Johpa

The medical care here is better than what US Medicare Program delivers? Do you wish to elaborate or this is just sheer speculation on your part? I will immediately tell the many thai residents and doctors to stop going to the US for their post graduate residency programs and other state of the art training courses because care is better here.

Medical training, as well as other types of educational opportunities, are better in the west than in Thailand. And the few top drawer hospitals and the specialty cutting edge research institutions like the Mayo Clinic or the Fred Hutchinson Cancer clinic are better than anything in Thailand. So one can get state of the art training in the US, but it is far more difficult to get state of the art care in the US. So for the general aging population, the better western oriented hospitals in Thailand such as Bamrungrat in Bangkok and even Chiang Mai Ram, are far better than most hospitals in the US and at a fraction of the cost.

Sorry. Post clearly too subtle

Not too subtle. But for the record the same sort of waste of space occurs here in the US where every city of moderate size seems to find a way to build a "convention" center that inevitably becomes under utilized and whose subsequent financial losses are swept under the convoluted rugs of municipal finance. But the contractors who supported the concept all walk away happy as Halliburton.

I believe there is some land available for a new army camp east of the city of Chiang Mai, out by Sankampeng, that was originally conceived as being used as an airport.

The Gripen has no set cost, each contract is tailored to each buyer.

A lot of the cost is dependant on the amount of lateral investments needed,....

Ah,"lateral investment", the newest euphemism to cover the endemic bribery that is part and parcel of the international arms business. I got a first hand glimpse, and a huge laugh, last January at the SHOT show in Las Vegas where the Feds hauled off Smith & Wesson's VP of sales in handcuffs, and we are only talking small arms here. The bigger guys rarely get caught as the funds are skillfully hidden by lawyers and accountants within purchase orders and contracts.

Go up past Thaton to Mok Cham, the largest Shan village in the area, and ask around. Perhaps one of the original settlers brought over some books that might be copied. Otherwise you might check at Payap as the missionaries often printed up basic introductions to many of the minority languages.

Why not delete the "Jap" wai emoticon? There is a Thai wai already which most posters prefer.

Please replace it with something much more offensive!

I would imagine that my Japanese friends would find Tokay's avatar to be far more offensive than naming some obscure emoticom "Jap".

(Probably no coincidence that someone with very close ties to people who are interested in buying planes is a regular visitor to a country that sells planes.)

Yes...., well....just about all the major players are hedging their bets now these days.

As I understand it, Sawatdee was conceived as a counterpart to the English greeting "Hello"-- a no-brainer really, considering it's so much more civilized a greeting than "Have you eaten?" is.

Au contraire mon amie, I find friends inquiring about the specifics of the universal bonding experience of sharing food to be far more civilized then asking about a somewhat abstract existential state of being.

In the rural north where I have spent most of my days in the Kingdom, the most common two greetings are "where are you going?" and "have you eaten yet?".

For an interesting socio-historical discussion on the pressures from above for westernization from Rama V to Rama VII, or at least desire by the elite for Thailand to be perceived by the west as a "civilized nation", read Pasuk and Bakers "A History of Thailand"

This year, Sweden has offered to recruit 3,500 fruit collectors from Thailand and is guaranteeing that each will earn at least Bt80,000.

They will be paid Bt80,000 and the recruiting agencies will gladly take half of that amount and split it with the government bureaucrats who help grease the wheels. But for a poor Isaan farmer, coming home with maybe Bt30,000 after three months is worth a go.

It`s well known that South East Asia is a haven for foreign sexual perverts and their actions reflects on all of us in the eyes of the Thais.

It also helps to divert attention away from the far more pervasive local population where one notable segment believes that having sex with youngsters has a life prolonging medicinal value.

Doesn't impact me one iota. My family still shops for food almost exclusively at the local open air market where both the meat and the produce seem to taste much better.

Track down a UTG L96 for a fraction of the Marui price.

Perhaps that's why Mr. Thaksin and his Cambodian counterpart get along so well.

Maybe I am just getting some facts confused as I am getting a bit older and now see, within my own lifespan, history repeating itself, but did not Mr. Thaksin play a role in placing Mr. Hun Sen into power, an act rewarded by the granting of a telecommunications license to Mr. Thaksin's company by Mr. Hun Sen?

เอ๊าะ is Northern (and maybe Northeastern) Thai for young and sexy, as in สาวเอ๊าะๆ--a fresh-faced, attractive, energetic, and obviously young girl/lady. I think it's also occasionally used and understood in the Central dialect.

I always assumed that เอ๊าะๆ referenced a decidedly underaged individual, not a child, but not yet an adult, more in that 13 to 16 age bracket.

Thai gold is best sold within Thailand. It is not always trusted in Asian gold shops outside the country. The Bangkok elite prefers to purchase gold in Hong Kong.

Arai RX7 or Shoei Multitec just under THB 20,000

Those are two very different fitting helmets and one will fit any one head far better than the other. Also, the Thai prices seem rather high. I'll just have to add helmets to my list of items I can bring over for others to offset the airfare.

One other thing about แมงดา --it is used as the flavoring in a particularly evil smelling น้ำพริก.

Good Sir, your biological description of the species is quite accurate as well as the metaphorical usage in Thai, however I daresay the cuisinary outburst is uncalled for and rather inaccurate as the food mentioned is considered by some, including myself, quite tasty and not in any manner evil smelling.

As to the OP, you were insulted, but do yourself a favor and never, ever confront a drunk Thai over his/her words. Just keep on truckin.

First off it isn't a "Full Moon Drug Party"

It is a giant dance party, but drugs are there, maybe a subtile difference, but a real one.

Oh come on, there is really no substantial nor subtle difference in calling the Koh Pangan Full Moon Party a drug party where many people dance or a dance party where many people take drugs. Without the drugs there would be no internationally known monthly event whether it be in Koh Phangan, Goa, Reichoort, or countless other locations intent upon the same theme: that theme being to get intoxicated one way or another with there being at least one other readily available alternative to alcohol.

Don't forget to bring your DVD collection of Rolfe Harris concerts.

Something decent has happened here for a change!!

Oh please, every year they have one of these ritualized burnings of narcotics and every year none of the higher ups in narcotics world, neither drug lords nor police nor bankers, are ever brought to trial. One must be taking a hit from the communal bong to think that this annual charade represents something decent.

Chaiyo!

Out of curiosity, is there a reason grapefruit is not grown in Thailand? We have oranges and pomelos, so why not grapefruit?

Except there's no reason to preserve the "r" as there is none. There is just a "ร" which sounds like "n" at the end of syllables.

The "r" is there to specify the vowel sound, a remnant of one of the first transliteration systems devised to write Thai into English by some long forgotten missionary, but a system that is still seen used within names of people and places, a historical artifact one needs to be aware of.

You need to track down a copy of Niels Mulder's book "Everyday Life In Thailand" to get a better understanding of Thai culture in order to understand why your actions were not the best choices to be made given the situation. The book may have a slightly new title after it was revised a few years ago, but it remains the bible for westerners living within a Thai social context. Bottom line is you caused the perp in question to lose face by interfering in his dispute at a time when he was acting in anger.

Never happens to me as I find the food served at these food courts to be unappetizing.