Feeling 'eyed' by Thailand and what I'm planning on doing about it

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Don't get me wrong I have had trouble at times getting the 400,000 together to show for 2 months in bank.

I don't have any choice if I want to remain in Thailand.

I hear some people don't have show money and can stay for 1 year but have to do every 90 days a border crossing. 

Don't know how that's done probably just hearsay.

I do that, 90 day non-o VISA to stay with my Thai kids.

Not so bad as I get a nice little holiday every 3 months, HCMC + Cambodia next month.

[mngmn]

9 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Do you have enough experience to comment or are you relying on Thai Visa as your source of knowledge? 

Mixture of personal experience and observation of people around me. Small percentage actually work.

[Thaidream]

On 3/19/2019 at 2:53 PM, Gecko123 said:

 

You ever notice how everytime a Thai guy is arrested for a crime against a foreigner, the standard apology is to the Thai people for damaging Thailand's reputation and the tourist economy? The expression 'Land of Smiles' wasn't just promoted in tourist brochures. At some point, Thais had to have been told that this was how Thailand was being promoted and to have been encouraged to play this up, in turn benefiting one and all in the process.

 

What's changed is that initial superficial friendliness has kind of fallen by the wayside. Mass tourism, social media, negative news stories have all taken their toll. The other big reason behind this drop in enthusiasm is that average Thais don't have as much economic incentive to be friendly to foreigners as they once did. We aren't the big spending and gullible patsies we once were. We ask for prenups, shop on-line and at big box retailers, eat at international chain food restaurants, stay at international chain hotels, avoid non-metered taxis, etc.  In the process, many sources of income from foreigners to average Joe Thais have dried up. So when the government says that there are many foreign "bad guys" who need to be deported, there are plenty of Thais who are happy to see these changes simply because they don't see foreigners as benefiting them as much as they may have in the past.

So true!!!   The Thai smile is still there but it  is not as prevalent as it once was.  However, don't forget to look at the reasons based upon the Thai perspective.

 

Life for most Thais is really not better but much more stressful. Oh sure- more people can afford cars; can buy Condos but the sacrifices they make are enormous.  Pollution is horrid for everyone.  The traffic situation is  bad. Children leaving for school at 5 AM and coming home at 8 PM.  The vendors cannot ply their trade and are forced away from areas they used to make a living from.  The cost of everything for Thais has gone up just like for us.  Sending your Thai children to school is hard due to  tuition; books; clothes; room and board.  the minimum wage is bad in Thailand. It is not a living wage.

 

Thais are worn out; tired as hell and without a whole lot of hope for change.  Yet- if you do engage them in conversation- most are polite and will smile. Having to face what they face- I am not so sure I would be smiling.  Remember, the same corruption we face- they also face but for different things.

 

Those of us who have been here a long time want the Thailand of old but so do the Thai people.  They want  the stress free days of old when they could actually afford to live and  the mai pen rai existence.

 

This coming election will be the most important in Thai history  and that is why  more people will vote than ever before. Remember this- their future is also our future-for those of us who desire to remain in Thailand.

 

 

[Nsp64]

Yes that's right. 

We all want the times of old. The difference is we are willing to speak out.

Thais are lethargic to the point of laziness.

They expect everyone else to do it for them and accept corruption as a life style. 

Nothing will change, in fact I predict it will get worse

[Sheryl]

On 3/19/2019 at 1:25 AM, madmen said:

Who cares. Im in a farang ghetto lower sukhimvit and have zero to do with thais unless Im ordering drinks, food or an hourly rental. Thais do not exist in my world and thats perfect as I live my life exactly as I did in the west but with better climate and cheaper women.

 

I have no sympathy for those that moved to a thai ghetto and are trying to fit in. Your an alien, what did you expect?

 

Actually it is the areas with many farangs where attitudes tend to be negative. (Make of that what you will...)

 

In what you call "Thai ghettos", rarely any dislike or prejudice towards farangs. Some curiosity is about it.

 

I haven't experienced any change in attitudes where I live (an area with scarcely another farang to be seen). And 95% of people are pleasant and welcoming. The few ones who aren't, I suspect are usually rather crabby personalities to begin with.

 

Of course, living in a mostly or totally Thai area would not suit everyone. You need speak the language, be reasonably acculturated, and satisified to have most of your interpersonal interactions be with people from another culture.

 

 

[Nsp64]

12 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

Actually it is the areas with many farangs where attitudes tend to be negative. (Make of that what you will...)

 

In what you call "Thai ghettos", rarely any dislike or prejudice towards farangs. Some curiosity is about it.

 

I haven't experienced any change in attitudes where I live (an are with scarcely another farang to be seen). And 95% of people are pleasant and welcoming. The few ones who aren't, I suspect are usually rather crabby personalities to begin with.

 

Of course, living in a mostly or totally Thai area would not suit everyone. You need speak the language, be reasonably acculturated, and satisified to have most of your interpersonal interactions be with people from another culture.

 

 

Jeeez sounds like hell on earth.

 

[Kwasaki]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I do that, 90 day non-o VISA to stay with my Thai kids.

Not so bad as I get a nice little holiday every 3 months, HCMC + Cambodia next month.

Yeay OK but I not have young kids now only me and my Thai Mrs.

I'll be OK I guess but I remember 1 of your posts saying men Thailand died at 72 and so I've got till the end of June 2019 then. ????

[BritManToo]

17 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Of course, living in a mostly or totally Thai area would not suit everyone. You need speak the language, be reasonably acculturated, and satisified to have most of your interpersonal interactions be with people from another culture.

Only if you are the sort of person to interact with your neighbours.

I've mostly ignored them wherever I live, beyond 'hello' as I walk past.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeay OK but I not have young kids now only me and my Thai Mrs.

I'll be OK I guess but I remember 1 of your posts saying men Thailand died at 72 and so I've got till the end of June 2019 then. ????

I've only got another 6 years left.

[brokenbone]

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

Actually it is the areas with many farangs where attitudes tend to be negative. (Make of that what you will...)

 

In what you call "Thai ghettos", rarely any dislike or prejudice towards farangs. Some curiosity is about it.

 

I haven't experienced any change in attitudes where I live (an area with scarcely another farang to be seen). And 95% of people are pleasant and welcoming. The few ones who aren't, I suspect are usually rather crabby personalities to begin with.

 

Of course, living in a mostly or totally Thai area would not suit everyone. You need speak the language, be reasonably acculturated, and satisified to have most of your interpersonal interactions be with people from another culture.

 

 

i live in the middle of pattaya and the only negative attitude

i ever come across is when i dont give away money

for free on demand.

for some reason i have yet to decode,

many think i owe them money on grounds of being

a complete stranger to them,

and so i get two options, giving away money as requested or listening to insults if i dont. (kee neaow).

there is no difference if i go to the bush,

strangers will inevitably come up to me and demand i sponsor booze, food, or unspecified wish list, or face insults,

while for most others i'm left alone

Edited March 20, 2019 by brokenbone

[Nyezhov]

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I haven't experienced any change in attitudes where I live (an area with scarcely another farang to be seen). And 95% of people are pleasant and welcoming. The few ones who aren't, I suspect are usually rather crabby personalities to begin with.

Ive got farang but you can count us on two hands, maybe. Everybody Thai that lives or works within 500 meters around our building is totally cool. Totally. Seriously friendly, smiling and joking and I see the same folks every day as I walk to the stations. 

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, JTXR said:

Good post.  One of the reasons I stay in BKK is that the TM-30 nonsense doesn't apply here (so far, at least).  I too would find that very close to a deal breaker.

 

As for moving back to the U.S., if I did it (I'm close to 70), I'd definitely rent.  Screw the hassle of owning.  Because health insurance at my age is a problem, the one thing that would certainly make me repatriate is a serious health issue.  Access to Medicare would outweigh almost all other economic considerations.

I have no idea why people thing the TM 30 is a hassle. It's nothing to do with us, unless one owns one's own property. If I stay in an hotel, I don't have to do anything.

[Sheryl]

A lot of us do own our homes or a spouse does. And soome rent with landlord far away and not keeping tabs or making reports. ( Renters can file TM30 for themselves).

 

Of course staying in hotel it's a non issue but I think majority of long term stayers either rent a place, own it or live in spouse/partner's home.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Gecko123]

I forgot to mention how immigration changes have affected my spending patterns.

 

I've cancelled plans to travel outside the country for the foreseeable future. I don't want to give immigration's repressive apparatchiks any more money than I have to. Re-filing TM-30 forms everytime you return from a trip is so degrading and dehumanizing, I'd prefer to just stay home. Fewer anxiety filled visits to immigration as well.

 

I cancelled an overseas shopping trip planned for next month. Instead, I just bought everything over the internet. Saved a fortune in airfare and hotel costs in the process. Only had to pay $237 in postage and $151 in tarriffs on $600 in internet purchases. Far less than taking the trip, and no immigration hassles to boot. Maybe if more people did this, airlines and hotels might take notice.

 

I've also gone on a one-man domestic consumption strike to protest how immigration is treating retirees.

 

Can't have access to your own money for half the year? Better cut back on spending to make sure you never have to touch those funds. Thailand might start forcing people to take out medical insurance? Better start setting money aside to pay those premiums. Thailand's worried I might become a burden on their hospitals? Wouldn't want that to happen. Time to cut back on spending to make sure you aren't a burden on anyone.

 

I kind of have this attitude: Me and my money? We come as a package deal. Love my money? Love me. Respect my money? Respect me. I think more people need to take this stance until the government, and in many cases, Thais in general, get the message.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Gecko123

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I forgot to mention how immigration changes have affected my spending patterns.

 

I've cancelled plans to travel outside the country for the foreseeable future. I don't want to give immigration's repressive apparatchiks any more money than I have to. Re-filing TM-30 forms everytime you return from a trip is so degrading and dehumanizing, I'd prefer to just stay home. Fewer anxiety filled visits to immigration as well.

 

I cancelled an overseas shopping trip planned for next month. Instead, I just bought everything over the internet. Saved a fortune in airfare and hotel costs in the process. Only had to pay $237 in postage and $151 in tarriffs on $600 in internet purchases. Far less than taking the trip, and no immigration hassles to boot. Maybe if more people did this, airlines and hotels might take notice.

 

I've also gone on a one-man domestic consumption strike to protest how immigration is treating retirees.

 

Can't have access to your own money for half the year? Better cut back on spending to make sure you never have to touch those funds. Thailand might start forcing people to take out medical insurance? Better start setting money aside to pay those premiums. Thailand's worried I might become a burden on their hospitals? Wouldn't want that to happen. Time to cut back on spending to make sure you aren't a burden on anyone.

 

I kind of have this attitude: Me and my money? We come as a package deal. Love my money? Love me. Respect my money? Respect me. I think more people need to take this stance until the government, and in many cases, Thais in general, get the message.

Your tactics are much more intentional and systematic than mine, but you are mentioning an issue I've posted about before (with little interest from others) that immigration rules have seemingly unintentional consequences counter to what you would expect Thailand's interest in having non-working foreigners living here. 

I've always felt as a retired person here, that I was allowed to live in Thailand because of the hope that I would SPEND as much as possible here. Of course banked money also provides an economic benefit to Thailand. Which is more powerful? I would have thought the spending of imported currency. I'm not an economist but I am quite certain that expat spending of imported money creates many local jobs. It's not just the one time spend, that money recycles. 

However, as I've been doing 800K applications, during the months of seasoning I've always been much more frugal than after.

Now with basically year round seasoning, that impact will be much greater. It means being more frugal all the time.

Seemingly the opposite of what I considered my "purpose" in Thailand.

I get it that we aren't allowed to live here because we smell so good.

I also agree with you that the address report madness can be a strong disincentive to travel, and that includes travel (and more of that yummy spending) in Thailand.

Oh well!

[Gecko123]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:55 AM, Isaan Alan said:

The feeling of change in attitude is real I beiieve. I have found that jealousy runs very deep in Thai society and that Thais are often motivated by schadenfreude, that is a joy obtained from seeing others, in this case farangs, suffer a fall. There is a lot of lying on social media to make others jealous and show a fine face sometimes as a payback or out of ignorance of the negative affect.  With many Thais, behind the smile is a deep shaft of jealousy. Of course, Westerners have the same problems but I expected more from such a strongly Buddhist country.

I wanted to compliment you on the quality of your observation skills. I've observed that when a foreigner moves to a close-knit community they can seriously disrupt the long-standing pecking order. But it took me a lot longer than 3 years to connect the dots.

 

After I read your post, I reflected on who I have butted heads with the most in my village, and in every case it has been with someone who may have resented me because they had been displaced in the pecking order. Some anecdotes:

 

Several houses down is a family which probably owns more land than others in the moo ban. They also had the status of having the nicest house and owning a pickup truck. The husband also worked in a Bangkok furniture factory. I didn't realize it at first, but they were probably at the top of the pecking order.

 

The house we built was by no means lavish, but it was nicer than their house. Also, we did some modest landscaping. I remember that not long afterwards, this family expanded their house with a second story and added some built-on rooms. They also did a bunch of landscaping. One day, not long after my house had been completed, I remember that the wife of this family made some catty comments about both the paint color (white) of my house as well as offering her opinion that "there was too much yellow" in the landscaping. So that was my first clue that they might have been jealous.

 

For the first 7 years after moving there, I didn't own a car, or for that matter even a motorcycle, and looking back, I think this lack of wheels made me a non-threat in the socio-economic pecking order. But 6 years ago I bought a nice pickup truck, and in many ways, relations with my immediate neighbors kind of became more distant in the process. Not long afterwards, we began to have tensions with this family turning on loud bass music outdoors, and sometimes when I went to talk to them, I could see that the speakers were pointed in the general direction of my house. I got the distinct impression that they were taking malicious pleasure in annoying me. They kept doing this over and over again despite many polite requests to lower the volume, until one day, I drove over to their house to ask them again to turn down the music, I got gang assaulted. Even though they assaulted me a little bit, the main focus of their attack was directed at the pickup truck, and I immediately began to wonder if they were sub-consciously jealous of my pickup truck.

 

Another story I can share is about the wife of the district land office manager (who enjoys high status in the village as a senior government official). She runs a small grocery store in town. At first, I was never a regular customer, but to the best of my knowledge I had never done anything ever to antagonize this woman. In fact, I had done her a favor by selling her several large bags of dry cat food at a huge discount after I no longer owned a cat. So the first time I ever went into her shop (many years ago), I asked to buy 10 eggs, but I could see one of the eggs had a very visible crack on the top. I didn't say anything, but watched carefully to see if she would try to sell me this cracked egg. Sure enough she did and when I pointed it out to her, she tried to fool me by showing me the bottom side of the eggs, and I had her set them down to see the cracked egg. So you would think that that would have established that I'm not a fool when it comes to buying eggs.

 

So last year, I started shopping there again. While the shop was still owned by the land office manager's wife, she had a friendly helper who waited on me, and there was never any problem. The pork I bought was fine, no games with the pricing or weight, the bags of ice I bought were heaping, and the bag ties were knotted so as to avoid the ice spilling out. No problems.

 

But then one day, the helper no longer worked there and the wife again helps me. The shop has this pork display case which allows the customer to see the hanging meat from all sides. So without opening the case or fingering the meat with my dirty little fingers, I circle the case carefully trying to pick out the best of cut of meat I could find, and when I've made my choice I tell the shop owner I would like 1 kilo of pork from the cut I had selected. So she takes the meat out of the case, and cuts off what is supposed to be 1 kg of pork. But I can immediately see that it's far less than 1 kg of meat, and sure enough it weighs just 700-800 grams of meat. But instead of cutting an additional slice from the piece I had selected, she reaches into to the meat display case and pulls out this really fatty piece of meat and uses that to bring the weight up to 1 kg.

 

Another thing I noticed this woman did was, unlike her assistant who carefully knotted the large bags of ice (used for blanching vegetables for freezing) that I purchased, the owner would not knot the bag, and one time she saw that after I had put the bag of ice on the front seat floor of my truck, the bag immediately fell over, spilling ice all over the floor. OK, no problem. Live and learn. But the next time I purchased ice, she didn't knot the ties again, so I made a big point to knot the bag of ice on the ice cooler lid right in front of her, and when I looked over at her I swear she looked disappointed that I had caught this and she wouldn't get to watch the ice spilling all over the floor again.

 

So I just ask myself why would this woman be behaving like this? You would think that having attracted a foreigner to her store would be a feather in her cap, and she would want to make a reasonable effort to keep you coming back, especially since business is pretty slow, but she's acting like she doesn't even want me as a customer. Was it because she just had some antipathy towards foreigners, or was she jealous of me because I had more money than her husband? I have no idea, but those are the only two explanations I could come up with after wracking my brain to try and understand this behavior.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Gecko123

[atyclb]

3 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I forgot to mention how immigration changes have affected my spending patterns.

 

I've cancelled plans to travel outside the country for the foreseeable future. I don't want to give immigration's repressive apparatchiks any more money than I have to. Re-filing TM-30 forms everytime you return from a trip is so degrading and dehumanizing, I'd prefer to just stay home. Fewer anxiety filled visits to immigration as well.

 

I cancelled an overseas shopping trip planned for next month. Instead, I just bought everything over the internet. Saved a fortune in airfare and hotel costs in the process. Only had to pay $237 in postage and $151 in tarriffs on $600 in internet purchases. Far less than taking the trip, and no immigration hassles to boot. Maybe if more people did this, airlines and hotels might take notice.

 

I've also gone on a one-man domestic consumption strike to protest how immigration is treating retirees.

 

Can't have access to your own money for half the year? Better cut back on spending to make sure you never have to touch those funds. Thailand might start forcing people to take out medical insurance? Better start setting money aside to pay those premiums. Thailand's worried I might become a burden on their hospitals? Wouldn't want that to happen. Time to cut back on spending to make sure you aren't a burden on anyone.

 

I kind of have this attitude: Me and my money? We come as a package deal. Love my money? Love me. Respect my money? Respect me. I think more people need to take this stance until the government, and in many cases, Thais in general, get the message.

 

 

a thai gal i know (manager at japanese multinational firm) tells me the thai language forums are filled with thai women reporting the immigration rules are splitting families.  luckily im not married but would not be a bad idea for some thai married women to organize and approach a tv station to do a story about it.

[Leaver]

3 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I forgot to mention how immigration changes have affected my spending patterns.

 

I've cancelled plans to travel outside the country for the foreseeable future. I don't want to give immigration's repressive apparatchiks any more money than I have to. Re-filing TM-30 forms everytime you return from a trip is so degrading and dehumanizing, I'd prefer to just stay home. Fewer anxiety filled visits to immigration as well.

 

I cancelled an overseas shopping trip planned for next month. Instead, I just bought everything over the internet. Saved a fortune in airfare and hotel costs in the process. Only had to pay $237 in postage and $151 in tarriffs on $600 in internet purchases. Far less than taking the trip, and no immigration hassles to boot. Maybe if more people did this, airlines and hotels might take notice.

 

I've also gone on a one-man domestic consumption strike to protest how immigration is treating retirees.

 

Can't have access to your own money for half the year? Better cut back on spending to make sure you never have to touch those funds. Thailand might start forcing people to take out medical insurance? Better start setting money aside to pay those premiums. Thailand's worried I might become a burden on their hospitals? Wouldn't want that to happen. Time to cut back on spending to make sure you aren't a burden on anyone.

 

I kind of have this attitude: Me and my money? We come as a package deal. Love my money? Love me. Respect my money? Respect me. I think more people need to take this stance until the government, and in many cases, Thais in general, get the message.

Have you considered leaving Thailand? 

 

Is it possible, the grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, and let's be honest, when it comes to visas, the grass is definitely greener on the other side of the fence.

 

I refuse to have money extracted from me this way, so I am leaving.  I will travel back to Thailand as regularly as tourist visas and exemption stamps allow me to do so.  

 

You can't protest, or complain, in Thailand.  Foreigners have no rights here.  Best to change yourself, because Thailand will not change for you / foreigners.

 

When my current visa comes to an end, I will leave, and given the way Thailand is heading, I just might end up not coming back on tourist visas as often as I thought, and then I will invite friends in Thailand who will visit me, and if they see the grass is greener, they may also leave. 

 

 

This whole saga could be a great advertisement for Thailand's competitors, particularly Vietnam, who don't have to actively compete.  All Vietnam has to do is sit back and let Thailand kill its tourism and expat retiree industry. 

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

I wanted to compliment you on the quality of your observation skills. I've observed that when a foreigner moves to a close-knit community they can seriously disrupt the long-standing pecking order. But it took me a lot longer than 3 years to connect the dots.

 

After I read your post, I reflected on who I have butted heads with the most in my village, and in every case it has been with someone who may have resented me because they had been displaced in the pecking order. Some anecdotes:

 

Several houses down is a family which probably owns more land than others in the moo ban. They also had the status of having the nicest house and owning a pickup truck. The husband also worked in a Bangkok furniture factory. I didn't realize it at first, but they were probably at the top of the pecking order.

 

The house we built was by no means lavish, but it was nicer than their house. Also, we did some modest landscaping. I remember that not long afterwards, this family expanded their house with a second story and added some built-on rooms. They also did a bunch of landscaping. One day, not long after my house had been completed, I remember that the wife of this family made some catty comments about both the paint color (white) of my house as well as offering her opinion that "there was too much yellow" in the landscaping. So that was my first clue that they might have been jealous.

 

For the first 7 years after moving there, I didn't own a car, or for that matter even a motorcycle, and looking back, I think this lack of wheels made me a non-threat in the socio-economic pecking order. But 6 years ago I bought a nice pickup truck, and in many ways, relations with my immediate neighbors kind of became more distant in the process. Not long afterwards, we began to have tensions with this family turning on loud bass music outdoors, and sometimes when I went to talk to them, I could see that the speakers were pointed in the general direction of my house. I got the distinct impression that they were taking malicious pleasure in annoying me. They kept doing this over and over again despite many polite requests to lower the volume, until one day, I drove over to their house to ask them again to turn down the music, I got gang assaulted. Even though they assaulted me a little bit, the main focus of their attack was directed at the pickup truck, and I immediately began to wonder if they were sub-consciously jealous of my pickup truck.

 

Another story I can share is about the wife of the district land office manager (who enjoys high status in the village as a senior government official). She runs a small grocery store in town. At first, I was never a regular customer, but to the best of my knowledge I had never done anything ever to antagonize this woman. In fact, I had done her a favor by selling her several large bags of dry cat food at a huge discount after I no longer owned a cat. So the first time I ever went into her shop (many years ago), I asked to buy 10 eggs, but I could see one of the eggs had a very visible crack on the top. I didn't say anything, but watched carefully to see if she would try to sell me this cracked egg. Sure enough she did and when I pointed it out to her, she tried to fool me by showing me the bottom side of the eggs, and I had her set them down to see the cracked egg. So you would think that that would have established that I'm not a fool when it comes to buying eggs.

 

So last year, I started shopping there again. While the shop was still owned by the land office manager's wife, she had a friendly helper who waited on me, and there was never any problem. The pork I bought was fine, no games with the pricing or weight, the bags of ice I bought were heaping, and the bag ties were knotted so as to avoid the ice spilling out. No problems.

 

But then one day, the helper no longer worked there and the wife again helps me. The shop has this pork display case which allows the customer to see the hanging meat from all sides. So without opening the case or fingering the meat with my dirty little fingers, I circle the case carefully trying to pick out the best of cut of meat I could find, and when I've made my choice I tell the shop owner I would like 1 kilo of pork from the cut I had selected. So she takes the meat out of the case, and cuts off what is supposed to be 1 kg of pork. But I can immediately see that it's far less than 1 kg of meat, and sure enough it weighs just 700-800 grams of meat. But instead of cutting an additional slice from the piece I had selected, she reaches into to the meat display case and pulls out this really fatty piece of meat and uses that to bring the weight up to 1 kg.

 

Another thing I noticed this woman did was, unlike her assistant who carefully knotted the large bags of ice (used for blanching vegetables for freezing) that I purchased, the owner would not knot the bag, and one time she saw that after I had put the bag of ice on the front seat floor of my truck, the bag immediately fell over, spilling ice all over the floor. OK, no problem. Live and learn. But the next time I purchased ice, she didn't knot the ties again, so I made a big point to knot the bag of ice on the ice cooler lid right in front of her, and when I looked over at her I swear she looked disappointed that I had caught this and she wouldn't get to watch the ice spilling all over the floor again.

 

So I just ask myself why would this woman be behaving like this? You would think that having attracted a foreigner to her store would be a feather in her cap, and she would want to make a reasonable effort to keep you coming back, especially since business is pretty slow, but she's acting like she doesn't even want me as a customer. Was it because she just had some antipathy towards foreigners, or was she jealous of me because I had more money than her husband? I have no idea, but those are the only two explanations I could come up with after wracking my brain to try and understand this behavior.

 

No disrespect but I don't like you.  Just being honest.  I think it might be what you are experiencing from service personal in Thailand. 

 

I could name all of the others I don't like on the forum and the only thing I can see that they have in common is they are all vehemently anti Thai. 

 

If this comes through to me think of what it must be like for Thai people confronted by those types. 

[marcusarelus]

58 minutes ago, Leaver said:

Have you considered leaving Thailand? 

 

Is it possible, the grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, and let's be honest, when it comes to visas, the grass is definitely greener on the other side of the fence.

 

I refuse to have money extracted from me this way, so I am leaving.  I will travel back to Thailand as regularly as tourist visas and exemption stamps allow me to do so.  

 

You can't protest, or complain, in Thailand.  Foreigners have no rights here.  Best to change yourself, because Thailand will not change for you / foreigners.

 

When my current visa comes to an end, I will leave, and given the way Thailand is heading, I just might end up not coming back on tourist visas as often as I thought, and then I will invite friends in Thailand who will visit me, and if they see the grass is greener, they may also leave. 

 

 

This whole saga could be a great advertisement for Thailand's competitors, particularly Vietnam, who don't have to actively compete.  All Vietnam has to do is sit back and let Thailand kill its tourism and expat retiree industry. 

It is like comparing Canada and America.  Ain't gonna happen. 

 

https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/vietnam/thailand

[Leaver]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

It is like comparing Canada and America.  Ain't gonna happen. 

 

https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/vietnam/thailand

Your link is irrelevant for retired expats.

 

 

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

No disrespect but I don't like you.  Just being honest.  I think it might be what you are experiencing from service personal in Thailand. 

 

I could name all of the others I don't like on the forum and the only thing I can see that they have in common is they are all vehemently anti Thai. 

  

If this comes through to me think of what it must be like for Thai people confronted by those types. 

Why bother saying no disrespect? It doesn't soften what you posted. Your game seems to me almost all about your dislike for certain members (ad hominem attacks) rather than addressing the CONTENT they post objectively.

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I've cancelled plans to travel outside the country for the foreseeable future. I don't want to give immigration's repressive apparatchiks any more money than I have to. Re-filing TM-30 forms everytime you return from a trip is so degrading and dehumanizing, I'd prefer to just stay home. Fewer anxiety filled visits to immigration as well.

I now live here on 90 day non-os, no trips to Immigration and all my spare cash spent outside Thailand in Cambodia/Laos/Vietnam.

No new cars or m/cs, minimal spending on everything.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

So I just ask myself why would this woman be behaving like this?

Why would you be daft enough to ever spend more money in this woman's shop?

[Leaver]

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

No disrespect but I don't like you.  Just being honest.  I think it might be what you are experiencing from service personal in Thailand. 

 

I could name all of the others I don't like on the forum and the only thing I can see that they have in common is they are all vehemently anti Thai. 

 

If this comes through to me think of what it must be like for Thai people confronted by those types. 

No disrespect, but you sound like you probably have sunk a lot of money, time, and emotion into Thailand, and you are staring at a decline in business, and a collapsing housing market, due to forces you can not control.

 

You say you don't like "anti Thai" people, but really, I get the sense you have too much skin in the game here, so all you do is criticize those that are contemplating moving on to greener pastures, not that I expect you to acknowledge they may be greener pastures outside Thailand.

 

It's actually you that is anti everything other than Thailand.  You don't appear subjective at all. 

 

If you are happy in Thailand, I am happy for you, but why criticize others for exploring their options elsewhere?

 

 

 

 

[marcusarelus]

19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Why bother saying no disrespect? It doesn't soften what you posted. Your game seems to me almost all about your dislike for certain members (ad hominem attacks) rather than addressing the CONTENT they post objectively.

Not at all.  They are and you anti Thai.  I don't dislike or disrespect the person but his beliefs. 

 

It is not a game. 

 

The guy feels Thais are giving him the evil eye.  It's like the first time I went onto a lesbian biker bar.  I knew if I stayed they would kill me.  I know you like CNN.  I don't watch it because it makes me angry. 

 

I left America because it made me angry.  I don't disrespect America I just avoid it whenever I can. 

 

I am not attacking the person I am attacking his opinions.  I'm not attacking you.  I am attacking your posts which are overwhelmingly anti Thai.  I've never said anything about your person, religion, orientation, age, gender or anything about you.  When you post about food I think its cool.  It is only in the realm of anti Thai rumors that I will comment. 

[marcusarelus]

22 minutes ago, Leaver said:

No disrespect, but you sound like you probably have sunk a lot of money, time, and emotion into Thailand, and you are staring at a decline in business, and a collapsing housing market, due to forces you can not control.

 

You say you don't like "anti Thai" people, but really, I get the sense you have too much skin in the game here, so all you do is criticize those that are contemplating moving on to greener pastures, not that I expect you to acknowledge they may be greener pastures outside Thailand.

 

It's actually you that is anti everything other than Thailand.  You don't appear subjective at all. 

 

If you are happy in Thailand, I am happy for you, but why criticize others for exploring their options elsewhere?

100% of my assets are liquid and can be moved on a days notice. 

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Not at all.  They are and you anti Thai.  I don't dislike or disrespect the person but his beliefs. 

 

It is not a game. 

 

The guy feels Thais are giving him the evil eye.  It's like the first time I went onto a lesbian biker bar.  I knew if I stayed they would kill me.  I know you like CNN.  I don't watch it because it makes me angry. 

 

I left America because it made me angry.  I don't disrespect America I just avoid it whenever I can. 

 

I am not attacking the person I am attacking his opinions.  I'm not attacking you.  I am attacking your posts which are overwhelmingly anti Thai.  I've never said anything about your person, religion, orientation, age, gender or anything about you.  When you post about food I think its cool.  It is only in the realm of anti Thai rumors that I will comment. 

I call total B.S.

Do you really even believe your own B.S. and think other people buy it?
You've been personally attacking me obsessively on multiple threads.
You seem especially miffed that I've posted about alternatives to Thailand, as if there is something wrong with considering that.

Also don't tell me that I'm anti-Thai.

I never said that. 

Speak for yourself.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Jingthing

[marcusarelus]

2 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

 

a thai gal i know (manager at japanese multinational firm) tells me the thai language forums are filled with thai women reporting the immigration rules are splitting families.  luckily im not married but would not be a bad idea for some thai married women to organize and approach a tv station to do a story about it.

If they do it before Sunday the party responsible will garner a lot more votes.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

100% of my assets are liquid and can be moved on a days notice. 

Good on you for that. So you might not understand the stress that some might feel that haven't structured their assets in Thailand that way.