Billfo

Here's a quote from the website of the resort where my house is located:

If you are looking for the perfectly relax with worth in your life.

Phupimarn resort Farm and Spa is the paradise that you look for.

We wish you come to touch with magical on this paradise that over your imagine by your self.

haha brilliant!!

Engrish isn't exclusively a Thai thing, take a look at this great website! www.engrish.com

Engrish isn't so bad, ok maybe it doesn't give the best impression of the business but it sure is fun to see it.

now I think I'll go order some Fish & Ship.

I started my travels as a backpacker.

Like many of the backpackers I met in Thailand on my last trip, traveling was something I did between University and Career.

My second round of backpacking was as a career break (actually a break away from Thailand). And that gentlemen is another aspect of backpacking, take some time to talk to backpackers in Thailand and you'll find many are mid career professionals enjoying some of their hard earned money.

Backpackers are on the whole, well educated, middleclass and very sociable. My guess is most go on to good jobs earning the kind of money and getting the kind of employment conditions people preaching off bar stools in Thailand dream of/resent/BS about (select the cap that fits).

It's also my observation that the backpackers, smelly as many claim them to be, are not paying for the company of the women they are with, unlike many of those denigrating them on the basis of blind ignorance and prejudice.

If Thailand had any sense they would realize that attracting well educated people to spend time in Thailand when they are young is a great way to build loyalty among the people who will later be able to afford the up market hotels and holidays that Thailand is trying to promote.

Great post GuestHouse.

Don't get me wrong I've met a couple of smelly backpackers but I can honestly say the majority don't smell and are nice people who spend hard earned cash in Thailand, which the Thais no doubt appreciate. It just seems to me there is resentment for younger people amongst the 'older' ex-pats on this forum.

As I understand it, muscles don't directly burn fat, they require more calories therefore burn more calories. So surely it would be possible to indirectly burn fat as a result of more muscle burning more calories, when the body runs out of calories to burn it turns to stored energy - fat.

This site backs this up. Burning Calories

'For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day'

But its all upto the individual I suppose.

and how about on a laundry receipt 'We're not responsibility for lose colour'

I love Engrish!

I think maybe 50 is a bit to old to be building muscle??? But if your serious about quick gains that last.Fly to India and get yourself some HGH .....Its legal,don't know what the Thai laws are though.

Jared,

Hi m8,

How much weight(muscle mass) do you reckon you have lost then?

I'm flying out to Thailand in a few weeks and i'm going to be their for quite a long time(longer than a year).Ive spend the last 5 months repairing the damage my last long stay in THialand caused! Ive put on nearly 30 pounds of muscle and the last thing i want to do is lose all that in the first 6 months.

Getting the right maintence diet and training routine sorted are the best ways to prevent this but bar eating canned tuna/protein supplents all day on top of other meals, what can i do? How do you manage it? I'm ecto-meso(leaning more towards ecto),so if i don't eat right ,im gonna suffer.

Whats the protein powder/creatine like? any good? 60/100G seems alright,although the stuff i use in the UK is normal 80+/100G ,but whatever.

Hi Mate

To be honest since moving to Thailand my trainning has all gone out of the window. Ive been living here about 7 months now and when I got here I was in the best shape of my life, I had the lowest body fat percentage ive ever had, I was physically fit and I had packed on a shed load of muscle. Everything was so much easier in England, Gyms close by, high quality food at every super market, cool weather for runing and a nice cool gym. 3 months before moving to Thailand I took a course of steriods although I now do regret taking them due to all the problems they caused and that may also be a reason as to why my trainning has gone tits up.

When I moved to Thailand the first thing I done was find a good gym and I finally found a brilliant proper bodybuilders gym, not one of these crap hotel gyms were everyone thinks its great but you go there and theres nothing there. Anyway I got a 3 month membership, I spent about a month there then finally packed it all in.

Reasons for giving up, trianing in this heat would make me feel sick and pretty crap for the rest of the day. I like to go to the gym nice and early. In England I would be at the gym for 6.30 and train till 8 and then go to work. Over here I dont have to get up so waking up at 6-7 or 8 started to slowly get later and later leaving me with less to do in the day.

Protein powder is almost impossible to find and when you do its 2,3 times the price. I managed to find some plan whey protein powder for 4000Baht and I ended up mixing it with choclate powder just so it didnt taste so bad. Best bet is to get some imported. Ive got about a months supply which i brought off a guy on this forum and once that runs out ill be gettting a years supply shipped over.

Food was also a big struggle, I went from eating very healthy high protein meals, tuna chicken etc to eating high fat Thai food. Everything seems to be deep fried over here and every dish seems to have spoonfulls of sugar. At first the drastic change in diet also made me sick until i got used to it.

Probably the most important reason why I gave up and have struggled to get back in to it is I now have a 3 month old son who keeps me up most the night and ive just lost all motivation. Also im stuck behind a computer workin gall day long when back in England i was actively working outside.

All of that aside im on the verge of getting back into things now, to be honest im probably in the worst shape of my life after 7 months here and I ve put on a shed load of weight and basically feel crap. Once the little one starts to sleep through the nights im going to reniew my membership and start again.

Hi Jared,

Is it really difficult to get good quality protein food like clean chicken breast & tinned tuna from the supermarkets over there? I can't remember the name of the body type I am (mesomorph maybe?) but I put fat on really easy so I'm a little worried about the Thai diet I'll be eating. My plan was to eat fish/chicken soup instead of the usual fried rice and pahd thai and eat like pig on clean food to top up on protein. Of course that plan relies completey on how easy it is to lay my hands on clean protein foods.

Out of interest, is the river cruise expensive? Do you know the average price of a meal?

Thanks

This is a good site for nutritional information for pretty much every food there is, really good for planning diets etc. Take the star ratings for weight loss, and weight gain with a pinch of salt. For example it says Tuna is 2 stars for weight gain, on its own maybe but couple it with bodybuilding and its very effective.

Hope it comes in useful! www.nutritiondata.com

Great films of 2006:

Munich, Syriana, Pan's Labyrinth, The Departed, The Prestige

Bad Films of 2006:

Hostel, Narnia, Click

what a rediculous post.

Saying that the new wave of expats don't want to be in Thailand? Yeah your really correct there, I've spent around £1500 on flights and TEFL course, just so I can get there and wish I wasn't there.

Or maybe your just pissed that the twenty-something thai ladies are paying more attention to the twenty-something expats than the 'senior' ones....

This is not unique to Thailand at all, when people here in the UK say 'Thai Bride' they say it in a way suggesting/joking that you picked her up at a bar as a bar girl, so for Thai people to sometimes question the same thing isn't Xenophobic, its just stereotyping and everyone is guilty of this.

Maybe my English language abilities are not sufficient, but what are the major differences between judging according to negatively stereotying, and xenophic tendencies?

And yes, many westerners behave in a very xenophic (racist) manner in their home countries, and when coming here as well, but that does neither excuse nor justify similar behavior here.

can you provide me with some some real examples of xenophobia in thailand that is not present in any country on this earth.?

Maybe a very simple one is that you can almost never (anymore) become a citizen and even if you do become a citizen, you will never be regarded as 'Thai'. Now Thailand isn't unique in that- but it's certainly not universal. That's got to be classic systemic xenophobia. Or is it?

A more 'close to home' example is one of personal experience: I live close to a kind of slum and the little kids there are really friendly. As long as I was communicating with them in Thai, I sensed from the parents, a kind of satisfaction. But when I would use English, I sensed a freezing up and the parents would immediatedly translate (eg, how are you?) to Thai. When the kid knew perfectly well how to answer in English. I sensed that the parents would just as soon I didn't talk to the kids at all if I wasn't going to do it in 'their' language.

Granted, that's a small example and may not mean anything.

With the regards to the whole Thai citizen thing, legally of course you should be seen as a 'Thai Citizen' but would you really expecet to be regarded as 'Thai' socially? I'm white with red hair, so if I was granted Thai Citizenship I wouldn't expect people to see me and class me as 'Thai' I'd still be classed as farang, unless I carried a large picket sign with 'I'm a Thai citizen' written on it.

And regarding the comment about the little kids, yeah thats a bit strange why the parents wouldn't want you to be talking English to them, fair enough they want their kids to speak Thai but you would have thought that learning English could only be a positive thing considering its the 'international' language.

This is not unique to Thailand at all, when people here in the UK say 'Thai Bride' they say it in a way suggesting/joking that you picked her up at a bar as a bar girl, so for Thai people to sometimes question the same thing isn't Xenophobic, its just stereotyping and everyone is guilty of this.

Maybe my English language abilities are not sufficient, but what are the major differences between judging according to negatively stereotying, and xenophic tendencies?

And yes, many westerners behave in a very xenophic (racist) manner in their home countries, and when coming here as well, but that does neither excuse nor justify similar behavior here.

My understanding of the difference between Xenophobia and Sterotyping this. Sterotyping doesn't always tie into race. This is 100% true: I just went to get some drinks from the coffee machine in the office here in the UK, while getting the drinks I hear two other workers talking, one of them, a middle aged guy, is going to Pattaya tomorrow and evesdropping (very naughty of me!) I hear that he's going on his own, now straight away I think 'I wonder why he's going to Pattaya.... on his own.... hmm' needless to say I assume he's going for the bar girls, I may be wrong but thats just me stereotyping, nothing to do with race at all so in my opinion that is not xenophobic its steroetyping. So thats the difference between xenophobic & stereotyping as I understand it.

Fiar enough the actions of foriegners doesn't justify xenophobia but come on, you can't see it from their point of view? The Thais who have the disrespectful actions of foriegners in their faces every day, thats justification of their (Thai) xenophobia in my view, I'd be the same.

I'm not going to say Thai's are or are not Xenophobic. Xenophobia is common in every country in the world. Human nature doesn't like change or things different to what they are used to. So in my opinion some Thai's will be xenophobic just like any other country.

Regularly encountered certain persistent questions and assumptions about your private affairs regarding your Thai wife, what your Thai wife's former profession might have been'

This is not unique to Thailand at all, when people here in the UK say 'Thai Bride' they say it in a way suggesting/joking that you picked her up at a bar as a bar girl, so for Thai people to sometimes question the same thing isn't Xenophobic, its just stereotyping and everyone is guilty of this.

And regarding the comment on the scene in the movie Ong Bak with the farang slapping the Thai girls, so what?? again thats just stereotyping. Just like why in a lot of hollywood movies are the bad guys usuall German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese or British? I'm british and I don't see it as Hollywood being xenophobic.

And to see clues as to why some Thai's may be xenophobic, just take a walk down Khoa San Road when the drinks are in full swing and just see how much 'respect' the majority of drunk farangs give the Thai waiters/waitreses. And wouldn't you resent a group of people who fuel the sex trade and contribute to a 'family' resort such as Pattaya in your country? I know I would.

Thanks very much all, some great answers there, and I'll be sure to check those links out. I personally think I'll need a LP just to keep on track, I would imagine the initial period of teaching is very difficult and a LP would help ease my mind a little.

Thanks again.

If you like Borat and haven't seen them, check out his Ali G DVDs.

I LOVE this guy!

thats because he's BRITISH UG...our humour is the best in the world without a doubt

I love British humor I must admit, but when I tried to remember the last comedian to make me laugh as hard as Cohen, the name that I came up with was Eddie Murphy.

Have to agree...he is a very funny guy...there are several other American comedians/actors that I like...I suppose we share the same taste in humour along with the Kiwis and Ozzies.

Tend to agree as well, also Robin Williams is a laugh. Best comedian with impressions I rekon.

Not forgetting Billy Conolly and of course, the great late Mr. Richard Pryor

Hi,

My brother is going to go to Phi Phi in April/May and I just wanted to check how Phi Phi is after the Tsunami. I assume its totally rebuilt and is perfectly fine, but thought I'd check before him spending all that money!

And any places in particular that anyone recommends to stay?

Thanks!

Only had Mike's burgers in Chiang Mai, so that gets my vote!

Is there a traditional fish & chip shop in CM? Best Fish & Chips I've had I think was in a village called Sumner, just outside Christchurch NZ. The Kiwis have those Kumara chips too, really good.

......When you start believing that "monogamy" is just a type of wood

haha! nice one

Koh Phangan. Most favourable.

Thanks for the info!

Reminds me of the other day. I was heading to the shop and I decided it would be a nice time for me and my millipede to take a walk and catch up on things. So I asked him if he wanted to come, "Yeah sure" he says, after ten minutes of standing by the door waiting for him I got fed up and left on my own. 10mins later I get home and walk in the house, the centipede says "where the hel_l have you been?" "I went to the shop because I got bored of waiting for you" I replied, and he said "Give me a chance! I'm still putting my bloody shoes on!"

Thank you very much, I'll be here all evening.

I can understand your frustration mate, its annoying to be told what to do by a hypocrite, but on the other hand the policeman is doing you and your girlfriend a big favour, your girlfriend has less chance spilling her brains on the road.

If he chooses to ride without a helmet, let him, there is a whole lot of concrete hungry for his soft skull (god forbid!) and its his choice to risk it!

Hi,

Whats the weather ususally like early-mid May on Koh Phangan? Is it usually rainy? Should I consider going to Koh Phi Phi or Koh Chang instead?

any info would be appreciated, thanks.

Regarding Thai people not wanting to admit they don't understand what a farang is asking/saying, I don't believe that to be exclusively a Thai trait at all, I hope I'm not alone here, but I've done it loads of times (I'm English btw). I can't count how many times throughout my life when a stranger has asked/told me something and I've had to ask what they've said a couple of times.

Yes why can't they all speak fluent English dammit.

When I was talking about me not understand strangers, and the times at work in the record store, all that was in England. So my previous point wasn't expecting Thai's to speak fluent English. My point was, if I do it with people who speak the same language from the same country, I'm not going to criticse Thai's not understand English sometimes and not wanting to be embarresed keep asking people to repeat themselves about 5 times.

What might be the main purpose of the motorbike? Is it mainly to get around inside Chiang Mai City or is it mainly to be used on highways? As for the latter you'll be better off with something heavier and more powerfull, but for the former a Yamaha Nuovo Automatic is as perfect as perfect can be (except for those who swear to having a lot of manual controls)... Three minutes instruction and you'll know everything about how to handle the bike itself - even if you've never been on a bike before.

The gearing is fully automatic - getting from stand-still to full speed is just a matter of hold the handle and bend your wrist. It has no foot-controls - both brakes are handbrakes. The earlier discussion of which brake to pull hardest is irrelevant. The brakes are calibrated, so you just clench both handles at the same time with the same (soft) pressure. Even the lights are automatic. They switch on themselves when it gets a bit dark... The best thing, however, is that it has an extremely fast acceleration... That's not just a matter of getting around faster, but also a matter of safety ... A fast acceleration not only helps you out of dangerous situation, it also minimize the times you' get into one ... Just leave the crowds, confusion and insecure fumblers behind you. If you are at speed with the general trafficflow you'll need just a tiny whole to get e.g. from lane three to lane one or around a root dairng, that might hit the brakes at any moment.

Before I got this machine, I had only driven a motor vehicle twice: a moped with max speed 30 km/h as a teenager 40 years ago and an old pickup I drove about 200 meter on a deserted country road 20 years ago. When we bought the bike, my wife got the mentioned 3 minutes instruction, which she later translated for me. We took a trip round town (the moats, Thapae, Wualai, superhighway) with me on the back seat, just to get a feel of the traffic as seen from a motorbike. Then we went to an empty parkinglot, where I got a feel of how must to turn the handle and make sure the brakes did work. Next thing (after she was dropped) was the downtown traffic itself. The first 500 m very slow, but that didn't feel safe - too many near misses by cars sqeezing around you - follow the traffic flow felt much safer. The first couple of days I were the most polite driver you can possible imagine. Patiently waiting in line behind cars at traffic light. Patiently awaiting 100 meter holes in traffic flow before easing out from a sidestreet or the sidewalk... However, a standstill standstill with cars squeesing by all around you or honking their horns behind you, doesn't feel safe neither... Consequently, I soon learned just to give full throttle and get out of it when holes where just big enough... Curiously, that feels much safer - Now, I basically drive just as the Thai youngsters except my better acceleration beats them all and I'd imagine with more consideration.. I often find myself crawling behind a slow taxa, because I don't see any hole big enough, but nevertheless get overhauled by a whole bunch of zig-zagging Thai's on Honda Waves.

Automatic gears, calibrated brakes and even automatic lights! Now thats my kind of bike!

I see saving face as both good and bad. I think its great that its non-confrontational, but at the same time I do agree with the people saying its bad. How can a business or even a person better themselves if they are not told if they are doing something wrong.

I think in everyday life, saving face is a great concept, but in business, particularly international businesses it just isn't feasable.

Regarding Thai people not wanting to admit they don't understand what a farang is asking/saying, I don't believe that to be exclusively a Thai trait at all, I hope I'm not alone here, but I've done it loads of times (I'm English btw). I can't count how many times throughout my life when a stranger has asked/told me something and I've had to ask what they've said a couple of times, if I still don't understand them it gets embarrasing keep asking them to repeat themselves so I'll just sort of guess what they've said and nod along. Then again to my knowledge I've only ever done that a couple of times at work at one of my previous jobs in a music store, pretended to know what they say and tell them "I'll go look for it in the stock room", go to the toilet or something and come back to the customer and inform them "Sorry, it appears to be out of stock"

Hi,

I'm planning to visit one of Ko Phi Phi, Ko Phangan and Ko Chang,

Does anyone know what the weather will be like early may on the islands? Is the weather usually better on one than the others?

Thanks