JensenZ

"all with broken bumpers" - the understatement of the year.

I've been here for 17 years and have no male Thai friends. It most definitely IS me, because I don't want or need any. What surprises me is that people want friends so badly they make it an obsession. True friends are nearly impossible to find and you're kidding yourself if you think differently. Perhaps the OP just wants buddies to hang out with, but they will never be friends, only acquaintances, and the same goes for any foreign "friends" you think you might have.

$80k a year doesn't make one wealthy, but for a single pensioner, it's a LOT better than just getting by in most countries.

It's better to invest your money in top of the line cooling units (inverter type) than a heating system that would hardly ever be used. In Pattaya I ride motorcycles late at night to early morning. I have not worn long pants for many years and very occasionally put on a light jacket. The last time I can remember that the temperatures dropped into the teens was 2009 or 2008. Some years we don't get any cool weather at all. I hope we get some this year. It's a real treat that I look forward too. I bought a small bar heater from Lazada in 2013 as the cool period was longer than usual, but I have yet to use it. It wasn't for me, but for the wife who might complain of cold if the temperature drops below 26C. The people who live up north are lucky to have such an intense cold period.

I disagree. Giving government money, which I have no doublt it is, does not exclude the fact that he cares. Do you really think the PM has no feelings about this tragedy? Most normal humans would be very disturbed by this massacre, but you're suggesting the PM does not care about the victims. Now if I was wrong, and he was giving his own personal money away, which is possible, and he made that known, he'd have more people on this forum ridiculing him. He can't win either way. The haters are going to hate him one way or another. It would be nice if people would refrain from bashing the PM in these threads as it takes the focus away from the tradegy. I don't personally care where the money is coming from - I'm just happy they are getting assistance.

yes, and that too...

Absolutely it is a good reason. You're not a female who likes to get made up before you go out, and spend 1000 baht for a lipstick, and 2000 plus for other makeups etc so you would not understand this. She likes that she can quickly put on her clothes and go out. Before covid Thai people wore masks when they were sick. It is a new advantageous purpose for masks she discovered as a result of covid... which my neighbour found too, and probably many more. It's an advantage for me too as I don't need to wait for her to put on her face. There will never be a problem with my wife wearing a mask and entering a building. Not many security guards would consider a 40kg waif to be much of a security threat. That will never happen. That's a very far fetched scenario.

You make it sound like it's your job to inform people that they shouldn't be wearing masks. If people want to wear masks, it's their business. There are other reasons for wearing masks, and quite good ones too. I jokingly asked a neighbour in my condo building, who was wearing a mask, if she was still afraid of covid. She laughed and said: "no, I'm not wearing makeup". My wife continues to wear one for this reason too. I like it as she's quick to get ready to go out. Also, she buys top-end makeup brands, so it saves a lot of money.

Seriously? You're making a lot of assumptions here, buddy. Do you think I go to the park at 8:30 pm to ogle at women? That would be ridiculous for two reasons. 1. The park is nearly deserted at that time of night. 2. Women are hardly ever seen at that time of night. An extra reason, I have very bad eyesight and walk without my glasses as I sweat too much. Even your grandma would look fine to me. This is Pattaya. No one needs to go to a deserted park at 8 pm at night to look at women. I've seen 2 women in the park late at night in over a year of walking there. If you were looking for females you would need to be very patient. I was in the middle of a very hard 10 km walk (about 100 minutes), very sweaty and dedicated to my exercise. I go late because there are few people there and it's cooler. The track we passed on is about 2 meters wide and we were walking in opposite directions. We were as far apart as we could be on that track. Perhaps it was a mistake to mention the female, and save you the drama of twisting the story based on biased assumptions.

The first reason I stopped going to the cinema is that good movies were becoming very hard to find. If you have a big screen with a good sound system and sit close to it, what's the difference? One thing you can't do is rewind it to rewatch interesting scenes or pause it to take a break or get snacks. I can stop watching it if is a bad movie and change to another one.... and they are free as I download them. I can't think of a single advantage of going to a cinema, and I was an avid movie-goer some years ago.

I have no idea. All I know is the check was being handed to some grieving parents written in the amount of 200,000 baht. Does it really matter who wrote the check?

I think it's a given this building will never be used for anything ever again, and be torn down.

and possibly, at least in your case, never let a good thread about the PM go wasted without an opportunity to ridicule him. Why not feel some compassion and be happy the families are receiving some financial assistance in this time of need?

I agree. This is not the time to cast political rocks. They're assuming the PM has no heart and this is just a big show. I disagree. btw, one of those big checks he handed to a family was 200,000 baht.

Watching movies on my big-screen TV at home is getting more attractive by the day. Actually, I stopped going to cinemas more than 5 years ago. I wonder how long cinemas will last.

I was focused on how much he was giving and the quick response of the government and King to help out the grieving families, yet you are suggesting it's nothing but a political show. I'm pretty sure the PM was grieving as most of the rest of us were. It would have been very difficult to face these families a day after their children were slaughtered.

There was always plenty when I lived there, even with the tourists. They have more to eat when there are lots of tourists around... well, at least tastier than their regular pile of plain rice the feeders feed them. There were huge packs of dogs just around the corner. The next-door neighbour's daughter was bitten. There were more empty lots, and that means more dogs.

I think the last thing the US needs they already have - Biden.

The point I was trying to make is that against a basket of currencies, (the DXY index) all major currencies have weakened against the USD and the baht is stronger against some and holding steady against others. There's no point in them harping on about the USD exchange rate. The rest of the world is in the same boat and will continue to be as long as the Fed continues with a monthly increase in interest rates.

I've got one better LOL. There was a Thai woman wearing a mask in the park tonight at about 8:30 pm with no one around. I passed by her within a few meters - I think she panicked. I can understand this in crowded shopping malls, but this was absurd.