beautifulthailand99

But is the story any good ? Just a thought - not that important really.

Some nice editing work. Hadn't heard of Photodex Producer 4.5 but looks like it's worth a look.

Thanks Katana - Quite dear though at $250 a pop with support and upgrades for a year - I can highly recommend it though. If you pop down to Pantip you might just get it for a 100baht !

My wife generally does about 3 days but comes our refreshed and inspired and ready to live fully once again. Am planning to do it myself soon !

Thanks Majic - yes the family thing is important here so its a mixture of the specific family and Thailand as well as they are entwined and you're right I should do a more generic one next time - why did we fall for the place initially and what is both the good and the bad. Thanks for watching these take forever to make (about 8 hours for 3 minutes !!).

Just turned 50 worked in Thailand for 6 months back in 2003 - married a Thai lady and have been coming to the country for the past 8 years.Last holiday was a couple of weeks ago and was a first visit to the South . Have been making Thailand videos for a while now which are over on one of my You Tube channel Beautifulthailand99 You Tube Channel . After my last visit I feel better than ever to contemplate living in Thailand for 6 months over the winter and then spending 6months in the UK to get the best of both worlds. I know somtimes to a farang you can begin wondering why you ever got involved and will it ever make sense or feel right but when you go with the flow and undertstand how it works and open your heart (and sometimes) your wallet it can feel just right . Or anyway in too deep to go back - I tried to express this feeling in my video I hope you enjoy it !

BTW read the instructions about embedding but doesn't seem to work for me ? (Am using Chrome ?)

Yeah - this poll is accurate...

The better countries are at hiding their corruption.. the MORE corrupt they are.

Nothing Thailand has done has been felt around the world.

The United States and their bankers on the other hand....

Yes the USA and their bankers... but expand that prospective and think about who actually has much of the controlling interest of those banks like Goldman, Well Fargo, JP Morgan and think Rothchild and Barclay families. It's a global banking cartel responsible for this unprecedented corruption scam affecting the whole world. If the general public ever becomes aware of what has happened it will make the corruption in Thailand look like kindergarten.

Spot on Miami Bob - google Confessions of an Economic Hitman to lift the veil.

From where I'm sitting in the UK these so called handouts are extremely parsimonious and compared to UK benefits dependants Thais are far from weak and dependant.

Khanom is good if a little quiet - a very good 5 star hotel at the end of the beach which was deserted when we got there and got a great rate of 3500 bht a night - apparently owned by a Thai princess. - I did a video of it

Can't seem to get the embed to work ! So the link is below

Why don't they try that blood-letting stunt again and throw it on the gates of Parliament - certainly got the attention of the world's media last time- they could couple that with joke shop fangs and rise vampire like from the coffins to retake Thailand for Khun Thaksim.

Hi just back in UK after 3 weeks in Thailand and the best place we ate in Bkk was a seafood restaurant on Soi Langsuan (I believe the English translation ofthe name is Kitchen in the House). Super fresh food - you walk through the aquarium on the way in basic decor but amazing food to die for. Still salivating at the memory. Best thing on the menu IMHO was the deep fried catfish which has the consistency of friable delicate straw and melts in your mouth. A family of 10 plus drinks was about 3500 - simply amazing value.

From some of the footprints I've seen in temples in Thailand it would also appear that the Buddha was a giant - which of course he was - metaphorically .

My gift to you Onion Luke Chok Dee

The Dalai Lama is reported as saying we don't need more Buddhist but what we do need is more compassion. The Buddha was a rich man having realised the emptiness of things sought a spiritula life - most Thai's are poor seeking to go in the opposite direction. From what I've seen a lot of what passes for Thai Buddhism is superstitious idolatry at best and a corrupt cynical enterprise at worst. That said I have had many spiritual and life enriching encounters in Thai wats as well. As I said to my wife after we had tamboon the monks I'm praying to lose my wealth and find happiness - laughingly she said give it to me and I will visit you every day at the temple and wai you as a Pra. Not ready just yet to make the jump !

Would concur with the replies - in the UK the cult Dhammakaya is growing at a lick similar to evangelical Christianity in its approach - favours certainty over honourable doubt and celebrates wealth as a sign that the adherent is doing right. Numbers ultimately matter as the Buddha said no one helps us but ourselves no one can and no one will we ourselves must walk the path.

An inspiring force- I've heard in in Hemel Hempstead - radiates goodness.

911 , Bin Laden and the rise of global islamic jihadism are also part of this (very well documented by previous posters ) mix. My departed Thai father in law was a policeman based in the South and was trained over at Langley by the CIA to assinate communists in the south during the Vietnam war when Thailand was basically and airstrip for the American military and a bulwark against the rise of communism in the region. A lot of atrocities were performed by the Thai Village Scouts in the name of defence of the Realm . A murky and dark time in Thailand's history and the reason you yanks alone among farangs can own land and businesses outright.

BTW he was haunted by what he did and carried the nightmares to his grave - no pension or thanks from the US as ever they move on leaving chaos and tragedy in their wake.

Would concur with the views though the obvious safety features were ;

a) with Thai's who live there and understand the risks and have active mobile phones (my brother in law also has a licensed gun and carries it !).

only travel during daylight hours on main roads

c) stayed only there during the day returning to Hat Yai in the evening.

It is a great shame this area is not more accesible as I found it one of the most interesting having travelled extensively all over the rest of Thailand in the last 10 years.

dam_n the Brits (I'm one myself) for making this problem as they gave over these provinces to the Thai's in favour of a rail link from Singapore to Burma at the turn of the 20th century.

Songkhla and Hat Yai are absolutely fine though no more dangerous than London !

Ian

P.s Talking of afraid many Thai's are afraid of staying in the house alone - imagine the chaos if all the spirit houses were to be magically removed leaving Thailand open to a spirit invasion - shudder the the thought !

A playlist of all my videos I took of the army during my recent trip to Yala Province.

Thai army in the South - Yala Province

Chok dee ! First post and really glad to be here. My wife is Thai and is from Yala and we have been married 7 years and travelling to Thailand regularly but have always avoided the South for the reasons discussed above. Just back from a holiday in which we spent quite some time in Hat Yai and Songkhla with a day trip to Yala to visit the ancestral home. Was worried before we went and her family didn't want us to stay the night but went out to visit them drive round the town , tamboon at the local temple. Went through quite a few roadblocks on the road and there were armored cars driving around and an armed soldier outside my wife's brother's hairdresser where he cut my hair. Want to go back but will listen to their advice and not travel at night. Am posting quite a few videos of the trip on one of my You Tube channels beautifulthailand99 http://www.youtube.c...tifulthailand99" You Tube Channel

Chok dee !

Ian