ZigM

All I can suggest to you is to read my comment and not misinterpret, read into them and make unfounded claims. Don't put words in my mouth and don't insult me. Grow up and take your nappies off.

Thank you for the reactions to my post. I'd like to thank those who are in favour of abolishing dual-pricing in Thailand. The Thai government should introduce a law banning it immediately. Discrimination and racism are well defined internationally. I'm not going to educate why some countries have banned dual-pricing and discrimination altogether, but the more progressive countries have embraced equality for good reason. To defend dual-pricing is just as twisted as defending slavery provided it is better regulated. Slavery is slavery and discrimination is discrimination. There are no grey areas. Some commentators have provided their uninformed opinions that because foreigners are "wealthy", that dual pricing is totally acceptable and not a big deal. A storm in a tea cup, so to speak. Some commentators wanted to know how this affected foreigners. OK, this is how it affects me: When my Thai wife and I wanted to renovate our house, she told me to come to Thailand after she negotiated a fixed fee with the builder. Half way through the renovations, I arrived to inspect the work. The Thai builder was extremely upset and complained that had he known that she was married to a "farang", that he would have charged triple the price. He wanted to renegotiate. So, instead of the agreed 800,000 baht, he would have charged us 2.4 million. How is that fair? How can that be legal? But based on some comments, some of you think it's OK. Another example: when I wanted to buy a money bag at a market in Bangkok for the advertised 450 baht, the sales person asked for 800 baht. When I pointed to the price tag of 450 baht, he said: "For you...800 baht!". Just as he said that, my wife walked up behind me and told me not to buy the bag. After a brief exchange of words, the sales person offered the bag to my wife for the advertised 450 baht. He made it clear that he was selling it to my wife only but not to me (the farang). If commentators still feel that this conduct is acceptable they should get their heads examined. Racial profiling should be illegal. It is illegal in most western countries for good reason. To manipulate the price based on racial profiling is wrong. I shouldn't have to re-prosecute that racial profiling, discrimination and racism is wrong. Another example: when I recently called to book a hotel room, I was expecting the advertised special offer of 1,400 baht per night. But when I asked the hotel to confirm the price, I heard a man whisper to the receptionist upon which she said: "We have a special offer for you of 2,400 baht just for tonight". How is that 'special' after slapping 1,000 baht on top of the advertised special offer just because I'm a 'farang'. Yes, that even infuriated my wife. We booked elsewhere. The same when I inquired about a bus tour earlier this year into a neighbouring country. When I called, it was 46,000 baht or more. When my wife called, it was only 34,000 baht. The excuse was that they'd get me the visa into the neighbouring country. However, I still had to line-up and get the visa myself. Don't Thais also have to go through border checks? I also don't like people referring to me as a farang. I don't call Thais Asians. When I travelled with my wife with the above mentioned tour operator, the bus driver never addressed me directly but told my wife to: 'Tell the farang to do this...', 'Tell the farang to do that...' I therefore complained to the tour operator who agreed that the driver must address me directly and use my name as I am listed on the tour papers. The driver's behavior was rude, inconsiderate and it was racist because the way I was treated was based on my heritage and looks. Here's another example: when a friend of mine was dating a Thai woman, a wealthy and drunk Thai person ran over and killed the woman's 20-year old daughter. Although there were numerous witnesses, the police did nothing. When my 'farang' friend accompanied the grieving mother to the police station, he was instructed to wait outside. When the grieving mother re-appeared, she said that the police wanted her 'farang boyfriend' to pay $6,000 for them to re-examine the case. Is this normal? Is this Thai standard? Dual pricing for what? For the police to do their job? I have dozens and dozens of examples spanning more than 20 years where racial profiling, gossip and making assumptions is still acceptable in this country. I have many Thai acquaintances living across the globe. None of them want to return to Thailand except to visit family. As one of them recently said: "I'd rather be a poor person in Australia than a wealthy person in Thailand". I know this must be difficult for some to grasp, and people with twisted views will want to try to ridicule my experiences but I don't care who you are, where you are from or what your wealth is. In my book, as per the Human Rights Charter, we are all equal. Period.

I've read some of the responses here. Some are intelligent but some are very ignorant. In most western countries, dual-pricing based on race, looks or physical attributes, is considered discrimination at best and racism at worst. When I used to complain to my Thai wife why we had to get separated and I go through the 'farang' line and pay more, she'd say: "That's just how it is!" and "Stop complaining!". She thought that I was complaining over nothing. One day, when we went to visit a popular site in Bangkok, I lined up in the 'farang' line and my then wife and our 9-year-old son lined up in the Asian-looking line. A guy in uniform spotted my not-so Asian-looking son and instructed him to go to the 'farang' line. As my son walked over to me, my wife sprung into action and screamed at the guy in uniform that our son was Thai. In the same breath, she yelled at my son to get back in the Thai line. My son looked at me confused but walked back over to his mother after I nodded that it was alright. The guy in uniform crept away, never to be heard from again. I have a few take-aways here: my son, albeit of mixed heritage, is a Thai national. In fact, he has three nationalities. The guy in uniform did discrimatory racial profiling instead of asking for proof of citizenship. Even a 9-year-old 'farang' would need a passport to enter Thailand, right? Thais want me to accept when they are racist but fly off the handle when they themselves experience such. And finally, if it looks like racism, it probably is racism. I'm sick to death of hearing excuses from Thais and non-Thais alike who justify dual-pricing because 'farangs' are allegedly wealthy, or, 'farangs' don't pay taxes, or, that's just how it is. Thailand is being left behind. My two Thai children (who are now adults and have three nationalities each) prefer not to have anything to do with Thailand. They live and work in their chosen country because, as they say, Thailand is a backward country and does not meet 21st Century expectations.

Do you realize that the age of the thread is irrelevant because the topic is still relevant?

I'm married to my second Thai wife. Thais lie as little or as much as any non-Thai and they don't necessarily lie to you to keep you from harm but it is to save their own little faces. My wife just celebrated a retirement event that was, according to her, only for teachers and public officials. I was strongly discouraged to go. So I agreed to stay home. However, an hour before the event, her daughter rocked up to accompany her. Her daughter travelled 600 km to be at her side. I felt, and still feel, humiliated and upset. I feel sidelined, dumped and fobbed-off. I'm hurt. Because her earlier lies were inconsistent with her daughter suddenly accompanying her, my wife told me that before her daughter got married, she was an officer, and because of that, she could attend. So what? I was a public servant for 18 years before retiring this year. When I called to ask whether I could come anyway, my wife ahhmed and ahhed and sid 'yes' at first. But instead of sending me her location, she sent me a few photos instead. After the event, she sent me her location but she had already left the venue. Her new excuse was that there was no one to look after me, although when I got there, I was greeted by a few of her colleagues. I don't categorize lies into 'white' lies or 'small' or 'big' lies. A lie is a lie. Deceit is deceit whichever way you see it. I've caught both of my wives lying to me to save their necks and for no other reason. Of course, if there were a life and death situation, and one had to lie their way out of it, then that's OK. But as her husband, I deserve respect, the truth and not excuses, lies or deceit. As a peace offering, she said that I could come to her private party at her school where her students will say good-bye. I find it inadequate as the damage has already been done. She's lied to me before. She has no come back. I can never trust her again. And for all those who defend the lies as being part of krungjai, krungjai calls for diffusing situations and not lying to get out of them. Otherwise, krungjai is a self-serving cultural excuse.

Unfortunately, most commentators either don't know the history of the conflict or they just don't care and they merely regurgitate commonly used talking points created by biased parties. If anyone cares to learn about the conflict, not from Netanyahu or the Israel lobby, but from reputable and independent sources, they would know that Israel is currently the occupier of the land and has been brutally subjugating Palestinians since Israel was created by the UN over 70 years ago. Israel is an apartheid state. However, Palestinians were already massacred by Zionist militia over 100 years ago when the area was a protectorate of Great Britain (GB). GB could not control the private Zionist militia then so that they pulled out. Similar to India. I'll stop here. Palestinians weren't the aggressor. They are merely fighting for what was taken from them by radical Jews (Zionists) and by the UN who had no authority over the area. Palestinians never ceded any authority to the UN to make decisions on their behalf, and the term Palestine was popularized by GB because they needed a name on a map 100+ years ago. Whether or not "Palestine" had a democratically elected government 70 or 100 years ago is irrelevant as what Israel is doing, and has been doing, is criminal. There's even an arrest warrant out for Netanyahu. Now go and educate yourselves.

I'm a wee bit late and don't have a luthier for you. Sorry. I just wanted to make the point that even in Germany and Australia, most luthiers are s**t. I worked in the music industry for 25 years and the level of ignorance by many guitar experts never ceased to surprise me. In most of my jobs, the store or wholesaler I worked for used primarily one luthier in all of Victoria, Australia because most luthiers were s**t. They are often failed and disgruntled musicians. Guitars were therefore shipped to another city or the guy came every few weeks in a van to collect and drop-off guitars. Even he couldn't find trainees to train them so that eventually, he was overcome by so much work that his repairs were also substandard and s**t. Our in-house guy was alright but damaged my fretboard when he offered a free fret levelling (he was almost blind too). So, I do emphasise with you regarding your bad eye sight. However, this prompted me to learn basic guitar setup, repairs and all that stuff myself. I'm telling you now that your experience in Chiang Mai will probably be the same or similar all over Thailand. If you find a really good all-round luthier, please let me know. However, even the best luthiers can stuff up, and while a 'farang' luthier might be honest about it and rectify mistakes, a Thai luthier will most likely fob you off with a smile. In German, it's called 'Verarschung'. In English, 'take the piss out of you' or 'gaslight you'. I like the German version better as it says more and is more precise in a single word which combines the words "to-play-with-your-ass" and "making-fun-of-you ". As we are all human, regardless of nationality, there are some good music stores here but I never needed a repair of a cracked Gibson as I don't own them for that very reason. Good luck.

The wish to think critically is there but Thais are taught to shut up and put up. To justify their lack of critical thinking and as not to challenge authorities, Thais have surrounded themselves with etiquette, rules, ways of thinking and slogans to signal that someone is going too far, for example: "You think too much". My wife says that all the time to me as well as: "Stop going back to the past". I recently told her that I am who I am because of my past and because I have analysed my past and my mistakes so that I don't make them again. After a lengthy debate, she broke down in tears and told me that for over a decade, she had tried to forget what her ex husband did to her. More recently, he has illegally rented out her secondary property and house to strangers without her consent. However, she will not challenge him or take any action because she wants to move forward. Yes, if you can't change a situation, moving forward is a great strategy, but she is still paying off his debt from over a decade ago because she did not open her mouth when they got divorced and now he's making money off of her land that does not belong to him. I love my wife. She's a hard working and honest Thai. But she's been conditioned like most Thais (but not all) to look the other way. Many cultures have similar but not quite as invasive thinking. For example, when my mean brother stole, hid or broke my toys, and I wanted to hit him, my mother would say to me in German: "Der Kluegere gibt nach" [Engl. the intelligent person gives in]. I actually lived almost half my life with that thinking controlling my actions until I decided in my late twenties to throw off the shackles that my German mother had imposed upon me. If someone abuses me, why should I look the other way? The bible also regurgitates similar crap about presenting the other cheek. That just gives a-holes like my brother and my wife's ex-husband reason to continue the abuse. I remember my brother grinning every time my mother let loose that phrase because it was a ticket for him to continue the abuse. I wished my wife would listen, or read, this story. So, there's nothing magical, serene or wonderful about Thais. They are human beings with the same frailties and societal issues as any other culture. My step children are definitely not traditional Thai, and my two biological Thai children from a previous marriage, want nothing to do with Thailand as they have sampled other more advanced societies where self-imposed ignorance is no longer seen as good. I am sure Thais will wake up one day.

Sorry, I'm a bit late to this topic. In 2014, my then wife wanted to gut our Thai holiday home and renovate it as it was vandalised. She flew to Thailand 6 weeks before I did to look for a qualified builder. I let her do the talking because she's Thai - I'm not. Also, I knew that if the builder saw me, a 'farang', the price would quadruple. My then wife engaged a family consisting of an old dude who walked around in undies and had no shirt, his senior wife and young son. Let's skip to the meat: they convinced my wife to destroy the beautiful parquetry and replace it with tiles. OK, that was her wish except that they did not use tile glue. They used ordinary cement to hold the tiles in place temporarily and then flushed the leftover cement down the toilet which destroyed the septic system. They also convinced my then wife to replace the wooden windows with PVC ones. OK, that was her wish but they inserted the windows crooked and at an angle. When they placed cement around the window frames, they cemented over the window frames. They had never heard of a water level before. Instead, they used a transparent hose filled with water to pretend that the windows were level when they were clearly not. Then they replaced the electricals but with the wrong gauge wire and fuses, and finally, the paint that I bought to paint the interior and exterior went missing. When my wife inquired, they told her that they had borrowed the paint for another job. All my expat friends have similar stories. For example Stan, who gave $100,000 to his then wife to build a house in Thailand. Naturally, she engaged her all-knowing, lay person brother. When the brother started laying the foundations in the middle of a former rice field, Stan suggested he move the house's foundation up the hill for obvious reasons (flooding). The brother apparently stormed to his sister threatening that if the farang told him again what to do, that he'd walk off of the job. Six months later, Stan showed me photos of his wife standing in front of their new house up to her hips in water. I have since remarried. I also bought a house which needs some work. Although I have verbally agreed on the process before work can commence, which is at least a week or two away, I was copied into photos of work that commenced today although there is no final agreed scope of work to be done, no contract and no sign-off by me. Seriously, I've had it with illogical Thais who say one thing but do another. There's always an excuse - always.

When talking to a qualified Thai architect about building a car port, I asked why Thais like to tile their driveways. She said that the tiles hide the concrete cracks. When I suggested constructing my driveway with rebar, expansion foam and crack joints, she just shook her head and walked off.

You should see and feel the inside!

Never heard of any Thai person doing that. May I perhaps suggest buying a functioning air conditioner?

The BYD Sealion 7 dropped by 150,000 baht a few days before we picked ours up. It was 1.4 million baht. We got the discount. Now it might be 1.2 million baht - not sure. As with all things, prices will drop. So did Tesla. TVs, guitars, white goods, they are all getting cheaper.

I'm an owner of a BYD Sealion 7 AWD (SL7). I've done around 3,000km in it, that is, my wife actually does most of the driving. I started looking at EVs almost 5 years ago, and the brand that keeps on coming up as the winner is BYD. For a while, some misinformed friends strongly recommended a hybrid vehicle (petrol and electric), but they practically all suck, mainly because the electric range in hybrids is between 90 and 180 km depending on the brand. Why buy a stinker ICE if you want to go 100% green? It makes no sense going 50-50. I'll be installing a 15kW solar system on my roof shortly which will give me free travel forever. I did look at (and sat in) a Haval H6 PHEV and a BYD S6 and a few others, but in terms of quality, features, luxury and comfort, the SL7 s**ts all over the competition. Thailand has over 3,000 charging stations. Yes, you need an app to charge, but many apps are in English, and depending on where you live, you might need to book a station. My wife and her son, who's a mechanic, wanted me to buy a crappy and overpriced Toyota hybrid until I put my foot down and said I'm going all electric. The LFP battery likes being charged to 100%. I get around 500km + out of it. In a few years when batteries have a 2,000km or 3,000 km range, I'll swap it out. So far, I've had zero problems with the car except for the BYD dealer who was racist until I jumped up and down and made them look at me. They are still having problems issuing a passcode to access BYD Auto app remotely. Also, BYD's after sales service and warranty is pathetic. During an unauthorised installation of window film to the sky roof, they damaged the retractable soft cloth. The dealer and BYD can't get their act together and decide who will repair it. While this sounds distressing, and it is, similar issues happen with any Thai car dealership or car brand. I blame the dealer for not properly disclosing the damage to BYD because they don't want to lose face. Other than that, the car is a dream to drive. It is very comfortable, very safe, it handles well and despite the 2.4 tonnes weight, my average consumption is only around 18 kW/100 km. If you want better consumption, go for a go-go mobile sized mini car. They might only consume 14kW/100 km. With solar panels, I'll rarely be using public charging stations.

Most of the responses here are spot-on. I don't think there's any point in trying to identify the many root causes of ignorance, arrogance or the blasé approach to wisdom, knowledge, logic and the poor communication skills that Thais accept. They are raised to be like that. Nothing that you nor I might do will change that.

That's what I came to realise too around 2006. I am NOBODY here. No one gives a stuff what I think or how 'farangs' drive. I have a Korean, German and Australian drivers license, and most states have issued me a DL too when moving interstate. But Thais get offended if a 'farang' gives well meant advice. Thais don't want to know how others might do things better. My wife freaked out recently when I drove our brand new car. She said: "Drive safely!". After slapping me for no reason, I pointed out that she drives in the middle of the road (the two lanes), very rarely uses her indicator, overtakes on the left in the emergency stopping lane, does a right turn whereby oncoming cars have to brake hard to avoid a collision, exceeds the speed limit and harasses cars in the right land by driving really close behind them for them to move to the left so that she can overtake. Yep, I've heard and seen it all, including a video how my niece's father's brain was scooped up by ambulance workers onto what looked liked fish-n-chip paper because his head cracked wide open when his head hit the asphalt after being hit by a truck. It was on the news. I still have the video somewhere. The news crew did not blur the video. The gruesome details are there to see: brain lying next to head. At least he had a quick death. So, I'm kind-of jaded by being the funny, nice 'farang' who knows better than 71,801,279 Thais. I know nothing. It's their life, their risk, they own it all. But since Thailand doesn't even have a physical copy of road rules, what exactly do you want to educate them on?

Correct, the so-called Schuko plugs can be reversed. This is crucial because some older equipment hums (Brummschleife) which can sometimes be cancelled-out by unplugging and turning the plug 180 degrees thereby switching L with N. .

Some 20 years ago, a friend of mine's 20 year-old daughter was killed by a wealthy but drunk motorist. When the mother went to the police with witnesses, she was told that her 'farang' boyfriend had to cough up 6,000 baht for them to investigate. After paying the money, they let a week go by and eventually told her that no charges would be laid, unless of course, the 'farang' boyfriend is prepared to pay another 10,000 baht. Yep, that's the reality here. My wife is concerned when I'm alone at home. She doesn't want me to walk outside on my own. That says it all.

When I first visited Thailand in 2006, I hired a Toyota with a tray. My wife overloaded and squeezed her family, and much more, into and onto the vehicle. As a proper and fit person, I objected to this dangerous practice. Naturally, they all thought I was an id*ot. "What's wrong with him?", I was told. To keep the peace, I eventually allowed it. I drove in Bangkok and down to Hua Hin with people loaded in the back of the truck. D*mb scooters would swerve in front of me without looking or indicating. People did not seem to follow any road rules. When I drove at the sign-posted speed, I got angry looks from every one as cars raced past me. My wife yelled at me: "Drive faster!". When I stopped at a pedestrian crossing, everyone, even the pedestrians who were waiting to cross, looked at me as if I was a fool. When we drove along the beach, my wife shouted: "Slow down!". First I thought there was an emergency, but when I slowed down, she wound down the window and threw out rubbish. It is very sad that pedestrians die because of ignorance and the way Thai society accepts chaos. When I pointed out the chaos, I appeared to offend everyone which was not my intention. It was merely making an observation but Thai society will never learn if they don't learn to listen first. The way traffic works in Thailand is that unless there is a traffic light, the pedestrian gives way to everything else, scooters give way to cars, cars give way to vans and buses and trucks always have right of way, unless of course, there's a traffic light. At the end of the day, authorities here are just as dysfunctional and chaotic as the traffic that they are supposed to regulate. I have since remarried and am now retired in Thailand. I fully accept the driving style in this country and the deaths that come with it. It is not my problem if inept authorities are unable to catch up with the runaway train that they created.

My wife did not want to retire in Australia. She asked me to retire with her in Thailand. Let's be blunt, I am only here because I love my wife, and because of the still cheaper cost of living. I already lived in paradise in northern Queensland in Australia. Thailand had nothing to offer except for my wife, her nice family and friends and very cheap real-estate. As I'm not into partying, night-life and the usual BS that foreigners get up to, I'm not really interested in the various issues raised. Yes, the visas are a pain but still easier to obtain than if my wife were to try and enter Australia. Yes, I'm losing 20% of the value of my money during conversion because of the weak dollar vs strong baht, however, I still bought a mansion for a pittance and a new car. Also, the land ownership kafuffle is slightly misrepresented. Although I am not allowed to be registered as an owner of land under the land titles act, I have equal rights to land, money etc under the Thai Marriage Act. Since I have a prenuptial agreement, if my wife dies before me, I inherit the whole house and everything else, including land. Although I'd be the legal owner under the marriage/inheritance act, I am unable to transfer the house into my name. The same situation existed in Germany after my father died. I inherited the house under German inheritance law. No contest there. However, for me to be able to sell my house, I had to transfer it into my name first by rocking up personally to the inheritance court in Germany and identifying myself. There is a distinct mismatch in the land titles act and what I am entitled to under the marriage and inheritance acts in Germany and Thailand. Although I finally had my father's house transferred into my name without setting foot in Germany, the land titles act in Thailand forbids me to transfer the land into my name, and if did inherit it, I'd have to sell it. However, I'd be entitled to all profits. Couples who are free from suspicion of fraud should be granted full and equal land title rights in Thailand instead of this blanket paranoia against all and any foreigner. My previous Thai wife in Australia owned properties together with me and had bank loans in Australia before she even became an Australian citizen. Why must Thailand be so backward? That's my main issue.

Wow, some of the armchair commentators here are such experts on the topic so that I'd better not comment for fear of being ridiculed.

I don't know anyone who does that, neither the German, Norwegian, Swiss, American, Australian, British, Swedish nor Italian dudes that I know do that. It might sometimes get used to make a point when it is necessary to establish someone's nationality (at the immigration office perhaps) but not in personal introductions. Westerners generally don't care where the wife is from, where the kids were born and who the father is - except for Thais, of course.

Tint merely slows the interior of the car heating up. It will still heat up. Plastic has no magic air-con properties. Reducing glare is the only advantage. We are going back to BYD to have some of the plastic removed.