20 hours ago, Lorry said:

You can omit the word "Thai"

Certainly could apply to many other ethnicities.  On the other hand, my son is eighteen and we live in the UK.  Girls here tend to be far more "positive" about such things.  They all seem to carry condoms at all times and boys are not only expected to wear them but virtually have to pass a physical to be allowed anywhere near the treasure trove! ???? 

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Disagree completely with that snippet in OP.  Know more than a few gals having, even before legal.  Just need to ask the right folks.

I have said this before, but it very much depends on where you are in Thailand.  I lived in Chiang Mai for thirteen years and left in 2010.  In the preceding three years we had occasion to use the Chiang Mai "Family Planning Clinic" to get terminations for three girls.  One being our nanny, one being the daughter of our housekeeper and one for my wife's niece.

You simply went to the clinic and the female concerned was interviewed and explained she was in no position to keep the child. Then you paid the fee (can't remember how much exactly but not excessively expensive) and they did the procedure there and then.  My wife took the girls and I waited outside in the car.  I was told it was best if I wasn't seen at all.  An hour or so later the "patient" was sent home and told to rest for a couple of days.

On 10/25/2022 at 12:55 PM, Mac Mickmanus said:

Edited and added 

The problem with government reports is that they are government reports.  Let's not pretend that they will be accurate at any level.

I live in Tory heartland (my local MP is Raab) and for the first time I am getting requests to support our local food banks which are opening up all over the borough.  They are also looking for volunteers to man them. 

On 10/27/2022 at 11:32 AM, Mac Mickmanus said:

Didn't Shell make losses in previous years and they need to pay off their debt ?

I am quoting Shell because they are the latest to declare, but all the oil companies are making record profits.  The government are coming under more and more pressure to impose proper windfall taxes.

23 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

There doesn't seem to be an easy painless solution 

There is no magic wand that will stop inflation and keep energy prices down and keep the UK out of recession and interest rates rising .

   Just have to deal with it the best we can 

Well you could start with a windfall tax to the energy companies like in the rest of Europe.  That way the public debt would be reduced drastically and not lay with the tax payers to pick up the bill.  Fat chance with these cretins though as they are in their pockets.

Sunak's cabinet line up confirms yet again that it is jobs for the boys and girls who supported his  leadership bid.  Expect more of the same from the same inadequates.

10 hours ago, JonnyF said:

So now the Conservatives have had multiple female PM's and a PM of colour (is that the right term? - I'm not fluent in Woke). Truly the Progressive party in UK politics.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Sunak's policies, but being pragmatic I can see that he's probably what's needed right now to steady the ship as The Tories stock has fallen recently. Fortunately they have 2 years to get it right before the next GE.

The government knew that the Conservative members wouldn't vote in Sunak (a man of colour as you put it) so had to get to the position of cutting them out and just putting forward him as the only candidate.  Many of them will be squirming in their beds now.  I agree that having him as PM is the best option for the Conservatives at the moment but more importantly for the economy. He is a Goldman Sachs man through and through.

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

Previous economic crisis combined with political problems has led to a change of government. How Maggie Thatcher and Tony Blair came to power, almost inevitable the same will happen again.

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

Previous economic crisis combined with political problems has led to a change of government. How Maggie Thatcher and Tony Blair came to power, almost inevitable the same will happen again.

Problem is that only the current government can call an early general election and this shower are never going to do that knowing that they would lose by a country mile.  Therefore, another change of PM is the most likely while the country screams and shouts but has no influence whatsoever.

On 10/8/2022 at 1:13 AM, Enoon said:

If it had been "farangs" they would have happily stated their individual round eyed, chalk faced ethnic/national origins......they always do with "whitey".

 

Almost certainly the individuals concerned were the "real friends" of Thailand..........who are defintely not you or anyone of your, or my, "shade".

 

The truth seldom pleases.

 

 

A British national called Mr. Tacker.  What "shade" do you think he is then?  Thailand has always attracted "Farangs" looking for underage girls and boys.  Along with plenty of other ethnicities. 

On 9/29/2022 at 11:56 AM, Bday Prang said:

Dead right , its a broken system , and as long as being an MP is such a lucrative position it will always by default attract the wrong sort of people. who are backed by the wrong sorts of people.

Every now and again when a bright spark does appear who may have potential they invariably don't last long as when they  they  rattle a few cages along the way and threaten the status quo  they  are got rid of  pretty quickly  on the pretext of saying the wrong thing or some other technicality there's many ways to achieve that these days with all the "offence" waiting to be taken out there, on behalf of others

Who do these creeps actually represent ? The unions and big business ?  both of those need to be taken out of the equation for starters

 We need to separate politics from government if its at all possible and keep politicians well away from running the country 

 I've No Idea what the way forward  is.

 We could start by forcing the players in the current system to be legally obliged to achieve a certain % of all the things they claim they will do in their manifesto or be forbidden from standing for election again.  

  If we are to be stuck with two parties the there should be a limit on how many successive terms they can serve

 Its clear that these people are not fit to police themselves either and that needs to be addressed too 

 The  same goes for them voting for their own pay rises, as they are All rotten to the core 

 

 

Now hearing that most Tory voters are saying that Sunak would make a better PM than Truss.  Beggars belief!!!!! 

11 hours ago, JoePai said:

Well done - good for her

Full of admiration for the way she kept it all together under enormous pressure.

4 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

just a Question would now be a good time to buy sterling with euros i have both in my else accounts 

Short answer would be yes, but I think the pound could well fall further. I moved my business base to Europe when Brexit was announced, whilst still living in the UK.  I therefore trade predominantly in Euros with a sterling option.

The situation in UK is dire and with these charlatans in charge will only get worse in the short term.  I have been a Conservative all of my life but last time voted Lib Dem.  No general election in sight so the present government will milk it as much as they can until they get kicked out!

So, I will wait for now but keep as much of my profits in Euros as I can, until I see where Britain and the pound are going to end up.

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I wish him well now he's got the job he's been training for all his life.

I just hope the press stop savaging him at every opportunity.

 

Having said that, if he waits a while then abdicates in favour of William ( preferably before they spend loads on new stationary and bank notes etc ), IMO that would be the right thing to do.

IMO that would be the thing most likely to stave off calls for an end to the monarchy.

Unlikely he will stand down unless ill health forces it.  He has declared that he will "serve" until he pops his clogs and Camilla will see that he keeps to that. Charles is a marmite figure with more people disliking him than the other way round.  The monarchy will never be the same again now that the Queen has died.  I have never been a royalist by any stretch of the imagination and think that they are all unworthy with the exception of William and Kate.  

Difficult to get my head around saying King Charles without tagging on Spaniel at the end

12 hours ago, starky said:

We recognise Thailand's generations long ability to play both sides against the middle thus making them able to simultaneously profit from both sides whilst having zero accountability nor indeed any reason to commit to anything. 

  Whats that expression? Weak as <deleted>.

Spot on!

I wonder if Thailand will have a royal representative at the Queen's funeral?

On 8/21/2022 at 7:55 PM, webfact said:

I believe that foreign tourists come to Thailand not because of nightclubs, drinking, and partying. Most of them want to come here because of natural and cultural tourism places like beaches, parks, traditional Thai culture, and temples. 

He is right that some tourists come for just that. However there are many who come predominantly for the nightlife and girls.  You can probably now add those who will be attracted by the easy access and legality of cannabis.  Bangkok has long been known as the party city of South East Asia and that isn't going to change anytime soon

15 hours ago, wombat said:

Why would you want to live in UK?

It wouldn't be from choice from what I read.

I moved back to the UK from Thailand nearly twelve years ago.  I brought my Thai wife with me and our son who was then seven. We settled in Surrey but very close to South West London where I had lived before.  We were then guided by Offsted reports to get our boy into a good state school.

I know Brighton very well and we often go there for  weekends.  I have a very close friend who lives there with his family.  Firstly, using Brighton as a comparison is ludicrous, as it has house prices close to Central London, along with 5* restaurants on almost every corner.  Pattaya is way off of mark for any Thai comparison.  Silom in Bangkok would be closer the mark but still a poor comparison.

I would suggest that Southend on Sea is more in line.  Lots of cheap places to eat and a raucous and rowdy nightlife.  Plenty of drunks vomiting up their shish kebabs and party girls staggering about and peeing on the seafront.  Away from the seafront, there are numerous B&Bs for all budgets.  (My apologies to any Essex ex-pats in Thailand, I am simply painting the picture).  And yes I do know Southend, as my sister lives in Hockley, just down the road.

My wife still visits her family in Thailand and often stays with our friends in Chiang Mai.  According to her, the smart restaurants are very close, price wise, to the ones near us.  Hotels are less expensive in Thailand for what you get, compared to the bigger chains in the UK but budget hotels like Travelodge and Premier Inn tend to be cheaper.

House rents on the other hand are much cheaper in Thailand apart from parts of Bangkok and Phuket.  Food in the markets is obviously cheaper,but the supermarket prices are quite comparable.  Wine in the UK is cheaper but Beer is more expensive.

But quite honestly, these comparisons are rubbish.  Whatever I quote, somebody else can quote something different.  The only thing I would say is that, at the moment, Britain is going through all sorts of serious problems caused by different factors, including, the war, massive inflation, global warning and the disastrous effects of Brexit.  So for now, I would sit tight in Thailand if I were you.