cdemundo

The Dunning-Kruger effect, combined with desire to show off, and an overinflated ego.

A person who speaks Thai poorly is not in a position to judge how well he speaks Thai.

Hence numerous people who learned Thai as adults have the mistaken belief that they speak perfectly.

The probability that a person who learned a language as an adult has native level pronunciation approaches zero.

People who use Thai for purposes of communication (I myself use a mixture of Thaiglish, hand gestures and facial expressions) don't get shunned for using Thai; if anyone does it is people who are trying to show off their (questionable) Thai proficiency.

The OPs problem may be much simpler, "the guy who speaks Thai" may just be to identify him.

His real problem may just be poor personal hygiene.

As a rule of thumb for the OP, "by the time you smell yourself other people been smellin' you for 3 days".

2 hours ago, bob smith said:

Today I was at a restaurant for lunch.

I have been frequenting this place for a while,

the waitresses were always very kind to me and I always tipped handsomely. 

 

That was until I met the owner this afternoon.

 

she came in and smiled at me, and I said hello back to her in Thai.

the smile soon disappeared.

 

I could then hear her bad mouthing me in the back to her chef and waitresses.

farang pood Thai mai Dee, farang kee nok, all the classic one-liners were coming out…

 

Then she approached my table and told me if I speak Thai again in her restaurant that I should leave immediately and never come back.

So I obliged.

I paid what I owed (3 beers and a sandwich) said thank you in Thai (which really got her riled up) and left.

 

This is not an isolated incident, I have had many people over the years tell me that foreigners who can speak Thai are no good, I am just shocked as they seemed like really nice people at first.

 

bob.

you sure she didn't say "farang pood Thai mai geng" ?

Could be you were hurting her ears.

2 hours ago, tgw said:

 

The short video shows two men restraining a cop and wringing his weapon from him without hitting him.

To me it looks like they wanted the weapon to be out of the cop's reach until his colleagues arrived.

But it's a short video and I might be wrong.

 

But so far we only heard the cop's version of events.

 

And yes, there is no assault in a self-defense situation.

 

 

"restraining a cop and wringing his weapon from him"

On 3/18/2024 at 12:52 PM, Lacessit said:

In preparation for a return to Australia, I went looking in the main drag of Chiang Rai for a money exchanger.

I like to have cash as well as a debit card, belt and braces.

The first shop I came to, the employee/proprietor was just locking up, presumably for lunch.

What time do you come back? 1 pm ( at 11.30 am ). Do you have Australian dollars? Mai mee.

This despite a big sign in the window,  listing AUD, among other currencies.

I then drove my scooter no more than 50 metres to another exchanger who happily gave me $450 for my Thai baht.

How the hell do some of these guys make a living?

So it sounds like a good result.

What's the problem?

You got your Australian dollars, drove no more than 50 extra meters, I don't see the problem.

Bad timing for kicking a Thai woman.

Precedent has been very recently set.

She shouldn't expect leniency.

3 hours ago, tgw said:

Everyone should watch the video before commenting:

 

The video looks like the two disarmed the cop and waited for the police to arrive, they absolutely don't look like they were assaulting the cop.

 

I think it's fair to listen to their side of the story.

 

Cops or soldiers pulling out guns, even shooting in the air and behaving erratically is common in Thailand.

 

Also, I wonder how the car chase looked and what happened then, knowing what actions are usually taken by cops here, the car chase may well be characterized as attempted murder if the cop tried to ram their scooter.

 

Speculations, let's wait to hear their side of the story.

"The video looks like the two disarmed the cop and waited for the police to arrive, they absolutely don't look like they were assaulting the cop."

They disarmed the cop without assaulting him?

Using hypnosis I'm gonna guess.

Additionally, "disarmed the cop and waited for the police to arrive"; uhhmmm makes no sense.

"He was referring to the high concentration of criminals associated with illegal immigrants."

If I understand what you are trying to say (and I think you are really trying), I don't think that it is true.

In places that relay on tourism there can be a minority of locals who resent the tourists.

Not unusual for tourists to behave badly, a minority again but still exist.

Also often resentment of tourists who are better off financially, basically envy.

This is not exclusive to Thailand, I have seen it in the lake resort areas of Minnesota where some locals resent the tourists from Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul. They call them "City people", "summer people".

It is true that they depend on the tourists' money, maybe that somehow makes them even more resentful.

Looks like everybody is having fun.

Does look a little bit staged; are their really that many waiters/dancers?

7 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

So is it not somewhat strange that a relatively low ranking police officer in a third world country is armed with the gun equivalent of a rolex?   And how could a firearm which is apparently liable to misfire be considered as a fine weapon, or even suitable for police issue, considering the environment in which it is likely to be used. This is the first time I have ever heard of a sig sauer and it misfired ,  somebody could easily have been killed, hardly a good advertisement for a quality weapon in my opinion

You previously posted

'is there really such a thing as a "fine weapon"  personally i find them all revolting'.

I responded to that. 

6 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

is there really such a thing as a "fine weapon"  personally i find them all revolting

Of course there is.

Just as I have no personal use for a Rolex watch I understand that it has the finest in materials, design and workmanship.

Same thing with a firearm, it is not a product I am in the market for yet I can understand the same sort of quality in materials, design and workmanship can go into making it.

On 3/17/2024 at 8:17 AM, JimTripper said:

I got runs at the border and needed to book a hotel room. The toilet did not flush.

Great story dude.

Thanks for sharing.

2 hours ago, PaoloR said:

Complete bull excretion, Agoda charge hotels between 5% and 20% for their services. Most hotels will give a discount for a direct booking. However, larger chain hotels will often make their front desk charge a higher price as there is no record of the transaction. If the guest pays in cash, the money may not reach the account. A symptom of them not trusting their front desk staff.

In addition, there are not stop scammers attacking hotels at the moment, duplicating OTA (online travel agent) websites, pretending to be previous customers with a complaint, requesting bank details to transfer a deposit etc. So, chain hotels have implemented strict policies to mitigate losses which involves restricting the front desk's ability to make any financial decisions.

If the front desk won't offer a discount for a walk-in, then go elsewhere or ask for the manager and point out you are saving him money.

In general, but especially when extending my stay, I don't want to "go elsewhere".

Your strategy means not making a reservation so not knowing where I will be staying.

I have seen travelers walking from hotel to hotel dragging their luggage looking to save a few baht, no thanks.

44 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

well I think they should just pay compensation for wrongful death, too many thugs in the world, lets say 1-1000 is wrong, that still means 999 <deleted>ty  people  that are not going to repeat

OK, I see about "thugs" now.

It's a dog whistle isn't it?

2 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

That might be the case but I choose not to book thru third party sites if possible.  I prefer to stay in Bonvoy properties. (Le Meridian, Sheraton , Marriott etc. ) With my stays I get early check in late check out breakfast, dinner and  drinks lounge and room upgrades.

 

Same room thru Agoda or booking.com is usually the same price, then I get nothing. 
Never heard of key deposit. Can’t remember last time I seen a “key” And those plastic key cards cost very little. Usually now you can open the guest room door with one’s mobile 

Another point that occurs to me.

" I get early check in late check out breakfast, dinner and  drinks lounge and room upgrades."

But aren't you paying close to 200 USD a night?

So those little extras you are definitely paying for.

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

That might be the case but I choose not to book thru third party sites if possible.  I prefer to stay in Bonvoy properties. (Le Meridian, Sheraton , Marriott etc. ) With my stays I get early check in late check out breakfast, dinner and  drinks lounge and room upgrades.

 

Same room thru Agoda or booking.com is usually the same price, then I get nothing. 
Never heard of key deposit. Can’t remember last time I seen a “key” And those plastic key cards cost very little. Usually now you can open the guest room door with one’s mobile 

Good for you, you are staying in high end properties and as you say Agoda is not for you.

Agoda is for me and those of us who are shopping around trying to get best value for our money.

Additionally, with locally owned midrange to low priced properties (IMHO) a person gets more contact with local culture (for good or for bad).

I perceive Le Meridian, Sheraton , Marriott as western bubbles wherever they are found.

Also, I can't afford them LOL.

3 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

No... but the question is which lying politician do you trust... 555

555

12 hours ago, Korat Kiwi said:

There is the beginnings of a backlash in many countries already. 

 

Chinese taxi companies that put big dollars into a complete overhaul are finding no resale in used EVs. 

 

Power prices are rising and some countries are introducing road user charges for EVs. 

 

So all is not as some people paint it. 

 

Battery replacement is also another big cost.  7 years life on 1st Gen EVs.  I feel for those poor suckers. 

 

I think in the future EVs will take over,  but not at this moment.  Too many unknowns 

"Power prices are rising and some countries are introducing road user charges for EVs. "

Yes tax on gas/petrol/diesel has been a "use tax" in many places and this tax income was devoted to road maintenance.

How to replace that with EVs?

On 3/14/2024 at 7:56 AM, spidermike007 said:

That was a very poor assumption people, do not get highly aggressive by smoking ganja, just the opposite usually happens. This is very poor police work, and shows that they are very uneducated on the topic.

 

He was high on something else no doubt about that, or he was just insane. 

The cops and the press need to listen to the song "And then I got high" to get a picture of the typical effects of smoking weed.

People are usually lethargic and non-aggressive after using weed in any form. 

(Edibles were being commonly used in my city before I left the USA, very strong doses).

6 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

Thanks....TGM is  great, but expensive fro my budget.

I like TGM, have good quality bacon and sandwich meat as well.

Just for my enlightenment, what is this thing "budget" you speak of?

Just kidding, actually I eliminated booze a few years ago and suddenly I had lots more money in my stack each month.