connda

I still have the vision of an unfinished Skytrain platform outside my condo in Laski back in 2007. Nope. I don't think I'm interested in investing in monorails in Thailand.

I see. Lifestyle choices leading to obesity are now "Metabolic Disease." "Not your fault. You suffer from disease. Take pill." Nope - Instead: Exercise. Eat a nutrient rich diet in moderation. Get off your a**. <Tada> Cured!

Child drowning is like the carnage on the road. Education of children and drivers would go a long way in minimizing the horror of each tragedy respectively. But? The government simply doesn't seem to have the will to address the issue. Instead they hand out awards and take photos. "What did you do?" Nothing. "Congratulations. Here's a award!!! Photos please!" <click click click click click>

Depends on your dentist. A number of Thai dentists trained in the US. Mine did. Her dentistry is top notch. Now, if you go to a Thai dentist with primarily Thai clientele? I have before. That is a different story.

Harveyboy. Do you realize how many dentists practice in Thailand? Thousands! The beauty about free markets is that for every xenophobic dentist who doesn't want your farang business, there are 10 who do. So....... Vote with your feet - find a different dentist.

I really like good craft beer. This swill sold in Thailand isn't worth buying. Really.

Once again, civilians are caught between groups of oligarchs slugging it out to see which of them will control the world. Who suffers? Citizens on both sides of the conflict and civilians not even associated with the conflict. War. Huh. Yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing... -Edward Star

Ahhh, the locals are back out in force burning down their forests to make way for mushroom hunting in the rainy season. How bad is PM2.5 in Chiang Mai. How about the CO2?

Russian banks are working to reissue credit cards though China's UnionPay.

Russia is issuing different cards in partnership with China's UnionPay. Big win for UnionPay as they pick up all of the business in Russia that MasterCard and Visa rejected.

Russian banks are switching over to China's UnionPay and will issue credit cards through them. So it looks like average Russians in Thailand will be able to move money around internationally soon. China's UnionPay will no doubt enjoy the increase in their customer base that was given up by Visa and MC.

You're living in the city. City noise is a given. Today maybe their is no construction; tomorrow they are building a condo or hotel next to where you live. Soi dogs are a fact of life just like pigeons. Noise is a fact of life in CM. If you don't like noise? Then move outside of town. It's a renter's market for apartments. Like someone else said - drive around until you find a few places that appeal to you and then negotiate a price. Check multiple locations so you understand the going prices of rentals. Economically, Chiang Mai is butt-hurt. You should be able to find a good apartment on the cheap.

Hotchili is getting ripped of. The green stuff is Farmhouse brand. Half loaf is up to 24 THB and the full load is up to 44 THB. We buy full loafs. The prices here in the CM/Lamphun area are uniform regardless of where you buy it. The price is marked on the bag.

A bowl of noodles still costs 20 THB in our village. That same bowl of noodles probably cost 100+ THB in Bangkok. Inflation can be viewed though a regional lens. Which is why I prefer rural Thailand to city life. Wife got a kilo of cilantro for 10 THB yesterday A kilo of sweet peppers 15 THB Papaya - Free. You can't give it away out here in the rice field. In town at Big Box stores? You can still find discount. And I bought pork tenderloin at Marko for 140/kilo a couple of days ago - down from 189/kilo.

Most Thais know some English. You can get a lot of mileage out of taking what they know and improving their pronunciation (if you are a NES) and grammatical syntax - i.e., teach them colloquial, everyday English so they can deal with English speaking foreigners and hold a conversation.

I used to create courses for external customers of our private school. That is essentially curriculum development. Determine the target audience's needs and create coursework to fit their situation. You don't need books. You need a white board and creativity. Occasionally handouts.

It's a valid question.

Buddhist don't normally do much more than bury their pets without much fuss. During the time I was a monk (4 months during the 2020 Rain Retreats), the pack-leader of the temple's packed died. I really liked him, he was a good dog. The monks laid him outside my kuti while they dug a hole. None of the monks would have done anything but bury him. I took the time to play a recording of the Buddhist funeral chant with candles and incense to send him off. Farang monk. Yep, we're different. It really is a personal thing. Some monks will accommodate us crazy farang who get attached to our animals. But it's not really a 'Buddhist thing' or a 'Thai thing.' I think what they did for you @Oxxand for @NancyL was a very nice gesture. Most Thais would not do that for their pets which is actually more of a true Buddhist's outlook as the animal's body without life is no more than like a rotting log. The life is gone onward to its next incarnation. What's left is not your pet. Most Thais will not 'celebrate' around the body (chants, ritual, etc). That tends to culturally be something that we farangs do as a sense of comfort and of closure. We do it in hopes that our pet will end up in a better place (human?) and it gives us a chance to reflect on our love and commitment to our furry friends who pass on before us. So there is no 'time-table.' It just wasn't at the top of their agenda. You're pet wasn't going anywhere. There was not hurry. ❤️ By the way. We bury out pets in the back yard. I give them a send off. My Thai wife has no interest. "Anicha!" Change. That's the way of it. Done. Gone. That's the Thai way.

Not really. The majority within a so-called democratic country are responsible for their leaders. Considering that I haven't voted for a major party in my adult life, none of the US "leaders" were put into office with my vote - and trust me - I feel no responsibility for their actions on the world stage. So no. Citizens of a country are not responsible for their leaders. There are a minority of us who are simply aghast at our 'home country's' geopolitical agendas. Especially when our 'home countries' invade and blow apart smaller countries just like Russia. One more time. I absolutely detest Moral Relativism. The West has a blood-soaked history of imperialistic conquest. And if no one has noticed, the US has troops (an invasion force) embedded in Northern Syria and they refuse to leave that sovereign country as they scream about "Russian Aggression." 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Mathew 7:3-5

You live in a city and complain about pigeons? Sorry - they come with the territory. When I lived in Chiang Mai they were just part of the local scenery. I've no problems with pigeons. All animals poop as do you. Don't like pigeons? Move. Then guess what? All the lovely songbirds out here in rural Thailand poop too. I've never even considered harming the songbirds who poop on the car. I just wash the car and cover it after it dries. Perhaps you should meditate and do good deeds and perhaps you'll be reborn in a reality where animals don't poop. Of course you could shoot them. Then live your next few hundred incarnations and a pigeon who keeps getting shot "I don't believe in reincarnation!" ???? Yeah, but reincarnation may believe in you. Leave the pigeons alone. Buy a motorcycle cover.

It depends on your immigration office. It seems individual IOs can interpret immigration law anyway they see fit. So now you understand how your immigration office works. Given that you've had 3 home visits, you should know that they are a bunch of hard-a***s. Most immigration offices don't want you to report unless you've left the country and returned.

It all taste like p**s. God only knows that Thais be allowed to drink beer that actually has taste. But Thailand loves their wealthy monopolies.

Thailand will not accept refugees from Eastern Europe. Ever. Farangs need to be rich; farangs can not be refugees from a war who are in need of government support. Heck, a elderely Thai only gets 600 THB / month for 'support.' Thai immigration will not be allowing any civilians from Ukraine to enter unless they are over 50 and retired with the proper amounts of money, an expat with a Business visa, or a Ukrainian married to a Thai with the proper amount of money. Thailand and humanitarianism do not exist in the same reality. Bottom Line: There is no such thing as a farang refugee in Thailand.

Almost sounds like Canada or New Zealand. ????

Personally I want to see the US and NATO impose a non-fly zone over Ukraine. Let's end it! Completely.