Doctor Tom

OP; I very strongly suggest that you don't bring any animals here. Thailand is not a nice place for dogs or cats. The ones already here have to put up with a dangerous and unhealthy environment and shortened life spans, but please do not inflict that on your western pets. Yes, I know all too well that it is hard to leave them behind, but you would be doing them a massive disservice to bring them. I've been there, not wanting to leave pets behind, but one of the biggest mistakes I made was to bring a UK cat to this place. She hated it, had a miserable existence and died young. There are so many animals here, cats and dogs, that need and would love a good, loving home, that you could provide.

all very true

Quite right. Vietnam will learn from Thailand's many mistakes, such as better protecting their natural coastline from over development and building much better tourist infrastructure and facilities, but they are many years from doing that yet a while. Their education and health systems are years behind, their heavy and high tech industries are very limited, as is their agriculture.

He thought Not anymore

It is a 'Snakus Thaius submarineus'. It originates in China and there are only 5 in the whole of Thailand. It is quite a useless snake, that just sits there and can't be arsed to go anywhere or do anything.

Growing older does have its compensations. Just sometimes, I can ignore the pretty girl on my sofa in order to watch a good NFL game and not feel at all conflicted.

Only took the OP 5 years, bit slow on the uptake?

Each to his own. My G/F is not my wife, she's not even exclusive, as I have a number 2 version down the road. When Number one is not on-shift at the hospital, her job is to just sit in the house looking pretty, she has few other functions. I was happy to dole out some cash to help her family, but no way would I want to be involved in selling stuff, or have her selling stuff, even if, God forbid, we were married. I'm done 'building stuff' as you put it. As I say, each to his own way of living.

I remember them in 1980, there is nothing new in this.

Couldn't be worse I guess.

That is where Thailand has scored well in these Covid times, against western type societies, where isolation in homes has become a new mental pandemic.

OP; good wine, good food, a soft bed, air conditioning, a lovely compliant woman. a great F1 race ( not often seen I admit) , Tom Brady coming from behind in the forth quarter to win yet another Super Bowl; these are the ingredients of happiness, at least for me. Each to his own.

It may well have been the teacher (me), but not the curriculum. But it was mainly the fault of kids who were being pushed to learn a language in which they obviously had no interest, by pushy Tiger Mums, at a time when they were probably hungry, tired and irritable, and with the attention span of a Nat. I just felt sorry for them, and incidentally for me.

My G/F Number One and I had built a small, basic shop for her parents to operate in their village, cost of construction 60,000 Baht, fridge and shelving, 15,000, stocking 20,000. Upshot is they are now ( still , even in these covid times) self sufficient and no longer having to travel to make a living from food sales, or being supported by their nurse daughter ( my G/F). It is a profitable venture, just, albeit that it can never pay back the initial capital investment. The shop has become, in normal times, quite the meeting place for the local farmers coming off work to sit, drink and chat and school kids buying sweets and drinks. These types of shops are critical to the Thai social scene and its local economies.

The whole 'wonderful' thing about Thailand, is that they manage to dress up everyday corruption, big or small, and sometimes the bigger the better, as normal best practice. Its very, how can I put this, 'immature' is a good word.

Not even that good.

Yes there is, they are condos.

God the very idea. Their real chicken here tastes like reconstituted rat, one that died of starvation, so God only knows what this new concoction tastes like. Luckily I will never know.

Graduates are not kids, not by a long chalk. Kids of any type are a pain to teach , online and Chinese, almost impossible. I tired it for a week and damn near needed therapy afterwards, never again.

sure, sort of and then they ran out of steam and creative thinking

a lot of tarts

The reason to go to Rayong Hospital is that my G/F is a past out patient there, so she will be on their records. That may help.

I have been told the same, but only in respect of a free vaccine. As you and I know all too well, money solves everything here. The Private Hospitals now have a sufficient supply of better vaccines, but they are not advertising the fact, except in BKK. We will be going to Rayong Hospital later this week to check it all out, at source, so I will report back.

same day as me for the second shot, see you there. I will wear a red carnation in my left lapel ????

We are in much the same position as soisanuk. I am getting my shots from BHP as part of the expat process, but my G/F number one is registered in her home house book in another province way up north. She is younger at 37, and no health problems but we have decided that the only real option, apart from getting Sinovac in her home town, is to pay for Pfizer or AZ at BHP or Bangkok Hospital Rayong. .