Korat28

The Chinese now behave as the Americans once did when the latter were ruling the world. Ditto the Russians. Visitors from the "Great Power" countries tend to behave like uncivilized boors in the countries they have conquered.

Used to be the British, the French and the Germans a few decades ago. But at least the Brits used to confine their shouting to when they were trying to make a foreigner understand English.

Beyond stupid comment. I'd like to take a big dump on you right now.

Agreed. I'm an American living abroad and I've never been boorish, ethnocentric or acted like I ruled the world. I've met plenty of arrogant Brits, Europeans, Russians, etc. so it's more human nature and not just one country.

This reminds me of my time teaching in Vietnam. The Vietnamese would bump into you without saying excuse me, cut in life, talk loudly, and blatantly pick their noses. I didn't see anyone shit in the streets, which was a plus. I also agree with what Prism said, I talked to this HK Chinese chick and she said she couldn't stand the mainlanders since they are loud, rude, and have no manners. I also hear many are crafty and shyster'ish, but maybe that happens everywhere.

It's a shame he didn't cut his wrist while cutting his birthday cake!

Thanks, my bad!! Ok then, apparently there was a mixup and it thought I was outside Thailand. Ignore my rant, lol. Everything is all good now and the mountain is nothing but a molehill. Thanks for the second opinions, I'm glad it worked on other computers!

Hi,

First of all, I got this message when I was in Korat, so maybe the website got confused and thought I was living abroad. So, if anybody else tries it and the promotion works, then I guess it was an error on my end. I went on the Bangkok Airways website and got excited to see that there is a promotional fare from Bangkok to Chiang Rai for 990 baht each way. But, to my dismay, when I clicked on it, it said: (Spelling errors below were on the official website and not due to my cutting and pasting)

Sorry for any inconvenience cause.

Not to sound "cheeky" but why isn't teaching an option? It's easy to get a TEFL degree and I taught in KK with less than a year teaching experience. KK is a "Thai experience" and it is hard to find people who speak English. If you are fluent in Thai, you could maybe have some job opportunities outside teaching. But, if you come from a sales background, teaching conversational ENG may be a good fit, since you're there to entertain and not so much being a "teacher teacher." There are schools which would hire you if you are a NES (you may need to look outside the city center though due to your age and no prior experience).

Not to hate on you bro, but it sounds like she's taking you for a sucker and trying to hook you bait, line, and sinker. I've lived in SE Asia for three years, so I'velearned through trial-and-error mind games women here play.

Signs the girl may be a trick (not trustworthy and out to scam you):

1) You met her on Thai Love Links (I was on there too and A LOT of women are looking for a farang husband/walking ATM to bring them to their native country)

2) She lives in Pattaya (Bar girl capital of Thailand, if not world)

3) You bought her an iPad and give her a monthly stipend (If you give them an inch, they'll take you for a foot and keep wanting more)

4) She is from Isaan (Khon Kaen); Not a bad thing in itself, but I lived in Khon Kaen and believe me, many "poor" women there want to date/marry any farang they can, just so they can get either free English lessons or start a new life in the West (women have told me this point blank)

5) Of course she's going to say she's 100% sure the baby is yours if she's out to scam you. You seem like a friendly new-to-Thailand kind of guy and women like that can sense it on you and they'll try to financially bleed you if they think you're a "sucker."

6)If she's not college educated and has no true education and works in Pattaya, chances are she got knocked up by another farang after working in a gogo bar/massage parlor/etc and now she wants to save face to her family by telling she loves you and wants you to get married. This way she can tell her family you both are in love and you planned the pregnancy.

7) How long have you two known each other and how well do you know each other?

Again, not trying to be a "hater" but PLEASE make sure without a doubt the kid is yours. If it is, then helping to raise it would be noble, but I'd never trust the majority of women I met on TLL.

I agree, I think my favorite beach now in Thailand is Krabi. Granted it's not like a Patts in terms of ladies everywhere, but oh well. I suppose most of us go to Pattaya for the drinks and the women!

My Thai wife is not with me because of my money. In fact she has more than me.

If you look for good middle and upper class Thai ladies they exist in droves. With

careers, jobs, money and no bf or husband. But don't expect them to behave like

a farm girl girl working in NP.

I totally agree!

A lot of the stories of farangs and their nightmarish thai girlfriends stem from older men dating young bar girls who themselves have no formal education and are mostly from poor areas (would you turn to prostitution if you had the option of a better job?) and when the ATM (the farang) runs dry they look for a new gullible, horny farang to finance them. But, not all Thai women are like that. Sure, plenty do just care about money, but then again, you should include Vietnamese, Laotian, Khmer women and whoever else in poorer SE Asia into that category. I lived in Nam and it seemed worse there than here.

I also live in N.R./Korat. I went into a hair salon and I asked in Thai how much a haircut was. She told me "som roi baht" (300 so I just said thank you and left. A former me would have given her a piece of my mind, but I held my tongue and walked out. I then got a haircut at a much better place for 100B. I've learned always ask the price up front (even if you look like a cheap arse) so there aren't any surprises. Also, you did the right thing by returning the pants and getting a refund.

Sadly, too many farangs shrug it off when SE Asians try to overcharge them since they think it's still a "fair price." It pisses me off too since I've lived in Vietnam and Thailand and know when they overcharge you they think you're paying extra since you're a schmuck. I can't stand the overcharging either, but rest assured it definitely happens elsewhere in SE Asia. Many of the people are uneducated and ignorant and think round eyes are all rich.

And that's not Thai bashing or generalising...I mean 97.5%. It's the equivalent of a national sport. Thailand is ranked first in the world, ahead of China

I disagree, Vietnam is definitely WAY ahead of Thailand, lol. At least Thais try to be more subtle about it. When I lived in Saigon, Vietnamese baristas would be taking your order and picking their nose, groups of men would be standing around in circles watching each other pick their noses (and this from a country who wants to be respected by the world!) I haven't seen behavior as gauche as when I was there. So, I think Thailand is a lot more tame in terms of nose picking than other countries.

I had that happen to me often in Vietnam, but (knock on wood) that doesn't happen in Isaan often. You could have grabbed extra bananas and if they wanted to escalate it, I would have put the bananas back. But if they backed down when you grabbed the extra bananas, then take them since technically you paid for them. Also, where did this happen? In Pattaya or Phuket? I get angry too when that happens, but the best thing is to carry small change and if they try to shyster you, then walk away. Usually it's not worth it over less than $1. Sorry to hear it happened though!

I hear the Land of Scowls sometimes. But it can be anything the other posters mentioned, good or bad. If you want to see a true "Land of Smiles" in SE Asia, I think Cambodia is friendly and see a lot of smiling there.

First of all, why the hell were they carrying large sums of money in their pockets/wallets like that? Probably since they were too cheap to pay the extra ATM fees. If you don't want to have those fees add up, keep your big money in a safebox at the hotel. In Patts I rarely carried more than 2k-3k baht with me at all times, since I knew if I did get my wallet stolen, they'd make off with a piddly amount. Plus, living here in Thailand I'd rather pay an extra 15-20 baht in atm fees when I ran out of money, but keep my cash small while I was out on the town. I guess it was the (maybe) Indian mindset of being a "baller" and carrying a lot of money on you at all times. But, it's still bad they got robbed.

This from a country where the national sport is invading other countries and toppling legitimate governments to be replaced by American puppet governments. Methinks America should keep it's big mouth shut

And when the conflict started in Iraq, who was the closest ally to the States? That's right, England!

So, that means no more Russian tourists in places like Phuket and Pattaya and elsewhere?!?!? (Pops champagne and tears of joy stream down face) ;-)

Yep.

i have to show 800000 Baht every year, otherwise I have to leave immediately.

If they would do the same in our home countries, there would be much less problems.

And a second thing i have learned: foreigners never integrate. It is a leftist myth. The best you could demand that foreigners follow the rules and have a proper attitude. That's what i do here. That's what people in our home countries should demand from foreigners as well.

I agree with the above, here you are allowed to stay as a retiree if you have enough money in the bank. If they did that back home in America, millions of illegal immigrants and others would be forced to go back home. But, even illegals get health care, access to homeless shelters, etc. Also, I agree, I don't think farangs are against integrating, but it seems to be like in most countries; where people tend to hang out with those who are most like them.

Far too many kids in a small classroom, but unfortunately it's not about education, it's about money...

I think the best for the children would be 24 students to a class but after a class size of 30 students then the behavior and learning are sacrificed.

I agree with both of these posts! I taught in Isaan in classes which sometimes had 40+ students and it was stressful and a lot of times it was pulling teeth getting them to learn and focus!

I agree, in the past in Laos I went to Savannakhet and Vientiane and you drop off your paperwork in the morning and the next day you pick up the visa in the afternoon. The downside, you spend a day bored in Laos after you drop off your paperwork.

I think for the most part Thai prices are fairly solid and fixed. I used to live in Vietnam (China Jr.) and there the shysters would try to overcharge/hustle you and you'd have to come back and get them to drop the price (that's one part of their culture I sure as hell don't miss). It's good to shave money off your guesthouse price here, but overall prices are usually fairly priced and for the area are probably competitive with the others. Back home in the West it's the same thing, hotels may drop the price a little if you stay longer, but overall prices are about what they quote.

I feel sorry for the Greek guy, but then again sh*t like this happens all the time. If you're a farang, either buy a condo in your name, or only buy a home with a Thai partner if you can afford to lose your property! I'll never understand why farangs pay for a house when it's not in their name. If it's not in your name, you don't own it! (Obvious, yes, but think about it.......)

Plus, if you plan to marry the bird and take her back to your home country, she'll have access to more economic opportunities, better health care, etc. So what would be the point of paying a sin sod too? It's a Thai culture practice, but not a farang cultural occurrence. I told my Thai g/f I won't pay, so she can dump me if she wants, but she says it's not important to her.

The sin sod is also a good way for the family to "gain face." "Oooooh did you see the sin sod Nok's farang husband put down at the wedding?? Oh my God, their family must have sooooo much money!"

I have service in Thailand always be found to be excellent but maybe that is because I don't stay in cheap flop houses.

That's a good point. However, I have stayed at Nasa Vegas hotel, which is around 500 baht a night and found their service to be really good. However, I stayed at the Baiyoke Sky Hotel and found their service to be absolutely terrible and aloof. My worst experience in Thailand was first when I stayed in a backpacker hotel on KSR (which I brought onto myself by spending 350 baht per night), then next worst was said Baiyoke, which charged around 2500 baht per night for a basic room. DAMN YOU TO HELL, BAIYOKE SKY HOTEL!!

Do beached Russian whales in microscopic Speedos make the list ?

Lol! Believe me, I saw plenty of that in Phuket. It was pretty grotesque! Also, don't forget about the women who go swimming in their underwear and not a true bikini. (Maybe a way to save money.....?) ;-)