Turban Explorer

Just read this thread. Got to be a spoof - good one at that!

bakedbean

Well we've got a little thread going here

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=720054

if you'd like to join in

nonthaburi

keeping our mouths shut. Big brother and all that.

bakedbean

We seem to have our own yellow shirts in Malaysia now. Seems to be catching

Alan2005

Yeah. You forget how seriously all this stuff is taken when you've been away for a year or two.

Kooky.

Y'know, it's one of those threads you actually hope is a spoof but, having been around Asia a few years, wouldn't be surprised to find is real.

Turban Explorer

I've been on holiday a few times to places where young local studs are incredibly flattering in an attempt to sell their 'wares' and I saw quite a few ladies sloping off to their rooms for a bit of action and who can blame them? All relationships are based on some sort of transaction if you bring it down to nuts and bolts.

I just hope this lady (or computer sprite) has gone to Thailand with her ha'penny safely locked away until she's sure he's worth the risk.

slapphead_otool

I once woke up in bed with a Thai girl who had once been a different gender.

I love my Thai friends and i have worked a fair bit in the Land Of Smiles, but I don't trust them after that very convincing experience .

Slappy

PS - Thailand now has a new female PM. Or does it.....? Anyone seen Thaksin recently?

Kooky.

I hadn't realised you're German.

slapphead_otool

i blame Chang beer for all my indiscretions. I only have to hear "hello welcome" to start looking at hands and feet.

slapphead_otool

Yes but I really DID want to sell you that 1985 Toyota Corolla.....

Whatever it takes.....

Kooky.

You been following zenjournalist, slapper? Interesting stuff (guess URL or google it)

slapphead_otool

I hadn't read it, but looks interesting.

I have friends in both camps in Thailand, and can see both sides.

I really think the Red shirt Yellow Shirt dispute is more about economic disparity between Issan and the Bangkok region than about politics per se.

The problem is BKK has communication like ports and transport networks, making it a target for investment. Getting produce or products out of Issan is problematic and expensive. There is also the unspoken attitude to work in rural areas, where rice farming has produced a culture that is seen in western eyes as lazy (but is a product of the farming lifestyle where there is little to do once the rice is planted).

I should look at what ADB are supporting in the region.

Interestingly after the military coupe the world tried to put pressure on Thailand by restricting aid. Thailand countered this with a decision to reduce dependency on aid, and by 2007 it was free of aid funding. By 2009/10 Thailand was an aid donor.

I suspect the issues in Issan may well relate to that decision.

Kooky.

From chicks with dicks to politics in one page - what wonderfully well-rounded individuals we are

Alan2005

I sort of agree; that discontent is there, but it's manipulated into the unrest we see rather than coming direct from the grass roots.

Simplistically, I always saw it as new money (thaksin) v old money (monarchy). The monarchy didn't like the way thaksin was becoming popular and saw him as a threat* who had to be removed even though he (probably) wasn't. The coup in 2006 was instigated and backed by the 'invisible hand' of the royal family. Something that, I think, will be seen to be a major miscalculation in the future.

I was there when the coup happened, and whilst a few of my thai friends in bangkok were pleased and quite vocal about it, the majority were definitely not but knew to keep their mouths shut unless you could ask them discreetly.

The country is heading for real problems. The monarchy has big succession issues to deal with and if this happens before the red/yellow thing is put to bed then I don't think it's hyperbole to say that the country could descend into civil war as the divisions are that bitter.

*yes - it's way more complex than that. You can actually find out a lot from the local english media (bangkok post, nation etc, but you have to read between the lines)

Apologies if I cause BE any issues in Thailand with this post. Mods - feel free to delete if this crosses some les majeste line or something.