Does Thailand call you?

Even living the the Great Gay Nirvana I hear the Siren Song calling me. A perfect clitp that catches my feelings exactly.
Boy/girlfriend is my Liat.

And the scary thing is Juanita Hall looks exactly like my Mother-in Law!

(oh, if only I looked like John Kerr.....hubba hubba)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81NROmUb7o0&feature=related

Yes she calls, I have so many questions like how to buy a house and where? Im having a quarter life crisis and need to escape, to forge a life independent and free and full of excitement and adventure. im also sick of HK its so cramped. The very minute the equestrian Olympics are finished Im looking into moving.

... say it's usually reverse charges

[Marsilius]

I always find that a call from Thailand comes "collect".

[jinks]

I always find that a call from Thailand comes "collect".

I get a dropped call... I then have to ring back.


EXCEPT last year on my birthday, he paid for the call :cheers:

I can feel thailand calling me every minute of every day but I am not able to answer the call as I am doing the good son deed now and caring for an ailing parent. How I miss my trips and the friends I have made there.

[bing]

Kenc, it was a trip down memory lane to see that version of the song. South Pacific was one of the first musicals I ever saw, I was still in grade school when Mom took me. I remember the purple and red colors flooding the screen during the song as if were yesterday. By the way there is a revival of South Pacific on Broadway, I'll let you know if it is up to standards after I see it later this month. To the question, you asked about he call to the LOS. Yes, I think of Thailand and it's allure every day. Still a couple of months till I can answer the call.

I always find that a call from Thailand comes "collect".

I don't know about you, Marsilius, but I have found it impossible to place a collect call from Thailand -- at least from my home, the Post Office is probably another question.

And what happens if that collect call was worth every penny? :-)

I am going to nag you about your sig one more time: the Internet is an "elite organization" with about 1.5 billion members.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Of course, how anyone could cite Chomsky as a source for any facts whatsoever....is still something I find baffling.

[Wesley]

The most amazing thing about memories, I really thought I would hate was the Bolshoi theater and the Ballet at the Kremlin. I thoughly enjoyed both much to my surprise. I kinda like the old stuff. Not to mention the great pictures of people getting burned at the stake for not doing the Catholic cross in the Russian Orthodox way with different fingers. What a wacky age we lived through during the dark ages. That was until Homi came along with his spelling tree and full time wiktopedia corrections.
This is on topic only be case you mentioned what great memories the vid brought back for you.

Wes

I can feel thailand calling me every minute of every day but I am not able to answer the call as I am doing the good son deed now and caring for an ailing parent. How I miss my trips and the friends I have made there.

That is so kind luvthai it makes me want to shed a tear. Good on you, I hope someone does the same for you one day. :flower:

The very minute the equestrian Olympics are finished Im looking into moving.

I second that motion, Cedric. That VERY moment, I am packing up my ponies (well, my staff will do that) and moving to Chiang Rai.

So unspoiled, you know. There is nothing to actually DO in Chiang Rai, so that makes it triply exciting. My good old buddy Ralph built himself a retirement home in Chiang Rai -- that would be Chiang Rai Province, not actually the teeming metropolis itself -- and, to the best of my knowledge, has never spent even one day there.

Why?

Could it be the lack of shopping centers filled with cute Thai boys? Could it be the lack of good medical care? The lack of good restaurants? The lack of gay entertainment places, except for the two smallest gay bars in the world?

So maybe I'll tell my domestic staff to calm down and keep my ponies at home. After all, Bangkok has its well-known problems. and every other Thai city except Chiang Mai is too small.

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I don't think there was one straight person in that movie ( including John Kerr)

[bing]

Hmmm did you forget Ezio Pinza. When 'Some Enchanted Evening' hits my ear after a period of not hearing it for a period of time, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Am not a good judge of music but when I have that reaction, it goes on my list of things I wish to hear again and again.

The very minute the equestrian Olympics are finished Im looking into moving.

I second that motion................., Cedric.
So unspoiled, you know......... Chiang Rai Province.



Chiang Rai sounds perfect, thank-you. I can take risks with my health. Does it have a bit of an elevation I can't seem to remember. Is it a bit like Africa? How far is it to Chiang Mai? I know the roads are excellent. This is getting exciting. Did Alf sell his retirement resort. Hmmm some smallest gay bars in the world, thats a pity maybe we can get them going, double their size at least. But who needs them with all that glorious country side and love........i want a garden as far as the eye can see. And i want a cottage or two for kindly old people that gave me good advice.

First of all, don't believe in Bali Hai and all that "fantasy island" stuff. Thailand is a very real country, full of very real Thai people, some good, some bad, some indifferent.

The former gay travel writer, Eric Allyn, used to recommend a "trial" stay of three months or so to see if you really like the place. I took that advice, and came for two months back in 1991. Then for two years in 1992. By then, my mind was made up -- and I had a very lively and interesting gay boyfriend, the guy I now refer to as FBF.

In fact, I agree with the answer I got from the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, a Mr. John Calhoun, when I foolishly asked him what the best country in the world was. Mr. Calhoun agreed that it was a silly question, but then attempted an answer: "Most of the globe-trotters I have known seem to settle down in Thailand once their wandering is over." I think it must be obvious that I am very fond of Thailand and the Thai people, but it would be foolish to make it out to be "paradise."

Poor Mr. Calhoun. He was later kicked out of the Diplomatic Corps for being spotted wandering through a public park in Tunis, holding hands with two boys.

So I would suggest renting a house or whatever, and coming for a prolonged visit FIRST. And don't burn your bridges behind you.

Next, be very careful about the whole "buying real-estate" question. The fact that it is illegal should be at least a tiny red flag in your eyes. And, if you want a garden "as far as the eye can see," then don't build on a hilltop! :-) Either that, or go hire an entire hill-tribe to be your gardeners. (Spoken half in jest: the staff at the Flower Hill Resort in Mae Salong are all Akha, which of course would lead to lawsuits etc. in the U.S. Racial basis and all that nonsense.)

And of course, a major question to decide is "Where?" I have obviously made my choice.

Chiang Rai might actually be doable. It's three hours from Chiang Mai by car.

And a final note: my sincere apologies for teasing you. And I didn't mean it about the aristocracy, really. (Is is true that Queen Elizabeth munches from Tupperware??? Oh --- CRASH -- another illusion shattered.)

Growing up in Africa nor do I, there's a surprise. "Bali hai" is for corporates in pineapple prints, or for some sad lot who are lost in a world of make believe, bingo halls and variety shows. Ok they mightn't be sad but still lost.

Now. a tiny red flag just popped into view. What do you mean it's illegal to purchase property? People are buying apartment all the time I believe. Is land different? Why are there international sites full of property in Thailand, Bangkok Phuket etc. Are you trying to tell me I should do a Jim Thompson. Get lost in the hill tribes?

I like it. I have been tempted before. Only its not as evvironmentaly friendly as Africa, I mean it rains a lot and I don't speak the local languages yet. Please there must be a way that I can buy a garden. I have my heart set on it. As far as the eye can see. There isn't even a meadow here in Hong Kong. I would love to see fields of flowers like Curcuma cordata and the Jewel of Burma waving in the breeze.

I eagerly await your response. (Surely Africa was fine as a do you like it type trial period)

Yes its true Beth loves Tupperware Charles even more they wont travel without it. They havn't even upgraded to clip clap clop ware, or rather "Lock and Lock". I love lock and lock I have the entire collection. It never leaves the house though.

I don't think there was one straight person in that movie ( including John Kerr)

What? Ray Walston was gay? Now that's scary....

Growing up in Africa nor do I, there's a surprise. "Bali hai" is for corporates in pineapple prints, or for some sad lot who are lost in a world of make believe, bingo halls and variety shows. Ok they mightn't be sad but still lost.

Now. a tiny red flag just popped into view. What do you mean it's illegal to purchase property? People are buying apartment all the time I believe. Is land different? Why are there international sites full of property in Thailand, Bangkok Phuket etc. Are you trying to tell me I should do a Jim Thompson. Get lost in the hill tribes?

I like it. I have been tempted before. Only its not as evvironmentaly friendly as Africa, I mean it rains a lot and I don't speak the local languages yet. Please there must be a way that I can buy a garden. I have my heart set on it. As far as the eye can see. There isn't even a meadow here in Hong Kong. I would love to see fields of flowers like Curcuma cordata and the Jewel of Burma waving in the breeze.

I eagerly await your response. (Surely Africa was fine as a do you like it type trial period)

Yes its true Beth loves Tupperware Charles even more they wont travel without it. They havn't even upgraded to clip clap clop ware, or rather "Lock and Lock". I love lock and lock I have the entire collection. It never leaves the house though.

You can HAVE a vast garden, you just can't legally own it -- unless you have the connections to get declared a Thai citizen (not permanent resident) -- happens once in a blue moon.

There are two traditional kludges around the law (1) Put it in the name of a Thai who instantly signs over a 25-year lease and a bill of sale -- pay him 5000 for his trouble and forget about him. You can also do this kluge with your boyfriend, but watch out! The boyfriend may be an angel but some of his family may not be so heavenly (2) Form a Thai business with a kludged corporate structure. The law requires 51% Thai ownership. Get around this with reserved voting stock or whatever, and then buy the land in the name of your business.

I think the whole thing is a house of cards which could collapse at any moment. I have been happily renting for ten years -- same place, no rent increases at all. Find the right landlord and you're in like Flynn. Wealthy Thai love to put aside land for their children. In my own case, my townhouse was put aside for a child who subsequently got married and had children in Bangkok, and now SHE is keeping it for her children. In the meantime, it's nice to have the land producing something, and a steady 12,000 per month certainly buys a few fancy meals and shopping trips.

Then again, if the price of the whole deal is so cheap that you could walk away from it and not care....that's another question. My current boyfriend and I are looking at land in Sansai. A big empty lot (over 2 rai, which I think is a half an acre), is for sale for about $12,000 USD. Putting a house on it would probably cost another $10,000. If the total were $22,000, that would be less than a lot of cars! But, in any case, I already think of the house-to-be as "his place." I have no intention of moving out to the burbs and establishing a daily commute -- not when I live happily in the Huay Kaew/Central/Nimmanhemin area, and can be at the mall (Kaat Suan Kaew) in one minute (literally). I know a number of gay farang who have automagically decided that they need to buy a house in the suburbs and commute into Chiang Mai. For a lot of them, this is BZZZZZT! The wrong answer. Especially one guy who hates Thai traffic, and is now condemned to fight it twice a day. Not only that, he was silly enough to buy his house in the middle of a middle-class housing estate, and now his neighbors spy on him constantly -- he feels that it's now got bad enough that he has to restrict his amorous adventures to a hotel in Chiang Mai so his neighbors won't see what he's up to.

Some tropical paradise, huh?

You can HAVE a vast garden, you just can't legally own it -- unless you have the connections to get declared a Thai citizen (not permanent resident) -- happens once in a blue moon.According to boygeenyus (aka. Chao Na, Singapore Sexpat etc.) we should all aspire to it - he became a Thai citizen, thus completing his conversion to Siamism, and he looks down on us from those lofty heights

Um, exqueeze me? I'm a Thai citizen? This is news...