Davey

I must agree with Uncle Paul here, some posts on this forum do give the impression that their reasons for visiting Thailand are based around sex tourism. I remember a person posting on here - can't remember who - say something about the women in Brasil and how much better looking they are than the ugly monkeys you get in Thailand (not my words, his - or something to that effect), he also mentioned he payed something like 200 quid. Not really my place to comment on any one else and how they conduct there own lives, although just thought it was a valid point to back up Uncle Paul's original post.

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My favourite aspect of Thailand has to be the people, they are the most genuine and just wonderful people I've met and I have travelled quite a bit. The Thai's I think have a great sense of humour and there constant smile can lighten up anyones day.

I'm still young so the nightlife is a plus, Pattaya was one of the most lively places I've ever been to, better than your usual party destinations in europe like, magaluf, ibiza, greek isles etc.

The price of the country is a bonus I suppose, obviously your money goes a lot further here, but personally if prices did rise to western equivilant I honestly would not be deterred contrary to what someone previuosly posted, but that's just my own humble opinion

I think Thailand is home to some 70+ national parks and something like 25-30 marine parks, this country has a wealth of beauty from north to south.

I visited 23 countries in six different continents and I can honestly say Thailand was my favourite, although Argentina and China are not far behind.

"Please don't intervene. Please leave us alone. It is my job and we can cope with this matter. We are trying to explain this to foreigners. But if they do not understand or ignore our explanation, I don't care because we are not begging them for food. This is what he said in May of 2004 about  the way he was handling things. In my mind there is no way he is going to stop this. The people in the South want three provinces they can call their own. Since the man has taken over the country he has done nothing for the the South anyway. the roads are going to waste, there has been nothing done for the people of the south like Chuan Leekpai did. He was from the South and that is where the money went. Now the man from the north is in charge and see where the money goes, Night Safrai in Chinag Mai, what a Joke.

Give the muslims in the South the control of these three provinces and maybe will be on the road to peace, keep trying to destory their faith and they will be more and more trouble and Yes Bangkok and other places will become targets. This is most likely the only hope, Give into their demands. Three provinces and maybe there would be peace.

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To simply give into terrorism is absolutely ludacris, these people have no respect for humanity or democracy, giving into the people is not an option. They will not stop until there ideology is met, and that certainly won't stop at just those three southern provinces.

There must also be some psychology involved, because if you are happy, ie.the sunshine, the friendly ladies etc. the brain chemicals will actually block out your hangover. It is rather like telling an addict, the 'fix' is on the way, the unpleasant craving stops temporarily (for them).

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Seasonal affective disorder syndrome - SADS. It is actually quite common, although I don't know anyone who has been diagnosed with it. Basically SADS is caused by a chemical imbalance in the hyothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and lack of sunshine during winter. Symptoms vary, but most common is severe depression (again a chemical imbalance in the hypothalamus) and immune deficiency - Perhaps this has something to do with hangovers being uncommon in LOS compared to back home in the UK... As the weather in the UK is almost always miserable especially in comparison to Thailand.

I've always had my own little theory on this subject and it basically comes down to tea and coffee, believe it or not... I think I'm right in saying people in the UK drink tea and coffee, a lot. However when you are on holiday you tend to drink a lot less if any (I think). As previously mentioned by someone tea and coffee have extremely high levels of cafeine, which is a diuretic, screwing up our water retention... - less water = less blood plasma and higher blood viscosity causing hypertensions amongst other things. With decreased blood flow, alcohol should stay in our systems longer, therefore we wake up to a dreaded hangover, more so with headaches as this is due to dehydration. Suppose this links with more water being ingested on holidays, so same results really.

The rate at which alcohol is absorbed is dependent on our mood. Adrenaline facilitates in processesing alcohol quicker, therefore we get drunk quicker, but sober up quicker resulting in a lesser chance of a hangover. When your sorrounded by beatiful women, I suppose this only increases the release of noradrenaline, possibly another good arguement.

I suppose eveything, even the smallest things can contribute towards a hangover... The actual cause of a hangover is not known.

Can somebody explain the difference between saying African Black which is allowed on this board and 'African Blackie' which is not, why does the ie carry such meaning? Scouser has pointed this out to me. Does anyone from Liverpool find the term 'Scouser' offensive?-peter

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No, Liverpudlians don't take offensive to Scouser's, it's just a local identity... As people from Newcastle are Geordies and Londoners are Cockneys. Nothing derogatory intended.

Freedom of speech is one of our human rights, yet government try to restrict this with 'politically correct' terms, you are still implying the same ######ing message, it's just sugar coated. I can't see any positives in pc I think it just drives people to be as un-pc as they can to piss the government off, rightfully so!

I would tell them enough to to end their curiosity, don't be too vague though, as children are naturally inquisitive and saying something like, we met whilst I was on holiday would probably lead to a few more specific questions, whereas another story with a bit more depth may satisfy their curiosty... I personally would not mention anything about meeting in a bar in Thailand if you want to hold the 'real' truth from them as kids aren't stupid and sooner or later they will find out what bars in Thailand are like, and may come back with more questions. Also kids are extremely stereotypical and many may have the perception of Thai girls all being prostitutes just because they hear a myth about one, which might not even be true. I think as they grow up, they will more or less construct a scenario on how you's met through perceptions of their own and of their peers who will undoubtedly have an influence... I think it is probably best to come clean, in the cleanest fashion possible, children aren't as naive as you may think and sooner or later they will realise how it really happend.

Best of luck, this is a really sensitive topic and I might even recommend visiting a child psychologist.

Today I watching BBC's Holiday top 10: culture stops. Everything was expected and some really cultural and interesting places were shown... Then, at number FOUR, yes 4! came Newcastle!! - I don't know if any of you know Newcastle well, but to be in the top 10 cultural destinations worldwide is plain ridiculous. Newcastle beat the likes of Cambodia which is host to the largest religious monestry in the world! Newcaslte also beat Rajathan, India and more...

Residing in Newcastle I'm absolutely astonished this city is considered to be such a cultural hot spot, and frankly I cannot understand it. Here is the full list:

10 - Berlin, Germany

9 - Rajasthan, India

8 - Cambodia

7 - Lanzarote - Also questionable

6 - Spanish Paradores

5 - Valencia, Spain

4 - Newcastle - They must have it wrong

3 - St. Petersburg, Russia

2 - New England, USA

1 - Guatemala

I think they must have just included Newcastle for a laugh, to actually see if the viewers were actually paying any attention.

As for culture in Newcastle; our favourite restuarant is the chippy, the majority can barely speak English never mind any second language and our vision of art is shearer nodding in the winner against the mackems, cultural? not likely.. I'm surprised Sunderland never made the list! that would have just topped it all off.

I was also expecting some other places to on the list, which did not appear.

That seams to me a better kind of figures . A

I don't really know if I tipped generously, I have nothing to compare it to. 100 baht per drink seems pretty reasonable though, only about 1.35 pound and it's about 100 baht for the drinks... don't really know how much I did drink but I was always drunk, at the least. I was only there 6 nights and only out 4 nights I think, so I thought that was pretty reasonable, cheap if anything

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Ok , like you stated , that happened 4 out of the 6 nights you spend there . If you were living there , you cannot do it 2/3/4.... months in a row . You do that and you need A: large amount of cash a year , B : a new liver after a while , C : a rehab clinic after a couple of years . What i mean by that is , you don't live like that all the time . Sure you can do it , a couple of times a year , like holiday ... but after that you ease down again to normal behaviour and spending . 25000 bath a month let's you live with some fun and relaxing pratically all the year around . I'd say 10000/12000 on living , that is renting a house ( small , 1 bedroom , not BKK area ) , with electricity and water . That leaves you with 13 to 15000 bath a month on food and fun . When not going to restaurant but just buying goods you can eat more then enough for 200 bath a day ( you need more when you want to eat expensive stuff , i eat many veggies and fruit and a small amount of meat ) . 200 a day that makes , 6000 a month . That leaves you with 7000 to 9000 a month for drinking and fun . That is roughly , around 250 and 300 bath a day , every day . Let's say you don't go out , so thet drinks are from a shop ... drinking water , yes you need it ... 30 bath a day will be more then sufficient . So that is still more then 200 bath a day left on extra drinking and fun . Buy in shop your beer , let's say 3 a day , cost you roughly 100 bath . You saved 100 bath that day . So in one week , that is 700 bath ... you go out 1 time a week with couple of drinks ... 700 bath gone . That is 25000 a month ... rough calculation . You want more luxury , sure no problem but that way you need more money . Add a couple off 1000 for some more fun , 5000 will be sufficient i'd say .

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You seem to be spending an awful lot of BAHT everyday on BATHS

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Haha! you think I could do this all year round? I struggled them 4 nights!! I was only sort of giving a comparison of how expensive it can be, and more to the point Cory suggests you could go out every other night, i.e 3/4 time per week and live on 2.5k per year which is not just alcohol budget, but your overall budget. I was just giving a comparison it would have cost me if I went out every other night, like I did when I was in Pattaya for that short time. I'm not at all suggesting that it would be physically possible, or that I wwould ever consider trying it. The 4 nights were abouts as much as I could handle, but good times

I agree, the money isn't really an issue, you would hav only been down like 5 quid or something, but being ripped off isn't a nice feeling when you trust someone.

I think you could have avoid being ripped off however, especially in the taxi and the bar... Just speak with them and tell them you're not paying for what you didn't ask for. I once got a bill in a beer bar for 2300 baht, I'd only had like 4 or 5 drinks... When they presented me with the bill I laughed, the bg's looked at one another and said 'ok, 500 baht' I still left them a 200 baht tip, I thought their attempt was comical, made me laugh.

That seams to me a better kind of figures . A 2500 for a night out is not a small night . Go to a bar ... drink let's say 10 Singha/Chang and that will be between 700 and 900 bath , Am i right or not ??? After 10 Singha's , well my night is pretty well over ... euhm or just say it is over . I can imagine going to a place where they sell beer at 110 bath but that still would be 1100 bath . Let's say , you give 2 drinks for ladies or whatever ... That is still lower then 1500 bath including tips . I don't know how much you drink or how much free drinks you give or what you drink ( maybe tequila ??? ) but 2500 bath every other night means that's not just a night out on a normal basis . Just IMHO ...

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I don't really know if I tipped generously, I have nothing to compare it to. 100 baht per drink seems pretty reasonable though, only about 1.35 pound and it's about 100 baht for the drinks... don't really know how much I did drink but I was always drunk, at the least. I was only there 6 nights and only out 4 nights I think, so I thought that was pretty reasonable, cheap if anything

I'm from Newcastle, North-east England... Not much going on up here, although we are famous for our nightlife, not up to much though if you ask me.

Yeah, thanks for the advice guys...

I will do some enquiring and researh on these places and hopefully I will be visiting soon... once again thanks for the advice

My personal experience of Pattaya was amazing! I was only there for 6 days but I cannot really hold a bad word against it.

I suppose it all depends on your own tastes. It is an incredibly seedy place and if you want a shag then Pattaya is certainly the place.

I feel there is a lot to offer from Pattay, world class golf courses, decent beaches in near by Jomtien. Incredible nightlife, even if your not after a shag. I thought it was cheap any way, some people dont, although compared to Newcastle quayside (4/5 quid a pint), anywhere is cheap.

I thought all the bar girls were friendly enough (no surprise there) - there a bit full on but the majority were not bad intentioned, just need to make a living I guess (I suppose this might sound a bit naive). The majoirty of people who visit Pattaya were middle-aged men (when I was there any way) it's not the nicest sight in the world to see a beautful young lady walking hand in hand with a 50 year old fat ######, but money talks.

When I was there I met one girl who asked to come back with me, I was absolutely stotting drunk so I said yes - probably would have declined if I was sober (not that she was ugly - she was good looking, like most of them - , just I would have been a bit sceptic as it was my first night there) Morning came and she did not ask for any money. Not every girl is this willing I suppose. Even if they do not ask for money, it is best to give them some, at least there taxi fare, they have to make a living some how.

If you plan on going I would never try and deter you, it is definetly worth a visit. ENJOY!!

At the end of the day it is your decision, however before you decide there is a website which may or may not be of some help to you...

http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_educa...Mammoplasty.cfm

My personal opinion is, if a man is not attracted to you because of the size of your breasts, then he has the problem not you.

Whatever your decision I hope everything turns out well, best of luck!

By the way, visiting these places - the Thai's wont have any objections with my presence and inquisitiveness?

Thanks for your respone Lopburi3... reading your reply made me think about the time I visited a village where my aunty (who is Thai) used to live, which was in Saraburi. My uncle had bought them some western essentials, kettle, microwave etc. When we visited earlier this year, they had them placed on shelves like ornaments haha!

The village where they live is a bit of an ideal I would be looking for, but I want to visit a completely alien place where I don't know any one.

Any way, thanks for the response

The only expense I had to pay for myself was my night out entertainment, everything else was prepayed for.  If I was to go out every second night like I did, I would accrue a total somewhere around the 9k mark (about 660000 baht) - that was about 2,500 baht a night.  I did not pay for any after hours entertainment courtesy of a bar girl either, so that could have added an extra 1,000 easily enough.

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Jez...I'm not sure how some of your are living, but 2.5K a night seems high for just going out...

When on vacation here a few years back my wife and I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks, ate 3 meals out every day and almost never got above 1.5K per day*. For us both.

(One trip to the Australien Outback-restaurant in Siam Square cost some 1300B, but that is steaks...)

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I admit it is possible to get by on a lot less, but that was the amount of money I was spending a night... I was only in Pattaya 6 nights so I think that sort of urged me to just go for it, the result was the best 6 nights of my life though!

I'm not sure what you mean by 'beyond the norm.'  Thai culture in Thailand is not 'beyond the norm'....it is the norm.....unless by Thai culture you want to find a place where everyone dresses up like characters in a leeg khay performance....which is a total fantasy.....maybe what you invision is more of a fantasy and has little to  do with real Thai culture?  I'm not sure about this....I can see that its starting to sound like I'm flaming here a bit but that is not my intent.  Perhaps you could state more clearly what it is you are looking for.  If you want to see authentic Thai culture then you can just go to any village away from large cities and you will find it.  Other than that I don't know what it is you are looking for.

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Yeah, I agree, the clarity wasn't the greatest. - to clarify by saying beyond the norm, I meant - most people visit Thailand for the infamous nightlife and the luxury at their disposal (excuse the stereotype) but you know what I mean. What I meant by saying beyond the norm was basically what billyboy has posted, that is exactly what I am looking and probably a bit more. To find a village where there is minimal western influence, with a genuine sense of community and of course some unspoiled scenery.

Cheers for the replies. And billyboy, I wil certainly be visit that area in the near future, it sounds like paradise, cheers!

All these figures are fine, but what is over weight and what is not? Most nutritionists these days use the Body Mass Index (BMI). It gives you an index benchmark given a specific height and weight. This is not totally foolproof since someone with a very low muscle mass : fat ratio will give a slightly inacurate result. To check your BMI go to:

Check your BMI

Mine is 21.

Below 25 your not a fatty. Over 25 and you are a fatty.

DK might need to do a little extra calculation as I think he goes off the scale 

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Body mass index's are useless mate - and nutritionists shouldn't use them. All they do is calculate height vs weight. So technically, a bodybuilder would be obese (although only about 5% body fat). I suppose it is interesting to know what your BMI is, but I would not read into it much

I have just been to the hospital with my 2 year old daughter who has an eye infection. She has had these nearly every month. In fact for nearly everthing that she has had wrong with her, antibiotics are given. I am no doctor but think that they hand them out too easily.

Can kids become immune to these antibiotics?

Should I sometimes refuse to take them, letting her develop her own resistance?

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My mother is a doctor and she admits that SOME doctors do prescribe antibiotics far too quickly. Some establishments in the UK pay doctors through the amount of patients they treat in a day/week/month/year whatever time scale, I'm not sure if this applies in Thailand too (probably). Prescribing antibiotics is a quick and easy way to deal with a patient, even when they are more effective alternatives. Personally I would avoid use of antibiotics unless COMPLETELY necessary, however once administered it is crucial you complete the course, even if you feel totally fine. Most people make this mistake and over time can become immune to various antibiotics... A much publicised immunity is Methicillin resistant stapholoccus aureus and many other strains of this, oxacillin, penicillin etc.

I personally refuse the course of antibiotics and see if she can develop her own resistance, however being only two years old she will not have the most efficient immune system or luekocytes. I think it would be best to confront your doctor and explain your concerns (although you've probably tried that)

Best of luck

2500 pound can last a year in pattaya easily.  That also includes getting drunk every 2nd day ( calculated "getting drunk"= drinking a 26 of sang som )

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I was in Pattaya during Songran earlier this year, I was spending about 2,500 baht per day...

The only expense I had to pay for myself was my night out entertainment, everything else was prepayed for. If I was to go out every second night like I did, I would accrue a total somewhere around the 9k mark (about 660000 baht) - that was about 2,500 baht a night. I did not pay for any after hours entertainment courtesy of a bar girl either, so that could have added an extra 1,000 easily enough.

In other words, a 2.5k budet would get you nowhere in a place like Pattaya, well personally it wouldn't, but I'm pretty sure it would not even get a recluse very far.

Best of luck trying though

6.4" and about 14.3 stone - 8.3% body fat, like to keep myself in shape (boring &lt;deleted&gt; that I am).. Still only 18, plenty of time to put it on

Davey

I had my first visit to Thailand eariler this year during Songkran - It was fantastic. I visited a few places in the short time I was there: Bangkok, Kanchanaburi (river Kwai) Saraburi and Pattaya. Bangkok and Pattaya were great, especially for an 18 year old like me. Kanchanaburi and Saraburi were a lot more sedate, although for me equally as great, for different reasons obviously. On my return to Thailand I want to indulge in Thai culture and traditional Thai life... Is there places where this is possible? i.e. little, if any western influence? I'm sure there is but I'm just no too sure where. Any help would be welcome. The thought of some remote Isaan regions sound particularly appealing.

Davey

During my tour of South-East Asia and Australia earlier this year I flew with numerous airlines. Without a shadow of a doubt Finair were the worst! I flew finair from Singapore to Bangkok, it was the longest 2 hours of my life! There was like 2 televisions for one whole cabin (fair enough for a 2 hour flight I guess) but after I got off the flight continues to Helsinki! Poor people. The Cabin crew were almost non-existent and as we descented and began our approach, people freely started to use their mobile phones to ring whoever they liked! (Wasn't a particular fan of that) The actual flight wasn't too great either... Halfway to our desired altitude the engines appeared to fail! obviously they hadn't, but it was not good for peace of mind when you hear loud thrusts to nothing at all and your ascent beings to fluctuate, not at all good for peace of mind!

As for BA and Quantas, I flew through them too. BA from London to Singapore in Buisness - Quite pleasent, no real complains.

Quantas from Singapore to Adelaide via Darwin - Wasn't a bad flight, cabin crew were decent but when that annoucement comes on 'You are flying with Quantas, the spirit of Austrailia' it becomes slightly intolerable - Apart from that no real complaints.

Singapore airline were good too - I'm not really fussy, as long as I get to my destination in one piece.

Never flown with Thai airlines but I'm sure I will soon.

Davey