Roomuck

Let them all kill each orther......More air for the rest of us.

Now that would be nice, no Thais to beat the s.h1t out of tourists. Maybe we can take a couple of beer in a Pattaya bar without get harassed by jealous Thai men.

Trust me, the Thai men are not jealous when they see a farang holding hands and taking financial care of a single mother bar girly hat no Thai man wants, in Pattaya. They are more amused by it.

Some think it's hilarious.

In Oz I have never noticed any Aussie hookers going on "dates" with foreign tourists who take them shopping, out to expensive restaurants etc etc.

But if I did I would laugh, not get jealous.

And good for the hooker and country to get some foreign exchange.

Even if a girl is not a bargirl, most Thais will assume she is if with a farang in Pattaya.

Have you ever been bashed by a jealous Thai man?

This is all about face. Nothing more

Yip.

"face" is the thing that has held this country back and so many other negative problems the place has.

Glad to be leaving

Any room in your suitcase for Jack?

See yah.

You're not allowed to put a human in a suitcase and put him on a plane mate. I'd get in trouble and most likely Jack would get an injury.

I can't see Jack having enough to pay for an airfare. Maybe we could stow him away on a fishing boat.

In BKK 30 km about THB 250.-, fair deal

IN Phuket 1 km THB 200.- is not overcharged ? No, it is totally rip off

30 Kim's for a measly 250 is not a fair deal.

Why should the price in Phuket be the same as Bangkok?

In London a similar journey costs more. Does Jack complain about that?

Pretty simple, if it was too expensive he could have just walked the kilometer or just declined. There was no need to be rude.

He was lucky the cops gave him an attitude adjustment, if the driver decided to he may well have been bashed.

What is wrong with these people with no manners coming to Thailand as a guest but thinking they set the rules and wanting the locals to wait on them hand and foot?

Go back to where you came from Jack.

It's not because your are not living in your country that you have to say Amen to everything.

200Thb for the course he did is way too expensive in Thailand... even not in an ariconed taxi, but just a noisy tuk tuk.

Taxi price in BKK is cheap, too cheap for the driver to make a good living, but Phuket is gone too far.

If you have to pay more for Taxi than what you are paying for your booze.... something is wrong.

Cut the price, make it clear and they might increase their income with more job and also push some people to use their service to go out at night instead of using their motorbike...

Win Win situation

Jack was given the rate that was set three years ago.

I agree something is wrong if you have to pay more for your booze than the taxi.

At 200 baht you sound like a cheap drunk.

If a few bucks is too expensive for tightarse Jack he shouldn't be in Phuket.

Instead of blaming the RTP the parents should look at themselves.

They are responsible for their 14 year old daughter, not the police.

In BKK 30 km about THB 250.-, fair deal

IN Phuket 1 km THB 200.- is not overcharged ? No, it is totally rip off

30 Kim's for a measly 250 is not a fair deal.

Why should the price in Phuket be the same as Bangkok?

In London a similar journey costs more. Does Jack complain about that?

Pretty simple, if it was too expensive he could have just walked the kilometer or just declined. There was no need to be rude.

He was lucky the cops gave him an attitude adjustment, if the driver decided to he may well have been bashed.

What is wrong with these people with no manners coming to Thailand as a guest but thinking they set the rules and wanting the locals to wait on them hand and foot?

Go back to where you came from Jack.

A lot of excuses for not learning Thai on this thread. If a five year old can do it, you can too.

It isn't that hard, you can learn the Thai script in about 2 weeks. Once you know the script you just pick it up. Thai writing is everywhere.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, I have to disagree with these statements.

At five years, a child is probably at the peak of their learning capacity. Think of it as an empty glass, waiting to be filled with experiences. Contrast that with a 70 year old, when the glass is full. Much less room for new learning.

Learn Thai script in two weeks? Get real. A language with 44 consonants, 24 vowels plus 4 special vowels and a silent vowel. Which provides no assistance by stringing the words together. It takes schoolkids at least two years to learn the Thai alphabet, and you are claiming two weeks?

I will be learning Thai for the rest of my life. While I'm reasonably competent in spoken Thai, I doubt I can ever master the written word.

Quite correct! Any real language teacher can verify the reality that age is an inhibiting factor in the aquisition of fluent spoken language. The ability to read script has little relevance in enunciation and especially in Thai script. Aptitude is as variable as dialectic conformity.Not from any intellectual limitation but from a fixed physical capacity.

Yes. Children can aquire fluency easily. Not because the mind is more open but because children are naturally developing vocal capacity physically and cerebally even in the "mother tongue". Accents and dialectic variation become a signiture even in a common language. Northern Thai struggle to understand southern and visa versa. BKK is a melting pot in the sense that it has acquired an accent that accomodates the general national influx.

Phrasebook and nominal greetings which many non Thai learn do not constitute fluency !

And as has been mentioned above Thai student children take years to learn the complexity of standard Thai script, if ever. Few ever learn the more formal additional script that also exists. And that may help explain the difficulty in getting consise translations of complex issues or legal documents.

A difficulty with Thai language is that accent effects comprehension because intonation is more critical than with Latin/ German/Greek based languages.

That plus a common lack willingness to comprehend or identify intended spoken meaning. Miming or hand gestures often achieve more!

Two weeks? A rare gift !

You are correct.

I am not saying you will read easily after two weeks or be fluent. But you can read basic Thai like a five year old if you do what I suggest. It wasn't just me, it was everyone in my class, and then about ten others.

You have to crawl before you can walk.

Reading is easy, writing more difficult. Speaking is easy, but understanding Thais when they speak quickly and use slang is the hardest part IMO.

Reading, writing and speaking you have control over the speed, but when other people are talking, you don't.

I can actually read better than some tHais I have met, but they all comprehend conversation better than I do.

Go to any country in the world and you will see citizens throw trash away outside trash cans. And same country will have other citizens picking up trash under the name of some "clean the world" campaign of cleaning said country.

England ...........

Almost totally litter free, none on the roads, none in the parks, clean beaches.

Spain .............

Seems to be no trash anywhere in Spain.

Thailand ..........

Dirtiest country I have ever seen, rubbish on the beaches, countryside, roads, monuments, it's everywhere.

The Thais shower three times a day.

And the English?

Very clean people these Thais.

I pick up rubbish twice a week on Jomtien beach . It's really good exercise, In 1 hour I fill up 2 big trash bags.

I pick up all the rubbish in my village once a week. The Thais thank me for it, often give me drinks, but only one has ever helped me.

I have also cleaned an entire beach in KO sichang.

There used to be a farang who cleaned the beach everyday in Jomtien, his nickname was Koto ( keeper of the ocean).

There is also a group called Green Pattaya who clean up areas.

Koto and green Pattaya often are in the press.

No one gets arrested for picking up rubbish. Another Thaivisa myth.

It is just an excuse by lazy farangs. As Koto told me "you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution"

An ex porn star for a wife No thank you. I have a 37 year old Great looking Gal I have been with for 9 years Works for a reputable Multi national Earns Fabulous money Very seldom ask me for money I think 2 times in the last 9 years and is super smart with good morals

So why would I want an ex porn star the bottom of the barrel here I think

Cunning stunts.

ท

I'm sorry but...yawn.

We've been through this non story once already, do we really need to do so again?

No one is making you read it.

Or comment on it.

I'm not commenting on it.

I'm commenting on the utter pointlessness of recycling this story.

There is nothing new in this.

And again.

You seem a bit obsessed. Jealously?

You know when you read something stupid and your blood pressure goes up just thinking about how stupid this person who wrote it must be?

Having read this article again, I have to say with full confidence that this is the most stupid thing I read on Thai Visa.... ever.

Besides the obvious points I made in the previous post regarding citizenship and residency, one other thing that "Nina" (who must be Filipino due to her poor writing skills) forgot about is all those happy Thai Elite visa members which I am sure just can't wait to enroll in Thai language courses after securing a very expensive visa.

I understand that there is a difference between someone writing a blog and and a book, but this getting published is a new low. Really.

So I guess you can't read Thai then.

"Most stupid thing I HAVE ever read on Thai visa" ??? I have told you a million times not to exaggerate.

If you live here you should learn the language IMO. Expecting Thais to learn your language is a bit rich IMO.

Being deaf, mute and illiterate would be frustrating IMO

A lot of excuses for not learning Thai on this thread. If a five year old can do it, you can too.

It isn't that hard, you can learn the Thai script in about 2 weeks. Once you know the script you just pick it up. Thai writing is everywhere.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, I have to disagree with these statements.

At five years, a child is probably at the peak of their learning capacity. Think of it as an empty glass, waiting to be filled with experiences. Contrast that with a 70 year old, when the glass is full. Much less room for new learning.

Learn Thai script in two weeks? Get real. A language with 44 consonants, 24 vowels plus 4 special vowels and a silent vowel. Which provides no assistance by stringing the words together. It takes schoolkids at least two years to learn the Thai alphabet, and you are claiming two weeks?

I will be learning Thai for the rest of my life. While I'm reasonably competent in spoken Thai, I doubt I can ever master the written word.

Alright Bazza, I did it and I have taught others to do it.

If you just do it, you can do it. The oldest bloke I taught was 74.

Day 1. Write the first 6 constanants over and over again. Every hour. In order.

Day 2 write the first 12 constanants over and over again in order. Every hour.

Day 3 . Write the first 18 constanants over and over again. Every hour.

And so on.

It gets hard in the middle, but easier in the end.

It is frustrating, you think you have got it, but then you forget again. But by doing it every hour it will sink in.

Once you have finished the constanants, find five words that use each vowel. Best to use words you already know.

Write them over and over. Every hour you are awake. As soon as you wake up, just before you sleep.

Then read EVERYTHING you see. Words that interst you, write them down.

There are some strange rules that will confuse you at first, but just DO IT.

I swear to Buddha if you do it hourly, you will learn it in two weeks.

You will be reading like a 4 year old, very slowly, but you need to learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run.

You must write, if you only read you won't learn it.

It will be a frustrating two weeks. But Just Do It!!!!

Ps no spaces between words seems crazy, but after a while it looks normal. When you start writing sentences, put a space in. Later you can drop the spaces.

Thai is easier than English.

Dear Roomuck, I understand what you are saying; however, life at my age is a bit too short for hourly exercises in writing Thai. I do have better things to do with my time.

Possibly Thai is easier than English. Your repeated use of the misspelling "constanants" in place of consonants may be proof of that.

Possibly good learning advice; however, not all of us have your dedication.

5555 I have always struggled with that word. Thanks for reminding me.

I think I better stick to Thai, my English has always been ordinary.

Hard language English.

"Thai people are not as stupid and unreasonable as some foreigners would like to believe they are!"

How do you suppose so many foreigners came to think this about Thais? Because Thais are honest, hard-working and well-educated?

I suspect not.

It's the same when BKK Thais call Isaan Thais 'kwai' - meaning they are lazy, dirty and stupid. If there were no truth to that, it would not be so widespread a belief. Same same, it's not all, not even mostly, racism.

But too much Kool-Aid will predispose you to think what it suits your outlook on life to think, rather than what is real.

Winnie

They also call the farang "Kwai" so according to you it must be truth in it.

A big body, smelly, small brain and able to be lead around by the nose by small bodied females.

I see this kind of Kwai in central Festival Pattaya Beach all the time. Being lead around by a small bar girl.

Lived in Spain for a few years,and from what i read here,some people wanna shut up about the Brits.The Swedish,Finnish,Danes And most of the other viking countries love a row.Ive seen in the streets of Lorette,Estartite,and loads more other places,and they love to fight each other,Even in Cyprus.You all have this shit in all your own countries,it just seems like its a good time to brand all Brits with the same iron.I wont get started on the American kids,who thought it great fun to go to Atlanta down town and fight with the Cherokee American indian boys at night.And i liver there too.

I couldn't agree more with you Dave.

That's why I feel so safe in Thailand.

Fights here are only caused by disputes. If you don't dispute, you have no problems.

Not like in farangland as you say, people go out looking for fights.

Lovely people these Thais

its sort of understandable to a degree, for example nothing annoys me more then a friend stealing off me and if calling the police isnt an option, and its not in Thailand, then a good beating sometimes reminds the thief that its not always a good idea. Not saying thats the case her, but Thailand runs pretty smoothly considering it doesnt have a legitimate police force, let alone a justice system

I understand and agree with what you have said above, BUT there is nothing to say this encounter had anything to do with friends or theft.

The biggest problem here is the face issue (especially amongst the males), they just can't handle emotions, critisism, or any other day to day, normal situations!

It just becomes a case of attack, to hell with the consequences, but hey, "I taught you a lesson, and now I have bigger face" in my own little uneducated head.

Nah, nothing to do with face.

They were just kids all fired up after watching European adults fighting over a ball game I reckon.

so sad very sad beyond words. what type of culture, society does not accept responsibility for its wrongs but wants to be lavished for good deeds? sounds like a very immature society that should never be allowed to spread to the rest of humankind. can not live in our humankind community doing things like this. failed society not today or tomorrow but soon,eventually it will fail into chaos.

Wow, the thaibashers are having a field day on this thread.

Doing a runner? Thainess?

Failing to take responsibility. Thainess.

There have been two case this year of Benz drivers killing two people in Thailand.

The first one was a Thai. He has shown up to court, and he has also attempted to show remorse by ordaining as a monk. He has apologized to the families.

The second one, was a farang. Simon Wellings in Chiangmai.

Simon fled the scene. Simon is still on the run. Simon rang the police a couple of days after the incident, claiming a German or an Australian was driving his car. But he couldn't name them. And they unsurprisingly never showed up to the police as Simon said they would.

Chaiangmai police are still looking for Simon. One would think that if Simon was innocent as he is claiming he would have come forward now to clear his name. But no. It was over six weeks ago.

Where are you Simon? Are you going to take responsibility for what you have done? Scumbag.

RIP to the young man, you can only imagine what his family are going through, you know he is having a nice time with his wife, then you are told that he has been killed in such a tragic way, very sad.

"Mother Helga Walter writes to Jakarin and begs him to confess and tell the whole truth about this dreadful and tragic night in Karon"

I have lived in Thailand for many years and I can say with certainty that I have never witnessed a Thai admit to or confess to any wrong doing, even something as trivial stealing a banana at the market.

You have never been amazed by the way the cops get criminals to confess to the crime that they were caught for and also previous crimes? Happens all the time.

A lot of excuses for not learning Thai on this thread. If a five year old can do it, you can too.

It isn't that hard, you can learn the Thai script in about 2 weeks. Once you know the script you just pick it up. Thai writing is everywhere.

While I agree with a lot of what you say, I have to disagree with these statements.

At five years, a child is probably at the peak of their learning capacity. Think of it as an empty glass, waiting to be filled with experiences. Contrast that with a 70 year old, when the glass is full. Much less room for new learning.

Learn Thai script in two weeks? Get real. A language with 44 consonants, 24 vowels plus 4 special vowels and a silent vowel. Which provides no assistance by stringing the words together. It takes schoolkids at least two years to learn the Thai alphabet, and you are claiming two weeks?

I will be learning Thai for the rest of my life. While I'm reasonably competent in spoken Thai, I doubt I can ever master the written word.

Alright Bazza, I did it and I have taught others to do it.

If you just do it, you can do it. The oldest bloke I taught was 74.

Day 1. Write the first 6 constanants over and over again. Every hour. In order.

Day 2 write the first 12 constanants over and over again in order. Every hour.

Day 3 . Write the first 18 constanants over and over again. Every hour.

And so on.

It gets hard in the middle, but easier in the end.

It is frustrating, you think you have got it, but then you forget again. But by doing it every hour it will sink in.

Once you have finished the constanants, find five words that use each vowel. Best to use words you already know.

Write them over and over. Every hour you are awake. As soon as you wake up, just before you sleep.

Then read EVERYTHING you see. Words that interst you, write them down.

There are some strange rules that will confuse you at first, but just DO IT.

I swear to Buddha if you do it hourly, you will learn it in two weeks.

You will be reading like a 4 year old, very slowly, but you need to learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run.

You must write, if you only read you won't learn it.

It will be a frustrating two weeks. But Just Do It!!!!

Ps no spaces between words seems crazy, but after a while it looks normal. When you start writing sentences, put a space in. Later you can drop the spaces.

Thai is easier than English.

Wives take husbands money. That is what they do everywhere.

People such as Harold might be tricked into believing he has to settle for an older western frump.

But not Harold. He has a much younger Asian porn star.

Clever bloke this Harold.

If they are so clever, why are they the second worst drivers in the world ?:

Not true. A thaivisa often repeated myth.

Hate to break it to you but it appears even the thai press and world authorities disagree with you, perhaps you should try checking your facts or lack of them, try google, it is your friend, maybe the only one you have:

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has earned the dubious distinction as the country with the second most dangerous roads in the world.

Surely coming as little surprise to anyone well acquainted with Thailands roads, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that the Kingdom has the second highest road deaths per capita than anywhere in the world.

36.2 people per 100,000 die on Thailands roads every year alarmingly more than the 2.9 rate in the UK or 4.3 in Germany, although much lower than Libya, which boasts the dubious title of the worst country for road traffic fatalities, with 73.4 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Nah, it is BS. What you are quoting conveniently left out a whole lot of countries. Makes for a good story though.

Don't believe what you read in the Thai press mate.

But I did Google it as you kindly suggested.

Thailand can't even make the top ten.

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

I eat out everyday. I have only cooked four times in seven years, because I craved Kim chi spaghetti, and I don't know where to buy it.

I rack on it is cheaper, my girlfriend offers to cook, but I can't be bothered shopping for ingredients, or doing dishes.

Pattaya has great restaurants, my parents have just been here for the week. My dad doesn't eat rice.

We went Korean, Italian, Indian, Lebanese and all were a third of the price for similar restaurant food in Melbourne.

Also went to the Blue Olive, good quality and cheap.

Thailand rocks.

...the population of the world is 7.4 B....

...nearly 1.5 B speak English....

...a little over 60 M speak Thai....many of them poorly....

...0.008 % of the world population....

...a language fraught with errors and inconsistencies besides ...

...people that travel here come with an open mind....

...students asked where they would like to visit in the world responded...resoundingly...'Nowhere. I want to stay in Thailand'

...argument just for the sake of argument...???

...stop giving your friends....or 'pretties'.....the forum.....

...you are losing credibility.....

Might only be .08% of the world population, but 100% in Thailand.

I want to live here forever, so I should speak Thai.

I went to a Pattaya language school a few years back.

It was bloody useless, they didn't even teach Thai script, the teachers changed every three months. I should have known, the English owner didn't even know basic Thai. It was basically a Visa shop, there was no set curriculum, the teachers were not even real teachers.

The transliterated Thai they taught us actually made us learn it the wrong way. A big waste of time.

A lot of excuses for not learning Thai on this thread. If a five year old can do it, you can too.

It isn't that hard, you can learn the Thai script in about 2 weeks. Once you know the script you just pick it up. Thai writing is everywhere. When waiting for my food in restaurants I always read the menu etc.

I think the people who claim they can't do it have never really tried, or have gone to a useless school like I did. Or bought a book and failed. The way to learn is by putting pen to paper. You can't learn the piano by reading a book about it, you have to DO it. Thai is the same.

Writing is easier than English. I improved greatly when I started using Thai dating sites. My Thai writing was like a child. But stacks of girls thought it was cute and wanted to help me. Now I use line a lot.

IMO you get better quality girls by speaking Thai, not farangified ones.

I still struggle to keep up when tHais are speaking quickly. I have been here for seven years and read probably about the same as Thai seven year olds. I ain't giving up.

I don't understand why anyone would want to live here and no bother to learn it. It makes everything easier and it used to annoy me when in at a Thai party and they had to use English for my sake.

If you don't learn it you are effectively a deaf, illiterate mute.

I also believe you get more respect from Thais if you speak and read their language. And make more friends. I grew up in Oz and migrants were expected to learn English.

You will get better prices also, because they think you RooMuck.

Thai is a highly imprecise language and has been one of the reasons Thailand's development has dramatically slowed down.

Utter nonsense, as any linguist will tell you. The Thai language can be as specific as you want it to be. But yes, much of the time Thais will not use it that way, because a certain amount of ambiguity smooths out social interactions. Welcome to Asia.

I laughed when I read his comment. He must have made it up, because the opposite is true, it can be very precise, but the Thais often don't use precise language if it is not necessary to understand the meaning.

Very clever people these Thais.

There is no English requirement in Australia to gain permanent residency. Plenty of Thais live permanently in Australia with minimal English skills. They get medicare, the dole, old age pensions and all the other benefits of citizenship. There is a multiple choice written test to gain citizenship, but there is a set number of questions and they can be memorised without too many problems. The test can be taken as often as needed to pass. English is not a prerequisite to a fulfilling life in Australia for a Thai person.

Why is Thailand so strict in its residency requirements (6th grade level Thai oral and written skills, minimum job/salary/tax requirements etc)? I guess it is because Australia is a multi-cultural country whereas Thailand is more xenophobic.

You are wrong. I had a Korean girlfriend who was required to learn English to gain residency. IELTS standard.

I was working and went to Bali with seven mates when I was seventeen. I told my parents I was going, no need to ask the for permission.

I had mates who were selling drugs at 16. Maybe he had a job, maybe he was a drug dealer.

Once again it is up to the Thais to scrape up another farang off the road and deal with the mess he has left behind.