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rinteln

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Posts posted by rinteln

  1. I have 2 issues with this headline and with this subject in general.

    First is that there seems to be this myth in Thailand that having a license is some sort of benchmark for ones ability to ride a motorbike and/or a supposed check that someone is capable or low risk. This is utter rubbish. Getting a license in Thailand is about as easy as getting a Tesco points card and has virtually no bearing on the persons ability at all. So making sure people in general are license holders is not really going to achieve anything as obtaining a license in Thailand doesn't mean you are a better or safer driver in anyway. Road safety like anything else is a slow process with a mixture of making people aware of the dangers, proper training and the most important thing....harsh penalties for breaking law and thus a deterrent for others. None of these are really implemented in Thailand.

    My second issue and biggest is this "tourist bike accidents"................why should it matter what kind of human being it is ? Surely this should be about bike accidents in general. Saying tourists either implies its only tourists causing accidents or that they dont care about the Thais, either would be worrying. And where are the stats to show x amount of tourist accidents in relation to general accidents. The whole thing gets messy when you segregate like this. There are bad riders/drivers with both Thai and Foreign and both need to be worked and this shouldn't be about Thai vs Foreign abilities. If it were then I cant see how any serious person would not accept that on PERCENTAGE foreigners are more likely to be the better skilled, more aware and safer drivers anyway.

    This headline is like many Thai headlines you see which are more for effect than anything else. Right now in 90% of this country people are driving around in cars and bikes with no hats, no licenses, no training and probably no checks on their vehicles so a silly headline like this makes one look rather stupid doesn't it. As an analogy it would be like saying "cutting down on STI infections by tourists in Africa" ...........whereas actually large parts of the continent are engulfed by AIDS. My point, start at the basics first and then try with the fancy headlines later.

    • Like 2
  2. My hatred of the word is more to do with the bigger picture which is that of the general laziness to seek out new information, to learn, to be scpetical and ambitious. The modern usage of the word farang, in my opinion is a sign of bad education, bad geographical knowledge and a sign of general laziness to actually identify people by means other than just what they look like. I dont get annoyed when called it because i see it as a bigger problem for them than me but it would be good for them to get rid of it.

    You are clueless beyond words. And you're clearly wrong because it's obviously a bigger problem for you than them. "Farang" is just a descriptive word and used in exactly the same way that Americans use the words "Asian" and "Hispanic" to describe a great many nationalities. The Thais could care less what you think about how THEY use THEIR language. I tend to agree with them. Which means your opinion amounts to about zero.

    "Which means your opinion amounts to about zero."

    This was my favourite bit. Concluding that your opinion made mine void just by you having an opinion........love it !!

    • Like 1
  3. Hard one to judge as each situation could be different but from my years of experience both with attending a few accident scenes but more from hearing stories I would not be inclined to stop at the scene of an accident and would take the advice of your girlfreind.

    Yes I agree that in many situations it would be doing the right thing and im sure no wrong doing will go down but I have heard too many stories of foreigners being blamed and made responsible for the purposes of money and an easy case close for the police. Generally speaking Thais will stick together against the foreigner irrespective of the situation or what really happened and you will be at a disadvantage with the language barrier. And then what are you going to do once your there ?! You try to help the vitctim and things get worse or the victim doesnt surivive and someone says you messed up. Or a wound or injury is worse because you took a gamble and it didnt pay off. There are just so many angles to this its scary.

    Its a shame because morally and ethically back home i would stop without a second's pause but here I would not and will not be stopping myself. I would call an ambulance and if with a Thai then she can go but no way I am.

  4. Farang , simply means foriegner, that is no racist term in itself, but the manner and tone in which it is used can be offensive, in my opinion. To use and old phrase, its not what you say its the way you say it.

    "Farang , simply means foriegner"...........No it does not and nor is it used in that manner in every day usage. Really wish Expats would stop letting these Thais off the hook so easily by saying "it means foreigner" . If it only meant foreigner then why do they not call people from Loas, Cambodia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan (need i go on) foreigners ?!! They dont call them foreigners, in fact I think you have to go quite far geographically before they start using the generic term farang instead of individual terms...

    When I told Thai people I'm from Singapore, they don't call me farang. Perhaps farang only refers to foreigners from western countries?

    Exactly and thanks for the perfect example. When actually if Farang truly meant foreigner then they should be calling you a farang. But they dont because I assume you look similar to them, or at least alot more than I do.

    • Like 1
  5. I have to say I was a bit excited when i first logged in and saw I had a reply. Only to find out the reply was actually a question to me about subs which was not my initial question....never mind.

    You can get subtitles from loads of sites like http://www.opensubtitles.org/en and http://subscene.com/ . I download the srt files, edit them for size in notepad or word and then either add to the file or burn them on using hard sub software.

    There is also http://www.thaisubtitle.com/ but the quality isnt as good and you need to try a few different versions of the same sub sometimes before you get a good one.

    Thanks

    • Like 1
  6. Hi guys,

    Does anyone know where I can get the dubbed Thai language audio tracks for movie files ?!

    Not looking for the subs, they are easy. I mean the audio. I want to try and burn a movie with the Thai audio track myself.

    Thanks

    • Like 1
  7. You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone. But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines. And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.

    "and thus become a burden on the state"

    What burdens are they ?..... other than what the illegal person will eventually pay for anyway. The most burden an overstay has on the Thai state is the paperwork and some stamps, hardly a killer considering the illegal will pay 20,000 baht which is likely to be more than the equivalent visa charges the Thai state lost for the overstay period anyway. Plus during their illegal stay it would be impossible to be a burden on the state, infact can only be a positive or at least no loss.

    More unnecessary scaremongering !!

  8. There is so much scaremongering on here its funny to read. Expats thinking that people that overtstay somehow effect immigration policy and rules. How many times have i seen someone say "its because of you overstayers that we have such a hard time with visas". You are letting the politicians of the hook too easily and giving them too much credit. Do you really think they are all sitting around in their offices saying to eachother well we would have a radical reform of our immigration act if those overstayers would just stop overstaying....................errr......no !!! The whole immigration system is setup to make money in the short term and keep foreign influence to a minimum. Overstaying and being able to pay it off is just part of that ideology.

    This needs to be put into context and looked at by the numbers. I had an overstay once of 2 days. Went to the smaller border crossing in Sa Dao. While I was doing the paperwork and paying the money I asked the policeman how many overstay people he had already had at that time, which was about 14.00. He said I was the 5th that day so far. So this is a small and quiet border crossing which has already had 5 that day and you would imagine at least another 2. So my point here is this is a daily occurrence which you would probably guess has 10's of people everyday going through checkpoints with varied durations of overstay. How often do we here of arrests or detentions ?!!! Maybe 1 every month in the news. Granted there could be more we don't hear about but for sure out of hundreds that go through there cant be anymore than a few arrests a month so this is such a small percentage.

    The other point we have to remember about overstay is that overstaying a visa is actually not a burden to the Thai state at all. In fact if for example someone has overtstayed for a year then the 20,000 fine is more to the Thai government than if that person actually got visas for the year. Plus its impossible for an alien to be a burden on the state in any way during their illegal stay. There is no social. If someone is living while here then its all their own money and money going into the Thai system. My point here is that unlike with Western countries there is not actually an undercurrent of politics and burden to the state involved when someone overstays. Its really just the stamp and the paperwork. Now im not saying this make overstaying right but it does take the heat off of the crime when it comes to policy on what the procedures should be.

    So when you have a situation where a foreigner arrives at the airport with the 20,000 cash and a ticket out what policeman is going to say no we would rather go through loads of paperwork, use our jail resources, get less money from you in the end and blacklist you so you cant come back and spend more money. No policeman will do that unless you have not got the cash there and then. Why would they want to put you in jail. Thai justice is not based on morality or principle its based on money. Pay the money your ok, dont pay your not ok.

    Bottom line is more than 90% of the time if you arrive at the airport early, smart and with the cash then by doing so you are offering the police an easy life to get you through and more money than the government would get if they sent you to court. You have to look at the numbers. If we were talking about any other subject with these percentages then there wouldn't even be a debate.

    Scaremongering about low chance scenarios is not helpful and really older more experienced expats here should know better.

    • Like 1
  9. Hi All,

    I started this thread to begin with. I just left Thailand last week with an overstay of 1985 days. Immigration at the airport did not even blink. I paid 20000 baht, got my receipt and left. They didn't even ask me one question. Very polite and nice. To all the guys yapping about how you will go to jail, won't happen. Costs them more to put you in jail, than collect an overstay fine. And that's the truth.

    Great news.

    Yep exactly what I was saying above in my rant.

    • Like 1
  10. How does petty theft from a Supermarket make it into the press.

    When i was 7 i used to steal parachute soldiers from a shop by throwing them out the shop window to a mate who caught them sailing to the ground, i'd be famous for my crimes if i grew up in Pattaya.

    "How does petty theft from a Supermarket make it into the press"

    Because it was a farang doing it and a chance to show up a farang in the media comitting a crime is too much to turn down.

    • Like 1
  11. Hi guys,

    A few weeks ago a female cat decided to have her babies near our home. Only about a week ago the mum decided she would bring her kittens into our garden. They were all in bad shape from lack of food and nutrition. Ever since then I have been feeding them and trying my best.

    The problem is that we cant really take care of them long term so we need to move them on.

    Anyone got any suggestions ? I have heard some bad stories about Tony's shelter and also not so good about Monks taking care of them in temples. If I have to then this will do but would rather not if there are better choices.

    Anyone know of a family who take in animals or a good shelter ?

    Thanks in advance

  12. You may get some sceptical and cynical responses to this. My contribution to both is who do you mean by Farang ? Anyone who doesnt look Thai/Indo Chinese ?

    Its way too generic in my view. I hate the word because of its laziness.

    • Like 2
  13. What an arrogant and elitist post! I am rich and successful and only want to be around people like me, really? Which is what most people around the world do, they stay with their own. But you wanted something different. You come to a developing nation where your wealth becomes more pronounced and then have the temerity to tell the rest of the ex pat community how to live their lives.

    Thailand isn't the greatest nation on earth and Thai's are not the greatest people. There are some wonderful things about the country and the people but there are also some massive flaws. And that is a statement that could be said about many nations.

    Why should someone who lives in Thailand have to make an effort to make friends with Thai's? Where is the benefit? If friendships happen then they happen. Personally the vast majority of my friends and aquaintances are Westerners and the vast majority of those Westerners are British. Am I missing out on the rich tapestry of life? I don't think so. I socialise with people who are on my wavelength who have common goals, experiences and terms of reference as me.

    And remember this Johny Hitler the majority of Brits and Americans are 3 paychecks away from being homeless (check the research). So with your forced repatriation programme for ex pats how would you deal with all those people at home who are broke or are a thin veneer of varnish away from broke? Where would you send them, to the workhouse? Baa humbug.

    The joy of this forum is that I never have to meet such a self opinionated <deleted> as you. Please please please stay with your Thai friends, buy them all the lao cow you can and become the Thai you so want to be.

    Just excellent allround. Best response so far !!

    • Like 1
  14. I am a perfect example of this. I am 33 and have been living here for 6 years now. My monthly average income has probably never been more than 25,000 a baht and I have lived a healthy life, visited many parts of Thailand, never had visa issues, have a nice apartment, motorbike and even get out for the sports and some nightlife when i want. Should I not be here then ?

    Hmmm, I don't doubt that you're living a healthy and contented life. Have you considered your future? At 25,000 bt/month, I doubt if you're saving very much. And you're not contributing towards any sort of pension or social security. On top of that, you're pissing away you're most productive years. If you keep on this path, you will be one of the broke expats that the OP is talking about when you hit 60. And if you have a family....

    wow thanks dad . I'm impressed with all those assumptions being made. On what basis do you doubt I am living a healthy life ? Definitive factual reasons I mean. If you doubt I am living a healthy life on 25,000 baht then what must you think of the average thai who lives on 10,000 ?!

    In regards to your questions regarding my future. Again a whole load of assumptions made by very little information. Again how are you defining broke ? Is 25,000 a month in Thailand broke.

    I think the issue is are you able to save any money for your future when perhaps one day you can no longer earn 25k. There is no welfare system here. No freebie pension from the state. Just picture yourself at 75. Now you may already have that covered, you may own property elsewhere or have expectations of an inheritance, in which case good luck o you and on tinge to enjoy! I think the OP is a complete trolling fool by the way!

    Totally agree with you which is why assumptions should not be made. The guy questioning me has come to all kinds of assumptions that he could not possibly know just based on my income here.

    But anyway the point of using myself as an example was not be cross examined about my life situation but to show that and also ask the question of deciding what is broke and not broke and what basis or structure is it decided that someone should not be here or not ?

    • Like 1
  15. I am a perfect example of this. I am 33 and have been living here for 6 years now. My monthly average income has probably never been more than 25,000 a baht and I have lived a healthy life, visited many parts of Thailand, never had visa issues, have a nice apartment, motorbike and even get out for the sports and some nightlife when i want. Should I not be here then ?

    Hmmm, I don't doubt that you're living a healthy and contented life. Have you considered your future? At 25,000 bt/month, I doubt if you're saving very much. And you're not contributing towards any sort of pension or social security. On top of that, you're pissing away you're most productive years. If you keep on this path, you will be one of the broke expats that the OP is talking about when you hit 60. And if you have a family....

    wow thanks dad . I'm impressed with all those assumptions being made. On what basis do you doubt I am living a healthy life ? Definitive factual reasons I mean. If you doubt I am living a healthy life on 25,000 baht then what must you think of the average thai who lives on 10,000 ?!

    In regards to your questions regarding my future. Again a whole load of assumptions made by very little information. Again how are you defining broke ? Is 25,000 a month in Thailand broke.

    • Like 1
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