cloudtiger

According to my Thai friend, washing/massaging someone's foot is very "low" work and that it is only polite to tip the "mor" (massage "doctor") 20-50bhat per hr. if you can afford it. (I've seen even poor Thais tip at this rate)

It is thoughtful to offer the tip with two hands or with one supporting the other at the wrist.

Also, it is polite to "wai" your mor after a session when she/he "wai" you.

Massage is a highly skilled work but it is also a highly physical labor. As such, it comes with considerable risks and injuries to the practitioner as well.

One could always find ways and reasons to pay less or do less for others. What a world it would be if we could find ways to do more instead ...

write a book

paint a picture

design a better mouse trap

consider the meaning of life

Absolutely crazy advice you are offering... IMHO.

Really? Why? Please elaborate.

Would you rather sit in a nursing home with all the other geezers waiting to die while the company sucks your life savings dry or stay in a big mansion with servants, nurse, driver, cook, and maybe even little children to play with?

I'm not trying to be facetious. I'd like to know if I'm about to commit a serious error.

Thanks all. Hua Hin sounds great. The last time I was in Phuket 4 months ago, I found it rather hectic.

Basically, it's the depressing seniors retirement home for them or come to Thailand. I'm just more surprised that I don't see more 70+ yo seniors here. It just seems so much nicer than rotting in a nursing home at $5K US/mo.

And if they're accustomed to beachside prices at Waikiki beach, they're going to love the prices for beachside homes in Hua Hin. I just have a two room bungalow, modern, 50 steps from the beach, and I only pay 10,500 baht. Honolulu, it might be 4,000 DOLLARS per month.

Thanks. You're right about HI, Peaceblondie.

One big issue may be heat, and will they acclimatise? Where are they living now, and where in Thailand are you considering?

cv

They're in Hawaii. I was thinking Phuket or Hua Hin, someplace with access to good hospital. Thanks. Most likely, they'll spend most of the day indoor with the aircon set at 26C

I'm trying to convince my folks to retire in LOS where I spend most of my time. Both of them are over 70, reasonably healthy, and financially secure. I would most likely rent/buy a place on the beach and have them stay with me with a staff to take care of the house chores, driving, and cooking. At some point, they would need homecare, nurse, etc., and I thought this would be a good way to keep an eye on them. They'd be coming from the US.

I was wondering how many of you TV members are over 70 and living here in LOS. What are the ups and downs of living here? Any tips at all? Thanks.

I was in a small moo-baan when I saw two young thais guys in their twenties on a motorbike going about 25km/hr and dragging a dog on a leash. It was a medium size dog with a leather collar to which the leash was attached. The dog was yelping like a broken record as he was bouncing on his side the whole way on the asphalt. At first I didn't know what was making that awful noise although I saw the thais guys on the bike from 50m away. When I saw it was a dog, I was so shocked I couldn't do anything. By the time I ran out to the road, they were far off and still dragging the poor dog. There was a trail of blood and fur. Over two dozen Thais saw this but no one even blinked. When I asked why, they said maybe the dog offended the boys. And no one cared.

Sometimes I see Thai treating each other very callously as well. And I wondered if I were ever down on my luck or if I ever pissed one of them off, what would happen to me.

So, if you don't mind my asking, what will you do next? If things were settled to your satisfaction, would you still stay there, or would you pack up and try and set up the retirement dream elsewhere?

I guess I'm lucky in that I don't have a whole lot of money to help the locals other than being a regular patron of their businesses, giving advice, teaching English, and spending the bulk of my income in LOS. I do see lots of Thais whom I wish I could help by setting up a business or something for them, but I guess things would only end in heartaches anyway. I do admire you for trying to help others.

Sure hope your continuing saga doesn't sky-rocket your blood pressure

Nevermind all the rude posters. Remember that as in life, you would probably never take the time to talk to these characters anyway.

Hang in there Captain.

Hang in there Captain!

Some of us have spent several millions bhat in the few years we've been here, but I doubt few have had as good intentions as you do. May Karma repay you soon.

Cheers.

Is it possible? What would be the best route? Do I need to get a visa for China before hand or at the Thai-China border?

As an aerospace engineer, pilot, and former airline hardware engineer, I can only say that the safety factors in theory and in practice are hugely different. What engineers and designers and boards of directors dream up in labs and meeting rooms are not always what happen in the repair centers, in the maintenance hangars, out at the airports. Mechanics, inspectors, and maintenance engineers all make plenty of mistakes. I've seen enough of oversights, make-do's, "little errors", and "neverminds" to give me nightmares.

Facts to keep in mind:

Mechanics, inspectors, engineers, pilots, air traffic controllers are people. And people make mistake no matter how much redundancy you design into a system.

Aircrafts will always crash, and, yes people will die.

Do airlines want bigger planes because they are "safer" or because they want to make more profit?

Now the question is "how many eggs (lives)do you want to risk in one basket?"

Anyone been to the Naga Festival in Nong Khai?

Any suggestions on places to stay or hang out and watch the Naga fireballs would be greatly appreciated.

I'm heading up there and just realized that without hotel booking, there's a big chance of me having to hang up my hammock under some tree and deal with the mosquitoes.

Would love to hear your experiences.

Thanks.

I'm afraid that I will become jaded as I have here in Japan and start finding fault in everything.

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Ditto.

And visa issue.

And some silly kid on a motorbike, or some drunk in a pickup, runs me over. I love riding my motorcycle and my bicycle, so Thailand is pretty good for these purposes except for the Thai's nutty driving habits.

Thanks all for the great replies and links. I especially appreciate the sighting reports. Thanks for the links too.

Some of these operations sell paramotors units too!

I'll buy a paramotor in Thailand and keep it here for flying fun.

I used to take my nanotrike and glider with me on the airlines, but now with the new "safety" measures, they don't allow it anymore. You have to UPS/FEDEX everything that resembles an engine or has touched gasoline. Big headache.

Cheers.

Are there any places where you've seen paramotors or single-seat ultralights flying around? I'm a trike/hang glider pilot looking for a location in Thailand to spend two months learning how to fly paramotors. I know it only takes about a week to learn to fly a paramotor, but I thought I'd like to make a long vacation out of it too.

Are there some nice places where there are lots of pilots and, perhaps, even a school?

Are any of you hang glider pilots flying powerharness (like Mosquitoes, Wasp, etc.) living in Thailand?

Any sightings or knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks.

Expecting decent service in LOS.

Expecting that the idiot in the DMax won't try to pass a lorry uphill around a blind corner.

Expecting that when a doctor, a mechanic, a cook, or a builder say, "Yes, no problem. I understand. I can do," they actually mean it.

But, then again, when I think of things in my home country, I stop expecting so much in LOS....

It's a nice place, ain't it?

Well, Zint, sounds like you're in trouble now. You lose if you do, and you lose if you don't.

There's another option, but you'll have to play it very carefully.

Say, you throw a fit about the car, let her know how it's impossible for you to buy it now as your second cousin back at home had just gotten trampled by a farrang buffalo and needed hospital money asap. So naturally, the 900k bhat had just go bye-bye back to farrangland since you couldn't possibly let him die, besides it would be very bad karma for the marriage as well as for daddy's pickup.

Now, let her take the story to daddy and let them mull over that for awhile.

If that doesn't fix your problem, then you tell her that your cousin woke up from his comma and you were able to tell him your situation. Out of pure selfless compassion, he volunteered to go without the kidney transplant and won't buy the fake leg to replace his amputated leg, just so that you can have 100k bhat for a present for her daddy.

Now, tell her that you will go with daddy to the pickup dealership and he can buy any pickup with your 100kbhat gift (curtesy of your crippled cousin) providing he pays for the monthly payments. The pickup will be in his name so if he doesn't pay, the repo man will take it away from him--in other words, not your problem.

This way you save 800K for your career or whatever and he saves his face

But too bad about the cousin ...

Cheers, mate.

You're here because you don't like it at home. You like TG because you prefer them over farang ladies. So, why is it a big shock that you might have to play by the local rules as well?

Loong is right. You can't have it both ways.

It's sad, but it's a fact. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you'll be happy.

I personally know of 6 TG who went with farrangs out of love and nothing else. Yes, they all got a few thousand bhat stipends per month from their boyfriends, but nothing more. A few years down the line, five of these girls have nothing to show for living with their farrang boyfriends except stories of their farrangs being butterflies and falling-down-drunk-off-their-asses every night of the week. Now, they're older. All the Thais think they're used material, and darn stupid for sleeping for a farrang for free. Even most of the farrangs don't want them for various reasons. Besides, most of these girls are so changed by being with farrangs that they can't be with Thai guys anymore. So what? They're basically washed up after a relationship with a farrang. It's a one way ticket to work in the farrang beerbars, discos, and massages.

Five months is not a long term relationship, but I think she wants to know there might be more later on. You can tell her if she stays with your for a year, she'll get a buffalo; year and a half, she gets some land to put the buffalo on; three years, and she gets a little house for the parents; four year, a marriage. And so on.

Think of it this way: Since you love this girl, would you want to see her, after the relationship ended (god forbid), working in a bar and having to sleep with any disgusting bloke with a few bhat in his pocket? That's what she'll likely end up doing since everyone will be telling her, she's used material, cheap, and stupid. And, you clearly know, that after a "life of luxury" would any girl be happy going back to her 4000bhat/mo restaurant job?

Best of luck to you, mate.

So what's new? It's the same old song and dance. Just because businesses are suffering from tsunami/terrorist/sars/whatever doesn't mean the friendly big wigs and police suddenly don't have mortgage payments, suv payments, mia noi payments, whiskey bills, etc.

I used to live in Phuket. All the silly crackdowns, the road blocks, the driver license checking, helmet harrashing things got really dull. It totally detracts from the feeling of living in paradise. Heck, I was treated better by police in Sri Lanka.

Sad, sad, sad. But then again what's new? TIT. Lovely place, bizzarre logic.

I love Thai food, but I have to remember to order everything with "nam manh noi noi, may say pong churot" (little bit of oil and no MSG). I get my way about half the time

I make pasta about twice a week, often for farrang friends otherwise it would be just lonely me and my plate of pasta, glass of wine, and UBC. Thais friends stop by and politely poke at the pasta and ask for ketchup or sugar, so I quit imposing it on them.

I try not to read the Bangkok Post/The Nation regularly. Seeing all the corruption scandals makes me depressed. Anyone notices his blood pressure rises sharply after reading the news?

I really want to find places like that. It may sound kind of lame but I really want to write fiction. I have had ideas for years and always wanted to live somewhere that would inspire as well as help me focus. I would like to think Bangkok might be able to help me. From the way my wife speaks of it (she gets a little watered up, she hasn't been home in a while) it sound like the coolest place.

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I hear you, but beware there have been many would-be writers showing up in LOS/BKK with literary hopes and wind up sidetracked by bars, girls, and what-nots. What inspires can also detracts.

It's not a bad place. It has the potential of being a great place if you have the right attitude.

I've been here a paltry 3 years, but I've seen few truly happy farrangs in LOS. I've heard plenty of self-proclaimed happy farrangs say,

"This is paradise, but ...(fill in the caveats) "

So let it rip, boys and girls:

What's your secret to happiness in LOS?

Don't bother with the cooking thing unless you're a real finicky eater. Plenty of good restaurants, though you might want her to shop for fruits and stuff.

As far as cleaning go, I'd say don't be cheap. Pay her 200bhat/cleaning for a large studio/1bedroom with kitchen. You have to remember that you're hiring someone whom you must trust to go thru all your belongings as well as laundry and trash. I'm sure you can hire someone right off the street for 10bhat/hr, but I'll bet your wallet, computer, and various goodies might be up for grab as well.

Treat people who work for you well and generously and they'll most like treat you the same.

Are there any decent weight gyms or fitness clubs near Nana/Asoke BTS stations?

I'm looking for places that allow me to buy 1-day pass and don't make me purchase membership or require me to stay at their hotels.

Basic weight gym with some cardio machines for a decent workout. Pool, sauna, not necessary.

How much do day-passes run?

Thanks for your reply.