PalMan

My mum grew up in the German countryside, and says bourgeois culture there was just the same, nothing more important than what the neighbors thought.

McMansions, fancy cars, not exactly immune to the phenomenon in the West are we?

would the completely fair way be...if you pay tax in Thailand ?

Income taxes? Most Thais don't.

VAT? Even tourists do.

I think "living here" is fair enough, and leave it to the interpretation of the guy at the gate so it's in compliance with Thai culture, part of the genuine experience, including getting a laugh at the "think-too-much" farang shouting and pulling his hair out at the injustice of it all.

But the people that matter in this country don't put their kids at risk like this, only poor people do, and nobody important cares about them. There's no incentive to try to pass such an unpopular law.

What you think, it's the government's role to look out for the public interest? This is Thailand or did you forget? People only work for the government in order to enrich themselves.

And human life just isn't that important! Let's leave a few places on the planet where stupid people are free to crack their heads OK?

Thanks for the link. The "chance" that every law of physics just happened to be fine-tuned at the right moment(of the expansion) in order for life to exist at all in the universe are mathematically astronomical. Miraculously astronomical, in fact.

So who says there's only one universe, or only the four dimensions our body/brain can deal with (that we know of)?

String theory, multiverses http://www.technologyreview.com/view/424073/multiverse-many-worlds-say-physicists/

Maybe we just happen to live in one universe where this set of laws operate correctly for the creation of life and human (and whatever other) intelligence.

In many if not most of the other gazillion universes and dimensions, life is very different or may not exist at all.

If you think this is just too mind-blowing, realize that science in the future will make today's look like foolish superstition.

So don't rely too much on the limitations of our current state of knowledge.

And be tolerant of other societies where they are perhaps just a little bit more ignorant than ours.

What would you think of a 20-IQ idiot who expresses disgust and contempt for how stupid the 15-IQ moron is?

There have been public uprisings in the US against these safety laws, demanding the right to drive a car without seat belts, ride a moto without a helmet.

And I completely agree, nanny state nonsense, we completely overvalue human life in the west.

Some have lost their lives in such protests, due to accidents where they would have survived if they'd been obeying the laws they were protesting. Darwin's law at work, the way it should be. . .

But then they'd be doing something different from everyone else, and that's much worse than dying in a road accident.

Unless you're trying to live your life according to logical principles, but that's just not the Thai way is it.

Shit happens, and when it does it's a punishment for you having been a bad person before, if you're good you're invincible.

Plus you're just going to be reborn anyway. . .

Yes, plug this into google maps: 13.72692,100.51589

EMS via the post office. Other ideas: If you have credit card, you might call DHL/FedEx/UPS and see if you can EMS it to them domestically and they then forward on?

Pay a Thai to bring it to BKK for you.

I've seen both parents + a total of four children at once, driving in the middle of Bangkok traffic, shopping bags as well and mum on the mobile.

Same with the backs of pickups.

When you get down to it, lack of child safety seats, seatbelt laws in general, mandatory airbags.

So where do you draw the line?

Life is cheaper here. . .

Very common here upcountry for the "punishment" for sleeping with a young girl is for the man to marry her, and often the girl doesn't have much to say about it.

Sometimes even when the event would be called a rape by western standards.

Just touching or kissing can lead to the man's family having to pay the girl's. Often the local BiB are called in to help the families negotiate the penalty.

If the boy's from a wealthy family they can just pay a financial settlement without them having to get married - imagine the girl's relief.

Still I wouldn't lay the blame for all these cultural differences just on "face", that's a bit simplistic isn't it.

Paywall at the Telegraph, only for those not within the UK

How many guys complain about ladies nights where the gals get in free or get free drinks BECAUSE they are gals?

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Well since the whole point of such promotions is to get more guys in because of the fact that the girls are there, not many.

I do agree that means-testing would be the best way to go, I've done that with my English tutoring services, students whose families don't own a car get a much cheaper rate.

And of course Thais wouldn't lie about that and lose face

What does your contract say about how to do so?

Write a letter and send it registered?

I'm pretty sure there is/are some intelligent entities other than humans somewhere in the universe.

However I am 100% sure that our human brain - or at least the part of it we call our "logical mind" - is incapable of comprehending fundamental truths about "creation" the "universe" and so on.

Like ants speculating on the nature of the sun, but the distance between ourselves and the big bang, even the fact that our bodies are limited to only four dimensions.

I'm pretty sure the stories our religions tell us about such matters aren't "true" in the logical factual sense, at best metaphors or parables.

I'm happy to admit and accept our ignorance on such matters.

I also don't claim to "know" for a "fact" that everything Thais believe that I don't know about are all ignorant superstitions.

Keep an open mind.

How do I think about it, lets reverse it would you guys want to be in a relation with a female 10 or 20 years older then you if you are not financially compensated.. most goes for Thai girls too.

Who says you have to limit to women? not much demand there. http://www.vice.com/read/my-debut-as-a-craigslist-hooker

These last few are getting pretty far out there, part of me wishes I knew what the heck they're talking about but -

Naaah. . .

You could probably pay to help hurry things along. . .

Wish there were another word for it here other than "justice system".

Thinking you can be offshore and be successful won't work unless your Richard Branson.

I bet Sir Richard put in his fair share of sweat equity over the years, maybe more so in the early stages but he certainly knew his business and minded his P's and Q's right from the get-go.

To the OP - if you're thinking of doing this for your lady, believe me it's much cheaper just to pay her directly.

She most likely wants the "face" of being seen as a business owner, but believe me it's a very very expensive appearance to have to maintain.

The odds of your being able to do what you're talking about so that it's able to sustain itself - forget about making a profit - are very very very slim.

Just put her on a spending allowance, and if what you can afford isn't enough then let her go. And don't expect her to sit around waiting for you while you're out of the country either, odds are also very slim in that regard.

Sorry to be so cynical, there are exceptions etc etc blah blah blah.

Another major health problem for foreign residents here, very common for us to allow ourselves to become relatively isolated emotionally:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113176/science-loneliness-how-isolation-can-kill-you#

It seems that "lack of intimacy" is the major risk factor, so IMO a very active sex life isn't a substitute if they are purely physical "relationships".

A major takeaway for me - for both issues - is "don't put all your eggs in one basket".

Happens to people who turn 'rural' all the time.

Isolated from everyone who can speak their own language.

Living with a woman from a different age group.

They can end up isolated and lonely.

Better for most foreigners to live in/near one of the big cities IMHO.

Some people let themselves get completely isolated even in a big city, and if you've got sufficient proficiency in other languages you don't have to limit yourself to your own.

My point is that you may well have a very attractive, athletic, young enthusiastic partner for sex and romance, but you should invest time and effort into other relationships as well, particularly when it's likely that deep emotional connection and/or intellectual stimulation are lacking.

Used to be the case most people just automatically grew up with a supportive community around them. These days no matter where you live, you usually have to build one around you from scratch, and of course that requires mindful intention, time and energy invested in those compatible (not necessarily like-minded) people you can find.

But it seems to be a critical part of a healthy lifestyle, as much as sleep, nutrition and exercise.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk 21368993198.227519.jpg

This one wasn't much really but I've had the double pricing a few times too. I don't agree on it out of principle. Imagine if we charged tourists here an extra £10 to see local attractions? Don't know how they get away with it the.

As many of us have pointed out, the same things happen in our home countries. When I lived in Lake Tahoe I could ski for $10 dollars a day, visitors paid $60! When I lived in Florida I could get into Disney World for $20 less then non-residents. As I said in earlier in this thread, it's illegal to discriminate against race, creed or religion. But not residency, which is exactly that they are doing in Thailand, evidenced by multiple people saying they get the Thai price simply by showing their Thai ID...

I'm not aware iv anything like this happening in the uk. Maybe you Americans are as bad as the Thais.

maybe google first?

http://www.blackpoolzoo.org.uk/blog/index.php/2013/03/march-madness-at-blackpool-zoo/

http://www.kidsdaysout.co.uk/kids-days-out-england/sussex/item/preston-manor.html?category_id=44

http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/royalpavilion/pages/admissioncharges.aspx

http://www.kidzworldcornwall.co.uk/your-visit/opening-times-prices.html

http://www.discountvouchers.co.uk/v79746.html

Another major health problem for foreign residents here, very common for us to allow ourselves to become relatively isolated emotionally:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113176/science-loneliness-how-isolation-can-kill-you#

It seems that "lack of intimacy" is the major risk factor, so IMO a very active sex life isn't a substitute if they are purely physical "relationships".

A major takeaway for me - for both issues - is "don't put all your eggs in one basket".

Im not so sure dogs here face the needle.. i could not get a vet to put down my dog when needed. It suffered because of this I went to 5 vets none would do it. Sad state of affairs to see her go the way she did. I hope you never have to live through that.

Pets are great.. but the parting hurts a lot too.

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Yes, this is the root cause of the soi dog problem.

It's very difficult to find a vet that is willing to put down a pet no matter how much in pain it is.

My friend found one after a long search, turned out to be a Muslim, so maybe that's a helpful tip for others looking in the future, many decent-sized towns in Thailand have a Muslim community can start by asking around there.

Or just bite the bullet and do it yourself

please do not presume to dictate to others that they should do likewise or leave.

no dictating here, just suggesting they

A spend their time and energy on more important issues

or

B if they really want to try to effect change find a different - and more effective - platform for gathering support for the campaign

I'm also pretty sure that the decision-making foreigners paying for the site restorations aren't bothered by the double pricing, or perhaps there would have started to be such restrictions put in place over the decades. . .

I still can’t see the common denominators between the much older guy and much younger woman, beside the “sugar daddy syndrome”. But if someone is happy knowing that whatever they get in return on their investment (usually sex, nursing care, ego boosting etcs), then who am I to judge?

"Many" farangs are here in Thailand in order to live a fantasy life and be 16 again & party up just like yes-ter-days…on a cheap.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, there’s certainly plentiful supply side catering to meet that need. Just because I wouldn’t do or think the same, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Some will pay for sex, while others may choose to squander away in gambling in Macau etcs… It’s not my life or my business, he can do whatever he wishes with his hard earned money.

The only problem I may have is when… many of them pass the judgment based on their circle of dot, that “all” thai women are the same as their little catch of the day. And start generalizing all thai women to be this low life, easy, desperate, money hungry etcs…who will do anything and sleep with anybody indiscriminately with just a slap of a few thousands baths on the head. This is the time when I think that somebody needs to seriously kick them in the head to wake them up from their little pseudo fantasy for a reality check .

Well said on the live and live part. Personally I haven't met anyone that thinks that way, but then I avoid the places where such people if they exist would ever come to that conclusion.

I do think it's fair to say from my experience that Thai women in general, nothing to do with the sex industry, regular urban educated career women, married women etc are just as if not more likely to fool around as those in the west, but that they are more likely than western women to do so for financial reasons (your "sugar daddy syndrome").

Doing so is not considered prostitution nor wrong from a moral POV - which I agree.

However having sex just for fun (for free) is on the other hand much more frowned upon and considered morally wrong by many more women here than in the west, and in fact their perception of our culture's "free sex" attitude in much the same way that traditional Muslims do.

These are cultural differences of sexual morality that may contribute to the perceptions you're talking about.

In America more than half of the people believe that the earth was created a few thousand years ago by an entity they call god.

You greatly increase the number of fundamentalist believers in America. As it stands, I believe your statement is untrue.

The truth is even weirder - only 15% believe God had nothing to do with creation, even most of those that "believe in evolution" think God lent a helping hand.