somchai jones

Oh yes, stop bashing here and try to find some bashing-to-do about the high rise buildings in Hua Hin.

LaoPo[/color]

Good point. One that often gets overlooked.

Although the Spa type resorts are not really my cup of tea, they're a hel_l of a lot more attractive than high rise hotels.

I have been living here for 4 years and at least 75% of the time that I buy something (clothes, electronics, appliances etc) it is junk. .......................

.............In fact, I have a suitcase bought in USA that is rock solid top quality made in thailand. I guess they ship out the good stuff and sell the trash here. beware when you reach into that wallet

Sad story...you have my sympathy

I fear the only solution is to leave the country and buy the rock solid stuff in the USA...made in Thailand

LaoPo

Yeah, and you'll be able to take it back!

Only problem is it'll cost you five times as much to buy.

The term is 'Kitsch'.

I disagree.

Quite poignant in its simplicity. A good little poem.

Quote tax

"rather than have to put up with the shallow two faced welcome that greets so many visitors to thailand these days"

thailand sells itself on the "smile" , the "hospitality" , the "warm welcome" , the "generosity of spirit" and the "friendliness".

when those expectations are not met and new visitors are treated in an offhand way , they will complain , and rightly so.

too many people on samui who work in the tourist industry , ( airport workers , taxi drivers , shopkeepers , shop staff , bungalow employees , waiting staff in restaurants , police , etc.etc.etc) have what can only be described as a bad attitude towards visitors. visitors are often treated with contempt. the staff are lazy , they wont go out of their way to help.

samui , unfortunately , is becoming famous for this.

the poster who could not get any help at the airport is absolutely right to complain , the airport staff were too lazy to move their asses to help a visitor solve his problem.

samui , (and other destinations here) are becoming more and more like the west , with poor service and poorly motivated staff.

why should people travel half way round the world for poor service and aggressive employees when they can find it closer to home for half the price.

without the welcome , without the hospitality , without the friendliness , without the generosity of spirit , without the exceptional value , without the things that thailand has built its reputation on , what exactly does thailand have to offer ??

answer ................. very , very little indeed.

unless you are looking for poor service , 100% humidity , a rising crime rate , disrespect for foriegners , crumbling infrastructure , flooded roads , out of control development , unlevel playing fields for foriegn investment , seedy shacks selling beer and sex , pavements that look like war zones , and roads that are racetracks.

My word, you're even complaining about the humidity now! That surely is beyond the control of the Thai nation...

As for this quote...'why should people travel half way round the world for poor service and aggressive employees when they can find it closer to home for half the price.'

Where do you mean exactly?

I am a male impersonator.

Well, mark, clearly you missed the entire point of my post. As did somchai jones. Since I neither blamed the prostitution, nor the farangs.

No, I fully understood your point. When I said it was a little simplistic to blame the woes purely on prostitution, I was in fact replying to another poster.

Mack The Knife - Brian Setzer Orchestra

The Who greatest hits

Money for wife,teerak,fiance monthly income where does it go

couldn't possibly spend the same in western culture

30,000 baht per month

NB

If it is given to 'Palaiya' goes towards the welfare and upkeep of Dam, her family's favourite buffalo.

if it is given to 'Mia Noi' goes towards new shoes the welfare and upkeep of Lek, her favourite pet toy poodle.

I am looking for information on any special events happening on Koh Samui or surrounding islands in May or June 2006 - something which would appeal to tourists (its for inclusion in a calendar of events in a major magazine)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Mr Wes Turner, well known and respected Samui resident will be giving a lecture on 'The Jet Ski Sidecar - A New Era in Beach Leisure' location/date to be decided.

Interesting topic.

Too simplistic to blame this purely on prostitution though, idyllic locations tend to get fuc*ed up.

The ghastly 'Hawaii syndrome' awaits. Very sad.

Suncream is definitely on the list and have been advised to bring some mozzie repellent.....

you might also consider bringing an AK-47 machine gun , a stun gun , a chastity belt , a kevlar body armour suit , a couple of rottweilers and a personal bodyguard .

i'm told crime figures are up this year.

have a nice trip

C'mon Tax, why don't you believe the Vested Interest Ones...

Samui is an idyllic island, palm trees waving in the gentle cool seabreeze, peace, quiet, harmony and pure white sandy beaches stretching around for miles and miles, whereupon the friendly natives offer the weary traveller cold coconut milk for free, and trade land for beads....

Get with the program...

Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnn................

I, for one, am getting very tired of everyone's viewpoint about Samui creeping into every d@mn thread. If you can't even discuss the weather without bringing up all your issues then please do not bother to post. Feel free to start a Samui gripes thread but PLEASE try to refrain from adding it to every single thread on this forum.

Is that clear enough now?

Thought I'd already stated the same thing with my 'Yawnnnnnnn.........' post.

What a bunch of frustrated goofs...Whatever Thaksin did wrong, they're doing even worst for the country at this point...

Pathetic...

This is just a little above mob rule, and as stated above, just a pathetic measure that subjects the country to world mockery.

In reality, outside of the region very few people if asked would have any idea about what is going on here.

In the international newspapers I have read where any kind of substantial space has been given to the issue, the protesters are actually cast in quite a positive light.

After reading this whole thread, I'm a little dissapointed and I'd even go so far as to say dejected that cunnilingus expertise hasn't once been mentioned as an important quality in a man.

I count this as one of my greatest skills, a gift.

It's a little disheartening to see that it's not on anyone's list. Oh well.

My list was actually what I want in my LIFE. If I were to make a list of what I want in a MAN, well let me think about that......

Just to set the record straight - not everyone who lives in a tourist area is a total loser. Many expats live in tourist areas for work / business reasons, rather than because they are drinking themselves to death or enjoy the mediocre conversation of bar girls.

And, believe it or not, there are also some 'touristy' areas in Thailand without a large population of women with tattoos and orange hair, that are actually quite nice and fun to live in. You'll find beautiful land and seascapes, as well as nice people. But maybe you've never been down south.

In other places like Pattaya, you get treated like a tourist because you're in a tourist area and you're white and you look like a tourist. Simple, really. Just like my Thai friend got mistaken for a waitress in a Thai restaurant in London (she was pretty pissed off too).

As to why it pisses people off, I guess it's to do with the fact that no matter how long you've been in a place and how well you speak the language, you will never be thought of as 'one of us' (i.e. the indigenous people - this is the same in every country in the world). Here, this fact is just brought out into stark relief in a tourist area, which somewhat shatters the illusions one can foster at home of fitting in.

Your last paragraph makes a good point.

However, on possibly a more frivalous note, what is it with you and girls with tattoos or coloured hair.

You've mentioned this in other posts, the most pitiful one being when you said that any Thai woman in a bikini is a whore. In the same thread you made reference to the tattoos.

I think you'll find that there are an increasingly large amount of SE Asian young women, Thai included, that are being tattooed for fashion reasons. Also, dying ones hair doesn't make you a whore.

In the course of my work promoting Asia Pacific universities, I regularly have meetings at SE Asian universities. Are all the students there that I see with coloured hair whores? I don't think so.

Suncream is definitely on the list and have been advised to bring some mozzie repellent.....

you might also consider bringing an AK-47 machine gun , a stun gun , a chastity belt , a kevlar body armour suit , a couple of rottweilers and a personal bodyguard .

i'm told crime figures are up this year.

have a nice trip

C'mon Tax, why don't you believe the Vested Interest Ones...

Samui is an idyllic island, palm trees waving in the gentle cool seabreeze, peace, quiet, harmony and pure white sandy beaches stretching around for miles and miles, whereupon the friendly natives offer the weary traveller cold coconut milk for free, and trade land for beads....

Get with the program...

Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnn................

After reading this whole thread, I'm a little dissapointed and I'd even go so far as to say dejected that cunnilingus expertise hasn't once been mentioned as an important quality in a man.

I count this as one of my greatest skills, a gift.

It's a little disheartening to see that it's not on anyone's list. Oh well.

It's believed that 300,000 British nationals visit Pattaya every year and at least 15,000 are based here more or less permanently along the eastern seaboard

Pattaya Mail

Well, that would explain why it seems every 2nd bar in the city shows nothing but soccer (er, "football") matches non-stop.

(Maybe if you all were good at any other sports, we'd have a better selection on the local screens )

My dear fellow, we're terribly good at croquet, don't you know?

I think he's done rather well out of it.

Not all of us can afford to stay in Thailand for the next 30 years without working.

Free board and lodgings

He'll learn to speak Thai very quickly.

Also think of the time and money he's saved on visa runs .

and at the end of his holiday he gets a free flight home.

a very clever man

I dare say he'll be the centre of attention in the showers as well!

The male would be that fabulous boxer and gentleman of the ring from the late eighties/early nineties, ex World Champion, Koa Sai Galaxy. I have some great memories of his bouts; living in an apartment in Laprao, soi 29, Bangkok at the time, myself, my Ozzie next door neighbour Gibbo and a collection of Thai friends, all in our mid twenties sitting round the TV, beers in hand - good times.

He was one tough cookie:

Total Bouts: 50

Won: 49

Lost: 1

KOs: 43

After winning the championship title, he defended it a record 19 times (with 16 knockouts) over a 7 year stretch, before retiring as champion.

Enshrined in International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

http://www.ibhof.com/galaxy.htm

Thanks for that, John... brings back some good memories.

A great champion.

C'mon folks, surely there must be someone out there who can add to this?

The male would be that fabulous boxer and gentleman of the ring from the late eighties/early nineties, ex World Champion, Koa Sai Galaxy. I have some great memories of his bouts; living in an apartment in Laprao, soi 29, Bangkok at the time, myself, my Ozzie next door neighbour Gibbo and a collection of Thai friends, all in our mid twenties sitting round the TV, beers in hand - good times.

He was one tough cookie:

Total Bouts: 50

Won: 49

Lost: 1

KOs: 43

After winning the championship title, he defended it a record 19 times (with 16 knockouts) over a 7 year stretch, before retiring as champion.

Enshrined in International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

http://www.ibhof.com/galaxy.htm

Thanks for that, John... brings back some good memories.

A great champion.

Do you have a male and or female Thai 'icon'.

Funnily enough my two that immediately spring to mind are from my early years in Thailand.

The male would be that fabulous boxer and gentleman of the ring from the late eighties/early nineties, ex World Champion, Koa Sai Galaxy. I have some great memories of his bouts; living in an apartment in Laprao, soi 29, Bangkok at the time, myself, my Ozzie next door neighbour Gibbo and a collection of Thai friends, all in our mid twenties sitting round the TV, beers in hand - good times.

The female that comes to mind is that most elegant and charming Thai songstress, with a voice made in heaven and the face of an angel, Nanthida.

I'm trying to remember the name of the female mowlam singer, she did one CD with Bird....

Remember Bird well...... the Thai Cliff Richard of pop!

Can't help with the female singer's name though..

I see the self-righteous are out in force on this thread.

Not only out in force but dragging Garry Glitter and Pedophiles into the picture too. Well I guess if you are going to get up on your soap box you might as well tackle all the world’s wrongs in one go.

So what exactly is wrong with a convicted drug dealer writing a book?

He is not making money out of his crime, he has written a book about his experiences during the punishment for a crime. What he has to say is obviously of interest, if it were not the book would not sell.

What would you rather he do, go back to trafficking drugs?

Would you ban all ex prisoners from writing books? Would you have banned Charriere from writing his story? He packed it with as much fiction as fact but left us with what is recognized as a world classic.

Or would you rather ban somebody writing a book on the basis that is upsets your own idea of what is right and what is wrong - maybe you would do the same with cartoons too?!

A convicted, sentenced and TIME SERVED drug trafficker, he has written a book about his experience. Maybe, just maybe, someone reading that book will be deterred from drug trafficking – if so it will have done more to fight that crime than any amount of self-righteous indignation.

You can Google “Charriere” if you wish.

No need to google Charriere, Papillon was a wonderful book and remains so.

Good point you raise though, definite food for thought. I myself have read several 'prison experience' books and gleaned many hours of enjoyment from doing so. Having said that, I've always objected to criminals profiting from such ventures.......still thinking about it ......

Do you have a male and or female Thai 'icon'.

Funnily enough my two that immediately spring to mind are from my early years in Thailand.

The male would be that fabulous boxer and gentleman of the ring from the late eighties/early nineties, ex World Champion, Koa Sai Galaxy. I have some great memories of his bouts; living in an apartment in Laprao, soi 29, Bangkok at the time, myself, my Ozzie next door neighbour Gibbo and a collection of Thai friends, all in our mid twenties sitting round the TV, beers in hand - good times.

The female that comes to mind is that most elegant and charming Thai songstress, with a voice made in heaven and the face of an angel, Nanthida.

Not something I should rush into then.

I was hoping to get it done before I go back to Dubai. Thought about getting it done in England before I return here at the end of the year but it is so much cheaper here.

I'll do it for you free of charge!

I admit to borrowing this idea from another blog but an interesting topic nonetheless....

What men want

In an age where scantily-clad Paris Hilton-types are ubiquitous, internet dating has become de rigueur and according to many blokes "there are too many princesses in this town" - more and more women are asking, "what in the world do modern men really want?"

The original version can be found here: http://blogs.smh.com.au/samandthecity/arch...t_men_want.html

But well, what do TV men want and what do TV ladies think they want?

I could be wrong but it may be possible that one man might want one thing and another might just want something completely different....!

Bravo! Some sense at last..........although most of us would probably agree that it is rather nice if your lady isn't ugly........also, a distinct bonus if she keeps quiet whilst the football is on.