silver sea

Hello finy,

It's unclear from your post what you want e.g. are you looking for a place that is less than 10000 per month but you don't care where it is on the island, or what you wake up to, or how far you have to go to get to bed after a heavy night's drinking, so long as it's cheap?

Hey Jukebox, thanks for your detailed reply.

I'm really just looking for a place with a kitchen and a balcony with table and chair, plus room to hang a hammock.

Ideally close to local markets where I can pick up meat, veg, and fruit to cook my own meals. A short drive to a decent beach would be nice too, but I definitely don't need to live on the sand.

I won't party too often, but I'll be renting a bike so can always head into Chaweng/Lamai every few weeks.

I'm still into renting in Lamai too if I can find somewhere decent, but I was just looking for advice about places to start looking.

After all the replies in this thread I'll definitely search around Lamai along with those other places. I've actually stayed in Lamai before and I thought it was nice, but the place I was staying in was too cheap and I didn't feel safe there. If I have more time to look around I'm sure I could find somewhere better.

In Walking Street, there is the fresh food/meat market which is also close to Tesco Lotus.

Looks like pokerspiv has made some good suggestions too. He was dancing in the Fusion Club until 6 am during the curfew apparently, so he's out and about more than I am.

I have never felt in any danger in Lamai. Make sure you have a good strong padlock on your door and keep your valuables out of sight if you have any visitors.

The only problem I have had is when I first arrived in Samui in 2012. I was very green. I was walking along the Beach Road on a Saturday night / Sunday morning after the boxing had finished. A lady on a scooter stopped to offer me a lift home. During the day I am always being offered lifts by both men and women. I am a very lazy person and was about to get on when I suddenly sensed something wasn't quite right. I took a closer look and realised she was a ladyboy! She was out looking for customers. No big deal really; just embarrassed I didn't realise straightaway. I made my excuses and walked quickly on.

One of the many good things about Samui is that wherever you are on the island most places are within easy reach by bike.

Good luck in your search and I hope that enjoy your stay here.

Has the mountain road Maenam Soi 1 to Lamai concrete now...?

Yes and they have repaired the parts that were damaged by the floods a few years back. I don't know when they put concrete on the road; I have only been coming to Samui since 2012 and living here long term since February 2013. Sounds like you know it way back.

p

good news with luck the Thais might clean up the mess the US made of this wonderful country during there RnR visits way back.

very true, Im sure the ladies were much cheaper before the Americans came, they have a lot to answer for

Yes like building the airports, roads, dams and sea ports; nasty Americans.

A former British prime minister, Harold Macmillan (who, like Churchill, had an American mother) referred to the Americans as the Romans of the modern world - to him, Britain (this was back in the 1950s) was Ancient Greece in the American Roman Empire.

When in Rome, do as the Americans do........

Equally fitting was The Roman Conquest of Great Britain.

The greeks never did get there...by the way

The greeks never did get there...by the way

... well, actually they did. The first known Greek to come to Britain was Pytheas in the 4th century BC. He reported its name as Pretannia, which became Britannia. This term may have been used by some of the local peoples where Pytheas landed to themselves as Pretani. Many Greeks later arrived with the Roman legions as soldiers and traders.

The Ancient Greeks may not have physically invaded Britain as an army, but their language, ideas, mythology and culture did; that influence continues, in a profound and lasting way.

I mentioned Harold Macmillan. He was wounded on three separate occasions during World War I. On the third occasion, during the Battle of the Somme, he spent an entire day lying in a slit trench with a bullet in his pelvis, reading the classical playwright Aeschylus in the original Greek.

p

good news with luck the Thais might clean up the mess the US made of this wonderful country during there RnR visits way back.

very true, Im sure the ladies were much cheaper before the Americans came, they have a lot to answer for

Yes like building the airports, roads, dams and sea ports; nasty Americans.

Yes like building the airports, roads, dams and sea ports; nasty Americans.

Can we shut up with this useless and irrelevant sideshow some retarded convict started?

I'm more interested in how much Platini is likely to use this to leverage his way into Blatter's job.

I.e. "I'll go along with this charade as long as you retire after the world cup and I get your job, otherwise I'm going to start making veiled threats about pulling UEFA countries out of WC2022", etc.

Actually scumbag I am Aboriginal and have never been convicted of any offence so your racist profiling is offensive to us koories. We where here before England took over our lands and slaughtered our people out of greed.

Second you racist, I didn't start the side show but merely answered questions you imperialist.

How dare you refer to me as a piece of European garbage as being a convict when you know absolutely nothing about me. I am a proud Aboriginal Australian and will always be the same as my Luk Krung Children will be.

Sorry you're getting a lot of stuff thrown at you.

I appreciate that you don't have much interest in footie. The whole point of this thread though is that Qatar should never have been awarded the 2022 Tournament in the first place. Qatar has no tradition of playing football. It should have been awarded to Australia but when the votes were revealed Australia received nil votes!!! So you can see the whole thing stank from the outset.

See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bid

The World Cup is a summer event, but The Qatari summer will be too hot for the players and spectators. FIFA is trying to wriggle out of this by suggesting that the World Cup is held in the Winter months which is bang in the middle of the European football season! As you can imagine, that is not a popular idea with the various national football associations in Europe. How stupid can you get?! FIFA's in this mess though because of their corruption by Qatari money. A love of money is the root of all evil and all that.

Anyway, it may be as more evidence comes out, FIFA will have to rerun the vote and it is likely Australia will this time win the vote and will then host the competition in 2022 ... which will be great for your kids, chooka! Ha ha!

Violence and corruption, the backbone of soccer. I sure hope and prey that my sons never get involved in this sport which I doubt they will as it is boring to watch and puts you to sleep.

Maybe Tiddlywinks would suit them.

Nah they play a contact sport football, not soccer.

How can you call it football when they run around with it in their hands To control a ball at speed with your feet takes real skill, anybody can grab it with their hands.

Hello oldsailor35

The answer to your question is as follows. The quote relates to American Football but applies equally to Aussie Rules.

"Just as intriguing, for those who like to lambaste American Football being called such when the ball interacts primarily with hands, most of the earliest forms of Football were named thus, not because you kicked a ball with your foot, but because they were played on foot. Peasants played most of their sports on foot; aristocrats played most of theirs on horseback. Thus, games played on foot were called football, whether they had anything to do with kicking a ball or not. Indeed, many of the earliest forms of football involved carrying balls in an attempt to get across goal lines passed some opposing team or individual players."

I lifted the quote from the following link:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/

This link has interesting stuff too:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/06/why_do_we_call_it_soccer.html

I have just remembered that after the first bite, the nurse did give me some injections in my buttocks as well. I am afraid that as you get older your memory begins to fade. I think that I had 14 injections in all on that occasion. As I say, I then had to return a further four times for an injection in my shoulder.

Anyway, thank you ClutchClark for your helpful response. Much appreciated.

Last July, I was bitten by a feral dog. I went to the local government hospital in Nathon, here on Samui.

As it was a wild dog, they injected the wound five times with what I think was a fast acting, emergency protection. They then gave me a further four injections, two in each shoulder.

In order to complete the treatment, I had to return another four times to the hospital for an injection in my shoulder.

The whole exercise, including my gasoline, cost me about 5000 Baht. From memory, the emergency injections were the largest part of the fees.

I got bitten again last February by another soi dog. It was a very old dog that nobody loved. It was a very hot day, and so it was in a foul mood. Fortunately, for me, it was so old that its teeth had been ground down flat. It was like being bitten by a dog that had taken its dentures out.

My hand was sore but the skin was not broken and so there was no blood. To be on the safe side though, I went to the clinic near where I live and saw the doctor. She confirmed my belief that I didn't need to go to the hospital again. She said that the injections were effective for twelve months.

As the 12 months protection will be expiring in a few weeks can I return to the hospital and ask for a booster? I do a lot of walking. I am not afraid of dogs, but they can be very aggressive so I don't doubt there will be further trouble. Paying for boosters would, I assume, be a lot cheaper than waiting for the 12 months to expire, and then, if I am bitten, having to start all over again.

I would add that my tetanus jabs are up to date.

Thanks for any advice that you can give.

I was in Lamai last night. Plenty of fun after 10 pm along the Beach Road. The souvenir shops started to shut after 10 pm. There was no Saturday night lady Thai boxing but the bars around the ring were still going strong. About half the street vendors that are by that area were selling food. I walked through about 10.30 pm.

One of the staff at the Curry Pot invited me in for an Indian tea. I'm a regular customer. The band was still playing at the Shamrock. About two thirds of the restaurants were still open. The Family Marts and 7-11s in that area were still open.

The band was still playing at the Shamrock.

All the massage shops along the Beach Road were still taking customers at this time too.

Back on the ring road as I headed towards Wat Lamai, the Family Marts and 7-11s were closed but in some of them it looked as though the staff were still there, cleaning the floor and stacking the shelves. Perhaps they stay there to 5pm to be ready to reopen.

The small family restaurants along that area were still doing business at 10.45 pm.

Tesco's has been shutting at 9 pm the last two nights, instead of 10 pm.

No sign of the police.

Why do people not bother to read properly.

it clearly states on the Hull web site that all postal applications for visa's are now done and processed at London.

Ease up, it is not that clear and can very easily lead to confusion.

The paragraph on Non Immigrant O says that they have to send it to London and will take about 5 days. You have read it fairly thoroughly to work out what they mean. I assume that you take your application to Hull and hand it in. Then about a week later you have to go back if it is approved.

Sounds a bit familiar.

For instance, the application form that you have to print off and complete still has the Consulate at Hull's address and not the Royal Thai Embassy in London's address.

Secondly, you still make your cheques payable to A P Taylor. He is the Honorary Consul at Hull.

Thirdly, last week, I posted here on another thread, correspondence that I had just had with the Consulate at Hull. I had asked whether they would grant me a third triple entry visa and whether there was a limit to the number of triple entry visas that could be granted to the same person. Hull replied that it would be granted and that there was no limit. Interestingly, they did NOT tell me that I now had to send the postal application to the Royal Thai Embassy in London.

This is the link (post #29):

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/726268-will-i-have-problems-with-a-triple-entry-tourist-visa/page-2

Anyway, I wrote another email to the Consulate at Hull yesterday (the reference in the email to a telephone call to Hull is a nod to Stanley78 in post #4 on this thread above):

Subject: Enquiry to Royal Thai Consulate Hull - Tourist Visas No Longer Processed by Post at Hull?

Dear Sir or Madam

I have made three postal applications to your offices in Hull:

(a) July 2012 for single entry visa for August - October 2012

(b ) January 2013 for triple entry visa for January - September 2013

© November 2013 for triple entry visa for November 2013 - August 2014

I am currently in Thailand and I shall fly back to the UK on 1st August. I shall apply for another triple entry visa in October 2014.

The Hull Consulate is always quick and efficient. If I post my application on a Monday, you process it on the Tuesday and I receive the application back on the Wednesday.

I have been looking at your website "Visa Applications and Downloads":

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/downloads-and-visas.aspx

Paragraph 2 of that web page says:

"Visa applications by post should be sent to the Royal Thai Embassy in London";

Paragraph 3 says:

"Visa applications by hand can be submitted at the Royal Thai Consulate in Hullbetween 09:30 and 16:00 Monday to Friday"

That web page has a copyright date of 2008.

Apparently, someone telephoned the Thai consulate in Hull today, Thursday 22nd May, and asked them if they still process tourist visas. The lady on the line said "yes, but only in person."

I have looked at your "Visa Application Pack":

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/download.aspx?id=20140211101356

On page 1, it says: "Visas are only available from the Royal Thai Embassy OR the Royal Thai Consulate."

On page 2, it says, under Non Immigrant Visa Category O-A long stay: "This visa can only be issued by the Royal Thai Embassy in London"

On page 3, it says that visas are issued at the discretion of the Royal Thai Consulate (RTC) and/or the Royal Thai Embassy (RTE)."

I have, on the three previous occasions listed above, downloaded the visa application form and have sent my tourist visa application forms with payment to the Consulate in Hull. I thought that it was only the Non Immigrant Visa Category O-A that had to be sent to the Embassy in London.

My questions to you:

(a) when I apply in October for my triple entry visa, can I still send the forms, as I have done on 3 previous occasions, to the Consulate at Hull?

(b ) are you now ONLY dealing with tourist visa applications that are made in person, and ALL postal applications, for tourist visas, and not just for Non Immigrant Visa O-A, must now be sent to the Embassy in London?

(c ) if so, when did the rules change that you no longer accept applications for tourist visas by post?

Thank you for your help

Yours faithfully

===================================================================================

Thank you fore your message

It is correct we can no longer deal with postal applications for any visa tourist or non-immigrant only if you come in person, all postal application do have to go through the Thai Embassy in London.

The changes imposed by the Royal Thai Embassy came into force on the 15th January 2014.If you can come to the consulate we do issue the tourist visas on the day but not the non-immigrant visas.

Regards

Royal Thai Consulate

I have to admit that in view of the email I received last week about triple entry visas, with no mention of the new requirement to post the application to London, I would have sent mine to Hull. That is what I have done on three previous occasions. As I said above, the application form that you print off still has the address for the Consulate at Hull.

I would therefore like to say a big 'thank you' to the OP for posting and raising the issue. The stuff about Facebook was confusing, but I have now got it clear in my own mind. Thanks mate

Indeed, I have learnt why we make the cheques payable to the Honorary Consul, A P Taylor, by name rather than to the Thai Consulate. This seems to be because his role is unpaid. Instead, he receives a percentage of the fees for the visas. See link here (if you are interested):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/humber/content/articles/2008/02/24/thai_consul_feature.shtml

I live just north of London, and so I may as well make the application in person at the Embassy rather than sending it through the post. I can then meet up with one of my friends afterwards for a drink. So this has been a really useful and helpful thread.

My email notification: "Danish woman robbed by Farang man in Chiang Mai"

Why not "Farang woman robbed by European-looking man" ... or "Farang woman robbed by Farang man"?

There are millions of "European-looking" men in Australia, the United States of America and England.

Question: Who is writing these headlines?!

Answer: Someone who needs education.

Last time i checked, England was in Europe!

Is England in Europe? I guess it is separated by the English channel from Europe

From continental Europe, but still in Europe.

Oh dear. I'm using an iPad and so have to touch the screen to move the page up and down. Unfortunately I pressed the "like this" button on your post. Bu #%er! Sorry GuyL, no offence, but I don't agree with your comment, but was going to keep my opinions to myself.

Geographically, we're lumped in with the rest of Europe because our minds like to put things into boxes and to put labels on them.

Once John Cabot started the British Empire in 1497 when he discovered Newfoundland, and Henry VIII took us out of Christendom in the 1530s, we have been part of the English speaking world. Nothing against Europe: lovely people but we are British not European.

Apologies for being off topic.

Geographycally, England is part of Europe, and that's an undisputable fact. Politically, England is still part of the European Union (although, it might not be the case one of these days), etc, etc. etc. Like it or not, English people are British, yes, but also European (and not American, Asian, African, Oceanian nor Antarctican).

Hello GuyL

Thank you for your measured response. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one. Also we are off topic and no doubt the moderators are lurking. As I say I was going to keep my opinions to myself.

It is unlikely that there will ever be a referendum. This is because the Civil Service, and in particular the Foreign Office, is staunchly in favour of the European Union. Politicians, and governments of whatever colour, come and go. In Opposition they make various promises but it is the Foreign Office mandarins, who are there long term, who formulate policy on Europe. They know that an In/Out referendum would, more likely than not, result in a 'No'. Emotionally, the 'no' voters do not see themselves as European.

One can use geographical and political labels to say that we are European, but home is where the heart is, and, emotionally, that is not in Europe.

Anyway, I appreciate that you disagree, and it was interesting to hear your point of view.

I guess that I just need to be more careful when touching the screen on my iPad!

My email notification: "Danish woman robbed by Farang man in Chiang Mai"

Why not "Farang woman robbed by European-looking man" ... or "Farang woman robbed by Farang man"?

There are millions of "European-looking" men in Australia, the United States of America and England.

Question: Who is writing these headlines?!

Answer: Someone who needs education.

Last time i checked, England was in Europe!

Is England in Europe? I guess it is separated by the English channel from Europe

From continental Europe, but still in Europe.

Geographically, we're lumped in with the rest of Europe because our minds like to put things into boxes and to put labels on them.

Once John Cabot started the British Empire in 1497 when he discovered Newfoundland, and Henry VIII took us out of Christendom in the 1530s, we have been part of the English speaking world. Nothing against Europe: lovely people but we are British not European.

Apologies for being off topic.

Hello mac66

I am very sorry to read about your difficulties. You sound like a decent man whose good nature has been sorely abused. You have done nothing wrong to deserve this.

In your OP you say:

"I am also now of the understanding that prior to the wife moving back to Buriram they both took out loans and credit cards with Krungsi Bank and the move and finishing their jobs was to avoid paying the money back. I have this information from a mutual Thai friend who says my lodger finds it amusing he has been able to get away for the money. This would suggest to me that he has no intention of ever getting a job as the bank would be able to find him relatively quickly."

If the bank were to find out where he is living, do you, or indeed other TV readers, know what the legal consequences would be? If you owe money to a bank then under Thai law, will there be criminal as well as civil proceedings? Even if it is only a civil matter, any sort of contact from the bank may be enough to encourage him to make a quick exit.

Hope this helps.

The new rules has nothing to do with tourist visas, so you should be fine.

Thanks Mario, obviously I'll call the consul when I'm back and have a chat with them, as I say, they have been great up to now and would recommend them to any would be UK visa applicants. Luckily my sis lives near Liverpool so do a family outing as well as a visa trip! I was in and out of the consul within 20 mins, very efficient. Call them to make appointment, I got mine within a few days.

I believe they can't do postal apps now, as they have to be done via the embassy in London but for a walk in service they were good.

By coincidence, I was in correspondence with the Consulate at Hull last Tuesday along similar lines.

My email said:

Your computer records will confirm my history of travel to Thailand:

(1) January 2012 for 3 week visit. Obtained 30 day visa exempt stamp in

my passport on arrival at Bangkok airport.

(2) August 2012 - November 2012 for 3 month visit. Obtained single entry

tourist visa from Hull Consulate.

(3) January 2013 - September 2013 for 9 month visit. Obtained triple

entry tourist visa from Hull Consulate.

(4) November 2013 - August 2014 for 9 month visit. Obtained triple entry

visa from Hull Consulate.

I am still in Thailand and will fill back to UK on 1st August 2014. I

have some personal details to deal with and will then fly back to

Thailand on 1st October 2014. I intend to apply to Hull Consulate for

another (my third) triple visa during the last week of September 2014.

My Questions to you:

(1) as this will be my third application for a triple visa, will you

grant it?

(2) is there a limit to the number of triple entry visas that you will

grant to a UK citizen/British subject?

Hull Consulate replied within 30 minutes of receiving my email as follows:

You will be granted a further triple entry visa. There is no current

restriction on this being granted on multiple occasions.

Regards

Royal Thai Consulate (Hull)

Hope this sets your mind at rest mxer90

Did you know that Hitler was also a terrible golfer - he couldn't get out of the bunker.

Sirchai kindly provided the BBC video in post 7 above. It is only the first part though. The link to the second and final part is:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbJ0-JiO1w

5 minutes into this second part there is reference to visits by tourists. Perhaps the OP's friend got the idea from this programme. Apparently, these visits are promoted in guest houses. The inmates call them "banana visits" because they feel like monkeys in a cage.

The OP's friend would prefer to visit a female inmate, but isn't this prison male only?

Sadly it would seem the elephant has now died. Possibly the elephants were hungry and were looking for food outside the nature reserve. It would seem rangers were out looking for them but arrived too late.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579092/Six-people-ELEPHANT-killed-three-car-pile-Thailand.html

I prefer Russians any day. I have worked with a lot of them. The huge influx of low fife Brits into Thailand alienated a lot of Thais against foreigners. i

I am sorry that you seem to have had some bad experiences with the British. We can be a bit rough it is true. Indeed a Frenchman once wrote (just to show that the French have a sense of humour after all):

"The reason the sun never sets on the British Empire is that God would never trust an Englishman in the dark." ... which I am sure is what the Aussies say as the light begins to fade at the end of a long day's cricket.

I live on Koh Samui, arriving in January 2012. I am not aware of any problem with the Thais about being British here; quite the opposite in fact.

One of the biggest surprises was seeing the number of Thai women, who are happy to wear T shirts with the Union Jack on; loads of Thai men wear English Premier League club shirts. A few Thais wear 'Beatles' T shirts.

I am always being asked where I come from. When I say that I am English they seem genuinely pleased. So much so that initially I found it all a bit disconcerting. I had only just arrived on the island and didn't feel that I had done anything to deserve such warm smiles. I think that I was also worried that I might do or say something wrong and so "let the side down"!

I have met lots of Russians here. Generally they all seem to speak at least some English and seem to be mainly computer programmers. They are polite and well behaved. I like them. They can be very noisy when there's a lot of them, but then none of us is perfect.

You may have a better class of Brits and other tourists in Samui then we have in Pattaya

Thanks for your comment. I picked up this thread from the email "Today's best ThaiVisa topics" that we all get at the end of each day without realising that it was in the Pattaya forum. I had assumed from the OP that we were talking about Thailand in general rather than just one hotspot.

I notice on page 5 of this thread, a comment from someone called vas who is Yakutian. He says:

"It was very interesting to read what Brits think about the Russians. I am Yakutian guy, but my wife is Russian, we live in Thailand two years. I don't like bars, I prefer Irish pubs. I drink vodka and whiskey with the close friends at home, it is our tradition. I have read Shakespeare, Conan Doyle, Walter Scott, Orwell, Tolkien. I like English Rock. Most Russian people have good attitude to Brits. For last 20 years the Russia and Russian people very changed, but the "Iron curtain" remained in our heads."

Perhaps like poor old vas, you came here expecting the English to be like Sherlock Holmes or Hamlet or Eric Clapton but instead you have ended up bumping into big fat blokes who are staggering around Pattaya screaming abuse at anyone and everyone. That must have been quite a culture shock for you. Sorry about that.

And now of course, when they think of the English, everyone is expecting to meet Harry Potter fresh out of Hogwarts. The Thais seem to know about him. Maybe that's why the ladies give us such warm friendly smiles: they are hoping to play with our "magic wands".

I prefer Russians any day. I have worked with a lot of them. The huge influx of low fife Brits into Thailand alienated a lot of Thais against foreigners. i

I am sorry that you seem to have had some bad experiences with the British. We can be a bit rough it is true. Indeed a Frenchman once wrote (just to show that the French have a sense of humour after all):

"The reason the sun never sets on the British Empire is that God would never trust an Englishman in the dark." ... which I am sure is what the Aussies say as the light begins to fade at the end of a long day's cricket.

I live on Koh Samui, arriving in January 2012. I am not aware of any problem with the Thais about being British here; quite the opposite in fact.

One of the biggest surprises was seeing the number of Thai women, who are happy to wear T shirts with the Union Jack on; loads of Thai men wear English Premier League club shirts. A few Thais wear 'Beatles' T shirts.

I am always being asked where I come from. When I say that I am English they seem genuinely pleased. So much so that initially I found it all a bit disconcerting. I had only just arrived on the island and didn't feel that I had done anything to deserve such warm smiles. I think that I was also worried that I might do or say something wrong and so "let the side down"!

I have met lots of Russians here. Generally they all seem to speak at least some English and seem to be mainly computer programmers. They are polite and well behaved. I like them. They can be very noisy when there's a lot of them, but then none of us is perfect.

And i assume that you're English enough to know that the UNION FLAG is only called a UNION JACK, when it's flown at sea ???

Thanks for your comment.

'Union Jack', 'Union Flag' and 'British Flag' can all be used when referring to the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In everyday language and ordinary conversations, however, just about everyone who is British calls it the Union Jack. I don't know what nationality you are, but if you are British, then perhaps you have been away so long you have forgotten how we speak.

Here are some links in support:

The Flag Institute:

http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/

Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack

Daily Mail (a list of articles all using the term "Union Jack"):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?sel=site&searchPhrase=Union+Jack

The Guardian (an article again showing that "Union Jack" is the preferred term):

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/21/flying-union-flag-jack

After I had posted my comments I suddenly realised that people who are not British might not have understood what I meant when I said that I have seen lots of Thai women wearing the Union Jack on their clothes. They probably just think of it as " the British flag". Your post at least gives me a chance to clarify my point so thank you again for posting.

I have met a number of Thai women who used to have English husbands or boyfriends. The men have then traded these ladies in for younger models. Although the women, naturally, feel angry I have never sensed that they hate the English in general as a consequence. No doubt their female Thai friends have had similar experiences with Farangs from other nations.

I prefer Russians any day. I have worked with a lot of them. The huge influx of low fife Brits into Thailand alienated a lot of Thais against foreigners. i

"The reason the sun never sets on the British Empire is that God would never trust an Englishman in the dark." ... which I am sure is what the Aussies say as the light begins to fade at the end of a long day's cricket.

I live on Koh Samui, arriving in January 2012. I am not aware of any problem with the Thais about being British here; quite the opposite in fact.

One of the biggest surprises was seeing the number of Thai women, who are happy to wear T shirts with the Union Jack on; loads of Thai men wear English Premier League club shirts. A few Thais wear 'Beatles' T shirts.

I am always being asked where I come from. When I say that I am English they seem genuinely pleased. So much so that initially I found it all a bit disconcerting. I had only just arrived on the island and didn't feel that I had done anything to deserve such warm smiles. I think that I was also worried that I might do or say something wrong and so "let the side down"!

I have met lots of Russians here. Generally they all seem to speak at least some English and seem to be mainly computer programmers. They are polite and well behaved. I like them. They can be very noisy when there's a lot of them, but then none of us is perfect.