jts-khorat

I think you read the wrong things then. Theravada Buddhism in itself is actually quite a logical setup and its basic tenets are reflected well in Thai/Isaan culture. But the same as you would not expect anybody in the west to eat only fish or beaver meat on Fridays or pray to a specific different saint each day or do daily bible studies in the circle of your family each evening, obviously popular culture is unlikely to have ever been an exact match to religious orthodoxy. It is not different in Thailand.

I think you are quite wrong, both in regard to western law and how a Thai court would see the situation. A minor not able to give legally consent would also not be able to be responsible for "lying" about their age. To determine the truth correctly is therefore solely the duty of the adult. "Ignorance does not protect from punishment". You might have heard this snetence before. Two Thais have already been charged with the trafficling offense of the girls working in that bar. This does not absolve any customer, but it shows that the Thai courts will be definitely involved -- in a best case scenario for him it might lessen his penalty to the lower end of the range prescribed by law.

What a weird thing to say -- especially coming from a guy living as an immigrant in a far-away country (mainly for the temples, I bet). You must have a twisted mind to read this from my post. Blocked, as any interaction with somebody as bigoted and nasty as you can only darken my soul.

Close call! I am happy you are ok. That's why it is important to always have a few extra kamma points squirreled away, from one moment to the next, you might need them.

Weird thing is, for a long time, nearly every day boatloads of people were coming to Thailand from the Rohingyia regions of Burma. The Thais dragged the boats out to sea so they starved to death, or had little concentration camps with mass graves on site. I sure prefer a more civilized way of dealing with immigrants fleeing persecution, instead of naked barbarism and siding with dictatorships.

The question really only is: how old was the girl and was she able to legally give consent. The question, if he intentionally targeted minors would only come up to determine, if he will be placed in the lower or higher part of the penalty range. It would not be different in a German, UK or US court of law. As I said before, as there was no backroom deal with the police before it going to press suggests to me, that the girls in question were likely a lot less than 18.

Legal age to be in a bar (working or otherwise) is 21; the girls are obviously not employed as prostitutes, but as 'entertainers'. Age of consent is 15 with knowledge and agreement of the parents as legal guardians (expect a marriage to be following really, really soon and I have never seen that between a Thai-Farang couple, while it is still quite common in Isaan between Thais). A girl under 15 is statutory rape as nobody would be able to legally give consent. This still seems to create a grey area in the mind of some between 15 and older, but trust me, that does not really exist. Real consent by the girl herself is possible as soon as she becomes a legal adult, eg at 18.

This is definitely not how Thailand works... but I am sure you know that, too. If those girls were in a open bar in Hua Hin, you can bet, that police was directly involved, either as hidden co-owners or by asking for bribes. Such a business will always have protection. Now, "other" police has come down from Bangkok to clean up the local mess, as often is the case (there has been a very similar case with Velvet Bar in Patong a year ago). Local police are put in inactive posts until the dust settles. Thai bar owners often get a slap on the wrist, the Swiss partner in Patong also had ample time to leave the country, so nothing will happen to them. One here asked, how this guy was identified. There are a suprising number of cameras in Thailand, which work when the need arises. But more likely, he indeed either used a credit card to settle his bill (there was a list of customers caught this way in Patong, which seems outright stupid, because those girls were clearly and visibly not 21), or brought the girls back to the hotel where he obviously was checked in with his passport (the girls would have told police, to which hotels they were taken). This is not a Sherlock Holmes job at all. Some here position themselves, that he could not have known. I agree, if the girls in this case were 17, but if this makes the news and somebody was arrested instead of a backroom deal, it is unlikely. "Ingorance does not protect from puinishment of the law" -- the guy was 35, so maybe naive, but he can ponder this question at length from immigration jail.

Sorry, German here, so gloves in German are literally Handschuhe = handshoes. I hope I was still understood. 😉 But as you say quite correctly, it can seem near impossible kill them. The Thais normally press them down with their ubiquitous large brooms, so as not to need to touch them while dismembering them. They then also use the broom to remove them from the house in a safe way.

Really good against ants is also a small trickle of baby powder, the stronger scented the better. It prevents the ants from leaving a pheromone trail leading others after them. It is a very cheap and easy remedy. I would not think that helps against centipedes though, but together with your moat, that might be the perfect defense against all nasty critters.

I would say, from all the poisonous animals Thailand has, they are the most nasty. For example they really love to sit under mattresses, especially if the room is just a little bit damp. Hearing a rustling sound and light tapping on floor tiles under the bed is a good warning, as they move around quite a bit at night. Hiding insides shoes standing outside the door is the next danger issue (scorpions also love those): I always look into mine and tap them to dislodge any unwanted guests. False ceilings, especially above the kitchen is also a common hiding place, as are clothes laying in open cupboards. Catching a big one is not easy, they are extremely fast and still can move into the tightest gaps to get away. The danger is not over, if you have cut off the head: they still have instinctive nerve reactions even several hours after that, eg. they will still close their mandibles and inject poison (quite a horrific sight is also, that the cut off body parts also start to move their legs if you touch the "corpse" with a stick). Only as soon as the chicken will go near them, they are safe to move without handshoes. Not without reason, a Centipede (Takab) Sak Yant tatoo is seen as one of the strongest ones to relay invulnerability, defensive power and demanding respect from others.

To me it looks as if the two girls try to advertise some bar or other. Looks not too different from the Muay Thai pickup truck cruising through Patong every single day advertising the big event "tooooniiiiiiight", with two or several fighters on top of a high platform. Stupid? Yes. Necessary that a Good Samaritan gets involved. I think not, traffic police would need another thousand officers to control the situation on Phuket alone, of they really would be interested to uphold the law.

This is a very positive signal from the Thai Sangha council, that they do understand that they are actually having a responsibility that monks follow the proper practice, instead of passively governing them.

As you might note from the article, they did, immediately after jumping out from their taxi.

The article seems to leave out, that police also identified and followed the (at least) two different motorbike riders without helmets. Other traffic violations like undertaking on the left, driving over the solid line and more line changes without proper turn signal and mirror look can also be seen. The mind boggles, as all those serious, serious offenders seem to be Thais, so should know the aggressive, merciless even, follow-through of the local traffic police all too well. 🫣

This looks like a mad dash to not miss a flight. Good on them, they made it just in time -- or we would have another nauseatingly boring 10 pages thread about people sunbathing on the wrong lawn and Thais all being upset about having foreign tourists spending money in their country?!

The bar or agogo obviously gets a (not small) cut of the lady drink fee, so in 'modern times' it is frowned upon or even completely impossible to sit with an employee and ordering her a normal drink from the menu. Also, as others wrote, it is nowadays a large part of the salary of any girl working in an agogo, and quite regularly they have to fulfill weekly or monthly quotas. In the end, it is about the money, as always.

The thing is, nobody is forced to buy lady drinks, it is voluntary. If you are there for 'not the talk', then simply get the girl: there really is no point of having any girl sitting there and spending good money on top of it for her to linger inactive besides you for any amount of time... There is also still a thing called common decency and seeing others as 'people' (one here called them 'product', which is more than disgusting!). Treat others the way you want to be treated yourself. Nobody wants to get scammed, but also nobody wants to work in an environment where getting mindlessly drunk is forced upon you (I am obviously discounting all those girls who actually want that to happen, but that is a totally different scenario, isn't it?).

According to the press, he did a lot of base jumps before, so was experienced. However, as can be seen in the video, the switching the parachute from the right to the left hand was what ultimately killed him: according to the report I saw, it tangled with his backpack straps because he had pulled it under it. Therefore it did not open in time. RIP.

And that is obviously totally okay, as long as not something else was specifically ordered (by the girl). It would be a really nasty customer expecting a 50 kg girl to down one alcoholic drink after another over the evening, maybe even with the goal of making her dangerously and helplessly drunk. The girls are there to give a good time, but surely not to ruin their health as fast as humanly possible. Besides, what kind of talk can be had with a girl barely able to mumble because of being drunk?

Friendlier, but at the same time more helpful? I am not sure that is possible. Frankly, I have not seen that you asked for any help in particular. All your questions were answered, if you needed better tips, maybe less open-ended questions would be something I would advise for any other forum you wish to place your story. All in all, of course I wish you luck and happiness in your endeavors. As you say, not all Thais are out to rip anybody off, so you might be on the right track after all.

I am really sorry, andych, I do not know you. But your story still sounds nothing more than the usual. I really mean it: exactly your story I have heard and seen literally a thousand times, only the names of the actors were exchanged (the good friend, the good girl, the girl not interested in money, etc etc etc). So far you follow the exact timeline of a Thai holiday romance to the minute. From what you have written so far, I read two things: what jumps out to me is your charming (?) naivety and willingness to believe what other people say, as long as it is exactly what you want to hear. This you share with an amazing percentage of all newcomers to Thailand. It also explains, why you ask for absolution from anonymous forum posters, as well as quoting random "friends" of your girlfriend (as if they would be reliable character witnesses). Secondly, you really want to believe that "my girl is different". As such it is clear that you will move ahead with your plans regardless, so my suggestion would still be, to accept whatever follows next as being a fair learning cost. Do not invest more than you can loose (finanycially and emotionally) and off you go... be your own man. It is a journey started every year by thousands, with a few finding a diamond indeed. But in all likelihood after a few failed tries you will also begin to understand that there are a lot more river pebbles than valuable gems to be dug from the muck. Maybe post us updates, as you go along, if it makes you feel better. But at least try to not fulfill the cliche at absolutely every turning...

Of course I behave like the Thais, but I lived there for many years (now back in Germany) and speak the language, so this might not be applicable to you at all. But the main thing is, wholeheartedly and genuinely doing a good act. If you are relatively new to Thailand, people will of course notice, but Thais are very open and it is the gesture that counts for them. You learn from there, as we all do. If you are shy, have another Thai accompany you, so you get a fair warning if you overstep somewhere. But as the Thais say: "Don't think too much!", enjoy yourself, things will then work out well.

Another 'confused emoji' thread... we have them by the dozen. As other posters mentioned, I also would wish that they are not anonymous. But their meaning is obvious and has nothing to do with people not being able to understand your posts. Instead, people disagree with what you say, and as we have no thumbs down, this is the only emoji remotely applicable to voice displeasure (not a dig at you, I do not know your posts specifically, just a general way they seem to be used in this forum).

Both is of course true. But while there is no stigma if you do not give alms, doing so certainly counts highly in your favor in an Isaan village, as does, from time to time, visiting the temple's morning prayer. It is a very visible step, that you at least try to integrate into the village community, and it is a very easy one to do as well. I found, that when in Isaan, I am up at the time of the morning alms round anyway (thank you, dear chicken!); normally I sit on the veranda and drink my morning coffee around this time and it is just three steps to the road to hand the monks some packages of milk or other daily necessity... and as it is the village, everybody watches (and talks).