richard_smith237

I don't see it this way.... One think I have noticed over my years here is that in person, Thai's are extremely non-judgemental and forgiving... they do not tar all with the same brush... they are astute enough to differentiate the piggish bogans of all nationalities from the respectful regular flock... ... So, while repeated negative news such as this may give cause for the 'gangs' such as motorcycle win-taxi's to over-react and release that tik-tok fuelled anger, the vast majority of Thai's remain indifferent. No harm in being cautious of course, but if we are having to walk around on eggshells for fear of a negative interaction with a local which could blow out of proportion, then I suggest Thailand is no longer the place for any of us (foreigners) to live and relax. That said, if we are the type of foreigner who has never had an issue here, who has respectfully settled and behaves normally then there is nothing to be concerned - just interact as we always have done nothing has really changed as those with a decent attitude are more often than not treated favourably here and that is unlikely to change in the short term.

Sounds like almost the way I was in the USofA before I left. Well done on Surviving Waco...

Correct answer. Thats not 'always' the correct answer... It is often assumed that the car behind is automatically at fault when involved in a rear-end collision... but there are plenty of cases where this isn't so. In this example we have the bike suddenly changing lanes and coming to an abrupt halt (to avoid hitting the stopped car in front). The car following the bike also changes lanes to avoid the rapidly slowing bike, but ends up taking the same path and hitting the bike. Had the car, been in the left hand turn lane already, the 'crash' would have been 100% the bikes fault, but the car also changed lanes, making the driver of the car at fault for the accident. BUT... the motorcycle was also riding without care and attention... that was the lead up, but not the crash itself which is caused by the car following too closely. While the bike rider is clearly a total d!<k.... after watching the video a few times I'd agree that while the car driver is 100% at fault for the accident itself.

Pretty much agree with all the comments on here. The Bike rider is a pr!ck and riding like one. It seems the rider was going too fast and was paying more attention to the blue car than the traffic in front. It seems the rider had to take evading action to avoid riding into the rear of the stationary car, switched lanes without warning. The car driver, also not paying proper attention had to swerve left to avoid the rapidly slowing bike, but also switched lanes when the bike did and rear ended the bike. Fault: I'd argue 50 / 50... Fault is with the rider for changing lanes and stopping. Fault is also with the driver who rear-ended the bike. Further response: Vandalism Charge for the Aussie rider. --------- All of the above said - is very annoying when on a bike to see a driver place you in physical danger because of their careless actions. In this case though, the rider appears to be the trigger for the whole issue - he was riding like a pr!ck and certainly acted like one.

Love the way this sentence is so commonly used on this forum as if someone has had their urethral epiphany and figured they'd pish-out their self perceived liquid gold completely oblivious to their lack of originality.... ... here's some more similar golden droplets of outstanding forum daring and originality.... 'the farang is always at fault'... or even better... 'if you dont like it here go home' Erm... Are they 'Non-English' Immigration officers at Heathrow ????.....

... and if you get along well with neighbours, help each other out, mix well with Thai's and foreigners in your community etc and you are comfortable here as you would be anywhere else, then it would seem you are well 'settled' and perhaps that means well integrated into society... ... but, if by flying below the radar, you mean not speaking with others, keeping yourself to yourself and having no friends etc then it perhaps means that while you have settled in your own way, you haven't integrated. I tend to keep myself to myself, but having been here a long time I have a lot of Thai and Western friends. Its more difficult to be part of the 'community' in the middle of a city like Bangkok, nevertheless, its easy to feel normal when doing every day things around the area.... ... I agree, there's no need to draw loads of attention (name up in lights)..... but we should be able to say hi to those others sharing the same areas as we do, and perhaps that is as much polite integration as there needs to be.

All the main names pretty much do the same thing. Key point is to get 1st Class insurance..... then you have the best protection, in the event of an incident the agent also comes out to deal with the issues etc (so that side is a lot easier)... All the main insurance companies have lots of agents. Its best to go through a broker IMO - who'll also sort out Tax and Compulsory insurance etc... PM me if you need a broker - I've used the same one for over 15 years.... seems to be able to give me a range of options so I can make a choice.

While I agree with your sentiment that they are just not letting this story drop..... He had two handguns.... at least the 10th rehash of this story for today comes with something new......

Its not Bangladesh.... even when there... paradise was most certainly not hear and now.... in fact the anus of the earth was. But, I get your point... Wherever we are we can make efforts to consider it paradise, especially with those we care about... But, for some of us, its made easier in a better place... For others, it doesn't matter the place, or who they are with, as they'll never find 'paradise' if they lack the emotional maturity and stability not to trip over it with hyperbolic negativity... i.e. Such a beautiful area, oh.... someone fired a slingshot at the encroaching monkeys... Thats it, I hate Thailand, I hate all Thai's... this has completely ruined my day....

As the title states... Been reading for answers... But shops come and go. It seems the market for gummies is not huge and most of them are imported (if I'm not mistaken)... So, from which supplier are the best Gummies in Bangkok ? What do I mean by best ? that can be a fairly wide answer. To start with - best buzz for a fun high ? And what are the strengths ? i.e. take 1 gummy and get high for a couple of hours - the last ones I've taken haven't really done much but is great for helping with sleep. Others I've taken in the past (given to me) got me high from one gummy for a 4-5 hours, pretty decent. Can order (by Line or Grab) etc ???

I'm taking a wild stab in the dark here and guessing.... 'Its because you reopened the topic'.... No ??? Quite amusing that you are criticising the 'resurfacing of a topic' which you yourself resurfaced !!!!

So why winge about it? erm.... sorry fella, I can't understand it for you and there's no magic pill that can help with your reading comprehension... but, if you were to give Adderall a go... it might help you focus long enough to grasp the basic point.

At one of Bangkok's top Hospitals... (sporting leg injury)... In a wheelchair to get around the hospital. Some of the ramps are too steep to push myself up (in the wheelchair) with any ease.... Also, too steep to go down safely (wife pushing me, nearly lost control down a down slope which appeared steep). I don't think they use the same 'safety standards' and ramp steepness that the UK is regulated to... This surprises me that even in a hospital such obvious gaps in wheelchair access can be identified in a single visit.... What does this tell me ??..... It tells me that the issues for disabled people are not taken seriously here in Thailand, even at a top tier hospital... Of course, the hospital circumnavigates this by having porters everywhere to assist which is great, but the underlying issues 'bypassed' rather than resolved.

I think, integration is a word which may have a different meaning for many of us. Thai society covers an extremely broad spectrum... there are those at either end of the spectrum that don't integrate with the other. i.e. Taxi drivers tend not to integrate with university professors (regardless of how hard someone tries to come up with an example of how they enjoy a beer with their Taxi Driver Neighbour and University Professor Friend)... So... Integration... IMO - it means being polite, being respectful, learning enough of Thailand to know what to do when to do it, how to behave etc. Wai'ing - yes, knowing when to Wai and not being afraid of doing it wrong, or not to have a superiority complex also means - integrating (in this context).... Having close Thai friends (male and female)... being close enough to go around to the houses of Thai friends for dinner, going on holiday together etc... Being close enough to discuss anything.... Integration for me means being here and being comfortable in and around the company of Thai's on a mutually respectful daily basis. Integration for me means being here and it not really feeling any different to my home country any more... It is different of course, but the feeling of 'being normal' is the same feeling as it is in my home nation. I think for someone who is polite, integration is a very simple thing to achieve... its just part of living a life which feels normal.

Perhaps the humans who provide the extra food source should be deported as they are contributing to the Monkey overpopulation issues.... Its just like those who feed the soi-dogs..... so more soi dogs come around, sh!££ing everywhere, spreading disease, howling at night, becoming territorial for food and making walking or cycling down the street less safe... ... when when the dogs are taken away, these so-called dog lovers complain at the inhuman response to a problem they contributed too...... except they are so dumb, they don't see how every 'dog feeder' in the area makes the issue of strays worse than better for the contribute to the sufferring of future generations of dogs too.... So, Bob, you and everyone else... Feeding your monkeys, ensures more fit and healthy monkeys to procreate and produce more monkeys, which need more food, which become more territorial, more confident, encroach more into human areas's.... become desperate and brave enough to 'grab and snatch' and attack..., ... You Bob (and people like you) are the very cause of the problem others are having to resolve for you....

They're smarter than you Bob.... they won't bite you... you are bigger and more powerful than they are and they know that. So all that will happen is more and more Monkeys come to where they get fed, because you (and people like you) will feed them.... ... The issue is when a child is there and not feeding them, the monkeys get angry and will attack. Of, if a child is there to feed them, the monkeys are impatient and will attack a child for the bag of food they are carrying In short Bob.... the issue itself is caused by the very people who are so weak they can't face any of the solutions.....

Oh I don't know, have you ever tried it ??? And... as with many issues, you are using a singular example to paint with very broad strokes. Why do they need to use a slingshot ???.... whats the alternative ?? real bullets ? poison ? The issue is that people are too stupid and feed the monkeys, so they become more brave, more dangerous etc and end up not being scared of humans so they 'encroach' and become pests. ------- We were in Koh Chang staying at a resort where the staff also fired slingshots at the monkeys... The staff had to, the Monkeys are nasty little b@5tards that are confident enough to try and get into your bungalow.... they'll steel your towels and anything you leave outside - they are vermin. But the worst part, they can attack. My Son walked out onto the veranda and there were a couple of monkeys there - they bared their teeth, aggressively hissed at my son and moved towards him... I was just behind him so they ran when I came out... but initially it looked like they were prepared to attack a child. IMO, the resort didn't do enough to ensure the area was safe for kids, but also, what else can the resort do ??? So, in cases such as this where Bob Smith will accuse Thai's of treating animals inhumanely, it is perhaps people like Bob who were too kind and over-fed the monkeys in the first place which created the situation which now exists... Point here Bob - you're pointing the finger at the negative, without understanding the probable cause....

I'm pretty sure Bob is a Pattaya monger.... hence all of his stories and not being in the best place for being surrounded by emotionally healthy and mentally stable Thai's and Foreigners.... In fact it could be argued that places such as central Pattaya and Patong etc are not conducive for anything else other than repeating numerous repetitive negative encounters with feed the negative conformation bias. If I were to spend a few days in central Pattaya, I'm sure I'd be exhausted from all the repetitive negative BS that comes with it...

Given the posting history - I'm wondering... Is she crying becasue Bob is leaving for good and taking his financial security with him ??? OR... is Bob leaving for a couple of weeks for a break ??? In which case her emotional response is rather excessive. The nuts and bolts of this come down do - Why doesn't she want him to leave ? a) Loss of financial security ? b) Loss of her mutually respectful loving partner who she relies upon for emotional support ? I know its difficult to tell which, given Bob's posting history.... Also, why can't she go with him ??? --------- Wife and I have an agreement.... if anything comes up and we need to / have to move (career or family reasons etc).. then we do so together and give it a solid year to try... IF after a year it still doesn't work, then we can always go back to square one. I guess the issue here is that Bob isn't at square one, as he isn't comfortable here in Thailand... Square one for Bob Smith is surely more about being comfortable in his own head space than anything else, no ????

Excellent... That might be the first positive post I've seen you write about Thailand or something Thai that doesn't involve hookers or booze !!!!..... And there you have it... focus on the good things and let the 'negative' things just wash away. So.. when you go back there for your 'excellent 60 Baht Pad Thai' and the wonderful waitress makes a small mistake with your bill, its just a mistake and mistakes happen.... Its not because the waitress suddenly hates foreigners and is trying to rip you off.... The whole point of the metaphor is to keep doing the positive things... place yourself in a situation where positive things are more likely to happen.... (and by that, I also mean 'mental approach').... and if something negative happens, evaluate how 'truly negative' it really is.... ------- For example: I'm currently fairly immobile after encountering a sporting injury which some may consider not insignificant... This forces me to encounter far more Thai's than I usually would on a daily basis... this of course is perfectly fine by me, but it also means I am witnessing more stupid stuff going on within my immediate surroundings..... And not to Thai Bash, in the same situation in the UK, I also witnessed more stupid stuff going on within my immediate surroundings..... its simply a facet of being exposed to more people in a day to day encounters means there is a higher chance of encountering more dumb people, thats all.... So... when I do encounter something galactically stupid, I just ignore it and move on.... its going to happen again before the day is over !!!... One example of this is walking into a medical supplies shop to order some supplies.... I knew what I wanted, I'd researched what I'd needed, I'd found the items on Lazada (and had spent a lot of the day in hospital looking at what I might need and the prices etc). So.. when I asked the price - they were 4x the price on Lazada for the same item / same brand... no point to say anything, I just left. Was the shop dual charging because I am a foreigner ? perhaps..... We're they charging top price because by my physical condition it was something they could see I most definitely need ?... perhaps... perhaps a combination of them both - I didn't care, that person is not an example of all Thai's or how all Thai's treat me, so it was easy for me to ignore.... The positive I took away from that is at least I could get the items of Lazada within a few days for a good price. The 'metaphor' as we are using it in this example is that.... good things are still out there, even though something negative happened - place myself in a situation to utilise the good (i.e. have a plan B for a lot of things).

i paid 60 baht for my pad thai today. anyone who pays 200 for a plate of fried noodles is a clinical moron. bob. Thats part of your deeper unresolved issues bob.... You are unable to see the bigger picture and seem to react negatively to everything and shoe horn in generalisations. The issue explained by Prubangboy isn't about the cost of noodles.... it about being away from the madness or close to an area civilised to western standards for you to find some form of normalisation within the day to allow for a 'reset'..... This example at hand... I don't know how much the Pad Thai is in Greyhound cafe.... its a fairly average cafe, but its run well and service is usually very good... I'm guessing the Pad Thai is about 200 baht. You're not paying for 'noodles' alone... you're paying for comfortable seating, Air-con, pleasant quiet surroundings, proper cultlery and crockery.... But... you could go for 60 baht noodles, in a hot and sweaty open air street-side mum and pop-shop..... but the complain that the serving is small, that its too noisy, that its uncomfortable.... i.e. know yourself and what you like and know that sometimes... taking the 200 baht noodles helps with the 'reset' when dealing with the local hustle and bustle..... (the 200 baht noodles are a metaphor).

Thanks for the feedback.... I have found that dealing with the DLT one of the simpler of the 'bureaucratic' dealings in Thailand. As you found out, there is always a 'curve ball' or two, but in general, the process simple enough to get through on our own.

100% Agree.... Its difficult to have a discussion making a point from this perspective without some binary thinker dichotomising the situation into one whereby if we don't want the swiss man hung, we must be supporting him... which of course isn't true. BUT... what I see here is the juvenile nature in-which this issue was turned into a witch-hunt.... The issue now of course is that social media has registered such a high-click-density that it has its recipe to generate further Ad-revenue.... .... Thus we end up with a media-led fervour which influences the official response.... Imagine a Thai woman in a BMW dangerously cuts me up and causes an accident in which her arm is broken, I get out and shout at her for causing the accident and this is caught on social media.... there are numerous stories covering the incident which concentrate on what a bad foreigner I am for shouting at her, and swearing !!!..... Social media asks for heads !!!..... Authorities investigate and find out that I had a 2 day over-stay 15 years ago and I should be deported and black-listed..... Of course, unlikely - but we can see how social media and the media have influenced the decision of authorities to investigate more and find deeper issues.... So, is this now the status quo ?.... have a problem with a local and all of our dealings, visa, business etc is dug up and investigated... just incase the can find something to use against us... ??? Is this going to empower locals to behave with an air of superiority with foreigners ??? OR... (as I reality believe) - is nothing going to change and this really is not going to impact any of us anyway ?... I've never come around to the idea that foreigner is always at fault, I consider I've always been treated fairly and expect that I'll continue to do so.... This weeks examples have just been a couple of scummy foreigners behaving poorly and thankfully Thai's are smarter than this and deal with us individually based on our individual merits.

Given your posting history Bob, I'm surprised you are still here at all. It's clear that you have an underlying dislike for Thailand that will generate negativity out of the most innocent of situations and your attitude is certainly not one conducive to a land where cultures differ. That said, Bob, I imagine someone who is so quick to jump to negative conclusions to be satisfied or happy anywhere... To use an appropriate exaggeration - You'd be the kind of guy complain that the sand at the local beach sticks to your feet too much and the locals put it there to stop farang's going to the beach.... So... whatever happens, wherever you go, its unlikely you're going to like it until you start identifying and resolving the issues within yourself.

Not completely true... If you can't afford a top tier International school here then your decision to take your daughter home as soo as you can for a better education is admirable and I also agree, that with that, she has a better chance at a rewarding life back in the US, but also a better chance at a rewarding life here in Thailand, if she so chooses to return (with an overseas education compared to a local government school education). BUT... If you can afford the 1 Million Baht per year for a Top Tier International School education then the standard of education in Thailand is incredibly high, much higher than the free equivalent in our home countries.... Then there is the networking etc and the follow on ability to go to pretty much any University world wide or depending on subject (i.e. medicine) to remain in or return Thailand with masses of connections.