abrahamzvi

Who the hell are you trying to kid?

Yep, I agree, 99% of foreign men are in Thailand for the cheap sex.

It ain't that great a place to be otherwise.

Without the availability of the cheap women, I'd be in Spain/France/Portugal/Florida, all much nicer and safer places to live. Better food, and maybe even cheaper living.

And why pick on old guys?

Young guys are here for the cheap women too!

If it is so nice in Spain/France/Portugal and Florida, may I suggest you go there. I am sure that you'll find there as many "cheap" women as in Thailand, particularly now with all the refugees in Europe. Reading some of your comments about Thailand, I really have to wonder why you are still here!

He is a bit late for that. Not many years ago you would not see women going shopping in short shorts but it is quite common now, spaghetti straps, etc. The country has moved on while the MP remains in the dark ages. Where do they pick these culture ministers? Is it a prerequisite that they are old fashioned and behind the times.

You are right in describing the present UNFORTUNATE situation, you are WRONG in saying that the MP remains in the dark ages. I may be old fashioned and I do like looking at good looking ladies (young and elder), but I regret the way young ladies dress and behave nowadays, in Thailand and in other western countries. I think a lady is just as attractive if properly dressed and not half naked!

at my current rate of spending it would give me 12 months or 1.00 years.

Which means you spend (or waste) BHT250K a month, That's a lot!!! My wife and I lead a very pleasant and comfortable life for about BHT100k monthly, including running a car and visiting restaurants from time to time. We do own our own house.

The last thing zionists want is for the truth and all of their lies to be exposed. Always playing the victim but responsible for most of the hate and murder that's gone on in the world for the last 150 years. Who controls the world banking system, mass media, US foreign policy and who were the bolsheviks that were responsible for the genocide of countless millions of Russian and Ukranian christians? Wake up and stop listening to their drivel and please no accusations or lectures about me being an anti semite. Plenty of jews are anti zionist.

Don't believe me? Click on the video link for a good short film.

^^ these type of jewis are against zionism and the state of israel because of radical religious reasons, ie. god did not choose the state of israel, people did. therefor according to them zionism and the state of israel are evil.

this been said: imo denying the holocaust should be allowed, same as insulting jesus or mohammed. sure, it's stupid and provocative to deny the holocaust but if that is the guy's opinion. opinions don't kill people......

Opinions certainly do kill people. Hitler's opinions caused the death of 6 million Jews, 2 million gypsies and million upon millions of young men around the World. The opinion of a few Muslims caused the death of Charlie Hebdo.

watso33: For you to say that you are not an anti Semite is a (bitter) joke. You blame the "zionists" but simply mean the Jews. It is not the Zionists who, ACCORDING TO YOU, control the world banking, US policy etc. You mean the JEWS. You are an ignorant racialist.

Of course, there are Jews who are not Zionists. Quite a few of them, and with most of them it has nothing to do with God. They simply like to be French, British, Americans, Thais etc and feel no connection to Israel, although they are practicing, or non practicing, Jews. Some (including myself) srtictrly and strongly oppose the Israeli aggressive policies, although agree that Israel should be allowed to thrive in peaceful and secure borders, either next to an independent Palestinian state or in a bi national state with the Palestinians as absolutely equal citizens.

Thai women are "fake" too…..they just cloak it in that sexy, soft, caring "Asian Way".

It is ridiculous and nasty to state that"Thai women are fake". Of course, some are fake, but there are quite a few "fake" ones in the west and on the other hand there are quite a few very decent and honest That women. I have been happily married to one for over quarter of a century!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The article written by mister Itamar Eichner in Chiangrai times ,you refer to, is a mixture of half truth and omissions . Dieudonné denounces the utilization of the shoa made by the state of Israel to justify its policy in Palestine and this, helped woldwide by a strong loby.

Reminder Israel is occupying for more than 50 years and stealing land from another country regularly and continuoiusly see this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement .

It does not respect even basic international laws .This country is able to bomb civilians , schools , hospitals ,

it wants to completely annex palestine and does want peace at all, otherwise it would not continue to steel land to make new settlements (New ones have been signed last week)The result is the future looks like to be an apartheid system .

Its lobby is so powerful that they never get international sanctions and are not sue for crime against humanity.Its lobby is so powerful that they can even push a country to kick out an humorist who speaks out loud about a scandal which should have been stop for long time.

To concluse I recomend the site "Ynetnews" which help to undestand the subjectivity of the article written by Mister Itamar Eichner.

Dieudonné is against Israel state policy not against jewish people It is the same for many Rabbis in US and even inside Israel and he is one of the best french humorists.

He's just been convicted 6 times by French courts for racism and incitation to racial hate.

Petromatch: This so called comedian is simply a Jew hater. How else can one explain him using Nazi propaganda NOT, repeat NOT, against Israel, but against Jews, a crime for which he has been convicted a number of times by French courts. Under French Law, being anti Israeli is NOT a crime, incitement for racial hate is one!!

Allow me to state that I am strongly against the policies of the Israeli government and its attitude subjugating millions of Palestinians and against its cruel occupation policy. However, I am against racialism of any kind, be it directed at Jews, Muslims and others. Denying the Holocaust and adopting Nazi Propaganda is racialism at its worst!!

1,000 bht on the bedside table in the morning.

Don't go shopping with her.

That his an absolutely disgraceful suggestion. If you do this you would be treating her like a "bar girl", which she is not. MaeJoMTB - may be it is time that you realise that not all thai girls are "bar girls". Possibly it is you who looks and meets such girls, but the majority of Thai females are just girls like everywhere else!

The other guy had 2 % support. If they all go to Bernie; he will win.

May be, but most certainly a Republican will win the presidency against Sanders. He is simply unelectable by a majority.

Buy in a stable country where you can actually get actual residential status, like maybe Syria or something.

You may think this is a frivolous comment but it is NOT. It is very sound advice. As the following post says, look elsewhere. You just cannot sell anything

here and it has been the same for at least the past 4 years. With the current state of affairs here and the mind think herein, there is no light at the end of the

rainbow.

If you are looking for a retirement location, look elsewhere.

Quite frankly, i would keep such negatively exaggerated advice to myself. I can't advise anybody to buy property here in Thailand, or elsewhere, as the whole world economy seems to be going downwards at present. It may be the right time to buy, or the wrong time, depending on the way the world economy is going, down south or up north. Thailand is no exception, but to say that one could not sell one's property in Thailand for the last four years is simply incorrect. If you had bought a good property in Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Kao lack, or even Pattaya four years ago, even to day you could probably sell it with a small profit. Nobody can tell you whether the property you are buying today could be sold next year, even taking a loss, whether such property is in Thailand, Singapore, Florida or France.

This actually made the national TV news, even had the police video. A bunch of confused old folks playing Bridge.

Unclear what crime was committed, anyone know?

The offense relates to Section 8 of the Playing Cards Act of 1935 which states that an individual is not allowed to possess more than 120 playing cards at any one time. At the Bridge event, considerably more than 120 playing cards were found by officers.

I really don't know what the law says, I am completely ignorant in this respect. However, if never me is correct than no offence was committed, as according to him the law is broken "if an individual possesses more than 120 cards at any one time" When playing Bridge, no INDIVIDUAL possess anywhere near 120 cards at any one time. Therefore if never me is correct, and I must emphasise the word IF, than no offence was committed.

If you don't vote, you can't ride!

I have voted that I don't use Thai buses, but neither do I use my own car in Bangkok. I try and take the BTS or MRT whenever possible, it's faster and more comfortable and if this is not possible I take a cab.

It would seem that any commercial transaction you charged on an foreign card would automatically be in Bhat. The problem comes in the exchange rate. I try not to use my American cards. I get a much better deal transferring money to BKB and using a Thai Debit Card.

My experience is absolutely contrary to that. It is always advantageous to use a US credit card and insist on being charged in Baht UNLESS YOUR CARD CARRIES A FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE. I've always gotten an extremely favorable rate that way to any I could get transferring USD to Thailand by any means, including large wire transfers.

To start with most Credit/Debit cards carry a foreign transaction fee between 1.25 and 3 %. Then, if you use a foreign card and withdraw THB you pay a Baht fee of 200 THB. The rate that the Thai banks use for exchanging USD (or for that matter EUR or GDP) is the lowest possible, so can you tell me where is the advantage over transferring the money from the US, or European or UK bank to Thailand. The exchange rate is the highest (TT Transfer) and the charges are low, depending on the bank in your home country.

The news article is very biased. It fails to mention the question of the fabricated belief that Israel intends to change the status quo of the Temple Mount. Recent stabbing intifada terrorists usually mention that as their main motivation, when they're still alive to talk about it. This has been incited by Palestinian leadership.

Absolute nonsense. This is no more than repeating the Israeli propaganda. Having said this, I really consider the murderous activities as unjustified under any circumstances. As I said earlier I sharply condemn any such murderous activities by whoever, against whoever, anywhere. Such activities are criminal and damage the cause of the Palestinians, the same way as the Israeli activities in the occupied territories, which damage the future of the Israeli state, or at least its nature.

it can be cheap if you want or have to live like a poor Thai person but if you want to live like a real human I don't think its cheap, you win a few and lose a few. l don't live here cos its cheap, the money it cost me to live here I could live anywhere in the world.

I had a very nice apartment in Din Daeng (Bangkok, Ratchada Soi 3) with an awesome view, 59sqm with living room and bedroom, two bathrooms, two blaconies, maid service twice a week, and a nice walk to Central, Fortune, Esplanade, the MRT, and endless street food. I had a swimming pool, gym, high-speed internet, cable TV, smart phone, air conditioning, and my sheets and towels were exchanged for me every weekend. I ate very well every day. All of this totaled 25,000 baht per month, which, on the 30,000 baht budget in the article, would leave me with 5,000 to go out on occasion (typically spending about 1000 to 2000 baht).

The apartment I had, if it were located in New York, would have cost a minimum of 150,000 baht per month, and that would not have been in as nice a location as I was in here. In San Francisco, it would have been at least 90,000 baht, but likely more. In my little tiny "cheapest place in America" home town, it would still have run 24,000+ baht per month. And none of those places would include the maid service or have a pool.

Clearly, I was not living the "high life", but I was comfortable, enjoyed myself, and was very happy. I was certainly not living "like a poor Thai person". Now, granted, I still have money in the bank to deal with emergencies, if they came along. I would not want to be living on that 30,000 with no ability to save up for those emergencies. And that budget does not include special events or travel. So I would admit that a budget of 40,000 baht would have been more realistic. But I was living very nicely on 30,000 baht, and in my opinion, living much better than I was in the US on 150,000 baht.

So, cheaper than the US? Very much so!

Why "was", why "had"? When???

Sounds like you need to move,

30 k a month in the country is ample to live on, 2/3 thirds cheaper than Pattaya

Well, I don't know. I tend to agree with the OP. I know Pattaya, I know Bangkok and I do know Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and even Isan to a certain degree. Certainly, if one wishes to live in a village in Isan, then even 30K a month is too much, but if one doesn't own one's own accommodation, be it a house or a Condo(the upkeep of which is more expensive), it is really very difficult to live on in any bigger city or town for 30K. For a family, even of two, in order to live at a certain standard and comfortably (no bars, but a meal or two a week in a nice restaurant, Thai or European), run a car etc., I reckon one needs about 100k a month. Having said this, life most certainly is cheaper than in Europe, USA or Australia. To enjoy the same standard of living that one can here in Thailand for 100k a month, one would need there more or less 50% or so more(BHT100 k is app. US$3,300 or EUR2600)

The prime minister [Netanyahu] said: “Whoever wants to see the truth about the roots of the conflict between us and the Palestinians should come to Otniel and see here a wonderful family who only wants coexistence and peace."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-ambassadors-comments-ignite-diplomatic-row-with-israel/2016/01/19/2fcca4b6-beb2-11e5-98c8-7fab78677d51_story.html

It's a pity the family had not coexisted in peace on the Israeli side of the 67 green line, and not voted with their feet to occupy the West Bank displacing Palestinians there making them refugees, some for the 3rd time in their lives.

End the occupation,Israel, make peace with your neighbors, and make the OP incidents history.

I fully and entirely agree. However allow me to add that murderous activities against innocent civilians, by whoever, against whoever, anywhere should be sharply condemned. I really and fully support the Palestinian cause, but this does not justify such murderous activities, on BOTH SIDES. These do not help either side.

I wouldn't hesitate for a moment. Although I prefer to vacation elsewhere (smaller islands with uncrowded beaches and good scuba diving,) I find that Chiang Mai offers me everything I require in a 'home base.' I'll turn 70 at my next birthday, and can understand your questions about this area. There is a wide choice of medical facilities, even wider choice for shopping and entertainment, yet at the same time, if you chose your home location wisely, it still retains the 'feel' of a small town. Shop keepers are friendly, on the street Thais you meet will smile and nod as you pass, and there are many different expat communities that you have the option of joining if that is your wish.

Air quality 'can' be a problem for some. It does get bad for four to six weeks every year. The degree of 'bad' varies though, and I find that wearing an N95 filter mask (the sort you can purchase in most home centers or larger pharmacies) for 2-3 weeks during that time is sufficient to insure comfort and health. While it 'looks' bad, it's not necessarily life threatening for the entire burning season, and once that clears up, the air quality for the rest of the year combined with the mountain lifestyle make Chiang Mai a very pleasant place to live year round.

I entirely and absolutely agree. I am more or less the age of the OP and have lived in Chiang Mai for the last 8 years. It's a wonderful place to live in for all the reasons you have pointed out to and I would most certainly recommend this place to anybody.

If they cause ANY sort of trouble then YES they should be seized.

I agree and would add: if they cause troubles (violate the laws of the land= they should be deported. Asylum seekers should be given shelter, treated in the same was as locals (as far as social security is concerned ) (assets cant exceed essentials, in most European countries), but they MUST respect the laws of the land. Otherwise they have to leave, be deported!!!

If Israel believes its West Bank settlements are legal what have they got to hide? Why are they trying to disguise that fact, and hoodwink European consumers by undermining their choice.

Why does Israel have a problem with telling the whole truth? To distinguish between a product made in Tel Aviv or Ramallah is simply detailing the truth. Consumers want truth, information, and choice.

Europe's response if the lobbying works should be the same as for other products that have labels that don't tell the whole truth.

Take free-range eggs, for instance. There is no law for caged-hen egg producers to label their eggs as coming from caged hens. Consumers who objected to caged hens stopped buying ALL eggs. So the only option was for the free-range eggs to be labeled as such voluntarily by the free range farmers.

Thus, Israeli goods will be boycotted until Israeli producers who are not in occupied territories label their products, voluntarily, "NOT produced in occupied territories".

I have taken the time to listen to the interview. It was indeed a waste of time.Mr. Lapid just repeated the Israeli statements, contradicting himself at least 5 times and said nothing new, apart from stating that he is a centrist. If his positions represent the centrists views, what are the leftists? Peaceful settlers? Mr. Lapid, you should know that as your Prime Minister you can't fool the world. You may be able to fool Israeli voters for a while, but even they will get wiser one day.

Another one that wants to go down in history as a hero for his generosity(with other peoples money).

I think you should be ashamed of such a remark, which you should take back. I congratulate the Thai government for doing this. It may be only a token, but much richer countries, including neighbours and brother countries (Israel, Saudi Arabia and others) do nothing of the sorts. May be this gesture of the Thai government will encourage other countries in this area, who should be emotionally closer to the refugees, like Malaysia and Indonesia, to follow suit in a bigger way!

I'm O pos,good for any blood group pm me

Is this correct? If so I am prepared to donate .

Jeb is only one in Republican field that approaches rationality. He doesn't stand a chance.

Agreed. Donald Trump has been making sure that no Republican candidates has any chance against Hillary!

I don't know about Australia; but I do know car insurance here is a pittance compared to car insurance in The Netherlands.

There same refers to Germany and the UK, let alone the USA where it is really expensive (in some states).

International schools cost 600.000/year and up, can hardly be value for money I guess.

But a standard school incl. brainwashing, modified history books and teachers who can't speak English won't make the kid a highflyer. And yes also makes them non-responsible, lacking self consiousness and self esteem.

I would try to talk with foreign parents who's kid went to the int. school, and if possible with the kids themselves, they are smarter and more open minded, better understand their own culture.

But the home situation/influence is not less important.

Possibly only one International school in Chiang Mai costs about THB500,000, but the others cost between 250,000 to 350,000. Even the ones that are in the region of BHT 250 -300 K are of quite a high level, some have the British curriculum, others the American (one the German one) and others the IB, which is recognised practically worldwide.

The other alternative to International schools is the bi lingual Thai schools, where I believe that in one or two of them, the students can be prepared and sit for the Cambridge matriculation. They are slightly more reasonable in fees than the international schools.

I would suggest that you enquire with the various schools and decide after establishing the facts.

1) Location, condos are in town, houses generally 10Km outside town.

2) Customer, houses are for poor Thais, condos are for rich foreigners.

PS

You're viewing ads in English, aimed at the foreigner market. Adverts for houses in Thai are much cheaper.

Plenty of 2 bedroom houses in the burbs for 5,000-6,000bht/month, but not advertised in English.

Same for condos, Thais don't pay more than 4,000bht a month, most are in 2,000bht/month condos.

The Thai houses or condos you are referring to are not of a standard that Europeans to better class Thais would wish to live in.