mstevens

The reasons I left is certainly similar to the reasons friends of yours left. Far superior environment, far more pleasant climate, generally higher standards in pretty much everything (from driving to government services to professional services etc.). I also felt the attitudes of some Thais towards us soured a little, particularly those in uniform. Not a huge change in attitude, but it was sufficient for me to feel that little bit less welcome. While I personally never had a problem with my annual visa, many friends did. Not a nice way to live when you worry about whether your next visa extension will be approved. When I drove my car I hated being stopped by cops and shaken down for money when I had done absolutely nothing wrong. It perpetually reinforced the idea that you're a foreigner, you're vulnerable and in a worst case scenario, stuff can happen. As a young guy, that sort of thing was all very exciting but as you get older and have a family to think of, it's the complete opposite. I just wasn't confident I could leave a hassle-free life in Thailand. That was the breaking point for me and when I decided that we'd be better off leaving Thailand.

Oh, really? In 25 years, I'd say that Bangkok has changed massively. In some ways it's a vastly superior city to the place I first knew. In other ways, it's changed in ways that I feel are not necessarily improvements. Today, how you feel about the place is going to be very much an individual thing. But to say Bangkok has not changed one bit is just total utter nonsense!

I would put that down to errant reporting or an inarticulate newsreader. NO WAY would the embassy get involved like that.

Pretty much guarantee that didn't happen. The NZ Embassy in Bangkok no doubt fulfilled its duties to check on the brothers when they were in custody and convey messages to parents in NZ, but as for negotiating a way out, no way. If you believe that you have no idea about the attitudes of Kiwis in government. The NZ Embassy in Bangkok has long been helpful to its citizens, but they don't help Kiwis to get out of trouble by negotiating pay-offs or bribing public officials of the host country. Not a chance that happened.

There is no suggestion the New Zealand government was involved. NZ has very strong anti-corruption laws and laws regarding bribery. Any NZ official involved in this sort of thing would be dismissed and it would be massive news in the country and that person would become near unemployable. Where the article says the brothers thanked for the NZ government for their support, that absolutely does not mean the NZ government negotiated to get them out. No way would that happen.

I doubt the NZ government was involved. Probably the parents of the two brothers found a lawyer who was prepared to act as a go-between and fix a deal where all parties were compensated and charges dropped.

It sounds like you were in Billboard which is widely regarded as the very best gogo bar in all of Thailand. Quite simply, no other bar comes close to Billboard. Hard not to have a good time in that bar, but it's not especially representative of the bar industry in general. No other bars are nearly that good and don't get me started on Cowboy or Patpong.

Gut health is incredibly important but sadly, it's an area where conventional medicine is weak, to include gastroenterologists. If you have a serious gut issue like IBD, docs can diagnose it. But if you have one of the incredibly common conditions like SIBO, SIFO, dysbiosis, leaky gut, Candida overgrowth etc then conventional medical doctors simply aren't trained in these conditions. There are a few things you can do to improve your gut health like eliminate ultra processed foods and also consider stopping all gluten and dairy for a while. Fermented foods are good, but they can be problematic for some gut conditions. Quality probiotics can help. My advice would be to improve your diet and try some probiotics as a starting point. If you don't have any luck, consider trying to find a functional medicine practitioner. They're the experts on gut health and testing for and resolving the conditions mentioned above.

What a strange comment!

When you say it turns out you were allergic to yourself, this is a classic comment made by those with some degree of mould / funghi / bacteria colonised in their nasal passage. Using Loratidine and Beonaise spray is simply masking the symptoms. Try and look at resolving the root cause and consider the nasal spray I recommended earlier or a colloidal silver nasal spray. You can resolve the issue and then you won't need to manage the symptoms as you are currently. Both of these recommended sprays are very cheap, natural and safe - all of which make them absolutely worth trying.

You might like to try this product which is available on iHerb: Xlear, Rescue Nasal Spray with Xylitol, Fast Relief, 1.5 fl oz (45 ml) (I note it's also available on Lazada but at 2.5 x the price as iHerb.) Note, if you do choose this options (and I really do suggest you give it a try as it's cheap, powerful and entirely natural), then make sure you get the RESCUE product, as named above. There are a few similar products by Xlear but Rescue Nasal Spray is the one you want. This is far and away the most powerful non-prescription nasal spray I have used. I battled with sinusitis on and off for years and a couple of years back was recommended this. It was hugely helpful. Note, most of us have a degree of colonisation of bacteria, funghi and mould in our nasal passage. This product really cleans the nasal passage out. Think of it as a reliever OR a medium-term treatment option i.e. it can help to clear out very long-term colonisation of the nasal passage. In such cases, it's not an overnight fix and you may need to spray each nostril a couple of times for several weeks. Many "mouldies" (those who have an internal colonisation of mould) swear by this particular product.

Bingo. If you want to enjoy red wine but you struggle with histamine / suffer from histamine intolerance, then you need to take a DAO enzyme beforehand, and if at all possible, a few more DAO enzymes while you consume the wine. These enzymes will help the histamine to be degraded and you won't suffer a nasty hangover. Histamine Digest from Seeking Health is one such product. I have no idea if it is available in Thailand. https://www.seekinghealth.com/products/histamine-digest-formerly-histamine-block

No, I'm from New Zealand, but I understand the healthcare systems in Canada and NZ are similar.

I haven't read the article so cannot comment on its content. But from my experiences with Thai healthcare, what makes it great is the accessibility of specialists. In my country, it can take months to see a specialist - unless it's a genuinely life-threatening - situation whereas in Thailand you can get access to specialists pretty much right away. It's a huge difference, and I speak from personal experience when I say that there is nothing worse than waiting for a specialist's appointment when you're suffering from a serious, but non life-threatening condition which has a terrible effect on your quality of life.

I watched it on Netflix and yes, it had Thai subs so the Mrs could enjoy it too. As for the download, sorry, I really don't know.

The problem with tinnitus is there are so many possible causes. I have had it on and off and it was related to gut issues with bacterial overgrowth and yeast overgrowth which caused a cascade of symptoms from histamine issues to mast cell issues to fungal nails to tinnitus. When I finally got help to fix up my gut, I got relief from the tinnitus - but it was about the last of the many issues related to my messed up gut to clear up. I know it won't bring any relief but after a while you do get used to tinnitus....and with parts of Thailand being noisy, you forget about it for long periods for much of the day.

We watched Axel F last night. Enjoyed it. If you liked the original Beverly Hills Cop movies, you’ll enjoy it. It’s very much like the first 3 with the same characters, same music, same mix of action and comedy, all in all a nice walk down memory lane!

A few sois that cater to Middle Easterners with restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops etc. For non Middle Easterners / non-Muslims who like food from that part of the world, it's a great soi with many restaurants to choose from, all very reasonably priced.

Mackerel is the name in English. Good on your family for often eating it as it's really healthy!

I know this doesn't answer your question, but have you considered purchasing D Mannose online from iHerb? When I used D Mannose in the past, I purchased the NOW Foods D Mannose supplement from iHerb and was very happy with it.

The Asean Now article only translates part of the original report, and what this clown Mario did is actually much worse. He threw the old Thai man's bike in to the sea and he also said that he had a gun and threatened him with it. I don't like to count myself amongst the hang 'gm high brigade but this farang clown needs a much harsher punishment for this. 1,000 baht fine? It's a pittance.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. Be the best you can, put your best foot forward and with a bit of luck you'll attract a great lady. But like I said, there are no guarantees and sometimes it doesn't work out.

Fair enough if one does not want to get married. That's very much an individual thing. A bunch of my friends are married to a Thai woman and most have perfectly good marriages. I think this is most likely because most of these guys have plenty going for themselves and took their time to get to know her before settling down. This is especially important with if you come from different backgrounds. If you have a good income / are good with money, are respectful & treat people well, and have self-confidence then you will attract decent women. If you don't have a lot going for yourself, lack confidence or have other traits that make you less desirable, then you are much more likely to end up in an unhappy relationship.

So what is really going on here? You hooked up with a man (a male prostitute) and he ripped you off? You live and learn. Put it down to experience.

I'll probably get slammed for this but I think this is the most appalling attitude. Why bother getting married if you are PLANNING to use the services of prostitutes on the side, behind your wife's back? Getting married under such circumstances makes no sense to me, and strikes me as dreadfully disrespectful to your wife to be. Have you thought that perhaps the single life might be more for you?