PaiMei

Hi, will be in Hua Hin for a couple weeks in December. Have never been there. Will be staying close the railway station in the center of town. I like to take an early morning run to unwind when possible - are there areas recommended for a run? Parks, trails, sois, whatever. Can you just run down to the beach and jog there? (Forgive my ignorance but really have never been and don't have a clue).

In advance - thanks.

my pappy said 'son you're going to drive me to drinking, if you don't stop driving that pattaya baht bus.'

the aussie kid and his family as millionaires also. he was studying at the most expensive international school in Bangkok and balling it up in Koh Samui.

No doubt he had enjoyed the benefit of corruption and significant wealth in Thailand, whether that was simple stuff like avoiding motorbike fines or more.

Now the boot is on another foot and it is all "young aussie with promising future as student/model" vs "super rich chinese bad guys" , when it is really just two silver spoon kids who got into a bar fight and one guy ended up a lot worse for wear.

Obviously you know nothing about the case

I was more sympathetic initially (this case has been heavily covered by Drummond). I was more in the hang em high court of public opinion wanting to see the bullies suffer some sort of legal retribution for their action.

But something in this article doesn't sit right with me.

"And that was when the parents got involved: Mr Hansen-Bartel’s mother, Australian expat Annie Hansen, and Mr Chang’s father, American businessman Raymond Nobu Chang.

She said Mr Chang (senior) produced a document offering her 800,000 baht to drop the charges against the two boys.

It offers Ms Hansen 800,000 baht, but he said that happened after she asked for 10 million baht.

Mr Chang (senior) wrote an email: “Ms Hansen demanded that we pay her 10 million Thai Baht or else she would make sure the two boys ‘Rot in jail’.”

Ms Hansen did not dispute asking for 10 million baht to compensate for her son’s injuries.

From this moment forward, Mr Hansen-Bartel’s case turned against him."

If this is literally true, it tells me that the mother is attempting to extract as much financial gain as possible from the situation. The quest for justice being promoted in the media came after. I don't know. The only thing I'm certain of is you have a hot-headed barfight over a girl. An old and familiar story.

After that things get a little more murky.

d'oh! *smacks self upside the head* - didn't realize there had been a thread on this a week ago. i'll have to peruse or search the forum more often.

anyway thank you. this midnight curfew thing = a bit depressing for those of us who come alive around 11pm or so. looks like i'll be cutting time in CM short this year.

plan on retiring there in about 15 years, hopefully the faux reign of silliness will have concluded by then. take care.

It's been awhile since I've been in CM, heading out in a few weeks. Couldn't tell from a quick search on the web whether the bar is still open - just curious.

Thanks.

...

Gays have been discriminated against horribly in the past so there's a sensitivity there that can go overboard.

...

In the past?

Oh my God, I can't even believe I'm reading this.

So let me get this straight, gay people are not discriminated against anymore as a class of people?

Gay people in the USA (not to mention Russia, Uganda, etc.) now enjoy equal civil rights under the laws?

Is that really what you wanted to suggest?

Hopefully the next generations can take an arrogant and clueless statement like yours as something even approaching real, not now. not even close!

Maybe some people see shows like GLEE and conclude gay teens in the USA aren't still getting their asses kicked everyday in school just for being gay, and many STILL being driven to suicide by a homophobic culture especially in regions dominated by fundamentalist Christian hate dogma. Yes, it IS getting better, but it's not nearly GOOD ENOUGH yet.

America (which is where this is happening), especially in LA, NYC, etc - discrimination against gays was horrible in the past and that environment has grown significantly more tolerant.

Perhaps tolerance is something u could ask yourself of sir in addition to slinging accusations. My friends are quite comfortable with me,

Edit: asked a good friend to look at my post critically and his quote was that you had some anger and I should disengage from the dialog. Which I'm gonna do.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

This CEO contributed $1,000 in support of a law in 2008 that took the exact same position on gay marriage that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton espoused at the time. Forcing him to resign is absolutely ridiculous.

And a lot has changed in the 6 years since then. I am not sure about Hilary, but Obama has since shown enthusiastic support for equality laws. Possibly if Mr. Eich had done the same, he would still be in his job.

But think about it - why would Mozilla pander to a minority if they felt that the weight of public opinion was either with Mr. Eich or nonplussed? Clearly, they believe that society, on the whole, finds his views to be objectionable.

Actually during the 2008 election, while coming out generally in favor of gay rights Obama came out specifically against gay marriage: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/11/obama-on-mtv-i/

And then there's the whole Duck Dynasty thing.

Look, it can be tricky walking the line between folks religious or philosophical beliefs as they translate into cultural institutions vs. protecting groups outside of the majority or mainstream. (Or even in the mainstream depending on the situation).

Gays have been discriminated against horribly in the past so there's a sensitivity there that can go overboard. I don't see this guy as being patently hateful or against gays - when you go into areas like marriage you're dealing with traditional influences (right or wrong) and playing in traditions's backyard. Personally I"m against straight people getting married, most of the time someone is getting exploited, but that's another topic.

Anyway, the point is - there's nothing to indicate this guy has a hateful agenda. Pick your battles, this one isn't worth it and it may serve to do the opposite - trivialize the very real discrimination gays have suffered in comparison.

Have the same card and oddly enough did use it at a 7-11 in Los Angeles one time fresh off the plane, had no problem. I used it to pay for a hot dog and coke and then out of curiosity walked over to the ATM and it worked there too.

Have also used it - once - on Amazon to purchase a gift and have it delivered in the states, and it worked - though the exchange rate employed by Amazon was horrible. If memory serves I also had to put in a stateside billing address and entered my old one - it was accepted.

Mac OS (currently OS X) is basically Unix. If you delve into the command line or things like 'services' the range of things you can do is exponentially more broad than anything I've experienced with windows (and I'm not a fanboy). I've heard mac users called elitist and snobs before but never average... that's a new one.

For the past couple decades right up to this moment it's been both the hardware and software of preference for working in the arts (film, graphics, music). There is a reason for that and it won't change anytime soon.

Anyway, whatever works best for you is... best. But am skeptical about the 'average' comment. Good for a chuckle though.... and that's always a good thing.

Hey - can't one appreciate Som Tam and women both and not be middle aged? I happen to really really like Som Tam Lao and resent the inference bucko!

The derogatory term "slope" has different meanings. It is an acronym for Silly Little Opium Peddling Easterner.

It can also refer to the curve of slant eyes. However, it is used in a non-racist sense, too. It can describe sagging breasts.

Nobody sued anybody for Clint Eastwood's line in Gran Torino: "Hey, what the hell do you think youre doing with my car you yellow gook slope?"

Actually one of the many points of Gran Torino was to demonstrate how a man who was portrayed as irrevocably set in his ways -- mean-spirited and a little racist -- could mature and broaden his perception of the people around him. Specifically in Gran Torino this was in reference to the community of Cambodian refugees in California.

At the end of the film he certainly wasn't referring to them as yellow gook slopes, but as his dearest friends.

Everyone is going off on tagents in reference to racism vs political correctness, but what Clarkson said was a dick move. He might be the second coming of whomever your Christ is... but it still wasn't a cool thing to say. And if there was a Thai show on TV where they intentionally degraded farang by using a loaded phrase with double-meaning to do it (eg, something along the lines of farang kii nok or similar), I'm sure half of the Clarkson fan boys would have their proverbial panties in a twizzle.

I don't know if he's racist. I don't even care. I do know it was a dick thing to say, if I was Asian I wouldn't think being called a slope was all such a laugh.

I think starting late 90s and continuing for the next decade or so there was an exponential increase in forums & forum activity covering... just about everything. A lot of that has dried up, including many Thai forums that were once thriving.

For whatever reason, this one still is (thriving). I'd take that as a healthy sign and you can get good info here, I've certainly been saved some grief in reference to Thai banking and immigration thanks to accurate info disseminated here (and inaccurate info being questioned).

So, hey....

Fortune Mall, basement, not bad, Don Meung airport - quite good.

Is that Fortune mall Pra Ram 9? Sidenote: the best Food court Tom Yum I've ever had was there adjacent to Lotus.

Have had Khao Soi at basement food court below Robinson's at Asoke and it was good. Now that everyone goes to Terminal the Robinson's food court doesn't get heavy traffic which is nice.

btw - Most of the time avoid food courts (eg, Paragon - just too damn annoying) but the above are pleasant exceptions.

Where would we be without folks like Clarkson, that push back against the fascist word and thought police?

Before this thread I really had not much to say about Clarkson, I watch Top Gear for the cars and some of the shenanigans. I did not consider the show to be risque in any way. But by the reaction of some of these posters I see westerners are more afraid of non regulation opinions then ever before.

Yes indeed, lets all be grateful for this man having the courage to refer to a random Thai man as a slope, and in that process striking a deafening blow against fascism.

Drama major? Just curious. After this thread I don't really have much to say about Clarkson. Another self-indulgent shock jock type with a band of merry sycophants frothing and ready to kiss his boots.

Once more unto the breach Sir Jeremy, protector of free speech against those fascist critics. You really taught them a lesson this time.

You know what would be purely poetic - if the 'slope' on the bridge approached Sir Jeremy and offered him a sandwich.

Then, BAM, popped him in the jaw. Dreadfully sorry love, a 'knuckle sandwich' that is. Only playing love, no reason to get irritated or get all PC on your high horse.

Fade to black...

To the O/P I would say that you are not "fresh meat" and the only trap you need to worry about is listening to cranky old farang who assume everyone is as clueless and helpless as they are. If you've been browsing these forums for awhile, you probably are aware that high pitched whining and moaning is an unfortunate constant on many threads..

Over the top rude and uncalled for. Advice to spend 6 months in country prior to making a more permanent commitment is sound. Will also give you a better idea of where to go.

OP: Just returned to my own country after after spending a year in the kingdom to test the waters and travel. Didn't intend on volunteering but did anyway to help a friend and it was a bit anarchic. Fortunate to have a job where I can work remotely and will return to Thailand in 2016 for several years as long as life doesn't gum up the works - my outlook now is much different than it was 18 months ago. Explore the country and feel it out for yourself, then make the big decisions. And good luck

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Will be in Bangkok for longer than the typical two week excursion. Though it's business, plan on having a social life too, and though alcohol is evil like to have a wee bit every now and then. Except - this time actually paying attention to cost and where the best deals/places are - subjective though it may be.

Any input appreciated. Thanks.

I cant help feeling sorry for them. They live in a cesspool of deceit, drugs, exploitation and ignorance. Difficult for even a saint to rise out of it...

Parliament House of Thailand has nothing to do with this conversation.

I'm confused here what did he say about parliament

Sorry, was sarcasm. Inference being that "deceit, drugs, exploitation, and ignorance" could just as easily be a reference to Parliament members as to bargirls.

Sarcasm not pointed at the tragic loss of life, and it is horrible.

I cant help feeling sorry for them. They live in a cesspool of deceit, drugs, exploitation and ignorance. Difficult for even a saint to rise out of it...

Parliament House of Thailand has nothing to do with this conversation.

ear plugs...or headphones......wear these at coffee shops...they give a strong FO message.

wear headphones > 50% of time outdoors, they're actually playing something maybe 10% of time.

Back up escape plan - where possible - go to the hongnam and read TV while relaxing in the stall (on phone).

Like I'm doing now.

iPhone. Probably errors. Dreadfully sorry.

For the first 50 years my life in the UK was worthless tedium.

My last 5 years in Thailand have made the whole thing worthwhile, if I die tomorrow, no problem.

(But another 5 years like the last 5 would be really good)

I hope you get another 50.

Close to 40 and it has begun to sink in that time and resources are in fact limited and the future is not wide open. I don't know if its that I fear death, but would fight against it tooth and nail right now. Too much hasn't been done, or seen, or even said to people i care about. Don't fear death as much as I'm pissed off about it. You learn all these things and then... bam. What a jip.

Sent from iPhone. Errors in grammar or judgement are excused. Dreadfully sorry.

There's very little in your post that isn't based on wild amusing projections of who you imagine i am...that you couldn't possibly know based on my posts...meaning that you entirely made them up out of air...and your pomposity and condescension is unbelievable. You've painted a very interesting and detailed picture of me in your mind based on a few pixels...grand assumptions that of course you don't doubt, which shows a stunning lack of modesty and an unawareness that when it comes to who I am and the degree that I'm "focused on art", you are clueless. Why are you even talking, baby?

I'll respond to the quote below because it is on topic...

The problem he and some quiet others have is that your question has an identity crisis, and people are trying to tell you in a friendly way that an artist community in the sense that you perceive it doesn't really exist in Bangkok.

There's very little in my post at all. It'll stay that way. Show me the art.

Good luck. No sarcasm. You've got a little fire and ego, good. You'll need it. The other stuff is garbage, but you're not wholly irredeemable. There are several thousand 'arty' people in bangkok, but a small amount of artists producing work, and they're much more severe than I. Or Razell. Oh yes. You'll ignore my advice, but it's simply this - go explore the city and find what works. And then do. Don't try. Do.

As the great Confucius once said in a moment of illumination: chok dee son

What all this problems mean to me is that it will cause me to reach my goal to earn 5 or 10 millions bahts at a slower rate (over the 2 years timeframe). If your thai girlfriend exhibits similar problems like these, please share your experience whether you succeed in changing these sorts of behaviours and mindsets.

Thank you pals!

Are you really in a position to save 10 laan baht over 2 years? And your gf knowa this - no wonder you're getting ultimatums. Is it all going to end, or are you now in some sisyphean cycle where the next demand awaits?

Be careful. btw - ummm, where you work - are they hiring?

Sent from iPhone. Errors in grammar or judgement are excused. Dreadfully sorry.

I can't imagine what it is about my OP that triggered your interest in my motives, financials, and life history. Short version: I've travelled (not touristed) around the world, hitchhiking, trekking, boat, and train, frequently to remote places more times than I can count w/ only a small backpack. I'm no stranger to squat toilets, extreme poverty, village life, and intestinal parasites. I'm equally comfortable on a yellow brick road or a rope mountain bridge.I've lived in a corrugated sheet metal shack and a 4k a month flat and everything in between. I'm intelligent enough to attend to visa requirements. I'm moving to BKK because I've never been there and because I live my life as an adventure.

You sound really annoying.

Some quality piss-taking on this thread Pseudolus and others...

And you sound really off topic...which most people find annoying.

Actually you're lucky people haven't been a lot more vicious than Razell. You should send him a thank you PM for trying to keep things balanced. The idea of helping out a newcomer and promoting the arts in BKK appeals to a lot of folks. I hope none of them get taken advantage of.

The problem he and some quiet others have is that your question has an identity crisis, and people are trying to tell you in a friendly way that an artist community in the sense that you perceive it doesn't really exist in Bangkok. Also your intense focus on the importance of this social setting opposed to a genuine body of work is a red flag for those more critically minded.

Maybe if you were a little more modest, and focused more on art per se, opposed to promoting 'street credibility' with some questionable claims.

Khao San Road is indeed the place for you to find like minded individuals and your community. Bangkok will teach you about life, perhaps not in the sense that you think, but hopefully in way that is meaningful.

Good luck.

"Sing along with the common people.

Sing along, and it might just get you thru.'

Laugh along with the common people.

Laugh along, even though they're laughing at you

and the things that you do

'cause you think that poor, is cool..."

I agree that she shouldn't have come up with a lame story because she was out late partying, but it wasn't assault either...

I'll take a strike to the face and a handful of stitches any day of my life over a false accusation of rape.

There are serious issues with corruption and violence in Phuket, making light of what she did won't help address that.