wasabi

I haven't seen any noteworthy updates to Skype for a few years yet millions still use it. Why not keep it on life support and continue raking in a few hundred million a year? I've searched and found no viable VOIP alternative that allows you to purchase unlimited calling to cell phones worldwide for a reasonable price. A combination of GoogleFi and Wifi calling may be an option. But wifi isn't always available when you need to make a call.

My final conclusion is it'd be less eventful to walk around Bangkok with a star of David necklace and a Keepah than discuss being Jewish in chat forums such as this.

This is my sole complaint about Thailand and why I cannot definitively say life in Thailand is better than my life in the USA. The air pollution is a problem for most of Southeast Asia. I've found areas with high concentrations of motorbikes are the most problematic. Car emissions are significantly lower than years past but motorbikes are still largely unregulated and spewing constant filth. Construction, crop burning and factory emissions are the other usual suspects.

Damn you're right. That was a serious typo that unfortunately I can't correct. Some of the responses have made me think of my wife's experience. She is Laotian and typically mistaken for a Thai person which works to her advantage in Thailand. We were just in Vietnam and nearly every Vietnamese person thought she was Vietnamese. This was less advantageous because they'd start rattling off some Vietnamese which niether of us can speak, though at least it was met with friendly smiles. The one time I was harassed for being Jewish was while I was walking on the Sky Bridge near the Erawan shrine with my wife. I had a short beard and somewhat longer sideburns at that time. Nothing that comes close to Hassidic Jews but that may have made me stand out enough for the two Arabs to exchange words with me. Every other encounter has been minor and the replies in this thread make me think they largely have been some type of misunderstanding or paranoia and I shouldn't worry about them.

I was talking about the 2023 Hamas attacks. If the hostilities I perceived were real I don't consider myself a victim nor am looking to cast any blame, I understand the anger and frustration that conflict has created, but I'm not going to resolve it and mainly want to avoid it so this thread was created to detect how real these hostilities may be in Thailand (mainly Bangkok) and if my appearance alone is enough for people with a grudge to lash out. I'd never thought of myself as looking Jewish until recently and since I don't actively practice the religion have never flaunted it. I would not have thought someone could spot me by "looking Jewish" but some have at least suspect it based on my appearance. I've made a few Youtube videos where people observed I looked like Jerry Seinfeld at last implying I was Jewish. If people are going to make assumptions I wish I was at least a billionaire to fully fit the stereotype. I think having a long face is one giveaway.

Double standards and grievances are coming from both sides. It concerns me too. To be clear I think the Palestinians do have some legitimate grievances and should have their own contiguous piece of land along with freedom of movement within it. There are reasons far more complex than I could explain preventing that but nothing could possibly justify what happened on October 7th with Hamas's gruesome attack. The history and the pain between them and proceeding the creation of Israel is long and twisted with both sides wanting to be justified in their actions and claims. I fully support Jewish people's right to a homeland but I don't unequivocally support or understand every action the IDF takes or the actions many nations take militaristically for that matter. The fog of war gets the best of every country. The bottom line is not every person in any group is all thinking and doing the same thing as part of some grand global conspiracy.

Dumb things like this have happened to me periodically throughout my time in Thailand. I typically let it slide. And yes the recent media focus on anti-Semitism has made me more sensitive to it, perhaps overly sensitive, hence my original question.

Duplicate

the Thai employee put my food on a plate but the Arabic owner pulled him aside and when he came back he put it in a styrofoam container. I had eaten there before when the owner was not there and nothing like that happened. He may have wanted me to leave but I sat there and ate it out of the container. I could see the pile of black plates and the next customer received one. I had not asked for my meal to go.

FWIW I've been a member of this site including the former Thai Visa for 21 years and this is the first time I've mentioned anything about my ethnicity and animosity related to it in Thailand because I never experienced it to this degree before. (Which I know is still trivial but a notable increase)

As an isolated incident it was almost meaningless and I only noticed because of other recent subtle slights and glares.

I'm not going to post my picture but as I mentioned earlier I look like Jerry Seinfeld but about 6 shorter. I had never thought about this until recently. I was stunned when some Arabs came up to me and asked if I was Jewish. I said no just to get them away but that didn't stop them from handing out a few pejorative remarks. That only happened once and was years ago before the recent bout of anti-Semitism flared up. For the most part these events have been minor and could easily be being misinterpreted by myself and my friends that's why I wanted to know if what I've observed is isolated and random or if others may have has similar experiences. Seems like mostly no which is good.

I didn't intend for this thread to devolve into a geopolitical debate though I did suspect it might since I mentioned the incident with Hamas that may have precipitated the increase. My main point is my Jewish physiognomy has attracted increased passive-aggressive actions and minor confrontations from our Arab amigos primarily in the Nana area for the past year. I too thought it was paranoia at first but my non-jewish wife and non-jewish friends have independently observed it. I don't claim to be a victim by any means and not very concerned at the moment. I was just wondering if other Jewish people or Jewish looking people have noticed an increase in hostility either passive aggressive or confrontational.

I'm not suggesting their success isn't earned. Most of the suspicions are based in the accusers own insecurities or desire for social media clicks and likes.

I understand the suspicions, due to centuries of diaspora and Jewish people historically having outsized representations in finance and the film, but recent antisemitic propaganda I see on social media is full of myths and selective outrage that are full of fallacies. What's happening in the Middle East is woven with such deep anger and grievances that existed long before I was born I don't pretend to know how it started or how they can be resolved. I encourage tolerance and humility but I'm not naive and know that some divides are too wide to be bridged.

I've never had the aforementioned problems occur with a Thai person, including Thai Muslims.

Possible but unlikely. This is not happening every time I go out. Maybe once or twice a month. FYI I am not a political person and not involved with nor support whatever is happening in the South of Thailand. The closest thing to religion I have is Taoism. It's unfortunate when people get swept up into hostilities they didn't create and don't promote.

I look like a short version of Jerry Seinfeld if that helps. I certainly don't announce it.

I was born Jewish but haven't practiced any religion my entire adult life. Up until recent years it wasn't something I frequently thought about. That said I do look Jewish enough that someone could pick me out of a crowd as "Jewish-Looking" I occasionally eat at Halal food places around Bangkok. I've always enjoyed Mediterranean types of food that are common to Muslim eateries. While I am not ignorant of hostilities between Jews and Muslims, I have friends from all walks of life and give everyone a fair shot if they're friendly to me. Right after the Hamas attack on Israel Oct 7th in 2003. I noticed poorer service in the Halal food restaurants I visit. These are not just in the Nana area, but in places like Terminal 21 Asoke as well. For example, for some strange reason everyone was given a plate but my food was served in a Styrofoam container. I know this is minor and I didn't think much about it. But other small things like delayed service, getting my order wrong, and people staring at me both in these restaurants and on the street by people who are Arabic has increased. My wife and friends have noticed this (happening to me) as well so it is not just paranoia. I was only verbally harassed by an Arab person once in my entire 24 years in Thailand, and that was about 4 years ago, unrelated to recent events. In spite of this I have no hard feelings and this post is not meant to stir up resentment or point fingers. But with distrust and anger at Jewish people on the rise in various parts of the world I wonder how much I should be concerned. I was recently in California and didn't notice any issues there, nor in my recent trip to Vietnam. I have no interest in leaving Thailand but was just curious if any other members of this site have noticed anything like this?

I've been using the $129 Phone2 Pro plan for a few days now. My only need is to call US landlines. It works but the call quality can be inconsistent on the Android app. I've been having some trouble getting the sound to work when using the website Phone2 website on Edge but it works pretty well on Firefox. I may have set it up wrong when I first logged into Edge because I noticed on Firefox it asked if I wanted to use the Phone2 website for sound vs other Windows system options, and I clicked yes. I didn't see that option when logging into Edge the first time. Overall it works but it's buggy and the settings are scattered across browser, app and Phone2 preferences. Support is nonexistent So yes it works but I preferred the simplicity and consistency of Skype. As you and others have said I have zero expectation I'd get a refund so I'm to keep it as a backup and keep looking for a better option. I can't say I recommend it, but it does work.

I'm pretty sure with my plan it is pay per minute to call the US from Thailand. Second, I'm concerned frequent use of the Google Fi phone service overseas will result in them canceling my subscription. That happened before when I was using the data overseas. The policy may be different for phone calls but I don't want to push my luck since I depend on them for SMS.

My GoogleFi works perfectly for unlimited US text messages so I don't need to use any other products for that. I took a gamble and signed up for Phone2 Pro because I can't find any reasonable alternative after 2 days of searching. So far I was able to call cell phones from the website and my Skype number but when I tried to call Schwab using the website all I heard was silence. I then called Schwab via the Phone2 Android app and everything worked with Schwab including the voice verification. Seems like it's going to be buggy but hopefully it meets my needs. This is a huge opportunity for them so if the Phone2 team has any brains they'll hire some good programmers and work out the kinks. FWIW I own a US LLC so if some type of business verification is needed I'm equipped to handle that.

I'm going to give this a try. The $99 deal is for the basic plan which is limited to 1000 outgoing minutes per month. I'd probably rarely use that much but for $30 more you get unlimited incoming and outcoming so I think I'll try that. The biggest risk is how long "lifetime" is going to be.

Those hours on hold is when unlimited Skype calls was most valuable. That's the problem with pay per minute services.

I've been using I've been using Skype for 25 years too. I expected Microsoft was going to sunset it at some point since VOIP technology has changed a lot and they were not making many updates to the software anymore. I am considering Google Voice to replace Skype. ChatGPT indicated it's $0.01 a minute to make calls to landlines and cell phones and free to receive calls. It also said they can provide a US phone number just as Skype has. I have Google Fi but Google will penalize you if you use it extensively outside of the US even though they claim it's unlimited worldwide.