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Sleeping in the villages...
Was thinking, and realized, I've never slept in a village before. I've been out to the villages lots with Kim, but they were always just day trips, and we never actually slept there. However, I'm going to have to in the near future. Will need to get to know Leo's family, he wants to do a wedding / celebration of life type of thing in his village, plus I want to hang out with his nephews while they're in the comfort of their home so I can observe how big of shitheads they are, if at all. :)
Although quite disrespectful, I think I'm just going to buy a tent, air matress, some little office fans, and if I can find it, one of those small coolers with built-in fan that utilize the ice packs to blow cold air. That's quite rude, but I don't care... I don't want to sleep on his mother's floor on one of those little straw mats, while having cockroaches, ants, and mice crawl all over me while I sleep. No thanks, I'll go hang out in my tend with my comfortable air mattress.
Anyway, who here has slept out at the villages? Did you grab a hotel? Did you maybe end up in a decent house with a proper bedroom with mattress, and everything? Was there a bathroom? Or did you sleep on the cement floor with everyone, and have to shit in the jungle?
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
When I went to visit my friend's family in Si Saket, I stayed in a local,,very basic,, hotel. His parents would come every morning to pick me up, and we'd head out for that day's tour to wherever.
I think your idea of pitching a tent would be more insulting than if you stayed in a local hotel. They'll understand you're a farang and not comfortable with village life. It will also show a bit of "status", you have money to look after their son.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Nah, I think the closest decent hotel is about 70km away in Savannahkey, so that's out. Plus, I want to spend a decent amount of time in that village to get to know his nephews and their parents. We'll take the kids to Savannahkey for a trip and everything, but they'll be on their best behavior. I want to see them at home, when they're comfortable enough to their true selves, warts and all.
It should be fine though. I was never insulted when Kim's family slept at our house, and instead of using one of the spare bedrooms, just sprawled themselves out over the living room floor. I didn't care, and whatever makes you comfortable, kind of thing.
We'll just make up a story that Canadians love to camp, and I haven't been camping in almost a decade. It should be fine.
Besides, what are people going to do? Give me dirty looks? I don't care, I can't see them. Plus I'm sure they will appreciate if anything. This way, I can be up bright and early in the morning, helping get breakfast going, do the dishes, help clean the house, etc.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
Will need to get to know Leo's family, he wants to do a wedding / celebration of life type of thing in his village, plus I want to hang out with his nephews while they're in the comfort of their home so I can observe how big of shitheads they are, if at all. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
Besides, what are people going to do? Give me dirty looks? I don't care, I can't see them.
How are you going to reconcile the above sentiments? How will you "observe" the shithead nephews being unable to see and in an unfamiliar environment where people speak a language you don't understand? From your posts, it seems that you barely understand Thai despite having lived full time in a Thai suburb for several years so how are you going to understand Lao - and probably a dialect of Lao peculiar to that region?
You don't know whether they have toilets in village houses despite having made "lots of day trips"? Never had the urge to go while you were there?
And you're going there for your own wedding? Rim, Pim or Ole never told you that the family always sets up a special bedroom for the happy couple no matter how modest their circumstances (you'll be footing the bill anyway)? Gin wouldn't be able to advise his family as to what would be comfortable for you? Doesn't he know you well enough - I mean this is a guy who understands different types of pasta that I've never even heard of.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Well, it's not hard. I'll be able to tell if the brothers love each other, or hate each other and are constantly fighting with each other. I'll be able to tell if the mother has a good relationship with them, or is constantly screaming at them to settle down and quit being shitheads. When I need to go to the store, I'll be able to tell if they're respectful to help me get there and back, or if there's a huge sigh with an ensuing argument that basically amounts to, "what the fuck? why do I have to help the stupid farang get to the store?". You don't need eye sight to pick up on that type of thing...
Oh, and finally managed to peel Leo away from his computer game. He also thinks turning our village trips into camping trips is an excellent idea. :) I guess we'd be staying at his father's house, not his mother's place, and he literally lives in a small 1 bedroom tin shack without even a toilet. There's no way I'd be comfortable there, but let me bring a tend and air mattress, and I'll be good to go for 4 or 5 days if needed. :)
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
You don't need eye sight to pick up on that type of thing...
Telepathy? Sixth sense?
And you're going to "pick up on (all) that" in a matter of a few days? You assume that people will behave naturally around a total stranger, one with a disability at that, who's also their guest-of-honour for a few days?
What about the toilets? The wedding boudoir? Never heard of those? I see you've deleted the claim that you will be staying in a tin shack belonging to his father. Why not a big shoe?
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
From my experience there is a "resort" within a few miles of every village
Its not the kind of resort that you would find in Vegas... Basically its a small guesthouse with 4-5 bungalows
Not much in the way of furnishings, double bed, giant towel like duvet, Aircon and a Thai style wet room
The rooms are very often rented out by the hour and used by Husbands & wives to get some private time, Husbands & Giks for their affairs or the local bike/hooker and her customers... But they also rent out by the night.
I'm sure that there is one Near Leos village too... after all how else to the Laos people have those 15 child families!
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Weirder and weirder! Now they are going "camping" when visiting Leo and family.
Just how absurd are Matt's posting going to be ? And then there are those who post responses as if he were to be believed! :dash:
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
colmx
From my experience there is a "resort" within a few miles of every village
Its not the kind of resort that you would find in Vegas... Basically its a small guesthouse with 4-5 bungalows
Not much in the way of furnishings, double bed, giant towel like duvet, Aircon and a Thai style wet room
The rooms are very often rented out by the hour and used by Husbands & wives to get some private time, Husbands & Giks for their affairs or the local bike/hooker and her customers... But they also rent out by the night.
I'm sure that there is one Near Leos village too... after all how else to the Laos people have those 15 child families!
Probably is some basic hotel somewhere close by, but it'd be without A/C, etc. Not to mention, we're talking about rural Laos, not rural Thailand. From the stories Leo has told me, it's far poorer out there than in the villages of Thailand.
That, and I would actually want to stay in the village if I could. Heading out to a hotel at 5pm every day I'd say is quite disrespectful as well. However, let me have my tent with air mattreess, and I'm good for 4 - 5 days. After that, I'll want to get home to have a nice hot shower, and sleep in my own bed again, but I'd be totally find for a handful of days like that.
Plus it'd be awesome just to hang out, start a small fire, cook up some smores with the kids, etc. I'd love doing that.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
colmx, I think you're exactly right. That's just the kind of place I stayed in up at Si Saket.
Matt/s idea of camping out is just ridiculous.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Matt's novel is full of strange twists, I'll give him that.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
joe552
colmx, I think you're exactly right. That's just the kind of place I stayed in up at Si Saket.
Matt/s idea of camping out is just ridiculous.
Why? Just because it's a tad eccentric, doesn't make it ridiculous.
I could easily argue that it's extremely rude that come say 6pm you basically tell your father-in-law, "your house sucks, so I'm taking your son to a hotel, and see you tomorrow for lunch". That seems quite rude to me.
And the father has tons of land. I've never been there before, but do know his farm produces about 11 tonnes of rice per-harvest, which makes it a massive farm. No reason I can't pitch a tent somewhere close. That way, I get to sleep in an enclosed area without all the insects, plus get an air mattress instead of a cement floor.
Plus in that case I'm happy to hang out there 24x7 for days, instead of disappearing to a hotel each afternoon. When Leo says we need to visit the family, instead of thinking to myself, "oh shit, I gate the village" I will think, "fuck yeah, camping trip!". :)
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Not sure why anyone is giving Cndmatt advice on this camping-out-in-Lao nonsense. This is NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!
It's simply Cndmatt's never-ending self-absorption kicking into high gear. As he mentions in the post above Cndmatt sees himself as "eccentric". I suggest a more down-to-earth characteristic ... more Fantasy Island twee.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Well, then what do you do Smiles? You must have in-laws, right? And if I remember correctly, they're close to Surin, correct? So day trips are out, as Hua Hin to Surin is too far.
Are the in-laws maybe well off, and already have a comfortable house with extra spare room for Pot and yourself? Or have you maybe already built them a house, and ensured there was an extra bedroom for Pot and do yourself? Or do you guys just stay at a hotel, and only see the family during the day, or?
Do tell...
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
cndmatt and those that post as if he were real make a joke of this board as do those that have authority to do something and continue to do nothing about this charade.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Manforallseasons
cndmatt and those that post as if he were real make a joke of this board as do those that have authority to do something and continue to do nothing about this charade.
You guys are just being old and bitchy again.
It's actually a good idea, and even Leo thinks so as well. Then if I get really lucky, we'll be close enough to his father's house to string an extension cord, and I'll even have electricity. Gather some rocks to make a little fire pit, get a cooler full of beer, pop, hot dogs, etc., grab some lawn chairs, etc... and I'm good to go. Leo can take off to visit his friends, and I'll be just fine hanging out there, will tether my phone so I have internet, will have lots of drinks and food on hand, won't have to bother his father, and so on.
It's actually a good idea. You guys are just being old.
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5 Attachment(s)
Re: Sleeping in the villages...
My reply to this thread just means that I find the subject interesting, not that I think the question is genuine.
Most of the time I travel I stay in hotels in the 300-500 THB price range, and mostly in provincial capitals.
The few exceptions are: Sakon Nakon (staying at the abbot of a wat's place, comparable standard to hotel);
a long-time Thai friend in Srisaket (Kantararom, about 10 km out of town), I got my own room with a bed with mattrass, the first time I went there in 2014 (?) only cold water for shower, now hot as well, but there is little chance I will go again (nothing to do in the village, and it finally turned out my friend is not out to his family whereas I was hoping he could organize some village boys for sex, and being dependent on him for transport from/to railway or bus station);
my friends in Nakon Sawan (Chum Saeng, about 10 km out of town), bedroom ok:
Attachment 5936
bathroom a bit basic:
Attachment 5937
and ultimately sleeping at "Burmese Woman's" place in a refuge camp in Tak province:
Attachment 5938
Attachment 5939
Attachment 5940
That would be the standard of living I would expect in a Lao village. Bummer you can't see the pictures!
No problems with animals at any of these places. My problems are completely different: I want to set the aircon temperature and I want all lights off when I sleep.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Confirmed again with Leo this afternoon, this is actually a good idea. You guys are just being old.
From what Leo describes, it's a massive farm, but his father's house is the equivalent of a tin garden shed, so no, I don't want to sleep there. At least let me bring an enclosed tent with air mattress, let me make a fiew, let me roast some marshmallows with the village kids that I'm sure will come around when they see the farang, etc. Should be fun. Much better than moaning, and thinking, "oh shit, a village trip".
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
I'll be able to tell if the mother has a good relationship with them, or is constantly screaming at them to settle down and quit being shitheads. )
Good attitude for a potential foster parent...suppose you won’t have them if they behave like a shithead, even for a few minutes?
Don’t forget it is YOU that is also under scrutiny, wanting to foster THEIR kids. All I have read about for far is how this will affect me, Me, ME...
You know, I’m not sure I would be happy to let you look after my cat for a day!
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
.. I don't want to sleep on his mother's floor on one of those little straw mats, while having cockroaches, ants, and mice crawl all over me while I sleep. No thanks, I'll go hang out in my tend with my comfortable air mattress.
?
They are poor and probably very House proud of what they can provide....
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cdnmatt
We'll just make up a story that Canadians love to camp, .
Give them some credit. I bet have heard of snow....
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
I caught a first glimpse of the photos above and I thought “ here are photos of Matt’s house/world” as one would expect.
But nay. They’re photos posted by a real human being living the true life that he outlines in detail in his posts and on his blogs.
Not a scintilla from Matt in terms of evidence of anything he posts but loads of guff.
FFS Matt post a photo of You, Leo and the dogs in the next 24 hours and make me and all the sceptics look like fools.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gerefan2
Good attitude for a potential foster parent...suppose you won’t have them if they behave like a shithead, even for a few minutes?
Don’t forget it is YOU that is also under scrutiny, wanting to foster THEIR kids. All I have read about for far is how this will affect me, Me, ME...
You know, I’m not sure I would be happy to let you look after my cat for a day!
Well, of course they're going to be shitheads. They're kids, that's what kids do. Weren't you a shithead when you were a kid? I know I was, and I was actually a really good kid compared to my older brothers.
Now it just depends, how big of shitheads are they? Do they like to murder animals for fun, or are they little arsonists who love it when fire dances for them? Or are they just normal, typical kids who act crazy sometimes, and like to push the boundaries to see what they can get away with? If the former, then no, I don't want them. If the latter, then awesome, and can't wait. From what Leo desribes, I'm quite confident it's the latter, so no worries. Nonetheless, I want to be 100% certain about everything myself first.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
about coolers and other such things: if you are planning to make your "adventure" at high season, then on your place I will think about warm clothes: nights may be quite chill esp. at early morning hours...
about tent idea: are you sure what you are ready to find snake in your tent at some day?
about sleeping in village home: I did that few times in Isaan, in national park - in 50 km from Udon Thani and that been nice adventures... we (me and BF) had feelings like we are white elephants in circus - almost all villagers found reason to visit that family for to take a look at us, but in general it was great - we went to rice fields, rubber-tree farm, visited local temples and monasteries, had quite far side-tours to Vientiane, to some waterfalls, caves and lakes
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
FarangRuMak
I caught a first glimpse of the photos above and I thought “ here are photos of Matt’s house/world” as one would expect.
But nay. They’re photos posted by a real human being living the true life that he outlines in detail in his posts and on his blogs.
Not a scintilla from Matt in terms of evidence of anything he posts but loads of guff.
FFS Matt post a photo of You, Leo and the dogs in the next 24 hours and make me and all the sceptics look like fools.
Oh, for fuck sakes, am I ever getting tired of this shit. Here:
https://imgur.com/a/jLdg5
I'm having a blind moment again, so can't figure out how to embed that into a post, and I'm not uploading it to my own server. There you go, that was taken about 5 days ago when we got new iPhones. My dogs are in my avatar.
Happy now? Fuck fuck sakes you guys are relentless....
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
He's a cute guy Matt, and you're not too bad yourself.
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Thanks Joe, it's nice to get a somewhat compliment, because according to Leo I'm old, fat, and ugly, lol.
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Well of course Leo is absolutely right, I was just trying to be kind.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
haha, fuck you Joe. :)
Come on, I'm not that bad. I might not still be my gorgeous 22yo self, but I'm just fine. Hell of a lot better than he's going to find elsewhere....
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Thinking about it, come on Joe, post a photo of yourself. Same with you FarangRuuMak. Let's compare.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Matt I'll be happy to post a picture if I can figure out how to do it. Is it the same process as posting a video? I go to Google and have no idea where to go from there. Maybe I should Google it!https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...44&oe=5A918778
Let me know if this works. I look too much like my father for my liking.]
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
I'll just leave this here again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXR-Wg-psn8
Scroll to about 2:50 to know what I mean. :( Ut;s hilarious as hell.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Matt. Marshmallows. Metaphorical? Actually, no.
I’m sure Matt will understand that the success of his long running reality show is due to the fact that readers are compelled to react to scenarios that are “unique”. Some might say unlikely or bizarre or absurd or paradoxical. The more so, the more we react.
Breaking news: Post 25 shows two people who are very likely Matt and Leo. However, the debate will continue, I’m sure, regarding the life decisions that Matt makes.
It has been suggested that the perceived lack of veracity in Matt’s “charade” should result in termination, but there is no posting guideline that would provide for that and it ignores the highly successful entertainment value of the KK Tales.
I had never tried to find outdoor gear in Thailand (or anywhere else), so I was surprised to see that it is quite widely available. But it’s not cheap. For a few days at the farm in Laos, Matt will probably spend more on equipment that he would spend for a couple of months’ living expenses.
Marshmallows: https://shoponline.tescolotus.com/gr...cts/6073028185
Coleman coolers at Central (available online for delivery)
Camping gear: http://www.e-tankstore.com/ and http://www.fieldandcamping.com/sale_eng.php
Transport across the Mekong river at night with other belongings, dogs, Captain Leo at the helm of the raft: No suggestions to offer.
Set-up of camping gear at Khun Pa’s house in the village: Assuming all of the needed items are on hand, there is the fact that Leo knows nothing about camping gear and is going to have to follow Matt’s sight-challenged directions.
OK. I’m going back to bed. Thinking through this whole scenario has worn me out.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
bob, are you suggesting Leo is also posting here? Ah me head is wrecked.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
@Bob -- Now what the fuck do you want? I just provided photographic evidence of our existence. Go ahead and check the Exif details of that image. At the very least, they will give you the date and time the photo was taken, and if location services were turned on on that phone, then will also even give you GPS coordinates.
What the fuck more do you want?
And yes, I'm serious about setting up a little camp site for myself in his father's village. There's a good chance that once we get to Vientiane, I'm going to end up staying ~25days every year in that village. Considering that, I'm setting up a little camp site on his father's farm, and making myself comfortable.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Manforallseasons
cndmatt and those that post as if he were real make a joke of this board as do those that have authority to do something and continue to do nothing about this charade.
I don't care if cndmatt's post are real or fake. I enjoy reading about his real or fantasy world. If real then cndmatt is a real character (as in a an odd duck - in a good way), if fake then they are interesting that someone would put that much effort into creating an online persona and then taking so much abuse.
I fail to see how taking cndmatt's posts are possibly real and responding to them makes this board a joke.
He has elicited a strong response from you. Why the hostility toward his postings? They are harmless.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Oh, and now come on Bob, time for you to post a photo too. I want a photo of you in front of a sign in Vietanemese, proving you are who you say you are. I'll confirm the photo with Leo. Otherwise, I'm going to constantly follow you around the board, and call you a liar at every post you make, and we'll see hoe you like it.
Treat people how you want to be treated. Post proof of your existence, Bib! If you can demeand it from me, then I can do the same to you.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Moses
about tent idea: are you sure what you are ready to find snake in your tent at some day?
Funny you should say that Moses. Having seen cobras underneath the garaged car in which I was about to be a passenger - suburban Nonthaburi no less - I would be more than concerned that snakes may choose to share the warmth and shelter inside a tent, or maybe a nice cosy shoe.
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
FarangRuMak
FFS Matt post a photo of You, Leo and the dogs in the next 24 hours and make me and all the sceptics look like fools.
No-one needs to post photos to make sceptics look like fools. They can manage that all on their own. :yahoo_mini:
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Re: Sleeping in the villages...
Ok, but how would a snake get into the tent? They're not going to chew through the nylon, and slither on in. That's kind of the whole point of the tent idea. I don't want to sleep with all the cockroaches, ants, mosquitos, snakes, scorpions, spiders, mice, and so on....
I guess I could maybe elevate the tent by a foot or so, and that's an idea worth considering...