richard_smith237

With a name tag ????

Quite... my comment was supporting yours rather than presenting any form of contradiction.

try having that attitude in Thailand when you renew your visa. I'd bet my house on them refusing to stamp it for you and maybe even sticking you on a blacklist. It's difficult to entertain discussion with you bob because you come out with such ridiculously silly and unrealistic responses. You're betting your house that my next visa extension will be refused or I'll end up on a black-list ???.... ...at least you are entertaining.

Cherry picking your examples much ???

Indeed.... when they didn't want to give me a second passport.... A couple of arrogant yet lazy civil servants and an annoyed entitled 'citizen' (myself)... I got my second passport in the end and a couple of the civil servants in the Passport Office were left red-faced... but not before some firm words, an encounter which left everyone in less relaxed place than they were before. Sometimes the negative encounter is down to our own attitudes, someones an issue is unavoidable.... In this case, they were wrong, I was rather bullish which didn't help matters either. Perhaps similar to a negative encounter I had at an Amphur office years ago when I was dealt with in quite a negative manner. 'sometimes it's not you, its them' and this stuff happens everywhere, often a result of the person negatively 'judging' in an instant - sometimes people instantly just don't like another, especially if they are having a bad day, extremely rare, but it happens... perhaps about 1 in 100 situations or less.... Based on your posts I suspect the 'negative' occurs more frequently with you, I'd be left wondering why and looking inwards.

"...the highest previously recorded was 700 baht". Brilliant example of 'Liverpool-lou-ery'.... yes, worthy of your own noun... as usual your first instinct is to argue !!!!

or... it could be that i have experienced so much negativity here over the years that it has sadly shaped my view of thais and thailand in general. Did you ever stop to consider whether it's just you? because the vast majority of people on this forum and those with whom I interact most certainly do not hold similar sentiment towards Thai's.... hence my comment that your negative experiences could be solely a result of the impression you exude. In reality any encounters we experience are likely to be a combination of environment and impression we exude. We've all had negative encounters and experiences here in Thailand, as with anywhere else... In Thailand for most of us the negative experiences are usually insignificant pathetic stuff we can simply walk away from and have a little whinge about on this forum to fuel the fire of those who'd comment "if you don't like it go home".... I'm trying to think of the last genuinely negative experience I had in Thailand and I can't... it was probably some fool on the road.... In the past I've also had a couple of extremely negative experiences dealing with officialdom (Amphur Office), that is mirrored trying do deal with the Passport Office in the UK.... I think sometimes we stay here too long the viewpoint becomes jaded and a 're-set' is healthy.....

Nooooooooo, I wear socks, and no flip-flops for me either.....................???? Socks on the Missus' Birthday.... you spicy devil you !!..... Agree with the no flop-flops... quite an off-putting noise when going at it hammer and tongs....

Whilst you are tarring all with the same negative brush I am thankful that Thai's are more open minded, somewhat forgiving and possess the intelligence not to tar all foreigners with the same brush lest I am treated with a similar degree of disregard to which you are so clearly deserving, bob.... Just sayin'.... perhaps so many of your negative experiences are self perpetuating.

I definitely had you down as 'Black Beards delight' kind of guy Trans... & 'Sex panther' on the Missus' Birthday !!!

Name the Pub, Date and Time.... and see who wonders in trying to figure out which other posters are in there while trying not to appear as whatever they consider a stereotypical Aseannow forum member to look like... ... We already know that Bob Smith has hair and is likely to tow along.. a) a Hooker who prefers sleeping old men. b) definitely a non-hooker (who's secretly a hooker) c) a female who hates him who be beleives is his ex-wife !! Stoners' going to rock up in Drag.

Sex Panther by Oden.... I think NextG believes everyone in the changing room uses this !!!!...

I agree with you for those pushing the extremes of the 'odour spectrum' using too much fragrance (deodorant / ETC / EDP etc), as there are those pushing the extremes who fail to shower... .. I've already mentioned intelligent balance which you clearly seem unable to understand and continue to project the extremes. You don't use deodorant and probably don't stink either because as you've mentioned you shower frequently. There are also many people who use fragrances who don't overpower even the oversensitive misers such as yourself who fail to see anything other than from their own limited box.

There's defo a bit of..... "Me, myself, myself and Irene...." !!!

Its a 'financial barrier' this is not a dual pricing issue, its assurance that you can afford to stay your duration and its quite a cheap assurance at that. The UK has similar for foreigners wishing to remain in country long term (income or savings). Swings and roundabouts... I think the fee you mention is an 'exit' fee (not yet in effect I believe), additionally, this is not dual pricing as the charge is for any departing Thai or non-Thai, the utterly ridiculous idea behind the scheme is to prevent Thai's from travelling overseas and spending their money elsewhere.... scratch the surface and we'll simply find 'greed' and someone planning how to get their noses in the trough. 'keep preextremely clumsy and

Don't try and beat the system... play the system... In this case no one is going to judge you negatively for attempting to circumnavigate a xenophobic policy. The government have made it clear, they sanction dual pricing based on nationality alone - many subject to it, find it offensive, especially those of us who live here.

I've mentioned this before... and agree with the '3 circles'... But also disagree with the comment in bold...

I think 'for the most part' Thai's who have grown up in Thailand do not consider safety to the same degree we do and that manifests itself on the road. When we visit, wife drives in the UK.... (usually if I've had a beer with dinner etc)... She just does not see the same 'dangers as I do'... passing a line of parked cars, I have to remind her to give them greater space as someone could step out etc... just the little things like this, but lots of them highlight to me a lack of safety awareness... ... I see exactly the same approach in Thailand, simply a lack of safety awareness... where as for many of us visiting that awareness has been ingrained... BUT.. that is also an unfair comment when we consider the amount of tourists here riding a motorcycle without experience or a helmet... and those falling off balconies. For those of us who drive here, its really not quite as bad as we make out... there are perhaps a greater number of tools at the extremes of the spectrum which are more visible, it is from this brush we tar the rest of driving society.

He's British (Scottish) and Thai and holds Thai Citizenship. i.e. he's 'caucasian' (if I'm not mistaken) and as such driving a tuk-tuk is colouring outside of the lines... He'll face both hassles from the Police and from local Tuk Tuk drivers. Also, If I'm not mistaken, driving a tuk-tuk requries a specific licence, if he intends to use it for fare paying passengers (i.e. as regular tuk-tuks) and he's unlikely to get anywhere near such permission. If he simply wishes to ride around in tuk tuk for fun, he'll still draw attention, but perhaps not the potential for a violent response.

I don't think you are going to find much disagreement from many, including Thai's themselves. When Thai's get in a car, it as if they flick a switch... I call it the 'F... U..' switch... and they drive without any consideration.... Yet, it astonishes me that there is not more aggression. As with societies across the globe, there are positive and negative traits... the attitudes towards others when on the roads in one of the major negative traits Thai's carry... there are also many positive traits - concentrating only on the negative can make us a little too jaded and force us into situations where our attitudes create negative situations which would not otherwise exist.

In fairness Bob... you are correct... not your fault at all, especially as you were at a pedestrian crossing... However, Bignok is correct..... and you've been here long enough to know that Western rules don't apply here... There's no point being 'dead right'... Treat pedestrian crossings as if they don't exist, even when they do. -------- I was crossing with my son, vehicles stopped then a taxi driver burned through the crossing... I shouted... Taxi stopped got out, he clearly thought about fighting me. I found myself in a very stupid situation with a 5 year old by my side and a taxi driver about to try and fight me.... fortunately the taxi driver got back in his car and drove off. My takeaway from that is that the taxi driver was an utter ay-hole... and is by no means an example of the average Thai around me.

i looked at him when he almost ran me over. Reckon he was waiting for you, or, was it a stroke of luck that you were passing at that time ?????

Sat next to older guys who have fallen asleep ?

There's definitely a facet of this in most interactions we undertake daily. Enter the fray with an open mind and friendly attitude and the interaction is more often than not pleasant and things work out favourably. Carry an air superiority or some form of judgement, present impressions of negativity and we can find ourself facing an uphill battle. Some folks just make life harder for themselves while others have a naturally easier stroll through level playing fields. Interactions just work out more favourable when approached in a relaxed manner, people, Thai's included subconsciously pickup on negativity and subconsciously respond in kind.

Not much worse than old men wearing cheap aftershave, I've noticed a lot of Indians wear it in Pattaya. Air pollution True that... Many of the comments on this forum come from the polarised extremes... If someone uses alternative to deodorant / Bodyspray etc they seem to levy the accusation that those who do use deodorant / Bodyspray use too much and 'offend' those around them... As with everything there is a balanced spectrum within which the vast majority of us fit well within... From those using alternatives and those who use tasteful cologne, ETD's EDP's etc... there is nothing wrong with smelling neutral, there is nothing wrong with a tasteful and balanced scent which is, of course, not over-powering. The suggestion from some that any scent is over powering is simply idiotic.... I rarely meet anyone who wears deodorant / EDT / ETP etc to smell anything other than pleasant... yet its not uncommon to pass another sorely in need of a shower.