Meth: a Ticking Timebomb Gone Viral

Australia vs Thailand

When I thought of the title for this post, all manner of situations flooded my mind. Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport (they are pretty good at soccer too). I remember back in the early 90s when I first began training in Thai boxing, a team of four Mauy Thai exponents came to Brisbane to fight the cream of Australian fighters...we lost 4-0. They were the best in their weight classes in the world, and they certainly made an impression on me and the other 4k people in attendance that night.

In Australia, when pedestrians are out and about, traffic is by and large careful. Admittedly, there are sidewalks and we rarely have to walk on or near the road. In Hua Hin, however, there are hardly any footpaths, and because of this, on my daily walk, I stick as close to the side of the road as possible to avoid traffic. I'm not sure if it is because I'm a Farang, but a high percentage of both cars and motorcycles pass closer than I like. I've learned to give way in all directions and often wish I had eyes in the back of my head.

Television ads in Thailand are really strange. Thais are naturally dark-skinned and I think their skin tone is very attractive. It appears, however, that they are not so fussed. I say this because they completely cover up when riding scooters or out in the sun. At first, I thought it had something to do with the intensity of the sun and that they were trying to avoid melanoma. But now I've been here for a while and seen the ads depicting these almost white Thai actors (I'm guessing this effect is AI generated...and some of the people in the commercials may not even be real), I'm guessing they think the whiter the skin colour, the more attractive they are.

I think ex-pats polarize a lot of Thais. They appear to either love or hate us. I've found a solution to win them over. When I am out walking I often come across people searching through the many roadside bins looking for recyclables. As I approach, they avoid eye contact. A lot of ex-pats are not friendly to me, so my thought is they wouldn't even look at these people who struggle to find enough to get by. I always make sure I have plenty of B20 notes (about $1 Australian) in my wallet. As I get closer, I smile and hold out the note (or notes, depending on how many there are) and the smile and Wai are to me, priceless.

Motorcycle riding is dangerous no matter where in the world you are. This is especially so here in Thailand, where road rules are almost non-existent. In Australia, helmets are compulsory. Big Brother forces us to be safer than if we were left to decide for ourselves if helmet-wearing is a good idea or not. I can't remember ever not wearing a helmet, but here, only around 30% of Thais could be bothered to try and minimise their risk of head injuries as a result of an accident. I see as many as four people on one scooter (Grandma and three young school-aged children), and none are wearing helmets. I'm pretty sure it is the law to wear a helmet here, but this law is only enforced on Farangs.

I went to my favourite restaurant last week. I normally order Pad Thai because I love noodles and it isn't spicy. I decided to take a chance on one of my other favs...red curry chicken. I told the waitress, " No pet." (meaning no or only a little chilli). When my meal arrived, it was very tasty. However, it was (for me) a little too hot. For a Thai, it wouldn't have been hot enough. Let's just say an hour after I got home, I was squirting chilli out of my bum. I can highly recommend chilli to flush out the system. I need to acclimatise myself more to spicy food because I do love the flavours, but my belly doesn't appreciate the spices.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Western Men dating much younger Thai women is, it appears, quite acceptable. From what I can gather (because as yet I haven't gone down this path...and I think if I am smart, I won't), this arrangement works well for some. There are, however, well-documented cases of these often vulnerable (or plain stupid) men being fleeced of their money by their Thai partners. The options are to go to a bar and pay for a girl on a night-by-night basis, or meet more traditionally, but still end up having to make the same kind of choice...helping her to support her family. The dangers and drawbacks either way are many. Most STIs can be cleared up by going to a clinic. But falling in love with one of these bar girls (my biggest fear, and what keeps me at home and not visiting bars full of beautiful young Thai women), which happens a lot, can be a recipe for a very bad experience for these men.

The other reason I am not willing to date Thai women is the language barrier. For most Thais, especially girls who have usually been taken out of school early to work in bars to support their families, English is hardly spoken, and in my mind, after the sex is done, what the hell do these people talk about to each other? No doubt, phones are a distraction from the reality of having someone around who cannot understand anything more than the basics.

Of course, I could raise the cost of living differences, but for every benefit, there will be a cost. Thailand changes their laws on an almost daily basis, especially immigration, and now, tax laws. I don't think I will be greatly affected by the latter, but it does mean I will have to lodge an income tax assessment at some point. Add to this I have to report my address (even if it hasn't changed) to immigration every ninety days, and the fact that we are looked at by Thai police as an easy form of revenue, and things aren't that much easier...just different.

If it wasn't for my fear of returning to Australia and falling back into my addiction, I might at some point return. I'm far from that stage yet. I have so much more to discover before I consider doing something like that.

I quite like being a minority. It gives a different perspective from living a lifetime as a majority. I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps it's because I stand out more. In Australia, I'm invisible. Here, I'm very visible, just for the wrong reasons...or should I say, for reasons I didn't expect. Being a walking ATM is not why I came here. I still have a mission to fulfill and that hasn't changed. I'm not in any rush and need to be careful of scams before I commit to any charitable endeavours.

Other than having psychosis, which isn't that hard to manage, I'm in a much better place physically, mentally and emotionally. I still have things I need to work on. I occasionally have cravings, but they are minor, and without any dealers for me to call, I feel safer here than I would back in Oz. I'm coping with feelings of loneliness and I'm far less isolated than I was before coming to Thailand.

All in all...Thailand comes out well on top.