thehelmsman

An interesting post,

But when I read "Compared to women, only only 3% of men work in positions that contribute taxable income to the society."

It made me wonder how many of us farangs in Thailand fall into the same category?

I myself could be seen that way.

I have an income form outside of Thailand that is not really taxed here as income, and I have a Thai wife who works and pays taxes on her income.

If we are being honest, I think a lot of foreign husbands of Thai women are "samesame, but different.

And, now..

It's time for all of you "Yeah buts" to reply.

Complete Bs, most men work in other countries.

I am sure some foreign men in Thailand do work in other countries, but I think they are a pretty small percentage of the foreign men in Thailand.

The majority of farangs I know here are either retired, living off of their pensions, social security and the like or are living off their savings and investments, not "working" anywhere.,

If you are confident enough to claim my statement is "Bs", please provide some statistics ( and the source ) to back up your insult.

Feel free to include me in the working elsewhere category, as are many within my company who reside in Thailand.

I've taken truck loads of family and friends to hospitals, prison visit, just to visit friends. It takes some adjustment to this way of travel. Back of pickup filled with people. There is no other choice for these folks. Judge if you may. Our kid has never had a child seat, roamed the truck at will. Just like when I was a kid. We had no car seats either. When we go on holiday, we rent a motorbike, you might see us riding 3-4 at a time.

We put our seat belts on when away from village. There's a point where we know cameras are about, or road stops are prevelant. Long distance we have seat belt in the front.

Bang chicks and get pissed till the end.

If kids aren't in the plans, I wouldn't want to spend my leisure years in a typical Isaan village. Perhaps if your western life had you deep in the noisy bustle of city life a quiet country life may seem quaint. Takes time to build an immunity to their way. Neighbors don't call before coming over, 6am with 2 stroke motorbike outside house yelling for someone, treatment of dogs took me some getting used to, I'm in the thick of Isaan life, plans are to move to a more metropolitan area for better schools and if truth be told also for myself. It won't be deep in tourist area but will be close to beaches. In the states I can buy a place in the country even cheaper than Thailand, so money wasn't the reason for settling down in Isaan. At first it seemed neat, you know like an adventure. but as day to day life settles in, it can get on your nerves. They are good people, no complaints like that. But come on....you work hard all your life, there has to be more in life than an Isaan village.

If you live here, why are you staying in a hotel?

Yeah.... I had to "explain myself" on another forum also.

It's simple. I live in my GF house. It is a bit uncomfortable, so on weekends I will book a hotel.

I get a lot of points through my business, so those hotel stays amount to very little actual money spent.

What may seem simple to you may also seem perplexing to others. One may ask oneself......

1. Why is it OK during the week but not OK on the weekends,

2. All the guy has to do is throw in a few more baht and live the way he wants, I mean him owning his own business and all.

Same story can be told from anywhere. Folks move to ag. area without knowing the industry. In your case the problem with smokey fires will continue to be a problem.

Nothing like a roaring fire to burn trash and debris early morning and evening.

I got me a "Donk"

In our household we eat alot of prawns and squid, pretty much everyday, along with chicken, pork and bbq fish. So, back in states I have a physical and Dr. tells me my cholesterol level which had gone up. But he said the good was way high and the bad was way low. I eat very little beef even when I'm away working.

You start eating a lot of garlic - I mean a lot - exercise a bit and perhaps lose a little weight - and your cholesterol WILL go down, almost 100% for sure..

My point was my cholesrerol level sounded high but because I had so much good cholesterol the Dr. told me to keep on doing what I'm doing. The total number doesn't tell the whole story. And yes, wife cooks with lots of garlic.

I'm so confused.

In our household we eat alot of prawns and squid, pretty much everyday, along with chicken, pork and bbq fish. So, back in states I have a physical and Dr. tells me my cholesterol level which had gone up. But he said the good was way high and the bad was way low. I eat very little beef even when I'm away working.

Scratching the teflon pans is also one of my pet peeves. I've got the ole lady using plastic spatulas, we use olive oil for stir fry. Stainless steel for all cooking might be the way to go.

stir fry with olive oil? One should never overheat olive oil in a pan, it is not recommended for frying. Use sunflower or canula oil.

I use olive oils only COLD in salads, or occasionally add a few drops COLD onto tomato sauces in pasta, or over fried squid or fish

Try to do a bit of reading why oilve oils should not be heated too much

Did some reading, and all the links said -

Nearly every time I lecture on olive oil, people ask whether heat destroys the oil, and whether they can cook with it. I don’t know who invented this misconception (seed-oil companies?), but I’d love to dispel it once and for all. High quality extra virgin olive oil can be heated to 420°F before it reaches smoke-point (ie begins to smoke and starts to form unhealthy compounds), which is higher than nearly every other vegetable oil. Olive oil is much more stable when heated compared to most vegetable oil (16, 17). Cooking with olive oil below the smoke-point does not destroy most of its health benefits, or make it less healthy – under normal cooking conditions,

The olive oil at Macro says its for stir frying.

Just in past yr. 2 young kids with grand parents killed in motorbike accident, falling tree killed a youngster. I once asked why poeople went to the clinic for small ailiments, response was it was easy to die.

Scratching the teflon pans is also one of my pet peeves. I've got the ole lady using plastic spatulas, we use olive oil for stir fry. Stainless steel for all cooking might be the way to go.

Understand that we all live in different settings. We have mild steel bar guards on windows. They won't deter a serious criminal but they stop theft by convenience. Solid doors. Couple of dogs. We're in small country village, most likely thief would be a local who knows our routine. As for weapons, as all Issan households there are probably 4 machetes laying around the kitchen. Take precautions before you become a victim. Easy to be carefree until you're a target. A crossbow seems a little odd. How about a bucket of rocks. Just joking...sort of.

You're way overthinking, I visited a guy from our village in prision for weed transport. There was about 10 of us visiting. I don't think my name was even written down. We're listed as being in a group, and we waited our turn in visiting room.

Why did I visit? I knew the young guy before prision and he was a solid guy. And I drove the kid's mother to see her son.

You bought your girlfriend a "really cool" plastic cup at Big C as a Valentine's Day gift, and she was okay with that?

Does she have a sister?

(I'm inquiring on behalf of a "friend".....)

. It was just one of her presents, but no I didn't spend a lot on Valentine's Day. It's the first Valentine's Day together. I like to set the bar pretty low at first. Only room for improvement.

And yes she has a sister.

Good choice.

Better than some of the people that probably bought their bargirlfriends a diamond ring, a car or better yet a house for Valentine's.

Sounds like the burn you received is long lasting.

About a yr. ago in the Subic area, the foreign owner of the Blue Rock, a hotel-restaraunt on Baloy Beach is sitting in a chair at the outdoor bar when a guy walks in wearing motorcycle helmet and shoots the owner dead. And, the shooter leaves. Easy-peasy.

One baht gold bracelet would be the ticket to her heart. Forget the roses.

drronnie, rather than look at what you perceive to be Thai attitudes on this matter, which any case rely on interpreting often subtle behaviours in a culture that is not your own, look at the attitudes to the poor here on TVF.

This forum has a very special form of bile and disdain for anyone who falls on hard times or god forbid resorts to begging.

Trawl through the posts referencing 'faring/expat begged/living rough/can't afford medical care .. etc'

You'll see the worst of TVF in all its glory.

There are also a number of people on this forum who display the same bile and disdain for anyone lucky enough to be rich.

Despite most people wishing they were.

But heaven forbid you start telling people how well off you are on here.

Definition of "rich" is required as well as "well off"

Well now I have noticed nothing of the sort here in the South,We go into the town and sometimes we see 1 or 2 Westerners at the most 3, that has not changed over the last 4 years .I like it this way,,, We don't have to Mingle with to many Westerners,,,Just the way we like it . 1 or 2 Friends is Fine . Love it !

I know a few people like yourself and I really cant make it out.

Why do people who have no wish meeting fellow Westerners in real life spend much of their spare time conversing with them online ?

Seriously I don't get it.

Inability to mix in with others. Harder to BS about the 'happy life' they lead, or financial status when face to face with someone. So many keyboard millionaires on here, probably, without a pot to piss in.

I have noticed that the ThaiVisa forums have an inordinate number of professionals....most predominantly investment wizards with intricate knowledge of the global monetary system; but also a large number of highly skilled engineers, biologists, epidemiologists, automotive technicians, Special Forces/SAS/ninjas, and what have you.

I appreciate people sharing their knowledge and experiences here...but some do get a bit carried away with touting their "credentials".

I'm highly skilled in the field of "what have you"

You're the only one that seems to miss them. I'm told they're out there somewhere if you want to find them.

Different points of view always makes things interesting.

Anger and abuse is never justified in my opinion.

Of course you're right but so many appear to be that way. Hardly a thread exists that doesn't have one or more nasty sections. I can't imagine the reasoning and I'm curious as to the motivations behind it. The mental images I have of these posters is of ridicule. I wonder how they perceive themselves? I'm sure that alcohol (as already mentioned) does play some part in proceedings, but not in all cases surely.

In my personal experience some people think that if they do not like you they are justified in doing anything they want to you. It is classic in-group, out-group and dehumanization techniques used to commit unspeakable acts against those we do not like. Unfortunately as humans we are able to rationalize almost anythings.

I remember when there was a group of posters here that very much fit that description. They formed a little clique and attempted to bully and belittle anyone they thought didn't fit here. They also seemed to think they were above the forum rules, but that turned out not to be the case, and the place is much better for their absence.

Names, Names big man posting. The ones you're referring to are sorely missed.

It's not the noise,upcountry for me it's the constant burning of rubbish,plastic and all other garden waste.

As I'm having my first cup of coffee, I'm on the lookout for what I can burn. There's always something.

Advil in large bottles, cold medicines, vitamins, clothes for myself, cold weather clothes for wife. So many things to bring back, so little room.