VBF

And there you have it 👍 For me it's all academic anyway because religion or lack of is for other people - I'm agnostic on the matter. 😃 As I've written several times, I really don't care and in fact perhaps we should all simply form our own views and just do what feel is right. As I also said earlier, as long as we're not harming others.

Ah thank you - agree about atheism...... Best wishes from Mr W. Washy 😂 (Who still doesn't care 😅)

Not sure if you're challenging me or making a point? Clearly, being agnostic, I have neither because I haven't wasted my time because agnostics don't actually care! Having done a little searching, I find https://www.dictionary.com/e/atheism-agnosticism/ in which it says that atheists don't believe and agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve. In my case they don't really care!

No! That's atheists - so sceptical because there is no clear proof of religious beliefs. BUT, they want to prove their negative beliefs and persuade others to join them. Agnostics just think it (religion) is all nonsense and not worth worrying about.

Atheists are trying to claim a negative - the non-existence of something. As i said above - agnostics just don't care!

Incorrect - your description applies to agnosticism - i.e. don't give a damn; atheist have beliefs about the non-existence of gods etc and go to some lengths to tell others

And I ignore them - QED

I suggest that is something atheists and agnostics have in common: Both assert that whatever exists cam be explained by verifiable science rather than religious belief.

Is that what's known as a put up job? 🙄😂

Sadly, i did not 🤔

Not sure I get that. Neither atheists nor agnostics deprive anyone of anything. Atheists just want others to understand their POV and will make efforts to explain them. As I said above agnostics tend to the view of "if you want to believe, go ahead, just do no harm to others." Sort of an "Up to you" philosophy.

Which, IMO, makes you a fellow agnostic: Why bother, who cares....

I agree, whereas the agnostic (me) would probably yawn and say something like "Whatever"

Atheism denies that gods exist, but there's no "until" It's just that - they don't exist - period. An Atheist will make an effort to avoid any of the conditions etc that you mention, so it is, if you like a "non-belief system." An Atheist, when meeting a religious believer is likely to assert his/her thought that "your religion is illogical / bad because....." It matters to them. Agnosticism basically says "Don't know and don't care, I'm not interested." I have good friends who declare them selves as Christians and make references to god - when we meet we rarely discuss the matter out of mutual respect, but if it comes up in conversation, my response is along the lines of "Oh, OK then" because it all goes over my head and I'm happy with that. It doesn't matter one little bit to me. If someone was to somehow prove to me the existence of a god, I would still be of the opinion, "I don't care, what's it got to do with me?" Do you see my distinction?

Catholics don't practice circumcision- that's jews and moslems. And what is far worse than male circumcision is female circumcision aka FGM - that is actually cruelty and illegal in many countries As a circumcised male, I'm actually grateful to my parents for having it performed. There's a whole raft of reasons why various people consider it a good practice, probably for this thread.

You are confusing the dogma of faith with the dismissal of ignorance. That's the point - Atheism is as much a a belief system as any religion. For me being Agnostic makes more sense, of which one comparison is: "Atheists typically maintain that there is no God, while agnostics believe it's impossible to know for sure whether one exists or not" makes far more sense. As an Agnostic, I confess I don't know, but also that I don't care! It has no bearing on my life. Other people's belief in any of the conventional religions is just that - belief without proof. If it comforts them, then my view is enjoy your belief as long as you don't harm anyone else in the process. THAT is where the harm lies - religions get "hijacked" by extremists , then twisted and used to promote evil. For me, belief without proof is basically a conspiracy theory where people try to evade responsibility for their own thoughts/actions and blame someone/thing else. And, finally, I love this quote: All religion is a foolish answer to a foolish question (Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in "Peaky Blinders")

I don't know. If that's the case, then there must be some sort of agreement with the other countries. Then maybe my theory is off. If you two actually READ the thread, @Patong2021 explained it quite succinctly above!

Gangnam-style military 😅

I can sympathise there. As much as I love my annual or more trips to Pattaya, I always seem to get a persistent cough there, whereas when I'm home (UK) I'm usually pretty healthy. (Well healthy, if not pretty 😊) Whilst in Patts, this last trip, I met up with a friend from CM who confirmed that Patts air quality was far better than CM, and I know that Jomtien is marginally better than Patts. Reading this thread, I'm surmising that pretty much everywhere on the CM latitude has similar air quality issues (?) @simon43 Excuse the impertinence but If I was trying to make the decision that you're trying to make, having read this thread, I honestly think I'd stay put. My logic is that nowhere is better on all fronts than where you are now - everywhere has plusses and minuses and you're familiar with your current location. You said that "What I don't want to do in my retirement is simply do nothing, get fat, drink beer and catch STDs from 'professional' woman." IMO that's simple - don't! There are opportunities in the Pattaya / Jomtien areas to widen your horizons plus if you need to do something in the big city, Bangkok isn't far away. and it's very accessible. From everything that's been said here, I honestly feel that that is how I'd look at it, plus it's the cheapest option. Your "7,000 baht a month for a modern studio condo that's 300 metres from the beach" and assuming your neighbours aren't too intrusive, doesn't sound too bad to me. (Some years ago I stayed in Pattaya Beach Condo on Second Road for 5 months and found the location very likeable) As I say excuse the impertinence, but you did ask for opinions, and as they say, "opinions are like a-holes - we've all got one and some stink more than others" Chock-di.

And he wasted the rest 😁 2 friends of mine were chatting about that some time ago: L said to P "you're so lazy - you spend half your time in bed" P replied to L "No, just half my money" All right, I'm going.......

Absolutely! I've always hated the phrase "work-life balance" It should be "life-work balance" with the priority placed first. My last 17 years of work, I was a contractor so didn't have to worry about promotion, so-called "status" associating with colleagues outside work hours (unless I actually liked them). All I did was go to work, do the best job I could manage and leave on time. By the time I was 200 metres down the road, I forgot about it until next day and got on with my priorities. So, when I retired, 13 years ago, I was used to making plans for the one person who really matters and I've never looked back. If you've got intelligence, hobbies and are inquisitive which @simon43 I'm pretty sure describes you, you'll start to wonder how you ever had the time to go to work. That was a cliché which I used to doubt - no more. Now I have to prioritise my hours so as to fit in all the things I want to do. Of course that doesn't answer your main question...where to spend your time. IMO if you're single, like me, only you can decide that, based on what you like doing, what you can afford, your choice of climate, your health and probably 100 other factors known only to you. Good Luck 🙏🏻

Lovely answer to a stupid question 👍😂

And that bothers you because? I'll take my business elsewhere.. BUT I said "Always remember that tips are for you to give when you feel it appropriate, " If I'm going to a restaurant regularly, chances are I like the service enough to WANT to tip. If it's not that good, I won't be returning anyway.

Assuming you mean at SUV that's odd - my last 2 trips I've just put the carry-on on the belt and walked through the body scanner

So? That's their problem, not one that should cause the customers to address. Now, if you get especially good service and feel generous, then it becomes "up to you"...see my post immediately above.