Nasiadai

For weeks, Europe has had the following weather situation: A high pressure area in the east - now over the Balkans - and low pressure areas over the North Atlantic have been shovelling warm air from the Mediterranean to Central Europe. We have very warm temperatures. On Saturday and Sunday 30 October we had 20 degrees! That's why I went to Düsseldorf last Friday. There is a lot to do in our garden. The weeds are growing like crazy because of the long-lasting warmth and humidity. They are literally exploding. I have to work in the next few days and also mow the lawn again. Oh my goodness. On Saturday, in sunshine and 20 degrees, I strolled through Düsseldorf's city centre. Outside the cafes and pubs many people were sitting and enjoying the warm rays of the sun. There was a fun and happy atmosphere everywhere. Then we met in our trendy café. Hot discussions over 3 hours about the current politics in Germany. The coalition of Greens, Social Democrats and Free Democrats are riding our country into the shit. Energy and climate plots. Just keywords: It is a catastrophe. German small and medium-sized enterprises - the backbone of the German economy - are going bankrupt by the dozen because of this policy. What follows is deindustrialisation, unemployment and an unimagined loss of prosperity. But the German voters want it that way. They agree with this policy. They vote for these parties again and again in the current elections. I no longer understand my fellow Germans. Once again they follow the state authorities. Government command, we follow you - unconditionally, even if the path leads into the abyss. We had that twice in the last century. The Germans learn nothing from their history. Here is a video with English subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm1ohcnbkSo

I was in a compartment with an Australian of about the same age. After a good hour's ride, he opened the window and after a few moments he asked me to look out as well. We were passing a village. Children and mothers with their children were standing along the railway line. Train passengers were throwing them sweets like candies, small chocolates, chocolate bars, biscuits and small cakes (all well wrapped in wrappers or cellophane). We both looked at each other with a astonished and startled look. Then the Australian said to me: "If I had known, I would have bought a whole bag of sweets and made the children happy." I nodded in agreement. But we both had our fun watching.

This young Burmese lady really wanted to be photographed with a white foreigner. (Obviously she didn't care that I was already stone old and could have been her father. I am sure she much preferred to be photographed with a young man. But since there was no one available, she simply chose the old cripple, namely me). Anyway, she asked me to take a few photos of her and then she wanted to be photographed with me afterwards. I took a few shots of her and then I made a few adjustments on the camera and then handed the camera to her friend. Good old Charly - with a "borrowed daughter" in Maha Bandula Park downtown Yangon. Memories, sweet memories ...

Maha Bandula Park is a green oasis, the green lung, in the heart of downtown Yangon and offers a beautiful view of the surrounding historical buildings, including the City Hall, the Supreme Court, all built by the British. I borrowed this picture from the internet. The most eye-catching feature of the park is the Independence Monument, a white obelisk about 50 metres high surrounded by two concentric circles of chinthe (half-lion/half-dragon deities). On an English-language website I found the following information about this beautiful park: When laid out by the British in 1868, the park was called Fytche Sq after Sir Albert Fytche, chief commissioner at the time. Later it was renamed Victoria Park to commemorate the queen whose statue used to stand where the Independence Monument is today. After independence, the park was renamed to honour General Thado Mahabandoola, a Burmese hero who conquered Assam and died in action in the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824. For a year or two following the 1988–90 pro-democracy uprisings, the park was occupied by soldiers; many of the more violent events of the time took place nearby.

a few more snatches of memory: I would like to travel through Burma by train again - from Mandalay to Yangon. People, children, mothers with their children stand along the railway line and sweets are thrown to them by the passengers from the train. the little one was lucky. A passenger threw him a sweet and the mother caught it.

Here are a few pictures - and a few fragments of memories - what goes through my head, what spontaneous memories come to my mind. Will I still have the strength to walk for days through the Unesco World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang? Will I be able to look at the wondrous Wats and Buddhist temples, which are overwhelmingly beautiful and bear witness to the deep religiosity of their builders? Do it again, Nasiadai

When one grows old, when one clearly feels that one's strength is diminishing, that the options one has left are becoming fewer and fewer; yes, then such thoughts flash through ones mind. It is a grey October day, the sky is covered with thick, black-grey clouds, a low-pressure area is approaching from the British Isles, the days are getting shorter, the nights longer, the melancholy situation invites one to dream a little of the planned coming holiday. I look at the photos of the last few years on my 23" screen. Laos, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, the Laotian landscape rugged by mountains and hills. Myanmar, Burma, Yangon - the old capital, built by the British colonial rulers, released into independence in 1946 -, Mandalay, the metropolis in the north, Bagan, the ancient residence of the Burmese kings, where between 800 to about 1200 AD the Burmese rulers let out their building frenzy. I will do anything to escape the cold, dark, Teutonic winter time. But, when can I get away? End of November? Or perhaps a month later, after Christmas? I don't know yet. With the help of my pictures, I beam myself to Laos, to Burma, to my beach near Chumpon - Hat Thung Wua Laen beach. to be continued ...

Thought and written on a grey October Sunday. For every living being, nothing is as certain as death - literally certain. But man is the only living being of whom we are certain that he knows, however uncertain the time of his passing may be: "mors certa, hora incerta" = that's how I learned it in Latin class. All life is subject to this almost definitional condition. You don't have to be Benjamin Franklin to realise that, at least for us humans, taxes and death are inevitable. We also know, of course, that we have the gift of believing in an individual life after death (as we do in one before birth, but this usually concerns us less, unless we believe in reincarnation) - a hope of faith that can make the certainty of death more bearable for many, but does not eliminate it. This hope may yearn for the compensation of earthly tribulations and at the same time nourish doubts as to whether it is not an illusion after all. But it cannot lift from us the burden of realising our earthly finitude. (It was hard work to translate this short text. Even with my helper programmes it was difficult; I had to correct again and again.)

In a few days I'll send off a letter to my Thai friends. To the three retired generals and the still active captain of Thai Airways. Some days ago he was in Paris. He sent me some pictures and some videos. I am in close and constant contact with the pilot via the internet. Nevertheless, I send letters. Letters are very personal; they please the recipients; the addressees notice, someone is making an effort, he writes a letter, prints it out and goes to the post office and sends it off. My letters always contain a few scanned pictures that I explain; usually these pictures tell a little story.

What will I take with me? What do I have to pack? My tablets, of course; a large supply. A wound cream with lots of zinc, just in case. A few thick books; about Buddhism, among other things. When do I want to start? At the moment I don't know. It depends on what my family is planning for the Christmas season. Christmas is very important for us; in every way. So I still have to wait. Start either 1. end of November or 2. end of December after Christmas - from 28th - 29th December.

What else do I do? I'm starting to plan my holiday. Of course, this includes: I have to catch a couple of doctor's appointments; one with the internist and the second with the cardiologist. I ask for their assessment: can I make another trip to SEA? Three to four months? How is the blood pressure and the whole cardiovascular system? I tell the doctors to their faces: There is no better place in this world to die than a Buddhist country SEA's; whether Thailand, Laos or Burma or Cambodia etc.. My body will be cremated and the ashes will go into an urn. A few days later, someone from my family comes and picks up the urn and takes it to Germany, where the funeral can then take place. Everything is so simple... ok Then another appointment with a dentist. He only has to look in once; I don't want to have any trouble with toothache on the way. ok

There are a lot of events that I have not reported. A look back at the last weeks and months shows that my life is not that boring and uneventful. There is always something happening ... a small example: On another board I posted the following after the death of the Queen of England: I would like to develop just one small thought on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. With Queen Elizabeth, Europe loses more than just another head of state who - in my opinion - represents more past than present times. The woman who, more than any other, stands for the sedate (controlled, unexicited) "keep calm and carry on", passes away at the most crisis-ridden time in European history since the end of the Second World War. Elizabeth is the counterpart of Queen Victoria. During Victoria's long reign, the kingdom advanced to empire status. England was the head, the finisher and the master of imperialism, colonialism, oppression and exploitation based on military and weapons superiority. At its peak, it controlled about a quarter of the world's population and was the undisputed world power. If one looks at Elizabeth's era - in particular the 1950s and 1960s - the exact opposite happened during this time: an age of liquidation, of descent - a fall from the very top to near insignificance. Britain lost not only its world power status, but also most of its colonies. It takes not only greatness to preside over and govern a powerful and growing empire; it also takes a certain amount of sovereignty, dignity and decency, humility, to dignifiedly dismantle an empire: a former gigantic empire becomes an almost insignificant small middle power within a few years; from "Great Britain" to a very small tiny Britain that is suddenly thrown back on itself. You British should be glad that in these decades of your rapid historical decline you have had this Queen at your head who has represented your country with dignity. Die Königin ist tot --- es lebe der König ----> The Queen is dead --- long live the King Charly III. King of Germany - König von Deutschland at Cafe Bazzar in Düsseldorf together with his friends and girlfriends.

I am reading some articles in German business papers about the financial crisis in the UK. Lady Truss wanted to borrow heavily to cut taxes and duties. This shocked the markets; the blame - it seems - was mainly on pension funds. Millions of British pensioners are threatened with the loss of their life savings. The British pound has plunged into the abyss. The Bank of England had to intervene massively to prevent a total crash. What is going on in British society, in the economy and in the British financial markets? It is frightening, a chaos, a catastrophe. Who among the British can still afford a Pattaya holiday? Who should come? Who still has the courage to come in the face of the chaotic and frightening situation in Britain?

A German newspaper reports the following about New Zealand: I summarise: New Zealand wants to tax cow excretions Climate protection: Cows in New Zealand could soon be taxed on the basis of their gaseous excretions: But their owners are far from enthusiastic about the government's proposal. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is talking about a world first: greenhouse gases caused by farm animals are to be taxed to combat climate change. But farmers see their business at risk. this does not appear to be an April Fool's joke. The New Zealand government seems to be serious. YEAH YEAH YEAH ----> happy New Zealand The article goes on to say; I quote and translate: It is an ambitious goal: New Zealand's government has declared its intention to make the country CO2-neutral by 2050. To achieve this, New Zealand farmers are to pay a levy on agricultural emissions from 2025 onwards - a step that, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, is a world first. In other words, farmers will be taxed for the emissions of their cows, sheep and other livestock. Ardern made the announcement in Wellington on Tuesday. The government's plan affects a large industry: New Zealand's agriculture is crucial to the country's economy. Dairy products, including those used to make infant formula in China, are the country's biggest export. About five million people live in New Zealand, compared to about ten million cattle or dairy cattle and 26 million sheep - according to experts, half of all greenhouse gas emissions come from farms. I'll stop referencing the article now. That should be enough. Who elected this government? Is it still in its right mind? Live from Buxtetown on the Esteriver - 18.10. 2022 - 12.30 p.m. local time Nasiadai - not only since 2013 alternative; means: I am a member of the party AfD = Alternative for Germany; no, I am not right-wing, but politically in the middle of society.

I think I got over Corona. Every other day the temperature is still slightly elevated. Summer is long gone. At the beginning of October I left Düsseldorf, our garden, my beloved beer garden, and my family and returned to my flat in Hamburg. In the past few days during my corona illness, my neighbour cooked for me. She is a pensioner in her mid-sixties, spry, very resolute, does not tolerate any backtalk. I got myself a domestic helper. She comes once a week and cleans and does the dishes. Next week, a cleaner (a male) comes to clean my windows, the window frames and the window sills. It costs me a lot of money, but who cares? In return, I save on drinking. I hardly drank at all during the long summer; always just water and a few other soft drinks. I can't drink any more. It's better. It saved a lot of money, some bills were a lot smaller than in previous years; in the Biergarten or in my beloved Wellnetz, my Kneipe - pub - where I am a regular. And when I'm fully recovered, I'll do my apartment on my own again. Starting tomorrow, I'll try to go for a longer walk every day. I have to get my strength back, so I have to do something physically every day.

Too bad, no one answers or otherwise picks up the thread of conversation.

I have caught the corona virus. I have been in bed for 4 days with fever, dry cough and aching limbs. All not very pleasant, but I will get through it.

Hugh Hoy, Get in touch sometime. Why don't you write a short travel report? A few pictures, a few short explanations, that would be nice.

Flashermac, do you remember our encounter at the Lucky Luke Bar at the entrance to Nana Plaza? I was with one of my Thai friends, the Thai Airways pilot. I met this friend twice in Frankfurt this year 2022. In January and in June. He came with his plane from Bangkok and flew back one day later. Of course it was sold out, the plane was full to the last seat. Charly

I too am in my 8th decade of life. I want to come again - despite significant problems with my high blood pressure and problems with the cardiovascular system. From about mid-November 2022 to the end of March 2023; about 130 days. I can also die in Thailand; that might be better than in cold, dark wintry Germany. My body will be cremated, the ashes will go into an urn and my family can collect the urn and then a burial can take place at a cemetery here in Hamburg. 55555 I plan to spend the first few days after my arrival in Jomtiem in Soi Welcome with two of my Thai friends.

A question for the local expats and those who are currently on the ground. What is the current situation in Pattaya? It is clear that it is the rainy season and Pattaya is often under water. It is also clear that this is the low season. Corona measures have been scaled back in all countries. It is again easy to enter Thailand for several weeks or even months. What is the situation in Pattaya? What about the Chinese tour groups? What about the holidaymakers from India, Pakistan etc.? What about the Koreans and Japanese? Are there any Western holidaymakers on site? Men travelling alone, married couples, smaller groups? What about the old white men of retirement age? Are they still a nuisance, plague? Live from Biergarten Stoffeln in Düsseldorf - it is raining!! long lasting abundant rain - Thank God! 14. September 2022 - 4.50 pm

I'm a little drunk; in the Stoffeln beer garden in Duesseldorf. We are having the hottest summer in Germany since the weather was recorded about 150 years ago. This summer is not only the hottest but also the driest! Especially in the Düsseldorf region we hardly had more than 10 mm of rain in the last 3 months June, July, August. Sunshine every day. My garden, for example, is bone dry! The lawn is brown instead of green. Weather-wise it is better than in Pattaya in the dry season December, January. Today - Friday 26 August - I had contact with some of my German-speaking Thai friends and some girls from Pattaya; e.g. via Facebook and other social media. I am homesick. I want a Som Tam with Kauniau now I want a Chang, a Singha, a bottle of San Miguel Light - or two. San Miguel Light is the Dom Perignon of beers, so to speak; it is therefore a bit more expensive than the other beers. Amidst the families of my Thai friends. The female members praise me because I am polite, entertaining, I make a few polite compliments: "Charly, you are Bakwahn" the wives and daughters of my Thai friends smile and Charly is happy. The Düsseldorf Altbier goes to my head - if my doctors could see me now - the internist and the cardiologist " you are no longer our patient, find other doctors ..." I am coming to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my stroke December 8, 2012 at Rockhouse, Smurf (German Bar) and Phil's Le Pub. (all in Pattaya) This is a threat, not a promise

I'm sitting in the Stoffeln beer garden and drinking fizzy water until I'm sick of it. With my notebook I check my email inbox, write and answer a few emails, read and study the latest news, read a few articles in the German blogs and newspapers and write a few comments. In a moment I'll be back under the garden hose. Wasser marsch! -- Water march! live from Biergarten Stoffeln - Duesseldorf, Juli 19. - 2.45 pm

July 2022 - Terrible heat wave in Europe. It's supposed to get up to 40 degrees in London. Hotter than Bangkok 5555 Topsy-turvy world. Today - 19 July - we have the hottest day of this summer. It's 36 degrees!!! Sunshine, blue skies. From 2pm to 6pm the thermometer rises to 36 degrees. It is hotter in Duesseldorf than in Bangkok 55555 I take the garden hose every hour for a shower. Greetings from the sweltering heat of Düsseldorf.

i'm still here too! Survived several hypertension attacks in the winter. The crucial question is why this board is down. We lack the new blood! the younger generations! These have obviously lost the desire for Bangkok and Pattaya and any sanuk.