chanchao

Those that have Thai wives or family would do well to point out the pitfalls of voting for PPP & see if you can persuade them to vote with their brains rather than the couple hundred baht extra spending money....

>Caugh< bullshit!! We're voting PPP and I encourage this. And no money is offered or received as well, so there's that old nugget out the door.

BTW, not that I like PPP, but what the "Democrats" pulled is just so much worse, they're not a viable option. Let them rot in those couple Southern provinces where they have their base.

A vote for them will plunge the country into chaos.

Why delay the inevitable.. The country *IS* in chaos, but so far it's been covering up rather well.

As someone else said, there's not a whole lot of Westerners married in that one city

"Someone" said? Source? Because you yourself quoted in the original post:

The judge said Khon Kaen was one of the provinces with a lot of Thai women getting married with foreigners

So which is it?

And, and any chance of putting some numbers there?

I had an old Army buddy visit me about two years ago. I set him up at the Pinnacle since it was close to our condo. Needless to say, he was like a cub bear with his first hardon. And then I brought him over to my place for dinner and he met my partner, who is a Thai ladyboy. The poor bastard didn't know whether to shit or go blind.

Well, that IS pushing it a little bit.. Many newbie farangs don't handle ladyboys very well; treating them as every other person is really something that comes with more time in Thailand. And then especially as a shock surprise.. You're not joking right?

Given what Thailand has experienced lately, I will be so bold as to assume most farangs are rooting for Abhisit to be the next PM.

Assume...

Well, maybe you're right. But then perhaps "most" farangs' political agenda consists of being able to bend visa rules with unlimited visa runs and being allowed to drink beer round the clock while ogling crazy & thin girls high on ya ba.

That lot hated Thaksin from the start. (They usually spell it 'Toxin' though.. Pretty pathetic)

Ok, I'm "almost" completely with Chevykanteve on this one. Because:

For starters, he was democratically-elected by the over-whelming-populus of muang Thai, then overthrown by a minority Chinese-elite that have the wherewithal to influence the military and select members of the Civil-Service and others. Or, gee, gosh, maybe I'm mistaken?????

I completely agree with the first part. Thaksin was the most successful PM ever; in the entire history of Thailand *NO* government has managed to get re-elected. Thaksin managed THREE consecutive landslides. There's simply no argument: Thaksin should still be the rightful PM of this country.

HOWEVER.. "overthrown by a minority Chinese-elite" ??? I think we all know who Thaksin was overthrown by; I think Thais know it too; at least the ones I know on a personal level that I can have such conversations with.

I'm completely with Chevykanteve on this one.

The democrats are traitors to democracy and as such don't deserve anything.

Thaksin brought actual progress. I'd like to see that back. I mean, does anyone remember Democrat led governments? Nice guys, sure, but get stuff done?

It's a case of wait and see what tourists come to town and also wait and see wait the new government proposes.

If they are anything like Toxins mob of fools then we can expect the usual censorship lunacy.

If not the the good old days may come back again

what happened in the good ol days? I wasnt here pre-Toxin.

His name is Thaksin. Or "Frank", these days.

6am bar closing and drunks wandering down loy khroy?

Yes, pretty much. And not just loy kroh, because quite a lot of bar-stool farangs seem to think the social order / early closing campaign was aimed directly at them, where in fact the main aim was to curb alcohol & substance abuse among young (middle class) Thai kids.

Was fun though.

Ah, one of my favorite topics.

Basically the first thing to do is forget any kind of history you had with a visiting friend; those who were the most outgoing & up for anything crazy kind of guys instantly transform into trembling babies screaming at any wall gecko they come across and treating all food items with the utmost suspicion. Others who you'd think 'well, they'll need some guidance' can take to Thailand like a duck to water. It seems completely random.

Most people do at some point 'click' and realize: "Wait a minute, this isn't weird or difficult at all.. It's FUN and enjoyable and I can't wait to try see and do new things!!". The amount of time needed to 'click' varies greatly though, and then some (like my mother) don't click at all. My father on the other hand was off renting a car on day two. My sister was comfortable on her second trip, and now visits very regularly, goes diving, etc.

As general advice I think it's best to take it easy at first and acquaint yourself with someone's 'character-while-in-Thailand'. Don't throw them in the deep end on the first day. The ones who seem comfortable can still be thrown in on day 2 or 3.

But then a select few will need constant mothering over, or else they simply don't do anything. There's two responses to that of course: Transform into a full time tour-guide & mother hen, or just find them a pool somewhere and let them be.

No, the most sensible thing they could do would be just one price for all.

Just like when you buys your noodles. Or would you consider noodle vendors sensible too when they charge locals 20 baht but 100 baht for you?

Just like when you goes to see a movie. Or would you consider Major Cineplex Co. sensible too when they charge locals 100 baht but 1000 baht for you?

Just asking.

Some pretty surprising poll results so far.. Well for me anyways.. I'm amazed so many people visit the Night Bazar.. Question: Do you then actually buy stuff there? Or is there something I'm missing, like do the rock climbing wall, the food center there..?

Or maybe I'm interpreting it wrong.. Like another result is that many people very rarely visit tourist venues including the Night Bazar, however when for example playing tourguide for visiting friends, a prime place to go would then of course be the Night Bazar.. Perhaps that explains the result.

It's a good country but there are allot of screwed up things happening. Why not talk about them?

I propose the complainers like Thailand more than most and are passionate about some of the injustices that are going on.

Very well said.

In general with these types of issues: Just be firm. Don't let anyone project some feigned sense of guilt on to you. Be fair, but strict, make sure the baby is always safe and cared for.

Fortunately in Thailand you can fall back on traditional roles. Mother takes care of kid, man goes out to hunt. (For whatever it may be)

It's only successful because we make it successful.

The negative postings bother me, too. If I owned this forum, I'd kick them out, but then there wouldn't be a forum.

Indeed. Then it would be a Happy Teletubbies Episode. Big Hugs al around.

So, let's see if we more mellowed and reasonable posters can nonviolently overpower the nasty old bast-ads with love. Start some positive topics. Try to make positive contributions. If you have the urge to really lambast somebody or some idea, take a long breath and walk away.

I hope you're joking. How many discussion forums have you been on? You do realize the whole point is to flame each other to death exchange viewpoints?

And don't listen to anybody who uses Peter Pan as his avatar!

Well, only because you brought it up yourself, but you would make a lot more sense with this guy in your avatar.

I can only profess a great fondness for Thailand.

Wonder if those who claim they love, do they exhibit the same patriot feeling and fervor toward Thailand, as they would for their native countries?

or are they actively seeking Thai citizenship so they an actively participate in the political arena.

1. I feel zero patriottic feeling towards my native country. That's why I'm not on any online forums in or about my native country. I honestly don't care what happens to it. (Except during the World Cup, but that's mostly because Thailand isn't in it.)

2. I feel some patriottic feeling towards Thailand. I.e.: " I care" If I didn't care I wouldn't be so opinionated, I'd be swigging Changs and watch the tide come in.

3. Seeking Thai citizenship is quite unlikely for most Western foreigners. Residency is just about achievable: A mere 200,000 baht, 5 years continulously in Thailand, language ability and dedication would most likely do it. After that you get to call yourself 'resident', however you still can't vote or own land. So there wouldn't be a whole lot of participating in any political arena.

Yeah, I went a couple days ago.. Was great!! The kid loved the rabbits, cows, pigs and so on, and we bought a nice young tree for just 250 baht.

Will go again tomorrow and buy more trees.

The last two male cats that we had were quite good natured, but went absolutaly beserk when coming to after giving them the chop.

Well, wouldn't you?

Well, there's tax on purchasing land... Which is usually calculated and charged with the creativity and beauty of Mozart's greatest symphonies.

the rich have a monopoly on wealth

Ain't that the truth. In the same way that water has a near-monopoly on being wet.

Anyway, I never thought I'd see the day that someone on this forum would actually advocate higher taxes.

And then there's Laos.

I don't think that will help. Just like mafia clans, others will take their place.

I think change needs to be more... how to say this.. "profound".

There's far too many pictures of cars on the page to be an accurate representation of the number of babes vs. cars.

Now go back and try again.

GAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!! THOSE were the ones who attacked me in the Sewer -Soi between sois 5 and 7! Or were they..

Yah.. It's not that black and white though. Like you can love Thailand but have strong opinions about some things. This may or may not include things that cannot be expressed freely, or that are cut short for other reasons. Then people get a bit more bitter, but it's hardly directed against Thailand in general.

So.. doesn't your post qualify as a negative one?

Are some sour people you don't know on some discussion forum really bothering you that much? Just let them be.

Or, do what I do.. When you go around town and at some point you notice a really sad looking foreign individual (a.k.a 'PBMAF's) then smile inwardly and think "THATS" one of those miserable gits who divide up their time equally between drinking beer, dressing badly, and being nasty on Thaivisa.com!

Personally I do feel strongly about certain issues in both Thailand and this forum that I perhaps better not get into here.

That however doesn't change the fact that I LOVE THIS COUNTRY.

In fact not a week goes by without me thinking "I love this country" a couple times.

Heck there's even a few people on this forum that I, um, consider fairly tolerable.