Stevemercer

As said in the movie 'There's Something About Mary', you must masturbate before you go anywhere you might encounter attractive girls. Not doing so is like going out with a loaded gun. You will get sidetracked, into trouble, fall into lust and waste your money. Empty that gun as many times as necessary and enjoy a relaxing time with your mates, and save money too.

Thais will always complain about loud WESTERN Music.

No, but I sometimes talk with a farang wife who understands English, but her husband does not.

I think the OP answered his own question. After a pattern of failed relationships, or a disasterous marriage, many Thai woman get friendly with a Tom, try to meet a farang or want to travel overseas and (hopefully) start a new life.

I agree. If World 111 threatens to break out, the wokists would all be for appeasement despite the lessons of previous wars.

Thailand won't be attacked in the event of a world war. However, it will be dominated by China and may become increasingly subservient. Sooner or late China will come after any foreigners living in Thailand, particularly those nationalities seen as enemies. China would expect Thai authorities to round up such individuals and hand them over for 'safe keeping'. Thailand will oblige and may even 'nationalise' any assets for the benefit of the nation (read those in charge).

You might have something similar to me - bladder diverticulus (sort of like a little pouch off the bladder). It's assymptomatic, but bacteria can get stuck in the little pouch causing recurring infections. It's diagnosed through an abdominal CT. Having said that, I don't think there is anything that can be done.

Wet ones don't break down and shouldn't be flushed.

The other thing is that taking more does not necessarily have an 'add on' effect (e.g if 100 mg does not work, then the chances are that 200 mg will not work. I suspect most 'overdoses' are people trying to take the pills too frequently(e.g. once every 6 hours over a few days).

Most of the cheap ones for sale everywhere have lead-acid batteries which probably have a life span of less than 2 years, on average. Typical top speed would be up to 25 km/hr witha range of 10 km (when new). Expect to pay at least 20,000 Baht for one with a decent Li-Po battery and life span.

She has been able to bring her 2 Thai children to Sweden where they will have more opportunities in life.

When our house becomes infested, we go to Australia for a few months holiday. When we come back all the pests have gone given the lack of a food source. I keep telling the missus to stop leaving food out, but it never stops/

Ha Ha. He was moved because he was threatening to embarass his superior in the immigration biometrics rort (remember the BMW 'smart cars'). His car was shot up as a warning to keep his mouth shut.

I once knew a Thai massage lady who asked for help filling out all the forms to pick berries in Sweden. She went and ended up marrying a Swedish bloke and is now a citizen living in that country. Similarly, my Thai sister-in-law is in Sydney picking vegetables. She is paid $180 per day (4,000 Baht) per day, cash in hand. It is hard work, but she is a farmer from Isan and can manage. She recently met and will marry an Australian bloke. I always tell Thai ladies looking for foreigners, do whatever you can to work in a foreign/western country. It is much easier to meet/marry someone once you are in that country, compared to Thailand.

I think the Baht has been 'talked up' by the central bank and previous government. They see a strong Baht as a mark of good economic management and still have bad memories of the 1997 crisis. Sure, the US dollar is strengthening and will continue to do so against most currencies. I deal with the Australian dollar which seems to move in tandem with the Thai Baht against the US dollar. The Baht has continued to maintain its value despite poor liquidity and economic fundamentals. The current government is calling for a drop in interest rates which would put pressure on the Baht. I think the Baht is probably over-valued by 10-15%. Such a 'real' drop (e'g. not just an 'apparent' drop against a rising US dollar) would make Thai exports competitive.

Regrettably, Thailand does not seem to have an effective or universal 'buy back' scheme (eg excess solar power feeds into the grid rolling your meter back). I guess electricity companies don't like it because they can't make any money. Distribution companies hate it because they get no return. And governments are happy to go along becasue they are always ripping dividends out of these public companies and want a return on investment. Setting aside household use, if you are in the fortunate position to be able to feed your excess solar into an EV (e.g. you don't use the EV much during peak daylight hours) then solar is looking attractive. Even more so given many current EVs can feed their battery back into the house in an emergency. Without an EV, and assuming the electric authority will not buy excess power off you, then you really need a decent battery for solar to start to make sense. Unfortunately, they are still too expensive for most of us.

I had a colonoscopy and gastroscopy (and abdominal and chest CTs) at a government hospital late last year. It was an overnight stay. I didn't have to pay (my wife is a government worker) but the charge on the invoice for the two endoscopy procedures was 2,800 Baht. As stated by other posters, waiting times are a problem. Based on advice from others, I went to a doctor's after-hours private clinic (he was the chief gastric surgeon at the government hospital) who offered a 'facilitation' service. For 5,000 Baht, he booked/arranged the endoscopy procedures at his hospital for the next day, and the CTs at another government hospital the following week, together with a follow-up appointment to go through the reports (which were in English).

I am married to a former government worker (retired teacher) and am covered by her social security. So I get free treatment at government hospitals which includes medications dispensed at the hospital and coverage for existing conditions. I have regular appointments with specialists at government hospitals for my depression, urological problems, glaucoma and cholesterol. It certainly works out more convenient and cheaper for me than in Australia where I had to pay about $2,500 (50,000 Baht) after Medicare rebate/refunds per year, mainly for specialists and prescription medicines. I also don't have to worry about getting specialist referrals from my 'family doctor' like in Australia. So I am saving 50,000 Baht per year. While I am thinking about returning to Australia, I am worried that I might be better off (medically speaking) staying in Thailand.

I ride an e-wheel. They can go up to about 50 km/hr and have a range of 75 km or more. However, I normally stick to the back roads if I can. When travelling in urban areas, you want to try and plan your journey so you turn left even if it means going out of your way. This mean you can stick to the left shoulder/lane. Turning right is a bit dangerous because you have to look behind you while executing the manouvere when the traffic allows. The alternative is to stop and dismount unril you can cross, which is tedious. While it is poor practice, I can understand why the riders would want to stay in the right lane if they missed the first U-turn. It would be safer (and more convenient) for them to just speed on to the next U-turn and avoid shunting across several lanes of traffic to get to the left shoulder, only to have to recross the road a kilometre or so at the next U-turn.

Dating sites are fine and you can meet many good people. In fact, there is normally too much choice (at least in Thailand). However, if just one person makes a complaint about you, for whatever reason, then most responsible sites will disable your account. Most have a policy (if you can find it) about the period of cancellation, but they will seldom tell you.

Am I paranoid or am I just stoned

What a strange story and what strange comments. How strange?

When the neighbours filled against our wall I could see the potential problems straight away (flooding and the wall breaking during the next wet season). I asked my wife to help sort the issue with the neighbour, but her view was it was his land and he could do what he wanted. There can be a marked difference between western and Thai thought processes. Westerners (at least some of them) will see the potential future problems and want to address them proactively, before the worst happens - preventative maintenance/management (e.g. the wall collapses). Thais (most of them) will not worry about it until the worst actually happens - crisis management.

We had the same problem with a neighbour filling right against our retaining wall (he filled about 0.8 m above our land). Before he did this, storm water would sometimes leak under our wall, but most would go off to a neighbouring property that was lower than ours. Come the first heavy storms and the water could no longer flow into the lower property and our wall started to crack. Luckily the new wall he had also built along the neighbouring lower property collapsed first and the water escaped. Over his objections, I subsequently dug away the dirt against our wall and put in drains at both ends of his wall. We are talking about a 50 m length of wall and it was quite a big job taking me several weeks. My wife went to the local council who said it was illegal to pile fill against someone's fence and sent him various letters seeking a mediated outcome. However, he ignored all the letters. He did accept my drainage system (because he could see it actually worked) and we have maintained good relations. Subsequently, the lower land I mentioned above (which also runs along our fence for about 50 m) was purchased by a developer who filled it about 1 m higher than our land. He probably did the right thing, however, because he first put in a sheet concrete retaining wall and then his own fence. Nevertheless, the water still has to go somewhere and sometimes floods into our backyard. I've put in drains to route the water away from the house which seemed to work last season. Anyway, its always going to be a problem when people start building next to you. They will always fill higher and the water has to go somewhere.

If there was a simple answer to the OPs question someone would have patented the formula and made a mint. It's like the TV series 'Brave New World' where society abhors monogamy, and uses sex and drugs to keep everyone functioning and happy. But that is not enough for some people, they want meaning in their life. In Thai society, a wealthy and well conected male would never marry someone beneath him like a restaurant worker or farm girl. However, us farang are not discriminating and will find just about any Thai lady who looks after herself attractive. We can be happier with a humble woman than a Hi-So. Thai ladies know that finding a farang can be a pathway to wealth and security. I think most men will find any woman who smiles and seems interested to be attractive. After that, it is all nuance. Do you find asian or western woman to be more attractive, young or older, long black hair, perfect white teeth, beatiful smile etc. etc.?