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I am delighted every time I see Chinese misbehave in Thailand. Now the Thais realise that the falang from Western countries are not so bad after all.

Not sure about encountering the folks that want Thailand to be corrupt or go to the bad or whatever but I do remember meeting a group of retired expats (mainly American but some others too) in a certain part of a city in Thailand (not Bangkok) who were all living with Thai ladies who did not stray or steal from them, who all had at least a car of some sort and a house - basically they were all living at a standard that they could never afford in their home countries. Despite their nice and stable lives, they spent most of their time in a state of permanent irritation, whining about the least thing.

A good part of their problem was that they had all day to do nothing and to allow problems to fester. Most did not learn much Thai and knew almost nothing about Thailand. Most were bitter about aspects of their past lives, mainly marriages that had gone wrong. None had moved on enough to enjoy the present. Their chief entertainment, apart from drinking and whining, seemed to be to goad their Thai wives, show them up as stupid or whatever.

I don't live in Thailand although i have spent a lot of time there and continue to do so. But these guys frightened me off retiring there - in fact they frightened me off retirement altogether!

Learning to accept that you cannot change the social evils in Thailand, having some sort of activity that gives you a bit of exercise and interest and a bit ofo joy into your life, learn Thai as best you can, doing something that gives you some meaning in your life (whether that is volunteering or doing something to help others), leaving all your bitterness of your previous life behind, get in with the right set of friends and either picking the right women to be your partner/wife or going it alone - none of this is easy but then anything that is worthwhile is seldom easy.

Unless your wife has some serious high-level connections with the police or the authorities, there is nothing you can do. By complaining you will not help yourself and may find yourself between a senior police officer and his tea money (if there is gambling going on in the house, you can be sure that it is illegal and they are paying off the police otherwise it would not be able to operate so openly). Besides, it is probably a mafia operation.

Invite your landlord over, especially when the place is busy, and tell him that you cannot stand it there and that you are leaving. He might have the kind of high-level connections to make it stop but that would be a long shot.

The easiest way out is to just move on and take more care in your choice of location in the future - i.e. pick a property that is not so easily blocked in.

OP, the reasons why he stopped foreigners are

1. Thais would not stop for him and most likely run him over as well.

2. Stopping a thai requires ability to speak thai , which he does not.

3. Fine for thai is 200, foreigner 400,pure economics

4. This area is full of rental bikes driven by foreigners without license and no green book, so it's 1000 at least in fines.

On 3 road, corner Pattaya tai, there is a daily police check point, everyone gets stopped.

To answer why he would, because he deeply thinks and believes by "assisting " police he is one of the boys with "connections"

Not true .

Passed many times not stopped.

By everyone it means both thai and foreigner, and just because you passed many times it does not make it not true, doh

It seems that a short lesson in logic is required here. For those who understand the point, please forgive my having to spell it out:

The sentence, "everyone gets stopped at Checkpoint X" and the sentence "I was never stopped at Checkpoint X despite passing it many times" are mutually exclusive. That means that neither can both be true. Either the first sentence is true or the second is true but not both. If you believe the second sentence, then you cannot believe the first one. So when Onemorechang says that he passed the checkpoint many times and was not stopped, he has negated the claim that everyone is stopped (assuming that he is telling the truth - but this is not what you are challenging) .

In the UK we have a number of cases where various vulnerable people (including hospital patients) were victimised by so-called celebrities - the main perp was a man called Jimmy Saville.

In the cases against Saville, victims were at least able to remember what he did to them - some tried to report him but were either not believed or fobbed off. None of them, to my knowledge, were able to get a red cent out of Saville or his will as he left so little and it was probably not worth filing civil cases.

But in the Cosby allegations, it is the other way around. If this case is typical, the woman has no memory of having sex with Cosby, presumably had no aftereffects or evidence of any sexual activity (i.e. no pain, no STD, no semen stains on her underwear). And she never made a complaint.

Are we therefore going to prosecute any man (or woman) who at one time decades ago had a drink with someone and could have been alone with them for a period of time, even though there is no memory of any sexual activity? Of course, it is highly unlikely that anyone would be convicted on that basis but remember that the threshold for evidence in civil cases is much lower in the USA.

And this is what leads us to what is fundamentally at the bottom of these allegations - whether he did any of them or not, they want money. And since the media has publicised the case, we now have all sorts of characters who appear not to be very successful coming forward decades later and effectively demanding money.

I remember a situation when I was in my early 20s where a female classmate of mine had gone for a few drinks with an older gent. She got incredibly drunk, by her own account, and did not remember whether any sex had happened but there she remembered the foreplay and she had some pain "down there." She made no complaint because, in her own words, she had gone off with the guy. But this makes for a stronger case than the Cosby allegation set out above. If the incident had occurred in the USA, she would stand a good chance of making serious money out of the older chap if he were rich.

It's all a big farce. It's clear (if you read the whole Assange in Sweden story) that "outside forces" are at play in the Swedish justice/political system.

It doesn't take much to guess what those "outside forces" are.

But has the US requested extradition from the UK? If not, and if Sweden drops the case, then Assange should be free to leave the embassy to get on a plane to Ecuador.

As far as I understand this, it is not possible for the UK to extradite Assange to the USA because of legal reasons (UK does not have the same charges as the USA want to apply in this case). I believe that the USA tried that strategy in a UK court but failed. Hence the Swedish manoeuvre - and if there is no case to answer, Assange is free to travel to leave the embassy and travel to any country that does not extradite to the USA based on the law that the USA wants to apply in this case.

Actually he would be well-advised not to go to countries where the USA has a broad extradition treaty in place as the USA could just apply for extradition and have him incarcerated for the duration of the extradition case.

In a properly constructed toilet and sewage system, it should be impossible for a snake to be able to enter into the sewage system and make its way up the pipework (hard for a snake to move up against gravity as there is no grip as the inside of the pipe is smooth and often wet). If you take a look at your sewage system and ensure that there are no ways for a snake to get in, that should alleviate your fears. Much more likely is for a snake to get into your house and fall into the toilet bowl.

I would have thought that a snake in the pipe would be washed down the pipe whenever the toilet was flushed. Give it a flush before you use.

As regards treatment, you clearly need to address both the phobia and the reason why you get phobias - psychotherapy would be the way to go for that. You can also try some phobia treatments - these involve reducing your fear through familiarisation with the stimulus in a very careful and controlled manner.

Remember that phobias are real fears but irrational ones. I knew someone who has a terrible phobia for butterflies - no amount of explanation that a butterfly would never harm him could rid him of the fear. He eventually had some phobia abatement treatment and it worked - he could now go outside his house during butterfly season!

But all the treatments require a specialist and face-to-face time. This is not going to be possible on a forum like this.

Apart from the question about whether you could stand working in a pig farm and living in the tedium of the average village, you have not mentioned what you do/did for a living. What is your skill set? Can you not make far more money at that than trying to make money out of pigs?

Don't these people know that burglars wear hoodies so that when they are seen walking around a house they cannot be identified. All they need to do is to keep their hoodies on in the house.

The really clever ones will also be on the lookout for the CCTV system so that they can steal that too.

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16 is legal in Cambodia. 18 is the age for a girl to legally prostitute herself (even if prostitution remains a crime - but hey, who said the law was logical?). However, marrying a 19 year old seems to show a lack of maturity on the part of the Western suitor. Given the emotional immaturity of the locals; it would still be like marrying a 10 year old...

If the questioner is under 50; there is no bar, except for salary, standing in his way of marrying a girl in Cambodia who is aged 16-21. If you aren't making $2k a month... you're probably not ready for marriage either.

However, the question of marriage only really applies (in Cambodia at least) if you want to export your girl from Cambodia to go somewhere else. If it's just for her parents/her peace of mind - they'll be happy with a ceremony at the local temple, as will the girl normally. The temple doesn't give a toss about marriage laws and will pretty much allow anyone to marry anyone (or in some cases anything) else.

At last the voice of experience (thanks) but after all the replies there does not appear to be anyone under the age of 50 years old who has married a Cambodian girl between the age of 16-21 years old, in Thailand. Case Closed !!!! unless I missed something.

In this situation where someone is marrying a foreign person outside their home country in SE Asia, I would strongly suggest that the suitor get the future wife's parents permission to marry, in writing, with an official translation into English, before proceeding. There are lots of cases of ladies misrepresenting their ages and themselves - do you wait until you meet the Homeland Security comedians or equivalent back in the home country before finding out that the passport she has is not hers (and her name is not what you thought?). Besides, the future couple may want to live in one or more SE Asian countries or in some Western country and in each the rules on trafficking, age of consent, age of marriage and other issues may differ.

It goes without saying that the future husband will have done his homework and research into the woman's background and family and has talked to trustworthy people before proceeding.

It would also be a good idea to hire a lawyer to ensure that the marriage is legal.

If all of this is too expensive or too much work, the prospective husband should ask himself whether he is really serious about the relationship. He needs to ask himself why he wants to get legally married (for residency? bringing future wife to his home country?). He can just get permission from the parents and marry in the Temple and see how that works for a few years before going the legal marriage route.

If ever the saying, "Proceed with haste and repent at leisure" were apt, it would be to this situation.

There was a really good report on the BBC World Service (Radio) on this issue.

Basically it starts with a black person either having a minor traffic violation or something as simple as losing his job and then falling behind in alimony/child payments. This invariably results in his license being revoked (he still has it in his hand but it is now invalid). His choice is to either continue to drive (he has to work) or not work. Invariably, for the least violation he has to take time off work and queue up for hours at the small "courthouse" which is often a room at the post office because the municipality is small. The judge is invariably white and by far the majority of the defendants are black and poor. They cannot afford a lawyer and they get the max.

A white person is less likely to be even stopped by the police; if he is, he is likely to be let off. Even if not, he can have his legal representative deal with the problem and pay the fine.

The problem is further exacerbated by the large number of small municipalities who are trying to get as much out of traffic violations (by imposing nonsensical speed limits on highways) which are then vastly over-policed by mainly white police officers.

This is an example of a law enforcement service in search of a crime.

It is perfectly logical for families to have a second nationality for their kids just in case things go wrong in their home country or if they want to avail of US university education (which they will have to pay for).

Given that it is well known that residency and ultimately citizenship in the USA can be bought (you just have to invest a million or more in the USA, as i understand it), I cannot see what these people are doing is wrong. After all, they leave the country before their visa expires.

It is very normal especially for a lady who is not from Bangkok and who does not speak much English to be a bit more traditional and therefore to want to bring a chaperone to your first dates with her. She does not know who you are and probably feels more secure about having a pal along. Unless you are getting some strong signal that they are sexually involved with each other, that is probably all there is to it.

Of course, you may want to ask her nicely and politely after a few meetings (maybe do this by text) whether it would be possible to meet her on her own. If she declines, then it is, as they say in Thailand, "up to you." You can stop calling and she will either decide to come around to your way of thinking or she won't. If she doesn't, you just chalk it down to experience.

But if you are serious about this girl, you might want to endure the chaperone for a few dates to see where it goes. I have had the experience of the chaperone leaving for home after the meal and allowing us to get on with things ourselves. It would help if you got along with the Tom friend as she will be asked her opinion about you too.

But if you are not serious about this girl and just want a fling, then this lady is not for you - after all, bringing along a chaperone is her strategy to screen out those guys who are in for a quick taste and then head for the hills.

That said, it is always possible that the two ladies are out to see how many meals and drinks you buy them. But since you speak Thai, they will know you are not some guy just off the plane. You will find out after about 5 or fewer chaperoned dates when you ask the lady for a solo date.

...too obvious....another attempt to discredit or blame Putin....whose popularity is soaring....

That is such a good joke - you are giving us heart attacks here with your irony!

Looking at the serious side, this has all the hallmarks of a professional hit ordered by the Kremlin - other person not touched, car able to drive away with no problem with the police in the middle of a major city. The message is clear - no need of poisoning with radioactive material here - if you follow this man, you can expect the same fate.

The idea that you could discredit Putin is ludicrous. This is a man who invades other sovereign countries, who throws people in prison on trumped up charges and steals their wealth, who sits on top of the most organized corrupt state known to man and who is known to have ordered the killings of those who opposed him. What more could a hit of an opposition politician add to that reputation?

It depends on what your friend wants to do. How will they travel around? If by motorbike or car, they need to have license and papers with them at all times and obey the road signs, otherwise the traffic police will get them. Parking is now a bigger issue in central Vientiane and the police like to put braces on wheels so they can get money to remove them.

If your friend lives near the centre, s/he can go to most places on foot. Most of the tuck-tuk drivers are not to be trusted though and there are almost no taxis except to and from the airport. Your friend can rent a motorbike for about 80,000 kip per day (foreigner price) or perhaps less if they bargain a rate for a month. Make sure you lock the bike as sometimes people target rental bikes (rental bikes carry a sticker) and always wear a helmet otherwise you will be stopped by the cops and will have to pay.

I guess that you could bring a Thai vehicle to Laos for a limited period but remember there will be issues with the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the vehicle.

Yes, there are attempts at stealing/robbing - a couple of years ago a motorbike passing by at night tried to grab my computer bag but failed. So always a good idea not to stand in the road where someone can do this. Wandering around outside the centre at night on foot is not a great idea and occasionally there are attempts to rob motorbikes late at night but it is quite seldom. House breaking, especially of houses where foreigners live, is a national sport for some - always a good idea to stay in a place where the security is good or downtown where the secret police are plentiful.

You have to watch for spiked drinks in bars late at night. Most of these kinds of behavior happen periodically and then they stop. There were several home-invasions of foreigners a couple of years ago and then it stopped as suddenly as it started.

Personally, as a Westerner I would not frequent the large discos that are a bit out of town as I have heard some bad stories about them. As in Thailand, it is always best to stay away from places with large numbers of drunk Lao men, especially if they are hi-so.

Although the hi-so immunity before the law operates in Laos as it does in Thailand, there is less of it and it is unlikely to affect a visitor. This is probably because people are quieter and more relaxed and non-confrontational especially if you are polite. The exception would be police, especially the plain-clothes police if they belong to the "army."

Generally, I would say that with a bit of basic awareness, Laos is safer than Thailand. And unless you are in a location late at night where drugs are being consumed, you are not going to have police trouble. There are no police stops to shake down the tourists like you have in Bangkok at least in recent times. Vientiane is a relaxing and welcoming place. I hope your pal enjoys it.

It's no wonder they are losing money considering a flight with 227 people requires 22 Thai crew members. WOW.

Some of the crew may be on shift, with some of them actually sleeping on the flight (common on long haul) or rotating to another flight or went off their shift in Narita.

Thai airways does not allow people to transport dogs. They want you use pet carrier company , which handles everything from health to import/export permits and customs clearance .

Dogs fly as cargo, which means it cost you 5 times more than your ticket

Please don't post incorrect information. Thai Air does transport dogs and the cost will be about $238. Or somewhere there about.

http://www.thai-airways.ru/en/information-for-passengers/46/

http://www.pettravel.com/airline_pet_rules/thai_airways.cfm

http://www.thaiairwaysusa.com/flight-information/-you-fly/pet-travel/you-fly.html

I know this is a long thread, but it's worth 15 minutes to go through it, at least the last 3-4 pages.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/88593-importing-a-pet-into-thailand/

I went through this process with my dog 4-5 years ago. It was frustrating, but we got through it. I flew with UA, but brought the dog as a carry-on. I was nervous about customs. I've heard horror stories.

You need to let TA know you'll have a dog as there are only so many they will allow on each flight. Then there's lots of paperwork to do and 72 hours before your flight, get the certificate from the import department at the airport. What a pain that is. They rarely answer their phone and sometimes, they just hung up on me mid-coversation. But, 48 hours before the flight, I got the import cert by email.

Easy process at the airport, though customs there did nick me for 1,000B. No biggie.

Please check thai airway website for each country.

Pets from Australia must go through pet transport company

I brought 2 dogs less than a year ago(November 2013) and had to go through pet transport company as Thai air no longer deals with people directly.

What happened 5 years is not relevant to current rules and regulations.

The only one which would deal direct was Emirates, HOWEVER once i tried they directed me to the same pet transport company.

Transporting a dog as a cargo requires a number of papers, including silly vaccinations for diseases which do not even exist, plus export and import license, plus customs and clearance tax, plus local vet inspection and approval.

Vaccinations have to be done in certain time frame prior to travel.

Yes, different countries attract different regulations and there may be some issues to do with type to plane - for instance, Thai Airways is currently not allowing pets to be transported from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok at least until May of this year because they are flying the "wrong kind of plane" that does not accommodate pets.

But, that said, Thai Airways still does transport pets, including dogs as accompanied baggage on many of their flights.

How is this news, and why does anyone care he has a BB gun? Did they become illegal?

1: He tried to run off at a road check

2: The BB gun was found once they chased him

3: Further checking showed he had lived here illegally without a passport for 15 years

4: He had an outstanding arrest warrant.

Yes, they had a reason to stop him but, as Canuckamuch asked, "HOW IS THIS NEWS?"

Book two tickets..the first from lao to BKK

Second ticket BKK to Uganda on Qatar.

That way as far as qatar is concerned you commenced the journey in BKK

And when they say to me, "Sorry sir but your dog cannot continue with you as unaccompanied baggage because of our rule, as stated on our website, that we do not accept dogs in transit from another airline," what do I do then?

Mouthwash does not kill HIV.

" Laboratory studies have found that saliva may contain HIV, and transmission via saliva is therefore biologically plausible.".

Not all mouthwashes kill herpes.

Another couple of risks for the rabbis and congregation to "be made aware of"?

There has never been a case where HIV was passed on via saliva.

For the trip Vientiane-Bangkok you may want to consider a land route.

I've done this a lot of times: bus from Talat Sao to Udon Thani. Another bus onward to Khon Kaen, where I usually stay overnight, then a bus to Bangkok.

No idea about transporting the dog.

I don't mean this confrontationally, but maybe you should do some thinking about whether all this business with the dog is worth the trouble.

I have considered the land route and travelled it myself many times in the past.

Unfortunately, as Laos is a foreign country, I would have to do the import process into Thailand and then re-export out of Thailand, costing a lot of time (weeks, if the Thai rules on rabies vaccination is the same as international regs), paperwork and money.

I accept what you say about whether transporting my dog is worth the trouble but, as the ad says, (paraphrasing) "Some things are priceless, for everything else, there is Mastercard."

Try Bangkok Airways, you can book the entire journey with them as a code share. They might be able to advise you of your options especially for the transit time in Bangkok. Your problem arises in the length of your journey - someone has to walk / feed / water your dog and that's not something airlines take responsibility for.

Friends who have done this before say that airlines are very different about the way they treat a pet. Some let you visit your pet during layovers to do some walking and feeding but some don't.

I am not sure I can book the whole flight as a code share with Bangkok Airways if they don't code share already. Certainly it does not allow you to do so on their website.