Andrew65

Very soon I'm going to be eating cannabis in an attempt to cure my insomnia (I won't be smoking it because I gave up smoking 3 years ago). Why am I "self-medicating"? My doctor in the UK had put me on Zopiclone (sleeping tablets), but I could only have them for 3 months in case I became addicted to them. On the few occasions in my life that I did try weed, I noticed it's narcotic effect, made me very sleepy.

Hotels often have a business card with their details (in English, and the local language on the reverse) on the reception counter, if I was in an unfamiliar place I would put one in my pocket for just such occasions.

I don't know about alcohol, but if tobacco had only just become a thing today, or in recent times, it couldn't be sold legally (when it's so well known how harmful it is).

The legal age to buy/drink alcohol in Thailand is 20.

My mistake I meant to say 10 satang/km????

One of the things at the root of this problem is that taxi fares are too low on the meter, I started living in Bangkok in 1998 (that's now 25 years ago!) and the 'flag'fall' on the meter was 35 Baht, and I believe it's still 35 Baht. IMHO that should now be 55-60 Baht. (I think they might have raised the fare 100 satang/km). It's an example of how Thai people are exploited money-wise, again, IMHO.

In my 20 years in Thailand I had some wealthy/very wealthy farang expat friends. One thing being was that the bulk of their money was held 'offshore' from Thailand, in places like Switzerland and Singapore. For some I don't think Thailand is perceived as a safe enough place to hold large sums of money/assets, and not just for tax reasons.

Thai would've gone bust 20 years ago if they weren't government-backed.

If we look at how much they charge per KG for excess baggage it would cost some people a lot of money if they did a similar thing with passengers. I have an old friend who's a frequent flyer who would weigh around 140 KG! (And he's only about 5 foot 9!).

I'm looking at a flight London - Bangkok rtn in February '24. The last time I looked Thai Airways were wanting about £200 more than Eva Air (Taiwanese) for the same direct flight, and Eva are probably a nicer airline.

That would apply to any meat. Part of why I never ate meat-based street food in Thailand (or anywhere). We don't know if the meat has been refrigerated in the hot weather.

If Ping Ping were a shower-dodger he would become Ping Pong!?????

Only if you're also not wearing underpants!????

Didn't they sell some Grippen fighter jets to Thailand?

...Montenegro!?????

Was talking to an old Royal Navy friend many years ago about the Thai submarine saga (debacle????). 1. The South China Sea isn't deep enough for sub operations. 2. Thailand doesn't really have any external threats.

Some years ago an Australian friend , Mark, had been working in Thailand for a Japanese oil & gas company. He said that the company was pulling out of Thailand. One of the main reasons was that when they had to deal with government agencies they had to deal with military men, who didn't have the faintest idea what they themselves, or the company was doing. (This was a company that was investing 10's or 100's of millions in Thailand).

Or a polarising person like Prayut...?

Always got my deposit back in Thailand. Put it in a special fund in the UK so as not to be ripped-off by unscrupulous landlords.

Thaksin introduced the 30 Baht health scheme? A remarkable feat in a country run exclusively by and for the wealthy?

The new prime minister is from a party that never won the election?

I tip in Thailand, in situations when I wouldn't in the UK. I would tip in a bar in Thailand, but wouldn't in the UK. I realise that if people leave 20-40 Baht tips it's quite a lot to somone who's on very little money.

I used to tip 20 or 40 Baht. My check-bins were seldom more than 500 Baht, and that was often with something to eat as well as beer.

An old (tight) friend once commented that tipping was difficult in Cambodia due to their lack of coinage. I did explain that a 100 Riel note is worth about 4 US cents. If I had 2,000-5,000 Riel left at the end of my trip I would give it to the airport tuk tuk driver as a tip.

I always used to have a roll of 20 Baht notes for tips and taxis. I always used to bear in mind that waiting staff get paid very little, and if most customers leave a 20-40 Baht tip that adds up to quite a bit extra for them. (I would never put a tip on plastic because I wouldn't trust a business owner to pass it on).