From Laos to Turkey - A Christmas story :)

**Topper** · 23-12-2021, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by Headworx

Anne Boleyn by the sounds of it.

A bit too "plastic" as an actress I do believe.

Nice salad and view!!!! I've not looked on a map yet where you're at, what body of water is that?

**Simon43** · 23-12-2021, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Topper

A bit too "plastic" as an actress I do believe.

Nice salad and view!!!! I've not looked on a map yet where you're at, what body of water is that?

The eastern Med. The climate and sea temperature seems better than the Black Sea, although right now it's a chilly winter.

One aspect of moving from Laos to Turkey, is the shock and pleasure of living in a reasonably-developed country again. I have been biking around Shan State (Burma) and north Laos for a few years now, and loving it. But the remoteness of these locations does mean that I'm a bit out of touch with the developed world.

I am actually enjoying driving my rented car in the traffic of Fethiye (I scared a few drivers at the beginning, since I hadn't driven a car for 5 years+, and there are no traffic lights in Luang Prabang (or everyone ignores them), and there are no cars on the 20-lane highways of Naypyitaw). So I quickly realised that I had to obey common-sense traffic rules in Fethiye!

Visiting a large shopping mall in Fethiye was an eye-opener. There is only a basic supermarket in Luang Prabang with crappy Chinese goods. The large shopping mall in Naypyitaw looked great, but there was almost nothing inside!! Now I'm faced with modern shops offering a huge range of goods

One thing I've noticed is how polite every Turkish person has been (to me). Perhaps it's because they can understand my slowly-spoken and clear British accent (so bad not to be able to speak any Turkish yet!). Every other foreigner that I've met is speaking Geordie or some other difficult accent.

I found in both Laos and Thailand that friendly conversations end abruptly, without any goodbyes or 'see you later'. The people just finish and go, or hang up the phone after conversation is ended. (Different cultural way of doing things I guess). It's nice to hear people saying goodbye to me, have a nice day etc.

I need to write a post about Cyprus...

Candy, (well her head), is doing just fine. I might find it difficult to get a new body for her, but you never know what these Chinese suppliers can manage. There are diplomatic bags I guess to the Chinese embassy in Ankara....

**DrWilly** · 24-12-2021, 02:55 AM

Is her head still functional?

**katie23** · 24-12-2021, 10:51 AM

@Simon - re: accents, I remember when I met up with Bettyboo in Manila, he said that people (in PH) had a hard time understanding him. I think that's because we (Filipinos) are used to the American accent due to Hollywood. Also, Bettyboo spoke a bit fast (and with a UK accent). I have no problem understanding the "Harry Potter" or BBC accents, but would probably have difficulty with a Manchester, Liverpool or Geordie accent.

******

@malmomike - I liked Simon Pegg in "Hot Fuzz". I guess if Simon's book/ movie is more of a comedy, then Simon Pegg can make it work. I can also recommend Martin Freeman of The Hobbit & Sherlock Holmes fame. Why don't you like B. Cumberbatch? I liked him as Dr. Strange and in the Alan Turing movie.

*******

Btw, we have several candidates for actors who will play as Simon43. Any ideas for his ex-wives? IIRC ex-wife1 is Caucasian. Ex-wives 2 and 3 are Thai. Which actresses will you guys recommend? The 2 Thai ex-wives can be played by any Thai or Asian-descent actress.

**malmomike77** · 24-12-2021, 11:12 AM

@ Katie, you've selected freeman too. I can't stand them as they both, like many artsy type love to preach and lecture because they have the reach to do so. Well fuk em, i'll live my way without being advised what to do or think by an actor. I'm just sick of so called celebs thinking their fame gives them rights to be sanctimonious.

**malmomike77** · 24-12-2021, 11:14 AM

Back on topic, wives. I think a more mature lady for wife 1, Judy Dench

**katie23** · 24-12-2021, 11:57 AM

^lol. Judy Dench?!

I think Simon married ex-wife1 when they were both young-ish (late 20s or early 30s?). So maybe someone like Marion Cotillard (but she's French), Eva Green or Rachel Weisz (if brunette), Kate Winslet or Rosamund Pike (if blonde).

@Simon - you'll have to help us folks re: casting & time period in your life, as well as era (70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s). Also with the hair color - was ex-wife1 blonde, brunette or redhead? Were ex-wives 2 & 3 Chinese-Thai or more of Isaan-Thai?

**Simon43** · 24-12-2021, 01:16 PM

Katie, ex-wife #1 was Irish with red-hair.
Ex-wife #2 was Issan-Thai, completely barmy, certified as such by the local hospital and used to carry a piece of paper in her handbag on which was written "I am not mad"!! She was also a midget....
Ex-wife #3 was Thai, reasonably educated, sensible and completely frigid.

**malmomike77** · 24-12-2021, 01:31 PM

I can see why you went with mute for #4

**hallelujah** · 24-12-2021, 01:43 PM

This thread has me reminiscing about the time a friend and I travelled through Turkey and crossed over into Syria, spending a week or so in Aleppo and Damascus, before carrying on to Lebanon in a rickety old taxi we haggled with on the streets of the Syrian capital.

It was only 10 years or so ago, but it feels like it's a million years away in the current climate.

**Joe 90** · 24-12-2021, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by hallelujah

This thread has me reminiscing about the time a friend and I travelled through Turkey and crossed over into Syria, spending a week or so in Aleppo and Damascus, before carrying on to Lebanon in a rickety old taxi we haggled with on the streets of the Syrian capital.

It was only 10 years or so ago, but it feels like it's a million years away in the current climate.

I bet that was an eventful adventure.
What a picture travel thread that would make.

**Joe 90** · 24-12-2021, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by katie23

Geordie accent.

I have trouble understanding Geordies and I'm from Manchester .
The weirdest accent I've heard is a Pakistani Glaswegian.

**hallelujah** · 24-12-2021, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by Joe 90

I bet that was an eventful adventure.
What a picture travel thread that would make.

I've got the pics elsewhere. Probably could stick them up.

Syria was relatively liberal at the time and had great food. A surprising place (I think david44 has alluded to it on here before).

Lebanon is Lebanon. Party town once you're in Beirut.

**sabang** · 25-12-2021, 04:20 AM

Syria was relatively liberal at the time and had great food

Still is and still does- although parts of the country are decimated by war, and foreign occupation. I'm sure the famed Damascus demi-monde still parties hearty.

**beerlaodrinker** · 25-12-2021, 03:26 PM

I saw a lot of displaced Syrians begging in Sudan a couple of years back and remember thinking my God how fucked must Syria be if your only option is begging in Khartoum. Poor buggers.

**beerlaodrinker** · 25-12-2021, 03:27 PM

Tell us more about this barmy midget you married.

**Looper** · 25-12-2021, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by Simon43

Ex-wife #2 was Issan-Thai, completely barmy, certified as such by the local hospital and used to carry a piece of paper in her handbag on which was written "I am not mad"!!

Jung Ho-Yeon from Squid Game could be a short-list shoe-in with her striking bone structure

From Laos to Turkey - A Christmas story :)-squid-game-jung-ho-yeon-t

And in her Squid Game track suit she looks like she would shank you with a prison razor in a nano-second, for the crazies qualification

From Laos to Turkey - A Christmas story :)-wallpapersden-com_hoyeon-jung-squid-game_1920x1080-jpg

**beam8** · 26-12-2021, 12:05 AM

Turkey cracks down on "Legal brothels". How ugly are the Illegals?

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/w...y-brothel.html

**katie23** · 27-12-2021, 05:52 AM

@looper - that Korean actress does have the "crazy" look, especially in the 2nd pic.

@simon - for ex-wife1 (the redhead), I thought of Bonnie Wright, the actress who played Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter films. She's in her early 30s now, so just about the right age for when you had your 1st marriage.

From Laos to Turkey - A Christmas story :)-screenshot_20211226_084743-jpg

If you don't like her, I remembered this comedienne from the sketches of Foil, Arms & Hog.

**david44** · 27-12-2021, 08:10 AM

Dear Katie and Simon,
I can fill you vacancy my wife's unexpectedly on free transfer list for unlimited lucrative roles, barking , throwing cats and generally disturbing males comes naturally I am sure she can ply at mismanageing your a Hotel given half the chance, she managed to run mine at a loss.

As to accents and regional idioms have seldom found language a barrier unless one wishes to get into deeper philosophical debates.
I drove through Turkeytwice in 1970s to Maku in Iran where troglodytes lived in caves in the Shah, Pahlavi era, new by ass concrete and air con like so much of the Middle East, oh and of course in that era Turkey was rigidly secular with the mad mullahs non mainstream and best part of Erdogan just a dribble down his dad's leg. I can still smell the fish grilling on Istanbul's Galata bridge and the ports of Samsun and Trabazon which had a laskar pirate feel full of filthy alleys , rancid whores and smoky dens

The people and food were wonderful , the Raki fiery and so foul tasting on the farms one was enough in more ways than one The sickly Tulips and Rose went well with the pipes , Few women wore veils and music blared at almost Thai volumes everywhere.
As we approached Armenian cleansed areas around Ararat a darker history beckoned and a harsher colder clime but the Mountain people , as everywhere a little more cautious and observant of the stranger were very nice to me and my American friend.

Qs for Simon
What's the permanent residence set up is it an annual thing with same uncertainty as here or can it be permanent for a fee/income. Can you stay indefinitely with minimal visa hassle, I'm sure there are initial and set up costs but is it doable ?
If there is a large expat community perhaps agents to smooth the wheels/language for the newbie.
While certainly not spotless I felt considerably richer in every way Turkey far less corrupt than ASEAN or Spain.

Problem here as you know marriage extension ends if wife croaks first while retirement OA they are pushing for insurance covers which may become impossible to buy at any price for elderly with pre existing.

How much does it cost to live your modest lifestyle, less car , inflatables or Radio Ham gear that I wouldn't need.
Not very realistic even if my teerak agreed I think she'd be a fish outta water. I imagine there will be a pool of Geordie widows once their husbands have rakied themselves into oblivion of the next life for you to dip your antenna?

**Simon43** · 27-12-2021, 11:46 AM

@David44 (and others).

The tourist visa is an annual affair, just pay about $200 and you receive your residency card for 12 months. I wasn't asked to show any proof of funds, although the actual rules require a monthly income of the minimum monthly wage in Turkey, which is about $400, (although the Turkish Lira has been all over the place recently).

Cost of living is (so far from my limited experience), about the same as Laos >> bugger all expense. Others may disagree, but I don't throw my modest funds at loose women, drugs, beer and ciggies, mainly for health reasons!

But on the latter point (health), there is a serious problem looming. Some might know that I have Aspergillosis, which apparently is common in parrots (useless fact #100). It's fungal spores in one's lungs, and I picked this illness up some 25 years ago. It was the real reason why I moved to Thailand all those years ago. Well, although it's a chronic disease, I've kept it at bay by living in hot and humid countries such as Thailand and Laos.

Since moving to Turkey, I have been shocked about how cold it is (duh... it's winter Simon). Cold weather is fine for me, but not for my lungs, and I've been suffering from the effects of my underlying illness. I'm going to have to see how things go as the weather improves in the Spring, but right now I have to protect myself from the cold air with a woolly scarf wrapped around my mouth whenever I leave my house.

Hmm...

**malmomike77** · 27-12-2021, 11:53 AM

Ref the Aspergillosis, they have newer drugs now or is it that you suffer from the damage already done

**DrWilly** · 27-12-2021, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Simon43

but I don't throw my modest funds at loose women, drugs, beer and ciggies, mainly for health reasons!

That's just crazy talk!

**Simon43** · 27-12-2021, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Ref the Aspergillosis, they have newer drugs now or is it that you suffer from the damage already done

Damage done... my lungs are somewhat delicate. I keep them as healthy as possible by typically walking 5-10km every day. But the cold weather here in Turkey has put paid to that - my own fault for not researching the climate better. I knew that Turkey is a sunny and warm/hot destination for tourists, and assumed that it was a bit cooler in the winter. Truth is, it's as cold as the UK, with a biting wind. Fcuk, fcuk, fcuk!!

I think I need to look at the map again for a destination that is hot all year round, is cheap and safe to live in, has easy long-term visa rules and is 'open' in these Covid times. Thailand doesn't really fit the bill anymore, but my initial research has highlighted another country (I already checked the year-round climate!).

**DrWilly** · 27-12-2021, 12:51 PM

Panama?

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