Bob

Looking at the list of "the" places to go, I wonder if a few New York Times writers decided this over a very long lunch after a whole lot of drinks. Yea, Los Angeles, Damascus, Sri Lanka, etc., are "the" places to go. No thanks.

I'm no opera fan but that was fun to watch - and a rather ingenious way to advertising the upcoming opera event. The looks on the faces of the unsuspecting market crowd said it all.

A bit irrelevant to the complaint, Oogie. I know you're close to the Venue people - and justifiably so - but the basic complaint here is that a customer walks into see the standard show there and, instead, sees less than he was expecting (based on past experience) and then feels compelled to sit through a video solicitation. Nothing wrong with any of that in itself (in fact, rather admirable in general) but not very appropriate to do that without letting the people walking in the door know what is about to happen. Again, a simple sign on the door would have solved all concerns. It would have taken me all of 2 minutes to write one such as: Dear Customers: Tonight we are not having our regular show but, instead, we're having a shortened version and a video presentation to help solicit funds for __________________. While we welcome your donations for this worthwhile cause, please be aware that your participation is totally voluntary. There, Oogie....took me only 40 seconds.

No problem but that's how I read your comments. I can't blame you for being a bit pissed - and, yes, I think it was the responsibility of the Venue to make sure customers entering the door that night knew what they were walking into. I like charitable deals and have participated before - but it's only fair I get to decide that after being properly informed. A poster on the door would have been adequate.

Yes, I'd have been unhappy too. And I'd have vented too (although I might have done it in other ways). But I can't see how that one hour time period (or whatever it was) would have changed me from being a "long-time fan" to the "I'll never go there again" mode. That's your right, of course, but seems to be a bit of an unfair/draconian over-reaction to me. [in case you're wondering, I don't know anybody associated with the Venue (it wasn't even open that last time I visited the Pattaya area)].

The US has done it's part. Quoting another article: "It is estimated that by 1990, more than 90,000 Hmong refugees have gone to live in the United States." And it's possible that, while the US didn't want 4,000 more, they might have accepted them if Thailand didn't make the private deal with Laos first.

Deported!?! For those few fans of Abhisit, here's the entire second paragraph of an article on Page 3 of the Bangkok Post today: "Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insists the action was legal as the Hmong were not forced to leave Thailand." Now that I think of it, I do recall those wily Hmong asked the Thai military for a free ride to Laos....NOT.

Now come on, GB, it's no big thing. And it'd certainly never stand up in court.

As a yank, perhaps I shouldn't comment on the UK government but I do believe your hyperbole is a bit too much. In spite of some gerrymandering of the lines occasionally, democracy is still alive and well in both the UK and the US. And while we can certainly point out some incompetency in any government, it's a far cry from the ineptitude of the Thai government.

I'm with you there although I'm more than "slightly" ill at ease over it. On my first trip to the re-opened Adam's Apple here in CM this past November, I sat at the little tables next to the stage and endured a couple of the dancers leaning on the pole and poking Mr. Happy too damn close to my face. I've returned since then and made sure that I sat back against the wall, assuring adequate distance between myself and the swinging sausage show.

While I'm not so sure that RichLB's point translates into a course of action in Thailand (i.e., I'm doubtful that too many Thai managers think within those parameters), I do absolutely agree that a college education generally makes for a more rounded and interesting person. Sometimes, though, it's very difficult to separate out what changes occur in a person due to education versus just plain maturity and having more experiences in the world. I've appreciated the maturity level gained by my bf (who just turned 31 as I've noted before) and, whether right or wrong, I'd give credit to his education more than just aging for what I perceive to be attitudinal improvements that add up to a bit more compatibility between the two of us. I'm probably not saying this right but, when I was younger and just coming to Thailand for 2-week trips 2 or 3 times per year, the conversation level or quality was probably the last thing on my mind; however, after a few years, it began to irritate me a little bit that I really didn't care for the continuous trappings (clothing, music, choice of entertainment, and generally light-hearted but goofy talk) of the average 20-22 year old here in Thailand (who, for whatever reason, seem to act more like a 15-year-olds from the states). So, the difference is noticeable and appreciated by me to some degree. [i don't disgree with Patexpat's comments that the Thai educational system doesn't usually doesn't produce the same bright graduate that one usually finds in the western educational system (and the topic of the methods of education here is probably better left to another thread); that being said, the Thai system still produces some of the changes that RichLB talks about.]

And I absolutely agree with you, that being: that the educational level an applicant has for many jobs is not necessarily the best indicator whether the applicant is going to be a valuable employee; however, at the same time, we're answering GT's question about whether a degree will likely help his Thai friend land a better job. Now, if his friend obtains a degree and also knows somebody, that's even better (and probably nepotism will trump a degree in many places).

While you're mode of hiring is to commended, you correctly note how most Thai employers do it. And there are just a tad more Thai employers than falang employers.

That's for damn sure (moderating is a thankless job); regardless, I thank those that do it (even if they may be totally insane for taking on the task) as it makes my occasional attendance more pleasant. Yep, on to bigger and better things - dinner. "Nit noi" spicy, please.

I have little clue what this is about either and don't understand why anybody would post it here (I never thought this board was a clearing house for cleaning up possible issues on other boards). I've always had the attitude that it's a bit awkward and inappropriate to use one forum to complain about, explain about, or whatever concerning another message board (seems to me that the appropriate place to do that is the on the board you're talking about). I've also never understood the burning desire of some posters who leave a board (whether voluntarily or involuntarily or for good reasons or for bad reasons) to publish their public swan song. If there's any place that's appropriate to do that (again, seems a little goofy to me under almost all circumstances), it would seem that the only people that might possibly be interested in the "reasons" would be the posters on the board on which the poster has been known. Sorry, Saturday, you're probably a good guy but I don't have a clue who you are, know little about the Pattaya Passion board, and (with all due respect, sir) I can't imagine too many people here really care why you're leaving that board when most didn't know you were there in the first place. But good luck in any event.

A couple of comments/suggestions, GT (most of which I've learned by experience): 1. No, he won't lose face if he completed high school via the Sunday or weekend route. My current bf did that at about age 21-22 and he's never expressed to me that he got any guff for doing that (I really don't think the college guys give a rat's ass what high school they went to). But he will in fact run into some rich thai boys and he simply won't be able to compete with them with wardrobe, car, etc. (but he'll handle it). 2. Have a very solid understanding up front that (first) it's very expensive to put somebody through college and that you expect him to try his hardest to achieve as good grades as he's capable of doing (i.e., no big deal if he doesn't get "A's" if he's putting a reasonable amount of effort in trying to do that); and (second) that you're only agreeing to pay for 4 years of college (and you have no intention of paying for 5,6, or more years). In that regard, he needs to figure out what he will "major in" within a year or two. I know that pressing that issue might be more pressure than he wants so do it gently. [This staying in college forever as they get comfortable/lazy with the college life is quite common in the states too.....so it's not a "thai" thing] My 9+-year bf will graduate next year from Payap here in Chiangmai. He switched majors (from tourism to business communications) about 2 years ago and, so, will have been in college 6 years by the time he's finished. I'm not a cheap bastard (lord knows that...) but I really didn't like the idea of adding a couple of more years (it is fairly expensive). When he was briefly talking about going on to get a masters degree a couple of months ago, it only took me a nanosecond to say: "That'd be great, I hope you can find somebody to help pay for that!" By the way, he just turned 31 about 2 weeks ago. Just the other day, over dinner with a couple of falang I respect, a long time resident up here just happened to mention that getting even a simple job (like working at the department store or whatever) required a college degree now. I can understand that to some degree as, back in the states, the last time (several years back) I interviewed some people for a position of legal secretary, all had a college degree, two had master's degrees, and one had a friggin' doctorate! (same same back in the states given the lousy job market). P.S. Yea, I'm kind of proud of the bf too. He's from a very poor family living in the boonies of Chiangrai province and they pulled him out of school at age 13 to work in the family (aunt's) restaurant business when he was 13. When he was 19, he left on his own to live in Chiangmai (for whatever reason, he wasn't satisfied with that life). Then again, on his own, he went to high school for a few years I met him when he was 22 and just about to finish high school. Nobody else in his family ever finished high school so he does have some internal drive to try to improve himself - and it's that quality I've admired and helped me easily decide to help put him through college. Even if we broke up tomorrow or next year, I would never regret any of it as he'll have his education forever and it might help him get a better job (or not, I really don't care that much about that).

While my intent is not to derail the thread, maybe we're going a bit overboard by simply saying or implying that we shouldn't pay any attention to the feelings or standards or "hangups" that we learned at home. Given most of us are of advanced years (that's a polite way, of course, of saying that many of us are older than dirt ), I think we're old enough to understand that we often are "ruled by our past", i.e., we tend to go with the good (and sometimes less than good) values that our parents and communities instilled in us. By and large, at least in my view, following most of those values/rules isn't such a bad idea. And one should certainly adjust ones values and behaviors based on the accepted culture of the country in which you're currently residing. As long as somebody is dressed appropriately and behaving appropriately, I'd agree that the person shouldn't worry about what others think. But, for example only, I don't happen to agree that it's appropriate to be walking down any old street holding hands with your current flame (it might be fine in the bar areas but I personally don't think it's appropriate in the mall or the hotel lobby - and not because it's bad in itself but it's somewhat contradictory to Thai culture and habits). I also think that women at the beach that go topless is another example of behavior that's totally unacceptable here (plus, by and large, they're old and ugly anyway...hahaha). And, maybe I'm a friggin' prude, but it's totally unacceptable to me for a falang to grope the crotch of anybody anywhere (other than in private). Sometimes I would hope that a few falang ought to feel more embarrassed about their conduct than they obviously do. If I ever feel uncomfortable about my conduct (meaning I'm feeling a bit embarrassed or have that "damn, I'm glad mom can't see me now" attitude), it might be time to at least take a moment to examine why I feel that way. Maybe, on occasion, one's reaction is honestly telling one something valuable. Thankfully, I rarely get that dreaded "red-faced" feeling.

As GB said, you could live a very high life over here on that amount. Besides housing (which varies according to taste but may be anywhere from $350 or so a month to, at the very high end, $2,000.00 a month including utilities), I'd think you'd have difficulty spending another 3,000.00 a month all the time. Heck, that's about 99,000 baht and you'd have to spend 3000 baht a day or more for food and leisure activities. When I used to come for 3 weeks, I did spend that kind of money but I was going to the bars rather regularly, doing all the tourist stuff, taking a trip here and there, etc. Now, there are days of the week that I don't spend 1000 baht in a single day. I only go to the bars once or twice a week (and 98% of the time that's a drinking bar and not a gogo bar). But I suppose it depends on the lifestyle you want to lead.

Ditto. [taylorsquare: Are you using this board as a bit of a psychiatric couch? Probably not very wise - please consult a professional] Edited to improve some grammar.

Embarrassed or not, talk to your doctor about it (he/she won't embarrass you about it - it's all in your mind). Why? Well: (1) he/she might be able to help you with the issue and/or refer you to somebody who can, and (2) it's an issue that your doctor should know about it and it just might be a sign of something else that he/she should be looking for.

Versus what, an unreal slut? I'm with lvdkeyes and GB on this one.

Sorry, wrong on both counts. There's no vacine as yet for dengue fever and I don't remember reading anything that says they are either working on one or close to a solution. There's also no vaccine for malaria although they have been working on one for years and a recent report indicates they're quite hopeful that a malaria vaccine will be available soon. When "soon" is, I have no clue. Edit: Just read an article that said some Thai researchers were working on a dengue fever vaccine. The article did not prognosticate about the chances of success or possible timing.

Alternatively, just buy one of their 1-year packages. I got 1200 minutes for 1200 baht from 1-2 call last March and the minutes don't expire until this coming March (when I'll buy another year's worth). Pretty easy, actually.

No, I haven't tried poppers and I won't and wouldn't. While I suppose anybody can post just about anything on the net, it would seem to me that you ought to be discussing this with your doctor rather than anonymously discussing it with strangers. Go see your doctor - he/she might be able to help.

I don't think so. I'm gay, I'm an american, and I wouldn't vote for it either. We've had a lot of discussion about this in the past and I won't attempt to repeat that here. Other than the economic benefits (like social security rights, income tax filing rights, and the like - all of which might be gained via a civil union law), I still don't understand the burning desire of being "married" just like traditional heterosexuals. Traditional marriage, at least for me, is for procreation and raising children. Making new laws simply isn't going to ever make us "equal" with traditional heterosexual couples.