mauRICE

A good friend of mine from Victoria travelled around Australia for six months in a rented campervan. This was about 15 years ago; I hear it's harder now due to restrictions on the parking of campervans? Anyway, I'm sure a-447 would be able to help you find a suitable trailer park in Western Australia if you decide to go that route. Ten years ago, my cousin, our mutual friend and I went on a month's road trip from Auckland to Dunedin. It was the best road trip that I've ever been on (not that I've been on many). We hired a car in Auckland and drove south, staying in motels and B&Bs. And you know what struck me the most - not the gorgeous scenery, not the friendliness of the people, not the strong winds, all of which were true - but how unafraid the animals were of humans. Every cat, dog, bird, horse and frog we ran into at the B&Bs, motels, etc didn't run away from us and were extremely docile and friendly. This suggested to me that the locals must have been really kind to them and indeed we saw this for ourselves. I felt that they were at one with nature and people who are kind to animals win in my book, every time.

See one of my previous posts in this thread. Finding inner peace is important otherwise you'll just keep running - in circles. A change of environment may only help for a while if there are still unresolved issues deep down. You forget one very important activity - CHURCH. You'll be in one of the most Christian/Catholic countries in the world. The good news is that you won't have any problems kneeling at the altar having had all that practice in Pattaya... In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Ah-men.

To you and I perhaps but that could be the way Olddaddy and his colleagues speak in their world. 🤷 Broadly speaking, the farang I've met in Thailand are very different from the ones with whom I went to school and in my own social and professional circles and they can be quite fun in small doses.

It usually subsides quickly if the rain stops and the flood waters aren't too deep but workers living in areas which have been badly flooded may have to skip a day of work or two. Glad to hear you got in safe and sound and without much hassle. I hope you're feeling better too. Six hours?! 😮 Driving from KL to Singapore takes a shorter time than that.

He probably had comorbidities made worse by the lack of rest.

I've just seen footage of water being up to the ankle level in Silom Soi 4 tonight.

I hope he got to flush before he went.

😂🤣😅 I guess it's a generational thing where older farang who are probably deep in the closet back home like the idea of a separate gay beach, gay-only hotels and gay-only entertainment venues.

Yes. It's not just about Silom and Surawong but the long route from the airport to get there. The StarAll 50 Bangkok districts declared disaster zones as flood...Bangkok authorities declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital on Saturday after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged.

There was very heavy rain in Pattaya last night and some of the roads were flooded. I've seen some of the pictures but can't share them because I haven't got clearance from the boys. It was bad (but not devastating) and apparently some of the boys in Jomtien Complex couldn't get home. I hope everyone got home safe eventually.

Turn it off. You, of all people, don't need it! How are things at the orphanage?

Captain Jack Sparrow? Oooh a-447 would love him. 😏

Fantastic! The StarThai teen Nene Royal wins RM4mil on 'America's Got Talent'Rattikarn Amloy, better known by her stage name Nene Royal, was crowned the winner.

Another forum member I haven't seen in a while is @jamiebee . I believe he lives in the Middle East and hope he's alright.

Yes, strongly recommend it. Although he primarily talks about the dangers and pitfalls within the bar scene, many of the lessons can be applied to the non-bar scene too, instant friends/lovers met over the Internet, etc. The cover of the edition that I have is of a long-haired (presumably) bar-girl holding a shaving knife behind her back. Coincidentally the word for shaving knife in Malay is pisau cukur which is the same word we use to describe golddiggers. I guess it metaphorically implies that once they've got you hooked, they're going to "shave you clean" of all your posessions. 🤷 One tactic that farang often don't catch on to until it's too late is the old "throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel". Get it for free now but pay later BIG BIG. This tactic is mostly commonly used by non-bar guys and girls on egoistical, naive farang who love to gloat about how they've landed a non-hoe bf/gf.

This is an inaccurate generalisation, IMHO. Some are, some aren't. While straight couples (emphasis on couples) tend to be more physically expressive in public, I've seen guys holding hands, one affectionately rubbing his hand on the head of another (acceptable in a relationship), dressing alike, etc. My partner likes to put his hand on my back or over my left shoulder as we walk (I draw the line at head rubbing😅). More pertinently, why would someone you've just met be into public displays of affection when presumably there hasn't been any affection between you? That would be weird! 😅 Do you do that with strangers in the US? 🤔 It's perfectly acceptable to eat pizza with your hands especially at a place like CM Pizza. Broadly speaking, pizza and KFC are probably the most popular "farang food" among Thais and, if he works in hospitality, he's probably not unaccustomed to farang and farang ways. Anyway, happy to hear that your holiday in Chiang Mai is coming along. And no news of bad weather thus far which is good news. 😊

Great idea! Working your glutes by having your legs over your deltoids all the time isn't enough. Please hire a trainer for safety reasons, at least in the beginning. I do resistance training with a trainer three days a week and cardio on my own. Lately all my workouts have been in the gym because of the haze. 😔 You might also want to look into calisthenics. They're so big on health and fitness in Australia and, barring legitimate health and mobility issues, there's really no excuse not to get on it.

Yes and somebody should pin this up. True happiness (or in my case, contentment) comes from within. It may be a cliche but cliches often have some basis in truth. I've seen people frequently change partners, change jobs, move house - they're always running away from something - but still remain unhappy. In effect, they're running away from themselves, which, short of flying off a Pattaya balcony, one can't really do. Now, I'm not at all suggesting that anyone jump off a building, but to at least take steps to heal those old wounds or learn to manage them and move on. Otherwise they'll always be running and chasing. Another good one. My friends used to tease me that I'd end up with a farang boyfriend but it never happened. Despite having lived in the UK for 10 years from the age of 17, enjoying many aspects of western culture particularly literature and film, and having had several suitors - a couple of them double-barrels - I never really connected with a farang. It's hard to pin down what it is - too much work perhaps - but if I had to I'd say it boils down to ways of thinking. With my partner, I don't have that problem and we can communicate volumes with just eye contact, and by what is unsaid as much as what's vocalised. That said, relationships do require a lot of work, time and commitment even without the challenges @Travelingguy and I have alluded to. In @bkkmfj2648's case he's also looking for a potential caregiver, which adds another dimension to the paradigm.

In reading and writing some of the posts in this thread, I've been entertained, informed and even re-considered certain thoughts and assumptions but you see I'm very comfortable with being challenged and hearing new perspectives. Going down memory lane was especially sweet, never bitter. Therefore, I'm a bit surprised to see some people getting so easily triggered and becoming very defensive over alternative viewpoints and varying recollections. Clearly, despite their claims of extensive knowledge and familiarity with Chiang Mai having travelled there since The Pleistocene (allegedly), they haven't learned anything from the generally equable and humble northerners and, unfortunately, still speak in that high-handed, finger-wagging, superior colonial tone. I can almost envision their blood pressure piercing through their dusty pith helmets and, if it's like this on an anonymous chat forum, I can only imagine it must be going through the roof in real life. Good Morning. 😊

No, I'm afraid you misunderstood again. I meant the space where Chiang Mai 19 is. I first went to Chiang Mai on my own as a young adult in 2001. We went as a family when I was a kid a couple of times. But, as I said earlier, it's not a competition, not from my side of things anyway. Fantastic. Again, not a competition. Great! Neither do I.

Well-said, @Travelingguy . https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL6cM6bNw5h/?stkn=YnpqNjR5aG03bWhw

There are no sleepers in third class. 😏

Older sister. I've also got an older brother.

I'm glad you didn't say granny...😅

My 2026 keeps getting better. Just got a call from my niece's husband to tell me that she gave birth to a healthy baby girl about an hour ago. Oh my the texts are coming in... Mother and child are safe and I've now officially become a great uncle! 👶😍🥰💞