mark henry

"Hello my names Pussy, Pussy Galore"

One of the Bond movies.

"Well do ya feel lucky, do ya?"

A Clint movie.

MBK, street markets and food stalls, Grand Palace, Chatuchak and at the end of the day a cold beer outside my favourite hotel (well the only one i'v been too, The Residence, Petchburi) talking Tinglish with the bar staff.

Married Jan 2005, she can be lovely but mostly she's an unreasonable moody so and so! Too late now for me she's in my home! On the plus side we have a wonderful 2 year old Son and i'v reason to visit wonderful Thailand every year or so.

I suppose it was inevitable that most in this thread would miss the point of my post but then, given the demographic of the forum, no surprises there.

Perhaps I should amplify a little.

Dressing up in a fancy costume and simply having fun in the typical Thai way is a quite normal, rather endearing, facet of their culture and the fact that they chose an outfit representing the antithesis of that sentiment in the eyes of the average western observer demonstates their innocence in a way that I personally find deliciously charming.

But, to most here it seems that they have committed a grievous offence. Perhaps if a demonstrable irony replacing that innocence had been employed then perhaps the parade might have been more acceptable? Doubtless, many of the prigs on the forum would protest that no ' glorification ' would be acceptable but then they wouldn't have laughed at Mel Brooks' 'The Producers " .......springtime for Hitler in Chermanneeeee.... would they?

No, the only crime these sweet children committed was one of carelessness in that they failed to take into account the precious sensibilities of the westerner. Gosh, how dare they? Don't they know that if you dress up like a nazi you're only one goose step away from industrialised slaughter?

If only life was that simple but I suppose to most here it is in their little cartoon world. Talking of which, how do the prigs of the forum reconcile their stance on the Danish muslim cartoon debacle with their condemnation of the Thai school children? If memory serves me well most were less than charitable to the notion that muslims were justified in feeling their culture was under threat.

How do you spell h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e ?

Incidentally, keep it up Elkangorito. Did we ever meet at Glastonbury?

Sorry but i fail to see whats so "deliciously charming" about dressing-up as a Nazi!! I don't consider myself at all PC but i do think we have a responsibility to consider other people's feelings.

Sad that you find other people's issues/ problems / unhappiness in life entertaining. People like yourself are reasons why I sometimes lose interest in TV. I can usually empathize with most people no matter where they are from and what they have done right/ wrong. The exceptions tend to be 1) pyschopaths or 2) people like you, who have to look down on others or enjoy their problems. I can't empathize with either of these types. It leaves little common ground to agree with you, even if your point(s) is/are valid.

Next thing you guys will say is you've touched a nerve if someone responds to you who disagrees. To preempt that, let me say: Overall none of those issues you raised are significant issues in my life at the moment. I'm pretty happy with my life in Thailand, and I guess because of that I don't feel a need to put down people who do have issues. I have a lovely family here; good job; nice wife; no (current) problems with visa; some understanding of the culture etc.

It's not a perfect country though and I think highlghting some of the ways it could be improved is worthwhile. Some posts I agree with some I don't. What I don't agree with is people who dismiss other people's lifestyles and try to pick holes in them if someone is happy, or belittle those who have issues, but are otherwise decent people.

The day you get your happiness out of other people's unhappiness, is the day to move on...

That's just such a great reply, i think i can learn some thing from that myself! I'm gonna read it again.

I do wonder if there is a degree of ignorance on the part of Thai's to the 2nd world war just going on my wife's (Thai) amazing lack of knowledge of world history, she had never heard of Hitler, world war 2 or 1 or even the Vietnam war!! She always says.."its not important for me"!

I think this is a silly post, we need more people not less. The population in the developed world is actually decreasing, China will soon be populated mainly by old folk and i'm led to believe Africa needs a huge increase in its population if it's ever to dig itself out of hunger/poverty.

The issue is not one of population but rather how we use the natural resources to take care of the worlds population, this means for example less land turned over to grazing for beef which is having a devastating impact on our environment, as more and more land is cleared for pasture with subsequent and significant increase in methane in the atmosphere from yes cow farts!!

My wife gave me a neckless on our first wedding anniversery, it does'nt have an amulet, it's more of a decorative piece with "barrels" on it and tiny painted love hearts. Not brash in the least very beautiful and i love it. Always placed discretley under my top though!

It's made from yellow gold, what is that exactley?

My wife and i went on a tour to a "long neck" village, can't remember where it was exactley but it was several hours by road from Chang Mai. I never really made any judgements as to wether it was crual or exploitative, i assumed the ring stuff was/is part of their culture and had been happening long before any tourists got there. I thought they looked beautiful and proud.

However, i was some what dissapointed afterwards to learn that the whole village was a fake and the "long neck" folk were brought down from their "real" home to parade about for the tourists! I remember thinking at the time that some thing was not quite right about this village, a bit too tidy and "staged" looking perhaps?

Being 5 foot nothing and 9 stone i'm not really worth the hassel of beating up! I consider myself to be fortunate in that respect. I am proud to say i'v never been in a "proper" fight and have never wittnessed one either.

Sounds like some of you guys have a rather unhealthy view of violence. Sorry it ain't cool to inflict pain on another human being even if you happen to think they deserve it.

I'v never lost anyone that close to me, so in one sense i can't comment. However, i can imagine the feelings of lose your perhaps experiencing are not disimilar to a relationship ending and that i can comment on.

I don't think you should deny or push aside your grief rather live it for a while and be sad for as long as you need. The feelings i believe do subside with time until your left with warm happy memories of the times you spent together. For me those memories have become part of me and stay with me all the time where ever i go, it's a nice feeling.

Try not to be alone when your feeling particularly low and talk when you need/want to. I wish you well for the future.

This phenomenon reminds of another strange thing I've noticed.

On several occasions, I've been walking back to my condo on the RHS of the road (against the traffic). Invariably, any songtaew that comes toward me (in the opposite direction) toots the horn & slows down as if expecting me to get aboard. I think to myself, "If I'm walking in one direction, why on earth would he think that I would want to go in the opposite direction?"

The answer came one day when I was on a songtaew, heading toward Pattaya. I saw a man walking on our side of the road & going in the opposite direction to us. The songtaew tooted, the man signalled it to stop, he got on & away we went. He was clearly walking the opposite direction for at least 500m before the songtaew tooted.

Can someone please help me understand this? :D

Perhaps he wanted to go in the oposite direction but could'nt cross the road cos too busy and there were no bridges!? It's possible.

200.000 Baht seems like an awful lot of money to me, i paid 32.000 and that hurt. After all it's not our culture, have they offered to cover all the costs of the wedding as is the custom for the brides family in the West?

It's up to you but the whole sin sod, gold stuff rests uncomfortabely with me.

When my wife joined me here the UK i made the terrible mistake of getting Thai tv for her. Now i must endure the most awful comedy shows and serials imaginable. I can't understand what they are saying but you can tell it's total ****, it really did/does surprise me how simple and child like the programmes are. The wife is rolling around at the sight of some bald fat guy in drag getting a slap on the head! We are currently watching a serial about a "Medusa" woman who does that Thai style look (you know narrowing the eyes and pursing the lips routine) before turning her victims to stone and she simply refuses to die!

Don't want to be ...what is the word? .... pessisimist?, mm not sure if that fits..

When I first came here it was like the "great escape" I forgot my "slave" job in Shanghai, and welcomed the thought to be living here.

After 4 or 5 years, the novelty appears to have worn off, don't get me wrong, I would rather be struck down with a bolt of lightning than 

o back to the UK, but Thailand seems to becoming a bit depresseing. Maybe due to a certain Boonyaratklin?

Maybe it is a middle age crisis, but the place does not hold for  me what it held before...the wife's got FAT, the kids are a pain in the arse....maybe I am just getting old.. you enjoy blowing old ice lolly sticks around the table? ( A Thai childs game)  Bow Bow Bow!

The future for someone of my aga looks pretty bleak here, no prospect of jobs...(you want a dishwasher turned microwave engineer?) Every opportunity there is a money sucking scam..and the Temples are NO1.

I thought me and the family would have been happy here, to get out of the rat race, but it seems at times, that the rats are 2nd favourite!

 

I DEFINATELY SHOULD NOT PUT "AMERICAN BEAUTY" on the DVD AGAIN!.......

I spend my days dreaming of my next holiday to Thailand with my Thai wife, due to go again next March. This will be my 7th trip since 2002. I'd go more often if it were'nt for the airfair. Often flirt with the idea of living there when i retire but the wife thinks the UK is a better place to live and i guess in many respects she's right, health service, better infrastructure, pension, maybe more democratic? and a load of other stuff but it seems pretty dull compared to the postives of Thailand, warm weather, food, people, Pattaya , Singer beer, temples, beautiful scenery and so on. But thats the difference between the wife and i she thinks with her head i with my heart. Oh well role on March.

Pattaya is one of a kind, never been to a place like it in my life, it's just great.

Why do we run down such places? calling in the low end of tourisim and the like, don't posh people like sex? can't quite understand it.

Here's to Pattaya, long may it live.

Unlike the rest of you guys (lucky guys at that) i can only holiday in LOS with my wife (Thai) every 12-18 months. Been 7 times now, miss it as soon as we board the plane for Blighty and start planning for the next trip as soon as i get back home!

We are poor so tend to mix good Jasmine rice brought from our local Oriental supermarket and mix it with some of Asda's finest!

On a similar vein i reakon the Chinese make the best noodles by far.

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially Zink, it's helpful to have an idea about cost. I'm still not sure what to do yet but being in full veiw of the facts will certainly help me decide. Cheers all.

Hi all

I'v already posted a request for information about a forth coming trip to Cambodia (where to stay/to see) and really appreciated the advice and suggestions i received. However, i'm now unsure wether to go or not the problem as i see it is: We (the wife and i) cannot afford the fare from BKK to Siam Reap (due to the hold Thai Air have over the route until 2009 i'm told) some 4500 baht one way per person!! This leaves two choices; fly to Phnom Phen travel 200 miles up to Siam Reap and then back again to return to BKK or the overland choice which is the one i quite fancy having a go at but i keep reading that it's really dodgy at the border with scams every where, mafia run taxi's and pick pockets etc not to mention a trip of some 3 to 6 hours from the boarder to Siam reap. My question is has anyone done this trip? any tips as to what to do and how to avoid the potential problems/scams. Or is it better to just fly Phnom Phen and make our way up to Siam Reap?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Mark

ดิฉันได้อ่านเว็บบอร์ดเกี่ยวกับภาษาไทยที่นี่ทำให้รู้สึกประทับใจที่มีคนต่างชาติ ทั้งฝรั่ง ญี่ปุ่น จีน พยายามที่จะเรียนภาษาไทย (หลังจากที่ดิฉันพยายามเรียนภาษาญี่ปุ่น และภาษาอังกฤษอย่างหนักเช่นกัน) ดิฉันจะมีสอบวัดระดับภาษาญี่ปุ่นในเดือนธันวาคมนี้ เหมือนกับทุกท่านที่จะต้องมีการสอบภาษาไทย ป.6 ในเดือนธันวานี้เช่นกัน

และเห็นหลาย ๆ กระทู้ถามเกี่ยวกับภาษาไทยหลาย ๆ คำ ดิฉันจึงตัดสินใจที่จะสมัครเป็นสมาชิกบอร์ดภาษาไทยที่นี่เพื่อจะได้ตอบคำถามเกี่ยวกับภาษาไทยของทุกท่านในนี้

ยินดีที่ได้รู้จักบอร์ดนี้ และขอบคุณที่สนใจในภาษาไทยนะคะ ขอให้ทุกท่าน สู้ ๆ ค่ะ

(Sorry, to type in Thai because my english not so good but I register this board because I want to help you about Pasa Thai ka. == Hope all of you can read and understand my text in Thai na ka. If not understand please tell me , I will translat for you ka.)

Yes please translate (Kup)

Thankyou both for your help, appreciated.

Can anyone tell me the best way to obtain a visa for cambodia for myself and my Thai wife.

We plan to fly from Bangkok for a one week stay. I'v looked on the internet and asked around but still can't get my head around what is the cheapest and least hassel free route. Inparticular confused as to wether my wife needs a visa or not?

A slight complication is we arrive in Thailand on a Friday and due to time constraints need to go to Cambodia on the Monday which would'nt be enough time to get visa's from the Embassey in Bangkok as i have managed to kleen you need two working days for them to process the visa application.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Mark

Hi Klaus

I hope you get this post. I don't know what i did but i accidentally deleted your e.mail before i'd replied to your kind offer. I'm not sure what are plans are yet when we get to Krabi but your invite is appreciated and we may take you up on your offer.

Please let me know how i can contact you again.

Kind regards

Mark

Sorry, not a very original post i know but can anyone recommend where to go and stay in the krabi area? My wife (Thai) and i will have a week there in April next year. We would prefere some where not too far from a beach with plenty to do during the day and night. Lek enjoys shopping! but will do pretty much what ever i do as well. I enjoy exploring caves, beaches, forests and tours ect and am up for some active entertainment in the evenings too.

Heres the tricky bit we can't afford much more than 1000 baht a night (maybe 1200 at a push) for accommodation and ideally want some where "pretty" rather than a drab back street hotel but i recognise beggers can't be choosers.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers mark & Lek

Best budget deal is at Verandah Hotel in Ao Nang.

3 minutes from the beach. Spacious clean rooms. As from 21.4.07 Baht 740,- night incl breakfast buffet.

Can use the swimming pool of next door resort. look at directrooms for booking.

cheers

onzestan

Thankyou onzestan, it'll do fine, not "pretty" but near the beach and cheap! have gone ahead and booked. Thanks again