jimster

2 hours ago, malt25 said:

Standard price in Tops Sakon Nakhon is 99 Baht. Small & hard as a rock. I have splashed out a couple of times for special occasion but have to buy  4 to ensure get equivalent quantity of 1 or 2.   I don't bother checking the price anymore. Always crap.

On another note, a few years back when I lived in Chiang Mai, avos were plentiful at the road side stalls in the hinterland a short drive away. Guess I was spoilt. Oh, the price was much, much less than 99 baht. Often bought 4 large & got change from 100 bath.

You can buy 3kg of Thai avocadoes for no more than 100 Baht from the road side in Tak province during the season (which is now). I've also seen avocadoes sold at reasonable prices (like 35-50 Baht per kg) from street vendors on the outskirts of Bangkok.

On 6/21/2018 at 10:17 PM, smotherb said:

With so many guns in Thailand, it does not matter that you show manners, possess common sense or have self-control; if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

However many Thais seem to be unaware of this. A US based show where Americans marry foreigners has featured a number of Thai ladies and they're always saying things like: "we don't have guns in Thailand" or "guns are very rare, compared to the USA" and things like this. Americans watching the show, which is quite popular and watched by millions will believe this.

On 6/21/2018 at 8:53 PM, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

i see in many shopping centers in central bangkok nepalese and cambodians as salesman. why is that? why not thai?

Good point. MBK comes to mind - lots of Nepalese, Burmese, Cambodians and others. Ditto for the outdoor market on Sukhumvit road near Nana. The police could easily raid the place and ask these people for their permits, but seem to leave them alone. I wonder if they're all legal though and how they can manage to bypass the 4 to 1 Thai workers to foreigners ratio when 90% of the employees are not Thai.

On 6/13/2018 at 2:15 PM, Briggsy said:

Because there is a specific existing legal framework and bureacracy, and existing agreements between Thailand and those 3 neighbouring countries to facilitate labourers from those countries to work in Thailand.

That's right, although interestingly, not in the opposite direction. Thais have no special rights to work in Laos, they can get a work permit like any other foreigner but unlike the Vietnamese and Chinese, they don't (or aren't allowed to) work in menial roles or roles such as construction. How much of this is political (because Laos shares the same political system as Vietnam and China) I don't know, but I suspect it has a lot to do with it.

Cambodia and Myanmar are similar - there are some Vietnamese in Cambodia working as laborers and in construction etc. (not as many as in Laos but still) but no Thais. Thais only come as mid-level managers to oversee projects in the agricultural, food processing and power generation sectors. Ditto for Myanmar - Thais go to places like Mawlamyine on business as there is a Thai owned power plant there. However, there are probably exactly zero Thais working in the Burmese border towns - you'll see only truck drivers picking up and delivering goods and tourists going shopping, that's it.

In any Thai border city, citizens of the neighboring country dominate as traders. It's difficult to find a Thai working at the Rong Kluea market in Aranyaprathet, opposite Poipet, however, I understand the businesses themselves are all Thai owned.

Funnily enough Thais work in casinos located in Cambodia and Myanmar!

On 6/13/2018 at 7:28 PM, kannot said:

Sheesh Its  all sounds very familiar and exactly what Ive had, some really take the piss and I usually boot em off telling em why. In 5  years had 1  good  worker the rest all had some sort of "problem"

But you know the best part, theyll run to the village and instead of saying how crap they were they tell everyone they know "Falang Fussy" kin hilarious!!

We do hear form many other Thai employees  though they have the EXACT same problems, last road builder we  had said they often stole steel from him. And they all get minimum 500 day round here. 

Burmese, sorry to tell you they now only want factory work with overtime and will dump any factory when that overtime stops, spoke with several agents about this and they confirm it, also a lot of  hassle  now and BIG fines for incorrect paperwork which will cost you a  fair  bit and...guess what,  you do it all and 1  month later.they up an leave. 

I know Burmese workers quite well as I employ them for my business...many have a similar work ethic to Thais. However, in my experience I have found them to be quite reliable. In border areas like Tak province, especially in places like Mae Sot most workers are Burmese and you won't find any Thais even if you wanted to...because...there are none. Sometimes the language barrier can be a problem, because they don't speak Thai (or English) but things still usually get done, at least OKish. As long as you supervise them constantly it's OK. Never rely on another local person because if you're not there, only some things get done but the workers will still want to be paid the full amount. That's been my experience.

6 hours ago, akirasan said:

The only shocking thing about this footage about is seeing a Thai motorcyclist riding on the correct side of the road.

Actually the only shocking thing is that she is able to balance her bike with the kid on it and not have a crash during the time she took her hands of the handlebars.

On 6/13/2018 at 1:49 PM, PatOngo said:

Because only foreign workers from those countries will work for the  oppressive wages paid! Would you work for approx. 300 thb per day?

Not only these countries but anyone from a poor third world country would be willing. It's because they are neighboring countries and share a similar culture with Thailand. Bangladeshis are even poorer and there was a proposal to allow them in in large numbers as migrant laborers but there was a lot of opposition from Thai employers and labor groups because Bangladeshi culture is "too different" from Thai culture.

On 6/20/2018 at 4:24 PM, sanemax said:

That cannot be correct

20 % of Israels population are Palestinian Muslim Arabs .

Jews make up just 75 % of Israels population 

Learn to read and interpret correctly. I said of the "Israeli Jewish population" not the Israeli population overall, big difference. I am well aware of the presence of Muslim and Christian Arabs in Israel.

21 hours ago, BestB said:

Do not panic, not only dear P Prayut can not speak English or follow any news, doubtful he needs any encouragement from overseas.;)

Agreed. However, despite what some foreigners like to say, there is still more freedom of speech in Thailand than in Europe. Many controversial topics, such as YouTube videos about WW2 that are banned in Europe can be freely watched and debated here in Thailand. There is only one thing you can't criticize in Thailand but just about everything else is OK.

18 hours ago, Thian said:

It's not my hobby to lift/carry 18litre waterbottles...filter works much easyier.

I have a filter but only use it for washing fruits/veggies and for cooking purposes. Like the vast majority of Thais, will continue to drink reverse osmosis and store bought water. Nothing difficult about lifting or carrying 18L bottles of water - the guy who brings us our water will do all the lifting and carrying himself for free. It's part of the job, as is usual in Thailand, no one is expected to get their hands dirty when there's a guy willing to do it for you.

32 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

I thought there had been something in the media recently about non Thais being prohibited from owning firearms.

Cannot recall whether this was only for prospective firearms owners or would apply to those already owning firearms.

Go back a page or two, there were two articles posted about the change in the law. The Nation Multimedia was the source, another news website simply linked from the Nation.

No mention of whether the law would apply retroactively or only from then on. As others have stated though, it doesn't mean everyone will get the memo and that it will apply across the board.

Just like the 2016 law, also published in the Royal Gazette outlining the procedures that foreigners need to bring vehicles registered in third countries (excluding neighboring countries that have an agreement with Thailand) to Thailand as temporary imports. It turns out that even 2 years after the law has been put into effect, it's only enforced for Chinese vehicles and for all vehicles at some border crossings. There are still a few borders where foreigners continue to make it in without the required permits and guides, as long as the vehicles aren't Chinese registered.

In a similar vein, even before the new gun ownership rules were announced, some police stations didn't allow foreigners to register guns. I suspect though many will still allow it, especially if you have good connections. So in that sense, nothing much will change.

Laws always seem to be selectively enforced in Thailand and depend on who you know, there are always loopholes, go figure...

On 5/31/2017 at 2:16 PM, soalbundy said:

so being a racist and anti-Semitic is against the law ? What about not liking terrorists, disliking the colour pink, not finding kittens cute, not wanting gypsies parking on your village green.

The interpretation of what constitutes racism or antisemitism etc. is very subjective and thus at the whims of whoever has the authority to interpret it. Disagreeing even in the slightest, with policies encouraging immigration for example is now considered "racist" in Europe. All sorts of labels can be applied to anyone who disagrees even marginally even by just clicking the "like" button on someone else's comment which is critical of whatever issue at hand. It's totalitarianism at it's finest. Even Stalin and people of his ilk would never have imagined it could get this bad in Europe. I wonder what will happen in 10-15 years time? Say a politician looks ugly and be thrown in a gulag? As you say, you dislike the color pink and therefore are considered to be a homophobe (since the color pink is associated with homosexuality)?

2 hours ago, Thian said:

What? Only since today? I thought Ozzies were such naturelovers?

 

In Holland there are no free plastic bags in supermarkets since 25 years i recon.

 

The Thai should start drinking tapwater...that would save so much plastic. 

Tap water? Full of chlorine and all? No thanks. And also no need. Many Thais reuse 18L bottles of water, fill them up with water from the local reverse osmosis water dispenser, place it over a water cooler and dispense water whenever needed. I've never seen anyone in the west do that - everyone just buys 1.25 or 1.5L bottles and throw them away once finished (OK, even if they are then recycled) and never once have I seen a water dispensing machine in a western country.

9 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

And I certainly hope so and even more serious I hope it's strenuously enforced with serious punishment for offenders.

 

But it needs to be very soon before Thailand is awash with illegal guns and illegal sellers.

 

 

That's usually the justification for making it more difficult to own guns but the fact is, there is a worldwide push to abolish private gun ownership. We all know the big push to make it more difficult to own guns in the USA but it's also happening in other countries.

Currently, gun ownership is illegal for all, irrespective of whether you are a local or foreigner in Thailand's neighboring countries, including Vietnam, Laos and China. Apparently Myanmar does not have very liberal gun laws either (no idea about the actual law, except signs in Thai on the Thai side of the riverside opposite the casinos and border crossings stating that one should not bring a firearm to Myanmar because you could be arrested). Similarly, despite the proliferation of illegal guns in Cambodia, my understanding is they are illegal even for Cambodians (correct me if I'm wrong) so in SE Asia, Thailand has the most liberal gun laws. Also I doubt Singapore permits private gun ownership.

3 hours ago, The manic said:

I doubt Jamaican seek out Africans or black Amercians seek out Nigerians. They have little in common just a Brits dont seek out Romanian just because of skin colour.  Do you think Arabs seek put Israelis just cos the have the same skin colour?  It is the commonality of language that draws people together. 

Israelis and Arabs don't have the same skin color at all. Most Israelis are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Europe, usually eastern Europe they form about 92% of the Israeli Jewish population and are known as the "Ashkenazi Jews", the rest who have roots in southern Europe and northern Africa are called "Sephardic Jews". And given the current and historical tensions between Israelis and Arabs I highly doubt they would be seeking each other out. Many countries don't even have diplomatic relations with Israel, most of these countries are in the middle East, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia, further diminishing the opportunity for "Arabs to seek out Israelis" as you put it.

Culture, not language draws people together. That's why Thais will form friendships with Cambodians and Chinese when living in western countries like the USA if they can't find other Thais and they'll do that before they seek out friendships with white people and despite all these people not speaking a common language or English very well. Westerners in Thailand seek each other out due to a shared (or similar) culture. Swedes will hang out with Aussies, Dutch people and Americans before they hang out with Thais.

2 hours ago, Justfine said:

It's culture not language. Otherwise no farangs would be with Thais who can't speak English.

Exactly. And while I don't think Nigerians seek out Jamaicans (like the other guy said in a reply to me), a Nigerian who sees another black person sees kinship and the potential for a friendship based on a common culture. In Thailand, Malaysia and other east Asian countries, a Nigerian is far more likely to meet another Nigerian, or a Cameroonian than say a Jamaican.

I have the feeling that in the not too distant future, as TheDeerHunter mentioned with the proposed law back in 2014, private gun ownership in Thailand will be abolished for Thai citizens too. It's only a matter of time.

3 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Well it was announced just a few weeks ago that foreigners will not be able to get any gun licence now.  But of course half the police stations probably were not allowing it anyway and the other half probably never even look at any new rules from BKK anyway so probably nothing has changed. About 4 years ago around the time of the coup, all gun licences were to be abolished and all guns were to be surrendered. Two weeks later never heard of it again.  Personally, as a retired gun dealer of 20+ years in another country, I think most households here have at least one or more personalities in or associated with the house that could not be trusted to be mature with the knowledge of any firearm being on the property.  My wife has wanted one but we have six farm dogs and a cheap Taser.  I say that is security enough.  But a single barrel .410 with a 20-24" barrel would be handy on occasions on the farm.   

Interesting. I'm surprised that foreigners were ever allowed to own guns years ago I looked up this topic and the consensus was "foreigners can't own firearms" yet all of a sudden we have a law dated from only last year. Just wondering, what is the rationale behind preventing only foreigners from owning guns in Thailand? And why especially only since last year, what happened then to "justify" this?

Also, can a foreigner on a permanent resident (PR) visa apply for a firearm permit? Or only those with Thai citizenship? I assume that by all foreigners that means Burmese and Cambodians aren't legally allowed to own a gun either.

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

No, this happens in areas with plenty of (nontourist) foreigners around and with Cambodians who speak Englush well. They will still address me in Khmer.

It is not that I am ignoring the tuk tuks. They aren't calling out to me.



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Maybe in your local area but I challenge you to go to somewhere (outside a tourist area but where there are still likely to be English speakers) and get spoken to in Khmer automatically. I don't know what you look like, but if you're a typical barang, then I don't see why people would treat you differently from the next barang unless they can remember you from a previous encounter or know you live in the area.

I must say I'm very surprised by this decision. Every company I've worked for and/or had dealings with in Thailand has had gay or bisexual/transsexual (kathoey) staff (with the exception of some factories) and even industries one normally associates with males seem to have an awful lot of at least female (and occasionally transsexual) staff such as car dealerships and service centers. In these places, the sales staff and cashiers are almost always female, even to the point of those showing you to your car and explaining what maintenance has been performed and parts have been replaced/cleaned. It's only the actual car mechanics and service people that are always male and (most likely) straight.

Thailand however remains the most tolerant country in the world for transsexuals, though that doesn't mean there's zero discrimination against them.

20 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Regarding women in the West, I think it depends on what circles you operate in. I existed in political and public affairs circles, and the professional women I knew socially during that period were all about their work and political, public affairs issues -- and none were following the Bold and the Beautiful. YMMV. 

  

Well the same can be said for Thai women. Thai women who associate with the upper classes (usually upper class themselves) and have lived abroad and happen to be the wives of ambassadors and politicians will be much the same.

Western women are in general not all that different from Thai women or women anywhere else in terms of their interests. Overall, unless they operate in political and public affairs, they will prefer gossip and soap operas over politics. Show me a young 20 something year old western woman who prefers posting about politics rather than partying and getting drunk or if they are a bit more sane about food, celebrity gossip, babies and healthy living. Slightly older western women (30s and 40s) will be posting more about the latter than the former (partying etc.) of course.

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I'm almost never bothered in Phnom Penh. On the rare occasion I am asked if I want a tuk I just say no in Khmer and that's the end of it.

Most shops etc. instantly recognize me as a resident expat and automatically speak to me in Khmer, even if I have never been there before. Most resident expats I know report the same thing. Of course some of this may be due to not usually being around the riverfront or other tourist areas, but there seems to be something more to it. Something in my appearance or manner tells them.

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If you're a barang, you'll always be a barang to the locals (same as in Thailand). It's probably because you are outside of the riverfront area that people don't automatically speak to you in English. You're probably not bothered much because you know how to avoid the tuk-tuks and other touts by ignoring them.

In tourist areas of Cambodia or anywhere where there are English speaking people the locals will speak to all foreigners in English. It's only away from these areas where they may speak to you in Khmer coz they can't speak English. In Thailand however I'm spoken to in Thai all the time except in some really touristy areas, but as soon as I make it clear I can speak Thai the locals will continue in Thai. At a 7-11 the tellers almost always speak in Thai but at a service station in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap they'll speak to a westerner in English.

4 minutes ago, FaFaHead said:

After reading many posts on this subject I have to say it has raised some concerns about moving to Chiang Mai in November. I am retired and my wife is a pharmacist currently here in the states. She plans on teaching English at a private school after we settle in. I had no idea it was this treacherous of a process to open a bank account. I am fully aware of the Thai way, etc., but there seems to be an anti-faring undercurrent that doesn’t quite give us a warm and fuzzy feeling when it comes to living in Thailand. I know there are agencies I have come across online that are supposed to take care of these matters with you for a fee, but now I wonder about their efficacy. Seems like this could be an expensive process even using one of them to secure visas and bank accounts and all the rest that they advertise. The average fee for their services is around $500.00 but wonder now how much that will increase with this mounting resistance to Farangs. I’m starting to wonder if our dream of retiring in Thailand could turn into a nightmare after a while. This is very disappointing to say the least. 

Anti-farang undercurrent or 'sentiment'? What are you talking about, I feel as happy and safe here as I did years ago. The main differences are that now Thailand has so many foreigners you are not special anymore like you used to be (fine by me, as I don't see why being a farang should be considered 'special' we're just human beings).

I think you'll be fine. However, there may be other reasons why Thailand may not be for you, but some imaginary anti-foreigner sentiment can't be the reason. For starters, Thailand has never (to my knowledge) had any anti-foreigner riots. On the other hand, there have been anti-foreigner riots in China in recent years (mainly against Japanese, but back in 1999 against Americans which then turned into all westerners because in China there is this erroneous assumption that all westerners are American) and more recently in Vietnam (against Chinese) and Cambodia (against Vietnamese and back in 2003 against Thais).

On 3/1/2018 at 8:44 AM, Catoni said:

          I wasn't living in PP.....never even been there.  Maybe next time.. ?

 

      I was living in Siem Reap.   The tuk tuk drivers selling weed and "cocaine" (actually heroin) is very popular in the Pub Street tourist area... and they report you to the police.  The police will place you under arrest, return the dope to the tuk tuk driver to sell to the next fool, and then you can bribe them with a large amount of U.S. cash for the police to let you go.  

  

      Just curious....do you have the "milk scam" in PP ?   I think most of these scams target obvious tourists there for a couple of days or a week or or two or three.  

 

   After some time... I think the Khmer people can tell which ones of us are staying long term for months or years and don't bother us.    It's the obvious short term week or two tourists that are the targets for scams and criminal activity involving drugs and sex that they can hit up for big dollars to keep out of prison.  

                Perhaps the scams and corrupt police are just concentrated in the Siem Reap area due to the Angkor Wat Archelogical Park..... which attracts many more tourists than PP.     But I would expect corrupt police also in PP simply due to overall corruption of the Cambodian government. 

Are you sure they can spot the difference between a barang tourist and resident? Most tuk-tuk drivers start asking "need a tuk-tuk?" as soon as I step out of my car, which they strangely never see (why would I need a tuk-tuk if I have my own car?) so it hardly seems likely that a tourist and expat can be distinguished by them so easily. Of course tourists with dreadlocks and wearing singlets stand out as opposed to someone who wears more respectable clothing, but the only way of knowing the difference is by talking with them. Obviously if someone can speak Khmer, that will make them stand out compared to someone who only knows English. But then as soon as you hit the streets again, you'll become another anonymous barang again.

I ignore every call for a tuk-tuk except in the unlikely event i need one. However, no matter that I ignore 100 tuk-tuk drivers in a row, offers of girls and marijuana still persist, day in and day out irrespective of the time of day, whether in Phnom Penh (especially around the riverfront area), Siem Reap or Sihanoukville.

Therefore, I'm pretty sure every westerner in Siem Reap (and PP and SHV) has to contend with being pestered by tuk-tuk drivers, unwanted guides and other people, even if they've lived there for years.

On 6/17/2018 at 8:57 AM, Peasandmash said:

Great observation Bob; Thai's don't like foreigners on hard times and living on low incomes.

Not all of them have a choice. Also, the vast majority of the almost 3 million migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia live on low incomes and have hard times everyday. Not their choice.

As long as foreigners mind their own business and don't ask for handouts, why do Thais care about them? I don't think they are that judgemental, just as I try not to be in relation to Thais irrespective of wealth or social status. I might judge a Thai who drives like a maniac, but at the end of the day I don't care about that person because I'll probably never see them again.