[tom]

Originally Posted by Mirkwood

I can use a bank and post a letter thanks.

You previously used both as negative examples of everything that's wrong with Thailand.

You know yourself. You can walk into a Thai bank one day and have a near perfect transaction. Go in a day later and it's a different story.

I can honestly say that I can't recall having had a negative experience in my bank - exactly the opposite. The only issue I've had with banks was when I originally wanted to open an account in BKK and both the Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank in Exchange Tower at Asoke wanted proof of address (work permit) otherwise you had to go to the main branch in Silom. No big deal - I simply went to the Kasikorn next to the Ruamchit Hotel down the road and was done and dusted within 15-20 minutes.

Things are not standard here.

They're not the same as things back home - there's no denying that.

Same as posting a letter abroad. Let's be honest you know what it's like here. If you order a full English breakfast and ask to have an extra egg instead of the beans. You will end up with chicken curry.

I do know what you mean but I'd see the funny side and either eat the curry or have another attempt at ordering what I wanted. It certainly wouldn't faze me at all.

I don't eat too many English breakfasts these days, but I regularly get a banana split in Swensen's. Changing the strawberry and chocolate ice-cream for coffee and mocha has never really been a problem for me.

The point that you're missing is that the fucked-up full English breakfast is likely to be nothing more than the result of a language misunderstanding and, as such, you're likely to be just as much part of that particular problem as the tri-lingual waitress. Maybe you just need to work on that gor gai, kor kai stuff a little bit more.

I don't want to sound as if I'm suggesting everything is perfect in Thailand - it's not. However, citing your inability to order a full English breakfast as evidence of what's wrong with Thailand says more about you than it does the Thais. On the plus side, you're not unique - there are plenty of guys in Pattaya with the same mindset. The guy who penned the OP is one.