samuibeachcomber

Yes, many businesses are doing well right now, although there are far more Thais than foreigners. Anything is better than nothing, and I am not complaining!

good on you,make hay while sunshines,or in the case of Samui while it rains,its certainly nice to see visitors here.I did a recon in chaweng last night and while not packed like in years gone by there were people about,and mostly young single guys,so the bars and the girls should do ok.

before you move here you have to sort out an employer which will give you a visa at this same time.

another option is opening your own business - but in a present economical situation it's a little risky.

A beer bar is a very sucessful business model in Thailand, never fails...

now now southpeel!

I can either work in my home country earning a small wage and living in cheap and fairly grim circumstances, or I can move to Thailand and teach English, with no degree or TEFL qualification, earn a small wage and live in cheap but pleasant circumstances.

Which would you chose?

if you are young,stay in the UK,and get better qualifications.To be fair to the thai children you want to teach they deserve people who know how to teach english,its not an easy job,and not suited to everyone.If you got qualified in the UK you could teach at a language school there.In thailand your wages will not be very much,say average 30,000baht per month.As others have said you could come here and sell time share,but its a husslers life,talking people into something they dont really want,and doing in an aggressive tone,do you want that?i can understand your desire to leave a country going down the gurgler,better come here for a visit and se for yourself.

12 bottles of singh,no room for food.

im not sure i understand this.

on one hand, western women are too demanding and bossy when they do make a decision.

and on the other hand, when us thai women leave it up to you, its not good enough.

just what DO men want?

good point LP,i for one am very happy with "up to you"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...ge-50-note.html

Arrogance, just extreme arrogance. After all the bank bailouts, these <deleted> should be bending over backwards to help and try to recover some of the respect they have lost.

Customer service? = zero.

Anybody who thinks the UK has a future in the financial service industry needs to rethink. High fees, no service, still insisting on delaying transfers by three days in the year 2009 unless you are prepared to pay a big fee.

I have never met anything other than a welcoming smile and willingness to help in Thailand.Are you in the UK now?

so you would have to prove you are a customer first?but 5 pound fee is outrageous,and not a good way to encourage new customers.I think customers service is an alien concept in the UK now.

the weather is the same here on Samui,been like it since xmas,feel so sorry for the people here on holiday,just not beach weather.

"I'm currently on a work permit/non immigrant visa..."

If you are working, you should be covered under Thai Social Security.

That will cover you for all of yout health needs.

With Thai Soc Sec there are no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

While working it's either 750 baht per month maximum or 5% of your salary if you make less than 15k a month.

After being in the system for 3 months, you can quit working and pay into soc sec on your own. The cost for that is 432 baht per month.

As of last January employees at private schools were no longer eligible for soc sec thru employment.

this cover under thai social security is only for thai public hospitals is it not,it would not cover private hospitals,or am i wrong.If i was sick i would n't like to have to rely on the thai public health system,although i do know of some very good public hospitals but they are very far and few between.

I really did not want people roaming all over my home and i stopped it, just explained to by wife it was not the American way We have a down stairs and outside kitchen which they visit but the up stairs, 4 steps is traffic free, it works well for me.

fair enough,thats what you might call "ground rules" pun intended.

southwest19,as my name might suggest i am living on Samui for 2 years,i know those areas of Samui are packed and very happy i am too for everyone,my reply to samuian was just a flippant reply, and a wind up to highdiver,was meant to be a joke,has no one got a sense of humour anymore,or is it just new age sensitive guys on TV.

Personally I never have this experience as my GF happens to want to be with me and is happy to be in my company.

The ' Up To You ' responses may suggest they couldn't give a toss what you do.

well yes it could be if your having an argument about something but in general i think its abrogating responsibility for making a decision,just the thai way,letting you make the decision.

Nah, I prefer my oopinion of the matter, it's more confrontational and Farang bashing.

up tp you

Personally I never have this experience as my GF happens to want to be with me and is happy to be in my company.

The ' Up To You ' responses may suggest they couldn't give a toss what you do.

well yes it could be if your having an argument about something but in general i think its abrogating responsibility for making a decision,just the thai way,letting you make the decision.

i dont know the answer to your question,but the only way to find out is to ask any prospective insurer upfront.I am in the process of doing this right now through AA insurance.As i see it there's no point in forking out 50,000 baht pl;us per annum for almost 100 medical coverage if they are going to exclude anything that you've had in the past that might rear its ugly head in the future................just throwing money down the drain.

the weather would have been the same on KPN,but when did that ever stop a good piss up,someone who was there for NYE reckoned there in excess of 40,000 on the beach,and it seems that KPN is faring better this year than Samui,unless highdiver tells us thats not so!

Your Opinion is tainted by very personal views, it isn't a reality report... I am NOT highdiver but I can ensure you that KPG will always legging behind Samui, as of it's infrastructure and more venues coming up competing with the FM Event on KPG!

The Bar Strip of the Soi leading to the RP was jam packed with revelers, so was the Reggae Pub, so was the Green Mango Barstrip, friends have been reporting great fireworks displays from the Beach at Mea Nam, so I've heard from Lamai...

so please stop the bs in regards to talk one things down, cause one favors somethin' else....at least it's not fair and people may get not a good impression of your style in airing a personal opinion!

you took my reply the wrong way samuian,i was not critising you although my mention of highdiver was just to take the p_ss for sure

How on earth does the phrase "up to you" tie into subservient women?

It is a general phrase, used when somebody is going to do something silly, dodgy or illegal.

Such as:

- Should I overtake that car here? (double lines on a bridge)

- Up to you!

or

- Let's go out tonight. (Two fellas on a boys night out)

- Not sure if the missus will let me, however I'll try and make it.

- Up to you!

In other words make up your own mind and live with the consequences.

What has that got to do with the battle of the sexes?

Actually, I hear the phrase regulary, and never about anything "dodgy" or "silly."

I hear it when discussing what we should do. I was supposed to meet a visiting American friend in Siam Reap last weekend, and I was tired and wasn't sure I wanted to make the drive, so I asked my Thai friend if she still wanted to go, and it was "up to you." (We ended up going, and later she admited she had strongly wanted to go, and we had a great time.) Or if there isn't a movie that really catches my attention, so I ask what she wants to see, and I get "up to you."

I happen to like most aspects of what we generalize as Thai culture and behavior. THis just isn't one of them, and I hardly think that is Thai bashing or that I am creating "yet ANOTHER thread bashing Thai women."

agree with you absolutely not thai bashing,its a thai idiosyncracy that i really like,although its happened to me a few times when my g/f has said up to you and i have made the decision and then come to realise later that it was the wrong decision.one time i wanted to go to the beach to have lunch,'up to you' was the response so we went,but it did not take me long that she had n't really wanted to go,now that can be annoying cos i reckon with "up to you " they have to accept the decision you make.

The new year in Koh Phangan, exactly in Haad Rin, was one of the biggest (maybe the biggest) party of the last 10 years.

A lot of people came here, mostly from KPG, some 20% from Samui.

The good: not many accidents (fighting, motorbike, etc)

The bad: 100 baht ticket both on the pier and on the road from Thong Sala

After a big cry from nearly every tourist operator, now you can see only smiling faces...

In Samui i forgot the last day with sun, it's more than a week of rain, wind and clouds.

Last year was bad but not the entire week.

No tourists will ever come back after this weather.

Was it sunny in KPN?

the weather would have been the same on KPN,but when did that ever stop a good piss up,someone who was there for NYE reckoned there in excess of 40,000 on the beach,and it seems that KPN is faring better this year than Samui,unless highdiver tells us thats not so!

should read nostradamas,having a bad day posting.

Where We Are, Where We're Heading (2009)

http://market-ticker.org/

too much information,where's my crstal ball,where's nostradas(aka alex lah?)

par for the course,but more often than not they are relatives,and in these villages they are all inter related,aunts uncles,cousins etc. like it used to be in th west in villages a 100 years ago or so.there is no peace!

soundman,i think i posted my replies and sent to wrong thread,meant to be for up to you thread,apologies.happy new year!

Thanks for all the replies,seems I'm not the only one with this problem. As for the UP TO YOU, thats a different story. The first time I came back to Samui to meet her I soon discovered she did'nt like the beach and when I finally talked her into sitting around the pool with me she wrapped herself up in the towel, I just looked at her and shook my head.So the next day I hired a car and after 2 days of UP TO YOU DARLING, at every suggestion I made,on the 3rd day after the usual reply I said NO its up to you today where we go or what we do,I said to her "you live here, you know the island there must be a special place you like to go or somewhere you've always wanted to go to" she thought for a bit then said Tesco's.What could I say, so I spent a loverly day looking at strange food and fruit and ended up in the knicker dept with her feeling all the padded bra's. I must say we had a good lunch there (Thai food). So now I put up with UP TO YOU DARLING>

bad move andy,thats why "up to you 'is so good,it can steer you away from shopping with thai lady,cos invariable you will have to dig deep.in fact rule no.1 is never go shopping with thai lady!

PS i'm 59 going on 21.

come off it maigo6,we''re just talking about the reality of life with thai ladies which i happen to like and take with a pinch of salt...................beter than them western chicks.

I like this topic open to much discussion.Yes not every thai girl utters "up to you",but in my experience most do.having lived here for 3 years now i find myself saying the same thing in reply to a question.........must be catching.

I think the thai ladies say this to save face incase they suggest something and they feel it turns out not to be a good decision.

Even if going out with mates for a drink,someone will say"where shall we meet up",i'l say up to you,not really meaning it,cos i know where i prefer to go,but that they might have other preferences.............must have been here too long!

In conclusion i like the "up to you" thing..........forces me to make the decision and take the consequences.

I hope the owners of Lucifers have been watching the news over the last few days and have taking note of the tradegy at the Santika club in Bangkok. They need to rethink the exit/entrance to their club

good point,i love the place but when its packed down the back you do wonder about your chances of getting out incase of an emergency,not very good i think.