Like Somalia - Thailand is a Lawless Country

[Lung Per]

Gas chamber the Shiwanatra's

Do we have a Nazi among us?

Thaksin is certainly no angel, but Suthep is the worst fascist I know about in Thailand.

[Takiap]

GLCQ


I think you're somewhat off the mark comparing Thailand to Somalia.


Also, you mention the "Great Unwashed Sex Tourists" are feeding the sex trade. I disagree 100%. Typically speaking, "great unwashed" usually refers to the backpackers on a shoestring budget, and from my experience in Thailand, these are the last people you'll find feeding the sex trade.

Like others have pointed out, the sex trade is alive and kick in most parts of the world. In Thailand, they're just a bit more open about it than they are in most other countries.

Lastly, whether Thailand is moving backwards or forwards isn't really our concern. I wasn't born to save the world and I don't have any desire to try. You mention the possibility of an outside country offering to help. I would be interested in knowing which country or countries you have in mind. I take it you aren't referring to the UK because let's face it, they're not really in much of a position to offer help these days. I'm also sure that there are plenty of people who would agree that the US is also not in a position to offer help/guidance. They have enough of their own mess to sort out.


Anyway, hopefully I'll be dead before Thailand becomes a "First World" country where people no longer have any real rights. My vote goes for the Asian way of life.

[Gérard]

Quoting Takiap : "Anyway, hopefully I'll be dead before Thailand becomes a "First World" country where people no longer have any real rights. My vote goes for the Asian way of life."

I agree with you : happy to be here because it is as it is...

[GLCQuantum]

After coming here for two thirds of my life,

" since I moved to Thailand 10 years ago."

That puts you at 15.
Never mind we both know you're crap at maths.

Given the number of posts you've made recently it would seem that the 'prescription' medicine you're taking is having an effect.

I didn't say - "having been LIVING here for two thirds of my life" now did I, you muppet.

I have been coming here since I was 11 (Thai stepmother, stepsister and two half Thai sisters), and have been living here since I was 20. I am now 30.

I thought we'd finally got rid of you anyway, but you just couldn't resist could you.

Sad, sad and sadder.

[buksida]

I'd agree with a couple of your points such as more money going towards education - though I did read that Thailand does spend an awful lot on education (more than Singapore) but again due to the rife corruption that permeates through every fibre of life here most of it goes into politicians, directors and administrators pockets instead of to teachers and students where it belongs.

Yes, pay the police more so that they may actually do some police work and don't have to keep on robbing the public!

As for the sex industry, dream on, its the oldest profession in the world and is part of life in Asia.

Bottom line is that nothing is going to change (at least in my lifetime) so we may as well just get used to it.

[GLCQuantum]

Gas chamber the Shiwanatra's

Do we have a Nazi among us?

Thaksin is certainly no angel, but Suthep is the worst fascist I know about in Thailand.

...said in jest that last part. I would never wish them the gas chamber. Maybe ol' sparky though.

[Takiap]

I'd agree with a couple of your points such as more money going towards education - though I did read that Thailand does spend an awful lot on education (more than Singapore) but again due to the rife corruption that permeates through every fibre of life here most of it goes into politicians, directors and administrators pockets instead of to teachers and students where it belongs.

Yes, pay the police more so that they may actually do some police work and don't have to keep on robbing the public!

As for the sex industry, dream on, its the oldest profession in the world and is part of life in Asia.

Bottom line is that nothing is going to change (at least in my lifetime) so we may as well just get used to it.

You forgot to add families on that list. Our kids are in a private school, but my wife is entitled to claim some money back from the government. I'm not sure if it applies to the school fees as wells as books and uniforms, but I do know she gets a bit back. Not much and hardly even worth the hassle, but being Thai, she is going to claim whether she needs that money or not. I would imagine there are millions of parents doing the same thing, so even though each individual claim is small, it must add up to quite a substantial amount. I would also imagine a lot quite a chunk of the education budget gets spent on things like parades and other such activities which seem to take place all the time.


On a slightly different note..........I do think that it nice to see kids in Thailand actually enjoy going to school. I think school here is a lot more fun for kids than it is back in the west unless things have changed dramatically. When I was in school most pupils hated school but strict laws and enforcement of those laws meant you had no choice but to go to school every day. I can only speak for myself, but my high school years were without any doubt the worst years of my life.


Anyway

[Roel]

Interesting discussion and observations but I must object to the title. Insulting Somalia is uncalled for.

[Roel]

On a more serious note. Trying to change Thailand into a fine first world country? Think again.
Just saw this on the BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26014387

[hhfarang]

that girl deserves some credit..& not the usual hand-groping attention she gets from the farang that thinks it's OK to come in a bar..buy her a drink, then grope her in public..(you sad twat!

I recently spent a few hours in a bar at night which is an extremely rare occurrence for me, but after dinner a friend wanted to go for drinks there. He got quite drunk and started groping and even trying to undress the girls right there in the bar by unhooking their bras, pulling straps off their shoulders and lifting their skirts, all the while never buying them a single drink. Needless to say, I was embarrassed by his behavior and after we had paid the bill and while he was in the bathroom relieving himself before we left. I went to the bartendress and gave her a 1k baht bill and told her to buy drinks for all the girls. She acted like I just gave her a new car, calling all the girls as well as the farang owner over to tell them what I had done! The owner asked my name and introduced himself and thanked me for my generosity. Some (including the guy I was with) would call me a fool, but I thought it was a small tip in view of how my table mate had acted.

[richard]

that girl deserves some credit..& not the usual hand-groping attention she gets from the farang that thinks it's OK to come in a bar..buy her a drink, then grope her in public..(you sad twat!

I recently spent a few hours in a bar at night which is an extremely rare occurrence for me, but after dinner a friend wanted to go for drinks there. He got quite drunk and started groping and even trying to undress the girls right there in the bar by unhooking their bras, pulling straps off their shoulders and lifting their skirts, all the while never buying them a single drink. Needless to say, I was embarrassed by his behavior and after we had paid the bill and while he was in the bathroom relieving himself before we left. I went to the bartendress and gave her a 1k baht bill and told her to buy drinks for all the girls. She acted like I just gave her a new car, calling all the girls as well as the farang owner over to tell them what I had done! The owner asked my name and introduced himself and thanked me for my generosity. Some (including the guy I was with) would call me a fool, but I thought it was a small tip in view of how my table mate had acted.

Commendable but why didn't the farang owner sort it before it got out of hand?

[hhfarang]

^ He was in the room at all times, but I guess he figured that if the girls needed help they would come to him. They handled each grope in a polite and sometimes funny way gracefully, but I noticed after a while they steered clear of our table.

[J.J.B.]

^ A hard choice, and one we've probably all encountered or created, but did you consider challenging your friend on the behaviour you clearly disagree with? Drink or no drink, there's no excuse for this, is there?

[VincentD]

And the few farangs who can speak thai usually cannot read newspapers or have a real conversation with Thai people, so that they are not so well informed as they think.

Gérard, I beg to differ.
I've been PR here more than twenty-five years, speak, read and write the language. I have lived (and worked) both in Bangkok and the provinces and still shuttle between them. I am close with many Thais and do know what they think. There are probably many more like me who may prefer not to voice their opinions but do have a good grasp of the situation.
Please do not generalise.

Sorry, have not been to Somalia so...

[Gérard]

And the few farangs who can speak thai usually cannot read newspapers or have a real conversation with Thai people, so that they are not so well informed as they think.

Gérard, I beg to differ.
I've been PR here more than twenty-five years, speak, read and write the language. I have lived (and worked) both in Bangkok and the provinces and still shuttle between them. I am close with many Thais and do know what they think. There are probably many more like me who may prefer not to voice their opinions but do have a good grasp of the situation.
Please do not generalise.

Sorry, have not been to Somalia so...

I am happy to know about one more foreigner who can read and write thai, so that you are one of the very few I have met in the last 13 years. I think it is not generalising to say that 95 % (maybe 99 %) of the foreigner living in Thailand cannot read thai newspapers and very few can have a real conversation about politics.
Thanks for your input !