It is hard to find the right tone. I am not sure about how people hear what you try to communicate. Communication is therefor most interesting. Today I had two examples. One was about a friend damaging my car. Although the car is just a soulless item it still hurts. This conversation was via skype. Unfortunately I could only hear bits & pieces of what the other was saying. Finding the right tone in an one way communication is impossible. The other conversation I had was about ins and outs of a real estate contract. The conversation ended in me telling why I have a saxophone pendant. The feedback on that was getting a swinging compliment on the way I had given information. Since a music producer gave this feedback I should feel comfortable with the tone I used to this person I did not know. Hopefully he will contribute the feedback on the website as well.
Real Estate in Thailand
Thailand is paradise if you come for holidays. A tourist enjoys everything as outsider and for a reasonable price. Staying in a hotel or resort is great for a short period. When you want to stay longer paradise changes into an expensive tropical treat. Still one of the better places on earth but you have to recalculate the costs. Renting is an expensive option, better is it to get a more real-estate-like contract. As an foreigner it will be impossible to own land. Setup a business to own the land is illegal and as such a risky enterprise. Marrying a Thai partner for this reason is neither without risks. If you want to invest in Thai Real Estate the realistic options are condominiums or get a lease-contract for a maximum of 30 years. That might be an acceptable option in your lifetime. For me knowing the risks gives the possibility to enjoy your stay in the better place.
Contracts in Thailand
Agreements, settlements and contracts in Thailand are based on relationship. Every person needs some kind of relation in dealing with others. Even for ending a relationship you need that relation. You have to work hard together on your relations. The relation means understanding each other. A good deal is if profitable for all. The win-win deal last long. Negotiating to Getting to Yes for a win-win deal is really enjoyable. When that happens you have a verbal agreement. Than you ask a lawyer to put that specific agreement in writing. The lawyer should give you an unique, not standard or copied contract. The written contract is for the moments that somebody forgot the meaning of the agreement or lost the spirit of the relation where this agreement is based on. It is helpful to re-boost your necessary relationship. That is why contracts in Thailand can be more real.
Law in Thailand
There are many foreigners asking me how they get 100% guaranty for their legal actions. Thailand is like any other civilized country based on rules similar to Western Civil codes like that in Holland. Now Westerners wants to get the same illusion of guarantees. Better than in Europe here you can negotiate a lot more and build that way a relation with the contract party. The way I see the work of a lawyer is more like making a contract that reflexes the result of the negotiation and make that everyone has the same understanding of what will be agreed on. It is stupid to use a standard contract. That is what gave me a lot of work as a court mediator since nobody had the same understanding of the agreement. My advice is just hire somebody who understands law and still is capable of listening to the individual needs and puts that into understandable words.
Online
When I was a young boy I joint a club that just got a computer. It needed only 1 room of 50 sq.m. for its bits and bites. In 1991 when I studied in Berkeley my friends from the Technical Department could send a message to an other University like MIT. It took only a few minutes before the receiver got the message and replied with the same dazzling speed. The University where I was teaching got in 1995 a system that made online video images, you did not have to go next door any more to debate face to face. And see here I am blogging. Since I use to be interviewed for National TV I might even start a YouTubeChannel. If this all is appreciated I don’t know. I show you YouTube work of KurtHugoSchneider an undergraduate student. The Berkeley1991’s creative online spirit still exists. Universities are such inspiring places!! Where the future has been made today
Problem solving
No matter where the problem occurs either in Europe, America or Asia most of the time not much is happening. In Europe committees will focus on “how this could happen?” Extended reports -partly secret- will be produced. In America the focus is on “who can we blame for this” A media circus and nation wide news reports will be broadcast-ed. No real time problem solving is going to happen. In Asia somebody will show sympathy. You can express your grieves but do not expect that they listen. This sympathetic person might give it one shot to solve the problem. Some more people will show that it is in working process. Sooner or -most likely- later someone will make the right step to solve the problem. After a year or so if you have patience and stay relaxed more problems are solved in Asia than in the Western World.
Swimming
Phuket has a nice warm climate. Everyone is looking for relieve in the water. Swimming in sea gives a special feeling. Phuket coast has April thru October a dangerous under current. Better listen to the beautiful bay watchers. In the swimmingpool there is no current. No red flags there BUT in this tropical climate it is not easy to keep your swimming pool clean. The use of chemicals like chlorine is good to loose algae but it neither healthy for our body. Chemicals in a swimmingpool has to be monitored daily and since most pool boys make no plan your pool turns into a chemical bath with continuous chemical reactions. Chlorine to high? adding Acid resulting in Ph to high solved by adding to much sodium. Probably it is healthier and more relaxed to take a saltwater computer chlorinator which gives you the sense of swimming in sea as well.
Internet in Thailand
First thing you need when you want to make a blog is internet. Living on the island of Koh Tao for almost a year I know that it is just good luck to have any internet connextion. Koh Tao is in the middle of the Ocean Gulf of Thailand. By ferry 5 hours from mainland Surat Thani. The other island I am living is Phuket. Phuket is really close to the mainland and connected by bridge. On Phuket internet is available most of the time but not really fast. So looking for a fast connextion -more than 1 Mb/s you have to pay a lot more. I decided to take an offer for internet up to 10Mbs thru fiberoptical. I paid a lot for installation BUT still have only something like 0,5Mbs. Keyword is “working proces” it is taking the provider already several months to fix the problem. Sometimes it is hard to stay patience after 3 months. Meanwhile I am happy that I HAVE some internet most of the time.
Tribes
South East Asia has many minority tribes. The Hill tribes in Northern Thailand are unfortunately a touristic attraction nowadays. Please show some respect to these cultures and local customs.
In Karen Hill tribe language “Pa-dong” means someone who wears brass-rings. In Western world this people are known as “long neck tribe” or “giraffe women”. The people itself prefer to be called Ka-Yan, because they originate from Burma’s Northern Highland state Ka-Ya. Now there are only 7000 Ka-Yan people left, living along the Thai and Burma border in three villages around the province of Mae Hong Son.
One of the Myths about this culture is that the headman of the tribe had a dream in which a tiger was going to kill one of the most popular children in his village. As tigers always kill their victims by breaking their necks, the headman ordered a decreed that all children from an early age must wear heavy brass rings round their necks tot protect from imminent danger and evil spirits.
According to their culture, wearing brass neck rings symbolizes a beautiful form of body adornment. Girls start with their first nine rings as early as five years of age and new sets are substituted every four years on nine separate occasions. The last change occurs when a women is forty-five years old. The weight and number of rings depends much on each wearer’s individual choice. The longest recorded is 32 rings weighing 15 kilos. The weight of the coils pushes the necks and shoulder muscles deep into the shoulders. This creates the illusion of a longer neck. It is in fact the lower body which has been shaped into the appearance of a longer neck. Courtesy of www.mpathy.nl
Tibetan monk performance
May 29th, 2010 I witnessed an unique Tibetan Monk performance.
Find the images here: http://mpathy1.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/tibetan-monks/
Play this sound while watching and you get the feeling of the event: Ritual Music of Tibetan Buddhism