boosta

Yes, superficial relationships like commercial transactions are exactly where you see this the most. The idea that delivering good service in order to generate positive word of mouth and repeat business hasn't yet penetrated many industries here.

Perhaps the fact that we're completely outside the reciprocal-favors networking model that drives everything here makes it a much worse problem for us foreigners - when your brother-in-law's uncle is the contractor you probably don't have the problem so much, and you're not looking to extract maximum value out of the transaction either.

Finally, as long as it's illegal to give accurate feedback publicly here, this problem of market inefficiency will probably be slow to change.

Aren't all the beggars Cambodian? A Thai friend won't help. unless they speak Khmer.

They've been here long enough they've learned Thai, often better than their English.

Happy side note - that problem seems to have been properly solved at least in Bangkok, been years since I've seen one around!

A couple of years ago, I was working at Central Bangna. On the pedestrian bridge over Bangna-Trad Rd, there was a young kid who was sitting all day long in the heat and what not, begging for money. Every hour or so, a hi-so looking woman would come and stand about 20 meters from the kid. The kid then dropped whatever money he had collected in her handbag and that b**** would stroll away.

I meant the elephants, sorry if that wasn't clear.

And I think you're not using the term "hi-so" correctly here. . .

Wandering through the Hardware Warehouses in the West is a joy for most men.

Used to be, but where I come from hasn't been a decent experience for decades now since the modern big box retailing model's pushed all the mom-and-pop shops out of business.

Have to go to a small country town out in the middle of nowhere to find a traditional decent hardware store these days, probably true in most of our home countries now.

That's why this is another example of a "muppet" sparkie.

> As many have said, the odds are the kids are not Thai.

Of course not, otherwise Thais would get upset about it, abusing children from neighboring countries is OK though.

That's also why Vietnamese kids are available for sale as slaves in Cambodia. Remember the commercial surrogate mother operation set up by the Taiwanese businessman a few years ago? No Thai egg donors, only Vietnamese and Cambodians. . .

>Giving is good.

As long as you're not exacerbating the problem, like feeding the elephants brought into urban areas or giving cash to the beggars - just give them nutritious food, a bit of informal education practice their English.

Happy side note - that problem seems to have been properly solved at least in Bangkok, been years since I've seen one around!

What you are suggesting, is that most Thai women are incapable of introspection, self analysis, self criticism, accepting blame, or accepting responsibility for mistakes, or shortcomings. I think this is the absolute truth. But, I do not think this is limited to women. It includes nearly all members of Thai society. It includes nearly every politician and person of power in this country. It is inherent within the Thai mentality. It is a tremendous shortcoming, and really holds this country back. I might go so far as to say it is the number one personality defect, or weakness of most Thai people. The whole concept of "face" is merely an excuse to avoid doing any of this. It is the greatest form of cowardice possible. No willingness to look within means you are half a person. You simply cannot be whole without the willingness to say I am sorry, I was wrong. I can do better. Is that not part of what it means to be a progressive human being? The fascinating thing with Thai pride, is that it does not extend to craftsmanship, or insistence on doing a job well. It is a superficial pride, that contains within it zero substance.

At least you're saying most rather than all.

I agree with the gist of what you're saying and the fact that these thought habits do indeed impede the ability of many Thai people and therefore Thai society to improve.

However I think the phenomenon is more evident in contexts where the relationship between the people involved is more superficial, functional rather than within the sphere of close personal relationships.

When you get more intimately involved - and by that I mean psychologically, genuinely emotional intimacy, obviously that excludes most early-stage transactional relationships even if you're living together - when you constantly exhibit 100% vulnerable honesty and don't respond to the superficial manipulation, I have found that many Thais can indeed display a soul-searching desire to improve their character. This work is usually done by discussions within the family and extended visits to the temple for meditation training and counseling with the monks, since professional psychology isn't practiced here much for prosaic life problems.

I think the fact that the interactions most foreigners here have with Thais is relatively functional and superficial leads to an exaggerated perception of the problem. Not saying it isn't real, just that it doesn't go as deep nor is it as universal as you may think.

BTW the processes we're talking about is called "maturing" and does indeed start much later here for most Thais, so if you're teerak hasn't hit her use-by date she most likely hasn't started on any soul-searching just yet due to the following "Calvin syndrome"

So I had a somewhat stressful drive home from Lumpini tonight. Being a Friday night there were cops everywhere trying bust people for drink driving and drugs.

First I saw them from 20 metres away and ducked down a side street. 10 minutes down the road there was another cop randomly pulling over bikes and I got flagged down. I took the advise of someone on TV who suggested I speed off. I was almost home when I saw another cop. I braked to a stop 10 metres away from him, he stared right at me as I did a U-turn in the middle of the road whilst I held up several cars who had to stop behind me. I was on Sukhumvit Rd with a concrete fence stopping me from crossing over, so I had to hit the footpath and drive for 50 metres before turning down a soi. I was worried the cop had put a broadcast over the police radio to look out for a falang girl in a cocktail dress and heels, so I drove down every back soi to get home.

It was the point where I nearly got run over when I stopped in the middle of the road and sped along a footpath to get away from the police that I had a moment of realisation. Can't I pay to get a fake licence from somewhere? Please PM me if you might know someone/something.

Exciting story

Just so you don't give people ideas, this would a pretty idiotic thing to do, risking life and limb to avoid a few hundred baht fine.

As you point out it would be much more expensive to have to get out of a fake documents charge than just not having a licence.

never carry your passport

This is counter intuitive but it is still very good advice. Carrying a passport only gives another party leverage to use against you. Carry a photocopy of your photo page and visa stamp if you want but personally, I don't even do that.

Then you'll end up having to invite the BiB into your home when you're required to produce the original, or if that's not convenient they can always drop you back at the station while you have a friend bring it down.

Better to have the copy on you, in general giving bureaucrats the paper they're expecting is the path of least resistance, recipe for smooth living in the LoS.

200 in BKK 50-100 in a rural province.

Don't think many would accept 50 baht anymore, maybe several years ago.

In my experience i have found rural BIB pretty friendly, most like a quick chat with a random farang to be nosey, often the fine or bribe is not wanted.

Certainly not from farang! Elderly rice farm granny on her way to market, maybe. . .

They have to do trials in developed countries as well to try to avoid accusations that they're unfairly abusing the poverty of poor countries.

John le Carré's "The Constant Gardener" gives a glimpse into that side of this diabolical industry, said in many interviews that he greatly understated its malevolence, which certainly hasn't gotten any better in the years since.

Some insight at the URL below. Most of the child beggars in Pattaya are from Cambodia. Either sold/rented to Thai/Cambodian criminal gangs or handled by human traffickers in collaboration with corrupt Thai officials. If the RTP pick them up during a "crackdown" they are deported back to Cambodia and the cycle starts again.

url=http://opportunityfoundation.org/work/photo-essays/child-begging.html]http://opportunityfoundation.org/work/photo-essays/child-begging.html[/url]

Yes a rose girl I used to feed twelve years ago (she's now 20) called my mobile after she'd been picked up for me to bring food down to her holding cell. By the time I got down there the deportation bus had already left for Aran.

Next night she was back at her spot, I was gobsmacked.

She's still working the same area, apparently as a handler, says she enjoys it, they're like a family.

Surprisingly she never got into the sex trade, she used to say she'd only go with a guy that she was going to marry, very attractive but was always a tom-boy, and in fact has indeed turned out to be a Tom.

Right. The thugs behind the begging won't be pleased if somebody takes a personal interest in the kids.

Actually no problem as long as you don't try to interfere with their business.

Better safe then sorry, so where do i buy nembutal ?

Did a little research, and apparently in the past few years it's been banned and the way they've been cleaning up the drugs industry here would probably be very difficult to find, just looking for it could get you into trouble I suppose.

Cambodia?

how does one insert a Youtube video on TV? I used to be able to do it, now all it does is insert a link yo it.

Make sure you're in "raw plain text" mode (top left paper clip icon", delete the URL tag kruft around your URL and then go back to "preview" mode and it should automatically fix it up.

Yah, I woke up grumpy - frustrated at myself - today.

This affected my first post, which looks like has been kindly - and silently - removed on my behalf.

Yes, the quote got screwed up. It's pretty common with this software unfortunately. Anyway, I was just disabusing the poster I quoted of the notion that he posted, that any Thai University ranked highly in any global survey.

Aha. Well #83 is not too bad really considering. But even if the patterns if objective statistics used in such surveys meant Chula was say in the top ten in the world, you'd have to have a very compelling CV otherwise or be specifically involved in studying Thai language and culture as a career, or Buddhism etc, none of which are hot employment prospects in the corporate market anyway, just to overcome the stigma and suspicion evoked by a long stay in Thailand.

It is very likely these kids are very far away from any parents if they even know them, and that they are being handled by an operation either directly owned by or at least in cooperation with the police and/or local government officials, in other words the local mafia. These people are usually slaves, purchased not long after birth, in my experience usually ethnic Vietnamese from Cambodia.

What you observe has been happening for decades in every tourist-infested area of Thailand, and if there were forces of good that could do something about this problem I'm sure we would have seen some action by now, as these operations are operating with impunity and everyone knows what is going on.

When the national police authorities want to try to make any changes against the local mafia-police in Phuket or Pattaya they have to go in force, and there have in some cases even been gunfights between the different police forces.

So in short, sadly no, there's nothing I can think of that can be done that wouldn't be life-endangering to those involved.

A recent thread on a related topic: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/647615-what-has-happened-to-thailands-missing-children/

Dawkin's "The Selfish Gene" is a great read on the topic, but do note, that is the purpose of our life to the extent that are lives are tools ofour species' biological evolution.

Relevant comments: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/03/24/is-the-meaning-of-your-life-to-make-babies/

Relevant case in NYC - very surprised to see such PC overreach there, obviously controversial:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10135068/New-Yorks-only-Welsh-pub-to-pay-2500-after-asking-for-British-job-applicants.html

I understand your point but it's still discrimination. In Australia and other western countries there are tribunals such as the anti-discrimination commission which is designed to handle such cases and anti-discrimination laws are enshrined in the constitution these days. Also, isn't it a bit of a double standard if I go to an American steak restaurant in Thailand and all the servers and chefs are Thai - that's not very authentic, as cute as the girls might be. If I wanted to make sure I could get an authentic Texas steak I'd rather have a real Texan serving me (as is the case in Vietnam where I know a guy that runs an American restaurant in Nha Trang and although he employs locals of course, he sometimes takes orders and always chats with customers!) On the other hand why should a Thai restaurant in Australia not also employ Aussies, Chinese, Iranians etc. seeing it's a multicultural country? In America they are already doing so, why is Australia so different?

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I can't speak to the fine point differences between how these ideals are implemented in practice in the US vs Australia.

Just pointing out the principle that if a business can make a valid case for using male Asian dwarfs between 20 and 25 because in that particular situation that will help the business then that should be OK.

Obvious examples include casting for acting roles, fashion modeling, really any public-facing staff, there are employment agencies openly advertising that they only accept handsome/beautiful applicants.

A ladies perfume company looking for sales people is allowed to hire females only, PC doesn't override common sense at least not yet.

Except when unions get involved protecting their members, then it often goes too far IMO.

Obviously in Thailand none of these legal restrictions exist employers are free to discriminate however they like, like the airline that only hired katoeys.

Hiring only farang wait staff for a steak house would probably not be worth the extra expense but no problem here.

Hiring only Thai wait staff at a Thai restaurant would IMO be fine in the US, would be surprised if Oz has gone too far overboard to prevent that, easy to make a business case for it.

But few businesses would actually go to that much trouble, unless there were a lot of Thais locally available anyway.

Given that the only two people I know that practice this are Sting and Prince, I think I'll pass.

Even Sheena got bored with it and preferred a damned good rogering ,,,, allegedly.

I'd rather think about Heather Graham and Scarlett Johansson myself.

But what's a Sheena?

None of that is true. Get your facts straight.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/regional-ranking/region/asia

Not sure what it is that you are disagreeing with since your quotation markers got all mixed up.

Rankings based on statistical surveys regarding academic quality do not equate to credibility on the ground in the corporate world.

Suggesting to an intelligent competent western student that they should enroll in a Thai tertiary institution rather than returning to study at home is downright irresponsible, except in a few very specialized circumstances.

Also already addressed here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/647782-breaking-up-in-thailand/?p=6526107

Rice pizzas?

Someone's been in Thailand too long. . .

For those who want to die while doing the dirty, I would suggest you spend a higher percentage of your time increasing the odds.

Tantric practices enable sessions to be extended to 8+ hours, 24 at a time if you like.

Just make sure you don't have a partner charging by the hour 8-)

I would like to answer this point in your post. As far as what I have read, and I READ a LOT, probably my main occupation in life ...but I can't give you an authority for this info ...I could but am too lazy to look it up. Anyway, there is a lot of research, lets just limit it to Western men, because I don'f know if it applies to other cultures.

It says that Western men tend to get married, at certain ages. And this age tends to be 28-30 as far as I can remember. It might be 28-32, or 31, not sure, but pretty sure, around 30 is the golden number. The research I have read says that the biggest factor regarding IF a man will marry you or not, seems to be their age! You can look this up and read about it if you like.

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Correlation does not imply causation

I believe most men decide to get married when a given woman attractive enough to him puts in the effort to make it worth his while. If that's true the timing is also decided more by the female's decisions rather than the male's.

You're a braver man than I Gunga Din, didn't even try the once.

First two are relevant:

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But this one's just for giggles: