LuukKoeyKorat

Out of sight, is out of mind. Unfortunately.

"...and would gladly do it again, since the tits “hadn’t come cheap”"

Priceless

LMFAO - I love these articles...

<deleted> ???????????? I seem to recall just last week there was some

sort of crackdown on bars that were open late ? Oh well, never a dull

moment here in miracle Thailand...

In my local municipality all bars tend to close on time except one very " well connected ' establishment which closes when the last customer leaves and has never been troubled by the BIB.

Nong Bar? :-)

No, it wasnt to entertain, or even educate for that matter,

but to tell the world veni vidi vici

triumph is His

It's not all that clear whether he veni'd or not.

ROFLMAO

Frequently giving me a pedicure or manicure because 'its fun'. Wouldn't find that back home...

Having lived in Cambodia and traveled around this friendly region quite a bit, It took me a while to figure out why Bangkok seems so cold among expats, aside from it being a mega-city with all that brings.

First, if I came here for the reasons that many come here, I would also keep to myself and risk having to answer as few questions as possible. Not all expats fall into this category, but Thailand does a lot to let sex tourists, burnouts, and other sketchy dropouts get by without having to face themselves-- at least until the money runs out. Talking to other expats-- the ones that still have something of the moral/ethical standards that "you" left behind-- is the fastest way to have to face yourself, so avoid at all costs. Anonymity is a treasured commodity in the land of vices.

Second, now that I've been here awhile, I know better than to risk (accidentally) engaging with the ones who haven't yet figured out that I don't want to hear about their exploits-- the ones who are either oblivious to the fact that what they're here for is kind of skeezy, or who haven't yet figured out that we aren't all like them (i.e that there are other reasons to be in Bangkok, though some days I still ask myself what those are).

I think a lot fewer people become expats in Laos for these reasons-- a much larger proportion go there to work in the international aid community, or in business. It's just a different scene with fewer suspicious motives floating around. And in Cambodia, at least in my experience, the ones with the worst motives/reasons for being there kept well-separated from and out of the way of the more mainstream (NGO and business) expat community.

Just my experience.

Spot on

If gossip were a sport the Thais would be world champions.

....but the Lao people would win Olympic gold medals

38

Fascinating and sobering reading. Well done on pulling through, all the best in the future.

Fantastisch... ;-)

You are absolutely right. Come look at the parking lot outside Don Chan Palace disco any given Friday night, and you will witness a ridiculous amount of the latest model souped up BMWs, Mercs, Audis, GTs, Hummers, Porsches, I have even seen a Lambo once. There is some serious money especially in Vientiane. Not necessarily politician offspring, but big business too.Never ceases to amaze me..VTE is a small town, it must have the most luxury cars per capita in all SE Asia

cities.

Didn't know 18 year olds in communist countries could afford Porsche's. He's almost certainly related to a politician then, be interesting to see how he gets away with this one, afterall the Thai general public will be disgusted and probably prejudiced against him.

Beats me why the admiration, but this is a school in Chiang Mai a couple of years ago.

Oh, and the school administration was "unaware" of this during the school festivities. My question is, in picture 1, why is Lennon seen as Hitler? Mr. Bean? sigh

Words fail me..... !

Is that Osama Bin Laden bottom left? And a -tanned- Tony Blair in the middle? LOL....unbelievable

As a Kraut, this response never ceases to totally surprise and dismay me. Don't they teach the reality and horrors of Nazism in the classroom? Of the effects of WWII ? Is the subject ignored in general history lessons in Thai schools? Any other Germans have the same experiences as me?

take a wild guess what a German like me experienced during a decade in the Middle East

Obviously heaps of admiration for originating from the country of Porsches, Benz & BMW..... ;-)

It was a European War between Europeans and peoples of European origin. The general population of Thailand and Asia have as much interest in European wars as Europeans have in Asian wars between Asians.

So why the big interest and admiration in SE Asia for Hitler? A European warmonger?

That's mad..like completely??

Bit off topic, but to all teachers out there....how is Thailand's role in WW2 portrayed in the general curriculum in Thailand?

it is skipped

The swastika is an ancient Hindu symbol of good luck and longevity...saw it a lot on temples in Bali. The Nazis reversed the direction of the hooks and adopted the symbol.

Bit off topic, but to all teachers out there....how is Thailand's role in WW2 portrayed in the general curriculum in Thailand?

@ Jingthing- that's mad! The most disturbing thing about this is the nonchalance and almost naivety how he is praised. Makes me feel uncomfortable and disturbed about what is taught in schools over here. I can understand the whole 'militaristic' appeal of it...after all, LOS is a country full of uniforms, but the lack of comprehension is just....weird.

One more thing ;-) ....post AEC 2015, I believe Thais will be able to own land.

I've recently relocated to Laos after years in Thailand, will be opening a resort here later this year. For the past year I have been dealing with all the redtape, paperwork and formalities. In a nutshell, foreigners (Thais included) cannot own land in Laos outright. Maximum is a 30 year renewable leasehold. Land can be purchased in proxy using a Lao nationals name, but in the absence of any legal system, lawyers, waterproof contracts, this is inadvisable. Bear in mind that a majority 'legally binding' contracts such as for rental, it will be the village headman and/or district chief who will witness, sign and guarantee the agreement in the absence of any lawyers. As guaranteed, if not more so. However, foreigners ARE allowed to 100% own their business, an option called 'Foreigner Investment Licence'. It's an expensive, time consuming process and you have to prove substantial investment capital. It's the safest option in Laos for running your own business, and automatically provides a 12 month B2 business visa, work permit and all important residency card. Other options are joint business venture, or a partnership with a Lao. But back to your original question - no, foreigners including Thais, cannot buy property, only rent or lease. Hope this helps you :-)

Great post - totally true

With 13 years logged on the island, 7 of them and counting owning a restaurant in phangan and still going to way too many of these parties I would like to chime on on the safety of koh phangan parties. The list keeps growing but currently there are 13 larger parties; full moon, half moon, shiva moon, jungle experience, samonera waterfall, loy lay, pirates bar, coral pool party, Rhythm and Sands, guys bar party, eden bar and up start hansa party. Most of these parties are twice a month or weekly except the full moon. Thats a lot of parties, a lot of drunk people and a lot of sloppy situations and accidents.

With the exception of the full moon party, all of these parties have local thais working the door collecting an entrance charge. These door guys know which young thai boys are the trouble makers on the island and they usually wont let them in. In fact Coral pool party doesnt let in thai people at all unless your friends with a cop or the owner. These parties are designed for tourists to have a good time and thats who goes. What local is going to pay 500 baht to walk into a party where they dont even like the music? So, again, with the exception of the full moon most parties are full of farang and thai women.

Drug use on the island is way down in my opinion. The pharmacys stopped selling speed many years ago and now they dont even sell valium or xanax. It used to cost 10,000 baht if you were caught with ganga now its 60,000. I even heard that over new years one guy was passed a joint by an undercover he took a puff and it ended up costing him 220,000 baht.. OUCH! On the other hand mushrooms are readily available and nitrious oxide is exploding MDMA is around but hard to get. All a bit safer then speed, ya ba, ice or herion.

So you got these parties with people drunk, possibly on a mushy shake and an occasional overpriced balloon. We now have really talented DJ's working all the parties and for the most bit everyone is just dancing and having a great time. Yes there are a few fist fights occasionally but most the damage is done when people hop on their motorbike for the drunken ride home. The parties are honestly really fun and most of the visiting farang tear up a few of the parties, run out of money and take off to less debaucherous locations.

Now for haad rin. Haad rin can be fun but you have to understand that anyone can partake and that means good and bad people. It can be a dangerous place. You have lady boys pickpocketing people, thousands of people from samui coming over on the speed boats most to have fun but a few to possibly sell drugs, rob bungalows or worse. For the most part its very dark and there is pretty much no security because no one person gets to keep a big entry fee so why would they pay for security? Its just a big open massive party. There is tons of glass on the beach. I went on Dec 28th and the girl I was with gashed open her foot. Its also well known that the young thai men bartending in most the haad rin bars are not to be messed with. They will without a seconds hesitation hit somone over the head with a bottle, pull out a knife or worse. And they fight in packs like dogs. In addition the full moon partys make the rest of the island less safe. The local theifs use this night to rob bungalows and rental houses as they know most people are at the party or passed out from the party.

So coming from a local farang's perspective Koh Phangan and its parties are quite safe except the full moon. The police have increased the penaltys for drug use and it has reduced the amount and types of drugs consumed and now most the party goers are on the booze. A majority of the people that go to the full moon end up having a good time and with the only consequence being a nasty hangover. But, if you concerned with have a safe fun time just skip haad rin entirely and hit all the other parties. Dont drive your motorbike songtheaw taxis are cheep at 100 baht each way for most parties so park the scooter hop in a taxi and have a good time. A couple of the parties are really cranking right now and are a blast (half moon is tonight!). Koh Phangan is a crazy place but not really very dangerous considering how drunk the whole island is.