Ting Tong

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Ting Tong means "crazy" in thai language. If someone is stupid thai people use the world "ting tong" about that man (because of some strange reason the world "ting tong" is not used for women?). Mama Suphat tells pappa Göran he is "ting tong" almost every day.

Many men from europe (west) get ting tong when they meet a beautiful thai girl, think they have won on lottery. He thinks he has a girl who will cock for him, clean his house, wash the laundry... but he doesn't realise that all the family of the girl will move in very soon.

This nice guy met a girl on Internet, and her name happens to be Ting Tong. They meet for the first time...

Big big love... but everyone who have been married know what happens after the wedding rings are changed. One start to discover new things about each other. Our dear friend finds out that Ting Tong isn't Ting Tong... "her" name is Tong Ting.

In west it's very important to be honest, a man who stands for his world is a real man. In Asia it's much more important to save ones face. Small lies are part of everyday life. Our dear friend finds out that Ting Tongs home village isn't Pong Pong... she is from Too Ping (small lie again). Many Thai/Falang marriages finish in catastroph because different ideas about the world "truth". (falang = thai word for western man).

Another big difference between east and west is privacy. In west everyone need to have their own room, somewhere where you can close the door and be alone. In Thailand the word privacy dosen't excist. When Mr Johans aunt and oncle visit us papa Göran, mama Suphat, Mr Johan and 18 year old brother Khankau all sleep in the same bedroom. Everybody is comfortable and happy with this arrangement. We also eat from the same plate, share everything that we have.

In west (Scandinavia) you can read in newspapers about some old man that have died a half year ago in his appartment... and nobody discovered it. Lonelyness is a big problem in west. That's one reason why papa Göran like to live in Thailand, he want to live and die with family and friends around.
But our dear friend gets upset when he finds out that Ting Tongs mother is moving in, disturbing his privacy...

... many Thai/Farang relations end when the dear hubby finds out that the lovely lady take 100% control of his life. Our romantic friend gets a chock when he find out that Ting Tong and her family have opened a restaurant in his flat... thai ladies are often very businessminded.

Long live the cultural chocks :)

Todays headlines in Thailand and Hua Hin

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When staying abroad for a while one want to read online newspapers from home on Internet. I read newspapers from Finland and Sweden almost every day. But when you live in a new country for a longer period you also want to know whats happening in your new country. Today i read The Nation - a Bangkok based newspaper in english language. Some of todays headlines below.

Storms

Countrywide winds, storms, floods batter nation. According to the Meteorological Department, low pressure from the weakening Ketsana will result in cloudbursts over many provinces, especially in the Northeast, the East and the Central regions. The wind along the Pattaya coast was yesterday so strong that operators cleared the beach of parasols and canvas beds. In Surat Thani, local authorities warned people and tourists on Samui and Pha Ngan islands to beware of possible flash floods and landslides.
(Read more)

How Finland leads the world in education

By Wannapa Phetdee
The Nation
Published on September 28, 2009

Finland reached first or second rankings in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2003 and 2006.

"Finland has reached number 1 or number 2, with very high rankings in reading literacy, mathematics and science. If one could make a calculation of the total, comparing different fields, Finland would be number 1. The country received very high marks in this international comparison of students," Finnish Ambassador to Thailand Sirpa Maenpaa told The Nation recently.
(Read more)

Video violence is creating a criminal society, say academics

Repeated presentation of video clips could affect children and oversensitive or depressed people to use violence against others or themselves, they told a seminar on the impact of violent video on Thai society, organised by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

The most searched for video clips on the Internet were pornographic,peeping tom,crime news,comedy and news clips.
(Read more)

Asean meeting in Hua Hin October 23rd to 25th

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday that the Thai government will invoke the Internal Security Act (ISA) to maintain peace and order during Asem Summit and related summits in Cha-am and Hua Hin.

He said the laws will prohibit any gatherings in the areas, while some ten thousand military and police will be deployed to ensure there is no disruption during the summit, he said
(Read more)