55Jay

28 minutes ago, cms22 said:

OP here. I don't mind the food too much (I can make do with an omelette and a bit of chicken), and I can speak Thai (although I don't understand their dialect very well), it's the pure boredom and the feeling like I'm in a goldfish bowl I'm not too keen on. Drinking is not a major factor, although I'll buy wife's dad a couple of Changs to keep him quiet.

So, I've now compromised with the wife that this will be a one-night visit. She wants two nights and I want none so I guess I'll meet her half way! Saturday night in Petchabhun. I'm gonna have to think of the positives........ Cheers, everyone!

Very reasonable. 

The Mueller interview questions drafted by Trump's legal team were leaked, which Trump said he was disappointed about.  I thought it was an intentional leak, so Trump could take the opportunity to Tweet - "no questions about collusion", which is precisely what he did.

But this is amusing.  Rudy's on Trump's legal team?  And slams him like this?  As TallGuyJohnBKK said ^, won't be long till Rudy is an ex-Trump Team member.  If those Mueller questions were really leaked, I'd put $10 on it was Rudy, lighting fires and throwing hand grenades on his way out the door. 

50 minutes ago, Billthekiwi said:

I was able to open an account at Bangkok Bank including online banking.

 

My girlfriend got her village headman to come to the bank and sign to say that I was who I said.

 

At the time I was just on holiday here in Thailand.

 

My current challenge is to get a credit card without marriage or work permit now that I'm here on an O-A visa.

Me too, just took a lot of extra patience and resolve, exacerbated by the fact the BBL Branch was outside a main city/metro area and wasn't used to dealing with foreigners, Visas, etc. 

It certainly wouldn't have happened without my wife present.  The adolescent unprofessionalism was strong with the female bank employee we had to deal with.  Finally bypassed her, which of course, sent her further into Broken Face LaLaLand but by then, I didn't give a shit.  At some point, you have to escalate to avoid the totally unnecessary, low level BS.

A divide in opinion 6 years ago as well.  I see Thaibeachlover was around, commenting in the LP forum. 

<Busking in Thailand - Lonely Planet>

Imagine living next to a country that consumes a lot of re-fried pinto beans.

27 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Wires are fired up. Rotty is 65KG and not happy with strangers but sleeps allot so I have little dogs as alarm clocks. Lived in allot of places where I felt less safe just because the police were a joke, not Salvador, lots of law enforcement. I also think that one needs to focus more on the demographic crime stats. A sixty year old man in Brazil has little need to fear. Just like Pattaya you have to go out of your way to way into a dangerous situation except of course driving which is my biggest complaint here.

 

Roger that!  It caught my eye ~  I'm an ex-physical security goon.  In the ME, locals use broken glass on top of their concrete walls.  Nice pics, thanks. 

Trolling is like eating a Twinkie, full of empty calories.

Whaddaya reckon the odds are that this very thread is a troll?

2 minutes ago, JAZZDOG said:

Built a beach house south of there in Salvador. If you black and poor living in a favela it's rough but where I live in Itapúa it is like S. Florida at half price. Bahianos are very warm, welcoming people. The food, music are fantastic. 

Nice pad!   Are the wires on top of the normal fence electrically charged, or just a psychological barrier?

Just now, grollies said:

I am gracious in defeat and bow before your superior intellect...... you got me.

Naw, nothing like that, Grollies.  Hope you got a laugh out of it.  Cheers. 

Just now, grollies said:

........is the standard reply from someone who posts a load of <deleted> snd then realises what they actually said....

LOL, No.  Well yes, it was a load of krap, except for the very last bit. 

16 minutes ago, grollies said:

Wow, did you really run over and grab a 7year old boy and shake him as you describe?

 

You're lucky you didn't get shot.

 

And if you'd have done that to my son I'd have beaten the crap out of you.

 

The rest of your post is really weird.

 

And, if you learned to integrate with your locals anyone coming and asking where you lived would be told 'sorry, don't know'.

I knew there would be at least 1.  Congratulations. 

33 minutes ago, zydeco said:

One of the reasons the work ethic has failed in the US is precisely because many Americans have become used to having illegals perform jobs at what amounts to indentured servitude. I grew up in Texas. During high school summers and college, I worked at landscaping jobs in temperatures that routinely hit 100+ Fahrenheit (38 C) and frequently go into the 105-107 (42 C) level in July, August, and early September. Many high school friends worked roofing, fencing, and construction. And they received decent pay for it--all of which has declined to the level of scraps because of illegal labor today. The point is that Americans in the past worked those jobs and can do so again. Maybe a lot of millennial bellyaching would stop if they got paid decently, even if it was outdoors work in the sun. I actually liked it.  And I kept up doing all my own yard work as well as house repairs until the time I left Texas for Thailand.

There's a whole lotta truth in what you say there, and I had similar experiences growing up, and came away with good work ethic.

But I still don't believe an abrupt end to the way things work now, and have for decades, is the right answer.   Nor another full-on amnesty.  There's a sensible middle path but Murica and her politicians don't seem ready to quit <deleted> around and just git 'er done.  

Farangs are rich, and handsum by default, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find they tend to have body odor, because they intentionally lay nearly naked under the hot sun in a puddle of their own sweat to turn their skin brown without getting paid for it.  That odd habit also exacerbates the decomposing fecal matter they schmeared around their bits with scraps of paper earlier.   Clearly, being a farang compensates for a lot, so don't be too quick to reject it wholesale.

--------

But it can work against you, especially after over-dosing on ThaiVisa rage.   For example, after 10 hours straight in the General Forum Threads, I went walked up to the village market for a bottle of Chang and SangSom, and while unraveling the sweaty bills from my pocket lint, a 7-year old Thai kid pointed at me and exclaimed, "Fah-Lang Fah-Lang!" with a big grin on his face; which we all know by now means the exact opposite of whatever we think it means, and I thought,  "You racist little shit!".     I  ran over and shook him by his shoulders vigorously, demanding he tell me what he really meant by that and in what context!     The police turned up at my house later and I sat there, rich, handsum and tan, but smelling of fecal matter, handcuffed to my refrigerator, wondering how in the hell these numpty cops found my house so quickly.    The odds are stacked against "us" all the time, so I've shelved my plan to rob the local bank until I get a darker sun tan to blend in a bit more with the natives.

--------

On the other hand, I once, and only once, had something good come of being the farang.  A Kerry delivery man was due to deliver an item from Lazada, but ran out of phone credit and couldn't call for final directions to the house.  He stopped at our nearby village market to inquire, and all the vendors and 7 year old stood in a loose knot, pointing down the Soi and said, "Yeah, that stinky <deleted> lives right over there!". 

My wife consoled me, saying it sounds more pleasant in Thai, or French, as long as you say it in a nice way.

26 minutes ago, EnlightenedAtheist said:

A young (probably) trophy (probably) wife for a 68 y. o. man, both of whom don't share the same culture or language (and a whole lot more). This is a recipe for disaster. How many more of these do we need to get it?

Very enlightening. 

One of the first places she thought to look for him was out over the balcony.   

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

What makes this amusing is that no state depends more, or possibly as much, on undocumented workers than does Texas. Its home construction industry would collapse without them.

Yup.  Estimates suggest 1/2 or more of Texas' construction labor force are illegals.

What I found amusing is the correlation to Dreamers.  They aren't illegals.  Moreover, I rather doubt there are many, if any, Dreamers out there stealing construction jobs from less privileged, undocumented migrant workers.   ¿Que piensas?

OP:

Farang is far easier to pronounce than Are Dee Hah-Wool. 

I wouldn't worry about it too much, olde bean.  Pour another noon sun downer, take a nap, and try not to tink too mutt. 

16 hours ago, rdhowell said:

2 readers expressed "confusion", one expressed "sad."

Those 2 Emoticons seem to trigger insecurity and a need for validation in certain segments of the farang population.

If you don't get what you need from this thread, try talking to your dog(s), like Dr. Naam does.  He says they are excellent listeners and also know a lot about air conditioning and physics.  However, he warns they are far too agreeable around dinner time or when you rub their bellies, so be mindful of that.  Chok Dee. 

Just now, Hummin said:

Somehow people like the risk, and thats why I posted the avalance video. They know it is on the limit, but they still do it. Many people die every year, even they know it can happen, and alot more than sharks kill people. Around 150 people on average to have a specific number, and 5 people die from sharks every year. 

 

Anyway, two shark attacks in one bay in two weeks, is alot, and should be investigated. It is not normal, and the reason I think, is feeding. Some people is feeding the sharks there, and the Bull sharks see every human as a treath to their habity if so is true. 

 

Still I found it unlikely with only 19 stitches and the other one not even go go hospital. 

Yes, I knew what you meant.  I think you missed or misinterpreted mine. 

Just now, Hummin said:

I think This is what you thinking of

 

And people diving with sharks even feeds them 

 

And swim with Crocs. 

Full story here: https://www.unilad.co.uk/video/incredible-footage-shows-bikini-model-swimming-up-close-with-crocodiles/

BTW an amazing woman

No,  I was thinking of something I read or saw elsewhere on the internet because it amused me.   Bit like asking kids (and some adults even) if they like to eat "dead" chickens.

Read a comment somewhere recently about skiing vs. water sports.

If people were told there were unseen monsters with big teeth lurking underneath the snow, and one might, at any time, bite them or possibly drag them down under the snow, possibly never to be seen again, how many would go skiing? 

Dissent continues to churn and some media is becoming more emboldened at covering peasants and serfs who would otherwise have no voice or recourse against the establishment.  PM fancies becoming an elected politician but this conundrum seems to have tripped his CPU offline.

6 hours ago, tweedledee2 said:

My wife and I have been married for 4 years. I trust her completely and she has never given me any reason not too. She doesn't drink alcohol and doesn't socialize much other than with her parents or siblings but sometimes after a good rain she and Gran, our 74-year-old neighbor go out at night and hunt frogs in the rice fields. 

Can't take the country out of a country girl.  Probably a good idea not to take the country girl out of the country as well.