FruitPudding

That's not how it works. The children didn't give birth to the mother, they have no parental responsibility. They should take care of their aging parent, but there could also be valid reasons they want nothing to do with her. Who knows? Thailand really needs a better social security system, if it ever wants to be a first world, fully developed country. If this woman worked all her days and paid taxes, she deserves a reasonable pension from the state.

Got to be something more to this. Thai families are messed up on a huge scale compared to what I saw back West. There's a Thai proverb, "To hit a child is to love a child" That says it all. I've witnessed a lot of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse (all of which are considered good parenting strategies) as well as a hell of a lot of emotion and physical neglect. After all this, the parents expect their child to take care of them when they are old. In my extended family, there are kids with stunted growth, all teeth rotten, severe development issues, barely literate, abandoned by the biological mother & father, neglected and abused by the grandparents -- all the while the mother earns 50k and 100k doing massage in Phuket and Japan, respectively. This is a common story. Not too long ago, in Isaan, I earned 30k a month - total household income - equivalent of 2 Thai parents on 15k each, and I was able to take care of my kid properly. And it ain't just in poor communities, although it's a lot more common. What about that rich Paragon kid who was, according to the news, living alone in a separate house from family at the age of 13 when he hit the front page, apparently schizophrenic, and playing with guns. Now, I teach very very HiSo kids and some of them have serious family problems. Many simply don't have childhoods or lives at all - it's bipolar to what you see in an Isaan village - they study at a highly sought-after, prestigious school, then they study after school every day, then they study on Saturdays, and they study on Sundays. Of course, they study during summer, too! No free time, except to learn classical instruments, like the violin, or compete at a national level in sports - high pressure and expectations! What kind of slavery is this? What ever happened to just playing or hanging out after school? So long as they become doctors and take care of their parents in retirement, it's okay............but this is still abuse, na!

My EX does Thai massage now. She absolutely hate massaging Indians. They don't do anything wrong, but when they "tell" her where to massage more (i.e. a painful area), she can't accept it. I suppose she finds massaging them demeaning cos she feels superior.

Thai curries more resemble soups with some spices

You don’t think that's a good analogy for Pattaya and the tourists it attracts?

.......also Laotians. And many Thais look down on Isaan folk. They ain't a fan of Africans either, to put it mildly. And they dislike muslims in general, even their own! I wonder, if it ever crossed their mind that some people look at them the way they look at Indians.

I knew this would be over some kind of tourist rip off. They just can't help themselves.

Is this about the "Thai face" thing?

Really?

I reckon Thais are jealous of India's cuisine. The majority of them seem to have so much contempt for it. And they have a cheek saying it smells funny when they eat rotting fish water in their papaya salad.

....unlike the locals in Pattaya

Considering how racist the average Thai is, especially to Indians, I think that may have had something to do with it.

Pattaya attracts the dregs of every society. Thailand, in general, isn't known as a quality tourist destination. Sh*t attracts flies.

And the quality locals, I see

Think so. They puffed air into my eyes. That was a few years ago. Turns out I just needed glasses.

Interesting. I don't really need the dental or eye checks just now. Had those done recently. Chest xray would be okay, probably only a couple hundred baht elsewhere

Bangkok Almost 40. No conditions. A bit overweight, not the best lifestyle.

Yeah, I've found a very comprehensive package for 5000, but it's just blood and urine. For an extra 5k, at a hospital, I could get that plus exercise stress test, stool examination, EKG, chest x-ray, and full abdominal ultrasound. I think it could be worth paying extra. The blood tests are great, but I could miss out on something serious like blood in stool or blocked arteries. I know the topic here says annual checkup, but I'd probably not do this again for quite a while (depending on results), so I am looking for a very comprehensive screening.

I wonder what @Sheryl would recommend for a 40 year old man with a not so healthy lifestyle?

Anyone know a lab like this in Bangkok? Thanks 😊

Thinking of getting a full check up done. Where do you think is the best value for money place to go? Does the Red Cross offer these check up programs?

Would be good for Thailand

Pizza Company, no thanks.

Definitely wouldn't put ketchup on pizza, but nice to dip the crust into some garlic mayo. I've seen Thais dip yardlong beans into ketchup too.

Seriously, have you ever encountered a more feckless people in the world??