Jet Gorgon

Anna and the King...but not available legally in Thailand. Good monsoon scenes.

Me too. You know I actually had a heart attack in Tesco's in Pattaya last year when I got a belt of electricity off one of those ###### trolleys. It was so bad I ended up on the floor, the tips of my fingers burned and my hair on fire at the top, and had a major cardiac arrest.I woke up looking up the legs of some bird at the checkout counter standing over me.Thought I was dreaming.I'll never go near one of those ###### things again. I prefer the wooden ones now. I bought mine on ebay and I've had no problems with it.Someone needs to do something before someone is killed in the process of getting baked beans or something.Everyone write to the authorities and expose this scandal! Ask Tesco's to provide wooden ones.- and another thing-- I'll leave that till later.

Hey, you're still alive and you copped a good look up a dress (just be glad you weren't in Singapore). Enjoy!

Zip down to Saveland or wherever & bye half a dozen cans each of baked beans & spaghetti. When these babies go off, you get covered in hot red round & squiggly things that taste good. Now ask yourself...what Thai that you know likes this farang food?

OK, in all seriousness, the ghost-busting reason seems pretty plausible, what with the Thai's fear of pees.

The best way to get garbage collection is recycle depots. Then hard-working poorer folk would go around and collect all the plastic, paper, bottles, etc and make a few bob selling it to the recyclers. Forget the gov't trash pickup as they would charge people for the service and most would refuse to pay.

Hey, Tutsi Warrior! Forget the James Brown music shop -- open a recycling station!

Anyone who has anything to do with drugs in Thailand or SEA is stupid.

I believe that Britmaverick has the TKO in this match.

Do not do drugs here! I never allow people to smoke ganga in my house, balcony or garden. Don't tarnish my sterling reputation with my neighbours! My dog tries to do that by chasing their chickens.

Also, if someone dislikes you enough, they will ring the police and tell them when you are toking, and, it's so long, it's been nice to know ya.

Excellent OP and truly knightly round table banter. Excellent history research, too; thanks Seri Thai.

I agree, it appears the current leaders are hiding ineptness by deflecting attention onto Thaksin. Why ban him? Find something to charge him with and haul his sorry butt back here and toss him in a government Hilton. I think Chukchok summed it up best:

At least Thaksin could run a country. These guys couldn't organise a good piss up.

Thais need to find a Donald Trump clone (with more hair, of course) with the humanitarian grace of Mother Theresa to pull the country back from the edge of the abyss.

Thailand has lost it's rank to ba a country I might want to live in.

Yes, we have problems here in Europe and winters are dark and cold - yes - but it's OUR COUNTRY.

Oh, sure. And you paid for all the refugees to come in, gave em free accommodation, job preferences, and voting rights, and look at OUR COUNTRY now. MY MP dishes out literature in two other languages and I heard one national got banned from flying the country flag outside his house.

No more "light" brands, I think. "Light" gives the impression these won't kill you as quickly. Same as draping the cigs behind curtains so everyone pretends there are no vices. Wonder why the porn movies are not behind closed doors.

OhmyGod.

Don't tell me porn kills you too !

Cardiac arrest.

No more "light" brands, I think. "Light" gives the impression these won't kill you as quickly. Same as draping the cigs behind curtains so everyone pretends there are no vices. Wonder why the porn movies are not behind closed doors.

Burning rubbish all the time around where I live, also they burn along the side of roads etc to keep the grass from growing too high, its a bl##dy nuisance as the ashes get caught in the wind and ends up in my pool - even cleaning 3 times a week is not enough

That's easy to fix. Get rid of the pool. Save the water.

Nah, do not call the police and attract attention to yourself. Just put a string of firecrackers in the ashes and wait for the next burning party.

Spray cans is better.

Yes exactly what is needed. Add even more toxic chemicals to the air.

Um, I think that was tongue in jowl, Chingching. Chill!

Good one, Neeranam. Can you give me her number?

Free orchids from TF members on departure.

That's a good one, Lingling. More boom for the baht.

Motorbiker drove into my English friend's car as he was waiting to pull out in traffic. Friend took the man to hospital for minor scrapes and then the guy demanded Bt10,000 to fix his bike (broken side mirror and bent front fender). Hospital staff said this was typical (ie, ripoff), but did not make any suggestions to help my pal.

Any advice for handling accident-related demands when the accident is not the farang's fault? Just pay and go?

Oh ya, Terry, get with the programme. I'm a girl.

i know your a girl of the female variety mate.

umm, urr sorrry about that mate.

cricky's,

i done it again, and i do mean, sorry about that Miss Gordon.

anyway, you are alright in my books as i love dogs and you look after them.

cheers

Apology accepted. Just don't do it again or I'll have to stick you with my diamond chip nail file and sick my guppies on you.

You could try attaching a wire to each butt cheek and running them to a set of rear brakelights hanging off your rear. Maybe shopping carts should have headlights, turn signals, and breaklights too.

Nah, that would make it too regulated and fat farang who take up the whole aisle wouldn't move out of the way anyhow.

I concur. If you are here to do a specific job, other than ESL teaching, it is more stressful trying to meld cultures and biz and do a good job for the company. Same same anywhere in Asia.

Well, i disagree. Managers have to adapt to suit the environment in which they work. If you accept you're managing in Thailand and not try to impose your western sensibilities onto a Thai audience, there are no major issues. At least that's my experience.

I think we forget that we are the foreigners here, not them.

I think that was the message I conveyed. Trying to blend and adapt, Bendix.

Perhaps it's the inate arrogance of farangs who think they can manage Thai companies (with Thai staff and Thai customers) much better than . . ummm . . Thai managers, that makes them want to get rid of farang management. An arrogance which is summed up in this thread.

Having seen examples of farang managers in Thailand (loud, uncouth, wearing shoddy suits and stinking of beer from last night's whoremongering), I don't blame them for getting rid of them.

This thread is a disgrace.

Bendix _ I could not agree more farangs managers are generally only in Thailand to either escape something back home - or they could not get a job of similar status back home - or they just want an extended social life at the expense of the Thai company.

What absolute rubbish! Don't know which sector you work in, but generally management for a foreigner here can be much more stressful than "back home" as you put it. Social life is nothing to do with it.

The weak point of most Thai companies is always their Thai management, who have generally achieved their position and status through nepotism and age alone. Ability alone is never seemingly factored into promotional movement and a lot of local managers enjoy a status, ego, and position that is inversely proportional to their ability.

I concur. If you are here to do a specific job, other than ESL teaching, it is more stressful trying to meld cultures and biz and do a good job for the company. Same same anywhere in Asia.

We'll be waiting fer ya vickie....

Oh ya, Terry, get with the programme. I'm a girl.

Hi, Terry. I'm educated to be a sanitation engineer and an actuary, with minors in basketweaving and botox applications for veterinary services in California. However, I decided to go into financial writing, abstract art and stray dog rescue, and maintain basketweaving skills. Could be worse, I could be a Lisbon bus driver or Britney Spears.

Mafaso, try the corner of Lamai night market and the beach road. Walking dictionaries everywhere. Make sure you get the BKK dialect version.

The Hotel across the street burns a lot of trash (usually just yard trash) on an open lot next to the hotel, and about 50 meters from me. This doesn't bother me too much because I have an air conditioned room to hide in. Someone I met that lives about 200 meters from the area has asthma, and it makes him sick.

The other night at about 2 - 3 AM, some Thais in a pickup came into the area and spent over an hour burning stuff. Fortunately the smoke was not blowing in my direction. This was not yard trash, but probably something they were burning surreptitiously, and - if there were any actual laws in Thailand - illegally. It was a thick black oily smoke as opposed to the white smoke of yard trash.

If it happens again would there be any sense in calling the police? (Something I usually choose to avoid) If in Pattaya, what # to call?

Thanks

Nah, do not call the police and attract attention to yourself. Just put a string of firecrackers in the ashes and wait for the next burning party.

If it happens again would there be any sense in calling the police? (Something I usually choose to avoid) If in Pattaya, what # to call?

Thanks

No, it's just one of the things they do in Thailand. In fact "Chiang Mai" is an ancient lanna word meaning "Valley of Smoking Plastic"

To: Jet Gorgon

You go girl.........(sorry, couldn't help myself ) But you go anyway...

Oh, TL, is that go away, far, far away and get a new life , or is that a go get 'em go?