OneMoreFarang

In Spain they have currently a campaign: Every woman’s body is beach-ready Maybe Thais saw this and decided: Oh No! I won't add a picture here because I don't want to ruin your day. If you look it up don't say I didn't warn you.

Your post is accurate in many ways. About getting a better massage while they started already: Tell her it hurts. And if she doesn't change, tell her again. And again. Ask her if she understands what you are saying. Remove your feet. Escalate the situation in a calm way. She will get better or she will get annoyed. If you are in a good place then there will be a manager to talk to. Don't tell the manager she is stupid and doesn't listen, etc. Tell the manager that it hurts when she massages you and you prefer a lighter touch. Option 1 is he/she listens and does something. Option 2 nothing happens and you know you don't have to go to that shop again. And about the qualification: People will only be able to give you a proper massage if they learned how to do it. My gf went to the famous Wat Po school in Bangkok. After a couple of weeks training she received a certificate. You can ask in a shop where they trained and if they have certificates. In a good place they all should have certificates. Obviously it's still possible that those are fake or the person doesn't care to give you a decent massage. But at least with certificates you have a higher chance to get a good massage. And they know and train how to concentrate on the individual person in the massage school.

Ok, take off that bikini. ????

Thanks, with that search term I see a lot of them on Lazada. That is already a very good sign. https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=Double+expansion+anchors

What are these things called in Thailand (in English or Thai)? Basically I look for the opposite of a bolt anchor in concrete. With a bolt anchor the bolt is sticking out of the wall or floor. What I want is a threaded hole in the floor or wall where I can attach something. And if I don't attach anything anymore then I don't want to have bolts sticking out of the floor. Mainly I want to use them in concrete. But I am also interested in a version for brick walls - if they exist. I have no idea of the names. I found on the internet something like this: female anchor, female drop in anchors, drop in concrete masonry anchors

It seems by now most male adults in the west have accepted what the women tell them. They accept that it's up to the women to have from time to time a good heart and let the men have a little bit of sex. The women made them also believe that guys should look for women in their own age group. And a good heart is obviously more important than good looks. And men must do homework, change the diapers, etc. and must smile doing that and pretend they like it. After years of such treatment there are not many men left who admit to themselves that what they really want is a hot young girl, lots of sex and obviously not women's work at home. If they would tell a women back home that they want to go to Thailand for a holiday they will hear lots of s$### what an a$#hole they are. And perverts, going after poor girls who only want to feed their family. So how many guys still admit to themselves what they really want? And how many then go for it?

Stupid question! There are casinos all over Thailand, and many of them. Anybody who likes to gamble knows where they are. And the police know where they are - and go there to gamble themselves or pick up money. A big reason why casinos are illegal in Thailand is because lots of influential people make lots of money from illegal casinos and from pretending they don't exist. There will never be an open educated discussion about this as long as people are not supposed to talk about the existing reality.

Let me tell you the story of a female friend of my gf. The friend is now maybe 45 years old and she has four kids in the range from about 6 to 21. She used to sell food at the local school or market. Now it seems she doesn't find or doesn't like any jobs near her home, about 5 hours away from Bangkok. And some time ago she decided she will come to Bangkok to work here and make money. Because of her age and being overweight and not fit the numbers of people who want to employ her are low. But she somehow always finds a job. So maybe she works for 4 weeks in a job in Bangkok. And then she misses her kids, which is understandable. And then she decides to visit her kids for a weekend. After a day home she somehow realizes that a weekend is not really long enough, so she stays a little longer with the kids. And then, maybe a week later, she returns to "her" job. Except it is not her job anymore. Because she didn't show up after the weekend the boss hired someone else. After all, the work has to be done. She is disappointed, why did that boss do that? It was just a couple of days, and she missed her children. It seems she doesn't even try to look at it from the perspective of the employer. So she is looking for work again, another company with another job. And, what a surprise, after a few weeks she misses her kids again. So she goes home again over the weekend. And there someone else tells her about that other job, where she would get 1000B more per months. Oh, that sounds good, lets go there. Should she inform her previous employer who thought she will come back after the weekend? Not really. He will see that she doesn't show up... This is happening, and with repetitive behavior again and again. Last time she didn't yet miss the children but a relative died and she had to go to the funeral - after she started work maybe 10 days ago. That funeral was obviously important... Let's look what will happen next. But it doesn't really matter because it will likely be similar to what happened in the past. My gf talked about this with me, and I suggested she should look for work in or near her village. Because otherwise the story will repeat again and again. But no, thinking about what would make sense is just too much headache. Somehow she seems to me a typical case of how many uneducated Thais "think".

Wow, your friend must have a very good heart. I am sure treating employees like family helps to keep them. But there are also downsides. I know a women who own several bars. She hired many people from her "village" since maybe 20 years. And she is successful. But I also see that now a substantial part of the people who work for her, in her bars, since maybe 20 years, are just too old for that job. But she keep these people "working". Or more correct I should say she continues to pay them and she deliberately overlooks the fact that they basically don't work. I guess in part it is her good heart that she keeps these older people employed and paid. But in part it will also be the fact that if she would fire, even in a very nice way, the old and useless people from her business, that would be a problem. Because some of the young people who work for her are the children of those old people. So if she would fire the mothers that would influence the daughters to leave. My point is that at some point then this is a family or a community but not much of a business anymore. For someone who wants a business and not adopt a family this concept won't work.

Somehow I get the impression you want to analyze this situation with logic. That's a hilarious idea.

So you think you understand the mindset of the average Thai that has no education? Really? Please explain it to us all. I am sure if you could write a book about it many people will buy it. Because I don't think I know anybody who understands that mindset. And about the 2 weeks to a month notice: What a wonderful idea. I can tell you why many of them don't give you that notice. Because they don't know themselves what they will do in a week from now, or in two or four weeks. Maybe they would give you notice if they would know. They don't! Good luck for you. You will need that luck. Because I am sure you or anybody else won't be able to solve it with science and thinking.

Is the GPS to blame or the idiot who followed "orders"?

And obviously all for 600B per month and perfect customer service...

Wow, that is obviously unforgivable. How long do you live already in Thailand? If you want to enjoy your life here then maybe try to manage your expectations.

"Or is the bigger problem that many people don't read the fine print and somehow assume the insurance will pay?" This fine print alone shows the mentality of insurance companies. Why can't all the wording be the same?? Don't answer that. Is there an insurance ombudsman in Thailand?? Even if there was, brown envelopes will talk TiT. These companies seem to have a licence to scam and con people, yes of course there are people who will say I'm wrong and their insurance company have paid out, but look at it from a wider point of view, do I need to say more? A long time ago I worked in a company in Europe who compared and sold private health insurance contracts. Small print and more small print and more intern regulations (i.e. how much do they pay for prescription glasses, etc.). Some conditions were the same and lots of conditions were different. And obviously the prices were different. Should we blame companies that they compete with each other? If you buy bread there are also many different sorts and quality and prices and you also don't demand that all should be the same. It's up to the customer to decide what they want and chose wisely.

Option 4: Get a reasonable paid job in Thailand and enjoy life. That's what I do since almost 30 years.

One of my favorites is the story about the Mexican Fisherman. Enjoy! There are many versions on the internet. This is one of them. https://aliabdaal.com/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisherman/

Not really. If you are a miserable fart then you will find lots of faults even in the right person. Just look in this forum...

Some time ago I read Albert Einstein's biography written by Walter Isaacson. It's a great book. One of the fascinating facts is that Einstein lived the first 30 years or so of his life without electricity in his house. As far as I remember he had the first time electricity at home when he moved to Prague in 1911. And he made most of his groundbreaking discoveries before that time. Fascinating!

What has changed? I still see lots of tourist who spend maybe 100 or 200 USD per day. It's like having a shop and aiming for customers who buy the thing with the highest profit. Yes, you can aim for that, but lots of other customers still come and buy other things. And nobody tells those other customers to go away. It's still easy for tourists to come to Thailand and enjoy a holiday. I am not up to date about the regulations but I guess it's more difficult now for people to stay here many months or all the time. I.e. people who retire here need to have 800,000B in the bank. That's 2192B per day or about 60 USD per day. Is that a problem if Thailand wants that people have at least 60 USD per day? I don't think so. And it's obviously up to Thailand and the Thai people. Think about all the restrictions which other countries have for foreigners who want to live there all year long. Many countries have much stricter regulations than Thailand. And it's every country's right to have any restrictions they want. There is no such thing as a right for every person to live wherever they want.

Nowhere. You, and that bike, are not allowed to go straight at that place. I think only busses are allowed to go straight there. And I guess they know where to stop. That is Ploenchit to Sukhumvit under the highway bridge. https://www.google.com/maps/@13.7428783,100.5501881,3a,90y,64.85h,89.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCbo0WasRMLVNEu00kscalg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I have not much knowledge about this. But some research in Bangkok showed to me that the prices of existing condominiums didn't change much over the last years. Today a sqm cost the same as it cost 5 years ago - and probably a lot longer. When I compare the price of existing units (maybe 20 years old) plus renovation from scratch to a very good standard that is still a lot cheaper than new buildings and units. And additionally it seems new units have very small rooms. Like how can you squeeze 3 bedrooms in 60sqm? At least I wouldn't want to live in such a shoe box - even if it is brand new and supposed to be luxury.

Does your gf have a (well paid) job in Thailand? Does she have enough reasons to return to Thailand? It seems one big concern of those people who provide the visa is if she likely will go back to Thailand or if she is more likely to stay illegally in Europe, maybe work illegally in Europe, etc.

Until now I was never disappointed by her. But I never renovated or built anything in Thailand and I never hired her or anybody else in Thailand in relation to construction work or management of such a project. So in theory it's possible that I could trust her with A but not with B. Or to say it in another way: I never asked her to keep a million THB cash for me for a week and look what happens. Probably she would give it back to me after that week. But would I bet on that? That's the reason for "in general".

That's a perfect description for all those believers. Really? I am one of those highly intelligent people and I know other highly intelligent people. They all don't believe in god. On the other hand I also know a couple of stupid people who think they are smart. There is a name for that. It's called the Dunning–Kruger effect. But to make you happy and allow you to continue in your bubble I am out of here. I really don't want to waste my time with delusions. Enjoy believe bubble.