thaibeachlovers

Farmers are going to be forced to pay stupid "fart tax" which will force some off the land, and good farm land is being bought to plant trees for stupid "carbon credits" which is a nonsense, because it won't make a difference really. I agree that our way of life is not good for the planet, but the best thing to do is have less people, and that's not even being discussed. I've said it before, but IMO a good start would be banning all air travel for holidays. However, that's not going to happen, is it?

That's fine. I just get PO at government using climate change to make my life worse.

The trails may go back hundreds of years, but no option when I was there, that I knew of, for me to ride on them short of buying my own camel. According to the article you link to, the author did NOT ride a camel on the trail, went in a car and had a walk. She says nothing about camels still using the trail, and I'd be surprised if there were. Excellent social club. Did hundreds of trips with them.

Yes, but medieval isn't stone age.

Neither. I'll remain celibate till I die rather than get romantically involved with a white woman again, and never went for beauty queens anywhere as they think they are special.

An excellent question. IMO the people that did the most for us were Alexander Fleming for penicillin, and Babbage for his calculating machine that became the computer that saved Britain from the U boats in WW2.

Depends entirely on one's opinion as to whether such improved human intelligence overall, or just made us more stupid. Strange as it may seem to some, humanity did quite well before Albert became more than spermatozoa.

The problem with Bkk is always that it is Bkk. I never could stand it for more than a week at a time. Good for a short visit only.

555555555555555 When traffic is appalling it's not "worse" or "better" than elsewhere. Traffic in both Pattaya and C M is appalling IMO.

Depends how you define better off. Given I was not yet working, I had no money back then, so I was a penniless parasite living off my father. Was I happier then? I don't think so, but I didn't think about such things. Life is something that happened to me, not something I made.

LOL. Reminds me of when I was in Antarctica. The Americans were only a 1/2 hour walk away and their rubbish tip was referred to as the Kiwi PX. I never encountered such outright waste of still good stuff as when there.

In my experience, most don't think much about the greater world, unless it's causing a problem for them, so the little things become big things in their minds, ergo problems with such as accommodation or antisocial people overshadow the reasons we should be happy. I was very fortunate to be born when I was, and live in an underpopulated country where I could do any job I wanted without any qualifications needed. I know that, but it's hard to be happy for that reason when the world I live in is ( IMO ) in the end times and gone barking.

When referring to religious people as "good" it only, IMO, refers to them following the religion, not as to their character. Referring to a "bad" catholic might mean they use contraception etc, but doesn't mean they are a bad person.

Loads of reasonably priced good accommodation ( but not as cheap as C M ); cheap baht bus transport ( fixed route )- many C M red bus drivers were rip off merchants, especially from Promenada; 2 hours by bus from Bkk, trains and the airport; Jomtien beach a short ride away; more sights close than C M, and the tours are better value; R G mall. Traffic is appalling, but not worse than C M IMO.

Phangan, Gulf coast, Railay, Lanta Yai, Pattaya.

Leaving aside the bar workers, the locals I encountered in Pattaya were no more unfriendly than elsewhere I went in LOS.

Loads of furniture factories around Lamphun.

C M locals are not, IMO, any more friendly than those elsewhere in LOS.

I explored most of Thailand quite thoroughly. That I did it with a benefit of a rent a girlfriend only added to the pleasure. I have become bitter and twisted, but only after giving up the bar scene and going the respectable route of marriage and domesticity. I should have stayed single and a happy monger.

Some actual proof of those statistics is in order or you just made them up.

LOL. I never had much to do with Thai men even when affluent and enjoying everything Thailand had to offer, so where do I and others like me fit into your narrative of "guys who are bitter because the bar scene is no longer a viable or attractive lifestyle either due to age-related loss of libido or lack of interest from bar girls. Financial pressures also make maintaining this lifestyle increasingly difficult"? Never considered Thai males as "unworthy and inadequate providers". Just not interested in them as friends. "Thai male bashers also seek to rationalize and justify the monger lifestyle which they know is exploitative and soul-destroying" In your opinion. You come across as someone that doesn't know much about it to make such blanket statements. " I consider this group of people, who are sadly over-represented on this forum, to be the absolute dregs of the ex-pat community" Says much about yourself, and it's not positive. Do you even know many mongers well, or is it based on something you read somewhere?

Same food in Pattaya, or anywhere in LOS, women also every where in LOS ( more available in Pattaya ). Not having my own transport I didn't see much of the countryside.

I know enough to be happy not born poor Chinese.

Exactly. Build on flood plains and surprise, surprise, surprise get flooded house.

Drinking water is the least of our worries, at least for rich countries. Solar powered desalination plants can provide all the potable water needs. Saudis been using desalination for decades, but using oil.