payak

i have told my wife to prepare for the worst, i see in her eyes she knows.

checked the hospitals, temples, friends, work.

the worst thing is the only way you could stop him calling his daughter would be to put him to sleep, poor choice of words i know.

Hope he turns up OK.

thankyou, but after 2weeks without so much as a lead from a friend or anything, not looking good.

my wifes not a happy girl right now, newborn is keeping her bus though.

never heard of a 29yo calling home that often.

maybe he went berserk and took some time off for himself?

he has a child, he is a single dad, when he works the child obviously stays with his mum, hence the reason he calls home because he is a loving father.

the mother shot through years ago.

thats why its so out of character, he lives for his daughter and loves those calls.

he was alone, working away from home thats the reason for the phone calls.

my wifes brother has been missing for 2 weeks, friends have not seen him, family, or work.

this is a man who calls home religiously every day twice a day for years,would never miss calling the family.

29 years old, police had no interest at all but my sister in laws boyfriend hosts the soccer show in thailand, has reporter friends in the tv studio who will try to help, not much they can do however.

pretty obvious theres no hope,

my thai friends say she is talking rubbish, one is a monk

I'd prefer to listen to and do what she says than what a Thai monk has to say - or your Thai friends.

whatever turns you on, all i'm saying is they have never heard of this footprint thing, and they know thai customs.

was this being said as something she thought was nice to say, or did she say thai believe this.

because they dont believe this,particularly when they have never heard it,

i'm confused, is this a poem or her telling you this is what happens when you pass.

my thai friends say she is talking rubbish, one is a monk

I think Westerners with the 'Temple tatts' look like plonkers. I have a couple of tats from my military days and they look like crap now. I do appreciate the really top quality artwork on some though.

im covered in temple tatts, what is it in another persons decisions that can bother a person.

I bet if someone looks at you long enough, they will find something wrong.

have many done by Ajar noo and Ajarn pu

how weird is it to be on a sight called thai visa, if deep down you dislike thai people.

get over the woman that burned you, she does not represent all of thailand.

what about if they taste good, hard to resist

honest all not, what difference does it make with a bar girl.

if people stop giving them there lifes takings its not an issue.

have some awsome thai muslim friends.

i would be angry to if my wife was so easil bought, or could be bought at all

my friendscan hold a conversation after six months

A wide-spread belief in thailand is that the word "farang" (Caucasian)

is derived from the French word "francais". This derivation is implausible

on phonetic and historical grounds. It is in fact a popular misconception.

It is true, however, that these words have the same ultimate source.

The word is attested in various forms in languages in Europe, Africa,

the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is clear that the

word orginated as "Frank" in Europe and spread eastwards along Muslim

trade routes.

Thai most likely borrowed the word from influential Muslim Persian or

Indian traders in the 17th century or even earlier. The Persian word was

"farangg". The term probably was used to refer to early Portuguese

traders and subsequently to all Europeans (ie., non-Muslims).

It is possible that the Thai word "farangset" ("French") is a blend

of the word "farang" and the French word "francais", ie., "farangset" is

actually derived from "farang", not vice versa. Certainly, the word

"farang" existed prior to, and independently of, "farangset"."

this does not offend me, its not the word, its the feeling bhind it, they dont mean no offence.

drink some concrete in the morning you will be fine

my friends of many years who are thai and my wife informed me it is in no way meant in a derogatory way.

they are thai, I will take there word for it over a non thai.

They really cannot understand why its an issue.

I live up north and this is so true.

I don't see where the OP has claimed it is a derogatory name. Being called farang in Thailand is something that tourists and expats experience on a daily basis, usually without malice involved, and Thais don't see it as derogatory. But years ago black people were called ni**ers on a daily basis and the people calling them ni**er said it wasn't derogatory. Same goes for p@ki, w0g, sp1ck etc...none were originally used as a derogatory name to address someone of a particular skin colour, and the people using those words said there was nothing wrong with it, but today it is no longer acceptable in most countries. I doubt farang will be as widely used in 20-30 yrs as it is today but TIT so I could be wrong. To have a widely used and accepted nickname for people based on the colour of their skin in 2012 is pretty rare is it not?

most people here, almost all i suspect dont even know the history of the word, or how it come into use, do you.

dont compare it to the n word thats total bs.

I am a farang, at other times I am a handsome man.

been called a bad man,buffalo and even a dog mouth.

farang is not so bad.

don't worry so much about the law, worry about the little bastard you insult.

don't turn your back on him.

ubon, and she is a proud isan girl.

here come the isan attacks 321 go

only a few hundred left, they fear us anyway.

we have problems in Australia with drop bears, little bastards

I don't know if it is an actual law or a proposed law, but i understood it is forbidden to sell alcohol or cigarettes within 500M of a school or a temple?

Maybe a bit of selective enforcement going on as i know a temple not far from me that is opposite a 7/11 selling both??

Maybe the shop was there before the law ?

And ive never seen a Monk smoke.

my wifes brother has been a monk for years, has written books on the religion, is truly devoted, he smokes.

it's not a problem, does not make him any less devoted.

"Does anyone know the background or any more information on this tradition?"

Yes - ignorance, poor education, and a culture that allows a small group of people to be believed no matter what dribble they say. I wonder how much dosh the parents also had / have to pay for the monks to cleanse the bad spirits?

the pope is educated yes, but funds the education of exercists to learn how to save possessed people yes.

not only thai people with unusual beliefs, several billion christians do to, and muslims who believe in demons called jin.

bit of an oversight to overlook several billion peoples strange beliefs and focus on the thai only as being uneducated and ignorant, same true believers in the temple are far and away more educated then all of us.

became buddhist when i was 12,before I even thought of heading to Thailand.

so Thailand had no part in it.