Kinnock

Maybe there's sometimes a gap between the vision and reality? But my experience of Thai women at my office and in my private life matches the vision of the feminine, dedicated and caring Asian female. One factor distorting the Western male perception of Thai Women may be the unique culture of Isaan? As a shameless generalisation, the Isaan regions expects everyone else to support them. In Thailand most the money is made in Bangkok, the industries in the East and the tourism in the far North, the South and on the islands. Isaan farms struggle and many are dormant - just used to get government payouts, there's little industry or tourism, so it's like a vast Liverpool in the UK or Alabama in US. So the 'handout culture' extends to farmer's daughters. In the rest of Thailand people hold down 2 or 3 jobs to survive .... but in Isaan many just look for easy money.

It's an on-line system. You need to set up a UK Government ID confirmation first .... a clever system that uses your phone and your passport linked to the UK Gov website. Then there's a site for claiming from overseas (I forgot the link, but I just searched for it via Google). There's also a specific phone number for claims from overseas. They were very helpful and based in Newcastle, so no Indian call centre. I used Skype to call the number as you wait about 20 minutes on hold. You need to provide a postal address .... I used my Thai address so it was clear I'd not get the annual increases. I also have a UK address and bank account and considered using that, but I decided not to .... but if I start to spend more time in UK I'll change the address. I also gave my Thai bank details - but this was prior to the tax announcement, so may switch to UK bank for the higher tax free limit. Process was not hard .... but took a lot of time online and on the phone. I think it could done all by phone if you prefer. Took about 7 months to get first payment.

While I'm not a fan of EV's, running into the drive shaft of a bus is an extreme test of any car - and if the occupants walked away, that's a pass.

Everything happens in malls, with the exception of the pleasant Marina strip and the beaches in winter. Ramadan is a difficult time as all the restaurants and cafe are closed or covered during the day. There's nobody on the streets as it's too hot and dusty - so no street vibe, stalls or anything. Taxis are all driven by South Asians with no navigation skills or sense of direction. The 'skytrain' is good, with AC everywhere. OK if you have (lots) of ex-pat expenses and a good salary.

Remember that weedy kid at school who was always trying to please the school bully as he couldn't fight? He just asked the teacher for more homework as he think it makes him looks smart.

I think there's also the erotic, fantasy element creating the image of the exotic Asian woman. Suzie Wong, Geisha, Madamme Butterfly, Phuong in The Quiet American and more. I use the Flickr photo hosting site, and my pictures of the Missus get invited to literally hundreds of 'Asian Girlfriend, Asian Woman, Asian Wife' Groups. The idea of the submissive, feminine, beautiful Asian partner has become part of Western male culture.

.... but China will be OK with it, so no problem.

Newbie post with an improbable yarn. And while some Ladyboys can look convincing in photos, there's no way someone could not know until such a late stage in the proceedings. All such stories about the sausage surprise are just bicurious blokes being coy ..... embrace your open minded (and legged) approach to life and stop pretending it was a navigational orientation error.

We could have built a decent house for 2 million THB, which was the original budget, not including the land. We bought some land a few years ago in Bangsaen, near the sea. It had an old house on the plot - so had water, drainage, power and even a deep well. The idea was to demolish the old house and build a small retirement home using monthly income while I was still working ... so zero debt. I moved to a job overseas during the early stages of the project, so the Missus worked with the architect and builder .... both trusted friends. They did a great job, and the house is amazing ..... but the project creep was epic! Vast walk-in dressing room, 3 ensuites each bigger than my condo in Bangkok. A fully-glazed guest lounge and self-contained guest suite on the ground floor, plus one of THREE fully equipped kitchens (one outside, two inside). A vast lounge and bar on the upper floor (that we never use), then two huge master bedrooms of Saddam Hussein palace proportions. The builder bought all the old hardwood from a traditional shop house that was being demolished - so we have wonderful, restored timber shutters and windows. I love the place .... but it was not what the 'customer' ordered 😄 It was still funded from monthly income over a 3 year build, but final budget is 'not going to tell you' - according to the Wife. So beware of wife-induced project creep 😅.

The weed sold by the legal shops doesn't seem to be very strong anyway. I don't smoke, but tried what was claimed to be a full strength weed brownie, hoping for a reprise of my university-era giggling sessions .... and nothing happened.

Great background and the guy and his dog complete the scene.

Shabu buffet

Top 3 in order: Japan, Thailand, Korea. Indonesia could be in the top group, but same as in large parts of Malaysia, Sweden and UK, the Islamic influence clouds the issue.

Well I thought it was funny 😄 And also makes me appreciate my wife even more. A constant 27'C for the AC setting. Family drinking sessions take place outdoors, mainly due to the 'bin yang' grill .... so fan only.

I think WordPress has a way to roll back to earlier versions without a back-up .... https://duplicator.com/restore-wordpress-site-to-previous-date-without-backup/

A cruel trade that should have been banned after the Middle Ages. In addition to the suffering to the animals (even before the fire), there's the selling to unsuitable, irresponsible people plus the risk of diseases spreading to people and animals. There's also the breeding and trafficking industry upstream of this shameless industry.

It was adult fiction - only published via Amazon. Became a top seller in its category for about a week, then got buried under the millions of books published every day on Kindle.

A printed book ... about 50 to 100 pages depending on how involved I am in the story. On the Kindle, maybe 20 pages. Not sure why it's so much less. On a computer, 4 pages and I'm done. I wrote a book a couple of years ago .... could only write about 5 pages a day, so took ages to write it.

Yes. While I admit my initial interest was sparked by a great pair of legs and a pretty face, her intelligence has helped our relationship to flourish. After we met she went back to university and completed her degree (yes, I paid for that .... but she's repaid the investment many times over by actively supporting my business). I'd say it's her high Emotional Intelligence that enables her to add value to our business. She understands just enough of the technical details to work effectively with her highly specialised colleagues (but does not have the patience to study the science), but she really excels at customer relations. I guess her charm, intelligence and good looks that first attracted me, works well with customers too.

I thought this was an English language forum?

Growing rice produces the same amount of greenhouse gas as air travel. Will they tax the farmers? That would be a real vote winner for Pheu Thai 😆

In general, Thai men's view of an 'attractive' woman is different to the typical Western males preference. So Thai men feel that we've gone for the women they rejected. Often, when visiting a shopping mall, when I see a woman I perceive as beautiful - 9 times out of 10, their partner is Western. We tend not to fancy the white-skinned, petite, curve-free, flat-cheekboned, Chinese-Thai girls that Thai men perceive as ideal wives - which is lucky, as they don't fancy us either. I'm not referring exclusively to the dark skinned, long legged Isaan girls as meeting Western tastes .... as many girls from other regions have very attractive features to Western eyes. The classic Thai look of large, exotic eyes, high cheekbones, luscious lips, high forehead and long dark hair plus 'dusky maiden' skin tones, ticks all the boxes for us. My wife is from Samut Prakarn, a Bangkok 'commuter belt', and her friends and family told her she should go to Bangkok to find a good falang husband, as she had the looks we like. To my eyes she's perfection .... slim and leggy but with curves where needed, cappuccino colored skin, large expressive eyes and a stunning smile. But to Thai men she's not wife material, as she's too sexy looking. To them she'd be an ideal 'Gik'. Just look at the Lakorn TV serials, the white skinned Chinese-Thai wife being wronged by the overtly sexy Mia Noi.

The advances in equality for women in the West are admirable, and a good thing. But when it comes to finding the ideal partner, many men prefer someone who will look after them, spoil them, want to please them. Many Asian girls still have traditional values about looking after their partner. I certainly benefit from that trait. My wife's also, in my view, very attractive. The petite features, long dark hair, exotic Asian eyes and genuinely warm and kind nature inspired by Buddhist values.

Agree ..... such bravery and honour, still within the lifetime of a few, deserves full respect and attention from the polical head of the county.

Give him a break .... the war in the Pacific is of more relevance to his roots.