Any "This is Thailand" Stories?

[KannikaP]

56 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

But I'm here, my post referred to this morning 13th Oct.

Not lucky then. It is FRIDAY 13th

[2baht]

Just now, 1FinickyOne said:

I was hoping for a punchline too?? 

OMG! Imagine going to a stationary shop and not finding envelopes, what more does he need to say?

[safarimike11]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

First photo is an electricity pole when they first fitted it end of September. I went to PEA and asked for it to be straightened. Second photo shows it now, after the 'repair'

(Only read this if you don't have a life)... I live on an estate (Thai = muban) - not in Pattaya - where there are approx. 200 houses (always 15 or so vacant/up for sale/repossessed) and I happen to be one of only 2 Farangs living here. Over my back wall is another - older - muban. There is a street running up (90 degrees) to my back wall. The house on the right (looking from my house) used to be empty but a few years ago a family moved in. The husband was the type of bloke that is always fixing things, hence I named him the "forever handyman". He was constantly making improvements to the outside of the house, which usually involved hammer-drilling into concrete. He had an early/mid 90s Volvo saloon that never started first time - but did so the second time. It sounded like he used to get frustrated with this because the second time he would rev the nuts off it for about 1/2 a minute to vent his anger. Further to this, he was constantly "fixing" it. One day, I actually observed him taking off both back doors and then putting them back on (twice); the front doors escaped intact. He installed a second-hand air conditioner for the upstairs bedroom, with the compressor (obviously) located on an outside wall. The problem with this was that it dripped down onto the concrete below, which would keep me awake at night, so I bought a length of (1/3" I guess) plastic pipe and handed it to him over the wall: problem solved. Last year he installed a water pump for the house, located downstairs on the concrete on an outside wall. This unfortunately didn't come with a pressure vessel, hence it start/stopped constantly and mad an awful noise to boot. This must have been something he got from a junk yard because it crapped out after a couple of months - not to be replaced. He also installed a water fountain that runs 24/7 and has 25 wind chimes hanging from various spots around his house. On a Sunday afternoon, he once started blasting out what I call SSS of the seventies (sad, slow, sh*t). I therefore moved my wife's CD played with massive speakers upstairs and placed it on a table by a window facing his house and blasted out my "best of Hawkwind" (70 - 72) selection at full volume; strangely enough, he doesn't do this anymore. There is more, but I will get back to my life.

[NoshowJones]

39 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Have you found any envelopes yet??? ????

I have got some small ones but I want some big ones.

[novacova]

Jekyll Hyde couple in a small village. A weekly occurrence the couple would get drunk and physically fight each, cuts and bruises, which would result in her going out for a walk around the village completely naked. During the day they were always happy together smiling talking with each other, playing cards with the neighbors etc.

[2baht]

Just now, NoshowJones said:

I have got some small ones but I want some big ones.

Did you try a stationary shop?

[NoshowJones]

37 minutes ago, safarimike11 said:

Wot, are you saying that the assistant couldn't even say: "Just moment"?

No one can speak English in my village, maybe apart from "no have".

[NoshowJones]

30 minutes ago, sidjameson said:

How long have you lived in Thailand?

 

 

16 years.

[NoshowJones]

31 minutes ago, ezzra said:

There's someone who has tooooo much free time on their hands and very little usage for it.

what next? how to undo your fly in a hurry?...

What a load of garbage.

[safarimike11]

3 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

No one can speak English in my village, maybe apart from "no have".

So, I take it that "and then" is totally out of the question?

[NoshowJones]

29 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

A4 size Manila ones, or normal letter size.

It is a sticker which the Post Office puts on which determines Air Mail or not. I know, they used to be very thin and blue.

I was at the post office, but there was one of the usual Thai holidays today. This is Thailand, all these holidays.

[NoshowJones]

3 minutes ago, safarimike11 said:

So, I take it that "and then" is totally out of the question?

Yes!

[Jelli]

Anything that goes on in a Thai school. Makes no difference even if farang is managing issue, activity, department all still turns out to be shiTiT

 

Pity the students

[safarimike11]

11 minutes ago, Jelli said:

Anything that goes on in a Thai school. Makes no difference even if farang is managing issue, activity, department all still turns out to be shiTiT

 

Pity the students

I used to work at a Private "EP" (English Programme) school. They ran KG and Pratheom classes. I myself taught Pratheom 5 and 6. I had a friend who was a teacher from South Africa (who was actually a qualified teacher) who was assigned to KG3. Each class had a Thai Homeroom teacher; these were all women and the Farang "teachers" (TIC) just happened to all be males. They recruited various Farang women teachers, but they never seemed to last more than a couple of months. Anyway - to digress, there was a KG English "activity" coming up and the Thai Homeroom teachers each had to put up a sign outside their respective classrooms that stated what their class activity was. I can't remember the exact details, but there was either a spelling or Grammar mistake in the sign the Thai teacher - aligned to my South African mate - placed above her door, so he informed her of this. At the end of the semester, he was shocked to learn that he had been fired; we briefly discussed this and he figured out the reason was for making his Thai associate "lose face", which really is a big deal - kow jai?

[likerdup1]

Realizing there are multitudes of farangs who have lived in Thailand for decades that have never ever bothered to even learn basic Thai.

Chuckling every time I hear a forang speak with his Thai girl friend in broken English thinking this will actually help the communication. I have lived on and off in LOS for 10 years and this is a daily occurence. 7-11, Songtao, BTS whatever!

 

Word of advice. If one decides to live in a country where your native tongue is not widely spoken  you might want to take a few hours a week to take a few languages classes! Rather than sit on a bar stool sit in a class room for a few hours a week!

Making this simple effort could quite possibly save a lot of farangs the anguish of the all the failed marriage stories heard between Thai woman and farangs.

Edited October 13, 2023 by likerdup1

[safarimike11]

47 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

I was at the post office, but there was one of the usual Thai holidays today. This is Thailand, all these holidays.

I have always bought my office supplies: A4 paper, pens, envelopes etc. at a Big C superstore. (Or Office Depot if there are still going).

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I folded up a piece of paper and made as if to put it in an envelope. 

She just shook her head as if to say no.

The day gets more exciting by the minute... 

[jvs]

44 minutes ago, likerdup1 said:

Realizing there are multitudes of farangs who have lived in Thailand for decades that have never ever bothered to even learn basic Thai.

Chuckling every time I hear a forang speak with his Thai girl friend in broken English thinking this will actually help the communication. I have lived on and off in LOS for 10 years and this is a daily occurence. 7-11, Songtao, BTS whatever!

 

Word of advice. If one decides to live in a country where your native tongue is not widely spoken  you might want to take a few hours a week to take a few languages classes! Rather than sit on a bar stool sit in a class room for a few hours a week!

Making this simple effort could quite possibly save a lot of farangs the anguish of the all the failed marriage stories heard between Thai woman and farangs.

In more modern countries the biggest reason for divorce is a lack

of communication,and they speak the same language!

[likerdup1]

1 hour ago, jvs said:

In more modern countries the biggest reason for divorce is a lack

of communication,and they speak the same language!

Interesting, where did you get this statistic? Anyways learning Thai if one plans on living in Thailand has a myriad of obvious benefits that seem to be ignored by the majority of expat farangs. Most important reason. It's respectful to the Thai people.

Edited October 13, 2023 by likerdup1

[Dan O]

Here you go

 

 

[likerdup1]

6 minutes ago, Dan O said:

Here you go

 

 

Hmm, was the electrical code inspector on lunch break that day.. the WHOLE day? LOL!!

[SingAPorn]

A friend who bought a brand new house  from a reputed place in Hua Hin is having a nightmare with all the issues depiste the so called snag list being handed out just after the COVID.

 

By what I understood, the (farang)  developpers mainly try to push to make the buyer shell out more money for "upgrades" and do not respect or seem to care on the initial agreements during the construction.

 

They also can  try to dissuade the owner's claims and say that this or that is not necessary to be replaced, Reactivity can take months before comming over to do the repairs on the snag lists. Never buy or even rent in such places. Obviously all places are not the same. But no point in taking a useless risk with one's life's savings,

[Dan O]

1 minute ago, likerdup1 said:

Hmm, was the electrical code inspector on lunch break that day.. the WHOLE day? LOL!!

That would require one to be employed first

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, 2baht said:

OMG! Imagine going to a stationary shop and not finding envelopes, what more does he need to say?

I stand corrected 

[safarimike11]

2 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

The day gets more exciting by the minute... 

That's just given me an idea...

[chickenslegs]

 

3 hours ago, 2baht said:

Did you try a stationary shop?

As opposed to a moving shop?

 

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the "spelling police" moment)????

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

 

As opposed to a moving shop?

 

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the "spelling police" moment)????

good eye... e for envelope... 

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, safarimike11 said:

That's just given me an idea...

let's hope your brain doesn't explode all over the forum... 

 

but, you do have me curious

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

Realizing there are multitudes of farangs who have lived in Thailand for decades that have never ever bothered to even learn basic Thai.

Chuckling every time I hear a forang speak with his Thai girl friend in broken English thinking this will actually help the communication. I have lived on and off in LOS for 10 years and this is a daily occurence. 7-11, Songtao, BTS whatever!

 

Word of advice. If one decides to live in a country where your native tongue is not widely spoken  you might want to take a few hours a week to take a few languages classes! Rather than sit on a bar stool sit in a class room for a few hours a week!

Making this simple effort could quite possibly save a lot of farangs the anguish of the all the failed marriage stories heard between Thai woman and farangs.

It is quite pathetic and telling regarding those long-timers that haven't bothered acquiring the acclimation skills that should come natural.....

Will always be considered ignorant, unknowledgeable and disconnected Farang.

Unfortunately, reflective of all too many here.  

[Jelli]

14 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

Realizing there are multitudes of farangs who have lived in Thailand for decades that have never ever bothered to even learn basic Thai.

Chuckling every time I hear a forang speak with his Thai girl friend in broken English thinking this will actually help the communication. I have lived on and off in LOS for 10 years and this is a daily occurence. 7-11, Songtao, BTS whatever!

 

Word of advice. If one decides to live in a country where your native tongue is not widely spoken  you might want to take a few hours a week to take a few languages classes! Rather than sit on a bar stool sit in a class room for a few hours a week!

Making this simple effort could quite possibly save a lot of farangs the anguish of the all the failed marriage stories heard between Thai woman and farangs.

Things that have proven issues and obstacles in becoming more proficient in Thai

 

While I have spent the last 15 years in Thailand the 15 before that was spread out living in three other countries with as good or better language skills than my Thai. I've lived in seven countries each no less than 18 months.

 

I'm vested in nothing here other than my wife. No citizenship, not even PR. Grovel for annual extension.

 

You'll never have a meaningful conversation with a Thai other than your partner so it's chit chat and utility

 

My wife had good reason to learn English. Communicate better with me, travel outside Thailand, communicate with my family which she has visited often and in their homes, skill that if she gets retired at 55 (to 60) English is a marketable skill.

 

My Thai is sufficient enough to get most things done. Many Thai too quick to compliment. I'm lost in government offices, hospital, bank but probably be ok if I acquired that vocabulary.

 

Given what's going on in Thailand and in the world it's not implausible we end up back in the US. It would not be my first choice and my wife even sees how broken it is but the world is in a mess and the future is quite uncertain.

 

Finally, going back to my second point. I had a friend that lived in China for years. He was all about China and Chinese culture down to the tea thing. He was a strong hsk3 and believed he could hit 4 - but he bolted. Between the hassles of schools stealing from him, visa hassles, costs with relocation changing jobs and finally just having enough...he left. Every minute of study, every ounce of effort just wasted energy and life.

 

Having said all this I don't disagree with your post. I'm going to regroup and study up again but there will always be limits.

 

I had a good shot at PR due to my job and marriage but at 5 years and 200k this is a silly fool's errand. As for citizenship same story.

 

Everyone has excuses and those are mine

Edited October 14, 2023 by Jelli