sonnyJ

Most Thais pay or at least show Sin Sot at the wedding its calculated on social status, age, married before, children ect On BTY a million Bhat is a ludicrous ammount of money unless you GF happens to be a University graduate virgin child of a well off BKK family.

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Unless your future wife happens to be the virgin child of a well off BKK family, then it appears that her family are taking the piss by asking for 1,000,000 baht.

Delete a zero from their original 1 million baht asking price and that would be a more realistic payment.

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This goes with my understanding of the prices too. If the family THINKS shes a virgin.

Anyway this kind of money (or more) you should be receiving back, and more than in many cases.

Dowry and bribery are socially stated norms/cultural values, which differ around the globe.

In Thailand, these both are the ancient culture still alive, more or less everywhere.

Bribery helps your life to be easy, dowry don't always, still it's the norm.

1,000,000 B is really not by far the highest I've heard about. But anyway it should be just to show off your status in the existing society. This should be far of from buying a wife.

Cheers

We cannot become lewd though... there's a crackdown on 

Steplulu I am sure there are many here who would advise you to come and rent for quite awhile first, before you commit to purchase. For very good reasons. There are many threads dealing with the issue of purchasing property in Thailand, just do a search.

And 

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Welcome Lulu.

Thai writing reads left to right.

Wrong way sign, would read the same way.

Never seen one though.

I thought this topic/observation was on the widening income gap, on the whole planet. Maybe more so in developing countries than in all-ready-developed-ones. (One reason being that developing countries pick up the trends faster from the developed countries, many times not fully acknowledging the side effects).

Free market economy and all seems to make lots of sense to me. But, maybe there could be some kind of, developement in the economical sense. We can all see how's the current superpower using it's income, also managing it's internal economy.

Free markets? Yes, in Somalia for example. As we can find out, markets need to be controlled to some limit. I will leave comparisons of the European and American ''free markets'' out.

I have never seen a working example of communism, I used to live very close to one though. Anyway I can't rule this model out completely.

My visit to Singapore was a very pleasant one, even I started to get the first symptoms of malaria, (and was not allowed any cigarettes duty free in the country). Dictatorship seems like, it can work, if the dictator is wise enough. Things seem to work there anyways, few crimes, high tax on drugs as alcohol and cigarettes (more on others maybe), very organized society... Sure there was some minuses, health care, media.. I'd be please to be informed more of these since my visit was only a few days.

Also in Singapores case the it seems to be the markets, greed, thats spinning it around.

It could be just a trend of our times, maybe.. But this time of development, and I hate to say politics, a nescessity.

I have seem to forgot this is a TV topic, but have nothing to add concearning Thailand right now.

Just wanted to add' an international topic as an international problem/dilemma.

> 1. No garbage man makes 5000 dollars a month in the states!

Under the latest contract approved on Nov. 8, the maximum salary for a sanitation worker in New York City is $57,392.00 per year.  Pretty close to $5000 per month.

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I would assume you wrote, minimum???

Sometimes, my (thai)girlfriend gets stop by the police in Bangkok, eg. at Victory, for a minor mistake on driving. She never hands out her license, just says she forgot it if questioned further, usually 100 baht will be fine anyways. She tells me if she would give her license over, especially with farang, there would be more trouble/cost.. Propably won't do with us farangs though...

Have no idea hows things upcountry. Good luck to u all.

I'm simply interested on philosophies of life.

Had to check the buddhism since it doesn't involve any god. I'm also not denying any god's existance anyway.

And no, I'm not practicing Buddhism in any kind of ritual way right now.

I have no problem with dog on the menu . But, the barbaric ways that dogs are disposed of in China/Korea are just that. Tying a dog to a tree and beating it to death because u think the animal's fear gives the meat a better taste

  I think with all this bird flu scare going around it shows how dangerous some farming practices are. Intesive farming of pigs, chickens and cows in appalling condtions, not just in Thailand ,but western county's as well. I feel alot safer eating a free ranging kangeroo or elephant than a farmed pig or chicken  . If thier population is not threatened ..then meat is meat 

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I have no experience of either China or Korea, but in Timor our 400 baht dog was delivered in a sack alive. It was some 5 minutes hunting after it escaped but all there was to it was one good blow on the head. Then the rest by the very experienced chefs. It was a feast for more than ten people. Quite delicious, though not much to eat there, (if you only enjoy red meat).

Ofcourse all the meat in Timor is grown more or less wild. I find that lot more humane or animalane for that matter, than the KFC chickens, just for an example.

What comes to feasting on an endangered species or what ever object, on a refuge, we call a zoo, is truly disgusting. Restaurants ought to be elsewhere as stated many times before. This is really the worst marketing by the gov as I so far have seen.

Great thread. Many great insights on culture of Thailand. I have nothing to add.

Still sometimes amazing.

sorry, wrong address. No problems

I have been guilty of this a few times, not so much lately but when I was quite new to the forum.

It normally happens when I am in a bad mood (nothing to do with the post I am responding to) but more often than not when I have had one to many Chang's.

My fingers engage the keyboard before my brain is anywhere near it and its normally a tirade with spelling mistakes all over the place.

Then as soon as you hit "Post Reply" I think 'Oh my God -what have I just said?

Then I normally skulk off to bed knowing that I will have to face the consequences of my actions the next morning.

Anybody else ever been guilty of this alcohol inflicted sin?

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Compeletely agree with u. - Sorry but police is at my door.

Waiting for the sun..

Death sentence. Uncivilized. Period.

Point being, it's human to error.

A couple weeks ago I was enjoying a glass of red in the Italian restaurant on Sukhumvit toward Soi 12.  The gendarmerie has a little sexagonal box on the sidewalk.  The loafing cop-in-the-box detained a farang about to enter the Korean shop arcade, walked him over to the scraggly bushes on the otherwise spotless sidewalk, pointed to a ciggie butt, and then walked the guy into the box.  In a show of force, he then called in two motorcycle dicks, who assisted in the detention.  After about 10 minutes, the farang left, undoubtedly with a lighter wallet.  The amusement came when the cop-in-the-box closed up the box a few minutes later, took a last drag on HIS cigarette, and then tossed the butt into the same bushes.  I was tempted to make a citizen’s arrest, but realized just in time that I’m not a citizen here.  That’s fortunate.  It’s street theatre, I guess.

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This is just life in Thailand, even a Thai person would've tossed cigarette in the bush. The cop wouldn't had propably botherd to move his ass. Come on that's what everyone does. It's not a law it's business.

Still no sounds on CNN, HBO nor Cinemax. The only stuff I would watch anyway..

I don't have a satellite, think, some cable from provided by the condo. 100 baht a month..

I would have thought it obvious that any group claiming a unique hold of 'truth' over any certain religion is going to 'condemn all perverted versions' of that religion. What you misunderstand is that the cited passage is an accurate, nay 'truthful' reflection of the religion in question.

There isn't any humour in a 'proper' application of the 'lifestyle' of 'islam'. It's not a 'perverted version' of the 'true islam', it is 'true islam'.

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SO are you saying these terrorists are the true muslims?

Religion is mostly poison. Asians got it better sure. Not to memorize, but think...

I don't think terrorism is anyhow related to relegion.

How did you reach this conclusion?

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As I tried to explain. It's not islam that is makeing this happen. Religion is just a tool to use to make it happen. And easy scapegoat also.

My point being most muslims don't symphathise with terrorists, on the contrary. They denounce it. This time the terrorists happen to be muslims. But terrorism has no connection to their religion what so ever. It's different. Yes muslims are doing this. But it goes far beyond the religions.

Good reading on the history and some reasons leading to this world situation is. What went wrong?: The clash between Islam and modernity in the Middle East.

What I was saying is that this is still mostly not a religious issue. You can make it to be so, if you choose so.

Bangkok, CNN still no sounds

closed due to Asean Regional Forum.

Was there no notice given of this?????

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Cause it is still a communist dictatorship thats why

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Yes.

I don't think they are really worried much of muslim terrorists. Sure it could be teorethically possible to bomb Vienchang, but really...There's a whole set local terrorists/freedomfighters/dissidents to the suppressive gov of their own.

What about the locals lao/thai? Normally going about their busisnesses on the border, no passports needed. I can imagine the boat traffic going about across the Kong now... legal or not...

What a joke. Maybe it keeps the politicians happy...

Grand Master Flash And The Furious Five!

That 's coool.

Todays rap

I see some good solutions leading suggestions... that's great.

If there would be an easy solution, we woldn't discuss this.. But, it's 'bout politics too.

And, the historic facts remain too. Southern areas have been ignored by the thai/buddhist government ever since they were totally included in the kingdom in 1910. So there has been a good breeding ground for stuff like this. Even still i say this is not about independece, but international terrorism... In the trend of the present world orders. But good point to start for Thai gov. would be to threat these provinces as normal provinces...

And both from America....home of the really, really, strangest of them all....... HINT.....Only in America can a poor black man become a rich white woman

Michael Jackson     

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Hey! Jackson is almost like The King.