gisele

I am from Montreal, Canada

I have been living in Beijing, China for the last 5years

I am soon moving to Thailand in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

I have studied French and Mandarin Chinese and am fairly able with my Thai too.. and I don't consider myself to be a linguistic genius, just a hard worker.

That's refreshing to hear, sbk!! I like studying languages too. I did French for a long time but can only read, write and understand to an extent now since I don't have much chance to practice. I can't really speak French anymore. Language skill just goes so quickly if you don't keep up the work. I did a bit of Spanish and Japanese too but didn't really get anywhere... hehehe So many things to do, so little time, eh?

Absolutely right about the practice. I teach French in an International School in Beijing so daily I speak French, English and Chinese but I am rusty with my Spanish and have all but forgotten German since I rarely have an occasion to use them.

In China, it is the same situation, many can read and write but speaking is another matter. Lucky are those who have native speakers as teachers.

I was a girl scout for a few weeks one summer

Were you always prepared Gisele ?

yes, of course. Always.

I was a girl scout for a few weeks one summer

Gisèle:

not a nickname, no big mystery just the name my mom gave me.

going into a cafe and asking for an iced tea and being told "no have"

asking if they have tea,answer is "have"

asking if they have ice, answer is "have"

asking again for iced tea,answer is "no have"

then asking for tea with ice and recieving my iced tea.

god bless the thais,each and every one of them, but their thought processes are unfathomable to a falang and always will be ,no matter how long we stay here.

Does that happen quite often?

Have you tried to ask your wife why they are like that?

There must be something inside that we didn't understand. I don't think that the Thais are that stupid!

Actually, I have had the same thing happen to me in China.

Here, if it's not writen that way on the menu, it's difficult to have it a different way, not that it can't be done.

The menu indicates they have penne with pesto or fettucini with chicken and tomatoes but you can't have penne with chicken and tomatoes.

Same thing with Chinese taking forever at the ATM, I sometimes think they must be playing some video game that I am unaware of.

Welcome back!

Wonderful to see your avatar typing again, adding a new chapter to the story.

I'm in Beijing, listened on the web (radio) to the Habs losing to the Bruins this morning.

I'm serious, dosen't anybody have anything to say about what to do in Bangkok?

What are you doing in your own country when alone?

Just do the same in Bangkok,...

Purrrrrrrfect comment, Bluecat!

Just curious,

so what are your rules for your wife, so she can indulge in a lover as well while you are away?

Thailand's Suicide Rate Climbs: Report

Driven by depression and drug abuse, Thailand's suicide rate is increasing, the Mental Health Department warned Thursday.

Driven by depression and drug abuse, Thailand's suicide rate is increasing, the Mental Health Department warned Thursday.

The official agency said in a report that the present rate of successful suicide has jumped from last year's 11 per 100,000 of the population to 13 per 100,000, or one per hour.

The report said surveys found in Thailand, suicides are more successful when attempted by men and the most popular suicide method among men is hanging while taking poison is more common among women.

Officials said loneliness and stress from living in single families contribute to more suicides.

Amphetamine, a popular illicit drug, is another major cause as the drug makes users fell insecure and distrustful of others.

The report said the number of Thai people suffering from depression has reached 3 to 4 percent of the total population and medication is much needed.

Officials urged the public and families to pay attention to depressed persons and those who have suicidal history need extra care.

http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200204/25/...425_94706.shtml

In all countries, males are far more likely to die because they travel more and engage in riskier behavior, Krug said.

Whats this about women drivers again??

Excellent observation!

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap...fic-Deaths.html

WHO Campaign Meant to Cut Traffic Deaths

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP)--Traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people worldwide every year and the number is expected to nearly double in the next 15 years. Unlike other mass killers such as AIDS or malaria, however, there is no international clamor to reverse the trend.

``There's a kind of fatalism,'' said Dr. Etienne Krug, director of injuries and violence prevention for the World Health Organization, a U.N. agency.

``People don't act on it in part because they think, `Well, society has to modernize. That will mean we'll have more cars, we'll have more roads, and therefore the price to pay is that people will be killed or injured.'''

The organization is starting a yearlong campaign to change that mind-set. The effort begins Wednesday with a news conference in Paris and promotions such as bicycle helmet program in Thailand and free eye examinations for drivers in Nigeria.

The group predicts that 2.3 million people will be killed in traffic accidents by 2020.

In high-income nations such as the United States, where 42,815 people were killed in road accidents in 2003, drivers and passengers account for nearly 90 percent of the victims.

In Southeast Asia, a substantial portion of those killed were riding bicycles or mo-peds, Krug said. In Kenya, 42 percent of the 3,000 killed each year are pedestrians and an additional 38 percent are passengers of public transportation, according to Dr. Olive Kobusingye, a regional adviser for the WHO in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Kobusingye said speed limits, if they exist, are rarely enforced in sub-Saharan Africa and only around 2 percent of cyclists use helmets.

``Roads that are built to carry heavy motorized vehicles are shared by cyclists, pedestrians, carts and animals,'' Kobusingye wrote in an e-mail. ``This conflict can only result in road deaths for the vulnerable.''

Southeast Asia had the highest number of traffic deaths in 2000, with 435,000. Africa and the Middle East had the highest rates per 100,000 people.

Low- and middle-income countries account for 90 percent of all traffic deaths, according to WHO statistics. In all countries, males are far more likely to die because they travel more and engage in riskier behavior, Krug said.

``There's not enough recognition of the fact that we can understand road traffic crashes and we can do something about their prevention,'' Krug said.

In Ghana, for example, speed bumps and rumble strips installed in the past few years have brought down the number of traffic crashes by 35 percent. Colombia has reduced deaths by improving public transportation, Krug said, while Mozambique and Nicaragua are models for collection of traffic data.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the government's top traffic safety official, said attention to the problem may lead more countries to share resources and data.

Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said his agency is working to reduce traffic deaths overseas. For example, it helped China compile a database to keep track of vehicle defects, he said.

Runge is part of a U.N. coalition that is trying to raise awareness of human factors that kill people, such as speeding, drinking alcohol and failure to wear seat belts. A separate U.N. coalition is working to standardize vehicle safety features.

``They're not random acts of God,'' Runge said about traffic accidents. ``They're predictable, and therefore they're preventable.''

___

On the Net:

World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Transportation Department safety site: http://www.dot.gov/citizen_services/cars_b...ikes/index.html

Poor girl.

Such a shame that the hospital staff didn't recognize how distraught she must have been or if they did, how wise was it to send her to rest in her room alone.

I live in Beijing but I go once in a while to Shanghai. Nanjing lu is where you shop and people watch. I once stayed at The New Asia hotel which was fine and I had a great view of the Bund. The Panorama Shanghai is nice and of course The Shangri-La is really nice. I think The Peace hotel is too pricey and over-rated.

It's cool to walk along the Bund at night.

The old French quarter has excellent restaurants and night life, I'm sure if you wind up there you will have a nice time, there's good live music.

Have a great trip!

In Bangkok a few years ago, I got food poisonning from, I think, the shrimp with coconut dish I had at the "once upon a time" restaurant. I was staying at the Indira Regent hotel. At first I figured after being sick so much I would just get better but I didn't. I was so weak that I couldn't get out of bed to open the door for the hotel doctor. As I was staying alone, someone sent me by ambulance to a women's hospital, I don't know the name but close to the hotel. I felt terrible, I thought I was going to die but the staff took excellent care of me. I was amazed at how efficient the hospital staff were through-out my ordeal. I should have gone right away.

In Samui last year, after a little motor bike accident, I went to the hospital on Chaweng. The nurses were very nice and quite efficient in cleaning and patching up my cuts. However the doctor didn't properly check my shoulder and it hasn't healed well.

I have stayed many times at the Sans Souci on Chaweng, they have different prices. no pool but very nice beach, quiet, few venders.

Tony

0 77 422044

I have also stayed at the Samui New Star on Chaweng Noi,

more secluded beach, they have a pool. Mostly German and Scandinavian patrons, many regulars and long stays.

you can email Miss Boom at

[email protected]

Oh my God, these are horror stories!

So far, I've only driven motorcycles with only minor incidents and no horror stories. This summer, I am thinking of buying a car but these stories are unsettling.

Are such altercations common place?

Is it always this bad?

Excellent!

I stayed there a few years ago, staff was very nice, pool is a bit small but it's ok, I stayed in the back section and it was quiet. Ask to see a few rooms.

It was during Songkran and it was nice to be right where the action was.

I don't remember a mini bar and I didn't watch TV.

Shower/bathroom was just ok.

I have recommended it to my friends and colleagues.

Why do they need to be subjected to the cutting humour

I enjoy the forum because it is entertaining but also for the information and advice some of which is quite enlightning.

However I agree with IT, about the cutting humour.

The banter reminds me of what grade 7 Middle school boys' conversations sound like in the hall.

It's best if I haven't seen my food alive prior to eating it.

You've never pointed to a lobster in a large tank and said " I'll take that one" and happily waited for it to return from it's session in the "hot tub"?

Actually, I prefer if someone else points to the fish or lobster if they are still alive.

I would rather not thinkabout the impending killing.

I haven't liked it either when they bonk the fish on the head right in front of me or swing it on the edge of the table to kill it or when they cut the snake open and let the blood drip in a bowl next to my chair. Really not so happy about stuff like that.

I understand my steak came from a cow but I am glad I didn't know her personally.

Really is best if I don't see my food alive prior to eating it.

He plans on taking his TGF to great wall of china after a few days in Hong Kong.Will see need a visa being a thai passport holder?

Everybody needs a visa to enter China.

Just yesterday, on my way home in a taxi here in Beijing, I saw a man on a motorcycle pulling a cart with a cage with a half a dozen dogs. I questionned my taxi driver about it and he said that the dogs were for eating. They were on their way to be slaughtered.

I've lived here for a while but I had never seen dogs on their way to be butchered, though on a daily basis I see chickens and pigs on their way to be slaughtered. I felt so sorry for the dogs but my driver just laughed because he said that you can eat dog every where, it's good meat.

I don't really feel sorry for the chickens and pigs. I am used to seeing that. I've eaten snake, scorpions but never dog or cat. I guess it's all in the way we see food. Maybe someday I will think of dogs as food but right now I still think of dogs as companions. It's best if I haven't seen my food alive prior to eating it.

So what's on the menu for tonight?

--Fido--

Not for me thank you.

There has to be life somewhere else. It seems impossible that our little planet earth would be the sole rock with life in the universe.

The existence of UFOs is a different question, I don't believe in little green men in flying saucers.