Roota

Coming in a little late on this but I spent a couple days there last week and Makati was as ever, which is to say nothing like the rest of Manila. And that's a good thing.

For citizens of most countries you get 30 days on arrival.

Rigged meters used to be very common here. My standard approach was to see how far he'd try to push it, then laugh and say we've got to see what's wrong with your meter, turn right up here and pull into Lumpini (or whatever) police station. Nine times out of ten he'd then agree to turn the meter off and accept a reasonable fare to where I was going. Only a couple times were they silly enough to go to the station, in which case I'd roll down the window and start calling for a cop. Those trips were free.

So I almost miss rigged meters. Last one in Thailand was easily ten years ago. Last one in Manila ... last month.

Ask people in the coffee trade and they'll tell you that the very best available in this country is from custom roasters like Alto (Ploenchit Centre), Artis (Suk 18) and Ceresia (Suk 33/1).

5 hours ago, tonray said:

Cambodia for hiding and off the beaten track, Vietnam for those who are go getters.

Not a bad summary, though I'd put it a little differently: Cambo for the lifestyle, Vietnam for the jobs and other opportunities. 

Why would you wai someone when it's alien to your culture?

Because it's an essential part of the culture in which you're living? Try holding down a job here, putting kids through local schools, etc. without wai-ing. You'll do about as well as say, a Chinese guy in the UK who refuses to shake an outstretched hand because it's 'alien to his culture'. If you're just a tourist (even a multi-year one), not really participating in local life, then of course, ignore the whole custom if you like. I mean, why even try to adapt to your surroundings?

To the OP: your 'thank-you' wai was polite but optional, as was a wai in response. If you watch Thais at restaurants, for example, they usually return the 'greeting" wai when they enter, but often don't return the 'thank-you' one given when they walk out. So do it if you feel like it, or not. The only common situation I can think of in which initiating a wai isn't optional is when you enter someone's house. Thais cut farang a lot of slack on wai-ing, but most would find that a little weird and impolite.

Beer made in Thailand by locals is rubbish!

Since it sounds like you're clueless, you might want to start here.

All it says is monopoly.

So you're saying that Beer Lao is good because it's a monopoly (99% domestic market share)?

The best beers made in Thailand are clearly the microbrews, like Full Moon, Chit, Sandport, Team Alpha, and Seven Two. Not generally available in stores but you can order some of them online.

Recalls work here just as anywhere else -- some are done voluntarily by the manufacturer, some at the demand of authorities like the Health Ministry. In fact the Thai FDA in particular issues them all the time.

As to why you don't hear about them, probably because relatively few of them are covered in the English-language press. Check Matichon, Manager etc.

20 or 30 years ago there wasn't much tipping but it's become pretty common these days, especially in the cities.

One thing I notice is that my Thai friends often tip according not to the standard of the service, but rather to what they see as the needs of the server. "Oh, she's raising two kids on her own," they'll say, and leave a generous tip. Very Thai (the term is 'nam jai') and rather nice, I think.

The murder rate by gunshot is far lower than in Thailand.

UNODC, which is a very credible source, ranks the overall homicide rate of the Philippines as #70 in the world. They put Thailand at #104. The Philippines has always seemed more risky to me, though it's probably not as dangerous as it feels. As always, your real risk depends mainly on behaving yourself and not acting like a knob. Things can get very rough very quickly in the Philippines if you treat people badly.

As for reasons to go . . . well, better mountain climbing and better bars. Those are the two reasons I go there. Though to be fair, the people are very nice. And seeing the scruffiness and sleaze will probably give you a new appreciation for Thailand.

On a positive note, compared to other Asian countries I stayed before, Thailand is quite open minded when it comes to foreigners.

Absolutely true. But a forum like this is not the place to come for a realistic perspective on these things.

Short answer: don't like the rules here (or can't figure out ways around them, which there always are), perhaps you'd be happier elsewhere.

It was introduced after the foreigners arrived here...

Since foreigners, mainly Chinese, have been coming here for at least several centuries, that's a fairly safe statement.

If you're referring to 'farang', well, no. When I got my first work permit in the late '70s, most of them as far as I understood at the time were being issued to Asian nationalities. Very few Europeans were working officially here at that time.

Ben and Min are both girls' nicknames.

I've got a good friend named Min and he's never shown any signs of being a girl. It works for either gender.

12 million baht so lazy visitors can walk easier ? Better spent on nicer cages for the residents. Just my opinion.

Which enclosures did you think were in need of improvement? I'm no zoo expert but Songkhla Zoo seems to me to be above average by SE Asian standards. (Which, I know, are not the highest.)

The Sky Walk is now being promoted to Malaysian tourists, who provide plenty of business to Songkhla Zoo, especially at the inflated rate they (and we white fellas too) have to pay to get in. So it may well be a smart investment.

hehe, the tropical storms didn't wreck havoc... they just uncovered and exposed how work in thailand is done...

Even those shoddy Thai trees, coming out by the roots!

No question there's plenty of slipshod work done in this country, but these kinds of Asian hot-season storms cause massive destruction even in places with Western-standard building codes, like Singapore and Japan. I'm guessing you've never experienced one. They give you a whole lot more respect for Mother Nature.

... the Scandinavians were asked to "let Thai be Thai" ...

Sadly, that is probably when it all started to go wrong for Thai International.

In fact that's when it started going right, as anyone who flew Thai back then will remember. It was a fine airline with a style all its own. The decline didn't begin till many years later.

Fees are just Bt50 per adult and Bt20 per child

What is the Farang rate?

As of last month when I was there, uh, 50 baht.

Apart from national parks and scams in the really touristy places, double pricing is pretty rare in Thailand. If you're looking for that I suggest carrying on just a bit east from NP to Vietnam.

The Indian cafe opposite the old GPO, down the side soi off Charoen Krung, where the international telephones used to be when you had to book a call a week in advance.

Ah . . . that takes me back.

Some very good suggestions in this thread. I admit, I haven't lived in Bangkok in years and tend to burn out after a couple days, but that's my fault, not the city's. You've all named quite a few of my regular places but let me just add Le Bouchon, which after all these years remains my favorite little French cafe/restaurant in Thailand.

My #1 vote would be nam phrik plaa thuu. It's pretty much the essence of Thai food, and what Thais seem to miss the most when not in Thailand.

Try doing this in an A320.

Well it's been done in an A380. There's a video or two around.

I think Bangkok was more that way before and is becoming less chaotic, stinking, dirty and noisy. I've lived in Bangkok for 8 years and hardly ever been scammed and I feel much safer here than most of the other cities on the list.

Anyone who knew Bangkok back 30 years or so would appreciate just how much cleaner, safer, and more tourist-friendly it is today. Especially in comparison to Jakarta and Manila (the #1 and #2 largest cities in SE Asia -- Bangkok is #3), which don't even come close to getting on lists like this one.

Surprisingly, very often the police can be efficient and resourceful.

I don't see why it should be surprising. Thai society is close-knit and fairly all-seeing, and Thai cops know exactly how to tap into that. They also get plenty of practice. Most of my dealings with police over the years have been here and in Japan, and in my experience the Thai ones tend to be a lot more street smart than the Japanese ones.

Not to say that a few may have come from better off families, but the lump sum statement is annoying.

Annoying, and clueless. It's ignorant bar stool banter put online.

I've dealt with the Met guys a few times over the years and they generally struck me as competent and serious about their work. Comments like 'Oooh, it's the tropics, of course there are tropical storms' or 'Ooh, it's the rainy season, of course there's rain' miss the point. These guys are trying to inform people whose livelihoods or even lives depend on the weather, for example farmers, mariners, aviators etc. And in general they seem to do a reasonably good job. Yes, the English is sometimes garbled, especially when it gets passed around the web second- or third-hand, so if it really bothers anyone, for heaven's sake just go to the source, in the source language: tmd.go.th

Thai people do not do that. Its just a western mind idea.

Nonsense, of course they do. Or at least many of my friends do, and I can't imagine that they are untypical. Though you're right, it's more likely to be with the mia noi (or a new wife) than with a long-married mia luang.