trying to get a beer at the russian embassy gives a few slaps and throws him out onto the street-it is a true story

Great memories tugboat, welcome to teak door

[tugboat]

thank you mathos and sdigit for your posts.not only am i new to teakdoor i am
new to computers as well.iam going to have learn to "cut and paste" and download photos as well.best regards tugboat.

ps if you read this mathos my favourite place in the whole world apart from thailand is gayle in wensleydale-i do not think my nononsense yorkshire grandfather would agree with gayle being in a thread on lancashire!

[Mathos]

^ Gayle, a really nice place, we enjoy visiting there.

Yorkshire man for a grandad. " Lucky Man!"

Yes, The Lancs thread has crossed a few borders over the last year or two, or whatever.

Not to worry though, if I started a thread for every county I visited, the powers that be might just accuse me of attempting to take over the forum.

Maybe I should rename it Lancashire and subsidiary counties...


As long as folk enjoy it, it matter not..

Take care Tug.

[tugboat]

mathos- not only grandad was yorkshire, mum and dad too,but i suppose i am a
softy southerner as was born and bred in bedford,but i identify with my northern roots and love that part of world.As much as I love thailand and some of its scenery to me i actually most love the english countryside the best.i can not really put my finger on it but it is something about the seasons,and the rugged nature of the dales which i love. thailand i like for the sense of adventure and the people both expat and thai.

there is one question i would like to ask mathos[i have not read all your posts yet] and that is did you ever get frightened in some of your wilder thai adventures-you come across as a man of the world and i have travelled a fair bit but there are places that you have gone to which would give me the heeby-jeebies-like the refugee camps and the burma incursions! envious but i could not be that adventurous. i got seriously ill in vietnam once and i was on my own and really learnt a lesson. i know you have a lovely wife who is with you all the way so that must make a difference.i have seen people get injured in road accidents in chiang mai and if you are on your own it can make the experience a whole lot more uncomfortable if not fatal.anyway i am enjoying teakdoor and hope to discuss thailand and asia in general with you and fellow posters best regards tug

[Mathos]

I'm not surprised that you speak of Gayle with such fond memories Tug.


What a beautiful place it is.




The photograph above shows the Grade 2* listed Gayle Mill.
This is the oldest unaltered cotton mill in existence.
It's dated from 1874/5

It was converted to a saw mill in 1878.
The mill is presently undergoing restoration,
when completed will be producing a superb
range of quality timber products.

There will be training and education in woodworking,
visitors will be able to see the original Victorian machinery
plus water turbines in action.

The location and everything shown in the photograph
above is quite remarkable.

What a spot.





The location is outstanding.

This is the ford type crossing at Gayle.

Isn't it super.




An absolutely brilliant spot.

The ducks were happy too.




Such a peaceful and beautifully located spot on the planet.


You ask about me ever getting frightened on my travels.

Oh yes, many times. Many a time now when Flobo and myself indulge in reminiscence we appreciate just how lucky we are to be here today.

I did have a tendency to push the boat out a little too far from time to time.

Sometimes there were immediate dangers,
you can't really guard against those moments in life.

Once, I had simply moved off the track to relieve myself, (Northern Thailand 1991 ) as I watered the grass, a massive snake shot up from the ground, his head dripping with my urine.

Talk about fear! If he had lurched at me, that would have been it, he was inches from my face as it was.

Then, he simply slithered across the jungle floor through the grass, like a massive letter 'S'.

He went at a fair old speed as well.

No good me taking stabs at what species he was or might have been. But it was big, large head, body as thick as my arm, (easily) and must have been well over six feet in length. A two tone brown with shades of yellow and possibly green in his colouring. A very large head for a snake with big eyes as well.

There have been some very nasty encounters with people as well. I'm saving those instances in particular, for a book I'm presently working on.

Idiotic drivers, who have intentionally tried to knock the farang off the road, especially wagon drivers, (Those Big old Isuzu's in particular.)
Also one or two articulated eight leggers who like to swerve across your front on isolated stretches of roads when there is no one about and they don't like the farang to pass.

From experience, they drive loaded up on speed and whisky.. Crazy !

A guy on a wagon rear end who rolled a big old coca cola fridge off the back at us one night.

Apprehension, consternation, trepidation..

They all came into the equation from time to time.

Such is life.

[tugboat]

thank you very much for your reply mathos-the photos bring back some very happy memories-i have twice stayed in a cottage just up the road from the ford and when there has been a storm that river doesn't half roar-its wonderful.I have followed the stream/river up to a wonderful waterfall-it is about half a mile if i remember correctly,but you have to be very careful because if there is a local downpour it can become a raging torrent in seconds.i believe some people were swept to their deaths in recent years.further up from the ford towards the waterfall the gully sides get steeper and steeper and you would stand no chance if you were caught out.
I am really interested in your book mathos are you going to let teak door know when it is available?can i place an order now?best regards tug

[Mathos]

I don't know when I will have it ready for print, maybe another 18 months, but I'll give you a copy when it's finished.

[tugboat]

That is too kind mathos i insist on paying for it. Sometimes when i sit in my local back in england and people start talking about their holidays i really have to hold back so as not to come across as a"been there seen it all bore",but it is frustrating because i think anyone who has been to thailand and or asia in general stories of your two week sojourn to benidorm can really begin to be a bit of a yawn.As i have said before about thailand my most vivid and best and worst experiences were with the weird and wonderful characters you find floating round asia-mercenaries,psychopaths,lost souls,sexpats,teflers,backpackers,icelandic cod fisherman,canadien lumberjacks,gem dealers,pissed up bar owners,vietnam veterans,and a chap called tony who i had the misfortune to bump into Dales bar in chiang mai-here is the story i hope it amuses;

Dale of russian club fame earlier in the thread owned a bar in the lobby of a very cheap and nasty hotel down one of the sois a liittle walk from thapae gate in chiang mai.When i say bar it was four or five sheets of chipboard nailed together with a hatch to serve mekong whiskey,singha beer, tea or coffee or coke that was your lot-it was great fun because it was so awful.it had about three tables a bench seat and a couple of bar stools.Anyway i was sitting on one of the bar stools and had just opened a bottle of singha and dale had popped out for five minutes and told me to mind the bar.This bloke walked in and I took an instant dislike to him,but
tried not to show it-this guy had trouble written all over him.He was covered in really bad cheap tattoos-borstal spot on the cheek,spiders web on his neck and general look of a thug about him.Pa who was dales girfriend serves him and a beer and considering we are alone in the tiny bar it is inevitable we engage in conversation.

I introduce myself and i decide to be as nice as possible still disguising hopefully my distaste for this guy,he speaks and it is with a really,really rough london east end accent and within seconds of conversation he informs he does not like bullies and the rest of his dialogue went like this;

" yea i give everyone 20 points when i meet them and every time they knob me off i deduct 2 points-cos i dont like bullies-yea when i was younger me and my mates went to a nightclub and the bouncer started giving one of my mates a bit of gip so we went home and got tooled up-cos i dont like bullies-and when we got back we duffed him up and then i did him in with an ice pick-cos i dont like bullies-and i killed him-cos i dont like bullies-well i got eight years for that and when i was in the nick i found out some geezer was knobbing my missus-and cos because i don't like bullies when i got out i found out where he lives and i ran him over him over in my car
and killed him as well" -i sheepishly take an inoffensive sip of my beer as he continues -"yea all this rolling around on floor that ain't fighting-i've got mates who are ten foot tall they're not fighters"- at this point he gets out a knucke duster with a knife sticking out the side when unfolded and by this time i am getting a little unsettled as to how this conversation might go-it was about 2.00 pm in the afternoon and i am stuck with a pyschopath
om my own down a sidestreet bar in northern thailand so i say "well tony do remind me if i ever get down to about ten points and i will make sure
i am extra specially courteous" he fixes me with a scary stare and i can see him deduct 2 points in his head I then ask if i can try on his knuckle duster which he duly obliges but he watches me like a hawk as i make some harmlees motions with his duster and then carefully hand it back to him and admire his silverware i make a an exit stategy because all though it is only lunchtime this could get me into serious trouble- i cannot say i was especially frightened at the time but i am sure we have all played the fool in a bar sometimes and pulled someones leg or got a bit drunk and said something silly -well you would not want to be doing any of that with some one like in the bar you would end up dead-"cos i don't like bullies"
I know this is a bit of a contrast with your post on gayle mathos but i feel sure you have found yourself in similar situations travelling round asia-it is great fun but you do have to be aware there are hundreds of these nutters roaming round looking for their next fix of killing-i hope this has amused best regards tug