fittobethaied

In my opinion, the best one is the 3 cheese and spinach. For some reason, the others give me instant indigestion. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-XNZG5H_gu8

I am a 77-year-old American male, and I was raised in a small town in Tennessee back when segregation was in full force. Blacks couldn't enter the movie theater or the washateria, and Blacks had their own restrooms in most places. Everyone in my family referred to Blacks as "Niggers", and I learned racism at a very young age, and it has followed me all of my life. As a result, I have always stayed away from entering into relationships with Blacks because in the back of my mind I perceive them as untrustworthy and prone to criminality. I don't understand their "street jive" or the Black culture. When I served with the US Marine Corp in the Vietnam war, the Blacks ran in groups, and we were more afraid of the Blacks that the "Gooks" that we were fighting. The military taught me to hate the Vietnamese people, and we looked upon them as dogs or subhuman, and we had a number of derogatory names to which we referred to them. When I moved to Houston, Texas after the war, the place was loaded with Mexicans. I had never been around a Mexican before, so I had no real reason to look down on them, but I was quickly indoctrinated to believe that they were all worthless individuals, so I kept my distance. During my professional career, I traveled 19 different countries, and I don't recall that I had problems with any particular race. I wasn't so keen on some of the cultural norms which tend to form one's character, but I never hated any of them. The same goes for my experience here in Thailand. I am not particularly racist toward them, but for the most part I have never met a Thai that I liked or trusted outside of my wife and her family. They all seem to have ulterior motives, and if they are involved in any type of business, they usually have some sort of scam going to take advantage of us foreigners. Actually, I never experienced racism towards myself until I moved to Thailand. I have interacted with some really nasty Thais who have been extremely racist toward me as a White American. Racism is endemic in every society, and it has existed since the beginning of time until this day all around the world. There has to be a good reason why God assigned different languages and national boundaries to the various peoples after the Tower of Babel incident. This act established distinct nations and cultures, each with its own identity. We humans have created our own problems by turning our countries into multi-cultural communities, and it simply will not work out because of racism. When Jesus returns to set up His 1000-year reign, then the world will be united as one; but until then, racism will have an effect on everyone's life.

When I went to the Amphur to get a Yellow Book several years ago, I was herded in to see the supervisor. He looked like he was going to be very difficult to deal with, and after just a few minutes he reminded me that it as his lunch hour and I should return after lunch. I quickly noticed that he had a wired mouse plugged into his laptop, and the wire was always getting into his way on his crowded desk. During lunch I went to an IT shop and bought him a wireless mouse for about 199 Baht and presented it to him when I returned to his office before we got down to business. It made all the difference in the world, and I had my Yellow Book in no time for a total of 80 Baht. In this case, he had his own private office away from the rest of the workers, so I wouldn't advice giving a gift, which looks like a bribe, when there are others looking on.

God separated the nations at The Tower of Babel and gave them their own national boundaries and language for a reason, and the world is still trying to cram muti-culturalism down our throats. And guess who is behind it all.......Satan himself. Wake up people!

Frogs, I appreciate the comment, but it's obvious that you're experience here differs from mine. Our attitudes are formed by our experiences, and I have to say that my problem is not a matter of attitude. It's a matter of bad chemistry. My chemistry with the locals is no different than the chemistry in a bad relationship. Water and oil don't mix no matter what your attitude is.

"Many long term residents seem happiest when they keep a certain emotional distance from local life. They live here but do not fully attach. They enjoy what works and accept that the larger issues are not theirs to solve. Law, politics, systems, the economy, border disputes, etc. Staying slightly outside the frame often keeps the weight of life lighter. But that raises another question. If you remain an outsider forever, are you still living somewhere or simply passing time in a comfortable location like a permanent tourist rather than an integrated resident." This description fits me to a T. After 16 years I am still suffering from "integration hesitancy". What really defines a nation is the character and culture of its people, and at my age and after all these years I simply cannot continue to tolerate the ignorance, the chaos and disorder, the gossip and drama, the corruption, the "face" nonsense, the "mai pen rai" attitude and the indifference to foreigners....only to name a few. The only peace and comfort I find is when I completely avoid any interaction with the locals. I continually find myself on the edge of a nervous breakdown, and this constant isolation from the social fabric really takes a toll on my physical and mental well-being. Most of the time I feel like I'm caught up in a continuous nightmare. I have mopped myself into a corner, and there is simply no reasonable way out. I love my wife and her family, I live a very comfortable life and I'm happy with my home and all of my "things", but in my heart and mind I exist in a tortuous bubble that will eventually lead to a premature death filled with grief and regret. If I had it to do all over again, I would move back to the Philippines where I lived for 11 years back in the late 70's and early 80's. I hobknobbed with the rich and famous, I was accepted into the society and treated like a king, and I lived an exciting life filled with never ending bliss.

So funny....everybody's crying foul over this nonsense; and meanwhile, most every adult in my village was paid a 500 Baht bribe under the table for their vote. Multiply that by every village in Thailand and you will get a glance of just how important it is for corrupt politicians to gain power so they can pay themselves back and then pocket millions, if not billions of Baht, and store it away in foreign bank accounts.

Everything but the kitchen sink! I put off carrying one for years, but now that I'm older, I need so many things at a moment's notice that I never needed when I was younger. Many of the trousers that I bought off Temu.com have back pockets that are so small that my wallet won't fit in them, so that goes in the bag. Many of the big retailers don't have the bum guns in their toilets and have taken all the toilet paper out of the toilets, so I carry toilet paper and handy wipes. I also carry a small bottle of water, medications, coins in a small capsule, a shoehorn, mints, my sugar substitute liquid in a squirt bottle, and ink pen and paper. I have always been a man's man, but I no longer care what anything thinks of me. Carrying a bag may not look manly, but these days convenience means so much more to me. I never go anywhere without it.

I find is so hard to believe that so many people have "drunk the Kool-Aid" and believe all of this leftist propaganda. President Trump is doing amazing things, and were it not for his leadership, the USA would be finished as the shining light on a hill. The Leftists/Marxists/Communists have infiltrated every aspect of the framework of our society, and time is of the essence. Tough times call for tougher measures, and right now our country is on the razor's edge of being taken over from the inside out. It amazes me that the rest of the world even has an opinion of how President Trump is performing since they don't actually live in America and have no keen insight into how our Democratic Republic actually operates. All they know is what they have been spoon fed by the corrupt mass media both at home and abroad. I watch the left-leaning news on occasion just to see what the other side is saying, and I am astounded at the lies and misrepresentation of the facts. This is not going to end well for America, but only because there are demonic forces at work with a clear goal to destroy the very human savior that has been given to us to clean up the filth that is trying to take over the US of A. Long live the "Trump train"!

So, will they not accept just your Passport? Why would that be a problem?

Streetlite, this may have been an attempt to hack your FB account. About 3 weeks ago I made a comment on a FB post that interested me, and within seconds another window covered the FB page saying I needed to enter a code that was given to verify if I was a human. After that, another page appeared saying I needed to take a selfie to verify if I was the owner of my account. Thank God I immediately became suspicious, so I asked ChatGPT if I should proceed, and it told me I was being hacked and not to proceed with the next step or the hacker would have access to all of my FB records. Facebook then sent me an email suspending my account but gave me 180 days to appeal the decision. That email was legitimate, and FB was using the suspension to lock my account so the hacker could not access it. I tried to make the appeal, but it took me straight back to the hacker's page asking for the selfie. To this day I have not been able to access anything related to FB, and with no possibility of every accessing my account again, I have just decided to be extremely happy that I am finally rid of Facebook and Messenger. I feel so much better now. Little did I know that I had actually developed an addiction to it all, so I am much better off now. I had tons of photos and videos on FB too, but chances are I would never have even looked at them again, so no great loss. Just let it go my friend and move on with life.

I tried to make a booking with B....com a week ago and needed 1 room in each of two categories, one for me and one for a relative traveling with us. On the website I was not able to reserve 2 rooms in one booking, and I couldn't even reserve 2 rooms in the same category and book those; so, I booked the first room and paid with a credit card in advance, then went back to the site to repeat the process by booking the second room. I finalized that booking and got a notice that my 2nd booking was declined with no reason or explanation given and they would be sending me a refund of the charges. With all the uncertainty looming, I got very distressed, so I went to A....com and reserved that 2nd room. I complained to B....com through their message center and was told that if I needed further explanation, I needed to contact the hotel. The number listed for the hotel was not a working number, so I was extremely disappointed with the entire experience and may never use B....com again. I did receive my refund instantly, and I have to say that this is the first time in 20 years that I have had a problem with B....com.

I am an American and a social and fiscal conservative who sees everything through the lens of a Christian world view which is in agreement only with the Word of God. Sadly, I don't think America will ever be great again. President Trump is trying to make a difference, but there is so much resistance to his policies, and the country is so divided that it will never be able to experience another Golden Age. The Democrat Party is so corrupt and misguided that there will never again be agreement in the Halls of Congress. Our political system has stood the test of time for nearly 250 years, but it is so far gone at this point that it will never recover and function as it has in our hay day. All of our strategic systems of government are failing, and the Democrat Pary it totally unmotivated to unify and join with the Republicans to fix the problems. America's national debt is around $36 trillion, and that is unsustainable. The stock market is at an all-time high, but it is being held together by only a handful of institutional investors, and the bubble is bound to bust sooner rather than later. The US Dollar has lost its luster and will continue to decrease in demand. There is no good thing on the horizon for America. From a Christian point of view and according to Bible prophecy, we are in the last days and time is short. The glory of the US will pass away, and the nation will be held accountable for its sins against humanity and against God. I am not looking for the Golden Age, but instead I have my eyes focused on the clouds because soon we will see the appearance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and those who have put their God-given faith in Him will be taken away before the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord when the wrath of God will consume those who rejected Jesus! Come Jesus, come!

Duh....of course you should have avoided walking through the park. For God's sake man....God gave you a brain for a reason. Next time, use better judgement and discernment or it may cost you your life.

From having read your photo of the translation, the bank lady is intent on transferring your money from your Savings into a Fixed Deposit account and not vice-versa. This sounds to me like a trick that the bank's employees are using to get employee perks from the bank for increasing fixed deposit accounts for the profit of the bank. These employees have a number of tricks that they use on customers, especially when it comes to selling insurance policies before opening an account for a farang or making it mandatory to buy a policy before allowing a farang to have a safety deposit box. They also make it sound mandatory to purchase the higher cost ATM cards and never tell you that there are cheaper alternatives. And if you ask to see a manager, they are conveniently never in the office.

🙏

Don't do it! Last year I ordered my Leukemia medicine from India because it was 75% less in price than the government hospital. The first shipment came directly to my home with no complications, but the second shipment was stopped by Thai Customs. It turns out they already had a record of my first shipment stored on their computers, so a red flag went up when the second shipment came in. After much wrangling and a few tears, my wife was able to get them to release the meds, but I was severely admonished, and Customs promised to take me directly to the Nong Khai jail if I attempted to import meds into Thailand again. Now, my name is directly linked to the import of foreign meds on the Thai computers.

Frankly, I'm just sick and tired of trying to figure out what might be in the Thai mind. It's just exhausting. After 16 years I am finally content to retreat to my home in the village where there is peace and order and just leave all the chaotic noise on the outside. What is the big urgency about assimilating into the culture? I try my best to minimize any interaction with Thais because it nearly always winds up with my being "triggered". We all have to find our path to peace in this world, and for the most part, I have found mine. I am happily married and have a great relationship with my two adult step kids and their spouses. That is the extent of my "social foundation", and that is enough for me. To each his own!

REALLY! Tough times require tough measures. Never in the history of our country has crime and criminals been so out of control. There is no alternative except to bring out the National Guard and ICE and Border Patrol to clean up the crime ridden Democrat run cities. For some, it's like living in a war zone with more dead per week than in the war in Afghanistan, and the Democrats love it that way. Mayors are calling for defunding the police while government prosecutors are releasing criminals with a rap sheet a mile long back into the streets to commit more heinous crimes. And what, Sir, would be your solution to "Make America Safe Again"

In the meantime, as the government is complaining about all those "dirty farangs" that come to Thailand without health insurance and leave with unpaid bills at hospitals, why don't they just add another 300 Baht and give every arriving passenger a travel insurance policy if they don't already have one. That to me is the most sensible use of adding on extra Baht to the cost of a ticket. Then, when I hear hospital employees tell me the reason for their outrageous prices is because of all those "dirty farangs" that leave them with unpaid bills, and legitimate paying patients have to make up for their loses. As always, it's just another scam to empty our wallets while the higher-ups fill their pockets with the excess.

Thanks for that, treetops!

Yea, I didn't think about that. Maybe that's why my wife gave me a strange look when I suggested that I be buried there, and even more so when my American neighbor asked if he could join me and be buried there as well, and I concurred. I buried some of my brother-in-law's cremains in a Jiff peanut butter jar under a tree in our current front yard, and my wife wasn't upset over that. My sister told me that Mace always ate a spoonful of Jiff peanut butter before bed, so I thought the jar was appropriate. Ha!

I recently purchased a 3-rai tract of land in Udon Thani Province upon which may wife and I will build a garden home, and I would like to be buried there when I pass away. Does one have to have a special permit for burial on private property or is it forbidden entirely? Does anyone have experience in dealing with this matter?

I think you missed the point Sir Richard! I feel unsafe here and in the likelihood that I were attacked, I would have my cane with me to protect myself, so it's a weapon with which I could fight back. I also think that an assailant would be less likely to randomly attack anyone who is carrying something with which he could fight back and really hurt the attacker. You're talking with a guy who once walked out of a bar in the red-light district of Taipei and was the victim of an unprovoked attack by two men with cane poles. They both beat me in the back of my head and left me for dead in a pool of blood. Were it not for a kind bar manager who called an ambulance, I wouldn't be writing to you just now. Your apology is already accepted!

I never feel safe anywhere. The world has gone mad, and one should be on guard anywhere you go. I avoid large crowds, and when I walk through a sidewalk market or the occasional festival, I carry a cane to use as a weapon if needed. I am always somewhat fearful when driving because you never know when some nutjob is going to be offended if I give a short beep of the horn when I feel like his car is coming into my lane and he doesn't notice me. Never take it for granted that you are safe in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter.