ccarbaugh

Last October, I visited Chiang Rai for the first time.

(A friend got a job at an elementary school there

so I went to visit him.) I stayed 4 days- I was supposed

to stay 6. I didn't like it. I didn't find the people at

all friendly and I guess I am too accustomed to

the non-stop "action" of Bangkok. As a "farang"

walking about, I was solicited for every little

"Massage Parlor" - that invariably was staffed

by middle-aged and above employees. Of course,

only "Traditional Thai Massages" were

available.

Granted, outside of town is a quiet, pleasant,

rural setting if you're already "attached" and

just want to settle-in with her.

My only "REAL" annoyance

is the Thai (feigned)

Superiority Complex.

Most Thais see us as

personally undesireable-

but necessary, ATM machines.

The majority of the Thai

population have never

travelled abroad so have

an absolute myopic worldview.

Thais (90+%) believe the

nationalistic propaganda

that they're fed from birth.

Farangs are afforded the

gold-diggers, skanks, and

bargirls with very few

exceptions.

Still, I continue choosing to

stay here- for now.

I told my buddy and my gf to quickly

remove the gold filings and caps off

my teeth for them to pawn, then just

throw my dead body into the klong to

feed the fish.

Very imaginative - Great job!!!

Pity if it closes- it's been a 30+ year

mainstay for me, (albeit the last few

years I've mostly just observed the

percentage of skanks increase.)

Thailand is a very distrusting society.

(As evidenced by the lack of socializing

amongst themselves at almost any mode

of transportation.) Therefore, after living

for an amount of time here, I have "adopted"

a sense of suspicion, aloofness and anti-social

manners. I understand about the American

small-town banter, but here we become a

little bit like the paranoid Thai society.

I will still give eye-contact and a smile as

acknowledgement, but I've run into enough

(farang) scoundrels that I would be wary of

anything other than the most transient "Hello."

Where/How/When could a Native English Speaker volunteer to assist?

Why won't lesbians let me play too?????????

He only described her selling out of the country as being whor-ish. If he had REALLY wanted to put her down, he would have called her a "farang." But, if he wanted to insult her and call her the most vile, lowly, sub-human, disgusting, intolerable thing he could, he would have labelled her a .... are you ready for this?.... please forgive my language, .... a "non-thai."

" ...Many Thai men are hypocritical, said Virada, as they use the service of sex workers and push the notion of prostitute to elevate themselves and degrade women at the same time."

Could also be said, "Many Thai people are hypocritical, as they use the financial support of farangs and push the notion of farang=kohn-mai-dee to elevate themselves and degrade farangs at the same time."

( Welcome to our world. )

My lady's sister lives there so we visit once or twice a year.

Next trip up, I'd be delighted to have a chat.

I'll PM you.

Applied to the Italian Embassy for a 2 week vacation for my Thai GF. (I'm American.) We'll find out Friday, May 10th, if it's approved or not. (Supplied all paperwork!) We've already paid the airfare, car rental and reserved the hotel rooms, so it would be a tremendous expense for nothing if it is declined.

Are there ANY that remain open? Paragon?

I have a "Lifetime Membership" but it

hasn't done me much good since the Ekamai

branch closed a year and a half ago.

I'm 50/50. Bored with being "marginally-tolerated" but currently am enjoying my (good-woman) lady.

If we broke up, I wouldn't know where else to go - PI?, Lao?, Burma?...? I looked into Latin America 7 years ago before moving here and it didn't appeal to me. Stretching-out the monthly nickels so far....

Thailand is a Matriarchal society like China,the woman runs the household,keeps the money and gives the layabout drunken husband pocket money,surely most people have realised that by now?

Seems to be more so in

Muslim marriages - that I've observed.

(and of course without the drunkeness-

just going to the mosque to "pray"

5 times a day.)

A man wears shorts at the beach or gym, or at the park exercising. In a large metropolitan city (like Bangkok) one should wear long trousers in public. Period. Shorts worn outside the home, beach or gym are the province of women and little boys.

In Thailand, if you're doing any sort of business (including visiting any business establishment, store, office), or temple, you had damn better wear long trousers. Or risk being yet another example of the uncultured and uncouth farang barbarian. I mean, do we WANT to give Thais any more of a reason to look down on us?

What a croc.

I've experimented with this.

I've gone to Immigration wearing

shorts and a T-Shirt and was treated

very differently and couldn't get

anything done. Then, the next day,

long pants and nice shirt- No problem!

(This isn't the USA where Professors, Academicians,

Scientists, PhD's, ... CEO's of Facebook, ....

are at liberty to dress comfortably!)

Quite the opposite of "Up to you."

Here, "APPEARANCE" is EVERYTHING!!!

I looked into Central America

before moving here-

equally unfriendly attitude-

(except for commercial transactions of course.)

Also, you're regarded as a pedophile

as soon as you step off the plane!

I probably would've already

tried Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

or the Philipines. if

it weren't for the lovely Thai-lady

in my life. (Sometimes Thai

nationalism really sickens me!)

Yes, the exchange rate makes me

have to look for ways to tighten-the-belt

budgetwise but I've done that all my life

anyway while being a wage-slave.

Great article! Yes, but Thais "Superiority Complex"

isn't just limited to their upcountry brethren and

their immediate neighbors!

I just found out that Krung Thai Bank doesn't have an "ABA Routing Number." They told me to use Bangkok Banks' ABA Routing Number in New York to pay my Citibank Credit Card. I tried it but it didn't work and now Citbank is charging me $39 for a "Returned Check Charge."

"But maybe I could get a "second-opinion" by someone,

that has been in the many parts of Thailand and had the chance

to discover "differences" among Thai's,

depending on where they live."

Been to many parts of Thailand (and around the world,)

and have learned to form "opinions" of others based

on individual characteristics- not generalizations based

on nationalities, geography, gender, religion, etc.

What is it exactly that you're asking for?

Mukdahan?, Kalasin?, Yala?, Tak?, Phrae?, ........???

I live on Ram Intra- 4km west of Min Buri. I am very near Fashion Island Mall. Here is the "suburbs" of Bangkok so I can take a 30 baht van to various destinations- Victory Monument, Morchit, Rangsit, Ngonwongwan ....

There is a "Siam City Park" close by that has a delightful swimming area and it seems to be a pleasant, family-oriented amusement park. Then, there's also the Fashion Island Mall with the Food Court, Big C, and the Major Cineplex.

I've seen a sign about some kind of animal park but haven't been.

It's a quiet area and my 5th floor balcony faces the rising sun and in the distance I can see the planes descending into Suwannapome. Many trees and birds are also visible. The traffic on Ram Intra is a nightmare most of the time.