ch-ch-ch-changes…
Posted by sideshowBOB | Blog, Reader Submissions | Posted on June 7th, 2009
Not sure why I said that but for some reason I just feel like change is in the air. Maybe it is just me getting too much sleep and thinking too much but who knows. Stopped into the X Box last night for their 3rd anniversary to wish Pete the very best. For customers or punters cruising through town this may not be a big deal but for bar/restaurant owners survival is a badge of honor right now. Pete is still here. Good on him. At his party I was chatting with the owner of a prominent lower Suk restuarant and he was lamenting how things are the worst he has ever seen them. Worried about how his next round of layoffs would be axing 5-6 year employees. That is not easy to do and hard to feel good about things when letting people go. Every single headwind is smacking Thailand right now. Political strife, a recession, bad attitudes in the locals, stupid visa laws, more dumb small business laws, strong baht, pig flu and well – who knows what might happen next.
Survival is key.
On my walk home last night – a few drinks in but not drunk – I was in some surreal mood where so many things struck me as odd. There was the Japanese guy in a suit and Thai eating spicy food with 2 bar girls looking like he was lost but needed a good meal. There was the old dude sitting with his young rent-a-friend speaking Enlgish but every word with some strange Thai accent to some how make the English sounded like Thai. The girl was nodding often and plowing through her beer. I am sure she did not understand a word. I sure didn’t. Then there was the girl who yelled jao chuu- at me as I walked by. I honestly have no idea who she was. The dude with her just smilled and said what’s up dude? Clearly he has no idea what is going on around him. Then there is the tuk-tuk freak with his 10 year old soapie flyer touting happy hour specials. HH at 1:00am man? Fuck. You want to just sit down and some how school him a little. For my sake – not his.
Just one of those nights I guess. I realize life can get too habitual but yet the only way to deal with it is too confront it. I moved overseas to get away from the habits of my former setting. I feel like I need to push the reset button. Not on Thailand or Bkk but on my approach. I am considering some drastic options like no go-go bars, no weekday drinking and then move my focus to clubs I have never been too, soapies I have never taken a bath in and crevices of town I have yet to trod on.
Could be a phase.
Esteemed customer AB ordered a hat recently and asked me to ship it over. So I did. Imagine my surprise when I get this email:
As you may remember, it was sent to my PO Box (gotta love the “hello Kitty theme”) but when I opened the envelope, at the Post Office, a big fucking roach crawled out. Seriously.
I laughed my ass off and told the very cute girl next to me that my friends in Bangkok wanted to make sure I was eating a healthy diet.
She kinda paled and walked away in what I thought was a very cute but rather rapid manner.
Oh well, I really didn’t have the inclination to teach her the fine art of the soapie.
I wrote back swearing I did not put a roach in the envelope but fuck that is funny. He wrote back:
That roach was active and angry and hungry. I knew you guys didn’t do it which made it even funnier…..wrong place, wrong time for the roach.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention….the un-soapie chick crushed my protein source with what could only be called “screaming disgust”. All in all, a great moment at the WI post office.
Anyone else for a hat?
Latvian hookers seem to provide evidence that the worst of the financial crisis is not over:
In a similar vein, John Hempton, who runs the financial blog Bronte Capital, has monitored the health of the Baltic economies based on the price of Latvian sex workers — currently about 30 lati ($60) for the standard service.
‒The contractual terms of prostitution are short (an hour, a night) and entry to the industry is unconstrained,” he says. ‒That means that the prices are very flexible.”
Price Collapse
True enough. His argument is that since the prices have collapsed by about two-thirds in a year, Latvia and the other Baltic states are still in big trouble with deflation lurking.
Saw this in the Nation the other day – I have a hard time not agreeing with it:
As a long-term resident of Thailand, I am increasingly concerned at the poor treatment of farangs in the Kingdom. Recently there were the unhelpful comments of the director-general of the Land Department indicating that property purchased by a Thai spouse using “farang money” would be confiscated. Of course, he will say I’m only enforcing the letter of the law. Just like those policemen who regularly stop farangs and demand proof of identity – not because they are interested in anyone’s safety but because they want to pocket the fines they impose when they find (as you would expect) that the tourists concerned have left their passports back at their hotel.
Then there have been the recent raids on restaurants (mainly farang) in the Sathon area where music systems have been inspected to make sure that no copy or pirated CDs are being used. When owners point out that they often use discs compiled from different (legal) CDs they are told that this is against the law. Really? One French restaurateur in Soi Ngam Duplee was recently arrested and fined Bt200,000. Then there are the absurd immigration regulations relating to all manner of visas and the time-wasting reporting requirements, for example, with retirement visas. It’s all about bureaucrats throwing their weight around while ripping off and otherwise inconveniencing good people who simply want to spend more time and money here. Some crime that is!
People talk endlessly about corruption in the Kingdom. We see instances of it all around us – almost daily. For example, there is a well-known police colonel in the Sathon area who is little more than a Mafia boss. He drives a Porsche and has business interests in the area, which his police salary couldn’t possibly sustain. Money laundering is his real occupation. Everyone knows this but who is brave enough to speak out or do anything about it. Is The Nation newspaper courageous enough to print this letter and/or investigate some of the allegations made in it. I very much doubt it. I am certainly not brave enough to give my name and address here because I have seen what happens to those who believe in Justice and in the Rule of law and who foolishly identify themselves by speaking out publically. And so the whole tawdry anti-democratic, anti-foreigner circus continues to oil the rich wheel of the local power elite whose only interest is self-interest – at the expense of Thailand’s future and the benefit of the vast majority of its citizens.
FRUSTRATED FARANG
I think he makes some great points.
I will leave you with this – since many of you are out of Thailand or are in Thailand and did not see the Thai newspaper:
48 Responses to “ch-ch-ch-changes…”
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Translator
thanks for the write up. yeah, certainly many things in process, progress. one can only hope that the local leaders come to their senses
and stabilize politics, crime and all the other important affairs.
for a a bar owner tourism is essential. tourism is luxus for many. when global economy is slow luxuries cut first i think.
the earlier mentioned recession is present but better days to come for sure. with asian growth (india, china) gaining momentum the golden ages in the west are fading i feel.
ha the tuk tuk guys with their glamourous flyers.
when you look up annoying in the dictionary you find a picture from
this very own bkk species.
wow, is that really carradine on the picture? cannot (yet) read all of the thai.
all the best for the biz ! could more parties and multiply floor action could do the magic?
View all comments by BKKtypelexic
lexic – correct but I think tourism here is hurting not just due to recession but also due to the local shit that is all self inflicted.
parties will be a staple – no doubt
multi floor action – when thing look safe enough to invest again. that seems to be off in the horizon me thinks.
thanks for the comment.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
interesting..
has the acid worn off yet ?
View all comments by bobonzo
b – as stated. I was not even drunk.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Sorry….no slight intended.
In the past, most of my insightful moments came not when drunk, but when under chemical influence..
I’ve known those feelings..being an expat for long periods of time has that effect. I like to call it the ‘I Want to Watch Monday Night Football on Monday Night and not Tuesday Morning’ syndrome.
Good Luck
View all comments by bobonzo
b – cool
i hear u
weird thing is I dont want the states back or thing from there – I want new things here.
obviously I create my own world here so mostly it is my fault for not trying order. old habits die hard. we all know that.
thanks for the kind words.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
You hit the nail on the head SSB.
Tourism is in decline.
Some blame can go to the yellow shirts closing the airport, some blame is the economic situation but I submit the mistreatment of visitors has more to do with it.
Scammed at every turn, bad attitudes from the bargirls and a general racist attitude is becoming the norm.
Tourists should be nurtured – not abused.
I found these shots of the BMA Code Enforcement Officers intimidating and defrauding tourists.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/sets/72157617714418287/detail/
View all comments by Khun Frank
kf – I think it is a factor but not the only one. The red shirt shit did not help either but you are correct in that they are not doing what they should to nurture the trade. Not at all
those are some great shots.
those 2 guys are the worst. saw them chat the other day with a thai who had just put his cig out on the ground. evil they are.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
ssb – that seems quite deep what u say; so I guess I want to add that sure I hope the minority and the majority never really fight each other. but there are still so many positives for people to visit thailand and with a bit of luck all the crazy stuff will level out in time. people have to realize there’s a lot more good than bad…
View all comments by Mr Carpet
“…people have to realize there’s a lot more good than bad…”
Actually, no, Mr. Carpet they don’t have to realize that, not unless they’re stoned out of their minds, because it’s not true. This is an utterly insignificant, worthless great turd of a culture that is of no consequence to anyone on the entire planet in spite of the hugely funny way the puffed little toads endlessly throw it up to the rest of us. And that’s the name of that tune…..
View all comments by OldAsiaHand
@SSB – you said it perfectly mate, I’ve been in Singapore for more than a year and while I don’t miss home I do miss… something. SEA might be my home for now but it won’t be the place where I’m buried. I think a lot of expats feel the same way.
You’re a lucky bastard anyway
View all comments by humantsunami
oah – im not stoned… knowledge and wisdom can be a great thing so long as you refrain from criticizing others. then you just sound old, bitter and twisted and people just think you’re a cunt.
View all comments by Mr Carpet
“I want new things here”
have u considered golf? beware though if u start u will wish u never had .
i know . u think there’s enough of those f in’ massage touts between burger king and soi 11 or what ? how much do they get 4 each one us anyway ?
stick just wrote about pattaya being dead but good . hard 2 believe but a side trip ?
and re: carradine . his family wants the FBI involved . we don’t want them poking around do we ?
View all comments by jack dawson
human tsunami’s avatar picture= reason no. 5,297,828 why the internet is evil.
if david carradine was alone. how was he supposed to jerk himself off when his hands are tied up like that? where was his spotter?
the tuk tuk drivers are actually a great way to find out which massage places you should never go. the sight of the crypt keeper sitting next to the bug eyed motorcycle gang member from weird science in the fishbowl still manages to kill even the biggest boners.
View all comments by UnCochinoWetback
ssb,
while i don’t disagree with any of what you’d stated re: tourism in decline, etc. i feel like there may be other contributing, related factors to thailand’s (in general) and bkk’s (in particular) loss of oomph with traditional traveling farangs.
while thailand overall still retains some distinct thai-ness that has made it so appealing for many for quite some time, to me it feels like the creeping “westernization” combined with “modernization” and/or “progress” in general (infrastructure, hotels, rests, starbucks, even the skytram – bless it’s efficient heart) and in spirit (pervasive/invasive tech driven, mtv-culture) over the past 12 years, has taken it’s toll on the unique place that thailand once occupied in many minds.
today, that uniqueness exists, but increasingly survives only at the edges and you have to travel pretty far to find some nice relatively unexplored andaman beach front and a big juicy dose of amazing thai without being visually, aurally and sometimes physically assaulted by noisy, fat, burnt-skinned euro snobs (or loud fat assed americans, if that’s your favorite repelling flavor) and an army of anxious, pushy thai folks with trite smiles pasted on their face, selling you worthless trash and trinkets.
within the global travel market, while thailand has become more accessible, it’s also become less thai, and many newbie travelers and repeat visitors yearn for more “authenticity” for their hard earned cash these days. of course, you’ll always have the louts that want their double tall, no foam, etc, etc, for the double wide, fat asses as they cool their jets in the breezy aircon of a ‘bucks (been known to do that myself, hung over like shit some days there), but in general, many adventurers are traveling further a field, while for the more cosmo set, bkk doesn’t really yet measure up to many other world class cites.
of course, bkk and thailand still retain it’s place as the undisputed capital for the sex trade and that’s why i keep returning, but for many others i’ve spoken to, increasingly thai is more and more “been there, done that” no need to return.
i do think that thailand will thrive as a tourist destination, increasingly with mid-class chinese and indians as they spend their newly acquired largess. perhaps a localized version of this site for them?
sorry for the long post and thx for keeping this blog real.
View all comments by 2 week trevor
I got chatting to a guy last week who got arrested for throwing a fag end on the pavement. He told me he was taken to jail, spent a night in the cells, and phoned the embassy to be released.
View all comments by LMW
Funny how no one here mentioned the economic impact on tourism. The baht is in a full on rally (especially against the lowly Dollar) The Pound has been pounded – and getting uglier, and the Aussy and NZ as well.
Anyone who does not think the baht is chained to the perceived value of the Chinese RMB is clueless.
Not to worry though. Thailand tourism will eventually come back. Although it might be a few years. And when it does, it will cost triple what it costs now! For most of you – that means enjoy it now, cuz it aint gonna last! = You have been warned!
View all comments by Radicalron
In divorce papers filled by David Carradine’s last wife:
“It was the continuation of abhorant and deviant sexual behaviour which was potentially deadly added to the complications of the relationship. Because of … my non-participation in this type of behaviour that he finally moved out.”
(thesmokinggun)
View all comments by Poodle
While no doubt tourism is down, I was playing golf on Sunday in a 4 ball and one of the players was the owner of a large bar on Soi 33.
He said May was his BEST EVER month since taking over the bar more than 2 years ago.
If the stock market is any kind of leading indicator, the 45% gains in the past 2 months might be telling. My banks equity dept did doubie revenue in May over April and is on course to double again in June.
Good time might not be too far around the corner. Or maybe it will all kick off June 15th…..
View all comments by MSB
Not being in business here I find that tourists are a huge pain in the ass. It’s so disgusting walking down Suk and seeing all of the Euro trash shuffling along with body shirts or no shirts, stringy hair and smelling like a pig pen and that’s the women. Then you have the loud obnoxious Americans bitching about some inane item, like where they got drunk last night, how much they spent and what they did to a little girl they picked up on the street. The line I like the most is “she said I was handsome that’s why she went with me”.
Maybe I would feel a little kinder to them all if I were in business but as it is they all suck! Their in town for two weeks spend as little as they can and then back to whatever hole they came from.
Once in a while there comes to town a few that go about their fun and games, keep their mouths shut, don’t bitch, and just enjoy. The sad thing is that they are few and far between.
If the Thais continue to shoot themselves in the foot with all of the crap they come up with, the fault for an lagging tourist trade lies with them.
View all comments by THE MAN
I’m still trying to figure out how that roach survived. Damn, that was funny.
As to the tourist stuff, it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. The best strategy is just to make sure you provide value for the price. That is true at any price point. The Mango certainly does that. Sounds like MSB’s buddy does that, too on Soi 33.
View all comments by The Asian Badger
@ OAH “puffed little toads”
Aaaah for a fleeting moment there I thought it was “stuffed little toads”. Reminiscent of a Mexican vacation I once took with a young swimsuit model from Niagara Falls Ontario.
In Extapa the poor girl couldn’t walk away from the beach alone without acquiring a veritable entourage of bachelor middle management types from Seatle, DeMoines, Dallas. Places like that. Hospital administrators, “legal associates”, dentists with enraged wives quick to accuse KC of criminally never been pregnant (so how would she know) as they’d lead their hubby’s back to the sand and the kids the wife had momentarily abandoned to Extapa’s treacherous surf.
To save face the single American bachelors inevitably shouted for Coronas after KC parked her scantily clad beach volleyball playing ass at my table by the pool.
Why am I telling you this? Well, one evening after dinner in Zihua, KC made me buy her a chamber music ensemble of 15 stuffed toads. I believe the factory is toad farm is just outside of Tijuana. We even planned a visit but we never made it.
I found her years later in FlashYourRack.com. Says she still has the ensemble. And expect, the entourage.
Youth slips away.
Oh so yeah. PUFFED toads, not stuffed toads.
as Bill O’Reilly would say, “My bad”.
View all comments by Prufrock
Always good to shake things up a bit, SSB. Good luck.
Latvia had a sovereign debt auction fail. Ouch. ‘Emerging Europe’ seems to be receding fast . . .
View all comments by Scampering Jack Wilshere
“suit and Thai”
555!
View all comments by But Different
Can we have OHA relegated to “douche bag” status and have his posts deleted or at least prefaced with some kind of derogatory header.
OHA: I will pay for the party that will be held in your honor at The Mango when you finally move back to your home country so please let me know when you are leaving. You are of course not invited but only to insure that everyone has fun so please do not take it personally.
View all comments by billybobbkk
well i spent the weekend getting taken to friends houses to watch a shitload of kids running around in their gardens. to be looked upon with scorn when getting my mates another beer (same mates ive had for 20 years and are all certified alcoholics…well not anymore apparently). to then be abused and heckled when i cant remember or dont know 1 of the 20 kids names. like i care, they’re all kids, since when do i give a shit if some bird doesnt know my girlfriends name?. This from the same girls ive known 20 years.
after getting fed up with that, i go to a pub, and pay 10 stinking dollars for a beer, which i know costs 30 cents in reality. i stand at the bar, get shouldered, spilt beer upon, not served for at least 10minutes, pushed in in front of, and then finally when ordering my beer, get villified for ordering 2 at the same time. i then forcefully get told by some cockhead maori bouncer where i can and cant stand to drink it. this, after spending id suggest 15 years drinking at the same place…u wouldnt think it was that hard to order, and then drink, a simple beer would you.
i have to go to bed early, alone, because i have work all week, so up i get at 6am, freezing fkn cold as winter is kicking in down under…i struggle off to work doing 40kmh on a 4 lane hway, because no one can drive, and cops are standing using a radar in peak hour traffic on the side of the road. i then get to work and sack some retard gen y receptionist who ive just had it with, and proceed to deal with cockhead clients all day. i come home to an empty house, cold, and cook some felch that passes as dinner.
can ye all please not ruin my fun time and cry boredom and despair with the hardship entailed in living in Bkk. i cant handle it.
our next trip, rememberances, and catch up with the goss if often what keeps many of us in farangland ticking along.
perhaps i just had a bad day….i wish my nasty little indo would get home from her short trip o’seas, im lonely, and need to be soap’ied.
View all comments by Maz
wow…first it’s OAH with his rant and now MAZ bumming me out.
maybe Grasshopper saw these posts coming and decided to end it all.
View all comments by bobonzo
I would suggest we avoid labelling Old Asia Hand anything until his accusers are able to assemble the acronym for his handle properly
View all comments by Professor
Karma’s gonna get ya………….I can’t help but laugh at you guys. I’m sorry but i started reading this blog a couple of years ago and just knew how it would end. IMHO. The art of enjoying Thailand is having a series of two week hoidays there every year. Then you always enjoy yourself. You never get bored with the place. And you leave wanting more and looking forward to returning. Of course the place is a hateful, mendacious, hypocritical, humid, corrupt,third worls dump, full of untrustworthy smiling bastards: But only if you live there on a permanent basis. Cheer up guys. You almost make me fell glad I live and work in Kuwait.
View all comments by The Sandman
Dude, Sandman, you must be joking. Or trying to fool yourself. Two weeks holiday per year is the “art of enjoying Thailand”?
So the other 50 weeks per year there is no Lolitas, gogo bars, G-clubs, Soapies, Thai sluts, 5 day drunken benders, etc, etc…
Last year I spent about 80 days in Thailand and it was not enough.
View all comments by WPD
Last year i spend 360 days in Thailand.. and this year I intend not to miss the 5 I miss last year.
View all comments by I Phukit
@ Professor: Anybody who’s read anything about pre-WWII Siam, knows there used to be a vibrant emerging middle class here. The post-war Thai GNP was the *same* as Korea’s. Pre-war Thailand was not a nation of serfs.
Informed individuals know exactly what OAH is talking about. Others simply do not but that doesn’t stop them from getting all fired up anyway. In fact I have to laugh when I see how fashionably heroic it is on these boards to get a big ol’ tuk-tuk driver, “you-no-like-Thai-people” lip-on over comments by OAH.
“Principled” knee-jerk FAKE outrage is easier than really reading or actually learning anything about Thai history.
Haven’t we had just about enough posse-building ooga-booga based on ill-formed “principles” generated in complete and utter superstition and ignorance?
View all comments by Prufrock
@LMW – I got busted for throwing a cigarette butt in front of the EMporium BTS entrance – no garbage cans around – made me walk back to the stand where they wanted 2000K – I said no – I will pay 200bht – I sat there for about 1 1/2 hours and they let me go! I said – Call the Police – I would give him 200BHT and I am done! A fricking Rip Off!
@2 Week Trevor – I know many guys that feel the same and are changing their routes to Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia! Wait till Cuba opens up (as quoted earlier) to us fat ass Americans!
What fucking bullshit when someone has to categorize someone on their Nationality versus the person that they truly are! I get so sick of you types – for example –
Was sitting at an outside bar last Sunday night returning from Pattaya at the bottom of the On Nut BTS. Two assholes came up to me and asked me if I was an American – I said – yes – then they start bitching at me because the world’s problems are mine and they were not nice at all; they were starting to get nasty, I listened to this about 15 – 20 minutes – I told them both to fuck off and get out of my face – one guy from a Island close the coast of France threw his drink on me – I smacked him on the side of his head with a bottle of Leo – the Thai guys I knew there got them outta there quick!
What is wrong with people’s attitudes in BKK these days ???
Seems like everyone is on a fuse!
My Summary, everyone is on a short fuse here (thai’s farangs) because things are tough here (people worry about their jobs, familys, money, etc’s) – things are tough everywhere ……
Maybe not a fair summary – but I just sense ‘tenseness’ – especially when I am in lower Suk which is not that often – speaking of Pattaya – I have NEVER seen it so deserted and slow – and I have lived in BKK for about 14 years – I have a pretty good feel of this place – not sure what the definition of ‘Feel’ is – but I have one!
View all comments by JDH
Wait until the swine flu kicks in this winter. Folk will be reluctant to pop down to the shops (if they’re open, that is), let alone fly off on holiday.
View all comments by ziggypop
Last week I was standing outside Sukhumvit Subway Station taking some photos and smoking a cigarette. I threw the fag end on the ground and a few minutes later a BMA police officer hit me up for a 2,000B fine. He was very polite, showed me the relevant law in an old binder and had me sign a receipt.
I was angry but only with myself. As the officer pointed out there was a bin a few feet away. I knew about the law and the enforcement activities. I had only myself to blame.
So in turn I fined myself a trip to the Beer Garden which would be about the same damage.
Yes, for sure my 2,000B went into the kitty for the local force, but so be it. I thought what would have happened in London if I had done the same thing. I have read of officious Community Support Officers (CSOs or somesuch) in London who like exerting their limited authority. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Support_Officer.
If CSO had seen me do the same thing I’d have received a “fixed penalty notice” and doubtless more hassle + expense.
I had to get that off my chest.
View all comments by Artful
Last year my Brother got caught putting his ciggy out in Suk 4. The cozzer marched him to the kiosk to show him the laminated piece of law in English.
2k was the fine, but I simply offered the two gents a crisp pink note each and said lets not worry about the paperwork.
They then turned into my best pals and informed us that we should go to Nana where there are “many sexy lady”.
Bless them.
View all comments by Daywalker
i think the problem is the whole world has just become slightly more shit. this pattern of things becoming slightly shitter, is universal, and inevitable, and will only become more noticable. i look back and try to imagine living in the UK and i shudder. no matter how bad things in bangkok are, they will never have the life sucked out of them to the extent of modern life in england.
i have noticed a slight attitude change in general, but i still love it here in bangkok.
jaded, lazy racists aside
View all comments by BangkokMilkshakes
With respect to young BMS above, I must confess to a growing annoyance with posters who say Britain is ‘shit’ and Thailand is ‘great’
What they mean presumably is that ‘their’ life in Britain was shit.
There are millions of peeps whose life in Britain is great thanks – and some of them, like me, love their time in Thailand too.
View all comments by doctorbond
doctorbond – thats a fair enough comment, i did make a massive sweeping generaisation, ill try and explain my thoughts a little better. its all subjective, and i cant argue that i was pissed off with my life in the UK. its not to say that there was anything especially wrong with it, i had a good job, great friends etc, excellent social life, but i had itchy feet and a feeling of dis-satisfaction, and not for one second do i regret leaving.
let me use this example. last time i went to the UK was in easter 2008. i arrived at heathrow about 8pm. the temperature was around zero degrees. i couldnt afford to spend 40 quid in a taxi getting to central london,(well, i could, but it just seems absurd) so i had to get the bus and the tube. i got to the bus station, which was deserted apart from a group of hounslow chavs in hoodies necking stella. empty beer cans were bouncing up and down the concourse, due to a piercing whistling wind. im wearing a jumper, my warmest item of clothing, and shivering like a cunt.
i get the bus to hammersmith. walk about. its about 9.30pm. its a saturday night. its may sometime. the streets are literally deserted. as in – not one person is out. where is the life? its so quiet. theres nothing going on. the next day its snowing. in may.
i get up in the morning, go to tescos buy a couple of newspapers and a carton of orange juice. hand over a fiver – get about 50p change. every high street shop has window displays pertaining to the fact that they are trying to save the environment, when in reality they are trying to sell you face cream at 30quid a tube. the papers have full page ads in them, saying, ‘make sure you have the correct air pressure in your tires – save fuel, save the planet’ etc etc. you cant have a fag – anywhere, which is lucky, as they cost about 10 quid a packet. two pints cost 7quid something.
practically everything is illegal, and the police arent corrupt, which is a nightmarish combination.
i cooked dinner for my mates. cost of ingredients for spaghetti bolognese? -35 quid. now im not saying my arguments for thinking the UK is shit are purely fiscal, im just saying the place is a cold rip off.
the reality of life in the uk right now just doesnt appeal. the random violence, the pathetic media bandwagons, having to have things like jade goodys death – ‘OK edition’ even enter your field of vision. watching orange colored talentless shitheads crying because a fat village idiot can sing a show tune….its nonsense.
etc etc etc. obviously its great to see all your mates, and get a bit of culture, the live music, the architecture, the art, the food even – its refreshing. but the average quality of life? it just bores me silly. work like a dog. drink beer until you pass out. repeat.
in short. i can appreciate you living in the UK and holidaying in Thailand working perfectly for you. I on the other hand, prefer the reverse scenario.
View all comments by BangkokMilkshakes
So..in essence you are a dirt poor cunt whose real beef is its expensive as hell in London..but love Thailand because it is a cheap 3rd world country where the food, booze and pussy is cheap…
We got it..
View all comments by Indu WangZi
no not at all. like i said – i had a good job in london. i own property there, and here. im not living in thailand for cheap food and booze, and i never mentioned pussy. i just find the place cold, expensive (in a value for money way) and sterile.
View all comments by BangkokMilkshakes
No worries BMS – we’re not at war here …. quite possibly the best thing about Britain (Europe) is the knowledge that if you stumble in life the state will look after you – that is quite possibly the most fundamental thing that we can be proud of. No countries outside Europe can offer this – not even the US – and we can travel the world safe in that knowledge.
Funny you should mention being cold because I think the climate is ‘better’ taken as an all round view. Off the top of my head I would list the following advantages:
Welfare, Free Healthcare, Rule of Law, Politics, Freedom of Speech, Climate, Food, TV, Business opportunities, Cleanliness, Landscape, Pollution.
I hate Chavs and Jade Goody too – but it’s a small price to pay.
View all comments by doctorbond
doctorbond – i agree with you. i think we can be proud of the safety net britain provides. maybe i wouldnt be so flippant if i didnt have that available to me. and as a british citizen, luckily i do.
View all comments by BangkokMilkshakes
Good Chap BMS ! – pints are on me next time I’m in town – we can wave our passports at the lesser-fortunates
Cheers.
View all comments by doctorbond
I dunno Doc.. all that comes at a price. Handing over 40%+ of my hard earned salary every year was enough to say goodbye to my UK life.
The life was good… Ferrari… bikes… riverside properties..etc…
But paying for all those spongers just isn’t quite worth it.
I love Thailand me.
View all comments by Daywalker
I’m just softer-hearted than you DW – in fact most of humanity is.
Pisses me off to see beggars minus limbs dragging themselves about rattling their cups – the fact that they may being stage-managed by the BiB or other ‘reputable organisations’ doesn’t make it any better. Mind you, I’m reminded of Jack Dawson’s recent pic of some unfortunate lying out cold on a Bangkok Soi – he seemed vaguely familiar – maybe a British passport doesn’t protect you from all of lifes misfortunes.
View all comments by doctorbond
“heart”?? What is this word you speak of?
View all comments by Daywalker
WPD: Thank you for responding to my post. Sorry I did not make my self clear. I actually meant several short holidays a year in Thailand. I decided not to live there a few years ago.. Now I live in a dump in the ME but it pays for 9 or 10 weeks of holidays a year which I break up into 3 or four vacations. It works for me. where i have plenty of money and always leave with regret. travel time is only 6 hours from the Gulf to Thailand. I have a few mates who have retired there and or set up businesses….Who seem to moan a bit even though they are successful……..Life just seems so stresfull there as a place to live but as a fantasy holiday land it seems great.
View all comments by The Sandman