parallaxtech

Correct. I am a retired physician in Koh Samui and met with directors of all the private hospitals here. My offer as a volunteer or advisor was politely declined. As one doctor put it" Sir, even if you had won the Nobel Prize you would not be welcome here." I have been studying Thai (speaking, reading, and writing) in hopes of taking the licensing exam, but even if I passed it, I would most likely have to open my own clinic. The last thing a Thai doctor wants is to lose face to a farang. Also, Thai administrators are worried that the western doctor might publish information about the hospital once he/she returns to their country.

Go to any Tesco and stand by the oranges. You will see entire families of Thais eat hundreds of baht worth of fruit. Is that shoplifting? Guess you would have to pump their stomachs to get the evidence even though there are security cameras everywhere. I still remember the advice given to me four years ago when I arrived here, "Thais have to follow twenty percent of the law; whereas farangs must follow one hundred twenty percent." In other words, would a Thai couple have received the same sentence?

Millions of lovely Thai women support their families not by prostituting themselves but by working in banks, hospitals, shops, construction sites, and sometimes taking second jobs sweeping the floors at restaurants, etc. They have my utmost respect. Prostitutes, on the other hand, have destroyed countless lives, not by taking 1,000B, but by stealing from customers, deceiving them into sending money from overseas, and even having customers killed. Each time I hear someone defending prostitution, it's usually because they were unfortunate enough to marry one. It's true that we are all God's or Buddha's creatures, but respect and admiration is something else. And all criminals use the same excuse (supporting the family). As we used to say in the correction business, "There is no excuse for crime." Try to remember one thing before choosing one of these creatures as a mate: Your partner is a reflection on you and shows what you think about yourself. If I meet a guy with a girlfriend/wife who is obviously an Olympic Pole Swinger, that tells me all I need to know about him. When you see a lovely, well-mannered, moralistic Thai woman, you can pretty much be assured that the mate is at least confident about himself and has enough respect for himself to choose a proper partner.

So, keep supporting prostitutes and other dregs of society. You can also go to http://www.thaiprisonlife.com where they also need your admiration and money.

Please, let's not play that broken record again about how these poor prostitutes were forced into this life and only pursued this career to support their families. What about the millions of honest Thai women who are supporting their families by working two decent jobs? You demean them each time you make that comment. I worked as a prison physician for many years and can tell you that every criminal states that they were only trying to support their family. It sounds much better than they were greedy, lazy, and supporting a drug habit. Prostitutes are criminals in Thailand and most other countries, pure and simple, and this Aussie is also now a criminal. Prostitution in Australia is legal except in Western and Southern Australia. They were lucky to be in an area where there are legal brothels; otherwise, they might be serving a sentence alongside him.

Any of you who have big money in Thai banks should consult with a financial adviser. I talked with many money types, some with 100MTHB accounts, and they are doing the following: changing their accounts into US$ accounts or changing their baht into dollars and storing them in a safety deposit box. The THB has lost twenty percent of it's value against the US$ in the last few months and will continue to lose into 2009 -- some predict 40THB/$ before the new year and possibly 50-80THB/$ in 2009. If it reaches that level you can deposit your $ and make a nice profit.

Another factor to consider is the US is Thailand's largest customer and, guess what, the US has stopped importing most Thai goods.

It will be a very bad twelve months plus for the Thais, but it doesn't have to be a financial disaster for us!

Sorry, no 12-yr-old virgins in Thailand -- maybe an ugly 5-yr-old. Seriously, ask any psychologist and they will tell you that a paedophile is similar to a homosexual in that they have a genetic predisposition. In other words you would have the same success changing a paedophile as you would telling a homo that they must be hetero. The second problem is that prostitution is the largest illegal business in Thailand along with drugs. I am approached weekly by minor children, some even knocking on my door at night, and then there are the mothers attempting to drop their daughters off at my house. Since I am a single, wealthy man iliving in Thailand, they see me as a cash cow. So far I have resisted any temptation only because I fear going to jail. Let's be honest, though, how many single males would turn down a gorgeous 17-yr-old coming to their hotel room at night??? I've done it, but how long I can continue to do it is difficult to answer. Get over the notion that innocent young girls are being tricked by seedy old farangs. There are a few cases of this, and the farang should be caught, however, the bulk of it is underage prostitutes plying their wares. You can arrest the farang, but they will just approach the next one.

Have a feeling something went wrong with the poll creation? Anyway, for me the last two options both apply; she has a job and we share all income and expenses. It's really refreshing to have a partner who is as sensible with money as I am, likely more sensible even. (Like, I know little about investing on the stockmarket)

Correct. make sure your partner has a good job (at least 7,000B/month) and you can cover rent and food if you like. My girlfriend cleans my house thoroughly and does the gardening, so I pay her the same wage that I would pay a maid or gardener (about 60B/hr). Of course if your partner is pregnant and not working you will need to cover everything. These guys giving the girls 10,20,30K/month are better off hanging out at the bars, as that's what they already have -- a bar woman!

Right on the money! Bar girls, prostitutes, sewer rats, whatever you refer to them as, are not representative of the hard-working decent Thai women. However, it is difficult/impossible for a farang on holiday for one week who spends most of his time in a pub, to have a chance at one of these. BG are the McDonalds or Hertz women - quick and convenient. Just be mindful of the aftereffects or like a rental car, drive and forget. By the way I have lived on Koh Samui for years and don't acknowledge bar girls. I date a lovely young Thai girl who is a chef and never asks me for money. For farangs looking for regular Thai women, watch the Thai men who laugh at farangs for paying money, some of them beat their girlfriends, most of them cheat, and very few make a living wage, but the women love them to death. As they say, if a Thai woman loves you she will never ask for money. So take the simple test to see if you have a decent one and don't offer her any cash. For those on holiday, it's cheaper than what you would get back home, plus it smiles and says thank-you for a job well done or even not done. Just remember you are fishing in the sewer, so catch and release.

I have worked/lived in thirty countries, including the US for twenty years, and now live on Koh Samui. Having enough money to be just about anywhere, I chose Thailand because it matched my criteria of essentials: 1, Available Young Friendly Women 2. Lovely Ocean and Beaches 3. Low Cost of Living 4. Kind People. I challenge anyone to identify a place that is a better match for that list. What is important is to come up with your own requirements and make sure you are in the ideal location. Of course if you don't have the finances than your mobility will be liimited. I saved/invested for ten years to make sure I could escape from America. Most of my friends either have or wish they could. I put in my will that I don't even want my ashes returned to the US, so good luck in the country that gave me many things in the beginning, but only left me with misery and frustration in the end.

Is this detector still available?

Barry in Koh Samui

0833920060

barry @netrus.net

.

I have a Fisher 1280-x underwater MD hardly used. http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/1280X.htm

PM me if you are intersted.

MM [/size]

Could I hear from any physicians living in Thailand who have taken the exam for a license or are practicing with a non-Thai organization; e.g., Red Cross? I am a physician and offered my services at no charge in any capacity (basically to assist the medical staff). All hospitals declined my offers. I was told unofficially that Farang doctors are not welcome at any Thai medical facility with or without a license.