spidermike007

Americans are much more comfortable being close to home. Not me. But many.

Personally I think if you take into account all the additional expenses that one has to factor in when you have a girlfriend it's not double, it's more like 1.3 times more than what you would spend if you were single. Face creams, moisturizers, doctors, dentists, clothing, the dishes she orders that you wouldn't, the list literally goes on and on and on. 20 to 30,000 Baht is a realistic budget for having a woman regardless of whether or not you're giving her a generous allowance, just basic expenses.

It is called a wasted life. I have a friend who is planning on retiring in Thailand he finally retired after 10 years of planning he decided to stay in Los Angeles what an incredible mistake all because his brother had a nice house that he could stay in for free and likely some fear factor too. He is miserable there.

Total nonsense. I could say the opposite of older folks who stay in their home nation. Unless they are already married, their prospects for romance are under 1%. It is mostly fear. I know many guys who would love to leave but don't.

Perhaps in his lakefront villa in Switzerland, that he bought with payoffs from his cronies, who where the only ones not required to shut down during covid?

I don't need to support institutional corruption, lies and deceptions. When was the last time this government was honest with you, anyway?

There is a vast difference between defamation (which are laws written by cowards, for cowards), and blatant corruption and a mass theft of the treasury.

In the absence of official statistics, direct, firsthand knowledge is always second best.

Everyone knows why this guy was appointed and who he knows. How about investigating Prayuth? I doubt the man is clean. Who knows what crimes the army got away with during those "9 lost years"?

It is beyond rational, that Thailand has not done this already. For the movement of cargo, if nothing else. The highways are clogged with trucks of all sizes, due to a lack of planning. And the trains here are quite an embarrassment. Even if you decide to travel by train here on the antique cars, you have to deal with consistent delays of 30 minutes to 3 hours. I gave up using them. Thailand desperately needs high speed rail, for people and cargo. The lack of planning is an abomination. The rail projects should be accelerated. Thailand is 40-50 years behind the curve, when it comes to public transportation, with the exception of Bangkok. The railway here is sickening. I recently tried public transportation, from Hua Hin to Samui. Took a 5 hour express train from HH to Surat. All good. Except the train was 3.5 hours late between a 2.5 hour delay in arriving, and an additional hour added, on the way. Unacceptable. Then I took a VIP bus back from Samui. Left the pier at 6:45pm. Arrived in HH at 4:00am. Even at 11pm, the traffic was a parking lot, due to the main north south artery for the nation, reduced to one lane, due to road construction. One hour spent going 5 kph. Unacceptable. It is so much easier, and more efficient to use the rail. Typically, the average person spends at least 3 additional hours with a domestic flight, when you factor in travel to the airport, waiting, security, delays, etc. And time at the destination airport too. Any nation that wants to call itself developed, needs high speed rail. The US being the exception to that rule, as the vision, and will was never there to get it done. 45 minutes from BKK to Pattaya? Brilliant. Which airline runs that route? How about Bangkok to Hua Hin, or Chumporn? Right now, it is a nightmare journey by road, unless you leave Bangkok at 5am, which I usually do, to get past the insane road work in Samut Sakorn. How about getting into Bangkok, from the north, or the south, during the day? I have spent three hours just traveling from Saraburi to BKK. Any flights?

Will they also disclose the overseas assets of all 2,200 generals and members of the Prayuth administration? Penthouses in NY, Swiss lakefront chalets, overseas bank and investment accounts? How about some real investigative reporting?

This guy is really turning out to be quite a genius. Shortly, he will solve every problem the nation faces.

Very intrusive. I think I would start saying NO to the airlines who engage in this policy. See ya!

What many of us know, is that it likely includes every single business visa issued since the beginning of the year, every single ex-pat that has gone back and forth and who knows what else that figure includes? One thing that is for sure it that this is not an accurate representation of the current state of tourism, nor the correct arrival numbers.

Just blast your own music on your phone, if he did not respond to a request to change or turn off the music. My pet peeve are the ridiculous commercials. I don't watch or listen to commercials. They don't pay me. Why should I listen or watch?

No poll of 100 people could ever be taken seriously. And what were the questions, how leading were the questions, how scientific were the questions, which agency did the polling? how credible are their results? There are so many unanswered questions one has to just shake their head and say what a bunch of nonsense this is.

And all this is highly intentional. My friend at Samui rescue did not need officials figures. He saw the mangled corpses several times a week. Run the numbers.

Well, they do accept credit cards. But, you are forced to use the customer service counter, and it tends to make you look like a weak man who is unable to carry around some cash.

How do they know he was a diligent and serious worker? Why is this any more tragic than the countless deaths that happen on motorbikes every day? Why wasn't he driving slower and more carefully?

I often find here that Thai people can be very intuitive and very responsive to the attitude that you're projecting. If I walk in with a smile on my face and a pleasant demeanor and treat them nicely, that's usually what I get back. I don't find very many Thai waitresses rude at all, I get that in the states a lot but not in Thailand. I often find them to be very pleasant. So, perhaps it is a mere reflection?

Thailand is 2nd in the world for road accidents. Samui is #1 in Thailand. If people only knew how many foreigners lose their lives on Samui. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too. Bring along an international drivers license. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee. Getting on a scooter, or a motorcycle anywhere in Thailand, much less Phuket, Phangan, Dark Tao, or Samui without a very good helmet, is like playing Russian Roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. It is absolutely asking for problems. The degree of recklessness here is astounding. And many foreigners come here thinking "how much trouble could I get in on a little scooter, on a tropical island"? Well, the answer is alot. The amount of foreigners who are killed on the Southern islands is staggering. Most are not reported in the media. I had a friend who worked for Samui rescue for many years, and said the numbers were about 30-60 a month, on Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao. The official number is about 3 a month. Rider beware. Use as good a helmet as you can afford, and do not use these eggshells pieces of crap. They crack at the first impact, and what lies underneath them? Your skull, which is very delicate. I have been riding bikes for 52 years. Without any serious accidents. A few minor ones over the years. Riding a bike here is very dangerous. If not the highest, one of the highest fatality rates in the world. And an accident here can be very costly, to your person. Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or lost eye? I have three friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last several years. One still cannot walk, or talk or function on her own, from a motorbike accident, where she hit her head on the pavement going only 20 kph. The other one has lost alot of his mental capacity after hitting his head. He insisted for years he would never wear a helmet. Now, he seems 15 years older. The third one is a close friend, who was hit by a sidecar, and nearly lost his leg. 11 operations later, he can walk, but with a limp, and the leg caused him constant problems, many years later.

Covid. I forgot. What is that?

Am I the only one who gets restless standing behind someone fumbling with their phone for 4 minutes, to pay for a 17 baht item at a shop? Last time it happened I was reaching into my pocket for a 20 baht note, just to help out the sorry bugger, when he finally got it to work. Sorry, but real men always carry enough cash.

I like some of the people. And some of the women are lovely. But, otherwise the entire country reminds me of a mix of a huge Tijuana, and the Bombay slums.

A completely sold out PM makes a invitation to a completely corrupt, evil, murderous, thieving dictator. Why are there any issues with the optics, and the statement this absolute fool is making to the nation and the world?