soalbundy

Woke is the joke.

He will no doubt be treated better than the average convict, especially if he has any of the proceeds hidden away and accessible.

For a moment I thought, 'stunned him with a head butt' but then I realized, the PM likes whities.

Thankfully he wasn't a foreigner and especially not a Brit.

Perhaps give every tourist a good beating as they come through immigration just to let them know, we only want the best for you so don't transgress the law, this is a warning. But I jest, here in Isaan I haven't noticed any change, haven't seen any evil done to us law abiding pensioners, no shifty looks, no mumbled remarks, nobody has spat at me.

Minor damage compared to the normal accidents, it didn't even turn over, call that an accident, show me another one

Stop sinking the ships you have would be a good start.

That's the best excuse she's got? Rethink your strategy girl, you've opened a can of worms, you wouldn't be the first to realize that social media is a two edged sword.

Two countries in decline comforting each other.

Cheque is in the post.

There are two things in place which makes your post, correct though it may be, seem naive, the 'establishment' and the 'system'. They are in place in every country, heavy, as thick as molasses, unyielding, designed to quietly exhaust you without drama, it's paragraph 14, section 4, sub section C revised in 1972.......

What happened to, "for !,000 Baht we can solve this unfortunate business".

Extreme comes to mind, I doubt they will serve much of that, they have the right of appeal.

Not a good country to lose your temper in, a little detachment could save you your visa, money and sometimes your freedom. The lack of detachment in many adults be they Thai or Farang always surprises me, just walk away, it saves so much drama. The propensity to violence is a sign of the times, I once saw a picture of a single policeman on horseback at a major football match in England in 1912, the caption explained that the lone policeman was only there as a comfort to the thousands of onlookers, today a battalion of policeman with stab proof jackets would be needed to quell any drunken violence.

At 45 years old he must just have an immigration status as a tourist, what idiot comes to Thailand to sell drugs? Doesn't he realize he'll miss the election now and the future coronation of Prince William, well it's his own fault.

Especially not if you were listening to Wagner

What did the sign say, 'Beware of pillar'

Luckily the air-con unit seems to be undamaged.

So how many days is this going to last? Usually such directives don't make it past the waste paper bin.

Ahhh, the modern world of technology. I needed a new bank card from my German bank, they sent me one but omitted to tell me that this new card needed a new Tan generator for QR codes, the German producer doesn't post them outside of Europe so I arranged for a German friend to buy one and send it to me. Several months ago the 'sofort pay by Klarna' app from Wise was no longer available (used by those with a German bank) my Maestro card couldn't be used by any of the other methods of transferring money so again I asked my bank to send me a Mastercard (it's still on its way). Meanwhile my bank sent me a registration for a push-Tan method of reach my bank with my iphone. I downloaded the app and tried reaching my account but it was recognized that my phone lock wasn't activated (hasn't been for years) and to proceed further I had to activate it, I did so. I could no longer remember the the code, after 3 attempts the phone shut down dead. Turning to my computer I clicked on to Google which sent me a message saying they had sent me a code via SMS to ascertain it was really me but of course since the phone was dead I couldn't read it. So now I had no phone, no usable bankcard, couldn't open Google and couldn't transfer funds...I called over my step daughter (22 now) who squatted on her haunches Thai style, my phone in one hand and her phone in the other and proceeded to press buttons at a furious pace looking from one phone to the other. After 30 minutes she called out in triumph, "All done papa! Don't lock the phone again". The configuration is now different but it works.

There is a Thai saying regarding wives, "Wives grow old quickly but take their time dying".

"The law is slow but grinds exceeding fine"

I agree with you that doctors should be dressed neutrally. Actors and comedians, rightly or wrongly, have a greater influence than doctors or politicians, mention Taylor Swift and even Trump has to react with such statements that he is more popular than her while Bill Burr has said nobody should listen to him he (Burr) was never any good at anything in college but when he comes out on stage there is pandemonium like the second coming just happened.

As I mentioned, socioeconomic isn't just to do with money, it's the flavour of your background which gives you a different, hard to specify, status (not always) or a certain eccentricity, your experiences while growing up are alien to theirs. Who pays for a meal if you dine together? normally the status higher will attempt to pay, even if it's only a gesture and everybody pays their own tab, in your presence people would be unsure about this important matter, should they over trump you (an insult) or defer to you but then again perhaps you would ignore this play of etiquette which could make Thais uncomfortable. Of course at a cafe or bar this wouldn't be a problem. Having to speak English with you can also make a Thai uncomfortable, they could lose face in front of other Thais if their English isn't good enough. In Munich I sat in a meeting of 5 German managers and 3 Thais from an import firm in Bangkok so the meeting had to be held in English. The Thais were unsure if the car headlamps could be imported with the light bulbs fitted which would cause higher import tax in Thailand, the Thai managers pronunciation of 'bulb' was so distorted that I as an Englishman didn't understand him so I asked diplomatically the Germans in German what the Thai was talking about as they (the German managers) all seemed to be nodding in agreement, turned out they didn't know either. At that time I didn't speak any Thai so I asked the Thai manager what he meant with 'bowl', he drew a quick sketch, "Oh bulb", "Meine Herren er meint Birne". This turned out to be important, the Germans were blushing but grinning self deprecatingly, but the Thai manager was dying with embarrassment, he was so agitated that the meeting was broken up until the afternoon. Silly things can mean a lot.

I don't think you understand the social economics of your situation. Unless you have access to the middle class your status is too high to have Thai friends. You are a farang and no matter how long you live here you will never be able to assimilate into an Asian society beyond the superficial, it's a world apart. A European would have no trouble assimilating into a different European country than his own because the values and history are basically the same and status isn't so important or worlds apart. If you are a European you have come from a state where corruption is punished, the judiciary is fair, religion doesn't play a great role anymore, you have a sense of fairness and equality and feel no need to humble yourself to those in power and you have a respect for logic and science, these things which are a part of your character sets you apart, makes you almost eccentric. Many years ago when my Thai stepdaughters were children, the oldest asked her mother, "why does he do that", I was reading a book. In the end I had to teach her to read Thai because her poor reading skills made her fall behind at school, today she has a university degree in business. The youngest step daughter also had to endure me as a Thai teacher, tears on her part and patience on mine. My Thai / British son, will be 17 this year and speaks such good English that the English teacher lets him take over the teaching, this was due to the many hours that I spent with him teaching him to read it, the lowest marks he gets in school are for the Thai language. Despite having an Englishman as a father he is Thai but I can see there is a European flavour about him, a first rate student, logical, a disregard for religion or superstition and a preference for speaking English (he spends a lot of time playing online games with Europeans and Americans who live in Thailand, as an eight year old after playing games with Americans where a lot of talking was done he asked me, "Papa what does motherf.....r mean") I have lived here nearly 20 years in a farming community and although I can speak, read and write Thai I have only friendly acquaintances, perhaps the Abbot of our Buddhist temple could be regarded as a friend but I'm 75 now, I feel no need for friendships, I have two dogs and 4 step grandchildren, that's enough.