Expat Tom

I understand both sides of the issue. At one time, I was the coordinator for the ESL program on the campus of a major Bangkok university. As such, I hired and fired farang teachers. I have had the pleasure of working with a lot of fine foreign ESL teachers and I have, unfortunately, had to discharge some with convictions of pedophilia in their home countries and unverified credentials. 

The other side of the coin is that Thailand has some of the lowest English skills of any country in ASEAN. This is, in part, due to low skilled teachers. It is a fact that, in life, you usually get what you pay for. If you have a low budget, you will get teachers who are not native English speakers. I have met many find teachers from the Philippines but they are not "Native English Speakers". If Thailand wants their children to speak English with a Filipino accent then by all means, run all of the farang out and replace them non-native English speakers. 

"Am I bid 30,000 /300,000!!! Going once going twice!!!! Wait! we have a new bid....25,000/250,000!!! Any more bids?

AH! in the back...yes? 20,000/200,000...we have another bidder"""

Restricting tourists to certain areas is just plain illogical. Will the Thai nationals with whom they come in contact also be restricted to those areas? Of course NOT. So, a Thai national from Isan comes in contact with an infected  tourist in Phuket or Krabi and returns to Isan...... DUH ! Perhaps a primer on how infectious disease is spread would be in order. 

By the way, I am planning a trip....what is the name of that hotel again ?.....

I wonder how much the hotel is willing to give him? I was raised in a business environment where 'the customer is right'. If there is an actual settlement requiring the guests to pay the hotel, the only way that the Thai tourism industry can come out ahead is for THEM to pay the damages for the guests and get $30,000,00 baht in good international press for their small investment. 

It is only a matter of time until all of us posting on this blog will be hunted down and deported. I am mending my evil ways as of now: "Thailand is perfect! The people in charge are brilliant! Anyone complaining about ANY thing in Thailand should be deported and banned. Thailand is the cultural and intellectual center of the universe"!!! 

I have mended my evil ways. Please allow me to stay for a few more months!!! 

I don't suppose that the mental giants in Bangkok keep abreast of current news or maybe if they do, they are simply too much in China's pocket to care. The latest from China is that there are outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague in both Northern China and Southern China and the Chinese government has initiated a level 4 disease protocol.

But, why should the Chinese and Thai/Chinese money that controls Thailand care about the fate of the common Thai citizens who will come in contact with the tourists? They have a long record of showing that they care more about their huge bank accounts than their mother country, Thailand. 

Unbelievable!!! And where does the brain trust in Bangkok think that the CCP Wuhan Coronavirus came from? Incase they are geographically challenged, let me help them....WUHAN Is IN CHINA! Where do the brilliant Thai decision makers think that the Asian Flu, the Hong Kong Flu, Avian Flu, Swine Flu and SARS came from? Duh! CHINA. Anyone who has been here for very long knows that Chinese and Thai / Chinese money controls Thailand. The fat cat money mongers who have huge vested interests in massive tourism could care less about anything other than lining their pockets. They do not care if more disease comes, if the infrastructure is over stressed, if the environment is degraded....they only care about money. They are bought and paid for by Chinese interest. The world is turning on the CCP and Thailand wants to welcome them back with open arms? This will not turn out well for Thailand and the Thai people. 

If you do not have a Thai passport and are in Thailand then you are a guest. Far too many expats here, and elsewhere in the world, are suffering from severe ethnocentrism. They want to live abroad and still want a Cozy Pub with cider on tap and fish and chips. Many Americans assume that they can be as rude and obnoxious here as they are at home. I lived in Florida for many years where we were inundated with thousands of New Yorker every year who persisted it telling the Floridians "we don't do it that way up North". My favorite bumper sticker at the time read, "We don't care how you do it up North". That would be very appropriate here...."We don't care how you do it in...America, the US, Germany, Australia, Korea. etc."  Well, reality check....it is just this simple...if you don't like it here either adapt or leave. No doubt that every expat here has had a lot of head scratching moments when faced with "Thainess". I certainly have. BUT I AM A GUEST HERE AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE A THAI PASSPORT....SO ARE YOU.

There are many other countries in the world that are a bit more welcoming than Thailand and a lot that have more straight forward visa requirements. And regardless of how trite it might sound, the truth is, "If you don't like it here...try someplace else". I have lived here for many years and have left several times to give Europe, South America and other places in Asia a try. I always ended up returning to Thailand. 

The Thai year in 2563. This society has functioned a long time and regardless of whether you understand or agree with things, the Thais seemed to have survived without being told how to structure their society by we "enlightened Westerners". 

"You aren't in Kansas anymore Dorothy." 

The person who quipped that Thailand could have build a high speed rail link to China must be an employee of the Chinese Communists Party. The last thing that Thailand needs is a high-speed rail to China so that the Chinese can more easily add to their list of gifts to the world. That list starts in about 1958 with the Asian flu, followed by the Hong Kong flu, the avian flu, Sars, Swine flu, and now the CCP Wuhan Coronavirus. Additionally, a high speed rail link would only aid China when the Hoard of the North decides to invade little brother (aka Thailand).  Incase the mental giant who suggested a high speed rail link has been living under a rock, let me remind him/her that the world is decoupling from the Chinese supply chain to the benefit of Thailand and especially Vietnam as many businesses are moving out of China. 

The new American consulate in Chang Mai is a de facto form of foreign aid in a time when every penny (baht) is needed and a reaffirmation that the USA will invest in the security and prosperity of its oldest ally in Asia.   

I would suggest that the brain pool at in Bangkok do an in depth investigation into its competition for expat dollars. Thailand has a very VERY disadvantageous vias system for foreigners...well heeled or not. That is clearly when Thailand seldom makes the top ten list of places to visit and retire. There are lots of benefit to living here. Are are also lots of detractions. Foreigners cannot own a house "easily" in their own name and the visa system is a nightmare. 

One Farang can not mention the word dictatorship or dictator on this forum but thousands of Thais can shout it in public. I understand completely. It is what it is.

Thailand bringing in cheap labor from neighboring countries is analogous to America bringing in cheap (and often illegal) laborers from south of the Rio Grande River. We could even go back further to the roots of slavery in America. I once saw a bumper sticker on a pickup truck in the "Deep South of the USA". It read, "If I knew then what I know now, I would have picked my own damn cotton". America has and will continue to pay for slavery because the British immigrants to the USA wouldn't do the work themselves. Thailand has become more wealthy than its neighbors. There are still economic problems here but a large number of Thais are driving nice cars and getting fat at McDonalds and are too lazy to do their own hard work. Thailand will pay the same price as America. Maybe in the future (20 years hence) you might see bumper stickers on Thai cars saying, "if I knew then what I know now I would have picked my own fruit, build my own buildings, and worked in my own low paying hotel jobs".   

I wasn't aware that Thailand had legalized recreational marijuana? Certainly the people coming up with these ideas must be passing a bong around. 

I just wonder....where will all of the money come from???

Complete idiocy! Sometimes I think that there is hope for this government and sometimes...not so much. The Thai people are just too nice to deserve this bunch of clowns running around Bangkok and doing and saying absurd things.....God Save Thailand!!!!!