Richb2004v2

I'd say there is absolutely nothing you can do. The Thais love their noise, mess, dangerous roads, scabby soi dogs etc. You just have to learn to live with it and convince yourself it's a great place to live. There's no easy fix I'm afraid.

Maybe she saw a ghost in your house. Or maybe a monk told her of trouble to come concerning work and a ferang.

The statistics on books is interesting, but may not be representative of much. I know a great many people who read for professional growth. Trade journals etc.

Regarding reading habits between Westerners and people in Asia, I usually see Westerners with a book while riding on buses and at the beach. I seldom see a local doing that.

I'm not sure that what adults do or read is related to students' IQs.

That's not true. I saw a Thai reading a book only last week. An actual book, I think.

In today's UK Daily Mail they are reporting that, in future, even expats on UK pensions will have to pay for their own health care

Whilst I can understand the need to address the issue of foreign nationals exploiting the system, excluding UK pensioners may be the straw that breaks the camels back for some ex-pat pensioners and may not prove to be cost effective for the government.

The article says that the ex-pat pensioners will have paid NI and income tax for many years, in my case 44 years, but of course many pensioners still pay UK income tax, and for those it might prove to be a move too far.

It's quite feasible that some ex-pat pensioners might say enough is enough and return to UK, when they do they will get their pensions paid at the full rate as well as full access to all welfare benefits, will get free NHS health treatment, free medications, and lets not forget bus passes, all this will cost the government far more.

I think this is a very short sighted and ill thought out move, wasn't it the new government that were going to make pensions fairer for everybody?

Can you imagine a United Kingdom full of whinging miserable old British blokes?

"I should be back home in Thailand, but I need to get me dentures sorted..."

"Where's the tarts? Do you know how much it costs for a short time round here? If it weren't for me bypass operation, I'd be on Soi bintabaht right now"

"What, no Chang? You can't even get a decent bottle of piss here, this tastes like beer!"

"Four quid for a packet of fags? I'm going to give up, just to spite the chancellor; and then whose going to die of pneumonia standing outside the pub, eh?"

Thank heavens for the bus passes, though. So we don't need to stand behind them while they fumble for change in the pockets of their overcoat and undercoat and top coat and primer.

I should enjoy a visit home, before they all repatriate.

SC

very topical and funny and true,but must say them bus passes are great,and not only that you get a free daily paper on the bus,never see the red buses in cnx do that lol.

Free news papers on the bus!! No way! And you say these buses are free? You'll be telling us next that they don't drive like lunatics and they sometimes come on time.

It's a lot like the driving here. The Thais might seem to be terrible drivers but they are not. They can maneuver and control a car very well, they just have never been educated to do it like rational people. They are also not stupid people, I'm sure. It is simply their environment and education that makes them appear stupid sometimes. In a different place and under better conditions things might be different. Sadly as others say the system here will not help them improve either their driving habits or their way of thinking very soon.

It doesn't help that so many schools are built on busy roads with their entrances opening straight onto traffic. I've seen many infant schools with students pouring out into busy traffic without anyone there to supervise. This is Thailand. The poor children are a victim of their own counties lack or rule and regulation. Fine the driver 200 baht and let them get on with it.

Not sure if it's been asked, but how about a photo?

Is this our man?

http://www.dateinasia.com/jingthing.html

I thought that Burmese nannies were really cheap. Or was that a joke.

Given that looking after 2 children (one in Kindy), doing the housework and cooking is something that most wives handle quite comfortably on their own, I don't understand why you would consider it an undue workload?

+1

Except it sounds like the OP is without a wife, so I can't blame him for wanting help.

Unidentified, yes. At least by us.

The least likely explanation however is that it is an alien spacecraft.

Someone told me he is from aristocracy and maybe a remittance man, if that's the right term.

Hahah. No chance. I could sit in a bar and tell a bunch of expat strangers that I'm related to the Royals, even with Scottish accent and no horse face features. More fool them for believing it.

Apparently there is a either a thread or a link somewhere with information, including pictures of him in suitably regal surroundings. A friend of my'n told me all about it some years ago when I inquired. I can't find it though.

I think I saw those pictures a little while ago and assumed it to be a photoshop job, but obviously not. It's the right distance for a marathon anyway.

Someone told me he is from aristocracy and maybe a remittance man, if that's the right term.

I'm flying with them to London on the 19th. It's the first time for me too but I've not heard anything bad about them, other than the obvious that it will be full of Arabs.

The concept of maintainance does not exist here. Pure and simple. = Wrong.

They just let stuff rot and break. That is the way here. = Wrong again.

Same as with cars. That's why you see so many second hand cars for sale. They ALL need work. = Wrong again.

They rather spend 4 mil up on a new car than maintain them. And guess what, wrong again.

It's like saying ALL Farangs are bigoted a-holes who think they are doing Thailand a huge favor by living here, whilst that tag fits many, its certainly not all.

You've obviously never been to Pattaya! Nothing publicly owned gets fixed there. The infrastructure is just decaying away. Every year things just get more and more broken and decrepit. Only places like Central and Royal Garden Mall are maintained. Even the apartment block I lived in hadn't been maintained properly.

Bangkok isn't much better. Sukhumvit, which should be the pride of the place is a derelict eyesore.

Samet is a crime against nature.

Hua Hin is an encroached eyesore, and don't get me started about Phi Phi or Phuket.

The post seems pretty RIGHT to me.

That's my experience, in all those place and more. Where ever there are numbers of average Thais, which is 99% of Thailand, there will be mess and decay. I'm sure there are places, as described by some here, that are very nice, but they are in the tiny minority. And even those nice spots are likely to be sitting very close to the normal Thai environment. Maybe in the future it will change, but I don't see it happening soon.

I'll never understand why someone with significant wealth would choose Thailand over their European homeland. Unless they are a single male of course, or at the very least making use of the 'facilities'.

the weather, durian , mango trees , lychee , mangosteen. A child friendly country. Wealth doesn't get you any of that in the UK.

Personally I think the great weather here is debatable. If you like heat and high humidity for 10 months of the year, then yes, otherwise not so great. The fruit is good, but other countries have their own fruits, including the Uk i.e strawberries, plums, peaches, grapes, dragon fruit, pomegranates etc etc. They are equally good fruit. It's just that you probably prefer the Thai fruit as they seem exotic and exciting to you.

I would say that Thailand is very far from a child friendly country. It's terrible education standard is infamous. In the Uk children can almost universally walk to their schools on pavements, without fear of being wiped out be an irresponsible driver of various dangerous vehicles, or falling on the crumbling pavements (if they exist at all), or being garroted or electrocuted by a hanging cable. Similarly in the Uk children can ride their bicycles on the streets in relative safety, unlike Thailand. To overcome these problems in Thailand you need considerable wealth to pay for an over priced private school, and an expensive Gheto castle, where you just might be safe from idiot Thai drivers. Also the Uk has a health care system that will add to the overall safety of your child. In the Uk an ambulance will come to your child should they need it. In Thailand a gung-ho rescue pick up truck might roar down the road if you're lucky. Hospitals are also free in the Uk once your in the system. They can be cheap in Thailand too, but admitting your child to a government hospital would not be a good way to care for your children in my opinion.

In the Uk all those luxuries are pretty much standard. You might need wealth in the Uk to buy Durian but otherwise you are completely wrong. To meet the standards in Thailand that you left behind in Uk you will need a degree of wealth, but even then they are not really attainable here. That's why it is a developing country, and why so many people from developing countries are so desperate to get out and into the places we left.

A week or so ago I saw him after dark heading towards Pattaya out by the Ambassador Hotel. That seems quite far out to be after the sun has gone down. He did have lights on his bike, but all his glitter was obscuring them. I wonder where he lives?

I've been meaning to find it since I'm sure it's very close to me, but I use Universe Gym on Sukhumvit. It's also very close and suits me very well.

I'll never understand why someone with significant wealth would choose Thailand over their European homeland. Unless they are a single male of course, or at the very least making use of the 'facilities'.

Well I for one prefer the lax attitude to simple things such as income tax.

I much prefer to be here rather than living in European socialist La La land, being taxed to the hilt to pay for bail out packages for bankrupt banana republics such as Greece.

I also prefer the Thai attitude to matters concerning immigration, noone I know of in the soi I live is paying taxes to support economic/illegai immigrants keeping them in housing and giving them handouts, whilst at the same time providing free education and health care for the tribe of hangers on they bring with them.

No annual property taxes is another plus.

While it's way off topic, I have to agree with you. In NZ I had to work hard to support silly girls who "happened" to get pregnant, and therefor deserved to have a better house than I could afford, a better car than I could afford, and altogether better standard of living than I could afford. Of course it was supposed to stop once the child reached a certain age, but that was easily remedied by another "mistake". I have been told that 40% of the population is presently on a taxpayer funded benefit of some sort. No wonder so many of us choose to live in a country that isn't insane with regard to benefits.

The Uk IS like this, get pregnant at a young age and they are obliged to house you........... the UK has gone mad.

It is frustrating to see people living from handouts paid by the tax payer, that's for sure. It is abuse of a fine system set up to protect the citizens in times of need. A system that many countries don't have.

I am reminded of the alternative system set up in Thailand when I drive out of my estate most days and see a women with a filthy child, sat on her home made (and highly dangerous) motorcycle, rummaging through the bins for anything that might ease their condition. Similarly I think of the money the government here must have saved by not having a system of social services or care when I see the matted haired clearly disturbed individuals wandering the streets

You could say they are two different systems, or maybe one with an abused system and without any system at all. The one without any system at all is still far behind the other in every way. I know which I prefer.

The concept of maintainance does not exist here. Pure and simple.

They just let stuff rot and break. That is the way here.

Same as with cars. That's why you see so many second hand cars for sale. They ALL need work.

They rather spend 4 mil up on a new car than maintain them.

The concept of maintainance does not exist here. Pure and simple. = Wrong.

They just let stuff rot and break. That is the way here. = Wrong again.

Same as with cars. That's why you see so many second hand cars for sale. They ALL need work. = Wrong again.

They rather spend 4 mil up on a new car than maintain them. And guess what, wrong again.

It's like saying ALL Farangs are bigoted a-holes who think they are doing Thailand a huge favor by living here, whilst that tag fits many, its certainly not all.

You've obviously never been to Pattaya! Nothing publicly owned gets fixed there. The infrastructure is just decaying away. Every year things just get more and more broken and decrepit. Only places like Central and Royal Garden Mall are maintained. Even the apartment block I lived in hadn't been maintained properly.

Bangkok isn't much better. Sukhumvit, which should be the pride of the place is a derelict eyesore.

Samet is a crime against nature.

Hua Hin is an encroached eyesore, and don't get me started about Phi Phi or Phuket.

The post seems pretty RIGHT to me.

That's my experience, in all those place and more. Where ever there are numbers of average Thais, which is 99% of Thailand, there will be mess and decay. I'm sure there are places, as described by some here, that are very nice, but they are in the tiny minority. And even those nice spots are likely to be sitting very close to the normal Thai environment. Maybe in the future it will change, but I don't see it happening soon.

I'll never understand why someone with significant wealth would choose Thailand over their European homeland. Unless they are a single male of course, or at the very least making use of the 'facilities'.

Hubby likes to go out for a beer in the afternoon and he's found a few bars where he can enjoy conversations with the owner or their clients.

When hubby returns he has a lovely glow about him, and seems so relaxed and happy. Nothing can upset him, but he often needs to lay down for a while to recover after so much 'stimulating conversation'.

Only joking. Good for you.

Why anyone drinks Coke/Pepsi is beyond me its a very bad substance to put into your body 39 grams of sugar per can

" In the first 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor, allowing you to keep it down.

20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (And there’s plenty of that at this particular moment.)

40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate; your blood pressure rises; as a response, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked, preventing drowsiness.

45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

> 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

> 60 minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolytes, and water.

> 60 minutes: As the rave inside you dies down, you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your system, or building strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.) Want to know what happens after that? Check out what happens to your body after you drink a coke, every day for a long time.

Coke itself isn’t the enemy here. It’s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid, which are found in almost all sodas."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/12/what-happens-to-your-body-within-an-hour-of-drinking-a-coke.aspx

I'm only guessing here, but I'd say that at best that's an exaggeration, and at the worst it's BS. I have a coke and whiskey in front of me. After finishing it I will go to bed and sleep.

Bangkok apart, it beats me why London remains so popular. magnificent and lively city that it admittedly is, it is Incredibly expensive, congested, over-crowded and, in IMHO not particularly friendly. I was born there (Greenwich) by the way, but would never want to live there again and visit it rarely these days.

Any fellow Englishmen wish to support our great capital city?

Many American's and Australian's visit London - its the "old country" and "sense of history" that's everywhere in London IMO - remember, other than Greenwhich park, the Int. Date Line and the museaums (once the Cutty Sark too - has it been rebuilt yet????) visitors will not generally see the Old Kent Road, or the back roads of Greenwhich. London has building that are far older than some modern civilisations (Tower of London 900 years old - wall at Tower Hill running to the Tower under the road is over 2,000 years old - crown jewels including Star of India) - Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament (and clocktower - 'Big Ben' is the bell inside it btw), Lizzie's place (Buckingham Palace), Traffalgar Square/Nelson's Column, London Zoo, Westminster Abbey, the parks and so on - and more modern places like the Eye, O2, Madame Tousaurdes (spelling?), London Dungeons, Tate/Tate Modern, Carnaby Street, Oxford Street, Harrod's, Hamley's, Freemason's Hall, so on. In such a small area (city of London is just 1 square mile and cvontains many many very old buildings and churches). We Brits do not realise just how much history we lent to the world and how alluring it is for these future generations to glance back at their roots. The attraction of a real life Monarch (and the ability to nose around Buck House too) is also a good one.

Paris has far fewer attractions IMHO (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, disappointing Euro-disney), but has the allure of being 'Paris' - city of Love. I am surprised Rome does not get more visitors though.

Yes, well put and I cannot disagree with any of that. London has it all, history, modern and innovation. A visitor would certainly need more than just one week to do the place justice. I can understand why the Cty will always be up there.

My point was really a comment upon London's total invincibilty in all such surveys. It is streets ahead of virtually all of the "opposition" in both visitors and visitor spending. This fact surprises me, especially as it is most certainly one of the most expensive places in the World.

P.S. Greenwich aint so bad really. My birthplace and I occasionally visit relatives who remain there and like it.

I only visit London for weekend breaks, but each time we do we have a great time. There is so much to do and see. I also don't find it that expensive if you are careful. Most of the better museums are totally free and are worth visiting again and again. The last time I was there I watched several stand up comedians at a cost of 10 pounds, and that included two free drinks, and was off Leicester square. The parks are all free, as are things like watching the changing of the guard. Accommodation can also be reasonable if you are prepare to stay a tube journey outside the center. The last time I was there I also made a trip to Greenwich park and the observatory. It was beautiful and I hope to visit again with the family. I don't even think places like Bangkok are comparable.

Sophon TV - Channel Astro Supersort 2

Show starts 2.30 am Thai Time

Is that for sure? I have Sophon but wasn't expecting to be able to see it.

What is she doing in the Uk, and why if you are British did you not go with her? If you need 43k in order to live here would you not have been better there with her?

Also, what is a gig?

dam_n it! If only my connection wasn't playing up I could watch it. Thanks anyway.