SandDragon

My 2c worth: Bithano on Sukumvit between 37 and 39.

The troubling thing from my (Aussie) perspective is - what kind of sh1t would we be in if England had a spinner and a wicketkeeper? But hey, they don't. Our top order must surely get amongst the runs in the next two tests in which case it is going to be daylight second and my TAB ticket for a 3-1 series will be a winner.

If the lack of concern for child safety is indeed a cultural thing then it is one of the few things Thailand has in common with the Middle East. Here in Saudi children in child seats, children wearing seat belts or even children sitting down is unheard of. Most common position is standing between the front seats. The added danger here is that, unlike in Bangkok with an average speed of 10kmh, here it is closer to 150kmh. The other day I was chugging along at a lesiurely 160kmh and got passed by a Lincoln, driving on the shoulder of the road and the driver had a 2 year old standing on his lap. Presumably in the fast lane to meet Allah.

I feel sorry for all you people who get scammed so often - I must be making up for it in good luck because in the last week alone I won the lottery in Spain (didn't even have to buy a ticket) and I have some very promising business opportunities on the horizon with the sons of the exiled leader of Liberia, a wealthy cocoa and cafe merchant in the Ivory Coast, the former Nigerian Interior Minister, and an adjutant to the Royal Court of Benin, and (my personal favourite) the manager of the Sai Wan Ho Branch of Hang Seng Bank Ltd - all of whom seem to have large sums of money they want to send me.

I'd leave the traffic cops just the way they are. In 4 years of driving in LOS I got pulled over and pinged B200 twice - once for doing 120kmh on the way to Rayong (a blatant lie as I was doing 160) and once for driving in the buses only section of Phetburi Rd. Compare this with driving 100 metres into the Central Zone of London (140 pounds) or parking in Sydney where the meter didn't work ($90). I don't see 'corruption' at this level significantly harming the fabric of society and at least I know exactly where my money is going.

Sydney - Bangkok - Sydney - Bangkok - Riyadh - Dubai - Riyadh - ???

I did say one of many reasons

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

what is the second reason, then? Shops close at 5?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...or..streets full of horsesh1t?

"As for the price of beer in America; one must realize that the good ol' USA is the land of variety. No where in the world do you have more selection of goods to buy."

Dude, don't mistake having 700 different breakfast cereals to choose from as either a sign of national superiority or in any way relevant to a discussion about beer prices.

However, I must say that I once went to a place in Kentucky (just over the river from Cincinnatti) that claimed to have over 100 of beers on tap and 500+ different bottled beers. But it was expensive.

Right now I'd settle for anything because Holsten 0% (best available where I am) does not do the trick.

I imagine chuchok remembers the NZ Evening Post's headline "Buggeur!" after a certain sporting event back in '99.

On the international censorship front, on my first night in Saudi Arabia I watched an episode of Sex In The City which was surprising in a country where you get by admiring women's ankles and can't look up websites relating to breast cancer (or almost anything related to Thailand) because of the net censorship. On the South African sport channel which is beamed into Saudi, every second ad is for Jack Daniels - very cruel.

Well, I happen to be reading this threadf with Sanddragon... Can`t say I`m not interested in hearing that story...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kayo, sorry, not quite as interesting a story as you might have hoped. I had just used it to sign into the NRL footy tipping comp on nrl.com - "Dragon" being the mighty St.George Illawarra Dragons ("never before, never again") and "Sand" being the natural feature which currently surrounds me for at least 800km in every direction.

I think like most people I only kept reading his diatribe in the hope that something truly awful would happen to him..."and for the last 6 years I have been rotting in jail after attacking the bus driver with a paper clip" or "I am typing this with the only finger I have left on my right hand after my rare girl from Thailand went me with a meat cleaver". But alas, no. He get's off the bus and sends her an email about how great she is. Dull. No Pullitzer.

I got him 83 metres.

Actually he said it quite eloquently himself.

so I was a waste of time I agree

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Still have to work 3 months per year in the oilfields of the Middle East, when it all goes to plan I'd be working right now, because it's too hot here, but 'Murphys Law' always arranges my contracts for OCT-FEB.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah right, it's only a fukcing cold 40 degrees C today in Saudi and blowing frigging sand everywhere. With summer on the way it can only get better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Temperatures mean nothing. Working in the Saudi desert is very comfortable, the humidity is very low. Bangkok at 40 and Riyadh at 40 feel totally different. Also evening temperatures in the desert are lower, a good night sleep is guaranteed, even without aircon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wouldn't call it comfortable but agree it's all subjective. In summer it goes over 50C in the desert and if you been working outside all day obviously it feels "cool" at night when the temp. drops to a miserable 38C.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I doubt that you have worked in Saudi Arabia; at night in the desert, (Layla was my nearest city), the temperature fell to about 10 degrees in summer and 0 degrees in winter. (Celcius).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL. I'm in Saudi at the moment. PM me you're address and I'll send you a postcard.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm in Riyadh and it sure doesn't drop to 10 at night here. At present it gets down as far as the high 20s but the heat hasn't really started here yet (only nudging 40 during the day). I remember heading to the airport last June at 2.30am when the outside temperature was 42 degrees.

if iam mistaken and you are an expert tell me now what will happen and I will get back to you in a few years and

let you no you what happens if i get away with it or not

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The suspense would kill me. You have obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a d@mn.

Your plan is half-baked.

Your analyses of the legality and consequences are mistaken.

Your morals are questionable.

And if you're not asking for anyone's help, why post?

FarangYY - I suggest you DO NOT bring your son unless he INSISTS you bring him to Thailand. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The he's not coming as no 13 year old on the planet is going to insist on moving anywhere. Agree wholeheartedly that he should be consulted but disagree that the decision should necessarily be his alone.

Another issue you need to consider when choosing a school in Bangkok or even deciding whether to school your child in Bangkok is their options on finishing high school (if your plans are for your son to complete his high school education in Thailand) or transferring back to the US. How well does the curriculum here fit with what he has been doing, what he would be doing if he went back to school in the US or if he wanted to get into a US college. If you are looking at non-US curriculum schools, be aware of the difficulties of switching between the two.

We decided to move the family back to Australia so my eldest son could complete his final 2 years of high school in the Australian system to facilitate entry into an Australian university rather than completing his International Baccalaureate in Bangkok. With 20/20 hindsight this was probably a mistake. I note there are major dissimilarities between US and Australian experience here but it is just an eg.

From looking at the other posts, I think the general response you have received has been that it is the educational issues, rather than the social issues, which probably weigh heaviest in making this decision (along with some helpful advice about returning washing machines).

We moved to Thailand with a 13 year old son (and a few others) from Australia. He spent almost his whole time wishing he was back in Sydney. Now 18 and back in Sydney for a year, he has spent almost his whole time wishing he was back in Thailand. Yes, he had friends who delved into drugs while in Bangkok. Probably about the same proportion as in Australia. Agree with Pudgimelon on the school front, ie buyer beware, but found the quality of teachers at his school in Bangkok far better than at his current school.

IMHO parenting, and not schooling, has more impact on whether kids fall victim to drugs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the reply! Do you mind if I ask what school your son attended?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bangkok Patana School, and yes it costs a bomb. The non-refundable entry fees are a killer. Especially if you are among the unlucky ones (like us) who were footing the bill themselves.

I've followed the Blues for the last 25 years, originally for no other reason than that the first game I watched was Blues v Bombers and my mate was a Bombers fan (we caught the train to Melbourne for the '83 grand final - he didn't enjoy the game much). Although a Sydneysider I have never jumped on the Swans bandwagon largely thanks to memories of Geoffrey Edelstein and Capper, who both still give me the creeps.

Leaving aside, depending on your viewpoint, the Darwinian or tragic nature of the events, the bit I found surprising was:

"They went out partying together and returned to their room around 9pm."

Given that they only checked in that evening it doesn't seem like much partying or enough to get so piddled as to then kill yourself with a fire extinguisher.

We moved to Thailand with a 13 year old son (and a few others) from Australia. He spent almost his whole time wishing he was back in Sydney. Now 18 and back in Sydney for a year, he has spent almost his whole time wishing he was back in Thailand. Yes, he had friends who delved into drugs while in Bangkok. Probably about the same proportion as in Australia. Agree with Pudgimelon on the school front, ie buyer beware, but found the quality of teachers at his school in Bangkok far better than at his current school.

IMHO parenting, and not schooling, has more impact on whether kids fall victim to drugs.

Last week on a 10 hour airport stopover got p1ssed in the biz lounge before heading into my teetotalling country. Apparently (no clear recollection of the event), with feelings of warmth towards humankind I fired off a series of one or two word emails to half the people in my contacts list. By responses, a third were amused, a third were confused and a third figured I was p1ssed at the airport.

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tad harsh. Elmore Leonard certainly uses low-brow settings but he is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrell like Jerry! Jerry!