connda

Heard the second Shingrix shot hurts like a motherf....bear. 💉

Then add Dengue and Japanese Encephalitis. And rabies.

I'm sure there were people who made financial killings by that move which shags the average Canadian. Connected people got very rich no doubt.

I don't care. I haven't lived there in years. It was going to hell in a hand-basket well before I left. The US is a two party duopoly which takes turns shagging the citizens and then blaming the "other side." It's all kabuki theater. I don't take any of it serious. The entire system is predatory and neither party works for the benefit of US citizens.

Get your Covid boosters too. And flu, and RSV. Can't be too safe. Oh, pneumonia shots. Don't forget those. Oh, and measles and yellow fever are becoming a thing in the US. If your traveling on international flights, yellow-fever and MMR shot might be in order as well. And Covid boosters. Never forget those. Covid is a killer. Be safe out there!

Over 50k THB / baht-weight. And this is probably still affordable.

It's amazing what daddy's money and influence can buy.

Yes it was.

Coming right up in 3, 2, 1.....

I did too!

Absolutely - the Athletic Enhancement Drug Open Category. Wouldn't have much affect in cycling, football, body-building, or baseball though. <laughs> But you could get some real UFC monsters out there. Whoo baby! Even better. And open category where gals can use any drugs they want, and men can't use any. Then let the games begin! "Are You Entertained?"

Pro Tip 2: When caught, play the race card and incite riots.

White collar crime is still crime, but it's just not prosecuted like the type of crime that happens on the street. There's commoner crime - "Thrown Them Into Prison!!!" Then there is wealthy people crime - "Nothing to see here, move along. Now this isn't anything that can't be papered over with the right amount of political donations and gifts to the right people!"

Unfortunately, among a few million visitors you're bound to get a few who are sociopaths.

Which may end up being a deadly assumption.

Yeah, cross the road looking in the direction of oncoming traffic, then get hit from behind by a motorcycle going the wrong way. That's the sort **** you have to contend with here in Thailand. You have to take your safety into your own hands. The state isn't going to do that for you unlike the West where an accident like that would most likely bankrupt the truck driver who hit them with legal costs, damages, civil lawsuits, medical claims, and possible prison time compounded with the loss of his job. What will happen to the Thai Songtaew driver here in Thailand? Maybe he'll have the minimum insurance required - maybe. Or not. If he doesn't, oh well, apologize to the victims with a wai and a basket of fruit. Maybe the state scrapes together a few thousand THB and another fruit-basket. The Songtaew driver is no doubt back on the road. Maybe he'll even see if the courts can get the Germans to pay for the damage to this truck. Ya know - rich foreigners. For all of those who keep saying, "Well if this was in my country in the West....." Well - it's not. This ain't the West. It's Thailand. TIT. They'll be little, if any, punitive actions taken against the driver. And what punitive actions are taken, if any, they will pale in comparison to those in the Western judicial system for an identical offense. And this story will disappear within 48 hours. You'll probably never hear what happens because, well, we never do. The suffering of victims isn't newsworthy here. So no need to follow-up.

They don't mean anything unless a cop can get you on a radar gun. Other than that, they are meaningless.

They provide a false sense of security which in turn gets foreigners killed.

When I was out with my daughter when she was very young, and we crossed a road, my head was on a swivel. Protecting my daughter was first-most in my mind. How do you push a tram your child in it across a road like you're walking in the park? It boggles the mind.

By the way, if you watch the complete video, you see that most people just stroll across assuming cars will stop. But, there are some, especially a gal with a kid, who stopped with her kid as she saw something coming. Right here, she stop with her kid and looks and waits. Very smart. Sorry, this isn't the UK or US or EU. These accidents in cross-walks keep happening because people from those countries mistakenly believe that the traffic on Thai roads behaves the same way it does in their country. Neither the traffic nor the legal systems is the same. Really - someone should publish a pamphlet on how not to get killed or in trouble here in Thailand due to ignorance of the local culture. laws, and general realities - like the reality that Thailand has one of the most dangerous system of roads on the planet.. When it comes down to a 1500kg vehicle and a 75kg person - the vehicle wins every time. And if it's a foreigner who gets hit, who takes care of their medical bill. What's their recourse to civil lawsuits for pain and injury. There isn't any. So the best precaution is like that mum with her kid - don't put yourself in the position to get hurt. The Thai government isn't going to make that family whole again either medically, emotionally, or financially.

This is were home-country acculturation ("Here in Germany, all vehicles must stop for pedestrians so we can stroll across the cross-walk and not even look because the cars will stop for sure!") will get you killed in Thailand. ("A cross-walk! Off we go without even looking left or right because in our country 'all vehicles must stop for pedest***') BAM!!!!! One thing I learned in kindergarten that still applies to today. "When crossing a road at a cross-walk, look left, look right, look left and right again, and stay attentive while crossing for oncoming vehicles." Obviously they don't teach that in kindergarten anymore. Short lived vacation it seems. Hope the kid didn't get hurt.

Thai Buddhists get in an uproar because of farang insensitivity toward sacred Buddhism in Thailand. Then Thai Buddhists in Thailand commit insensitivity toward sacred Islam in Thailand. Everyone has their own dog in the fight when it comes to getting "outraged" by other's "insensitivity" toward what they themselves consider sacred. Funny how that works, 'Eh?

No it won't.

Yep! Pretty much unrecognizable from the post-WWII American I grew up in. Then lets not even talk about post-WWII London where I first went to school. For anyone wondering, yeah, I'm a Yank.

Got me beat by about seven years. One of my last fond memories was of a very overweight, black TSA lady at LAX screaming - and I mean quite literally screaming - at people in line to move faster. She reminded me of the Navy Seals during Navy swim training in San Diego screaming at all the "polywogs" to, "MOVE MOVE MOVE! NUT TO BUTT, NUT TO BUTT! MOVE!." I expected that in the military as it's a rite of passage. But by the freaking TSA? Rude and unprofessional beyond belief. Total power trips . And I hear it has only gotten worse. But? I don't know, I haven't been back. Anyway, It was a relief to be in the air on that particular LAX to BKK flight where they bumped me from economy to business class for free as I was dressed "business casual" as I usually do when I travel. I guess you take the good with the bad. It was good to leave. Do I miss anything? I miss skiing as one of the hats I wore in the past was as a Professional Ski Instructor. But at my age now? I would have been spending more time in the lodge and less time on the slopes. And I miss seeing family now and then, but air flights fly both ways. Not even one family member has expressed interest over the years to come visit even though there is an open invitation. Like we live in a valley surrounded by national and regional parks. We have a rai of land two house, one of which is a guest house. But no one is interested. I find that sort sad as Thailand is "Life, Culture, and History in Technicolor" compared to the US. I think a lot of Americans are that way - they don't leave their home towns no less the state they live in, and never really get out and travel the world. I've done a lifetime of traveling and at my age, it is time to settle in and enjoy "home." So really, what's to miss? My extended family made up of Thais with a couple of long-stay farang tossed in the mix is now in Thailand. Family is where you put down roots. The roots are sunk here - This Is Home!