Smiler

So, 8 days later..... 

I have sent the booking information that agoda requested 3 times. 

I called them twice. 

They finally admit liability 😎. 

I was offered 2 options - a credit for the full amount to be used within 6 months when next booking through agoda🤔 😂🤣🤣🤣

Or a full refund to my Thai bank account which may take up to 10 working days. I've taken this option so let's see how many days before I do actually get my money back. 

I have used Agoda countless times to book hotels in Thailand over the years, never had an issue but.... 

Decided to stay at the Miami in Bangkok 30th November. This was the very first place I stayed back in the early 90s, it changed hands recently and has been done up so I thought why not. 

Used Agoda to book by scanning the booking screen QR code with my Thai Bank App. Did exactly the same in July last time with Agoda. Well the money left my account instantly BUT a booking cancelled message came up on the screen. 

I have been trying to get my money back for the last 2 days. 

Sent 3 documents including screenshot of the QR code booking screen, copy of bank app notification confirming payment and bank statement. 

Kin nightmare, I am on the way to Heathrow and its still not resolved. 

I won't be using Agoda again, judging by the comments on their Facebook page, I won't be on my own. 

10 minutes ago, boydeste said:

Pulled chicken special in the Brick House Udon Thani, with cheesy spuds washed down with a Beerlao Dark.

Superb. 

Ah my go to place to eat in Udon and my favourite beer. I'll be there in 3 weeks😃. 

The owner is a scandimaniac called Max - nice guy. 

Just opposite the Brickie next to the Iti place is a small bar called Fun Bar. Had a good line up a couple of months ago.... The owner there however can be a right miserable bar steward, especially if his Mrs gets a bit pissed and flirty😬

1 hour ago, coxyhog said:

Just watched the first 3 episodes of SAS Rogue Heroes on BBC iPlayer.

From Ben Macintyre's excellent book.

My friends father was a founding member and is portrayed in the series. 

She knew it was in production but was still surprised to get a call from the actor playing her dad a year or so ago. He very politely asked a few questions about her dad's personality etc. 

Haven't seen the program yet myself as I am going to binge watch when I have the time. 

Incidentally my friend and her family are pleased with the show although a few facts have been apparently "toned down" for TV. Sorry - no spoilers 😬

RIP Ma'am ❤️

Used to play rugby against a side called the 3 9s who were made up of Ambulance, Fire and Police personnel. I remember a couple of traffic coppers saying they used to play speeding snooker with car colours......

2 hours ago, CampariO said:

Set to 29 daytime if I have it on, and 26 while sleeping. 

I came to Thailand because I like it warm.

Yep almost the same. 

27 or 28 for me in the daytime, I find its the humidity rather than the temperature which makes me uncomfortable. 

Nighttime 25. 

We don't get leccie bills till later in the month up here in the jungle. Last one was around 1800 baht. 3 a/c units, f**k knows how many fans and me turning into my father by going around muttering and switching off lights. 9 of them the other evening..... 

My girl has gone back to Uni now so I am hoping June's bill will be peak consumption and maybe we can save a bit in the next few months

Who am I trying to kid? 🤔🙄💩💩

42 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

I love those bugs and have eaten most things off the street.

The issue to me (and what can upset the stomach) is the quality of the oil the bugs are cooked in.

I remember years ago when I lived in Hua Hin a media story was about authorities having checked hundreds of oil samples from street side carts and above 75 percent were highly toxic and not fit for cooking anything. Had been used over and over.

The bugs are great protein, the oil can harm you.

I have never had any issues before Dave and yeah I agree they are a good source of protein. Indeed some say certain types are akin to nature's viagra. Remember eating some black ones once and I was hanging wet bath towels off my knob for hours later...... 

Anyway the silkworm and some types of grasshopper larvae can be rich in histemeen (7-12%) and this is what messed me up. 

Couple of days ago Mrs smiler's eldest hi-so 🙄sister from Bangkok came to stay. As is tradition there was a party, lots of Chang and as you might expect, shed loads of Isan food. Was a great evening. 

Now I swerve the local delicacies, don't do Som Tam, laab, nam pa la etc etc. As a party piece though I will take a bite of a rat or frog on a stick and actually don't dislike the bugs - they just taste of whatever they are fried in. 

Every day is a school day. 

I won't be eating these again. 

Woke up yesterday morning feeling like shit squared, balance shot to bits, my right hand and forearm were swollen and I felt like I had been run over by a baht bus. This was not a hangover. 

Turns out I have an allergy to the silkworm bugs. 

So I took an antihistamine pill and slept for most of the day, another one last night and today is first day of the rest of my life. 

Been talking to Mrs Smiler about her pond. Seems it was some sort of government scheme she signed up for which was why it was so much cheaper than @ChiFlyer.

Apparently we had to wait almost a year after she first applied for it. She got 100 fish for 100 baht as part of the deal. No idea how many are still there. Its on a part of the estate (😁🙄) I rarely visit TBH.... 

On 6/24/2022 at 12:54 AM, ChiFlyer said:

The GF already owned 40 rai of farmland in the immediate area when I met her. (In case anyone does not know, a rai equals about 1/3 rd of an acre). 

One thing we did that some others may want to consider is we put in a retention pond. It fills up during rainy season and then can be used to irrigate the farm land during the dry season. There are trucks cheaply for hire who will come in and pump the water over the planted area.

In effect, this gives the farmer two crops a year instead of one. The retention pond cost 40,000. The GF and I split the cost. I paid 30,000. 😏I am going to have to work on her English a little more as to what split means. Seriously, I have no regrets for this. I think I offered her family and hence herself a better way of life without taking on an ongoing cost.

She put in some mango trees etc. in order to help shade the retention pond. These also offer fruit to be sold. I am continually amazed by the efficiency of how things are done by the Thai people.

 

I don't want to come across as picky or pedantic but what size was the retention pond you had built? Seems a huge amount of money (even if you did split the cost 😃). 

Mrs Smiler made a 20mx20m pool last year for less than 5k and that's not taking into account the soil she sold from the excavation. 300 baht a truck load as I seem to remember. 

The rains came early in our part of the jungle this year which led to an overwhelming abundance of mangoes. I've never seen so many in 14 years. Many people literally could not give them away let alone sell them. Guess the trick is to have them available when nobody else does and therefore the price is what people are prepared to pay. 

Durian is a prime example, today I saw it in the local market for 85baht. 4 months back was over 200...

Another great trip report 👍

I know most of the places pictured as we live north east of Udon but its always interesting to see others take on them. 

Really enjoyed your Laos trip as well @CampariOthanks for posting. 

I was fired from my job for giving up my seat to a blind lady. Not going to be easy to get another job driving a bus. 

Spent a month working as a stage set designer but wasn't very productive and fell out with the boss. I left without making a scene. 

Non alcoholic beer is a bit like licking out your sister - tastes the same but it's just wrong. 

I returned to UK in 2018 because of concerns about my old girl. My sister lives almost opposite her, is 13 years younger than me and was/is her principal carer. She was in the midst of a health scare herself and with a couple of teenage lads, had her hands full. 

After a couple of days we had a coffee in Marks and sparks, I told mum she was looking great, better than when young Smiler and I saw her the previous Christmas. She said she was afraid of losing her mind as she was getting a bit forgetful. 

Relaying the conversation to my sis later that evening, she had also had had the same chat with mum but we both thought she was quite bright and sharp. No worries really. 

Next morning I am still on Thai time and awake at stupid o'clock. I go to the fridge for milk and find the remote control for the TV in there... 😃🙄😁

Since 2018 I have been trying to split myself between UK and Thailand. I will be back in UK in a couple of months to give my sis a break, sort any jobs that need doing around mum's and so on.

The mother in law is 96 and as Mrs Smiler is the youngest child she takes care. Its a full time 24/7 job. I may do a separate thread on Yai, she is an amazing woman. 

Never imagined my life would end up revolving around 2 elderly ladies half a world away from each other. As was mentioned earlier it is a real privaledge to help them enjoy their twilight years, it's so rewarding all be it hard work sometimes. 

Ads mate you certainly aren't alone with your deliberations on what to do. There is not a one size fits all solution IMHO, some good experiences here though and hopefully food for thought. 

Think I've tried just about everything over the years but the truth is I haven't found any surefire way of beating jet lag. 

Oddly enough Butch when I was working shifts 3 years ago I suffered the most. 

1 hour ago, Horizondave said:

Felinfoel 'Double Dragon' in the Rock and Fountain in Aberdulais outside Neath.... 

See now this is exactly the reason why I don't look at this thread when I am in Thailand 👀🙄

Damn that pint looks good Dave😋😍😍😍😋😋

And no, I don't want to know how it actually tasted, just leave it to my imagination please 😬

6 hours ago, tommy dee said:

i thought i was the only idiot up at this time.  about to collate the news stories and plan the day here.  must b mad 🙂

Had the first real electric storm of the season this morning, kicked off around 4am, damn it was loud with very impressive lightning. Not a great deal of rain but what we had was welcome. 

Kids didn't hear a thing of course.... 

7 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Well aren't you just a rosy, black bogies, ray of sunshine. 

My lady has a house on the Ping River, half way between Kamphaeng Phet and Tak. And unfortunately, as you pointed out, there's a lot sugar cane fields in the area. This will be the view from my rocking chair overlooking the cane field on the neighbor's land to the north. I'll just have to tell me lady I'll need to escape to Pattaya during the burn season to protect my health. 

You might want to think about other holidays away when the farmers are spraying the cane as well. 

Lovely view mind you 👍

Each to their own (sorry for the TF) but with the experiences of others who I have read and heard of, together with my own, I will never use an online agency for flights again. If I have to pay extra for booking direct with the airline then so be it. 

8 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Post-Songkran Covid spike expected

The kingdom is expected to record about 100,000 new Covid-19 cases per day following the Songkran holiday, according to the dean of Siriraj Hospital's medical school.
...

When I read the above article back on April 11, I thought then it was just more fear mongering with no reasonable justification for the wild ass prediction of 100,000 new cases post Songkran.

I think enough time has now passed that we can reasonably say the medical school dean was so far off in his prediction it's laughable. Unfortunately the serious consequence to these shit predictions is the perpetuation of fear in the general public that lap up this nonsense.

Today' report on the Thailand numbers..
13,816 new Covid cases, 120 more deaths

Which continues the downward trend in new cases since Songkran.

The Chonburi numbers are looking good too. For the first time in a couple of months we're once again below 500 in new infections.

Mate with the greatest respect the numbers reported here in Thailand are sheer fantasy. 

1 hour ago, Pumpuynarak said:

Was the bill covered by your Covid insurance ?

There was simply no charge Cliff. 

I obviously had/have covid insurance and was all ready but it was not needed apparently. 

Mrs Smiler, myself, young Smiler and one of her nieces had an ICU room to ourselves after the frankly nightmare experience of the first night in a public ward. 

It was comfortable enough but the lad and I struggled with the food so we had deliveries most days. Wouldn't want to do it again but couldn't fault the company.... 

I didn't have to pay for my Covid 10 day holiday stay at Phen Hospital last year. 🙄🙏

They're called Samloors locally. I am guessing the three wheels would be the reason why. Also guessing a big difference between a tuk tuk and Samloor would be the passenger seating, such as it is - The Samloor seats run parallel to the sides. 

Rest in peace. 

I now use 2 phones. One has my Thai Bank, Revolut and Wise Apps on it. The only time I connect to the net to use them is at home, where I know the connection and network is secure. The phone stays in the house in a safe place. 

The other is for everyday use (like posting on here right now 😁). I also have True Money Wallet on it which I am using more and more when in Thailand. Can't remember the last time I paid cash in 7 or Lotus's etc. It was worth the hassle IMHO to set it up. Always have cash as a backup of course because not everywhere accepts TMW and occasionally there is no net.