Nasiadai

Thailand has changed its 60-day visa rule. The 30-day rule now applies again.So I’m going to apply for a 3-month visa. I want to spend the winter in SOA again from November 2025 until the end of March 2026. So almost 4 months again. I’ll be spending most of my time in Siam. I’ll also be popping over to Laos or Burma (if the situation there improves). For that, I’ll need a visa. The new visa regulations – from summer 2026- as far as I’m aware: there’s now only the 3-month visa for ordinary (German) tourists.

I can hardly believe it. Are these really recent photos of this American aircraft carrier? Judging by the photos, this aircraft carrier is a massive heap of scrap. How can that be? Coss writes: "Did Hegseth sack all the maintenance staff in the military?" Yes, one might think so 5555

I have had my first and most important doctor’s appointment. The internist told me I could fly – to SEA for four months to spend the winter there; from mid-November 2026 to mid-March 2027. My blood pressure and circulation are well under control. Now I’m going to buy my flight ticket and start making travel arrangements. Regards

So let us beam ourselves once more to sunny California – to LA and San Francisco – and listen to the Mamas & the Papas and Scott McKenzie. I’ve chosen this music video because the images it shows perfectly reflect the optimistic, life-affirming spirit of the times and the prevailing aesthetic of that era. That applies to both songs. Let us indulge in those sweet, irretrievable memories once more. John Phillips, the songwriter and musical mastermind behind the Mamas & Papas, has written timeless pop music with these two songs; these two songs capture the spirit of an entire era – the 1960s.

And I listen to music every now and then! Of course, our great German classics – Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, etc... But naturally also the rock and pop music we all love, from the 1950s right up to the present day. I’ve got loads of favourites there. When I think of your name ‘Old Hippie’, one group from the 1960s springs to mind in particular – the Mamas and the Papas. ‘California Dreaming’ and ‘Let’s Go to San Francisco’. Yes, the wonderful Mamas and the Papas! They whisk us away from cold, grey, wintry New York to the much warmer and more pleasant Los Angeles. It’s an optimistic anthem of the 1960s ‘Flower Power’ movement. It was immediately followed by John Phillips’ song ‘San Francisco’, which Scott McKenzie turned into a global hit. Sun-drenched songs full of confidence and hope for the future, which made me blossom as a 16- or 17-year-old back then. The flute solo in the middle of the song sounds very ‘Mozartian’, somewhat reminiscent of the flute part in *The Magic Flute* … well, anyway. Even today, I often lose myself in this pop music and revel in these sounds and melodies. For me, the Mamas & the Papas are among the all-time greats of 1960s pop music, alongside the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Byrds. So let’s transport ourselves once more to sunny California – to LA and San Francisco – and listen to the Mamas & the Papas and Scott McKenzie.

Dear Old Hippie, I understand – even as a non-native speaker – the, if I may say so, somewhat disparaging humour and the slightly derisive irony in your post. It’s all right, no problem. I’ll reply in my own way. Everyone wants to reach a ripe old age, but nobody wants to grow old (with all the usual illnesses, niggles, and physical and mental limitations that come with old age). I try to stay fit for as long as possible through daily physical and mental activities. So, during the summer months, I tend to our garden; mowing the lawn, weeding, and so on. I go for long walks. I also read for a very long time and a great deal; partly on my computer or laptop, reading (German) newspapers, news magazines and various blogs. And I read books; partly fiction, but also challenging academic literature, for example by Habermas, Sloterdijk, Luhmann and Adorno. And I maintain social contacts – family, friends, etc. All of this helps me to stay physically and mentally fit.

My drinking and constant partying carried on until mid-March 2020. Then COVID-19 hit, and that changed everything. Since then (March 220), it’s been the end of drinking and partying; even here in Germany. When I flew back to Southeast Asia in November 2022 (after the two-year COVID break), we weren’t drinking anymore (not even my Thai mates), and I wasn’t hitting on the girls either. At Nana Plaza or in Pattaya, I was just a spectator, no longer an active monger 5555 Since November 2022, I’ve been nothing more than a quiet, passive connoisseur of the bar scene. Yes, times are changing. 5555

Coss and MPih, Thank you for your reply. Yes, ageing is a dreadful thing. It keeps narrowing down the possibilities and options you have. After my stroke in December 2012, I flew back to Siam for the first time in October 2014 (following rehabilitation and early retirement – I couldn’t work after that). I even humped the girls at Nana Plaza. I’ve also written about it here on this forum. And I was still drinking! I partied and drank with my Thai friends (now all retired generals) whilst reminiscing about old times. For instance, about their year at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg, when they attended the General Staff Course. One evening we were at ‘Brown Sugar’, a jazz bar in Bangkok. We had Khun Fah with us – my girlfriend at the time, who came from the family circle of one of my friends. She managed our shared petty cash 5555 and looked after us. When she took the bill at around 2 am and saw the total, she burst out and shouted (in Thai): “Are you guys completely mad!? I had have to work for three weeks to earn the money you’ve drunk away in one evening!” One of my Thai friends tried to translate her indignant outburst into German - his voice was thick with a drink. But I told him: “Kwanbun, I understood Fah perfectly well.”

I still haven’t bought a flight ticket for the coming winter season; I’m still hesitating. I am now 77 years young, physically and organically in perfect health, as medical examinations consistently show. But my nervous system is a complete shambles; I suffer from autonomic dystonia and, increasingly often, episodes of high blood pressure reaching life-threatening levels. I still have two appointments with an internist and a cardiologist in the next days. Whether I return to Bangkok will depend on the outcome of these medical assessments.

What on earth is this? Someone’s asking about me. What a surprise! Where is NASAIDAI ? started by Kiwi. I’ve remained very active and full of life throughout all these past years. However, since December 2012 – so for 14 years now – I’ve been severely limited by a devastating stroke (paralysis of the right side of my body). Nevertheless, from October 2014 until last March 2026, I was always in SEA; for periods of between 5 and 4 months; during the European winter months from October to the end of March. As far as I can remember, I also posted travel reports here on this forum; mostly in detail and always with photos. But then Flashermac and Marcel passed away; that was a heavy blow for this forum. 1. During those years, I mainly posted on the website run by Alex the Scot (The Rockhouse – LK Metro, Pattaya). But Alex stopped for health reasons and returned to Scotland with his family (as far as I know). 2. I also posted very regularly on the Secretsboard until the Secrets company in Pattaya closed down and moved to Cambodia. 3. And there’s also a very lively German-language forum where I was very active until two years ago. So, that’s it in a nutshell.

I am horrified and saddened. Khun Sanuk is dead. I cannot comprehend it. I knew him personally. We met a few times in the old ‘Woodstock’ (Nana Plaza; I think Rainbow 4 today). Once the New Zealander Stickmann (Paul) was there. That was an interesting round of talks. I would like to thank you in retrospect for founding and managing your Sanuk boards, which gave us the opportunity to exchange information and discuss. Lieber Marcel, ruhe in Frieden = Dear Marcel, rest in peace. A final greeting Nasiadai alias Bakwahn . Charly

Part 2: Where from and why this hatred, this resentment of a successful society, of a people that always stands its ground in a hostile environment? The left-green milieu deeply hates any form of "being better", of "being superior". All forms of differences between people, groups of people or nations are linguistically and socially constructed and do not exist in reality. All people are equal, all cultures are of equal value. If there are nevertheless serious differences, this is justified with a rather one-sided attribution of blame to the culture and history of the West: imperialism, colonialism, racism, oppression, exploitation. In the case of clear differences within a society, it is allegedly systematic social disadvantages. The unsuccessful or clearly less successful group is always blameless. The blame always falls on the better, more successful, more capable. In our case, our own German culture and its strengths are criticised, even downright put down. This left-green-woke concept of culture no longer contains any normativity. Self-denial, even pathological self-flagellation and cultural relativism lead to abysmal hatred of one's own society, which is still extremely successful at the moment. Hence this anti-Israelism in the left-green intellectual milieu. Israel is proving to be the most modern, successful, creative and innovative society in the entire Arab world. At the same time, it is the most endangered, and I think this endangerment has increased rather than decreased. Again and again, and in every respect, Israel proves to be the superior nation to its hostile Muslim neighbours. Hence the hatred, the anti-Israelism in the left-green intellectual milieu. Live from Buxtetown on the Esteriver - 14 October 2023 - 6.55 p.m. local time Nasiadai

Part 1: This inflammatory and anti-Israeli reporting by most of the journalistic mainstream, which has spread and taken root in the public broadcasters (e.g. Arte-Journal, 3Sat-Kulturzeit) and has virtually become the norm, raises questions. I do not call this disgusting opinion-making in our German Mass media anti-Semitism, but anti-Israelism. So why this astonishing anti-Israelism in the left-green intellectual milieu? A brief comparison between Israel and the surrounding Mohammedan states: On the one hand, small Israel, economically, scientifically-technically, culturally and militarily vastly superior to the surrounding Mohammedan states. It is a functioning democracy according to the Western model. The rule of law and legal security apply, and there is a prosperous, efficient economy with an acceptable level of prosperity. This is how I know Israel from newspaper articles and media reports. Yet Israel spends about 25% of its GDP on national defence. We in Germany don't even manage 2 %. On the other hand, there is the Islamic cultural area, which has produced political systems, economies and ways of life characterised by oppression and coercion, intolerance and lack of freedom, by intellectual desolation and economic poverty and wretchedness. From Morocco to Egypt, from Turkey to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indonesia, there is only backwardness, poverty and, in some cases, misery. The Islamic states have nothing to be proud of in the international competition between nations, economies and cultures. They have nothing to show for their achievements but poverty, backwardness and hopeless inferiority. Looking at the pyramids and the gold shrines of their pharaohs, the Egyptians should realise that they have passed themselves through: From the very top to the very bottom. So much for my stocktaking.

For better understanding, a short note on the mass media situation and the influence and shaping of opinions in Germany. For the past 15 to 18 years, left-green-woke topics and views have formed the mainstream of our mass media (print media as well as radio and television) in Germany. This left-green-woke journalism dominates 80% of the reporting and thus also the formation of opinion on central political issues and social developments. This does not only concern news, political talk shows or political reporting, but goes deep into cultural-relational reporting, even into TV crime dramas. left-green-woke shit reigns! on the war in the Middle East after the invasion of Israel and the Hamas massacres of Israelis.

Last weekend there was a wine festival in the old town on Carlplatz. Winegrowers from German wine-growing regions such as the Moselle, Rheinhessen, the Middle Rhine, etc. offered their wines. We were there in the late afternoon and had a few glasses of different white wines. By the way: The pubs, beer bars and bistros are a huge beer festival all year round. The people of Düsseldorf and their guests and visitors drink by the hectolitre.