billythefish

A hung parliament, what on earth is everyone getting so riled about, it is the best thing to happen to the UK, hang the fuc_king lot of them from the highest tree! and hang the house of lords while they on it!

Personally, I really like these big geckos, howvere, if you really want to make it disappear - get a cat.

What is a cat going to do? - I had nigh on 13 cats at one point -cats will not chase a fully grown Toktaw! -a fuc_king dog won't even go near them - AK47?

Global moderator now Soundman - boy you have come up in the world! lets get the bunting out!

Get one of these kids in to catch it. (They use a long pole with a lasso).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkDgotyZ0jM

But the little bastards here would either torture it, kill it or sell it!

You could spray a load of poison up there, that might annoy it enough to either kill it or make it leave.

Yes, the smell of a poisoned, rotting, dead lizard carcass in an impossible to reach corner should be wonderful this time of year.

I have the same situation and I was able to "lasso" one with a snake stick I had made and then relocated it. That was pure luck as they usually hide too quickly. I have another one I am still trying to locate. He too, only likes to say "<deleted> you" at odd hours of the evening.

I am now trying one of those "rat trays" where if they walk on it they get stuck, no poison, and then I will move it out of the house. I don't know how I will "unstick" him though.

I've caught a few mice over the years with Rat Glue but never seen a Tokay get stuck. if you do catch it you'll still have to kill it. its feet are sure to stay on the tray , so it wont be able to go about its business as normal. I'm pretty sure you can catch it by offering it your finger

seriously though, I do suspect its unlikely to spend day light hours in the roof space. IT'll probably have another hiding place behind a sink unit or such. have a look behind and take it from there.

It stays in the attic space all day. No way for it to make it's way into the house...(unless it decides to walk in the front door) ...remember...the pitter-patter of little Tukay feet I mentioned.

As Thais eat anything that moves, that was the reason I asked the villagers if they knew how to catch it. They can snatch a bug I can't even see from a tree limb 40" above ground level, but can't give advice on how to catch a lizard than can maim a small dog. I thought "Free food...they'll go nuts" ...but alas, it was not to be.

You think these buggers can't get into your home - they can get through the crack of dawn! and still have headroom!

Its the same with mirrors on motorbikes too. Gauranteed to see someone parked up checking themselves out daily. I've never done this myself. come to think of it I probably only look in a mirror once a week while shaving. I don't know, Its got to be Vanity or something

Mirrors on motorbikes in Thailand are purely used to locate and pop zits!

Not purely Billy. pop Zits for sure, but I see mostly Guys, Dodgy looking Guys in my opinion; tending there buffonts mostly. It freaks me out . had one recently sat on my friends motorbike tending its buffont after having taken a trip on said motorbike , after having retrieved my friends keys from her Bedroom without asking. It was only her screaming at me to stop that prevented me from kicking its buffont across the road. It had spots also for sure though. I think I've got a Phobea

Nah, not a phobia, just a well conditioned reaction to Thais in mirrors - incidentally, when they go for the yearly T.O.R - do they clean the zit spew from the mirrors?

I got 40% on the test, but to be quite honest.......any of them could blow me!

Its the same with mirrors on motorbikes too. Gauranteed to see someone parked up checking themselves out daily. I've never done this myself. come to think of it I probably only look in a mirror once a week while shaving. I don't know, Its got to be Vanity or something

Mirrors on motorbikes in Thailand are purely used to locate and pop zits!

Can anyone explain the English obsession with mirrors?

Break a mirror 7 years bad luck, unless you go and bury it!!!!!!

You could spray a load of poison up there, that might annoy it enough to either kill it or make it leave.

Yes, the smell of a poisoned, rotting, dead lizard carcass in an impossible to reach corner should be wonderful this time of year.

I have the same situation and I was able to "lasso" one with a snake stick I had made and then relocated it. That was pure luck as they usually hide too quickly. I have another one I am still trying to locate. He too, only likes to say "<deleted> you" at odd hours of the evening.

I am now trying one of those "rat trays" where if they walk on it they get stuck, no poison, and then I will move it out of the house. I don't know how I will "unstick" him though.

My thoughts exactly about the smell...he/she needs to be removed. I thought about the sticky rat trap glue, but what would you put on it to lure him/her onto the glue? Happenstance is not a good bait. I know from experience with mice that once something steps on the glue, YOU CAN NOT get it off. Only option at that point is a swift & hard whack with a hammer. I guess I could put down 5 or 6 of them & see what happens...but still I need some bait to lure him/her onto the trap. Something tells me I won't be able to convince a fly to loiter over the trap for to long. Fly's, unlike some muslims, don't have a desire to end their life prematurely.

Yes, mine likes to say to me "<removed> YOU" over & over as well, but I was trying to be delicate.

Maybe they are like parrots? It listens to my wife shouting fuc_k You and copies her! We have a family of adults, two of them seem to like to live in our wardrobe - they don't shit in there - (don't shit on your own front yard) but the odd time you open the doors and get a facefull, it can put the shits up you, but like I say, they never even try to attack!

And, they seem to eat everything - poisonous insects the lot - it all goes down-

Just got one recently in my kitchen in Bangkok.

Everybody kind of panicked.

Except me, that is, excellent opportunity to take some pictures.

Took a bucket (a pink bucket, we're in Thailand) and put it in it, and it was sure pissed off...

That is a great photo, and the Toktaw is a lovely colour!

Thais on the other hand will tell you that they will jump on you and bite and not let go...mmmmm

Indeed, this is what they told me also.

So at first I was a bit careful.

But see the photo, how long are its teeth? I'm pretty sure they're smaller than the thickness of our skin...

Its not really the teeth, it is the jaws, they are extremely strong, and if they are anything like other lizards, I wouldn't want their juices in my bloodstream. But hel_l, I have been here for a few years and come across loads of these buggers, never ever has one ever tried to attack me - they just want to be left alone. If you disturb a big one ( as I did a while back moving some rooftiles off the ground) they can give you a heart attack - this thing was the size of a cat - and give me a real scare - hissing and growling - but it was only defensive, it didn't attack - needless to say I left it well alone.

We have loads, as well as the other jakeem, and as I type here on my PC, they are on the ceiling shitting on me every now and again.

But something else must eat the shit, as by the morning it too has gone - isn't nature amazing?

Don't kill them, they eat loads of nasty insects and bugs - one of mine ate an 8 " Jackep! better in its belly than in my bed!

Secondly - they can predict your winning fortune on the lotto - count the squarkes - 5 is bad luck, any more than 5 is a good bet - 9 is the bees knees!

If you fancy a bit of sport, buy an airsoft gun that shoots the little plastic BB's - it won't kill them, but it pisses them off!

Thais on the other hand will tell you that they will jump on you and bite and not let go...mmmmm a bit like every snake you show to a Thai and they will tell you it is deadly.....mmm you should be happy you have them in your home, it is considered in chiang Mai to be good luck, but then again so is giving money to men dressed in saffron dresses!

Minimum wage in Thailand is almost 200 baht per day

I don't know where this statistic came from

I know that there is no National minimum wage, but I remember seeing somewhere that minimum wage is set according to the province.

Of course a lot of employers paying cash in hand will pay little regard to any minimum wage rate.

Last year my missus was offered a job in a 7-11. That job paid 157 Baht per day and no extra for the unsocial hours.

Sometimes i have to wonder why people post stuff without the simplest of research first. Of course there is a minimum wage in Thailand. I am not going to post a link, it's easy to google. Last year's upcountry minimum wage for women (yes it's lower than for men) might have been 157, but it's higher now, and in Bangkok and dam_n near close to 200 baht for men.

It is about 180 - 200 in Chiang Mai, and during Lam Yai season the women work for about 150-180 a day - you are not going to get a new Toyota vigo on that, even if the interest rates are zero for the rest of your life!

you should see the poor buggers where I am, there has been no rain, the last rice crop in 2009 paid out between 14-17 baht kilo, this year, it seems as if to punish the red shirts, with no water, a failing crop, they are getting 6 baht a kilo for homily!!!!

I pick my kid up from school everyday here and drive past some huge paddies (no not big Irish blokes) and they are as dry as a bone - the govt. Klong water is gone, not a drop, the only hope they have of salvaging anything is groups of workers with a well, and trying to pump water from a hose pipe to try and flood maybe twenty rai! It barely wets the soil.

The thing to think of here is, that when this crop fails, these people are fuc_kED!, they usually borrow the fertiliser and pay for it after the crop, they need to pay for either workers or a machine to harvest the crop - what is left of it, they need to pay for tractors and irrigation to plant it in the first place - and when it was 14-17 Baht a kilo (look what the middlemen were selling it for on the open market - Farmers are not allowed to sell on the open market - were making - prices were over 25 baht a kilo.) the farmers barely managed to make a few baht - they were just able to salvage enough rice for the family for the year, the excess that was sold paid the debts for the tractors/labour/fertiliser, and probably allowed them to buy next seasons crop.

This year - they are up shit creek without a paddle!

They have no hope - is it not surprising why they are getting so damned desperate and angry?

The <deleted> that broker the rice (I still believe there is a general world shortage) will be still getting their 25-30 baht a kilo, while the poor buggers just struggling to feed themselves get 6 baht! It STINKS!

Here is another perspective -

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/drunkdriving.html

88 keys - pressure sensitive

Midi/USB interface with my Mac

Korg Roland Yamaha even- whatever - I really haven't found enough to look at and compare in Thailand - only the range carried by Powerbuy - and therefore everyone else.

I'd like a genuine discount too!

Try Kad Suan Kieow in Chiang Mai, on about the 4th floor they have quite an amazing range of Yamaha Digital pianos - I only found this shop on Thursday, and really don't know what it is called, but if you go take a look you will find it eventually. it is a large department store selling virtually everything (Central Maybe?) they have Yamahas up to 100K Baht - take a look, I have never seen the same in chiang Mai!

Some of the Yamahas I saw in this place could play the notes very quietly, without an amp - i.e the thing is off but it still sounded like a real (but quiet piano) They even had this cutaway of the way he notes were struck...take a look, I was impressed by the quality!

I agree with some of what you say, but take exception to your view of Thai education. It is not the lack of education possibilities in Thailand but the lack of interest to take advantage of what is out there.

I also live in the rural area of Thailand and have relatives to prove, if the desire is there so are the opportunities. My wife comes from one of those poor rural families, her brother, dispite the poor education in rural Thailand managed to get a masters degree in education his wife also has a masters degree and nteaches at a local high school, all three children have at least bachelors degrees, the oldest currently working on her doctorate in chemestry, the youngest on his masters in physics, the oldest will be attending MIT in the U.S. to finish her doctorate. If there is only the poor education you speak of how could they have done this with all there primary education done at the rural public schools. I have the answer for you, dedication and a lot of years of hard work, and a lot of encouragement from there family.The problem most children in nThailand face is not the lack of opportunity but the lack of backing from there family.

You say "I agree with some of what you say, but take exception to your view of Thai education" then you go on to say "her brother, dispite the poor education in rural Thailand managed to get a masters degree "

So you agree that the standard of education in rural Thailand is poor.

Congratulations to your family members who have done so well, but they are more the exception than the rule.

I agree with you about the lack of commitment and dedication. My missus was enrolled in an adult further education class on Sundays, but most students drifted away and often the teacher couldn't be bothered to show up. Lack of commitment by the students and the teacher.

I could have phrased that differently, I am not agreeing,or disagreeing that the education system is poor, what I am saying is that it seems to be good enough for children to be succesful if they are willing to work for success.

Good enough for what? to be a slave? Please, you people are an embarresment - what kid from the sticks has a cat in hells chance - unless you want to quote "Dek Chai Mong" yes the surname says a lot - the claim to fame was making fuc_king paper aeroplanes for gods sake!

None of these poor kids have a chance, they are made to grovel and kow tow from the day they are born!

Girls on average get 14 years of schooling and boys 13 years

Most of the girls I have spoken to left school at age 12 ....... those that continued on to high school are clearly in the minority.

If you goto any local village you can find the high school graduates working in the 7/11 stores, and they always have staff wanted notices out.

They forgot to include the fact any slightly pretty village girls get sent to work as prostitutes.

If there is only the poor education you speak of how could they have done this with all there primary education done at the rural public schools. I have the answer for you, dedication and a lot of years of hard work, and a lot of encouragement from there family.

No, I have the answer for you

1) Nobody fails in Thailand, if you can afford the course fees you pass the course.

2) If you have cash you can purchase good grades, if not from your teacher, then the admin office will do the deal.

That may be true but the family I speak of does not come from money, and if the grades were only paid for where did the knowledge for the continued success come from, while what you say may be true it does not take away from the fact that true success is possible.

Hence every academic achievment here is worth SHIT!

There are a few misconceptions in the original article. First, although most rural folks own the land under their modest homes, a large percentage, sometimes up to 50% in any one tambon, rent their padi land. Second most rural folks are greatly underemployed. Wages in many rural regions for casual labor remain at just over 100 baat per day. Although true poverty is not as common as it once was, it still exists throughout Isaan and up in the minority villages up north. But most families, despite having their cell phones, satellite TVS, and electric fans inside their modest homes, are always just one small misfortune away, from going back into a state of poverty. One of my brother-in-laws has one of the largest homes in his village although due to a combination of poor decision making, less than robust health, and debt, now lives in a big empty shell. The largest house in the village is now domicile to one of the poorest residents of the village.

The comparisons to cohorts in North America is laughable. No carpenter in the US would want to be living on the edge of poverty that a rural carpenter in Thailand exists upon on a daily basis. Rural Thai carpenters do have a skill, but most often are greatly underemployed, and in fact tend to work in carpentry only a few months out of the year at best. And comparing farmers, please spare me. There are few enough true farmers left in in the US apart from the large corporate farmers who are contracted out by the few large processors such as ADM, and who survive only because of the government subsidies (US farmers live a socialist dream yet vote Republican, so don't think that Thai farmers supporting a megalomaniac like Thaksin is all that strange) due to the strange political structure in the US which gives the vast Midwest farmlands unwarranted over representation in the US Senate.

The writer of the piece is clearly observing rural Thailand from the outside with little real understanding of life in the villages. One can easily define unemployment in a manner that leads to a low number, but fails to capture the reality of endemic underemployment. The author finds other statistics to build up his/her neo-sahib views of the rural class (oh my, I could not find me a plumber), but as one who has spent many a year in the rural north, I find little of his tone to ring true.

Most of the folks DO NOT own their land, they are on Por Nor ghor Nung - the land has no chanote and can be taken away at the governments whim, which is already happening, the land titles are already being denied here after 10-15 years ownership! So don't kid yourself that they OWN anything, they simply produce and farm for the wealthy - once they stop being a source of income, the land will be seized!

B4 I go Aneewhere Eye orlways check the bykes breaks!

come on, you asked for it!

But true, you will never ever bee 100% driving here unless you leave your brain in the house.

As Lemmy once said - "Eat The Rich "

What utter drivel!

You are trying to compare poor Thais to Poor US?

Get real!

Since when was the 30 baht hospital scheme available for "Decades"

Every village in Thailand was on the electricity grid long before Thaksin came on the scene, and virtually every village family has a refrigerator, electric rice-cooker, TV, radio and a couple of oscillating fans. Almost all rural households have a motorcycle, though it may be old and battered. In every village several families own pickup trucks. Animals are no longer used for farm work except in extremely remote corners of the kingdom. If farmers don't have a mini-tractor of their own, they rent or borrow one from a neighbor.

And tell me how many hours out each 24 hour day did they have a supply?

Unemployment in Thailand is 1.4% -- among the lowest in the world. Here it has to be cautioned that employment statistics are notoriously unreliable. Even in advanced countries, economists cannot agree whether to include the under-employed and those not actively seeking work. But unskilled work, if not well-paid, is not hard to find. My Bangkok apartment building has had a "security guard wanted" sign out for weeks.

What utter rubbish! Where did you get these figures from? are you including the five year olds that have to beg for a living?

During the dry season, many farmers supplement their income with construction work in the cities. But some prefer to do without extra luxuries and live the slow-paced, well-fed rural life. Two or three years ago, I found it impossible for several weeks to find a plumber to put in a new bathroom. Many "peasants" have become self-employed entrepreneurs and done well for themselves. Thaksin's policies had no discernible impact on the labor force.

How grateful they must be to have to migrate as slave labour to simply survive!

Wealth distribution in Thailand is no more extreme than in most industrialised countries. The poorest 10% of the people of Thailand own 2.6% of the nation's wealth. The richest 10% own 33.7%. In the U.S., the comparable figures are 2% and 30%, in the U.K. 2.1% and 28.5%. These statistics may not be wholly reliable, but distribution of wealth is unquestionably much more equitable than in China, India, Brazil or South Africa. Even isolated Thai villages, especially in the central plains, would seem very prosperous to rural Pakistanis and positively utopian to most Nigerians. Thaksin's much-vaunted "village revolving development funds" financing local enterprise had their antecedents in the 1970s.

The biggest laugh yet - complete and utter crap - go and read Handleys "The King Never Smiles" probably the best ever book on Thailand - then take off your rose tinted spectacles!

All main roads in Thailand are paved (close to First-World standards), and most secondary roads are surfaced, as are a good many of the tracks that lead into remote villages, even in the poorer north and northeast parts of the country. It was like this when Thaksin was still a bankrupt ex-cop.

Paved to first world standards...you must be living on Mars!

Come up here with your Benz - you are going to need a major service - and obviously you have never driven from CM to BKK - on highway 1 - it has potholes deeper than WW1 Trenches!

Almost no Thais are unable read & write. Girls on average get 14 years of schooling and boys 13 years (note that girls are ahead). About 1.75 million post-secondary students (over 20% of their age group) are enrolled in universities (ranging from world-class to barely respectable), two-year colleges or vocational schools. Bright kids from poor families get government scholarships, so up-by-the-bootstraps success stories are so common as to be unremarkable. This high rate of upward social mobility goes back at least half a century.

HAAAAA HAAAA HAAA really? where do you live? Go and read here - the Bangkok Post - not exactly a paper to braoadcast Thailands "failings" so this must be the tip of the iceberg!

http://www.bangkokpost.com/blogs/index.php...tistics?blog=64

http://www.philadelphiafed.org/research-an...apter0class.pdf

It has very little to do with Thaksin, regarding any of this, the poverty is there because it serves a purpose= slaves! Thaksin, Abhisit mean nothing in this equation, it goes so much higher!

Try selling some rice outside of Thailand! you can get 20-30 Baht / Kilo in real world markets, but the local farmers in CM this year are getting 6 Baht!

They should BURN their rice crops (if they could) just to send a message - personally, I would go down the route of farming to eat, self sufficiency for a couple of years and teach these SHITS a lesson! Give them NOTHING to export, but it won't happen

What a pile of Kee Kwai!

88 keys - pressure sensitive

Midi/USB interface with my Mac

Korg Roland Yamaha even- whatever - I really haven't found enough to look at and compare in Thailand - only the range carried by Powerbuy - and therefore everyone else.

I'd like a genuine discount too!

Try Kad Suan Kieow in Chiang Mai, on about the 4th floor they have quite an amazing range of Yamaha Digital pianos - I only found this shop on Thursday, and really don't know what it is called, but if you go take a look you will find it eventually. it is a large department store selling virtually everything (Central Maybe?) they have Yamahas up to 100K Baht - take a look, I have never seen the same in chiang Mai!

Men's head is nothing to Thai women.

It is the love, caring, passion, understanding & kindness that counts.

I'm sure they can spot all of that from across the room. I know when I am at a club I focus on all the girls who would make good mothers!

In a relationship I would agree, and it would depend on the woman if it was her preference or not, but I believe the OP is talking about how now Thai women shy away from him or are unwilling to talk to his friend after he shaved his head.

As human beings we go by looks first.

As human beings we go by looks first. Quite agree with you.

However, a relation will not last more than a night if other more important things are taken into considerations.

True. Who gives a hoot if a woman likes or dislikes a certain physical aspect of a man. Thai women don't like beards either or big fat beer bellies. Neither do many western women. But, once they get to know a person the looks become secondary. I'm both bald and have a beard, and it's never made any difference to my relationships with women in any country. If your smile is easy and genuine, and you walk and talk with confidence, then physical attributes are over looked. It is the same with women. I've seen many physically beautiful women, but who have a sour look, and seldom smile. It takes away from their beauty.

It still comes down to what the person is like inside, and how they treat others. I've seen a lot of physically homely men with beautiful women, and it ain't because the guy was rich. I have two friends in Canada who were real lady's men, and neither is good looking by any aspect.

You mention you are bald and have a beard, do you have a beer belly? have you ever tried walking on your hands? maybe then it would look like you were clean shaven with a full head of hair....not sure what would happen with the beer belly though!

THB42 for large Leo... if buying by the case... including home delivery!

Beer Leo? I can drink urine free!

you can still buy Chang Classic or Chang Draft for 40Baht a 640ml bottle here!

but if you put into context with the strong Baht and the falling pound, beer is no longer cheap - a year or so ago, you could get 65 baht to the pound, and three bottles of Chang for 100 Baht, now the pound is 50 ish, and a single bottle is 40 Baht...same with fuel and everything else, this place is not as cheap as it was....

Probably get the usual response from the usual <deleted>, "fuc_k off to the Philippines"or whatever, but what the hel_l..your original post is correct.

Inflation here has gone crazy!

I would worry more about the people than the rats - the rats don't need to get at your cash!