dukkha

Thanks Camerata for your measured and intelligent reply.

My concerns are if it is a terminal illness I would find it difficult to meet medical costs.

Addicted to Thailand.....sure!

Have been back to Oz 5 times in 10 years and found it a souless experience.

My conversations dont include Investment Properties, children, sport, shopping, Australian Idol, Interest Rates, new restaurants, overseas holidays, Stock Market, blah blah blah....not one person, that I can recall, asked me what was it like teaching at a Buddhist University for 4 years, culture of Thailand, but they always ask about financial things..give me a break..besides I dont have money to fly back and forth for medical treatments...my cardio is at BNH, one room per night, 7500 baht which does not include doctors fees, operations, medications etc...will look into Chula...how do their prices compare with BNH...a cardio visit is 400 baht, reasonable, but anything like lab tests are in the vicinity of 4000 baht plus...

I know BKK Christian hospital does have 4 bed wards at around 1000 baht per night, but the level of care is dubious.

A thai friend, unemployed but with a farang sponsor, had a haemharroid opeeration there, and more than one year on I just heard he is still dressing the wound, we call that butchery in Oz and of course there would ensue a process of litigation, not here I am afraid. I nearly died on operating table in Chiangmai and after the debacle the surgeon admitted a level of liability due to the aenasthetic procedure...then I had insurance...6 representatives from AIA asked the surgeon what was he going to do about it...his answer was to take 30 000 baht of the bill...9 days in ICU for a botched job, yeah yeah, can happen in the west I know..and there is no point in taking out health insurance as even a thai doctor said at your age anything will be deemed as a pre-existing condition, waste of your money he said...I know I am off topic however I thought some others of us might think about this subject as we become older and thus sicker...as an ill health retired teacher of over 23 years I know about illness, hospitals, operations etc...oooooops had better lighten up before you all discover my condition, Hypochondriasis...but they say such people live longer...yes it is about quality and not quantity...stay well my friends.

Dukkha

I just had a dinner conversation with a farang friend my own age, 63...He is constantly frustrated by thai culture so I said well why stay here...his reply was: Well if you cant afford medical treatment here then you should not live here in relation to my saying that on my Australian pension I could not afford any hospital medical treatment for major illness, which will come at my age....wow it brought me down rapidly and food for thought, as you may or not know, Australia has a health system whereby one does not have to pay for such treatments..but Thailand has been my home for 10 years and the thought of leaving leaves me depressed not to mention I would have to say goodbye to my thai partner of 4 years..how many other farangs of my age are in the same situation? Stay healthy is the logical retort, but illness is so often random, something we may not have any control over..........NO I am not rushing to buy a ticket home! Dukkha

Received it last week from Bangkok friend, next day friend in Palm Springs, bring it on....wonderful awareness raising piece... Dukkha

'mediocum of common success'...is there a translation available for that comment?

Endofdays...what a load of hogwash.....the only correct comment you made is this thread is not about unions...!

Melbourne's night club scene has been out of control for many years and nothing is done to fix it. The streets of Bangkok are much safer at night than Melbourne. Even in the inner up-market suburbs like Sth Yarra and Brighton things can get out of control very quickly. I believe alot of this trouble started when the Victoria Police joined the Trades Hall Council (union) about 15 years ago. The force has been slowly going down hill ever since. Victoria used to be the model of policing in Australia but now there is constant allegations of corruption and inaction due to politcal correctness. The latest incident involving a fatality is common place, its only come to light here because of the Thailand connection. The Aussie Feds have an office here so i doubt if it will take long to grab the punks.

Interested, as an australian citizen and long time union member, as to how you arrive at the conclusion that joining Trades Hall Council has affected the policing performance of Victorian coppers....another union basher alive and well in Thailand...you probably are concerned about the Yellow Peril as well although, if I am correct, you live in Thailand, an asian nation, and you seem happy enough to live amongst asian peoples....like all those right wing blokes who came and got asian brides but with their mates you can hear them use the terms. 'chinks' and 'slopes'..but not a problem especially if the asian wife will come for you and go for you and sew for you...ironical really....maybe you probably dont like Rudd either and the fact that he is a fluent Mandarin speaker must make you squirm...I lived in Melbourne for 55 years and the nightclub scene was never what it now is...yes safer here...but cos I am an old codger I dont go out at night other than my local restaurants in my soi...oh well, guess there will be always union bashers around...

Perhaps the company pays an amount toward that kind of rent..whoooooha...and I have a noice two bedroom, two bathroom, kitchenette with oven and stove top, pool, kinda fitness center, good security guys, on 10th floor in Yanakart...and the price per month is now 16 000 baht dropped down from 18 000 when I threatend to move out...I consider we are getting a good deal and there are others available...address is Soi Sribumphen, Yenakart...a nice village atmosphere and the interior is not at all shabby... my government pension is not even the rental amount this guy is quoting, so must have money...... Dukkha.

87000 a MONTH? Cripes

Am I right to say tourists are fed up with political unrest in Thailand and choose safer destinations to spend their hard-to-get money? They are not getting much money as they used to, so they don't want to risk getting stuck in Thailand when 2 airports were closed for a week. Well, they already forget about the airport closure. Could be.

Always interested in the word 'fun'...if it were to be given a definition I think the word 'mindless' comes to mind...lots of that here in LOS.....and that is just the tourists... Dukkha

Most tourists could care less about the internal politics in Bangkok. They want fun, they want sun, and they want it to fit their budget. Thailand still has the sun and the beaches, and the good lord knows it still has enough fun that a tourist can choose any number of levels of decadence whilst paying homage to Dante. But it the budget in the home country that is suffering mightily. Here in the US the unemployment rate is far higher than the government data indicates and for many of us in the business community not connected to the Banksters, we have not only tightened our belts but have begun to let out some blood as well.

Looks like there was a bit of a fracas with the Patpong street traders and the police last night. Only info I can find online about it on the ASTV site here (translated).

Background I heard is that they're upset with a recent clampdown on selling counterfeit items - 2 days notice.

BKK Post and The Nation have absolutely zilch on it so far.

zilch ???

what is that ? It is a form of 'nothing' , ti nada, zero, rien, mai mii arai....Dhukkha

Yesterday aussie friend tried to withdraw 20 000 baht from ATM Soi Sribumphen, four ATMS, received nothing but was debited 20 000 baht on bank statement, I tried last night to withdraw also with aussie ATM card, knew I had enough deposit, told me to contact my bank...OH MY BUDDHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have been using canabis in South east asia for thousands of years, with out any moral or societal decay. It only became illegal when the yanks paid them to do so.

Succinct, to the point and accurate. Do you hold an academic chair cos I reckon ya oughta. Sound reasoning always a pleasure to read, but not too all frequent on Thaivisa...oh well we are a varied lot, an oddsk species...brutal really.. Dukkha

Assume Thaksin is granted Nicaraguan Passport, what could he do with it? Yes just what would the ramifications of holding such a passport .....will he receive ambassadorial status when travelling...not sure how this status would affect him internationally Dukkha

How long could he stand living in Nicaragua? It is not like Britain, Hong Kong, or UAE, which can offer him a lavish lifestyle. It is 24-30 hours away from Thailand, so far away that his lackeys would find it very difficult to travel to. How long could he stand extortion by corrupt politicians just to live there?

OOOOPS

Mr Thaksin, HAVE YOU GIVEN MONEY TO THE PROTESTORS.

Thaksin: NO

Pardon typing error

BBC NEWS: 19.00

BBC ANCHOR: Mr Thaksin, have you given to the protestors?

Thaksin: No

Me thinks you are telling porkies mate.

Dukkha

And now the end is near, We've faced the final curtain, my friends I did.....RIP THAILAND

Reds now occupying Interior Ministry Offices....

There go my dinner plans

You are not allowed to dinner with more than 4 girls, everything else is OK

So have to tell the other four boys not to come for Bridge tonight.... Dukkha

Google Gay Thailand, some entries for Hua Hin...also there are pocket sized gay guides in Bangkok which list all the Hua Hin gay bars and massage places....lived there for two years like some others on this forum....it is not a large gay scene...depends what you want I guess..I found after my beach walks and swims there is not much else to do in Hua Hin...

The solution seems to be a multi-colour shirt Blue, red and yellow together

Floral shirts, always nice at Songkran, and Dame Edna Everage always likes a floral print, be it frocks or fabric for the curtains...this is so borng....but also so seriously sad....will the Embassies be organinsing ex pat evacuation?....

I rarely visit the house I built in Isaan but it is maintained by my thai family.

I am considered a son in law by my partners family and all that goes with it...the village has had an openly gay kateoy teacher for over 30 years, yes lipstick et alii, and is loved by all from my observations, certainly not ridiculed at all....minority groups will always suffer in society in some way, and yes, Thailand aint no gay paradise for many thai gay men and wimmin...but in Isaan getting the next grain of rice in to your bowl seems of more importance than who is sleeping with whom and how often and for how much....taxi drivers in Bangkok always ask if I have a thai wife as my thai is above average for a farang, when I say I have a thai boyfriend, many respond negatively...but I aint gonna deny myself like I did in the West for all those years...scratch a heterosexual and you will often find a homopobe...it is in the too hard basket for most...as an old gay man am much more at ease living here from day to day than in the West...guess it is a matter of choice, live where you feel comfortable and that aint the souless West for me...cheers deahs... Dukkha

I hear Gen Prem is in Korat, same place as some other identity was flown to in the 1990's

Not lookin good....

Popshirt...Low self esteem has a universal zip code, is that the same as the banks etc.... Dukkha

The blind do a great male nn sexual massage but cant remeber the address... Dukkha

Hello,

I truly enjoy traditional Thai massage.

I've been looking for the right place to get it in Chiang Mai but so far have been disappointed. But maybe I'm asking for nonexistent combination:

- Most important: quality, professional Thai traditional massage. I'm convinced amateur massage can be hazardous.

- By men. I simply feel more comfortable getting the massage from a man than a woman.

- Nice environment.

So far, I faced 2 options.

The first one is the gay massage parlor. Usually they are quite comfortable, nicely decorated and pretend to have "experienced" masseurs. But actually they provide you with a list of available boys simulating cheap (and sometimes scary) copy of massage before performing an extra. The price is high since the typical consumer goes there for the boy, not the massage. I enjoy the environment of these places but I spend far too much time, before and during, explaining the staff I'm not looking for any "happy ending" (I have a BF and am 100% satisfied with him).

The second option is the "massage supermarkets" where 150 women are waiting for a bus load of tourists. It might be the place to get a decent massage at low cost but the place is usually awfully boring and... no male masseur.

Any men-to-men, professional, no-sex but welcoming place to recommend in Chiang Mai?

Thanks in advance.

Now theres a tower of a man, Mr Burroughs..your words inspire, kop khun maak krup...Dukkha

Are you hot Toptuan....?

or is it the same old thai story..

men cant sleep alone due to arrested emotional development...

Those thai wimmin have really done their thing with their boyz from my 10 years experience here..

I know you are hot Toptuan, just kidding as the thais say..

Dukkha