samuibeachcomber

They're not broke. They're loaded these days. Seen any poor Thais lately? I haven't. They always seem like they are flush with cash. Makes sense as there is very little poverty in Thailand. I think there are more poor people in my former country(US) than in Thailand. Can you believe that? It's true.

judging by the gold scramble over songkran,new red number plates in circulation i would say many thais are doing extremely well as opposed to many western retirees struggling with meagre pensions,rotten exchange rates,and too many bar fines that have soaked up their savings.

"private dancer' by stephen leather should be compulsory reading before flying to thailand,in fact govts.should hand the book out at the departure gate,it might save a lot of heartache and money.

The OP does n't say where the 3 ladies are from in thailand,but i would be happy to place a bet they come from isaan.From my experiences no one can extract money from a foreigner like an isaan lady.

Dont blame them,they can be asset rich(farm land) but cash poor,add to that a poor education,and not much hope for material progression.

It sounds like the guy in question may have come across his 600,000 aussie dollars too easily,either through a lottery win,insurance payout,or left money in a will.In other words he did n't have to work hard to get the money,and in this way its easier to offload,especially if you are a single older guy,or just been through divvorce back home,then you arrive in thailand flush with cash,sexy young girls telling you how handsome you are,love only you,and oh so good in bed,all this can turn a man to jelly(not kamagra)and once you start to give money for this or that reason it can be hard to stop.If anyone is going to have a relationship with these kind of women its better to do it while living in thailand yourself,not conduct a relationship while living back home.

Once the money has gone you can never get it back.

They cannot blame the min wage , just means thy are not racking in extreme profit ... Most hotels in Europe are the same rate now as samui or cheaper, yet they have to pay the daily min wage per hour to employees !

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minimum wage is far too low,and as you say cannot be blamed.In the west people on low wages usually have the oppotunity to work a 2nd job to make up extra income.In thailand this is not possible to do because of the daily hours workers have to work(i.e. 10-12 hours per day)often only having 1 day off a week or every two weeks.Mind you it would be difficult to find a thai wanting to work 2 jobs anyway and from what i have seen of restaurant employees they tend not to be very productive.Apologies if my reply is slightly off topic.

As someone else said,samui is becoming a nightmare to drive on,whether you drive a car/truck,or a motor bike.The roads around samui are narrow with little room to widen,and we now have traffic congestion,also as a result of the thai govts. 100,000 baht rebate for 1st time buyers,this can be seen by the number of red coloured number plates on new SUV's and pick up trucks.More and more people wanting to come and live here only exacerbates the problem.The people involved in thurs. accident are lucky to still be alive.

I must have been following right behind SamuiRes. The scene looked very bad. Glad to hear no-one seriously injured.

What struck me was the number of onlookers gathered and gawping as though someone was putting on some sort of entertainment show!

Also the bikes trying to get past the scene weaving in and out past the crash with, as usual, complete disregard for everyone's safety standing around.

As Carmine says, extremely dangerous corner, the very least that needs to be done is erect large lighted chevron signs warning of the corner, unlikely to happen though I suppose.

how about putting up a couple of 2 way mirrors on that corner,and for night time flashing orange/yellow lights?

traffic on the roundabout should have right of way,maybe thick white lines across the roads approaching the roundabout would be good,and big stop signs when coming from either direction

I can recommend abbey apartments,about $125 per night.

I dont think you missed much"old sailor" it was 1-1.sorry to hear about the accident but as you said its a "given' that a thai driver will bugger off from the scene of an accident.

Why is he in a shirt and tie walking down beach road?

He works at a hotel.

i cannot believe he works for a hotel in the strictist sense.yes he maybe seconded there working for a 'timeshare company" or fractional selling as they now like to call it.It seems anyone (farang) can get a job selling this poor product.

I just read a blog where the writer interviewed a Japanese guy who runs a company selling life-like child dolls. She was obviously repulsed but probably wanted more traffic to her blog by writing about a controversial subject. It threw up lots of questions; how little we understand about sexual attraction, what types of therapy would work in preventing crime, and what crosses the line legally and morally. We need to protect children and cases like this guy who was in a US jail and still continued are worrying as rehabilitation doesn't work. There are some parallels when you think that historically homosexuality was illegal (still in is some countries) and our enlightened understanding at present indicates that you can't de-gay someone who didn't choose their own sexual orientation. Maybe paedos don't choose either but I think only a progressive approach to understanding this will help keep kids safe.

Maybe jail is not punishment for him. Ever hear of Lenny Bruce and his comments about this? So you believe you are a leaf in the wind and it is the wind's fault for who you choose to bed with? The issues you point to in your post are largely a result of believing you can defer accountability or responsibility for your actions, that you are at the mercy of some imagined destiny.

paedo philia is certainly a sickness,but children need to be protected,and prison is a good place to put them,by all means try and cure them but let it be done in prison with a life sentence to protect others

I agree with the replies here,much is said,little is done.

the poster wants a pool to do his laps,not the ocean,as some people seem to be advising.I know of 2 places but they are n't 25 metre pools.one is at smile house in fisherman village,the pool is about 17 metres,and costs 50 baht to use.the other is at that condominium block next to tesco's and is 100 baht a day but only looks 15 metres in distance

very sorry for your loss. RIP.

Yeh whatever, stop being a child.

The point is the sums of money you find trivial are not so to most thais yet there are many, most infact that "choose" not to charge you more and offer you an equal playing field to their own nationals.

By using those who knowingly charge more you are giving a slap in the face to the decent folk who want to offer you thai prices.

What don't you understand about that? Surely its not so difficult to grasp! I say all this despite the fact thais think those of us that pay extra are right mugs...

ok but many clinics run by thais have this consultation fee that says "between 100-600 baht consultation fee,so could it depend on what the problem is that you are there for,or how long the consultation is for.We are all assuming that its instantly a rip off if 600 baht is charged.

100-500 baht per visit? whats the problem? many thais on a minimum wage(300 baht per day) could not afford a 500 baht visit,while to us farangs 500 baht is not expensive,people have to make a living.On the other side of the coin go to any thai cafe and we will pay the same as any thai,good food,cheap price,cos the staff are all on minimum wage so we and thais can afford a good meal out.we cannot have it both ways and sometimes in some businesses we are asked to pay more

I earn Thai wages. I pay Thai tax (which none of my Thai business associates/friends manage to get around to doing). I find 500 baht ridiculously expensive for a clinic visit. I find your sweeping assumptions odorous. I go to Nathon hospital because I don't mind waiting in line for a few hours while people who are bleeding are dealt with before me. Then I get my ears/eyes/nose/kidneys/whatevers tested for a few baht by the same doctors who tourists pay tens of thousands for via their holiday insurance.

I tried for a while tonight, but can't find any connection at all between health care and eating noodles.

Is this just me? I wonder if anyone else can?

R

so you find my assumptions odorous.I asumme no one forced you to work here on thai wages it was your choice,and its your choice to use nathon hospital.I prefer to go to thai inter or samui inter where the going rate is 600 baht per visit.one time i visited samui inter,they could n't help me and referred me on to some where else and they did n't charge me for the consultation.go to bangkok samui and its often between 600-1000 baht depending who you see and what your problem is.I have health insurance......well worth having.

with regard to health and noodles that you could n't see the connection,i was and have been trying to make the point of the very low wages that some thais get paid..............maybe you are in this category

100-500 baht per visit? whats the problem? many thais on a minimum wage(300 baht per day) could not afford a 500 baht visit,while to us farangs 500 baht is not expensive,people have to make a living.On the other side of the coin go to any thai cafe and we will pay the same as any thai,good food,cheap price,cos the staff are all on minimum wage so we and thais can afford a good meal out.we cannot have it both ways and sometimes in some businesses we are asked to pay more

Speak for yourself, because you sound a right big time charlie. Its people like you that foolishly condone such criminal practice that do no good for the island or decent law abiding foreign nationals.

I also hope the dishonest doctor goes bust as there are plently of decent honest ones to use. There are far more decent honest thais to use so why not reward honesty rather than dishonesty.

When i asked a thai friend this morning about some who knowingly overpay he laughed and said 'some farang just stupid!"

oh yes i am one big time charley,i can throw 500 baht around till the cows come home............seroiusly many health practices charge like the OP mentioned.If you cannot afford 500 baht,take your business elsewhere.I personal dont have a problem with paying 500 baht especially if i get good service.

WOW can you really throw around 8 quid!! Thats something to be proud of!

As the thais say, "some farang stupid."

Just to emphasise, its really not about the 8 quid you are happy to throw away, its about not rewarding dishonesty my friend

settle down man...................and by the way i am not your friend,i hope you can understand that

they mull over a lot of things but nothing ever happens,always thought songkran was supposed to be wet.

Is being a robber one of the occupations a farang can do in Thailand?

surely he needs a WP.

100-500 baht per visit? whats the problem? many thais on a minimum wage(300 baht per day) could not afford a 500 baht visit,while to us farangs 500 baht is not expensive,people have to make a living.On the other side of the coin go to any thai cafe and we will pay the same as any thai,good food,cheap price,cos the staff are all on minimum wage so we and thais can afford a good meal out.we cannot have it both ways and sometimes in some businesses we are asked to pay more

Speak for yourself, because you sound a right big time charlie. Its people like you that foolishly condone such criminal practice that do no good for the island or decent law abiding foreign nationals.

I also hope the dishonest doctor goes bust as there are plently of decent honest ones to use. There are far more decent honest thais to use so why not reward honesty rather than dishonesty.

When i asked a thai friend this morning about some who knowingly overpay he laughed and said 'some farang just stupid!"

oh yes i am one big time charley,i can throw 500 baht around till the cows come home............seroiusly many health practices charge like the OP mentioned.If you cannot afford 500 baht,take your business elsewhere.I personal dont have a problem with paying 500 baht especially if i get good service.

Hallo Holland.

I was just thinking the same today.

Up here in Phetchabun it is so hot that when the sparrow on the roof farts, the bird cannot hold and shits and subsequently faints.

Then the poor sparrow tumbels down the hot roof tiles while sh**ting covering himself in his own excrements falling down on the simmering concrete of the floor surrounded by his own bodily fluids. Unable to move on the hot concrete he then is cooked by the heat-rays of the sun.

Poor bird.

Eeeuh,.. yes it is surely hot, i agree.

I see many guys(not birds)coming out of bars in the late afternoon sun looking just like your sparrows in petchabun

This makes me think back to when I was in my 20's and I was helping a friend lay some tiles in an old people's home in Australia. There was an old man laying in bed crying and calling for his son over and over again. It was terrible! The rest of the residents were just sat staring off into space.

At the time I was just glad to be out of there but now I am in my early 50's it does make me wonder from time to time what it would be like to be old and frail in Thailand...

better than being old and frail in your home country!warm climate cheap food and yes compassionate thais.I would rather take my chances here.this can happen to any of us...........and when your times up its up.I have seen first hand many a thai lady/family helping to take care of fragile old farangs that simply by their actions in life do not deserve the kindness.but who's to judge really.If i was this guy i would sit tight and try and pay off the hospital bill with his pension,lay low under the radar regarding immigration issues and stay out of hospital,it will eat all yor money up eventually...............and we all have to go sometime,but somehow i would want to help the thai family/girlfriend who is still helping me.

Samui still doesn't has a bridge, Phuket does...

phuket(imho)is not a proper island,its connected to the mainland by a bridge