jayceenik

French speaking, over 50 = the usual "smell bad", "lack personal hygiene" suspects.

IMHO the usual unimaginative French and senior bashing troll post.

I went there this morning. Almost everything is now set up and running.

I visited the new Kunikuniya bookshop which has been transplanted there from across the street.

Much bigger place now with a lot more Japanese and Chinese books.

Also walked through the Gourmet food market. Very nice.

Down below the market is the Food Court. A very pleasant and inviting well laid-out place which is much more upscale from the usual MBK, Tesco and BigC courts. Also many satellite small restaurant outlets on that floor like Starbucks, Bon Pain and various Asian delights. There was a long queue to the Taiwan chicken stall that was running a promotion.

End of 2013 Pattaya TGF had to go study two months Thai passport making at the ChaengWattana Ministry of Foreign Affairs that's right next to the road to the CW Immigration.

She Googled and Googled to try to find a nearby hotel. No luck.

She ended staying at the Jira apartment for the duration.

http://www.tee-pak.com/en/Jira+mansion

Like a BM mentioned above there is a substantial Thai community working in Svalbard (aka Spitsbergen). Salaries there are very high. But it seems like you have to be part of the Thai extended "family" already working there to get a job.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IC27Ae01.html

http://infocus.asiaportal.info/2009/05/25/mayfrom-thailand-svalbard-migration-margins-an-magritt-jensen/

Quote : The total population of the main settlement Longyearbyen is only about 1,800, of whom 70 are Thais. Most of them are female cleaners and chambermaids in Longyearbyen's hotels and restaurants.

The links date from 2007 and 2009

Queetz - Russians defeated French (under Marshal Ney)

Sacile - Austrians defeated French (under Eugene)

Aspern-Essling - Austrians defeated French

Kliastitzy - Russians defeated French (Oudinot)

Svolna - Russians defeated French (Oudinot)

Vinkovo - Russians defeated French (Murat)

2nd Polotzk - Russians defeated French (Oudinot, Victor)

Viasma - Russians defeated French

2nd Krasnoi - Russians defeated French (Roguet and NAPOLEON)

Plechenitzi - Russians defeated French (Oudinot)

Möckern - Russians and Prussians defeated the French (Eugène)

Luckau - Russians and Prussians defeated French (Oudinot)

Gross-Beeren - Russians and Prussians defeated French (Oudinot)

First Pirna - Russians defeated French (St. Cyr)

Second Katzbach - Prussians defeated French (Macdonald)

Second Pirna - Russians defeated French (Vandamme)

Kulm - Russians, Prussians, Austrians defeated French (Vandamme)

Dennewitz - Prussians defeated French and allies (Ney)

Wartenberg - Prussians defeated French and allies (Bertrand)

Möckern - Allies defeated French (Marmont)

Leipzig - Russians, Prussians, Austrians defeated French (NAPOLEON)

La Rothière - Russians, Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians defeated French (NAPOLEON)

Bar-sur-Aube - Austrians, Russians, Bavarians defeated French (Oudinot)

Lâon - Prussians, Russians defeated French (NAPOLEON)

Fismes - Prussians defeated French (Marmont)

Arcis-Sur-Aube - Allies defeated French (NAPOLEON)

La Fère Champenoise - Russians defeated French (Marmont and Mortier)

Paris - Allies defeated French ( Marmont and Mortier)

The failures and defeats were not something limited only to the Napoleonic wars. World War 2 was a humilation for the French army. Even though millions of French troops were manning the defensive Maginot Line in early 1940, Hitler's brilliant blitzkrieg strategy caught the Allies by surprise. The Germans skirted the Maginot Line and slashed into France through Luxembourg and the Ardennes Forest. The Blitzkrieg moved with lightning speed as Hitler's tanks turned and raced headlong to the sea. They reached the English Channel on May 21 cutting off the French and British armies in the North. The Germans turned again, fighting their way north to secure the coastal ports and annihilate the trapped armies. Germany occupied France within just 6 weeks.

And this was only in the modern era. Let us not forget earlier battles in Normandy. And the later battle of Agincourt, in the 14th century, where 6,000 British soldiers defeated nearly 30,000 French soldiers, in one of the decisive battles of the hundred year war. Their history is very colorful.

Amongst my friends, I am one of the few that is a French supporter. I love their wines (especially Red Burgundies, pinot noir does not get any better than that) their cheese is sublime, and they are pretty good at fashion. Citroens and Peugeots are decent cars. Not to sound too harsh, but what has France contributed on the world stage in the past half century? Their golden age seemed to end with the death of their post impressionist painters.

Is this a list of French military defeats that British school children have to memorize ?

Seems fairly well researched by somebody who doesn't like France.

BTW it's missing DienBienPhu.

And what have those long ago battles to do with a fisticuff in an obscure Udon beerbar ?

If you're a US or foreign vacationer touring the US by car you could be stopped on the road at anytime for no reason by a police patrol car and have the US$ cash you carry with you for your holiday confiscated under the pretense that it is suspected drug money.

You'll not get it back even if you start an expensive court case.

I had this problem a couple times with my HP laptop.

Every time a good cleanup of the battery contacts (on the battery and on the laptop) solved the problem.

I have a bank account in Belgium.

I wrote a holograph testament for it last May - by hand in French - naming my Pattaya TGF as sole inheritor.

She knows about this and has has ready access to that testament.

When the time comes she'll forward this testament to a Notary in Belgium I have chosen and stipulated along with her bank account number in Thailand and my Death Certificate.

The Pattaya Thai Death Certificate will have to be taken first to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs at ChaengWattana for stamping and then to the Belgian Consulate in BKK where it will be translated and certified for free in French. This Certificate will be sent to the Notary.

The Belgian Notary will handle everything from there. He'll deal directly with the bank and the Euros in my account will soon be transferred automatically to her account in Thailand after notary fees taken out.

Of course different countries different laws.

Thanks for this info

I worked 16 years in Muslim Indonesia.

Never had problems but, of course, we expats there avoided talking religion with our local colleagues.

The few times I was asked what my religion was and I answered 'I'm an atheist' they would seem surprised to face a non-religious person and conclude that I had to be a communist...

Worth noting that at the time Indonesia had an armed separatist conflict with what they called Muslim Fanatics in North Sumatra.

The Torah, the Bible, and the Koran all call openly for the murder of the unbelievers.

Just read their "Holy Books" in depth.

I'm surprised that the Anglos have so much hatred for France and the French.

This thread is an eye-opener.

This is the big problem on TV Most do not understand Brit humour, The french guys understand and always give back as good as they get.

Very many countrys,also in Europe have humour that is so backward it seems to us like a kindergarten This is only banter.

Nothing against the Frogs Except the Woman do not shower often,and most need a shave 555

I worked 16 years in Indonesia for a Dutch company.

We expats were of several nationalities: Dutch-Aussie-Kiwi-US-Austria-Germany-Norway-Ireland-Belgium but mostly French and Brits.

I never heard ethnic jokes there among ourselves, especially not of the type referred here as TV Brit humor.

It would indeed have made for an unpleasant working environment.

I'm surprised that the Anglos have so much hatred for France and the French.

This thread is an eye-opener.

So much hatred for the French in this thread ...

Shouldn't you hate us French speaking Walloons too ?

Indeed shortly after the end of WWII we asked de Gaule to annex us.

The French and de Gaule were all for it but de Gaule got cold feet because he feared that the Anglos would accuse him of land grab ...

Anyway, I'm envious of not yet having been included in this French bashing. As a might have been French Walloon I certainly deserve to be hated too. So, please, go for it !!

Killed my Facebook account several years ago when some guy I never heard of wanted to be my friend. When I checked him out he had 43,000 ''friends'. Screw that. Took me a couple of tries but eventually got completely off Facebook. I correspond with my real friends by email. I admit I am a Luddite. I have nothing in the cloud, don't Tweet, no Instagram, no Line, etc. All my stuff is on a plug in hard drive that I can physically disconnect. Even so I feel vulnerable. Most people don't care...until their email gets hijacked, their bank account gets drained and their in box fills up with crap. All of which has happened to me. And I don't believe 95% of what I read on the internet.

Facebook limits users to 5000 "friends".

Facebook has no limit to the "likes" a page (this is not a Friend) receives from users.

As I'm posting this the Victoria's Secret Facebook page has 27,238,591 "Likes".

I have made my TGF my Living Will enabler. She is also my sole inheritor and I have emphasized to her that the sooner she has the hospital/doctor pull the plug if I come to a bad vegetative/hopeless case the less the hospital/doctor costs and the more money left on my bank account for her.

I have drafted the Sample 1 in Thai.

You don't need a lawyer. Just a couple of witnesses.

Sorry, I seem to have lost the links to the Thai language versions of Samples 1 and 2.

Anyway I'm sure an English version for a LOS farang would be acceptable to the LOS hospitals.

Indeed I've seen Sample 2 reprinted as is in English with the logo of a big BKK hospital.

http://en.nationalhealth.or.th/sites/default/files/Final_Ministerial_Regulation%20.pdf

http://en.nationalhealth.or.th/node/215

http://en.nationalhealth.or.th/node/214

Facebook is for chavs, teenage girls and women who wish they were still teenage girls.

and for the Arab Spring revolutionaries, maybe ?

I really don't care that zillions of fb users know my name, that I live in Thailand, that I like Jazz, that I worked in Canada, Indonesia and Katanga, that I was in the US Army, etc... Only could be that my grand pa would get the scam call that I've been allegedly robbed of everything in Timbuktu and please send $$$ asap by Western Union. Not likely.

This perso info can certainly be used to better target advertisements. Welcome to it. Nothing scary for me about that.

Since a week ago I've been Googling info about a new mid range smartphone and fb has followed me with ads about Lumia (was first choice), than LG (second choice) and now Samsung (my final choice).

Nothing is free in life. Advertisement pays for the immensely useful YouTube, Google and Facebook.

As for hiding my ID and perso profile I'd have missed on making very interesting fb contacts.

facebook is what you make of it.

I love it as a social contacts enabler.

One of the very first request I received for fb friendship was from a long time ago (student days !!) Belgian girlfriend.

The algorithm suggested me to her.

She is now a widow. I stayed at her place when I vacationed in Europe a couple years back.

We email each other almost daily.

Another was an ex-colleague from my days in Katanga. New to fb he looked for my name.

A recent request was from the son of a best friend who died more than a decade ago. Looked for my name on fb.

My lovely 27yo Pattaya TGF is super busy with her friends on fb.

Maybe you fb hater luddites should also consider going back to snail mail because you've received a few too many Viagra/penis-enlargement/lottery-win/Nigerian-prince spam in your email box...

And getting off the Internet !! So many viruses there !!!

My assets consist only of bank accounts in Belgium, Singapore and Thailand. With a small motocy and house furniture.

In May last year I re-made my Last Wills - one each for Belgium, Singapore and Thailand.

Everything going to my Pattaya TGF.

Belgium LW is holograph. Singapore and Thailand LW done by reputable lawyers.

At first I did myself the TH LW by buying a template from http://www.samuiforsale.com/view_document/8-last-will-and-testament-for-thailand.html

It's very well done with dual language paragraphs - Thai/English - and very affordable at $25.

But then I pictured in my mind my TGF implementing this home-made LW and I discarded it and went to a Pattaya lawyer instead.

More expensive at 10000 Baht but serious looking (LOL) and dual language too.

What I like with a lawyer drafted LW, like my SIN and TH LW, is that my signature was witnessed by lawyers.

Better a lawyer witness than your next door neighbor.

BTW I paid US$550 for the SIN LW. All done by email but I had to go to SIN to sign the final draft.

In BKK I suffered years with the next house rooster (only one in a coop) that was voicing like every 20 seconds all day all night except (for some unknown reason) from 8 to 9 PM. I tried to throw cooked rice laced with rat poison over the fence into the coop but that didn't work.

A fancy condo was eventually built on the other side of the street and once completed the moneyed tenants must have been annoyed too and had probably some influence because the coop was gone in a short time thereafter.

In Pattaya I have the same situation. Here it's 3 roosters and assorted chickens that the neighbor is raising in his yard. I did think of poisoned seeds that I could throw at the beasts. I also thought of aiming a very noisy boom box at the rear of that neighbor's house but that would have annoyed other people in the vicinity. Now I just use a Songkran water gun from my rear balcony to shoo them away as far as can be (it's a big garden). I finally have learned to live (and sleep) with the noise by using earplugs.

Live-in TGF has repeatedly told me that she is not bothered because it was like that at home in Isaan.

OK. That's me. In your case I'd consider moving out. Me, I couldn't because my two rented studios are otherwise super nice and convenient for me.

A few years back I was looking for True Love on ThaiLoveLinks (now ThaiCupid) and befriended a very nice girl from Prachuap KiriKan. She was 35, divorced, with a daughter at the uni. She came to stay a few times with me in BKK.

She was of the type who is getting on years and anxious to find a last chance at love and companionship. The ideal prey for those Nigerian Lotharios.

Letting her use my computer I saw a few of these tricksters at work on her. Poor girl, they were on to her !!

One was a handsome widower white South African with a young preteen boy who desperately needed a new mother (nice picture of both !!). Another was sending a valuable parcel gift to her, one was staying in a 5* hotel in Pattaya (??), one was providing a scan of his e-airline ticket from Lagos to LHR to show that he was on his way to Thailand (???). I must say that their yarns were somewhat confusing to me and her but obviously geared to inspire affection/love and later go in for the financial kill.

I told her to be careful about tricksters and never ever to send money to anybody.

She eventually met a very decent German guy on TLL and is now living in Germany married with him.

Get rid of your old US$ bills asap because old US bills don't age gracefully.

I stopped vacationing in the US a few years ago but kept a few hundred $ in 1, 5, 20 and 50 denomination - just in case !!

Recently I took these bills out of their envelope and was horrified to see that many had browned.

Krung Thai would change only the bills that were still more or less "clean" but were obviously acting reluctantly like they were doing me a favor and not happy at all about the exchange. LOL

I sent the rejected bills by post to a friend in the US and he had no problem changing them at his bank for more decent bills to send back to me.