Thai Airways Trolley Dolly

[Sing_Sling]

Hmm, met this lovely lady on a flight to Tokyo a few months back and I see her once a month when I get to BKK and when she gets flights to Singapore.

I'm now wondering if I should hand in a transfer request to my company to move to BKK.

Normally I would decide based on my own feelings and experience, but after reading many posts here am not sure about how serious to take this 'jewel of the skies'.

What's the reputation of Thai Airways flighties - are they as bad as the Singaore Airlines girls here?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

girls are girls ...anywhere .

[Sing_Sling]

Thanks Doc, indeed they are - and love them we do, sometimes to our detriment.

Which brings me to my question, perhaps I should have phrased it better - as I have bever met her family or even friends, how accepting would they be of an ang moh (hokkien for farang) boyfriend? I can only compare this with the situation here in Singabore (not misspelled ) where the population is generally quite educated and used to caucasian expats - as this is a business city, therefore the foreigners have a certain social standing.

Thailand is quite different, I believe, in that the scope of foreigners living and visiting are from a quite diverse background.

Am I sounding like a complete prat yet? Have I obfuscated my initial question? That's what you get for working from 07.30 to 21.00 - sigh.

[KevinN]

any kind of a boyfriend is acceptable,,just bring money, and as doc said,,girls will be girls,,I have became quite well acquainted with any number of the female fliers from about all major carriers during my travels around the world, and find them delightful,just like sailors on liberty so to speak.

[Guest IT Manager]

Some animal once said I preferred sailors on leave... no truth to it of course..

nah will leave it at that.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Always trying to enlargen the circle of your friends IT ? Never leave your mates behind.

[Rolling Stone]

Sing IMHO stay in Singapore as living in Thailand is trying to say the least. The country is beautiful, the people are generally some of the nicest you will meet but quality of life is worthless and most would admit it except they overlook the negatives and focus on the positive for their own reasons the most for love. On the surface its nice here but after you are here for a while you will learn that unless you are half-broke the charm goes right out the window.

After judging from the online poll they took here about how much money each spend to live here etc IMHO I feel the majority are here to be with women they could never get at home and the ability to live a lazy life on next to nothing. Singapore on the other hand has a different outlook on expats as the expats are different in more ways than one. My lease is up in July I am gone and will be glad of it, wonderful place is Thailand with so many positives but the negatives out weigh the positives for all except the desperate IMHO.

Keep it real!

[Sing_Sling]

Thanks for your responses - I think . . . .

Rolling Stone, I appreciate the time you put into your response. If I weigh up what I like and what I don't like Singapore vs Thailand, it seems like a question of quantity vs quality.

Here, we have a clean environment (the little that we have), safe streets, clean water, no corruption, everyone speaks english - everything works.

On the downside, it is rather expensive - rent is S$2.6k/month, beer is S$5-10 a glass, food is expensive - everything is imported. Cars are a real bitch, in terms of price - I think the most expensive on-the-road anywhere. Nowhere to drive anyway, except for Malaysia and then you get ripped off by the cops there for being caucasian and having a singapore registered car.

The upside I see in Thailand (and I must admit I only go there once a month for a few days and then stay in a hotel) is that the countryside is beautiful, it's inexpensive and the nightlife is superb.

On the downside it is the exact opposite of Singapore in so many ways - Bangkok is fairly smoggy, congested . . . And admittedly I am not into the Pat Pong/Ratchada/Soi Cowboy - whatever scene.

Also, I guess it might not be a move up in terms of career.

But, and this is a big but - the heart (in this case my flighty-woman) rules over the brain.

[Rolling Stone]

Understood Sing on all counts especially where the heart is involved. I do not blame anyone choosing to live here for reasons of love or other reasons to each his own and we all can put up with different things in life. And lord knows we all make decisions with our heart and not our head at times, but sometimes that can be a costly choice indeed.

I read in another thread a couple posters say they were to entrenched to make a move and I feel many if willing to admit it would say the same thing. Living outside ones own country takes guts and the ability to adapt and in all the years and all the countries I have lived in I have never lived in one with the nonsense this one has.

I understand about the cost of living but thats anywhere, when I lived in London (1995-97) I had to fork out $2700 US a month for a decent home in a decent area and everything was expensive compared to what I was used to. But I found life there brilliant and the people just as nice as here in comparative terms. Everyone in Thailand is not a sweetheart and this is no more the LOS than most any other country in SE Asia.

You said in a roundabout way that you would be taking a step down careerwise. I hope you aren't even thinking about working for a company here? Heaven forbid.

I am in SE Asia for the next 2-3 years but everyday that passes I realise that Thailand cannot and will not be where I hang my hat for those 2 years.

Keep it real!

[Sing_Sling]

Rolling-Stone, I just checked out the poll - I guess it does give you an indication of the reasons why people live in Thailand, as opposed to Singapore.

Wow, to think you can live on such small amounts . . . , but I guess you'd have to compare like to like in the poll. I think it was mentioned that demographice should have been taken into consideration - good point.

[singa-traz]

In Singapore, you get Quality of Environment ... but not necessary Quality of Life.

Negative of Bangkok:

- Traffic

- Pollution

- and sometime Security (Mostly on the road ...)

What I hate most about Singapore:

- Getting a cab at pick time

- The humidity level

- The Singaporean attitudes ("So, How ?" ... )

- Singapore is small ... want to go somewhere ... take the plane ...

- Price of Car: with two cars, you can buy a condo in Bangkok

- "The Foreign Talent" debate ... I prefer to be called a Farang ...

- ...

Used to like the SGD ... but should I shifted to Euro a year ago ...

[Sing_Sling]

Singa-Traz - with a moniker like that, I presume you are either a Singaporean or used to live here. The points you raise are valid, very similar to mine. The foreign talent debate is raging on, with the government actively trying to persuade the locals that we are necessary - quite right up to a point, but increasingly difficult to sustain as the economy slides down bit by bit.

Yeah, the 'So, how? cannot orredy, mah - last time talk cock, somemore' can get a bit frustrating.

On the other hand a lot of people are hurting because so many expats have gone home - willingly or simply by being retrenched.

Catch 22

Rolling Stone - I hear you 100%, makes alot of sense. I could ask my employers to send me there, but I know the salary will go down, as will the position - plus I only pay an average of 6% income tax due to lots of write-offs, like doing most of my business O/S.

I felt the same way when I moved from Amsterdam to HK to Sydney - loved HK, hated Sydney, then loved Sydney, moved to Sing - loved Sing and now it's getting a bit old.

I think Bangkok may be a bit too 'troppo' - although for vacation it's a dream - heading down to Phuket and staying at some really nice places over Christmas and New Year.

I guess I'll see how (not the singlish 'see how') the relationship goes and then decide . . .

Ah, to be young and free-spirited again . . .