GinBoy2

We eat Thai food every day. Mrs G doesn't deal well with Western food. When we are in the US I'll eat lunch at the airport restaurant then we eat Thai dinner at home. Right now we're in Thailand so it's Thai food breakfast, lunch and dinner

I've dreamt about this, and when I get home from Thailand I'm going to volunteer for my local heritage railroad https://www.1880train.com/

Well that was good. Generally in the US at least he would have been tie wrapped to the seat But I am surprised why, if the story is correct that this happened minutes into the flight, the Capt. didn't either return to BKK or divert to an alternate Either way the guy was an idiot, and I hope he didn't need a pee for the rest of the flight, because there would be some poor guy of the ground crew cleaning it up after landing. One last thought. Did he board without wearing a shirt? You can't do that in any airport that I know!

Older Western Guy, what possibly could be the attraction? I'm scratching my head lol!

Slightly off topic, but thank you for the reference. I haven't read 'Old Possums's Book of Practical Cats' for many years. But after your post I went back and reacquainted myself with some of those cats I loved so much when I first read the book as a young boy. Rum Tum Tugger will always be my favorite, but Gumbie, Shibleshanks, Mungojerrie, Rumplteaser, are all in my heart It was a good re-read

So maybe I'm wrong. But for many of us reading this, the debt, if she's that worried about it, it's not a bank it's a loan shark, they will hurt her , or you if you are around. As for getting a visa, tourist or immigrant to any Western country it's pie in the sky given everything you have described I'd be looking at Plan B for the next phase of your life, this is a nightmare in the making

As you know i also work for United, and this is a stunt, God Bless the age of TikTok Nothing wrong with batteries in luggage, so long as they are not some huge lithium batteries, which can still fly but have to go with the passenger in the main cabin. We have so many bags that 'vibrate' but we generally put it down to toothbrush or shavers, although always joke it's a 'personal massage device'. I work at a small line station where I do everything including my speciality of BSO, my co workers refer to me as the bag bitch, and I will track you down to get that bag back to you. But more often than I'd like I have to go through bags to find someway to get contact information for the passenger. I've seen more than my fair share of sex toys in lost luggage while rooting though it to find some info. Note to everyone, put a frikkin name/address tag on your bags if you don't want someone like me rooting through your bags if they get lost!

I must admit, regardless of where in the world I was living I'd not want to be alone in my final chapter. I'm old enough to not really want or desire 'the chase' anymore. Me and MrsG are I'd like to say are comfortable with each other, don't need to put on an act for each other, we know very well who each other is, been together so long. So retirement when you finally do it, or semi retirement like me it might help if you have that 'comfortable' life with someone else. MrsG will retire in another couple of years, and unlike me, pretty damn sure she will be totally OK staying at home cooking and watching Thai lakorns!

Retirement can be different for folks for a host of reasons. You are obviously single and the chasing women thing is still a on your horizon. But for some of us happily married for many years, had the kids, all grown up, Thailand can be boring, quite quickly. With nothing to do, I used to get up in the morning go to the gym, come back, watch some TV, read a few books, and I was kinda done, which is not a fulfilling way to live. MrsG was so fed up with her job, she was working at maybe 20% of her potential, I couldn't work, so boredom and frustration can set in fairly rapidly. Not to say thats what happens to everyone, but it did for me

When you arrive in Singapore there is a huge sign telling you drug trafficking will result in the death penalty as you come down the escalator to immigration Maybe a similar sign should be in BKK, saying riding a motorcycle in Thailand may well result in death!

I rather liked the reference to Rum Tum Tugger. One of my favorite poems, and maybe that's why I am a cat guy; a little feisty and often at odds with the world

I retired at 55, which was in hindsight too early. I traveled a lot during my working career, probably spent more nights in hotel beds than my own bed. So seen a lot of the world courtesy of work, so now travel doesn't interest me at all, I baulk at an overnight trip somewhere, I like being at home. In Thailand I realized after a few years there was only so many books I could read, so much TV I could watch, don't play golf, not a bar fly, so what to do. So a lot of moving back to the US was I wanted to go back to work, plus after our son said he wasn't coming back to Thailand after college, MrsG would have moved heaven and earth to get us there! So I ended up getting a job with the airlines. We're actually back in Thailand right now where I do remote load planning for United, I do it for 2-3 months a year until we go home and I resume my regular job with United Strangely after so much of my life on planes, dicking around with them on the ground actually is my perfect retirement

Actually at 71 by US standards you'd be on medicare and paying $174/month with a $1632 deductible, with no pre existing conditions

If I'm reading your story correctly, you'd be insane to move to Thailand full time at your age. Health insurance if you hadn't been grandfathered in, would, if you could actually get anyone to write you a policy would be ridiculously expensive and full of exclusions, which insurance companies love to use! You mention 'disabled'. Thailand isn't a very disabled friendly place, so don't expect wheelchair access as a given which you would expect in the West. I'd like to be more positive, but thats a tough situation for any positive outcome

Well, I'm not saying she's determining my fitness, but working on the idea she is determining my 'hotness' at least for her. I'm working on dialing back on the gym, as I've said before, been there done that got the tee shirt. I'm in Thailand right now, and the local gym, I think they say it has AC, but Jeez sweatier as Hell. Every other day is the plan, and nothing outrageous

Well thats the other thing, 'recovery time' I found probably from my mid 50's stuff that I would have shaken off in my 30's just doesn't fix anymore like it did. Then add in dumb sh**t male ego, you go back before you are ready and just make it worse

Shanghai, Pudong to be specific

I'm trying, I'm trying lol

I totally agree. You don't stop, but maybe dial it down a notch or two

So I was a gym rat for a lot of my adult life. Ate all the 'right stuff', went to the gym every day, you know the drill But now as I'm in my mid 60's, it's kinda come to a 'Ah fu**k' it moment. Not overweight, fairly healthy, happy with my life in general, my middle aged wife is OK with how I look, so yeah time to let go I think

I work for United, and I can't count the number of times I've had passengers rail on me after something goes wrong. If the ticket was purchased through a third party there is nothing we can do. The person who actually booked the ticket wasn't the passenger but that third party, be it an online website or one of those nowadays rather rare travel agents. I can't count the number of times I've told passengers, you may well have saved $20, but if things go wrong, that $20 might well have been a price worth paying. With the online booking websites, good luck with trying to get someone on the phone to help you when you're actually at the airport trying to resolve a problem with your flight!

A rather small inconsequential scar on my already ugly mug was a small price to pay. My only regret was not taking it more seriously sooner. After this thread I posted on my work fb about this. I work for an airline and I tried to impress on the young pups the importance of sunscreen outside. This is one of those things you never think or worry about when you are young, but Oh Boy does it have a long time bite you in the ass about it!

Me after 8 years of cancer removal

Well thats quite noble of her, although... She may well not want to go back to Kalasin, since as soon as the folks she owes money to see you they will assume it's payday, thats a classic! You probably need to also understand what 'debt' is for a lot of Thai's. We're not talking bank loans, credit cards, for most of them it's loan sharks. These people aren't afraid of some violence to extract payment Tread carefully my friend!

Maybe a further cautionary note. Even though I was stupidly self diagnosing, I had right at the start gone to a Doc in Khon Kaen who 'confirmed' my self diagnosis which led me down the road of stronger and stronger meds. The reason I went to Bumrungrad in the first place was I thought they could/would prescribe stronger cortisone that I was buying. I remember very well the dermatologist looking at me and telling me, "I don't think so, this needs a biopsy as soon as possible" Within two weeks I'd had the biopsy, confirmed what it was, and a plastic surgeon was taking care of it