MrWorldwide

I admit to having a bit of an 'attitude' toward Americans based on the loud-mouthed old buggers who hang out in the foyer of the Nana Hotel, loudly giving everyone an earful of their views on everything from Thailand to world peace. Lots of incredibly boring old 'war stories' - I find myself stuck there from time to time waiting for a car to take me to Patts or, worse, a Thai girl to rock up.

Fast forward to Feb, 2012 and I spent an hour or two chatting with a young Navy officer from Boston - he was at the end of his shore leave and had to return to the boat that afternoon. This guy was a magnificent advertisement for his country - very few of the people I served with in Oz lived up to the recruiting poster, but he carried it off with aplomb. Gentle self-effacing wit, a clear understanding of the world outside the US Navy and an obvious grasp on the fact that everything around him in that part of Bangkok is Disneyland, and no-one gets to leave with Minnie. The last thing I would want is to spend six months at a time at sea, but he seemed totally at peace with it. We also had a bit of a laugh at the Marines expense, but I avoided the heavy-duty 'American foreign policy sux' lecture : having worn a uniform, I know that lecture is a luxury for people who don't wear a uniform. When he returns to his ship, it's 'Yes, Sir', 'No, Sir' and 'How high, Sir ?' : that's the way it has to be for the system to work.

Up to that point, I had become pretty cynical about Farang in Thailand - not just Americans, pretty much everyone. It renewed my faith in his generation to meet a young guy who clearly had a clue *without* being a flag-waving zealot. He couldn't have been more different to his older countrymen in the Nana foyer. Those old coots are probably still there, re-taking Saigon and Pyongyang

I doubt that 2k baht would get you very far, but I expect they would be happy to take your money. Here in Oz, the pubs and clubs are more than happy to take entire pay packets and pensions, but put up a huge fight when there is any attempt to address our gambling addiction problem.

Much better off spending that 2k baht on beer, IMO. You still end up with nothing, but you might be less inclined to go to the ATM the next day and repeat the experience - that's where gambling seems to really do people in.

ok ok i wrote bath instead of baht

I'm glad you guys had a good laugh but at 37 years old and retired i'm the one laughing everyday

While I would love to have your millions, I also know what a phenomenal hill that represents. I just cant see anyone genuinely 'retiring' at that age - even Richard Branson would have gone crazy just sitting on his island counting his interest each day. Even 55 is going to be a challenge for me - horses for courses, I guess.

What puzzles me is that the women on TV would waste keystrokes on the likes of paullyw, and I'm not simply basing that on his efforts in this thread. It's so easy to troll in a thread like this, but paullyw cant seem to help himself regardless of the topic.

muthuay, if you go back to that quote, you will see that *I* was one of the aforementioned 'keyboard warriors' - I was actually the idiot who raised the 'chocolat man' thing. I shall now slap myself in the groin with a licorice whip until I lose all sensation down there as punishment for my sins !

I must not be an idiot

I must not be an idiot

I must not be an idiot

I must not be an id.......

And we are right back where we started - the only way to find out if Cambodia is for you is to get on a plane and stay long enough to get a feel for the place.

wellred, I'm curious - in exactly which neck of the woods are Asians referred to as 'pan head' ? Do they also refer to white people they dont like as 'poopy pants' ? Can't wait till those hillbillies find out that 'cracker' isn't a term of endearment

FWIW, Thais have individual names for the citizens of all of the countries around them - obviously, Europeans were late to the party. I know at least one black man who isnt offended by 'chocolat man', but I expect that there are others who aren't so thrilled. Exactly what the Thais make of someone who looks Asian but speaks Russian with a thick 'masculine' accent is anyone's guess, but I'm still trying to work those folk out for myself.

I still can't help but chuckle when some Thai women use the term "chocolate man". Not offensive at all.

may be offensive If your the chocolate man in question.

I am

Now that's one way to shut the keyboard warriors up

FWIW, Thais have individual names for the citizens of all of the countries around them - obviously, Europeans were late to the party. I know at least one black man who isnt offended by 'chocolat man', but I expect that there are others who aren't so thrilled. Exactly what the Thais make of someone who looks Asian but speaks Russian with a thick 'masculine' accent is anyone's guess, but I'm still trying to work those folk out for myself.

It's a contraction of 'farange', as in 'French person'. Not sure if that is any more or less insulting than 'foreigner', but surely it has to beat 'Gwailo' !

I don't understand the scam. What have you got to lose? If you start off winning money, then you would only have your winnings to lose. Where's the scam?

The scam kicks in when you start losing and go to the ATM to 'get back on top'. Its hardly unique to SEA - have you never watched gamblers in a casino ? People playing slot machines ? Its a compulsion, and the gambler will always tell himself he can beat the house - it failed in my case because I told them I dont gamble. Repeatedly. If my eyes had lit up when he started showing me how he could manipulate the outcome in a Blackjack game, it may all have been different. Scams only work on the greedy and the gullible - getting into that car may have told them they had a 50% chance of being both. Given that the Army convinced me to jump out of perfectly good aircraft back in the 80s, I guess I really am suggestible (hey, it looked cool in the photos ..). Just not that suggestible.

As others have speculated, the real fun would come when you realised you were being taken and attempted to leave the casino. Thankfully, my arms and legs still work, despite all that parachuting and getting into cars with strangers in KL.

The wags on my Indo board tell me they have a 'cure' for keyboard warriors - threats of a long posting holiday accompanied by links to various Thai-based boards. This, along with extensive post deletion, seems to have done the trick - one thing I'm enjoying is that no-one quotes a page worth of discussion simply to insult another BM. The obsession with 'having the last word' here is staggering.

Why go to the PI in the first place ? Talk about living on the edge.

It's not that bad, and there are parts of Thailand I wouldn't want to hang around at night.

Fair point, and one of those 'parts' is the Soi 3 side of lower Suk .....

The thing that worries me about PI is that they *do* have 'form' - there have been kidnappings for ransom and worse. While some Thai crooks do have guns, there isn't a widespread gun culture - PI seems to be all about guns. Not to mention the risks of HIV infection courtesy of the idiots who think its somehow 'different' to have unprotected sex in PI ....

OK - I didnt read it that way - it seemed that it was the cops who were struggling to get their message across. I still disagree with the thread title, but what's done is done. Long day, I guess.

Catastrophical !

As CHF was at 33 more in June last year now it about 30.70.

Too bad because of strong baht but government doing nothing to stop the strong exportations good economic way but bad about tourism !

I wonder what will be the repercussions on the tourism on middle long term if this situation continue ?

This was debated extensively in the other thread (which has mysteriously sunk from view on the first page of TV), and the consensus was that Thailand will do just fine as long as tourists from Russia, China, India and Korea continue to support the Thai tourism sector as they have been over the last 5 years. I'd also be interested to know how many Swedes, Danes, Finns and Norwegians have cut back on their trips to Thailand - they seem to be the 'forgotten European tourists' on this board. Given that more Australians die in Thailand each year than any other overseas country, I'm going to assume that Australian tourists are still visiting Thailand.

Somewhat misleading thread title, IMO. You seem to have had a run-in with some linguistically challenged cops - surely that happens in Thailand on a daily basis ?

Why go to the PI in the first place ? Talk about living on the edge.

OK,clever boys. So which country do I retire to now?

Read the Cambo thread - I doubt you will be any better informed at the end than you were at the beginning, but it will give a very good idea of what I'm saying when I tell you that this is the last group you should be asking that question. Just get on a plane and spend a month in country - nothing wrong with forumers swapping stories about their own experience in Cambo, but its a poor substitute for going there yourself.

Midasthailand, have you ever been to Johor ? Unless you live in the worst corner of Nakhon Nowhere, trust me - she got the rough end of the deal. Love Malaysia, but they can keep Johor.

Christy and Jonas. The horror, the horror.

I've only come briefly in the past, but I look forward to coming again in 2014.

Tommo - great news. matey - I've just drawn up a budget that should see me burn through that first million baht a whole lot faster than '2 or 3 years'. I'm still working on some of the details, but I have to say that right now I'm pretty damned excited by the possibilities. There is definitely a novel in there, and possibly film rights to follow. Don't touch that dial !

Our final installment in Sept 2008 for our house build was transferred at 71bht to the pound. Very lucky to have built then as I know a couple of farangs whose wives have bought land but can't now afford to build on it!

The real question is : can you afford to sell it ? Let's hope that day never comes.

Thought this might provide a welcome break for those of us who seem obsessed with exchange rates and the general malaise which seems to accompany life in Thailand in 2013. Smile, ya flamin' mongrels !