I think I might have found my lost tribe. Hello from Thailand

[Laughing Richard]

I'm very happy to find this forum with so many people sharing their experiences and helping each other with their tasks at hand. I was sent the link from a friend who knew that I would soon return to the US.<br><br>I left the US back in late 2007 after a divorce and sale of my small farm in Hawaii. But before leaving I&nbsp;traveled around the mainland going from host to host and working 4 to 5 hours a day as a helper in&nbsp;exchange the hosts would supply me with food and lodging. I&nbsp;believe&nbsp;the group was called helpx.com. I had bought a 4x4 Toyota pick up with a small shell on the back that I built a bed in above the wheel wells. Storage underneath and sleeping above if not staying at a hosts place. Small space but got the job done.<br><br>By that winter a friend offered me a spot on a mountain climbing expedition and in Jan 2008 I found myself on top of Mt Kilimanjaro. After which I bounced around between Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines learning how to kite surf. I kept coming back to Thailand and eventually built a house up in the northeast near the Mekong River planning to live out my life there. But as life would have it I'll be needing to come back to America soon and stay for 4 or 5 years at least.<br><br>I've lived in a few structures that weren't the everyday normal house: a tree house, aft cabin of a sailboat,&nbsp;Volkswagen van, and a cave for 6 months in Australia so I'm used to small living quarters.&nbsp;<br><br>I'm not mechanically inclined so for the past month or so under haolefarang I've just been searching this sight and trying to learn as much as I can before I start asking questions. From the information gleaned so far from all of you I think that the vehicle that might make me the happiest would be a full sized diesel cargo van with possibly a 4wd. As I continue to read and search more that idea may change. But for now I just want to say thank you for having this forum. It's put a big smile on my face to know that there's somebody out there that has similar living ideas to mine.<br>Richard<br><br>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Sorry that should be helpx.net I think

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thank you OpenMinds. I,m really looking forward to meeting you and others from this group. I'll be arriving in Dallas the last day of May and hope to have found a van and make it to the summer gathering around the last week of June. Fingers crossed!

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Welcome to your lost tribe Richard.

 

[wagoneer]

Welcome from the west coast! The power is in the many and the sharing. You are looking for a road warrior if you can find a bubble-top diesel van usually previously used as an ambulance shuttle wheelchair assist Ford and GM/chevy will suit. You may even find a conversion in any case Texas is a great state and considering the width and overwhelming scope of the place Diesel will fit right in. Friend of mine picked up an ambulance and just about moved right in... red lights and all.

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thank you dragonflyinthesky for the welcome. Actually I think that I was the one that was lost.<br><br>And thank you wagoneer for the welcome and the advice.

 

[VanTrekker]

<p>Welcome Richard,<br><br>It sounds like you have had a lot of adventures.&nbsp; You're sure in the right place!&nbsp; Welcome!</p><p>V.T.</p>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thank you for the welcome Van Trekker. I enjoy your "My house backs up to the woods."Picture.&nbsp; Someday soon hopefully my house will also!<br>Richard

 

[rokguy]

and a cave for 6 months in Australia so I'm used to small living quarters.&nbsp;<BR><BR>Richard<BR><BR>

<BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hi Richard and Welcome from Australia. I hope you weren't hanging out in Ned Kelly's cave. (aussie bushranger) well your still welcome to pop down under and visit on your way through.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Cheers Geoff&nbsp;</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thanks Geoff<br>The cave I carved out of a hill side above a small river between Cairns and Cooktown. I crossed the Daintree River at low tide on my motorcycle and traveled up that power line road until I still had 1/2 a tank of gas to get back to Cairns for the resupply every 9 weeks, I hid and camoflaged the motorcycle then I'd backpack in until it got dark and decided that was the place. Was a beautiful spot. Felt like I was the first humanbeing to have set foot there. The reason for the cave was at first I was sleeping in a tent until one night a large tree decided it was time to die and fall down. It was an enormous tree that took out several others on its way down. The sound alone scared the crap out of me. Too close for comfort. The next day I started digging into the side of the river bank and used some of the fallen branches as the supporting beams for the roof. I carved out a bed about 3 feet off the ground as I had problems with a few animals coming in and wanted to be above them for safety. Used a tarp under the beams to keep any water that seeped through during the rains and channeled it out the entrance.&nbsp;<br>I love Australia. Never made it over to the west coast I was enjoying life too much on the east coast. This was back a few years ago now 1983 to 1984. Spent a total of 14 months leaving every 6 months (visa reasons) and hopped over to New Zealand for a week or 2 then back to Aus. Immigration finally told me that I was no longer welcome because they thought I was working&gt; Actually I was working at one point. It was easy to get work back then. Just show up outside any company needing help in the morning as "casual labor" in Townsville and they didn't care that I didn't have a work permit. Told me for filling out the paperwork just make up my last name but be sure to use my real first name so that when they called out my name I'd know they were talking to me. Great country you live in! I've been there 3 times now and was actually planning another trip this winter to do some gold detecting over west but life threw me a curve on that plan, so back to the US I go.<br>Cheers,<br>Richard

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hi Richard,</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">&nbsp;That tree falling in the Daintree wouldn't worry me as much as the bloody big crocodiles living along the river banks.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Yes Aust. did tighten up on their visa laws when they found so many people wanting to stay. There's alot of english, German, Irish backpackers doing this now and New Zealand isn't really considered leaving the country now cause of our close ties.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">As for the gold my little base station is in the heart of gold prospecting country of Victoria. what with the price of the Aussie dollar so high and gold price, there is a renewed interest in staking a claim here. However most people pan for it.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Hi Geoff,<br>Yeah those crocks that I saw were pretty big. I waited a long time and watched where the 4 wd vehicles crossed and definitely only went at low tide before I even considered the first crossing and then hauled *** across, didn't want to stop mid river!<br><br>When you say your base station does that mean you have a miner's right to prospect or a house? Are you near Bendigo?<br>Richard

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">My base one acre of land has a small solar/wind&nbsp;powered cabin and liveaboard yacht (named of all things "Felix") I store there (when I'm working OTR.) in what is known as "Australian Felix" at Violet Town halfway point for the stage coach between Bendigo gold and Beechworth gold regions back then. I didn't know the name when I bought the land. spooky or what!</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">There is a alot of alluvial gold found in all the rivers here washed down from the&nbsp;close by alps.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff&nbsp;</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Sounds like a great little spot. And alluvial gold in all the surrounding rivers makes it even better. It would be hard to leave that!<br>That is a bit funny or spooky about the yacht and the area having the same name. What are the odds of that?<br>Richard

 

[blkjak]

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>welcome .... blkjak</strong></span>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thanks for the welcome, blkjak<br>Look forward to meeting you and all the others!

 

[Pikachu711]

<p>Welcome to the group Laughing Richard!</p>

 

[Laughing Richard]

Thanks for the welcome Pikachu711<br>Richard