Ventenio

100 tourists and 107 bar girls evacuated.

she was saying, "this is hot" and the guy was happy.

I thought Dracula was worth a watch.  maybe 7/10.  Not great, not first season of Game of Thrones level.....but usually it's 100% garbage Dracula stuff and I thought some of the acting wasn't bad.  it's free....  and it got me to read Bram Stoker's book, so that's something.

this one is interesting.....very bi-polar reviews.  i'll watch episode 2 and maybe i'll see the light.  

We must pray for days.   Then start an online campaign for Australia, and then donate trees, and then wear green shirts.......if you are over 50, I hope you have been helping the world for decades!!!  

oh, no?  only posting and watching and doing nothing but drinking beer with bar girls?

well, there you have it...

this is why the Earth burns....nobody tries to help before or after.  

2 hours ago, cerox said:

Where are all these young people "marching" and "demanding" in Chiang Mai? I bet the whole city was in standstill because there were so many people protesting. 55555

Seriously get real people, nobody cares outside.

Only the weak are in CM, afraid to do anything and they simply want to exist on 30 baht noodles and complain to their friends about the world at night....while never doing anything.   Any young person who gave up their career or potential to make real money back home simply isn't smart to begin with.  their "productive years" of working ruined.  People come here because they cannot compete with a civilized society and they enjoy the smoke because then they can complain more and more and more.  Nobody goes to CM with a backbone, since they see so much immoral things and they just go to the nearest temple and take selfies and email mommy about how great it is.  

On 1/2/2020 at 9:07 AM, Kurtf said:

Too bad he didn't kill them both. Cheating and breaking a trust is the worst thing one person can do to another in my opinion. 

What???   OK, divorce court.    Oh, you cheated?

death penalty

Another sad problem is that when we tell people back home we are living in Thailand, many will say, "wow, must be beautiful and I love Thai food."  We hear it so much we convince ourselves they are right, forgetting that we live here and see the fires, pollution, traffic, deaths, visa hassles, baht stronger, lack of trust by many, etc.... and they never see that part.  They think of some movie and the romanticizing of living in a jungle with beautiful virgins who are their age while eating great food while getting away from the white man.  lol.   

The most severe haze episode occurred in 1997 and resulted in sharp increases in outpatient visits (26%) and hospital admissions (33% for all respiratory, 36% for pneumonia, 40% for bronchitis/chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, 12% for asthma) within a period of a few months 

However, a recently completed large-scale population-based epidemiology study with > 26,000 subjects indicated that residents who live near the petrochemical industrial estate have higher risks in adverse pregnancy outcomes, neuropsychological symptoms, and poor performance on neuropsychological tests

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The centre estimated the city's population of 15 million spent 600 million baht in total to buy standard face masks over the course of two months, and 800,000 people would have needed to visit a hospital because of the air pollution.

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My 90% figure will now be updated to 90.01%, and rising.  

lol

enjoy the pollution thread as you "retire in luxury" and live your best possible life.  

To simply accept MONTHS of sickness (physical or psychological) is really incredible.  Hey, can you go to prison for 3 months every year of your life and die 10-years early?  Sure!!!  great life

That picture looks horrible, and some of those dishes look super greasy.

HOWEVER, good food in CM is amazing and it will usually taste good over and over.  I have to try 5 restaurants to find one I like, but that's a pretty good ratio compared to other cities.  In my last city, I tried them all and only one was just OK.  just OK is not OK.  lol

Many of these posters chose CM because they couldn't afford back home for the same length of time, I get that.  You need so many millions of baht for a nice 20-year retirement.  They are also likely the same people who worked a horrible job and complained every day to everyone, and did nothing about it.  I get that too, since so many people are afraid of change.  Then there is me, who embraces change every year or two but that also has negative implications (leaving say 10 to 20 friends).  But EVERY person I knew for more than a month in Thailand has had health issues because of the air.  90% had to go to the hospital, and all of them are simply too afraid to go someone else.  Spending 10,000 baht a move to breathe clean air has their mind thinking, "well, but google says this county has this problem and this problem and what if i don't like it?"   And, yes, the allure of cheap hookers and beer someone far outweighs the death to their lungs and brain.  Hookers almost never lead to happiness, pollution never does, drinking rarely does, and complaining is the icing on the cake....

imagine retiring and then spending your days on a website talking about how bad the air is in the city you chose.  Yes, you must feel really stupid.  Well, we all make mistakes but WOW are we fortunate to be able to pack up and save ourselves.

I'll wait until I see some 200 readings for CM before I rant again.  

He had been overstaying in the kingdom for nearly eight years - a whopping 2,861 days. 

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He stamped his own passport with an expiration date "2562" trying to give himself an extra 500 years but was still one year before the Thai calendar year of 2563.  

He had 20 baht in his passport when he handed it over, but that didn't work.  

He tried to speak Thai and show them a citizenship card, but all he said was "kap krap kap kap kap kap kap" and that didn't work.

Then he said he was kidnapped by 100 ladyboys and imprisoned deep in the jungle. 

28 minutes ago, ToYoungToRetire said:

I'm a bigger hairy guy with no gay tendencies.

What do you think about ladyboys?

No debt for over a decade but it's fun to read about debt.   Maybe the collection agency can sell the debt and send a letter and keep extending the date on when the OP thinks it will go away.  Too bad they don't have his number or all his friend's numbers, since that would be comical when they sick the auto-caller on him.  Maybe that practice stopped, but who knows.  Anyhow, it would be funny if they let him in and then stopped him from exiting and jail time until fully paid.  10 million baht and then he does a gofundme page and nobody will give him money.

banks fight to the very very end, especially in Thailand.

I'm 100% sure the system will have something on him.

keep us updated!!!  

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Maybe that's just the old stock, but i would of course hope that they continue doing so.

What is your experience in the shops today?

Please for the love of all the fish in the sea....give the bag back and save our planet!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm kidding, I"m burning 10 million bags as we speak

1 hour ago, FolkGuitar said:

We just choose to react to it differently.

I've been in Thailand almost five years.   THIS is the problem.  We are idiots because we choose to inhale death air.  Thais do not choose this toxic environment, they have no choice.  We have a choice.  There is only one proper reaction, and that's to take care of our health.  React "differently" is like saying I'll hang out in Chernobyl because I'm sure this ash cloud is OK.

Thousands of threads because this is life saving information, and there is only one proper action.

you must leave.

stay at your own peril.

How can you enjoy the pollution if you have the means to escape?

If you are an Aussie..... what do you think about having a fireworks display??   of course i think it was dumb, but i will listen to people who know more about it than i do.....

5 minutes ago, cerox said:

This is SEA, green air (AQI below 50) where do you find that?

maybe only Phuket, but I'm not going there.

2020 might be the Japan move.  In the works....

4 minutes ago, saengd said:

Life is a series of trade offs.

 

I accept the risk of living with polluted air in Chiang Mai.

I accept the risk of eating bacon and sausages.

I don't accept the risk of riding a motorbike in Thailand so I drive a truck.

exactly, don't let anyone try to control you or tell you what to do.  nobody needs another parent, especially a joker you don't know.

really, i respect this view and I'll leave you alone.

good luck.

1 minute ago, cerox said:

Nevertheless I personally try to protect myself as much as possible and not only for 3 weeks of the year.

It's a nice post, thanks.  I'm not angry, I'm just drinking coffee.  BUT it's NOT three weeks. 

https://aqicn.org/city/chiang-mai/

look at the time frame from green to green.  

it's not as long as i thought, but still 20% of the year straight.  and then it's only "safe" about 5 out of 12 months.  

Fraud is defined by the home country.  It might be a normal practice.  Look at the Philippines, you can now murder someone and then say they are involved in drugs.  no trial, nothing.  no charges.  move on.  Well, not every country is that crazy.  In other countries, sex for 100 baht and the hotel person smiles and shows you a room.  well, that's not allowed in every country.  fraud??   this is business.   if some overpriced glasses company that controls all glasses and makes them for 1 dollar and sells them for 200 gets mad, too bad.  i would fine them 300 million for defamation.  

20 minutes ago, saengd said:

"Yes, you're correct. If I were 'arguing,' that would be a better way to state the situation.

But I'm not arguing.  I'm simply satisfied living here.

That seems to make a lot of people angry".

 

People get angry because you don't think what they think, how sad is that!

 

But I agree 100%, I'm simply satisfied living here also, warts and all, and I do have other options but chose not to take them.

I think some people are missing the point.

100% this is unhealthy and could lead to serious long-term effects.  all negative.   

100% this isn't good.  It's not that we are thinking differently.  Everyone knows pollution is bad, but the difference is living in denial and WOW will this pollution get worse  

It's not IF you like it or not, because some people like crack, smoking, doing acid....etc.   BUT we are simply bringing awareness that you are in denial and during your body harm.  and your brain.  You are engaging in a dangerous behavior and we are acting like your parents and trying to help you be healthy.   But, maybe because of other reasons, people don't want to face the reality because that means change.  so they suffer.  

and some people are paying 600,000 a year to live in polluted air and begging to get a visa to stay longer and smiling as they cough or will cough and go to the clinic and say, "well, ah....it's not too bad."  and then the baht gets stronger and .....   and .. 

just check the numbers now.... there is no GREEN.   Green is healthy and we won't see green until June.     

I forgot to add yesterday.....I believe the OP said he gave a "demo" to the director's kid.  Yea, that's a really big red flag.  Trust me, I have experience.  That means they want you to be his/her private tutor forever and this will be your most important student.  Even if they do pay 500 baht an hour (which I what I charged after I realized I got scammed into this), they will probably first want you to do it for free and then maybe a few hundred baht per lesson.  This will be after a long day, and the director will watch over you.  Then the director will want lessons.  It will never end.  

My memory is a little weak, as this was almost 10-years ago; however, it's something you need to worry about.  Sure, maybe a little more money and perks, but would it be worth it.  What happens when the kid isn't fluent in 3 minutes?