connda

Good! This should be entertaining.

Except for the ones that see a case for quantum physics within Buddhist doctrine. I'd imagine that those whose background is in theoretical physics would gravitate toward either Buddhism or Hinduism as both address 'reality' that can only be accessed via deep meditative states and a paradoxical understanding of the human state and the nature of 'reality.' Case in point - Ajahn Brahm (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) who was a student of Ajahn Chah (Wat Pa Nanachart/Wat Pa Pong) here in Thailand. Ajahn Brahm (Peter Betts) training was in Theoretical Physics. There are numerous Western Theravadan monk with educational pedigree such as Ajahn Brahm. Why? The seemingly unexplainable paradoxes in Buddhism tend to align to the equally unexplainable paradoxes in nature that theoretical physics addresses. These highly intelligent individuals get a glimpse of "reality" beyond mundane reality and down the path they go. My guess is that those geniuses who explore the twisted 'realities' of theoretical physics, nihilistically, as they don't see any practical manner to explain the paradoxes - become atheists. Those who embrace Buddhism or Hinduism also embrace meditative practices, and many of those may have had prior experiences with hallucinogens. Both kick your mind out of the mundane. So I agree with you to a point. But you missed the Schrodinger's 2 ton elephant sitting in the room beside you. ????

That makes sense. Dogs are pretty darn resilient to stomach bugs, but I image that h.pylori and giardia in sufficient quantities can make even a dog sick. Wishing the best for your friend.

Benny Hill had a song about holidays that was brilliant but I've been unable to ever find it again. He went through all the holidays and weekends and other special times and at the end of the day came up with the fact that the entire year is a holiday and nobody works. It was a really funny song, wish I could find it again.

Village Mom & Pop stores will sell any time, any day.

Kaow Pansa - Beginning of the rain retreats.

Yep - government jobs and loaded onto the government gravy-train.

The difference between dirt poor and so-called 'wealth' is the amount of unsecured debt that Thai banks and financial institutions are willing to extend. Honestly - a truly poor but debt free person is probably better off in the long-run. Maybe. Or the entire financial infrastructure could collapse under the weight of bad debt and - TaDa!!! - Jubilee! at which point those with the most 'written off' debt win.

Extra-long weekend in Thailand: here’s what you need to know Go shopping today and stock up (we just got back from an early morning shopping excursion) and then, like Songkran, hunker down for the next 7 days. Drunks and the terminally aggressive drivers will be out in force on the road just like Songkran, but without the Songkran police blockades. Traffic fatality stats should be interesting to see a week from now.

"Fake News" is a euphemism for any information that is counter to the officially endorsed narrative provide by government and corporate entities. So-called "Fake News" very often, over time (weeks or months or years later) proves to be factual news, much to the chagrin of those seeking to to keep the lid on facts. The recent revelations of "The Twitter Files" regarding governments working hand-in-hand with Twitter to actively censor factual information (and calling it mal-information, mis-information, and the like) is a prime example. "Fake news" I'm afraid is all too often suppressed factual information that stakeholders of "public-private partnerships" wish to censor in order to advance there own narratives. Matt Taibbi, Lee Fang, Bari Weiss, and Micheal Shellenberger revelations from "The Twitter Files" shows a direct efforts to censor factual information an forms the basis for Shellenberger's term, The International Censorship Industrial Complex, a very apt term. Censorship, imho, is anathema to a functional democracy. Censorship is the hallmark of totalitarian states, not true democracies.

No. But for any expat planning to move here or retire here? They should know what to expect and then plan accordingly. That's why we comment on the discriminatory practices. Not for us? We know......but for those reading these forums and considering moving to Thailand to work or retire. Forwarded in forearmed. Based on what I know today? I doubt I'd be living here had I known it 16 years ago. I would have visited, but not gotten involved with a female Thai citizen no less marrying one, and moved on to a country that isn't overtly racist and discriminatory toward individuals who are not their own ethnicity and nationality. There are countries like that. Where foreigners are encouraged to settle and marry into the native population. Thailand isn't one of those countries! Just saying. It's da*m sad imho.

No they don't. Speaking from experience as opposed to what I've heard on AN.

That's good to hear. I lost two of my dogs to kidney disease and vomiting is a symptom.

Exactly. Or charge you extra based on your skin color as "farang" means person from European decent. Show me one Western country where the foreign spouse of a citizen is charged extra based on their ethnicity and nationality, especially if like myself, they have lived in-country for 16 years and married for well over 15. There are none. Westerners, especially those on the Left would scream 'racism' at loud as they can. And legitimately. I would too. How is this discrimination even considered moral by any civilized, modern standards?

Sorry to hear that. Have your vet check your dog's kidneys.

Nope. Thais get unsecured credit extended to them. Heck, I see tables in malls and Big C hypermarts where unsecured credit is being not only offered but actively pimped to Thais. Your statement should read, "To get a Thai bank credit card I thought Foreigners had to have money in the bank to cover the use of the credit card." That's an accurate statement for most rank and file expats.

It should read, "Predatory Thai lending institutions prey on Thai citizenry." Credit should not legally be extended to those who are going to be unable to repay. This is what non-existence regulators are for - to stop institutional predation by banks, corporations, and financial institutions.

If you donate your body for the med school, they pay for a nice send off after they are done slicing and dicing.

I'll have to check how much it cost to fricassée a farang over a gas grill here in the village. I'll ask my wife tonight. My guess is cheap, sure not 2-3K AUD. Probably enough to cover the cost of the natural gas and a days wage for those who help, like about 5 to 7 people at 600 THB a day. The monks chant for what we give them, but being Buddhist, we tend to be generous to the temple monks.

Just say no! Like I stated above. If CM University doesn't take our bodies, then we'll be held in state for a day at the house - immediate family only - pay for monks to chant, get placed in one of the wat's cheap 1000 THB coffins, and then off to the crematorium for cremation. Ashes and ground bone will be tossed into the nearby river and we're done with it. It's only a village affair if you make it a village affair.

200K THB. Most villages have a 'death fund' which villagers pay into most of their lives and then they receive about that much for the purposes of offsetting funeral costs. However..... Nobody said you have to have a fancy funeral. If my wife kicks before me, she'll either go to CM University to be a medical student project, or if they refuse the body, my son and I will have her boxed up, have a family only ceremony with chanting monks, then off to the crematorium. We're not feeding the village. Same goes for me. The 200K THB will go to my son Anyway - approximate cost will be about 200K THB.

If you are doing online 90 day reports you don't need your passport. If online doesn't work? The worst case scenario would be that you'll need to pay a 2000 THB late fee. Not the end of the world. For your extension? I don't have a clue. But there is a lesson here. Get your passport renewals done wayyyyy before you need it for processing your extension.

I see Move Forward is moving forward. Good choice. Pita will no doubt have his day. Just not this year.

We rewired the structures on our property a few years back and put all the wiring through PVC wiring conduit.

I'd outlaw reading a smart phone while walking. You go to any public space, especially hypermarts and malls, and half the people there are smart-phone zombies. They don't have a clue about their surroundings. I've had all sorts of encounters with the smart-phone walking dead. The most memorable was when a member of the walking dead, face-down staring at his smart-phone, simple stops on exit platform of an escalator. With people behind me, I had to literally push him off of it. I was expecting a confrontation - but the guy didn't even notice. He didn't skip a beat but just kept reading his phone. Yeah - there should be a law.