Gandtee

Yes we know you didnt even think about it. Your superhero instinct just kicked in. I will send you a medal. YAWN.

Go back to bed idiot! The man was making a point. And I can think of a good place to put it. Right where the monkey puts its nuts!

I suppose it depends on what sort of upbringing you have. Many years ago while having a beer at a road side bar, I saw a motorbike taxi rider showing off, he roared off doing a wheelie.He lost control and smashed into a noodle vendor, sending a young mother and baby crashing into the road. Instinctively, my immediate reaction was to run across and grab the offender and tell someone to call the police. I Thai sidled up to me and said " You are a farang. Nothing to do with you. Let him go" Discretion being the better part of valour, I did what he said and vowed to never again interfere in any Thai incident.

Are you sure that these A*******s are not loan sharks come to collect past loan money? Have you just moved in and is your home rented?

Ve haff vays of making you valk!!

The Thai police have a doubtful reputation. I have just read a report of a British police officer being jailed for twelve months for claiming to be a witness of an incident when in fact he wasn't. The report says -'The Judge added that police officers "must be deterred from misconduct and the public must be able to see that punishment will be visited upon police officers who betray the trust reposed in them". Perhaps if this criteria applied here the Thai police might gain some respect?

When I asked the Thai boss of a building company why he wanted to become councilor, his reply was to push for increasing the weight limit on trucks to avoid the continuous fines /tea money he had to pay the police because his trucks were overloaded.Thai logic or just greed?

I love the British TV comedy Black Adder. I was sad when the series finished. Now it seems that Baldric is back with one of his 'cunning plans'. But surely, he shouldn't have told everyone what his disguise will be. Black Adder and Monty Python rolled into one.

During my Army Service I was forever being called Ginger, because of my hair colour. (Certainly not because of my sexual preferences) I now feel very hurt about this. Not the sexual preferences bit- and am contemplating suing the British Armed Forces and in particular the 2nd Regiment. Royal Horse Artillery for damages for the for-mentioned hurt feelings. People nowadays seem oblivious to how their seemingly innocent remarks can hurt one. I am sure my Jock, Geordy, Taffy and Paddy ex-comrades will agree with me.

Signed

Fat B******d!!

i dont buy it often but on those occasions didnt notice it to be expensive. i buy what in season.

som tam is a popular dish perhaps its draining the market in limited suppy season, just a guess..

am more pissed at the price of coconuts they have increased by fifty percent this year over end of last year price and they are now pathetically small or still not properly ripe and generally bad buying..

The reason coconuts are now expensive is that the trees are being destroyed by beetles. One of my coconut trees has been destroyed by them this year. I read that the only answer to this problem is to cut down infected trees. So, less coconuts!

I would have thought that this information should remain under wraps.

Ah,so!! Racist??

Perhaps I should have said 'seventy years ago' ? I was just trying to hide my age.

I remember a Bangkok friend of mine who is now my brother in law sat me down one day and said can you tell me why so many foreigners who have good jobs etc. date and marry Isaan girls. I said I'm not sure and his reply was because we certainly wont.

I can not speak first hand but a friend of mine described his experience in Isaan. His daughter spoke perfect English and had two stable parents about. His wife also had a child from a former relationship. Both the children spoke great English but the Thai child had a disability which made her an immediate village outcast.

The mixed child got it a bit rough at school as many used the word such as 'show off' as she helped with English. The Thai child became fairly quiet and really conformed to the Thai group so she lost all ability to creatively think. Thai schools do install this whole rank type of thinking and so naturally children tend to follow the biggest bully. I think they are almost taught to take people who are different and make them conform to what we consider the norm.

A bit off topic but the extended family did something that brought my wife to tears. My friend wanted to take the Thai child overseas for medical treatment which was urgently needed and the Thai childs fathers family used this as a point of extraction. My friend basically had to pay them money so he could take their child to another country for medical treatment. they certainly would not have done this if there was a new Thai father.

Shortly after this all took place my friend moved to Pattaya and put the children in an International school and has never has a problem since.

From my 6 years living experience in Thailand I believe that a local Thai school is no place for a mixed child or a child with a foreign father. Everyone knows what working class Thai people are like and nothing good comes from the education pumped through those schools.

I'm not sure if I agree with you on this.When my Thai son was in a local school up to Primary 6, he hated going to school. He speaks fluent English, even better than the teachers teaching English there. He didn't have too much of a problem with the other kids although he couldn't understand why the teacher allowed them to shout and play during lessons. He became a bit of a favourite because he helped to translate for the teachers, and also with the other kids, mainly because he helped them with their homework I suspect. He now attends a school here in Sattahip where he has native English speakers everyday and a wonderful Thai classroom teacher. He still translates for the teachers and still helps the other kids with their English homework and loves his school. Yes, they still tend to try and mould the kids into regimented citizens, but didn't all schools do that in the West fifty years ago?

My wife and I have raised our boy since he was born. His mother and father used to work for us as home help/gardeners. Sadly his father died and his mother returned to her village to pursue her farming He returns to his mother for a couple of weeks during his school holidays.He is just coming up to thirteen and like your boy, is the best English speaker in the school and comes out top in English subjects. Over the years I have noticed that he seemed uncomfortable when I met him at school when the other kids were calling out falang! falang! He also seems to be reluctant to speak English when surrounded by Thais, but not with farangs. I have asked him in the past whether he gets bullied at school because he has a farang 'Grandfather'.Of course, he said he didn't. He is getting more confident now and seems to be growing out of it.Which is just as well as the club he belongs to always want him to be interpreter when Non Thai speaking visitors are involved. In the end, I suppose all kids get teased and sometimes bullied at school. I was because I had red hair and seventy years ago you fought back. No one knew what Political Correctness was then. Perhaps this treatment helps them to become stronger to face adult life?

A job for Mr Happy toilet me thinks

But where is Mr. Happy toilet? The last time I saw him was when he was sitting on one, on a railway platform. Perhaps he is out there helping his Dad?

No your still missing the point, it has nothing to do with him being a farang or not, i used the term farang because you did, but the reason people why him and show him respect is because he is a monk! nothing else..

my point was, if he was just a farang residing in a moo baan (not a monk) people would not walk around waiing him all the time.

You say that where you live nobody cuts the line, or nobody does not say thank you, so if you have not experienced this behavior, why are you posting here?

you obviously have nothing to offer this topic!

I could be wrong, but I am assuming you live in the countryside, where there are less people, less lines to stand in and probably less doors to hold open for people, hence the reason you have not experienced this kind of behavior.

However many people do experience this first hand! and that is what this post is about.

If it something that does not happened to you, thus does not affect you, then why are you posting on a subject that you have no experience to offer! are you bored...

or are you suggesting that because you have not experienced this in your village, then it cant be true?

the other option is everyone can move to where you live, but then there would be long lines that some thai's WILL try and cut, there will be pushing and more doors to hold open for people that wont say thank you.

You are the only one in this topic discussing the word "farang" and if it is a neutral word or not.

nobody else has mentioned it. ไอ้ฝรั่ง is that neutral?

You wrote, "You say that where you live nobody cuts the line, or nobody does not say thank you, so if you have not experienced this behavior, why are you posting here? you obviously have nothing to offer this topic!"

That's a good point. 7 of the 20 threads visible on my first page are Thai negative in nature and asking others for supporting negative information or just help with feeling bad in general.

I'm a happy guy in Thailand. I have a happy wife and a happy dog. My stuff works. It gets delivered on time and people say thank you. I would have died here in Thailand if Thai people had not helped me.

Thai society bereft of social skills

Central ruined my day.

Retail store horror stories.

Racist Thai teacher.

Why would I post? Because. You are all sorry whinging complainers that need a bit of sunshine in your lives.

Nice one. You cheered me up no end. Good advice which Monty Python put over very well. Thanks for that.

"The protesters have acted too much like gangsters," Mr. Chalerm said, "If they are still acting like gangster by storming Army Club and Police Club, I would like them to storm their own properties".

What ???

History shows that he and his family know very well the behavior of gangsters.

When I first came to Thailand and attended social gatherings, I often used to return home and ask my wife ' who was that we were talking to all evening?'. Now I have become the aggressor as it were, and say 'My name is - - - - -, what is your name? Quite often the request is met with a little embarrassment, Thai natural aversion to head on attitudes I suspect, but then the Ice is broken and everything is ticketyboo. With regard to addiction to the mobile phone or whatever, I think any gathering is plagued by that and it is just a case of ignorance and a lack of manners albeit Thai or farang.

Does the Constitution say, it should be held, or must be held? If the former then surely haste at the moment is rather fool hardy.

Good for her. Forklift truck rental will not break the bank. Just hope that she will not be wearing a mustache after the operation.

Thanks for the advice. Today I have repeated the borax treatment after bathing the dog in a canine medicated shampoo. I have been doing this every three or four days for a couple of weeks and she seems to have improved but still scratches her ears and snout, making them bleed. This time I have insisted that the Elizabethan collar stays on for a reasonable time to see if this will solve the problem- my wife doesn't like to leave it on for more than an hour as she thinks it a bit cruel. Having said that, when the collar is on, the dog makes no attempt to scratch. What is the old saying"You have to be cruel to be kind?' Maybe the scratching has become more of a habit.I hope so. Meanwhile I'll have a go with the diet you have suggested. Thanks again.

Well, I'm definitely going to start buying LED bulbs instead, though they are not too environmentally-friendly either:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-lightbulb-concerns/

Looks like LED bulbs have lots of lead and arsenic - but at least no mercury.

Look on the bright side, supposedly they last a lot longer and cause less pollution for the same luminosity.

How can he look on the bright side? He has thrown his bulbs away.

Tis a wonder this does not happen more often where I live...many bike events around here and training groups from town out here every day.

I always ride on the opposite side of the road so I can see what is coming, hopefully the extra couple of seconds might get me out of the way.

Good advice. I used to ride here regularly before I reached my "Best before "date and was surprised to see joggers running with the traffic flow, at dusk and wearing dark clothing, on roads without pavements (sidewalks). Accidents waiting to happen. My cycling friend was waiting to turn right at a T junction and was hit by a pickup coming from the left to turn right. The driver said that he didn't see him?? 'Hit and missed' (rhyming slang') maybe? TIT. R.I.P.

I am not an expert but what I have read is that you DO NOT apply a tourniquet or cut the bite to suck the venom out. Old cowboy film techniques I think.. Wrap the bite with a tight bandage. Keep the patient calm. Don't give the patient alcohol. Have one yourself maybe and get to the hospital quickly for medical assistance. For the patient,not you

One of the first things I did when moving to Thailand was to buy a book on Snakes of Thailand. It changed my fear of snakes to a healthy respect for them. It's nice to know what just bit you We used to have many different types of snake in the garden coming in from surrounding vegetation. Two claims to fame were a King Cobra 3.30 lm. I measured it after the locals sadly dispatched it. There were children around and only a skilled snake handler should tackle one.A snake I mean. And later a Burmese python 4.00 lm. This one I tackled and called in the local "Body snatchers' to remove it to a safe haven. The Pit Vipers and other types such as the Kukri snake in the picture, I deposit them on the adjacent land. Sadly, snakes are becoming less and less numerous because of human encroachment and the rats are glad of it.