owenjones

If you live in a village, you have to be able to live in your head and be happy with your own company.
You also need a hobby.
You cannot read books or watch TV all day - or even surf the Net all day.

I taught myself HTML and have made a few websites, which I enjoy maintaining and I have written two books which I am self-publishing.
This involved finding a printer and editing them, which I also did myself.

Every day at 4-5 pm, I go to the shop for a few beers until the mosquitoes come out.

There are no foreigners near me, but a few have learned my routine and once or twice a week, someone will pay a visit to the shop.

Rarely do strangers turn up, but the ones I haven't liked have never returned.

I usually take a book to read and a notepad to write someone a letter. They are great tools for letting people know you do not have time for them.

Sometimes I don't see anyone for weeks and that's OK too.

As for Thais, my Thai is poor but good enough for a rudimentary conversation on my terms. However, I am not interested in what most Thais are interested in: the farm, the price of rice and the family.

The same went for most Brits when I lived there: sport, football, sport and the girl at the bar with the big knockers.

I listen politely to the Thais that come over and make a few comments.
This satisfies them and helps me integrate (no-one here speaks English except me and my wife).

When I first came here, my wife recommended that I only speak to her family or people that she or her family had introduced me to. That was good advice, but I don't always follow it.

Thai people tend to buy me beers here rather than expect me to buy one for them - beer is seen as a pussy's drink, men drink lao khao.

I am very happy here, but I know that it does not suit everyone.

Best to slow down, stop looking and let them find you.

None of that sort of stuff happens in the villages.

You can keep the cities, although when I have been to them I have never had a problem there either.

owenjones, on 2011-08-07 12:31:16, said:

This is interesting:

Go to the Wikipedia page on Shingles and click on the Thai version in the left hand column, then get Google to translate that back into English for you.
It is hard going in places, but you will get the drift.
See the cures at the end.

Owen.

After reading the Wikipedia article, i am sure that this is what I have - shingles.

I was pleased to read that it is very rare to get more than three attacks as this is my third (all within eight months).

Thanks again for your help,

Owen

Gumbo, on 2011-08-07 08:28:20, said:

I didn't treat the other two.
They remained dry and pealed off.
The masseuse told my wife how to treat this one and the surface is alternately wet and sticky and then dry like a scab.
She used green massage cream on the first day and aloe vera since then.