moogradod

May I suggest that you invest mere 8 minutes and have a look at that. Maybe it will help even tremendously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vlPAA0QlLw Good luck and all the best.

Simply rhetoric. It is about building a larger and larger sphere of influence. Call that Mongolian Empire or not - same principle

That sounds MUCH better. Thank you. Look at your own signature (maybe without the "mercy" - I am buddhist ???? and do not believe in a creator good that gives and takes) and you have nailed it. I wish you all the best and that your wishes will become true.

It surely stems from the history. Not unlike Putins idea to collect areas on earth to form a big empire "which belongs together". Thinks what they did with Tibet. Furhtermore the teddybear believes that he should show the world that his ideology is best for humankind compared to democracy. This does not include freedom of expression. He knows that too well but thinks his way is a better way (for the stupid masses ????). Remember as well Mao ? "Religion is poison". If you equate "religion" with the attempt to benefit people in such a way that they are happy then this says it all. It is a very complicated matter since "our" ways are as well far from being perfect so you will always find something to point at to say "This is no good". If he wants to reestablish the Mongolian Empire ? If he could he would and even beyond I think. At least he might be dreaming about it.

Elitist thinking. What you are saying is that 18K is OK because you can survive on it which is - hidden in your formulation - good enough for the people involved. And thinking further that therefore is no need to exert any effort to given them more. I do not agree with that ideology.

The Chinese leader is a monster that comes in a disguise of a friendly teddybear. But he has a plan, of that I am sure. Asians have been known to plan long term in comparison to the Western world where the US doctrine of fast profit / benefit is in place.

I join you in your agreement. Especially for the dogs. But they should not kill them. Maybe they can be catched, sterilized and then moved to a big place - forming the largest dog farm of the world while they reduce naturally. And then promote this as a tourist attraction of which Pattya is in search so desperately (marching bands ????)

Let your imagination run wild and assume that he would really win. What would that tell you ? That Trump is a good president ? Try to think hard about that to find the truth for yourself.

I did follow your recommendation and my wife brought the item home yesterday. First of all thank you again for the tip - for this is really a lot of orange juice for that price. It comes in a HUGE container ressembling a gasoline canister and needs to be filled up in several other bottles to store all that juice in the fridge. But it is not what I was looking for. But do not worry. At that price it would have been impossible to get, even if this a strictly Thai product. The taste reminds me of the juice they serve in mid-class hotels at the breakfast buffet. It is not directly from the press and I suspect that they added some sugar. If you compare it to the ANDROS brand of which I posted some pictures in this thread we are a million miles away. But many Thai brand juices are similar. That said its a bargain and it may be worthwile for a family with a lot of children. What I will do now is talk to a restaurant owner of who I know is importing many rare food items from Europe for use in his restaurant and for direct sale. Bought some peaches lately and cherries and had truffels and chanterelles with one of his menu items in his restaurant. Maybe I can convince him to include the ANDROS Juice and any Gravensteiner Apple Juice in one of his next imports or even every month for I would be a sure customer for that.

It started to decline when they confined the street food stalls to specific areas. That was the end of fun. I have enjoyed staying at the Raffles for a few nights while sipping some of the Singapore Slings (although Peter Roths version in the Kronenhalle in Zurich was better than the original). But for the sake of history. I remember the "Elizabethan Grill Room" as well. Thats what I call style. I love the style - like the Centara Grand in Hua Hin or the old wing of the Mandarin Oriental. Kuala Lumpur has some of these buildings, too. Love it deeply.

Exactly what I thought yesterday. I do not know any country where such ignorance of a ministers assigned responsibility is ignored in such a way without a big outcry. A case for a call to resign in the civilized countries I know. Let alone that it might be at least questionable if the ministers do even have competence in their own field of original responsibility. How more confusing can it ever get ? Amazing so to say.

I think I know now where Mr Anutin is making the error of reasoning. There are indeed products that behave against the established model of supply and demand and sell better if they are more expensive. In this regard he is correct. That is why the example of Louis Vuiton is cited here. Think of a Louis Voitton Bag selling at THB 300. It would not be attractive anymore. A Ferrari would be very much less desirable if it would sell at the price of a Toyota Corolla, although actually the Corolla is a better car in many ways. Khun Anutin makes now the mistake to apply this scheme to products of tourism. But these products are not in that category regardless of how much you would like them to be. It is not a question of arbitrary pricing - the product must fit to the market it is aimed at. And tourism is not something aimed at an exclusive wealthy few - especially not the tourism that is present in Thailand right now and this cannot be changed "overnight".

OK, I will not be that selfish not to tell you, although this carries the danger with it that the (small) restaurant might be more overcrowded once and we wont have a seat when we are there. I hope you appreciate it: It is called "Mordi & Fuggi", located at Kai Bae. The Italian owner makes as well the noodles by himself.

Yes, thanks - I mentioned that one already. Its just a little bit far by car (and ferry then). However they have the best Pizzeria on the island I know in Thailand. This motivates.

Indeed Singapore seems not to be a good comparison or does anybody know someone who has been on a 4 week holiday there ? I have visited Singapore several times (mostly due to stopovers of flights) but the longest period I stayed ever was 3 days.

So you dont like swimming in the sea, then. Scared of yellyfish or sharks ? You should visit Boracay (Philippines) once. Then you get the best sunset ever as a free bonus. Phuket was indeed quite nice in the past. Any suggestions for NOW ? Nobody has given me any recommendation of a premium location. Maybe there are none ? Or they just dont want to tell.

I am currently planning for a short 1 week holiday where my Thai wife and me intend to swimm on a beach with nice clean sand and nice clean water and a wide variety of excellent food. Premium if possible. Maybe a swimming pool in addition. Does not even have to be on a budget. I am staying in Pattaya and I do not know where to go. The water around here is not acceptable. Phuket and Koh Samui fall through the net since it is both a bit far and their reputation has suffered a lot. Koh Samet comes to mind (3 hours by car incl. boat) or Koh Chang (already a bit far for us). This is not a joke - I am damn serious about it. Did not have a good swim in the sea since before the Tsunami in Phuket. Only our swimming pool. So please - where are these premium destinations that correspond to our (I think modest - does not even include sport, temples, bars etc.) requirements ? And the above picture might be rather the Algarve than Thailand because of the clean water.

..... and starts to make again mistakes - or am I ? Premium to him seems to be "high priced". But the attractiveness is determined by price / performance. Or does it not matter anymore how much they are making in the end ? Lift prices for the same thing and the majority goes elsewhere. There are some societies in the world were exclusivity is of prime and only importance. If you need to be of royal descent for example to participate. But this here is a completely different matter.

Such a mini farm is our dream for the future, too. I do not expect to live very long anymore because of my heart condition and it will be then my wife living there. So it was the planning to have a more luxury life with a superb accomodation, nice car, expensive restaurants for the short time I am still alive and then change the lifestyle without me which would be no problem for my wife. She would even love to have what you have there. But land has become very expensive and below 2 rai it might not be worth it to grow anything on. And where it is affordable it is very far away from a bigger city with hospital etc. Offers with a already finished house on it are even more rare and builing a house from scratch could turn into a nightmare. The quaity of workmanship does vary very much (we know that from the first rural style house we erected in the country) and to find a crew that could be trusted moneywise is as well a gamble. We have already started looking around in the vicinity and will go from there now more and more. The procedure to find and buy should be over in less than 2 years - if possible in a few months. Maybe I still survive until then. Another concern is the quality of the soil. What I know from Si Khio it is rather dirt than dark fertile soil. The land should be a bit high above sea level because of possible floods. Apart from chickens and ducks she would not have any animals. Chickens do lay eggs. I have never heard of pigs doing this and we both are Buddhist and try not to do any other sentient being any harm. So pigs and sheep are nice to have (we do love pigs actually) but they rather cost than contribute to the life. Even now we will convey a bug to our terrace if we find one in the condo. My wife is a professional doing this. All the best for you and your family in Norway (or was it Sweden ?) And to the OP: It is true, there are very nice ladies around waiting for you. So just follw the advice given here and later seperate the wheat from the chaff. Needs a good eye, some sensitivity for your fellow humans and as always something what is usually called luck.

OK, Erdogan, listen: Its a GREEK coffee, not a Turkish coffee. And now get out of the NATO where you do not belong and smoke your shisha. Need some relaxation maybe.

For me that is an interesting post - because it reminds me to spend less myself. But we stay in Pattaya, living in a luxury condo just in front of the sea. Then we need about 30K alone for medicaments each months. And finance the school of my stepdaughter incl. her own condo, motobike. We mainly live on international food from expensive stores etc. This adds up considerably. But I agree with the picture you paint about the rural life. What is confusing, though, is that you seem to adress while quoting my post both me (at the beginning, thank you for that) and the OP (at the end, I do not need to accept any defeat and are not expecting any torture and as of my previous post I am married happily since decades - so no need for a "younger girl who likes to party", but for the OP this may sadly be true). Interesting that you have some sheep. Do you keep these as a food reserve when your muslim friends from the south are visiting ? We had some 11 dogs not so long ago - practical natural alarm - nobody approaches the house without being detected. And some cats - no idea how many. The 3000 for electric may be right without A/C. No pond on our land, too but I guess the fish do not eat that much. Maybe maintenance is an issue ? I think you are doing many things right. Thanks for all the info and I wish especially that everything goes well for the OP.

Your story sounds quite similar to mine. I know my wife now for nearly 19 years and we are married for more than 16 years. Before moving here we have been together in Switzerland. Our Thai family lives in a Moo Baan in the Ampoe Si Khio. I bought her a piece of land and they constructed a big two storey house over the years. But this could not have waited for 5 years - immediate action was necessary. My wife did not ask me for anything either. But I have a naturally giving mind and enjoy helping when I see how happy they are as a result. Even today after all these years she is asking me if she can buy something - even if it is only special food. The difference is maybe that our family is huge. You are absolutely right - contrary to some bar stool warriors minds there are good girls around with fair families. I have actually met quite a lot of good girls even before my marriage.

I agree with you on many points here exept for the exploitation. I know a Thai working as head of a small supermarket very well and if this guy is not exploited than who is. I know as well the conditions under which other personell of a big supermarket chain has to work. Same thing. Absolutely incredible. This does not apply to farmers of course. Before I came along, my wifes family lived below the standard of even the poorest rural families. As mentioned in another thread they had to quarter an egg if they had one and did have no money for shoes for my wife. Living in something ressembling a hut without water nor toilet. I would post a picture of it if it were not so long ago, probably do not have it in digital format.

What I am doing is to suspect that most Thais would as well like living on a higher standard instead of that of a poor rice farmer. I am not trying to instill anything on anybody, although some may be content with it and there is actually no direct dependency between happiness and wealth. It may as well be true that Thais have been living on a low standard (eating Khao Tom everyday only, that sort of thing) for aeons but are you proposing that I am making a mistake trying to imagine a "better" life for them ? Is it not that they live this way because they are exploited, and not because they choose it and if they would be given the chance to change they would like to do it ? I know how hard some are working 6 days a week and how little they get in return for it. I cannot help feeling that this is unfair. This is not a cultural question. But it is indeed not an easy question like it seems on first sight. A tribe in the amazon may lead a happy life, too. At least they have some Ayahuasca to wash their worries down with it.

This is for two persons, right ? Anyway they seem to be very lucky to live in such a good sourrounding. May I ask in which province that is ? I understand as well that they live in their own house. Our family in Korat province had once some ducks, they were just running around the house. Until one day the main lead duck was missing. I suspect self-service from one of the neighbors. They have some chickens as well but only for the eggs, they do not eat them. Even then I think 10K overall for the whole setting with expensive electricity bills, transport from/to work (somebody has to have a job at least sometimes) can be only in a very rural basic environment, survival without any luxury at all. I wish them all the luck of the world and happiness even with only a bit of money. But some things are not for free - with that minimum there are always headaches lurking somewhere. Our family in the country is living on a rural budget, too, but could never make it with 10K. However they are about 10 people incl. 3 children which go to school.