Fat is a type of crazy

Some of Bignok's language is a little bit boganish but I don't consider him a bogan. The classic bogan I think of is from the 80's or 90's with a mullet, rough, swearing, tend to work in physical jobs, mad about cars and outdoor pursuits such as driving said cars in the bush, but mainly drinking a lot e.g. say a slab of VB if you know what that is. They'll love Aussie bands like Cold Chisel. A true bogan is not likely to spend a lot of time chatting on a forum. Bogan's got revenge, as a lot are tradies who now make crazy amounts of money compared to us in the office, the common term being cashed up bogans. They are now into the most stylish attempts of renovations on their properties, eat the best food and coffees, and generally live large. Those that smirked at bogans have to think again. The bogans are winning.

I would think the best way to deal with this is look beyond the words and see if they care about you and each other in general. If someone has a big problem and they look at their phone and don't care then that's bad. But hopefully when push comes to shove they do care and simply don't like small talk and pleasantries.

I am a bit of a chocolate freak despite my silly user name. I give you Exhibit A. Cadbury's and Whitaker's used to be the same size at 250 gram. Bit by bit Cadbury's has decreased from 250 to 180 while Whittaker's stayed the same. In Exhibit B there are chocolates that kept the same size being Lindt and Moser Roth. The third Green and Black went down to 90 gram which you could argue is now a chocolate bar rather than a chocolate block.

Saw a tradie on a road work site and thought how old he looked ... but I thought I am sure he's happier with blokes on site than sitting in his lounge room with his wife hovering nearby .. but then there's Thailand

You note this a bit. What's the theory? Robots. Paid staff.

I think it may be a copy of the cowboy from Red Dead Redemption.

True that. My plan is to spend 6 months in each country but I do ask myself what I will do with myself for 6 months in Australia unless I travel around. Whereas I feel Thailand can fill my time much easier. Even a thai shopping centre seems more fun than an Australian one.

The two things I take to Thailand when I go on holidays are sunscreen and chocolate. Decent chocolate.

Suppose most who went that way aren't hanging around to tell the story

You would have liked Yinn. She was fun and entertaining. Many felt the same as she was the final Poster of the Year. There are curmudgeon Thais who don't like farangs and curmudgeon farangs who don't like Thai's. Or think that Thai's don't like them. Or something.

The general concept is life is a bit more about experiences than a stable boring life. If you think how hard it is for the young to buy a house in western countries you can see why some might take a different path. Working from home was a revelation for me and for many in the workplace and showed that being productive didn't have to mean the boring tedious politeness of long commutes and sitting under fluorescent lights 5 days a week. So staff look at other ways to make work suck less but still doing the job. Overtime...up to them..why exhaust yourself for some crappy company. I work for the government so at least see some good coming from what I do ... don't laugh. But in fact most young I see aren't different ... fairly hard working ..some still super ambitious .. some not ..

If you wanted to stay 90 days could you get the 60 day visa from Australia than do the trip to a different country and get a further 30 days with no issues. Hopefully they'll have the 90 day tourist visa by at some point. Think it was discussed as a possibility.

Media microphones

I work in an office. Sometimes hard but not too bad. Interesting work. If you work in an office you need some sort of stimulation to keep you thinking. Can now work 3 days at home which makes it that much more appealing and a good transition to retirement too.

You seem a tad cynical about and disappointed in your fellow expats. Do you have an original thought you can share to inspire us all.

Die Antwoord hit the spot.

All the best for a speedy recovery Britman

It's almost like you don't like this Dan guy

Man does not live by fruit pudding alone.

If there is a possibility it can be worked out here are some thoughts: Many men are married to women who talk too much and are controlling and nag and have a temper so having a quiet lady who maybe looks at her phone too much ain't so bad. Try having fun with her, buy her flowers, surprise. Not because you are in the wrong but so you can add some fun. You do sound too serious - could be due to life being tough so fair enough. You say you forbid ipads ... try not to forbid stuff .. sounds authoritarian and over the top. You can allow them but have rules about their use. You compare your household to your youth. We have idealistic memories of our youth - best not to compare. She may not be the affectionate motherly love type - Thais can be reserved - let her be her. Don't judge her and compare step by step. You say house is a mess but talk about a mess on a book shelf - seconds to clean up - and that there is no system in things - she feeds and clothes the kids and if the house overall is kept clean sounds not too bad.

Cheap charlie extraordinaire

I like it. Stayed there a few times when going to Koh Chang. Can't tell you a lot but there's a nice old section and a nice seafood restaurant in the middle of town. Actually there was no real middle of town..some areas here and there. Can recommend Maneechan Resort - nice facilities, pool and gym and sauna, nice big breakfast. A bit out of town. Need room away from road. Nearby waterfall nice. Beaches 20 minutes away that are so so but at least not as touristy as others.

Well done but it made me feel less unique and special. Beat you by a month. December 1985 Stayed at Narai Hotel in Bangkok with girlfriend Overnight bus to Chiang Mai Then to Chaing Rai and on a raft for 2 nights up to Burma border Stay at hilltribe for a night. Strange sounds in the night. Heavy hill tribe lady massage. Bit sick next day. Fly Chiang Mai Bangkok to Surat Thani. Feeling sick on overnight boat to the island Three days on Koh Samui. Had hash cookies and freaked me out a bit. Marijuana and me not a good combination. Ride around Koh Samui on motorbike. No insurance. The things we do. Bangkok A week in Burma Rangoon Mandalay Pagan Met a guy in Mandalay who said we could stay in his brothers farm and go on to Pagan ..so we did. Home in empty Qantas plane that arrived Christmas day. Gave us lots of drinks which was nice.

99.6 per cent of girls don't like cheap charlies.

Not sure what 'ickums is. Google couldn't help. I don't recognise your username so you may not have the read the many, sometimes entertaining, Bob posts on said topics that I raised. I am getting a bit sick of his schtick. So keep in mind you may not have the context and your comments are a bit off the mark. As for your attempted insults .. people tend to write that sort of stuff when they have nothing to say. No offence taken.