34 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

I don't remember there being G-strings.

I never ventured upstairs, too many scams reported 😁

The whole world has changed a lot this century. 9/11, gfc, covid, wars. Technology. You can't fight it. Just embrace it. Still there is some old world charm around if you go look for it.

19 hours ago, Celsius said:

Pattaya and Bangkok look like Zanzibar after covid. If you say Thailand hasn't changed you need to have your head examined.

In 2028 I was set to return to Bangkok with wifey. I think I have a better idea. Move to KL. Cheap world class food, cheap rentals, cheap hotels, cheap everything. If wifey wants to visit her parents it's a short 2 hour flight. I am also considering Osaka 6 months a year.

Yes, but there was something the other day in the news about Malaysia tightening up on its long-stay crowd. You may wish to look for that. Might not affect you though.

On 3/28/2026 at 3:26 PM, KhunLA said:

Neither, I'm the same, as is TH. TH upped their infrastructure, but the rest is the same.

Re infrastructure upgrades, many have often said Thailand is just Cambodia with a shiny capital city centre, shopping malls and rapid transit. Get outside of the city into 'bannock' and not a whole lot looks different (IMO). Poverty still very apparent. People getting by day to day with peasant farming still a large way of life for the large majority there. The retail shop owners in those places seem to be primarily the grandchildren of Chinese migrants. The only ones who had any capital I guess.

Clear as day that Thailand has changed.. deluded to think otherwise.

Yes, people do change over time also, but many that are arriving now are interacting with a very different Thailand to how it was 20 or even 10 years ago.

Thailand is still a good deal if you meet the requirements that never used to exist, but it is not even close to the deal it was back in the day. Having said that, the US and Europe are also now a joke too compared to a similar timeline.

As they say, "No place for old men" unless rich, and many populations are turning hostile to immigration of any type due to the abuse that has happened.

31 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Re infrastructure upgrades, many have often said Thailand is just Cambodia with a shiny capital city centre, shopping malls and rapid transit. Get outside of the city into 'bannock' and not a whole lot looks different (IMO). Poverty still very apparent. People getting by day to day with peasant farming still a large way of life for the large majority there. The retail shop owners in those places seem to be primarily the grandchildren of Chinese migrants. The only ones who had any capital I guess.

Not sure about your peasant farming, being the large majority as it was in the past. 25 yrs since I arrived, and it was much like that in the first village I lived in. 2 generations later, and they upped themselves on the ladder. Quite the transition.

Not middle class, but not peasant farmer either. Went from owning small tractor and couple motor bikes, sharing one house with 3 generations, to decent 2nd hand truck, if not a new one. Older ones still farm, but now that land is worth millions of baht. Co-op with other farmers for the planting & harvesting, as lots of the kids don't come back to help.

Good part due to premiership of Thaksin Shinawatra's initiatives for universal healthcare, and implementing several microcredit and debt relief programs aimed at stimulating the grassroots economy. Why he was loved by the 'grassroots' voters come election time. Only time the govt reached out with any assistance.

That and the kids, finding opportunities outside the villages, at metros and even overseas employment. As stated, if not coming back to help, sent money.

2 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Not sure about your peasant farming, being the large majority as it was in the past. 25 yrs since I arrived, and it was much like that in the first village I lived in. 2 generations later, and they upped themselves on the ladder. Quite the transition.

Not middle class, but not peasant farmer either. Went from owning small tractor and couple motor bikes, sharing one house with 3 generations, to decent 2nd hand truck, if not a new one. Older ones still farm, but now that land is worth millions of baht. Co-op with other farmers for the planting & harvesting, as lots of the kids don't come back to help.

Good part due to premiership of Thaksin Shinawatra's initiatives for universal healthcare, and implementing several microcredit and debt relief programs aimed at stimulating the grassroots economy. Why he was loved by the 'grassroots' voters come election time. Only time the govt reached out with any assistance.

That and the kids, finding opportunities outside the villages, at metros and even overseas employment. As stated, if not coming back to help, sent money.

Ehh, that is not progress, that is decline over a period of 25 years. Vietnam changed to 3-4X output per rai land in just the past 5 years alone.

The living standard in the sense you mention has gone up anywhere, even in africa. This is effectively nothing different than Cambodia. The dollar figures are skewed with the richest on GDP per capita and secondly the Cambodian buys more with fewer dollars.

I'd even argue that the average Cambodian guy today has more beer money. I doubt most even have a idea of how Phnom Penh looks like today, it is entirely different than even just a few years ago already.

1 minute ago, BuffaloRider said:

Ehh, that is not progress, that is decline over a period of 25 years. Vietnam changed to 3-4X output per rai land in just the past 5 years alone.

The living standard in the sense you mention has gone up anywhere, even in africa.

I thought the topic was TH, not economic comparisons with other countries. And Africa, really, where most of the UN aid goes. Might want to rethink that one.

Also not declining in TH, according to Wiki ...

... "Thai rice yields have generally increased over the long term, with production rising from 35 million to roughly 59 million rai between the 1950s and 1980s and continuing to trend upward. Production has roughly tripled in total paddy output over recent decades, reaching about 25 million tons as of 2022, transforming the country into a leading global exporter." ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_Thailand#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20Thailand%20was,labor%20between%20farmers%20was%20common.

9 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I thought the topic was TH, not economic comparisons with other countries. And Africa, really, where most of the UN aid goes. Might want to rethink that one.

You have to have your head 10 meters deep in the mud, the topic being TH does not change one item or it's relevance. That applies just as much, if not even more in that case, since they had both 4-5 decades of tourism to learn english, to change education and to improve farming and economics. As i said clearly with one word; on 25 years that is decline, not progress.

Maybe 10-20 dozen families made progress but def not Thais themselves. In fact even the billionaires in Thailand are mostly losing money since a decade.

13 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I thought the topic was TH, not economic comparisons with other countries. And Africa, really, where most of the UN aid goes. Might want to rethink that one.

Also not declining in TH, according to Wiki ...

... "Thai rice yields have generally increased over the long term, with production rising from 35 million to roughly 59 million rai between the 1950s and 1980s and continuing to trend upward. Production has roughly tripled in total paddy output over recent decades, reaching about 25 million tons as of 2022, transforming the country into a leading global exporter." ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_Thailand#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20Thailand%20was,labor%20between%20farmers%20was%20common.

I don't know where you get that BS from, a statistic from the 50s to the 80s lol. You are aware it is 2026 right? LOL. There has been zero progress since, hence we still have immigrations laws dating back to that era too.

1 minute ago, BuffaloRider said:

I don't know where you get that BS from, a statistic from the 50s to the 80s lol. You are aware it is 2026 right? LOL. There has been zero progress since, hence we still have immigrations laws dating back to that era too.

Reading comprehension ... "and continuing to trend upward. Production has roughly tripled in total paddy output over recent decades, reaching about 25 million tons as of 2022"

Again, ... "Have you changed… or has Thailand?

You may want to start a new thread ... "Comparisons between TH & VN & Africa, progressing or falling behind?" ...

8 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

6 children, 3 mothers

They all are looked after well.

I've been working on offshore drilling rigs for decades, I have too much money, I spoil all my partners to death, they enjoy it, I enjoy their company.

I have lots of haters here, your comment, nothing new.

I'm living the dream

How are the fatherless kids doing?

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Had to fulfill that 2 garment requirement, shoes and Gstring, while shaking on stage and serving suds. Just lovely

OK, a couple things have changed 🙄

You did that.....respect!!

Both have changed.

6 hours ago, emptypockets said:

How are the fatherless kids doing?

How are my children fatherless, did I pass away?

20 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Is KL cheaper?

What about the visa in LK?

14 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

As long as you're spending time with those kids you're doing the most important thing.

Children need a dad more than anything else in life until they leave the house. A married partner is number one, the children two.

The reason most children go haywire is an absent or abusive and neglective father.

I work offshore, on a rotation, 28 day on, 28 day off, I'm away from my family one month at a time.

You'll find most of the criminals in our prisons come from families who have parents unemployed on welfare at home with their children 24/7, 365 days of the year.
These parents spend all their time with their children.

I'd like to be at home, spending more time with my children but I must work abroad.

9 hours ago, emptypockets said:

How are the fatherless kids doing?

Doesn't make sense ,but as your old and uneducated you can be excused .you really should be in a nursing home, unless ...your already there!

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I work offshore, on a rotation, 28 day on, 28 day off, I'm away from my family one month at a time.

You'll find most of the criminals in our prisons come from families who have parents unemployed on welfare at home with their children 24/7, 365 days of the year.
These parents spend all their time with their children.

I'd like to be at home, spending more time with my children but I must work abroad.

Understandable, as many have to leave for work awhile, so when you come back, that's your time with the children, as they're more important than a girlfriend, especially not seeing them that long. Criminals come from families where the children have absent parents, meaning most of the time, or present and abusive or neglective.

Quality time can mean a few days a week, full time, so they'll learn how to relate to a man, seeing their father should be the most important man in their lives, especially from birth until they leave the house. A mother isn't a substitute for a father, even though she's also needed.

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Doesn't make sense ,but as your old and uneducated you can be excused .you really should be in a nursing home, unless ...your already there!

How can you tell if someone is old and uneducated in this forum? Unless of course they've said they're old and they constantly say things that would have you make that assumption, like always assuming things about others for one. Going up to strangers in bathrooms and asking them personal questions could also be looked at as someone with little common sense, which is a form of intelligence. I'm guessing you might have some other's here personal information on that clipboard, so I was just wondering.

3 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

How can you tell if someone is old and uneducated in this forum?

I was told that's the main demographic.

2 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I was told that's the main demographic.

2 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Most are older, from middle aged to 90 but only a few here seem to be uneducated.

8 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Most are older, from middle aged to 90 but only a few here seem to be uneducated.

Oh OK thanks, I'm just going by a statistic I read

2 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Doesn't make sense ,but as your old and uneducated you can be excused .you really should be in a nursing home, unless ...your already there!

You stick to mopping and I'll stick to engineering.

6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

How are my children fatherless, did I pass away?

The father is either present in their lives or not. Happens a lot in the case of divorce where the father doesn't spend any time with the kids. For all intents and purposes they are fatherless.

But I think you knew what I meant.

Thailand def changed not the people. For a while I thought it was covid or just me getting older but then right after covid traveling revealed all was still the same in e.g. Vietnam etc. People even drink beers from as early as 9-10AM on the beaches, have fun, you meet constant interesting characters, there is this 24/7 vibes, as well costs that match the expectations. All this is basically summarizing Thailand up to 10-15 years ago when they started erasing all this one by one. Street food being a huge factor for sure.

The irony is that they stated at that time that they started to do these things to get more quality tourists, while the opposite happened. All the 'quality' tourists were the ones they already had at that time, and they moved on.

They also stated that this would improve jobs and wages, overall economy, the opposite happened too. They also said to get rid of corruption, for a while maybe, now it's a hydra with 3 heads that is even worse.

On 3/28/2026 at 9:09 AM, Merlin said:

has the place changed, or have I?

Do you still live the same way… or maybe moved on from it?

Sounds like you have changed – we do change over time, but it's very individual – and so does the environment, we cannot live in the past.

I've been living here permently since september 2005 – so, about 20 years – and I still live pretty much the same way. My only major change is that I now own a house since 15 years, insted of renting a bungalow. This however, was a huge change for my Thai-home lifestyle to the better, I dine more at home than in restaurants.

I still enjoy being out in the nightlife two or three times a week – same as before – but yes, the nightlife has change. The music is getting better and the sound equipment also – actually much better and no bad distortion – the light and general entertainment has also improved. The venues are also much better than before, like the small bar in a hut on the beach now becoming a huge resort with combined cool pool- and beach-parties. Where I live there are little less girlie bars now than before – probably increased number of freelancers – but more trendy pubs and nightclubs. Some of the former beer bars have changed to food stalls, and they seems to be more seccesfull than some the remaining lady-bars. The local free-flying birds in the nightlife has changed, meaning new birds are are constantly flying in, which might be the same all over in Land-of-Smiles. However, if you don't appreciate too much of changes, there are still some remaining of the old birds, just 10, 15 or 20 years older...

About prices: The consumer price index has not raised more over 20 years in Thailand than in many other places. Compared to my Scandinavian home country the index is a bit under 50% up both places, so exactly the same and fits quite well with the preferred 2% average price increase per year; with that prices should double in 36 years. So, Thailand is generally still about as cheap as before compared to living costs in other countries. But I presume the ladies of the nightlife has raised their price to a double up or more. From that point of view Thailand might not be as cheap as before, as their costs might not be included in the average consumer price index...😄

17 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I thought the topic was TH, not economic comparisons with other countries. And Africa, really, where most of the UN aid goes. Might want to rethink that one.

Also not declining in TH, according to Wiki ...

... "Thai rice yields have generally increased over the long term, with production rising from 35 million to roughly 59 million rai between the 1950s and 1980s and continuing to trend upward. Production has roughly tripled in total paddy output over recent decades, reaching about 25 million tons as of 2022, transforming the country into a leading global exporter." ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_production_in_Thailand#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20Thailand%20was,labor%20between%20farmers%20was%20common.

Part of my Thai family here own many rai and farm rice. I asked them last year about the economics of rice farming. Wholesale rice prices have dropped and fertiliser prices have risen so they make no profit - repeat, no profit - but they are grateful that they have a good supply of rice for their personal consumption all year. If it wasn't for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), many farmers would have gone under long ago but that's another story.

Their sons have jobs out of the area and have no intention to be rice farmers. The farmers in our local district (about 15-20 of them) work as a collective at harvest time and I've helped out and noticed that I am one of the youngest there, and I'm now 66.

In 2024 Thailand was the second largest rice exporter, behind India. In 2025, Thailand was in third place, behind Vietnam. Thai rice farming doesn't have a good future unless something drastic happens.

4 hours ago, emptypockets said:

The father is either present in their lives or not. Happens a lot in the case of divorce where the father doesn't spend any time with the kids. For all intents and purposes they are fatherless.

But I think you knew what I meant.

Absent father would be a better description. In that case, that's probably not the worst thing. What kind of positive influence can such a character provide, other than money?

The nightlife is a very pale shadow of what it was in the1970/1980s, and government and government legislation is less friendly towards foreigners than it was in those days. Food is still good though, and Thai people on the street are still friendly and helpful. Change is inevitable, everywhere, but Thailand is still a good place to live as far as I am concerned. To