sharksy

Either you had a proper camera or I was just hideous looking, but the beauties turned away from me and pretty much posed for the "professional" cameras there. Maybe I went the wrong day.

Not moved to Thailand yet, but for the first time in my life, I think I could live in Pattaya. Its changed a lot in the last 15 years, more upmarket places to go, nightlife quality has improved. Always a festival of some sort on at the beach, and Bangkok is not too far away either. Lots of fairly cheap thai food and fancy places too.

Recently got this Norovirus at a ski resort. Half the (huge) hotel guests went down with it, nothing to do with the food. 36 hours having to be near a toilet was not a pleasant experience, puking at the same time of course.

A Thai lady told me dogs are not pets, but are just for guarding the property from people, snakes etc. Cats are useful for keeping rats + mice at bay. In the Philippines, dogs don't even have a "pet" name. Just called dog.

My reason for posting was twofold :- Firstly, to raise awareness of this new account. I suspect other banks other than HSBC have similar now. Secondly, I wanted feedback (good & bad) from anyone who is actually using it. My best card is currently Halifax Clarity, but still easy to clock up charges. This Global card appears to offer rate of the day and money is taken from the account in the same way as a debit card.

My bad - Popped into UK branch. I haven't got any Thai bank accounts, so tend to bring cash over as its got expensive taking out from the ATM machines in Thailand. This Global card looks to address some of these issues - and more.

Popped in branch yesterday, ended up chatting with a staff member who told me about the above account offered by HSBC (free). I applied there and then on my phone HSBC app, very easy it. Should get card through the post tomorrow. It offers payment to several (all?) currencies without cost. No bank charges at ATM machines (except 200Baht fee or whatever the local Thail banks are charging). Anyone using this account who can give a first-hand experience of pros / cons? Thanks

Quick final comment. You've all got me all wrong. Seem to be more interested in 'boxing' or 'labeling' me, than the actual content written, and I'm wasting no more time on you

I believe Bakhmut was 80% Russian speakers, so no doubt there will be 100s fighting for Ukraine. But that leaves the majority who are not. The gist of my post was that Ukrainians weren't met as heros when they initially liberated the area, in the same way they were in the southern Kherson. It seems that a couple of posters would rather call me a Russian sympathiser than recognise the actual point I am making. This will be my last post about this on this thread

Skepticism is fine, but at try and back it up with some facts. Remember, the first victim of war - is the truth.

Here is a map for you https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russians_in_Ukraine It is from 2001, which I guess was the last time a census was done, maybe there is more "blue" areas since then.

Good article, I've read similar to this recently too. There was a Guardian article(can't find it) I read that residents in Bakhmut did not welcome Ukrainian troops, unlike, for example Kherson. This is not general knowledge, maybe the article was later pulled as it was not what people want to read?

Absolutely! - In an ideal world. Unfortunately, we don't live in that.

I usually enjoy reading your posts, but you are labelling me wrongly. I'm actually surprised you are quoting Aljazeera who are slightly pro-russian. Regarding the shelling: "On Friday, 11 July, two days before the shelling, 36–37 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a Grad rocket bombardment.[5][6] In response, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that for "every soldier's life, the militants will pay with dozens and hundreds of their own."[1]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelling_of_Donetsk,_Russia You do realise that there were 2 Minsk agreements (different dates). Minsk1 was about peace between the Ukraine Government and the 2 separitist groups - but much wasn't implimented, hence a Minsk2 was necessary. Minsk2 was about withdrawing any heavy weapons, Russia claimed it didn't have any, so the agreement didn't apply to them.

Not an RT watcher here. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm simply flagging up that it's never really 100% one sides fault, 0% the other. The Minsk agreement failed because of the separatists:- "In late October, DPR prime minister and Minsk Protocol signatory Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces would retake the territory they had lost to Ukrainian forces during a July 2014 offensive, and that DPR forces would be willing to wage "heavy battles" to do so" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk_agreements#:~:text=The Minsk agreements were a,forces playing a central part. https://historica.fandom.com/wiki/Donbas_War

Not at all, my own words. I'm unaware of what you mention above.

It's a funny old world. Isn't there a similarlity between Israel and Russia both stealing land? When one does it, nothing gets done about it, but the other.....

Do you realise that the war in the Donbas didn't start last year? It started many years ago. You do realise that Ukraine were shelling their own people in the Donbas region going back many years, closing down local TV stations etc. Just sayin

I feel like you are trolling me somewhat here - I already stated I do not support Russia. I suppose I should have posted a link in my original post referring to the fact to which I was trying to convey, in as much as nothing is really black + white. I can't find the Guardian article i read recently, but read the wikipedia entry under "Background" section to illustrate what I was alluding to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bakhmut

Edward Snowden?

Whilst what you state is correct, the fact is areas of Ukraine would rather be ruled by Russia than Ukraine. Democracy is surely what the people want, not what the rules want. People of Scotland were given the vote the leave the UK, for example. The world would be a happier place if people were ruled by people whom they want to be ruled by.

When Ukraine liberated Kherson, the locals welcomed the troops as heros. This isn't neccessary happening everywhere, such as the current big battleground at Bakhmut. The war is a lot more complicated than many think. BTW, I'm not supporting Russia, just making a point.

Did get trapped in a bungalow with no other way out, other than up the steps. What a beatiful creature. Girlfriend was terrified so had to call hotel staff. I hope they released it safely, made my day!

I'm generally not overly impressed with Italian Pizzas. Unless in Naples. Best pizzas ever. Something in part to do with the local tomatoes

And Phuket. Flew there recently from KK with AirAsia