inmysights

Oh dear. How sad. RIP.

" the men jumped on the trucks and sped away." So pickup trucks are faster than police motorbikes?

In country areas the police have to use their own motorcycles and are reluctant to damage them.

LOL!

And of course more discrimination about other nationalities ... what about the other tourists ?

Don't you know that the ELITE and YELLOW Shirts are all from China? My God isn't there enough here now?

ALL Thais are from China. Diktet.

Of course the travel industry as a vested interest is asking for visa fees to be waived, but let's hope the government doesn't fall for it again.

The visa applications still have to be lodged and processed. Who pays for that?? Taxpayers. I'd rather the tourists pay their visa fee and the proceeds pay for the processing, rather than being subsidized by government funds that could be spent on something more worthwhile, like healthcare, schools and infrastructure.

If people can afford to come to Thailand, they can afford to pay the pretty reasonable fees for tourist visas.

I'm with you.

Okay, lets backup on the bullshit.

Why do Chinese have no 14-day stamp at arrival placed in their passport like people from a good number of countries in the world receive upon arrival at Thai Immigration check points?

Or is this a case that Chinese are very slow people due to having to take lots of pictures of Thailand to decide were and what kind business venture(s) to start in Thailand when on vacation and the 14-day stamp in the passport is not enough time.

The more you read this forum the more you find out about the never ending string of shenanigans making the rounds in Thailand.

As for the 90-days reporting, well, stop moving around like a gypsy, buy your own residence and produce the Thai Gov. Land Office Document(s) to show them that you are a serious established in one place resident in Thailand. Thailand already has more than enough trouble keeping track of Thais and their residence address to the point that the Police takes the driver license which will be returned when coming to the police station because half the driver licenses in circulation the residence address is not were the holder of the driver license lives.

In many cases Thailand has screwy ideas, but also in many cases there is a reason for what to a farang looks like screwy ideas. As for the 90-day reporting, it should be made every 30-days with all the undesirables from all over the world using Thailand as a place to hide. After consistently having the same residence address as checked out by Immigration Police for 3-monhs then the person should be given a 90-days reporting.

What are you on?! Even retirees settled for many years in the same abode still have to report every 90 days. And even those under retirement age and who have established businesses here must 'border run' every 90 days..

And by the way Khun Ingenue, what you quite possibly term 'undesirables'(a)get around the visa thing (Utapao Pattaya/Phuket/everbloodywhere, anyone?) And most certainly do not trip up to their local imm office every 90 days.

You really should get out more.

I vote to drop all this nonsense 90day reporting crap + paying for extension of stay visa + re-entry ripp off

Plus 1. Bloody waste of time reintroduced by bloody Taksin very soon after taking office as part of his particular 'whip up the nationalist crap' program at the time.

Just for all of you who still labour under the delusion about what 'a very nice chap' he was. Pah!

. Mai pen rai and the fight for democracy are mutually exclusive terms.

Never have truer words been spoken.

Thailand has a unique and very specific state of interdependent conditions. Every aspect in Thailand keeps the Thai situation going on as it is. If just one of the main aspects of the interdependent conditions of Thailand dramatically would change the whole system would - have - to change - . Thailand needs a revolution of awareness, to go up from teenagerawareness to adolescence-awareness. I think when that would happen , and only the young - new- people of Thailand can do, since the old ones are entangled in their indoctrinated conservative traditional habitual thinking, Thailand will have a future.

If you think for just one moment that the majority of Thai youth will in any way alter Thailand's thinking in this regard, you are seriously mistaken. There are indeed many Thai youths unable to express their opinion (as are we, of course) But believe me, they are there.

And there are many older Thais who agree. They're not all bloody senile you know. Simply need access to 'unbiased' information. Same as the West.

I love this - you are the information...the example of your own ridicule.

it seems like some people don't even begin to understand how way of rationalised thinking they are.

I am well read and have good critical thinking abilities - I can analysis and criticise, put forward a rationalised argument.

but none of this is worth doing when you get such comments as the above.

It's not as if I'm going to spend hours or in your case years trying to educate you. I certainly won't be giving out personal info willi-nili on this site, and only a fool would expect such.

I can point out your basic flaws ,but YOU have to do the research and the thinking - it's not something you get in a single post from a forum like this it is a cumulation of years of experience and education which if you have to post "Show us the information." -shows you simply don't know where to begin - and I for one certainly ain't going to entertain that paucity of thought.

I could see why you would go away digging about for information on the net.

It's clear that you struggle for inter-personal skills and struggle to communicate in a way that anybody would want to spend time paying much attention to whatever the <deleted> it is you are rambling on about.

Most people on here are speaking from real life experiences that they have experienced from, well, real life. All that you seem to have to say for yourself is from some cyber-relationship you seem to have with google.com. When it comes to learning about people, be they fat, skinny, bald, hairy or whatever the best way is to actually go out, meet them and speak to them. Some people have different experiences, not wrong, just different. That's just one of the things that makes life so interesting.

Once you do that you get to find that people are in fact so very diverse that it becomes just about impossible to judge their personality, education or background just by their looks. It's great to be able to experience the vast wealth of different personalities of people out there in the real world, and you really do learn a lot more about people that way from some text book or google search.

Anybody can learn facts and information from a text book, it actually means <deleted> all. Even a parrot can mimic. The true definition of intelligence is the ability to learn and it would certainly seem as though you have one hell of a lot to learn.

Swallow your own pill and try a little critical thinking your self. Try a little critical thinking about the purpose of sharing a common language and how that purpose is to allow us to communicate effectively with each other. How it allows us to share information, tell stories and exchange ideas.

And then try a little critical thinking about how everybody would rather you just shut the <deleted> up!

Amazing - assumption after assumption - where do you get your ideas - certainly not from reading.

I have pointed out in many posts the futilities of researching on Google - but it would appear you know of nothing else.

I'm assuming you have access to a fully stocked English speaking library in your moobaan? Or do you not actually reside here?

These deaths are very likely caused by cyanide.

The cases in Chiang Mai are very similar to what happened in Phi Phi two years ago when four people also died and a few people fell very sick but recovered. They all stayed at the same guest house. Like this time, the police said that the deaths were a co-incidence and the guest house remains open with the same owner today. The autopsey was inconclusive but referred to a possibility of a food poison or other toxin. The police unofficially said they drank moonlight (although not together) somewhere however one of the victims didn't drink according to her boyfriend.

At Phi Phi there was a waste water treatment being expanded by the guest house owners to serve Phi Phi and one way to sterilize the new equipment before use is to coat it with a chemical agent containing cyanide.

Cyanide in tiny doeses causes severe food poisoning like symptoms and violent cramps. In higher does it's fatal with seizure of respitary and heart muscles. It's very easy to buy chemical compounds containing cyanide, especially bags of industrial cleaners imported (probably illegally) from China via the north of Thailand. Cyanide is almost odourless and tasteless.

The only food poison that could kill quickly is clostiduim botulinum which is found in damaged cans. However, botulinum would not kill two people almost simultaneously. Botulinum would also not be found on bbq port of chicken from outside however dirty while from cans would be a widespread problem not confined to the 5th floor of one hotel. E-coli is another potentially fatal pathagen but death is not common in healthy adults and patients would be sick for several days or even a couple of weeks.

Some posters have mentioned carbon monoxide. This is very unlikely as air-conditioners are electric not gas, unless there was a fire somewhere behind the air-condition but then there should also be smoke, and carbon monixde makes one sleepy rather than violently sick

Legionnairs once in every few years breaks-out somewhere and is a potentially lethal virus that can trap it's self in dirty air-conditioning units. However, the problem wouldn't just dissapear but would become a growing and continuing problem not just for guests in a room but also for cleaning staff and others.

Eating puffer fish causes muscle paralysis including the heart and lungs. It can also start with severe stomach upsets and cramps, however, there's not usually any in between. If you eat the contaminated mean, you're dead. Also, probably unlikely to for sale in Chiang Mai albeit once it was found on a market stall in some off beat Thai city a few years ago.

Other possibilities are a heavy dose of pesticides, many of which are odourless these days or some other chemicals such as the ones used for lethal injections. However, cyanide remains the easiest to buy.

It's also always possible that the latest deaths are related to those in Phi Phi two years ago ie. the same killers, if we consider murder as an option. This could've been a test sample by a terrorist group or an evil government.

Haha! You're kidding ... right?

The US fought a revolution, a civil war........

Is this the first step to real democracy for Thailand? I cannot think of many countries who have progressed to their current democracy without a blood letting. Hide your head in the sand. As posters on here, we farangs have our differences of opinion but we will have no effect on the outcome of this nation. All the signs are there, we have had warnings, what will happen will happen.

Australia did.

Before Thailand moves to a "real democracy", they need to find a leader that wants it.

If the red shirts get their leader (Thaksin) back in power, or if it is to be any of their current leaders, that won't be a change to a democracy that they say they want. That will just be more of the same shit that Thailand has had for 80 years.

The only way to get real democracy in Thailand, is to get rid of (or at least severely restrict) corruption. This won't come about by having the red shirt leaders leading the country.

Or is capable of it.

Thailand achieving Democracy is like a leukemia patient completing a marathon run...lol!

And the cancer is already chewing into the bones.

Look at the vast amount of farrangs that have TRUSTED Thai people and got stung badly..This is still an ongoing situation.

Thais in general don't give a fig, They have to trust themselves before they can trust others. Expats have found this out, They have trusted themselves-then gone on to trust Thais.

Now thats all gone --the vast majority will never totally trust a Thai, even the happily married ones must doubt at times, if not they have let their guard down and may regret later --if not, enjoy your good fortune, you are one of the lucky ones....................BEFORE you lovers of Thailand kick me in the back, I do enjoy it here, I keep them all at arms legnth, but smile, sawadee. The best way is not to entice, just be pleasant.

I don't believe I'm alone in doing that with most of the expat community here too. So many farang are duped by the scoundrels who take advantage of the fact that a farang will 'trust' another farang because of their bad experiences with Thais. Many shades of grey and all that.

... face facts ... Thailand is a nation of children.

... when dealing with Thais, I have the best outcome when I treat them as I would a 13-year old girl ... all of them ... from the captains of industry to taxi drivers ... everything becomes more clear for me ... their behaviors are better understood and their reactions are better anticipated.

... you cannot give democracy to a nation of 13-year old girls ... the outcome is predictable (witness exhibit 'A' ... uh ... present day Thailand).

... and, if democracy relies upon honesty, there will be no democracy in Thailand ... honesty is decidedly NOT a Thai cultural value ... honesty is not valued here ... full stop ... end of paragraph.

... as the monk Samana Bodhirak in the article cited, a benevolent "dictator" is better suited for Thais ... just as a parent is better suited for dealing with 13-year old girls.

... let's get real about this, eh? ... I think the monk got it right ... maybe Thais should throw democracy under the bus and return to old school, 18-century style absolute monarchy ... could they do worse?

Yes, stop banging your heads against a brick wall.

Honesty is not a cultural trait. But do bear in mind that there are a lot of farang to be found in the midst of the downright dishonest albeit making up a very small percentage of the population. And if I hear that equally stupid blood catch-all let-off-the-hook word 'face' yet again ...

And secondly, one only has to read thepeoplesvoice.org to see that although Thailand way down the scale with their stupid so-called 'democracy', could be a lot worse given that at least we know the 'better the devil ...' and aren't under any illusions as to the adverse.

But. 'Absolute monarchy' same Santa Clause? Perpetual 'subject/ignoramus ... hmmmm'

Get 'the boys' to deal with it (but only the farang ones, the Thais always 'grass you up'). They work on a percentage.

Don't bother with the judicial (LOL!) process. Takes aeons.

Excuse my ignorance.

Is this the one wiith the big wheel and near Lumphini?

Don't remember clearly (big wheel), but yes, across from Lumphini. Tad pricey, but some nice 'original' gear and pretty restaurant.

As has been said, 'yet another 'hotel/shopping complex in that area'?

The limits of Thai imagination know no bounds.

What is actually wrong with being old, fat or bald?

Just because a lot of the sheep want to slavishly follow what Hollywood and the western advertising world tells them to,doesn't actually mean that it is either sensible or logical.

Old

Actually an older man breeding with a much younger woman when he is old tends to be the best genetic choice.

First he has proved his ability not to die at an early age, something no young man can prove.

So he is likely to pass on his resistance to cancer, heart disease, HIV, etc.

Fat

If he has already survived to be old, then fat isn't really a health problem just a fashion problem.

If you came from a Maori, Fijian, African, etc. background then fat isn't even seen as a negative trait, only the white west objects to fat.

Bald

Another fashion problem, strangely enough a lot of baldness in the west may be due to estrogen in the water supply (from women and cow wee)

Young

Being young means you are likely to change partners often, play away and generally enjoy yourself while not being in a good financial position to support a young family. Not often the best of prospects for a young Asian lady of any background.

Almost everything you've p[osted here is incorrect. I think you need to do a little research on the headings you've chosen - but why bother? - it would break the TV tradition of writing rubbish.

Unfortunately for you, he makes sense here, you're the one looking foolish.

Unless of course you can back your position ....

He most certainly isn't making any 'sense here'. Admittedly it is a generalisation, but I wish I had a 100 baht note for the times I've heard "Well, where else could I get a girl half (make that a third) my age in my home country?'

Having said that (and as I've said, this is a generalisation), the young guys get taken too. Only they're prettier.

You bit sensitive about you're being stereotyped then?

Oh <deleted>!

Repeat : Don't take this place too seriously Don't take this place too seriously Don't take this place too seriously Don't take this place too seriously Don't take this place too seriously Don't take this place too seriously ...

To answer your first question, I am not really sure other than correcting simple problems like exposure, red eye etc. which I can do, I was just hoping someone could show me what these programs are capable of, I am a virtual beginner. Hence my opening the thread

Answer to second question is simple. My laptop (bought in the UK) came with Photoshop Elements 7 legally bundled as part of the software package.

Your last paragraph of explanation may as well have been written in Thai for all I understand it.

Back home, there are evening classes where you can go to learn such things as I am asking using Photoshop, I was just hoping there was someone around who could spare me (and maybe others) a few hours learning the application, purely as a hobby.

Although Photoshop may have amazing advanced applications to where I do not want to go, surely then it encompasses and does the simpler tasks that the free programs do?

Anyhow, thank you everyone for your responses, I will 'go it alone' for now.

There hundreds (if not thousands) of vid tuts on Youtube. There's also photoshopcafe.com.

Am so looking forward to the 'low season'.

And, no, don't give a flying fck about the biznizez. Lazy/greedy <deleted>.

Nai Harn was the last bastion of the non tourist enclave, and now it, same every other beach here, has become an over populated, overpriced (given the quality of the food/drinks - yes, I know they now serve 'cocktails' - all of which are <deleted>).

There truly is now, nowhere left here.

So very sad.

After all, the powers that be are probably asking themselves the question of why this is mainly happening to farangs and not thais?

There are places in Thailand I still will avoid after having lived here for over 25 years. Staying in cheap lodging is one of them. If you want to avoid being stung by hornets, you avoid a hornet nest.

I see your point Trodgers..

Care to mention some of these places, im sure it would be appreciated by those who get around Thailand a bit..although that might not be allowed to be shown on these pages??

SO..after what you have said, i guess Phi Phi would have to be one of those places

Cheap lodging means lax security, and coupling this with a locality (city, town, village, island, etc.) that has a local problem with either drug addiction and/or gambling, is to add all the right ingredients for unfortunate events. Example, I will not patronise A-go-go joints at the Suthisarn area in Bangkok, but will not hesitate to meet up with friends at Cowboy or Nana.

God. What a ridiculous post.

So by your 'reasoning' (haha), most 'unexplained' deaths should be those (Oh not again ...) would be amongst the 'non quality' tourists - ie backpackers and those wo stay in less that lest 4 star hotels.

And you patronise Nana! LOL! You 'quality tourist' then. Ho hum ....Diktet

The overwhelming majority of Thai men can't afford a mia noi. You really should get out more.

LOL, Almost all Thai men have one or had one, you should take off the dark glasses or speak with girls little more

I was married to one (Thai man) for ten years before he sadly passed a year ago. And pretty sure he didn't have a 'mia noi'.

As to 'the girls'. I count many of them amongst my closest friends. Certainly beats the godawful neurotic 'ladies who lunch' brigade making up the vast majority of the expat women here.

A good start might be taking a bulldozer through places like Pattaya. Round up all the bargirls on the streets. Quality tourists don't flock to Thailand for ladyboys and the sex industry.

umm but are not the major uses of prostitutes in Thailand as a whole, Thai men? thats what i have been led to believe, perhaps thats wrong?

Oh God, your moniker says it all. Those 'Thai men' do NOT parade their prostitutes around under the delusion they are their 'girlfriends'.

That's what pisses the Thais off, fairly or no. DO get up to speed with the ways things are viewed differently here. Would you take a prostitute to a restaurant/club/bar in your 'home country'? No. Then why here? And THEY ARE PROSTITUTES. However you may delude yourself otherwise.

Personally, I couldn't give a toss. Just wish these shit holes they call bars here did not way outnumber somewhere to have a quiet drink with more interesting types than the mongers who infest these 'establishments'.

You right, they call them mia nois and they try to keep them locked up in rented rooms, then get them pregnant and leave them shortly after. The richer ones keep them in a better rooms but the finale is usually the same.

Back home there are prostitutes who accompany men to big business meetings(and charge accordingly) and back home prostitutes would want to be paid by the hour should one wish to take her to dinner or bar.

the cost of having one would be more then monthly salary for most people, and those who can afford it buy them cars, rent units and DO take them everywhere as a girlfriend.

However saying all that, if one can afford to have a prostitute for 24 hours plus, usually will not have a problem to have so called "girlfriend" who really in a way is also a prostitute and money talks the same language all over the world

Ah Christ you're funny. How many of your mates 'back home' have a 24 hour 'on call' whore?

You been reading to many 'Maxims' LOL!

A good start might be taking a bulldozer through places like Pattaya. Round up all the bargirls on the streets. Quality tourists don't flock to Thailand for ladyboys and the sex industry.

umm but are not the major uses of prostitutes in Thailand as a whole, Thai men? thats what i have been led to believe, perhaps thats wrong?

Oh God, your moniker says it all. Those 'Thai men' do NOT parade their prostitutes around under the delusion they are their 'girlfriends'.

That's what pisses the Thais off, fairly or no. DO get up to speed with the ways things are viewed differently here. Would you take a prostitute to a restaurant/club/bar in your 'home country'? No. Then why here? And THEY ARE PROSTITUTES. However you may delude yourself otherwise.

Personally, I couldn't give a toss. Just wish these shit holes they call bars here did not way outnumber somewhere to have a quiet drink with more interesting types than the mongers who infest these 'establishments'.

You right, they call them mia nois and they try to keep them locked up in rented rooms, then get them pregnant and leave them shortly after. The richer ones keep them in a better rooms but the finale is usually the same

The overwhelming majority of Thai men can't afford a mia noi. You really should get out more.

A good start might be taking a bulldozer through places like Pattaya. Round up all the bargirls on the streets. Quality tourists don't flock to Thailand for ladyboys and the sex industry.

Thailand should not look a gift horse in the mouth. Very few "Quality" tourists are likely to bother with Thailand at all. The South of France is so much more inviting.

I would agree. Most tourists come to Thailand because its cheap

Not any more it's not.

I think the prime minister has it wrong - but I imagine he is a 5 star traveler. Once I saw a documentary on TV showing how backpackers and the "thrifty" tourist actuallly help the local economy out more than the 4-5 star traveler. This was because the frugal trourist would get a room at a B&B or a small locally runned hotel than staying at a place that would be owned by some big corporation or international company., Next, the food would also be purchased from some "ma and pa" runned restaurant than at some chain hotel or restaurant. Also, the program I watched brought out how the young traveler is usually into learning about the culture more than the older traveler. So I always thought Thailand had it correct - to attract both kinds of tourists... (and when there were political problems in Thailand, who were the first establishments to suffer? - the international hotel chains.

Hmmm, how do backpackers help the economy? They stay in small cheap hotels who do not pay taxes

They eat in small cheap places, who do not pay taxes

They shop in small cheap shops who do not pay taxes,

So how do they help the economy? considering that hotel chains, retail chains, malls and larger food chains all pay taxes and employ people.

They put cash directly into the hands of the people who need it the most.....

Thats correct they put cash into the hands of the people which does not always translate into economy.

Once again hotel chains, retail chains, food chains pay tax. Individuals and small operators do not.

I loathe soulless 'chains' and would prefer my money go to those struggling to survive, which I posit might the reason behind this silly speech (or part thereof) insofar as Mark's mates are hurting. Good.

Why this AGAIN. And why NOW? When, as already has been stated, tourist numbers are DOWN. Bad exchange rate, ongoing , with no end in sight, problems with Western economies.

As a visiting friend remarked 'Thailand - 3rd World country with First world pricing'.

Abhisit's turning out to be a bigger disappointment than Obama, if that were possible.

Oh well. For those of you who might be interested, watch Zeitgeist Addendum on Youtube. To see how the world really turns ...

I eat a homemade tuna salad sandwich just about everyday for lunch.

Tuna, Mayo, Diced onion, diced carrot, 1 large diced dill pickle & tosated sunflower seeds (Villa 30 baht per 100 grams). On whole wheat toast. Yum.

Big slice ot tomato & some iceberg lettuce.

Yuk.

Best tuna sandwich, EVER (from farang restaurant in Ankorwat:

One baguette

Can tuna in oil

Capers

Garlic

Freshly cracked black pepper

Thinly sliced onion

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Bag 'real' salad leaves

Coat the outside of the baguette with smidgen of olive oil and cracked black pepper.

Place tuna/capers/garlic/onion inside foil wrapping

Bake in slow preheated oven for around 10 to 15 minutes

Unwrap and add capers,salad leaves and Balsamic vinegar/ extra black pepper

For the more Thai amongst you, add sliced chillies and kai khem.