Certainly not culture...

C

Coffee

Guest
...just a farang mammory.

Do you recall your earliest days in Surin ?
My early days were not so long ago...(then again)...Crazy1
 
those were the days

I had not traveled to Surin nor entered the Farang Connection until the tail end of 2007 meeting George , Yorky , Martin , Mike , John , Khristian and Kevin amongst other 'FC afternoon Motley regulars'.

It wasn't until Feb 2008 when I literally stumbled one early morning into FarCon and greeted Martin who was in his usual happy morning 'look what the cat dragged in' persona.
My whole purpose in staying out all night was to make sure I'd be awake to watch the Super Bowl early in the morning.

There were only two other souls in FC and they were both seated quietly watching the tellie.

I introduced myself to what turned out to be the 'Two Mikes'.
One being the well-known Cent of Starbeam fame and the other just 'Mikey'.
They were there viewing the NY Giants vs NE Patriots NFL Super Bowl game.

{I thought they might have been BS-ing me as I was on the tail end of a late night /early morning out on the town as I thought to myself - what are the chances of both of those fellows being named Mike ...and both American too ! shrug1 }

I inquired as to how the game was going and was informed that was into the Fourth Quarter with Pats in control.
I responded that I grew up in NYC so I'll just go with the Giants who were behind at that juncture in a low scoring contest.
There were drinks on their table so I ordered a beer to watch the game while contemplating breakfast.

The Giants were heavy underdogs in that game but proceeded to win the game in an almost unbelievable fashion getting possession of the ball with two minutes on the clock.

I chirped ,"Wow -that was one helluva an ending !"
The other 'Mikey' was silent.

The look on Cent's face at game's end was priceless (along with several muttered expletives) as if the ship was ready to keel after hitting the a seawall dead on. WTF1

At that point I inquired as to where he was from and he simply replied , 'Boston' (possibly 'Bah-ston').
I immediately understood how he must have felt when the Giants won in the fashion in which they did.
I ordered an English breakfast when Martin inquired how the game had gone.

Cent took it like a man that morning...no pouting, no crying , no whining, no excuses...and proceeded to order a scotch 'neat'...then , "Martin , make that a double."

I looked at Martin , "Make that two, please" as there was no point in letting Mike unwind alone.

That's how we first met one another. I stumbled back to my crib to recover for the next night.

The other Mike moved back to the States with his Thai wife and two-child family a few years ago.

I also began to sense that Cent must have been a rabid Pats supporter (still is).
I had never met a rabid Pats supporter prior. Not so much Celtics, Bruins or Red Sox - simply a huge NFL Patriots supporter.

He recently got his revenge in this latest Super Bowl against Seattle in unbelievable fashion so I well understand how he felt seven years ago...particularly if there was possibly a wager involved (- I'm not saying that there was).

...just a farang mammory...though I'm still kicking.Chokdee5
 
Interesting thread.

My first visit to Surin was via Khon Kaen in 1996/7 I think. Hired a car and came with my then future wife for a couple of days staying at The Petchkasem.

Finally moved here into rented accommodation in September 1999. Spent the first 6 months building my house and eating/drinking at the restaurant opposite which has since been demolished.

One Friday travelling through the bus park, I notice a number of unsavoury farang characters drinking outside a bar there and thought, "that'll do me". Did a quick turn and called in to meet Kurt and Gay (the operators), Gary Kent, Dave Thompson, Kevin and a few others.

The Farang Connection became my local (together with Frank's) from then on with subsequent landlords Young Colin, Dave Thompson and finally Martin "F*t G*t" Knapp.
 
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I met my wife to be in 2002. I was teaching full time in Portugal in those days and so was in Thailand on a 4 week holiday. After a week together she took me to her home village near Krasang to show me off to the family. We still had time to arrange a visa for her to come back to Portugal with me for a three month trial period. A year later we married.

From 2002 to 2012 we lived in Portugal and holidayed each summer (and occasionally added in a Christmas or Easter visit). Until 2007 we were based in my wife's village but made a 40 minute journey in to Surin on an almost daily basis for market shopping, for me to check my emails and to play tennis.

The Farang Connection was visited daily as it was the best place for me to check my emails and get a cup of coffee. Clearly I knew Martin and Sunee and I met Cent at a fairly early stage too.

Most of the folk I met were Thai, not farang, because of the tennis and some of them I have been playing with and against for over 12 years.

At the beginning of 2008 we bought our townhouse here in Surin City as part of the retirement plan. From that point our holidays were based in Surin and we visited the village every few days. That is when I began to meet more farang residents.

We moved here full time in the autumn of 2012 when I retired from teaching.

We have seen big changes in Surin since 2002....the traffic volume, the range of shops, the range of farang restaurants, what's available at the Government Hospital, the frequency and quality of public transport to get to and from Surin(esp. NCA) the number of farang you see in Big C etc etc.
 
I moved to Thailand (Chiangmai) in 1991, and my little book on birds was published in 1996. One person who saw it was a Swiss gentleman (Marc) whose employer I had represented (selling linen) in Hong Kong in the mid-70s. He contacted me through my publisher, and I came down to visit him in Ban Mara a year or two later.

His house is just up the road from where Deerculler now lives.... and Deerculler is married to Marc's late boyfriend's half-sister (I think I've got the relationship right!).

That was my first visit to Surin. My current partner, Nung, spent much of his boyhood in Ban Mara.... but I met him in Chiangmai.

It seems like fate has been pushing me in this direction!

NB. Marc is actually French, but lived and worked in Switzerland for a Swiss firm.
 
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I met my wife in Singapore, 13 years ago, while I was there for 2 months re fitting 2 ships. Then I came to visit the village and I fell in love with both my wife and the village life. At the time she was living in a tiny wooden hut with her mother, step father, sister and daughter.


We got married officially in Bangkok, then had a small wedding in the village, her father in law is a lay preacher and did the ceremony. I had no idea of what was going on what with the pigs head, chanting in Sanskrit, string around everyone and a boiled chicken.


Then my wife says I have to give her mother some money, how much says I, up to you she says, so I gave 2000baht!!!! I was then labeled by the villagers farang kee nok!!


We now live in a 6 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 kitchen house, have a small farm with a house for the MIL and FIL, we have just bought our second car as the first is getting older and have purchased several pieces of land. We have a big sign on our front gate "Ban Farang Kee Nok!!"


It's not how you start but how you finish.
 
Thank you Adam, clearly an avid fan of Formula 1!

I started coming to Thailand before 2000 and lived for a while in Hua Hin. I retired in Dec 2002 and moved permanently to Thailand. After an infamous and violent falling out with my first Thai girlfriend I was very lucky to meet my now wife and mother of our two children. She was in Hua Hin on her first night visiting her cousin in January 2004 and I was on my first night in town getting pissed after deciding enough was enough with my first Thai partner. We met on the way to the Hilton disco, both walking along for the late night disco. We married on 31st May 2004 and came to Surin on 4th July 2004. Our first house in Surin was rented from Martin of Farang Connection fame (God bless his soul) and the rest, as they say, is history. I have not had the inclination to leave Thailand since - I think I must be as happy as a pig in shit!!!!!
 
When I started living in Surin province back in the mid nineties I lived in a house we built in the village for 3 1/2 years or so, which was a 50 minute or so drive to Surin City. Rarely hung around in Surin except to go shopping or to buy things for the house. Used the FC for the occasional farang bite to eat or to meet a friend for breakfast or lunch there once I found it. There was no where else decent really to go except Big Bite and the Celebrate restaurant on Soi Kola back then, or the hotel restaurants. We had a Thai restaurant in the village back then as well.

Even when we finally moved to Surin City there was no BigC, or Makro, or Tesco. The only place to shop for farang stuff was May's Supermarket over by the Post Office, and one Thai bakery that did French bread over on the night market soi by the boxing gym. Norby had yet to open, and didn't open until around 2006 or 2007 I think it was. We opened a Thai restaurant across the street from our Surin townhouse I had built which was open for quite a few years (10?) before we opened the first Starbeam's.

I knew virtually no farangs in the area. My farang friends all lived in Bangkok and Pattaya mostly, with one in Chiang Mai as well, and one who lived in Hua Hin. Hell you could count the farangs you would see in Surin in a day around the city on one hand. A farang from California knew me from my stories on-line about the village life I used to post on a website. He was moving to Surin and wanted to meet me. His name was Mike also. We met once he moved to the city and through him I met most of the guys I've known for years now in Surin. Met Dan the Man, Patrick from Massachusetts, Coffee, Travis, Steve Nomad, and a few others through Mike. We had our first 'Surin' American Thanksgiving dinner at Mike's new house he'd built in Cityland up the hill. I brought the turkey and some other goodies. Mike supplied the beers, and others as well. Someone else the herb. We had a great day with wives and family. It was great. And those I met there are still friends to this day. Mike from Cali left Surin years ago back to the states with his family.

I met many others here later either at the FC, or once I opened the 1st Starbeam Restaurant serving farang and Thai food later on, or through other friends while out and about having a few drinks of an evening. Met a couple in Norbies as well. Captain Mike comes to mind. Now living in Jomtien he is.

Mike
 
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Yes, Thanksgiving at Mike's, as I remember most of you Americans enjoyed a good old chat in the sala by the river later in the evening - very intimate all squashed in together - that little old herb was certainly being used most effectively that night!
 
mammory

^^^ Somehow I remember that Cent had also brought a home-baked , square pan. thick-crust pizza.
Cent , does my memory serve me correctly ? shrug1
That was one heck of a fine pizza to my recollection (without any herb).

I also recall Nomad stating that he had never been to an Amer-I-can Thanksgiving and he rated it 10of10Score..."You boys sure know how to party." Chokdee5
 
Similar to Nomad's story, I met my wife when I was bouncing off a bad experience with my first Thai girlfriend, in January, 2005. She was living in Samut Prakan, near Bangkok, but her village was near Prasat, so that's where we built our home after marrying in December, 2006 (official Thai registry, then Jan. 2007 for the village ceremony).

One of my wife's best friends is married to another American that took us to Starbeams to meet Cent and sample the great food. While there on that first visit I met Coffee, although I am certain he doesn't recall any of it, as he could not seem to take his eyes off our ladies' breasts in order to have much of a conversation. I assume you are still a breast-man Coffee?

Although we live a ways from Surin, we make a regular visit for shopping about once a month. We are not big socialites but met many farang at some of the get-togethers such as Alan the B's birthday party at Starbeams (met Bear, Surin, DtheD, CoCo, Nick and many others there), and subsequent get-togethers like the motorcycle run to the Orphanage near Buriram (we were chase-truck). Great time!

I have not yet met Nomad (I'm pretty sure) but have many a Top Tee shirt from his wife's former shop near Lobinson's. Good quality stuff! Need to talk home entertainment centers with you Nomad!

Have had the great pleasure of making one of the Siem Reap trips, Christmas 2013, where we again had a great time drinking a "little wine" with Bear, CoCo and Nick and many others to celebrate Christmas in Kampucha. What great people with great families are the Farang from Surin (and surrounding areas) !!

Unfortunately, sort of, I made the decision to return to working in the States for awhile longer, as I'm still a young pup at 66. I make it back for month-long visits, was just there the month of June, but I probably won't retire again and come home for another year or so.

I have been very fortunate in my life for having had the opportunity to see much of the world, but I can honestly say that living in the Surin area and knowing the people I have had the pleasure of meeting there, has been one of the highlights of my life. Thank you all for that.
Mario299. Hug1
 
mario299 said:
Similar to Nomad's story, I met my wife when I was bouncing off a bad experience with my first Thai girlfriend, in January, 2005. She was living in Samut Prakan, near Bangkok, but her village was near Prasat, so that's where we built our home after marrying in December, 2006 (official Thai registry, then Jan. 2007 for the village ceremony).

One of my wife's best friends is married to another American that took us to Starbeams to meet Cent and sample the great food. While there on that first visit I met Coffee, although I am certain he doesn't recall any of it, as he could not seem to take his eyes off our ladies' breasts in order to have much of a conversation. I assume you are still a breast-man Coffee?

Although we live a ways from Surin, we make a regular visit for shopping about once a month. We are not big socialites but met many farang at some of the get-togethers such as Alan the B's birthday party at Starbeams (met Bear, Surin, DtheD, CoCo, Nick and many others there), and subsequent get-togethers like the motorcycle run to the Orphanage near Buriram (we were chase-truck). Great time!

I have not yet met Nomad (I'm pretty sure) but have many a Top Tee shirt from his wife's former shop near Lobinson's. Good quality stuff! Need to talk home entertainment centers with you Nomad!

Have had the great pleasure of making one of the Siem Reap trips, Christmas 2013, where we again had a great time drinking a "little wine" with Bear, CoCo and Nick and many others to celebrate Christmas in Kampucha. What great people with great families are the Farang from Surin (and surrounding areas) !!

Unfortunately, sort of, I made the decision to return to working in the States for awhile longer, as I'm still a young pup at 66. I make it back for month-long visits, was just there the month of June, but I probably won't retire again and come home for another year or so.

I have been very fortunate in my life for having had the opportunity to see much of the world, but I can honestly say that living in the Surin area and knowing the people I have had the pleasure of meeting there, has been one of the highlights of my life. Thank you all for that.
Mario299. Hug1
Click to expand...

I am sure it will be nice to know you Mario whenever we meet and I will be pleased to answer/advise any questions you may have about the little old TV black boxes.

Who would have thought Coffee was a brest man? EvilLaugh1boobs2
 
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