Sarge

Note --- "sarge" is posting from London

and?

I also found that to be a strange comment sarge, but i think the emphasis is on London-Thaksin level.

Cheers, Rick

It was meant as a remark about some random guy in London's comments about geriatric farang etc .... I found his remarks .. ironic to say the least considering he is nowhere near the place he wants to see other people kicked out of

maybe "jdinasia" is a PAD aficionado, his sentential logic makes as sense as Sondhi championing democracy

Note --- "sarge" is posting from London

and?

Alternatively the Thai government could start cracking down on that criminal association called PAD, dismantle their unlawful network and incarcerate the leaders. Their continuing stoking the fires of nationalism, unlawful barricades (quietly supported by Abhisit Vejjajivaand) is damaging the country. At the same time they should void permit to stay to all those geriatric farang who supported PAD and make them persona non grata in Thailand.

The present PPP and it's predecessors TRT under it's former leader Thaksin Shinawatra and his cronies, have done far more damage to Thailand than the PAD could ever do. If anybody should be in jail it is Thaksin but he's jumped bail, now living in exile in the UK with his criminal wife as a political refugee.

yeah maybe convicted criminal turncoat Sondhi Limthongkul can share porridge with him. After all he knows a thing or two about prisons. How fitting that having tasted the dark side he keeps carrying on unlawful, criminal activities, such leading a morally bankrupt (hey he knows a few things about bankruptcy too) movement called PAD.

btw, I'm sure you're fully aware that after the election of Thaksin in 2001, several of Sondhi's associates became leaders in the new government. His banker, Viroj Nualkhair, became president of state-owned Krung Thai Bank and gave over a billion baht in debt forgiveness to Sondhi, allowing him to emerge from bankrupcy. Sondhi became a vocal supporter of Thaksin, calling him "the best prime minister our country has ever had."

Funny how things change in life, innit?

living upcountry I can say that a lot of Thais shower only once per day (so no more that the average foreigner) and usually at night. They jump on the bed with same clothes they wore all day (even if they worked in a rice field), their feet are dirtier than my shoes and yet they thread on bed linen. Something which has always annoyed me. I seldom see a Thai (upcountry not BKK as things are more civilised there) shower or brush teeth first thing in the morning. They might do if going out in town to formal public places lilke banks, clinics and governmental offices. Maybe all these stereotyping is born by witnessing geriatric farang spending more time online (with a few empty bottles on the table) than in the bathroom.

Rank 14

Thailand

Active Personnel 306,600[23]

Reserve Force 200,000[24]

Paramilitary 113,700[25]

Total 625,300

Active troops per thousand citizens 4.80

Rank 37

Cambodia

Active Personnel 124,300[66]

Reserve Force 0[67]

Paramilitary 67,000[67]

Total 191,000

Active troops per thousand citizens 9.19

Source:

List of countries ranked by number of active troops

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...f_active_troops

Another source says that as of 2006, Thailand had about 333 main battle tanks and 950 armored personnel carriers, whereas Cambodia had about 150 tanks and 190 APCs.

Also as of 2006, Thailand was reported to have a bit over 550 military combat aircraft (fixed wing and rotary) spread among the different services, whereas Cambodia was reported to have just 24 Air Force fixed wing combat aircraft and 18 Air Force combat helicopters.

In terms of navies, Thailand was reported to have about 210 naval combat ships and vessels of all varieties, whereas Cambodia was said to have just 10 patrol boats.

And, I should have added, the report also estimated that as of 2006, Thailand was spending about $2 billion per year on its military, compared to about $75 million for Cambodia.

Source:

http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/060626...ance_powers.pdf

I'm not sure how indicative that league table can be on the outcome of a possible full scale war between the two countries. Take for example UK:

UK

Active Personnel 195,500[47]

Reserve Force 233,860[47]

Paramilitary N/A

Total 429,761

Active troops per thousand citizens 3.09

Numbers can be deceptive, what matter more is the hardware, technology and above all combat readiness. Historically Thais have always believed that invasion was unlikely, and of course benefited from the defence umbrella provided by USA. As a consequence it devoted training programs, equipment inventory, and operational capabilities to counterinsurgency, the army thus shelved its primary mission and for more than a decade concentrated on providing internal security. So I'm not sure how combat ready is the Thai army in a conventional country v country full scale war. If were to happen my guess is that they would fight to a standstill, a bit like Iraq v Iran in the 80s. Obviously the best outcome would be negotiation through international arbitration of UN. Alternatively the Thai government could start cracking down on that criminal association called PAD, dismantle their unlawful network and incarcerate the leaders. Their continuing stoking the fires of nationalism, unlawful barricades (quietly supported by Abhisit Vejjajivaand) is damaging the country. At the same time they should void permit to stay to all those geriatric farang who supported PAD and make them persona non grata in Thailand.

I want to bring my Thai partner and our daughter to London, UK next year. Before I even start applying for the visa, I need to understand what's the best avenue in my circumstances. Here are the details:

1) I'm an Italian citizen, long time UK resident (over 20 years)

2) my partner is Thai - we're not married

3) we have a daughter of 18 months (she'll be over 2 year by the time I apply)

4) our daughter was born in Thailand - she has dual nationality (Ita-Thai) and holds two passports

5) my partner and I have been together for over 3 years

6) she has lived with me in Australia for 3 months

7) I have lived with them (partner & daughter) in Thailand for 6 months

8) they (my partner & daughter) have lived with me and my parents in Italy for 1 month

9) I regularly support my family (monthly payments) - plus other small local investments

10) All the above can be easily documented

I'm planning to start the visa proceeding early next year with a view to take them both to live in London with me by May/June latest. I'd also like for my partner to obtain a work permit so that she can find employment while the baby is at the nursery. Now I know that the easiest way is to marry her, get her an Italian citizenship & passport. No need of visa anymore. However, what I want to know if, as things stand now, I'm entitled to bring her over (baby daughter is no issue as she is also Italian) to live and work in UK. Also, where would be the place to apply? BKK or London? Thanks in advance for any advice and hints.

cheerio

been in the north, south and central thailand (outside the tourist track), and yes you do notice difference in customs, behaviour and of course physical looks. I wouldn't say that southerners are less friendly than others, all Thai are pretty friendly people compared to other nationalities. I did notice people in CM are somewhat slower moving, sedate speakers than other provinces but friendly all the same. However if you we must have a league table of cordiality then none beats Isaan people. It's far the more amenable region to live in terms of people's attitude. This is the province you get stared at most, almost everyone smiling at you, wanting to speak to you and go out of their way to help you. Sometime, when going to shopping centres with my young luk-khrung daughter they make me feel like a minor rock star. No joke.

In my hometown of Doncaster, UK ........any smile at a stranger is likely to produce one of two reactions............A blank stare......or usually.........." What the <deleted> you smiling at <deleted> ! " Followed by a headbutt.

Hence the reason for relocating.

555 lol what a friendly & cultured place! a must see tourist spot in England.

btw, were you wearing the Leeds United AFC jersey when you were doing the smiling?

expats/foreigners criticising their host country, moaning about this and that happens everywhere. It's part of the human nature, don't you think that Thai living abroad do the same? for example, many garrulous westerners living in middle east countries (like Saudi Arabia) are quite vocal in their criticism, preferring to live in a bubble. They have their own areas and don't show the slightest interest in local culture or society. Then they emigrate to Thailand and sound holier than thou. They far more annoying than that expat mentioned by OP.

Foreigners complaining about foreigners complaining, is there a lot of it?

and the guy is not even living in Thailand yet it must a record even for TV forum 555 lol

On a more serious note, I guess expats all go thru' culture shock and various phases of adjustments:

1. "The honeymoon phase" everything seem great, you feel continuously excited about the new surrounding, exotic scents, different foods etc...

2. "The adjustment phase" after weeks or months you get used to the new life and start absorbing some of locals' manner and outlook on things

3. "The simmering discomfort" this is the point where you start comparing things to what you were used back home and finding your old ways better than new ways, some of the behaviour you witness every day doesn't make sense anymore. You start feeling alienated from that society. You know that something is wrong but you can't quite put your finger on.

... and then depending on your circumstances & personal traits you may end up on two different scenarios:

4a. "Reverse Cultural shock" total rejection of the host culture, feeling of helplessness because one has either burned all bridges behind or commitments to work force you to stay on. This is when you see people bitching and moaning all the time. They stuck in a situation and don't know when and how to get out.

4b. "Acceptance of new life" successful expats who are able to integrate in the new society without losing their own identity. They have found a country whose main qualities meet their life's priorities whilst the negatives (of that country) are considered of secondary importance. They finally accept the host culture warts and all and put roots in their adopted country.

Lemme tell ya that of all the countries (over 20) I have lived, worked and holidayed, Australia is the place with far more expats/immigrants who loudly complain about the host society, daily bitching & moaning. It's the place, in percentage, where almost everyone wants to go but most of them regrets it afterwards. Figure that one out.

Apparently his new girl worked away from home, collecting and making bead chains, some of the time, and, so he would be true to her, and not get another G/F, he offered him the use of her " Sister" ( meaning best friend) when she was away on trips. Now, as I said, this has happened to me in Pattaya about 13 years ago, but he was gob-smacked.

Do these type of Thai girls actually exist? I thought they were some kind of urban legend. In all these years of coming & going to Thailand, never come across one. In fact all the girls I had were the jealous, monogamous types.

In regards of the BG he had before, there is an old saying: "you can take the girl out of the bar but you can't take the bar out of the girl". naff said

OH yes.....these things happen. And thinking back it has happened to me twice now, not just once. It would seem to point at the fact that these girls do not like to lend money to worse off friends, but if they lend them their boy/man friend, then they can earn the dough for themselves. Oh, don't get me wrong. The "friends" do not provide the service free of charge. I still think I'm the only one that gives things away free round here

fascinating! you then could envisage things further and see the teerak/gik/samee as a bargaining chip to be passed around by her to all her female friends & relatives in exchange of goods/services/favours/cash and so on. The mind boggles at the opportunities. No wonder why Thailand is such great place to live in.

Apparently his new girl worked away from home, collecting and making bead chains, some of the time, and, so he would be true to her, and not get another G/F, he offered him the use of her " Sister" ( meaning best friend) when she was away on trips. Now, as I said, this has happened to me in Pattaya about 13 years ago, but he was gob-smacked.

Do these type of Thai girls actually exist? I thought they were some kind of urban legend. In all these years of coming & going to Thailand, never come across one. In fact all the girls I had were the jealous, monogamous types.

In regards of the BG he had before, there is an old saying: "you can take the girl out of the bar but you can't take the bar out of the girl". naff said

I hate split the world in Thai and Farang. The Farang is a Thai imagination race. In real beyond Farang are Greech , English , Italian, Australian and so on all different with different feeling

Then don't! Just stop using that word. After being here for nearly a decade that word just becomes more offensive day after day. In the beginning I thought it was cute, now I just find it disgusting.

you are right on the money there. I dislike to be labelled farang by people who knows me and worst still by relatives of my Thai family. I'm not shy in making my feeling known to them. It a sign of deep ignorance when somebody who knows your name and yet insist in referring you as farang. I make sure that won't happen a second time.

Regarding the OP idea, just one question; how would you conduct this meeting? English or Thai? Not many Thai know how to speak fluent English and even less foreigners who can converse fluently in Thai. Plus a lot of expats whose English isn't their first language. It sounds like a fun meeting.

Hey Koheesti...my wife was a nurse in a big international hospital when I first met her, and was 22 years old and a cracker to look at too. Also some of the female doctors at the same hospital had ferang husbands.

So I dont think it follows that only uneducated Thai girls go for ferang.

Now that you mention it, a friend of mine with a wife in the medical field once suggested I check out the hosptial because of all the available nurses. Hmmm...cough, cough. I may need to go in for a check-up.

actually you quite right there; hospitals & private clinics are yet another hunting ground. I wish I had a £ for every time a nurse brazenly asked me to introduce her a farang man (same same me), when I took my young daughter for a check up. Apparently having a luk-krueng baby is a huge draw with Thai women, and I mean huge.

Say it with flowers ....that will sort the bad from the good.......flowers would be dead befor they made it back to Issan......unlike the quick ATM transfers

TommyJ4 I thank you for your keen insights as well as britmaveric for giving me the macro point of few for which to make a decision on this girl. Ultimately, one can only go with their gut. But I've turned to this forum because I'm deep in the grey zone with this woman. The signals are so mixed.....etc...etc

There are some classic signals out of this book of a post, and Luxecat, don't fret, there are many more fish in the sea.

"We hooked up again the second night, and my girl slept with me" Not in the game at all? C'mon !!

"Anyway, the call came that she lost her job" = 5,000thb

"Then three weeks later still out of a job, she sms's me that her grandfather died" =5,000thb (next call will be the buffalo died)

"All in all I'd say I gave her about 20 thousand baht to send home and other things" + the above 10, you are in 30,000 which is about five months of wages !

"Told me that I should stay maybe another two days then go home"= have another customer/sponsor showing up, or Thai boyfriend is tired of you sleeping with his girl.

"The first thing i noticed was the new big tattoo on her back"- and you consider her a "good" Thai girl? I work with seven "good" Thai girls in my office and the amount of tattoos=0

"last week I sent her 5000 baht to go home to issan. Whether she did or didn't I don't know"-she didn't and as far as my count goes you've plugged in 35,000, enough is enough my friend.

I once met two girls in Nana Disco (notorious working girl place if you didn't know already) that were cosmetic salesgirls at Robinsons. Hot! I tell you these girls were smokin. I took one, my friend the other, ends up the girl tells me if she does 3 nights with a farang out of the month, she just about doubles her wages.

You began the relationship by giving her money (1500), continued to give her money (35,000), I'm going to say if you stop giving her money, the relationship will be over. But that's o.k., lessons learned in LOS.

you sum it up right. I never understood the compulsion of some people to send money to someone other than his wife. I can understand some people engaging in commercial sex for the night but why oh why send a money from abroad to someone who you had a leg over, a brief holiday fling. Would you do that if you have bonked a local girl, say in Spain or France?

Expanding on the freelance issue, I have come across lots of department store girls who were amenable to dates and willingly giving away their mobile number after 5 minutes of shopping. The problem is when they see this kind of money come in (they can make a monthly salary with a few "dates") and how is easy it is, the temptation is irresistible to give up their day job and concentrate on freelancing to finance their newly found high life style.

home-made brandy preserved cherry

the greatest invention of all times?

Money

it replaced bartering in the prehistoric eras and it's what makes the world as we know it. Nothing will happen without it, money is what incentives innovation, money make the world go round, money is central to the economy and forms its most cogent link to finance, money is addictive, money gives power and influence, money funds culture, money buys you FREEDOM ..... money is everything!

That's the greatest ever invention of mankind.

ok, now that weve established the list is correct, lets discuss whether they are right or wrong.

there you are, down below a sample of 1, and by the sound of it your list is wrong or exaggerated at best. So far the only thing that has been established is your obsession with what other Thai people may think of you and by extension all other farang in Thailand. It sounds like you're parroting what other people have said/wrote/commented online to believe as truth. In real life things aren't so clear cut or absolute as in your original list, in fact behaviours keep changing. You will surprised in how proactive are Thai ladies in sourcing good farang man. Best advice for you, go out there and see things for yourself rather than posting over here.

Wrong

No comment

Most likely

Partly

False

False

Partly true

Probably

True

True

No comment

Probably

Only partly

Now do I get anything for participating?

Officially a Thai subject can only have one nationality!

However, until adulthood two nationalities are allowed.

Then the choice for one nationality needs to be made.

I'm sure this requirement has been dropped.

I know a number of Thai/Oz and Thai/US who are well over the age of majority and hold both passports, a number of TV members are also in this class.

But to the OP, no chance mate, marrying into a Thai family won't even get you PR

then nobody told the immigration officers at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok about this supposed change of law. Last December, I was told in clear terms, that my daughter can only carry a dual citizenship/passport until she is 18, after that she must choose which nationality to retain. With all due respect, I'd rather listen to Thai government officials than forum members, especially when they use words, "tacitly....", "I'm sure this...."

as far as I know, dual citizenship is allowed to a child who's born in Thailand to at least one Thai parent and only until he/she reaches the age of 18. After that he/she must decide which nationality he/she wants to keep. Cannot have two nationalities after 18 years old. That's how the law stands at the moment.

Have any of you ever seen a thai fight without a weapon? And how many of them fight alone?

They still tried to hit me with the bottles ....

they runned away. The idiot who started the fight broke the thai record on 100m when I chased him away.

After that they were around ten person throwing bottles on me, of course none of them had the guts to try to fight me when I had the knife. This went on until the police came.

How many of you have seen a thai fight WITHOUT a bottle or other weapon?

How many of you have seen a thai fight ALONE with a farang?

How many of you have seen a thai papper write the truth?

After this I saw the bartender who was in the fight around 30 times, he never ONCE looked at me, and trust me, I was looking at him a lot. Im not the guy who run away or try to avoid a fight if someone challenge me. Thai men are just a bunch of half retarded cowards who can’t do anything without a lot of friends and weapons. I was waiting for the “revenge” many of you wrote about but nothing happened, maybe they knew I wouldn’t be the only one going to get hurt? I’m not like most of you farang wanke_rs in Thailand getting scared and running away when these retarded monkeys start to fight with you. I stayed in Patong eight month after this happened and the revenge never came. Or do they need more time then eight month to come up with something? They didn’t have the guts to do something.

dunno about Phuket but this about sums up with what I've seen upcountry. What really annoys me it's the sweeping statement of some here, such as: "Thais are tough" ... "The Thai believes in an eye for an eye and says when he finds him he's gonna slice and dice him" .... "Don’t forget they Thai can always pick you up anytime from behind." ..... "dont tell us , go tell the injured thai , his brothers , his uncles , his cousins and all his mates." blah blah and other inane statements.

yes sure, you get hard cases here as everywhere in the world, but by and large Thais never fight alone, always use a bottle, a stick or something to hit from behind when one is busy fending off the others. When confronted, by someone who stands his ground and fight back (be it another Thai or Farang) they squeal like girls and back off quickly. This sterotype of hard Thais is usually perpetuated online by the oxygen mask wearing brigade, the over the hill pensioners, who struggle even to walk down the soi. What a bunch of heroes (not!).

methink that all these garrulous people who claim to be living on the straight and narrow are in fact compulsive mp visitors. Wonder if they also have the wifey regularly check on their online antics.

Q.: do garrulous men marry bossy women?

Have you been faithful to your Thai wife?

nope. next Q

Being from Melbourne, and having enjoyed some of the best pizza there is to have in this world has left me spoit I'm sure. But recently I got a craving for pizza, dug up an old thread here, determined through all opinon that Bangkok Pizza was the way to go. Jumped a cab in the pouring rain to Soi 24/1, getting some definative directions from some motorcycle taxi guys.......its GONE!!!??? website dead, phone not in use??? Did it move?

So I am begging the forum, as one pizza lover to others, where can I get a decent pizza?? Please, no American Pizza Company, Pizza Hut, mass produced pancakes.....thin crust, mountains of cheese, mushrooms and ham, enough salami that you don't have to count the slices.... You Aussies know what I mean..... c'mon guys I'm dying here...

wot? being from Melburn and all hasn't taught you that pizza shouldn't be loaded with toppings as it makes the dough soggy and overload taste buds. Maybe next time you're down under try places like; Red Olives in Fitzroy North - The Calabrian in Carlton North - Sarti in Russel Place, Melbourne among some of the half decent places found in OZ. There are no salami in the Capricciosa.

Going back to your original request, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed here in krung thep, pizza standard are below Melbourne, and that says it all! The closest to a decent pizza I can think of is Via Vai in the suk, soi 8. The owner is Italian and owns a similar joint in kho samui. Be aware that quality (so to speak) doesn't come cheap, prices are in the 250/300 baht bracket.

Blimey, I can't believe I've been helpful to an aussie .... 'suppose I quite liked Melbourne and the Mexicans