zydeco

One main problem: too many people--everywhere. Back in the 1960s, Zero Population Growth gained widespread acceptance in the West. People acted accordingly, in America and throughout Europe, people reduced family sizes. Alas, governments said they don't care what people want, they want an everlasting Ponzi scheme to keep consumerism (and later Reaganomics) generating profits as more (poorer but larger amounts of) people buy more cola, candy bars, cheap houses, etc. So those same governments decided to let mexicans and latins pour into the U.S., Arabs and Africans to pour into Europe. Keep the scheme going at all costs. Naturally, the home countries of the immigrants had their population pressure relieved--along with the motivation to control their populations and carry out structural and institutional reforms that would make their own countries' resources and environments more sustainable. Witness A: Mexico, which is now more overcrowded, corrupt, polluted, and dangerous than ever.

Thailand and Southeast Asia face joining the same boat--without a relief valve for population export. Droughts can be dealt with. Crop failures can be overcome. Heat waves are survivable. But only with a stable and, in this day and age, decreasing population. Thais, Asians, latins, and Africans should get on the same page as the West and reporoduce below replacement levels.

Someone better check the TV membership rolls.

My thoughts. I live in Thailand, l am English and have traveled all over the USA and thought it great, in fact if money was no object l would live in your country. BUT, it depends what YOU want from life, what are you looking for, why with all those states of America, totally different climates and way of life do you want to go else where. ?

Money, for most of us Americans. Personally, I'd prefer to retire on Kauai, but whereas the cost of living on Kauai might be 4 X my original abode in the American Southwest, Thailand is 1/4 the cost of living in the Southwest. Plus, I don't need to worry about drug cartels coming across the border and butchering anybody who gets in their way. I'd rather deal with a (insert color, here) Shirt anytime.

When I first got here and met a Thai woman, I soon found myself being nudged towards a "gift". Sort of shocked, I nonetheless let go of Tbaht 12,000. Things went a little bit further and I was hit up the next month for Tbaht 20,000. Gave in both times. When the next month came around and there was a request for Tbaht 30,000 I bailed out. Down about $1000 American, but it was an immediate lesson well learned.

To assess if Thais hate (if that is the right word?) farangs, just reverse the situation. You are in your home country and there are foreigners there...what types do you dislike, whether rightly or wrongly. Chances are you dislike the ones who don't bother to "learn the language", who form ghettoes and don't assimilate, who break the local laws, who show disrespect to local customs, who tells you what is wrong with your country. Are Thais really that different when it comes to foreigners in their country???

Yep. Back in the U.S., those are the reasons I kept getting put off by the English and Germans.

World, outside?

the rural thai have no idea about life outside. Show them a map of the far east and they cant even identify thailand properly let alone the major cities. They dont even understand what a map is - cant visualise.

When I taught in a primary school I realised that they had never seen a world globe before, didn't know what it was, couldn't grasp the idea of a round earth and my thai supervisor advised against this path to knowledge as its never in the curriculum even in high school. This was quite a progressive school as they go btw

Absolutely spot on! My thai ex had twin girls who were coming with us to Australia. I bought an inflatable globe (in oz) and brought back to help them understand where they were going. Everyone was really interested, especially their older brother. As soon as I left the house, he and his uncle used it for a football.

Yes when I say Im from Canada I often get "oh nearly Africa?" and another one that makes me laugh is when I explain about North America and mention Mexico - "Mexico is very rich country like a hi-so right?"

Mexico IS a rich country. It's just that most of the country's wealth is held by one person, Carlos Slim, a billionaire telecom monopolist (sound familiar?). He's smart enough, however, to stay out of politics personally.

and your point is...???

+/- 800 years ago one of the worlds biggest cities Ankor and "Thailand" and part of the Khmer kingdom, so hardly neolithic...

Go to the UK and see the rigid class structure they have there....not go to Eton or Cambridge...oh dear, sorry old chap...

We could also suggest, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong etc come from the same pedigree as Thailand. ie "had moved fast forward right into the modern age".....they have appeared to cope...so thats your theroy shot to sh*t...lets move on...

Thai Apologist BS

Current issues IMHO are because of a singles man's ego, who would be prepared to destroy a country because of a "loss of face"...

But remember that HK, Singapore and Malaysia were fortunate to grow up British, like the rest of us.

Funny, I always thought going to the UK was like going back in time. Exposed electrical wiring commonplace, too small radiators, streets and sidewalks with more potholes than a lunar crater, ill fiting doors and windows in hotels, bumpy (and slow) trains. It was like somebody stopped the clock somewhere in 1938.

What a load of BS. All these people are, are terrorists. That word is over used these days, but anyone who would kill, bomb, burn the residents and businesses of a city are clearly a threat.

After its all said and done it seems that the reds will lose the respect they had earned, and the bargaining chips they had are gone.

Nope, they are freedom fighters going to extraordinary lengths to achieve the outcome most of us take for granted.

Is the French Revolution regarded as acts of terrorism? Did anyone call the Greece rioters terrorists? And you haven't seen the last of Europe in flames either, guaranteed.

And it really is none of our f**king business...

Yes, that's why June 1793 to July 1794 is referred to as The Reign of Terror.

For Red leaders it's pretty clear that the Big Protest has turned into the Great Skedaddle. Running away, hiding, and surrendering while your pawns bleed out in the street will not create martyrdom. The face has been ripped off the Reds and the message is clear: they wanted power and money on the cheap and were ready to fight to the last drop of blood of every poor farmer they could bribe into bringing into Bangkok. How pathetic and mean.

I'm sorry, but the OP's entire premise is nonsense. Speaking from an American perspective, I know very little about European history (other than the obviously major stuff), South American history, African history, and of course, Asian history. If it doesn't really effect me on a day-to-day basis, why would I be interested? Thai's would be better off learning some history related to the region (i.e., Asia), but honestly, just because you're personally interested, it doesn't mean that it's applicable at all to anyone residing in Thailand. It's a rather arrogant presumption, actually. How much do you know about Thai history? China? Japan? I'm sure your ignorance is profound.

I think we have to understand that education standards in Europe are much

higher than the rest of the World and generally speaking where the most

intelligent people come from or are educated there.

Just look how many overseas university graduates come from all over the

World to study in England: All subjects, Germany:engineering and science

and Ireland: literature.

Yes Europe may have its down points (my beef would be its a little dull)

but Europe truly is the brain of the Earth.

Oxford and Cambridge? Proof that a university can remain first class and still be second rate.

- Are you seriously stating that people are willing to die (and actually dying) over 500 baht a day? I have hired people on 500 baht a day and I wish I got that level of commitment!!

Yes, and sadly, it's nothing new in the world. 500 baht a day is several times more than the average Thai makes. More than the soldiers are paid as well.

Are the reds on the payroll really willing to die for their cause? Haven't their numbers already dwindled dramatically? Aren't the numbers down to the "hardcore" now? And even among the hardcore, how many really mean it? Wouldn't most be able to melt away if there were a final push by the military? After all, the reds don't have much of a uniform. Even the red shirts are coming off. The Taliban are more readily identifiable than these guys.

The real long term effect of the red shirts debacle will come after the "protest" falls apart and disperses and things try to return to normal. Then, a lot of these "hardcore" mafia types will be emboldened by their whiff of violence and the belief that violence pays off. Crime--street crime, maybe kidnappings--will spiral upwards. That's it. The legacy of the red shirts could well be a more violent and crime prone country.

This is all pressure on Thailand to sort things out. NZ and we know things are not as bad as they say. Politics at work.

This is my impression, too. Other Western governments will probably copy NZ. BTW, are similar travel warnings in effect for: Mexico, Greece, Colombia, Nicaragua, and the U.S./Mexico border? If not, then it is clear political pressure and nothing else.

The fizzle has already started. When the Reds squeeled for the UN, it showed they were through. No rogue general, no armed rebellion, IMO. Just a lot of thugs left. Armed? Yes. Dangerous? Yes. But with no direction, they'll soon be back to more mafia-like work and a steady paycheck.

1. stock yourself with a lot of water for drinking (fluids are more important than food) and washing - fill the bath, buckets and any containers with water.

londonthai's list is about as to the point as any I've seen. Especially important is his #1. You can go up to a couple of weeks without food. But you only have about three days without water--less depending on heat and dehydration in a Bangkok environment. I do wonder what is happening to people dependent on meds, such as insulin. I assume anybody in THAT situation is long ago evacuated. Still, overall, this looks like the endgame, one way or the other and, perhaps, things will be settled in a day or so.

allexx, any list of "dangerous countries" that does not include mexico in the top 5 is full of nonsense. More people are killed in an average afternoon in mexico by drug cartels, kidnappers, people smugglers, and corrupt police than in a year in Thailand.

No thanks.

I rather have a nice 9-5 office job in the west with pension, medical care and all kinds of social security. And be safe in my protected environment where nothing can go wrong. It's better to be safe then sorry. I recommend all you guys to do the same thing. Thailand is a huge liability. I recommend you guys to leave. I am speaking from experience. I lost everything.

What makes you think you can't lose everything in the West? A lot of people in the U.S., right now, refuse to believe that things can fall apart. They can. Just because it's America (or the UK, France, Germany, or Netherlands) doesn't mean it can't. Things have already, in fact, fallen apart within a lifetime once before in Europe. America, meanwhile, is coming apart at the seams, although few people notice because they are too busy watching the Super Bowl, the NBA, Stanley Cup and MLB to read the handwriting on the wall. What good is your Social Security when DC has no more authority than a sixth century Roman emperor. Yep, you can lose it all in Thailand, but you can lose it all anywhere. At least in Thailand you're on your guard.

Unless you piss them off, most snakes will just try to escape.

I have to give you a caution about this statement. I used to do a lot of hiking in the States when I was younger. I can think of at least 3 times I/we came upon copperheads on the trail that had no intention of moving out of the way. Same once with a rattler.

Yep. You're right. Lots of snakes become aggressive, especially depending on the time of the year in the U.S. If you ever encounter a Water Moccasin and expect it to retreat, you are in for one nasty surprise.

You guys are scaring me.

What do you mean by "have to get out"? Are you thinking of fleeing out of fear or being forced out by government/political decision?

I suggest the OP try mexico instead. Similar climate. Similar favorable exchange rate. Alas, the natives are a tad bit more radical in demanding financial compensation. But you can hire armed guards to protect your villa from the other cartels.

Yes, Thais are also racist towards white people and other nationalities, and have an obsession with skin color in general, but they are also a very status oriented society and have clear, distinct ideas about the status of different races and nationalities beyond just skin color. Burmese and other poor Southeast Asians are on the bottom, along with Africans. This world view enables them to equate these groups to animals, with the justification of their culture.

So, it will be helpful that you will have a Western passport, speak English, and have relatively more money, but the majority Thai culture (and most of Asia for that matter) will always equate people of African descent as "unclean".

Clearly, any Thai preference for white over black, straight hair over afro, their culture over that of other people, and, probably dogs over cats should be made a human rights violation subject to prosecution in The Hague. Above all, the standards of NYC, Paris, London, and Washington DC should be enforced worldwide.