Mark1969

They need to protect their international image and also the US backing they receive. There is almost always some sort of justification involved since few countries are totally isolated. There is also the avoiding sanctions aspect and the UN. If they point to something like dropping leaflets other countries will back off a bit or investigate further before they vote. If a justification is not there, one is created, like a small skirmish on the border, etc. Or, they just wait until something happens and retaliate with a disproportionate response.

Probably because the genocide already happened. There is nothing to celebrate. Those few people that are left in gaza were spared to make it look like a ceasefire or compromise.

It's not really all smiles here... They have always been like that. I put it down to low self-esteem. They also seem hyper sensitive to real or imagined slights so be careful what you say or how you respond.

There were a lot of those young french bohemian chicks in Siem Reap. They had hairy pitts and unshaven legs, probably decent bushes. They were there to see the temples and stay in cheap hostels. They seemed to be open to sexual experimentation, but you had to be really cool for any luck with them (or a famous artist).

I did not ask them, sorry.

Do they actually object to anything or just ignore it? It's loss of face for city management.

It's not good or bad. I just felt like I had to cater to them or react how they needed, rather then just being myself and eating alone in silence.

I met an Isreali family in a restaurant in Chiang Mai. They were dressed in kind of loose light colored cloth clothing for the desert. They had a lot of body hair, like underarm hair and hair on legs. Their child was extremely outgoing and was walking around to tables, bluntly introducing himself and asking questions. It was Ok because it was a young kid, but it just seemed strange. It felt uncomfortable sitting next to their table like I did not know how to react. I am pretty reserved and I think they do communal meals or something...

Ignoring problems is part of the Buddhist thing. It works great if you live in a monestary, but for the average bloke in Pattaya it don't work so great 😂.

Pattaya is the pits. Full of money suckers and needy people on some level. If you ever feel suicidal there the best thing to do is move away asap. That constant needy energy gets to you whether you admit it or not. The reason being is that you can't really avoid the people there, even if you stay out of the bars and certain areas.

I have a pretty flabby chest, even when working out regularly. My body went downhill a bit in my mid 50's.

Did I? It's not good or bad, it's whether it works for the person involved.

You're fired

You're not going to last as long if your very sensitive. Some guys like the journey, others prefer the destination.

It may also have something to do with the high infidelity rates. The connection is not perceived as special or sacred so the monogomy is not valued. It ends up being a quantity over quality situation where they are sleeping around rather then being connected to one special person.

I have had sex with some women in Thailand and the more women I meet the more I think they view sex as just a bodily function and not "special". With most of them it feels like it's completely divorced from romantic love, feelings, etc. One can get that all over but it seems so common here. I have also had relationships where intimate feelings developed later on, but even in those cases it still seemed like sex was fun but not really "special". It still felt like they thought it was just something people do and the initimate feelings were not really attached to the sex act.

Then end up complaining here because they hate it...😂

A lot of people don't budget here. They get mentally distracted with drinking and women. They end up just going to the ATM all the time.

Don't you last longer with some numbness down there? Seems like a win-win, you're a little numb and still rock hard. Unless you just wanna get outta there... I tried getting some deep in the darkside and they wanted me to buy 5 boxes. I think the price was 1200 baht. That was for Sidegra 100 mg. Another local type place in the same area of town wanted one box for 400 baht.

Those start looking ghastly as people get older.

Thailand has a big pride aspect those other countries don't have. A lot of "this and that is only for Thai's" type stuff. That includes fluent language and a lot of other things. Anything done "too well Thai" by a foreigner would be offputting. Sitting on a barstool is very much allowed though (as long as you just sit there and let stuff be served to you and don't get up much).

Once you're reliant on what someone else is making or a service they provide you have already lost the game. They will eventually keep squeezing you for more so they profit more. China makes almost everything now.

Can you be specific as to the favor requests you receive? Are you actually getting guys directly asking you for favors often? Are they older, younger or the same age as you? In my experience I can see scam type stuff that does not go far, but not outright requests.

I don't get asked for favors here. It's more like just toasting the town and acting like I'm having fun while drinking. Sometimes I will get a whiner who talks about a lot of problems, but it tends to be a much older guy and I put it down to old age. It just seems odd that it's only that when we are talking about people in late middle age.

The topics of conversation are lacking, however. It works if you like to hear people talk. They tend to be the same conversations each time. Instead of the conversation growing into more meaningful topics I have found that people at the bar prefer to move on to someone else and have the same superficial conversation. In other words, they don't want depth, rather just a greeting and superficial exchange. Do you have any theories as to why deeper friendships seem to not evolve very often there? I used to think it was because people were very nomadic moving around, but that does not relate to longer term expats.