Jonathan Swift

“Bois”? Seriously? Are we supposed to be impressed with your hip modern vernacular? In Thailand? Or are you that bad at spelling?

Very nice in Hua Hin, nice breeze every day. Sea is very warm but not ridiculous. Take a nice little trip here folks

Isn't seawater 200% humidity?

I know a Thai lady who has worked in baggage/ground services for 15 years. About 5 years ago another contractor came in and cut all of their pay by 60%. Her 10 years of service meant nothing. She works successive rotating 12 hour shifts, sometimes 7 days a week. We all know that overworking and abusing employees who are underpaid and sleep deprived is going to create job performance problems. That is one explanation, in my humble opinion.

Flying has nothing to do with ground services. Ground services are such things as baggage handling. Ground. Services. Not air services. Do your homework.

Funny, I've lived in Thailand 10 years and have managed to avoid being robbed or beaten. Wonder why? And why even drive in Thailand anyway?

These writers crack me up with their awkward use of "dramatic" slang which makes them sound like bad 1940s pulp magazine writers.

Sounds like a lot of people in this forum can't handle change and maybe just don't belong here, or should never have come here in the first place. I'm quite happy anywhere I go, I've been here 10 years. The expats I run into along the way are also quite happy here. I think these forums attract a disproportionate amount of complainers who really just ought to leave and stop complaining. Everything changes, everywhere. Why would you not expect Thailand to change?

Sounds to me like your friends simply are not cut out for life in Thailand. Not everyone is. If they are leaving Phuket because of "traffic" and are not even going to explore other places here I doubt that they even knew what they were doing in the first place. I go to Patong (Phuket) every year and that is hardly a place where traffic is as heavy as cities like Bangkok where I live. I have lived in Thailand 10 years.

Common sense from experience is fearmongering? Hardly. A little bit of fear in this case is appropriate. Do you ever read the stories here? He is advising caution and sensible financial planning. He doesn't owe you an elaborate description. You have to figure that out for yourself. No one's going to babysit you or lead you by the hand. If you don't get the point, you probably shouldn't be reading this publication. Maybe you shouldn't be living here. Here's what you didn't get: A fat wallet will differ for different people. It's a matter of personal choice to measure the calculated risks of living here against your financial situation. For me personally, I make a tiny $1600 US/month social security. But I keep a $10,000.00 US emergency fund in my US bank. Beyond that I have a mutual fund that I can tap into if need be. Worst comes to worst I can fly back to the US and be covered by medicare for anything serious. Which I may be doing. After a high PSA blood test and an MRI, I need a biopsy to screen for prostate cancer. I had money enough thus far, and if I need surgery and other treatment I will fly back to the US where I have Medicare.

Fat wallet meaning that you have a sizable enough nest egg of savings to deal with emergencies, which is what I have always done. I keep $8,000.00 - $10,000 US in liquid funds in an emergency fund in my US bank at all times, and I have a mutual fund I can tap as well. Outside of that, my social security income is tiny by US standards, but supports me nicely here. So I agree, it's risky business to come here without some funding to cope with emergencies, although I wouldn't call it a fat wallet in terms of income. I should add that I have rarely had to tap into that fund, although presently I may have to spend some money, 50,000 baht or $1500 US, on a prostate biopsy to screen for cancer because of a high PSA and a bladder infection. If I need prostate surgery I will return to the US for Medicare coverage. Meanwhile the sister of a good friend had a compound fracture of the knee (tibia) from an accident and they are just working class folks with no money and now out of work, I was able to send my friend 19,000 baht to help with a 30,000 - 50,000 surgery bill. (I have known her over 10 years so I can trust her, she has never asked me before) I also started a go fund me to cover the remainder. My financial planning for emergencies at this point in time included a nice dividend payout from my mutual fund, so I was lucky in being able to cover my own medical plus help out a friend.

As a person who suffers from Bipolar II depression you are spot on about a depressed state being invisible to outsiders. Nobody who I don't tell about it is aware that I get this. However, I am careful around balconies because all it takes is losing your balance sometimes. It would be useful if someone commissioned a study into these balcony deaths to see what is at play. I suspect the biggest factor is intoxication. But there are any manner of different ways to commit suicide, this seems to be a convenient method for distraught individuals. People jump off buildings, bridges, all sorts of things in the rest of the world. Quite painless no doubt. But "being around a lot of booze and hookers" is not likely to lead to suicidal depression, that's not how psychology works, so you are wildly speculating and off the mark in that regard. If you mean that a reckless lifestyle makes accidents more likely, again you are correct. I also think that counseling and therapy may not be as accessible in Thailand as it is in other countries. I looked into it and the cost was prohibitive.

Yes, I find it quite challenging to be living amongst such perfect human beings, knowing that I will never measure up.

Something like a perforated stomach ulcer might do it. Ruptured aorta or pulmonary artery? Although I suspect "liters" was an exaggeration. Were they measuring it with water bottles?

More likely a perforated stomach ulcer. No doubt 20 20 hindsight will reveal a number of errors

There is another fairly credible story on this topic here on aseannow, which stated that yes, any money brought in to Thailand is taxable. The exception would be for US Social Security, which is not "assessable". The question would be, if a third party such as Wise were used for the transfer, would we have to provide proof that this was Social Security income? And what proof? I have Social Security benefit letters and tax form statements and am hoping if necessary they would be sufficient. Another question would be, will Thai banks now voluntarily submit reports of such transfers to the Thai tax office, or is there any privacy protection for the bank account holder to prevent that? In other words, is this an honor system where the accountholder is responsible for declaring the transfer as income? In my case I transfer my Social Security income once a month using Wise. I have no idea how this will work out due to the aforementioned unknowns. Also, will immigration get involved when expats provide income information for visa renewal purposes? That sounds like a hot mess in the making.

Right. Exactly. The Thai vendors get to make their money on them so nobody really loses. Outsourcing manufacturing to China is the way of the world now, literally everywhere. So truth be told China is helping fuel the Thai economy by making these. On the other hand there is really no shortage of affordable Thai manufactured products, I have a whole closet full of those colorful shiny Thai silk shirts.

Agreed. It comes across to me as a phony attempt by silly foreigners to look like they're part of a culture that doesn't belong to them. I understand the sentiment of wanting to belong and be accepted here, but I manage that without looking silly.

And what are the facts that prove that pedophilia is caused by celibacy? Or do you just make up your own scientific theories without the benefit of facts? Just because two phenomena exist within the same time frame and place, i.e. "celibacy" and the commission of sexual abuse, does not mean they are cause and effect. That is a common example of flawed thinking and failure of logic. There are just as many pedophiles per capita out in the public sector. The catholic church is HUGE. The only major difference is that the catholic church engages in massive coverups. Out in the public more of them get caught. In the case of the church it is more scandalous and draws major headlines. Anywhere you have the air of secrecy and at the same time a large number of children exposed and vulnerable you are going to see an increase in child abuse crimes - summer camps, schools, day care. Parents leave children in what they think is a trustworthy environment. That's how the logic of statistics work. That's the way facts are properly interpreted. You know, it's never too late to go back to school to polish up on your reasoning skills. You don't want to be lagging behind the whole rest of the world. Unless you just don't mind making silly, uninformed, and baseless statements, and we all know there are plenty of those kinds of people.

The writer obviously thought he was being clever with his vocabulary using trashy puns. Empathy doesn't exist. What passes for news writing is in fact rubbish, but that's what they get paid to do, write rubbish instead of well thought out and useful stories. It doesn't help that at the wages paid they aren't going to get college graduates. It's not just here, news has descended into tabloidism everywhere.

Surely you're not expecting a thoroughly researched and written story? Not exactly the standard here.

All one has to do is learn to drive defensively and watch carefully for any impending danger. 99% of accidents can be avoided if you are highly aware of what is going on in 360% around you. For example, if I have a green light going through an intersection I expect someone may run the red light and cut in front of me and I'm prepared to evade. Anyone who is not experienced on these motorbikes should not drive them. I've ridden bikes for many decades, never an accident other than a guy bumping me from the rear at a stopped traffic light.

And how does the accident rate in Thailand compare to your home country? Matter of fact, what ARE the statistics? Do you bother to check? These are news stories, just like they have all over the world. Accidents are a common topic. Accidents occur over the world, everywhere that there are vehicles and highly populated areas. But it's certainly not carnage here, and the overall risk to any one individual is statistically minimal. Based on my personal observations over many years here, including many bus trips to Pattaya, accidents are no more common than in the US where I'm from, and there is certainly less road rage, shootings, and roadside beatings. In 10 years of trips to Pattaya I have never in any way felt unsafe on a bus. Probably a good idea that you become desensitized, seems like you overreact and draw inaccurate conclusions as a result.

Your bigotry is just as malevolent a force as any behavior on the part of the Chinese or Russians. Leave Thailand, we don't want or need people like you.

I do the same, but have a few fails because the barber couldn't see the small photo clearly, and because my beard is white they think there is no beard in the photo and then shave mine off. Next time I bring my ipad with big photo, and I put duct tape over my beard, haha