5 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Wouldn't that just be your opinion?

Opinions is what we really only have as humans.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Opinions is what we really only have as humans.

Along with facts of course. What one thinks a certain food is great, others might think is tasteless or bland.

15 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Along with facts of course. What one thinks a certain food is great, others might think is tasteless or bland.

Fun comes from opinions. Facts produce no joy. Happiness is just an opinion.

5 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Fun comes from opinions. Facts produce no joy. Happiness is just an opinion.

Fun comes from doing things you enjoy, also with others you like to be around. Facts make a person safe while enjoying activities. Happiness is a feeling. if a person says they're happy, and they believe it, it's not an opinion but a fact.

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

Fun comes from doing things you enjoy, also with others you like to be around. Facts make a person safe while enjoying activities. Happiness is a feeling. if a person says they're happy, and they believe it, it's not an opinion but a fact.

Enjoying things is an opinion based on past experiences. Happiness is an illusion in the mind. When you die the feeling no longer exists but the body does. One day you are happy, illusion. The next day unhappy, illusion. Your body is the same.

9 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Enjoying things is an opinion based on past experiences. Happiness is an illusion in the mind. When you die the feeling no longer exists but the body does. One day you are happy, illusion. The next day unhappy, illusion. Your body is the same.

So if you enjoy something, it's only an opinion? I would think it was a fact, unless you don't trust your own thinking. Happiness is actually a feeling, also real, unless again you can't trust how you think. People have mood swings, normal ones without depression or other mental illnesses, because of hormones, stress, lack of sleep, over thinking, fear and sometimes a bad diet.Feelings come and go like the wind. No one is happy all the time, and if you believe in God, there's a reason for this. When you die, your body turns to dust, but the mind goes on to better things, with a possible perfect body in heaven.

i was 20 years younger, so the girls i was dating were 20 years younger. and i was getting 76 baht to the GBP. better or worse? better i reckon.

On 2/14/2026 at 7:20 AM, Harrisfan said:

How so? The average wage was less 20 years ago. Plane tickets have come down in price. I pay less now than 20 years ago. Food prices have risen 20 baht which adjusted for inflation is no different.

Very wrong, I used to pay around 8000 French francs for my return economy flight in the 80s which would be around 2000 euros . Food was a bit cheaper, and better, as it was fresh, not packeted. Thailand was fantastic, there was no in your face prostitution outside of Patpong , even then it was upstairs. Girls were natural, roads were less dangerous, the Thais were accepting . Now there’s a lot of anger about. I’m not complaining , I get on with everything and everyone. Phuket was exotic and beautiful, now it’s a dump. Luckily I still have my friends, fantastic memories and photos.

1 minute ago, geisha said:

Very wrong, I used to pay around 8000 French francs for my return economy flight in the 80s which would be around 2000 euros . Food was a bit cheaper, and better, as it was fresh, not packeted. Thailand was fantastic, there was no in your face prostitution outside of Patpong , even then it was upstairs. Girls were natural, roads were less dangerous, the Thais were accepting . Now there’s a lot of anger about. I’m not complaining , I get on with everything and everyone. Phuket was exotic and beautiful, now it’s a dump. Luckily I still have my friends, fantastic memories and photos.

I'm not French. Patong was no good 20 years ago. Actually find more cheap rooms now due to Agoda.

3 minutes ago, geisha said:

Very wrong, I used to pay around 8000 French francs for my return economy flight in the 80s which would be around 2000 euros . Food was a bit cheaper, and better, as it was fresh, not packeted. Thailand was fantastic, there was no in your face prostitution outside of Patpong , even then it was upstairs. Girls were natural, roads were less dangerous, the Thais were accepting . Now there’s a lot of anger about. I’m not complaining , I get on with everything and everyone. Phuket was exotic and beautiful, now it’s a dump. Luckily I still have my friends, fantastic memories and photos.

I would agree, as I've seen myself it going downhill while living here, along with statements from many both here and from friends about the "good old days". Some of them have been here 20 plus years and others, Thais , had told me before I moved here why they moved to the US and will never go back.

On 2/14/2026 at 1:03 AM, Harrisfan said:

You are 20 years older. You are slower. Less fit. Less atttractive.

Guys in 2006 said it was better in 1986!

If anything its better now cause there's more farang food!

I was here 20 years ago and objectively it was better: and my yardstick would not have been the amount of foreign food or my own age, but that the (known to me) Thais themselves felt better -- which in turn forced even a sourdrop german like me to accept that I could unclench emotionally, just a tiny bit.

People in Thailand were less globally connected (no mobiles!), less indebted (no fancy pickups!), less stuck in the same hamster wheel of having to constantly create money to give to somebody else as we are (incredibly low rents and just driving a moped is dirt-cheap).

As a Thai, you could basically live on a bowl of rice a day and be happy about yourself, because this was the way everybody lived -- and I knew many who were exactly that: simply happy.

A more frugal life, for sure, but also a very uncluttered one. This is where the famous, now extinct Thai smile came from... I have not seen one of those since the century began.

45 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

So if you enjoy something, it's only an opinion? I would think it was a fact, unless you don't trust your own thinking. Happiness is actually a feeling, also real, unless again you can't trust how you think. People have mood swings, normal ones without depression or other mental illnesses, because of hormones, stress, lack of sleep, over thinking, fear and sometimes a bad diet.Feelings come and go like the wind. No one is happy all the time, and if you believe in God, there's a reason for this. When you die, your body turns to dust, but the mind goes on to better things, with a possible perfect body in heaven.

Likes and dislikes are opinions. In my opinion jogging is good. In yours its not. Just opinions. I jogged 8km yesterday would be a fact if true.

Without opinions we would be true buddhists.

So if we change our opinions we enjoy life more or less.

8 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I would agree, as I've seen myself it going downhill while living here, along with statements from many both here and from friends about the "good old days". Some of them have been here 20 plus years and others, Thais , had told me before I moved here why they moved to the US and will never go back.

In 2006 people on Thorntree said it was better in 96 and 86

In 2036 and 2046 people will say it was better in 2026

7 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Likes and dislikes are opinions. In my opinion jogging is good. In yours its not. Just opinions. I jogged 8km yesterday would be a fact if true.

Without opinions we would be true buddhists.

So if we change our opinions we enjoy life more or less.

Likes and dislikes are a person's own feelings, and again, if you can't believe your own thinking, there's a major problem. Happiness is a feeling, and real. I'm not talking about a synthetic feeling gained by smoking weed or having a few beers, but a valid feeling, sober, that has you feeling good. Jogging is okay if your knees are well, If not, walking the same distance is just as good. Exercise boosts metabolism, burns fat, and raises endorphins, all positive things. Not an opinion but a fact.

9 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

In 2006 people on Thorntree said it was better in 96 and 86

Saying things are better or worse are opinions. data shows if things improved or got worse for everyone. Some people can afford things no matter the economy. Most others are affected by it.

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Likes and dislikes are a person's own feelings, and again, if you can't believe your own thinking, there's a major problem. Happiness is a feeling, and real. I'm not talking about a synthetic feeling gained by smoking weed or having a few beers, but a valid feeling, sober, that has you feeling good. Jogging is okay if your knees are well, If not, walking the same distance is just as good. Exercise boosts metabolism, burns fat, and raises endorphins, all positive things. Not an opinion but a fact.

Liking chocolate is an opinion that it tastes nice. Opinions change over time.

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Saying things are better or worse are opinions. data shows if things improved or got worse for everyone. Some people can afford things no matter the economy. Most others are affected by it.

Tech changes

People change

Thailand is just more busy

The local culture is still temples, muay thai and eating.

Some people get more negative as they age. Health, worry, family.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Liking chocolate is an opinion that it tastes nice. Opinions change over time.

If you like chocolate, that's your evidence. If it tastes good to you, it doesn't matter what others say. Your feelings can change over time as can your tastes, but at that time, you liked it so it was a fact at that time. You saying chocolate is the best is your opinion. you saying you like it is a preference, just as you got this from AI,...................It is a "Subjective Fact"

If you say "I like chocolate," that statement is actually a fact—it is true that you enjoy it. However, the reason you like it, or the idea that "chocolate is the best," is an opinion. It is a subjective observation because it is based on your personal experiences and brain chemistry. 

This explains it more, a feeling and not an opinion................happiness

/ˈhæpinɪs/

/ˈhæpinɪs/

IPA guide

Other forms: happinesses

Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can't help but smile. It's the opposite of sadness.

Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness. The "pursuit of happiness" is something this country is based on, and different people feel happiness for different reasons. Whenever doing something causes happiness, people usually want to do more of it. No one ever complained about feeling too much happiness.

Definitions of happiness

1. noun

   state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy

   synonyms: felicity

   see more

2. noun

   emotions experienced when in a state of well-being

6 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

If you like chocolate, that's your evidence. If it tastes good to you, it doesn't matter what others say. Your feelings can change over time as can your tastes, but at that time, you liked it so it was a fact at that time. You saying chocolate is the best is your opinion. you saying you like it is a preference, just as you got this from AI,...................It is a "Subjective Fact"

If you say "I like chocolate," that statement is actually a fact—it is true that you enjoy it. However, the reason you like it, or the idea that "chocolate is the best," is an opinion. It is a subjective observation because it is based on your personal experiences and brain chemistry. 

A prisoner of war who only eats rice can say i like rice now or i hate it and eat it.

You can change your opinion.

4 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

This explains it more, a feeling and not an opinion................happiness

/ˈhæpinɪs/

/ˈhæpinɪs/

IPA guide

Other forms: happinesses

Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can't help but smile. It's the opposite of sadness.

Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness. The "pursuit of happiness" is something this country is based on, and different people feel happiness for different reasons. Whenever doing something causes happiness, people usually want to do more of it. No one ever complained about feeling too much happiness.

Definitions of happiness

1. noun

   state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy

   synonyms: felicity

   see more

2. noun

   emotions experienced when in a state of well-being

Best not chase happiness. Just be happy. Chasing it leads to addictions.

3 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

A prisoner of war who only eats rice can say i like rice now or i hate it and eat it.

You can change your opinion.

You can change how you feel about the rice, as too much of anything gets old over time. If you like it now, it's a fact. If you hate it later, it's a fact.

On 2/14/2026 at 7:03 AM, Harrisfan said:

You are 20 years older. You are slower. Less fit. Less atttractive.

Guys in 2006 said it was better in 1986!

If anything its better now cause there's more farang food!

I don't eat farang food although I understand all other farang can't eat Thai food. Thai food is delicious, cheap and keeps me slim

2006 would be wild years for me. Today, I'm fifteen years married. Not necessarily better, but different.

As for the scene...the women are even less attractive and even older now. I've not been to Pattaya since 09, but I'm guessing the women in the pubs are mid at best and not cheap. Online might be the better venue I've no idea. Being married I certainly can't make a profile an find out. The women on soi 4 are old and fat and those are the sluts in the pubs not the street...all the pubs really everywhere. Fatties.

The price of alcohol is now ridiculous

To wrap this up, I recall very wild nights in Nana and Pattaya 95-2005. From what I see that really cannot be replicated. Maybe with stupid amounts of money.

It was better..you weren't there so you don't know.

Soi zero

Grace

Thermae 1

Clinton Plaza

Beer garden

Soi 22

All the nonsense in Nana, Nana hotel, Walking st...

That's not even bringing up Phnom Penh

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Best not chase happiness. Just be happy. Chasing it leads to addictions.

You don't have to chase or choose it. it comes naturally, as it's a feeling, an emotion, and real.

1 minute ago, Nurf said:

I don't eat farang food although I understand all other farang can't eat Thai food. Thai food is delicious, cheap and keeps me slim

2006 would be wild years for me. Today, I'm fifteen years married. Not necessarily better, but different.

As for the scene...the women are even less attractive and even older now. I've not been to Pattaya since 09, but I'm guessing the women in the pubs are mid at best and not cheap. Online might be the better venue I've no idea. Being married I certainly can't make a profile an find out. The women on soi 4 are old and fat and those are the sluts in the pubs not the street...all the pubs really everywhere. Fatties.

The price of alcohol is now ridiculous

To wrap this up, I recall very wild nights in Nana and Pattaya 95-2005. From what I see that really cannot be replicated. Maybe with stupid amounts of money.

It was better..you weren't there so you don't know.

Soi zero

Grace

Thermae 1

Clinton Plaza

Beer garden

Soi 22

All the nonsense in Nana, Nana hotel, Walking st...

That's not even bringing up Phnom Penh

So seedy areas were better. Maybe. I never liked them.

Just now, Nurf said:

I don't eat farang food although I understand all other farang can't eat Thai food. Thai food is delicious, cheap and keeps me slim

2006 would be wild years for me. Today, I'm fifteen years married. Not necessarily better, but different.

As for the scene...the women are even less attractive and even older now. I've not been to Pattaya since 09, but I'm guessing the women in the pubs are mid at best and not cheap. Online might be the better venue I've no idea. Being married I certainly can't make a profile an find out. The women on soi 4 are old and fat and those are the sluts in the pubs not the street...all the pubs really everywhere. Fatties.

The price of alcohol is now ridiculous

To wrap this up, I recall very wild nights in Nana and Pattaya 95-2005. From what I see that really cannot be replicated. Maybe with stupid amounts of money.

It was better..you weren't there so you don't know.

Soi zero

Grace

Thermae 1

Clinton Plaza

Beer garden

Soi 22

All the nonsense in Nana, Nana hotel, Walking st...

That's not even bringing up Phnom Penh

What things you just listed are facts and not your opinions? Others might think different, as this topic has proven. The only things that are facts are the cost of things in certain places and the wages one receives.

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

So seedy areas were better. Maybe. I never liked them.

Star of light 2

👍👍👍😳

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

What things you just listed are facts and not your opinions? Others might think different, as this topic has proven. The only things that are facts are the cost of things in certain places and the wages one receives.

Well, if you were there in 2015 or 2005 or 1995 we have something to discuss. Otherwise, yotre just annoying me

23 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

The local culture is still temples, muay thai and eating.

You have a clear view of tourist Thailand. But not a clue at all of the real Thailand. Those of us that have been living here with a Thai partner for a while know Thai culture includes so much more than that. Indeed it is fast changing as Thailand's populace continues to grow younger.