spidermike007

Darwin insisted that some species and some members of those species were more fit for survival than others. It would appear the roads here, and especially motorbike riders, are a perfect example of his theories in action. It takes certain qualities to survive on the roads here. Patience, being very conscious of your surroundings, driving defensively, avoiding excessive speed, especially in town, following basic traffic rules and laws and avoiding being overly stupid, at all times. That includes driving a bike when you are drunk enough to be nearly blind!

Glad to hear the hotel was called out by name. Here, in a land obsessed with the weak practice of face, sometimes only humiliation and shame can prompt a correct and moral course of action. Call em out!

That would be a rational strategy. Trump is way beyond rational, at this point. He is driven by pure, juvenile emotion.

Foreigners are having such a corrosive effect on the disintegration of the holy moral fiber of the nation. Without them, there would be no supply, nor demand. Arrest all of us. It is the only solution.

I always keep valuables locked up in my luggage and in nearly 40 years of travel to Thailand and elsewhere, have never had anything stolen. If you casually leave things out in the open, or if you use hotel safes, all bets are off.

Hold on a minute. This news is not fair. Truth cannot possibly be truth. And the TAT cannot possibly be wrong about their prediction of 30 million. Not fair!

Another hysterical article. They see the eco term, but they do not have much understanding of what it really means, nor how it would or could be implemented. Thailand is the polar opposite of environmentally conscious. Even with plastic the nation is obsessed with it's consumption. Respect for the land, the sea, the air, and the rivers, all need to be established. That will take a generation or two of greatly concerted effort and education. The concept is great. But walking the walk is a whole different thing than yak, yak yak.

I think legal professors would argue there is a difference between free speech and allowing a petulant, juvenile, crass law breaker to always have his way. His defiance is nothing more than a man who has always believed he is above the law, witnessing his own downfall. Fighting is all he has in him. He is a very sad man, and watching him squirm is great fun.

Neither. In all the years I have been traveling around the world, I have always found a piece of locked luggage to be the most secure. Even with a flimsy lock. I tend to hide the lock. It seems to be enough of a deterrent, and is highly inconspicuous. I don't trust hotel safes, at all. Too easy to get into.

Best line I ever heard from a bargirl. Me love you tonight, me forget you tomorrow.

If only the people were not wet cold fish, and lacking a sense of fun and humor. Similar to the Chinese. No thanks.

Frankly, I am not sure if that analysis is based on social conditioning, or if it is just wrong and defective. I know alot of sexually active women, who I think are very well adjusted. I also know some very sexually active men who are totally messed up in the head.

Nope. Why? Guess who is footing the bill? Fair is fair. The man can be a major slut as long as he has the cash. These are natural laws. Universal laws.

No change will ever take place without the people taking decisive action. The fake army senators need to be declared enemies of the state. They are essentially committing treason, at this point. A list of their names and photos needs to be circulated. The people need to call them and their children, siblings, and parents out at work, at school, at restaurants, and in public. Shame them into submission. Embarrass them to no end. Make them conscious of the incredible amount of damage and erosion to democracy they are causing, and let Cha Cha know we are not buying his "I will be cooperative, and honor the results" nonsense. If these illigitimate clowns don't act like adults and cooperate, all bets are off. Their health, safety and welfare could be in jeopardy. The people will not tolerate it. Make their lives so uncomfortable they quit a year early. It just might work. Weak, pathetic, cowardly, self entitled hooligans, who are accustomed to a perch atop the ivory tower, scared to death of being taken down a notch, and being asked to be accountable for their heinous and unforgivable actions. Of course they will resort to whatever dirty tactics they can. That is who and what they are. Filth. They are the deplorables. These lowlifes have been bullying the Thai people for many years now. Guess they never expected the favor to be returned. They all assume they are "above it all". Mightier than the masses. Too rich to touch. Well, perhaps things are about to change. Perhaps your lives are about to take a turn for the worse, and you and your families are going to be subject to intense harassment for the cowardly and highly dishonorable positions you accepted. After all, the fortune comes at some cost, right? Granted, Pita should have been smart enough to divest this stock, before running for PM. But, we all know the disqualification was a sham, an act of desperation, a power grab, an act of spectacularly, morally bankrupt power mongering men, and a total travesty. The army is far too powerful here, he knows that, and reform is needed. The sooner the better.

Only one friend I have known here is bold enough to tell others his wife was a bargirl when he met her. Most invent all kinds of stories. She is a university grad. She only served drinks at a bar. She worked as a hotel concierge. Etc.

The women are amazing. The fascinating thing about Thai women, is that they are all of mixed ethnicity. Few know it, and few will admit it. But it is nearly 100%. Going back to the days of ancient Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, Thailand was a major trading nation. And people from all over the region came to trade, many of whom stayed. Producing the most astonishing women as a result. Indians, Sumatrans, Burmese, Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Persians, and more. Combine their innate femininity, and the level of comfort they have in expressing that, it makes them very appealing. I see a Western woman sometimes, who is beautiful, but cold as ice, and more masculine than I am, and there is no appeal, whatsoever. I think it can be described as the ability to manifest the dignity within femininity. Or, a woman who is not trying to be a man, having lost her sense of womanhood, along the way. Or a woman who is in touch with her body, and not plagued with feelings of shame and a fake sense of purity. Also, some Thai girlfriends, lovers and wives realize that a man enjoys sex, and allowing them that enjoyment, freedom and pleasure is just not a big deal. Lastly, there is a comfort level in the playing of roles here. It is an amazing quality many Thai women have. Allowing a man to be a man, and enjoying being a woman and acting like one. What is more appealing than that? And who wants to be with a woman who is more masculine than we are? How about the cost of living? A friend of mine is looking for an apartment to move to in LA, and really small, simple places are 70,000 baht per month. Nice two bedrooms are closer to 100,000 baht. Decent homes start at 125,000 baht per month. The cost of nearly everything has gone up dramatically. Runaway inflation? Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht! I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275. I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 and up. I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $500 and up. An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $75. When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. Usually 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $150 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room. I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 150-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip. I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000. An anecdote on this subject. A good friend of mine got in a bad motorcycle accident some time ago. He almost lost his leg. He got his first of 11 operations at Bangkok Hospital Samui. It costs him over a million baht. They wanted to do a second procedure. They quoted him 1,400,000 baht. He decided to transfer to Bangkok. He was quoted 460,000 baht for the same procedure, at a top private hospital there. The surgeon told him that he worked at a public hospital too, and could do the same operation there, for alot less money. He told him he would get him a quote. In the interim, my friend called a good friend of his, in San Diego, who is an orthopedic surgeon. Since my friend is a retired chiropractor, he knew all the terminology, and explained what he needed, and asked for the best price. His friend called him back the next day, and quoted him $960,000, with cash discounts! The local surgeon here got back to him, and told him he could do it for 46,000 baht. He transferred, and they did all the rest of his procedures. So, 1,400,000 at Bangkok Hospital, 460,000 at Vejthani Hospital, and 46,000 at the public hospital, with an excellent surgeon. VS. 31,000,000 baht in the US. Again, no complaints from this peanut gallery. Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a beauty, with alot of attitude. I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada.

Well, we finally agree on something! Math is something that is either not being taught here, or not being taught properly. I remember the first time my gal and I were overseas. She was having a hard time calculating exchange rates. I told her she could drop two zeros and use a shortcut. She got it right away, and was a wiz after that. She told me nobody had ever suggested that in school. I was told to do that in the second or third grade. It helped alot. That kind of creativity is just not applied here. And in general you are right. Education seems to be on the decline. Too many conflicting agendas.

I barely drink, so I never get drunk. They all have stories.

A near total misinterpretation of the facts. I love Thailand. I do have some issues with the place. Big difference. This is a forum. We tend to vent here.

Thank you. I love Thailand. I love most people here. I usually complain about the government, and not the people. But, on occasion I make an observation. Critical minds tend to do that. Simple minds assume it means you hate where you are living. Not the case at all. I love every day here.

Yes, it is a more stable platform, has better suspension, and will support a heavier driver, with a passenger better. It is an advance from the PCX.

The only thing I will give him some credit for, are the infrastructure improvements made, during his reign. Otherwise, he was a dismal failure. Have you talked to any new car dealers lately? While you can barely find a new car available in the US, the dealers here are barely moving any. Have you spoken to an honest real estate broker lately? While land in smaller towns seems to be selling, how about condos in Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket? Do you know anyone who owns a hotel or guest house? I do. They are hurting. How about restaurants? Business is way down for most. The Thai economy is decimated. I could go on and on. Most ex-pats are oblivious to the pain millions of Thai families are feeling right now. Millions lost their businesses due to the extreme cowardice when it came to re-opening the country, and the highly selective nature of the shutdowns. What ever happened with your promises to root out your bad apple immigration guys, on the border? They likely let in thousands, to line their greedy pockets. What about the corrupt cops, army officials, customs agents? Do you care at all, on any level, about anything other than your own enrichment, and the vintage of ridiculously expensive champagne you will have this evening? Covid could have been a great opportunity for a reset. There is nothing to suggest anything like that happened. If anything, Thailand is moving backwards, joining the proud ranks of Haiti, Cuba, Paraguay, Gabon, Yemen, Equatorial Guinea, and Cambodia. Good job guys. I would refer to this as the devolution of your nation from the once proud Tiger of SE Asia, into a whiny, sickly, anemic, crying alley cat. The extent to which Prayuth, Anutin and Phiphat have destroyed tourism and the Thai economy is unforgivable. They may be remembered for generations. As the guys who set Thailand on a path from a developed nation, to lower 3rd world status. Prayuth is a failure. He fails at everything he touches. Thankfully, this charlatan is on his way out, heading toward utter oblivion, and the waste basket of tragic history.

The goomnahs should not be surprised. You steal an election, thwart the will of the people, and pretend to be a democracy, and there will be repurcussions. The reality is, the baht was far too high anyway, and due for a correction. May it drop, and drop and drop.

Quite a large storage area under the seat. And we do have a car for real shopping.

Recently upgraded my gal's bike from a PCX 150, to an ADV 160. Quite a nice upgrade. Far more comfy ride, more zip, better brakes, suspension, and a nice ride. For anyone over 80kg, the suspension is more appropriate for you than a Click, which are built for small people. And far better with a passenger too. Sweet bikes, if you can find one. About 105k.