JensenZ

However, what is considered rude to one nationality is not considered rude to another. Some nationalities feel uncomfortable when strangers are being too friendly and would consider that rude. For example, I observe that Americans hug strangers or just acquaintances a lot. A lot of nationalities would not appreciate being hugged by strangers and consider it to be abnormal behaviour. I would not appreciate it either. Everyone is different. Many people like to keep to themselves and not engage with strangers in public. Other people might consider this unfriendly and rude. You sit at your keyboard judging other nationalities from your own biased point of view, as if you're the judge and jury on what is considered good and bad behaviour. Pattaya has a huge mix of expats and tourists from all over the world, which will cause a lot of confusion when it comes to behavioural patterns. You can't expect people to behave the way they do in your home country. The Russian in the 7Eleven was just another case of a drunk going bananas. They make a big deal about him being Russian, but to me he's just another drunk with a personality disorder. I've witnessed much worse in Australia, as I used to work in nightclubs, and I'm sure most expats from other countries have also seen some pretty crazy behaviour in their home countries.

A lot of the young Russians have come to Thailand to escape the draft and a high chance of dying in a pointless "special military operation". Of all people in the world, they don't have much to smile about. They are basically refugees, not tourists. When Putin announced a call-up for military service at the end of September, the Russian population in Pattaya exploded.

You'd use any excuse to bash Pattaya. You're waiting for excuses as many on this forum do. One crazy person doing crazy things has nothing to do with Thailand, Pattaya or tourists in general. Some people snap when they get drunk. This can happen anywhere that alcohol is served, in any country or city. I take it it provided quite a bit of entertainment for rubber-neckers in Walking Street, and gave the police something exciting to do. I wonder how serious the injuries of the cashier and bike taxi guy were. Probably nothing more than scratches hyped up for the news report.

We were practically neighbours back in 2006. I'm still in the Pratumnak area. The surprising thing is how many massage places and beer bars have sprung up in Soi 4, 5, and 6. Even some go-go bars. The lower part of Soi 5 is rapidly transforming into another bar district.

It's not that foreigners can't pronounce the place names correctly, but it depends on who they are speaking to and in what language. If you speak in a British or American accent, and you're speaking English, you'll pronounce the words in that accent. If you're speaking Thai to Thai people, you'll try to pronounce the words closer to the correct Thai pronunciation. A good example to illustrate this concept is the word "Paris". Few English speakers will pronounce it "Pari". You'd normally only pronounce it "Pari" if you were speaking French. Specifically, "Pattaya" pronounced the correct Thai way does not roll off the tongue well if speaking English. In fact, in an English sentence, it sounds quite strange. If you live in Pattaya, you can pronounce it any way you like and everyone will understand. If you were in another area, speaking to Thai people, you have to make an effort to get it right. A lot of people here get OCD about pronunciation. As long as whoever you're speaking to can understand you, you've achieved your goal.

The assessment was PROBABLY over 50%, which quite clearly indicates it's open to debate. A precise number was never given, nor intended. What number would you pull out of the top of your head? My reasoning for "probably over 50%" was that the woman was never in danger of harm and as the driver of a potentially dangerous vehicle, bares more responsibility. I'm not a a lawyer. The exact numbers would need to be argued in court by people who were there and were aware of all the factors involved in the accident.

What are you talking about? I didn't ask her to leave. I made a suggestion that maybe she should wear a mask. It's quite possible she might have taken the hint and used a mask on her next shopping spree. If a bunch of people were coughing and sneezing near me in a restaurant, I'd move tables if possible, or leave. Come to think of it, my wife and I picked up a dose of covid last August - and the suspect was a man at the table behind us... so yeah, definitely I would leave if that happened tomorrow, and quickly. My wife suffered for 2 months, so for sure she would not hesitate.

Not wearing a mask does not mean you're an anti-masker. I haven't been wearing masks since July 1, when the mandate was dropped. I'm very happy that everyone else is still wearing them - no complaints at all. I couldn't call myself an anti-masker, because if I was sick, I would most definitely wear one, or if I was coughing or sneezing.

I don't wear a mask, but there have been some incidents where I wish I had. I was in a 7Eleven the other night and an Indian lady was coughing up and down the isles. It was so bad I said to her if you're going to cough like that, you should wear a mask.

It's obvious in the video, which stops short just before impact, that he went under between the wheels. It was probably head injuries caused by the undercarriage that killed

Accidents don't have to be one or the other party's full responsibility. In this case, they had a shared responsibility. She is not 100% to blame here, but probably over 50%. It looks like the painter was in her blind spot covered by her left window pillar.

In Thailand, people in rescue trucks (not ambulances) pick the road accident victims up and put them on the tray. There's no triage whatsoever. Maybe they take more care when the injured is a foreigner.

An average apartment storey is 14 feet, so that's an average of 4 floors. It's survivable, but cutting it close. The recommended minimum height for suicide jumping is 21 meters (there are how-to-do manuals on various methods, especially in Japan). She was only 9 feet short of that.

I remember that process. They put a stop to it in about 2006.

Testing only Chinese tourists seems like a perfectly good idea. No one can suggest it's discrimination due to the data coming out of China. Tests are more useful than vaccines as vaxxed people can still catch it and spread it. There's too many variants to keep track of.

That's correct. Anutin has made it quite clear on numerous occasions that foreigners are dirty.

Anutin is not suffering and will continue to receive his salary. It's the hotel owners who are reaping what Anutin sows - losing a lot of business.

That's the problem. They all have keys, so they can opened when the batteries run flat. Someone has that key.

The only difference is how much "bling" you need to get the attention you want. It's just a lot cheaper in Thailand.

So after you got married, did you pay the other woman to accompany you to the beach?

What would you expat an old expat (most are at least at retirement age) to get? I think most expats are aware of the situation well before they arrive in Thailand. There seems to be a lot of dreamers on this forum that think they are in a real relationship with someone that loves them. Sure, your partner is different. A contractual relationship is not a bad thing at all. It's an improvement on being deluded that your relationship with a Thai woman is genuine... and in most cases it can be cheaper. Contracts can be easily disolved and that's freedom. You pay for freedom.

Anyone can say anything they like on here as there is no burdon of proof, but I'm calling bs on your story that yours is different and that SHE supports you. You invited someone to call you out, so here you go. Enjoy!

I'll start the ball rolling. I don't believe you - none of it.

Winter? There are plenty of mosquitos in Thailand all year round. They reduce during dry periods, but it's not related to summer or winter, which we don't have in Thailand. It would be impossible to have so few bites. 5 bites between 4 people in a year? They can bite me all night long and I won't feel them or have any evidence of bites. Some people react more to bites than others, but I'll put money down you're getting hundreds of bites per year, if not per month or week.

China has 1.304 billion people vaccinated from a population of 1.448 billion. That's 90% https://ycharts.com/indicators/china_coronavirus_full_vaccination_rate