I realise that it's a bit of a cliche but don't you get tired of posters on TV complaining about the fact that Thailand isn't like East Grinstead/Perth/Montreal/Toulouse/Boston? <deleted> do they expect? Do they seriously think that they can up sticks, move half way round the world to a country with a different alphabet, a different religion and very little historical Western influence and expect it to be the same as the place they left apart from the fact that there are brown smiley faces?

The only difference I notice is fans instead of radiators.

Some people are way too sensitive....

well...there are expectations and disappointment is reasonable when they aren't met: 'my darling, I adore you...'...'you adore my nice ass! lascivious falang!...'

traditional female behavior is unattractive wherever you go...

The passion for the young wife begins to fade a little and they look around and think... Where the f.... am I?

Where's the chippy (a shop, not referring to young wife)?

How did I get here.... ?

What are people trying to say to me?

What a shambles, but any one my age clever enough to win the heart of a young wife will be able to fix this in a trice.

Problems begin here....

A drunken Asian male is mouthing off at a local bloke in the main street of your home town. Do you immediately grab a weapon and then run to the pair, hoping to get a chance to knock sh!t out of the Asian - with the helpful asistance of a dozen or so other locals who have done the same as yourself? That Thai mindset about foreigners (certainly not all Thais, perhaps only a minority, yet a healthy minority) and the in-your-face corruption and dishonesty here bring Thailand down considerably, but it is unlikely to change for some considerable time. I don't believe that there is such a place as a paradise, shangrila or eden (which, I think, is more a state of mind). But with all its faults, I'd far prefer to be here than back in dismal, overregulated Nanny Oz.

the in-your-face corruption and dishonesty here bring Thailand down considerably,

But with all its faults, I'd far prefer to be here than back in dismal, overregulated Nanny Oz.

When I first starting going to Thailand I was a little surprised by the in your face corruption.

A cop asking for two hundred baht or we can go to the police station to sort the ticket.....

Then after thinking it over I thought I rather like it this way.

200 Baht / $6 bucks & yes I was wrong to pass on a 2 lane bridge even if it was to pass an ox cart with no oncoming traffic as

it was a solid line...............

Contrast that to the supposed non-corrupt area I come from where it would have been $100+ dollars & years

of increased expense added to my drivers insurance for a moving violation & ....well.....I rather like the $6 & your on your way.

after all it was a minor infraction.....So which country is really more corrupt?

Now add in the fact that many folks in the supposed non corrupt country never pay a ticket as they

have "people" who "take care" of it

At the end of the day again I am choosing the in your face corruption as it is ultimately more fair

IMHO as it is available to all

As to over regulation........I agree with you there too.....Hate It

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

how did I get here?...

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

Google is a wonderful for deciphering Taddy's of the wall expressions.

http://www.citizenar...-shotgun-shack/

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself, 'Well... How did I get here?'

From above - Talking Heads

Wherever you go, there you are. So, those miserable gits with nothing to do but complain would be doing precisely the same thing back home.

The world is full of nutjobs. Thailand has its native nutjobs, just as our native places do. Problem is that a lot of our native nutjobs decide to move to Thailand.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

Google is a wonderful for deciphering Taddy's of the wall expressions.

http://www.citizenar...-shotgun-shack/

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself, 'Well... How did I get here?'

From above - Talking Heads

It's a knack.

I personally haven't gotten to "and you may say to yourself, my god, what have I done"

But I think there may be more than a couple hereabouts who have, I know some.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

Google is a wonderful for deciphering Taddy's of the wall expressions.

http://www.citizenar...-shotgun-shack/

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself, 'Well... How did I get here?'

From above - Talking Heads

It's a knack.

I personally haven't gotten to "and you may say to yourself, my god, what have I done"

But I think there may be more than a couple hereabouts who have, I know some.

I wouldn't say that...swear to god I wouldn't...with just a trailer house offa interstate 5 between Portland and Seattle and a place to grow vegetables...too much to ask, I know...Death appears quickly in the car park of the local convenience store in an old pick up truck...'time fer you to come with me, tutsi'...'oh yeah? let's play chess and think about that...'...'no dice, that's an old one...the scythe is rusty and not sharpened so don't make me use it...'

I meant in the real world Tutsi, not in here.

The world is full of nutjobs.

If you can't hack it - go home!!!

I meant in the real world Tutsi, not in here.

well...we may be a figurative bunch but we ain't far off...

and who cares about the 'real world' anyway?...buying vegetables at the market and trips to the supermarket are 'real' enough to me and the lovely brown breasts and denim clothed <deleted> of the women down the market is sometimes a 'reality' that I can hardly take...and they don't even care if I look down their revealing clothing...and I sometimes reach for the flesh with my withered, palsied arms and no one cares...maybe I am transparent and 'unreal'?...'oh...you can fergit about Mr tutsi, someone said that he can't get it up anymore...'

it helps to have the little niece leading me about by the hand...the market ladies are then unsuspecting and not covering their lovely brown flesh as their breasts literally fall into full view...we went yesterday to buy some t-shirts and...oh...'nuie? can we go back to the other stall?...I saw some really nice t-shirts there...'...and then we got some kweiteo and the woman sitting next to us literally ignored me as I stared at her magnificent thighs in little shorts...I was 'the invisible man'...my grandson was with me as well and it was like I was visible only to them and not to anyone else...'unreal'...

You have an incredibly high libido Tuts (a game for players over the age of x) I don't envy you at all.

I wasn't talking about what people find when they arrive in Thailand - I was talking about their expectations. Half the Brits who pitch up in Thailand expect it to be like East Grinstead. What's the point of going somewhere if it's not going to be different to where you've just come from? When I travel to somewhere that I've never been before the more different it is the happier I am.

The best ones are "It's so hot!" and "What happened to my rights? It's not fair..."

You have an incredibly high libido Tuts (a game for players over the age of x) I don't envy you at all.

thad, you are right and it is ironic that I am dysfunctional...it's like what amputees say about missing limbs; that you can still 'feel' them but they aren't there...

I've been going to the market less and less as my voyeurism is not fair to anyone...anyone that uses small children as a subterfuge should be punished severely...but the market is where I buy vodka and I swear that the little chinese guy shop owner has grown horns and a tail and his shop assistant who's about 16-17 is one of the nicest bits in the market...I don't think that I have ever seen such smooth brown skin...

Great thread. Bedlam - the last bastion of civil and entertaining conversation. Not one flame. Why can't the whole forum be like this?

Wherever you go, there you are. So, those miserable gits with nothing to do but complain would be doing precisely the same thing back home.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell

As for myselt, I can always make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Life is just too good to me... even with all the bumps along the way. It's like I can over dose on anything I want or choose to make happen. That ain't half bad for a guy who is in his 73rd year.

I always say you have two choices in life. You can CHOOSE to be happy or You can CHOOSE to be sad. It's up to you.

Wherever you go, there you are. So, those miserable gits with nothing to do but complain would be doing precisely the same thing back home.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell

As for myselt, I can always make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Life is just too good to me... even with all the bumps along the way. It's like I can over dose on anything I want or choose to make happen. That ain't half bad for a guy who is in his 73rd year.

I always say you have two choices in life. You can CHOOSE to be happy or You can CHOOSE to be sad. It's up to you.

In total agreement, Ian.

Miserygutzers are SOOOO "POOR ME!"

Need to get a life, and make it what they desire, nobody will do it for them.

No sympathy from this quarter..........