Bday Prang

I think that's generally the case, my mrs is no exception, any time she wears a skirt on go the lycra cycling shorts , she calls them her "keep" most of her friends use the same term , apparently its not a Thai word but something they have borrowed from english. A common phrase where I come from for oversized under garments is "harvest festivals" which I think is based on the words of a common hymn sung at that time of year, "all is safely gathered in" I tried explaining this to her and few of her friends, but they failed to grasp the funny side,

since when has" sense" been involved in what women choose to wear, just look at some of the shoes they totter around in,

Kind of depends how old one is, and how extravagant ones lifestyle,

How many Rai of land have you bought your wife for this project, was it expensive ? Have you seen the papers/ deeds. I strongly suggest you seek some advice, perhaps employ an experience project manager, It is a role to which I would be perfectly suited I would be prepared to assist for a modest retainer of 400,000 per month, cash , paid in advance. Out of interest, how large is your wifes extended family

indeed they do " the good" farangs are able to assimilate well and are readily accepted by Thais , I personally have never had any problems with any Thais from, Senior uniformed officials, to subsistence level rice farmers, I have many Thai friends Perhaps you would like to enlighten the rest of us as to how the Thais behave towards people like yourself, the ""not so good" ones who don't really fit in

Neither , just a sad old man with a chip on his shoulder, desperately trying to appear relevant, probably an ex headmaster , traffic warden, or TV licence enforcement officer. With an attitude like his I can't see him being very popular with any Thais , nobody respects a grass even the authorities deplore them

Thats for them to decide, and not you, and you are not privy to their sentiment. however one thing is certain, anybody who says things like..... "Reported to Immigration (your IP address and location)." Is not wanted anywhere by anybody , and rightly universally despised

Could not agree more , some people feel the need to mistakenly award themselves a kind of "elevated status" here ( presumably in line with what they imagine they enjoyed in their home countries) which they then feel the need to reinforce by berating others and erroneously blaming the normal evolution of regulations on those who have not followed their virtuous examples. and therefore "spoiled things for them" These sticklers for "doing things correctly" would do well to step back a little and get their heads round the fact that if immigration did not allow, or approve of the use of agents, then agents would very quickly become extinct.! Some agents are no doubt "better " than others , as always its a case of buyer beware. But shortcuts are there to be taken if one wishes

I'm going to enjoy this you might not be hassled by the immigration officers, but there is a very strong chance you will be the target of a stream of abuse from the above member. who, for reasons known only to himself, regularly posts trolling insults all members living here on extensions of stay based on marriage ( he calls them wify visas ) 2 examples of which I have posted below bizarrely today he calls them "proper visas" "The same way IOs treat foreigners who have traveled 10,000 miles to find a life in a foreign land living like a refugee (year-to-year contract), possibly using 'wify' visas. " unlike the majority in the forum who could not find a decent living and possibly a bride and had to travel 10,000 miles to live like refugees (year-to-year contract), possibly using a "wify" visa. He has tried to insult me like this twice now , despite me telling him repeatedly that I'm not even married Bearing in mind his previous trolling comments which I have shown above I would disregard any comments he makes on this thread , I mean, he couldn't possibly be speaking from personal experience, or could he? Nah nobody could be such a hypocrite, surely

I agree with most of what you have written, of course I have no issues with the Thai population enjoying a better standard of living but is following the ways of the west, which is what most people mean when they talk about Thailand moving into the 21st century, really the way to achieve that aim? The UK like most of Europe is really in a bit of a mess, burdened with uncontrolled mass illegal immigration, unable, or unwilling, to provide a decent state pension for its elderly, Hospital waiting lists measured in years rather than weeks, Schools and universities more interested in filling the minds of children and young people with left wing rubbish rather than basic reading writing and arithmetic. And just to make matters worse it is now almost a crime to be patriotic and proud of ones own country, to the extent that it is considered racist I actually don't think Thailand compares badly at all , the people are generally happier in their lives that most that I know back home and one thing they have , that I am really envious of is a pride and love, for their country which they are relatively free to express, that alone is worth more than money can buy I don't think Pita is the saviour that many seem to think he is , rather he is out of the same mould as Macron, Merkel , Trudeau, and all the other liberal progressives he will be aligning himself with the WEF and other such organisations soon enough, the irony of another billionaire alleging to care about the masses is a bit much for me. Thailand may indeed need to move forward , but it needs to find its own way ,and be aware of the outright failure that has been allowed to happen in the western world. The only thing we can be sure of is that we will both be dead and buried before any significant improvement happens here.

Rubbish , i still remember that from school, but you would be out of your mind to let me anywhere near your air conditioner

Crossy was as usual absolutely right, it is used in soldering , the fact that it is also used in brazing does not make him wrong

and if they have , they may well feel insulted and just disappear, or they may just inflate your bill out of spite, in matters of air conditioning especially in the hot season we need them more than they need us, Personal recommendation from others you know is the way forward, along with treating the guy well when he arrives, I always give them a chance and have never been disappointed

here's a better Idea, simply ask amongst your friends ( if you have any) if they can recommend a decent AC technician. Give him a call and if he performs the given task successfully simply store his phone number in your mobile phone for next time.

Brings to mind the childish sniggers amongst me and my school mates when the physics teacher demonstrated maxwell's right hand grip, something that as 13 year old lads we were already well practised in , but for a different reason altogether. (couldn't find the appropriate emoji)

I come from the UK so of course I was not happy living there. I'll ignore your comment about the " Queen Victoria age" as I know little about those times, how old do you actually think I am Yes I quite like things as they are but if the truth be known I much preferred how things were here 30 years ago. Those who never experienced the early 90's here will never understand what I am talking about Most of what I wish for and the majority of decisions I make have one purpose and one purpose only, that being to improve things for me and my immediate friends and family, I stopped worrying about others a long time ago. Feel free to call me selfish, I really couldn't care less, There are several threads running on here at the moment with literally thousands of comments regarding the current new tax regulations, pretty much every post is from somebody whinging about it or discussing ways to avoid paying their share of tax here, are those people more, or less selfish, than me ?

I don't really consider any country truly democratic to be honest, but the Uk is the only other western country I know enough about to use for the purposes of comparison I have no Idea of how other European countries scam their citizens but I imagine its done in a similar way, God forbid I should offend any french, germans , dutch etc etc so I thought using the UK as a poor example would be the safest option. I think we are on the same wavelength

duplicate

The "democratic" process or concept is not that much different in Thailand than in the UK In Thailand at election time people vote for whichever party promises to do the things they are in favour of, but when the results are not in line with what the powers that be desire, they are simply disregarded In the UK people vote in a similar manner , for the political party whose stated manifesto matches what they are in favour of, then the winning party simply disregards their stated manifesto and does exactly what it wants Same same but different ?

personally I consider each on a cases by case basis, for example I have no issue with nipping to the local shop on my unregistered motorbike without wearing a helmet, which would be unthinkable in the UK. but i would not consider for a minute the idea of threatening another driver with a gun or machete in a fit of road rage.

like weed and lao khao to name just two

Thais, incase you have not noticed, already have the latest mobile phones, even in the relatively impoverished village where I live. Whether or not they need such sophisticated devices for communicating via "line" or "playing on facebook" is another matter. I have never heard any Thai rich or poor express any interest in the country developing a "space industry" neither have I ever heard any of them express a willingness to pay the additional tax that would be required for any other form of meaningful development. But I have heard some express an interest in relocating to Laos after they have retired , with a sense of nostalgia for the good old days and the realistic expectation that their civil service pensions will go a lot further "poverty, overcrowded schools with poor education, overcrowded hospitals," sounds like a perfect description of the country I originate from, I have suffered twice from kidney stones, Once was in the UK, fortunately the second time was here , and it was an infinitely better experience. I am very proud to live in a country where patriotism and even xenophobia is not seen as a crime ,or indeed evidence of being an extreme right wing fascist. I feel very safe here , always have done, and as I don't harbour any strong anti-royalist feelings I can publicly say anything I want, pretty much anywhere except on this forum As far as corruption is concerned I am perfectly happy to live somewhere where the benefits of it are also available to me and not just the super rich elite, as in the uk or other "developed " countries I really can't understand why, as a result of you advancing years and enforced retirement you chose to come and live in a place you obviously don't like neither do I understand why you dragged your mrs here against her will as by your own words she did not want to leave the "Idyllic" place you were living in

You have missed the essence of my comment, which was, that few governments are likely be adverse to any legislation that increases their revenue from taxation, the chance of any future administration rescinding the new tax rules is very very unlikely. Regardless of the relatively "tiny amount" received from foreigners It also amazes me, that anybody believes the population of Issan owes its survival to the presence of any foreigners, that is clearly a ridiculous assumption and I have said nothing that indicates I agree with such rubbish, Isaan and its population existed before any of us arrived , and would have continued to exist had we never arrived here. Indeed it will also continue to exist if we all disappeared tomorrow, Although I can't help thinking that my mrs and a few others whose lives may have been improved by our presence, might lament the inevitable loss of some of the fringe benefits they have become accustomed to and currently enjoy if we did vanish overnight.

So all those foreigners desperately calling for Thailand to change into a copy of their own countries, are doing so for "the benefit of the Thai population" and not as a result of their inability to accept things as they are here . Don't make me laugh It is just like muslims in the uk calling for sharia law

I live in an Identical place , probably not that far from you , I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, If I did I would . I would also add Europe and America to your list of unpreferable places to live. There are a few from this village who have ended up being taken abroad due to marrying foreigners, they return here at every opportunity. some permanently