spidermike007

The army is one of the most toxic and backwards institutions in Thailand. I just don't see how they benefit the nation. Seems like a one way street. The army sucks the blood of society, vacuums huge amounts of money from the treasury, and what do they offer the nation in return?

Rule #1. Lower prices, so you are competitive. Rule #2. Improve service, get rid of the surly flight attendants and improve baggage handling. Rule #3. Stop giving free business class tickets to the army and administration officials. Just say no to the creeps.

Excellent news. I am not really supportive of the right to a trial, for a man who has committed heinous crimes like this one. Just be done with it. Good work, guys.

My sympathy only goes so far. When a genocidal nation like Russia deliberately takes out the electrical grid of Ukraine, during the winter, they get what they deserve. That act is barbaric, cruel, nasty, inhumane, and vicious, just like the madman Vlad. It might appear his right to claim oxygen has expired.

I understand annoyance from noise. I get that. But, to fire 18 live rounds into a school? It is very fortunate nobody was hurt or killed. I hope this fool is dealt with severely. I guess he never really contemplated moving, since the building was owned by his dad, and no doubt he is a freeloader, who lives rent free.

I would guess that there is a proportionate factor, between the countries that allow students to ask questions of the teacher, and the ability to learn and become good at the subject in question. Not being able to question their teachers here, has had a lasting and profoundly negative effect on learning. Always question authority. Any and all authority.

From what I hear from my friends who live there, the threshold for taking care of a PI gal is far lower than here, and so are their expectations. There is nothing inexpensive about caring for a Thai woman! I speak from experience! In terms of beauty, I find both have stunning women. But, the primary issue for me, if I was single, would be the actual quality of life there. From my point of view: Philippines Pros- 1. The women can be lovely. And many of them speak english. And if you are older guy, that is a plus in the PI. Plus they are way less demanding, and the bar is set much lower, in terms of their expectations. Older guys can get with far younger women, without an issue. The parents actually encourage it! Generally, it is possible to have a real conversation with many women there. Not the case here. It is rare here. Unlike most Thai women, the women there can have a real sense of curiousity, and will ask genuine questions about you, and your life, beyond where do you come from, how much do you earn, and what do you own? The PI seems to have a higher level of intellectual development. 2. The visa system is something that some think is simpler. You do need to have money on deposit, and unlike Thailand it remains on deposit the entire time you live there. A minimum of $20,000 for the SRRV Smile visa, unless that has changed. 3. The place has thousands of islands, and some stunning beaches, and cleaner water than Thailand, at least on the Gulf Coast. But, the islands are fairly hard to get to, and the services are very limited, and more expensive than in Thailand. 4. In general I would say the people can be quite friendly. Especially the women. But, unlike Thailand, even the men can be friendly. I suspect if I lived there, I would have a number of local male friends, unlike here. I have never met a society of men, who are less interested, less curious about, and less willing to get to know foreigners, than I have here in Thailand. It is sometimes astonishing. It is a real disappointment.5. The place is more Westernized. You do not feel like you are living on another planet, which can be nice sometimes. Some shopping can be better, as there are Costco type outlets there. Some of the highways are better, and as an American, I can have goods shipped to me, with a preferred system, that allows low cost shipping, and duty free imports. Unheard of in Thailand. Importation of goods in Thailand can be horrendously difficult. It is an onerous system, one that is outdated by decades, in this age of globalization. Thailand is far, far more insular and fearful of the outside world, than the PI. nomadcapitalist.com/2018/01/15/the-philippines-residency-srrv/ Cons- 1. The entire country is like one big Tijuana. It is depressing. Very little landscaping in the homes, even nice homes are ugly, and have barbed wire, and glass topped walls everywhere you look. 2. The security situation is not very good. You always have to keep your eyes open, keep an eye on your back, and beware of robbery, home theft, and violence. It is rampant. I have many friends who live there, and they all say the same thing. 3. If you do get into an altercation with a Philippine man, or are getting robbed or harassed, unless you are a 6th degree sensei, do not fight back. An astonishing number of locals are well trained in the fighting arts. Many are good with sticks, knives, blades or any sort, and their hands, fists and feet. I have a friend who is a world class security consultant. He is a black belt in a few different martial arts. He says he can usually fight his way out of a gang of men, nearly anywhere in the world. Except in the PI. That is the only country he will NOT take an assignment. The average guys there, can take down the average Westerner in five seconds. In Thailand few have those kinds of skills. Very few. 4. The food sucks. The only other country I can think of with worse food, is Cuba. Granted, if you are willing to spend the money, you can find good food. But, it is not the general rule, as it is here. Also, the access to fresh fruits and vegetables is pathetic compared to Thailand. Very low quality, and often not fresh. Thailand is a paradise by comparison, when it comes to all things related to food. 5. Pollution. They use a lower grade of diesel. So, there is alot of soot in the air. The PI has an epidemic of lung diseases and respiratory diseases. Even on many of the populated islands. The hospitals are full of people who are having a very hard time breathing. It is a real issue there. Lung disease is at an epidemic level, though the authorities do not like to talk about it, and publish very little information on it. 6. Aesthetics. The average house you would rent, looks like a slum. Tall walls, with barbed wire, to keep out intruders. And they just do not pay attention to landscaping and gardens like the Thai people do. So, most neighborhoods are fabulously ugly. Alot of slums in the big cities, and just not physically appealing. 7. Renting. There is a vastly lower number of rental units available, few are as nice as what you can find in Thailand, and it is almost always more expensive, with the possible exception of Central Bangkok. You just cannot find the studio apartments like the ones available all over Hua Hin, for 6,000 to 8,000 baht a month. That does not exist there. 8. Infrastructure. The entire country lacks the infrastructure you have here in Thailand. As I am typing now, I am enjoying a 180MB download speed, and a 100MB upload speed, all on fiber optic cable, for 800 baht a month. Unheard of in many countries, including the US! Triple the cost there. No sky train network anywhere near comparable to Bangkok. Mo MRT network either. They have one under construction, and it will be limited to ten stations. Shall I go on? I could. As far as I am concerned, the only reason to live there is the women, and a slightly more cooperative, and far less xenophobic and racist government. Alot of ex-pats are looking to leave Thailand, as the current administration is so far beyond heinous and incompetent, it is unspeakable. security I have a friend who does private security for a lot of very high net worth individuals, and corporate CEOs, when they travel, and he told me that the only country in the world that he will not take an assignment is the Philippines. When I asked him why he reminded me that he was at the 6th or 7th degree level in six different martial arts, besides the fact that he was 6'5 and about 280 lbs. of muscle. Spent his whole life training. Not the kind of guy you would want to mess with. He told me under normal circumstances he could incapacitate a group of four or five guys, in under a minute. Not in the PI. He said that in general, the Philippine men had the greatest degree of fighting skills of any group of people in the world, and that if you encountered a single guy, or a group of Philippine guys on the street you just never knew what their level of skill was, and you had to assume that they were expert street fighters. He said many were experts with knives, sticks and improvised weapons. Not the case here. If you add on top of that, the fact that the country is extremely poor and that there's a fairly high level of desperation, it makes the Philippines a very, very dangerous place. Crime there is very opportunistic. And being a foreigner makes you a potential target. Again, not the case in Thailand. You really have to know what you're doing, you really have to know where you're going at all times, especially at night, and you always have to have eyes in the back of your head, and constantly looking over your shoulder. Of course, it varies depending on the city, the part of the city, and the region. But it is just one of many reasons I would not want to live there. I've been told this by a number of friends who live in the Philippines and it's been my observation, the several times that I have visited. I like the people. The level of english skills and the women seem to be the big draw for most guys. But random guys in the street, can be a hazard, and that is variable I would want to have to deal with, regularly. I consider the PI to be far more of a ghetto experience. But, I am referring to the environment, and I think you are referring to the social aspect. I agree with that. Thais are spectacularly insular, and seem to have little to no curiosity about the outside world. The people in the PI are infinitely more open minded, and far more Western. And the language is a huge plus in the PI. Many speak good english, and I would guess if you were attempting to speak poor Tagalog, the people would try far harder than here, to understand what you are trying to say. Since they are more Westernized, they are likely more creative, linguistically. If you do not have the pronunciation and the tones down perfectly here, the people are completely lost. A total inability to dance around in circles intellectually. And they barely even care to try to understand what you are saying! That is a huge nuisance and annoyance here. The PI is a foreign country. Thailand is a distant planet.

I think good judgment and discrimination in regard to one's actions has gone out the window. Social media is at least partly to blame. When one considers the tiny amount of good and interesting information found on it, compared to the amount of poison, negativity, revenge culture, bragging, nonsense, and hate, it is fairly easy to conclude that Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok are highly destructive forces within popular contemporary culture. They are extremely toxic. Facebook to some extent too, but it does seem to have some value in connecting people. Just my rather strong opinion!

When someone asks you where you live, do you ever say within the Pattaya area?

They rarely wore masks before covid. So, I think it is a super paranoia and fear, instilled very successfully by the goons in charge. Time to let it go. This is NOT the zombie apocalypse.

Correct. Trump would not recognize moral fiber if it bit him on the bum. There is none. Zero.

It is 11th in Thailand on population size. And the city covers an enormous area. And like many other cities, the surrounding areas that expats live in, stretch out throughout the province.

It is becoming increasingly obvious this guy is a nutter. Eccentric is ok. But nuts? I kind of hope Twitter fails. Don't like it at all.

The things people post online are astonishing. And no doubt it opens a rich trail for a relented hacker to follow. The level of indiscretion exhibited by mankind at this point in time is hard to believe. What ever happened to discretion and privacy?

Correct. It has gotten way past the point of reason, intellect, curiosity, information, science and facts.

You are lumping in all expats who live in the greater Pattaya, Chonburi area. Lots are family men, decent folks who have little interest in the sex scene there. Pattaya is a large city. It is not just walking street and the bars. And Thais have alot to learn from us. Just as we do from them. It works both ways.

True. I am a centrist dem. Some of my conservative friends refer to me as a liberal. I am anything but liberal. I ask them how many liberals do you know, who support the death penalty? How many who oppose abortion after the first trimester, except for extreme circumstances? They can't see the nuance. Black or white. No gray areas for them. I don't call them fascists. I call them conservative. Let us remain decent. Let us embrace dignity and respect.

Don't know how to respond to your statement. It is pretty out there. Though America has spread its influence, I don't see them taking over other countries. China will. Wait and see, if and when your dream reality, becomes the nightmare it will become. If the extremely toxic and heinous CCP folks have their way, expect lots of organ harvesting, slave labor, and more ethnic cleansing. It is the way of the Xi.

Well, in Pattaya you have a large expat population. We are far more sensible and far less paranoid, about Covid. So, most of us have stopped wearing masks many moths ago. And maybe we are having a positive effect on some of the Thais around us.

Netizens, schmetizens. Social media can build you up. But the way it is used today can also tear you down. This is especially relevant for the youth, most of whom do not have much self esteem to begin with. I consider social media to be the most destructive force in contemporary culture today. Children are growing up now in a world where they expect immediate response, gratification and notification. Their brains no longer have time to evolve; they must adapt to change in an instant, and the results are distressing. The difficulties of growing up have never been so public. Social technology provides a platform where things can run wild. Imagine the stress of high school – the competition for popularity, the pressure to fit in, the judgmental nature of social activities – at an accelerated pace. We try to protect our children from wandering off into the darkness on their own, and it turns out they are doing exactly that – online. When they get older and “ready,” we send them off to college, where they face more pressures. But social media has an infamous dark side and the more people share, the more serious this side becomes. As it turns out, living your life online has serious consequences for your self-esteem, your relationships, and your career prospects. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter addiction is real and it is dangerous. Not only does it prevent you from living in the present, it can also leave you with crippling anxiety and insecurities. But few people talk about the real danger of social media addictions. These addictions make you boring. Nobody wants to hear about what he said on Facebook, what she said on Instagram or what you said on Twitter. If they wanted to know, they would have already seen it, liked it, and moved on.

What can one say? We need some magical device that just erases vermin. You stole my customer. I will take your life. These are kids, with the emotional development of a 13 year old, looking and dressing like adults. They appear to be adults, until they open their silly mouths and speak.

Nearly anything and everything ordered by Prayuth is ignored. He is not exactly "Mr. Follow up". Two weeks after his proclamation, all is forgotten. Been like that for 8 long years now. Mr. do nothing.

I think it depends on the community. I am in Bangkok at the moment, and it appears to be at least 99% of Thais, and I would guess 15% of foreigners, who are masked up outside. In Hua Hin, around 90% of Thais, and 5% of foreigners. Just returned from the US. 40% of foreigners not wearing masks in the airports. 2% of Asians. Within the US, mask use is down to around 5%, and the numbers continue to fall.

Granting the World cup to Qatar was a historic mistake, and symbolic of the extreme corruption within the failed FIFA.

There is not much of a wave. I have a friend who is a surgical nurse at a major hospital, and she told us they are barely seeing any new cases, and the fatality rate at this time is extremely low, from covid. Much ado, about nothing. Each new variant is getting weaker and weaker. When are people going to let the panic go? Most of the brave souls I see outdoors without masks on, are the sensible foreigners. 99% of Thais are still all masked up outdoors.