Roj

This should go on page one of the miracle brochure.

Bangkok is a very beautiful city and it is my favorite city in the world.

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Away from downtown Bangkok is mostly like every other urban sprawl in Thailand - a cats paw of unsightly above ground electricity cables and instant decay new builds. Nothing remotely beautiful about it unless you believe the tourist brochures. Interesting yes but only in small doses.

Machismo, vanity and the inability to hold their drink. It`s a dangerous cocktail that many Thai males are prone to. Keep your head down and some tea money in your pocket just in case.

UK citizens might want to take into account that if you have residence in a non EU country by dint of authorised residency or granted citizenship and you return to your home country to avail yourself of it`s free healthcare you`ll end up with a potentially whopping treatment bill. If you are a UK citizen and reside in Thailand on a visa the UK can`t charge you for healthcare as I discovered when I needed prolonged and expensive treatment that my insurance here wouldn`t reach. I still pay voluntary National Insurance contributions by the way. The UK government is aware if you have residency or dual citizenship. I`ve been here a very long time time and speak, read and write Thai and am married to a Thai but I`ve never ever wanted to be a Thai and there is no benefit to my being a pretend Thai either. Don`t kid yourself, you`ll always be a farang. As the old saying goes - If a dog is born in a stable it doesn`t make it a horse. Residency and citizenship might work for some people and you can`t knock them for having aspirations but for a lot of people Retirement and Spouse visa are the better option.

The ordinary Thai can be kind, extraordinarily generous and seek no acclaim for their gift. Unfortunately, as we have seen from the flooding, large Thai companies want to be seen on TV handing over the cheque rather than quietly and anonymously donating. For them there is always a price to pay for their generosity.

I get the distinct impression that centuries of maybe self-imposed isolation, and definitely the fact that Thailand managed to evade being 'colonised' by some other nation, has a lot to do with why in some respects Thailand remains largely 'isolated' from the world around it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it has probably meant that Thailand's economy and banking systems have evaded the the attentions of those in international banking and investments, seeking to make a fast buck at everyone else's expense. True, the markets that Thailand export goods to, are now in a horrible mess, but if Thailand had been 'colonised', it could well now be in a much worse situation economically, than it is.

I'd be very interested in reading your views on Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and how colonisation hampered their drive to prosperity - and even India is now showing signs of joining the real world. Maybe the corruption of the archaic Thai banking system keeps foreign investment away.

Thailand was never colonised mainly because there was nothing here worth having - except a very large percentage of the ladies of course.

Thailand should take a peek over the fence. For years they have been taking a pee over it.

Add Brasil to that list. Another former colony doing rather well for itself. Although Thailand was never colonised, to save themselves they did sign an accord with the Japanese that allowed the Japanese army to travel through the country to attack the allies in WW2. The Japanese stayed put to the end and Bangkok was heavily bombed by the allies for its troubles. Isolationism and protectionism will eventually turn against Thailand. Thai goods are cheap because of low labour costs but quality still isn`t up to European or Japanese standards. Pay peanuts and you know what you get.

,st bbut

This is horrible! A largely Buddhist country, suffering from religious intolerance under the name of politics, or the other way round.

This won`t involve religious intolerance. It`s a local power struggle with the perks of office as the prize.

Celebrities. The `royalty` of the working classes throughout the world and what they aspire to.

Considering that the Russians hail from a country that produced `female` shot putter Tamara Press the two ladyboys probably appeared quite comely in comparison.

If I`m going on a long trip I let the train take the strain. Compared to a bus it`s a really pleasant way to cover a lot of miles. Long distance bus drivers are overworked and underpaid.

The King is a compassionate man and the delicate thread that holds this country together. The divisive, self important elements of the population need to heed his wise councel.

Thaksin - come back, do your 2 years `bird` and then slip quietly into anonymity. It really is that simple!

He could at least have got citizenship from a respectable country. Montenegro - the playground of bent UK politicians and dodgy Russian oligarchs and a provider of passports for anyone with the `where- with- all` to pay.

People have often said to me that Thailand is a third world country. I tell them that it isn`t a third world country but it does have third world politicians.

I hope P.M. Yingluck Sinawatra will increase the income tax for all foreign people that work in Thailand. Foreign people pay so small amount of tax and have lifestyle that is far more easy than majority of Thai people. Between 25-30% tax for foreigner on "low income" 500,000 baht p.a. and 35-40% for foreigner on "good income" 2,000,000 baht p.a.

Increase tax for foreign worker will help Thai people to deal with many problem including recovery from flood disaster.

Foreign people that "love" Thailand will have no problem with this and foreign people that dont like it can go and complain in another place.

That`s the start of a very slippery slope. Thailand already has dual pricing for Thais and foreigners at many national parks and attractions. An `envy` tax will do nothing except convince foreign intellect to work elsewhere and Thailand does need outside knowledge in many areas of its economy. Some Thais pay a lot of tax as well. My wife is the CEO of a Thai company and her tax bill would make your eyes water. Instead of suggesting xenophobic policies concentrate on the fact that a lot of people have suffered including the expat community. Recovery will be better aided by common purpose rather than division.

Bang Bua Thong village still has thigh deep water. The main roads are passable with 4WD and even some taxis are braving it now. All the sois between Bang Bua Thong through Ban Kruai to Sai Noi are still affected with some sois still holding water above the knee and receding very slowly. Quite a few Monocled Cobras are turning up in the garden from adjoining paddy fields!

I have taught English and feel that native English speakers are important if the Thais want to be understood when they speak English. Most of my Thai colleagues in school teaching English, although their grammar was proficient, were difficult to understand because of their poor pronunciation and they were passing this onto their students. They also had no knowledge of idiomatic English which is what most of us use on a day to day basis. The more interaction students have with native English speakers the better will be their real understanding but these schools will have to pay a realistic premium for that extra knowledge of the farang teacher.