55Jay

26 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

 

I'm also curious to know how Roger ended up on Guam.  I don't believe it's ever been mentioned as a retirement destination.  But it has its good points.  Very westernized (or Americanized), fairly safe, English spoken, tropical weather, lots of beaches, quiet and peaceful, etc.  But it's a pretty tiny island, much smaller than, say, Hawaii.  Not much to do at nights...or daytime for that matter.  Cost of living higher than SE Asia, but not crazy expensive.  The population is mostly local Chamorro and Filipinos and the tourists mostly Japanese, although probably more Chinese nowadays.  Since it's a US territory, I'd guess immigration would be the same as going into the US.  

 

I wonder if Guam ever solved their brown tree snake problem?   

Yes, US Customs/Immigration at the airport there.   Apart from that, I used to call Guam "PI East".  A Poor Man's Hawaii was another popular tag line.  A funky mix of 3rd/developing world Mai Pen Rai / Manana Island vibe, with a thin veneer of attempted organization by Sugar Daddy Uncle Sam - loved and loathed by the locals on a case by case basis.  

Some say the BT Snake problem was well under control, but talked about from time to time to keep the funding from Uncle $ugar going.  I never doubted they were a problem and decimated the fragile, isolated bird population, but the damage was done, so the control program was closing barn doors after the fact.

39 minutes ago, i claudius said:

What a stupid comparison , wherever large numbers of people go on holiday ,there will always be someone to make money out of what they like , its called business .

Yes, I know, it's not apples to apples.  Business satisfies consumer demand.  The demand is what I'm referring to.

I've long mused over the boasts of Euros (British snobs in particular) about being so well traveled, when in reality, they seem to bounce from 1 fish and chips bubble to another in one of a few mass tourism enclaves ~ aka: ghettos. 

Moaning about failure of others to integrate is ironic. 

9 hours ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Germany should wake up and understand that the Muslims do not blend in with the German society, instead they build their Mosques, and develop their areas, with signs in Arabic in neioghbourhoods, and live in these large muslim neighbourhoods, later when they get majority in the area, they will demand their own style of

governing their areas.  That is their way.  No  Blending.

Good Luck Germany and indeed Europe in general, you will all need it.

Geezer

Like the British/Euros do in various countries they invade for holidays.  Pattaya.  Fish and chips anyone? 

Me think you plobably light. 

Interesting name choice for Thailand.  "Black" Mountain.  Yeesh! 

The folks who work at the bank are chancers looking to pimp products for a commission.  It's annoying.  How about just doing what I came in here for and what I asked you for.  I'm not interested in a free donut or an umbrella.  If I need financial/investment advice here, I'll talk to the noodle lady at the market.

16 minutes ago, lazygourmet said:

Seeing more and more of these <deleted> on a weekend basis... And I am living in Na Dee, south of Khao Yai ; not around Pak Chong ghetto!

Is Pak Chong a farang ghetto now?  Only been once several years ago, to a Wat up on the hill overlooking town.  Then we left.

11 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

Are there speed/distance ratios in the Thai road rules? Moreover, does any Thai driver know them?

I have seen painted separation markers on the roadway here somewhere, can't recall where now.  Might have been on the Bkk-Pattaya motorway.  Otherwise, doesn't seem to be a wide spread practice.  Then again, aggressive drivers in Los Angeles will jam their car into a gap, so not just an LOS thing.

Indicative of an selfish, immature person who uses women and other people. 

You have not done the things needed to become a part of the family.  You keep yourself emotionally distant, fail to commit, and think about keeping YOUR money safe.  Playing house and trading a small bit of money for sex, isn't a relationship.  It's a transactional arrangement. 

Nothing wrong with it as long as you don't forget YOU were the one who set it up this way and you have less respect for her because she has gone along with your nonsense for so long.

Eventually, chicks get tired of giving away the poontang for free, and will draw the line and tell you to shit or get off the pot, cause we aren't aging in reverse here....   She turned the tables on you and dumped your ass, and now you are moaning about your feelings and being hurt?  Well Boo Hoo, here's a tissue.  Sucks to be treated so carelessly, eh?

Wife and I often use a bit of team work in the car, spotting potential hazards, calling out brake lights ahead, turning on the Hazard/4-way flashers for rapid decel, etc. 

Hurtling along a 60 mph / 100 kph, you are covering about 90 feet per second.  The average adult takes roughly 1.5 seconds to recognize and react to a hazard, during which time you've covered about 135 feet.  And then many lock the brakes up which, before or in absence of ABS, means you're just along for the ride.  Moderate speed and plenty of space gap is the key.  Easier said than done here though. 

6 minutes ago, NCFC said:

Because they are lazy and it is a way of avoiding their male responsibilities?

What are their male responsibilities? 

First car here was in 2006, a 2003 Toyota Sport Cruiser 4-door pick up from a tent in BKK.  It had a lift kit on it,  fat BF Goodrich ATs, Roo bar, paint matched shell (carry boy) - nice looking truck.  450k.  Still have it.

We wound up moving here full time a year or so after the big floods.  Mrs was worried about getting a second hand SUV that might have been underwater, so we waited a year then bought a new 2013.  It was the first time I ever bought a brand new vehicle in my life.  Always second hand, usually around 3 years old.

Wonder what the circumstances were.  What had he (and others?), a lowly conscript, done to warrant the "discipline"?  Fail to clean properly?  Missed a candy bar wrapper while out on trash pick up detail?  Didn't cut the general's lawn to good enough standard? 

Valid reasons if the underlying lesson object is attention to detail and taking initiative, of course using reasonable leadership techniques.  A good hard smack, while an effective wake up call, especially for knot heads and silver spoon types, is not a good long term strategy, and may create and/or uncover other behavioral problems.

Last Songran out in the village was very reserved due to drought - literally no water in the pipes. Did see a few motorbike idiots about, but given enough time, they auto-cull themselves.  Whiskey + motorbike + open mouth breathing moron - minus helmet. Stir gently. 

The Tessaban did a big water project and both reservoirs are full up again after last rain season, so reckon this year should be "normal".  First time several years ago was a fun, new experience but year after year.... meh... we stay off the roads and close to home.

8 hours ago, 212Roger said:

Forget Ecuador.  After getting Dengue, I left Chiang Mai and went to Ecuador.  Boring, little night nightlife, and the elevation can cause serious health problems.  I lived in Ecuador for 28 months, exactly.  Last week I moved to Tumon, Guam.  I'm still in America, but right at the doorstep to South East Asia.  Wish me luck...

Cool, don't hear Guam mentioned very often.  How did you wind up there?  Right, to the West, pretty easy jump into Asia.

I lived in Nimitz Hill Estates, roughly half way up the hill from the Piti power plant.  Rode a couple good earthquakes, 1 damaged the airport runway enough to close for a short while + the usual potential for tsunami afterward.  2 typhoons, and the first and only time I've had my house broken into and burglarized.  All in the short 2 years I was there! 

1st storm for me was Super Typhoon Pongsona, DEC '02.  That was wild, I was out in it and during the aftermath.   Major flooding off the mountains, a few of the bulk fuel storage tanks out in the commercial port were ablaze, lucky as hell the LPG storage didn't go Boom.  No power/water service for about 2 to 3 weeks, some areas longer, and all that gas and storage tanks up in smoke.  Took a while before ships could get into the port and offload food/materials again. 

Had some great times there too, and I would go back, but man, when Mom Nature flicks a booger at Guam, felt like a cross between apocalyptic end times and Mad Max Road Warrior.

Shot of the tank farm from a helo, 9DEC02.

^ perhaps good advice above.  My only question is what are shorts/pants?

Good advice.  Should heed.  That's about it for this thread.///

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Well, contrary to what often gets put forward here, people of a particular nationality do NOT always hold the same views on every issue.

 

On the point you raise above, for a long time, my Thai wife always told me (an American) that she had no interest in living anywhere other than Thailand and that included not living in America. Of course, she had never lived anywhere or traveled anywhere but Thailand before we met.

 

Then last year, I took her on our first trip together to the U.S., and she had a good look around Southern California. Now that we've come back home to BKK from our travels, suddenly, it seems, she's reconsidered her prior staunch view and now is at least willing to consider living in the U.S. at some future point.

 

Sometimes it may just take a bit of direct personal exposure to cause people to reconsider their views about someplace they've never actually been to or lived.

 

My Mrs. LOVES the States.  She prefers it over Thailand.  Don't even need to call her into the room to confirm it.  If I said we were outta here tomorrow, she would probably beat me to Swampy. 

Isn't it just "Rain" and "Dry" season here in the Monsoon region of SE Asia?  Hot/Cool season.  Rain or No Rain.

Summer/Winter (Fall/Spring), my opinion only, doesn't seem to fit here in the western sense. 

Fools and their money parted. 

100,000 is hardly enough to not have to worry again.  As if money was the key to that in the first place.  Filthy rich people find plenty to be worried about.  Money's not one of them but often the money causes all sorts of "new shit" to be worried about.

When I go, it'll be back to the US.  Left there in 1998, roughly 1/2 through, became one of those "never ever returning!" crusaders.  It's been a good run but during my recent trips back to the US for a month or two at a time, began to re-appreciate things I used to take for granted.  When I return to Thailand from there, I re-appreciate things here as well.  This is why I'm not breaking a leg to get out of here, but feel like a change of scenery is on the cards.  I'm probably a candidate for the 6 months there, 6 months someplace else,  group. 

Another good one.  Thanks. 

Have been wondering if ThaiVisa content has changed because younger people have been brought on board?  Young folks, Thais in particular, seem to go over board on things they think are fresh and funny, to the point where they no longer are... yet they keep at it because they lack creativity and a sense of awareness.  Those zip and boing noises on television (and elsewhere) are one example.  Too many April Fool's gags bordering so close to plausible reality in Thailand "News" section, was over kill.  After the first one, becomes annoying and boring.

Hey JT, you forgot to change the Avatar slogan when you changed the photo (again....daily....).

In a country with 20 attempted/successful coups under its belt..... not terribly surprising the people have become selfish, just look out for #1.  The superficial veneer of Buddhism, and in the extreme, military intervention against the population, might be the only things restraining anarchy.

Being we were tipping toward a drought again, many areas already suffering, the off-season rain is very welcome.