siamruby

Father in law told a story about him, he apparently put his foot in the seawater during a drought and saved the lives of people who were then able to drink it afterwards.

Should be Long Po Tuad. Buddhist saint that hails from the South. He is the patron saint of travellers and highly revered.... good stuff you got there Penz.

I also got Luang Po Tuad. I brought him with me from Los to UK. As I got him over 20 yrs ago from my mum. But hardly believed in anything until I had an accident,got run down by car. I didn't see nor hear the car while I crossed the road. But the most incredible thing was I didn't feel anything. It was like I was crossing the road and then woke up again in hospital. I had no serious injury apart from bruises.

This 's gone to show that the political campaign has started Funny that many years ago they used to use salted fish to bribe the villagers, now it s getting bigger by using cows

One thing about the Thai culture is the Thais like to obey someone in authority whether it the police, the council officers,the teachers ,the ajarn in uni, the boss and whoever is in charge of wherever you are. It s also the culture of respect the elder and their opinions.

on the other hand the superior people do not like people beneath them argue with them. This also make working relationship quite difficult as the promotion at work will mostly goes by 3 things the qualification,the experiance and the age. I think it s also quite awkward in Los to have a boss younger than you.

I wonder if you ever argued with someone in authority? and what happened? For sure I hope no one dare to argue with a policeman carrying a gun!

I am not sure which one are you talking about. The 'Pla Chon' or the 'Pla Dook' (Cat fish). They both are popular national Thai fish and look very similar. I am still not sure what the Maryland authority worry about? I know they talked about the ecosystem but still it not very clear what damage can they do?

it's hard to draw a line on these "sensitive" topics clearly enough so that all participants [some of whom may be outside Thailand and thus not in the firing line when trouble comes] will behave. Those of us inside Thailand have lots to lose, and while the country may be "free," speech here is not. If I were a mod/board owner living here, I'd have the same attitude.

Totally agree with that. In theory Thailand is a free country with the Institutional law supports the right in free speech,the right in expressing one's opinion etc. But in practical you know what not to do

Congrate! Shopgurl. That is girlpower to us girls ( if you are really a girl ). I still have a long way to go but I am trying hard.

By the way, in Thailand this month on the 23 is the King Rama 5 day (Chulalongkorn Day). It s a national public holiday.

forget about drugs - unless you want to stay for the next 25 years

Or get the injection

I wonder if you know who King Rama 5 was? But I guess you might already know so I will skip the history bit .

I am Thai and also got a pic of King Rama 5 at home in Uk. I sometime wai him if I go in front of his pic. He was the greatest king of all the kings in Thailand that why he had the name of Maharaj (=the Great) at the end of his name.

Do you realise that a lot of amulets are not images of buddha? They are images of highly respectable monks, some are still alive and some are not. So I guess as the king was so highly respected and we always view our kings as some form of Gods. So I think he is more like a God to us.

Ps. I like watching Eastender

Thailand is a democracy,right?(I know,Toxin doesn't agree)

Wrong

Thailand is a Monarchy, True??

A monarchy.... but with a democratically elected government...

totster

A monarchy...with a democratically elected government military style. Namely,most of the leaders are from the military background and still have power and influence.

Socialist? me? nah I am a right wing.

I suppose there will be a lot of 'socialist' Thais in LOS all because they don't like the way Thaksin spending the country's money.

hi...

isn't it thailands ambition to be forward looking?

isn't mr thaksin a rich man? I know "he never paid for the jet himself"

who should be running the country instead? some farmer ? who goes to work on a bicycle ?

He is a high profile politician and a successful business man and therefore attracts a lot of negative press -

I get the feeling a lot of ex pats living in thailand are socialists who cannot understand or appreciate a good leader...

long live maggie .....

amarka

Wonder if you are being sarcastic or you really meant what you said?

Yes I know that is what he will say about the jet...he bought it himself because he is a rich man

I do appreciate a good leader well but Maggie is not one of them but we are not discussing about UK politic here although I have been living here long enough to know.

By the way I am Thai

I wonder what bad treatment that you received and want to complain. Is it only because some officer is being rude to you? Did they just cause you inconvenience? Was the standard of service not what you would expect back home? or did they arrest you or detain you for no reason?

I would expect you to complain if it was the last one. Having said that when I arrived in the UK and got detained for over 12 hours without any reason. I didn't complain. And I think most of the Thai people will agree with me that immigration officers here are very rude to the Thais. Even James Wattana once complaint that everytime he arrives in the Uk for tournament. He always got hassled from the immigration who treat him like a criminal.

I used to feel bitter everytime I have to deal with them. I said to myself these people are nothing compare with my position if they were in my country. But they are not in my country. They are IN THEIR COUNTRY. And I have no right to complain as I am not a British national and this is not my country.

Well, you can complain but at the of the day if the Thai gov don't want to listen and don't care what the Thai people got to say why should they care about what the guests got to say?

Don't know why he needs the jet. It s very well said that most of the world leaders got one. But he forgot that most of the world leaders are from the rich or powerful countries. Not the third world country like Thailand!

What should I say? Ok I've never lied (..but that could be a lie)

Ok I always lie.. ( so this sentence is a lie which mean I have never lied )

Oh I am so confused

Jotmai Long Tabien-translate- registered letter. Yes, there is such thing but I have never used it myself. Anyway, hope this Thai post office website will be useful.

http://www.thailandpost.com/post_service_en.asp

The first group I mixed with was a group of BG. I absolutely had no problem with them but just the way they showed off their status (hubbies's )

Yes, each town or city in the UK has a coven of Thai ex-BGs who only socialise with each other in order to compare their husbands' incomes, brand of car and value of property. Poor old hubby then gets it in the neck when it transpires that so-and-so's husband has just bought a new BMW - "I want a new BMW too!" The coven also operates as an informal Citizens Advice Bureau and the love of your life will come home spouting all kinds of rubbish as gospel.

Scouse.

Watch out! scouser you will turn this thread into bgs thread and we will get banned .

Dear Mod and Admin we are only discussing about life in Uk through a Thai's eyes

Yes, very well if people brag about their status but the constant discussion of why the so and so girl still want to live with her hubby because he has no/earn less money or simply because he is not rich enough. And then it was my turn when my ex-hub was made redundant, they said I should dump him. No thanks, but yet I dumped him anyway 10 yrs later on but it was his cruelty to me not the money.

Better to help her pack and call her a taxi.

My only problem with this is that I wouldn't want her getting upset in the taxi once I she was out of my sight, thinking/believing that I no longer gave a toss about her.

The old, I'd rather be upset/hurt than upset/hurt sombody.

I'm a sucker for that one, me.

Hear that guys (and learn ) he's so sweet! or are you just pretending to be nice?

Hi Wolf, I have been living in London for the last 18 yrs!!! not the same place of course. now the time has come for me to go back home. I am from BKK and same as your wife come from a middle class Thai. That is one thing I like about this country you rarely need to dress or act your 'class' or age.

I have met a few Thai people so far but didn't click with anyone. The first group I mixed with was a group of BG. I absolutely had no problem with them but just the way they showed off their status (hubbies's ) then a few more hi-so group i mixed with ,yet again everyone liked showing off or as you said waving it in your face and I am a jean and t-shirt,oxfam shops hunter girl! oh and no gold still (don't like gold!).

Yes, immigration people are very rude,God know how do they treat illegal immigrants! . In fact I didn't get detained overnight but all my friends did. But think it was more than 12 hrs they detained me and when I asked any question they just told me to shut up a few time. The only reason I thought they let me go early was because I told them my occupation in LOS was a trainee barrister. The fear of being sued . Sadly,I was just so glad to be released and didn't bother to make any complaint.

Give my regard to the wife.she sounds like a nice girl

so Tiger got married. a multi million dollar affair in the Bahamas. Given that half his family are thai(Punsawad family), were there any charter flights of thai people to the Bahamas recently ? or have they all emigrated to Thai Town Los Angeles by now

Many years ago Charles Barkley convinced Tiger that the only ethnicity he should identify with is being a Black American. Tiger has long given up any sense of Thai identity it would seem to me.

Must be sad to live with a mum who is Thai but he has to ignore all her root and culture.

If the film makes him cry I will probably cry too. how oh so romantic!

Know nothing about the film,still stuck in the miserable UK

I am a woman and don't have any problem with my guy crying. I think it s the way you guys have been brought up to believe that 'boys don't cry' that why you don't normally cry.But there is time and place for that, no one will like it if you cry in the public or worse ,cry when you are pissed .

But sadly if you are having a row with your partner and start to cry I think it looks like an emotional blackmail. Yes me too will tell my man.. for god sake pull yourself together,stop trying to make me feel sorry for you But other time I will just give him a hug

she was treated very badly by british customs that angered me.she started college to learn english they where all pakistanis,bangladeshi so no friends made there took her to a couple of local thai temples thought it might help.nobody spoke to her she never went back. its seems to me that when thai women move to farang countries they get this snotty nose in the air attitude to other thais. they have to flash the thai gold, me if i met some countryman in another place i,d strike up some sort of conversation whats the problem.she,s been here five years now the only gold she wears is a wedding ring

I feel sorry for your wife as that exactly the same as what happened to me. I came here to Uk first time as a student with a few friends. But we got detained at the immigration all day and night,being interrogated. We were all university graduates,got a load of money with us got all the paperworks for them...their reasons for detaining us? not good enough English to come and study here what subject did we come to study? ..English!!

And yes same reaction at the Thai temple I got, if you don't have enough gold to show you are not hi-so enough . Sadly I don't like gold nor like wearing jewellery and don't need to prove anything to anyone.

Well,get back to the topic, I don't like about ' farang land',the weather, the lack of respect and care to the elderly, the not so unfair justice system, the politically correct brigade, the food, the yobs, the feeling of no where to go when the weather is bad (apart from pubs,clubs,restaurants, cinema and shopping center!)

Thanks for all your messages guys but really no one can explain how can the Thais live from their salaries? even a good salary of 25,000 bths is still not enough for the ideal of expat lifestyle. And all the things you said you need seem to be very similar to the middle class Thais's lifestyle anyway. Well,I agree there are a lot of places in LOS that you have to pay more than the Thais simply because you are farangs, imagine that happens in the UK you would have been arrestted for racial discrimination!

Again thinking about all the things you do back home. Will you go to pubs,clubs,restuarants,amusement arcade,theme parks etc everyday/night? in my case we only do that once a week for us or taking kids out once or twice a week during the weekend. Also we don't smoke and only drink occasionally. And the need to use the bars and the BG? As I have been using the word 'we' now and again so you know we will have no expenses on that one I know you all beginning to think now 'what s a boring existence!' yes oh and we don't play golf either But hang on we have a few hobbies but the favorite one which cost a fortune in the UK namely arts and antiques which I think out of the questions in LOS as I don't see anything worth collecting there.... no, we are not that old yet as our little one only just start school. Well talking about school,no the kids are not going to school in Thailand, I am teaching them at home as I strongly don't believe in the education system there ,in fact not even in the UK. Now you can call me eccentric if you want

P.S. We intend to move to Chiang Mai although we own a house in BKK and we are preparing to buy a car outright and know the price of the car we want.

Welcome back, you will want to be a prisoner in your own home for a while. It s getting too cold to go out now and soon you will find mad rush of crowds doing Christmas shopping everywhere