Do not come to Thailand during Songkhran...unless..

[727Sky]

The video is from Pattaya; however during Songkran on every road and in every city you can expect to get wet if you are walking or riding a motor bike. Typically the festivities start on April, 13th and end on the 16th.. 

I drive a car or a pickup and carry a water gun that can shoot a stream at least 30 feet. I shot very few people this year but had a blast when a motorcycle pulled along side with a dad, mom and their teenage daughter who had avoided getting wet. I rolled down the window and pointed my devastator at the family....the look on their faces was priceless !! I just laughed but did not soak them as they were all dressed like they were going someplace nice....

I did shoot a few caddies but each year it gets harder for the word is out don't mess with me !! hahahah

[BIAD]

Ah, this is a bit problematic.

In Thailand, everyone looks happy getting wet and they call it a celebration.
In Britain, it makes us miserable and we call it 'Summer'!!

(Although I must admit, it hasn't rained here for a couple of weeks!)

[guohua]

@"727Sky" 
Looks like so much Fun!! 

[727Sky]

45 years ago many many girls looked like a wet tee shirt contest without a bra for all of Songkran … Now... they get arrested or fined... Even the Lady Boys with silicone enhancements get fined for showing a plastic boob. I do not know if it is because of the Muslim influence or TPTB want to take the country to a place that never existed except in their minds.. People were freer way back when and certainly had a good time even though they were poor as dirt in many cases..


Talked to a friend who is a Thai national yesterday. He is well placed in the hierarchy of the country.. I know him because we play golf sometimes at one of the courses he owns. He told me the economy presently sucks even though the official claim is it is all good.. 


The immigration procedures have changed and many Brits can not afford to live here anymore as they want people to place 800,000 or 400,000 in a Thai Bank (depends on marriage status... a friend and his American wife would have to place 1.6 million Baht in a bank so after 15 years they are reluctantly going back to America)...either that or transfer 65,000 a month to a Thai bank every month.. My understanding is If a Brit lives out of country and is retired there is no cost of living increase from their version of Social Security... Plus they do not usually retire with big bucks if they were blue collar workers. 


The government seems to want Chinese and Indian tourist even thought they are known for being major cheap Charlies as they usually only come on package tours.. Which is great for the big boys with hotels and other big assets but the little businesses never see any dollars from them.


Just had an Australian guy married to a Thai (for 12 years) who just packed it in and is going back home to Australia... With the cost of electricity and anything power related in Australia I feel sorry for him and he is not poor.


Myself all is good and I would Dred the day if we had to move someplace else as everything is very comfortable for us....but... we are flexible and could basically live just about anyplace.. My first priority is not feeling like I am getting ripped off which unfortunately many places leave a very bad taste of being ripped off at every turn in my mouth..

[Wallfire]

Not all change is good. Many things change with time, the real problem comes when people dont understand what needs to be changed and what needs to be saved.
All too often they through the baby out with the bath water, and sometimes even through the bath away

[guohua]

@"727Sky" 
I hope you and your wife get to stay there to, I know you are both Happy and Very Comfortable.
I have watched (on youtube) a lot of Australian and British guys want to live there but can only afford the 30 day visa because of the new laws. Sad, very Sad.

Even the ones who own little shops with there wives are having to leave. I understand that the Bar / Restaurant areas and places like that are now catering to Indians, Japanese and Koreans mostly.

[727Sky]

I should have tried harder when I first started to learn Mandarin.. That is one hard language and was never pretty or nice to my ears... so I just quit when I broke (actually she finished college and returned to Taiwan to run the family business and I would not go) up with my Chinese girlfriend from Taiwan. Absolutely one of the smartest people I have ever known.. Spoke 5 languages and was a walking calculator.. she had a mental abacus in her head and she was never wrong.. Amazing

I do not remember just how many years ago(20 or 30?) that the average Chinese lived on basically two dollars a day but it was 90% of the population.. Now it is 10%that is in the two dollar a day crowd.. if China is to be believed ?

[guohua]

@"727Sky" 
Yes I would say it is only 10% or 15 % living on $2.00 dollars a day in China, the very rural areas are poor of-course, the small farms still struggle.

The economy has grown rapidly in the last 6 or 8 years.
I can say that it is cheaper to buy groceries like meat and dairy here than in China, the cost of a new apartment / home (other than a government issued apartment) is outrageous.
The cost of clothes has doubled.
Our daughter came home for her month off and we bought all her new clothes here for her continued stay in China.

[Ninurta]

A 3 day water fight with Thai bar girls?

Hell yeah!

I'd come over next April and sign on for it, but I'm afraid to leave the US any more. I'm pretty sure they'd lock the doors and turn off all the lights when I came back, and then pretend no one was home so that I couldn't get back in...

... and if I had to stay in Thailand because of it, the Naga would most certainly be displeased.