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Are there best times for vaccines? In the States, flu shots are generally available before "flu season" (winter, i suppose). But, can flu shots and any other vaccinations be had anytime or is there a...

I've written about death and dying in the Isaan a number of times, but put a lot more detail into it when my wife's mother passed away this spring:...

Looking forward to more. Thanks for taking the time.

Thank you, aging one... did you see any progress on the dam?

I read recently that the Lao government is putting in a dam near Pak Beng, with Chinese help. Anyone know if the slow boat is still operating and can get thru from Huai Xai to Luang Prabang?

Thanks for reminding me about the letter from my wife, Dillinger. I always include that in the packet, as well.

Just checking to make sure my list is current. I've gone to the Thai embassy in Savannakhet almost a half dozen times and this is what I've given them for a multiple-entry Non-O Thai Visa based on...

Phase 1 of the Bann Nah project is finally finished, after 2 years and 3 months duration.

Phase 1 was essentially the main building construction, mostly of wood.

Phase 2 will begin sometime...

While Lott and Naht were finishing up on the wooden structure (Phase 1), we had them do one Phase 2 task before they would leave us for a while -- maybe a long while. We had them put in the concrete...

As our three year-long “farm house”project was slowly drawing to a close, I started getting sad thoughts about how much I’d miss not having our workers Sam Lott and Sam Naht around. The...

Thank you, PeeCoffee!

Counting our donation of nearly half of our original 17 rai of farmland to our temple for the building of the chedi (stuppa); then moving out to the remaining 9 rai and putting a dirt pad down, the...

Thanks, Conche. I love doing them and used to spend lots of time on them. With increased use of the smartphone, I've gotten lazier.

I had our house built on pillars as well for the same reason, we always have a nice breeze in morning and night and on and off through out the day. Its very comfy underneath. But I wil say when the...

The power lines to the pad go about 15 rai deep into the rice fields. This post has some video that give you a good idea of the distance: THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 5 - Power Lines

This post contains a...

We'll be installing a solar energy component to the mix, next year also, so that will keep the cost down as well.

:chitown:
Having lived in the tropics (Australia) since the 60's and 'roofed' at least 3 houses, there is no way in the world that i would put a roof on any house without some kind of under tile...

Thanks, Terry. Wanted to get it in this year, but the project's been taking so long, there was no need... definitely before Somkrahn 2017!

A number of features of our new farm house did not originate with me; like the lancah noi (little roof; Lungpaw’s suggestion); the build out of supplemental structures on the south side (Thip’s idea....

Spillage is another major reason not to use combines (in addition to the problem of drying). We haven't hand threshed in over a decade, maybe longer (before I was around). The thresher guys take...

The drawback with combines are that you still have to dry the rice out, so you have to unbag the unmilled rice and spread it out somewhere. If the rice can be left on the stalk, to dry in the field...

This is great! Yes, we harvest about 7 acres of sticky and jasmine rice every year and using what we call a tatya (brush cutter) with a feeder will cut our rice-cutting time dramatically! I estimate...

Thank you. It is fun, rewarding and frustrating all in one. It is not a process us Westerners are used to... BTW, the detail work looks better at a distance! :)

( ไม้ประดู่ ) mai pra-doo perhaps? If so, it is Pterocarpus macrocarpus, the Burma padauk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_macrocarpus...

( ไม้ประดู่ ) mai pra-doo perhaps? If so, it is Pterocarpus macrocarpus, the Burma padauk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_macrocarpus...

Thank you for your appreciation, Khun PeeCoffee... We may be able to move in there within a month or two.

While I was away visiting family and friends in the USA, our workers finished up the one remaining inside wall of “yellow wood” and did the trim work for the entire inside.
...

Probably, mykthemin. I really haven't set a firm plan on permanent water flow at Bann Nah. Right now, gravity fed works fine and is cheap. When and if we get to the point of taking water to the...

Hi there, Malcolm. Just a question/comment about the wood. Is "mae sot" a particular kind of teak or is "mae sot" just a mistake? I ask because in Thai, teak is 'sak' สัก (or ไม้สัก 'mai sak'/'my...

A temporary fix, we installed a 2,000 liter water tank on a metal stand about five feet high. Thip designed the stand, red oxide painted the metal and we paid a local crew to weld it. I connected the...

Building stairs from scratch is not easy, especially if you’re using wood you’ve harvested, along with other milled wood – and all of it hard.

I had been correct about expecting a long work...

In Post 149 you were thanking folks like you were signing off .

So I thought that was it !




Wasp[/QUOTE]

We got lots more to do, Wasp. The main building is the biggie, but there's also...

You got it right, Khun PeeCoffee... sometimes I think I'm gonna die before those stairs are built, but they'll be the best stairs I've ever had in my life!

Yes, we let the road and pad settle for about nine months.



Actually, the cement posts are bonded onto six foot column footers. Some detail on that is contained at: THE ISAAN: Bann Nah 6 -...

Thanks for including Bann Nah, Wasp... the story continues and is far from over. It will be a record-setting build for length of time it's taken, per meter, but I'm good with it.

Yes, major...

https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2016/01/1331.jpg

I knew the BEPs were big in the Philippines but I must question Laos as a music festival destination. Kinda sad sort of as its natural elements and backwater ways were the real draw. Seems the...

Approaching the New Year and looking back on this building thread, I want to thank you all for participating -- coming up with good questions, ideas, encouragement, philosophy and humor. In your way,...

The Bann Nah well is not for drinking, although I've drunk it with no after effects... I do not know of anyone who drinks untreated well water in our area, any more, but I'm sure there are some. Most...

Well, it's like I feared in my last Bann Nah post, when I saw our workers drive off and wondering when I would ever see them again... mykthemin actually called it right. Even after the rice harvest...

I think you are talking about As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, a story related to the Spanish Civil War that would arouse the wanderlust in many. Well, I could be wrong.
...

P'Coffee - I originally read what you wrote while I was travelling in Lao, last week. It made me feel so good and still does, upon re-reading it. Thank you for your recognitions, appreciations and...

Hah! I had a laugh when I saw this... no, neither worker or his family or the temple owns sugar cane (oi), so I'm betting on my guys! :slomo:

Thanks, Terry... The rice harvest is winding down, so I expect we'll see our workers next week. I hope!

We had had a more extensive after-work party than usual, following the installation of the porch ceiling. Then, again, we had another good one when the stairs pad was completed.
...

In October 2015, the Bann Nah porch teak ceiling was cut and nail-gunned in. I again was staining up to the every end, and sanding, as well. We had run short of the “grade A” slats and I had to work...

Thank you for reminding me how lucky I am, Mozzbie. With a build, it's easy to focus on the things that are not quite right and you lose sight of all that IS right!

Continuing to address the rain damage issue to the porch – even though the East Asian Monsoon Season was just about over – our workers Sam Lott and Sam Naht put together the lancah noi (little roof)...

Thanks, Petey. Really beautiful with a low-slung sun.

Yeah, I know what you mean, Wasp... Eventually, I suppose. Right now, the focus is and has been for the past two years, the building of "Bann Nah" which would be better called a "cabin on stilts."...