khaowong1

It's totally crazy that the average Thai earns about 8000 baht a month, but they expect farangs to have pension incomes of 65,000 baht a month to live there.

And for the suckers that already got married. What should we do?

Depends on where you live. If you live out in the sticks, get aquainted with your local temple and the monks there. It's not only good for you, it will go a long way to making you acceptable to the local population. After you get to know your temple, the abbot and the other monks, if you don't mind losing some hair, you might even ordain for a week. You would be surprised what it will do for your image. Not to mention your soul.

229 to be precise.

I've only come across lists of 227. What are the additional two? Sorry to stray off topic

Yes, your right, 227. I didn't have on my glasses and hit the wrong button.

I would say he didn't need it and wanted to show you a kindness.

Monks often give things away when they have surplus, some things they are not allowed to store so must give it away if they can't use it, in Thailand they often have a surplus.

Yes, that's the most likely reason. Same thing happened to me last week at Wat Lan Boon in Bangkok.

It's a Thai tradition to give a stranger water when you visit their homes, and since the wat is the monk's home, it can be seen, more or less, as an extension of that custom.

This is exactly right. thanks Sabaijai .. It is a Thai tradition.

I love Ajahn Brahm's talks... I listen to his youtube video's quite frequently. I also have two of his books. I wish I could make this personal appearance, but can't. If you want someone to tell you about Buddhism in a whole different way, don't miss his talk.

Don't you just love Thai politics and elections. The biggest thing to remember here, is that we farangs have no say so in their politics, and our say so, that we so eagerly give out, is not wanted. They have no clue how politics and elections are run anywhere else in the world, so they think what they do is normal. When you try to explain to them that what they are doing is not normal, they lose face. After all, I believe that the first political election was held in Thailand in 1933. That's only 78 years ago. Look how long England has been having elections.. Even the U.S., look who we picked for a President. You would think we were smarter than that.

I like all those cops in back with scowls on their faces.. whats with the lady covering her face? I had a hard time trying to keep up with all the storys.

Oh yeah, bicycle lanes on main roads.. good luck if your the one riding the bicycle. You'll be joining the environment.

I'm surprised he got caught. He must have made someone angry.

Not being a economic major, I had to do a little reading about raising interest rates to curb inflation. Here's what I just read.

The theory is that a rise in interest rates, and the corresponding limitation in money supply, will "damp down" excess demand and "take the pressure out of market". The intention is to reduce households' and firms' willingness to buy goods and services through making credit more expensive, ie; curbing inflation.

There is something fundamentally unsatisfactory about this process and the theory behind it. In the current inflationary situation in the US and the UK, price increases were initiated by external factors such as petroleum supply and the failure of banks in USA. Therefore, inflation in UK is not caused by excess demand but by increased input costs. Therefore, monetary policy alone cannot be expected to control the economy. In fact, a rise in interest rates adds to inflation through raising the costs of manufacture, housing, transport and vehicles and so on.

I'm sure there is some disagreement about using interest rates to curb inflation. Like I said, I'm no expert.

I thought Sanan always wears pink? He has a blue shirt on in this interview..

One wonders on what Aek bases his insight views of the middle Class and the Elite. And how does he define "middle class" or "elite"?

Idle blabber with anecdotal knowledge.

I disagree, I think he is spot on, the culture of inherited privilege in very much a function of Thai society. Stemming from its feudal past (which is barely 100 years ago) the elite or wealthy could basically do what they liked as they had all the power.

The peasant class had no rights at all. Even today, one only has to watch the interaction between the wealthy elite and poor country people to see how things have changed very little.

Rich people in Thailand think they can do what they like, can buy off policemen and politicians, get special treatment in the government bureaucratic system by paying bribes (and expecting it) and generally behaving as if they deserve these privileges.

It is their culture, this is the way things have always been and a short history of Western values will not change things here any time soon.

And what about the "middle class"? A generation or two ago, these people would have been defined as peasants.

It's all just stereo-types.

The "elite" and "middle-class" includes just the rich and better off in Bangkok, ignoring all the well off people in the other big cities and country areas.

From my experience, the middle class is difficult to define because that would include self made business people who have benefited from the growth in the economy over the past thirty years, but the largest sector has been the explosion in government paid workers, most of whom are university "graduates". These most definitely consider themselves as middle class even though most are struggling on their salaries. But the attitude of this group I would describe as elitist, the university system here seems to give them a sense of superiority over their more uneducated compatriots.

I have had to deal with the large government departments for many years now and I find that many of the bureaucrats are arrogant about their status, resent having to perform to any outside (i.e. farung) performance indicators, spend most of their time in their pecking order office politics (sucking up to the big boss and giving their underlings a hard time) and generally doing as little as possible.

One thing is for sure, they have a superiority complex about where they stand in the Thai class system and look down on the country folk who didn't have the benefit of higher education.

Yes, I'm seeing this more and more as the younger, college educated govt workers take over in the different govt departments around Thailand.

One wonders on what Aek bases his insight views of the middle Class and the Elite. And how does he define "middle class" or "elite"?

Idle blabber with anecdotal knowledge.

I disagree, I think he is spot on, the culture of inherited privilege in very much a function of Thai society. Stemming from its feudal past (which is barely 100 years ago) the elite or wealthy could basically do what they liked as they had all the power.

The peasant class had no rights at all. Even today, one only has to watch the interaction between the wealthy elite and poor country people to see how things have changed very little.

Rich people in Thailand think they can do what they like, can buy off policemen and politicians, get special treatment in the government bureaucratic system by paying bribes (and expecting it) and generally behaving as if they deserve these privileges.

It is their culture, this is the way things have always been and a short history of Western values will not change things here any time soon.

A very true reply. and like you say, nothing is going to change here any time soon. About the only hope Thailand has is if the young college educated kids, especially the ones educated outside the country start the change. It's going to be a long time before you see any major change.

Natthawut and his group don't want equal rights and demoracy, they want to rule the country..

It appears that if the Thai govt. can't really fix the problem or don't want to because of future benefits to be received, they instead have another CRACKDOWN.

My confidence in Thailand protecting my interests has been restored ! Now, can they help get my barfines returned for bad performers ?

ya this is informative but i'm not sure if it is correct outside Chang Mai.

i have heard from many sources that volunteer work does not violate the Alien Work Act.

you cannot do work that a Thai can get paid for. Thai's don't do volunteer work.

No, Thai's don't do volunteer work, BUT, they would do it if some one paid them to do it, and if no one volunteered, then someone would have to pay to have it done, therefore, the person who is volunteering to do the work for free is taking away paid work for the Thai. Simple.. yeah right.

A couple of days ago, they were talking about it's agains't the law for farangs to get Buddhist tattoo's, now it's agains't the law for farangs to play music for free. What's next? maybe they will make a law that's agains't the law for farangs to go to the bathroom with out paying the towel person.

Seems that Yingluck is confident of a PTP win as she forges ahead in the polls.

Therefore my interpretation on this is "When we (PTP) win the election please respect that and let's not have any military coup!"

"But if the Dems win then hell yeah,... a coup would be just fine thanks! "

Many Thais like to support a winning side,(ie Manchester United, though perhaps they should switch to Barcelona!),which explains the stance of the parties-' We'll win at least ..... seats' They have to look look like winners to secure votes.

ha ha ha ... that's pretty funny, as I'm already seeing a lot of Thai's now cheering for Barcelona..

serious?????????? does Thailand Government own buidism??? they seam to think so../. but I guess it's the biggest business in Thailand (most likely).

I am staying at a Thai Theravada temple in Phoenix, Arizona. And yes, Thai's think they own Buddhism. They actually don't like it much when Americans come to the temple. They also don't like it much, when we are holding a Buddhist ceremony at the temple and I explain in English to the Americans what's going on. Most of them think that if the Americans want to know what's going on, they should learn to speak and read Thai. In the US of A no less. But, if you remember, a few years ago, they tried to make Buddhism the national religion in Thailand, it didn't pass.

So I guess what it all boils down to is, let's see if we (Thailand) can come up with another way of fleecing the farangs.

But if you think the Thai's are bad, go to Sri Lanka.. Man, they've lost their mind there when it comes to the Buddhist religion. Sri Lanka and Buddhism is getting as bad there as the Muslims.

Link to Buddhist DVDs on Amazon

Do you notice that the Dalai Lama has a whole lot of books and movies out. No wonder pretty much everyone thinks he's the head Buddhist monk of the world. He does a good job promoting.

Another reason why we do not regard others as precious is that we pay attention to their faults whilst ignoring their good qualities. Unfortunately we have become very skilled in recognizing the faults of others, and we devote a great deal of mental energy to listing them, analyzing them, and even meditating on them!

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Transform Your Life

Myself and another monk were just talking about this same thing yesterday..

Maybe the time would be right, when he's home sick with the Flu..

They were probably deported for working without a work permit in a job that is classified as restricted to Thai's. Get paid B100,000 for a year's work, housing allowance, lie around and do nothing for a year. Yes many Thai ladies want that job.

This is an insult... You dont get babies by 'lie around and do nothing for a year'... 'Many Thai ladies do more for less'... ( This is meant as a compliment, by the way, no derogation intended)

B100,000 for a year is considered very good income for many in Thailand. Many Thai women do a lot more for a lot less for sure.

I have just one question after reading this highly imformative news.

Do bears shit in the woods ?

Do drivers pi$$ on the roadside?

this reminds me of signs on govt. buildings I use to see in Saigon, a sign that said, "don't piss here".

Did anybody READ the story? The story says he is a Thai. Sure he has gained American nationality, but it's not like we are talking about an American expat or tourist here: "Joe is a 54 year old resident of Nakhon Ratchasima Province. He is Thai by birth but has lived in Colarado, America for 30 years."

Anyway, if you are running a forum you really need to watch it closely and moderate when needed.

'IF" he is an American than he is an American the same as any American who was born here or whose parent's parent's parent;s were born in the US. Point being is there are no levels of being an American in terms of being held in another country. Fox News will eat a story like this up if true. However you make a valid point and the story should say "Thai American" as the assumption is he is an expat or tourist when in fact there was nothing really in the story (that I recall) that actually said he obtained American Citizenship. Just because he lived in Colorado for 30-years doesn't mean he became a citizen. I believe lots of people stay in America legally for very long periods but never become actual citizens.

Many....