onzestan

Sounds like the OP is one of these retirees trying to eke out a living on 30k per month.

And may I ask what's wrong with that?

Or should he stay in his home country where he couldn't afford to live a decent life?

onzestan

BoonMe is spot on. Bitter people are bitter people wherever they live. Fixating on the differences in Thailand and your home country and then becoming bitter about the differences sounds absurd.

I can devise a list of negatives about any country to equal any list of negatives about Thailand. If I was a negative person, I would be negative about a Thai list or a home country list.

Happiness is an inside job. Creating a harmonious life includes creating beautiful surroundings, which includes people close to you, anywhere in the world you choose to live. Sure I vent occasionally about irksome events about life, healthy to get it off my chest in private or to love ones.

The use of the word "problem" to describe events in your life is an exercise in judgment, that is, an event is just that unless you label it a problem. A precursor to a negative life.

I choose to have a happy life and whenever something arises that threatens to alter that, I take whatever personal "inside" steps that are necessary to resolve the issue. Example, if money is short, lower your overhead. etc.

Homepro staff are useless only if you have expectations that they should be useful. Failure in expectations is the greatest source of bitterness, IMHO. Raise no expectations and you will not be disappointed or bitter because things don't meet your expectations, since you have none. As I said, it is an inside job.

I couldn't have said it any better

I love Thailand for what it is, not for what it could be or should be in someones opinion.

One of my biggest joy's in Thailand, is being able to smile at someone, and receive a in return.

I refrain from doing this in my home country because I've noticed that people first think I'm an idiot (which maybe I am) or frown at me thinking that I'm some kind of pervert.

There is far to much misery in this world because of negative thinking.

Cheers

Onzestan

Hi,

I've just come across a website that allows you to track down any mobile phone

anywhere in the world.

Check it out :

http://www.sat-gps-locate.com

For the moment it's free. Won't remain free though.

Cheers

onzestan

Unfortunately, I must say that it is far more convenient for foreigners to visit Thailand and do business here than it is for Thais to travel abroad and do business in other countries. It is not easy for the average Thai citizen to get a visa to the United States, Europe or Japan, but we can't complain because nobody is listening to us. Our voice is not loud enough.

Well, we all know that this is idea is uninformed. My Thai wife can hop on a plane to the US, and purchase any house or piece of land that she feels like, as long as she has the cash to do it.

unfortunately my wife that I married more than 17 years ago still has to apply for a visa for Belgium, and I know that all the european countries that signed the Schengen treaty have the same rules.

Furthermore she can stay only a maximum of 6 months a year divided over 2 three-month periods.

It is fairly easy to get the visa and its free since I'm a belgian citizen.

cheers

onzestan

Especially for the political correct on this forum, and especialy for those with the "why bother" attitude.

Please have a look at lady justice :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lady_justice_standing.png

Note that the scale is in balance, meaning that the punishment should fit the crime.

Also note the sword in the right hand to enforce the law by force if necessary.

Law without implementation is worthless.

Onzestan

the heat is bringing out the snakes! just this week in my yard i have found a cobra and a pit viper, and i went in to get something from a box on top of my fridge yesterday and out slithered another snake! luckily it was harmless, no fangs, but a very long, skinny snake with stripes. my friend found a cobra under a pillow on her sofa a few days ago as well. i am checking my entire house a couple of times a day.

p.s. does anyone know of a good snake identification guide online?

try www.siam-info.com

cheers

onzestan

Oh I see, the purpose of these executions is to make victims feel better. I would expect then that you supportes of state-sponsored executions will be equally vocal in your search for closure for those poor victims in Iraq. Maybe all the Iraqis who have lost children and loved ones will feel better when they see those responsible punished.

But wait a second, that's not going to happen. No, usually the people in this world who end up being executed are the weak and powerless who are often victims themselves or mentally defective. Most murder in this world is commited by people who will never be punished.

Nobody has the right to take a life and nobody has the right to ask somebody else to take a life on their behalf.

Life without parole should be enough for even the most serious offenses and prison shouldn't be about the prisoners comfort.

Please don't misquote me. I clearly stated death penalty OR life imprisonment without parole, and if you have followed this thread closely you will have noticed that at least one has admitted that the execution of the murderer of his loved one has brought closure on his trauma.

Don't you dare compare my strong believe in just punishment for criminals, to what is happening in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Africa etc.

Anyway enough said you're not worth my time.

Onzestan

November Rain,

Sorry about my outburst. I guess I'm just to emotional on this subject

Cheers

Onzestan

I think most of us against the death penalty are against it more because of the risk of putting to death an innocent person, rather than from a wish to pamper the criminals. Let me ask you a question. How do you think the victims' families & loved ones would feel if they found out some time later that the wrong person had been put to death & the criminal who harmed/killed their loved one was still free? Wouldn't that be even more trauma for them to experience?

No I don't think so, in fact I'm pretty sure about that. I know that once the criminal was behind bars for the rest of his natural life, and/or executed an enormous emotional weight falls of their shoulders.

I beg you to consider that the number of people wrongly jailed or executed is very very low indeed and the number of victims that NEVER get the satisfaction of the wrongdoers getting an appropriate sentence is enormous. Anyway the emotional baggage that some victims or their loved ones have to carry is for the rest of their lives.

Enough said, I can go on forever on this subject, maybe just because I had a niece of mine (8 years) raped and killed, the guy in question serving a sentence of 20 years, of which he might actually serve 8 or 9.

If I had children I wouldn't want this guy to come and live in my street or village. Forgive and forget, forget it.

Cheers

What I'm noticing in this thread is that not one of you mentions the satisfaction the death penalty brings to close relatives of the victims.

This is exactly what is wrong with threads like this. Too much consideration towards the criminals that KNOWINGLY committed a crime. The victims did not have any choice whatsoever.

I'm not bloodthirsty, in fact I'm a bit of a pussy, but I strongly support the death penalty, or life long imprisonment without possibility of getting out ever again, because I believe that to many people have been victims of criminals released from prison to start all over again.

Ask any parent of a molested child what they think of the politically oh so correct that let known pederasts, murderers etc. back into society. Not forgetting that the financially better of, have acces to better lawyers

who exploit the loopholes in the law to their maximum.

Stop pampering the criminals and please show some consideration for the victims of any crime.

Onzestan

Well said well said, I was suicidal for a year after my first love was murdered, and I needed therapy for 2 years.... Her family will never be the same and we are just 1 set of victims! he killed 5 other pepole!!! The only way criminals like this need to be pampered is with depends to make clean up easy after they peel him off the chair!

Sorry to hear about that, hope your over it now.

Cheers

onzestan

What I'm noticing in this thread is that not one of you mentions the satisfaction the death penalty brings to close relatives of the victims.

This is exactly what is wrong with threads like this. Too much consideration towards the criminals that KNOWINGLY committed a crime. The victims did not have any choice whatsoever.

I'm not bloodthirsty, in fact I'm a bit of a pussy, but I strongly support the death penalty, or life long imprisonment without possibility of getting out ever again, because I believe that to many people have been victims of criminals released from prison to start all over again.

Ask any parent of a molested child what they think of the politically oh so correct that let known pederasts, murderers etc. back into society. Not forgetting that the financially better of, have acces to better lawyers

who exploit the loopholes in the law to their maximum.

Stop pampering the criminals and please show some consideration for the victims of any crime.

Onzestan

how long is a piece of string?

= the only appropriate answer.

and what about this one :

"How Long" is a chinese.

JR Texas: I have lived in Thailand, on and off, for over 20 years.

I think people (many on this forum) have grossly underestimated the negative impact resulting from changes to the visa and business rules and regulations....especially over the past two years.

Many of my friends...good people that loved Thailand....left about 2 years ago...others more recently. Some uprooted their entire businesses and moved to places they thought were more expat/business friendly. Others are wanting to leave........but are not sure where to go next.

The idea that the rules/regulations are only affecting "poor quality fake tourists" is naive. The idea that they were only designed to address crime is also naive. The message they have sent is clear: We do not want you here. This is good for places like Vietnam, the Philippines, and China, and probably even Cambodia.

Expats and business entrepreneurs like stability......they want to feel welcome. They don't like being jerked around and treated like garbage. They don't like rule changes in the middle of the game.

There are other factors at work: too many working age people, too few quality jobs, horrendous educational system, rising tide of xenophobia, deteriorating environment, lack of press freedom, extreme economic inequality between those that own virtually everything (1%) and those that own virtually nothing (99 %), and the failure of globalization to improve the quality of life for the majority.....this is true in Thailand and elsewhere.

Its crunch time............ouch! I hope Thailand finds a solution soon.

I think you are right on the button, as far as expats and entrepreneurs are concerned.

It surprises me that nobody on this forum hinted at the bomb scare in Bangkok, the continued violence in the southern provinces. I strongly believe that tourists are consciously staying away from tourist destinations where even the slightest possibility of a terrorist attack exists, racial or religious violence, plus the fact that traveling by airplane is not the fun anymore it used to be. Heightened security regulations (unfortunately necessary) bordering on the ridiculous do put a damper on the "going for a holiday" feeling.

This combined with the fact that Thailand IS changing as many of the regulars on this forum have pointed out in other treads makes me believe that the future of the tourist industry is looking a bit bleak for the moment.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong on this one.

Onzestan

I have always noticed that thai-visa has more than its fair share of book critics.

As i always ask, those that are continuously critical "Now, let's see what you can do"

Of course, they cant write to save their lives and so with a chip on their shoulder they get off on lambasting writers. I believe that a lot of the time, that its just simply envy. Another author i know, Dean Barrett, also got flamed by a couple of guys over at mangosauce a couple of months ago. You dont need to ask who won at the end of the day though....

Ive written a review for Thai Girl and found it to be decent enough. There is so much literal crap on the book shelves about ladies of the night, that i found a book about a 'proper' Thai girl to be rather refreshing. Andrew has a lotta insight about the mentality of the 'proper' Thai girl and her dating ways. Makes a change to reading novels about easy-lays with hookers.

I'm sorry I beg to differ.

Book critics are not able to write books themselves, but they do make a living criticizing.

I don't care what critics write or say about a book I judge the books myself on my personal

likes and dislikes. (which is what the critics also do).

Cheers

onzestan

Very good read. Kudos to the author

Here, here

Onzestan

My personal list (not complete), the differences more often than not, depending on my mood.

Like : The Thai people

Dislike : Some of the Thai People

Like : The weather

Dislike : It’s either to hot or it’s raining.

Like : Good restaurants

Dislike : Most good restaurants are expensive

Like : The Baht busses being cheap transport

Dislike : The fact that I have to pay more than my Thai wife (but then again I

weigh twice as much as she)

Like : Going to the movies is cheap and the popcorn is good.

Dislike : The airco in the movie theaters is far to cold.

Like : Farang friends

Dislike : Loudmouthed bad behaving Farangs that think they own the place.

Like : Being treated respectfully.

Dislike : Staff following me around when I’m prospecting to buy something.

Like : Being able to have a conversation in my limited Thai with Thai people.

Dislike : When I ask a question to a Thai person in Thai, they reply in Thai to my

wife as if I’m not there.

Like : People that act responsibly with their finances.

Dislike : cheap charlies

Like : Suvarnabhumi airport.

Dislike : Suvarnabhumi airport’s color scheme

Are some of you on the same wavelength or completely different?

Cheers

Onzestan (our Stan in dutch – that’s what my family called me when talking about me, which happened a lot – so I was told)

Hi,

i've already put a post on here but now i'm well pis$ off as two more freinds have just come BKK and been charged 700 baht from the new airport to Sukumvit 97, i told my mate what to say but he said after being on his long flight he could not be bothered to argue which i totally understand, to answer the topic title this gives them a very BAD name. The going rate is 50 baht airport charge then around 300 to sukumvit taking bangna road, thus making it 350 baht!!! Why do they rip of jet lagged farang???

Chris.

Maybe because, as you state yourself, they know that some passengers couldn't be bothered after a long flight. If your friends had followed your advice you would have nothing to complain about.

So who is at fault here?

In any tourist country visitors WILL get ripped of. In my home country I can by a postcard of our cathedral at Euro 0,25 at any supermarket and the tourist pay 4 to 5 times more at the souvenir shop next to the cathedral. The locals just don't buy there and shrug their shoulders. It's common practice.

Same here in Thailand, I don't buy sunglasses from hawkers on the beach but from Luk Dod where the

hawkers buy them also.

And let's not forget that a lot of farangs hanging around here, do rip of other farangs also, and then not for a couple of hundred bahts, but thousands.

And thank god the airport tax is now included in the price of a ticket. How many of you have been approched by farangs that didn't know they had to pay the 500 baht and didn't have them and dear me they were going to loose their flight.

Cheers

Onzestan

And now we can complain about taxi touts at 2 (two) airports. Double jeopardy !!!

Cheers

Thanks to all you Guys and Girls,

Very informing indeed.

Seems I will fly, don't know yet if via PP or straight to SR.

Thanks again

Cheers

Onzestan

just a quick example that misleading information does happen outside of Thailand also.

Brussels has 3 airports.

One is called Brussels National (Brussel Nationaal) just outside Brussels

One is called Brussels South (Not in Brussels but in Charleroi (40 Km away))

One is called Brussels North (Not in Brussels but in Antwerp (ca 50 Km away))

Cheers

onzestan

Please post this in the thread complaining about Thai people instead of starting an entirely new negative thread. I think we have enough of these already.

The old adage about "no smoke without a fire" comes to mind. Could it be there are so many negative threads because a lot of people have a lot of negative experiences?

I don't think so.

When I'm here in Los for an extended period of time, the small annoyances seem to get to me and add up.

Then when I go back to my home country, after three days I get homesick for Thailand.

That said, I live near Pattaya, in the 17 years that I live here, I have never been robbed, beaten and/or brutalised in any way.Very rarely I feel cheated, and then only because I blame myself for not being more careful. In my home town of Antwerp Belgium there are neighborhoods where I wouldn't take a walk after sundown for any amount of money, and where even the police is afraid to go only when in large numbers. And for the police turning a blind eye, they also turn the blind eye to a lot of misdeeds and outright scandelous behavior of many farangs

cheers

onzestan

Unfortunately I can write books about hospitals in and around Pattaya.

So one very small example here.

I have a heart condition that requires me to take blood-expanders daily, so I always tell the doctors, nurses, dentists etc. before any intervention that could provoke blood flow.

I needed a wart removed from my scalp, and went to Bangkok Pattaya hospital. but googled first

i.o to be informed. Anyway I decided that I would go with the flow and see what they came up with.

To make a long story short, they advised me to take a very expensive laser treatment that needed

3 upto 4 repetitions. Total cost abt 30.000 baht.

I went to Queen Sirikit Naval Hospital in Sattahip, were they removed the wart, root and all, with scalpel, and then burned the small wound to stop bleeding. Total cost 350 Baht.

Cheers

Onzestan

Lived in Asia many years, and am used to squat toilets.

However, what still is a mystery is how Thai people can do their duty, use the water spray to clean up (with no toilet paper or towels) and then exit the facilities without water running down their legs or a wet spot on their trousers.

What's the secret?

Sorry Jet Gogon but I couldn't resist myself.

I think its Pampers. Cheers

No more seriously, I think they all carry toiletpaper in their pockets, bag etc.

At least my wife does

Cheers again

Onzestan

Hiya,

I was wondering if it's possibly to rent a place for two weeks. For instance, if I see an add for a place @ 20,000 a month, will they usually accept two weeks @ 10,000? Any links would be appreciated. I'm looking at ChagMai area.

Hi there,

This is indeed a question president bush would ask.

2 weeks rentals are never half of the one month price. Add about 10 to 20 percent.

Cheers

Onzestan

When I lived out in the boonies, everyone in the neighborhood would come by and stroke the baby's weenies when they got a stiffy - men and women. Everyone just laughed including the boy's family.

What's that about?

I've seen it too, so it isn't that strange. In fact, I believe it is fairly common. Only done to boys tho.

sorry I couldn't resist myself :

It's pretty difficult for a girl to get a stiffy don't you think ?????

Cheers

Onzestan