Sam Gold

The rice pledging was kind of like getting a new tattoo, seemed like a good idea at the time.

Actually, it was clearly a bad idea from the very beginning and they were warned about it by all serious economic experts, but they covered their ears and went for it anyway, only interested in what happened in the short term and overlooking possible consequences.

That's what you get for being ignorant and arrogant.

dont know whether many thais are deliberately rude, don't know any better, are simply incapable of thinking of/caring about others or lack the confidence/personality to take proactive action.

I'd say 2 out of the 4 options you gave:

Don't know any better and lack the confidence/personality to take proactive action.

Nothing! Why spoil the women with a holiday created by the dam_n candy/flower/greeting card industry. Stop perpetuating the insanity. (Treat them nice everyday, treat them special as a surprise, and you don't need to do Valentines Day).

It wasn't created by any industry, it dates back to the 3rd century when St Valentine was executed by the Romans.

But I'm not a fan either.

The only thing that really works is a fresh beer.

Otherwise, if you're not too s**t-faced, remember to take an aspirin with a large glass of water before sleep and you won't feel half as bad in the morning.

If she's Thai, I'm sure she'd like anything made of gold.

Yep, basically.

Nobody has mentioned a crucial point here about Thai culture, which is that it's still widely considered normal for the male in the relationship to support his spouse and in most cases his minor spouse ("mia noi").

I know several Thai men who do well and they give allowances to their spouses and brag about it - money and relationships often do go together in Thailand, it isn't considered sinister.

Well worth remembering in order to keep the debate meaningful and relevant, we are in Thailand here folks, not in the West. Of course a lot of dudes are taken for suckers but still, we need to drop our Western outlook from time to time, it does help in achieving a successful expatriation.

If I may add to that,

it also seems that many thai wives, girlfriends, w/e they are,

expect their men to have other women,

and just request that you use condoms with them,

now that, is not something I ever heard, in the west

Yes, that was covered in a recent topic.

OP, has gf come back for more yet? If not, be glad, but be sad for the falang she is getting higher income from. Sad facts of paid girls. Sorry.

She is not back yet. I went out to a decent restaurant paid 300 baht. Yesterday went to macdonalds. Today I'll hang out with some Thai guys n drink medium. Tomorrow I'll go to sukhumvit for two hour lady. Not the same but moving slowly. There is a hotel/massage place on soi udom suk for two hours I'll pay 1,700 baht. You see TV members, it can get expensive. I'll send laundry and pay about 400 baht. Massage I'll pay 450 with no extras.

Are you one of those people who can't stay alone and need to be in a relationship at all costs? In that case, you are exposing yourself to trouble.

It's not that bad being alone for a while. Why not use the money you were losing on your girlfriend to travel around and relax, book a flight on AirAsia to somewhere you fancy and enjoy yourself, you'll meet a few girls along the way and it won't cost you 1,700 for 2 hours.

Cheer up mate!

Nobody has mentioned a crucial point here about Thai culture, which is that it's still widely considered normal for the male in the relationship to support his spouse and in most cases his minor spouse ("mia noi").

I know several Thai men who do well and they give allowances to their spouses and brag about it - money and relationships often do go together in Thailand, it isn't considered sinister.

Well worth remembering in order to keep the debate meaningful and relevant, we are in Thailand here folks, not in the West. Of course a lot of dudes are taken for suckers but still, we need to drop our Western outlook from time to time, it does help in achieving a successful expatriation.

That's 400,000 graduates and Thailand only needs 145,000. The rest will be clerking at 7/11.

SEA as a whole is over educated not undereducated.

The rest will be clerking at 7/11 because they haven't been taught the skills to get out there and get a job and work their way up the ladder, with all the challenges that implies, here or anywhere else. There are plenty of positions to be filled in Thailand, but nobody is able to fill them, that is the major issue, regardless of whether people have a degree or not.

SEA as a whole lacks quality education.

Yes there are a lot of graduates but their piece of paper won't get them anywhere given they haven't actually been taught anything.

They need to understand a degree isn't a magic token that miraculously opens all doors.

It's meant to be a testimony to the fact that you've been trained to a competent level, and that you are able to demonstrate resourcefulness and proactiveness.

They're still far from that i'm afraid.

Well done, Yourauntbob. Points well made.

Although you've left out what the true source of problems is in this country, which is that men aren't taught to act responsibly and women are taught to live with it. A lot of men in their 30's and 40's behave like teenagers and that is the main reason why this country is going nowhere.

What you have mentioned is true, but they are merely charming cultural quirks to me.

Couldn't disagree more. This country is full of enablers and co-dependents. You figure out who is who. These men you accuse (and I am agreeing that they are a problem) are the products of an upbringing which is almost entirely performed by women. Do not overlook the forest for the one, single tree.

This wasn't an attempt to categorize all Thai men in the same way, as I also know some absolute top blokes here.

That's why I said a lot of Thai men, implying they're not all like that, thankfully.

However, regarding your metaphor, I'm afraid it's more than just one tree we're dealing with here.

Well done, Yourauntbob. Points well made.

Although you've left out what the true source of problems is in this country, which is that men aren't taught to act responsibly and women are taught to live with it. A lot of men in their 30's and 40's behave like teenagers and that is the main reason why this country is going nowhere.

What you have mentioned is true, but they are merely charming cultural quirks to me.

Thai driving rules ???

You gotta be joking !!

No he isn't . Thai driving rules are very simple actually..

ME FIRST.

Sadly, this isn't an exaggeration - it is the one and only rule on Thai roads.

Another aspect is the "my car is better than yours so make way" thing:

Ever notice how some guys park over two parking spots at the supermarket, even on busy days, with total disregard and contempt for other people? These are always recent, expensive-looking cars, so one can only assume these dimwits are actually led to believe they are superior to others.

http://www.talent-technologies.com/new/2012/08/emotional-quotient-thailand-eq/

Had a few once whilst having a tattoo done - It numbed the pain alright.

If you indeed pulled out well before as you said it can't be yours.

Do the test out of principle but take a step back and think straight: it isn't yours and she is lying to you.

Relax, go have a few beers with your mates and laugh it off. Those Thai ladies will try anything but we read them like open books and they crack us up.

Cheers.

comments?

No.

IMA_FARANG and PoorSucker, thanks a lot for the information.

Thanks for the reply, but that wasn't my question, I'll rephrase:

All I need is 30 extra days between the end of my current 90 days and my departure from Thailand. I'm wondering if I can simply get an extension from immigration rather than have to do a border run.

Basically I'd much rather take a leisurely stroll down to the immigration office than go on a 9-hour minivan bumpy ride.

If you are married take your wife , marriage certificate, wife's ID card and house book to immigration and ask for a 60 day extension to visit your wife .

Be aware this may be refused if you have a valid visa .

Ok, I've found confirmation of this on several other threads.

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply, but that wasn't my question, I'll rephrase:

All I need is 30 extra days between the end of my current 90 days and my departure from Thailand. I'm wondering if I can simply get an extension from immigration rather than have to do a border run.

Basically I'd much rather take a leisurely stroll down to the immigration office than go on a 9-hour minivan bumpy ride.

Good evening,

I'm on a multiple entry non-O marriage visa, and my first 3 months are ending on February 5th. I will be leaving Thailand early March so that leaves a month I need to cover.

I'm currently in Pattaya and therefore was going to do a visa run to Cambodia (and lose a couple of months), however I've just read somewhere that it's possible to extend each entry at the immigration office by 30 days, the way you do with tourist visas. So below are my questions for the experts here:)

1. Is it true you can do such a 30-day extension for a 1,900 baht fee at immigration?

2. If so, can you extend it again by an extra 7 days at the end of the 30-day extension, as you can do with a tourist visa?

3. Does it impact in any way your subsequent entries?

Cheers!

"The best part of getting older is not caring what 99% of people think."

The truest words I've heard so far in 2014.

Agreed, but why wait until you get old?

No need indeed, however it's a fact we pay a lot more attention to what people say and think when we're in our early 20's.

I'm in my 30's so not old but definitely older, as in sufficiently experienced to realize only I know what's good for me.

Regardless of whether or not it's real coffee to begin with, the result is 99% sugar most of time, with god knows what else that gives it that orange look. Not easy to find a street vendor who can make a decent tea/coffee that doesn't look like nuclear waste - anyone who calls that coffee doesn't know what they're talking about.

I even prefer to buy the Nescafe latte cans from 7/11 if that's the only other option.

"The best part of getting older is not caring what 99% of people think."

The truest words I've heard so far in 2014.