Lee4Life

Beginning of July and still no reasonable rain.

Hot, hot, AC running.

Quite worrysome.

I never run AC in my houses (i have several) in thailand - any day of the year.

Two main reasons:

A. houses I build are shaded by large trees.

B. They're thick masonry, so they retain evening coolness during the day

C. few windows on south side of house.

D. large interior space, including carports = cooler.

and, the most important reason I never turn on Air.Con.... (drum roll please)

...I can handle the heat. Part of the reason: I'm thin and have zero body fat. But also because I don't drink alcohol, and I acclimate my body to handle heat. Imagine the savings in electricity, just in Thailand, if Air.con was used a quarter as much as it is currently. Thais and farang are nutzoid in their use of it. It can be raining and cool outside, but then you step in to a Thai shop (or movie theater, bank, 7-11, bus, house) and air.con units are going full blast. Frigid. I'm always relieved when I go from an air conditioned space to a natural outdoor temperature.

...oh, one more reason, I reside in one of Thailand's comparatively coolest regions, the north.

I just spent a day with a British special military guy in his 40's (equivalent to the US's green berets). He was sweating like a hog, and kept bellyaching about being too hot. What a whimp. I was perfectly content with the temp.

Boy how I would like to see you out planting rice along side of the Isan boys down here on a grueling hot day Give us fat guys a break!

Do they really come up with this stuff all by themselves?

As someone earlier pointed out, tissues come into contact with some pretty sensitive areas in people's bodies already. If they really contained such caustic, cancer causing substances then dabbing food with them is the least of our worries!

What brings a tourist?

Suitcase hardshell B 10000

Sunglasses 2 pair. B15000

Camera. B15000

Few brand name

Shirts/ shorts. B20.000

Watch(no rolex). B20.000

Jewerly (no much). B80.000

Phone. B25.000

Tablet. B20.000

Cosmetics. B10.000

2 pair shoes. B15.000

Total. B240.000

That tourist is insane. $250 for a pair of sunglasses? $300 in cosmetics? Two thousand six hundred dollars in jewelry? Is he coming here for a Ray-Ban photo shoot with Zsa Zsa Gabor?

My kids buy Oakley sunglasses in the States for 250$ plus, and they are the clearance glasses. The prices listed are actually not very high these days.

Unfortunately the laws here are such that it would be wise to be careful who you mention this to. Believe me...I've been there

if his stand is really "America don't nose around in Thailand's internal issues" shouldn't he be praising the America for becoming "uninvolved" ?

How is it that it will have no effect on the economy? If I earn 40,000$ per year, and have an uncle that gives me an additional 5,000$ per year, but he decides that he will no longer give it, can I really say that it will have no effect on my budget?

Even if I earn 60,000$ the next year because I get a better job, the 5,000$ per year that uncle would have given me would have made my total income 65,000$ per year, and so I couldn't say that uncle's decision "had no effect on my budget".

How about if you earn 200,000 dollars a tar and you have an uncle who gives you 10 cents?? try looking up some GDP figures and compare them to the paltry sum given in military aid that the US is talking about - The US wants to make a gesture for elected Governments because it has to thats all!!

I thought the sanctions were by the EU also? Not just the US?

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

While Thailand is having problems with EU and US, I think it's a good time for its competitors like Vietnam and other countries to step up and take over the markets there.

Good idea.... as there is a democratic government & no human trafficking problems in Vietnam.

But in reality...it comes down to as a buyer from the west..are you going to buy from a country that has a poor government or because you can get goods cheaper.

They will buy from a country that has less complications with the export products. Cheaper price is good, but not when the buyers have to go through all the hoops to get the products in the country.

The ""actions" taken by the US and EU don't just include the trading of goods....they include the provision of aid, besides...what country in the world doesn't have some sort if import and duty requirements?

How is it that it will have no effect on the economy? If I earn 40,000$ per year, and have an uncle that gives me an additional 5,000$ per year, but he decides that he will no longer give it, can I really say that it will have no effect on my budget?

Even if I earn 60,000$ the next year because I get a better job, the 5,000$ per year that uncle would have given me would have made my total income 65,000$ per year, and so I couldn't say that uncle's decision "had no effect on my budget".

Maybe Thailand should ban the EU trash from this wonderful country

Its always fun to see stupid posters make stupid remarks. This is all on basis of an US report

please enlighten us....the op article said nothing about any US report, it's about the EU not supporting a non-democratic government.

They wearing helmet. could be farangs

Yes...but according to the victims statements they would have to be Farangs with southern Thai accents!

The food price rising here in Thailand

Is very little, comparing to the eu with over 40 Procent the last 10 year

Thailand food price still cheaper

Then many other Asian country's! So no need to worry!

Really? I remember paying what...about 89 baht for a cooked chicken at Tesco seven years ago? I believe that same chicken is now 139 baht, So according to that, chickenflation is pretty high!

Is it even possible that one old house had such a high dollar amount of teak in it? wasn't the value of the wood in question in the millions?

Went through Monday. Horrendous queues though. Stayed the night in Vientiane. Picked up passport Tuesday came back Tuesday night. Many people including me dead scared at prospect of being rejected but nobody I saw had any problems. Tip: at Laos border pay in US dollars ... 36dollars or 1500baht

Do you need to bring $36 in exact change? Can I bring $40 and get change?

You can get change...just don't pay in Thai Baht...the exchange they give you is horrible. I think overnight Bus to Udon and then the Udon/Nongkhai van will be the cheapest as far as I know.

And my Thai wife wonders why I have zero respect for monks.

Well I respect the IQ....walking thru the live without a single minute of working and making money by selling lottery numbers that never win.

Surely that is smarter than what I do....work hard and honest and not making half the money...

"A rich man does not sleep but lays awake at night worrying about his wealth, while a poor man sleeps soundly."

I would rather work hard, be poor and sleep well than have all the money I can spend and know what I did to get it. What you do is who you are.

Pretty brave of them actually!

As far as the pirated goods go, most of the people that buy them are not the kind of people who are going to fork out the big bucks for the real thing if the copied stuff is not available, and I don't think that most people will fork over the money for an airplane ticket to Thailand just to buy pirated goods...although they may buy some while they are here anyway.

yep...it's open, border is practically empty! There is a military checkpoint right as you get to the border, just before the U-turn. The border was closed to Thai citizens though...maybe someone else has a new update on this?

The Lao gov. has been discouraging them to cross, so not much going on there either.

It's interesting that they confiscated the lumber and logs before completing the investigation...I would guess they were worried they might just "disappear" during the investigation.

By the way, I think you guys must be awful board to be making so many punny jokes

I have to ask.....what's a "godown"?

Just had a Farang friend come across from the Lao side last night...no problems, she said the border was "like a ghost town"

What's the go about not letting Thais out and not letting foreigners in?

That's going to bugger up a few travel plans and visa runs!

I have seen foreigners coming in from Laos at NongKhai, but have heard of some Lao being turned away. It seems that it may be a case by case basis for the Lao, not sure about the foreigners.

They sell older staff?

Life sure is tough for senior citizens in Thailand.

Evidently they only sell the ones that smell bad....maybe it gives them more incentive to keep up appearances?

I don't run, but am a walker. I have pretty much given up walking in my neighborhood, the dogs are just too dangerous. Last week I took a stick with me, and within a few blocks had a couple of dogs come at me from behind as I walked past their house, as I turned to fend them off another dog came out of a yard across the street and came after me from that direction...I needed somebody with me so we could face them off back to back!

I don't mind someone having a dog that's protective of their property, but it would sure be nice to see them have a fence or gate, or even close the gates they do have.

I'm sorry for the losses families and friends of the three.

On a side note...why the mention of them using cell phones? Has it been proven somehow that lightning follows cell phone signals? I'm not trying to be a smarty pants...just trying to understand.

Then read post # 4 if you really want to understand

Thanks....should have caught that post. So that explains why so many of my wife's relatives run around taking the batteries out of their cell phones whenever there is lightning!

I'm sorry for the losses families and friends of the three.

On a side note...why the mention of them using cell phones? Has it been proven somehow that lightning follows cell phone signals? I'm not trying to be a smarty pants...just trying to understand.