I know about twenty Soi dogs in Thailand (so named because they hang out in alleys, or sois). They’re not well cared for  and, if this story moves you, sign the petition to improve their lives. If you’re in Chiang Mai you can volunteer or adopt a dog from Care for Dogs. They do heroic work caring for lost dogs who need homes.

I walk two miles around my neighborhood at dawn each morning. The streets are quiet and empty except for dogs. Soi dogs in Thailand are an independent lot. As far as they are concerned they have as much right as any Thai to walk or lie on the road and they expect humans – especially drivers – to respect that. Thais generally do, though there are enough limping, three-legged, and even two-legged dogs around to suggest that their rights are not always respected. though they do a fine job of barking at strangers, they have limits. If it is too early in the morning–before 5 am–or late in the evening– after 11 pm–they prefer to sleep. (Thai cats are well aware of this, as are the pigeons who know the cats will vanish when the dogs appear). Thai dogs will not bother you if it is raining, or chase you if the grass might wet their paws, or if it is too hot, or too cold, or if you are accompanied by a dog bigger than them.

Many people are on a budget, and are looking for a cheap dog fence. That is certainly understandable. However when it comes to the well-being of your pets, why take a chance on a cheaply-made product? Most dog owners see their dog as a member of their family. Doesn’t your family member deserves the best dog fence? Why take a risk when it comes to your dog’s health? While considering a fence in general consider the potential negative consequences of using an electric stimulation device on your pet.

People who’ve never gotten to know dogs find Soi dogs in Thailand frightening and I suspect that they’re responsible for most of the negative stories about them. If you like dogs you won’t have a problem with them. They’re more assertive than house dogs, since dogs are territorial animals and the soi is their territory and they have to hustle for scraps every day. Happily, Thais love dogs – though they rarely pet them, which Thai dogs are OK with – and I’ve never seen an emaciated one.

They’re numerous because Thais don’t commonly spay or neuter dogs. One reason that there aren’t too many dogs is a big market for dog meat in northern Vietnam. Dog-catching has been privatized by dog catchers who smuggle thousands of them across the border every month.

Like everything in Thailand, there’s a dog hierarchy, too. At the top are companion dogs: well-groomed, well-fed, often purebreds that are allowed to socialize with street dogs for a few minutes each morning under their owners’ watchful eyes. These are the friendliest dogs I meet each morning. They approach me fearlessly and enjoy being petted and talked to.

Below the companion dogs are guard dogs: serious looking and larger than the companions. They run loose in the yard and, in return for a protected space and regular meals, bark at passersby and, presumably, bite intruders. Below them are ‘gate dogs’ who  have adopted a house, live in the street by the gate as auxiliary guards. They stick so closely to ‘their’ gate that I assume that house owners feed them on a ‘no obligations’ basis. Both householder and dog retain their independence while deriving benefit from the relationship.

Next down are real soi dogs who live entirely in the street. They live in strictly hierarchical packs for mutual protection are most vulnerable to dog catchers since they’ve nowhere to hide. It is these guys who accompany me on my morning walks and whose social arrangements keep me entertained. When I arrive in their alley they congregate around me, apparently simply happy to be acknowledged by a human. At first they all wanted to be petted but, over the months, the novelty of petting has worn off. Now our greetings are largely verbal: warm words from me; yipping and tailwagging from them. Then we set off for a block or two so they can show off their human friend to the guard- and house-dogs. Then, with their status raised, they peel off and start exploring the exciting new smells that the morning brings. They’re as individual as any human and I find their interactions a constant source of interest and amusement.

Below soi dogs are the wretched of the earth: the strays. These poor creatures have neither turf nor a pack to protect them. Something has displaced them and they literally have nowhere to call their own. They slink around, ears pinned back, with anxiously wrinkled brows desperately looking for food and temporary shelter. Packs of soi dogs pursue them and, if they catch them, attack them viciously. Here’s a video I made of my local dog pack. Sometimes they accompany me for a few blocks; sometimes they ignore me:

The Vinegar Cure

The worst dogs I’ve encountered are the racists (surprised?). They ignore Thais but hate foreigners and feel it their patriotic duty to attack them. There’s one guard dog on my morning route and I would walk quietly past his house, enduring his bloodcurdling snarls and barks. One day his gate was left open and he came after me. I escaped unharmed but my morning was ruined. Happily, Thailand is the home of the water pistol. Thais consume more water pistols per capita than any nation on earth because, in Thailand’s climate, they’re fun, s’nuk. After choosing a compact, high capacity weapon (60¢ at the supermarket – always on sale) I loaded it with diluted vinegar. The next morning I heard the same racist threats but I had my equalizer ready. A few squirts (avoiding his eyes) followed by the sound of baffled, indignant whimpering. He seemed as much upset by our switch in status as anything! He was no longer the aggressor and he obviously hated smelling of vinegar which, to his doggy nose, must have been intense.

I repeated the treatment on Soi dogs in Thailand the next morning and that was the end of it. He still barks at me, of course, but his bark lacks conviction. The racist insults and threats of dismemberment have ceased. We encountered each other out in the street last week and, after a few halfhearted barks he backed defiantly into his open gate.

Prevention

1. Let sleeping and eating dogs alone.
2. Don’t approach dogs you don’t know. You’re probably entering their territory and dogs are territorial.
3. Don’t go near dog hangouts at night, like temple grounds, abandoned buildings, building sites, car parks and empty spaces.  Darkness is their friend, not yours.
4. Carry an equalizer. A rape alarm works fine. Umbrellas and pieces of bamboo are fine. Often picking up a rock is enough to discourage them.
5. Don’t run. It excites their hunting instinct. Walk purposefully as you draw yourself up to your full height
6. Fold your arms or raise them slowly above your head. This keeps vulnerable hands away from sharp teeth.
7. Don’t smile or squeal. Your smile resembles aggressive teeth-baring and squealing sounds like a wounded animal. Command them in low, strong tones.
8. Be wary of turning your back on them. Don’t hang about.  Commotions attracts other dogs. Walk on, possibly backwards.

There are tons of Soi dogs in Thailand, but Deputy Dog is a favorite. This golden labrador is a well-known character around Chiang Rai, the beautiful town 5 hours drive north of Chiang Mai. Richard Berry, who combines an idyllic Chiang Rai life with manufacturing the ultra-natural English Organics cosmetics (you can eat them – literally) snapped a few shots with his cellphone.

On a Lighter Note

There are tons of dogs in Thailand, but Deputy Dog is a favorite. This golden labrador is a well-known character around Chiang Rai, the beautiful town 5 hours drive north of Chiang Mai. Richard Berry, who combines an idyllic Chiang Rai life with manufacturing the ultra-natural English Organics cosmetics (you can eat them – literally) snapped a few shots with his cellphone. There’s no story behind this as far as Richard has been able to discover. This is simply how the dog likes to sit while waiting for his master to finish shopping. Here’s how deputy dog looks when he sees his master approaching:

Monks Kindness to Dogs

Thai temples are a traditional refuge for stray and hungry dogs and the monks beg for food for them every morning as they walk the streets, barefoot. Here’s what happens at feeding time:

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The average quantity of pure alcohol consumed by each Thai adult, 15+ years, increased from 6.8 to 7.1 liters between 2008 and 2010. The global average is 6.21 litres, but for Southeast Asia it’s 3.4 litres – less than half of Thailand’s. Thailand is now #4 in the world for alcohol consumption.

This is startling considering that 70% per cent of Thais are recorded as abstainers. The remaining 30 per cent more than make up for those who don’t drink. The total alcohol consumption for Thai male drinkers (those who DO drink) was 30.3 litres of pure alcohol. For women (who have to do all the work in Thailand), it’s only 5.2 litres.

Thailand alsos received the highest rating – 5 – for the number of “Years of Life Lost”. Deaths from cirrhosis of the liver were 28.2 per 100,000 citizens for men, 8.7 for women. Interestingly, the death rate for road accidents using the same criteria was 70.3 for men and 18.5 for women.

In Thailand, 73 per cent of alcohol consumed is spirits, 27 per cent is beer, while wine is less than 1 per cent. Neighboring Myanmar’s alcohol-use profile resembles that of Western countries: 6 per cent wine, 12 per cent spirits and 82 per cent beer. For the United States it’s 12 per cent spirits, 40 per cent wine and 48 per cent beer.

At me neighborhood liquor store Hong Thong Whisky (35% alcohol) Thailand’s top-selling whisky is 239 Baht for a 700 ml bottle. 40% proof Song Sam Whisky goes for 271 Bt ($9)! Rongkaw white spirits (known locally as lao khao), the world’s second largest spirits brand, is just 99 Bt ($3.30) for 40%. Yikes!

In the tiny wine section I found Siam White Blend 2012, 750ml, 12.5% alcohol for 299 Bt, or $10. That’s a no-brainer.

Alas, in the notoriously corrupt Thai Government the Thai Public Health Ministry has no input on excise tax policy. Then-Finance Minister Kittirong na Ranong said excise taxes are set “according to ministerial regulation”; i.e., behind closed doors.

Health groups helped push through some regulations, the most ridiculous of which is the ban on the sale in stores of alcohol from 2 – 5pm. The concept behind this move was that it would prevent “schoolboys” from obtaining alcohol. It has been a complete failure. The notion of using excise taxes to move drinkers towards beverages with lower alcohol content (as practiced in the UK) has not yet made it onto the Thai government’s agenda, apparently. The WHO report can be viewed here. 

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Here’s another beautiful elephant moment in Thailand: the elephant is blind:

And they also make music, as you’ll learn from National Geographic.

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Concentration: Tranquility and Insight

“Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in world. Which four?

“There is the case of the individual who has attained internal tranquility of awareness, but not insight into phenomena through heightened discernment. Then there is the case of the individual who has attained insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, but not internal tranquility of awareness. Then there is the case of the individual who has attained neither internal tranquility of awareness nor insight into phenomena through heightened discernment. And then there is the case of the individual who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment.

“The individual who has attained internal tranquility of awareness, but not insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, should approach an individual who has attained insight into phenomena through heightened discernment and ask him: ‘How should fabrications be regarded? How should they be investigated? How should they be seen with insight?’ The other will answer in line with what he has seen and experienced: ‘Fabrications should be regarded in this way. Fabrications should be investigated in this way. Fabrications should be seen in this way with insight.’ Then eventually he [the first] will become one who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment.

“As for the individual who has attained insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, but not internal tranquility of awareness, he should approach an individual who has attained internal tranquility of awareness… and ask him, ‘How should the mind be steadied? How should it be made to settle down? How should it be unified? How should it be concentrated?’ The other will answer in line with what he has seen and experienced: ‘the mind should be steadied in this way. The mind should be made to settle down in this way. The mind should be unified in this way. The mind should be concentrated in this way.’ Then eventually he [the first] will become one who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment.

“As for the individual who has attained neither internal tranquility of awareness nor insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, he should approach an individual who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment… and ask him, ‘How should the mind be steadied? How should it be made to settle down? How should it be unified? How should it be concentrated? How should fabrications be regarded? How should they be investigated? How should they be seen with insight?’ The other will answer in line with what he has seen and experienced: ‘the mind should be steadied in this way. The mind should be made to settle down in this way. The mind should be unified in this way. The mind should be concentrated in this way. Fabrications should be regarded in this way. Fabrications should be investigated in this way. Fabrications should be seen in this way with insight.’ Then eventually he [the first] will become one who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment. Checkout pounda.co.uk for financial needs.

“As for the individual who has attained both internal tranquility of awareness and insight into phenomena through heightened discernment, his duty is to make an effort in establishing (‘tuning’) those very same skillful qualities to a higher degree for the ending of the mental fermentations.

“These are four types of individuals to be found existing in world.”

– Samadhi Sutra was translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Wonder no more. Though Thailand has never been a major force in spectator sports, it recently took the coveted Adultery World Cup by a comfortable margin. But if you, silly farang, think you can get away with it, think again: Thai ladies play for keeps and, though you may escape with your life, you may leave something precious behind…

Before you snigger, consider this: adultery is the most popular participatory sport on earth. Adultery – in the broadest sense of the term – is played by more people than all organized sports combined. It offers equal opportunities (and is equally embraced by) both men and women. LGBT folk can play without the slightest discrimination. It is, furthermore, incredibly inexpensive (at least in the short run) to play. While golfing equipment, clothing, and play time can run in the thousands, adultery equipment is literally minimal. What’s not to like?

I’ve been a keen observer of adultery in Thailand and, while trying not to be too pushy or creepy I’ve also tried to make sense of the sex/gender scene here. I love figuring out what make cultures tick and the local approach to adultery is an exotic aspect of Thailand’s ancient culture. [By culture I mean a pre-solved environment in which all the major decisions about human relations have been made, known, accepted and practiced by the entire society].

To begin with, Thai men can be counted on 100% to participate. Thai men are the most enthusiastic and brazen adulterers I have ever seen. Their approach is not subtle. I’ve seen them pitch a woman at a club when her husband went to the bathroom.

Thai men maintain their carefree attitude to sex and its consequences after marriage, too. Up to 40% of them abandon their families – according to Thai authorities and my (abandoned) Thai women friends. One  consequence is that many Thai children live with semi-literate grandparents back on the farm – where most Thais maintain family rights – and this depresses literacy. Thai kids are fifth in Asian children’s literacy poll). Alimony and child support exist only on paper. Few ex-husbands contribute to the support of their children and there is no effective enforcement of court orders. So much for the down side of adultery!

The other side of Thai adultery is the fun side, and that’s the whole point: it’s inexpensive, novel, dangerous and pleasurable all at once. It’s s’nook, and s’nook is Thais’ #1 priority.

They’ve been adulterizing for centuries and managed to avoid too much bloodshed. Even the blood is shed pretty even-handedly: jealous Thai gals kill cheating Thai guys (and always a kitchen knife) about as frequently as guys kill gals. This is one of the rare examples of gender equality in Thailand! In fact, Thai gals get their revenge on Thai guys in fascinating ways. They’ve figured out a lifestyle that most women in the world would envy. They’ve put men in their place. Here’s how they do it:

Angry Pattaya Fried Chicken Seller Slices Husband’s Penis Off

A Pattaya friend chicken woman found out her husband was cheating on her – so she decided to be extra nice to him this morning. She spoke to him gently and started stroking him in a place where most men don’t mind to be touched. Then as he was really getting in the mood she whipped out a box cutter and attacked his penis. Medics found the man in agony screaming with an ice compress held to his privates outside their rented room in Soi Nern Plab Wan. The penis was still attached, but only just, and Somchai (assumed name) was covered in blood. After emergency first aid the Bangkok man was rushed to Banglamung Hospital with his wife Ann in tow.
An – a native of Kamphaengphet who sells fried chicken – told medics from the Sawang Boriboon foundation that she had found out that her husband had been cheating on her with a trusted close friend. She lulled him into a false sense of security on Tuesday morning by stroking his genitals before attacking him with the box cutter. She said there was blood all over the bed and her husband was howling so she decided to call the medics.Doctors said that Somchai had lost a lot of blood and would need close supervision. It was too early to tell whether he would regain full use of his penis as there was severe psychological trauma to contend with as well as the injury itself. They said they would have to wait and see.

You might think this is a one-off, a freakish event – but you’d be wrong. Here are two citations from medical journals to give you a little perspective:

Surgical Management of an Epidemic of Penile Amputations in Siam.  Kasian Bhanganada, Tu Chayavatana, Chumporn Pongnumkul, Anunt Tonmukayakul, Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, Krit Komaratal, and Henry Wilde, for the medical techniques described in their report — techniques which they recommend, except in cases where the amputated penis had been partially or totally eaten by a duck.  American Journal of Surgery, 1983, no. 146, pp. 376-382.

Here’s a video about adultery in Thailand. When I asked a Thai friend what the words mean, she replied, “How you know this song? It’s mean the third party. Example wife have some one who be a third party and keep secret from husband. In Thai we call suam know”. (So suam khow is our vocabulary word for today).

P. S. Statista, the handy statistical site, took data from Match.com and updated it to create the infographic above.

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Thai sex shows 100 years ago arrive long before the influx of GIs during the Vietnam War have revived  sex shows, but this kind of entertainment had already emerged as a feature of Bangkok night life by the 1920s.

In Sayam Rat, a popular newspaper from those times, described how employees from the Chai-oi ngiw (Chinese folk opera) walked around the city streets carrying placards advertising performances as “a humorous tale with interesting pornographic elements”–and Thai sex shows were born.

The campaign drew large crowds, largely from the Chinese community, to see a show that featured young male and female performers on stage. According the newspaper, the show began with the two protagonists admiring scenery in a garden, flirting with one another, then ‘falling in love’. As the performance unfolds the performers strip down and proceed to simulate copulation in a most ‘realistic fashion’ before a packed audience who ‘cheered them on enthusiastically’.

Sex With Ladyboys?

Expat Dan Cheeseman says 38% of expats in his area have had a sexual encounter with a lady-boy. He surveyed 300 subscribers to his newsletter and  80% of respondents at least said they found lady-boys attractive, so the 38% figure seems realistic, though Dan did not specify what an ‘encounter’ actually constituted. Another 16% who said they had not had a sexual experience also said they did not rule out the chance were it to present itself.

Here’s a video about Thai sex shows:

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In last month’s newsletter we brought you news of a serious haunting at Nari Samosorn Building, where a state employee reported encountering a ghost. (A state employee reported encountering a ghost inside the Government House, just days after officials completed a series of rituals aimed at appeasing the spirits believed to reside inside the building).

Alas, Sinsakorn Aroon, a 60-year-old official who works at the building, told reporters that he saw a ghostly phenomenon inside Nari Samosorn Building at around 6 pm on Wednesday. Mr. Sinsakorn, who is in charge of the audio system in the Government House’s press conference room, said he was preparing to leave the conference room when he spotted a woman sweeping the floor near the reception room.

“I said to her ‘You are still working? I will leave now. When you leave please lock the door,'” recalled Mr. Sinsakorn, who said he initially thought the woman was a housekeeper. “Then I wondered why a housekeeper would be cleaning at this hour. The repair workers were already done and the building’s housekeepers had already gone home.”

With that realisation, Mr. Sinsakorn said he suddenly felt cold. The woman then walked into a set of doors and disappeared right in front of him, the official claimed.

“If she was a human, I would have heard the door move,” Mr. Sinsakorn said. “I was frozen on the spot. I could only hear traditional Thai music, even though I didn’t hear that sound earlier. Once I regained my conscience, I ran off and shut the door.”

Mr. Sinsakorn said he has heard tales about Government House ghosts from other officials, including a painter who claimed a female ghost told him in his dream to use “dark colours” when he painted inside the building, and an official who said workers noticed a scent of mysterious “ancient perfume” during the recent renovation.

“I think I saw the ghost because she wants to instruct me to keep the building clean,” Mr. Sinsakorn said. “I plan to make merits for her soul.”

This latest apparition took place despite the fact that a feng shui master was recently hired to oversee the realignment of plants and furniture inside the Government House. Military junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also prayed to spirits at several different altars in the complex on his official first day of work this week.

A number of Government House officials privately told our correspondent that they believed the female ghost manifested herself to Mr. Sinsakorn because the ceremonies needed to appease the supernatural entities watching over the area were not properly conducted.

And, on a related matter, here’s some footage I took of the preparations for a working-class Thai funeral, on the block where I live in Chiang Mai.

Links that Aren’t About Persistent Ghosts in Thailand

• Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo – Squidoo. The popular (free) site for creating single webpages on your interests and recommendations. Even earn money for charity or yourself.
• America’s Pacific Century – Foreign Policy – Our treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand are the fulcrum for our strategic turn to the Asia-Pacific. They have underwritten regional peace and security for more than half a century, …
• Think Again: The BRICS – Foreign Policy – Local investors were already quite active in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, and elsewhere, as homegrown companies became larger and more export-competitive while market regulation became more sophisticated. ….. That Haunted His Presidency.” No. U.S. President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill was certainly a political failure. Obama signed it during his first month in office, cutting taxes for more than 95 percent of American workers, …
• China Will Soon Face Arc Of US F-35s, Other Fighters … – They will operate near the Australian Air Force base at Darwin. Singapore is buying F-35Bs. Other US fighters will fly from Korat air base in Thailand. And American aircraft may operate from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a …

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The Thai word for temple is wat. When you are giving or receiving directions, Thais usually refer to the nearest wat since the neighborhood wat’s location will be familiar to everyone. That’s how central they are to Thai life.

Temples usually consist of several buildings: large buildings, shrines (big and small) and monuments enclosed–all by a wall. There are thousands of temples in Thailand, and every town and village has at least one. In Chiang Mai, where I live, some city blocks have four!

The word “wat” (วัด) means school, as the temples were the only place where formal education took place for centuries. To this day, poorer families send their children to the temple school. Buddhist wats usually consists of:

• Bot: The prayer or meditation room. It’s usually open only to monks. Architecturally similar to the viharn (below), but more heavily decorated. It is also called the “ordination hall” and it is where the monks take their vows.
• Viharn: The busiest structure in a wat, where the temple’s main Buddha image is displayed and where people come to make offerings. It is open to all.
• Chedi or stupa: A tall bell-shaped structure that generally houses relics of the Buddha.
• Prang: A tall, slender spire (of Khmer and Ayutthayan origin) that serves the same devotional purpose as a chedi.
• Mondop: A square, open-sided building with four arches and a pyramidal roof often where religious texts or objects are displayed for veneration.
• Sala: An open-sided pavilion that is used for relaxation, as a meeting place, for larger crowds to hear the dharma read, and a rain shelter.
• Chofah (‘sky tassel’): Bird-like decorations on the end of temple roofs. They represent Garuda, a mythical creature that is half bird and half man.

Now, here’s a video about understanding local, Chiang Mai Thailand temples:

http://youtu.be/2DDEel8pwfs

And Some More Reading to Help Your Understanding of Thai Temples

• President Obama’s First Stop in Asia Is in Thailand | The White House – Though his stop to the country lasted for less than one full day, the President visited a Buddhist temple at the Wat Pho monastery, met with Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, held a joint press conference with Thai Prime Minister …
• Speak More Chinese, Ambassador Tells Thais – NYTimes.com – Recently, there was much embarrassment at home after a teenage boy from Nanjing scrawled “Ding Jinhao was here” on a stone relief in Egypt’s 3,500-old Luxor Temple. There are reports about “cashed-up” Chinese tourists …
• Thai temples – page 1/7 – Thai World View – THAI TEMPLES. A Thai Buddhist temple (“WAT” – วัด) is a complex comprising several distinct religious buildings. Major Buddhist ceremonies happen in temples. Some ceremonies (wedding, death, building consecration) are done by monks …
• Thai temples – page 5/7 – The Buddhist flag is yellow-orange. The Dharma wheel is drawn on it. The Thai flag (“THONG TRAI RONG” – ธงไตรรงค์) symbolises the monarchy (blue color), the nation (red color) and the Buddhism (white color). Buddhist and Thai flags …

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The tale: A 46-year-old German man, the owner of 99 Beer Bar on Chaweng Beach (a well-known entertainment district on Koh Samui) and his Thai girlfriend were in a nightclub parking lot when they found three teenagers sitting and drinking alcohol on the German’s motorcycle.

The German man became angry and began arguing with the teenagers, demanding that they get off his bike and leave the parking lot. The three Thais lost their temper, punched the German in his face, beat him with beer bottles, and stabbed his neck with shards of glass, witnesses say.

The suspects fled following the attack, witnesses told police. Medical workers say the victim died from stabbing wounds. Police in Koh Samui say they are investigating CCTV footage from the area of the crime scene to identify and arrest the three suspects.

The moral of the tale: never, ever argue with Thais. Yelling at a Thai is treated as a mortal attack and he will respond with a mortal attack on you.

Last year it was an American businessman who’d lived in Thailand for 7 years and certainly knew better than to argue with a tuktuk driver over his fare, loudly accusing him of cheating him out of $4.90. The tuktuk driver responded by hacking the American to death with a machete, right in the middle of Bangkok.

Have I mad myself clear? Learn to greet frustration and disappointment the Thai way: practice saying mai pen rai – with a smile.

The culprits, if they are ever caught, will be given relatively light sentences because the judge understands that they were acting in self-defense. Strange but true…

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: a tuktuk driver beating up a farang who argued loudly with him about the fare:

Here’s more about arguing in Thailand

• Sin Sod – What You Should Pay To Marry Your Thai Girlfriend – You might argue – on grounds of tradition – that you shouldn’t be paying at all. However, as a respectful gesture, and to show your respect, you should offer something. Remember that marriage is intended to happen once in Thai culture, and …
• Ambassador Harper Speaks at Symposium on Abductions by North … – The Commission’s report highlighted abductions of numerous foreign nationals, including citizens from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Lebanon, Thailand, China, and Romania. Let me pause for just a moment to say something about the Commission of Inquiry report on the DPRK. … Because of your work, Commissioners, we need no longer argue the facts – we know them. All that is left is whether the world community will do something about this monstrous regime.
• The benefits of contract farming – Asia and the Pacific – Contract farming has a bad reputation, often being associated with the exploitation and proletarianisation of vulnerable small holders. But, as I argue in Thailand’s Political Peasants, this isn’t always the case. In this post I …
• Confronting Mortality in a Post-9/11 World | VAntage Point – But it was as if someone decided, and I wouldn’t dare to argue against it, that because of my relative safety, it was an imperative that I be as close to death’s aftermath as possible. In exchange for my own life, I was to carry the burden, … At a recent appeal I testified that the entire region RVN, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos should be treated evenly since the same herbicides used there were used in RVN. Anything otherwise, is discrimination since the facts are the same …

The post Don’t Argue in Thailand appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

After an army officer said he smelled “ancient perfume” and experienced paranormal activity – as he and his soldiers were moving furniture from Naree Samosorn Building inside the Government House compound last week – officials at Government House were forced to perform a religious ceremony during efforts to renovate the building.

“I was so scared I had goosebumps,” said the officer, who did not give his name, “because I know that many people have been haunted at Naree building.”

The operation was immediately halted, and Government House officials lit incense and “informed” the spirits that they merely wanted to renovate the compound so that the Government House would be more beautiful. Army staff claim they have not encountered any spirits since.

The renovation is restricted to decoration and the repairing of the older buildings, while the main structures will be left unchanged. Government House is currently registered as a protected historic site by the Department of Fine Arts, so major changes are almost impossible.

Thai newspapers estimate that the renovation will cost more than 300 million baht ($10 million, though coup leaders have disputed the figure, they’ve refused to unveil the exact cost.

Thai news reporters based at Government House say many staff routinely witness ghosts in the building. Among the more memorable encounters were a red-clad ancient warrior, a royal steward, and a headless woman dressed in traditional costume.

Here’s a video about ghost-hunting in Thailand:

https://youtu.be/V_cFZONRvZA

And here’s some reading about Ghosts in Thailand

• Spirits and Ghosts in Thailand | Spirit of Thailand – Spirits and Ghosts in Thailand. Spirit House in Thailand. Elaborate Version of a Spirit House in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Anyone who has traveled in Thailand has probably noticed a little “toy house” near most buildings. Those are spirit houses.
• Paying respect to spirits and ghosts in Thailand – Paying respect to the spirit of the university in Thailand.
• Thai Ghosts – Pattaya Unlimited – Phi Krasue, one of the most infamous and feared ghosts in Thailand, take a look under your girls dress before it’s too late.
• Think Again: The BRICS – Foreign Policy – Local investors were already quite active in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, and elsewhere, as homegrown companies became larger and more export-competitive while market regulation became more …
• America’s Pacific Century – Foreign Policy – Our treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand are the fulcrum for our strategic turn to the Asia-Pacific. They have underwritten regional peace and security for more than half a century, …

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