THE WEEK THAT WAS Fleeing Thailand for Copacabana - Rooster tried and it backfired miserably!

[Stevemercer]

Well said.

 

I would buy your book, but spend at least a year or two on it so it is memorable and worth keeping. Remember we all want details, juicy details!

 

Once you've done that you should try your hand at some fiction set in Thailand.

Edited October 31, 2021 by Stevemercer

[rott]

What about the neighbouring Spanish speaking countries, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, are they any better. 

I agree with the sentiment that Thailand is still a good place to live, but there is always that bit of uncertainty about the future which has you keeping an eye open for a plan B

[Clydesdale]

Don't bother writing the book. Three pages of A4 will be quite sufficient.

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, Thaijack2014 said:

People who complain about Thailand too much haven't been in other places. I know there are a lot of places worse than Thailand

Indeed there are, and I have experienced a few of them, for example Libya at the time of the Gadhafi revolution which left the country in a bit of a state, although it wasn't that bad, but working in the Sahara desert a few years later after the oil company had been taken over by Libyan entity, was no fun at all. Add to that, getting a loaded pistol pressed against my head by an irate Libyan soldier, and I thought my life would end at that particular moment, only to be marched outside with about six other guys and lined up against the wall by soldiers carrying rifles – and that's when I did think I was out of here, but no, still here

 

Then there was Nigeria at the end of the Biafran war which was an absolute pigsty, and when we ran out of food on the rig we were eating the fish we caught, some of which were awful, only to get the delivery of food thrown on the back of supply boat and covered in a canvas, and being at sea in that heat for a number of days, so you can imagine the state of the food.

 

There was some meat which was supposedly "steak" but looked nothing like a steak at all of any description, and the meat was strange and sort of stringy, and when I commented on the fact that it looked nothing like any piece of meat I had ever seen, the suggestion was made that we were eating the locals who had died when the government starved out the south-eastern state, and I wouldn't have put it past them, because the place was a complete and utter nightmare.

 

I've got loads of escapades in my travels, including working on a construction platform offshore Norway in the freezing cold, where the ice froze on the side of the rig making it lean to one side, which was quite nerve wracking when the wind got up and made the thing sway.

 

Often thought about writing a book, and maybe I'll get round to it, but then again there would be lots of these sort of tomes out there I suppose, so maybe I'll give it a miss and concentrate on my red wine!
 

[off road pat]

4 hours ago, FarangFB said:

And Rio was way safer back in the 80s when Rooster had his experience. 

 

Brazil might look appealing from afar, but once you're in there you will have to deal with lots of issues that you never had to worry about in Thailand.

 

- Crime. Not just a petty snatch theft, but actual life threating (knife/gun) situations and even kidnapping. Criminals there will study your routine and find the best moment/place to act.

- Inefficiency/bureaucracy . Thought some Thai govt offices are slow and difficult? Now imagine them being a lot more slow, unwilling, grumpy and zero English. On top of everything the places are more crowded, harder to park and much longer queues.

 

- Renting a property is a legal nightmare. Brazilian law gives the tenant too many rights (almost impossible to evict someone in the short term) and it forces landlords to demand contracts that have difficult requirements even if you're a Brazilian with a job. They usually require a "fiador" which is a person that will be responsible for paying if you default.

- Slow service and unwillingness to sell. Some supermarkets for example, huge lines at the counters and the cashiers working snail-paced. Or going to a clothes shop and the seller talks to you like you're being a nuisance. I took a Thai lady to Brazil and she was amazed in a clothes shop and told me "look like this lady not want to sell to us"

- Traffic. Large cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo will have traffic congestions every day of the week, maybe except Sundays. Imagine the Bangkok traffic but with more bitter people, aggressive bikers (don't even dream of hitting one accidentally), beggars and the occasional crime as well if you're not in a bulletproof car.

- Society parasites: be hassled and ripped off in every corner. In Sao Paulo for example, be ready to pay the watcher (flanelinha) upfront if you park your car on a PUBLIC street to protect your car from himself. But even paying him doesn't mean he will be responsible for anything if someone else messes up your car.

- Large areas of main cities are off-limits. Rio has absolutely massive favelas that can neighbour high end areas, one wrong turn and you're taking serious risks, some favelas are guarded by teenagers with rifles that might shoot anything looking suspicious like a lost car with a gps-induced route mistake.  Sao Paulo has less favelas but a large portion of the city center looks like a zombie apocalypse movie, with drug addicted people and armed dealers literally blocking many roads. They wont shoot you on sight because you might be a buyer, but not a pleasant sight (google cracolandia).

- some things are crazy expensive. For example electronics, try to buy an iphone and you'll see that it's the most expensive in the world.

Brazil has it's plus side also, there are nice places, beautiful beaches, excellent resorts and the food is amazing, nowhere in the world the pizza is as good as in Sao Paulo, and from Sao Paulo you can drive a couple hours to the north and enjoy a weekend with a cool mountain climate or to the south and have a beach. People can be very nice if you're in the right circles. The currency is ruined making it quite cheap for foreigners.

Thanks for sharing you're knowledge of Brazil. It is very interesting. I googled Cracolandia !? crazy !!! It really looks like a zombie movie !

 

[Grusa]

@rooster, I can only hope you are fully vaccinated.

Not against Covid, but against lead poisoning.

Because you are for sure making yourself a target!

 

(I'm not sure if you can vaccinate against concrete boots)

[Thingamabob]

Very enjoyable piece Rooster. Rings a lot of bells. For myself, aged 80 and still happily married to a Thai lady for over 30 years, Thailand is better than anywhere else I've been. Taiwan runs it close though.

[steven100]

maybe you should have tried Vietnam or Korea or similar and not South America. 

[Mike KIWI]

Moved back to New Zealand to put my son and daughter into school. NZ is lost.  Lasted 5 years and just returned this week. 

[Mark mark]

3 hours ago, Nip said:

Nurse increase Ting tong Marks medicine dosage and engage the brakes on his wheel chair. Then again maybe decrease it? 

Well yes !!! If it only was that easy !!! .... Here in Australia ... "The Lucky Country" ??? You would just get ramped !!! ... left in the ambulance on the drive through, for several Hours !!! ... and a Nurse to increase your medication !!!  (Which I am not on) !!! ... Well do not even think about it .... mental health patients ! Like real ones !!! Just get told to go home, or back on to the street, ... and wait !!! ... Like for 3 days !!! ... As the mental health beds are ALL just totally and chockablock full here !!! ...

 

Like well ... just go back out and die out in to the street somewhere !!! ??? .... Like it is 8 Months delay to see a government provided Councilor !!! .... So well, God ! I hope that there really is NOT something wrong with you !!!... Like and you wonder why I might be just a little bit Anxious !!! being 66, ... and not actually owning my own house !!!

 

Yes it is easy when you are young, and are never going to die !!! ... Riding on the roof of Trains and busses, India !!! ... Old Kashmire ... Climbed up to 16,000 Ft with a broken pair of sunnies held on to my face with a boot lace !!! and 2 pairs of socks on my hands as gloves !!! .... Fell of the House boat in to the river Jelum and well lost the fellows Bucket !!! but was luckily rescued !!! Liek "Charos Man" !!! ??? 

 

And I did the Khmer rouge plagued Batembang to Phnom pen only 9 hrs. late train, with the flat cat in front of the Loco, to trigger all of the land mines without taking the engine out !!! ... and half of the illegally cut tropical rain forest in the Carriage, and much more on the totally destroyed roof, which let the tropical rain in … and in our back carriage ... a motorized Jinker deposited there, filling the isle up to about the top of all of the seats !!! after it caught us up on a straight !!! …

 

…  With these 2 synchronized old women, telling me that I really should have gone in a Taxi !!! and not on the train ... and why "Well maybe be danger” ... and no one would sit with me, just to prove that they thought this also !!!  ... Like they quite obviously did not want to get shot as well if the good Old KR Boys paid us a visit en Transit !!! ...

 

But an Old man sang a song that basically was saying "Thank You For Coming" !!! ... only ever repeated by a woman, on the Basque train in northern Spain for me !!! ... "Thanks for coming to see our land" !!! 

 

... And then a guy caught my face with his torch when they were unloading the wood, just outside of Phnom Pen, and shouts out "SPY" … and well yes !!! I got my head back inside the carriage Quick smart !!!

 

 ... Check point Charlie ? ... The Old East, ... Chalchescos Communistic Romania, ... sleeping out in a tent, ... hitched a ride with an American guy in a beat up old BM, who had driven down there, to rescue his cousin who was on a fake tourist trip !!! from the Old East, before the wall had come down !!!... ...  As so many other East Germans were doing at that time, to the point that it was debatable whether it was Them ? or the Polish Solidarity ? ... or the Old ladies that stood in front of the tanks out side the Vilnus TV station, as they announced their independence, and then the Russian tankies, realizing that they had just crushed 12 Old ladies with Pitch forks and bits of wood !!! ... All decided that they would not be very popular that day, !!! ... So they just all went home, ... and then left Lithuania permanently !!! ??? ...

 

Like the best Tourist spot in Vilnus except for the Frak Zappa memorial I suppose ..... Yes I wonder if it was that, that actually DID bring that very VERY Inhumane wall down !!! ... Like I nearly cried when I saw that happening !!! AT LAST !!!

 

Yes And from Kass Yougoslavia, ... take him back through Austria and in to Asylum in Germany !!! … And well all over the old east at that time,... the Securetate did not Really know we were there, as well, I was with a Japanese, so they all thought that we were Gypsies !!! ... Right !!! ...

 

Like I did all of that !!! ... and never thought that I was going to die !!!

 

But now, I know that yes, I AM going to die ... Skin Cancer ? Brain Cancer ? Or a heart attack ? ... I will go for cancer I think ! ??? ...

 

Yes, how many Old men leave Thailand when they are old, and start losing their health ! ? … Like it DOES happen to you, you know !!! ... If you live long enough to lose it, just slowly, I suppose ....

 

... How many of then actually just go back home to their own Home countries !!! ??? Like the Go Fund me ... sorry but, ...“Life was NOT, always that much fun” brigade !!! ... ??? … I reckon about 80% from the ones that I have seen do go home eventually ... if they can !!! ??? …

 

So well I am still here … back at Home ... not in a wheel chair yet !!! … But well I had to buy a walker, that I really did not need !!! in order to get them to let me out of Hospital, when I DID Unfortunately end up in there ... and cheers Fellas, and have another one !!! ... …. But well Yes ALSO watch it !!! ...

 

But I still want to get back in to Thailand !!! and have another go at it !!! … Hitch Hike all the way from Singapore up to Bangkok ??? … Well not anymore !!! ... It is really hot if you have to walk over the causeway right !!! ... And through the now urban sprawl of Malaysian towns !!!

 

… Mark mark MARK !!!

Edited October 31, 2021 by Mark mark
Tidied it up

[unblocktheplanet]

I really liked the bit suggesting the cremation of the Minister of Tourism!

[rumak]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

But taxpayers? People who have lived in Thailand, work here, raise families, contribute to the economy, have long term visas? It may not be a huge sum of money but 200 baht when the wife is 40 baht is galling. I wouldn’t pay.

There you go,  talking about all the whinging ( i think that british for whining, no )  usual expats who have nothing else to do but complain, complain,  com........Oh !  wait a second.   you are talking about YOURSELF !   5555        

Its ok roosie ,   we are all allowed a little outrage now and then.    Just be careful you don't get the nickname  Kee Bon !

 

[rumak]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

But do I see so much that needs to be put right about Thailand?

After years of bashing anyone that had a complaint about the way things are going.........

 

Nice to see you stepped out of your condo ,  gone through your tunnel vision...... and come out the other end.    " i see the light ! "

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

explored Brazil once for four weeks.left early for final week in thailand !

explored India once for four weeks. left one week ealy back to uk.

worked and travelled in many places. thailand remains the best despite the familiar complaints.

i never returned to India or Brazil. my time in lawless <deleted>hole hellish countries long done….

[BostonRob2]

12 minutes ago, rumak said:

There you go,  talking about all the whinging ( i think that british for whining, no )  usual expats who have nothing else to do but complain, complain,  com........Oh !  wait a second.   you are talking about YOURSELF !   5555        

Its ok roosie ,   we are all allowed a little outrage now and then.    Just be careful you don't get the nickname  Kee Bon !

 

Not a chance, my nickname is more like Kee Boy ขี้บ่อย. If the amount of "follow through" is anything to go by. Any idea where you can get adult pampers in Thailand?

[BostonRob2]

40 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

I really liked the bit suggesting the cremation of the Minister of Tourism

I think that should be creation. Pipat should just retire - going up a chimney seems a tad excessive. 

[BostonRob2]

6 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

explored Brazil once for four weeks.left early for final week in thailand !

explored India once for four weeks. left one week ealy back to uk.

worked and travelled in many places. thailand remains the best despite the familiar complaints.

i never returned to India or Brazil. my time in lawless <deleted>hole hellish countries long done….

I went to India more than a dozen times. Trying to win rupees at Scrabble mostly.

[BostonRob2]

1 hour ago, Mike KIWI said:

Moved back to New Zealand to put my son and daughter into school. NZ is lost.  Lasted 5 years and just returned this week. 

Do you get a Medal of Honour for lasting so long? ????

[BostonRob2]

2 hours ago, Grusa said:

@rooster, I can only hope you are fully vaccinated.

Not against Covid, but against lead poisoning.

Because you are for sure making yourself a target!

 

(I'm not sure if you can vaccinate against concrete boots)

DOnt worry about Rooster, he's got friends in high places. A mate of his was an astronaut. 

[BostonRob2]

3 hours ago, rott said:

What about the neighbouring Spanish speaking countries, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, are they any better. 

I agree with the sentiment that Thailand is still a good place to live, but there is always that bit of uncertainty about the future which has you keeping an eye open for a plan B

I'm nearing plan Z, it's a worry.

[BostonRob2]

3 hours ago, Clydesdale said:

Don't bother writing the book. Three pages of A4 will be quite sufficient.

Just read the foreword. 

[BostonRob2]

4 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

Well said.

 

I would buy your book, but spend at least a year or two on it so it is memorable and worth keeping. Remember we all want details, juicy details!

 

Once you've done that you should try your hand at some fiction set in Thailand.

Thanks for the advice. It's all in my head so shouldn't take too long. I'll try fiction after as you suggest. It'll doubtless be crime fiction based in Thailand. Stay tuned! ????

[BostonRob2]

5 hours ago, Mywayboy said:

Sounds like my life story.

Great reading.

We all come out the other side with a few Bruises.

Thanks. I am glad when my readers see themselves in my ramblings. Makes it all worthwhile.

[BostonRob2]

6 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

For an unprofessionell not too bad today

Praise indeed!

 

BTW is unprofessionell a woman called Nell who was not very good at her job?

[nahkit]

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

But do I see so much that needs to be put right about Thailand?

 

Of course I do.

 

You're lucky in that you can post that freely on here, 99% of us would face the ridiculous "go home if you don't like it" response if we posted something similar.

 

I love living here but it's far from perfect, particularly when it comes to the unelected leader and his cronies.

[Albert Zweistein]

8 hours ago, FarangFB said:

And Rio was way safer back in the 80s when Rooster had his experience. 

 

Brazil might look appealing from afar, but once you're in there you will have to deal with lots of issues that you never had to worry about in Thailand.

 

- Crime. Not just a petty snatch theft, but actual life threating (knife/gun) situations and even kidnapping. Criminals there will study your routine and find the best moment/place to act.

- Inefficiency/bureaucracy . Thought some Thai govt offices are slow and difficult? Now imagine them being a lot more slow, unwilling, grumpy and zero English. On top of everything the places are more crowded, harder to park and much longer queues.

 

- Renting a property is a legal nightmare. Brazilian law gives the tenant too many rights (almost impossible to evict someone in the short term) and it forces landlords to demand contracts that have difficult requirements even if you're a Brazilian with a job. They usually require a "fiador" which is a person that will be responsible for paying if you default.

- Slow service and unwillingness to sell. Some supermarkets for example, huge lines at the counters and the cashiers working snail-paced. Or going to a clothes shop and the seller talks to you like you're being a nuisance. I took a Thai lady to Brazil and she was amazed in a clothes shop and told me "look like this lady not want to sell to us"

- Traffic. Large cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo will have traffic congestions every day of the week, maybe except Sundays. Imagine the Bangkok traffic but with more bitter people, aggressive bikers (don't even dream of hitting one accidentally), beggars and the occasional crime as well if you're not in a bulletproof car.

- Society parasites: be hassled and ripped off in every corner. In Sao Paulo for example, be ready to pay the watcher (flanelinha) upfront if you park your car on a PUBLIC street to protect your car from himself. But even paying him doesn't mean he will be responsible for anything if someone else messes up your car.

- Large areas of main cities are off-limits. Rio has absolutely massive favelas that can neighbour high end areas, one wrong turn and you're taking serious risks, some favelas are guarded by teenagers with rifles that might shoot anything looking suspicious like a lost car with a gps-induced route mistake.  Sao Paulo has less favelas but a large portion of the city center looks like a zombie apocalypse movie, with drug addicted people and armed dealers literally blocking many roads. They wont shoot you on sight because you might be a buyer, but not a pleasant sight (google cracolandia).

- some things are crazy expensive. For example electronics, try to buy an iphone and you'll see that it's the most expensive in the world.

Brazil has it's plus side also, there are nice places, beautiful beaches, excellent resorts and the food is amazing, nowhere in the world the pizza is as good as in Sao Paulo, and from Sao Paulo you can drive a couple hours to the north and enjoy a weekend with a cool mountain climate or to the south and have a beach. People can be very nice if you're in the right circles. The currency is ruined making it quite cheap for foreigners.

"Looks like this lady not want to sell to us" I have the same feeling in Thailand nowadays. Staff to busy with their smartphone.

[SiSePuede419]

16 hours ago, rooster59 said:

It may not be a huge sum of money but 200 baht when the wife is 40 baht is galling. I wouldn’t pay. 

Says the person who bragged about going to a horse racing track, which must be one of the more stupid ways to lose money on the planet. ????

[Mike KIWI]

11 hours ago, BostonRob2 said:

Do you get a Medal of Honour for lasting so long? ????

I actually didnt mind it for me but our government is hell bent on handing over power to the indigenous by 2040. They are teaching white kids they are privileged and non white kids they are born with a disadvantage. Its all hard to believe.

[1FinickyOne]

21 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Then she mentioned the Big C word.

That usually means to me 'bring a book, we are going shopping'...

 

interesting post... - - my first time here in 1974 - I remember some young lady working at a travel agent telling me that Thailand is the Brazil of Asia... 

 

 

[xylophone]

14 hours ago, Mike KIWI said:

Moved back to New Zealand to put my son and daughter into school. NZ is lost.  Lasted 5 years and just returned this week. 

So sorry to hear that Mike Kiwi, as I often have thoughts of returning to Godzone, but then sanity prevails and I remember my last visit back a few years ago and it was not the same place I left, but I consoled myself with the fact that everything changes so I could get used to it.

 

Now I get reports from friends in NZ, as well as reading the NZ Herald, and the country is being ruined, more so by the current Labour government than anything else and I just can't believe that it is going so far left, and a cartoon I saw just a short while ago summed it up and it went something like this: – "Advice to children. Work hard and long and pay your taxes......so that the government can pay the beneficiaries more".

 

There has always been class of people in NZ who just do not want to work and previous governments have always been too soft on them, but this one seems to have taken it to the extreme.

 

I also noticed on my last visit how prices had skyrocketed, and especially those of houses, so people trying to get on the housing ladder with their first house, are pretty well stuffed.

 

I've been here now for 15 years, so will probably see out my time here, because despite all of my grumbles, life isn't so bad here, and my plan B of returning to NZ, seems to have fallen by the wayside.

 

Good luck with your move back here, and at least you tried, and that's all one can ask.