jsflynn603

No problem, she'll pay 1 baht per month

                        for 7,000 years.

Hilarious!

Every March/April the entire North lights up as farmers burn fields which likely equals two billion smoke-emitting vehicles.

But we don't really want to talk about that, do we?

The value is doubtful.  First, it's usually expelled from the back end, not vomited, which has been theorized but never proven.  Second, it's white, which means it's fairly recent.  Ambergris floats.  The action of the salt water and sunlight slowly turns it dark and changes the fecal smell to a rich "earthy" smell with oceanic undertones.  My guess is this smells pretty sh^^ty.

Yes, many years ago ambergris was worth a fortune and still is if it's the right quality, but today most ambergris is synthesized.  Its sale and possession in the USA has been forbidden since the early 1970's under the extinct species act. 

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris#:~:text=Ambergris%20is%20formed%20from%20a,abdomens%20of%20dead%20sperm%20whales.&text=Ambergris%20takes%20years%20to%20form.

"a 30-year-old woman allegedly posted on her Facebook page that she had found infected people at a hospital in Muang district.”

If true, then good.

This would not be dissimilar to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater.

And, pray tell...just how does one screen for an infection which often shows no symptoms for an average of one to 14 days, even though the carrier is infective even without symptoms?  Or worse, as this article tells: Doctors warn China coronavirus carriers may show no symptoms of illness at all, while still transmitting and infecting others.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047636/doctors-warn-china-coronavirus-carriers-may-show-no-symptoms

" her charms soon won him over"

For many men, brain in small head takes precedence over brain above shoulders.

11 hours ago, Lodestone said:

My first rule (among several) is no women with children. Even if she's honest and perfect in every other way, I simply will not become the new father to and take on the responsibility and expense of raising a child that's not my own.

There's another reason also.  Thailand, unlike other countries has a fast and hard rule: No removal of child from Thailand without written approval of BOTH parents. 

Many years back I had proposed to a woman in Chiang mai who accepted and we started the K-1 process.  But it was immediately nixed by this rule.  Her daughter and she had been abandoned as soon as she started to show (pregnancy) and the father had nothing to do with her or the child from then to the child's age 6.  The grandparents however loved the child and forbade him to agree to let her leave Thailand for America.  Not even a hefty bribe would help since he was the only and was a "kept" son, so the daughter was the golden goose.  Thus the relationship was ended by necessity.

14 hours ago, nev said:

Bit hard to believe the Korean can read Thai, Never in all my years here have I known Thais to send a message to another Thai in English maybe he used Google translate to decipher ????

Though I attended Thai language class in Chiang mai I really never could grasp the language verbally.  I always thought it odd, but I met another fellow American in Chiang mai,  from California, and he two could not master the Thai language verbally.  The odd part is both of us could read and write fairly well, even though the intonation (hi/med/low, rising, ect) was wrong.  I was pretty adept at typing Thai.  But could not follow when someone talked to me.  Or, maybe he used translate.

It means influenza (the flu) but is a term that could also be the "common cold."

Flu has fever + body aches and is generally worse that the common cold, usually a rhinovirus.

Flu can be deadly to children/infants and elderly as well to those with co-morbidities such as athsma.

The attached poster says  it all even if you don't speak Thai.

Let us look at this objectively. 

You.  We know nothing of you except that you use the name Hansuman, possibly in reference to Hanuman an ancient ardent devotee of Lord Rama. Hanuman is “heroic, brave and steadfastly chaste & complete Celibate.” (Wikipedia)  Beyond that we know nothing, rich, poor, educated, engineer or candlemaker—we simply don’t know.
Her.  We know quite a lot.  She is a prostitute.  “…perhaps as many 1 million women work in Thailand’s sex industry and as many as 20 percent of all Thai women have worked as prostitutes at one time.” (search google to find quoted reference.)”

I will ignore “trafficked” girls, she is likely not one.  She most likely came from a farm region and came into being a bargirl via an auntie.  She likely went to uh, “work” (purportedly at some factory) with auntie, hopefully (but not likely) at age 18.  She is likely a Buddhist and may be quite reverent, going to temple, etc.  Her parents may, or may not know her occupation—it does not matter.  What does is that she has done exactly what is expected of a Thai daughter—to support her family and she does just that.

Looking at 12 years x 6 days per week x 1 male, she has “experienced” certain things a minimum of 3,723 times.  Even if she religiously used condoms, condoms have a failure rate at the absolute best of ~2%, therefore she has “not” had “safer” sex a minimum of 74 times.  Further, condoms do little to prevent transmission of Herpes virus.  Therefore, she has herpes, but may not have visible outbreaks.

Even without visible outbreaks, you (unless you are + already and there are two different strains) will become + for Herpes.  It is likely that she has many of the 100+ strains of HPV and may have one or more of the cancer-causing strains, which will be transmitted to you, though you don’t have a cervix and aren’t as quite as much risk (though you can get penile cancer). 

If she has engaged in oral sex it is likely that she has numerous strains of HPV orally and is at + risk of oropharyngeal cancer.  Kiss her and you may become infected that way (LeWine, 2013).

She may have chlamydia, gonorrhea or in the worst-case HIV.  Should the latter NOT be true, no problem, those former ones can be cured (probably).  In the worst-case she is one of over 1,115,415 adults (Wikipedia, 2008) with HIV.  If she found recently that she has HIV she may well be “hunting.”  She may know that there is a very rough road ahead for her--for there is no cure for HIV (yet).

She is old.  She is old if she is 30.   You say, “we are both the same age in our 30’s.”  Well, 30 is old for a Thai, especially old for a sex worker.”  That is typical in many Asian countries.  In the Philippines women over age 30 are not likely to be hired—they are considered “too old.” 

Her life has been one of survival to support her family—an admirable feat in a land of poverty.  However, to survive her mind had to learn to survive and that I feel, “bend a person’s mind.”  This results in the old adage, “you can take the girl out of the bar, but never take the bar out of the girl.”

I have read here of successful bar-girl/foreigner relationships, so it is possible.  

However, let’s go back to you.  It is likely that you have a high school education and come from a Western country.  Therefore, you are desirable. 

Now I shall ask a question:  There are millions of Thai women who are not promiscuous and have never worked in the sex trade.  A great many of them (if you can connect) will desire you unless of course, you want to f*** them on day one.  High-so families will demand sin sod, low-so maybe not much.  No matter which way you look at it you are a desirable “catch,” especially for a bar-girl.

In short, go for it, though I suspect that over time it will not turn out well simply because her mind-set is one of survival and economics.  And, by the way, now and historically speaking Thailand is largely about economics, it’s as simple fact. 

Here is my suggestion.  Leave Thailand and go to Cebu, Bohol, Oriental Negros or one of the other islands of the Philippines and find a good girl at whatever age you care to be compatible with. 

I’m not Thailand bashing but it is easier to find a “good wife,” in the Phils than it is in Thailand.  I’ve lived in Chiang mai and was engaged to a lovely and wonderful woman there.  I tried bringing her to the US on a fiancée visa but the Thai government denied it.  She had been married (monk wedding) and became pregnant quickly.  The Thai husband did not like his now, “fat” wife and so abandoned her and the daughter.  However, the ปู่ย่าตายาย (grandparents) had only one grand-daughter and forbade the son to agree to let the child leave—end of K1.  (And no, 127,400 baht could not convince the son—who cared less but dared not defy the ปู่ย่าตายาย.

Some years later I read a book by Pamela Druckerman titled “Lust in Translation.”  It is a book on infidelity around the planet.  In short there are only three countries where women (of course there are exceptions) do not cheat.  One is an African country and a husband routinely pours gasoline on a cheating wife.  Another is Nepal, a bit out of the way.  The third is the Phils.  I have lived there and as said, there are exceptions but the culture is very Catholic.  Divorce does not exist there legally (there are exceptions).  
There are bar-girls in Cebu City so I suggest you look in the provinces.  Look for a good church-going Catholic girl who wants to show you her family and there will be a LOT of family, (I did an ancestry on my family there, and found over 200 members from grandparents forward.  (a mere 3 generations).

I found my wife there on Filipino-cupid and one needs to learn the tricks as most are there to pick up some load or cash—but she was not.  It took connecting with her family and we chatted for months before visiting.  No disease issue—she had never kissed a male before.  I’m thinking of taking a contract job at the military base on Kwajalein Atoll.  I have zero fear that she’d cheat on me for the six months I’ll be gone.  

We went shopping the other day and she was thrilled to purchase a handbag at Walmart, it was marked down to $1.  She is an asset, not a debit.  This will not be the case with a Thai wife in your country.

I suggest that you consider both risks to yourself and your future.  Then assess your worth in the eyes of an Asian woman.  Then do as you will, as it is axiomatic that we all do what we think is best—but let the large brain think before the small brain does.  At any rate I wish you, and her, the best.

Btw, the inevitable question, I’m 68, she’s 25.  I have attached a photo of her (degraded quality to protect her privacy).   The photo was taken 2016.

LeWine, H. (2013).  HPV transmission during oral sex a growing cause of mouth and throat cancer. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/hpv-transmission-during-oral-sex-a-growing-cause-of-mouth-and-throat-cancer-201306046346
 

"Also remember - just because you may have a "pre-existing" condition does not mean you can't get healthcare coverage !! It means they won't cover you for illnesses relating to that pre-existing condition ! Most of them state that specifically - that they will not cover you for "pre-existing conditions"."

8 years ago I was living in Chiang mai and researched (for about 8 hours) medical insurance policies.  It went like this: "You have high blood pressure--no coverage for any heart/cardiac/stroke conditions."  You have arthritis, "no coverage for arthritis, joint, bone issues such as spinal stenosis."  You have had skin cancer (99.9% are benign) so no more cancer coverage.  Worse, you have had no pre-existing condition and then (it may be different now) future issues were not covered.  So develop angina and whammo....no cardiac coverage.  

Maybe it's different this time.

You wrote "

Is it safe to eat if not in the North? Here in Bangkok I thought it was safe as they would use factory sauce, but the local somtam person uses home made sauce.

They say its safe as they use lots of salt, and its properly made, but I'm not so sure. 

I know this can be a dangerous thing causing cancer in many up North. How safe is it in Bangkok?

Is home made sauce safe?"

It's actually a complex subject.  Throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and what the heck, let's add a dozen other countries--eating undercooked fish presents the potential for infection by liver fluke parasites.  It's love at first bite--should the organism be present and ends in about 25-30 years when the fluke or flukes die of old age.  That is assuming that there are no secondary ones incoming.

What makes it complex is that liver flukes are like snakes--some are fairly harmless, some are not.  Thailand is full of snakes and some you never want to go near.  Liver flukes are the same, they make poor pets at best but a certain specie called O. viverrina is more like handling a tiny cobra.  Opisthorchis viverrini (let's call it Ov) are most prevalent in the NE of Thailand as you imply.  Not only that but not too many years ago the government instituted a rather (but not completely) successful attempt to eradicate Ov.   A fellow from Isaan knew that the community sharing of food would never stop, it's tightly ingrained.  So he started a campaign to share only cooked food.  And it worked rather well (though not perfectly)

"From: Global health lessons from Thailand's successful liver fluke elimination campaign:

“Though agricultural intensification and climate change could pose new challenges for managing liver fluke transmission, early results in the afflicted Lawa Lake region are promising, with human infection rates in the worst-hit areas down to below 10%, fish infection rates dropping from 70% to below 1%”

Let me back up a bit.  I lived for a while in Chiang mai and if you don't know there Chiang mai was once totally encircled by a elephant Calvary repelling moat.  Parts of it are still there, and fun to visit.  Locals swim in the water.  I don't recommend that for the water is rife with Metacercariae of liver flukes, but I have no idea if they are Ov (I'd guess they are not) and while other flukes may be undesirable it's the nasty Ov that leads to Cholangiocarcinoma (aka cancer).  Currently CDC and other sources state that about 60 people die in Thailand from Ov related liver cancer every day.  (But only 1-5% infected develop the cancer) Some cancers are not too bad, this one, unfortunately is.  

So let's assume that you eat pla ra or use anything that has raw fresh-water fish from Thailand waters (since you're in Thailand we'll ignore other countries).  Now whatever you eat has been pickled, is it safe?   Answer: yes, no or maybe so?  Fermenting--proper fermenting kills the Metacercaria, but was it properly fermented?  Maybe not. (No Thai person would ever "cheat" and eat or sell it a bit too soon to be safe now, would they?)  Let's say it was fermented for a few days, no thank you.  But let's say that it was fermented then frozen at -20C for a few days then yes, it's safe (See DOI: 10.22034/APJCP.2017.18.6.1507)

Note: That's -4 Fahrenheit and most home refrigerators don't get that cold.  See the above reference if you want to know more.

So in summation, it seems that the risk has dropped quite a lot of at least getting liver cancer.  But there are other species of liver flukes which are not notorious cancer causes and if ingested you are likely to be ill for a week or so, but probably not get cancer.  For me, I'll try to avoid any fermented fresh fish products when in Thailand.

Wikipedia has a good take on it, search Opisthorchis_viverrini

You're right on that case BigT73:

" And when you consume soy protein, you’re actually courting the Mr. Hyde side of two natural drugs: genistein and daidzein. Both act so similarly to estrogen that they’re known as phytoestrogens (plant-produced estrogens). "

Drinking a lot has caused feminization including gynecomastia (growing big female like breasts)

The dose in the poison... likely a cup or two won't harm a male, but drink 2-3 quarts a day and that's a whole different ball game (meaning your balls will atrophy)

C'mon now....it's ok... where's the photo of her panties... we'll understand, really... we are that sort...

We know you have them...c'mon.... post...

please....

pretty please....

16 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Yes

Thank you mogandave,  perhaps you might be kind enough to summarize just what it is that I missed, please.

I read: " 3,000 baht for the women - aged 25 and 18"    There was nothing about underage, and 3,000 baht is not human for sale, it's "human for rent" pretty much the same as what happens with bar girls.

A short summary would be really nice for there is a monstrous amount of responses here.

I am really confused.  Trafficking is the "selling" or literally imprisonment (be it by real imprisonment, or hooking a woman on drugs) women.

The article indicates that both are over age 18 and it appears to be nothing other than prostitution. 

In Thailand about 14% of ALL women work in the sex trade at some time.  So every "bar" owner is a sex trafficker?

I mean, really, of course he is not allowed to "work" without a permit in Thailand, but come on....every tourist that comes to Thailand for sex finds it, be it from the hooker herself, or from an intermediate, usually the bar owner.  So just how is this different? 

Did I miss something?

3 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

A prenuptial agreement [even for common law] is the way to go in North America.  

Agreed, and a wise statement, but be very aware, that unless the woman has had separate legal representation that is considered adequate in the eyes of the Judge (meaning that her lawyer should have been able to discuss terms in Thai) the prenup WILL be thrown out.

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm still confused. 

You say they're already married in the USA.

How the hell did she get a visa to do that in the first place?!?

I really don't get it. 

Agreed, is this just bogus?

A K1 Fiancee Visa requires that he show consistent earnings of over ~$23,000 US and/or significant assets (If I remember about 125% of poverty rate).  This guy has no job, no car, "not even a bank account" (his words), no house, and is divorced.  He's forty-eight which means he probably has support payments from his divorce.  I suppose he could get someone to sponsor him (another person with adequate assets) but OMG, this whole thing is so full of land mines it's crazy.   And what's this guy wai'ing a shop-keeper for?

This woman is a "singer at a bar" hmm....

I just love the look she gives the guy who asks: "Well, would you be willing to give me a massage at the pool" (the fellow is letting them stay at their house).  The look she gives is great, and one can just imagine her thoughts: "....happy ending?"

Well, if he did manage to get her to America she's stuck with him for at least 2 years till she gets a 10 year green card, whereupon she can say "ta, ta..."  Let's see.  $6800 for the dowry (we'll not approach the appropriateness of dowry for a bar singer...)  Maybe another $10 grand to get her to the US.  If he get's a new job he's out about $20 grand for two years or 10,000 a year.  Thus her "cost" will be about $27@day.  She's 24, plump and will likely promptly become plumper, but 'ya know, even if she ups and leaves it may well be considered cost effective.  Though I would suggest strongly to him that the two of them march promptly to the nearest place to do STD testing, just in case, mind you, that she was, at one time "more" than a mere singer.

The only real problem that I see is simple.  She does not give a *h@t about him, she's just stuck in the "USA streets paved with gold" mentality, and frankly her personality really sucks.  For me that would be the real killer.

Oh well...

Yup..... average rent runs about $600-$700/month, even in New Hampshire (for those not familiar with US states NH is sort of way in the country, or at least much of it is.

5 hours ago, Berkshire said:

5555555....I have no idea.  I just remembered the term "trailer park trash" from back in the day. 

 

"...claiming the American was a human trafficker and had hired one of them as a surrogate mother."

Hmm...last knew human traffikers don't "hire...," that's what makes them human traffikers.

It is sad that Thailand’s Medical Services Department creates such a misleading picture.

Fact: For much of Thailand the most common cancer for males is Lung Cancer

Fact: For all of Thailand the most common cancer for females is Cervical Cancer.

Note the words “For much” in the first fact. In Isaan (Thailand North-East) liver cancer is so high that it skews the rate up such that liver cancer is the highest cancer in the country when one looks at all regions combined. In 1999 there were 8,298 liver cancers.

Remove the North-East and for much of Thailand lung cancer is the real culprit and I need not say why here. In Chiang mai the rate of lung cancer (year/age adjusted (ASR)) = 29.6 versus Liver/bile duct cancer of 17.
For women in Chiang mai the ASR of cervical cancer is 29.4, with lung cancer following at 22.3, then breast cancer 20.7. In the Chiang mai region liver/bile duct cancer is only ASR of 5.8, about ¼ of the rate of cervical cancer.

So the real culprits are in order:

Men: Lung cancer caused by smoking (ASR 29.6)

Women: Cervical cancer caused by men screwing other women, getting HPV (Human Papilloma virus) and returning home to infect the wife (and/or other screwees).

How to correct the real issue here? First acknowledge the horrendous rate of cancer caused by HPV. Teach condom use, sex education (yeah, I know) and HPV vaccination for early teens.

Second: Decrease smoking.

Yes, especially in the NE the liver fluke is a culprit.

For a good read on cancer in Thailand see:

http://www.nci.go.th/en/File_download/Cancer%20In%20Thailand%20IV/C-II-01.PDF

As far as the strange and misleading focus on nitrates:

“There is no strong evidence that nitrate and nitrite can cause cancer in the absence of the amine-
containing substances necessary for the formation of nitrosamines in the body. Therefore, nitrate
and nitrite would be classified in Group D, inadequate evidence to determine carcinogenicity,
under the old U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cancer categorization scheme. Under the
new EPA cancer guidelines, it would be appropriate to classify them into the "inadequate
information to assess carcinogenic potential" category.”

http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/ard/documents/ard-ehp-16.pdf

This is why nitrates are still sold in almost all bacon sold in the world. I will agree that pickled foods such as Kim Chee in Korea are obviously carcinogenic but the answer is not simply nitrates. (Btw much of the nitrates turn to nitrites even before you swallow due to a reaction with saliva).

I'll bet that the six Thai teachers who are fluent in English all have something in common.

They live with an English native speaker and English is spoken every day.

Remove that connection and every teacher teaching what is not a native language for that person will fall rapidly in profiency.

With a language like Thai with it's tones and un-English like grammar if the teacher goes home at the end of the day to speak Thai, then the brain will naturally "correct" the speaker to the rules that the brain thinks should rule, which in the case of the 42,994 who failed profiency is Thai sounds and rules of grammar.

My wife's native tongue is Cebuano (East Philppine) and she's very, very good at English. One day her English changed strangely and I soon found the answer as to why. A new co-worker was hired where she works. They work together and so for much of the day she speaks Cebuano, and *poof* the r's change to w sounds and the s sound simply vaporizes and tenses/structure change, and that in one single day.

In short, it's impossible for a non-native English speaker to be an excellent teacher of English. Oh, I stand corrected it is possible and one's chance is about 6/43,000 (one chance in about 72,000) of doing a proficient job.