alaina

What about Nitithorn Lamlua, the one that told protesters while he was on stage to storm the US Embassy?

I think that this story is a bit over-blown. In most cities people don't make lots of eye contact on the streets and usually have difficulty meeting people in public.

Part of the problem is perception, some foreign guys approach foreign women as if we're desperate and that is not a good conversation-starter. Also, some guys think that foreign women resent Thai women, which is also untrue and shows a rather dim outlook. "I don't date Thai women" is another one that I've heard and really, I don't care, why exclude anyone that could be interesting?

But those guys are thankfully a minority. There are a lot of expats in Thailand and so there have to be some good ones.

Why was this posted on Facebook as if it were real news??? And why was the reply saying that this was fake news deleted there?

I was there. The crowd was very big, I thought. Maybe 2,000? It was standing room only in the grand ballroom.

They spent a lot of time just giving common sense advice: stay away from the protest area, stay inside if there's turmoil outside,etc.

I thought they seemed remarkably unconcerned as far as evactuation goes. They basically advised that it should be quite easy to get away from any conflicts by driving a few kilometers in the opposite direction of any fighting. Nothing about evacuating people from the embassy was even mentioned. They said this is nothing compared to the dangers faced by Americans and State Dept staff in other countries. It seemed they were kind of trying to downplay things. Ambassador John is not a serious man: very lighthearted, joking kind of fellow.

One guy actually committed les majeste at the microphone, and that received quite a few nervous giggles throughout the crowd.

The topic stayed on Thailand...domestic issues were not discussed.

I'd be interested to hear what others thought as well. Given the large group there, I thought there would already be a big discussion going on here. Is there another thread on this?

Didn't find another thread with a first-hand account. Thanks for your post.

They're headed down to the big intersection to hand out traffic fines. CITIZEN. STOP YOUR AUTOMOBILE. YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY.

helpful, that

Just saw six tanks on the road on phahonyotin... any news?

It seems like hobbies in general are not popular with Thais. I've talked with some Thai friends and they don't seem to have the same concept in the culture as we do. It seems to be just starting, but at the few needlepoint/knitting shops I've seen, the prices are outrageous... not really something many could afford. The closest thing I've seen is the mas aerobics in parks or gym memberships.

Endure, thanks for that, it was good fun.

I like Irish Pubs here, but Robin Hood has never had good service and Molly's is not as good as when it was Irish Exchange. The service at O' Rielley's has typically been good (but not the food)and I am not sure why as they are run by the same person as Robin Hood. Try the Dubliner or Duke of Wellington.

I have never had my bill padded at any of these places, but Witches Tavern has padded my bill. The staff at Robin Hood is generally surly at best and they don't seem to have much of a regular crowd. O' Reilley's has a bigger group of regulars which may help to explain the better attitude of the staff. Duke of Wellington is also owned by the same company and is a quiet place with decent food.

I've taught about a half dozen children of mia nois. I can't say that I know all about the "marriage" aspect of the couple, the experience that I have had with the kids does not reflect well on them. These kids that I have taught go to expensive schools but do show signs of emotional neglect. When I have talked about these students with Thai colleagues and I mention that they are products of a mia noi relationship, they are quick to put together a list of the rest of the child's problems.

It's a unique set of problems. I have had students in families where the biological father is gone and there is a (good) stepfather in the picture and those kids seem much healthier than being part of a #2 (or 3, or...) marriage.

It usually starts to go aggressive when someone start stirring it up with the "why you post this in ladies forum" or "why you did not post this in ladies forum". Kind of derails the whole thread aways, most of the time i'm not even aware of what forum i'm reading and who cares. Just pick up topics of interest from latest post listings etc etc.

Good to see that this topic has gone from aggressive to passive-agressive.

The timing of your question is perfect.

The Dubliner Pub on Sukumwit near soi 22 (or at the front of Washington Square) is having a charity drive for donations that will go to People Helping People. You can drop off there any time they are open but this Sunday (March 29th) they will be giving away two free beers to everyone that donates stuff. From about noon until closing. They are also looking for books and reading material for prisoners and reading glasses, but anything that can be used really. Please spread the word, they are hoping to collect four truckloads by the end of Sunday.

I agree that the steak is pretty mediocre by Western standards, but pretty good by Thai standards. It is the ice cream and butter that makes the trip worth it. Their grappa sorbet is amazing.

I want to buy the Westernized version of Red Bull in Bangkok. I thought I saw it in Khao San Road but I may be mistaken. The version I am referring to is from the Austria company and comes in a tall thin aluminum can and is carbonated and sold in the U.S., Europe, Australia, etc. I've only been able to find the original Thai version in the glass medicine bottle (Krating Daeng). I also hear that SHARK is a similar energy drink in taste to the Westernized Red Bull version.

If anyone knows where to buy in Thailand, specific Bangkok, please let me know. I have a friend in Ko Samui, Trang, Krabi, Phuket area looking for it as well.

Thanks,

Zen.

Shark is the same thing as Western Red Bull. I see it in many 7-11's. Most big 7-11's should have it.

I lived at the Atlanta for a month in 2004. The place was a good deal and the pool is open 24 hours. It did feel a bit like living in a museum, but I kind of liked that part. The staff was friendly to me and I was to them as well.

Now, I am female, but I never had a problem bringing Thai female friends (office girl types) to the restaurant or to my room. I was even expecting for the staff to say no when it was late one night and I brought some Thai friends in. There is NO insult intended to anyone's TGF, but the staff accepted these girls without the least bit of a fuss.

The one thing that has kept me from going back is the area. I would leave the hotel and go to the 7-11 and get propositioned regularly (while wearing long sleeves and ankle length skirts.) And, yes, I am white. I can't imagine what walking there is like for some of the Thais that work in the hotel.

Thithi or anyone else, if you go can you buy me some Strawberry seeds?

I tried to find them here in BKK but not found yet.

I cannot go to the fair am in SG

FYI and off-topic, I have ordered seeds from the US (many varieties, many times) and they are very hard to germinate. The tiny seedlings are very vulnerable to the many kinds of exotic Bangkok fungi. It's strawberry season in CM now, so if you have any hope, I think cool season would be the time to try.

it starts at 10am till 10pm biggrin.gif

will go there tomorrow...... thinking of growing a banana tree!!! w00t.gif

cool and thanks. The banana sounds like a good idea... I had a papaya tree, the Thais in my building thought I was nuts to grow one and said I could never manage to kill it... I did

I bought grapes there once and they stayed alive for over a year, never got any grapes though. Maybe I'll try that again too.

ahh, plants

Slightly off-topic, but Häagen-Dazs has cakes and will deliver them too.

I Berry also makes some nice (non-ice cream) cakes as well.

Was there a few years ago and enjoyed it. Any idea how late it stays open? I'm hoping it's open until about 7pm.

The problem is now sort-of resolved. I can't say that I'm very happy with Maid to Order at the moment, but I'm not entirely sure that some of the problems could have been avoided.

Something was broken in my place and I've asked the maid to replace it (I'll pay for it since they don't seem to have the agency pay.) It's been two months and it has not been fixed. It was not urgent, but I'm starting to wonder if it will ever happen.

The maid did not show up one day and I was planning on having a party the next day. The owner could not give me a good idea of what time she would be coming to clean so I had to cancel the party. I wouldn't have minded as much if there was more notice.

I got the same email about a month ago, and I don't think anybody I know would care to steal my password.

Seems like someone here has nothing else better to do.

I may have to take back my recommendation, not sure yet. There's been a problem with the service lately but I am going to wait and see how it is resolved before saying that they aren't good. I'll let you know when I get a resolution.

I've been pretty happy with Maid to Order which I believe is run by a Brit. Google maid to order Bangkok to find the site since links aren't allowed. I have two hours twice a week service and I can't believe how much the maid gets done in two hours. They will shop and do other errands for you as well.

Every few months, I transfer money to cover my credit card bills from the US. I usually transfer no more than 60K Baht and the money goes into my US account. I have a work permit, my passport and an ID from work along with my checkbook for the other account. The last three times, Bangkok Bank has been asking me a lot of questions and asking for paperwork that I don't have available.

The first time they wanted my credit card bills. I explained that I pay my bills over the Internet and do not get paper bills. The last time they wanted a letter from my employer stating that I currently work there, the work permit and ID were not enough. Usually showing them the credit cards, calling my employer or just refusing to budge gets the transfer done, but I am really beginning to wonder what is going on.

I have even told them that I will gladly take a credit card offer from their bank and stop transferring money in the future if they can give me equal or better terms. I have worked here for four years so I am able to get a card but they still don't come close to the terms I have now even after I factor in the fees for the transfers and the currency conversions.

Are all the banks clamping down on swift transfers? Should I give them another reason for transferring the funds? It has only been in the last year when the problems started, before Bangkok Bank never gave me any problems, perhaps other banks are better now?

I've filed a police report on soi Suan Plu next to the immigration office. (I forget the name of the district.) It did not take any time at all to get someone to take the report in English (even though they did ask a lot of questions to make sure we were in the right district.) The guy taking the report was hardly in a hurry to get it done and was trying to chat up my friend and I, but it was very amusing and we were laughing most of the time. At the end, the man writing down the report (that did not speak English) suggested to the translator in Thai that it was 200 baht to file the report. The translator replied to the guy that since we are 'ladies' that live here, it would be free of charge. It was difficult to not laugh at that remark, but luckily I managed.

I've had some experiences with some expats here that have made me more cautious and I think that a minority of bad people have a disproportionate influence on the perception of expats. Living in a foreign country can give people different and more conspicuous ways of being annoying. Some expats decide to say, TiT and use it as an excuse for doing all sorts of things that are unacceptable at home, some feel the need to tell everyone about their 'superior' knowledge of all things Thai and others will endlessly assert that their nationality/class/education/etc. is number one. These behaviors would manifest themselves some other way at home, but we notice them more here because we hear these same things from different people.

Groups can be helpful to meet new people that are social because people join them to be social. I went to a victory party for Obama this month and met loads of people that have lived here a long time. I've even bumped into a few of them since and continued to chat with them. Other friends play netball or take art classes or are involved with the expat theatre group. Normally I'm not a joiner but I think that it makes sense to keep trying new things until you find something works.