ozzieovaseas

Many a shark to be found in Thailand and you dont have to be on the islands to find them.

I cant help but think, if you are the sort of person that has to ask the question on Thaivisa, then you really will be shark bait no matter where you go!!

Sorry if this has been done in  a previous thread (couldn't find anything via search).

I was recently reading about the new 3 year visa Cambodia is soon to offer. In one way, it seems to good to be true, but then again what is the place

actually like to live in compared to Thailand?

More specifically, do you think one could easily adapt to Cambodian lifestyle after being in Thailand a decade or so?

Considering the negative proposals/announcements from Thai immigration that keep coming with regularity, and with the hurdles forever getting higher

would you be tempted to make the move? Or maybe even consider a six month (or so) change of scenery. 

Any feedback or thoughts?

educate thai,s to get it into their heads that all foreigners are not rich, would be a start.

Of course you are rich,

you can afford visa fees and afford plane ticket half way around world, afford to stay in nice hotel, afford to have long holiday without working, afford to eat farang food, afford to drink beer around the clock...afford to buy .... ect ect

at least this is what im told by current GF. so by their standards, YES you are rich.

Silly thread tho really.

Q.Does your country put a hold on urgent issues so they can consider how to make it a better place for Asians?

2 million thb for sin sod AND they want you to pay for the wedding too!.....Well....sounds like somebody has to start standing up to them otherwise you'll be the laughing stock of the wedding.

Agreed, but like the other posters, I cant help but think a real Hi-So family would not be so LO-So to ask the farangs side to dish out everything.

Real Hi-so's like to flaunt their wealth for all to see..like showing up in 15 brand new white Mercedes for example. It would be under them to be asking farangs for money for this and that.

Come to think of it a real Hi-so family probably wouldnt approve of their lot marrying a lowly farang either....not when there are numerous Hi-so Thai males lurking about

IMO what he is saying, (the way i read it anyway) is that there is no provision in the constitution to offer a referendum where the actual people can have any say in the decision making process.

It is this way the world over..no politician in his right mind would ever contemplate giving the people any REAL powers..

how would the politicians give themselves XX% pay rise every year?

In this day and age with the technology available, every country could slash the number of politicians in half.

Make it law that every person alive be issued with a passport, and their passport number to be used as an online identiity. Make a daily/weekly online electronic referendum vote for the signing off of EVERY decision made by our local elected pollies.

I cant understand why people get bent out of shape over the F word.

Its simply the Thai word for white foreigner. Get over yourselves. If a Thai went to a western country what would you call them..probably something a lot worse.

Anyway nothin wrong with being a white. If i had a cream that what turn Asians white i would be a mutherfn millionaire farang and then i could give a fig (or guava) what they call me.

Personally i am more offended with the idiot farangs who use nonsensical tinglish. Come to Thailand and suddenly your speaking baby jibberish...have no proplem same same you speak i no like

MO, Throughout the last XX years the army has stood back and observed the rampant corruption and mismanagent of the Thai economy by both sides of the Thai political fence. Of course the army is not perfect and free of corruption either, but at least they seem to addressing many issues previous governments wouldnt touch.

It never stops amazing me how seemingly intelligent westerners bang on with this "overthrowing a legitimate government" BS and demonising Thailand because of "no democracy", when very few countries worlwide will suffer a "democratically elected government" that runs their country to near ruin through mismanagement, corruption and downright contempt and disregard to the law.

I think youll find many countrys have measures to get rid of rogue governments one way or another should the occasion arise.

The difference is that such a thing rarely happens in those countries, since people with zero experience, zero qualifications and family links to criminals very rarely make it to the post of prime minister.

I know at least of one countrys history where a governor general sacked a democratically elected government. Theres nothing to say that country couldnt do it again if it had a government that didnt do as it was told. Then we would all have to call that country undemocratic as well!!

100% agree with your views particularly with regards to the replacing of a dysfunctional YS Government by the military. Nothing else was going to get rid of her. Although they are possibly far from perfect the current mob appear to be tackling the job on many fronts. Whether for their own benefit or not that is another thing.

The army stood back for XX years, just watching?

Are we talking about the same Army and the same Thailand?

Well how many years was Mr T allowed to get away with his shinnanigans?

If the army really does have it in for the reds and is always conspiring against them, (as so many believe) why did they not get rid of them many years ago?

Surely with all the Mr T scandals in the past they could have found many reasons/occasions to oust him. It seems to me that the army stepped in to save what could have potentially been a civil war.

It could also be argued that the previous Thai charter and laws werent exactly democracy friendly, since pollies everywhere like to make laws that protect themselves and gain popularity with the rich and powerful. It didnt seem like the last few governments were going to change suit.

Actually IMO, I think Thailand is in a unique situation now, that lot of other countries could learn from.

At least this government has the power to actually make improovements and is using its time constructively, instead of pollies just sitting around bickering against each other, with opposition parties blocking any potentially good ideas for the future, simply because they dont want the ruling government to gain popularity

He told reporters he believes MPs will not resort to appointing an unelected Prime Minister unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.

The ONLY reason such would be necessary is when those at the top don't like the people's choice of an elected PM. So this basically paves the way for the army and the elites to elect anyone they see fit and at any time. Democracy Thainess style.

IMO, Throughout the last XX years the army has stood back and observed the rampant corruption and mismanagent of the Thai economy by both sides of the Thai political fence. Of course the army is not perfect and free of corruption either, but at least they seem to addressing many issues previous governments wouldnt touch.

It never stops amazing me how seemingly intelligent westerners bang on with this "overthrowing a legitimate government" BS and demonising Thailand because of "no democracy", when very few countries worlwide will suffer a "democratically elected government" that runs their country to near ruin through mismanagement, corruption and downright contempt and disregard to the law.

I think youll find many countrys have measures to get rid of rogue governments one way or another should the occasion arise.

The difference is that such a thing rarely happens in those countries, since people with zero experience, zero qualifications and family links to criminals very rarely make it to the post of prime minister.

I know at least of one countrys history where a governor general sacked a democratically elected government. Theres nothing to say that country couldnt do it again if it had a government that didnt do as it was told. Then we would all have to call that country undemocratic as well!!

It should promote local products with the "Product of Thailand" logo to increase recognition of the quality of Thai goods, he said.



No offense, but im thinking it might be better to leave the product of Thailand info in the fineprint.
I dont know about the rest of the world, but in my opinion, and from experiences in Australia, it seems the words "made in Thailand" are pretty much a detterent.

Whether it bo through ignorance, bias or misinformation, it seems every sector of Australia has various reasons for dodging Thai stuff.

Take cans of tuna (made in Thai) for a simple example:

dogooders, nationalists, greenies, humanitarians ect :

- Believe everything cheap or made overseas is inferior and wont buy anything not aussie anyway.

- Believe whales and other fish are being slaughtered..dont trust Thai industry.

- Believe of slave labour and dodgy practices in the industry..dont trust Thai industry.

- Believe the income of the whole country is based on a certain age old profession, and would not support that

Females:

- Well that goes without saying, the mention of the very word Thailand is taboo in certain circles...err apart from ars*e widening fattening Thai food, which of course gets the tick of approval )

Seriously though, someone in Thai government should do an indepth study on how consumers (in fact, how ALL people aound the world) view Thailand and its products.

I am thinking that the results would be very different from what they think

I would have thought this would slow down service/waiting times and frustrate staff and customers. But to my suprise, USUALLY, it requires a quick scan of the barcode on the bill and payment and you are off in no time.

However this is not so on occasion that the barcode will not scan. Expect a 10 minute wait as young staff members flit around jabbering to each other and running around in circles before they finally call the manager up to come and put the numbers in manually.

I was also suprised you can pay phone bill/internet account by just telling the staff member your phone number...dont need any bill.

I guess since other big companies offer these same services and with the sheer numbers of 7/11s spread around everywhere, the incidence of someone having to pay a bill doesnt happen that frequently

I had to pay 400baht for a new Kasikorn card (expiry date was up) last month. They said they didnt do the old style cards any more so i must have the new one.

Suprised as all the material and card is covered with red hello Kitty garb. very childish.

Since the account was started up north, a 15baht ATM fee was formerly applied to every withdrawal made in BKK, but since being issued with the new card this is no longer the case.

So i guess i will look out for the yearly renewal fee now. I think it was 4 or 500 baht before.

She does like you but that don't pay the bills , can you look after her financially ? if not she has little choice but to do what she is doing. As for Korea on average the make about 5000 U.S. P/M but as you said she is no suppose to work there.

Well, she does have a choice actually. She could get a regular job. I understand, she doesn't want to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, for just 7k a month when she could make 1-2k for an hour in Thailand and more in other countries.

I have heard the ol "she could get a regular job" thing so many times now its nauseating. Actually i often asked myself the question and came up with the same answer as you did.

But then i cant help but think to myself what would I do in the same situation?

...If born female in somewhere like Isaan, no money, no social security, no well-to-do family to offer help/support, no chance of getting good schooling/education. ect ect

The facts are, these very things that you lament are all part and parcel and the indirect reality of what attracted you here in the first place.

You left a country (presumably) with all the above boxes ticked. You come and live in a cheaper economy with money (i presume) already earnt/saved from the west, and have the hide to judge those that were born here and have no possible chance to do what you did or just up and leave for better pastures.

I guess you can call a spade a spade, but pretty arrogant attitude really

This is not rocket science.

She is entertaining several men while you should be entertaining several women at the same time.

She had a life before she met you..... so ...if she is attractive at all of course she has other men attracted to her besides you

No need to get serious about any particular girl in any big hurry because there are so many available Thai girls.

No need for you to commit anything to her and no need for her to commit anything to you.

Just enjoy yourself and let your relationship drift to the right or drift to the left and then, if need be, let the relationship fade away. ...and no hard feelings.

Sabai, Sabai.......Sanuk, Sanuk .......so do not ruin a good thing and turn all emotional while trying to read into her and or the situation too deeply.

There is too much chance for you to be dragged into "who knows what sort of drama will evolve" so ...just enjoy what you can while you are with her and just be on guard as it is prudent to be on guard no matter where you are and what ever circumstances you are experiencing with any women in any country....but more so here in Thailand as you are vulnerable and subjected to events and circumstances that are not of your making and or all too often not in your control......so.......be forewarned and approach with caution.

The long term expats on this website do not want to be listening to your tales of woe and despair 6 months or 1 year from now while most people do not like to be harsh and have to say: "Told you so"....or ...."You were forewarned"

Cheers

Actually, having read my fair share of the long term expats posts on here, id say thats exactly what they do want!!!

Made the same mistakes and got the scars to proove it but Im thinking Op is doomed to make the same mistakes as me, sadly.

I keep asking myself though, why do guys go for these types? (massage+ ? business) when outside your door are hundreds if not thousands of girls with REAL fulltime jobs.

All you have to do is Walk into a bank, supermarket, restaurant, hairdresser, department store ect ect, and smile at some girl. Repeat the process over a few days/weeks. Go up to one and make conversation over a purchase. Look her straight in the eye and smile like the big dopey boofhead you are..

you will surely get a phone number sooner or later and most probably a request to help with english or to talk on LINE or some other such BS request.

Its not that hard!! you are not in the west, where they shoot you down for so much as having the gaul to smile at 'em.

So now OP you are trapped in "security backup" zone staying in her room.

I advise you to have a good time while staying UNemotionally attached. Dont try to cool off or back away while you are around the girl. You could end up in deep DooDoo and sweet Buriram girl can turn into a demon in 2 seconds believe me!

So yeah, have a good time with her this trip and head back to your country. Maybe on the next trip you can try the above.

PS. If you stay with this girl you will soon be facing this dilemna...she will eventually put the idea into your head that she is forced to go away and do this work BECAUSE you are not supporting/giving her enough money. Its the sad reality of it.

Saying you will provide everything for her is not enough. These girls usually need to send some figure of money home for their family/kid...probably absolute minimum 3,000 a month.

If you are unable to resist and must stay with her, then try to bargain some amount of "help" money every month.. so she doesnt have to do these err overseas working adventures.

Actually the absolute worst idea the OP mentioned was taking her back to his own country! now THERE is some bulk trouble!

All the best mate

Pretty hard for the Thai bashers to turn this one around (presuming they do actually read before ranting).

One thing i will comment on though, if you saw the video, the guy doesnt really seem all that drunkl. I know its a normal defence mechanism to react quickly after that first hit, but the guy shows no sign of being off balance or being slow or staggering when he gets up, like one would if really drunk.

In the video it looks as though his head bounces off that lip (or stair) that Thai shops have out the front. Ive heard of cases where people have been king hit unexpectedly (yes it happens often in Australia) and the dead weight of someone drunk and falling and hitting that back of their head like that is sometimes enough to kill.

I seems the assault rate of farangs in Thailand (mostly Pattaya) has spiked a heck of a lot lately but its a miracle more deaths havent occured.

Another thing in these stories, they usually only report one side of the story..that of the perpertrators. In this case it isnt clear whether the victim goes along with that version of the story or not, but seeing how they are all pictured together you would think that the story reported would have been agreed on by all parties?

Now i am waiting for the goose to show up who constantly posts 'people flee the scene of accidents so they can avoid lynching from the rabid angry Thai mob"

Fact is nearly anybody in any country will do all they can to avoid trouble/legal hassles IF they are confident they can get away with it. and that same premise goes with issue of getting away with corruption..in all countries.

Foreigners in Thailand dont seem to be any shining light of glory either, since many posts on this website reccomend "doing a runner" as not to get the blame laid on them, or getting extorted by coppers.

One post i read on here many moons ago actually reccomended: If you should happen to run somebody over here, be sure to reverse over them and make sure the job is done.

Before you add a Thai bashing post DO keep in mind: the rationale of both Thai and farang are not all that different in certain scenarios.

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It is possible she simply panicked big time and it escalated out of control. In Africa you might be wise not to stop in case of a road accident, even when it is against the law, you drive directly to your embassy and then report.

Nah,there is more to this story than meets the eye, I will leave TV's finest to decipher what really went on.

Typically a mob of angry Thais would assault and kick a persons head in after an accident so maybe she did the smart thing?

The really smart thing is not to drive alone when you are a foreigner.

The even smarter thing would be to take public transport..never heard of anyone getting their heads bashed in or getting extorted by police.

Another good reason to never, ever, ever drive any kind of vehicle in Thailand.

Yes, i am completely baffled as to why any expats would want/need to own a car or drive here. Its staggering, especially when you consider the minimal cost of public transport.

You only have to look at these pages to see the unneccesary problems you are allowing into your life by having a car/bike, especially when you can get anywhere (in Bangkok anyway) for not much more than 100 baht.

Then factor in the cost of license, register,maintaining a car, cost of petrol (when sitting in traffic jams for hours), parking, all the dangers risks and headaches from accidents and supposed ill treatment by police and Thai drivers. Why do it?

I have spent time in BKK for more than 10 years (on/off) and never had any need to have a car or bike.

Maybe its the need of a status symbol of owning a car (to compensate for other inadequacies) that these farangs cannot shake?

OP, have you found out what this guys problem is?

Having run into guys like this before, Id say its nothing to do with your dog, although he uses that as an excuse.

Maybe you remind him of a farang lady that rebuked his advances or something in his past that sets him off? Thai guys can be funny like that.

Just a quick story..I mooved into an appartment in Bangkok years ago. Talked to a girl who was always hanging around downstairs. In passing i mentioned to her how i occasionally miss farang food and next thing i know we are in a taxi to this karaoke/food place she knows, about 15 mins away.

After a reasonable night of me shouting drinks and food, and her hinting if i wanted to "be with her", its time to get the bill. She offers to help by going up to the manager and comes back saying the bill was XXXX baht.
As i was already keeping tabs of the total from the menu, i told her in no uncertain terms that id have the bill from the management thanks..and yes, in the end i deducted that she had added on 500baht for herself!! I gave her a pretty wide berth after that.

Round about the same time a guy on my floor starts muttering a few very unsavoury thai words each time i pass him. I passed him on the street once and he turned and spat in my direction from the other side of the road. did it a few times but never within short distance.
I thought the guy is just a nutter so not much to be gained in reacting.

I see him coming and going from his room as i have to pass it to get to mine. One day he has the door open, so i peeked in as i went past. The "bill padder" girl was in his room and later i found out from management that she is his wife of some 5 years!!

Wow, 23 pages and still going strong! What great publicity.

It sure helps to have many friends to keep it going.

Come to think of it this is one case where even your enemies can turn out to be your friends!!

Brilliant Sir!!

Good luck with it and I hope your stocks are looking up!!

Has there been a new development on this? or is it still the same old news from months ago?

I cant remember ever reading much in the Aussie press..even since the story first surfaced, the reports don't seem to be very clear about what hes actually been accused of.

When pondering death issues i can't but help think about our egotistical human nature and actions.

Like why are people so hellbent on working their lives away like dogs just for the fun of seeing a big figure in a bank account?

Why are we all so obsessed with looks, face value and our outer shells..enough to need plastic surgery and things like jewellery to make ourselves feel good?

We are all heading the same way. Can't have much fun living as a 90+ year old millionaire and ALL of us is gonna get ugly and wrinkly one day

We're all gonna get a go at death too..no-one misses out..so why stress over all the stupid stuff??

Anyone else inclined to share a bit of their own break up history, or is this just gonna keep getting slung back at me?

Well since you asked... When you break up with a Thai girl it is ALL your fault. Thats the way it always will be, especially since you are the farang. You get ALL the blame.No amount of logic or reasoning will ever lead them to consider the guys viewpoint nor will they ever consider that THEY might have had some contribution in it going south. Of all the breakups ive had, none were without SERIOUS dramas. Every one of them absolutely over the top,stupid and immature behaviour and even violence. If you persist with dating them its best to do it the Thai way and LIE..and if your ever in doubt, LIE AGAIN!! I would never of agreed with this once but after my experiences... In your situation you've already started the ball rolling so there is not much to be done now but leave. But for the future, in this particular situation i would have said... DON'T say anything about any of your plans until the last minute. Then tell her someone in your family is gravely ill and you need to go home but only for a short time. After each month passes you just re-adjust the lie. Yes its a tad devious, but a jilted Thai GF will do A LOT worse to you and think nothing of it

Sad statement you make but not far from the truth. Its a shambles !

I have to agree, a bl00dy big shambles!! and definately a bit sad.

Whats worse though (and i was having this convo with a mate the other night) is how you and your own values and reactions to certain things can change over time (if your not careful) simply because of all the time spent dealing with the BS from these partners like my ex.

I used to think i was a quite compassionate and caring person once but nowadays im not so sure. Im not sure if my own mother would be so proud if she knew of the way i HAVE to operate here in order to not get taken.

After all, its a bit hard NOT to be a cynic and to be skeptical about nearly everything you hear...when in fact everything you DO hear IS BS. The sad thing is you've been so conditioned to hearing lies time after time.

Its a bit like the boy who cried wolf actually..I always think..one day someone will ask for my help and they will be TRUELY in need and very deserving of a break, but i will just assume its another one of the loosers trying to take the mickey

Anyone else inclined to share a bit of their own break up history, or is this just gonna keep getting slung back at me?

Well since you asked...

When you break up with a Thai girl it is ALL your fault. Thats the way it always will be, especially since you are the farang.

You get ALL the blame.No amount of logic or reasoning will ever lead them to consider the guys viewpoint nor will they ever consider that THEY might have had some contribution in it going south.

Of all the breakups ive had, none were without SERIOUS dramas. Every one of them absolutely over the top,stupid and immature behaviour and even violence.

If you persist with dating them its best to do it the Thai way and LIE..and if your ever in doubt, LIE AGAIN!! I would never of agreed with this once but after my experiences...

In your situation you've already started the ball rolling so there is not much to be done now but leave.

But for the future, in this particular situation i would have said...

DON'T say anything about any of your plans until the last minute. Then tell her someone in your family is gravely ill and you need to go home but only for a short time.

After each month passes you just re-adjust the lie. Yes its a tad devious, but a jilted Thai GF will do A LOT worse to you and think nothing of it