vadimbz

Cambodia requires a passport validity of more than 6 months balance at time of entry. Time for a new pass port.

Not entirely true. Quote from the provider I used while staying in Bangkok:

Requirement: Passport, 2 ID-photo 3x4cm, validity 4 month (less than 3month add THB500.-, less than 1month add THB2,000.-) and 1 blank page marked “VISA” for Cambodian Visa!

Hi everyone

My country has 30 days visa free with Thailand, and by the end of this week I must get a stamp. The problem is that my passport expires in less than 6 months, which means that I can't take Lao/Vietiane route (so I've been told). However I can go through Cambodia (so I've been told). My question is kind of obvious: Where is the nearest checkpoint [to Khon Kaen], and what is the optimal route? Any advice would be appreciated. For obvious reasons I don't want to go through Bangkok.

Kob khun kub, sawatdee kub.

Their standpoints:

Yes to rainbows, unicorns, tom yum kung, nice weather, and reading a good book in your own private garden in the middle of cool season.

No to... well... you know, all the bad stuff, like akne, and fake whisky.

What a load of buffalo crap...

Subj. Unfortunately I don't remember the name — Khon Kaen Music or something like that (these guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W5jhw7xBEA). They were there a year ago — ken&pin, some bright characters, lots genuine fun, and improvisation. Are they touring or something? Where can one see them? New bands are not bad, but magic is gone, as well as ken. Not worth a trip to Pattaya anyway...

I am now looking right before crossing the street. Someday it will kill me.

They are not unhappy, they are simply maintaining so called "Russian face" (as if they are not sure whether they want to cry, or to call names). By that face you can recognise Russkies in any country of the world, it's not just Thailand. It's not a big deal, in mother Russia a person who is smiling on the street, or expressing any kind of emotion whatsoever, is considered a murderous lunatic. If you don't maintain "Russian face" in Russia, you can get beaten by either Police or some wandering slobs, so it's sort of evolutionary.

Getting rid of the Russian face was the hardest part of my adaptation here in LoS J

No, I am not talking down to you. I mean that there's an uneasy truce between sides at the moment, and if you go there right now, you won't see my point.

[Not talking down]

Again, IMO it's more complicated. You can't deny the fact that city folks, as well as folks from south genuinely hate Shins and their government, and want them out, that's why they are on the streets. Yeah, dems are manipulating, and using them to provoke the coup, but that's not the point — Thais want to do something about "thaksinocracy", and they do it. All Russians do is praising their supreme leader.

And Thai military is not as powerful as it used to be, given the number of reds among the low-ranks, otherwise we would have seen a coup by this point. Again, IMO this is a conflict between pressure groups with Thai people (rural and urban) acting as active participants, and ultimately a clash between the city and the countryside. Complicated =)

Anyway, if 1st person is Thaksin, who is the second one? Suthep? Abhisit?

Want to know what Russians could have done about their government?

(If they wanted to, and they don't)

Are you in Bangkok?

Go outside, and have look.

Do it again next Monday, if you don't get the idea.

I see no reason for your optimism, but I don't really care.

Just one thing: you shouldn't really blame the "ruler", a nation only gets a government it wants, and deserves, so Vlad the Impaler is nothing more than a symptom of the above — this nation is dead.

Vadim,

interesting statement.

Do you think the new generation (the kids) even of the most ignorant Russian will be like

their parents or will they look around and try to integrate and mingle better ?

luudee

I think new generation will be even uglier — the public school system, inherited from USSR, is being destroyed as we speak. Both natural and humanitarian sciences are being slashed to almost zero in favor of religious biggotry, and imperial rabble (they call it patriotism). You can figure out yourself what the product of this system will look like.

Pawneese, here's my therapy for you. We are the failed nation, and failed state. Chances are that you will see the rivers of Russian blood within your lifetime. Think about that next time stuff like that happens.

Sam Gold is right, as long as you stay away from the main tourist traps, you will not see many Russians. And even if you do, you won't recognise them, as those who get this far usually look and behave like normal human beings. I've spent quite a lot of time in Chiangmai, Khonkaen, and Udon Thani — not a single "slob moment" whatsoever.

Jingthing, Valgehir, Ludee

Thanks for kind words, but the issue is more complicated than misbehaving khi nok. To make it short: There are quite a few decent Russians out there, but if you look at mean expectation, you'll see a Pattaya slob. Only in 20th century there has been 5 or 6 waves of major genofond cleansing, when the best of a kind were killed or forced to leave (civil war, communist terror, WWII, etc.), and three generations of reverse selection [survival of least fit] under communist rule made things even worse. As the result Russians are pretty much dead as a nation — there is no positive potential, no guts, no balls, nothing. Thais on the other hand are pretty much alive (they are proving it right now on the streets of Krunthep), and this is one of the main reasons why I love this place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c6vDxvOXhQ

Google for bpd, splitting, distortion campaign, etc., there are lots of articles and anecdotes online. None of them will help you,but at least you'll understand what's going on.

Consider yourself lucky - she didn't burn your house or get you locked up for rape which never happened, that's what poor lads who date/marry bpd women normally get.

Being a product of happy carefree falangland, you guys just can't, and don't get it. "Good", and "bad" comes from the same source - quite a lot of Thais remember how does it feel to be hungry, and I mean real hunger here, not your Atkins discomfort. Having baggage like this changes your perspective big time, e.g. you'd be willing to do quite a lot of things to avoid feeling it again ever, and cheating/scamming some falang quay who throws his money into the ocean anyway is not the worst of them. On the other hand you wouldn't want anyone else, especially children, to have the same experience, and would not hesitate to adopt, if that's what it takes.

All generalizations are false, including this one

Shouldn't the OP be appalled at the present political situation in Thailand rather than at what people choose to wear?

It's been a while, but I'll reply. No, I am not. Present situation (from start of rallies till now) is well within my tolerance range. I appreciate any kind of motion, tension, and division. I also appreciate "street democracy", no matter who's paying for it, and what strings are attached. Multitude of colors is cool, if you come from a place that has only one shade of grey. If you know what I mean.

Excellent, I've made several notes about that.............sermon.

<offtopic mode on>In case if you are still interested, the group is called UPC, or Pentecostals, the same wackos who abuse snakes in USA. They don't do it in LOS, but probably only because Thais are too sensible to sexually harass an innocent, but deadly creature. But UPC still robs, and kills people in the name of your religion. I wonder if you find it "appaling"...<offtopic mode off>

I feel for OP if this makes him appalled.

There is a lot in store for you to worry about.

Some people came up with the idea and many followed.

Have seen it several places around the globe this year.

As I said above, I misused the "appalled" thing. May be mods will change the title, I honestly had no intention to be a drama queen. Still yellow shirts in GF masks is almost as offensive (and weird), as radical neonazi skinheads wearing orthodox jew costumes.

Holy Sudden Incapacitation, Batman, you are ab-bsolutely right

It's linked in the top post, you know

Guy Fawkes was a connection, don't you remember?-)

And then I "explained the above statement" as you requested.

I apologise, if it's more than you asked for, but it's really an open secret

Now we can go back to the subject.

Without turning this into a religious bashing thread could you explain the above statement? That has just knocked my brain out of sync.

My girlfriend comes from a Christian family, or so I thought before she showed me their sermons, and rites... I mean services.I don't know what convention is this, but they:

-Devaluate family (you husband will leave you, your brother will leave you, your church will never leave you)

-Devaluate real life, accomplishments, etc. (only that which happens after death really matters) - something I would never expect from any kind of protestant

-Use cheap rhetoric, and primitive NLP - the guy was pointing to himself while quoting the God, and repeating the same phraze over and over every minute or two (something like "I am Alpha and Omega", but not that)

-All the preachers claim to have a direct line to white-bearded gentleman on the cloud, like "I was minding my own business, when god came to me and told me..."

-They talk awfully lot about money (everything you give to us will return to you tenfold, but if you cheat, you are forked, you and your family), every member of congregation is supposed to give 10% of earnings

-Rites are all about supressing the consciousness, everything is by the book - hysterical behaviour of preachers, wall of sound, bright light, weaving dancing, speaking in tongues, etc.

-The worst thing - they can "heal" all known deseases by touching a victim's forehead. When I said to her that they are killing people this way - many will go to priest instead of doctor, she told me how they were treating her dengue for one week or more, until her budhist grandmother came and took her to hospital. That was dam_n close.

Need more? I'm sure I can remember something. Do you know what are they?