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  1. #51
    last farang standing
    Hugh Cow's Avatar
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    My hats of to you Simon for such good work. Hope 2025 is a good year and you finally get to Roxas.

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Cow View Post
    My hats of to you Simon for such good work. Hope 2025 is a good year and you finally get to Roxas.
    Thanks! Retiring to Roxas is certainly my plan!

  3. #53
    Thailand Expat david44's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Or "Roxas Off" you seem to be drawn to places like Blackpool and Pattaya, I never been there but there are many superior places in UKand Thailand.

    I appreciate your efforts for the young but I think the day will comewhen you choose a more permanent base as upheaval in old age gets harder and harder.

    It is good to plan a safe place with access to Dr you can communicate with and good affordable medical facilities a cab ride away as you won't be self driving in and out of serious issues I have had.

    Of course a live in gf/partner maid solves some issues but may not be your way.
    Candy with a self drive TESLA that has a ham radio ariel may be all you desire.

    You will still be free to ravel travel teach or volunteer.

    Thanks for all the excellent work and posts
    Last edited by david44; 03-01-2025 at 09:39 PM.
    When in doubt, look intelligent. Garrison Keillor

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by david44 View Post
    Or "Roxas Off" you seem to be drawn to places like Blackpool and Pattaya, I never been there but there are many superior places in UK.and Thailand.

    I appreciate your efforts for the young but I think the day will comewhen you choose a more permanent base nest as upheaval in old age gets harder and harder.
    It is good to plan a safe place with access to Dr you can communicate with and good affordable medical facilities a cab ride away as you won't be self driving in and out of serious issues I have had.
    Of course a live in gf/partner maid solves some issues but may not be your way.
    Candy with a self drive TESLA that has a ham radio ariel may be all you desire.

    You will still be free to ravel travel teach volunteer

    Thanks for all the excellent work and posts
    Yes, the truth will finally come home to roost. From my feet to my head, the maladies are slowly progressing. My enormous bunion is only kept at bay by the 5km/day walking that I need to do to keep my lungs clear. My prostate has reduced my peeing to a regular dribble (luckily I can last a lesson before needing the loo). My eyes are sharp but my vision crosses over at a distance, meaning that riding a motorbike could be an issue. However, I would prefer to keep on working/keeping myself busy for as long as I can. I can't do my ham radio in Myanmar right now, so I busy myself with receiving satellite signals/images.

    Myanmar is certainly not the place to retire to, especially if one needs access to medical services. Both my Thai ex's have offered to care for me, so there is that option to consider.

    My old Dad carried on working (academically) at home until the age of 89 years, at which point he stood up to get a book and dropped dead on the spot. Best way to go in my opinion
    Groping women when you're old is fine - everyone thinks you're senile

  5. #55
    Thailand Expat david44's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    My old Dad carried on working (academically) at home until the age of 89 years, at which point he stood up to get a book and dropped dead on the spot. Best way to go in my opinion
    Great response and the way I'd like to go.

    Perhaps a newer model without history and I dont' mean a 19 year old might help.

    A mature ASEAN lady widow without pretentions, I read somewhere about one where you get a free pair of "hush" puppies thrown in.

    Seriously if you have the income or resources and no strings attached you have a few options

    1 Sheltered retirement type places/Gated communities /condos.There are some in C Mai and sure elsewhere

    2 Hire local maid as needs

    3 Or a whole family in a staff unit in your garden, where in return for per diem stipemd rent + food free and or English lessons, They can work outside but check/feed you daily.

    Right to plan while you all your faculties.

    I think I would find it hard enough with no partner even while in resonable health, should I be unable to drive or god forbid stroke/blindness hard to do anything but move in with kids in suburban Bangkok which would suit none of us.

    I remained good friends with my ex in UK and we holidayed together annualy she even went Hua Hin with my present partner alas she died at a young age, my few remaining pals my age are in similar state to me still working through choice part time to keep active.

    If you head this way you are most welcome to visit I hope to have a director of a Laotian Int School here in February who you may know.PM for directions

  6. #56
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    Or "Roxas Off" you seem to be drawn to places like Blackpool and Pattaya, I never been there but there are many superior places in UKand Thailand.
    I only went to Blackpool once, and that was while I was having cancer tests at the excellent NHS hospital. The town itself was a dump...

    I've stayed in Pattaya many times for a good reason. It is my base between my various trips. That's because:

    - it's close to Swampy airport
    - it has a beach (no swimming with the (floaters!)
    - it has a 2km promenade for exercise
    - it has decent hospitals
    - it has a wide choice of eateries
    - it has a wide choice of shops and shopping malls
    - it has cheap, rented accommodation
    - it has some really weird folk to people-watch

    Yes, it's good to plan ahead - who knows what ailment might strike you down. I guess I need to get settled in Roxas and find a decent housekeeper.

    It isn't vital that I stay in Myanmar. My Android app can be updated and video files added from anywhere in the world. The posters can be printed by a Burmese colleague and distributed to schools etc by the various local tour guides who are already happy to transport my scholastic donations for free in their vehicles - I just need to organise this better.

    Staying in Myanmar in the short-term suits me, since I've only got 5 months or so before my UK state pension kicks in. Teaching for the school and my online teaching brings in a decent income which is mostly being saved.

  7. #57
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    I've stayed in Pattaya many times for a good reason. It is my base between my various trips. That's because:

    - it's close to Swampy airport
    - it has a beach (no swimming with the (floaters!)
    - it has a 2km promenade for exercise
    - it has decent hospitals
    - it has a wide choice of eateries
    - it has a wide choice of shops and shopping malls
    - it has cheap, rented accommodation
    - it has some really weird folk to people-watch

    You forgot* about it having a plethora of cheap whores…

























    *or maybe you’re just being coy and intentionally missed that fact.

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrWilly View Post
    You forgot* about it having a plethora of cheap whores…
    *or maybe you’re just being coy and intentionally missed that fact.
    Maybe that's what you like about Pattaya. I have never visited a gogo bar in Pattaya, nor partaken in some cheap (or expensive) whore - female or male. Don't assume everyone is on the same low level as yourself....

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by david44 View Post
    Great response and the way I'd like to go.
    Indeed, you'd leave the everylasting mystery as to whether what you'd typed was a finished post

  10. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by malmomike77 View Post
    Indeed, you'd leave the everylasting mystery as to whether what you'd typed was a finished post
    Lol, my dad had been writing an academic paper, and left this life mid-sentence! My eldest brother, (who is way more academically-inclined than myself), completed the paper and published it as a tribute.

    As for me, I'm more likely to leave mid-sentence on this fo

  11. #61
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    ^ I think that happened to the bloke who was writing the script to the film Dusk till dawn

  12. #62
    hangin' around cyrille's Avatar
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    ^They could have just wrapped that up after Salma Hayek's dance.


  13. #63
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    ^ Bladdy hell, that's me sorted for today!

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    Don't assume everyone is on the same low level as yourself....
    indeedly.

  15. #65
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    At the end of March I have a full month on the long new year (Songkran) holiday from my school. So I thought what an ideal time to jump on some internal flights in Myanmar, (or go by car) to visit schools and orphanages in some other regions of the country, armed with my poster sets and app install details etc.

    Well, there's not many regions that are possible to visit! Here's a map updated on 1st January:

    Simon43 surprises everyone (or maybe not!) by ending up in Myanmar (again)...-map-myanmar-jpeg


    I checked Myanmar National Airlines for internal flights, but many of their usual destinations are now under 'resistance' control

    I can go by car to Bagan - that's safe to do with my previous driver.

    I can fly to Naypyitaw (via Yangon), and attempt to visit the large 'Sama Mountain Orphanage', near the town of Lewe, and not far from the airport. I'm sure that if I travel their on my own (as I used to do), then I'll be refused access. That orphanage had 700 kids some 6 years ago, so heaven knows the current number.

    Simon43 surprises everyone (or maybe not!) by ending up in Myanmar (again)...-qrz1-jpg


    Thandwe airport (Ngapali Beach) is now under resistance control). Basically, only a channel between Mandalay and Yangon is open, as well as the Ayawaddy region south-west of Yangon.

    Travel to 'safe' regions under resistance control is not really feasible (I'd have to cross illegally from Thailand), and especially not a good idea if I plan to return to a junta-controlled region, (which I do!).

    I have now about 20 different vocabulary posters, linked to my app audio and video files, plus I'm slowly adding video files for each lesson of the grade 1 to grade 6 government English lesson books. Since travel is very difficult, I'm also preparing a 20-poster pdf file that local teachers can download and print out at their local copy shop

    It will be interesting to see what happens this year...

  16. #66
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    ^^ Quite the divided nation. A very telling image Simon.

  17. #67
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    ^^Nice pic, Simon. All the best travelling around Myanmar, be careful.
    I remember my time volunteering in Phnom Penh at the Center for Children's Happiness. It was the most fulfilling experience I ever had, as you are giving to children that need the love and support. The kids appreciate the help as well. I can relate to what you are doing, and see why you are doing it, kudos to you for making a difference especially in a war zone where they desperately need the language help and support.

  18. #68
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    Quote Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe View Post
    ^^Nice pic, Simon. All the best travelling around Myanmar, be careful.
    I remember my time volunteering in Phnom Penh at the Center for Children's Happiness. It was the most fulfilling experience I ever had, as you are giving to children that need the love and support. The kids appreciate the help as well. I can relate to what you are doing, and see why you are doing it, kudos to you for making a difference especially in a war zone where they desperately need the language help and support.
    Thanks for your kind words. According to stats, Myanmar spends about 1.9% of its GDP on education, (The UK is about 4.4%). That investment in education in Myanmar is very low, and has been so for decades. Yet the population is yearning to learn (Myanmar students are the most attentive that I have ever taught). Now with the civil war, education has completely 'gone to pot'. Imagine a whole generation growing up with no education? That spells a future disaster for the country.

    My original efforts 12 years ago were to help those right at the bottom of the education ladder. But with modern technology (internet, mobile phones, mobile apps etc), I can see how these can really help the education sector in the current civil war situation. So I'm concentrating more on developing ways to help local teachers (in schools or non-formal education situations), teach 'real' English to their students. By that, I mean not the 'Minglish' that most local English teachers are speaking, if they can speak at all! The students need to hear clearly-spoken English. So I take the government school-book lessons and record all the vocabulary and phrases in clear English, then make this available on my app.

    The Japanese government did a very good job some years ago (before the coup), of bringing the school book content up to date. Previously, the content used text from 50 years ago! The NUG (real government) did record YouTube videos during Covid for these lessons, but they used local teachers with terrible accents and required end-users to watch in real-time on YT, or to download from YT (which is very difficult for most end-users).

    My app developer is working well to update my app, so hopefully in a few weeks it will be back on Google Playstore. Then it's a matter of recording more videos and audio, creating more poster files, and getting the word around about this app. I'm hoping that word of mouth will be enough to grow the usage.

  19. #69
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    More power to you, mate !

    I really enjoyed teaching kids in Taiwan, though it was very tiring. And as MM said, I too found it very fulfilling, and I often wonder how some of the real characters turned out.

  20. #70
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    ^That's great, Salsa! I often wonder that as well how my students are doing and how they turned out. Where I teach now in the public system, I often see students I taught in Kindergarten so it is really amazing to see their growth both academically and physically.

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    Thanks for your kind words. According to stats, Myanmar spends about 1.9% of its GDP on education, (The UK is about 4.4%). That investment in education in Myanmar is very low, and has been so for decades. Yet the population is yearning to learn (Myanmar students are the most attentive that I have ever taught). Now with the civil war, education has completely 'gone to pot'. Imagine a whole generation growing up with no education? That spells a future disaster for the country.

    My original efforts 12 years ago were to help those right at the bottom of the education ladder. But with modern technology (internet, mobile phones, mobile apps etc), I can see how these can really help the education sector in the current civil war situation. So I'm concentrating more on developing ways to help local teachers (in schools or non-formal education situations), teach 'real' English to their students. By that, I mean not the 'Minglish' that most local English teachers are speaking, if they can speak at all! The students need to hear clearly-spoken English. So I take the government school-book lessons and record all the vocabulary and phrases in clear English, then make this available on my app.

    The Japanese government did a very good job some years ago (before the coup), of bringing the school book content up to date. Previously, the content used text from 50 years ago! The NUG (real government) did record YouTube videos during Covid for these lessons, but they used local teachers with terrible accents and required end-users to watch in real-time on YT, or to download from YT (which is very difficult for most end-users).

    My app developer is working well to update my app, so hopefully in a few weeks it will be back on Google Playstore. Then it's a matter of recording more videos and audio, creating more poster files, and getting the word around about this app. I'm hoping that word of mouth will be enough to grow the usage.
    That is great what you are doing, those local government textbooks are usually not up to date and often have mistakes because of the locals making them. I worked in the public system in Korea for four years. The textbooks weren't that great either, but I was free to expand on them and I did a lot of hands on, student centred teaching including using games to teach English. I loved it, and they loved me. Usually only one person (Korean) in the whole school spoke English other than me. It was a great learning experience for me.

    Currently I teach online part-time, English (phonics) to children with learning disabilities like dyslexia. It is also very fulfilling. We use a program called UFLI, have you heard about it? A great way to teach phonics to children learning English like vocab and grammar, there are tons of resources online fyi.

    Well good for you that you are making a difference in some way. I often think about going back abroad to teach, waiting to pay off my car, and waiting for the best opportunity.

  21. #71
    hangin' around cyrille's Avatar
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    It's about a decade now that you've been 'waiting', right?

    Anyway, well done taking the opportunity to tell us all about your good deeds.

  22. #72
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    ^Not waiting, I've been working and gaining some sort of seniority where my pay is pretty good actually.
    It isn't a good deed, it is what I do and have done for decades. What have you done?

    Hope you don't mind Simon. A pic of me with some of my students right before I left.


  23. #73
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    Maybe that's what you like about Pattaya. I have never visited a gogo bar in Pattaya, nor partaken in some cheap (or expensive) whore - female or male. Don't assume everyone is on the same low level as yourself....

    Oh goodness me, stop being a prissy little biatch. Your own writing here on Teakdoor says that one of the reasons you left Myanmar the first time was because you couldn’t find enough local whores that accepted you fucking their asses (for, an acceptable to you, price).

    if you were enamored of cheap whores in Myanmar then it’s not a stretch to assume you are enamored of whores in Pattaya.

  24. #74
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Salsa dancer View Post
    More power to you, mate !

    I really enjoyed teaching kids in Taiwan, though it was very tiring. And as MM said, I too found it very fulfilling, and I often wonder how some of the real characters turned out.

    My regret at volunteering in an orphanage -
    News and Media - Lumos



    Quote Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe View Post
    ^^Nice pic, Simon. All the best travelling around Myanmar, be careful.
    I remember my time volunteering in Phnom Penh at the Center for Children's Happiness. It was the most fulfilling experience I ever had, as you are giving to children that need the love and support. The kids appreciate the help as well. I can relate to what you are doing, and see why you are doing it, kudos to you for making a difference especially in a war zone where they desperately need the language help and support.

  25. #75
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    @MM - that guy in the center (the one w/ dimples) looks like one of my nephews (or cousin?) in Vietnam.

    *****

    @Simon - if you still intend to retire in PH specifically Roxas City, I suggest to go visit the "Canadian Beaver" resto-bar of Mike, the vlogger (That Philippines Life). He's been in Roxas for a year or so and he might know ppl (or his staff might) who can find you cleaning ladies, gardeners, handymen etc.

    Re: failing eyesight & motorbike driving in PH: if that's your worry, you may look into other cheap alternatives, like a 3-wheel e-bike (brands N-wow or Kuda). The 3 wheeler costs ~50k pesos or ~900 usd. Some have built in supports for plastic rain shields.

    Another alternative is the Bajaj tricycle (called auto rickshaw in India. They're imported from India. New ones cost ~4,000 usd (~220k pesos or more, depends on features), while 2nd hand costs ~100k pesos (~1800 usd).

    I rode in a Bajaj trike yesterday and "interviewed" the driver during my ride. He said he bought it 2nd hand (private sale, not dealership) for ~100k pesos. He said some 2nd hand ones can now be had for 70k or 80k pesos (older versions).

    As a trike driver, he liked the Bajaj better than the ordinary trike since the driver's seat is wider (versus a trike which uses a motorbike + sidecar) and it's easier on the bum, generally. He can also put a mini-fan (directed to the driver) - it's attached to the dashboard; that can't be done in a regular trike. The Bajaj trikes run on gasoline/ petrol.

    Links:

    https://www.nwow.com.ph/
    kuda-ebikes.com

    Bajaj Philippines | Trimotors Technology Corp. | Three-wheelers

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