Igor

What happens if you are a tourist but owning a condo and wnat to live in your own accomodation?

Not to be pedantic, but if you own a residence here, that sort if autiomatically means you are not a tourist but a, well, resident! Maybe only a part time resident but still...

I guess that means the 2 am motorcycle races are back on...

Sure. Open the bars and bring on the bar girls, But here in peaceful Chiang Mai my lady and I can go out for dinner OR a movie. Not both. Not enough tea money in the north?

Funny. My ex in Aberdeen used to get mad at me for NOT going out drinking.

Some women just can't be pleased.

Eat, drink and be "married"

'cause her husband is a Thai

So, she wants you to buy a thousand bucks worth of gold and/or diamonds for her finger, then she'll probably want you to buy her a car which she and her hisband can drive off into the sunset.

I'd suggest, if you really want to this lady, hire a PI to check her out.

In Europe, cathedrals have stone dragons and other scary animals to keep away the evil spirits.

Nowadays, we call it art.

In Europe, my grandmother used to wear holy medallions, containing bits of clothing worn by saints.

Nowadays, collectors pay big money for them.

Same same.

Yeah. Lots of dragons and scary demons protecting temples here.

Had a lady friend visit me about three years ago. She asked about the amulets. I explained them to the best of my knowledge and she kind of snickered at the idea. Since I was hoping for some bedtime activities later, I didn't say anything about the St Christopher medal hanging arounf her neck.

How about just a constructive yes or no to the question, minus the meaningless cynicism?

Sorry, Newbie. If you can't handle cynicism, close your browser NOW and run, do not walk, to the nearest bar!

I don't know about other people's medallions or amulets, but mine protects me from crazy Thai drivers, and it allows me to fly.

Wow! I did not know that. Do you have to flap your arms or is it more of a glide?

The amulets usually portray a famous monk and the medallion will bring good luck or other blessings to the wearer. Google search: Thai Buddhist Amulets

The spirit houses are usually not a direct link to BUddhism. Instead they are the throwback to the ancient practice of animism. If you erect a building on an empty lot, you better put up an alterantive accomodation for the spirits of that field! Do a google search: Thai Spirit House or look up spirit house in Wikipedia.

BTW: Sorry for the religious screed above. Uncalled for.

My wife and i did 3 weeks on the Mae Hong Son loop and checked into every hotel with a photocopy of my passport. No dramas at all. The bike company kept the original.

The bike company is the LAST on my list to trust with my original passport!

Government in exile; is that not the same thing as a guerrilla/rebel terrorist group?

Depends on your definitions, I suppose. The Dalai Llama running the Tibetan Gov-in-Exile out of India might disagree with being labeled a terrorist. They'd like to keep the ChiComs out of Tibet. Or the Laotian Gov-in-Ex based in the USA that tries to overthrow the communist regime for a democratic society.. I think the current Shah of Iran runs out of the USA, too. And the old Shah's regime looks pretty good these days, no?

Personally, repeat personally I kind of like the CIA Factbook's description for the US: "Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition."

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Excellent post. But I fear the CIA Factrbokk may have to remove the words "consitution-based" before Obama leaves office.

rayw said: "BTW I am British and used to love my country but I cannot say I do now as it is another corporate run USA puppet nation and sadly almost as corrupt as the USA too. "

Hmmmm. The conspiracists in the US claim Queen Lizzie is the puppeteer twanging the strings of worldwide financial institutes.

Not sure about other towns but Pattaya is pretty empty

Here in Chiang Mai, you can't walk six feet without bumping into a Chinese tourist trying to make sense of some cheap, throwaway map.And since they all seem to speak a little English and no Thai, guess who they stop to inquire: "Where is night bazzar?" The little devil on my shoulder wants me to send them someplace naughty but the durned little goody two shoes on the other shoulder always hails a song taew before I get the chance.

Question: Anyone seen anything about what this is likely to do to the baht's value? I was surprised to see it's only changed a very tiny amount.

I spent a lot of time in the military and they never once taught me a traffic cone was a reasonable defence against grenades. I have some active duty friends I need to call...

Is the guard in the photo wearing a sidearm? Can that possibly be legal?

OH igor be careful of the 10 year scam.

5555

Hey, OP> Don't be encouraged if she doesn't ask you for millions of baht. She's not a fool. She knows if she ask you for the whole amount, you'll disappear. Maybe you could just help out a little. Could you send 3,000 baht by Western Union? And then, again next week? And every week? Hey, it's only a hundred bucks for a rich falang. You can afford that! (Afterall, the other five guys sending her money every week or every month, don't seem to have any trouble affording it.)

Has she told you, yet, how much she dislikes Thai men?

I don't want to put you off, entirely. My GF is a nurse and, three years into our relationship, she's never asked me for a penny. Once, we had a major argument over a few thousand baht I wanted to loan for some repairs to her car. She insists on buying dinner, or paying for the movie. There are LOTS of great women in this country. But you are unlikely to find one online.

You know the bad thing about Skype? Girls can only have one dupe on the line at a time. When it was just chat, they could manipulate four or five at a time!

If I were as naive as you, I'd stay where I am. If you're coming to Thailand to find a girl, then you'll probably just find trouble.

Hint: Next time you chat, tell her the bank just foreclosed on your home and repossessed your car. See if your Skype calls get answered again...

at least 10 monks in the house for blessing

Hope not 10! My understanding is you need an odd number of monks for a blessing and an even number for funerals.

I love these parties. Lots of good food, interesting people, families to meet. Music, dancing, laughter. Great fun.

Thai Buddism/Hunduism/animism can be an endless source of interest and even entertainment. You curmudegeons should relax and, even if you refuse to understand, try to enjoy,

2,000,000 per year? dieing? A 2002 study indicated nearly two million people die each year, in India alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.^[11]

Not a huge percentage in a population of 1.2 Billion - less than 2/10 of a percent...

A simple mistake. I'm sure the headline was meant to read:

Ministry Affirms No Shortages Of Consumer Goods: BANGKOK

The Thai government is very Bangkok-centric. True there does not seem to be a shortage of instant noodle. Shelves are packed with them. The fact they offer little in the way of nutrition but a huge dose of salt is neyond the point.

Bit more importantly, my neighbor, in Chiang Mai, was unable to get the medicine she needs for her diabetes! She literally had a friend in the UK send her the medicine by FedEx!!! Another person I know had to go the doctor and get a different medicine for his hypertension.

Personally, I think that the inability to supply common medicines is a shameful failure.

TV posters use this topic to air political views/criticism of government and lame attempts at jokes. Shame on you for not showing some compassion

A gentle Up Yours. I've spent my career taking care of people after disasters and during wars. I've given up three wives, two homes and lots of money to do this. I'll make a joke if I darned well please.

Seems to me somebody took the time to look up the actual number

Actually, I meant my original comment to be only nit nooy sarcastic.

I think it may be better than the way we'd do it in the US. There, we'd say up to five million people affected, send in the NAtional Guard and FEMA and, set up camps in the local high school gyms. The second week we'd award federal contracts for half a billion dollars broadcast video of a dog starnded in the middle of a river and announce it wasn't quite as bad we thought and probably only three million people are affected.. Third week Obama would do a fly over the disaster area, suggest we might have to raise taxes to pay for the devastation but, fortunately, it seems only about a million people have had their lives disrupted. By the end of the month, all the TV news networks will have interviewed over and over all ten people who lost their homes and will have invaded the hospital to film the one guy who sprained his ankle when he slipped in the mud.

By the beginning of the fifth week, ask someone about the disaster and they'll reply: "What disaster?"