Your Say

 |  June 26, 2013

For those of you with questions regarding Thailand, Thai culture, history, tourism, laws, rules, food, nightlife, sub-culture, dating; generally anything as long as it is relevant, we have a panel of experts who will respond to your enquiries. 

Email: hilary@chiangmaicitylife.com

 

Fightin’  Words

Corruption in Thailand has never been worse. You have so little respect globally that a British TV station did an entire season on what a horrible country Thailand is. Your police are the mafia, your people are lazy and stupid, and in all bad categories you are in the top ten: murder, rape, prostitution, murdering tourists, drugs, and alcoholism. And never tell me that Thailand is a Buddhist nation. 50% of your monks have HIV and have no training about Buddhism. Many are gang members that found a safer way to steal.

Ron Morgan

 

Inspiration Information 

Great article, Pim [Grassroots Shoot for the Stars, June 2013]. You found three special people out of the thousands of Thais who have worked hard and made something of themselves. It would take a lifetime to write about all of them, I’m sure! I’m lucky enough to know all three and their energy, confidence and drive is amazing!

Anon

 

Bee Kind

Thanks for [Everybody’s Bees-nees, June 2013]! I have been telling people for years how important they are to our environment and the major, irreplaceable role they play in food production. People tend to disregard them out of ignorance or fear of getting stung, when really most honey bees are not only quite harmless but also vital to our survival! I hope that Thailand can learn from the mistakes of the west rather than falling into the same destructive patterns. Slash and burn agriculture is particularly bad, and makes Chiang Mai almost unliveable for a few weeks every year. I know it’s a traditional form of agriculture and that sometimes there are no other options, but education is crucial here – maybe we need to have cash incentives to prevent farmers from burning? I hope that once Mr. Narjes finishes his studies he will come back to Thailand to implement his very important expertise and work with the government and farmers to support better and more sustainable agricultural practices.

Carol Leeds

 

A Better Way to Run 

[Re: Ten Hours of Eternity, June 2013]: Clearly you went with the wrong visa run service. I use Red Ride; they pick you up at your door, when you want. You can see anything along the way such as the White Temple, Black House, and more. You can shop as long as you like, and even pick the route to take. The drivers are very good with English and are very safe drivers. At the end of the day, they drop you off at your front door again or anywhere you want. Red Ride is the only way to do visa runs. They will even go to Mae Sot if you need a change. www.redridethailand.com.

 

Jeffrey McCollum

Asian Dudes Redux

I wanted to respond to reader Schuyler’s objection to my first column, in which I stated that I am not “into Asian dudes.” That was an off-the-cuff comment and I realise now that it may have read as a broad generalisation without putting it into context. To be clear, if I met an Asian man with whom I had a great intellectual, emotional and physical connection, I would not hesitate to pursue a relationship with him. However, I have seen through my own experiences with men in different parts of Asia, and those shared with me by friends who have also dated men in Asia, certain cultural behaviours and beliefs that are not in line with what I want in a romantic relationship. I do not mean to suggest that all men in this part of the world behave or think the same way, but my own repeated experiences have made me more hesitant to hook up with or get involved with men in Asia. Schuyler raises an interesting point about how Asian men are portrayed in the Western world, one that is worth examining and discussing. I do not have the room to do such an analysis here, but appreciate her reading and responding to the column.

Casey Hynes