marios

Democracy as we know it coming from the West will never work in Thailand.

For Thai politicians democracy means access to 'hands in the till'

This is true, unfortunately, to all third world world countries who are 'democracies'. They simply vote for the thieves and oppressors for the next 4 or five years.

The tragedy is that many ex communist block countries together with 'seasoned' democracies in the Balkans do exactly the same. So graft and corruption is not a Thai phenomenon.

Or buy a ticket at a Travel Agent and pay cash.

Of course this is the obvious way to do it. Otherwise, the party can use his credit card for his friends ticket again at the travel agent.

Emirates, Etihad, Philippine Air, all demand at check in a photocopy of the visa card used plus a photocopy of the passport of the other person whose card is used. The photocopy of the credit card must show both sides. These are presented at check-in

If someone is available to pay for a ticket I cannot see how there can be a problem.

I find this post a bit strange..

when you have made an error when driving or riding and caused another road user to have to brake or swerve, or vice-versa, and you automatically just smile at them...and they return it

I think this is wonderful..isn't it?

The problem with Christianity is the eternal damnation. When you are bad during the 70,80 years of your life and do not 'truthfully' repent then you are sent to Hell for ever! in Hinduism and Buddhism, the law of karma takes care of that. You are given the benefit of many rebirths so that you pay out your karma. When your karma account is settled, meaning that your bad deeds during your lives were compensated by misfortunes and pain then you enjoy 'paradise'provided you do not 'sin' anymore. This religion I find more fair than Christianity in the sense that a lifetime of misguidance, ignorance, bad upbringing etc mean eternal punishment. this cannot be right. On the other hand, our lord Jesus teaches of total love and total self sacrifice, powerful stuff, which makes Christianity the great religion it is.

Bottom line: Both are powerful philosophical teachings of love and one compliments the other wonderfully, so, my friend you are lucky to find solace in both religions. Everybody should do the same

Hi all

I have a cat whom I cannot part from and I am looking for a pet friendly condo. JC Towers seem to satisfy requirements. Has anybody any experience or info about this condo?

thanks

Mario

PS I will be very happy to receive input about any other middle range pet friendly condo by people who actually live or have lived in one.

thanks again

I cannot believe this has been raised as a topic. No brainer!!

I think this is very unfair. Clearly the house, its location and price suited them.The dogs present a serious problem and they are trying to find a solution. I consider this forum as a place where friends gather and discuss their problems. If I had a problem like that I would like to discuss it with friends.

I do not find this a "no brainer". I find it normal human behaviour. The tragic thing is that there is no solution to this problem. I wish them all the best.

May be the following post belongs to Thai language forums but I will have a shot at it here. My knowledge of Thai is confined to what Pimsleur method has to offer. Having done all 30 lessons 6 times, I consider myself as having mastered that material. However, this is of course not enough and there is no second cd unfortunately. Pimsleur, in my opinion, is by far the best method in learning a language. (This is my true opinion, I do not try to promote anybody. I tried others, Rosetta stone, and many based on the same concept but after a while I came to a standstill. Only Pimsleur carried me seamlessly to the end. As I said, this is what I believe)

I need advise as to the availability of other courses, mimicking or based upon the philosophy of Pimsleur.

Those of you who might have something to suggest, I, in advance, thank very much.

regards

Mario

Or you could just follow the link http://www.kobayashi.co.th/Thaigo/sukhumvit/dog-ok-apt.htm

The list only really covers Sukhumwit and Silom, with a few listings from Lang Suan, so it's not quite "all condos... in Bangkok".

It's also not been updated for the last 3 years.

The list covers more than one hundred pet friendly condos. All I wanted was to point out that there is a substantial number of condos which can accept pets. Maybe there are more which are not covered by the list. The fact that the list has not been updated for three years is not valid because if you choose any condo from the list you will find a note at the bottom of the page stating the latest update for that condo which in many cases is as near as 2013

Hi all

I came across a side yesterday citing all condos and apartments in Bangkok.

Maybe this site is already well known,but.in any case, i present it to you.

Try Google: Koyabashi list of pet permission

It will present you with a wealth of information about pet friendly homes. You will be surprised as to the extend of that list.

regards

mario

Singapore is the role model.i remember, aboard the boat crossing the channel to Sendosa island there was a sign in the boat stating that smoking carries a 500 sgd penalty. that it was in 1986.Similarly, although smoking in the street was allowed, the butts were supposed to be disposed of in bins otherwise a hefty fine.That was very advanced stuff back in the mid eighties. As for the death penalty for traficking it is again a Singapore first which was immediately followed by Malaysia and then by many other Asian countries. So Thailand is trying to follow Singapores lead and I am very happy with that. Some members of the police will try to capitalize on that for their own gain.That's bad but this is how it is. follow the rules.

My memories of Thailand stretch back 30 years. I visited Thailand many times, maybe 15 or 16, always staying for one month at hotels or serviced apartments. In effect always as a tourist. My experiences, therefore are those of a Thailand savvy tourist.

I do not recall an instance when the taxi driver had not asked me where I came from and other inquiries indicating that he wants to communicate. The better his English the more interesting and fun was the socializing with the driver. I always had a good time in the taxi and I always thought how nice and sociable taxi drivers were. Thai people like most Asians are rather shy and do not volunteer information, this is true, but once confronted with warmth they always,to my experience, respond accordingly. I never saw arrogance racism or bad manners in Thailand. I do not have any experience in dealing with people who are equal to me, but rather a relation between the client and the provider of a service(hotel stuff, waiters drivers etc) In all occasions I felt that they are willing to socialize if I encouraged it. There attitude was not servile. My impression was that they are, the Thais, nice people.

The real question is, are Thais in general nice? I think they are. in the Anglophone world (whose culture I am more familiar with) for example, one tends to hold the door open for the person following, they raise their arm to indicate thank you for giving them right of way and so many other things. These things are nice but they are part of the culture. it doesn't mean that a person doing that is intrinsically "good". It is just the convention. In less "developed" cultures if a driver stops to let a young lady pedestrian pass, the expected response will be that of suspicion and unease. she wouldn't smile or wave because she might be considered non virtuous. So everything is a matter of how advanced a society is for the stereotypical social responses.

I have been associated with Thailand for the last 30 years. I never stayed more than non month and always under the protection of a hotel or serviced apartment. I have not been exposed to "real" situations and never felt threatened. So my limited experience says that Thai people are a courteous lot rather, than not.

I feel much safer in Thailand than in the Philippines for example.

'In Less developed cultures'!!! Cultures are all unique and different. Ideas about one culture being superior than another smacks of old Imperialistic values. Social responses do not depend on 'how advanced a society is'...The patronising tone of your post is yet another example of a Westerner attempting to compare Thailand and the homeland. Can't everybody just accept that its different in Thailand and stop trying to impose Western perspectives and values on everything. Life is obviously so much better for us all in Thailand. That's why we're all living here isn't it??? Or is it because of cheap and plentiful sex??? Perhaps all Westerners should start examining their own values and morals before attempting to impose subliminal imperialistic values on Thais...

This is so unfair!

If you have noticed, in the original post, 'developed' was enclosed in double commas. Meaning that I was being sarcastic with the perception that the west is more advanced as far as moral superiority and manners are concerned. I stressed that these niceties are part of the culture and that is that. I love Thailand and I have great respect for the Thai people. I mentioned it by stating that Thais are a courteous people. I cannot understand how I was so misunderstood.

The real question is, are Thais in general nice? I think they are. in the Anglophone world (whose culture I am more familiar with) for example, one tends to hold the door open for the person following, they raise their arm to indicate thank you for giving them right of way and so many other things. These things are nice but they are part of the culture. it doesn't mean that a person doing that is intrinsically "good". It is just the convention. In less "developed" cultures if a driver stops to let a young lady pedestrian pass, the expected response will be that of suspicion and unease. she wouldn't smile or wave because she might be considered non virtuous. So everything is a matter of how advanced a society is for the stereotypical social responses.

I have been associated with Thailand for the last 30 years. I never stayed more than non month and always under the protection of a hotel or serviced apartment. I have not been exposed to "real" situations and never felt threatened. So my limited experience says that Thai people are a courteous lot rather, than not.

I feel much safer in Thailand than in the Philippines for example.

Feed some soi animals, volunteer at either animal shelter or kids orphanage , go for a work out , join the police volunteers or rescue volunteers, learn some Thai , go for a coffee and list goes on

learn some Thai I think this is the key goal. Imagine, if you can speak the language then new horizons are opened. You will be able tofind local friends both for company and possibly romance, why not. Go for it!

Learning the language will occupy some of your time constructively. I intend to settle to Thailand and I am currently studying using self study methods . I have completed Pimsleur and now apart from the free U tube lessons I am doing a course which I have purchased for 49 USD.

Check if the refrigerator is cutting out. If the ref is large and old and if it works non stop (due to a fault in the door seals, for example, or the thermostats), then it is possible for the consumption to be excessive.

If the Benz owner pursues the matter and the case is to be taken to court then you may step in and help. I mean, if you are sure that the money have to be paid then be a good Samaritan.

Do not expect us for support on this issue. If you cannot detach yourself from this 'moral dilemma' this can only be blamed to the weakness of your character. You are just one of the options available for her to try. She should contact the father-if the father is not you-

Bottom line, be strong so that you will make it in life easier.

Do not do that! If your girlfriend looks appealing enough in his eyes then no one knows where his newly acquired powers would lead to. Just be patient or, better, leave.

Invite their "commanding officer" over for a drink or even dinner.

"Sticky rice with mango and coconut sauce costs 50 baht now in BKK-suburbs. How much is that in your places?"

I never had sticky rice with mango paying less than 100-120 baht. That is in foodcourts like in MKB or other major supermarkets. Is it 50 baht in the suberbs?

Inflation.

Food sellers trying to keep the price the same but compensating with either smaller or lower quality portions. I've noticed this over the past few years.

Piset means special. But when ordering food, it means asking for a bigger portion or more of one ingredient - piset moo...more pork please.

Yes that's what is going on now, they make the portions smaller for the same price. I don't want to leave a restaurant feeling hungry so i will have to order an extra dish then.

I rarely eat chicken from the street, gai yiang is hard to find in restaurants. I can't remember i saw that, it is always deepfried chicken or fillet. Japanese restaurants have nice grilled chicken so i eat it there.

Sticky rice with mango and coconutsauce costs 50 baht now in BKK-suburbs. How much is that in your places?

Same thing happened in Cyprus. One can see numerous developments half finished and abandoned. Product of our bubble bursting.

Whenever I feel like I'm in danger of being caught up in the Pattaya condo hype I go for a drive along Jomtien Beach Road and on to Na-Jomtien. In doing so I pass several skeletons of large buildings that were never finished during previous crashes, or that were finished and have since gone to rack and ruin. Drive on to Ban Chang and Rayong and there are several more.

I've seen this happen in Ireland when the bubble burst over there. They started to build about 700+ houses in stages over a number of years. The first people moved in as stage 1 was completed. I rented a house in one of these places a while back, it was pretty nice, stage 1 was fully complete. The builders moved onto the next stage.

Then one day work stopped, they just abandoned the place. Half built houses were everywhere. They didn't come back.

This is what happens when the bubble bursts.

'It's one of the corner rooms and unfortunately has 2 large windows instead of walls around the 'corner' edges. So basically a large greenhouse'.

This is the core of the problem of course. I came across a product in a Leroy Merlin store, a product which is really a self adhesive transparent tape which you apply on the glass pane and it is supposed to increase the insulation properties of the glass. I never tried it but the fact that this product is available in a reputable store makes one think that this might help.I remember this was not an expensive product and one, no doubt, could place a second layer. The transparency of the product was excellent ( this is what the label on the product claimed) You maybe try to find such a product and reduce the heat imput from the environment.

I agree entirely with those who try to dissuade you from going to the Philippines. When I got married to my Filipino wife, one of the options I had in mind was to settle in the Philippines. My wife was adamant! No way! She said that she would be worried sick every time I go alone for a walk. Whereas I never felt threatened in Thailand, I came more than 15 times for a month or more over a period of 20 years, on the contrary in the Philippines, been there 10 times, I never felt safe outside Makati. In Bangkok I just let go. In Manila I always am on guard.

Generally the Philippines lag tragically as compared to Thailand. Food, medical care, hotel or condo accommodation all surpass the Philippines in value for money. I would go to Malaysia. A prosperous country where English is widely spoken. The choice of Philippines because it is cheap is not correct in my opinion. The only advantage is that they can almost all understand English.

My Japanese associates were astonished when I suggested rabbit at the restaurant. They all made the oooo...sounds but accepted wide eyed and fascinated. One of them, I remember, used to repeat 'labbit, labbit?? They loved it in the end.

So the Japanese do not eat rabbit but also my Filipino wife does not eat rabbit. As with lamb, my Filipino wife was coaxed into eating it by promising her that it was baby pork chops. Of course she enjoyed it. The excuse for not liking it is that ,according to the belief in the Philippines, smells terribly. I do not think lamb is eaten beyond India.

It seems that rabbit and lamb are not eaten in the Far East for reasons beyond my knowledge..

One of the biggest differences there, is there is a very powerful taboo against western men being with a local woman. Very unlike Thailand. So, you will find the woman will not even be willing to be seen in public with you. If she does, loads of scorn will be heaped on both of you. Vietnamese are largely a very cold, distant, closed minded people. They do not carry the level of fulfillment and happiness that the Thai people manage to manifest on a daily basis. Sometimes, it feels like each soul there is carrying the burden of the last two centuries on their shoulders. Not a happy lot by any stretch of the imagination. And I have been there several times, in both the north and the south, though I will say the south is infinitely more pleasant than the north, where an oppressive pall hangs in the air constantly.

In my country the maids are mostly from the far east and South Asia. Now the most dangerous, scheming, and untrustworthy are , from what I hear, the Vietnamese. They are capable workers, demanding their rights and generally are a force to reckon with.The other nationalities of the maids are mostly Filipino and Srilankan. They are very subdued compared to Vietnamese.

So, in my mind, the Vietnamese girl will try to extract the pound of flesh from a boyfriend if she can. Her approach to their employers is how to benefit from any arising situation. This is not the case in such an extend with the other nationalities

This is my sincere opinion. I agree with Spidermike that they maybe not a happy lot. Of course, if you go back 20 years and beyond, one remembers that none of the residents of any communist country in Europe were a happy lot. So maybe their attitudes stem from the lack of freedom and the environment of suspicion they are engulfed by.