fittobethaied

I'm not convinced that Alexa is always listening. Until one uses the word "Alexa" its microphone is not activated.

The government will never get a handle on domestic abuse until they begin to censor the practice of it on television. Turn on any Thai soap opera and you will see the hisos slapping around their hired help and men slapping around their wives and girlfriends. I once heard a Thai soap producer say that they're only portraying what they see in the culture, and that's a big fat lie. What they are actually doing is shaping culture! When mostly uneducated people see things on TV and in the movies, that becomes their standard of behavior because they actually believe it is acceptable since they saw it on the big screen. The same goes for violence in general on the screen. It turns otherwise semi-normal people into violent humans. However, the government loves it because it gives the military and the police a reason to exist in such huge numbers. It's job security for them if the public can stay scared to death of every imagined boogeyman waiting around the corner to rob them, murder them, rape them or just beat them within an inch of their lives.

I have a deviated septum which was discovered with a Naso endoscopy procedure. I don't notice much blockage on the one side most of the time, but just the slightest allergy or laying down at nights will totally block that one side. I use one spray of Oxymetazoline HCL .05% solution in each nostril before bed, and it will keep my passages open for a full 12 hours. The best and least expensive spray I have found at nearly all pharmacies is Phindroz. I pay 70 Baht for a 10ml spray bottle. Good stuff!

My Thai wife and I have lived in the same village for 13 years. We have always tried to help people and have tried to be good neighbors. We maintain our home and keep a nice yard. We have the tidiest home on our soi, and I am always very friendly to our neighbors; however, most of them will not even make eye contact with me. I walk around the lake in our village on most evenings, and the homeowners around the lake treat me as if I am invisible. They will never even acknowledge me unless I say hello to them first. Others walking around the lake will totally ignore me when we pass each other. Other farangs tell me it's because they are intimidated to try to speak English, but I think that is a poor excuse. I mean, how much trouble is it to just smile and nod their heads? It makes no sense to me. I have traveled all over the world doing business, and I have lived in 4 SE Asian countries for extended periods of time. I have never experienced this kind of phenomenon before. It is not only frustrating and depressing, but it actually irritates the heck out of me.

Mike Lister, you may want to confirm with a lawyer or the bank's manager that you have Joint Accounts with Right of Survivorship (like we have in the West), which I don't think you have here in Thailand. I have been advised by a high ranking official at Bangkok Bank in the Bangkok corporate office, to have my wife immediately clean the joint account out after I pass on and not to tell the bank that I am deceased; otherwise, the bank will freeze the account and my Will will have to be probated in order for my wife to access the funds in the once Joint Account. Without a probated Will or a court appointed Executor, the money will be divided by Thailand's complicated line of inheritance protocols. Also, if all you have is a Power of Attorney on the account with your spouse as your legal representative, a POA ceases to be valid upon your death. Let us know what you find out!

I traveled the world for 20 years doing business, and I lived in Hong Kong, Taipei, Vietnam and Manila for extended periods of time. I moved to Thailand thinking that Thais would for the most part be like all the other SE Asians that I had met, but boy was I wrong. I have a very keen sense of spiritual discernment, and I have never felt this uncomfortable in any other country where I have lived or visited. We are surrounded on all sides by evil and chaos in this place. I don't judge a people by the way they smile at me with their flaky smiles, but by their character, and outside of my immediate family I have never met a Thai that I would trust as far as I could throw him or her. I find them in general to be detestable in so many ways. I'm sure that we all have varied experiences and opinions, but these just happen to be mine for what it's worth.

I've lived in Udon Thani for 13 years now, and it was a good 8 years before I finally realized that I would never assimilate into this society. I complained the entire time and nearly drove my wife crazy. Everyone said that I was painting all the Thais with the same brush, and that was unfair to them because there are some really good ones out there. I can only go on my own experiences, and so far, I have not met any of those "so-called" good ones, so I simply gave up trying to befriend any of the Thais. Now I surround myself with my own family, who I trust 100% not to lie to me or try to scam me or take advantage of me; and I have a small group of American friends with whom I associate, so that is my world and my new normal and I enjoy it. Trying to make friends with and understand the Thais is really too much of a headache for me, and it does nothing but complicate my life. For the most part, I simply ignore the Thais and act as if they are invisible. After all, that's exactly the way they treat us foreigners.If you aren't in their core circle of friends and associates, then you don't exist to them. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be.

The only way to stay on top of a budget is to micromanage it by the week and pay only with cash. I take cash from my bank account at the beginning of each month and put my fixed expenses like utilities in marked envelopes. Then, I have 4 or 5 envelopes for weekly expenditures depending on the length of the month. At the beginning of each week, I transfer that money from an envelope into my wallet for groceries, meals out, GRAB or other incidental expenses. I usually have a few thousand left over each week which goes back in the big pot, but if I ever get close to spending all that is in my wallet, then I just stop spending until the next week. It's a method that I came up with back in my high school days, and it has served me well ever since. My house, car, furniture and clothes are all paid for in full, and I have no debt at all. My wife cooks breakfast about three days a week, and most all other breakfast and lunch meals are ordered through GRAB or PANDA. We eat lunch out about 5 days a week and enjoy buffets in some of the better hotels in town. We live a very comfortable life and want for nothing, and I only spend about 20,000 Baht per month. We never feel like we are missing out on anything. I don't drink or smoke or go anywhere alone, and my wife is with me 24/7. It works well for us, and we are both very content with the arrangements. There is a huge difference between being frugal and being a cheap Charlie. The key is "discipline" and having the will power to say no to things you "want" but don't really "need". My wife gets a salary each month to spend as she wishes, but I control the money and set and maintain the budget.

It would seem that you would be entitled to be sponsored by your sons, but I have no facts to back that up. What we Westerners consider to be logical and reasonable aren't necessarily interpreted the same here in Thailand. Might be a good idea to begin investigating your options.

Thanks for your comment! I do use the government hospitals, and I am thankful that the prices are so low for us foreigners, but I am thinking ahead to the inevitable "big" event that could even bankrupt me, and I would like something to fall back on if I am legally entitled to it. I'm not asking for a handout, but only to be able to apply for that which is available to me by law or rule. I am 75 years old, and about 8 years ago I applied for private health insurance and was denied by two companies simply for having high blood pressure at the time. I have since lost 15 kilos and my pressure is normal, but now I am in the system as having been denied insurance. It's high unlikely that I would be approved at this time for a new policy.

I genuinely appreciate your reply, but do you know this for a fact, or is this just a "guess"? Plenty of foreigners marry Thai women who are government employees and piggyback off of their wife's health benefits, and this doesn't seem to be an issue at all. If a daughter can sponsor her mother and father, and the real father is not taking advantage of that benefit, then I don't see that it is too far-fetched to think that the stepfather could step in and take that benefit. If I were a Thai and not a foreigner, would that stepfather qualify to be sponsored?

I am a retired American legally married to a Thai whose daughter is a certified government English teacher. My wife piggybacks off of her daughter's government health insurance benefits and gets free care at a number of hospitals where she is registered. My stepdaughter's real father is a retired teacher and has his own benefits; otherwise, he too would be entitled to piggyback off his daughter's benefits. I am very curious to know if I would be eligible to piggyback off my stepdaughter's health benefits given that I am married to her mother. No one seems to know the answer to that question, and no one can show me a government rule book that even addresses the issue. My stepdaughter inquired on my behalf at the teacher's admin office in Nong Khai and was given a "no" with nothing to back up their response. I have observed over the years that "no" is the default answer in Thailand when someone doesn't really know the answer to the question, so I would like to nail this down once and for all rather than accept the answer from one office clerk who probably doesn't even have a clue. Since most Thais won't question authority, that one "no" completely shut down the search for the truth. Therefore, is there anyone on the forum who is receiving such benefits or has knowledge of where to go for the exact answer? This is of major importance to me, and all comments will be very much appreciated.

Welcome to the new normal. It's the way of the world now to espouse one's moral superiority. With the advent of the internet and the flourishing of cell phones, tablets and PC's, we are now exposed to a whole world of knowledge that was never available to us before. Hiding behind their keyboards, more and more people feel that it's their god-given right to have an opinion on all of these newfound subjects, and they don't have to worry about being punched in the face for being so outspoken and forcefully opinionated. It's the sinful nature of man to choose sides, argue and fight their fellow man. Sadly, it's only going to get worse.

None of these are okay, but you have to understand that we live in a culture where people are totally fixated on themselves with no regard for their fellow man. It's all about me, me and me. If they are male, then they have the additional indoctrination of being raised as a spoiled brat, so the whole world is centered around themselves. There are no more moral absolutes, so each person determines for themselves what is right or wrong. We are surrounded on all sides by evil in this country, so naturally, the choices they make are slanted toward the evil that lies within them. There is no accountability, and no one takes responsibility for their wrongdoing. If you do try to correct someone, then they have effectively "lost their face", and it could be the death of you for pointing out their error. What amazes me is how they can expect to "lose" something that they never had to begin with. In a normal society you earn trust and respect, and it takes years to build a good reputation and character. In Thailand, they expect you to give them "face" when they've done nothing to earn it. Good luck with trying to change them. It's only going to get worse!

Jim Tripper, in my younger years in the late '80's when I was running the girly bars in Manila, I always wore my brand name suits with ties, all of which were made in Paris. I was always the best dressed guy on the strip, and I never had trouble picking up the ladies. They always flocked to where I was seated. I moved to Thailand 13 years ago, and I like to think I am the best dressed farang in my city. Why would anyone want to dress "down" to blend in with these low-class farmers. I don't dress to impress others. I dress to please myself. It makes me feel good and gives a boost to my dignity and self-respect, so why not. Dress the way you like, and don't worry about what others think of you. When you get to a point in your life where you aren't concerned with pleasing others, that is true freedom!

I too suffer from high anxiety, and I found relief by taking Propranolol 10mg 3 times daily. It is a beta-blocker that is prescribed for heart disease but has several off label uses including anxiety. Even if you don't take it regularly, try taking one to two pills an hour before going to a stressful event like renewing your extension of stay. It certainly works for me. You can buy it at any pharmacy for 1 Baht per tab. https://psychcentral.com/anxiety/is-propranolol-recommended-for-anxiety-symptoms#does-it-work

A companion to high anxiety is OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. People with OCD do not like "change", and we don't function well in an environment where there is total chaos around us. This country is full of uncertainly, inconsistency and out and out lawlessness. Nobody has any respect for rules and regulation and laws, and nothing ever goes as planned. Murphy's Law is alive and thriving in Thailand....namely, "if anything can go wrong, it will"! Anytime I tackle a task of any sort, I always have a Plan A, B and C because I know that when I'm dealing with people that live in a bubble and don't understand critical thinking, reason or logic, then my plans are destined to be thwarted. There is also a spiritual component to the anxiety caused by living here in the Land of Scams. Less than 5% of the population claim to be Christians, and most of those believe in a Heinz 57 type of Christianity that is laced with ancestor worship, superstition, belief in ghosts and Animism. By in large most of the population have "hearts of stone", cannot be trusted and we are surrounded on all sides by evil which can affect our peace from day to day. I too recently flew out of Thailand for a two-week vacation in the US, and as soon as I boarded that plane, the anxiety left me as if a millstone had been taken from around my neck.

The truth is that there are so few "believers in God" out there, and that's why this thread is going nowhere. The mockers have taken over, and that's what they do. They scorn the name of Jesus, and they just can't help themselves.

Wow, where do I begin? I could write a book on this subject, but then again, one has already been written, and it is called the Word of God. It’s God’s instruction manual for how we are to live out our lives on earth as best we can with the help of the Holy Spirit until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, God can be trusted to fulfill all of His promises, but there is one caveat….”Ye must be born again”! Are you simply practicing “religion”, or do you have a connection to God by way of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Have you experienced the “new birth” by having received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and subsequently filled with the Holy Spirit? If so, then all three persons of the Godhead have taken up residence in your heart, and you can trust Them to work everything for your good and for Their Glory. If the answer is a resounding “no”, then your prayers don’t make it past the ceiling and “the wrath of God abides on you”. God has walked with me for the past 35 years, and He has always been faithful and trustworthy. He doesn’t always answer my prayers the way that I expect Him to, and there have been times when I have questioned his trustworthiness; however, in retrospect I can look back and see that He did what He thought was best for me. God knows the past, the present and the future, and He operates in a dimension that we know little about. Certainly, He can direct our lives much better than we can in our own strength. It is impossible to please God without faith, and the Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for…the evidence of things not seen”. Your faith is a gift from God, and it is not something that you have conjured up in your own heart and mind, and “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So, in summation, stay in the Word of God daily, and increase your faith. Stay in the saddle and hold on!!! Life is a beautiful journey, and as a Christian your destiny is Heaven and perfection in Christ Jesus our Lord. God Bless You!

This is nothing more than big corporations trying to increase their ESG scores so that the big stock market hounds and hedge funds will promote their brand in the marketplace. If their scores plummet, then so does their stock value. It's all part of the New World Order's plan to control the populace and destroy the world's economies so they can enter into their Great Reset! We have got to start pushing back against this nonsense. Just wait until a customer gets too close to a shopping buggy with a dog in it, and the dog takes a chunk out of their body. It's highly probable! It's happened to me before. Environmental, Social and corporate Governance Environmental, social, and corporate governance is an approach to evaluating the extent to which a corporation works on behalf of social goals that go beyond the role of a corporation to maximize profits on behalf of the corporation's shareholders.

The ones writing here that the tiles are never a problem for them are probably just not at the age where their balance is off, and they don't have pain in their legs which keeps one from being able to stabilize quickly on slippery tiles. It happens to me all the time at 75 years of age. I also despise seeing a grown man wearing flip-flops or sports shoes, and I like to dress up and wear a traditional dress shoe with socks which is an accident waiting to happen in Thailand on all the tile floors. Far more dangerous are the bathrooms in hotels where there are no safety bars, and the tiles are very slippery in showers and even worse in a bathtub. I never enter either without wearing shower shoes to give me a good gripping, and even then, it's still dangerous without the handrails. I would like to see statistics on how many people are injured, maimed and killed by slippery tiles and bathtubs in Thailand. The figures have to be astronomical, and nothing every changes and no improvements are every made to make it safer. It should be a priority with the Ministry of Health to make the public safe by having tighter restrictions in commercial buildings and homes.

That's not Thaksin's photo! It's Jack Ma, CEO and founder of Alibaba, with more hair painted on.

When the US Embassy renews a passport, they attach a formal letter on the Embassy stationary to say that a new passport has been issued and replaces the old passport number. This should be sufficient, but then again, the Amphur may require a translation of that letter into Thai. My guess is something is lost in the translation of this request. Makes no sense otherwise!

And every ounce of this bizarre, abnormal, gangster style behavior....from the twerking to the gold teeth.....was imported from the Sodom and Gomorrah of the world, the USA. We used to be known for the Christian Missionaries that we sent to the world, but now the world is sending Missionaries to the US to turn us back to God and away from our lascivious lifestyles.

Just type all your meds in this site and do an interaction check. I have never seen a pharmacy do this, and it's absolutely necessary if one is mixing meds. Some of the local meds are not in their data base because they only include drugs that are FDA approved; however, one can Google the local drug and find an equivalent brand drug from the USA to enter into the interaction checker. https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html