richard_smith237

China Eastern is..

BKK-PVG (Shanghai): 4:20 hrs

Layover: 3:15 hrs

PVG (Shanghai)-LHR: 13:05 hrs

Total: 20:40 hrs

EVA and TG: BKK-LHR: 13:20 hrs non-stop.

Is the 10,000 baht saving worth the extra 7 hours ?? 

If cost saving is your only concern - there is also Air-India.

This thread here has info... 

20 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Lived in central London for a couple of years in the early 80's.

 

Virtually no crime to be seen anywhere.  There probably was, but far less than today.

 

Therefore, one is left with the only explanation for the explosion of crime is the concurrent explosion in the intake of "refugees" from third world countries.

 

Not say that all crime committed today is by immigrants, but perhaps the local lads are also learning and being influenced by these newcomers who had a rough life in their childhoods?

 

I can not see why the authorities don't simply put ALL immigrants/refugees on a 5 to 10 year "watch list", where if there is ANY crime by ANY member of the family, the entire family is immediately deported.  The family can keep the young ones in check.

 

Simple solution.

.. There's no need to isolate immigrants on a dedicated watch list...   Just deal with all crime effectively.

Perhaps the national service would be effective...  (not military service) national service... And any young person has to give time to their community / nation... And that means any incoming immigrant (younger than 35 for example) also has to contribute towards national service - if not, they are deported...

Another issue is that half of society don't distrust the police, the other half want them to do a better job - they have to be given back the ability to do their jobs properly - as things stand, who'd want to be a police officer, they are doing their jobs with both hands tide behind their backs...

... speak to any 'older member of the community' and they'd talk of the community 'bobby' on the beat... we don't see that so much anymore.... 

1 minute ago, Chongalulu said:

For all that, instigating violence for someone upsetting your sensibilities by making a pass at your wife is very poor mitigation (if any ) in legal terms and which could for you ,as with this guy, end with you facing a severe penalty and sorely regretting your actions. 

I agree...   When younger, especially under the influence we may react in a manner we regret later on in life.

As I commented, walking away is always the better option...    At that time (the example I gave) I was fortunate that events unfolded in manner that excluded me.

59 minutes ago, ujayujay said:

It seems that every Moron is allowed to drive a vehicle in Thailand

Every moron is allowed to drive a vehicle in any country... in many of them there is better and stricter training, stricter penalties... but plenty of idiots still exist, there is just a little more stupidity on the roads here which we see in the daily headlines.... 

In this case - I just can't see how the guy did this...  he must have fallen asleep, or was using his phone etc.. I just don't see how he can drive into the back of other quickly moving vehicles like that - its mind-boggling.

41 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

So many details not provided. What type of host for the pool party.types of visitors. 
were they all acquainted with each other or pay per visit. Is it one of those pool party where strangers hook up? Does the Russian and Brit knew each other ? What is the underlying social event? Charity ? Or other nefarious activity ?
without those details, it is difficult to pin point the fault and the severity of the act.

Valid point... 

In the past I was close to clobbering a guy...  fortunately, he'd run off by the time I'd returned....

We were in a regular night-club, with a group of friends, this friend of a friend (Thai) made a 'sexual advance' to my Wife (asked her to come home with him) while I'd gone to the bathroom...  my Wife was furious... he ran off and left the club...  he was gone by the time I'd returned from the bathroom.

Thus, she did handle it - had she not, I'm not sure what I'd have done but it may have involved clobbering him.

Not because my Wife is my possession - but because of the manner in which he knew we were married and still behaved in this way...   

He called up my friends up the next day and asked to pass on an apology. I never saw the guy ever again - I think my Thai friends cut him off after that behavior.

In short, I don't take my Wife to places where this behavior could be expected - however, some guys can act like total dyak heads...    A pool party in Pattaya seems like an area where one would have to be thicker skinned to this sort of behaviour... 

Perhaps the Russian had a hiding coming, if he did sexually assault the Brits Wife... but the article mentioned 'sexual advance' which implies it was something 'just verbal'...    he certainly didn't deserve to die. 

Certainly the Brit didn't intend to kill the Russian - the consequences are tragic...   As most others have mentioned, walking away is the only smart option - though we have to be there to understand the full extent of the interaction.

Is this going to be another 'escalator' scenario...  Whereby there is a huge incident which gains a lot of attention, then any similar incident reaches media headlines as its now 'flavour of the month'...

... Would this second incident even reach the news had the Singapore Airlines incident not occurred.

Turbulence happens all the time and injuries are a lot more common than we think.

8 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

It is a good idea for any country if only to get kids off their phones and out of their wrapped up little lives for a bit. Some of the uni kids in the UK are so out of touch with reality that a couple years basic training and discipline would give them real perspective. 

Let me guess.. You never went to Uni hence your isolation of 'Uni Kids'... 

The reality is, there are many 'people' young and old out of touch with reality - not just the young and not just those going through tertiary education. 

Another reality also is that those of us who live overseas are often out of touch with the reality back home.

What would you want 'them' [Uni Kids] to get a real perspective of? compared to a kid who leaves school at 16 and works in a factory?... 

The best response to this subject is from 'theblether' (quote below) - whereby National Service is less about military and more about 'serving the nation, learning life skills etc...      

21 hours ago, theblether said:

I've been in favour of this for years with some provisos. 

 

1. Male and female service. If its men only, I'm against it. 

2. 90 day mandatory military training followed by voluntary streaming into either civic or military service. 

3. A complete ban on front line service. No one on national service should be sent to a war zone under any circumstances. 

 

The civic service possibilities are endless. From assisting in British and foreign hospitals, to streaming trainee teachers into overseas posts. 

 

The 90 day military training is essential to codify discipline. And I accept many will find that punishing. However, once that period is over it could be/should be an enjoyable life enhancing experience. 

D-heads on illegally modded rental scooters... 

The residents reporting them and them getting caught has very possibly saved their lives... racing around an area such as Samui is lethal. 

Now... any repercussions for the rental shop having illegally modified motorcycles for rent ?

And... did these two 'boy racers' have motorcycle licenses ?...   Aren't rental shops only allowed to rent out bikes to those with an MC license ?...   repercussions for the rental shop renting out a MC's to no-licensed customers (if that is the case) ??

10 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Reading a whole GG opening post... 

 

...   Still not achieved it...     one day..  

 

You might achieve it, if you first challenged yourself to read.

 

I mean...

Speed-Read, of course.

 

Do you recall all those speed-reading scam courses, of yesteryear?

 

Those courses can really mess you up.

Hope you never enrolled in one.

 

(I once enrolled in one, at aged 17, and realized it was a scam from the first class. Fortunately, when they tested us at the end of the course, I intentionally read at half-speed, and thereby got my money back, due to the money-back guarantee that I would double my reading speed.  Not only a scam, but run by idiots, too.)

 

Nah.. I read all of that and now fully understand why I automatically switch off a paragraph or two into your opening posts... 

That said, I do admire your ability to take a flogging without getting upset - being so thick skinned is something many of us could learn from - so, props to you for that.

... And with that, I'll play...  

Challenging myself... I've done the bungee, skydiving etc... no challenge at all, it would be interesting to have worn a smart watch at the time and see if my heart rate even rose at bit.

I try to be better at sports, I've plateaued...  age is catching up and I've spent the past year nursing injuries - the latest one, quite significant sport injury after a 'challenging myself' a little too much and having a massing accident at speed.

It is therefor perhaps time to slow down and remember I'm no longer in my 20's and 30's... thus challenging myself from that aspect (dynamic sports) is perhaps coming to an end and the enjoyment of such activities will take on a more pedestrian approach.

Mental challenges remain - primarily ensuring I am the rock for my family and the standard of father to my son that my father has been for me - If I am half the father to my son that my father has been to me, I consider that challenge well met, for he set the bar extremely high.

Other recent challenges are learning not to worry about the future too much and enjoy the 'now'... 

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

I'm willing to bet this is his/hers/them/they's 5th or 6th account (at least).

 

bob.

Agree... with few posts this is obviously someone carrying their nobhed agenda from another thread...  probably previously banned or running a few accounts to troll people... 

It's easy to discern from their socio-linguistic patterns that they lack intelligence, though they seem to be blissfully ignorant of this reality.

3 hours ago, Random8 said:

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Seems you are looking for an argument...     I found your comment stupid, apologies if that upsets your sensitivities and you now want to enter forum sparing match...      Its not going to happen, you'll need to up your game if you want engagement.

 

You started the argument with me.  You are looking for engagement, d-head.  Common, weak tactics: backpedaling, misrepresenting the past, etc.  You lost already, now you're trying to save face.

As I pointed out.. you'll need to up your game if you want engagement - I don't argue with idiots trying to trigger me.

3 hours ago, retarius said:

More propaganda to do away with cash. I use cash for any face to face transaction. Cash obviously doesn't work on the internet but it still works for everything else. I don't want o be forced into using any particular way of paying by greedy credit card companies that charge enormous fees. I have an AMEX which I don't use in Thailand, but for travel. And I have a local bank credit card that I use on the internet, at hotels etc.

Do you consider paying for fuel, groceries, medication etc all 'face to face' transactions ??

As far as using CreditCards - pandora's box is open, everyone already does use their credit cards... so avoiding the party makes no difference unless everyone were to take the same stance against fees.

When we use our CreditCard we only use it when there is no additional charge - i.e. school fees, supermarket, fuel, all day to day stuff....  the Points Add up and we use the points for flights... 

3 of us flying to Japan, return each year - seems like decent deal for using a credit card instead of paying cash.

38 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

I tried to find a way but failed.  I wanted to stop them giving me discounted fares as I had a succession of riders accept and then cancel the ride cause the fare was stupidly low.  It's already cheap, I don't want a discount if it means waiting for 4 or 5 riders.

If I'm not mistaken - When you get a discounted fare, the discount comes from BOLT / GRAB itself..  not the actual driver who receives the same fare whether there is a discount or not...

Thus: The 'succession' of riders / drivers who cancel, do so because of 'Thainess'...  i.e. they are cherry picking their fare...  They only know the destination after they accept the job - if they don't want to go into that area, if its too short for them or if for some reason they think its not worth their while, they just cancel the ride... 

Eventually, they do this enough and get kicked off the platform but not before a load of customers have been inconvenienced. 

Even when I book in advance, there is a higher probability of a driver who's accepted the ride cancelling about 30mins before hand and I'm digging around for another ride.

The way I've found around is to book 'premium' which is still relatively inexpensive and it saves having to walk in the rain or heat and humidity when I need a taxi... 

On 5/22/2024 at 2:12 PM, georgegeorgia said:

doing things to challenge myself 

Reading a whole GG opening post... 

...   Still not achieved it...     one day..  

2 hours ago, Woof999 said:

2 hours ago, watchcat said:

Sorry, ICQ never heard of it,

 

At least you can spell it.

 

If you were born before 1990 and were an internet user in the mid to late 90s or very early 2000s then there is a reasonable chance you would have heard of it and an OK chance that you would have used it.

And he also may well have learnt of the utter irrelevance of posting that he's unaware of something, in a topic specifically about that something... 

Just like the guys who post.... 'never heard of him'... when a famous singer dies etc....   as if its important that they let the forum learn of their limited knowledge base !!! 

4 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

I hope Facebook follows them soon. Not because they are outdated but because they are not a good thing for children - makes many of them narcissistic and socially isolated.

It could be argued that weak parenting does that....   social media just provides the excuse.

Just now, Denim said:

Also , the idea of giving some of these reluctant recruits a loaded weapon of any description , even on a range , would likely be a recipe for mayhem.

We let them drive !!!... 

When I look back on my school years, its quite frightening to consider some of the dullards driving on the same roads I do...   reading some of the replies on this forum often gives me cause for similar concern !!! 

But... National Service could be put to a lot of good..

Driving courses, safety, first aid training, electrical safety and many other practical and social skills.....

Its not just about 'guns & shoot'n'

4 minutes ago, bob smith said:

15 minutes ago, Hummin said:

In Norway she is looked as a prostitute. Nobody says it, but thats what everyone thinks, and Im sure the same around in Thailand, but in Thailand it doesnt bugging me, here home in Norway, it kind of getting ounder my skin. 

 

How is Thai ladies and their husbands looked at in your own mother countries? Is it different from Thailand? 

Westerners can be forgiven for thinking that about Thai girls with western men.

 

Thailand is a well known country for prostitution the world over.

 

bob.

I think, if there is a larger age gap and the female in question dresses to flaunt her assets, then assumptions may be drawn... 

... Otherwise...  I don't think a mixed 'couple' draw any more attention than any other couple.. 

6 minutes ago, Hummin said:

who of you two is more happy than the other in each other places? My wife is most happy with her family close around here, 

 

In Norway she is looked as a prostitute. Nobody says it, but thats what everyone thinks, and Im sure the same around in Thailand, but in Thailand it doesnt bugging me, here home in Norway, it kind of getting ounder my skin. 

 

How is Thai ladies and their husbands looked at in your own mother countries? Is it different from Thailand? 

We spend plenty of time in the UK... at least 6 weeks each year...

We both enjoy it there...  I travel a lot for work and Wife has a very strong network here (family and friends) and I have a strong network of friends here...  so it would be a shame to move back.

That said, we have often discussed moving back to the UK (especially for my Sons A Levels and into Uni), my Wife is perfectly comfortable with that idea - I believe she'd fit in very comfortably, she thinks so too...   

I have no concerns that she'd be mis-labelled inappropriately...     

6 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I am surprised about that.

When I visited Thais in their home (I worked there) I saw them telling their service people rudely what to do. And then they looked at me and maybe made a comment like: They are just too lazy to work or something like that.

Also, in "my" condominium farangs say hello to the maids regularly, and not only they cute maids.

We've had plenty of maids who feel more comfortable working for us and mention how poorly their previous employer treated them.

I just have not witnessed this first hand - we're often over at friends houses... and the maids are treated politely and with respect.

But, they are employees... so they're not exactly treated as equals, I wouldn't expect that, but they are not treated as subhuman servants either.

6 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

In average I would say the Thais behave more like: You know I am better than you and I know I am better than you. Not all behave like that, but also not exactly few. 

Possibly... I know one Thai friend of my Wife's who certainly give off the impression that she believes she's better than everyone... Her father was a famous actor, she is a famous actor... she seem believes it was her birth-right... 

I think the most of the Thai's that I do know treat their maids well because they know how hard it is to find good maids who are honest and reliable - they tend to be with the families for decades...   

Thats perhaps a bit different to the 'staff' in an apartment of condo complex..   where there may be a general degree of indifference...  perhaps in this case the foreigner over-compensates because they are not used to having maids etc...