Tell me about Thailand

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by oddball

Yes i am in Cambodia at this time , lived here for two and a half years , but times they are a changing ! Apartment blocks , hotels you name it being constructed everywhere you look , but for whom ? The infrastructure here in Phnom Penh cannot support the current population that has exploded from village people moving in , mostly uneducated , untrained in anything worth while , just men with a moto happy with a dollar or two a day to feed themselves . Driving laws and signs totally ignored , are not aware even on which side of the street to drive( motivate) themselves , most sidewalks etc are plugged with them , you endanger your life to walk in the street . Housing for another 150,000 residents , so add about 5,000 more vehicles and there will be total mayhem . My wife and i are seriously considering moving out of here before that happens , tourists on the internet advising to give this city a miss , they refer to it these days as the 'Wild West' using motos instead of 6 shooters to run the unwary down .Was a good place to live when i first came here , se-la-vie !! Angor Wat , with all the millions spent by tourist , bumpy , pot holed dirt roads to drive on , outside of town the poor have swollen , living in hovels and poluting everything with thier garbage , still living in the jungle .

Heh heh ....I was going to ask if its a nice place to visit as my wife has always fancied it, but I guess you answered the question

[oddball]

Hello , I will write more later about Cambodia , where to go and some of what is to be seen , living here on a daily basis gives a far different slant than a short vacation . Picking the place to stay obviates many of my accumulated pet pieves , as you can be close to the attractions without the hastles met during daily shopping etc , it depends on personal preference of sight-seeing , type of accomadation etc .Colin

[leoman20]

I agree with Buzzer.The rule of law is very variable in thailand.police not paid enough and must"fine " you for traffic violations to make up salary.also they apparently do hit contracts on the side if the victim is a criminal from a rival gang etc.
tourists especially on the islands frequently get killed by thieves or drug dealers.
you cannot expect to tour the country in mobile home-not have van parks and it is not safe.
most homes now are in security developments.
It is a poor country with amphetamine alcohol large debt and gambling problems.wach you drinks carefully as they can be drugged and then you are robbed or worse.

the thai women are quite controlling and take advantage of easy going naive foreigners.
the better educated thai women are like western girls and can be a good partner for middle aged men.
long term rent is so cheap it is not worth bothering with realestate purchase apart from condos in bangkok.
marital breakdown is rife in thailand among the thais.desperate mums try to bring up kids without alimony or government support.there is no unemployment hospital insurance or retirement pension from govt.so they rely on relatives or borrow at high rates of interest.

so be careful stick to safe areas dont go out late at night.some areas are very safe.others like western cities are notoriously unsafe.
do not speak to transgender people .men who become women are often sensitive and aaressive about it.
and they can knock you down and steal from you in dark alleys !
join expats clubs and then network.
apparently thailand is better than philipines -but wealth and less desperation than phillip.
thais dont speak much english.thai alphabet is not latin so hard to learn from books.

BUt thais can love just as we do have no sexual hangups are attractive happy to have an older partner and are devoted provided their family is take care of (you become govt pension for the parents and pay for kids education health innsurance-)
othe rmain problem is thai mentality-thais tend to be cargo cult or victim mentality apart form chineses who are good at business and are self motivating.many thias have no planning ,questioning,poor assertiveness and
do not have much self awareness or personal ambition.

[Pauly45]

Wow sounds bad for Phnom Penh. Best of luck to your guys.