Friendly Stranger

Why didnt they just blow torch the hinges off the back of that Atm? My fridge looks more secure than that Atm.

To be honest though, i know people here that burn more than 1.4 Million Baht in the bars in Soi Buakhow in less than a year.

I know ppl go a little crazy here on the lifestyle but almost 50K in a year? Whatever happened to pacing ones self LOL.

RIP young dude. Here in Toronto young guys get off'd all the time, it's an epidemic and disgrace. But even burning the victim, wow, that sounds personal.

Why would you want to purchase Sor Tor Gor land if you have just arrived and speak no Thai? That land tends to be out of town and in areas where only Thai is spoken. Best to spend some time closer to town, learn some Thai, and then in a few years move further our if you think you can handle the (blissful) isolation from other ex-pats. Besides, as a newbie, much, much safer to rent than to buy. Also, there are a few "bars" that you might find some decent fellowship, such as the "Writer's Club" on Ratchadamnoen.

As for maps beyond the inner city, look at the GT-Rider's maps. Although geared towards motorcyclists, they are equally good for cars. I believe David is coming out very soon with an updated Mae Sa Valley map showing many daytrip options.

I agree with Johpa. Please, slow down a little.

Rent for a year close to town. Learn a little Thai. Enjoy getting to know a new place. Meet some people. Visit the expats club or at least their website. (The writer's club seem like a good idea and something i should look into.) I have been here a little over a year. I feel I am just now beginning to get a good feel of things and able to make good decisions. There are a lot of helpful people here. Choose the advice that make sense to you. Never give up your innate recognition of common sense and sense of personal truth and you will do fine. I have a friend about 65 that i will show this thread to. She has been here six months. Good luck! CM is a good place to start and spend 6-12 months getting your sea legs.

I totally agree with this too as we all come here with big plans and all but yours may be too ambitious. I agree with the renting too as IMHO, single/newbies should first rent, it's cheap, uncomplicated and if things don't work out, it's easy and cost effective as you'll have only minimal losses and can leave dodge in a hurry. Just saying..

If you want to meet new friends why not try the following sites.

meetup.com

Internations.org

couchsurfing.org

You join the site(s) and check out the groups and/or activities of like minded ppl.

Just my opinion, spend more time there before you start getting really serious about land/car inquiries.

CM is a great choice as I'm considering it as my new hombase in the future.

Good luck.

Whilst there are no doubt many violent characters in that lovely city, I do not buy the fact that he was just walking along, minding his own business, and suddenly gets attacked out of nowhere.

Unrelated: I think at age 54 it is time to hang up the wife-beater.

Well it's been happening in USA for some time now and is referred to as a game . Let's hope the Thai teenagers don't get any ideas

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/deadly-knockout-game-what-it-is/

A bit different though; the "game" is to punch someone out cold with a single blow. This was obviously not the case here.

I wasn't referring to the difference in nature of the attack, I was responding to the suggestion that it's impossible to believe that people carry out totally random attacks without any apparent motive?

I'll have to disagree with this as I was once sitting on a bench when a youngish guy looked at me, walked about 15 feet then turned towards me not looking very happy with both fists cleched. I then heard another guy that was just walking by that angrily said something to him in Thai, he stopped looked at him then walked away. Who knows what that nutter was going to do.

That's proof that this does just happen.

Sad that ppl get robbed or cheated as we've all been there to some degree but there seems to have been multiple stories with the exact same mo. It seems many of the guys in these stories have lost in the 10's of thousands of baht and by having this documented and a police report filled out..

We'll, just me speculating.

Everything is a survey now, no wonder nothing gets done in the world anymore as too much time is spent on this and nothing really productive. lol

Also, would it even matter if Thailand was last on the list? How would that affect anyones life for better or worse, as life goes on..

Terrible and all as it's ppl's livelihood but is it an accident that this happens during high season and worse, at the beginning...

On another forum I'm on visitors that have just arrived or are booked are frantically asking "is it ok to come". They can pretty much save the title of this thread and recycle it for future use.

How sad..

I don't know whether you can do this from within the country, but you can learn Thai and apply for an EDucational Visa. I think these last a year. You only need to attend classes for a few hours a week. Perhaps someone else can give further details about how to apply for one.

Don't go this route if you're truly not wanting to learn the language and only doing it to stay as you'll be scrutinized each time you go to immigration by showing your attendance record and/or Thai proficiency.

Also, these are not really 1 yr visa's as they are really back to back to back to back 3 month visa's as I believe they're advertised as UP TO 1 year.

You still have to pay the immigration fee each time as well and some of these schools are not cheap and are not very helpfull once money is in hand.

Caveat Emptor

Regarding responses to ASEAN 2015: Yeah, that is making more sense, as I had to stop to re-think how would the richer countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand & Indonesia) benefit from this.

Too bad though, as this would have made Thailand revamp their outlook on their tourism strategy if stiff competition was around the corner.

As a side note:

I was blown away when I saw, read and spoke to ppl on how Phnom Penh is positioning themselves as a serious tourist alternative. They truly have things going for them with the right ppl in place and the infrastructure. I hope they learn from Thailand's mistakes.

Phuket in 2022:

Will have 95%+ English speaking staff in most tourist areas since ASEAN 2015 will have a real impact here since Filipino's, Malaysian's, Cambodian's and Singaporean's and other English speakers will flood the Thai market pushing out the Thai's as well as major investment (business and land purchases) within the region.

2015 will be a pivital year, as other economies will thrive and the region will witness who are the real power brokers, and if Thailand thinks they're going to compete with all their divisions, then they're sadly mistaken.

Lets hope someone rises from the ashes and wakes up the country and soon because Thailand has not seen anything yet.

Tick, tock..

Wow, that 500 baht fee is getting a lot of press.

Better way to increase numbers is to protect tourists from attacks and travelling within the country.

You want advice, get a professionals opinion, no offense to the ppl on here, which some has been decent but a forum is no where to get advice for something like this.

Just beware of ppl trying to push certain types of instruments/groups of securities, as they get better commission on them.

It sounds like you want something that will preserve what you have with some income and a hedge against potential turmoil.

A mix of assets such as: Silver, gold, sound corp bonds, not t-bills and really short term instruments that are very liquid and of course cash. These IMHO are safe and you can change the balance once, if, the market starts to recover.

Also, at this point in time, do not get talked into a fee based program (charges based on a % of your assets).

Listen, there's a reason why some of the largest companies in the U.S have massive amounts of cash on hand and certain countries are hoarding gold, even though I think a bigger proportion s/b in silver, is underway as we speak.

But again, speak to a professional.

To the OP, isn't this universal?

Some white women want to be darker with fuller lips, darker women want to be lighter with straight hair...

It's all over the world with the perception of what beauty should be in certain cultures.

I just happened to see an advertisement in my city of a coconut drink and they mentioned Thailand. The model they had on the billboard was very attractive but quite dark. The first thing I thought to myself, she looked very south pacific and in no way would have been accepted in an advertisement in Thailand.

The one thing I still cannot get over are pictures requested for some job inquiries.

I was 40. It was a deja vu look that I got from my uncle as this was the same look I got some 20+ yrs ago when I said I may have impregnated someone. Another uncle said "so you're going all the way there to get laid" right in front of his sons. What a fool, good luck on your divorce...

I have heard that they do talk behind my back and have stated they do not approve of my "alternative lifestyle"

My friends, I was the talk of the bunch and was congratulated for having enough balls to walk the talk..

At the time it was only an experiment, will do the "snow bird" version of this in 2015.

Would not change a thing.

"Without spending too much on girls and going out" Do what you did last time but add 30% as you're not going to be affected by the learning curve. 300K is good which includes contingency but again I don't know your tastes.

Personally, when I lived in BKK in 2011, 30K was not a problem as I cooked my own meals, bought beer at supply shops and used buses. Sometimes it was less than that. I know some will not agree with this, thinking it's poverty but to each their own as after accom and miscel expenses you should have quite a bit left over.

Instead of paying 120 to 150 baht for drinks, find supply shops where you can get your own alcohol or buy a bottle and share it with friends (350+ baht). There are also sites out there where you can date or ?? for free!

I say this because I'm surprised to hear the amounts ppl spend on alcohol and women, it's staggering.

Very interesting this talk of nostalgic Bangkok. I've had that hotel on my list when I was first scouting places.

I'm relatively new to the scene in BKK, coming here since 2005, so I'm interested to know from the guys in the know, what places still exist (hotels, coffee shops or any type of place) that would be classified as "old BKK". I guess anything from the 1950's and up as I wouldn't mind taking a look at them for their nostalgic value.

FS

OP, did something personally happen to you or did the "honeymoon effect" ware off?

Like many have said, even planning it out will not always go as planned. Many come here, with the thought of exotic care free living, we've all done this, right?

Then something happens to make us question why we're here. I guess, as you've mentioned, say reality settled in.

For me, been coming here for 10 yrs and lived here for about 2 of them. Love Thailand and all but there was one thing I did not anticipate, living through an entire rainy season, as it's tolerable but for me life back in Toronto during the summer months was much better. Some may think, "it's just rain" but add in the pollution and some shoddy infrastructure in some areas.

I'm now planning to live the "snow bird" lifestyle; Thailand for 7 months and Canada for 5, so I can keep my medical plan intact. This way, I can live in both places throughout the year in comfort.

So yes, the planning continues..

FS

First time poster.

Seems to me they're rehashing the same story, wasn't this reported a month back?

IMO, no it wouldn't, as $20+ or so will not deter someone from changing their holiday plans.

FS