Dr Mick

Not too much rain at moment ,a few heavy down pours lasting about 1 hour about 4 times a week. In my experiance the heavy rains here are in Sep and Oct. My Thai Lady going to get some lemon grass from her village this week end ,so will plant pots around the patio area and door areas

I do not have any regrets about moving to Khon Kaen ,but I must admit I do get fed up being bit by Mosquitoes whilst sitting outside my home in day time and evenings. Its not to bad if I wear a repelent ,but I hate putting on in the day time every day. So im thinking of planting pots of lemon grass around my patio area also near doors and windows. Do any BMs have any experiance using lemon grass around the garden area ??? Also I make sure no standing water in containers around the house. I never kill any Toads or lizzards as IM sure these kill many of the insects which I hate. As well as Lemmon Grass is there any other plants I could use with the fight against these biting insects ??? See info below in which I found out about Lemmon Grass Handmade Organic Mosquito Repellent (HOMeR) The abandoned ricefields in our valley on Lantau Island breed hordes of fierce mosquitoes, and at dusk they attack in force. But it's hard to tell which is worse, the mosquitoes or the commercial repellents. Two weeks earlier we cut this lemon grass to the height of Midori's hand The mosquitoes are horrific -- they're highly aggressive, you can be bitten hundreds of times without protection, it's torture, impossible to bear. But the commercial repellant sprays mostly use diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), a nasty chemical that can cause rashes, swelling, eye irritation, and worse problems, though they're unusual -- including brain swelling in children, anaphylactic shock, low blood pressure, and one report of death. It hasn't had any of those effects on us (yet), but it's horrible stuff to have on your skin -- and with these mosquitoes you have to cover every single square inch of exposed skin. They'll even bite you right through a T-shirt or socks. The alternative is incense coils, which you burn -- they fill the air with smoke containing insecticides. And indeed the mosquitoes keep away. We think this is very wise of them -- we don't like the coils much more than they do. We tried all the commercial herbal preparations, but they just don't work very well -- these mosquitoes are fierce! So what to do? It's both an immediate problem and a longer-term one for us -- Journey to Forever will be travelling through many mosquito-infested and malarial areas. We've found one good answer. We planted three stalks of Thai lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) we got from the local supermarket, and after a few months they'd grown into a composite clump about 15" across. We used a lot of stalks for cooking, but the clump didn't seem to get any smaller. We cut the tops every couple of weeks because it shaded out the other herbs in the herb bed (lots of green stuff for the compost), but it quickly grew back. And we found it keeps the mosquitoes away. It contains something very similar to citronella oil, it's a safe and natural insect repellent that's just as effective as the commercial chemical products, especially when it's fresh. In fact lemon grass is more effective than true citronella. Rubbing the long, grassy leaves on the skin worked well, but the stalk worked even better. Take one stalk of fresh lemon grass (grip it near the ground and give it a sharp sideways tug to break it off from the clump), peel off the outer leaves, snap off the grass blades behind the swollen stem at the base. Bend the stem between your fingers, loosening it, then rub it vigorously between your palms so that it fractures into a kind of fibrous juicy mass, and rub this mess over all exposed skin, covering thoroughly at least once. Pleasant on the skin and effective: 98% protection at the Beach House at sundown, 100% any other time, and the effect lasts about 4-5 hours. In most places, where the mosquitoes are less fanatical, you can use less and it'll last longer.

You are right

Hope to drop in on Pattaya for few days ,Sep 7th till Sep 10th

I also love LK Metro Area ,which place did you not like and why

please note tax not included so what total price

Took your advice so I have booked 2 rooms for 5 nights in Nov Got my Daughter and her Husband coming over from the UK

Why I like the Train 3rd class travel better than the none VIP bus Its not the price ,even though the cost to Nong Khai was 35 bhts for Me and Free for Thais The journey time from Khon Kaen to Nong Khai is about the same as the bus about 2 1/2 hours. The trains can be late at times by 1/2 or more. The none VIP buses can also be late waiting for the bus to fill up ,even pack people in standing up with no seats. What I like on the train is more room to get stretched out. Sit with near the open windows with the wind keeping you cool,on many buses over crowded and poor air con at times. Journey far better looking at the country side , hidden away villages where most of the Pattaya ladies come from and of course the bathing buffolows having mud baths Also on the train you have a smoking area ,you just have to stand outside between the carriages

This is the web site i use to find flights http://www.kayak.co.uk/ As I need to go back to UK for new visa ,I have now booked flight But take care when booking as could cost you lot more with different providers. I found my flight with the above site ,3 options came up for about £560 That was flying from BBK to London 21st Aug ,back from London to BBK 6th Sep with Etihad So one of the options took me to book direct with Etihad airways ,it showed at 29700 bhts + tax total cost came to over 41000 bhts ,thats over £800 So I went to 2 nd option to book with E Brooke.com ,the price was as quoted £560. So take care and check all prices before booking as you may be being charged far to much. So spending a extra 5 minutes checking all the options could save you a lot of money

Strange Barry you have only made 2 posts ,think the business would succeed if you get to know what the BMs like . If the service can offer as good as Soi Honey ,I will visit the place

Sorry guys, no 'extras' (e.g., "Happy Ending"), just a good massage1 Sorry not for me as I like the best of both worlds

Same Same with me sometimes gone back to Metro early but them drinking with owner pissed again lol John since your posting about Metro ,now finding it hard to get booked in Thanks Mate

$1,055 per month for basic expenses. Im sure thats ok as my basic living costsin Khon Kaen is about £500 /750 USD , but to enjoy life and still have many holidays ect,ect my avg month spend is about £1200 month / 70000 bhts month ,sure with more control could still have good life for £1000 month /1500 USD . So I would say you would need 1500 USD month to live a good life in Thailand Dont forget hidden costs do appear now and again. A single man to obtain a retirement visa must have 65000 bhts month income or 800000 bhts in a bank ,strange it less for a married couple

Sounds good to me ,sure will try out on my next visit

love this location to stay ,rooms look good,so will save web address for future reference Important for me do you have elect kettle,as i do like having cup of tea in my room before i face the day

So the dark side must be where the 19th hole is played

KK Im sure have fair share as any where in the world,but I fell very safe living here. Another reason for bars, is windows are left open to allow some cooling wind in the house Bars are rare in UK but I have seen complete shutters locked covering all the windows

Should not put you off ,most new houses in Thailand have bars at windows ,even my house in Khon Kaen has bars and it feels very safe here

thanks for pics adam nice to see some of my friends there

Well now end of month up leaving my last house just had another 2500 bhts given back to me from owner so thats 19500 bhts given back from my 20000 bhts deposit. kept back 500 bhts for elect bill I must have been a good tennent and kept his house in good condition Like my new house ,since living here I have had the garden done and paid 1000 bhts for the service of the air cons

I have premium account with HSBC UK and HSBC Bangkok, as long as you have more than £50000 ,no transfere fees either direction. I have £500 transfered from UK to Thailand every month

Great offer Pete,even worth me coming down from Khon Kean

I live around the lake,also many other falangs,sure be other here to rent. I also have a american friend who will have new house ready to rent about June, sure he would love to rent this unfurnished as it would save he bucks buying stuff for the place

cheapest flights flying return from BBK to Manchester in july is 58000 bhts thats about £1160