Another lockdown… another commute

[Mendip]

^^^, ^^, ^

Thanks for the good wishes guys. When I get back home I'm hoping not to revert back to my old ways so can't promise pics in the garden with the dogs and little'un... but let's see what happens.

Nid, I always used to be a mint sauce person but switched to mint jelly a few years ago. I've always liked to push the boundaries with my food.

Convinced to have a Thatchers yesterday.

My work is done!

That Rose is a little sweet for my palate but of course remember the old adage 'any cider is a good cider'.

That bottle of Rose started life at Myrtle Farm in Sandford, Somerset... just behind the cider shop I visited. Makes you think.

By the way, how are you feeling today? They say it takes 30 pressed apples to make one pint of cider... can your stomach cope with all that fruit?!!

What's her secret?

From what I gather you stick some 'pudding rice' in a baking dish, add some milk, butter and sugar and stick it in the oven for a couple of hours... simple as that. I can't believe I've never tried it before but hopefully my bag of special rice will motivate me.

Safe trip home Bud, hopefully you'll post pics of local birds on your balcony while in quarantine this time too.

I'm not immune to these innuendos, ya know! As it happens I do have a balcony again this time but it's right in town so I doubt there will be any birds to see.




I hate the day of flying... I just want to get moving but have to wait around until the afternoon. One good thing of course is that I get a homemade steak and kidney pie for lunch before I leave.

I'm all packed up but seem to have gone a bit over the top with my online shopping. I'm returning to Thailand with three times the luggage I left with.



And I've prepared my 'travel pack'.

The two pound coins are for the bandits at Bristol Airport because even with three check-ins, they'll still charge for the trolley and I just can't manage this lot without. It costs either £2 or €2 and I usually keep two Euro coins handy, just to make the point. But I don't have any today. I'm keeping my phone fully charged... no way will a pay a quid to charge it at Bristol Airport. Can you believe that?

And I'm flying with KLM... hence no explanation needed for the food.

[Samuel]

Have a good journey, Mendip.

Your threads are always interesting and fun to read.

Shouldn't be any competition this time for TD Poster of the year.

[nidhogg]

Safe travels Mendip.

[somtamslap]

Somerset, what a lovely county. Seems a shame to leave it for the corrugated rust bucket of Korat, but I'm not judging, I lived there for a long time, and obviously the surrounding countryside is sublime. But little chocolate box settlements don't exist in Thailand. And neither do any seasons worth their salt. Still, we all forge our own furrows and plant them as we see fit.

[bsnub]

Thanks for the good wishes guys. When I get back home I'm hoping not to revert back to my old ways so can't promise pics in the garden with the dogs and little'un... but let's see what happens.

The let's see what happens comment is the key to chime in on.

Love ya Mendy and safe travels.

Somerset, what a lovely county. Seems a shame to leave it for the corrugated rust bucket of Korat

I ask myself this every time I see someone post pics of the UK and blather on about how terrible it is. It is far more beautiful than Thailand.

[hallelujah]

The let's see what happens comment is the key to chime in on.

Love ya Mendy and safe travels.



I ask myself this every time I see someone post pics of the UK and blather on about how terrible it is. It is far more beautiful than Thailand.

It's the weather, snubs. That's why people fuck off.

Beautiful, yes, but that fucking rain and wind...

[bsnub]

Beautiful, yes, but that fucking rain and wind...

I have that here in Seattle and I love it. I enjoy the storms that roll in off the pacific and being toasty warm in me abode. When I have to go out to the shops I get a taste of the wind and rain, then I am happy to get out of my wet clothes and get comfy at home. Giving that up would be a big loss in my book.

[Samuel]

I ask myself this every time I see someone post pics of the UK and blather on about how terrible it is. It is far more beautiful than Thailand.

Well, BSnub: 99% of TD posters have actual experience visiting/living in Thailand and their home countries and therefore can make the comparison.

After 12 years of posting every day on a Thailand expat forum, isn't it time for you to finally visit Thailand, like you've mentioned many times you have planned to?

You can do it, BSnub.

[Headworx]

I ask myself this every time I see someone post pics of the UK and blather on about how terrible it is. It is far more beautiful than Thailand.

[bsnub]

Well, BSnub: 99% of TD posters have actual experience visiting/living in Thailand and their home countries and therefore can make the comparison.

It did not take long for the obsessive stalking multi-nick troll to come along, did it?

@headworx

I get that part of it. But why not just take her home like most on this forum do? Jack off, Buriumboy, Chitty, Dilly and god knows how many others did.

But then again you are an Aussie so could never understand life in the Northern Hemisphere. The first time you stepped on one of the fishing boats off the Washington coast and Alaska that I grew up on, you would tap out.

[Stumpy]

Giving that up would be a big loss in my book.

I completely understand your thought on that Snubs. I used to think leaving the SF Bay Area weather would be hard to replace but now here in northern Thailand I enjoy it actually far more. We never have storms here that lock in and hold a cold dreary pattern weeks on end. That weather always became terribly depressing. I have never missed it. That said though, I much prefer sun and heat and warm tropical rains that blow in, wet the place and head out.

[Samuel]

After 12 years of posting every day on a Thailand expat forum, isn't it time for you to finally visit Thailand, like you've mentioned many times you have planned to?

You can do it, BSnub.

It did not take long for

BSnub: Even you have to admit it's weird how much time you spend on a Thailand ex-pat forum, having never managed to visit the country.

Just curious why you're not interested enough — after all these years participating on this forum — to spend a week or weekend here.

Why?

[Stumpy]

Welcome Back Mendy.

Weather today here in Lampang was 12c in am and 25c afternoon. Humidity was < 40%. Bright blue skies. Quick bike ride into town I found the locals wearing layered clothes, jackets, beanies, ear muffs, gloves like a blizzard was coming.

I enjoyed a T shirt/ Shorts day working around the compound

[taxexile]

bsnub

I enjoy the storms that roll in off the pacific and being toasty warm in me abode. When I have to go out to the shops I get a taste of the wind and rain, then I am happy to get out of my wet clothes and get comfy at home. Giving that up would be a big loss in my book.

spot on. seasons, unpredictable weather, howling gales, winter snow and of course a cosy home are must haves.



plenty of ugly fatties in thailand these days too.

[malmomike77]

Right post muppet interlude, Mendip safe travels and i'm sure the gardener will enjoy the xmas themed undercrackers.

[Headworx]

But why not just take her home like most on this forum do? Jack off, Buriumboy, Chitty, Dilly and god knows how many others did.

Have taken my girl all over the place in Asia multiple times (Sing, HK, Macau, MLS, and so on) and to Australia more times than I can remember for what's always 4 to 5 week stays. She likes it there and settles in quickly but what's not to like when you're living in a million+ dollar beachfront condo in Australia's premier tourist town, shopping and eating out every day, hitting the Casino every few days, and generally being in holiday mode with no budget for a month. By the end of that time both of us are ready to go home though. To live there full-time and not be in holiday mode wouldn't work for either of us as we both miss what we have in Thailand when we're away, her more than me especially when it comes to her being close to her family and more-so when I jump on a plane to work and leave her alone for a few months (you may not understand how important family is to most Asian people). If we had kids we *might* need to reconsider the situation or be forced into moving to a Western country I guess, but that's not going to happen.

[Samuel]

spot on. seasons, unpredictable weather, howling gales, winter snow and of course a cosy home are must haves.

really?

you like it?

I'm going back to the states for Christmas — Seattle — and I love seeing the family and experiencing Christmas with them.

But, today in Thailand the pool is too cold — below 70-75 degrees — so I enjoy using it for an "ice bath" after working out.

In Seattle, there will be a cold drizzle all day and all night for months...

[Mendip]

Welcome Back Mendy.

Hang on... I haven't left yet mate!


As for the discussion above... I have thought a lot about this and more so each time I return to the UK for a short visit.

Firstly, I work away from home a lot and the vast majority of offshore workers live where their spouse hails from, for a reason. I think it would be asking a lot to move the family to the UK and then disappear for 5 months a year, even if the wife would agree to the move in the first place. To be honest this would also apply to a move within Thailand. I fancy living by the coast, but the wife would soon tire of living in Rayong away from her friends and family when I disappear to work for six weeks... she would question why on earth she was stuck somewhere away from her friends, and I get that. Friends aren't so important to me... my close friends are scattered across the planet and no matter where I live I would rarely (if ever) see them. And family will always be more important to an Asian I think... certainly I for one do not come from a close family.

Also though, having just spent over two weeks in Somerset I am very ready to depart. This is not my home any more and I feel a lot more at ease and familiar in Thailand The cold, wet and unpredictable weather may suit some but I now find it miserable. That hasn't always been the case but these days I find it pretty miserable and get no pleasure from shivering with blustery wind and rain every time I take the dog for a walk. Climate has become very important to me and you can keep your seasons... I just want to get up, drag on my boxers and be done dressing for the day.

A trip a year to the UK is quite enough for me and along with time spent working in Scandinavia I get my seasons and Western fix. Korat isn't ideal but it's my home for now and I am very much looking forward to getting back. I feel a stranger in the UK now, however I will probably revisit this once my daughter has grown up and flown the nest... that may change my thinking drastically.


But for now... my final lunch done, I'm looking forward to my taxi coming and going 'home' to Korat. I just pity whoever sits next to me on the flight!

Phaaaarp....



(and yes HW... I'm also very much looking forward to the short quarantine in Bangkok)

[Stumpy]

I'm going back to the states for Christmas — Seattle —

Wow. Going to hook up with Snubs?

[Samuel]

Wow. Going to hook up with Snubs

Yes, he will meet me at the airport when I arrive in Seattle in a couple weeks and insult me.

not: just send silly little reds — every week, every year —while never visiting Thailand.

[malmomike77]

I think it would be asking a lot to move the family to the UK and then disappear for 5 months a year, even if the wife would agree to the move in the first place.

It is more a case of moving for the childs benefit for education it appears. There is no way if you have an education in Thailand it will stand you in stead for anything but local shite work, their education system even at international standard is just not up to it and i'd not educate a child there (apologies). That wrench from the Asian base and family seems to be the trigger for all the divisions coming home to roost in the farang / thai relationship, so the move is always gong to be for the childs benefit.

[Joe 90]

^Indeed.

Getting your sprout fix in hey, you'll be going home with a loaded shotgun in your pants.

Btw I'd give that Ginsters pasty a swerve, pure indigestion.

Safe travels Mendip!

[Headworx]

Firstly, I work away from home a lot and the vast majority of offshore workers live where their spouse hails from, for a reason. I think it would be asking a lot to move the family to the UK and then disappear for 5 months a year, even if the wife would agree to the move in the first place. To be honest this would also apply to a move within Thailand. I fancy living by the coast, but the wife would soon tire of living in Rayong away from her friends and family when I disappear to work for six weeks... she would question why on earth she was stuck somewhere away from her friends, and I get that. Friends aren't so important to me... my close friends are scattered across the planet and no matter where I live I would rarely (if ever) see them. And family will always be more important to an Asian I think... certainly I for one do not come from a close family.

It would be an interesting forum topic discussing the pros and cons of this, your situation mentioned above all makes absolutely perfect sense to me. My girl has a family member living in the same building we do, and a close-knit circle of friends locally. But she can and does fly North out of Utapao for like 40 bucks and an hour airtime to see her family anytime she wants, sometimes even just for the weekend. That wouldn't be happening out of Gatwick or Brisbane! I have no parents and only 2 direct relatives that aren't close so moving overseas to be near family isn't going to happen, and I can't think of any other reasons to move that wouldn't end up with us looking at one another after a few months and asking ourselves what the fuck we were thinking!

Anyways, back on topic now and the real question is just how many spoons and blankets can you kamoy on the flight back?

[Edmond]

That bottle of Rose started life at Myrtle Farm in Sandford, Somerset... just behind the cider shop I visited. Makes you think.

Actually, the hydrogen in the apples started life with the creation of time and space and the big bang, 13.8 billion years ago, almost half of the calcium in the universe originates from supernova explosions, so that's a 50/50, Sulfur is created deep inside massive stars by the fusion of silicon and helium, so all in all, it started a bit beyond Somerset. Maybe makes you think.

Safe trip. Don't forget me cuty free Montclair.

[Topper]

Actually, the hydrogen in the apples started life with the creation of time and space and the big bang

I hope for the safety of the passengers and crew Mendy doesn't recreate the big bang after eating all of those sprouts.