theblether

Only an ignoramus who hasn't travelled the length of themselves believes UK food is the worst in the world. In a straight culinary fight of top class chefs using the best ingredients I'd group the following ten as the best - not in order. UK, USA, Australia, China, France, Italy, India, Thailand, Greece, Portugal - special mention, Japan Most overrated - Morocco, Mexico, Thai street food Mexican food confuses people. A lot of times they think they are eating Mexican when its actually Tex-Mex, which is American. And the Mexicans need to apologize for the avocado craze, what a catastrophe, all those bearded halfwits wandering around comparing avocado toast recipes. ps - most important PEOPLE'S as a n originator of the food that developed to feed the world? Easily Native Americans.

I know several cases where the mesh caused ongoing pain. The "take him to England" line was absurd. One the main complaints is cold weather pain. Also, these days I wouldn't like to guess how long you'd wait on a repair, north of six months would be a good estimate. I have one friend who had his mesh replaced after two years, in his case it was straightforward. You'd may as well go to the referral then weigh up the options. I'm always apprehensive about general anaesthetics, though I did find recovery from my two hernia operations to be straightforward. I'd be living with it unless it was debilitating, but for gawds sake, take England out of the equation.

I agree with this. Some foods such as venison, game birds, blue cheese etc have a brief period where their taste and your palette collide. The same goes with fermented fish, there's some I can tolerate and others are culinary catastrophes - the type of tase once it enters your mouth it never leaves your mind. For American members, that's how I feel about Chitlins. 33 years later and I'm still scarred.

Got to be honest, a lot of Thai food is off-the-scale dreadful. All these breathless-in-wonder vloggers spouting utter drivel about how good the street food is do my head in. No sane person travels 10,000 km to eat entrails on a stick, reconstituted cancer-causing chicken and pork balls, deep fried cr*p, diabetic-coma inducing sugar dished, washed down with gallons of msg. The fried chicken is spew-worthy, they can't even fry an egg with cremating the thing - the list goes on. Now, to be fair, restaurant quality Thai food can be different class - but the street food> Dear me, give it a rest.

Nonsense again. The tax applies to UK airports, the "further you are from Heathrow the higher the APD cost" line is just laughable. Also, every single airline provider provides a breakdown of the fair and tax before you book the ticket. If you can't be bothered reading the "sneaky" tax which is in black and white and in front of your nose then that's up to you.

Nonsense - Thai domestic flyers have seen an increase of 30%. International passengers have seen an increase of 4%. It's the Thai domestic market that has been relatively hammered.

The busiest and most profitable supermarkets in the UK restock all day every day. And here we have a bunch of retail "experts" spouting about "Thai logic" and related drivel. You are making yourselves look so stupid its beyond belief. By the way, watch out for the new fashion hitting Thai supermarkets. Several previously 24 hour supermarkets are closing at night as they figure there's no profit ( fair enough ). They also can't get the staff. Some 7/elevens are closing overnight. I never thought I'd see that day.

I've done both several times. I'd do MHS - Pai, fish cave near MHS, MHS, long neck village, usually elephants on the road down that way, Mae Sariang, cut inland to Doi Inthanon then home down the Mae Wang valley. Road to Fang is boring, go via Phrao, catch the sticky waterfall on the way down, Tha Ton, teacup temple, go up Doi Lang to the best moo katter place in Northern Thailand. Doi Mae Salong, early in the morning be at the Golden Horse Temple, before 8am, see the monks ride back from collecting alms, Doi Tung, Chiang Saen, Opium museum, and if you can be in Chiang Saen on a Saturday night there's an excellent night market overlooking the river.

The easiest way to spot fake reviews is by looking at the dates. If there's a cluster over a short time span it's usually fake. That applies to both good and bad reviews.

The link is broken, however, I found them on Facebook. I wasn't aware of that business at all, thanks very much. Also, there are some other good tips on this thread. Thanks very much.

I have several, ranging in age from around 30 to 60 plus. Among other useful things they look after my house when I'm away, cutting grass, etc. They ensure the place is immaculate when I return. They have been known to travel to meet me in places such as Hua Hin and BKK when I'm in country. They also have been known to extract me from days-long drinking sessions in Chiang Mai and transport me back to the village. We go to a lot of events, such as drag racing, festivals etc and have spend weekends away in the mountains with their families. I commend the OP for thinking about this. Thai men will warn you and protect you from the vagaries of life in Thailand. Contrary to the received wisdom that "Thai men are no good" there are plenty who live in long and successful marriages. They'll point out that the women you see in places like Pattaya are the village bikes, the bipolar headcases, the yabba heads and the drama queens that literally leave blood in their wake. There is no one more expert on Thai women than Thai men - if you believe the "Thai men no good" trope I have a bridge to sell you.

Wild, absolutely wild. And taking a trophy photo of the policeman too? Thais will be rightfully outraged by this. a truly shocking incident, appalling.

Do you like cheese? where do you buy your favoured cheese in Chiang Mai?

Yup, I got banned for ten years which seemed a bit harsh 555 Onwards and upwards.

It was clarified around seven years ago. There's no such things as a 30+30 lease in Thailand. That was a common marketing tactic by scam real estate agents at one time. Bizarrely some even claimed that 30+30+30 was possible. You are at the mercy of the landowner when your lease expires after 30 years. A guy I know took on a 30 year lease which would have expired when he was 76. 9 years later he negotiated a new 30 year lease. His reasoning was that there was a good chance he'd live to 76 but he reckoned he'd be dead by 85. In reality, 2 years after the new lease was signed he took a brainstorm and left the property. The number of people who subject themselves to delusional property deals is off the scale.

The opposite of love is indifference. Far too many people of both sexes spend years growling about long-gone exes. You know you're cured when you don't care.

Post the exit stamp he has in his passport, that should indicate if he has been subjected to a re-entry bar.

Nobody mentioned the location of the villa.

Hello Khun Kinok, did I hit a sore point?

@Mike Lister To be pedantic I believe the period is one year and one day. Hence why I mentioned on point three that the guy involved sold at a fire sale price to irritate the family who showed up in a truck literally a day after the funeral demanding that he vacates the property. This is Thailand. When families move against you, you have a serious problem. However, my primary point is that while considering Usufruct, consider the emotional reality of being isolated in the event of your wife dying. Rural Thailand is covered in "dream" houses that turned to nightmares.

If you celebrate reducing population, you won't mind drastic cuts in all public services as there's no one to work in crucial areas. Literally no one - as they are not born. You are seeing this happen already - in twenty years time it will be catastrophic.

Dictionary definitions are available on Google.

Which part is hilarious - the fact that many forum members live hand to mouth? Or the fact that if he is content to risk the money he should go for it? By the way, luxuriating is Schadenfreude is a low-class way to spend your life.

Things to be aware of: 1. A high profile farang in Chiang Mai put the house in his daughters name and when she reached maturity she moved the bitch ex-wife into the house ( her mother ) and kicked out her dad. He'd built his dream home and wasn't even allowed in the garden. 2. The Usufruct is effectively worthless if your wife dies and you lose the will to live in the remote village alone. This is overlooked by too many expats. 3. The Usufruct is worthless if her family, after her demise, set out to intimidate you out of the house. A famous example years ago was the wife's family showing up the day after the funeral and ordering the guy out. He stood his ground ( miracle in itself ) and managed to sell the house at a fire-sale price just to p*ss the family off. Living there long term in the midst of animosity was never going to work. Too many people regard the Usufruct as a solution without considering the emotional reality of being isolated after your partners death, or family issues coming the fore.

The problem you have with many forum members is that they can't comprehend why someone would risk $10,000. That's because they are living hand-to-mouth. If you are content to risk the money - as you appear to be - then go for it. All the better if you can obtain some sort of legal guarantee but it's clear the loss of $10,000 wouldn't be a fatal blow - plus, there's always the idea of having a new purpose to your life, a new project. All the best.