A day in the life in the North

[Stumpy]

Got up, did a few calls for work to the factories. Beauty 68 degree morning







Quick ride to the coffee shop



Got back and checked out the pond area. Crawdads growing fast. 2 of them dropped their shells for new ones.

Then wife called me over and she noticed that one of the females tortoises had mud all over her. That usually means she dropped some eggs....somewhere.



After a search for an hour I found her dig. They can dig and conceal them very well. I usually know when she is in that mode and we all kind of watch where she is digging but I think she did this at night



Ping Pong anyone? She will lay 2 more times over the next 3 weeks. Usually 25 to 30 eggs. Wife put them in the incubator. They take 75 to 90 days to hatch.



These 2 100+ lb males are constantly fighting. The dogs always start barking when they are slamming each other. Annie my youngest Lab gets in between them and tries to bite their heads to get them to stop. Its funny to watch.

[CalEden]

Yes, rather pleasant morning for a bike ride. Thank you!

[Stumpy]

Yes, rather pleasant morning for a bike ride. Thank you!

Yeah but you still have to ride early. Yesterday around 1pm it was 91 degrees. It was a cool 91....You know, winter and all.

[Seekingasylum]

Many years ago during my first jaunt around Chiang Rai in late October I concluded that ‘oop North’ was certainly the place to be if a permanent residence in Thailand was on the cards. I was beguiled by the glorious weather, pretty much Mediterranean with cool evenings and cloudless skies with none of the humidity further south, and the scenery with its peaks and valleys in stark contrast to the central plains and Bangkok environs. I mentioned the prospect to the wingman, still on probation at that time, who dismissed the idea out of hand not least because they were not her people and it was too far from Bangkok. I later appreciated such an apparent idyllic season had a price to pay in that the hot season was a bastard and the rainy season meant biblical deluges, landslides and floods.

Also, it is just too damn far from the coast and I do like being adjacent to a sea - in all my life I have never been more than 35 miles from one.

Still, I do think you have constructed a nice place for yourselves Stumpy even if it is a fair replication of what approximates the American idyll and in some ways I do envy you but in the end rural Thailand is strictly for the birds, and snakes, and scorpions, and mosquitos, and bugs, and gormless Thai idiots, and frazzled alcoholic farang.

Horses for courses, I suppose.

[david44]

For once SA we are in accord .

May I just add

gormless Thai idiots, and frazzled alcoholic farang.

Some have a modicum of gorm and while alcoholic after dark I am still trying to attain frazzledom with the help of sex and drugs and rock and TD

May your taxi rise up to meet you, your sausages be free and linked and your threads the road less ravelled, yours couthly do plop in if oop North.

P.S,

I'm on duty as Santa Claus Central Mall 3-3.20pm weekends while Cyrille's on coffee break , I'm still leaning the ropes but helped by Harry who is the best of Elf.

[Stumpy]

Also, it is just too damn far from the coast and I do like being adjacent to a sea - in all my life I have never been more than 35 miles from one.

Ya know SA, as I kid I grew up in the Santa Cruz mountains (California). Beach was a 30 minute drive. Later I moved to the city of Santa Cruz to go to High School. I was a California Surfer. Later I moved to Newport Beach area (Orange County , California) to go to college. Beach was minutes away. Surfing was great. Downside was like what you experience in Pattaya. Its a tourist area. Its always crowded, traffic is awful, people in general are rude and your outlook on life becomes tainted by being subjected to that day in and day out.

Moving back to a country type environment is peaceful, relaxing, quiet and the people are very laid back and in general far nicer. Nobody is trying to rip you off or scam you. I could have landed and lived anywhere here in Thailand but after moving around with my wife from Cha Am, Korat, BKK, Ayutthaya and Chonburi (in all cases for work except Cha Am) the North is just better for me (us). Probably why my outlook on life is always positive and fun. There is no traffic, there are no busses of tourists everywhere. Now I am not bagging on Pattaya, but every time I have to travel down there for work by day 3 or so I am just tired of all the nonsense, traffic, drunks, etc. Sure with colleagues its fun as we can go sit and point and laugh at the douchebags but to live there or anywhere near it...I'll pass. Besides, I like having some land to enjoy.

But as you said, Horses for courses. I say, to each his own. I far more prefer to travel to a beach location, hang out, enjoy SCUBA diving, Snorkeling etc and leave then be subjected to it 24/7. I grew up in both environments as a kid.

[david44]

Same conclusion Stumpy I grew up near Sea and owned a sea view property for a while , but like the cool North for similar reasons.
We can fly to the coast any day we choose but seldom need to. I still enjoy day sailing / boating, canoeing when I can.

My surfing s limited to the net but understand for those who do or SCUBA fans the humid South has many attractions.

With no academic proof I find people in Lanna if not more rational certainly calmer than further South,

Perhaps that is the cooler weather and outside of C Mai very little crowding , stress, pollution etc

[malmomike77]

Much better scuba outside Thailand

[taxexile]

who'd a thunk it?

an SA Stumpy bromance.

get a room you two.

[Topper]

Annie my youngest Lab gets in between them and tries to bite their heads to get them to stop. Its funny to watch.

This does demand video!

[helge]

With no academic proof I find people in Lanna if not more rational certainly calmer than further South

You would thrive among Karens, wouldn't you ?

[Mendip]

Many years ago during my first jaunt around Chiang Rai in late October I concluded that ‘oop North’ was certainly the place to be if a permanent residence in Thailand was on the cards. I was beguiled by the glorious weather, pretty much Mediterranean with cool evenings and cloudless skies with none of the humidity further south, and the scenery with its peaks and valleys in stark contrast to the central plains and Bangkok environs.

Also, it is just too damn far from the coast and I do like being adjacent to a sea - in all my life I have never been more than 35 miles from one.

Even Isaan has it's moments of glorious weather. Currently in Korat we have clear blue skies, low humidity, high 20s with a cool breeze in the daytime and low 20s at night. During cold snaps we may even get down to the mid teens during the night. Hopefully this will last through December and January but of course February will see the temperatures rise and by March it will be as hot and humid as hell.

I can tolerate the hot season although do lose it occasionally but I also find Isaan just too far from the sea. I have never lived this far from the coast before and it just doesn't 'feel' right.


Stumpy, I would be interested in knowing your pool water temperature at the moment?

[Shutree]

Even Isaan has it's moments of glorious weather. Currently in Korat we have clear blue skies, low humidity, high 20s with a cool breeze in the daytime and low 20s at night. During cold snaps we may even get down to the mid teens during the night.

Here in the far flung north east provinces it is the same, beautiful blue sky and a light breeze. Very pleasant. The forecast promises some overnight lows of 18C this week.
It can get cool to the point of being cold. I remember a few years ago living beside the Mekong and kids turning up to school wrapped in blankets. It was all a bit sudden, I spent a night fully clothed under a duvet before going out to buy a second duvet the following day. The gf tells me this winter is expected to be colder than usual. If she gets her information from the same source as the winning lottery numbers then it means nothing at all.

[cyrille]

Here in the far flung north east provinces it is the same, beautiful blue sky and a light breeze. Very pleasant.

If only it were nearer the sea, though.

[Shutree]

If only it were nearer the sea, though.

I always fancied Phuket but my friend there has been having a hard time with the rain this year, flooding again and again. His car is in the shop waiting for a box of electrics after sitting in water a metre deep. The dealer says it will take weeks because it is a box that they don't keep in stock, because it never goes wrong, and there are a dozen other cars all sat unusable in the shop with the same flood problem. I miss fresh seafood though.

[Stumpy]

Stumpy, I would be interested in knowing your pool water temperature at the moment?

27C @ 3:15pm. Just perfect. BTW, I did find that running that fountain type spray during summer brought the temp down to 30c.

[Stumpy]

Honestly I could live in either location. If I lived close to the ocean it would have to be in a non tourist location as I just can't do the traffic, noise, mass hotel thing. Popular locations also draw far too many people. About 7 years back, my wife and I did look at some land in AO Leuk area. I have driven through there quite a few times and its a nice mix...but you get stuck in that too far from anything type living which just doesn't work for my wife and I.

When I decided that I wanted to call Thailand home base, I developed a checklist of what I had to have for it to work for me. This was before I met my wife. As some remember I had no intention of getting married again but then when you are not looking, you find the one you were not looking for. We met in BKK where she owned a condo and worked. She told me she grew up in Lampang. As time went on we discussed about buying a place and were looking in numerous locations but I was picky as hell and interestingly so was she. I showed her the checklist I had been working on. She said we should go look in her hometown as it checks off 14 of the 18 things I want. I laughed. We took a road trip and I saw where she grew up, the house and land that she owned etc. We stayed a week and went around the area. She was right. It did have almost everything that I preferred.

My top ten were

• Good roads
• Local immigration
• Airport
• Quick access to highways
• Sound reliable internet
• No traffic
• Local stores for western food
• Quiet area
• Local waterway as I knew there would never be a water issue
• Medical facilities

I have all that. Local airport 20 mins away. Excellent Medical facilities 10 mins away. AH1 8 minutes away, all the top marketed stores anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes away (depends on what I want) no traffic, nice mountains and GREAT roads to blaze around on my motorcycles and incredibly quiet.

So we bought 3 parcels surrounding her original land and the rest is history. Couldn't be happier. Its just enough land to keep me busy but not too much where its a mess all the time and a headache to upkeep. I can fly out locally for work or if international I drive 50 minutes to CM.

[Stumpy]

This morning as I was heading into the downstairs dining area I looked at the screen doors and the sliding glass windows and they were filthy. The screens plugged with dirt, dog hair and the glass was covered in dirt. I got out my window gear and will clean up a few each day. I hate washing windows but good luck finding someone to do it for you. There are 3 things I hate doing windows, painting and ironing. Fortunately ironing is a thing of the past as I do not have to and if I go on a trip for work, I hand them in at the laundry service at the hotel

I was watching the Warrior play as I washed the windows when the wife cam and said "Hey I found this place that has this special tree I want, lets go get it" I was like WTF....Special tree? What the hell is that.





45 minutes later up in some mountain nursery I have a tree loaded up. Hell if I know what type of tree it is but my wife liked it and said she always wanted one. Apparently the flowers smell really nice.

@ Buckaroo Banzaii, The place had the flowering vines. 110 bht each. Bought 4. So a win for me except that I have to dig the holes to plant them

[cyrille]

The new CM airport, if it ever happens, is rumored to be sited in Ban Thi Lampun, so closer to you.

Surely it's a few years since you drove to the current location from your place in 20 minutes.

[helge]

During cold snaps we may even get down to the mid teens during the night

I had to read this one three times to clear Mendip of chasing young girls

Snaps might be too big a part of our culture

[BLD]

Got up, did a few calls for work to the factories. Beauty 68 degree morning







Quick ride to the coffee shop



Got back and checked out the pond area. Crawdads growing fast. 2 of them dropped their shells for new ones.

Then wife called me over and she noticed that one of the females tortoises had mud all over her. That usually means she dropped some eggs....somewhere.



After a search for an hour I found her dig. They can dig and conceal them very well. I usually know when she is in that mode and we all kind of watch where she is digging but I think she did this at night



Ping Pong anyone? She will lay 2 more times over the next 3 weeks. Usually 25 to 30 eggs. Wife put them in the incubator. They take 75 to 90 days to hatch.



These 2 100+ lb males are constantly fighting. The dogs always start barking when they are slamming each other. Annie my youngest Lab gets in between them and tries to bite their heads to get them to stop. Its funny to watch.

Amazing pets. I had a monkey in Laos that my wife surprised my with. She bought him at a traffic light from some guy. Me and that monkey really bonded so I kept him built a huge cage the length of the driveway for him and me and him would go bar hopping. But it didn't end well he was a nasty drunk after a few beers and would fling his glass at the bartender resulting in him getting banned. I was always welcome back but don't bring that kunt again

[katie23]

@stumpy - thanks for the tortoise pics. I always like seeing them. You're the only person that I "know" who has pet tortoises.

I've seen the tortoise "Ike" on YT. He can walk/ run fast when he's chasing the girls!

[BLD]

A Tortoise would have been a better idea. But damn that monkey was fun to hang out with. One time after a big session he escaped and went up the biggest tree in vientiane . I went home and came back in the morning to try to catch him but the guards at the bar already had him tied to a post with a bit of rope. Gave them 500 baht to secure his release and put him in the car and gave him a wee bit of panadol for his hangover . He looked like shit and once back in his cage was pretty quiet.i had to stop taking him eventually he was barred from most pubs I frequented

[Stumpy]

Surely it's a few years since you drove to the current location from your place in 20 minutes.

Actually Cyrille, I just flew a few months ago from CM to Hanoi. The Lampang airport has small puddle jumpers that fly to a few places mainly BKK. But it's fast and very convenient.

[Stumpy]

Amazing pets.

Thanks BLD. Its definitely not the norm for most

I had a monkey

I think a Monkey would be cool but heard they can be a handful.