johnnyk

Ravisher,

I paid about 750 baht but I think that was for my coke. ;-)

Thai food?

I go regularly to Vientiane on 2nd Road. It's Lao-Isaan food so take your TG there as its food dear to her heart. Good prices, prompt service, huge menu.

IMHO, Greg's and Queen Vic are overpriced though I confess to liking Britstodge once a week to firm up the bowels.

I went to bed within 15 minutes with a girl I met in a bar in Pattaya.

But she really liked me.

Face is very important, so admitting you don't know is loss of face.

I think the education system also encourages rote learning and not thinking through a problem to solve it.

I'm not a logician but isn't there something about westerners using a linear logic and Asians (and others) using a circular logic?

An Asian friend once pointed out to me that in a western letter the meat is up front but in an Asian letter the most important stuff is near the bottom of the page.

Only thing I know is that when I'm in LoS, I'm not going to change their thinking, it's up to me to adapt. Makes life easier if I do.

sunlvr,

Best advice i've heard is to come for an extended period, several months and just look around and talk to people.

Don't get involved or commit to anything as there are many sharks in the Thai sea. Not all the sharks are Thai.

Well, at least they aren't sitting in their mummy's house watching TV.

Why don't you walk around and ask?

Thinking of getting a PI presupposes doubt or lack of trust.

If those feelings exist, they are coming from somewhere.

Isn't that all someone really needs to know?

As mentioned earlier, it the US Gov foreign policy that causes probs, not Americans on tour....

Unfortunately Yanks get a a bad press thru no fault of their own, unless the voted for GWB.

Nuff said, as we r getting off topic.

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It's important to separate Americans from their government.

Most American individuals I have met or known are fine people but US gov't policies can be pretty nasty.

The GWB voters generally don't travel abroad, life is perfect in Butt###### Falls so they stay home.

Just be peaceful, smile, use please and thank you and don't touch anyone's head.

You'll get ripped of the same as any other falang, they don't discriminate.

Seriously though, you'll be fine.

What about crossing by car via Nong Khai? Is it possible now? I'd like to drive my own car to Vientianne... What kind of documents do I need to present?

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Passport should be enough but have car reg and DL ready.

BTW, if you pay US$ for your visa its $30 (1200 baht). If you want to pay in baht it suddenly becomes 1500.

Gotta like the Canadians.

Step on their foot and they apologize.

People complain about how Pattaya has changed for the worse in four years.

What else is new?

You shoulda been in Rome 2000 years ago. It was really something then!

Its never as exciting as your first or second visit, but you've changed too.

It's still the best night out in the world.

I was in King Kong soi 6 one night when a 6'3" 260-lb falang was giving one of the girls a hard time and wouldn't let up.

The owner, 5'7" 140lbs, came over and took care of it in 35 seconds.

A muay thai kick in the goolies, the big guy doubled over and got straightened up with a smash to the mouth and was finished off with a shot to the stomach that must have bruised his spine. He couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The girls clapped as he ran down the soi.

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I already told you , I'm 5ft 8 not 5ft 7.

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But you weren't wearing your boots!

IMHO, only the Chinese will decide what China will do.

Except for a brief period of 200 years they always have.

US and British pressure is effall to them.

Thai baht rising against sterling and the dollar?

It's monopoly (unintended joke) money, Thai dingbhat, maybe.

I was in King Kong soi 6 one night when a 6'3" 260-lb falang was giving one of the girls a hard time and wouldn't let up.

The owner, 5'7" 140lbs, came over and took care of it in 35 seconds.

A muay thai kick in the goolies, the big guy doubled over and got straightened up with a smash to the mouth and was finished off with a shot to the stomach that must have bruised his spine. He couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The girls clapped as he ran down the soi.

But don't ya just love it when these wannabe hardnuts come unstuck. I remember back in my youth, a gang of guys were going to give some guy a kicking in a dance hall. The guy was a bigun, and he just stood there in front of about 20 of these guys with a cup of coffee in his hand (yep, coffee)... and said calmly, "Ok, it's your choice, two at a time or all together... but I promise you, the first one I get hold of is going to get this cup rammed down his throat!" The crowd dispursed like sheep.

A guy I used to know made my favourite quote in a similar situation when a jerk threatened him with a baseball bat:

"You've got a choice, Chuck. The bat goes down your throat or up your ass."

Most falangs don't need to live in Thailand.

They want to live in Thailand.

There is a big difference.

Does Hotdog/Hamburger Denmark still cause indigestion in Pattaya these days?

My info is that it causes the shites at least as often.

I don't think its a business I would want to be in.

There is no upside to your pricing for service, its a race to the bottom between you and your competitors.

You're on a treadmill having to constantly invest in new hardware, software, games etc etc.

A local guy moves in next door doing the same thing (and they will if it looks like there is even 10 baht to be made) and if you're falang your business is toast.

And, what can you do to make your place different?

Internet & games are a commodity.

He's just saying, "What's the rush?"...or...

A veiled threat indeed...pay up now to TRT or we nail you after the election.

No. Falangs don't vote.

Can't remember the details but it seems they put the cards up for sale promising one set of benefits then reneged and diluted the benefits to buyers.

What were they really offering?

Strip away the marketing-speak and the answer is, not very much.

The problems weren't with the card companies, they're just the whipping boy.

It was a stupid concept.

Falangs, even the booze-soaked ones, are not all stupid and have more consumer awareness than the bozos who thought this up.

...Well you sure colonized them in the old days sir

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As did Belgium my friend. We just did a much better job rather than simply looting the place.

...Further, English today is becoming more and more a technical language, and the U.S. rules the world in that respect.

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And technical is all that matters.

As long as we can quantify everything we are safe from intrusive thoughts, perceptions, emotions that may discombobulate us.

China.. is no better..

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Sorry, I have to disagree with this.

I have just signed on for a third year here at "my" university in China, having fled the Thai edutainment circus in horror two years ago. Admittedly I do not teach kids (and have no desire ever to do so), but my experiences here have been far more positive than the purgatory I experienced in Thai universities. My Chinese students are more motivated and capable than any of the Thais I taught, and the treatment I have received from the university administration is generally much more equitable. I am paid a lot more for far fewer hours and enjoy nearly six months paid holiday a year, in addition to other benefits which are generally unheard of in Thailand. I have also earned the respect of my Chinese colleagues - a very far cry from the barely suppressed, xenophobic hostility I encountered from the Thai Ajarns.

I would rather open a vein than teach in Thailand again.

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My two satang is that the Chinese are confident. They have a long and grand history and are secure in their identity. They are very aware of being one of the world's most important civilizations. They are not afraid of taking what others know to benefit themselves.

The Thais, OTOH are xenophobic, have invented effall and innovated less because they already know everything 555. Bozos with connections make millions while talent too often goes unrecognized or perceived as a threat. And while the Chinese think generations ahead, we all know that Thai planning means 45 minutes from now at best.