Gaccha

I feel the thread has coagulated around a Thai contributor's assertion that the Thai's don't care what farang think. Let me try to demonstrate this is nonsense.

Being Thai is an identity.

Identity is an inescapable dimension of being.

Identity is constituted in relation to difference (you farang, me thai)

The State 'Thailand' then, to assert an identity is performatively constituted (that is, it must constantly do things to show its identity. Since it is intangible you cannot see an identity of a State unless it does somethig)

The Thai state then performs against the defiling Other. (the one it uses to make its identity by noting differences)

The Thai state has two dominant discourses in this regard-- the terrible Burmese and their merciless destruction of Ayathuya, and the farang

foreign policy (lower caps are deliberate here; it is a contrast with Foreign Policy that would refer to the State Institution's policies) is a privileged instance of acts required by the Thai state to reveal its identity

So the security by a state isn't towards an objective danger, but is instead a way of the state legitimising itself.

The nation is an 'imagined political community" (see the masterpiece by benedict Anderson for more on this)

The entity does not possess a prediscusive, stable identity (i.e. Thailand has no identity until it tooks ill of farang)

Ironically, if a state ended this practice of representation it would mean its death.

"At this point all identities would have congealed, all challenges would have evaporated, and all need for disciplinary authorities and their fields of force would have vanished"

"Ironically, then, the ability if the state project if security to succeed is the guarantor of the state's continuted success as an impelling identity. The constant threat of danger through foreign policy us thus not a threat to a state's identity or existence: it is its condition of possibility"

(David Campbell, "Writing Security")

The key to get around this mess of novel ideas is to imagine the State not as a structure but as a process.

If I ask you to point to the Thai state, you cannot. You can point to a flag, a police officer, a border post, a map. But these are flags, polcie officers, border posts, maps. The State is simply in your mind. It is in chronic danger of not existing.

The Thai readers above croak that thais do not care what farang think. If only. In fact, they really, really, really care. Just look at the tremor in their lips when any criticism is made.

"In Thailand today, the farang are still regarded as a race (unspecified nationalities) possessed of an ideology inferior to the abundantly rich local culture. The farang who come to reside in Thailand are described as begging for the boundless benevolence of the King , or rom phtohi somphan, to live a pleasant and enchanted life. For a Farang to be accepted in Thai society, he or she must totally abandon their innate attitudes or become excessively enamoured with anything Thai (culture, art or way of life). Todd Lavell... is an American writer who provides an example of how a farang can be so Thai-like. His articles ... often underscore what is deemed to be the true value of Thainess, which is opposite to and more superior than that of farangness."

--Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Thai Professor, visiting Professor of SOAS, London University

"Thai identity is elusive because of a lack of cultural coherence or uniqueness, so it is easier for its promoters to imagine what is not Thai"

"The adherence to Khawnpenthai [Thainess]... is a part of the exercise of Thai nationalism through which power holders portray themselves as legitimate players formulating legitimate policy"

"[The power holders] high degree of power helps create the official version of Thainess that masks political unattractiveness as well as elites' private accummulation"

"Thais comply with this variable nationhood and perceive it as though it is part of their chit winyan, or spirit... This explains why they never look beyond the boundaries of Thai nationhood, and why it always remains predominant, ultimate and supremacist."

"according to this... self-image, Thais are not guilty of anything and blame is always placed upon foreigners"

"The farang... have continously represented a real enough threat to the power interests of the Thai leaders"

I rest my case, my honour.

I think this will shine a light on this issue for you:

The Ladder theory:

"Ladder theory teaches that differences between the "one-ladder" ranking system of men and the "two-ladder" ranking system of women often lead to mutual misunderstanding, the most egregious example of which is purported to be the so-called "nice guy" approach. In this model, a man attempts to increase his appeal to a woman by demonstrating the qualities she has indicated that she values in another person (stereotypically, these are positive "friendship" qualities such as patience, kindness, helpfulness and consolation). To the male, this is perceived as simply increasing his overall appeal on the single ladder; for the female, however, such behaviour increases the man's rank on the "Friendship" ladder while simultaneously decreasing it on the "Partner" ladder, due to the perceived disparity in criteria between the ladders." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladder_theory)

Of course I shouldn't generalize, men are men, no matter where they are from.

55555+

That reminds me of Tony Blair:

“A day like today is not a day for soundbites, we can leave those at home, but I feel the hand of history upon our shoulder with respect to this, I really do.”

As for answering your core point. The answer you seek is to be found in any issue of Cosmo. And the correct answer requires a reading of evolutionary psychology, an awareness of biological reductionism.

Think. Why should people talkiing about sex make you tired. Cui bono? The answer is found within your presumptive logic.

Now if you want obscure you must think out of the box.

The answer is the cinema located inside Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus (that's the one next to Chao Praya river, and a rifle shot away from Sanan Luang red-shirt parade ground). The cinema is on the 1st underground floor of the underground main library.

I would provide you the link to their latest schedule, but just as you might hope for Indy stuff, the link does not work. There is this delicious sense of incompetence. Yet the films do get shown. Thoughts are provoked. There seem to be two film 'choosers' that compete to show who has the more sophisticated taste. Usually the Indy stuff is shown on Thursdays at 5pm. The Sunday showings are more mainstream (although for Thailand they are still hardcore Indy).

As an example, they recently showed the landmark Japanese film 'Funeral Parade of Roses'.

Here is a Bangkok Post article on it:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/leisure/leisure...provoking-films

Of course, it's free as well.

So to find out the schedule go to the main library or 'ask a librarian' by e-mail here:

http://library.tu.ac.th/eng/

Enjoy.

You obviously are a native english speaker, why exactly do you want DVD's dubbed into Japanese?

When you've spent so long mastering a language barely spoken outside of a small area of North East Asia, you need small doses of it to assuage your feelings that you may have wasted hours of your life for nothing. And... the Japanese women's pro golf Tour Day 3 was released on 13 June (DVD no 7.9894, if you need to order it), so it is not all about dubbed movies. There was a queue of expats trying to get the 5 or so copies of the golf tour.

I'm not sure the RIP label is quite as clear cut as the moderator claims.

Seonai was a constant poster here until suddenly on 2008-04-05 11:25:32 she stops posting or viewing.

Yet at her website (about her catching TB) she is very alive on Aug 2008:

http://www.tbsurvivalproject.org/seonaisWorld/latest.shtml

How is she doing? She sounds like she was 'cured' from TB...

Obviously not many forum members have spent their time looking for Hollywood movies dubbed into Japanese. But for Japanese language obsessives this is big news:

There is a small store chain (4 shops) which sells Japanese language videos only. I have had withdrawal symptoms not being able to access the most recent Hoolywood movies in Japanese.

The main store, on a difficult-to-find side street near The Emporium (see map below), has among other things, large numbers of US dramas (e.g. Se-x in the City, CSI), Holloywood releases, Japanese releases, Korean releases. They can also order movies that are unavailable, in 1 hour. And since their main customer is the Japanese 'salaryman', lots of naughty videos.

The staff speak pretty good Japanese-- you'll need to speak a little slowly, or speak Thai. Costs 140 baht for a DVD.

So as Yoda (the Hollywood vision of the Japanese mountain wizard) once said: "dame ja, nani ga nandemo yaru'n da."

The website is here:

www.videoya-fuji.com

he gave me Metronidazole not such a broad spectrum anti-biotic.

In a week I was fine.

Actually this wil be better than quinacrine that I recommend above. Obviously Adammike had giardiasis.

It will not make you go crazy and is more effective. But I think it will be expensive or unavailable in Thailand. Still look for it.

The onset of food poisoning is usually from within about 4-8 h and does not last more than 24 or 36h.

This is most probably and infection by anything from Amoeba to Giardia or Cryptosporidium.

I am sure that's it. [giardiasis]

The give away is your description of belching. In time, you will get nauseous to the smell of the diarrhoea. Also, can you confrim the diarrhoea is of only small amounts and that they come out like farts, not large stools...? Does your belching stink?

I would take quinacrine (this can actually make you go crazy so only take it if your getting desperate). Tell the doctors when you next see them that you have almsot certainly have giardiasis.

In the meantime, wash your hands thoroughly. It is highly infectious and anyone living with you is almost certain to get it.

The parastite is very difficult to detect in stools. It often requires repeated tests. If you leave it, it will cure but then return in about 6 months. So don't leave it.

There was research done in the US many years ago that showed something like 10% (thats a guess but it was a significant amount) of kids were not the child of the father whom they thought they were.

The best research was on the genocide victims in Bosnia-- it was a rare opportunity to take genetic samples from a vast number of families.

They found well over 30% of the children were not of their father. There are many cuckolded men out there. In England, the law says the 'father' is to pay for their upkeep even if he divorces the mother. I suspect Thai law is rather differently constructed.

I have lost hearing due to the side effects of Antibiotics. It's a lesser known but very possible side effect.

It is the "mycin" (ie streptomyacin) antibiotics which are known to damage hearing. I am not aware of amoxil harming hearing and amoxil is an old antibiotic, so I would think we would know about it by now.

but when in doubt use "google"

Viagra can even mess up hearing too....

lucky for me.... I don't need it.

a. Mr Hammer has no hearing loss issues

b. the mycin hearing loss is a reversible impairment

c. it is not the mycins that are "known to damage hearing"

d. the placebo in clinical trials 'caused' as much hearing loss as the antibiotic

e. the group categorisation is not "streptomyacin" or "mycins", it is 'macrolides'

A week ago I went to the doctor with a sore throat.

At first he told me it was just allergic, but when he looked in my mouth, he saw that my tonsils were very red and enlarged and had white 'puss' on them. He was surprised I didn't have fever.

So he prescribed 7 days of Amoxicilin, I bought a generic.

For the last 3-4 days (the last 3-4 days of the weeks worth), I have been having really bad stomach problems. Gas and belching that is painfull, bloating, feeling tired. I get pains in the esophagus and chest area. I also get headaches.

Is this a side effect from the Amoxicilin? The gas/acid is really unpleasent. I got some Air-x(Gas-x?) and some other medication to take care of it, but it doesnt work that well.

Is there any other (natural) treatments that work well?

I don't concur with the other writers.

It seems a classic rare reaction to this antibiotic. I would immediately switch to a non-penicillin based alternative. You can opt for azithromycin. This is cheap, widely-available in Thailand and very unlikley to cause intestinal problems. It will not be as immediately effective as a penicillin antibiotic but "you pays your money and you takes your choice". Do 400mg orally for 5 days. If no improvement by Day 4 repeat the cycle.

I don't know your dose. And I don't understand how the other writer below inductively concluded you were taking a high dose. Your 7 day cycle is a routine cycle.

Ignore the comment about hearing loss. It is unknown for Amoxicillin. Aminoglycosides can cause hearing loss, so avoid them if it is a particular concern.

It would be best to check out the bacteria's sensitivity in the lab, but you probably just want to get going straight away on an alternative antibiotic.

If it still does not work then you can escalate to drugs of last reosrt (such as Vancomycin) but only do this after getting a laboratory check the vulnerability of the bacteria.

I took the last dose yesterday, stomach getting better but not good yet, also still have headaches. Whats there to do beside waiting it out and staying away from coffee etc.?

Give it around 7 days for the drugs to leave your system. If it is still going on then with a sense of urgency you need to see a neurologist.

The probably lesson of this is tell your doctor that you are probably allergic to Penicillin when you next need a course.

A week ago I went to the doctor with a sore throat.

At first he told me it was just allergic, but when he looked in my mouth, he saw that my tonsils were very red and enlarged and had white 'puss' on them. He was surprised I didn't have fever.

So he prescribed 7 days of Amoxicilin, I bought a generic.

For the last 3-4 days (the last 3-4 days of the weeks worth), I have been having really bad stomach problems. Gas and belching that is painfull, bloating, feeling tired. I get pains in the esophagus and chest area. I also get headaches.

Is this a side effect from the Amoxicilin? The gas/acid is really unpleasent. I got some Air-x(Gas-x?) and some other medication to take care of it, but it doesnt work that well.

Is there any other (natural) treatments that work well?

I don't concur with the other writers.

It seems a classic rare reaction to this antibiotic. I would immediately switch to a non-penicillin based alternative. You can opt for azithromycin. This is cheap, widely-available in Thailand and very unlikley to cause intestinal problems. It will not be as immediately effective as a penicillin antibiotic but "you pays your money and you takes your choice". Do 400mg orally for 5 days. If no improvement by Day 4 repeat the cycle.

I don't know your dose. And I don't understand how the other writer below inductively concluded you were taking a high dose. Your 7 day cycle is a routine cycle.

Ignore the comment about hearing loss. It is unknown for Amoxicillin. Aminoglycosides can cause hearing loss, so avoid them if it is a particular concern.

It would be best to check out the bacteria's sensitivity in the lab, but you probably just want to get going straight away on an alternative antibiotic.

If it still does not work then you can escalate to drugs of last reosrt (such as Vancomycin) but only do this after getting a laboratory check the vulnerability of the bacteria.

As an SAS trained fireman(retired) I have little trouble making friends in whichever bar I decide to frequent. All the ladies adore me and I rarely go home alone, also I am often commended on my good looks. My western friends, who I spend many hours in wise and meaningful conversations with, all tend to be ex military too, and are all great blokes.

I'm not one to flaunt my wealth so I choose to live a pretty low key lifestyle here, but really I'm very rich and have many properties back home...

But to be honest I do worry about some of the other TV members and their mental health.... From some the obvious fabrications you can read here it is sad to think that they are away from their families and Doctors....

Your post requires a Derrida-style double reading. But in the meantime I will divide it into two parts:

But to be honest I do worry about some of the other TV members and their mental health.... From some the obvious fabrications you can read here it is sad to think that they are away from their families and Doctors....

Right. Exactly.

As an SAS trained fireman(retired) I have little trouble making friends in whichever bar I decide to frequent. All the ladies adore me and I rarely go home alone, also I am often commended on my good looks. My western friends, who I spend many hours in wise and meaningful conversations with, all tend to be ex military too, and are all great blokes.

I'm not one to flaunt my wealth so I choose to live a pretty low key lifestyle here, but really I'm very rich and have many properties back home...

I can remember my Grandad's stories of fighting in the SAS in World War II, but I don't recall mentioning about his training fireman...

Are you inductively reasoning they adore you owing to their tendency to refer to your handsomeness and "where you go". I fear you are being played.

I should imagine with all the money you have gained as an SAS fireman it must be difficult to keep all your money in your wallet. In contrast, my old classmate is now the 82nd wealthiest person in the UK. I didn't know it until he was published in a Rich List. $2. 8 billion dollars, and there he was wearing worn out sandals. Real wealth is the ability to spend it and then choose not to do so.

You are welcome to PM a mod and ask them to send you the contents of your erudition. Assuming that your posts are not offensive, abusive or trollish, but merely off topic, then I don't see why that would be a problem.

However, most deleted posts don't fall into that category and it would make a lot of work for the mods if the content were there to be easily republished over and over again.

I long suspected there was a vault of deleted posts. This must make some good reading. I suspect a Christmas best-seller is in the offering.

There is no such thing as Truth (note the capitalisation). There are many truths. This is immensely complex and asks questions of epistemology that simply are not suited to an internet forum. Ask youself: "how do you know that which you claim to know?". The masses usually buy into a Postivist view of the World of Truth, where surveys, opinion polls and empirical evidence comfort them with a sense of finding a deep truth. Among the academic elite, Positivism lost its grip in the late 1950s. If you ask "do you have any statistics for that?" to an academic studying human culture, they will choke on their morning coffee. I recommend you read Karl Popper.

I was not discussing 'truths' that are subject to debate, truths that are formed from opinions, truths that come from group analysis. I mean the denial of facts if they are inconvienient or lower the persons face. Thai culture holds face over fact, they will happily lie through thier teeth claiming the day is night, or 'yes I did that job' or whatever it is that allows them not to be responsible and expect the world to follow thier norms of never challenging an outrght lie. As I said earlier this kind of social contract to ignore reality in favor of a conflict avoidance may well work in a static rice community of a couple hundred people but does not function in the modern world, it does not put men on the moon, or run nuclear power stations. The modern world needs truth in absolutes "no sir that uranium rod has not been made secure, I havent had time yet" not "chai khap".

One shall reiterate one's point, in the knowledge that I may be criticised for apparent verbosity. I just recommend that you read Karl Popper.

There is no such thing as truths, no matter how you define them. I will use your example of an absolute truth (at this point academics around the world are keeling over and spilling their coffees).

"no sir that uranium rod has not been made secure, I havent had time yet" not "chai khap"

How is something "secure"? [this is contextual]

How do you know it is an uranium rod? [this is contextual]

How does the worker know his role? [this is contextual]

You are probably getting the hang of it now.

Thais saving "face" appears absurd to the Positivist-influenced Westerner, but I don't even bat an eyelid.

I wrote some quite briliiant posts that owing to the moderator's view of things were not suitable and were deleted along with a raft of other people's posts. Fair enough.

But I would like my posts to be kept on my personal profile so I can use them for my writings outside the forum. If they are disconnected from a topic thread then surely they can do no harm to anyone. I would print my deleted post below as I saved it as a Word doc fearing the worst to show it as an example of sublime and erudite thinking, but I fear this would break the forum rules.

Currently, I am simply having to save them all in Word documents. Not ideal.

Thank you in advance.

Two points:

'Culture' as understood in modern parlance is created by globalisation. These little distinct packages of behaviour, customs and norms did not exist until the process of Western globalisation (the first wave was the trade imperialism of the Netherlands and Britain). They are generated as the 'other' against the 'evil' of universalisation of Western values. It should be obvious that there is no such thing as Thai culture-- it is made up of so many distinct groups that were carefully co-opted by a powerful state. Please see "Thailand: A plastic nation'. Thailand was created by an elite to stop the West taking their lands, not because by an incredible fluke a state was born that exacly represented the nation of that space. In the modern day, 'culture' is invented to fight universal norms, to act as a useful mechanism in inculcating identity into nation-state citizens. How else do you get a third generation thai-chinese merchant living in Bangkok to feel loyalty to a monoploy of violence (the State)?

There is no such thing as Truth (note the capitalisation). There are many truths. This is immensely complex and asks questions of epistemology that simply are not suited to an internet forum. Ask youself: "how do you know that which you claim to know?". The masses usually buy into a Postivist view of the World of Truth, where surveys, opinion polls and empirical evidence comfort them with a sense of finding a deep truth. Among the academic elite, Positivism lost its grip in the late 1950s. If you ask "do you have any statistics for that?" to an academic studying human culture, they will choke on their morning coffee. I recommend you read Karl Popper.

I too have wondered why a single retiree needs 65k a month but a married guy supporting a family needs a lesser amount. The longer I stay here, the less I understand the place

Because it's the heteronormative regime that most countries apply to immigration. If you can name a country that does not do this I would be keen to hear.

In the meantime, lets look at the US of A.

"in elevating family preferences to become the major mechanism for legal entry, Congress calculated that this would enable continued European dominance of the immigration stream, albeit through deniable means." (p.297)

"Approximately 75 per cent of all current legal immigrants enter the United States on the basis of family ties" (p.293)

"its assemblages attempt to transform legally admitted immirgants into "good" citizens" (p.290)

The Thai state sees you as a threat. Only if you can "mobilise high degrees of human or economic capital" (p.307) will it let you become legal.

Of course, you are to some degree on the receiving end now of this nonsense so you recognise the absurdity where "policymakers... tend to treat illegal immigration as a self-evident problem that is generated by and reflects undesirable individuals". (p.291) You can see it is not self-evident. That surely there is nothing wrong with the single man.

(all references to: "Sexuality, migration and the shifting line between legal and illegal status, Eithne Luibheid, GLQ journal")

This is very complex and is an interesting issue of transnational effects of neoliberalism in migration patterns. It is not an issue of "isn't Thailand crazy!". The patients long ago took over the asylum, right across the World.

In the end, it's all about trying to conform to whatever the standard of beauty and femininity happens to be in your culture. It's the reason for the deeply tanned bleached blonde with breast implants in the US. It's the reason African Americans straighten their hair, and why women with straight hair get perms. It's why women get acrylic nails and polish their toenails.

You look to have cracked it-- but you haven't.

Westerners take it as read that racial lines are not to be played with. So although there is tanning to indicate wealth (can afford to travel abroad) or whitening to indicate wealth (no outdorr manual labour), the racialisation never happens. Interestingly, the middle classes of England now shun tanning. It is only the chavocracy that still do it.

The latest edition of the anthropology journal Social Force provides a striking contra-example of trying hard not to fit in. The Japanese 'gyarru' use race as a fashion card. They black themselves up like the minstrel show performers on UK TV in the late 1970s-- the light lipstick and mascara act as a perfect contrast. Very aware of the attack on standard beauty.

I support a boy in Ghana, he is 14 now and I am putting him through school, I get a great deal of pleasure corresponding with him and watching his progress, he asks for nothing but I like to help him and his family.

I also support a 2 year old girl here in Thailand whose parents abandoned her.

How and through him is this done? I am always a little unsure at doing this as charities take your money on admin charges, or the same child is really getting sponsored by large numbers of people...

Can you name your method, cheers. I would be interested in doing it.

There are good reasons why having a baby at 17 is nature's preferred choice:

Risk of chromosomal abnormality (by age of Mother)

20 1 in 526

30 1 in 384

40 1 in 66

50 1 in 8

Risk of Downs syndrome (by age of Mother)

20 1 in 1667

30 1 in 952

40 1 in 106

50 1 in 11

(reference: Merck Medical manual)

And note:

"As women delay childbearing, there is now an unrealistic expectation that medical science can undo the effects of aging". (American Society for Reproductive Medicine )

And then there are infertility rates:

By age 30, 7% of couples were infertile <LI>By age 35, 11% of couples were infertile <LI>By age 40, 33% of couples were infertile <LI>At age 45, 87% of couples were infertile

"For several reasons, infertility rates are higher in the general population in the U.S. today than for the population above studied by Tietze in the 1950s."

(Reference: Tietze C: Reproductive span and rate of conception among Hutterite women. Fertility and Sterility 1957;8:89-97.)

And even if you get pregnant.... Risk of miscarriage

30 or younger 5%

30-34 8%

35-39 16%

40-41 30%

42-43 40%

44-46 60%

(Reference: Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago)

Some other points:

'Infertile' does not mean that with some medical intervention (e.g. IVF) all will be well. It means no matter what is done they cannot get fertile.

Mothers with one child and unable to have a second child claim that the pain of not having the second child is as bad as having no child at all (see "Baby Hunger: The New Battle for Motherhood").

IVF makes virtually no difference (again see "Baby Hunger').

Follow the timescale

2 years to find the ideal man

2 years to enjoy the company of that man before committing to the toil of parenthood

1 year of trying

And one last figure:

"Incredibly, the majority of female graduates nearing 40 are childless. " (The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-...high-flyer.html)

I hope I've scared you into a decision.

How is this getting on Jamie? Any chance it will reach 1,000 words?

Cheers

Let me offer a thought experiment to show you that you will not die just because your body dies:

Imagine that humans had invented a teleport machine between the moon and earth. You as a spacewoman engineer pop up and down to the moon via the teleportation machine. One day, while you are on the moon, you are told that it has been discovered that the teleport machine is not all it was cracked up to be. The machine actually completely destroys the person that gets into it and then creates an entirely new person with all the memories and physical features at the destination point.

Knowing this, would you use the machine to see your children back on earth (you will not of course actually see them, but an entirely different person with your memories will, you will simply cease to exist)...?

I have heard people answer both ways. It is interesting because it is a rare glimpse into our real thinking. We recognise that in some ways our memories are actually more us than our conscious selves. If you think longer, then you realise you are part of the memories your children have and will continue to have long after you drop off this mortal coil.

This a fairly typical post for people who like to show that they are somehow different than the typical run-of-the-mill tourist. And there is nothign wrong about not liking KSR. There is much not to like about it, after all. But I don't understand the need to infer how superior one is by not going to a tourist favorite like KSR.

KSR has an allure for young people, both Thai and foreign, has more westernized Thai food and many selections of foreign food, inexpensive rooms which are easy for non-Thai speaking people to rent, good exchange rates, and relaxed nightlife. It is a place for meeting prospective companions for a night or two or three without resorting to the typical sex-oriented bars. It offers low-end travel options.

Right.

The OP does not realise the extent to which he is being played. There is considerable literature on his desire for a true experience and the accompanying superioirty complex. See:

Despite what our traveller tells us, the people selling to his market (doing things on the cheap to see 'the real country') despite a great interest in new visual sites, they have very little interest in cultural absorption (new foods, local peoples) so Khao San suits them to a tee.

They seeked out this staged authentic experience. The locals disappoint them because they seek a mythical Thailand of the 'King and I.' While they, in turn, disappoint the locals, who expect Westerneres to be sharp suited and modern.

The tourists on Khao San are then uber -fakes. They stay with hot showers, 24 hour internet access and a real English breakfast at the ready. Why is it that these people with their tatoos and beards in their desire 'to find themselves' so often need to go via the very comfortable and easy-going SE Asia and not, say, Siberia.

As someone who travels to war zones as I really feel they are the only places you can experience times gone by, where locals invite you to drink tea, where you can engage in conversations in smoke rooms, and immerse in the local life, I can genuinely recommend the tribal areas of Pakistan, despite the sarcastic pitches of other forum users.

On my last travels I went to Algeria. In the middle of the Sahara desert I met an old man who looked like a scene of Lawrence of Arabia. He beckoned me into his house. He then produced some snaps of himself as a young man. He was wearing '70s fashion and was standing in Glasgow, where he was attending flight school. The school still sent him letters addressed to One Oasis, Sahara Desert. Poetic I felt.

Anyway, see the uploaded graph to understand the tourism dynamics.