Have you left Thailand ?

[jenny2017]

8 minutes ago, amvet said:

They have very few robberies of fast food stores. 

That's how bad the food actually is. Nobody, not even the thieves are interested in that asocial food. 

[amvet]

6 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

That's how bad the food actually is. Nobody, not even the thieves are interested in that asocial food. 

What is asocial food?

[JLCrab]

9 minutes ago, amvet said:

What is asocial food?

Food that is eaten with everyone at a common table staring at their smart phones.

[tropo]

 

On 1/6/2018 at 12:28 PM, steven100 said:

On 1/6/2018 at 12:12 PM, superal said:

Are there any TVF members who have left Thailand and moved to another Asian country ? 

no ....  but one wishes they would ...  lol             is whinging & whining every day a good enough excuse  ??

I wonder who bothers people more. The whingers & whining, or your whinging and whining about the whingers and whiners?

 

They don't bother me. If it bothers you so much, stop reading.

[toughlove]

Anyhoo, back on topic, I thought about heading to PI but heard that it was a pretty dangerous place to live with indiscriminate shootings (of Westerners) armed guards in banks, shops and ATM's

 

Anyone care to comment, TIA. [emoji2]

It's one step below Brazil and Honduras.

 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, amvet said:

No they aren't.  But I can't reply as that would drag the thread off topic.  For your personal edification try reading about Battle of Saigon (1955) French VS USA.  My points are based on experience and personal interviews of the people involved. 

I agree that the thread would go wildly off topic, especially if every bit of covert American meddling CIA-backed insurrection was misguidedly suggested to have been a direct militarily confrontation. You cannot deny that money from the US was the only way the French funded their colonial fight for so long. I guess we'll leave the B52 delivered kill-ratio in non-combatant counties conundrum for another day.

 

As you were.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, JLCrab said:

Food that is eaten with everyone at a common table staring at their smart phones.

Yup, been party once to one of them kind of dinner dates.

[Gonsalviz]

1 hour ago, toughlove said:

It's one step below Brazil and Honduras.

 

Never heard of such. Too far south might not be real safe but Duterte has cleaned a bunch of that out.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 4:58 PM, amvet said:

Was the "Anti-British, National Liberation War" comparable to the Vietnam war?  America was not the colonial master of Vietnam and the Anti-British, National Liberation War was fought against Chinese whom both the Brits and the Malays considered foreigners as opposed to the Vietnam war which was fought against other Vietnamese.  And that's just for starters.  The Brits  had 200 years in Malaysia to prepare for the war and the Americans had about a half hour.  I think you need some reading about both wars before you are ready to launch into an intelligent discussion of the issues and how they effect the countries today and their desirability as alternatives to Thailand.  For starters I'd read "Bangkok Connection." by Ron Chepesiuk.  Two time Fulbright scholar he has  reported  from  more  than  thirty-five  countries. Westmorland lost the war but not for the reasons you gave and it was lost much earlier.  Good luck and maybe after a couple of years study you can start a thread comparing the two wars and how they shaped everything we are talking about on this thread and many more.  

Considering you have gone off on some tangent, and not understood my point I see no point in continuing.

It's also nothing to do with the OP.

I was just pointing out that losing 50,000 + troops isn't some kind of badge of honour, and my opinion of Westmorland isn't printable, so I won't go there.

 

Have a nice day.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, JLCrab said:

Food that is eaten with everyone at a common table staring at their smart phones.

While we could debate about the food, people that do that are antisocial morons, IMO.

I see them all the time in restaurants.

Makes me wonder if the human race has peaked and is now becoming more and more stupid.

[amvet]

36 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Considering you have gone off on some tangent, and not understood my point I see no point in continuing.

It's also nothing to do with the OP.

I was just pointing out that losing 50,000 + troops isn't some kind of badge of honour, and my opinion of Westmorland isn't printable, so I won't go there.

Have a nice day.

Your point was it was not a badge of honor and my point was the two wars little in common and are not comparable.  

 

Malaysia I would think is a better country for expats than Vietnam.  Probably because of 200 years of British rule.  The French muck up almost anything they try to do as far as colonies go.

 

Penang has always been my exit strategy.  

Edited January 15, 2018 by amvet

[steven100]

12 hours ago, tropo said:

If it bothers you so much, stop reading.

oh stop whining .....  

[thaibeachlovers]

12 hours ago, amvet said:

Your point was it was not a badge of honor and my point was the two wars little in common and are not comparable.  

 

Malaysia I would think is a better country for expats than Vietnam.  Probably because of 200 years of British rule.  The French muck up almost anything they try to do as far as colonies go.

 

Penang has always been my exit strategy.  

Penang? Seriously?

Unless you have no interest in the beach, I wouldn't go there. I went on a visa run and hated everything about the place.

Conversely, back in the 70s it was a wonderful place to visit, but they've managed since, IMO, to destroy everything that used to be nice about it.

Langkawi though, from the photos I've seen appears a much better prospect. I hope to check it out for myself in a few months.

[Ulysses G.]

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

oh stop whining .....  

Are you really talking to the much esteemed Poster of the Year like that?

[steven100]

11 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

Are you really talking to the much esteemed Poster of the Year like that?

oh ...      i didn't realize he was POTY ..    please forgive me ...  

[tropo]

18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

21 hours ago, JLCrab said:

Food that is eaten with everyone at a common table staring at their smart phones.

While we could debate about the food, people that do that are antisocial morons, IMO.

I see them all the time in restaurants.

Makes me wonder if the human race has peaked and is now becoming more and more stupid.

Yeah, I've asked myself that question too. If you go to a retail store and need to find "service", it often comes to waking people out of a "Facebook coma". I think for older people like us the Internet is an amazing thing we embrace and make use of. Most of the young ones you see about town have never been without it, so it's boring. It has deadened their brains (if they ever even worked in the first place). They need their smartphone calculators to add 10 + 10.

[tropo]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Penang? Seriously?

Unless you have no interest in the beach, I wouldn't go there. I went on a visa run and hated everything about the place.

Conversely, back in the 70s it was a wonderful place to visit, but they've managed since, IMO, to destroy everything that used to be nice about it.

Langkawi though, from the photos I've seen appears a much better prospect. I hope to check it out for myself in a few months.

It's interesting how opinions differ. I went there for visa runs 3 times and really enjoyed it and did think about it as an alternative place to live. If you don't require bars or working girls and can get the long-term visa it would be great. There are some nice beaches there too on the other side of the island - better than Pattaya, although that's not saying much. I never visit the beach, so that's not a priority for me, much as it's not for you living up there in CM.

[tropo]

21 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

22 hours ago, amvet said:

That's how bad the food actually is. Nobody, not even the thieves are interested in that asocial food. 

You have a good point. It does seem ridiculous having armed guards with shotguns at the entrance. McDonald's food is the worst and in the Philippines, they succeed at making it even worse still.

 

They're not going to get any serious cash grabbers there, so perhaps the shotguns help deter casual thieves, but any serious thieves would put the guards down before the could raise their stupid shotguns if they even work in the first place. Why can't they get some decent handguns that don't look nearly as menacing?

[amvet]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

You have a good point. It does seem ridiculous having armed guards with shotguns at the entrance. McDonald's food is the worst and in the Philippines, they succeed at making it even worse still.

 

They're not going to get any serious cash grabbers there, so perhaps the shotguns help deter casual thieves, but any serious thieves would put the guards down before the could raise their stupid shotguns if they even work in the first place. Why can't they get some decent handguns that don't look nearly as menacing?

I would imagine because it take practice to hit something with a handgun and a guy with a sawed off shotgun can put 10 men down quickly even if he can't shoot very well.

[amvet]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Penang? Seriously?

Unless you have no interest in the beach, I wouldn't go there. I went on a visa run and hated everything about the place.

Conversely, back in the 70s it was a wonderful place to visit, but they've managed since, IMO, to destroy everything that used to be nice about it.

Langkawi though, from the photos I've seen appears a much better prospect. I hope to check it out for myself in a few months.

I understand Penang has excellent health care at a reasonable price and English is spoken in the hospitals.  I have no interest in beaches.  Sex is my hobby and that is readily available in Malaysia if one knows how to use a smart phone.

[amvet]

2 hours ago, tropo said:

Yeah, I've asked myself that question too. If you go to a retail store and need to find "service", it often comes to waking people out of a "Facebook coma". I think for older people like us the Internet is an amazing thing we embrace and make use of. Most of the young ones you see about town have never been without it, so it's boring. It has deadened their brains (if they ever even worked in the first place). They need their smartphone calculators to add 10 + 10.

I don't expect you'd know but a lot of them are working with the smartphones.  They call them beans and you can cash them in for money.  I know a number of people that turn the phone on in the morning and it follows them all day and they get paid for that. Sounds odd I know but true. 

[tropo]

1 hour ago, amvet said:

I don't expect you'd know but a lot of them are working with the smartphones.  They call them beans and you can cash them in for money.  I know a number of people that turn the phone on in the morning and it follows them all day and they get paid for that. Sounds odd I know but true. 

LOL> why would you EXPECT I don't know. Of course, I realize many people are trying to earn money with their smartphones. Many girls use WeChat and other apps to locate nearby "business" prospects. Other people blog on YouTube, but you are right about "beans" - I don't know anything about them. What service do people provide with their cellphones to be paid "beans".

 

I DO know that the vast majority of young people are wasting their days on Facebook, Instagram etc. I've bought many of my wife's family members smartphones, and that has become their main reason for living. Actually, it gives their life purpose - to be posting selfies all day long. The phones requested were the phones which take the best selfies.

Edited January 16, 2018 by tropo

[tropo]

2 hours ago, amvet said:

I would imagine because it take practice to hit something with a handgun and a guy with a sawed off shotgun can put 10 men down quickly even if he can't shoot very well.

They are not "sawed off" shotguns that spray bullets all over the place. They are used most likely because they are cheap compared to more sophisticated weapons. 

 

Have a look at what some security guards carry - M16's.

 

 

There's a recent move to take high-powered weapons away from security personnel.

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/613070/security-firms-high-powered-guns-turned-over-to-pnp-a-week-before-resorts-world-attack/story/

 

http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2017/06/08/1707935/high-powered-firearms-banned-security-firms

 

 

[speedtripler]

5 minutes ago, tropo said:

They are not "sawed off" shotguns that spray bullets all over the place. They are used most likely because they are cheap compared to more sophisticated weapons. 

 

Have a look at what some security guards carry - M16's.

 

 

There's a recent move to take high-powered weapons away from security personnel.

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/613070/security-firms-high-powered-guns-turned-over-to-pnp-a-week-before-resorts-world-attack/story/

 

http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2017/06/08/1707935/high-powered-firearms-banned-security-firms

 

 

In Brazil they also have semi automatic rifles 

I heard it's because you need to have more firepower than the potential robbers.... 

They're are some crazy shootouts sometimes, you can watch them on liveleaks 

[amvet]

40 minutes ago, tropo said:

LOL> why would you EXPECT I don't know. Of course, I realize many people are trying to earn money with their smartphones. Many girls use WeChat and other apps to locate nearby "business" prospects. Other people blog on YouTube, but you are right about "beans" - I don't know anything about them. What service do people provide with their cellphones to be paid "beans".

 

I DO know that the vast majority of young people are wasting their days on Facebook, Instagram etc. I've bought many of my wife's family members smartphones, and that has become their main reason for living. Actually, it gives their life purpose - to be posting selfies all day long. The phones requested were the phones which take the best selfies.

1.  South East Asia app reaches 150 Million Users in 400 Days.  2.   Launched in 2012, another free app now counts 27 million users.  That is a total of  177 million users.  That's a lot of beans.  Maybe you should acquaint yourself with the uses of modern smart phones before you think they are taking facebook selfies. 

 

My point being you think you are up to date but actually very much behind the times and don't really know what is going on around you but you voice opinions based on a world that changed in the kids terms eons ago. 

Edited January 16, 2018 by amvet

[amvet]

38 minutes ago, tropo said:

They are not "sawed off" shotguns that spray bullets all over the place. They are used most likely because they are cheap compared to more sophisticated weapons. 

 

Have a look at what some security guards carry - M16's.

 

 

There's a recent move to take high-powered weapons away from security personnel.

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/613070/security-firms-high-powered-guns-turned-over-to-pnp-a-week-before-resorts-world-attack/story/

 

http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2017/06/08/1707935/high-powered-firearms-banned-security-firms

They are riot guns that don't use bullets they use pellets and have a barrel about 8 inches shorter than a hunting shotgun.  They are primarily a short range defensive weapon.  Mossberg makes a good one for about 16,000 baht quite a bit more than an army surplus M16 or AK47

 

http://www.mossberg.com/product/500-tactical-6-shot-50440/

Edited January 16, 2018 by amvet

[tropo]

2 hours ago, amvet said:

They are riot guns that don't use bullets they use pellets and have a barrel about 8 inches shorter than a hunting shotgun.  They are primarily a short range defensive weapon.  Mossberg makes a good one for about 16,000 baht quite a bit more than an army surplus M16 or AK47

 

http://www.mossberg.com/product/500-tactical-6-shot-50440/

What is a riot gun? LOL> the "sawed off" ones? The ones the security guards used are not "sawed off" and they use bullets... 

 

Anyway, we better stick to the topic. I got your point - they have security guards with guns at McDonald's.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, amvet said:

1.  South East Asia app reaches 150 Million Users in 400 Days.  2.   Launched in 2012, another free app now counts 27 million users.  That is a total of  177 million users.  That's a lot of beans.  Maybe you should acquaint yourself with the uses of modern smart phones before you think they are taking facebook selfies. 

 

My point being you think you are up to date but actually very much behind the times and don't really know what is going on around you but you voice opinions based on a world that changed in the kids terms eons ago. 

There's no need for any personal insults.

 

"Selfies" are a worldwide craze that's not going away anytime soon. Don't fixate on Facebook - currently the 2nd most used app worldwide. It was merely an example.  

 

Here's a fairly recent list of the world's most popular apps, which gives me a clue as to what people do with their cellphones. The built-in camera is probably even more popular than Facebook and drives smartphone popularity in terms of what models of phones people buy. That's what is making, for example, the OPPO phones so popular - great cameras at much cheaper prices than Samsung and Apple.

 

https://www.inc.com/gene-marks/the-worlds-10-most-downloaded-apps-all-have-this-one-amazing-thing-in-common.html

 

I don't know why you chose to turn this into a debate on what kids do with their phones. My comments have basically been in reference to what adults do with them. The conversation started with a comment about people going out to dinner and looking at their cellphones instead of communicating. I have no idea what your children are doing with their cellphones. Collecting beans?

 

How many beans did you make this week?

 

 

[amvet]

7 hours ago, tropo said:

There's no need for any personal insults.

 

"Selfies" are a worldwide craze that's not going away anytime soon. Don't fixate on Facebook - currently the 2nd most used app worldwide. It was merely an example.  

 

Here's a fairly recent list of the world's most popular apps, which gives me a clue as to what people do with their cellphones. The built-in camera is probably even more popular than Facebook and drives smartphone popularity in terms of what models of phones people buy. That's what is making, for example, the OPPO phones so popular - great cameras at much cheaper prices than Samsung and Apple.

 

https://www.inc.com/gene-marks/the-worlds-10-most-downloaded-apps-all-have-this-one-amazing-thing-in-common.html

 

I don't know why you chose to turn this into a debate on what kids do with their phones. My comments have basically been in reference to what adults do with them. The conversation started with a comment about people going out to dinner and looking at their cellphones instead of communicating. I have no idea what your children are doing with their cellphones. Collecting beans?

 

How many beans did you make this week?

Because you wrote, "DO know that the vast majority of young people are wasting their days on Facebook, Instagram etc."  And I don't think that is the case.  The young people are smarter than we were and using smart phones to stay up to date, make money and start democratic revolutions. 

 

I made 36 beans.

[amvet]

8 hours ago, tropo said:

What is a riot gun? LOL> the "sawed off" ones? The ones the security guards used are not "sawed off" and they use bullets... 

 

Anyway, we better stick to the topic. I got your point - they have security guards with guns at McDonald's.

You can see they have a very short barrel like a sawed off shotgun and use shotgun shells with pellets not bullets.  A bullet or slug would defeat the purpose of using a shotgun in a crowded environment - increase range and decrease accuracy because you only have one bullet as opposed to many little pellets. The riot guns/sawed off shotguns or whatever you want to call them,  would be much safer Philippines crowded city area because they only have an effective range of 50 feet or so.

Edited January 17, 2018 by amvet