marios

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 6:03 PM, Thongkorn said:

why will they pay my Bar bill.

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 11:02 AM, tomwct said:

Call the Tourist Police!

I once called the tourist police. There wasn't a complaint just wanted some instructions for the buses, I think. The response was immediate and an officer with a very warm and welcoming attitude gave me what I wanted. Before hanging up he asked me twice if there is something else he could help me with and added not to hesitate and call Tourist Police. I thanked him and he thanked me. That has been a very positive experience for me . The man seemed genuinely eager to serve. There is still hope..

36 minutes ago, lucjoker said:

Yes , i have also plastic snakes , no more rats or birds ......

but now my house is full of real snakes !

Why, what's the connection?

Of course the thing is femininity. The act, that is, of being sweet  and appear vulnerable and 'easy'. The natural Asian politeness makes a contribution too.

In my experience, all women of the tropical far east are behaving in the same manner. I think the Filipino women top the list. Maybe not so beautiful as Thai but definitely more feminine and polite and fun loving.

You mentioned that a beautiful relationship came to an end. Is this the reason you feel that Thailand failed you?

Just wondering

I am married to a Filipina. That means I am married to the whole clan. It is true that they are cute and pleasant and outward. Wonderful music and dance and that is the end of the fairy tale. I never felt safe in Manila. My wife does not want us to live there because she is afraid for my safety and from the begging attitute of her impoverished relatives who live in Manila. Ok, no Manila, but where can one go? The infrastructure in the countryside is non-existent. The wonderful scenery is good but one needs reasonable medical facilities and signs of 'civilization' so life can be bearable.You also need to socialize with someone on equal terms. The few affluent people are not to be found.

You cannot go alone on a deserted beach. It is dangerous even in the countryside. Unfortunately the people are not keen in serious work. It is a common practice to hire a maid even if your home is a 30 sqm shack. I do not want to belittle my wife's country but, sadly, my verdict on the Phil is a no, if I can avoid it.

Check the meter if it is running wild. This may signify undetected leakage to earth. Is earth fault relay compulsory in Thailand? This is a sinister case, if so, which may endanger life.

If you can access your meter do what others have suggested, switch on your appliances one after the other and check meter behaviour. If nothing suspect arises then it has to be some bleeding off to other consumption points outside your household. Since ac usage has not been noted to have increased then the notion that low gas maybe responsible, is not the case, I think.

You do not move because you do not want to leave an issue outstanding and not settled. All you need is closure but at your own terms. You feel sorry for her and maybe you would really feel happy if she goes back to the protection and safety of her folks. Now, this divorce does not burden you financially. Try to give her some money, this will alleviate some guilt which may exist and also give her the satisfaction that a 'fair deal' was struck.

Give her what you can afford and I think things will come to closure.

This what I would do if in the same predicament.

First time I saw the 'bum gun' was in the toilets in various airports at the UAE. Then I saw them in Thailand. I know that Muslim people are supposed to wash after toilet,a very good tradition/custom of course, hence the gun. I am not sure if it is a Thai custom as well or they install them in order to serve the all important and loaded people from the petroleum states of the arab world. I do not remember seeing them in Europe, though.

my question really is, is this implement a necessary part of the average Thai household bathroom?

The first thing we learn about Thailand is to respect HM the King, the Monks and anything related to their religion. Thais are very sensitive on the above issues. Remember, people kill if you offend their Prophet. The Thai reaction to apprehend and caution this person is like a picnic in the park compared to what Salman Rushdie could suffer if caught.

I can understand the Thai sensitivities and I wish they catch that person. He seemed to be a youth so he might have acted stupidly rather than disrespectfully.

Do you really want us to give you an answer back to this post

Yes, enlighten me.

The first thing we learn about Thailand is to respect HM the King, the Monks and anything related to their religion. Thais are very sensitive on the above issues. Remember, people kill if you offend their Prophet. The Thai reaction to apprehend and caution this person is like a picnic in the park compared to what Salman Rushdie could suffer if caught.

I can understand the Thai sensitivities and I wish they catch that person. He seemed to be a youth so he might have acted stupidly rather than disrespectfully.

Migrant workers from outside the EU are being invited to become self employed on a tourist visa. The big question is why is this being allowed within the EU?

The question is valid. Why Asian people from so far who are not accustomed to cold climates? Why not 'poorer' Europeans like Bulgarians or Romanians, for example, who are familiar with the foliage of temperate climates?

-No direspect to the above mentioned Nationalities was intended- They are poorer by a sizeable margin compared to Finns therefore the payment would be lower. The terms of employment of the Thais, I suspect, are not going to be very enviable.

If he is a traditional Chinese Thai then he is, in all probability, affluent. The edge the farang normally holds is that he is 'rich' whereas the other party is poor.

If you are of independent means yourself and of a matching age AND you learn the language then there could be a chance. All these of course are based on the assumption that he is rich. The Chinese as we all know consider wealth a virtue.

I wish you the best of luck.

Well I found the hotels were expensive, Thailand is a lot cheaper for places to stay. I did like it in the Philippines, nice country, nice people.. Cheap beer.. Food better in Thailand..

The only advantage in living in the Philippines is the fact that they can speak English. They are charming to be with and a fun loving people and that concludes the good qualities. The cost of living is not low for a tourist or expat. Same accomodation costs cheaper in Thailand as much as 50%. Maybe there are ten times less comparable dwelling places in Manila than in Bangkok. Much safer also in Bangkok. Depends on the standard of living you are interested in.

There is a site called 'numbeo' (google that) and it will give you comparisons of any pair of countries or cities. It is very useful.

For me Thailand stands above all Asian countries in terms of overall satisfaction. Excellent accomodation, excellent food, shopping, taxi availability at the speed of thought,health. Sanuk in the Philippines can be dangerous and the list goes on.

For me Thailand and only Thailand. In my opinion Singapore, for example, is a wonderful expensive sterile product, lacking however the vibrancy and magic of Bangkok, This is my opinion again.

Vietnam is the place I can't stop going back to! As much as I enjoy living in Thailand, Vietnam is the place that fascinates me the most!

Why? Can you tell us some more please? One positive thing I can immediately see is the roman alphabet. I would love to hear views and comparisons with regards to Thailand .( Just a few pointers)

Thanks

Mario

Hmm nothing against the Russians as can't judge the calibre of "quality tourists" of any nationality- always good & bad eggs. However, I do feel a bit "som nam naa" towards TAT/Pattaya bars/restaurants/night scene for going way over the top to welcome Russian tourists at the expense of shunning other nationalities.

I recently stayed at a place between Pattaya & Jomtien & the whole area was totally geared at Russians. Menus in Thai&Russian only, many bars just with Russian signs - if we'd entered it would have been like going into a quiet country pub in England where the music stops & everyone stares then someone asks "are youuu locaall?". Whatever happened to encouraging a melting pot of all nationalities & mingling?! Baffles me how people go abroad & do everything they can do "stick to their own" - no desire to interact with locals or learn the lingo. Same with the Brits that flock to the English villages in Spain. Bizarre comfort zone stuff.

The answer is simple. Bar owners and business people do not entertain high moral values like justice to all. If the money comes from The Russians they will adjust accordingly to attract more Russians, it is as simple as that.

1 billion baht in cash

What a disgusting piece of sh*t

When are Thais going to take to the streets and demand the police force is ripped up from the roots and reformed

I agree. People must protest. BUT, people must reform also. If all citizens would wish to be in a positition of power where graft is possible and also able to be concealed, then there is no hope at the present stage of development. The test, to determine 'maturity' as far as the readiness to resist graft, I think, is the measure of the will of a population to pay taxes. Paying taxes because they feel it is the right thing to do. I think some advanced societies in the west are on the right track.

Bottom line:

If people believe that given the opportunity they will dip their finger in honey then the actions of the officer are understood in the sense that he is doing what everybody wants to do. A society improves when the urge for personal gain is somewhat decelerated when confronted with the moral dilemma.

Costa is not Greek it is Spanish and or Portuguese I know cause my last name. And I'm not Greek though a friends grandfather always called me the Greek

Roman Emperor Constantine proclaimed Christianity to be the formal religion of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Greek Orthodox Church made him a saint. The Greek people called Costas were baptised as "Constantinos".

Therefore the origin of that name is neither spanish nor greek, it is Roman.

He gets out of a taxi and forgets the bag with his money and his passport in it? Must have had a few too many drinkie poos on the plane me thinks.

Could be so but it could also be an accidental event. Remember , you are a tourist in a new location, people are not usually very calm in such circumstances. Your behaviour is not the same as that of when you are riding the same bus every day.

I am saying this that because I, on more than 2 occasions, have left items in a taxi in Bangkok, one time was a cell phone and the other my sun glasses, I do not drink and I attribute this to beiing off my usual routine. Absent mindedness of course can be a dangerous weakness.

If you are riding with someone else, the probability of leaving something behind diminishes, I think.

Farangs "think too much and talk too much". I tell my wife I don't want to stop talking because I fear if I do... she might start up.

A stand-up comedian came up with a similar sentiment:

"I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months. I don't like to interrupt her."

This is a very good joke. I like it. it sounds so true..

Monitors are messy eaters, there should be a crime scene around yard / pond if they ate it. If there is no crime scene than your geese is MIA.

I've got monitors who come to my pond and eat my fish, they always leave the guts and fish head lying around.

I have been contemplating retiring to Thailand for a long time now. House or apartment? The only answer for me is a condo, never a house with garden in a tropical country. I admire you guys who some of you live in rural areas and who so casually mention cobras, pythons or monitor lizards,let alone scorpions and other nasty stuff. I would never relax in an outdoor setting or inside a house in which one window could have been left open. So gentlemen those of you who live in houses with a garden I envy you but too scared to imitate you.

You seem to think that money is a fix-all magic bullet. It's not.

His only problem was that he was in Singapore, not Thailand.

In Thailand, money fixes just about everything. 13 years here has taught me that there isn't a problem I've come across yet that I can't buy my way out of, fix an issue, grease a wheel, or make a NO turn into a YES. Money is now and always will be #1 in Thailand. Corruption can be your enemy, or your friend. It's up to how you use it. People even buy their way out of murder here on a regular basis.

If this is true to that extend, that makes me very sad..At least the judicial must be a little bit untainted. very sad conclusion by Tokay.

The Chaophraya is still running strong from what I know. It needs organization and meticulous preparation but areas near the big rivers can be supplied to a certain extent. Mobile water purification systems, similar to that used for desalination can be setup along the banks and connect the purified water to the water supply network. These units can be of the modular type which can be easy to install. I cannot imagine water shortages when you have a vast supply of water like the the major rivers of Thailand. As I said it is a mater of getting one's act together.

This is my opinion.

I come from a small country, Cyprus, without rivers, with a major water problem due to insufficient rain and we have solved it by means of desalination plants in order to augment the dams. Really, I cannot see how the people along the rivers may have a water shortage problem as far as domestic use is concerned. For irrigation maybe there is a problem but for household use I cannot see an insurmountable problem.

Usually people all over usually do not hold a secret which has been confided to them by others irrespective of the pledges and promises, not to tell, made to the person who told them. They are,however, more reluctant to reveal secrets of their own.

I do not believe that Thais are any different to other people of the region. I think that extroverted and very sociable people are more prone to tell, but I may be mistaken.

The People of India have a saying, 'keep a secret and you are its master, tell a secret and you are its slave', which is so true.

"Mr. Pitipong said that official estimate showed that there would be only 6.5 million cubic meters of water at four major dams, including Bhumibol, Sirikit, Kwae Noi and Pasak by November 1"

6.5 million cubic meters?? Dear Lord!! In tiny Cyprus where I come from, if the dams reach that level then there will be church services begging God for rain. I cannot believe this number. If true, ready yourselves to flush the toilet with Singha water.