PalMan

I would suggest buying your global-coverage insurance in either your home country - where you would most likely want to return anyway if you had anything very serious but were still able to travel - or in a country with laws in place that don't allow them to discontinue your coverage based on your age hitting some magic high number or based on heavy claims.

If such things even exist anymore, I'd really like to know myself, will be hitting mid-fifties soon and am willing to pay even high rates (back home USD 10,000 per year would be cheap for good cover) as long as I knew they can't cut me off in thirty years just because I get cancer and and.

In general I see three options so far that don't require opening a Thai bank account

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Since the thread was targeting visitors rather than long-term residents. . .

These days I take my compliments where I get them - "chalat guen bai" "loo mak guen bai" will do for this stage of my life.

Those aren't complements.

I know, they are compliments.

Especially when coming from girls trying to charm excessive money out of you, which was the whole point of the discussion at the moment n'est-ce pas?

So rather than simply repeating facts/claims already posted, could someone with a clue help us build up a summary?

In general I see three options so far that don't require opening a Thai bank account:

1. Use a "home bank" that refunds the ATM fees - in the US, this would include Schwab (and?) - and in the UK, or other NES countries??

2. Withdraw using your (X Y and Z network) ATM cards and (A, B and C) credit cards at any Aeon machine

3. Withdraw using your (X Y and Z network) ATM cards and (A, B and C) credit cards at Citibank, located on Sathorn near Naratiwas as well as Central World 4th floor.

4?

So you really are a handsum man then.

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People whose word I trust used to tell me so, but these days. . .

Not so much

These days I take my compliments where I get them - "chalat guen bai" "loo mak guen bai" will do for this stage of my life.

I've had cards that work in some machines and not others, never bothered to work out which is "at fault", just use a different card. Obviously no one with any sense travels with only one card right?

Or of course you can just (gasp!) pay cash. . .

I think perhaps you're deluded in thinking a satisfying physical relationship needs things "in common", to me compatibility is a completely different issue, it's the things we don't have in common that make them attractive to me, maybe "complementary" is the right world

And I don't know why you keep insisting that lots of us are deluded, I think most of us know exactly what we're doing and love it thanks.

Personally I think there'd be enough volume in renminbi that the double-exchange wouldn't work out better.

But if you're not sure, split it down the middle do an A/B test and then let us know for prosperity!

(actually posterity but I like the deepity)

The whole Kuman Tong thing got a lot of press from last year's incident with the Taiwanese in Bangkok.

I don't actually see anything along those lines in the OP picture nor any others in this thread, just normal spirit houses.

The waving merchant doll is yet a third practice, "Kata Nang Kwak".

And I'm not even interested in this topic, you guys should get your stories straight if you're going to post as authorities on this stuff.

Let's ignore the tendency for many of these women to be somewhat economical with the truth for a moment, eh?

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millions of older men who haven't rocked up here looking for young, cheap tail who would essentially call you losers.

It's not just younger guys.

I've been called much worse, and by people that actually know me, so in this case not a problem

And regarding honesty, you should hear the Thais' opinion of younger guys who think the sun shines out of their butt lying through their teeth trying to get it for free.

To me a much lower form of pond-scum than girls doing the same, at least they're on the presumed-victim side of the poverty equation, not lying just to get their wick wet.

To me that's the bottom line, selling your body, paying for sex, age differences, whatever no problem, but when the lies start that's a real moral issue not any of the rest of it.

The old guys in my experience are the most honest group out of the lot, and once a TG has made the cut with me and knows where she stands I've found they very very rarely lie.

They wouldn't get away with this if Thailand had a bear problem

Their claws and bile are too valuable all been killed off - now it's "no bears, no problem".

Angeledge777, on 21 May 2013 - 17:30, said:

There are different types of girls, the same in our countries. However, the change is quite drastic here depending on if they are from a rich or poor family, educated or not.

Buriram, where most of the mia farang lives, is also one of the poorest region of Thailand. Over there, every single girls have been told, since they are kids, to go with the farang because he have a lot of money. The result, the villages are full of big houses paid by the foreigners.

The good girl don't really care about your nationality. She love her family, she is educated, have a good job with a good salary. Most of all, she knows she can get the best man, educated and rich whatever his origin is. She DO care about what she looks like and to be with an old foreigner is NOT looking good at the eyes of this class of people.

If the girl come to you at godspeed, ask yourself some questions. Why isn't she with another Thai already? How can she fall in love with you so quickly? How can she speak English so well after receiving such a low level education (Thailand is the last country in the ASEAN for English Teaching) why has she moved to Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket to be... A seller!

Look I'm sure you mean well, but if you read just a tiny fraction of one week's worth of posts here you'd realize that you're preaching to the converted.

There is indeed a grain of truth in what you say, but the way you say it makes your statements ridiculous, obviously false.

Sure lots of mia farang come from Buriram, but I don't think it's the top province, where did you get that idea? Maybe the fact that girls from a particular province tend to cluster together in a particular farang-hunting ground? In my experience Surin, Udon, Khorat, Khon Kaen, Ubon are all pretty well represented, but even with around 20000 data points in my survey I don't claim to have a clear idea. . .

And "every single girl" in that province has been taught to seek farang husbands? Every one, really? Even the ones that are from wealthy families? Or do you believe there are no wealthy families in the whole province?

And we all know if we're old and easily obtain a poor young English-speaking girl that she is motivated primarily by money. And most of us take proper precautions to ensure we get good value for our money, and realize that the relationship will only last as long as it's meant to, and are perfectly happy with all of that.

So maybe try to come up with something original to say, but if you can't at least try to make the same-old same-old preaching accurate with some qualifiers like "most" or "many" or "some", which allow for the fact that Thais like all people have an infinite variety differences between each unique individual, they don't all just slot into your pigeonholes.

Don't see many Thai on Thai ..with huge age difference..other than a Mia Noi..who is discrete..again more a practical business solution..

I see quite a lot of Thai marriages with a 20-30 year age difference.

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Me too.

However I think it's likely that those close-minded people here will simply label these "prostitution" or "gold-digging" just as much as those involving foreigners.

As I've said many times, I don't think there's anything wrong with taking financial issues strongly into account when choosing a mate, and believe that Thais do this more so than in the West.

Within that context I think it's quite possible that the larger the age gap the more likely that that factor is weighted more heavily.

Which does not IMO preclude the possibility of *true* love developing - in fact I think a practical basis for the beginning stage will more often lead to a lasting long-term relationship than those that start out based on infatuation brain chemicals.

As long as both parties are honest and sincere - that to me is the key, next to which the importance of age difference factor pales in comparison.

In other words I have no problem with a girl staying with me for money, as long as she's not trying to pretend otherwise.

And men that take advantage of girls by pretending to really like them, to be interested in a long-term relationship when all they want is a short-time playmate are just as despicable a scammer as the classic lying bargirl.

Baht are such an unimportant currency that anywhere outside Thailand will require a lot more margin to make it worth their while stocking/taking it.

Do all your bath exchanges in either direction inside Thailand.

Thongkorn, on 21 May 2013 - 16:24, said:

Look around at the living fossils, men and women, in any Country in the World, Men and Women walking around with partners young enough to be there grand children, and tell me its about Love.

Whether it is or not, who can say, who's got the right to comment anyway, and who cares?

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Angeledge777, on 21 May 2013 - 16:20, said:

There are actually 2 types of ladies in thailand.

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It is totally impossible to make it work between a foreigner and a Thai lady if the age difference is over 10 years.

That's right, 30+ million of these female human beings, and every one falls neatly into only those two categories.

And of the hundreds of thousands of relationships you describe not a one has "worked" whatever that might mean to you personally.

Errm. . .

Overgeneralize much?

It is offerings to the unborn child. If you are interested in the real story, goggle "kuman thong":thumbsup:

What picture are you talking about?

Are you trying to say that every spirit house has something to do with that particular idol?

The topic here is just the normal bog-standard spirit houses you see all over Thailand. The Kuman Thong phenomenon is much rarer and limited to particular subgroups.

Yeah, well it's great that everyone's rooting for the PUP (Plucky Underdog Pensioner) taking advantage of the poor farmer's daughter.

Hey, I am too but it doesn't alter the odds of him being left kerbside at some not-too-distant point along the road especially as he's no doubt compensating his lady for the feat of enduring nights of passion with an elderly man.

Still, at least he ain't buying houses and cars

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Seems that some only see the P2P world as "exploiter" and "exploited", can go either way as to who's the "victim" and who's the "predator", no way there can just be a fair and honest exchange of value eh?

That's a shame that the fella's kids are missing out because of his principles.

SC

Really...????

What a great lesson to teach your kids.... Stand up for your rights ... even if it means you dont get to see the monkeys getting coconuts or ride on the rusty/filthy roller coaster!

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More likely they'll just learn (or be confirmed in what they already know) that Dad's a stroppy old cheapskate and no fun at all. . .

I for one just flat-out don't understand what the hispanic reference was about even if it was sincere, so if there was any sarcasm was involved it was certainly lost on me.

Don't worry, it's par for the course with Kilgore. He has a propensity to mix irrelevant analogies with out-in-left-field sarcasm, which usually results in an incoherent rant that is very similar to sounds of a certain pitch that only dogs can hear. I'd be more worried if you did understand his point.

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Thanks I'll keep that in mind - read: I'll make sure to pay close attention to his further posts to watch out for any signs of growing comprehension, and if they appear I'll get myself checked out. . .

There are a couple of brands I trust to some extent in the larger supermarkets, I would simply approach the manufacturer to purchase in bulk.

Or in your case maybe you don't actually care that much if it's cut with sugar water or not?

I personally prefer to buy from the peasants who actually climb up the trees and collect wild honey and then come around and sell it, you can see the bee's knees and all, easy enough to filter yourself if you don't like the look of that.

Or when I come across an aviary in the countryside, I know of one just outside of Khorat, on the left side of the road heading toward Buri Ram. . .

Apparently they feed off the flavor, aroma and color, not the substance itself.

Red is the color of blood, so it helps give them life-strength, vitality.

But some spirits do prefer other more specific drinks, just like different types of dolls/toys etc.

Talk to the people that take care of a particular spirit house and they'll tell you the details, if they can see you're sincerely respectful and curious, not just trying to make fun of them.

> Do you think that it would cost a lot more now ?

Yes, all inputs have risen in price to a very large extent over fifteen years, labor probably most of all, and that's the largest component the way they build here.

If you're thinking of investing that kind of money here I sure hope you refine your methods of due diligence research beyond posting to tv.com