Nautilus05

It is also a little complex too. There is 'protocol'.

Exactly, and this is why I don't wai. I know there's different positions you should put your hands in, different depths you should bow your head, and so on, and all depending on who you're wai'ing. I have no clue where my fingers should be in relation to my nose, or how far my head should be down, so it's simple... I just don't wai.

Do you wai to people while in Thailand? Maybe I'm wrong, but I never wai to anyone. I'll politely smile, nod, say thank you, but will never wai.

It's just for example, I've seen fathers lecturing their 4yo sons on how to wai properly before, so I'm just going under the assumption I have no clue how to wai properly, and if I try it I'll probably just make an ass out of myself, plus probably be disrespectful towards Thais in general, and especially whoever I'm wai'ing too. So instead I just smile, nod, say "kawp khun kap", and carry about my merry way.

What about you? Do you wai?

He wai'd a motorbike taxi?

Okay, you've met one.

The best is when you see them wai'ing a go-go dancer, or door man / women in front of a go-go bar.

It's so funny, it's almost cute.

I found a raised bamboo bed gave better air circulation and was a good solution.

I know this isn't my thread, but thanks for that tip. I never even thought of a nice raised bamboo table as a bed for my dogs, but I'm sure they'd absolutely love it. I'll have to grab one or two of those tables. Thanks again.

Thais prefer Western toilets over squat toilets by the way.

Really? So I'm assuming that means you've never accidentally walked in on a Thai (ie. they forget to close the bathroom door), while they have the toilet seat up, feet on the rims of it, and are squatting over it?

heh, ok... too much information, lol.

The locals wont kill them , but effectively scare them off with loud 'bunger' type fireworks.

Fireworks, eh? If the monkey keeps coming around, I think that's what I might do. Simply because that's what someone in the next subdivision over does, and I'll just assume they know what they're doing more than me. Just behind my house is a huge field, and across from that is another subdivision. Someone over there shoots off fireworks probably several times a week. I just assumed they liked to party, or had kids who loved fireworks or something, but now that you said that, I'm guessing they have a monkey problem.

Alright then, if the monkey keeps coming around, fireworks it is!

What's her living environment like? Is she allowed to run around, and play lots, or is she more confined?

I'm no vet, but stress is one thing that struck me while reading your post.

Geez, why not use TP and shower and change clothes a couple of times a day? Maybe there's a reason that TP is the standard in civilized countries. (I didn't say that France is civilized, haha.)

Well, if you want to walk around with dried shit smeared on your ass half the day, go for it. I personally like the bum gun. It's like a little shower every time, and always clean back there.

Possibly the best topic headline ever!

I'm glad it gave you a smile, but it's actually an honest question. My neighbor thinks I'm crazy now, and kept telling me it's just a cat, but I'm quite confident that was a monkey I seen this morning. He was just sitting upright in the tree, with his little human-like face, staring down at us. Plus I know how my dogs treat cats, and they did not treat that like a cat. That was more of a cautious / scared approach, versus a "<snip>, or I'll kill you" approach.

And I'm assuming that's what the chirping I hear quite often is. Didn't sound like any type of reptile, plus was pretty sure it wasn't any type of bird I've heard before. I think that might actually be the monkey chirping away.

BTW... can I feed it? If I can manage to convince me dogs the monkey isn't a threat, is it alright if I put some bananas and stuff out for him? Or is it best if I just leave him be, and not do anything that attracts him to my house?

I live at the very far-end / street of a subdivision, and just behind me is nothing but a huge field of probably dozens or even hundreds of acres. There's been a few times now I've heard my dogs barking a bit at the one corner of the yard. I couldn't see anything, so just assumed it was probably a snake, and pulled them inside for a few hours.

However, today I found out it's a monkey. My one dog was giving off that certain bark again, so I went out, and there's a little monkey hanging out in the tree, just on the other side of the yard's wall. He seemed pretty docile, and was just hanging out, and staring at us.

I don't know anything about monkeys, so is there anything I should be aware of? How vicious are these guys? Is he going to jump down one day, start slashing the hell out of my dogs, and give them rabies?

As long as the monkey stays out of my yard, he'll be safe. If he comes into my yard though, I'm quite confident my dogs will go after him, and if they catch him, they'll probably kill him. Or I would imagine he's got a family out there somewhere, so is there any chance of the whole family showing up in my yard at some point? And I guess this means I should quit leaving the back door open all day, otherwise things may begin to go missing from the kitchen?

How can it be anything but 'cultural differences' if they see it as acceptable and we don't?

It's not acceptable here. What do you think would happen if either of us went wandering around, calling random strangers fat? We'd probably end up with a broken nose within a few hours.

I think we, in our Western world of political correctness, have become over sensitised to perceived 'insults' when they are often in fact merely ingenuous observations from people who don't see it as derogatory to state the obvious.

No. I hate when Westerners just shrug their shoulders at this stuff, and pass it off as cultural differences. No, it's just bloody rude.

I bet if I started wandering around the streets, telling random people they're fat, they'd be quite insulted, and rightfully so. Nothing to do with culture. It's simply rude. I'm not fat myself, but I do have manners, and am not about to point out the fat guy in the pool.

So an old lady who you claim to not know scolded you for not phoning your mother enough. Perhaps these old Thai ladies have psychic powers?

I have no idea. Just some lady who lived in the neighborhood, and had too much time on her hands I guess.

As for keeping one`s opinions to themselves, it appears plenty on here have many opinions to share, most of them totally negative about what seems to be their daily struggles with the Thais and living in Thailand.

It appears that so many farangs in Thailand these days have plenty to gripe about, nothing here seems to please them. Their lives must be one form of living hell and suffering here in the LOS, only in their cases Thailand is not the LOS, but more of a LOG, land of gloom.

Ohhh, come on, and I was actually trying to be positive. One of the things I really do enjoy about Thailand is that on the whole, people keep their opinions to themselves. It's just a common courtesy thing here, which doesn't exist as much in the West.

You have to admit though, those old bitties are exempted for that rule, and can be annoying at times. I've also been lectured for being lazy, and never going to work. All the while I work from home, and probably put in more hours than your average person. I've also been lectured for using a push broom instead of a straw one to clean the street in front of the house. Those straw things are an absolute pain, whereas a commercial sized push broom works great, even if you have to sometimes ensure an evil eye from an old bitty.

Perhaps the OP is fat and maybe a lot older than his Thai wife and looks it?

Some Thai people think this is repugnant.

Just saying, that`s all.

Doesn't matter. She should to keep her opinion to herself.

One of the many reasons I enjoy Thailand, is that on the whole, people keep their opinions to themselves. I much prefer that to the West, where it's filled with egotistical know-it-allls who never run out of opinions.

Unfortunately, old Thai ladies seem to be excluded from this little rule. I've even had one giving me hell before because according to her, I didn't phone my mom enough. I didn't know who she even was, but she sure was giving me hell.

Should have hopped out of the pool, and started doing this:

That would have gave her some gossip.

Not sure, but chocolate chip cookies is my guess. Try making a batch for your woman, and see how it goes over.

I've managed to find a few dishes that are quite healthy. Unfortunately, most market stalls don't make them, so you have to hunt around a bit to find a place that makes them.

"ka naan aman hoi moo" -- Sliced pork, with a bunch of greens, and light soy based sauce.

"paak paad set gung" -- Veggie stir fry with shrimp

"paak paad rohm meet" -- Not sure, but mixed veggies with some chicken or something.

But no, I think the majority of market food at least is about the equivalent of eating McDonalds. Just look at it. Say "krapow moo sap" -- a bunch of minced pork fried up in tons of oil, with some garlic, chillis, basil, and soy sauce, thrown onto a bed of rice. How is that possibly healthy?

Aside from say BBQ or "jao-aawn", if you look at most of the food served around the markets, there's almost no vegetables served in them at all. And most of it is cooked in about 8 times the amount of oil that's actually needed.

Considering what you mentioned you'd be leaving behind, I'd go with #1. Just leave everything there, and move on with your life.

If you kick up a fuss, there's a good chance down the road you're going to very much wish you chose #1.

Best of luck and I'm sure some others here will have some ideas too but my advice is definitely to talk to a vet.

Yeah, guess I'll do that. Have to head back to the old house tomorrow anyway, so hopefully his clinic will be open. Have an excellent vet though (when he's around). Educated in Michigan even, flies to the US once in a while for seminars, teaches at the local university, etc.

See if he's around tomorrow.

I must be an idiot, but I can't seem to figure out how to get rid of fleas & ticks from my dogs permanently. They have their shots, and I've tried various things including those small bottles you get from Fresh Mart (don't know what it's called -- 60 baht per 10kg -- I just say "yaa hep" and point at the back of my neck, and they know what it means), pills that aren't Thai-FDA approved, Frontline, etc.

Everything I've tried has worked fine, but for only about 3 months at a time. After that, it seems the fleas / ticks become immune to it, or it doesn't take effect within my dogs anymore, or something. Right now I'm using Frontline, which used to work great, but not anymore. One application is supposed to last a month, but I'm giving them one every 10 days, so I'm spending 3000 baht/month on Frontline, and it's not even working anymore.

Any ideas? Or what am I doing wrong here? I have the special shampoo, and the powder for after their showers, and all that.

I have found a lot of people in the provinces who genuinely like foreigners, and they did not buy into the "all foreigners are stupid" hogwash.

No, no... apparently I'm an absolute genius, because I can do things like calculate (500 - 286) in my head.

I give leeway to the older ladies for needing a pen, paper, and calculator to figure out how much I owe, and how much change I should have. But come on, when their 20-something kids are running the store, they should be able to do that in their head.

heh, in my old neighborhood our next door neighbor had a little store, which virtually became our pantry. We were there many times a day. Every weekend my neighbor would head out to visit the family, and leave her son in charge, who's also going to uni. I'd grab what I want, put it on the counter, and the conversation would go something like:

Him: "I don't know, how much is all that?"

Me: "Ummm, 212 baht" *hand 300 baht over*

Him: "Ok, how much change?"

Me: "88 baht"

Him: "Ohhh, ok. Kawp khun kap".

lol

In a new neighborhood, so not really sure what my neighbors think of me, as it's a bit of an isolated community. However, if I had to guess, I'm quite confident they don't give a &lt;deleted&gt; about me, and don't put much thought into me at all. As long as I keep my dogs inside at night, I'm pretty sure they don't give a shit about me.

Now if my old neighbors didn't like me, they sure had a weird way of showing it. Coming over with plates of food when they cooked a nice meal, picking things up from the market for me, talking to workers for me, giving me lifts into town, etc. Maybe they were just doing all that to spite me, I'm sure.