Richb2004v2

Berkshire, on 2010-09-27 11:03:00, said:

Or maybe they just realised that they would like to live somewhere that is a little more respected internationally.

wow Im not alone. Just got back from Spain and London visiting family and friends and am now thinking of leaving. Thailand is cool but its sooo fake. Its all about how you look not who you are.Thai food, smiling, poor trying to be rich, rich trying to show they care about poor, everything, even the beaches are shit compared to other tropical places.

I know this may offend but alot of it makes no common sense and after coming back from 3 countries that do, I realise the amount of stress thats been lifted. It seems Thailand is not a stressful place when you're in it but unless youre retired I really think it is.  I was in Malaysia last week (transit) and seeing the Africans, greeks expats etc  going to college working normal jobs it showed me how badly we get  treated here. And to be honest who has any real friendships with Thais. I see many mates but not really. Not because they are not friendly it just seems to different therefore comfort is found in some level ground fake polite place.

Some things about the culture I will just not get. The selfishness of Thais generally is quite amazing. My friend in London is Thai as are his parents and theyve told me they would never move back no matter how rich.

I guess this will make the "no happy, go home farang" brigade here happy  

Was at the local village restaurant yesterday last night and it was raining.
The place was also smelling of foul water from the nearby sewer, you always get this when it rains.
Have you also noticed most restaurants get a layer of painting applied just once, when built, then never again?
Do you trust clean fresh food in your plate? Sincerely, I don't.
Whilst sitting there I noticed a few motorbikes with broken back-lights passing by, also a few without head lights and even less without any lights at all. Would you dare driving a motorbike at night without any lights on? Scaring isn't?

Then have you noticed how many wear the lifesaving helmet, how they cut the road in front of your car without looking left or right, often having disposed with both useless mirrors?

Let's move to car drivers then: some tend to push you off the road driving at 120kmh whilst speed limit is at 90. Then they wait before you at the next traffic light, when green comes they don't move, it takes them 2 minutes to speed up to some speed. If you manager to get passed them they will overtake you 5 minutes later again, having reached their previous cruise speed of 120kmh again.

Noticed the U-turns? That's fun. Suddenly they brake driving on the fast lane, yep experienced farang drivers know there is an upcoming U-turn.
But beware the bus hitting the main road coming from down-town amphur, had that happen to me a few days ago, crossed a 4 lane "express road" heading opposite direction simply cutting the oncoming traffic. Without jumping on my brakes we would have crashed. Would they fire the driver for dangerous driving?

Then you have the motorbikes driving up to you on the wrong side of the road, oh well whilst we are at it, samlors also and cars also. Special fun at night with all lights off!!

I go bicycling every morning and stopped looking around at all the trash. Soya drinks must be the most consumed food items in this country looking at all the packs you see every meter. Yes, that's 1000 empty packs a kilometer. Add the M150 bottles, plastic bags and all other packaging's and what you get? A clean place?

If we examine more important things like corruption then we really get started. Had these cops stop me on the road last week for overtaking a slow driving heavy loaded pick-up. He asked 200 baht to complement his lousy salary, poor cop. Consider the real thieves then who intervene to mediate the billion baht contracts to build the airport or the new village road for the small fee of 10% only.

No need to talk about the Thai women who managed to get it all for free from the farang, we have read too many of these stories on this and other web boards and forget many have happy lives with their Thai wives. A few murders down Ranong etc we just need to live with.  

No doubt I can go on many pages describing the pitfalls available to the farang over here, I will leave that to your whining guys.

Two days from now I will be riding the Paris Metro/bus one ticket for all system and compare that with the Bangkok public transportation system or lack of it, jeez, shaking my head just by the thought of that. Imagine all the restaurants, real food and junk food available at every corner as compared to fired rice and noodle soups stalls. Dreaming of good cheap wines and supermarkets full of all kinds of meat, vegetables, cheese, ready made meals and much more.

Please feel free to come wish me out tomorrow at Swampy around 5pm, row Q checking in business class and having a glass of champagne before taking off. I will be that ugly fat farang.

Just add bus driving to the long list of things they are unable to do correctly.

richard_smith237, on 2010-09-27 15:58:08, said:

A wiser man than me once said " The way people drive their vehicles reflects the society they live in'  and I would say ' There are two styles of driving 'after you' and 'f..k you'  I think they both mean the same.
Seriously without being racist or negative have you ever considered how many different actions we make whilst driving. Westerners in the main can multi task when required the same cannot be said of people who have to use a calculator to work out the change from a 100 baht note when the billis 80 baht.
It all boils down to the ability to think ahead of the consequences of any action you make and unfortunately families and schools dont instill this in their children at an early age bcos nobody instilled it in them. Mix that with a society that  do not accept responsibility for their actions. Really its not 'f..k you' bcos in the event of accidents and fatalities they do care.
If young people could be prepared to accept responsibilty and realise there are consequences for every action they take and to consider the outcome of their action before taking that action death rate would decrease enormously.
I think I have been here too long........

paymaster, on 2010-09-27 14:38:47, said:

Stupidity is another big competitor. During my last long distance trip by bus, the driver started racing on the narrow hilly roads of the North with another one. Playing cat and mouse during hours. Then the rain started and that's when you notice the wipers are dead. Never mind... kept on racing.
I forgot to mention: it was a night journey. We just got lucky that night.
They are all responsible: reckless drivers, the ones who give them these licenses like candies, bus companies managements and authorities allowing all this killing circus without acting.

Wet roads don't cause accidents. Knob heads driving like maniacs do.

So what? Tell me something I do not already know, and do not see each and every day I drive into traffic, and play a game of death and damage with these morons.

Any amount of reporting on traffic related behavior, regarding these adolescent-minded people, will be absolute redundancy, and worthless to boot.

Driving is one of those rare human behaviors that demonstrate the brain activity (or lack thereof) in the individual craniums of those who operate any vehicle on these roads and sidewalks.

Collectively, I see absolute chaos, utter stupidity and inhuman greed. That pretty much says it all. The chief violaters are the dam_n motorbike drivers (ages 6 through "ready for the display case").


Drive safe!

tomyummer, on 2010-09-26 13:14:16, said:

I cringe at blanket statements like this. Not dissimilar to the 'I wouldn't wish such 'n such on my worst enemy'. Lots of people need to be shot. That sick twat in Pai for starters, while that Kim guy from the DPRK should also be high on the list. Absolutely nothing wrong with purging this beautiful planet of wastes of space such as these.

To make it proper, one should slip 'innocent' in there, as this poor bus driver clearly is. Hope he pulls through and they catch the little perp and plonk him in front of a firing squad. Mass executions is the way to go to deter wannabe tough nuts with peashooters.

Sounds like the beginning of an anti USA thread to me. I am not from the USA but you failed to mention in your first para that if it was not for the intervention of the USA the Germans probably would have won WW2.

whybother, on 2010-09-11 17:43:50, said:

You casually mention the coup as if it were a routine ho-hum event. It was a crime. If the opponents of Thaksin wanted to get rid of him they should have done it right and formed a new party or bolstered the existing Democrat Party, put together a real platform of reform and convinced the Thai people that they should vote them into power. Instead they used the gun and forced the very flawed but popular Thaksin and his TRT out. The animosity this caused may never be rectified and the resentment in the countryside continues to fester today. Had there been no coup Thaksin would have returned from New York and organized the new elections where his supporters may not have won a majority but would have certainly won enough seats to form a new government. That would have changed everything in your timeline from 2006 forward. I'm not saying that this would have necessarily been a good thing but at least it would have been democratic. If a democratic framework could have been established at least there would now be a chance, although probably slim, that change could eventually come in a peaceful and orderly fashion. What we have now is a deeply divided Thailand that may be stuck with an aristocratic dictatorship for the unforeseeable future or until it is forcibly overthrown.

canuckamuck, on 2010-09-12 09:30:30, said:

Is God willing to prevent Evil, but not able?

Then he is not omnipotent.

Is God able, but not willing?

Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing?

Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing?

Then why call him God?

Here is an update.
I just got my lens and am back home. An all day ordeal and very stressful.
The paperwork took all day I paid a total of 10965 baht for a 2000 dollar lens. I reall splurged on myself and thought a 7% wuold be ok.
But over double now. a total of 12% tax and 2500 for paterwork and i do not know what else. The usual 7% and another 5% import duty. and the fees for paperwork.
I will never buy another thing here that is expensive. Let alone have it shipped to me.
To me this is total unacceptable. I promised myself they will not get another penny from me.

Then my debit card would not work at the bank for transfering funds. I had to go the the one armed bandet the ATM. Of course it worked fine. And i almost decided to go home when i saw the extra 150 baht fee.
I am not sure this place is any cheaper than the states to tell you the truth.
My home is paid for my truck in the driveway is paid for I have a camper a motorcycle and very comfortable. I am starting to think just because i have a good looking woman on my arm, it is not worth it anymore.
I find it very expensive here without the luxuries.
Do any of you guys feel the same or am i just ranting?
G