mittheimp

as im not involved in the dosh league i dont have a strong opinion - but as a decent sized amount of money will be involved then i think all you can do is play by the rules!

oh come on...... to many sensitive people.

I thought the OP was quite amusing!

no - iraq, sierra leone, liberia, haiti, cambodia etc etc - a very select sample. I think if it included all countries Thailand would be much further down

however, murders using any method........ Thailand is down to a more respectable 14th It doesnt really matter what the method is, does it?

nation murder rates

14th out of a total of 62 countries in a league table of murders per capita is not particularly respectable in my book.

agreed - but better than third!

Just wondering what food in Thailand are safe to eat.

On my 2nd extended visit now, and no probs so far, but I've been cautious.

I know the basics like drink only bottled water and cooked food. But I had some rainwater at my girl's parents, they told me afer I drnk it...

woh, they collect it themselves, talk about back to the roots and connecting with nature, man, I love that aspect of Thai culture!

Are there any health inspectors in Thailand? I mean like for the meat sold in the markets, for example, is that tested and approved? They even eat it raw, chopped with plenty of chili and spices to sesinfect it.

And what about more exotic food? I've seen carts in the evening selling bugs, fried beetles and grasshoppers, i haven't worked up the courage to try yet! I can't imagine this is regulated. How do they get them - I hope not by spraying insecticides?

generally ok, especially if its cooked in front of you as you order it. However you may well get ill at some point - body has a different immune system, but eventually your body will get used to it!

however, murders using any method........ Thailand is down to a more respectable 14th It doesnt really matter what the method is, does it?

nation murder rates

Do yopu know if those statistics include either the 'war on drugs' or the problems in the south?

providing you don't deal in drugs, traffick women or act a total prat then Thailand is a as safe from shootings as nearly everywhere! (obviously that doesn't mean it can't happen!)

Another world famous Luk krueng Thai is Anna from the girl band Jamp - sensational video - don't seem to hear too much from her now!!

Actually not all the 7 kids stabbed or shot in London over the past couple of months have been Black - one of them was ethnically Thai. There is definately an issue in inner city London with gang violence - and im sure the Black American gangsta rap culture that is now so popuar doesnt help at all (just watch one of those videos!).

Murder statistics dont really tell you how safe or dangerous a country is - Thailand has a very high muder rate but ive never felt in any danger in Thailand - however walking around any city centre at 2.am in the UK you know a fight is not far away. I think more mindless violence happens in England - and the pure randomness of it creates a higher perception of crime. My wife who has lived in both London and Bangkok would argue nether place is totally safe but feels generally safer in Bangkok. i am currently living in Korea - and so far i have seen no evidence of any crime -be it serious or petty! but im sure it goes on, but again targeted at people from a certain criminal grouping.

...and as for America, well if they can't see any link between the constitution giving them the right to bear arms and another crazy incident like this.... then there is no helping them!

if Quality women is high on the agenda then look no further than Korea. Bit more expensive though - but the night life is good and the foods not bad.

South Korea ?? I worked there for six LONG weeks and was very happy to get back to Thailand. The money was great, the kimchee edible, everything VERY expensive. The people are more nationalistic that anywhere I have ever been. If you are in need of companionship, you better have VERY deep pockets. I was polite declining the offer to return to work. Some of the women are attractive but no where near as common there as here.

i agree with most of what you said - except, unquestionably Korea has the highest quantity of quality looking women - certainly in Seoul anyway - and ive lived in BKK and seoul for a decent period! Also the dress code for women (and not just 'professional women' like Thailand) is to wear as short a skirt as possible!

The advantage this country has over all others though is that you can eat amazingly well on very little money -

That may be so if you are on a western salary level. But if you are on an average Thai labor salary then food here is very expensive, high quality food prohibitively so.

a thai labour salery is, i believe, minimum of B200 a day. The quality of B20 rice dishes is not replicated any where else at that price!

i don't think you need to be on a western salary to eat well here at all!

Thailand is a deveoping country -parts developed - but for the majority it is not. The advantage this country has over all others though is that you can eat amazingly well on very little money - might not be one of the development indicators, but i think for genuine quality of life its very important!

if Quality women is high on the agenda then look no further than Korea. Bit more expensive though - but the night life is good and the foods not bad.

If it hadn't rained............

we still would have lost!

finally Old Croc - you know your place!

"In Affectionate Remembrance of AUSTRALIAN ODI CRICKET, which died at the SCG on 11th FEBRUARY, 2007, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing convicts and acquaintances R.I.P"

N.B. — The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to England"

Without Vaughn, Pieterson, Anderson, Lewis, Tremlet, Trescothic England wallop the overrated Ozzzies creating massive doubt in the convicts ability to retain the World Cup.

Will they force the final into a decider?

ive just noticed ive had a 1000 posts. arent i supposed to get really excited and dedicate a whole thread to this fact?

sorry if this has been posted before!

from The Times

It was just a normal shopping trip when Jaeyana Beuraheng bade farewell to her eight children as she left to cross the border into Malaysia. But it would be 25 years before she would find her way home.

Now, at the age of 76, she has been reunited with her family and has finally told how her misfortune began when she boarded the wrong bus.

Mrs Jaeyana would almost certainly have made it home without mishap had it not been that she speaks only Yawi, a dialect spoken by Muslims in southern Thailand. But unable to write, read, or speak Thai or English she boarded a bus for Bangkok, about 800 miles (1,300km) north, by mistake rather than travelling back to her home in Narathiwat.

Bewildered by the noise and traffic of the capital she boarded another bus hoping it would take her home. It did not.

This one took her to Chiang Mai, close to the border with Burma and another 400 miles away. There she became lost and unable to explain her predicament. In Chiang Mai she spent five years begging and with her dark skin was taken to be a member of a hill tribe.

When police rounded up beggars in the northern capital in 1987 she was arrested on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Unable to determine where she came from, officials sent her to a social services hostel where she has been ever since.

Jintana Satjang, a director of the centre where Mrs Jaeyana made her home, said: “We thought she was a mute.” Mrs Jaeyana was referred to as “Mrs Mon” because staff thought her mutterings sounded like Mon, a minority language in Burma.

Mrs Jaeyana would probably have spent the rest of her life at the hostel had not three students from her home province who spoke her language arrived at the centre for training last month. They struck up a friendship and she was able to tell them how she became separated from her family.

The students made inquiries and found her youngest son, Mamu, who is now 35. They sent him her picture by mobile phone.

“I was shocked and overjoyed when I saw the picture,” said Mamu. He said he and his brothers and sisters had searched for years in Thailand and Malaysia until they were told their mother had been run over by a train in Yala.

“I remembered her face even though I have not seen her for 25 years,” he said.

Gone missing

-The “Piano man”, found roaming Kent in a dinner jacket in 2005, would not talk but was an expert pianist. After four months he was identified and returned home to Germany

- Thousands of Korean families were divided when the country was split in 1953. Last year, many met again for the first time

- 210,000 people a year are reported missing in Britain. Most are found within 72 hours

For those of you who have spent time in both places, how would you compare and contrast them?

Do you find more advantages/disadvantages in one over the other?

Thanks, guys!

in the Phillipines there is / are:

more poverty

more guns

more Americans

More Catholics

more islands

more Jeepneys

more English speakers

An interesting and worrying linked article about the rise of child prostitution. At any one time 200 men are waiting for underage sex with boys!

Do people believe the article is accurate or not?

I have engaged in sucessful international business in five Asian countries---

What were the five asian countries?

Japan, South Korea, China (mainland), Philippines, and Singapore.

Japan/South Korea/ Singapore are economic powerhouses themselves so would not have the same concerns as Thailand with opening up the real estate market.

China - dosnt have the appeal of a 'tropical paradise' such as Thailand so again does not have the same concerns - although i guess real estate ownership is highly regulated anyway.

Philippines - a country with a disgraceful disparity between the rich and the poor - very little has filtered down to those at the bottom of the social/ecomic ladder - i doubt such an unregulated approach has helpped anyone other than the lucky or corrupt folk at the top!

I have engaged in sucessful international business in five Asian countries---

What were the five asian countries?

What do Thai fishing communities getting pushed around by Thai developers have to do with the argument? Now THAT's a cultural problem (Thai hierarchical social system of dominance imposed on the Thai economic system). Thailand desperately needs the influence of foreign investment and along with that comes foreign business management skills that have made other countries successful.

I don't really understand your point - but obviously economic policy has a big impact upon culture - therefore it is worthy of consideration. Foreign investment in a developing country occurs when it is financially beneficial for the company - i.e cheap efficient labour. The investment bubble in Thailand was burst when China could offer cheaper and more efficient labour - nothing to do with real estate not being available!

First of all I'm happily married with my Thai wife...

So how many more farangs here in LOS are happily married with their Thai partners? I noticed that some farangs are either happy or married. First, when they arrive in Thailand they seems to be very happy but after getting married everything seems to go wrong. Or is this just true with some farangs with retirement benefits (pension + new local thai wife)?