kwilco

The US just haven't got a clue. It is a characteristic of US foreign policy that they just don't get the rest of the world..... they never have. They only see it in terms of Amerigo-centricity.... And even when they were the biggest boy on the block they seldom got away with it. Now they haven't got a snowflake's chance in hell.

saly you are a "one quote wonder" THe west loves stories of impending doom in China and point to the autocratic nature of the country - there is a lot of ttruth in this but they are barking up the wrong tree - autocratic or not China is in a far better position than the west - with there own idiots like Trump Brexit and the right - it isn't a military problem - before the west knows it China will be the dominant power in most of Asia - the only opposition is India.

THe concern is the ever increasing Chinese influence over countries in the region. THe west has made no effort whatsoever to increase there influence - even expats ar moaning that they aren't being treate fairly. It's hard to see what the West has to offer, but in the end the influence of the west is seriously on the wane, and nothing to do with military it's just the wet will have yto get used that they are now the "third world" - in the original sense. - an irrelevence.

This isn't the first chemical fire in the region and not the last. People who were living in this area from before the major industrialisation have been taking legal action for years to preserve the land sea and water all of which is damaged. Expats living in the region, and you can include Pattaya in this, seem unaware of the polluted future they face. I worked all over that region for nearly 20 years and was frequently shocked and horrified by the breaches in health and safety I witnessed.

Apparently over 50% of all industrial waste inthe Rayong industrial region is disposed of in substandard ways - mostly illegal. THis fire is very convenient as legal processes were already under way.

The OP is some time ago. However anyone hoping to live long term in Thailand should be better employed finding out the cost of full healthcover.

She needs a full 5 year d/l plus IDP. You can add her as a named driver on your insurance - shouldn't be too expensive.

the demographics of Thailand are changing, as is the economy. Tourism is hoped to comprise over 20% of GDP. It is no longer the "preserve" of the West. Brits and others came here to live "on the cheap" they resent the fact that Thailand is moving on and they are left behind - as said the British colonial attitudes make them think they can just use or take advantage of any country they see as "lower down the food chain" - sadly that is no longer the case. Bye-bye British, hello Asia.

cost in UK for 30 20mg is around £7.50

Yes -absolutely and th Russians Chinese and Indians now do that better

They do now - I lived in the area for 20 years

Just cheap hotels etc. Package holidays the lower end of the market. It looks like the sex industry in Pattaya has burgeoning in the last year....I'd say on the back of increased Russian tourists.

Really, where? you realise you haven't got an argument - just baseless ad homs

how come?

either you don't understand or you can't explain your logic then....no surprise there

It isn't just with the "smoke' you can see...PM2.5 particles can only be seen with an electron microscope. THere has always been a "burning season" - but in the last decade the burning of biomass has dramatically increased due to pressure from the small CARTEL that runs the commodities markets in Thailand. The amount of traffic has increased exponentially and so has the output of industry - in particular the petro-chemical industroes. THe topography of Chiang Mai makes it much more susceptible that most places as does the topography of BKK. For several months of the year now, parts of northern THailand are virtually uninhabitable

One O level I suspect - and still knows nothing about history or racism. Lets ‘see if you can use you “logic” to explain why you are using 2 logical fallacies …. Appeal to Authority and secondly Credentials Fallacy?

QED - Not every post just the ones you read - I wonder why?

what a stupid comment

why is it the racists get so het up whenever racism is mentioned?

just waiting for someone to say "I can't be racist, I married one!"

my passport took 5 days from handing in BKK, and how your pension works depends on agreements with whichever county you are in.

THere is a course the problem with British imperialist based racism. THis applies to US and EU as well but the British as in "brits" and "gammons" are the worst. Their perception of Thailand is based on an innate feeling of superiority over Thai people or ALL S.East Asians. Sweeping generalisations: - Expressions like "they". "thais" "third world" "they hate us" "Bad drivers" "Somchai" all come from a basic distain for Thai people their customs and their culture. The response is that many Thai people politely ignore Brit expats and avoid doing any form of business with them. THen the exoats suffer from confirmation bias and so the circle continues.

There is the key. Western tourists are more "discerning" Thailand managed nearly 40 million tourists before Covid. They still haven't get to that level quite yet but their target is over that. Despite what some say about targeting "quality" tourists, Thailand is actively pursuing a policy of the lowest common denominator - bums on seats - it's a question of how many people you can fit onto a beach - buildings, aesthetics, infrastructure, natural resources simply don't matter - the burgeoning middle classes of China, India and Russia are nowhere near as concerned about those issues - they want hot weather a beach and booze. Thailand can provide that. On top of that flights from these countries are much shorter and cheaper than from Europe or the USA. As for living long term - retirees pensions in UK are less - th state pension is effectively half that of France and a third that of Germany. Thailand needs skilled workers from the west - engineers etc but they don't pay well and when it comes to healthcare, eventually they and retirees have to return home. As retirees get older they require more and more healthcare an the Thai industry just can't meet the needs of the chronically ill. Comprehensive healthcare for a retiree these days is between £5,000 and £10,000 p/a.

Of course whu would you want people living in your country who think they are hated by the locals. Why would they live here at all?