simon43

My last partner was an expensive sex doll from China. Does that count? (Unfortunately we are no longer together. I decapitated her some years ago during Covid and disposed of her head in a trash can in Turkey...)

All students learn central Thai at primary school. This was a policy introduced yonks ago to unite the Thai people with one common language. Have you ever wondered why schools in Isaan do not teach Isaan? (of course, it is only a spoken language, no Isaan script as such). I'm not sure if schools in the far south teach Yawri - I think the central government might have allowed that to appease the Muslim majority, but I'm not sure...

When I teach online using Zoom, I can click a button at the start of the lesson to create an AI summary of what I teach. The Zoom AI 'bot' then interprets my spoken words (and that of my student), to create a summary at the end of the lesson of the topic that I taught. It's amazing to see how accurate it is.....

I get a good feeling when local people express surprise that I can speak (passable) Lao and Burmese. They are happy that I've made an effort to learn some of their language. and I'm happy that I can converse with them 🙂

A little story from today, (not about Thai language but about Lao language, but the principle is the same - knowing a language can be useful!). I flew from Bangkok to Luang Prabang today. I spoke Thai with the staff at Don Muang and all was good. When I got to Luang Prabang airport, the male immigration officer was as miserable as ****, speaking curtly to every person who presented their passport. It got to my turn and I handed over my passport. He thumbed through it and then noticed many different Lao annual business visas over the past 15 years. "Do you speak Lao?" he asked me in Lao. "Yes" I replied in Lao, "but I have to practice every day!" His demeanour completely changed. He smiled and asked me if I had a Lao wife (and so on and so on), then asked me about my previous jobs as a teacher in Laos. All was great, his Lao immigration colleagues joked with me in Lao about getting a Lao wife, and I sailed though immigration in seconds 🙂 There is never a problem that you know too many languages.....

You should not need to get under the car to change a wheel! When I've changed wheels in Thailand (in the middle of nowhere with no solid block etc to support the car), I place the spare wheel right next to the failed wheel/tyre, jack it up just enough to remove/replace the wheel, and then pull off the old wheel and push on the new in just a few seconds, in case the jack fails. I'm not under the car, so no risk there, but it would be a big headache to have the jack fail when there's no wheel on the axle to support the car...

Today eggs.... next time ping-pong ball bombs....

Maybe. I used to teach spoken and written Thai to several of my online students in Germany and France. I also taught written Thai as a volunteer teacher at the Burmese school on Koh Phangan a couple of years ago. I will carry the guilt of these criminal offences for the rest of my life 🙂

I had a good time growing up in Leicester in the 60's and 70's. The city was multicultural, in that there were hard-working Hindus and Sikhs with their sari and jewelry shops. Not so many West Indians, but certainly they were there and never any problems. Then came the Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh (when it became independent from West Pakistan).... Everything changed. No-go Muslim areas in the city were the norm. My parents took me out of the government school because teachers were teaching us Urdu! The local council was very good about paying college fees. As long as you successfully passed the course that you were studying, they would pay the tuition fees and living allowance for the next, higher course. I studied 3 years for an HNC, 1 year for an HND, 2 years for a BSc and 1 year for an MSc. All fees fully paid, plus rent allowance and money for food/beer 🙂 Today Leicester is a cesspit. I know, because I've visited my old home town. It's like entering Islamabad.....

[quote] And this this kind of parking is unheard in US because it blocks the "sidewalk" even if partially. [/quote] If you are referring to that red car on the pavement (sorry 'sidewalk'), then it too would be committing an offence in the UK by obstructing the pavement. If you want to park all over the pavement without any comeback, come and live in Thailand!

Nope, not if you state that you have returned to live permanently in the UK. (Whether you lie when making that statement is up to you...)

[quote] Even your reply here suggests a fair amount of unhappiness. [/quote] I have to agree with you. The manner of his replies suggest an angry, impatient and stressed man. Having lots of money won't stop you dying young of a heart attack due to work stress and lack of 'inner peace'.

Coincidentally, there is an interesting article about Autism on the BBC website: Here is the link (if it's allowed): https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250415-the-genetic-mystery-of-why-some-people-develop-autism

[quote] ... This follows increasing pressure after a March 28 earthquake struck Bangkok, ... [/quote] I wasn't aware that an earthquake struck Bangkok. Earth tremors from the earthquake that struck just west of Mandalay (Burma) were felt in Bangkok and other regions in south-east Asia. Bangkok is not on a tectonic plate fault line, and nor is it a 'hotspot' (thin tectonic plate region). Kudos for testing the mobile alert system, but better to use it for tsunami alerts (usually have some time before any large wave hits the coast). Gives the folks in Chiang Mai time to run up the nearest mountain....

I see that one section that you must complete is the date and flight number of your next departure after you have entered Thailand. This has a red asterix >> you MUST complete this information or you can't submit your completed application. So I have a 'retirement' visa and do not need to exit Thailand. I must put a flight number for my next departure from Thailand...... Ho hum, what to enter?