Thunderbirds20

they usually require a letter from Immigration as well, ...... the rules and regulations are just getting to be too much. I am ending 11 years here and going back to my own country. Thailand can wallow in the flood of Russians and Chinese as the exodus of decent Expats continues to leave Thailand for more welcoming destinations. Land of Smiles!! Bye Bye!!

the worst part of living on a fixed pension in Thailand is the volatile money exchange. My pension is from Canada. Last year it increased by .55 cents, but the exchange rate dropped from 32 baht to 24, and is now up a bit again to about 26, ... but that is still a loss of 6 baht for every dollar. 

On the other end, prices are increasing so my pension does not go nearly as far as it used to .... I am taking a big step in 2 weeks time and returning to Canada to live.

At least there, I get Medical Coverage, even for pre-existing illnesses. ... and after a year, I can apply for income supplement, ...which is not available if you do not reside in Canada

I HAVE LIVED IN THAILAND FOR 11 YEARS AND THOUGHT I WOULD LIVE HERE FOREVER!

I used to feel safe any time, anywhere, but not any more. This is now an every day occurrence ... two or usually more Thai Thugs gang up an an elderly Farang, beat him senseless and rob him of whatever is on him.

I bought a ticket back to Canada and I am another statistic next month. There will be one less Farang in Thailand. I can't get out of here soon enough!

The Government policies are changing as is the attitude by the public IN GENERAL, .. not all but many! I have lived here 11 years and used to feel safe any time, anywhere, but not any more. I am packing up and returning to Canada, because I am tired of the double standard in all things. I have been robbed at gun and knife point, had a necklace snatched from my neck, had things stolen from my room by supposed friends, been over charged and short changed.

Russians and Chinese are the preferred people and Westerners are no longer welcome, so I am out of here next month

it is against the law, but how can you ever enforce it? I have seen signs on some baht buses that say there is a 2000 baht fine for smoking, ... laws are only effective if they can be enforced, and this one can not

I beg to disagree, .... I think it is falling fast as a preferred destination for expats. Other places are more welcoming than Thailand and prefer a better quality expat community. Thailand is now favoring people that do not respect Thai culture, customs or food and do not even like Thai people, namely Russians and Chinese.

You can go to almost any village in Thailand and find Western Expats living there, supporting a Thai family, but you will never see Russians or Chinese in such places. They prefer the beaches like Pattaya, Phuket and Hua Hin.

What gets me is other Thais will say nothing even if they see this kind of thing. I have been pick pocketed, robbed at gun and knife point, had gold snatched from my neck by passing motorcycles, had things stolen out of my room, been over charged and short changed.

So tired of the Thai attitude towards Farang. They think we are all a bottomless pit of money and loss will not affect us!

Marc Heylen is on Facebook. Good guy. Hard worker, will handle everything for you

I live in Jomtien Beach and use a bicycle to get around during daylight hours. This morning I was nearing my condo complex and needed to change from curbside to the right hand lane to make a right turn. I checked my mirror, saw it was clear and signaled my intention to change lanes. I was about to cross the line in to the right lane, when a car roared passed me, missing me by centimeters. He could easily have gone behind me but chose to cut in front of me. Why do Thai drivers seem to ignore cyclists? It is like we are not there. They nose out of a side street, see me coming then nose out further, cutting me off and forcing me to stop while they wait for a a chance to pull out. Several times, people whiz by within inches of me when there is lots of room to spare. Every vehicle does this, trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, ..... every time I go out I have 3 or 4 instances like these, but today was especially scary as this guy was doing way over 100 kms an hour and almost knocked me off my bike by the blowback.

I can relate to your problem. I have Emphysema so second hand smoke is a health hazard for me as well as annoying. I live in a large complex that gets many short term renters, ( 1 to 3 months), mostly from Russia and they all seem to smoke, but do so on the balcony so they do not stink up their own room, but have no problem stinking up someone elses room.

I had to move once after 4 years in a room here, because a Thai woman moved in across the hall from me and was always smoking. Unfortunately, the breeze blew into my room instead of out her balcony. I explained my situation to her and asked her please to close her door when she smoked. Her reply? ...... I am Thai. I do what I want. You no like it, go home!

I live in Jomtien Beach and am witness to Thai people coming for the weekend. They park their vehicles by the beach, open the doors and turn up the volume full blast. They spread out mats on the walkway and plop themselves down with food and drink. The eat, drink and enjoy then pack up and leave all their garbage behind. Plastic bags, food containers, bottles, ... even when there is a garbage bin a few steps away!

They seem to have no regard for anyone else. Foreigners are much more concerned about leaving the area as they found it or even cleaner, but not Thais!

I wonder what they would think if I followed them home, set up my mats and car stereo and proceeded to enjoy myself then left all my garbage behind!!

That is correct! I just activated my overseas calling with 003 at AIS. I call to Canada for 2.5 baht a minute but one important fact !!!! - you must manually dial the call. If you have it programed in to your phone and just click on that, ...you are charged premium rate. So, ... manually dial each overseas call!

Beware!! You will probably get charged for damaging all that fine furniture.

I rented a room from a Thai woman that was full of lies ... saying she was going to do a lot of things to fix it up ... but she never did. She said the bed was new, there was a remote for the air con and she would put in a washing machine. NOPE! I had to pay 4000 baht to get the air con serviced and a remote, she refused to replace the bed, I had to buy one myself, ..... three guesses what she did about the washing machine.

This is Thailand! Thais will always win out, no matter what. Take pictures of everything and hope for the best, but I bet you will never get your deposit back!

There is a pecking order starting with monks, professionals, authority figures, as well as age. I am 69 years old and no Thai ever wais me first. Also the higher the hands are held the greater the respect, ...... evidently, this does not apply to foreigners. The Land of Smiles is losing it's identity as a gentle nation, .... disrespect is rampant and violent attacks on the rise. No wonder Thailand made it in the top ten most dangerous places to visit!

It has certainly changed in the 11 years I have been here. Now I am afraid to go out at night alone. As an elderly person, I am an easy target for Thai Thugs that roam in gangs looking for someone like me.

These Thai thugs always fight in gangs with weapons and usually beat the crap out of some old man. It is way past time the Thai Police and Judicial system do something that sends a message to these Thai Thugs that this is not acceptable. They usually get some minimal fine and sent on their way.

In Belize, any local stealing from a tourist gets a 7 year jail sentence. Aggravated assault should get even more!

I am very disillusioned with the land of smiles. This kind of thing is happening far far far too often

Makro does have some very good prices, but you have to know what items sell for in other places as well. some things like you pointed out are actually more expensive at Makro, some are the same and some much cheaper. I used to buy Hormel Chili at Makro for 86 baht when it was 110 at the Family Market, but now neither place carries it any more.

I remember when the fee was 30 baht, ..in 2008. In one day it went to 150 baht where it stayed for several years then went up to 180 baht a year or two ago and recently went up to 200 baht. Banks! The only business that gives zero service and charges for everything it does.

I use a coin operated washing machine that only takes 10 baht coins. Try getting a roll from a bank! No such thing as a roll ...... they seldom have 100 bahts worth of 10 baht coins. Makes me go "Hhhhmmm?" Only in Thailand!

Typical Thai thinking!

If you ban the sex trade, how are all the single mothers from Isaan going to pay to raise the kids they had with deadbeat, fun loving, responsibility averse Thai guys? Maybe you should start with a free and better education system that includes sex education, and how to respect a woman.

These poor girls give themselves willingly to these Thai guys and then find themselves pregnant and alone with a lifetime of responsibility to raise a kid. They are usually poorly or completely uneducated so the only way they can make enough to support the kid is to leave it with her parents to raise while she goes off to live in a small room with four other girls in the same situation, work insanely long hours, with only two days off a month and forced to go with any man that wants to have sex with her.

This crackdown on the sex trade is treating the symptom not the problem!

I ride a bicycle as transportation in Pattaya. I am very careful but am amazed at the lack of regard I get from Thai drivers. I see them look at me, we even make eye contact then they pull out in front of me like I am not there. Cars, trucks, buses and even motorbikes whiz past me with inches to spare. I have even been run off the road by some idiot bus driver!

I hope people will read this and treat cyclists with the same respect any other vehicle on the road gets!

Thank you

This is becoming an all to frequent occurrence in Pattaya. These Thai guys only fight in gangs and with weapons. There is no such thing as a fair fight. It is always heavily weighted in favor of the Thais. They do not mess around either. They just start bashing! Welcome to Thailand

A Russian Outpost

I have lived in Jomtien Beach for 7 years, but I have not been in the water for four years after a very disgusting experience I had. I was going in to the sea every night around 6 p.m. for about 30 minutes. I just paddled around up to my neck most of that time. One day something bumped in to the back of my head. I turned around to see a large piece of feces ....... a cleanup is way way way overdue!

I question those statistics. I see an increase in the number of tourists but the majority of them are Chinese and Russian. They spend very little money compared to the Western tourist and also have little or no respect for all things Thai, ... including the people, ..... which is no doubt why you only see them in the top tourist areas like Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Samui, ... you will never find a Russian anywhere but the beaches!

The Chinese are almost exclusively in prepaid tour groups. They look, take photos and get on their tour bus to go to the next point of interest.

I live in Jomtien Beach and have never seen so many businesses struggling and closing, so it is hard to imagine revenue from tourism is up!

When I first came to Thailand in 2005, I felt safe anytime, anywhere. There seemed to be very little violent crime, but now it happens daily. The economy is worse than ever. High Season used to be a time of plenty, with shops, restaurants and bars in Pattaya, full of customers and money poured in. For some reason, Western tourists are not so welcome any more, .... fewer are coming, but tourists numbers are up, .... because of the Tsunami of Russians and Chinese, people who do not care about or respect Thai culture, customs, food or even the people! Most shops are empty as these new tourists do not frequent Thai businesses like Westerners did.

Thais are struggling in this stagnant economy so crime of all sorts, including violent crimes are on the rise! I am an elderly single man and fear being out at night alone as someone like me is an ideal target for the Thai thugs that drink a couple of bottles of courage and feel the power of the gang. So often a group of young Thais gang up on an elderly guy, beat the heck out of him and steal everything of value from him, ..... and very little if anything ever happens to them.