way2muchcoffee

MSG is a natural flavor enhancer with almost no ill effects to healthy human beings. Sounds worth a try.

Except that it causes migraines for many of those susceptible to them.

... how about schools not encouraging little girls (sometimes as young as three) dressing up with faces loaded with makeup and strutting around to slutty music at school concerts... how about parents and others not sitting there saying, "oh that's so cute".... how about schools beginning at a very young age to 'encourage' boys to treat girls with respect, not push them around, poke them and prod them etc... how about schools teaching girls to stand up for themselves when boys bully them rather than put their heads down and put up with it all?

How about guys getting arrested for peeing on the side of the road when there are bathrooms nearby?

There are more problems than rape when so much rape is a problem....

I didn't know that victims could be made to marry the person who raped them.... I think I'm going to feel a bit sick about that for quite a while...

You had me until the peeing by the side of the road bit. I fail to see the reasoning. I find it horrendous that you would want to remove the last act available to differentiate a man from a woman in the modern world.

I suspect you are at the losing end. Where I work we are very careful when terminating employment. Verbal warnings are documented. Written warnings are given and signed by both parties. The employee then must be given time to correct the deficiencies. When improvements are not made, and only after these steps have been meticulously followed can a termination proceed.

touch my kids and Ill bury u in the jungle so far that when they find ur body the Egyptian prymids will have been forgotten

That kind of attitude makes you a real danger to yourself, your family, and everyone else. In short, a menace to society, particularly this one.

Easily understandable. On holiday. Beautiful people touting a beautiful condo with excellent view. Not unreasonable pricing if all the verbal promises are made good. Extra cash on hand for the holiday. Seems like a good swap of current accommodations with the better ones being offered, so the money would be well spent. Also the assurance of additional holidays. It all plays into the mind of the naive tourist. Classic scam on people most susceptible.

These kind of practices have been stamped out in our home countries, but still exist throughout developing nations. An unwary tourist could easily be deceived and caught up in the moment. Bummer. I have no constructive advice, but do have some sympathy for the hapless victims.

But what if they are not truly happy? What if they are running from something? Or, alternatively, what if they are truly happy and cannot accept that others may feel differently? In any case, it is what it is. Rose-tinted glasses? Maybe. There are many foreigners here, each with their own unique pathway. I too don't put much stock in what others think; It doesn't bother me much when people get all high and mighty about Thailand or when a foreigner goes off on a scathing anti-Thai rant.

Some people will defend the reputation of where they live, regardless of whether it's deserved or not, I even met someone recently who swore that Ohio was the most beautiful place to live and wouldn't hear a bad word spoken about it!

What's wrong with Ohio? Some of my best friends are from there. Why, I oughta come over there and whoop some..... Nah.

Anyway. Obviously people have a lot invested in the decisions they make. The decision to become an expatriate is huge. People will look to rationalize and justify whenever possible, particularly amongst the newly relocated. It is only natural.

asked for 1000bht B5 at the fuel pump noticed it reading 1100bht and got him to stop. He they proceeded to tell me (who had been standing by the filler because they can't work out how to open it, if they can even find it! I kid u not*) "you said tem tank!" Now he had double checked me before inserting the nozzle so I had said, "B ha, Neung Pan" twice in front of 3 of his co workers. Did this mean anything to him? Noooooo he just ranted, "u must pay, I no have money" even though I had been speaking to him in thai. If he'd simply concentrated on this fairly simple task it would not have been a problem. I paid my 1000bht and left they said police, I said, "kwam kit dee" (good idea). I will later return the 121 baht of diesel I left without paying for. I won't charge them for the labour of extracting it from the tank.

You must be joking. Really? So you took the extra 100 bt in petrol, refused to pay for it, and forced a laborer to pay out of pocket a half day wages? Unbelievable. It's 100 bt mate. Virtually nothing to you, but a heck of a lot to a poor laborer. There was no principled stand here.

The problem with any kind of increased enforcement/fines is the monetary cost to the poor. A person earning only 200 bt/day will only have perhaps a few hundred baht monthly in their discretionary spending budget, no savings, and no protection or security against emergencies. So this will adversely effect the poor considerably more than the middle or upper classes. It's akin to a regressive system of taxation. All of this is especially true as the current MO of the BiB is to unfairly target motorcycles, i.e. the common Somchai who is barely eeking out an existence.

Well, first they somehow did have money to buy a motorbike. Second, what you say here about poor people meaning they cannot afford to pay the penalties for breaking the laws? Oh, dear. Then the solution must be to abandon the laws, no? Or only for poor people, maybe? Hmm, is about the situation today that.

Nope. I think that the penalties should be based on average salaries and/or average discretionary spending in the country. A 3,000 bt fine for a simple traffic violation in Thailand would be equivalent to nearly a $3,000 dollar fine in the US based on average salaries. It would be much more than that if one were to look at discretionary funds available to the average person. All I'm saying is that the penalties are probably about right here IMO.

Some drunk puts your wife in the hospital, spits at her each day, and yells foul language ? How about growing a pair and standing up for your wife like a man ? If you don't it will probably get worse.

I rather expect that behavior from a neanderthal, but not a man. A man has superior reasoning faculties and is a member of a group or society with clear rules. A neanderthal breaks out his club and acts on emotional impulses. Fair play to stand up for a loved one and prevent violence to them - when there is an immediate threat. That is called self-defense. Otherwise it is simple vengeance and rather cowardly IMO. Much more brave is to swallow the emotion and determine the appropriate course of action to ensure that justice is served through legal maneuverings - to act ethically and morally under difficult circumstances.

My suggestion is to play it smart. Encourage the police to handle the matter appropriately. Several suggestions have already been made for how to accomplish this. A word to immigration might be in order if you can determine that his business is illegal or that he is illegally working.

I went through a mock version and and it was multi choice, a bright 14 year old could have gotten 60% The harder part is the law/education section as they have changed quite a few laws in recent years. Some of it is insane I agree and somewhat confusing/irrelevant, however, you have to bear in mind the low pass mark. Not all teachers are on 6k a year, lot of my in law relatives are teachers so I do know a bit about it. One recently got a promotion and is now on 30k, BUT he works almost every weekend and has a workload that would make a TEFLer <removed by Admin> himself.

Actually the Thai Professional Teacher's License Exam is 9 parts. Maybe a bright 14 year old student could get 60% on one or two of these. Passing the other tests would be impossible, even for most university graduates in other fields. The tests are highly specialized in their content.

One of several things could happen.

1) Pay a fine, released, get papers sorted.

2) Pay a fine and get deported.

3) Held in immi for several weeks, pay a fine, get deported.

It's up to the judge to prefer the sentence, then it's up to immigration to decide whether or not to deport.

Hmmm. Eight weeks to learn the names of 120 students is more than enough. As a teacher it is your responsibility to know the names of your students. Four weeks maximum for that number of students I would think. A reason to fire you? No, I don't agree. A reason to reprimand you? Certainly.

My wife loves dog. She says it tastes like lamb. Every year the wife's family kill at least one of the household pets to make a delectable feast. They usually do this at a family gathering. I don't partake and am put off by the whole thing, especially the killing and eating a pet. But hey, it is their tradition, who am I to rain on their parade?

I have the opposite problem as well. My wife practically inhales her food. Done with a meal in about 3 minutes. For me it takes about 8 minutes. Oh well.

Its unrealistic to expect three lanes of traffic to stop every single time a person wants to cross the street. At many crossings, there is almost always someone standing there. What usually happens is, when there are 4 or more people waiting to cross, heavy traffic will slow down and let them cross. Or, one person steps into the street and everyone follows.

And yes, if there is light traffic, Thai drivers will stop and let them cross. But if you are expecting three lanes of traffic to stop moving instantly during rush hour because you want to cross a three lane street, than you are being very selfish yourself. And no, there is never an excuse to attempt to cross the street at a non-pedestrian crossing. You have no idea how frustrating it is to have to slam the brakes because a human being has decided to give themselves the right of way.

Agree completely. I experience this every day as pedestrian, motorcycle passenger or driver, or automobile driver. Summed up nicely.

Plus, often times there is an overpass that is meant to be used for crossing the street but the pedestrian is too lazy.

My personal pet peeve. I am incapable of understanding the choice of crossing a busy road directly underneath a pedestrian overpass.

Exactly, follow the Thai way of tipping when here not the American way. And when in the states do it their way. Thais don't tip doctors.

Thais above a certain income tip. Ask them. Thais tip doctors for major surgeries and for delivering a child. Ask them.

The only thing that may change in all this is the opinion/impression of the Thai who gave you the service.

I think that's rather the point. The tip helps to improve their financial situation, thus their opinion and impression.

I've been here 26 years and have never had any experience like what you have had! I have to pay 100-200 Baht when I make a traffic mistake, no seatbelt, registration expired, illegal turn, but I am always guilty and am happy to pay the small fine.

Do you live in BKK? Do you frequently travel the expressways? I have driven all over Thailand. I find that I only get tagged in a few places: 1) The expressways of BKK 2) On the highway near Pattaya coming from BKK 3) Near Hua Hin. I never seem to have any problems elsewhere.

The use of anything mind-bending should not be brought up as even as an infitisimal excuse for any crime of one person against another , in fact , it should extend the length of any punishment given .

My sincere condolences to all concerned in this inexcusable crime .

We don't agree on the whole drug issue and society, however, let's not disrupt this particular thread. I know, I started it, and that was callous of me. Let's leave it there.

Sincere condolences to the family and friends of the girl. What a horrible and tragic way to go.

Exactly; we are in thailand. Do as the Thais do.

If thais were in a foreign country we would expect them to do things our way to soem extent. Same here.

I try to emulate Thais in a similar economic situation as I am with my tipping behavior. I have discussed at length this topic with middle and upper middle class Thais I work with, and am friends with. A small gratuity in restaurants, to service people for repairs, doctors for certain procedures, taxis, hair stylists, security, maids, chambermaids, bellhops, etc. etc. are all standard tips given by Thai people in my income bracket. If a foreigner is to emulate the tipping scheme of the working class Thai earning 5-10k then I would assume that the foreigner is earning in that same bracket, or they are just being cheap.

Well of course they are. I just got hit again on the freeway. This time i was doing the speed limit in the left lane. When the lanes branched out into 7 lanes for the turnstiles at the fare booths I continued straight. It was number 4. I was told that because I drive a small pickup truck I need to go to lanes 1 or 2. Patent nonsense. There were pickup trucks and SUVs at all lanes for the fare booths. Didn't have the time to muck around as we were on the way out of town for a holiday. Cost me 500 bt. This happened on the Bang-Na to Chonburi Expressway. This is the 3rd time I've been extorted on that particular stretch. No more. I'll take the BKK-Chonburi motorway in future if I am heading East out of BKK.

With all the dual pricing going on in Thailand I see no reason to tip .

Hmm. Interesting rationalization. It seems to me that the places/situation which you might tip for are not the same places that would overcharge or offer tiered prices.

Influence is of drugs isn't related to this kind of crime IMO. Perhaps a mugging or robbery, but rape and murder of a child? I just don't see the connection. This guy will pay for his crimes.

But I don't recall his being met with thousands of ping-pong bombs, just an angry crowd, this 'Rak CM 51' mob really are an unsavoury bunch ... perhaps any truly-democratic red-shirt leaders might condemn at least their tactics ? Or perhaps not.

Interesting that you mention this. Abhisit himself publicly chastised the PAD for their hounding of Somchai when that situation was in its hey-day. His statement indicated that he believed the PAD hand-clapper nonsense was distasteful, inappropriate, and undemocratic. I've looked high and low for a reference in a newspaper many times since then, but can't find one. I know I read it because at the time it made an impression on me. I didn't know much about Abhisit, so I carefully followed the news and was quite surprised when I read about this condemnation. This was when I first began to respect Abhisit. Not necessarily his party, but him personally.