Gecko123

Have only heard 'chocolate man' used in the most affectionate and endearing way by a Thai woman to describe her African-American husband. Never, ever have I heard it used as a put down.

Story doesn't add up. You have to believe that he didn't once check on her medical condition over a three day period, even though he knew she had been assaulted prior to arrival at the room.

For the last time, she did not say "person of color" in the intro. She referred to the guy as a "person with colored skin" which you erroneously, and in your eagerness to jump on the anti-woke bandwagon, misinterpreted as "person of color." At least two other posters have tried to explain this to you as well. If you're going to just pursue a hard headed ideological agenda I can't stop you, but when you pose a question about the Thai language as you did, at least have the decency and intellectual honesty to appreciate it when people try to improve your understanding of the language.

Your first post expressed (faux) alarm that a term such as "person of color" might have worked its way into the Thai vernacular. As this term is viewed as "politically correct" by some and "woke" by others, I would say that fretting about this possibility crossed the line from casual observation into the realm of political commentary. If it makes you feel any better, (piw sii ผิวสี) would more accurately be translated to "colored skin" or simply "colored" rather than "person of color." As I said earlier, this term has been in usage for decades, if not longer, in Thailand. The usage of "colored" to describe people of African descent is now viewed as unacceptable in the West due to its usage during the slavery and Jim Crow eras in America and apartheid era in South Africa. The use of "colored" to describe dark complected foreigners in Thailand is tolerated, at least for the time being, because without the above mentioned historical baggage, the term is not viewed as racially charged but simply descriptive. I don't think you need to worry about "woke" language encroaching into the Thai language. The usage of politically correct or, if you insist, "woke" language has gained traction in the West in an effort to linguistically force people to respect one another's racial and cultural differences. In my opinion, Thais are light years ahead of most Westerners in this department so the need to erect these type of linguistic guardrails here is minimal.

Your attempt to politicize the Thai term (piw sii ผิวสี) is misguided. This term has been around for a very long time, and to the best of my knowledge it is a home grown term that was not adopted out of any pressures from abroad to be politically correct. It is simply a non-offensive euphemism to describe dark complected foreigners, usually of African descent.

Seemed to be enjoying all the attention. My guess is he is a tourist who was off his meds, or inebriated. Agree with "lay off the hate" sentiment expressed above.

When the snake sh*ts out a pair of sandals and white socks in a couple of weeks, it'll all be 'I guess we kinda forgot to check on Mr. Nigel.'

These threads always bring out posters who are proud of how little they spend or how much they spend. Most of us who have been here a while have a pretty good idea of how much things cost, and there are few if any areas where overall expenses (excluding housing) can drastically be kept below average costs for Thailand. When someone posts they only spend 2,500 baht a month on food, chances are they are either eating like a bird (and perhaps drinking like a fish) or the quality of their diet is being compromised (highly processed, high sodium, few anti-oxidants, low fiber, low in fresh fruits and vegetables, etcetera. Someone claiming to spend 30,000 for one person on food is probably combining groceries with eating out expenses, eats enormous amounts of food, wastes enormous amounts of food, shopping at high end grocery stores, and undoubtably eating a lot of imported food. Record keeping is another issue. People say they only spend 2,500 a month on food, while forgetting all the other months where they spent much more. It is also true enough that many, if not most, locals live on less than 20,000 per month (excluding rent), but when you start getting into the weeds and looking at their quality of diet, medical and dental care, savings for retirement, wardrobe, ability to finance children's higher education, ability to own a motor vehicle, etc., it quickly becomes apparent that significant compromises in lifestyle and standard of living are being made out of necessity, not by choice.

Thank you for the timely reminder that becoming destitute in a foreign country is always an available option.

People ignore that you can't realistically spend your entire budget because you have to set aside money for all the contingencies which may arise: currency exchange, inflation, medical and dental expenses, repatriation (voluntary or involuntary), casualty losses (injuries, fire, theft), repair and replacement of appliances and furniture, potential raising of immigration requirements, etc. If you only have 20K/month, and subtract out all the set asides listed above, the money left over for daily expenses is more like 10K than 20K.

Hello Gecko : I agree with what you wrote, but I don't think the issue is whether you can manage to live on 20K for a year or two long stint, but whether you can do it on an ongoing basis in retirement (10-20 years). I get the rural lifestyle: 2K row house, farmer's market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, mountain biking and shooting hoops at the local elementary school lifestyle, but over time other issues/"wants"/needs emerge which will likely make a 20K budget constraining, especially as you get older and may have more medical expenses. Maybe not true for everyone, but true for many.

It can be done, but you will pay a price either in terms of your diet, medical/dental care, modes of transportation, wardrobe, recreational activities, extent of travel, or your ability to recover from an unexpected property or casualty loss.

I give "gifts" at New Year's and occasionally at Songkran mainly to delivery drivers. I avoid tipping at each delivery because it creates an ongoing expectation that they will be tipped every time, and if you don't tip the next time there's often this resentment/disappointment vibe which I prefer to avoid.

I could be totally wrong, but I have a hard time believing that MaMa noodles as a Christmas bonus is a well-received gift.

I do wonder sometimes if the security guards in these go-go bars don't go overboard sometimes showing off in front of the ladies. How hard is it to stick your head out the door and call for some police backup help? I also wonder if the reason these incidents escalate into violence so often is because of language barriers. I have a feeling foreign language proficiency isn't at the top of the list of job requirements for security guard recruits.