MrWorldwide

Good advice from theblether.

I hate to admit it, but you're right.

2008 was a blip, thankfully - anyone who isnt ready for the odd blip needs to reassess their budget. Of course, you arent showing us the rest of that graph, are you

Anybody who hangs around Thai Visa is used to the same questions about Thailand being asked over, and over, and over ...

Let me guess:

what name you ?

where you come from ?

how long you stay thailand ?

you pay bar me ?

Yep - over and over and over

I guess it comes down to whether you want a family or not - in my mid 50s, that isn't on my 'to-do list', but horses for courses.

I spend a lot of my time in Patts in a bar almost entirely patronised by Finns - they ignore me and I ignore them. There are zero fights and young Aussies take one look at a buncn of middle-aged Finns and keep walking. If I'm lucky, the Chinese / Indian / Russian 'mongers' will also ignore me. As long as the beer is cold, they are welcome to the talent, particularly the Katoeys. I get more laughs out of a wicked little Tom bartender on Soi 6 than any combination of 'where you come from ?' robots, and there is none of the 'I go your hotel' BS. Total pisshead, but who isnt in Patts ?

True, and that's where Malaysia does get expensive, but the point about it being cheaper in Malaysia is an interesting one. I just dont understand why anyone would eat Maccas over Thai street food ....

Because you've gotten food poisoning for the second time in a two week trip and you just want to eat something you know won't make you sick

I guess we have had different experiences, but Pnomh Penh remains the only city to ever poison me. 48 hours of violent diarrhea and projectile vomiting in a very amusing sequence that had me perched on the edge of that bowl for hours at a time - Pol Pot himself would have approved

(granted, it can happen anywhere - people are poisoned in Sydney on a regular basis - but I thought my number was up at a roadside cafe en route to Bandung. My hosts insisted that I try a pastry (!) that the cafe was famous for, but the hygiene in that place was abysmal - right up to the generator sitting in the middle of the floor to run the fridge. Nothing like diesel fumes to make a mid-morning snack truly memorable, but all I got was a touch of the squirts. Cambo definitely evened the scales, though - any illusion that I had 'cast iron guts' completely vanished)

Just got back from a screening of the 'The Impossible'. While it's not going to win any awards (except possibly special effects), it puts a lot of things in perspective. We can argue the toss about money, about Thailand, about the price of tea in Botswana - it's all just grist for the mill. I often wonder how the Japanese, Indonesians and even Californians deal with living on major fault lines, or the South Koreans with their northern neighbours, but its pretty simple : they just do it.

Seize the day, people, and to hell with our crystal balls.

Each to his own, Col Mustard. The longest I've spent in Thailand at any one time is only 3 months - it may well be that one does come to want something different over a longer period. I'm no Puritan when it comes to junk food - I really like the food from the Thai 'chicken and Pizza' chain (name escapes me) near Emporium / Benjasiri Park - not sure if it would have survived the Wa Square redevelopment but the food was excellent. Definitely more expensive than Maccas, but I guess we get what we pay for.

yes, candypants - that's what I'm all about. Why waste time and money on Thai women when I can just use TV as a pickup joint, right ?

well, you do look like runkle from californication

I think he looks more like Pitbull.

Most here wouldn't know to whom you were referring, but you are correct. He may have been born Armando Perez, but these days he seems to prefer 'Mr Worldwide'

(being Runkle wouldn't be the end of the world though - I always thought his ex-wife was steaming hot, but her taste in <deleted> buddies was atrocious. The writers and the casting team had an absolute ball with that show - not sure if its the same team that did Entourage but they have a very similar approach to censorship)

Wasn’t this BigMac thing started by that clown Thomas Friedman who writes for the New York Times, Friedman also said that no two countries that sell BigMacs have ever gone to war!!!!!!

Friedman is not an economist, and having read some of his books that’s amazingly obvious.

johna, is there any chance you could take a chill pill, please ? I did make the point at the start of this thread that it wasn't a universally accepted gauge of anything, but it makes for interesting reading when you consider how we view the relative 'wealth' pf countries in the region. Personally, it makes as much sense as some of the economic predictions being doled out by TV members on a daily basis, Given that even professional economists get it wrong when they drag out their crystal balls each year. I dont see the problem in having a little fun with the Big Mac Index. McDonald's Corporation doesn't grant franchises without doing market research - clearly, someone is buying their products in each of the countries listed in the index.

You seem to be taking this thread far too seriously - it wasn't meant to raise anyone's blood pressure.

True, and that's where Malaysia does get expensive, but the point about it being cheaper in Malaysia is an interesting one. I just dont understand why anyone would eat Maccas over Thai street food ....

I think the only way to find out is to visit for a week or three - I will go back in 2014 to see what changes have occurred since my last visit in 2010, but I have no plans to move there. Forum chatter has it that there is a lack of affordable longterm accommodation and that break-ins are very common, but there is no substitute for spending a few weeks in PP (or wherever you plan to live) and talking to Barang who actually live there.

BKS22, are you familiar with the Indonesian visa system ? Much worse than Thailand. I'm just going to pay an agent in Singapore and be done with it.

What the hell is wrong with ThaiVisa members today? Certain people should not be allowed to drink and post.

I followed two new story links from Facebook and both threads just just degenerated into people arguing about subjects which have nothing to with with the original story. In fact I cannot find any relation to the original story beyond the first page of both threads.

I hope you are all proud of yourselves and the pathetic way you carry on.

OK - I'll take it on the chin - I have no idea who dragged China into this discussion, but it went downhill from there and I was part of that downhill slide. To get back to the original topic, I stand by what I said at the start of the thread - a baht that is 30-50% stronger than the USD (or GBP/Euro) is not in Thailand's best interests economically or politically.

That opinion, and every other opinion expressed here, is pure speculation - some of us may not even live to see any longterm trends make themselves felt. Let's just try to enjoy whatever time we have left.

yes, candypants - that's what I'm all about. Why waste time and money on Thai women when I can just use TV as a pickup joint, right ?

diddums, feel free to bait me - you know as well as everyone else here that I was trying to separate adult P4P from child exploitation. We can play these games, or we can move on - I vote we move on.

You're a bigger man than me and my hero now.

OK - you win - in the battle of the sarcastic keyboard warriors, you have gained the upper hand. I shall now retreat to a Korean chatroom and spend several hours honing my skills. Till next we meet - well played, Dr Moriarty ....

As I said, I'm not an economist, but I take your point.

The Aussies are laughing ...

No exchange issues there ... near an all time 10 year high against the Baht.

.

You should never ever say things like that.

just around the corner and all.

As much as it pains me, I agree. Still, its nice to look at the charts on xe.com and cross one's fingers.

theblether, all jokes aside, have you been or are you currently drinking alcohol ? It's just not cool to post while pissed, and it's clear that you are reading roughly every third word in my posts, so I'll leave it there.

.......another one who if you don,t agree with they get like my little daughter ....mr worldwide my ass more like mr head up ass....don,t get personnel and just stick to believing you are the man in your avatar picture..

Don't get 'personnel' ? <deleted> - are you drinking too ? I could never be the man in my avatar picture - he's Cuban.

blackdug - that isnt how I interpreted tommo's post - I think you are being a tad harsh. Of all the hookers I've been with, only one has had a tatt, and that was one of those small Thai tattoos on the back of her neck. If anything, I associate large visible tatts with katoeys ....

As for the notion that theblether may be 'casting pearls before swine', I disagree. Wanting to meet Thai women is one thing - wanting to marry one another. .You have clearly chosen well - not everyone is so fortunate and their jealousy isnt restricted to 'tattoed hookers' and ladies from Isaan ...

TB, unless you restrict your version of the 'pick of the crop' to Chinese-Thais who speak Mandarin reasonably well, I'm stuffed if I see how Lawrence's post supports your earlier sweeping statements. In any case, I much prefer Indonesian-Chinese women, but I'm sure you'll tell me that the Chinese horde is sweeping south, much like the invading Japanese in 1940 ? I'd best warn Jakarta - at least we know which direction the invasion will come from ....

I went for the temples - unable to find any, I resorted to whoring and getting so drunk that even whoring became impossible, as did standing whilst urinating. Terrible, terrible place.

No worries for most of the westerners here, most Chinese man still look at a Chinese bride as the best choice for themselves for loads of reasons , language, food and parents. Most Chinese parents are not open minded to foreign brides irregardless of the nationality There is no doubting they have huge discussions on the business and investment fronts and are already here buying everything they see a return on However marrying a Thai Chinese is another scenario altogether. If they are fair skinned, speak reasonable mandarin the marriage between a Thai Chinese family and a Chinese family is very desirable and looked upon favorably. Most of the Chinese business partners ask me where to find fair Thai ladies and for now the north is their first choice so all those stuck in Issan and Pattaya can break your next beer, they are not coming to compete with you With the Chinese mentality, their way of taking care of the family is attractive to the Thai families. When a man married a woman they firmly believe the one with the most money should be responsible for everything from buffaloes to cars to houses to whatever the girl wants some may think its spoiling the girl but you only need to date a shanghai girl to know what being a man is all about. However it comes at a price where they are chauvinist and do not take woman's opinion strongly on most matters except child rearing and domestics affairs. So in the Chinese mans eye ...you behave like a woman and I will be all the man you want me to be Hope I don't offend the ladies here in this forum but for most man that is the way they think which is very much like a Thai man.

Finally, a post about Chinese and potential marriage partners from someone who :

a. knows what he is talking about

b. isn't drunk

Thanks you, Lawrence

theblether, all jokes aside, have you been or are you currently drinking alcohol ? It's just not cool to post while pissed, and it's clear that you are reading roughly every third word in my posts, so I'll leave it there.