I tried livng very cheap for 1 month

[adammike]

5 hours ago, tropo said:

There's quite a difference between the human race surviving and an individual thriving to a ripe old age. The human race will survive even if people die young, as has been the case in many civilizations throughout history.

 

Having said that, before modern farming techniques that remove essential minerals from the soil, a lot of the produce that was eaten was far superior to what you find today. I've recently found a very cheap one to cure my arthritis, so they're not always expensive.

It would be nice if you shared your cure with fellow sufferers,or do you plan on making it pay?

[tropo]

1 hour ago, adammike said:

It would be nice if you shared your cure with fellow sufferers,or do you plan on making it pay?

No problem! Study up on it: Boron. There's not enough in the soil, so none in the food.... so most people are deficient. Pain-free after a few weeks. Walking on air after a month... that's after more than a decade of painful and stiff knees. Of course, all joints improve. Best source here - borax. Make sure you're getting enough Magnesium and Iodine too as most people are deficient in those, and throw in Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt (throw out table salt) to get other trace minerals. As well as walking better, you'll be thinking clearer too and have much more energy.

Edited October 25, 2017 by tropo

[Naam]

9 hours ago, AloisAmrein said:

"i'm a guest in this country and not entitled to judge its justice system or its traditions or accepted standards and i consider the safety of pedestrians less important than the health of my dogs."  Who writes such a comment, proves that he is a complete ignorant and egoist.

right you are! it's my ignorance and personal attitude that enables me to tolerate the big number of weepers, whingers and Thai bashers who think they can compensate their frustration pertaining in most cases to a sh*itty life by using this forum as a wailing wall.

[Rimmer]

A flame has been removed also one reply to it.

 

Please do stay on topic which is about:

I tried livng very cheap for 1 month

[JSixpack]

10 hours ago, AloisAmrein said:

"i'm a guest in this country and not entitled to judge its justice system or its traditions or accepted standards and i consider the safety of pedestrians less important than the health of my dogs."  Who writes such a comment, proves that he is a complete ignorant and egoist.

 

Who writes such a right-minded, amusing comment proves himself deserving of his current reign as Poster Of The Year.

 

"All that is very well," answered Candide, "but let us cultivate our garden."

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by JSixpack

[Thailaw]

58 minutes ago, Naam said:

right you are! it's my ignorance and personal attitude that enables me to tolerate the big number of weepers, whingers and Thai bashers who think they can compensate their frustration pertaining in most cases to a sh*itty life by using this forum as a wailing wall.

People, especially those whose lives are far from ideal (aka a "sh*itty life"), need others to blame for their misfortune and to identify others on a lower point in life's spectrum of well being to make them feel better about their miserable circumstances. Most (but certainly not all) of the foreigners locating in Thailand (and especially in Pattaya) fall pretty low on that spectrum, so it shouldn't be surprising that blaming Thais (and everything Thai) for almost everything that goes wrong in one's life is a frequent pastime of those westerners living here ("misery loves company (and someone else to blame)").  As far as pedestrians, other drivers and dogs/animals, they are all treated pretty poorly and without regard. Thailand truly is a country where "survival of the fittest" rules, so if you don't drive an eight-wheel tractor trailer, a Fortuner or a mini van/bus, you can expect to be treated with abuse and like you don't exist -- drive/walk accordingly. Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed. And "judge its justice system [and] its traditions [and] accepted standards" all you want and with passion and conviction, but they aren't going to change any time soon, so accept it and learn to live with/in it or look for a greener pasture.

[Rhys]

The mock poverty runs it cycle yet has many lessons.   Did this for about 1year, because of a program I joined...thus isolated from major cities in Thailand with WESTERN Food.  Dorm was provided, very basic.... Insights... clean water is a plus,  learned to cook, efficiently...learned the ins and out of a Thai market...learned the language. However in the end, when the family came to visit... Did the Western and Tourist Thang... it was nice to have that option... Just think if we did not...

[JSixpack]

14 hours ago, EvenSteven said:

I know you don't care, but I do.  And I think many others do as well.

 

 

Nah. If so, then you and the imagined many others would forsake the posturing via keyboard and armchair and actually do something. Or better yet, since you can't do anything (review The Serenity Prayer), rather than be miserable and emit methane here, just leave (in your own best interests), as there's just no other way to overcome the invasion of the space monkeys, especially the horrid Whither Thailand and Whither Pattaya monkeys that destroy the peace and contentment of so many of our hapless members. It's really necessary to leave Thailand. One of our prominent members did so in the past year after years of worrying about Thailand's this or that; now he's all happy and quiet back in dear ol' Blighty. Good on 'im; way to go. Another left for the fabled paradise of Cambodia and promptly disappeared after a final brief whinge about the Cambodians. Maybe Cambodian healthcare helped usher him into a higher plane.

 

Farang posturing and phony handwringing follow a long tradition stretching back to Letters To The Editor in the Pattaya Mail, The Nation, and the Bangkok Post (hope I can speak that name) before there was any thaivisa.com or even internet in Thailand.

 

Quote

Btw, just because someone critiques something means he or she is opposed to it?

 

 

A critique, to be real, must be fair, objective, and reasonable. Hence we seldom ever find such on the forum amid the noise from our haters, bashers, doomsayers, whingers, moaners, self-righteous moralists, cynics, naysayers, harpies, curmudgeons, brown envelope bots, tea money choristers, professional victims, deathwatchers, poor-mouthers, finger-pointers, conspiracy theorists, handwringers, busybodies, know-it-alls, blowhards, scaremongers, Dudley Do-Rights, Nervous Nellies, Goody Two-Shoes, ace asphalt/drainage/driving/parking/traffic/tunneling/concrete/urban planning/financial experts (to mention but a few), real estate appraisers, 99 percenters, schoolmarms, cupcakes, pissants, etc. (see Thai Visa Brigades).

 

On rare occasions one of the objective, dispassionate, nimble observers, who

• live and let live,
• accept the unchangeable,
• handle problems routinely,
• interact with Thais well, and simply
• roll with the flow,

unfazed by the mess and paradox one may naturally expect to encounter in a Third World country will dare post a fair and balanced view only to be promptly labeled a real estate agent, a property owner merely trying to talk up values, a Thai apologist with head stuck in the sand, a wearer of rose-tinted glasses, etc.

 

So, yes, here the "critiques" mean opposed. We want Santa Barbara with ho's and Chang prices.

 

I also understand that this is a THIRD WORLD country, so right away I'am not going to get upset about all the things that are not the same as they are at home, If I wanted things that way I'd stay at home and a lot of the Moaners here should have, Unfortunately Thats the only bad part of this place. . . .

Being Happy here is Easy, Accept it for what it is and enjoy it

JESSVANPELT, on 2015-10-08 11:59:10

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by JSixpack

[bazza73]

11 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

 

 

A critique, to be real, must be fair, objective, and reasonable. Hence we seldom ever find such on the forum amid the noise from our haters, bashers, doomsayers, whingers, moaners, self-righteous moralists, cynics, naysayers, harpies, curmudgeons, brown envelope bots, tea money choristers, professional victims, deathwatchers, poor-mouthers, finger-pointers, conspiracy theorists, handwringers, busybodies, know-it-alls, blowhards, scaremongers, Dudley Do-Rights, Nervous Nellies, Goody Two-Shoes, ace asphalt/drainage/driving/parking/traffic/tunneling/concrete/urban planning/financial experts (to mention but a few), real estate appraisers, 99 percenters, schoolmarms, cupcakes, pissants, etc. (see Thai Visa Brigades).

 

 

 

 

I'm so disappointed. You missed out on oxygen thieves, sociopaths, misanthropes and hypochondriacs.

[talahtnut]

2 hours ago, bazza73 said:

I'm so disappointed. You missed out on oxygen thieves, sociopaths, misanthropes and hypochondriacs.

What about Jehovas Witnesses?

[talahtnut]

6 hours ago, Naam said:

right you are! it's my ignorance and personal attitude that enables me to tolerate the big number of weepers, whingers and Thai bashers who think they can compensate their frustration pertaining in most cases to a sh*itty life by using this forum as a wailing wall.

'Wailing wall forum'... Thats the No.1 quote of the day mate..sheer nectar.

[Golden Triangle]

25 minutes ago, talahtnut said:

What about Jehovas Witnesses?

They rang my doorbell the other day, strange people.

[talahtnut]

7 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

They rang my doorbell the other day, strange people.

I invited in once, sat them down, made them a cup of tea, asked them what they wanted to talk about..they replied, 'we don't know, we have never got this far before'.

[talahtnut]

19 hours ago, tropo said:

Do you have any idea of how many foods have been claimed to cure or prevent cancer? Too many to count.

OK, how many processed foods are proven to give you cancer or obesity?  Your turn to count.

But if I see you in Big C we'll have an ice cream together.  Temptation is more powerfull than sence..LOL.

[LongTimeLurker]

On Monday, October 23, 2017 at 2:43 PM, tropo said:

Move to another country to save some money on cable TV and internet?

Among lots of other advantages.

[tropo]

32 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Among lots of other advantages.

I don't have any complaint here at all. If VN is so great, why are you still lurking here? I'm sure there are plenty of disadvantages too, but they won't be mentioned by people trying to promote another country as being a better place to live.

 

To be honest, for all the disadvantages you claim, I'm quite content with my life here. There's good and bad anywhere.

[JSixpack]

1 hour ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Among lots of other advantages.

 

Yeah, disgruntled farangs, urban planners oftentimes, have been saying such going back at least 20 years. Part of it is simply a call for revenge, i. e., a bash. Note the same complaints then as now.

 

There are two types of articles appearing in the Pattaya Mail with regularity: those where business and political leaders decry the decline in tourism and propose ways to improve the situation; and a steadily increasing number of reports of tourists being insulted, assaulted, drugged, robbed and extorted. . . . Pattaya is being inundated with rude obnoxious thugs who do not care about the city or its visitors. . . .

 

Promoting fresh sea breezes does not change the fact that during the high season trash, brush, and entire fields are set afire on a daily basis by every idiot with a pack of matches in their pocket. Promising pristine beaches does not change the fact that the narrow, seven meter wide ribbon of sand is dirty, fronted by polluted water, and monopolized by chair vendors who gallantly leave the outlets of the street drains for those who do not wish to rent a chair. No directive that jeep and motorcycle renters are to be restricted to a limited number of vehicles prevents them from taking all available parking along Beach Road. No proposal to make Beach Road a pedestrian only zone after six p.m. prevents parking on both sides of the narrow artery or louts on motorcycles from speeding down what little space is left.

It doesn’t matter if the streets are cleared of garbage, no one is going to walk down them if doing so leaves them open to being insulted and assaulted. Having a beach promenade doesn’t matter if strolling along it means taking the risk of being knocked down and robbed. No one is going to participate in the vibrant night-life if there is a good chance that they will wake up three days later in the hospital with all their possessions gone, or in some cases, not wake up at all.They are driving away the tourists and the income and jobs that they bring. Inevitably, this rabble will win as they reduce everyone to their level of poverty. Meanwhile, tourism to Cambodia is increasing by 50% every six months...[emphasis mine]

Lawrence Neal, "Down on Pattaya," Pattaya Mail, Vol. V No. 5 Friday 31 January 1997 - 6 February 1997

Trouble is, when you read the posts from people who've actually moved to these supposedly wonderful cheaper countries, you find a litany of complaints about them as well and expressions of happiness to be back in Thailand.

 

Thailand ain't perfect, but overall, according to numerous informed testimonials, it does seem to beat the "cheaper" alternatives--which returnees claim overall ain't as cheap as they initially appeared. And healthcare is quite a big issue for our many seniors here, one of the big advantages of Thailand. Vacationing in a country is one thing; living there long-term quite another.

 

Hence despite all the prophecies and claims there just hasn't been any mass exodus of farangs from Thailand to the nearby paradises of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc. It's an ongoing embarrassment to our doomsayers, always announcing the killing of the golden goose. Maybe a few dregs have moved to the Phils, but go to a Phils forum and read all the complaints about that country. OMG. Most of us who've spent some time there are much happier in Thailand.

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by JSixpack

[balo]

I've heard some good things about Ho Chi Minh  and Hanoi , the Vietnamese economy is only going one way and that is up . If you are a city person I am sure  the new condo projects there along with new, modern shopping malls can be tempting, also lots of parks and lakes in Vietnam . 

The food is great and cheap , the French influence means you can buy fresh baguettes and cakes of better quality than here.   

Lots of expats are moving there to work.

But retirement is another matter, the beach resorts in VN is maybe more laid back , but not a lot of infrastructure I think compared to Thailand . 

 

 

[tropo]

43 minutes ago, balo said:

I've heard some good things about Ho Chi Minh  and Hanoi , the Vietnamese economy is only going one way and that is up . If you are a city person I am sure  the new condo projects there along with new, modern shopping malls can be tempting, also lots of parks and lakes in Vietnam . 

The food is great and cheap , the French influence means you can buy fresh baguettes and cakes of better quality than here.   

Lots of expats are moving there to work.

But retirement is another matter, the beach resorts in VN is maybe more laid back , but not a lot of infrastructure I think compared to Thailand . 

 

 

You can't find fresh baguettes and cakes in Pattaya? LOL Better move to VN then. I always manage to find great cakes in Pattaya...  

 

It's in the best interest of expats if the economy doesn't sky-rocket upwards, as you're saying it is in VN. That can cause rapid inflation and strengthen the local currency, which is exactly what you don't want if you're spending offshore money.

[JSixpack]

2 hours ago, balo said:

I've heard some good things about Ho Chi Minh  and Hanoi , the Vietnamese economy is only going one way and that is up . If you are a city person I am sure  the new condo projects there along with new, modern shopping malls can be tempting, also lots of parks and lakes in Vietnam .

5

 

Got a couple of acronyms for ya: BTS and MRT.

 

Quote

 

 

 

Thailand's economy is also going "up." We got a few new condos and shopping malls.

 

One of the brain-eating space monkeys that plagues our poor members is the terribly distressing thought that Thailand is losing out to Vietnam! Actually Thailand is the 10th largest investor in Vietnam, supporting and profiting from the economic growth there. Given also that Thailand tourism is quite healthy enough, the reasons for the attack of this particular space monkey remain unclear--except that it probably just reflects a wish and hope that Thailand will "lose out" to somebody.

 

Quote

The food is great and cheap , the French influence means you can buy fresh baguettes and cakes of better quality than here.

3

 

Nicer Western-style restaurants with the kind of world-class victuals that would please our highly discriminating gourmet TVF diners--that I think you'll find isn't all that cheap compared w/ Thailand's offerings. Suggest reading some resto reviews on Trip Advisor. Imported Western groceries at supermarkets--expect to pay Villa prices. The good news is that alcohol is much cheaper. I always stock up on coffee when I'm there. I don't eat baguettes and cakes, but if I did, I think I could survive on the Thai versions.

 

Extensive comparisons between Thailand and the other "competitors" can be found in the regional forums: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/208-regional-forums/

 

Oh well, guess I'll just stay in my comfortable spot here in Sin City. What's not to like?

 

But for anyone who thinks living elsewhere will beget all the happiness that Thailand failed to provide--don't wait another day; go for it! I rather doubt any developing country will please our malcontents, however. To alleviate some of the piteous sufferings so many members feel living in Thailand, after extensive research I discovered this perfect paradise; and I've several times suggested it as follows:

 

SOLUTION FOUND!

 

Pack your bags, man!!! This is IT, this is really IT, the bee's knees, the dog's bolox, paradise. YES!

 

 

The Villages

 

 

Ten women to every man, a black market in Viagra, and a 'thriving swingers scene': Welcome to The Villages, Florida

Swimming in cheap booze and sunshine 'every night is Saturday night'

One of its most infamous residents was a retired biology teacher who called his manhood Mr Midnight

     --http://communityassociations.net/ten-women-every-man-black-market-viagra-thriving-swingers-scene-welcome-villages-florida-elderly-residents-sex-square-cocktail-honor-woman-68/

 

Be sure to peruse the Town Squares section. One of our whingers disappeared soon after I suggested this place, so I hope he may have moved there and at last found happiness.

 

Quote

But retirement is another matter, the beach resorts in VN is maybe more laid back , but not a lot of infrastructure I think compared to Thailand . 

2

 

I maintain that go-go bars should be counted as essential infrastructure. Yep, VN sorely lacking there . . . . 

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by JSixpack

[EvenSteven]

12 hours ago, JSixpack said:

... forsake the posturing via keyboard and armchair and actually do something. Or better yet, since you can't do anything (review The Serenity Prayer), rather than be miserable and emit methane here, just leave ...

You've opened with a straw man, which you've admitted yourself in the second sentence, followed by the first of nearly a countless number of ad hominem attacks in your verbose response, which is confirmation of who lost the argument.  Btw, I don't know where you get the idea that I am miserable.  After all, not everyone is Candide.  This is a public forum and criticism is part of a healthy discussion.

 

12 hours ago, JSixpack said:

A critique, to be real, must be fair, objective, and reasonable.

Of course, but you've taken this discussion out of context.  It's not a dissertation.  Again, this is a public forum where lively and sometimes heated debate is healthy.  But to get back on topic, what do you find unfair, biased and unreasonable about my criticism of Thailand in this thread?

 

 

13 hours ago, JSixpack said:

So, yes, here the "critiques" mean opposed.

Another straw man.  To be a little more formal, a critique may be a commentary or critical discussion of a topic.  Your glaring lack of charity nullifies your argument.

 

Btw, I gather your berating, admonishing and name calling of others who seem to annoy you is done in humour, albeit in rather poor taste.  Otherwise, the hypocrisy is enough to send the meter needle off the scale.

 

 

[talahtnut]

3 hours ago, EvenSteven said:

You've opened with a straw man, which you've admitted yourself in the second sentence, followed by the first of nearly a countless number of ad hominem attacks in your verbose response, which is confirmation of who lost the argument.  Btw, I don't know where you get the idea that I am miserable.  After all, not everyone is Candide.  This is a public forum and criticism is part of a healthy discussion.

 

Of course, but you've taken this discussion out of context.  It's not a dissertation.  Again, this is a public forum where lively and sometimes heated debate is healthy.  But to get back on topic, what do you find unfair, biased and unreasonable about my criticism of Thailand in this thread?

 

 

Another straw man.  To be a little more formal, a critique may be a commentary or critical discussion of a topic.  Your glaring lack of charity nullifies your argument.

 

Btw, I gather your berating, admonishing and name calling of others who seem to annoy you is done in humour, albeit in rather poor taste.  Otherwise, the hypocrisy is enough to send the meter needle off the scale.

 

 

Buddha, Confucious, and Aristotle would not be impressed with this disrespectful farang brawl.

Give peas a chance?

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, talahtnut said:

Buddha, Confucious, and Aristotle would not be impressed with this disrespectful farang brawl.

Give peas a chance?

Yes I agree.    Sorry, 

 

 

[InMyShadow]

I've heard some good things about Ho Chi Minh  and Hanoi , the Vietnamese economy is only going one way and that is up . If you are a city person I am sure  the new condo projects there along with new, modern shopping malls can be tempting, also lots of parks and lakes in Vietnam . 
The food is great and cheap , the French influence means you can buy fresh baguettes and cakes of better quality than here.   
Lots of expats are moving there to work.
But retirement is another matter, the beach resorts in VN is maybe more laid back , but not a lot of infrastructure I think compared to Thailand . 
 
 

You will be surprised at the condo prices and that includes Cambodia and Laos, Myanmar as well. Vietnam infrastructure as you mentioned totally Sucks and one million scooters all tooting the horn non stop will drive you mad.

But it's still good to go for a few days for a holiday /visa run

[JSixpack]

10 hours ago, EvenSteven said:

You've opened with a straw man, which you've admitted yourself in the second sentence, followed by the first of nearly a countless number of ad hominem attacks in your verbose response, which is confirmation of who lost the argument.

 

 

You were free to disagree ("debate") but you didn't, merely proclaimed I'd lost the argument already.  I should have mentioned that you could of course at least TRY to do something. But I'm not seein' that, man. And I should add (and give you a line of logical rebuttal--you're welcome) that one can do something but in a smaller context. One of the rewarding things about living in a Third World country is that you can make such a HUGE difference in people's lives (if only one other life, but that's still great) for the better. Totally change them--and I have. I know of some astonishing success stories. They all run counter to the usual TVF Poster narrative and are usually greeted with silence or disbelief.

 

Of course there's the usual volunteering (or donating, as I have) at orphanages and other organizations, working for NGOs, etc. Working, such as being a good teacher, is helpful. A few farangs have prominently helped in cleanups. All to the good. But you just don't hear about our complainers doing much of that or, if so, feeling gratified about it. Perhaps they started with good intentions but jumped in way over the heads with disappointing consequences--so now everything's negative and they transform into a bot, such as a Police Conspiracy Bot. You yourself don't seem poised for greatness quite yet while worrying about little bugs in cheap hotel rooms. We look forward to hearing of your struggles for goodness and justice in the future, however, after you've finished with the bugs. For now, you've made a good start on discovering issues that have already been identified ad nauseam.

 

My point about the SJW and other larger contexts is that "discussions" are just hot air, as we have no say about them with The Authorities--a point Naam has made. I've heard whingers justify themselves--I'm not making this up--by asserting that Thai authorities read their posts and may pay attention.  What's the purpose of just repeating the same old complaints (oh--"points") here in the echo chamber that've been repeated by farangs for decades? As you seem a bit new here, you should realize that nobody ever changes his mind about anything.

 

You may picture a  group of old biddies in a sewing circle typically giving voice to their complaints, fears, and forebodings:

 

 

One of them comes out with a Standard Topic, such as CONDO GLUT or SHORTCHANGED. Then they all cluck wisely, one after the other, and nod in agreement and conclude portentously that disaster looms, globally even, and how things have degenerated since THEIR day. Thais are killing the golden goose! After a few more of the usual, such as TUNNEL FLOOD or LOWEST EVER, they've forgotten they already did CONDO GLUT and so go back to that again.

 

 

I believe that posturing here (catharsis and self-aggrandizement) doesn't contribute much to one's happiness. I don't see that our chronic complainers are any happier now than they were 10 years ago. And I'm sure that if you live here long-term you'll be a lot happier if you simply

 

• live and let live,
• accept the unchangeable,
• handle problems routinely,
• interact with Thais well, and simply
• roll with the flow,

unfazed by the mess and paradox one may naturally expect to encounter in a Third World country. Learning to interact w/ the Thais well takes some practice and willingness to learn. It's their country and they're very conscious that it ain't yours. Do you speak Thai? Basic Thai is SO helpful. Of course, a curmudgeonly old fart speaking Thai is still what he is and may just make things worse for himself. Good Thai manners are also important--if you want things to go a lot smoother. Could give many examples of this. The usual forum objective is that such unnatural effort at ego reduction isn't guaranteed of success 100% of the time. I say 90% or more is better than 20%. As for the other 5%,

 

Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown

 

 

Quote

what do you find unfair, biased and unreasonable about my criticism of Thailand in this thread?

 

 

Selection bias, lack of

 

• larger context,
• larger perspective,
• balance, and
• useful new points.

Just the usual; don't feel singled out, man.  Now, let's hear about all the positives.

 

Quote

To be a little more formal, a critique may be a commentary or critical discussion of a topic.  Your glaring lack of charity nullifies your argument.

 

 

Or perhaps a glaring self-serving overabundance of charity heaped on your own definition of "critique" merely nullifies your--well, not argument but premise. Note that I said "to be real." I'm talkin' quality.

 

Quote

Btw, I gather your berating, admonishing and name calling of others who seem to annoy you is done in humour, albeit in rather poor taste.  Otherwise, the hypocrisy is enough to send the meter needle off the scale.

 

 

Get into satire, man. It's the only thing that has a chance of working. Me, I used to love reading Hillary's advice column in the Pattaya Mail. BTW, have you joined the mighty TVF Tea Money Chorus yet? Sorry, I've only read a few of your posts. If you're still not quite that advanced, you may first do an apprenticeship and build cred as a Brown Envelope Bot.

 

Many years ago, when I was a lowly noob, I naively tried rational, reasonable, logical, objective arguing here of the sort you find in other international forums where members enter into a gentlemanly discussion in a spirit of open-mindedness, where posts aren't just monologues. You can see my continuing that approach in the internet and health (mostly--lots of ace nutritional experts parachute in there) forums and in the movies thread. And it works there--I've even received thanks, believe it or not.

 

Here, though, I found it mostly futile as so many posters are too bigoted, obsessed, and otherwise biased. We play rough. Not to say that we don't have some great posters here whom I admire tremendously and regularly "Like." In fact I'm thankful TVF makes it possible for them to be heard; I mean that. But only the mods, bless 'em--who may well delete this brilliant post--keep the forum from degenerating into an obscene Thailand bash fest. Did you happen to see what happened to the soc.culture.thai Usenet forum?

 

So now when there's a serious question of fact, I try to help when possible. Otherwise, when it's just hot air and pissin' in the wind, I remember that "you can't reason a man out of a position he didn't reason himself into." I find that a satirical counterpoint (but often with serious documentation) is most likely to be effective at changing perspectives (and decreasing the noise level, as the Songkran threads have shrunk from 18 pages to 7) and that having a laugh makes it worth bothering to make.

 

[tropo]

1 hour ago, JSixpack said:

You were free to disagree ("debate") but you didn't, merely proclaimed I'd lost the argument already

So many debates are "won" this way on TVF - by declaring a win and offering nothing in return. If only battles were won that way.

[tropo]

1 hour ago, JSixpack said:

I believe that posturing here (catharsis and self-aggrandizement) doesn't contribute much to one's happiness. I don't see that our chronic complainers are any happier now than they were 10 years ago. And I'm sure that if you live here long-term you'll be a lot happier if you simply

 

• live and let live,
• accept the unchangeable,
• handle problems routinely,
• interact with Thais well, and simply
• roll with the flow,

unfazed by the mess and paradox one may naturally expect to encounter in a Third World country. Learning to interact w/ the Thais well takes some practice and willingness to learn. It's their country and they're very conscious that it ain't yours. Do you speak Thai? Basic Thai is SO helpful. Of course, a curmudgeonly old fart speaking Thai is still what he is and may just make things worse for himself. Good Thai manners are also important--if you want things to go a lot smoother. Could give many examples of this. The usual forum objective is that such unnatural effort at ego reduction isn't guaranteed of success 100% of the time. I say 90% or more is better than 20%. As for the other 5%,

 

Brilliant!! and exactly how I manage to "survive" here LOL. (note: it's not really just survival for me - I enjoy living here)

 

This should be pinned to the top of the forum as a sticky. i.e. before you complain please read this.

 

"unnatural effort at ego reduction" would solve most people's problems here.

 

 

Edited October 27, 2017 by tropo

[talahtnut]

7 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Yes I agree.    Sorry, 

 

 

Too many irriots....you definitely BRIRRIANT.

[talahtnut]

17 minutes ago, tropo said:

So many debates are "won" this way on TVF - by declaring a win and offering nothing in return. If only battles were won that way.

Nice one Tropo.  Harmony is achieved when each child thinks he has the biggest portion of...[dare I say it]...the icecream!         Anyway, it worked on my three kids in UK.

[Naam]

4 hours ago, JSixpack said:

My point about the SJW and other larger contexts is that "discussions" are just hot air, as we have no say about them with The Authorities--a point Naam has made. I've heard whingers justify themselves--I'm not making this up--by asserting that Thai authorities read their posts and may pay attention. 

you mean the claim that dozens of high ranking government officers sift daily through TVF and submit advice from learned Farangs to the PM and his cabinet for consideration and approval is not true?