Thaiberius

Thai girls are far more emotionally hard than many give them credit for. A girl will very rarely cry on a day to day basis apart from to manipulate. If she is somebody you have met only online and she tells you a hard luck story about money and then turns the tears on? ...................... Plenty more fish in the sea as they say.

I find you can generally tell by the body language of somebody as to whether they will be communicative or not. If somebody doesn't speak then mai pen rai. Lots of more relevant things to think about.

Clearly not the one who I had to chase up Soi 4 in Bangkok with my camera and suitcase in his boot much to the amusement of the assembled revellers. If it wasn't for the heavy traffic he'd have got away with it.

17. Som tam

18. Hair extensions

19. 10 baht coins for ""play game""

20. Farang

In some of the Nana and Cowboy bars a Thai guy will often drape a towel over your shoulders and start massaging you as you take a leak. I would have thought that's a very easy way of not getting a tip but a fat lip. Certainly not typically Thai and something I try to avoid like the plague.

10. Phone

11. Farang

Not so much the case now but just a few years ago go to any Thai internet cafe after the bars close and you will have seen girls with multiple chat windows open typing messages of love to farangs across the globe. Not romantic intent just the desire for cash. Now it's all done on the mobile.

I am English and gave up years ago expecting anything off the UK government. If you do the right thing and go to work, pay your taxes and stay out of trouble then government think you are fair game. The stasi council will hassle you for Council Tax if you are a day late. If your self-assessment is late you get fined. If you drive a car then parking, driving is a nightmare with constant fines, charges etc. CCTV follows your every move. On the other hand if you do the wrong thing by staying in bed all day not working, decide not to pay any bills and milk the system then there are a whole army of social workers, benefits workers and do-gooders who will ensure you have an easy path in life. Not the rantings of a bitter man but the truth as I see it. The paperwork and regulations required just to use the banking system or try to access any sort of service is an endless task. For these reasons I very rarely work in the UK and spend as little time as possible there. As for expecting any sort of compassion from my government I'd much rather make my own destiny in life without having to ask for any help from them.

If it's not the soap's it's cartoons.

As you walk from Sukhumvit Road into Soi 4 Nana just before the bug stall there is a drain cover in the road. One night a few years ago I was walking from the 7/11 across the road to Morning Night. The road was flooded in usual fontock style when I saw a guy literally disappear in front of my eyes when he stepped in a puddle. Almost immediately a Thai guy jumped in and pulled him out. A big crowd gathered so I don't know what happened after that. Just a warning, never assume a puddle has a bottom to it.

Has anybody else been to Master Toddy in Bangkok?

I'm pleased you weren't too badly hurt. Thai pavements are a nightmare, loose slabs, exposed electrical wires, broken drain covers, loose kerb stones. I try to avoid puddles during the rain as there have been many instances where exposed electrical wires have killed people. A couple of years ago in Patong, if I remember correctly, there were a couple of fatalities within a few days of each other, one an Australian I think. Both faulty wiring and rain on the pavement.

Thai's have an unfortunate habit of laughing at other people's misfortune and nobody can accuse them of being politically correct. Just their way I suppose.

Why are you angry Moose?

As neither of you have a commitment to each other then go for it. You are a long time dead.

In the cinema and public areas I wouldn't want to cause offence by wilfully just sitting there and refusing to take part, that's just rude. Otherwise if I don't cause offence and there is nobody around I'll ignore it. For those of you who have been in the forces (UK anyway) we have been used to standing around needlessly to attention for no reason at all at the whim of somebody in authority. No difference really.

Just remembered, my Thai friend was at Hualamphong when the anthem came on and she decided to stay seated (she claimed to have been tired after a long train journey). Thai's nearby asked if she was Thai when they saw her still seated. She then claimed to be Cambonian in a muddled up Thai face-saving exercise.

The peck on the cheek thing has only really been in vogue in the UK for the past 20 years or so. Thai society is very conservative in a lot of ways and kissing somebody on the cheek is a no-no in public. On the other hand, some Thai's who are exposed to western habits whether in Thailand or the west will often adopt this behaviour. I personally think it is cringeworthy but I'm a 50 year old Daily Mail reading UKIP voter.

I feel safe walking around at night in any of the places I've lived in Thailand, including Bangkok. However, in Hua Hin near the supposed relatively secure areas/soi's around Market Village there is constant low level crime. Burglaries are commonplace along with theft of anything that isn't tied or welded down. At least this was the case a couple of years ago when I lived there. I had a friend whose girl wouldn't even stay in the house if he was away on business/visa run/bargirl exercises.

Twice in Bangkok on Sukhumvit Road I have seen asbestos being cut with an electric saw by builders with the dust being liberally sprinkled on oblivious passers by.

Say you pay two months deposit it means, that the last two months of the stay is being not paid. Keep paying for utilities and things but not for the rent. On leaving you may leave an average of your utilities and a phone number. If you call them a month later and they say "ok" then the utilities were less, otherwise pay up the minor difference against presentation of utility bills.

Worked fine for me over the last 29 years; landlords do not like it but in one case I rented from the same guys again and they loved it. We're not into cheating but whoever wants something from someone else is lost. So make sure that everybody wants something from you without misusing the situation ;-)

I doubt whether a Thai or even farang landlord would let you go two months in rent arrears knowing your tenancy was coming to an end. More likely the locks would be changed with your gear retained until you pay and as you've tried to trick them they may be inclined to keep your deposit aswell.

^{If you turn the roles around would you have brought up the same subject? There is no "typical" scam, there are hundreds. Up to you whether you get involved but as you have read and researched on this forum I'm sure you know what may be in store for you.}

^{On the other hand it may be genuine.}

I find if I spend more than about 4 or 5 months in Thailand at a stretch little things get me down. Taxi drivers, somebody who tried to short change me, a rude shopkeeper, a policeman wanting tea money (rare in my case), occasional stomach problems, squat toilets, expensive farang food in the supermarket, the same conversations etc. Once I realise what is happening I remember the advantages and the problems disappear into insignificance.

Whenever I've worked overseas in the Middle East or lived in Thailand wherever there is a large ex-pat population there will always be the moaners and whingers and half cup empty brigade. I am a cup half full person and always have been. I don't think it is Thailand particularly that attracts the cup empty people, they are present everywhere. However, I think Thailand has more triggers for this mindset than most places.

Gents/Ladies, I have just joined Thai Visa and wish to ask a question about a small business model and whether anybody has tried this and/or whether it is in common usage in farang small business set-ups.

Since around 2002 I have dabbled in small businesses (very small - buying for no more than £10k, mostly much less). These have included a small coffee concession, a small beer bar, a share in a laundry. I don't have a Thai partner either in business or personally. The businesses have not been my main source of income but have been, in varying ways, a learning experience and enjoyable with a small profit. On the other hand they have been vastly time-consuming. I have lived for varying lengths of time in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Patong, Koh Samui and Pattaya although I am now based in the UK.

I am moving back to Thailand later this year and wish to buy another small business.

My previous experience with running small businesses in Thailand have led me to think of using a different model to that I have previously used. I will not be going down the massage/bar route. The biggest headache I have experienced with the running of small businesses have been the training/reliability/retention of staff. Granted, a relatively small wage will never guarantee lifetime loyalty. I don't want to have to be around a good deal of the time dealing with problems which has been my experience in previous years.

Has anybody ever gone down the rental/commission route with a business? For example, a small farang-type delicatessen shop. (This is just an example, I don't have any particular location or business type in mind) - For delicatessen read generic. I purchase the business, pay rent, do the legal things, marketing, internet, train/support staff, arrange suppliers, deliveries etc etc. However, the day to day running on the ground is down to 1, 2, 3 people - reliability, retention and general duties down to the daily staff. They keep a % of takings and pay me the balance or alternatively pay a rent in order to run the business autonomously. I know some farang/Thai people in relationships and within families who practice this model but as I am a relative outsider is this viable?

Is there generally a problem with sub-letting? Other people who have tried this model can you tell me your experiences.

Any input good and bad much appreciated.

Thank you.