Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Are there any basketball courts, indoor or outdoor? How is it trying to find any kind of pickup games? What other sports are popular?

What are the fees your US bank charges for using ATMs there?

Is tipping similar to the US? I have a feeling this was already discussed.

Connect4 in bars, now this is exciting news. Who needs poker, I can multigrid against four bargirls with my perfect strategy.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are there any basketball courts, indoor or outdoor? How is it trying to find any kind of pickup games? What other sports are popular?




[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, its like 500 degrees here.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

shopping is the most popular sport in bkk.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Tipping is a whole nother post. They dont really have a tipping system here but because so many forigners here are tipping some people kind of expect it. Thais almost never tip. If you do tip, 20 baht (50 cents) is standard and accepted.

The general rule of thumb is to leave all of the coins and take the bills when they bring you your change. Sometimes I leave a few bucks just to make someones day.

You can play basketball at schools. Some condos in bangkok have a hoop for their residents.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Guys, I had just had this woman over my house to give me a massage. I actually got a boner cause she was getting in real close to my groin, and even touching my junk at times. She was like 50 years old and not hot, it kinda sucked cause i was all embarrassed.

Anyway, what kind of massage do you prefer,(aside from the naughty ones), the traditional thai massage that hurts like 50% of the time, or one that feels good most of the time and is more relaxing?

Farang, I pretty much follow your same tipping rules, unless I get awesome service, like a really good massage, for example.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

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What are the fees your US bank charges for using ATMs there?


[/ QUOTE ]

Wells Fargo charges me $5 if I withdraw from an ATM here. The exchange rates are pretty good though. If I go into the bank and do a cash advance using the same ATM/Debit card, they only charge $3. Amazingly, the Bank (siam commercial) does it for free.

[ QUOTE ]


Is tipping similar to the US? I have a feeling this was already discussed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I leave the small change and usually a small bill (20 baht) Depends on how much the total is. If it is a taxi, I don't really feel bad if I don't have enough small money on me for a tip. Tipping is pretty much expected in all the touristy areas. 10% ish is fine.

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
This thread has really gotten off track. More lurid details of sexual exploits please.

With pics - don't forget the pics!

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a pic for you. Sorry no details.
http://img427.imageshack.us/img427/42/1030315imgmb7.jpg

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do asain girls taste like mango?

[/ QUOTE ]

yes.

[ QUOTE ]

Are there any basketball courts, indoor or outdoor? How is it trying to find any kind of pickup games? What other sports are popular?

[/ QUOTE ]

i usually play at my old school...we sometimes get random farangs, and some schools are cool with it some arent. i cant remember but i think there might be a few public bball courts in BKK - again, dont quote me. if you can get onto a court a ta a school, the quality of the players will vary. at big international schools like ISB there will likely be some very talented players, though as a whole, players will lack the fundamentals that guys from the states will have. those that do play take it as seriously as they can there though, so it can get quite competitive.


dont think that helps, but hey, i tried;)

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

There are b-ball courts. I hooped nearly every day at a school in Santitam when I lived in Chiang Mai. Played a bit in Bangkok near Sukumvit 31 where my friend lived. Some good competition there. Do drink tons of water; it does get super hot.

KJS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
There are b-ball courts. I hooped nearly every day at a school in Santitam when I lived in Chiang Mai. Played a bit in Bangkok near Sukumvit 31 where my friend lived. Some good competition there. Do drink tons of water; it does get super hot.

KJS

[/ QUOTE ]

You took time to shoot hoops in between prostitutes?

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
No, no, no. KJS moved to Thailand with His American wife. He would never have intimate relations with another woman, much less a THAI PROSTITUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]
WELL, GOD BLESS AMERICA, THERE GOES ANOTHER THAI PROSTITUTE WITHOUT DINNER!

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Come on man, you can do better.

KJS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There are b-ball courts. I hooped nearly every day at a school in Santitam when I lived in Chiang Mai. Played a bit in Bangkok near Sukumvit 31 where my friend lived. Some good competition there. Do drink tons of water; it does get super hot.

KJS

[/ QUOTE ]

You took time to shoot hoops in between prostitutes?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, no, no. KJS moved to Thailand with His American wife. He would never have intimate relations with another woman, much less a THAI PROSTITUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Paying for sex is just lame on so many levels, IMO. My friend getting Hepatitis C didn't help convince to start working the pros either.

KJS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Major infectious diseases:

Degree of risk: high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

Vectorborne diseases: Dengue fever, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and plague are high risks in some locations

Animal contact disease: Rabies

Water contact disease: Leptospirosis

Note: At present, H5N1 avian influenza poses a minimal risk; during outbreaks among birds, rare cases could occur among US personnel who have close contact with infected birds or poultry (2005)

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]

Are there any basketball courts, indoor or outdoor? How is it trying to find any kind of pickup games? What other sports are popular?

[/ QUOTE ]

i usually play at my old school...we sometimes get random farangs, and some schools are cool with it some arent. i cant remember but i think there might be a few public bball courts in BKK - again, dont quote me. if you can get onto a court a ta a school, the quality of the players will vary. at big international schools like ISB there will likely be some very talented players, though as a whole, players will lack the fundamentals that guys from the states will have. those that do play take it as seriously as they can there though, so it can get quite competitive.


dont think that helps, but hey, i tried;)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your post helped more than you think. It didn't come to mind that there would be Thai's playing instead of Americans. Message board culture shock I guess [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

KJS, what were your experiences with the 'politics' on the court? Does the language barrier matter that much?

Is tennis popular at all?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This thread has really gotten off track. More lurid details of sexual exploits please.

With pics - don't forget the pics!

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a pic for you. Sorry no details.
http://img427.imageshack.us/img427/42/1030315imgmb7.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

Now you're talking - more please. If I don't make it there by January, I might SCKM!

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Anyone been to the Foreign Correspondents Club? Do I have to buy a membership to get in? Dress code?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

"It didn't come to mind that there would be Thai's playing instead of Americans."

LOL, that reminds me of something: I was playing cards with a guy and he told me about his first trip to Thailand. He said his first thought was "I couldn't believe how many Asian people there were in the airport".

Degen...glad you liked the story!

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

I just landed 2 days ago and the new airport look great and was simple to go trough for what I saw ( I was a little bit tired from my 30 hours trip from Montreal). Those flights are just a pain, especially with a 5 hours waiting in Narita. By the way I was not impressed by Japan Airlines, I liked Korean Airlines a lot more last year.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

30 hours, goddamn. Takes me 20-24 hours from Chicago. Its horrible. I think if it was like 8 hours or somthing I might come back to the USA more often but I just dont have the motivation to sit on a plane for a full [censored] day.

Everytime I have played basketball with Thais they hacked the [censored] out of my arms while playing. I think its because I am tall and unstopable to these little thais and that is the only way then can win.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

gotta upgrade and get LA/NY-BKK direct by THAI AIRWAYS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

What is the going rate these days?

Once I paid $850 round trip (2 stops) chicago-bkk.

Then I flew back to bkk (2 stops) for almost the same price one way.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
the quality of the players will vary. at big international schools like ISB there will likely be some very talented players, though as a whole, players will lack the fundamentals that guys from the states will have. those that do play take it as seriously as they can there though, so it can get quite competitive.

[/ QUOTE ]

ISB's basketball team is pretty weak from what i remember :-)

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

when i first came in Aug 04, i got a round trip ticket for <$600.. Since then, I guess it depends on price of oil. I think BKK_NY round trip for economy class is about 40K baht. Maybe less.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

$600 bucks, damn. Round trip from where?

They have good deal in the BKK Post if you dont mind stopping a few times.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
the quality of the players will vary. at big international schools like ISB there will likely be some very talented players, though as a whole, players will lack the fundamentals that guys from the states will have. those that do play take it as seriously as they can there though, so it can get quite competitive.

[/ QUOTE ]

ISB's basketball team is pretty weak from what i remember :-)

[/ QUOTE ]
'
r u saying there i actually college/HS bball in BKK? gotta be kidding me...where can i see a schedule of games?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
$600 bucks, damn. Round trip from where?

They have good deal in the BKK Post if you dont mind stopping a few times.

[/ QUOTE ]

orl-ny-jpn-bkk was $600 roundtrip in aug 04

last year, i paid about $800 for the same trip.

next time i am going to take the bkk-ny direct flight - you have to book EARLY though.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Yes, they have college teams.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

where i can i see a schedule of games online?

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
where i can i see a schedule of games online?

[/ QUOTE ]

It'd prolly be in Thai. I will have my wife look.

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

What are the chances that you would go out partying, hook up with a bargirl, take her home and the next morning she screams RAPE while this was totally untrue. Being in a foreign country this would really scare me. It seems like they could blackmail Americans for a lot of money this way. Or worse, you could do a lot of time in a Thai prison!

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

Are there any beaches in this country that have real waves? I'm about sick of glass oceans

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

not really

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are there any beaches in this country that have real waves? I'm about sick of glass oceans

[/ QUOTE ]

No waves man, gotta fly to Bali to get some surf. Also, here's a random booty picture.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3...309editab0.jpg

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

"Anyone been to the Foreign Correspondents Club? Do I have to buy a membership to get in? Dress code?"

I went there several times, most notably for my friend Shawn W. Crispin's birthday party with Bertl Litner. Shawn worked for Far Eastern Economic Review before it was dropped by Wall Street Journal. Bertl is a Burma expert who has lived in Thailand for decades.

I don't remember any dress code. I was always invited to attend parties and I worked for a magazine so no help on membership either.

KJS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

I encountered some good waves on Nai Thon beach in Phuket. Northwest shore, towards the airport.

KJS

Re: Ask Degen Anything About Living In Thailand
 

I can't believe I just read this entire thread. I knew nothing about Thailand before. Thanks for all the information.

The fact that I could live amazingly well there and still be a low-limit poker bonus whore is all too enticing for me. UGGGghhhhhhh.

Must... resist... dropping out of school and selling my car and moving to Thailand.... I don't want to live through yet another Winnipeg winter. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Someone talk me out of it.