gummy

We're talking about American fast food in Thailand, but hardly anybody's talking about Thai fast food back in the West. I lived in Texas where there must have been 100 Chinese restaurants and food stalls within two kilometers, and a couple of Japanese and Korean restaurants, but the nearest Thai places were much further away, very few in number, too expensive, and the food was a poor imitation of Thai, or just too spicy.

I'm not aware of any pent-up demand for Thai food in the West. I detest Thai food, and I enjoy hamburgers, pizza, mashed potatoes, roast beef, pecan pie, chocolate cake, ice cream, roast turkey with cornbread stuffing and giblet gravy - is anybody hungry yet?

There's a big chain of Louisiana style Cajun fried chicken in the south - probably the one that bought up Church's, called Popeye's - and their spicy chicken had lots of tobasco sauce. Buffalo wings are spicy, and they're from upstate New York. You never know; Thai fast food might catch on.

There has been a proliferation of Thai restaurents opening the UK in the last ten years. Almost every smallish town has at least one although not yet on the scale of Chinese. But like the Chinese, they bear little or no resemblence to real Thai food ( with the odd exception ) as they obviously are catering for the UK taste buds and hence are "Westernised".

My Wife and I hope to retire to Phuket, from the UK, in two years.

Could I just ask one question? Are you or your wife Thai citizens?

Why would that make a difference?, I personally know hundreds of UK expats who have retired here and even more with a holiday home that spend up to 6 months a year here.

Because only Thai citizens can own land. Check the real estate forum for all the probs with buying houses.

So, get a 60 year lease with a renewal or buyout clause, usufruct etc... there's thousands of million dollar villars here in Phuket, with people of all nationalities living here regardle

Besides you can own the building, just not the land.

Has any farang here ever been forcibly removed from a house?

Thousands of people enjoying life here in Phuket, its not a new thing that foreigners can't own land. The way I look at it you can sit on a fence worrying about what could happen, or jump in - don't spend too much and enjoy yourself, if the absolute worst comes to the worst you would have to sell your home to a Thai, or a Thai company.

That may all be well but look what has happened in Spain with many of the expats there also "sitting on the fence" and hoping nothing will happen ! Several hundreds have already seen there property demolished as they did not own the freeholds " but thought they had a legal clause" to circumvent the issue with the developers.

Those with multi million $ dollar properties may not miss it but those who have sunk their live savings into a property which could potentially be taken from them, well that is another story.

Just thought I would ask to get some possible feedback. Has anybody bought a Nokia N95 in Bangkok yet ? If so where did you buy it and what price did you pay ? But more importantly, how good is the GPS mapping ? By that I mean what level of detail is provided, not just for Bangkok, but the country as a whole ?

Would have thought that an Iraqi forum, if one exists, would be more appropriate than a Thai forum to get an informed response

Just a side note on the whole issue: people who could be in the labor market, but choose not to, shouldn't be taken into account. The elderly, the parents staying home to take care of their kids (such as my Tex-Mex son-in-law), the idle rich, the disabled, the insane, the grammar school dropouts, the unskilled, the retarded, the drug addicts and alcoholics - don't look for work because they choose not to, or they're unqualified. That long list would include several million Thais.

I agree but please don't limit this list solely to the Thais, it equally applies to many other countries including the Uk. Differance is of course that as Guesthouse said the UK has too many do-gooders to make sure the insane, drug adicts, newly arrived immigrants etc etc get their benefits of the backs of those working.

21:07 BBC.co.uk back again

The statistics from which these figures are deduced bear little resemblence to fact upon which the true rate of unemployment is deduced insofar as there are serious deficiencies in the recording of such data. At best it is a very optimistic "guesstimate" or at worst a lie. However let us not get into a fuzz about whether this is another Thai problem as the figures in the UK have been continually massaged over the years such that the 400k + so called long term unemployed were not included in the UK unemployment figures.

At the end of the day it is obvious for all to see that this figures, should we say, are perhaps erring to the low side ?

BBC.co.uk blocked again 19:56

BBC. co.uk is blocked again ( 19:56 )

Given the current couple of unfortunate occurances you possibly have more risk of being hit by a bus rather than having it stolen so thus possibly a sensible risk reduction measure would be to minimise your exposure to said risk by keeping off the roads as much as possible.

Back on again now, perhaps someone "clicked" wrong page to block !!

Yes I meant from Thailand by ministry of information and communication technology. Was on it, appeared to have nothing inflammatory or even a mention of Thailand and then it became blocked at approx 16.32 Thai time

Last few minutes bbc.co.uk appears to have been blocked, anybody else have problems or know the reason ?

What ! life will never be the same.

Yes same untill 5 minutes or so ago:-

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I agree with Ijuststwannateach that St Louis is good value. Myself and family visited Bumrungrad and BNH over the years many many times but now find St Louis geberally provides a quicker service and less cost. Doctors appear to be as good. I think the point worthy of note is though that some hospitals, such as Bumrungrad must recoup their capital expenditure naturally as part of their fees. If I really wanted to go and spend an hour or two amid surroundings of water features and tropical plants etc etc then I would go to a hotel lobby not a hospital.

I must be old fashioned but I tend to think that hospitals are more important for the treatment and level of service given rather than decor, but that is only my opinion. Of course all those previous visits were for medical issues not cosmetic treatments etc. Perhaps those people who are willingly pay large sums of money to feed their vanity may wish for water features etc etc so I guess then they would have no issue with high costs.

Go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect £200. Best to plan ahead normally.

Leaving all the legal issues to one side, I, together with family am planning to buy a house in or around the area. Due to the boom in developments, has this caused problems with the water supply, sewerage and electricity etc. Its all very well buying a nice home but has the introstucture kept up with the pace of building? Really appreciate your views . Thanks

i have just returned, last night actually, 06-06-07 and see no problems with utility connections, in fact they are now installing underground wireing instead of overhead cables. My friend owns siam-property in hua-hin, he's british and will advise on any developments being built. his name is Glen and can be reached at the following:

162/5 Naresdamri road

Hua hin 77110

Thailand

+6632532829

[email protected]

That's really interesting that you have just returned in June this year and it is only now April. Does "Back to the Future" Deloreans still exist in Hua Hin ? Further, would appreciate any help you can give into next months lottery numbers.

Now a screw ban would be even more difficult to enforce. Can you imagine the headlines:- Thousands of couples thrown in prison for having a screw.

Excellant advice JaiDee

note - edited do to dyslexic keyboard

For a Yarmouth boy it really pains me to admit this but I fully endorse your points, put very articulately. Now that is a compliment from one coming from your better neighbour, Lowestoft, although from your previous posts I suspect I am somewhat older than yourself so could be the onset of senility.

Speak english?! <deleted> is this all about?

Hold up, it probably IS english.

So...speak Kiwi?

fush and chups, thus us a complumunt coming from Invagargull.

:-)

I have to ask the same question, what is this gibberish ? are you responding to the correct post ?

They have are more important things to report rather than something that only a effects a minority, and most probably an immature minority at that.

So your saying Thais are immature because of the reaction to this video?

Dont think you'll last long (here or in Thailand) with that kind of attitude

Don't be silly,that is not what I am saying, its the morons who dote upon youtube being banned who are the minority. The people who object to youtube are presumably those people who have nothing better to do than contribute to it with their pointless videos etc - they are ones that in my opinion are showing immaturity. And after 20 years living here in Thailand I probably am far more better versed in Thai culture and society expectations and acceptances then you are I suspect, so no way would you hear me saying anything derogatory against the Thais which you would have realised had you read any of my other posts.

You know what ol red eyes. I take your point and I know people think I am an arrogant s-o-b. Perhaps I am. Perhaps I live in a bubble.

But I'm prepared to accept what is good about this place I have chosen to be my home and NOT focus only on the negatives (of which there are plenty).

I get sick and tired of hearing people whinging about stuff they can't change. So there sex-haven is changing . . big deal. No, more than that . . GOOD. I don't want to live in a place that attracts the kind of people who's idea of paradise is based 90% on access to cheap women, and 10% to cheap beer.

People complain about business and land restrictions. OK, it's tough. But if as people say it is easy to do that in other countries, what is to stop people doing that, and still living in Thailand to enjoy the benefits?

My point . . . . Stop complaining. Stop whinging. Stop bellyaching. Stop taking our personal frustrations and extrapolating them onto the country we make our home.

We have a choice to live here or leave here. We can't change it cos we're not in the political process. We have the freedome to move on when we want.

Thais must listen to us whinge and wonder what they hel_l we find so appealing about the place if all we do is moan and complain. And they must wonder . . "ummmm . . .so why do they stay?"

For a Yarmouth boy it really pains me to admit this but I fully endorse your points, put very articulately. Now that is a compliment from one coming from your better neighbour, Lowestoft, although from your previous posts I suspect I am somewhat older than yourself so could be the onset of senility.

I am no expert but I have been told (by a Thai that is now a US citizen) that there is no dual citizenship. She needs visas to stay in Thailand now and can not buy or own land in Thailand either.

This is incorrect unless she has relinquished here Thai citizenship

Yes