AlexRich

29 minutes ago, davidst01 said:

Can this comment be nominated for 'comment of the year'?

No ... it was a bit long-winded, as there was no need to put “dogs” and “hookers” ... either one would suffice.

5 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

I was super acclimatised to it all. I got to my hometown to days like this and then proceeded to kick myself hard for not seeing it for what it was. 

Is that Australia? Looks great.

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

Vietnam, Spain, Phillipines, Panama, Malta, Portugal, Canary Islands etc etc

I’m living in Cyprus currently, and my living and day to day costs are lower than Thailand. Having said that I was paying 20,000 Baht per month for accommodation, so if you pay much less then it will be closer. I was also hit by the GBP/Baht rate post-Brexit vote. But I’d still spend less here in Cyprus. Back in Thailand 2020 if all goes to plan.

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

Everybody's gotta learn some time

By The Korgis ... but I also liked the more recent version by one of the Corr sisters.

21 hours ago, Oziex1 said:

I believe they are cheap labour. 

But as has already been stated they are earning multiples of what they would at home.

Fire starter by Prodigy came to mind!

Even the rats that infest that beach are complaining about the filthy tourists.

4 minutes ago, Mansell said:

A great book is The Knife Man by Wendy Moore. About the father of modern surgery, a Scot who changed many things about operations in a time that blood letting was considered the answer for every malady. If you have had surgery then your life was probably enhanced or saved by this doctor. Many of the internal body parts were named by this doctor and are still used today. 

The author did a great job writing about a very complex man and an extremely complicated subject involving not only human bodies, but also animals. It takes place in a time when the doctor paid for newly buried bodies for his research to be dug up from graveyards. His work dissecting the bodies had to be done quickly because of the heat and no refrigeration or ice available in those times. Fascinating man changing the medical profession in many ways.....remember this was a time when barbers also did surgeries, hence the red and white barber's poles. Great read.

I hope it wasn’t Burke or Hare, Edinburgh body snatchers?

1 minute ago, Lancelot01 said:

A brilliant book. Just finished reading it.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez also wrote a non-fiction book called “News of a Kidnapping”, about the victims of kidnapping in a South American country. A good read.

A non-fiction read that I enjoyed was The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson. It’s both interesting and funny ... especially the guy who pretended to be insane to get out of a jail sentence and now cannot get out of a mental institution because they think his sane behaviour is evidence of his insanity.

i also enjoyed a book who’s author and title I can’t quite recall ... but it is something like “Why E=MC squared” ... it explains all the science behind Einstein’s famous equation, discussing the scientific discoveries that allowed Einstein to craft that equation. Brilliantly written and incredibly interesting. You’ll get a better understanding of his “standing on the shoulders of giants” quote ... his work could only have been achieved from the knowledge and discoveries of others.

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You've reminded me of Nicholas Montserrat. " The Cruel Sea" was a classic. Or Alistair McLean's " HMS Ulysses " Sadly, he descended into potboilers.

If you like spy books, Elleston Trevor under the pseudonym Adam Hall wrote the Quiller series.

Is Quiller a UK spy series?

4 hours ago, Spidey said:

If? It's looking more likely by the day to be when. Party leaders and MPs, are stealthily softening their stance on a new referendum and quietly introducing the thought as a possibility.

 

Softening up the sheeple for what is actually an inevitability.

If the Government revoked Article 50 it would be undemocratic, but putting any deal to a vote is fine by me, as only another referendum could legitimately overturn the first one. It’ll be champagne and popcorn the night that vote comes in.

46 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

It's true but sad. I'm Married to a Thai women. She's no prostitute and I haven't even ever been to a bar... People judge though. Thais only have themselves to blame.

It is sad. If other Thais see a Thai lady with a westerner they might also jump to that conclusion. 

I enjoy most John Le Carre spy novels ... Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Spy Who Came in From the Cold; Smileys People, The Honourable Schoolboy.

Patrick O’Brien wrote about English naval adventures ... the movie Master & Commander with Russel Crow was based on these novels. He wrote quite a few of them, and it’s best to read them in chronological order. Excellent books.

On a lighter note I was in Bali during the Day of Souls, were no one is allowed out on the streets for 24 hours, and you are stuck in your hotel. So I downloaded two books by an Australian lady, Hotel K and Snowing in Bali ... about the famous prison and the islands many drug dealers. Gives you a good understanding of the depth of corruption, funny and sad at times.

Don’t forget capital gains. Fewer investors are holding stocks for years, so capital gains and dividends combined. I agree with the sentiment that as you get older you look for safer asset classes like property rental and bonds, but I’d still retain some blue chip stocks paying dividends. 

21 minutes ago, Bert Jones said:

We need to remember Thailand is a backward 3rd world country. The tribes people who cause these fires are uneducated and mostly poor. The powers that be are underfunded and lack the means to deal with the situation. Apathy at the top prevails...the smog will never stop in our life time...it's being going on for decades. If you can afford too - go south in the smog months, after all, one life, live it...you may live longer. It's certainly given me the impetus to get off my backside and visit neighbouring countries next year...where the air is clean. The smog situation has taken the shine off my love of Thailand...this wasn't how my retirement was meant to pan out...if I stay in Chiang Mai/Rai during the smog months, I will surely lose a few years of my life. 

Personally I don’t think it’s worth it. Apart from reduced life span you also have to endure many miserable days wearing a face mask. The islands of the south are probably your best bet.

2 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Noticed that as well.  It's also prevalent down in Rayong/Pattaya. 

Yes. Pattaya no big surprise, but nightlife in the north is more subdued.

Time in Thai long distance buses is best spent praying to Jesus to spare your life.