MJP

Doesn't sound all bad to be honest. Are they a similar age?

That's a tricky one yeah.

O come now, I'm trying not to be cynical tonight. There has to be some good things going on in the world. Got to be happy hour some place, no?

All you need to do is go to Carrefoure or Tesco and buy "mattress covers". If you have a double or queen sized bed you need to buy 2, they are cheap and soft, about an inch thick and make hard mattresses much softer.

Quite true but for about 150,000 to 200,000 baht you can buy a good western style mattress.

are you sure its mattress & not mistress?

The mistress is free with the matress only during the Chinese New Year promotion .

And no guarantee on her

150-200 k expensive bought a good one for 59k (kingsize)

What's wrong with you lot?

I got a hotel standard, last for ever sort of thing, double not king size . . . for 5k Baht!

Had the bed custom made out of teak . . . 8k Baht.

Really now . . .

Stop doling out the gifts and see if there is an emotional response.

Good advice.

Huh?

She smiled and said thank you ... are you expecting her to jump up and down and scream like a schoolgirl? (Western schoolgirl).

Strong emotions are rarely shown in public by Thais (and many other asians) though in private it may well be different (depends on the person), I don't see this as a Buddhism thing at all. (assuming she is a practicing Buddhist)

Easy JD...are you trying to indicate that a western girl showing an emotion like jumping up and down is a bad thing? My post was just to gain some insight as to what, if any emotion, should be expected. She has no problem at all showing her affection for my son in public by hugging and holding hands etc. I am just trying to understand the culture from folks who have lived it.

This actually sounds like a lovely story. Perhaps true love.

Maybe she doesn't want your boy to spend on stuff she doesn't really need. Some of these lasses are actually very keen on saving and economic stability and not just for themselves.

Doesn't sound all bad to be honest. Are they a similar age?

Koncept aren't bad for mattresses. Around 10,000 to 13,000 Baht budget I reckon for a decent one.

Re last sentence: So it's quite ok with you, that certain Farangs are here only because of the possibility of a cheap life with women and simultaneously do nothing else than offend the locals and their culture.

And just what is WRONG with a cheap life with women? Is it only proper if it costs a lot of money?

Is it only proper when we put some phony marriage certificate on it? I've seen more phony marriages for convenience than loving ones.

Is sex with a beautiful woman somehow WRONG when both parties are in agreement? I fail to see the problem?

If two people enjoy each other's company and both treat each other with respect, I don't see a lot wrong with someone providing a valuable service for an accepted price... if both adult parties are agreeable.

Not at all. I can get Nippon 100% Acrylic for less than £30 for 5 US gallons! Goes miles too.

MJP

I have an odd pice of property or two ... They are the basis of my retirment account and have to stay that way for a long time before I can sell them and properly retire and not take major hits in the wallet.

I do have to say that I understand what the guy that talked about returning to work and liking it means though ... after 6+ years of learning and doing some travel in Thailand, I am back to working. I could not be a teacher here but I did find myself a good job and am having a blast at it! It is good to be drawing 0 (zero) funds from US accounts and actually putting a bit of cash in the rainy day sock again

Especially during economic booms, when we're flat out, we love the thought of early retirement. Now, having had a sort of practice run, partly due to the economy and partly due to health (although better now), I must say I'm dreading it.

Would be nice to be back on site again. But things ain't too good in my line right now.

Still, have to make the best of things. With the dry weather right now I can see the future . . . in the form of a roller and a bucket of TOA's finest 100% Acrylic!

certain Farangs are here only because of the possibility of a cheap life with women

Let's be honest, almost all of us are here for one or the other or for young boys. We would all be in the South of France having the time of our lives if it were cheap.

The S. of France? You must be joking!

I do have to admit ... being able to afford to retire here at 39 and not dent my retirement accounts back home helped me decide to stay.

Actually, I will retire in South of France (Ramatuelle exactly) family holiday house is already waiting for me... But a present, and in my mid-forties, I am quite happy with my life in S.E. Asia.

Are a lot of you like, international gangsters . . . or worse . . . bankers or something?

Lot of people retiring very young these days. Good for you!

It's . . . it's what it is, I guess.

Funny old world.

I did offer a "because its cheap" option.

It's not that cheap. Well, it used to be, but I always ended up spending 10 times what I would back home . . . not cheap.

Excuse me, but you are not interested in sex and yet you spend "10 times" what you spend at home in a third world country. How can that be?

The plants for his garden are 50% of the price in the UK.......but in Thailand he buys 20 instead of just one........thus spending 10 times as much!!!

That's exactly how it is!

Exactly!

You say to yourself . . . Oh, that's cheap! I'll take a gross of them!

I did offer a "because its cheap" option.

It's not that cheap. Well, it used to be, but I always ended up spending 10 times what I would back home . . . not cheap.

Excuse me, but you are not interested in sex and yet you spend "10 times" what you spend at home in a third world country. How can that be?

Well, maybe not ten times. I was married here for 7 years. So it wasn't me doing the spending.

Just looking at the budget spreadsheets for 2010 and I still can't find any allowance on there for visiting prostitutes. Biggest spend on grocery is milk. 19,776 Baht a year!

certain Farangs are here only because of the possibility of a cheap life with women

Let's be honest, almost all of us are here for one or the other or for young boys. We would all be in the South of France having the time of our lives if it were cheap.

The S. of France? You must be joking!

I do have to admit ... being able to afford to retire here at 39 and not dent my retirement accounts back home helped me decide to stay.

Thirty nine!!!

How mush?

Almost everybody.

I know quite a few on this board and not one is like that, they're not here for sex tourism. Guess your average Pattaya sexpat wouldn't bother talking to us lot on a forum like this anyway.

As long as we are being honest, on the subject of "sex tourists" I have to say that I've been here for over 20 years. In that time, I've virtually never met a straight man who lives here, who was not fooling around in the bars and massage parlors or with "off-duty" prostitutes - who they claimed were "good girls" - or sneaking off with local woman - who thought they were interested in marrying for them - for quickies or for an affair and money was almost always involved.

There are an awful lot of hypocritical guys who are here for sex who claim not to be because they do not pay cash money after every encounter - not that I'm trying cause any contoversy.

I've met them too. Some of us tried to setup stable family circumstances . . . a mistake here, it's too screwed up.

I did offer a "because its cheap" option.

It's not that cheap. Well, it used to be, but I always ended up spending 10 times what I would back home . . . not cheap.

Almost everybody.

I hear you matey.

I know quite a few on this board and not one is like that, they're not here for sex tourism. Guess your average Pattaya sexpat wouldn't bother talking to us lot on a forum like this anyway.

certain Farangs are here only because of the possibility of a cheap life with women

Let's be honest, almost all of us are here for one or the other or for young boys. We would all be in the South of France having the time of our lives if it were cheap.

Not all of us.

Out side the tourist area's in Thailand the locals are ok. Alot of them do still say bad things about farangs when they think you cant understand them ( i know i speak thai ) . But in the tourist area's the some of the thing i have heard said about farangs is awful. Vene the the tourists are stood right infront of them spending there money in a shop. Many thais can still only sad bad things about farang and laugh to eachother about them.

My advice to Farangs who live here and like it, and also think the local thai's like them. Is DONT ever learn the thai language. If you do you will quickly understand you are not really welcome here even if you are spending money

If you ran a tourist oriented business, you might understand why some Thais resent farangs. I have a security system that allows me to see and hear everything going on downstairs in my shop, but I hardly ever watch it. When I do on occasion, I often see foreign customers arguing about everything and anything and speaking to the Thai staff like they were idiots. However, when I come down and ask about their problem, the same customers are polite and respectful and suddenly have no complaints.

I'm amazed at how most Thais can suffer this constant abuse and still realize that most farangs are good people.

As far as being able to understand that Thais are constantly talking badly about us. You are not the only one who can speak Thai. My experience - outside of really sleazy bars - is that they go out of their way to put up with the wacky things that some of us do. The truth is that Thailand is filled with farangs who are the worst kind of losers and social rejects. When Thais talk badly about us, it is usually about the kind of farang who very much deserves it.

That also is very, very true.

If you consider you're average Pattaya 'holiday maker', would this person command any respect in their own country? The worst of all breeds heads to places like this, so it's little wonder that the Thai's perception of 'farang' is mired in negativity.

I had this discussion recently with a really nice Thai fella, used to be a chauffeur. He had come to the difficult realisation that farang that came to Thailand were not necessarily the same as all farang so he'd dropped his prejudices towards us. I had to agree. Was a really enlightening conversation.

The meeting of East and West, particularly in Thailand has not really been a happy one in my opinion.

The people in the Philippines APPEAR to be friendly, but many are just using the knowledge you pass on to scam other gullible tourists. I saw more scams in the Philippines then I ever knew existed. When a Filipino speaks to you in a friendly manner he's just trying to learn what you know so he can lower the guard of some other gullible tourist and make him more vulnerable. I saw it happen so frequently I couldn't believe it. Their patter would make an Indian tailor in Phuket go green with envy.

By contrast, when a Thai talks to you he's mostly just being friendly. There are the excpetions of course, but you learn to spot them after a while.

And, I heard of more murders within the group I was associated with then I ever heard happening in Thailand. Four guys I knew personally were murdered in Angeles City.

And, the government in Thailand is far more concerned about the environment than anyone in the Philippines. At least Thailand DOES have some national parks that are protected. In the Philippines the fishermen blow up the coral reefs wih dynamite just to kill a few fish to eat.

I thought the Philippines were at civil war?

Total carnage that place from what I an make out.

All of this makes you appreciate the West more and more and more . . . everyday.

I think Mom is dead on in her assessment of her daughter marrying a falang and the view of her peers and her daughters peers. Face is everything here. Big face most of all. If you are honest with yourself, you will concur with mama's position. Unless your girlfriend is a butt ugly pompui, quai, why else marry you or me , or any over the hill, westerner.

Gee, maybe the cash, you think. By the way, just so you know. I would put the gals on Thai Love Links at a 50-50 chance of being prostitutes as I personally have prepared their profiles and photographs for your consumption. Pro bono, I might add. They, at least the Esaan women, are great gals and loyal as well. Forget the cash payments to mom, do a few months with that gal before making the plunge. When YOU are ready, hang a baht of gold on her and take her and her family to a nice dinner. Best of Luck. I am in my fifth year with a good Esaan woman.

In the face of all the evidence and all the experience . . . quite why anyone would want to put themselves through all this is beyond me.

It's all BS . . . surely most of you realize this?

You don't live in Thailand full time, do you? Thailand is a great place to be when you bring in money from the outside, scratch that, it's fuc_king awesome to be young and have money in Thailand, but unless you have a trust fund, you have to work for a living eventually. I am 27 and I don't think there are any real options to make a career in Thailand. It's basically TEFL or online business.

Thailand really isn't that cheap if you want a condo with decent amenities, motorbike, car, money for travel etc, money to go to decent restaurants, universities, clubs, taking out the girlfriend. All things which are necessary to meet the right people.

They have 45 kg girlfriends in other countries too. The Philippines is just as much fun as Thailand and much cheaper. They also speak English and have a work ethic. I am thinking of setting up an office there.

Huh? I know a number of farangs who have started with nothing and become quite successful here. Saying that it is impossible for foreigners to make a living here is just plain silly.

By the way, the Philippines are depressing as hel_l, dangerous and dirty. Thailand is heaven on earth in comparison.

To call any copuntry hel_l on earth and call thailand heaven on earth in comparison to it is a big insult to any country. Thailand is no where near and never will be heaven on earth.

As some else has said. The locals in the Phililppines are alot more freindly than the locals in Thailand. Out side the tourist area's in Thailand the locals are ok. Alot of them do still say bad things about farangs when they think you cant understand them ( i know i speak thai ) . But in the tourist area's the some of the thing i have heard said about farangs is awful. Vene the the tourists are stood right infront of them spending there money in a shop. Many thais can still only sad bad things about farang and laugh to eachother about them.

My advice to Farangs who live here and like it, and also think the local thai's like them. Is DONT ever learn the thai language. If you do you will quickly understand you are not really welcome here even if you are spending money

Honest.

A friend of mine rented one for a day just to see what it was like

He returned it in under two hours vowing never to ride one again.

I think the price is about 60K, too.

Thank you for that information, you just saved me 40k of these Thai Baht pieces of paper.

Have a beer. If you don't drink. Make a nice cup of tea for yourself.

How Greece exposed the slippery slopes of Europe

As European leaders gather to discuss the fate of Greece, Andrew Gilligan finds half of Europe broke, the currency tottering, and a president that can't read a speech.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...-of-Europe.html

Just get let the German's repo all the BMW's and go back to . . .

. . . what difference does it make?

Germans deserve to get screwed around anyway. Germans seem to be good at is forgetting their past, how much grief they have cost the world.

1. I wonder if that is true. The Germans and the German economy has made enormous sacrifices over the last 20 years first to accomadate E.Germany and then subsidize irresponsible economies throughout the remains of Europe. It has almost certainly cost them 1-2% growth per annum. I have no idea why but I cant help feeling it might be partially related to some feeling of guilt.

2. The dilemma that Germany is going to face is this. The last 10 years has seen a delationary environment in Germany and an inflationary one elsewhere in Europe. Germany has probably had the highest 'real' interest rates in the Euro. As a result many if not most Euro countries need to deflate their economies against Germany. Such an adjustment will be very painful. Of course the whole process would be far easier if the problem was simply reversed. Instead of countries deflating towards Germany, Germany simply inflates its way towards them. If Germany was to engineer a debt driven, asset price growth model with rising real wages and a current account deficit, it would work wonders in terms of solving other countries problems. And the reality is that Germany can afford to inflate far more than say Spain can afford to deflate.

3. Although this doesnt sound very likely it may well happen anyway. If the likes of Ireland Spain and Portugal tighten fiscal policy, the ECB is quite probably going to persue a loose monetary, weak euro policy to mitigate the deflationary effects. Far looser than Germany might consider ideal.

1. reason: bekaus vee Tchermanns are dumb und not as klever as jung Kanadian boys hoo klaim zey attended zee Ostrian Schul of Ekonomie.

2. deflation applies only to immobile property. in all other areas inflation galore!

3. loose ECB policies? no way! Axel Weber will take over from Jean-Claude Trichet.

For what it's worth . . . biflation is a definite in my opinion. But again. Does this mean anything in the face of physical reality?

How many other countries in Europe have been helped by Goldman & Co ?

Wall Street helped dig Europe's debt

"Wall Street tactics like the ones that fostered subprime mortgages in the U.S. have worsened the financial crisis shaking Greece by enabling European governments to hide their mounting debts.

As worries over Greece rattle world markets, records and interviews show that with Wall Street's help, the nation engaged in a decadelong effort to skirt European debt limits. One deal created by Goldman Sachs helped obscure billions in debt from the European Union budget overseers in Brussels.

Even as the crisis was nearing the flashpoint, banks were searching for ways to help Greece forestall the day of reckoning.

In early November – three months before Athens became the epicenter of global financial anxiety – a team from Goldman Sachs arrived in the city with a proposition for a government struggling to pay its bills, say two people who were briefed on the meeting.

The bankers, led by Goldman's president, Gary Cohn, held out a financing instrument that would have pushed debt from Greece's health care system far into the future, much as when strapped homeowners take out second mortgages to pay off their credit cards."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...n2.4c5ae02.html

Again. Does it matter? Does it mean anything? Is all this this just some sort of twisted entertainment, a prelude to the inevitable running out of resources?

I'm getting the feeling . . . yes.

Anyone know anything about this thing?

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Sac..._madass_125.htm