bifftastic

Sorry just checked the old thread. I gave the wrong address before.

The correct one is

http://www.farangfoods.com/

That's the correct web address. Still can't do the link thingy though.

thanks, the 'link thingy' works just fine

well, back to the original question, what do Thais think of farang driving skills?

I drove my g/f's family (5 in the front and 9 in the back) in a borrowed pick-up (manual) on a 150km round trip in Chiang Rai and, before we set off, there seemed to be some discussion as to which of the family was going to drive. In my mind there was no discussion necessary, I'm driving!

There were a few surprised faces when I got in the drivers seat, g/f explained it was ok 'he's driven in Phuket'

'ahhhh ok ok' all smiles!

Certainly surprised the Police officer who stopped us at a checkpoint! He started to talk to me as I wound down the tinted window....his face was a picture when he saw 'whitey' behind the wheel!

As was the farang driver's face who decided to lean out of his rental and give me a mouthful of abuse when he thought I should get out of his way (obstacle on his side of the road, just before a narrow bridge, the three vehicles in front of him went round it and he thought he would just follow them and not look first)

I'm only guessing, but I doubt he expected the driver of a pick-up with 13 Thais in it to be quite so large, quite so white, wearing a West Ham shirt and advise him (whilst smiling) to wind his window up and <deleted>*k off! (raucous laughter from everyone in the back of the pick-up)

Almost got a round of applause for being able to ride the automatic scooter!

I think they think the first vehicle we have ever seen or got into is the taxi at the airport!

As for the roads and the nutty things they do on them, maybe I'm used to nutty drivers and expect the unexpected, as I drive in London every day!

I'd love to make that journey.

I don't think it would be as easy as all that, but it would be a fantastic way to travel.

I reckon it would be more expensive than flying though.

If the connections and transfers could all be done with one ticket it's something I'd do once just to have the experience.

I'd also be nervous about a Chinese high-speed railway!!

It sounds like an episode of Thunderbirds, the maiden voyage of the trans-world express!

Seems like no-one knows the answer. Looks great though! Doubt they'd ship overseas, many US company's don't seem to like doing that.

Probably expensive too I would imagine.

Slightly off-topic but bed-related,

a decent mattress! Any ideas what stores carry them? Not a three-inch thick cushion the size of a mattress, nor a mattress that emulates the comfort of the aforementioned cushion, but a mattress, sprung or foam or whatever.

I'm trying, gradually, to introduce items of comfort into my g/f's home, so far I've managed a water heater/shower unit, and a farang toilet, you never know, one day there may be a chair!

Of course there's already two TV's for the soaps, dvd player for the dvd's of the soaps, computer, multiple phone charging equipment etc. but sleeping still kinda feels a little like camping, the bed's a good 'un but the mattress is for display purposes only.

Edit. btw, I emailed the bedfan company and asked them.

Re the question of opening a Thai Bank account, I personally visit every year and have alot of Bhat leftover on returning to Aus so I went into a Bank in Chiang Rai where I spend the most Time, Took my Passport and couple of thousand Bhat and opened an Account by filling in the usual ID papers, enough said I had a Bank Account no problem, Thai Farmers Bank and I used it all over Thailand, Dont see how it is a Problem for anybody else, Oh did have a young Lady with me and she did a bit of interpreting, Good Luck.

Firstly, well done for having a lot of Baht left over!

Can I ask you what they required? You got a non-imm visa? No letter from the consulate/embassy? Just passport, a pen, someone to translate and some money?

I'm asking because I need to do the same thing in Chiang Rai and want to have everything I need to avoid the 120km round trip to get any missing documentation!

Also, can you transfer from your home country bank online with TFB?

Cheers,

Biff

anyway back to slangy stuff, you guys ever hear เสี่ยวจ๊าบลาว ? Kinda like saying someone is not cool, their style is LAO..

Not that particular phrase. But calling something Lao, in Thai, is a bit insulting . . . for example:

หน้าดูลาวมากเลย (his face is ugly like a Laotian)

นั่นคือลาวเลย (thats sooooo Lao)

อย่าทำแบบลาวว่ะ (don't be so f'ing Lao, ok?)

(I made up those examples on the spot, so perhaps a grammatical mistake or two, but you get the idea)

ps - In the first example, if I swap Lao for Korean, it'd be taken as a huge compliment.

Perhaps หน้าลาว(มาก), โคตรลาว, หน้าเสี่ยว

However, I would not use these terms as they are degrading to the wonderful Lao -- and Isaan -- people. (The reference is not only limited to Laotians.) And Thai superiority complex hardly needs more encouragement.

Last year I was on the selection committee and interviewed Thai youth candidates to join a youth cross-cultural exchange program (joined by selected youths from 10 SEA countries). One of the questions I asked was on this kind of reference (as successful candidates will inevitably mingle with Lao youth). The answers were interesting.

Slightly off topic (sorry) but would these terms vary depending on where in Thailand you were? When I stayed in Chiang Saen many of the family have Lao roots so I would imagine saying 'don't be so Lao' might not be said so much? When we went to Laos (only for a couple of hours admittedly) it was noticeable that the Thai visitors were seen as more affluent visitors, possibly because the new (huge) Chinese casino/hotel complex was ferrying people over to a small market for free (on the condition that you went to the casino as well!)

Is it similar to in the UK when 'being Irish' used to have similar connotations?

It is up to the individual whether they take the test or sit a course; but unless their English ability is at ESOL entry level 3 or better then it is unlikely that they will be able to understand the study materials, and the test itself, well enough to be able to pass.

If sitting a course an ordinary ESOL course is not enough; it must be an ESOL course with citizenship materials.

See Knowledge of language and life in the UK

Hi

I brought my wife the Life in the UK book and test questions for Xmas, my wife was a student here for 2 years learning english and her speaking and writing are good but I must admit that she is not the best at reading especially a whole book in english and learning it by herself, can anyone suggest a good ESOL college in London that she could attend a couple of time a week etc, I dont mind having to pay but if anyone knows of a free/cheap one that would be good or even a website I could go on to find the nearest one to where I live in North London.

Thanking you in advance

Dunno whereabouts in North London you live but if Southgate is any good to you i found this http://www.southgate.ac.uk/international/i...ur_english.html

Failing that, most London Boroughs will have adult education centres where these courses should be available. Check your local council website.

Good luck.

Some nice waterfront property could be available at the right price. (Boat extra).

Hey!!! that's my house!

2,000,000 baht I paid for that. 'well designed contemporary studio style development combining traditional building methods with modern chic styling' It said in the brochure. The plans looked a bit different though, I'm sure once the materials 'settle' it will look just like the developer promised me, right?

The mooring fees are quite reasonable, and I get free malaria tablets if I make my monthly payments on time!

I wonder, for example, if most Americans might feel that putting vinegar on their French fries is similarly horrible.

I am guessing no, Americans would mostly not be horrified by that at all (as it is delicious).

I LOVE malt vinegar on chips/fries.

Me too. It's great. I still don't see how even people who don't understand it could be disgusted by it. It's just vinegar, like vinegar and oil for a salad dressing.

Firstly, got to have vinegar on yer chips! from the chip shop there's nothing like the smell of hot chips with vinegar on them!

Yes, mayo on chips in Holland, tastes good too!

Ketchup on pizza? Yeah I'd do that too, didn't realise it was a Thai thing. If it was a nice pizza in an Italian restaurant then, no, I wouldn't but at home, with a sh1tty one from Asdas then yeah I would. Ketchup lovers will put ketchup on anything, maybe not cornflakes but pretty much anything else!

Long reply coming up, apologies in advance. Those who like short answers will, no doubt, skip to the next one!

My g/f only gets angry with me when I get angry with her! Ok she has a monthly irritability, but everyone just keeps their heads down and I wait for the right moment and ask her if she knows why she's getting angry quick today, then she'll have a think and a smile...'oh ok period near start'

But on two occasions she has reacted to me not liking something she has done with the proper silent treatment. I know she's angry when she doesn't speak at all!

She seems to think (we're working on this btw) that if I'm not happy about one thing (small or otherwise) then I'm not happy with the whole relationship and want to finish with her!

I try to tell her that if I wasn't happy with her then I wouldn't get angry over one thing I'd just not be with her at all and that, from time to time, there will be things that p1ss us off and she shouldn't assume it's 'the end' when that happens. This only succeeds in producing frowns and 'mai khow djai'

I hope we can 'meet in the middle'. When we (finally) got to talking through our last disagreement, I told her i was angry with myself because I should have talked to her more about it.

I'm used to it being 'ok' to have the odd row, and then make up after the air has been cleared and we are both left with a clearer understanding of each other, but I'm learning from her, and she from me. I'm learning to say things like 'ok, next time we need to talk about that first so I can understand why' and she's learning that I need to talk things through and really understand before we commit to something.

There's a lot of talk about cultural differences and I'm usually of the opinion that people are people and these differences can be 'over-stressed' if you like. But I do believe that this is definitely a cultural thing.

I'm used to women explaining themselves (often too much! ), how they feel about everything, and having regular discussions about how 'this made me feel x' or 'that made me feel y' and as a man, I've often felt that I'm not particularly like that but now I'm starting to think maybe I'm just less like that than the western women I've been close to!

She doesn't criticize me at all, ever.

She'll wait, then in conversation later will mention in a very very roundabout way how maybe someone else didn't handle something vaguely similar too well and it all ended up 'mai dee'

So, rather than wishing she was like my ex-g/f's and appreciated a 'frank exchange of ideas' followed by kissing and making up. I'm trying to pick up on the more subtle ways of avoiding conflict whilst not agreeing to things I hate doing. She now asks about three or four times if I want to do something she maybe thinks I won't like and offers me ways to politely decline, these are often very subtle and I can miss them easily but she's learning that some things I need to mull over before I'm comfortable with it.

We have only had two 'falling outs' and she now understands that I do love her and that won't change because we have a row, but she was genuinely puzzled when I explained that in my country people do that all the time!

'huh??? jing lor? khun angrit ting tong!'

yes honey, ting tong mak mak but you love me right?

'mai!' (big smile, kiss, followed by a slap round the head)

and we're back to normal!

To summarise then, no she doesn't get angry (for real) quickly, but there are mis-understandings that, if not handled carefully, could be serious problems.

Trance parties? I certainly hope not! Banging nose-bleed trance is an affront to decent house music. No rythmn, no soul, no funk, no groove, just bang bang bang followed by a predictable breakdown when everybody goes 'wooooooooo' and then....... bang bang bang...off it goes again!

No-one dances they just kind of 'skip on the spot' like a kind of 'boxercise' on E.

It's ok at the fairground when you're on the rides and the guy shouts 'scream if you wanna go faster' and the pikeys nick the change out of your pockets and try and chat up your girlfriend, but for a proper night out? Please!

Get some funk in your soul! Get some deep house or tech-house music!

Turns out the envelope is the cheapest part of it

Bus tickets for g/f and 2 kids Chiang Saen to Korat, stay in Korat for a few days when all the family she hasn't seen for years will 'drop by' and empty her (my) wallet for her! I don't think they'll get any money but I'll bet they can eat and drink a fair amount! And seeing as the wedding is so far away, it will be like a 'wedding warm up' Then mum travels back with them to Chiang Saen for the wedding, mum. I'm sure, will need to be holding a little folding on her arrival!

Bus tickets alone is about 8,000 so I reckon nephew will have set me back around 20K by the time everyone is wandering home drunk!

And I was worried about the envelope!

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice it's important to get these things right.

Oh, by the way, they haven't set the date yet, nephew's dad will consult the local Wat as to the best day.... how do they decide? Anyone know how the monks pick the best day for these things?

Thanks everyone for your input.

We've decided we're putting 1,000 baht in the envelope and privately contributing another 1,000 to the costs of the wedding, seeing as it's close family and they all live in the same house.

I doubt very much if he will put 1,000 in an envelope for me should the occasion arise! he's saved up the 30,000 baht sin sot and enough for one baht gold so I reckon that's him skint for a while now!

When I get them, I'll put some photos up on my blog page.

Cheers,

Biff

Whilst I can understand your anger at being, in your opinion, over-charged in England (or double-charged) isn't this thread about dual pricing? ie. there being two different prices for the same thing? One for Thais and another (higher price) for non-Thais? That's a different thing altogether isn't it?

Well it is a bit of a half full, half empty thing. At the end of the day there is a charge and if it is reasonable I am not too concerned if someone does even better. Especially with National Parks that belong to Thais and are paid for. If I am paying a fair price I am reasonably happy to subsidize Thais in a 'tiny' way so that they can afford it rather than getting bitter and twisted about it. I dont get particularly highly taxed here simply because the revenue department dont seem competent so I am happy to help in other ways. I suspect that some people are whinging when they earn 10x the average Thai so if he pays double it is still costing the Thai 5x as much. Its their country and even the permanent resident who is so indignant is only a guest - I am fairly sure if they heard his whining about double pricing they wouldnt have made him a PR in the first place.

If we were being grossly overcharged to complain would be fine but you are not so why not accept it and also consider that you are helping people that are probably less fortunate than you to appreciate whatever it is. Farangs are not actually suffering they are just irritated, indignated and jealous that Thais are getting a better deal. Anyway its their country, they can choose to do what they like. I am a permanent resident but I usually pay the extra charge - if you dont support national parks they soon wont exist.

yes, but that still doesn't explain your reference to the expensive hotel you stayed at in the UK, what's that got to do with dual-pricing? Presumably it was the same price for everyone? Or did they charge you double what they charge everyone else?

Finlaco, let me be the first to apologize for this little city not being up to your standards. Untold, is the grief that we all suffer here in CR, knowing that this little city just isn't, nor will it ever be, a little Bangkok. You can't imagine the despair we feel and, alas, you've only made it worse by publicly commenting on it. The most we can hope for is that other smart people (like you) read your post and put off any visits they had been contemplating. I'm sure other people that aren't nearly as bright as you will arrive here and fate will have its way. My heart breaks.

There is an upside to this story of wretched Farang people suffering their fate in this city. While so many of us arrived here in the past and have found ourselves to be trapped in its inescapable grasp of smallness and boredom, bound at the wrists and ankles by its lack of crowds, crime and hatefulness, we are often treated to stories of success of people like you. Let me tell you, you can't imagine the joy we feel when we read of your exploits and your escape from this place. Oh!, the envy we feel when we realize that we are still here and yet somehow, you have managed to elude the sentence bestowed upon the rest of us.

Enjoy "your local bar" in BKK and think of us often as you swill whatever it is you swill. Regale the patrons with stories of how bad it is here and how you made your lucky getaway, thereby gratefully escaping the life of suffering you witnessed. Please, PLEASE, make sure that all who are like you, know of the pitfall awaiting them if they were to make the same mistakes that you have made.

This place is so much as you say that the only joy we can have is knowing that you, and others that share your thinking, have found reason to stay far from here, safe in such a beautiful, big metropolis and are able to enjoy all (and I mean ALL) that such a big city has to offer. Sit on your barstool and know that there is no joy in CR, except the joy we can find in knowing that you are where you are and that we are where we are. Know that our thoughts are not joyful, but filled with envy of the life you live in BKK. And when BKK sinks into the ocean and you're looking for a drier place to live, remember the despair you found here and go south instead. Go very far south, drop us a line and let us know where you ended up so we can envy your life in that place as well. You're all we have. Don't let us down.

Nicely done

Woman I west want to be like man with woman rights. You have to open the doors for them because they are ladies, but they are men as far as everything else

I think West uses too much testosterone in their food and all the ladies have lost their femininity

I feel I need to add some corrections, not to the grammar but the content.

Women in the west want to be like people with people rights. You don't have to open doors for them but it is polite to open doors for everyone.

Femininity and being subservient, or unequal are NOT the same thing.

I usually tell them I am from London

Answer: Ohhh, you are English?

Me: No I am Pakistani

I thought everyone from London was Black and drove a bus,especially if you are English.

yes you're right, everyone from London is black and we all drive buses, apart from those Londoners who are from Australia, who all serve pints.

So that would mean 8 million black bus drivers all driving buses that were empty apart from when the Australians were going to work in the pub!

No wonder the traffic is so bad!

Top man i tottaly agree with you,

i am from the same thirld world nation so when i leave said nation i will turn off the lights and lock my car in your shoe box?

must have missed the big light switch...is it at Heathrow? You won't be able to park your car in his shoe-box...it wouldn't fit, remember? Anyway the bloke at the door will have whisked it away and charged you 14 quid.

Staying at an expensive hotel in England is just that, expensive. How is that indicative of anything other than how expensive it is? What it has to do with lights being switched off is beyond me...other than, perhaps, a reference to a newspaper headline that was, if I remember correctly...'will the last person leaving the country turn the lights off'

How does that have anything to do with dual-pricing either in the UK or in Thailand?

Your post has has more relevance to a discussion of literacy levels than anything else.

Or have you seized upon an opportunity to join in with the 'this country's <deleted>*ked' brigade at the slightest mention of anything in the UK you think is wrong?

Abrak & Warpspeed. Which country are u from? Could u give some examples of similar practices in ur country. Do u really think taxation justifies 10 times Thai entrance fee? Really? On a generous day I'd say it might cover an extra ฿20 to the Thai entrance. For most

I come from a relatively small second world nation in Europe known as England.

Last time I was there I was at least double charged (GBP350) for a room the size of a shoebox at a hotel called the Metropolitan. Double charged in the sense it could hardly be worth half as much. Its major feature was the smallest bathroom I have ever been into. Still that is just overpricing I would guess to fleece the average tourist. When I arrived at the hotel they kindly valet parked my car but added GBP14 to my bill for a service that I have never had to pay for in Thailand - I would certainly regard this as double charging as you would have thought it came free with the shoebox. Having kindly parked my car I found the next morning an extra charge of GBP40 for the space. Again I have never been charged for a parking space in a hotel in Thailand. Again I regard this as double charging although admittedly there wasnt enough room in my shoebox to fit the car. So in my view that was GBP240 double charging in one night and I havent even got to their Japanese Canteen. Now I have been double charged in Thailand over the past 15 years but I doubt the whole amount adds up to GBP240.

To me it seems pretty ridiculous to complain about Bt400 to enter a National Park when you would have been charged Bt4,000 back home. And think even if the Thai paid Bt400, the same as you, he would certainly have the right to complain about 10x charging in the UK. What a ridiculous thing to say the Thais dont pay much tax - the costs of maintaining their National Parks dont come out of thin air. And Thailand is trying to stop private operators benefiting from double charging while UK operators seem to enjoy taking the piss. Having charged me GBP14 for valet parking which took 3 minutes, the guy actually asked for a tip.

Anyway I think we should all make a stand about this ridiculous behavior. I cant actually believe that any tourists go to the UK anymore but I think the UK should be boycotted until such behavior is declared illegal by the human rights commission. As for double charging in Thailand dont you think it is an incredibly trivial issue a bit like discussing which bar to go to save Bt2 on a bottle of Chang.

Whilst I can understand your anger at being, in your opinion, over-charged in England (or double-charged) isn't this thread about dual pricing? ie. there being two different prices for the same thing? One for Thais and another (higher price) for non-Thais? That's a different thing altogether isn't it?

Wow, I never thought about that.

Now Im glad Im not from UK (I mean England).

Never thought a simple question it would create that much hazzle.

just to be clear

The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain (which contains the countries of England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland,

the nationality of a citizen of the UK is British. There are many citizens of the UK who are not English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish.

Hope that clears things up

I remain puzzled by Brits who insist they're English. And care about soccer clubs and ales. I insist I'm from Texas ,

It's mainly because the word 'British' isn't used in Britain too much, it isn't specific enough. Politicians use it because they kinda have to.

Football clubs is because we're brought up on it, it defines our 'tribe'. In a conversation with another Londoner, I can understand so much about them when they tell me their team.

When asked in Thailand (often my g/f is asked not me!) I say Pom bpen khun Angrit khap, she says Angrit, London

If asked by other foreigners I say London, other English people I say East London.

When I went to Myanmar from Chiang Saen, they copied my passport and I was handed a 'one day pass' with Northern Ireland written in the 'country of origin' box!

The British passport, in case you didn't know, has The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the front and the 'Northern Ireland' bit is on the bottom line so they wrote that

btw, any Scots, Welsh or Ulstermen/women, what do you say in Thai? I can't imagine khun Angrit being all that popular with you?

yeah, she'll take care of the envelope as, sadly, I'll be in England at the time of the wedding. Cool, I'll budget for 1,000

Thanks

Anybody who says that Asian women are all so polite and quiet....

absolutely! I think the first time I looked at her and thought 'hmmm there's something about this girl' was when I saw her lose her temper! It wasn't directed at me btw! (and long may THAT continue to be the case!)

My GF said, when I put 1,000 Baht in a Falang's wedding envelope, would you give over £20 in England to someone you didn't know.

I did say that I would normally buy a toaster for anyone's wedding.

I got the impression that 500 Baht would have been adequate for this Isaan ceremony.

Also depends on the circumstances of the betrothed - for Bangkok hiso's you would undoubtedly pay more.

Well, Bangkok hi-so's they ain't!

As for £20 to someone I didn't know... yeah I probably would, but I do know him and he's my g/f's nephew..

It's looking like 1,000 is about right. Thanks guys

ceremonial situations differ. For instance, when I was working as an expat for 3 yrs in Bangkok, my department assistant got married and I enclosed $200US. I did have a conversation with a few local colleagues and the amount varied significantly within.

The amount I enclosed was on the high side but, as an expat I didn't want to look cheap nor put disrespect to my assistant's family.

I asked my Issan wife concerning your situation and she mentioned that she would not enclose too much maybe 1,000baht namely

due in part that your nephew couple may ask you for more money down the road...

Thanks for your reply, I was thinking about the same amount too. As I'm helping with the costs (well, paying all of them actually!) of g/f and kids going to Korat for a few days and bringing mum back with them I reckon 1,000 is kinda 'ball park' right. But I don't want to look cheap.... might up it a little?

As for help down the road, they built two rooms under the house when I went to stay with them which g/f and kids now use. The plan is that when we get a house of our own, nephew and wife will move in downstairs. As far as sponsoring the new couple with regular payments, they can whistle for it! sponsorship is, and will continue to be, limited to; mum (gets a couple thou if we can spare it but not every month) kids (saving plan for further education) sister (gets a few hundred for gasoline if she's broke, but that's reciprocal) I paid the electric bill one month but Pi Sao payed it back the next.

They're a cool bunch of people and haven't asked me for anything.

Nephew works with the family, they rent the land they work and he has a couple of plots that he's 'in charge of' so I reckon they'll be ok.

Any more input gratefully received