Wordworx

Hmmm. Not many on here defending the coup now are there?

Yeah, typical authoritarian personalities. They are all in for the (dumbass) party line, until they start to finally figure out they might also get F-ked. If it's those they deem inferior (The Other) who are getting screwed over, they're okay with that. In fact, that's what they dig the most. Makes them feel *special*. Creeps.

Geezus, man. Seriously?

I was in a bank need branch in a mall last year,,, fairly long line,,, I watched 2 tellers,,, count out at LEAST, 1.5 million baht, in huge stacks of $1000s,,, while 2 Thai guys,, early/mid 20s,, over saw it,,, both wearing same simple uniforms like from a local shop or something,,, they loaded into 2 simple canvas bags,, dropped them into a rolling cart,, signed for it,, then just strolled out the door with it,, into the mall,, NO guards what so ever,, CRAAAAZY!

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Hmmmmm... Where was that, precisely? And what time of day... precisely?

Yeah, agree with the other sherlocks here saying inside job. Guy had the timing precise (check the clerk's phone), the cash was right there, farang getting a pistol on his own on Samui can't be the easiest thing going. That said, if the dummy is still on the island, deserves to get caught. Should've been on the first boat out of there. And maybe he was, feet up on Lipe beach by now.

Guys get your minds out of the gutter.

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Good luck with that.

Same with my wife.

I think Thais get bored easily, and since most of them need to make a huge effort just to understand the words you're saying, their brain gets bored and zones out. They probably make an effort to understand the words you're saying but that isn't 'sanuk' for a very long time, so by the time you finish the sentence the overall message already got lost.

Then again, I am exactly the same when I am on the computer (which is always). My wife has entire conversations with me that I later can't recall, so can't really blame her much.

But yeah, when you're just talking to someone face to face, doing nothing else and the other person zones out without apparent reason it can be quite frustrating.

Sorry, what was that ?

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Sh-t, man, sometimes I get bored and don't listen and grasp the words when I talk to myself. >>> [Not so] Seriously, though, all this med-related info going back and forth: Yeaaaaaahhh, I guess it could be that she has a brain tumor, or something, but... No, actually I don't guess that. I guess it's like the cat quoted above said. And I further guess that the "headaches" are likely not. Suggestion to OP is to relax. Couples ignore each other all the time and "headaches" are handy for multiple purposes. Also pretty damn relative.

You are being conned.  Send me your $30,000 and I and my Navy Seal team will extract her. 

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Wait, is there a spec op package secure and egress bid happening here? If so, I'm in. And undercutting the SEAL (puss). I got my 6-member Flit Fairy Sparkle Dust (FFSD) team, ready to rapid deploy, tinkle in on the warming air currents. We'll git 'er done for 15-k (plus tuk-tuk expenses).

Makes about as much sense as OP.

It's a scam. The woman and her "family" are playing you. Likely just her and her BF (or favorite tuk-tuk driver) running the scam. If you are for real, take note of the advice and ridicule coming your way on this thread. Bail, never again communicate with her. Even after the price tag for "divorce" plummets to about 10,000 baht. Block the mails, calls and messages, And, dude, savvy up.

@Woodworx

Little Emperors, indeed. ...

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It's *Wordworx* actually, but I should change it.

On the China thing, for you and at least one other commenting on such, concurrent string: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/720292-passenger-brawl-heralds-end-of-metal-age-for-thai-airways/?utm_source=newsletter-20140421-1449&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

You get the same thing all over SE Asia, more to lesser degrees.

Other than the increasingly absurd and oblivious-driver conditions on the roads, don't encounter much of what you described. A few times, not much.

Try China, if you wanna test your patience. Travel some of the cities, especially in the north. Last time in (after 4 years earlier stint) before I got back out I was body-slamming some of the dudes. All I can figure, "LIttle Emperors" now grown up -- physically, not mentally, completely unaware of any other person's situation or objective. Airline on the way out, one F-ker would NOT get out of the aisle...The women, too, but not so bad. Just the middle-aged old school broads thinking they can butt in front of a laowai. Usually can take care of that with raised voice, same here a couple of times (also middle aged women).

But compared to the Mainland Chinese, the Thai are gracious in the extreme -- even if 90% of the time they are faking it. And they are.

Don't start drinking more than twice a week.

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Indeed, good advice. Best to maybe only stop once, twice at max.

Will get to OP's specific point below, but first --

A few days ago had a quasi business meeting with a Thai hotel owner. It's a nice place, for sure, a substantial investment. Meeting was not initiated by me, rather by him. I'm not looking for business, but I basically live at this place part of the year, so happy to provide input, website, internet marketing, marketing in general. Sat there and ATTEMPTED for about 30 minutes to convey. The guy has good English skills, but I can see in his eyes as I am telling him, for instance, pretty easy principals about SEO, other elementary marketing stuff, he is checking out.

I 100% guarantee the guy retained nothing (zero / nada) of what I told him. Not hard to believe. About six months ago, tell him his otherwise pretty decent website has major language errors, like real pronounced misspellings on the homepage, for instance. He ASKS ME to send him corrections. I did. Going so far as to do a screenshot, graphically designate the errors, detail corrections. Fixing would have taken a web guy about 1 minute. All he had to do was forward my email. Never happened. Like I said, that was six months ago. About a week ago he asks me to send again. Still in files so I did, Corrections never happened.

In short: They really are not interested. Your gal is just trying to do her part, make you think she is interested. But her brain is way, way, somewhere else. She asks you a question to accommodate you (she thinks), turns off the mental tap before you even reply.

Btw - Was married to a Thai woman. Got her a green card (three years of my life), cut her loose. And she was a university grad (for whatever that's worth). More important, from a good family and she had traveled the world by the time I married her. Conversations? Forget about it. Worlds apart.

You guys in Pattaya, I guess it you were really out for peace and quiet you would not live there. Not exactly Zen capital of SE Asia.Still, I sympathize and empathize.

Up here in Chiang Mai, 100% ceased on Thursday. Right up until that day was a madhouse.

Wow. 14,578 posts, above flapping ... something. Seriously, wow.

Never seen Songkran last less than five days anywhere in Thailand. Here granting I was never out in the more remote villages, during the season. At least not for extended period. But got hit with bucket loads while passing through some rural areas in the north on motorcycle late in the holiday period, for sure.

Back to the subject at hand: The traffic casualty count is bogus. The cops are not instantly and accurately relaying back to THAI TRAFFIC CASUALTY CENTRAL. Let's get real, here.

Any stat reports issued, no doubt coming from local police, not the hospitals, will, of course, be fraudulent. Later those reports will be further *sanitized* and otherwise censored by higher-ups. Add to that the fact they do not record traffic fatalities which did not occur on the scene. Meaning: After the injured are gone from scene of accident, maybe die in ambulance or later at hospital, not recorded as traffic fatality.

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More Pattaya Mayhem - Past and Present

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Thanks! The more of these photos I see the more I enjoy the comfort of my home.

Cheers

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Yeah, good shots, thanks.

And same here, happy to stay out of it. I would say it's age, but way, way younger, 2nd time in country, Chiang Mai, after a full day in it, and after the supposed *quitting time*, about 21:00, getting slammed by a bucket of dirty moat water while in a tuk-tuk, dressed for dinner, said F-k this. Next morning the way younger me caught the first flight for the islands. Guess I ain't got what it takes.

Chiang Mai - Yesterday about 10:30 I have to head out to take care of couple things (pay a bar tab, stock up), on Huai Kaew Road past the mall, way, way past the moat. Only had to get by one family with what looked like 10 and 7-year-old male kids. Approaching, backpack on, in the morning, I am signally *No*. Then I say "No!" Kid hits me with bucket. I freeze, tense up and wanna hit somebody. The family seems to force a giggle. I mean, why the F-k is this funny? I mutter obscenities under my breath, keep going.

Just now I got back from the briefest run possible for minimal supplies, the 7-11. I actually did okay, got by the dopes IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT of the 7-11 with water hoses. Inside the floor was soaked.

I finish biz, start back, clear the hoses - they take two Thai guys off a motorbike, splatter them all over the street -- and HK is a busy street.

But here is the kicker: A couple of middle-aged white dudes who were walking up the sidewalk, shirtless, guts out, rushed out to help the downed Thai guys (bailed me out of that). They stop traffic, but not easy, The Thai coming up on scooters were jockeying for position, just wanted to get around while the farang were peeling the cats off the asphalt. To be fair, maybe the Thai figured they were sitting ducks for the hoses.

What a F-king joke.

Things can't be that bad up there as you had to come to a Pattaya thread to vent??? Don't take this the wrong way as it is a serious questions - I've never visited the Chiang Mai forum, but don't they have Songkran vent threads on there?

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Oh, yeah, just recalled this one, "2014 Songkran FAQ (long)", was Pattaya-specific. Forgot the page head. Sorry man, didn't mean to blow your Pattaya high with non-pertinent info. I'll be more careful in the suture.

No need for sarcasm. I asked a serious question. I don't have problem with you venting here at all - go at it!

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Don't think I've seen CM-specific threads, but did not really look for them (my fault). Noted comments from / about CM around here and there while skimming. Pretty bad / good here, depending on perspective. Judging by vacancy rate at current hotel (everybody cleared out, past few days), not a big hit with the visitors. Probably figured it they are going to get soaked walking a couple blocks from hotel to bar / restaurant, they may as well be near a beach.

Chiang Mai - Yesterday about 10:30 I have to head out to take care of couple things (pay a bar tab, stock up), on Huai Kaew Road past the mall, way, way past the moat. Only had to get by one family with what looked like 10 and 7-year-old male kids. Approaching, backpack on, in the morning, I am signally *No*. Then I say "No!" Kid hits me with bucket. I freeze, tense up and wanna hit somebody. The family seems to force a giggle. I mean, why the F-k is this funny? I mutter obscenities under my breath, keep going.

Just now I got back from the briefest run possible for minimal supplies, the 7-11. I actually did okay, got by the dopes IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT of the 7-11 with water hoses. Inside the floor was soaked.

I finish biz, start back, clear the hoses - they take two Thai guys off a motorbike, splatter them all over the street -- and HK is a busy street.

But here is the kicker: A couple of middle-aged white dudes who were walking up the sidewalk, shirtless, guts out, rushed out to help the downed Thai guys (bailed me out of that). They stop traffic, but not easy, The Thai coming up on scooters were jockeying for position, just wanted to get around while the farang were peeling the cats off the asphalt. To be fair, maybe the Thai figured they were sitting ducks for the hoses.

What a F-king joke.

Things can't be that bad up there as you had to come to a Pattaya thread to vent??? Don't take this the wrong way as it is a serious questions - I've never visited the Chiang Mai forum, but don't they have Songkran vent threads on there?

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Oh, yeah, just recalled this one, "2014 Songkran FAQ (long)", was Pattaya-specific. Forgot the page head. Sorry man, didn't mean to blow your Pattaya high with non-pertinent info. I'll be more careful in the suture.

Chiang Mai - Yesterday about 10:30 I have to head out to take care of couple things (pay a bar tab, stock up), on Huai Kaew Road past the mall, way, way past the moat. Only had to get by one family with what looked like 10 and 7-year-old male kids. Approaching, backpack on, in the morning, I am signally *No*. Then I say "No!" Kid hits me with bucket. I freeze, tense up and wanna hit somebody. The family seems to force a giggle. I mean, why the F-k is this funny? I mutter obscenities under my breath, keep going.

Just now I got back from the briefest run possible for minimal supplies, the 7-11. I actually did okay, got by the dopes IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT of the 7-11 with water hoses. Inside the floor was soaked.

I finish biz, start back, clear the hoses - they take two Thai guys off a motorbike, splatter them all over the street -- and HK is a busy street.

But here is the kicker: A couple of middle-aged white dudes who were walking up the sidewalk, shirtless, guts out, rushed out to help the downed Thai guys (bailed me out of that). They stop traffic, but not easy, The Thai coming up on scooters were jockeying for position, just wanted to get around while the farang were peeling the cats off the asphalt. To be fair, maybe the Thai figured they were sitting ducks for the hoses.

What a F-king joke.

This isn't just a Thai thing, all stats worldwide are subject to interpretation based on many factors..,how they are gathered and by who is important but what we make of them is often clouded by our own prejudices.

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Agree with you on the inefficiency and dishonesty of governments and institutions, if that is your gist. But keep in mind the cover-your-ass principal (CYA), the golden rule in institutions in the west. All the legalities, potential liabilities, insurance and other reporting requirements. Fundamental to a death certificate: Cause of Death. Even the crappiest of reporting in the west would record a death resulting from a motor vehicle accident as a road death, get added to stats. That ain't happening here.

I am not sure of my facts here so don't start flaming. I was told that the number of road deaths recorded here are those who died ON the roads. Road accident victims who subsequently die of their injuries in hospital are not recorded. If I was living in any other country I would not believe this. But TIT so it is possible

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Yep, heard the same. Pretty sure true. ... Nah, I'm certain of it. Like the cops are going to follow-up with the hospital? Visa-versa?

Got a RTP Senior Sergeant Major in the marriage family, and I asked him about that. They only count the dead at the scene. Once you leave the scene and die in the hospital, you aren't part of that statistic.

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Check. Good info. Thanks.

I am not sure of my facts here so don't start flaming. I was told that the number of road deaths recorded here are those who died ON the roads. Road accident victims who subsequently die of their injuries in hospital are not recorded. If I was living in any other country I would not believe this. But TIT so it is possible

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Yep, heard the same. Pretty sure true. ... Nah, I'm certain of it. Like the cops are going to follow-up with the hospital? Visa-versa?

Thanks for your advise

I have moved them now to a small Hotel until the end of Sonkran then will try to find somewhere else to live but she will sell all of the furniture and anything else they have.

He wants to stay at the School where he works and find somewhere local to live away from her.

Her name is on the rental agreement so he is not tied to that but he will not get his deposit back as she has wrecked the house

She took his motor bike but he managed to find it now.

I know it is non of my business, but no matter how much he likes the local school, surely staying there and finding a place nearby is not a good idea. Thai village drums will beat, and he will not escape the torment. As Costas said, move away, the sooner the better. I wish you luck and also think he is lucky to have your help.

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Indeed. Only solution is to get far, far away - ASAP.

[self-deleted] Not enough info to comment.

My first was back in '95, me and GF in from the states, first time in Thailand, traversing Samui on motor bike, dangerously getting slammed by buckets of ditch water. A year or so later, solo on a 250, so at speed, en route from Chiang Rai to Mae Sai, dopes jumping out from behind trees to pound you with a bucket of slime, full on chest hit at maybe 90 kmh. You get pretty defensive, after that.

I never went down, but have seen them knock their fellow Thai off their bikes.

Short while ago, today, Saturday afternoon, 1:30 in the afternoon, Chiang Mai, headed out with laptop in backpack, iPod on belt, realized when I hit the main drag I made a mistake: They got an early start. I managed to circumvent on way to IT shop destination, mostly same on coming back. But on return as I unavoidably approached a group of 30-something Thai adults with guns (?!), saw them getting ready, I signaled *NO*, with thumb indicated backpack, meaning *I have something in here*, my laptop. They stopped, waited until I passed then started on me with the stupid water guns. I lost it, swung around and went drill sergeant on them.

So, yeah, perhaps best I sign on to the Reclusive Club. A nice tradition just made stupid, wasteful, dangerous and real freakin' inconvenient.