hyperlemon

yep, bangkok will rise like a pheonix and the baht will drop like a stone to the £..... probably. how bad must the UK economy be to continue to loose ground to the baht....?

you get a lot for of baht for your pound, what are you whining about?!

47baht/£ isn't enouth!!! 2 years ago it was 65!

Actually, I find this type of post very troubling.

It sort of fits into the "mai pben rai" attitude that Thais have...something that mightily figures into the current crisis. The perceived richness of the people in Bangkok compared to the perceived poorness of the people in rural villages. Mai pben rai.

I'm getting out after a year of living here as a retiree. When I notified my apartment manager (who happens to be Indian) he immediately said, "Oh, just wait 4 days. Everything will be perfect again."

It's sort of like "freedom"...once people get a taste of it, they're rarely satisfied until they really have it. You can't always put the animal back in the cage. I think the article is incredibly naive and is going to result in nothing really changing and more pressure building.

I'm serious, this kind of article makes me want to vomit...literally.

Good to see a Positive thinker!

Maybe off topic but is there still a big army presence in Bangkok?

The dispertion of protesters was handled very badly, army and police presence at major sites around the city (Central World, Bangkok bank etc) would have helped!

All of this is so sad, it will take months to re-build these buildings, years for people to build confidence in Thailand, and the loss of life will never be forgotten.

Government shouldn't and can't turn back!!

Letting these looneys have another go to create chaos and anarchy in the future whould be a big mistake as then the armed fight will continue for years to come.

They must eliminate these rotten elements as soon as posible to reduce our society from slipping into further chaos.

There are no innocent bystanders in this picture, if you were innocent then why try to cover your face, drive on your motorcycle(taxi) around with bottles filled of gasoline, bringing tyres to the fire, trowing rocks and use guns to armed forces.

If that's what people call innocent and the media like BBC and CNN brush this off just as little teasing of the troops there should not be any UN-tribunal in the last 60 years cause then nothing has happened in this world.

There was no Rwanda,no sierra leone, blood diamands are just a lie,no iddi amin,no zimbabwe,no south-africa( the Dutch did not create Apartheid, you even can't find it in any dictionary), nothing happened in Argentina,Chili,Cuba,Vietnam,laos,burma,cambodia, etc. Allcountries where elements like Thaksin,Chavalit and their clan where the cause of the problem.

But now they do not own the regular army so they let uneducated,unknowing people be their paid army to fight for their assets.

sorry for not stating an opinion in this comment.

sorry for just giving undeniable facts

Have a nice Sunday in Montenegro Thaksin, enjoy Cumming Chavalit, buy somthing nice in Singapora Potjaman, and please do not turn in your grave dear Marcos!!

I find people such as yourself contributing to the problem. How do words like "looneys," "rotten elements," "uneducated, unknowing people," help the people you are describing find solutions to this tragedy? and how do ideas that have a summary solution; whereas you say, "you can't turn back...they must eliminate these...as soon as possible" prevent people from trusting others intentions? Many of the military are made up of the very people you say are uneducated and unknowing. All armies are used to protect assets, so irregardless of what examples you site about civil discord in the past, we are all dealing with the present. Insults predicated on arrogance is not the way any of us can rise above this ordeal. Killing fields and your idea of social genocide is not a solution. There is enough special interest on both sides of the equation, so everyone would be better served by setting aside their egos long enough to hopefully sit back down with an impartial mediator who can at least attempt to resolve this living tragedy. Let's not pretend to know what everyone is feeling; let's not pretend to know what each side really wants; let's not pretend to know how to end this confrontation, and lets not use language that is divisive and incendiary, because it serves no purpose here or anyplace else in the world. If we have anything to say, and we all do, that is part of our human nature to want to speak out, and to be heard, then let's deal with this from the side of our humanity that allows us to be compassionate, that allows us to be civil, and allows us to seek solutions through compromise. I live here too, and I find this entire situation to be upsetting, and I blow off steam just like I am sure so many of us here do; but, when I write, I write after I have calmed down so I can find my logical side and write from my heart instead of my brain. My families preacher always made the point every Sunday after each sermon to remind everyone if they had something nice to say, to please share their thoughts with him, and if they had something bad to say, to just shake his hand because it was a lot more comforting then watching someone shake their fist! Please chose your words carefully!

For you is easy, you can pick up your bags and leave our country.

Me where can I go???

You're country gives my family a new life??

I was in the Army as well and I know what the soldiers must feel, and so do the rest of Thai people, so why they want to commit violence against their own army and not listen to law??

Would your country allow protesters to shoot and then just say " aah naughty little boys please do not do this again!!

do not think so!!

before my family supported the TRT but since the truth about them has come out we support Thailand as a country and respect the law, but they not even know the law and for last few governments have refused (same as police) to implement the law, so people up country not know law or not care the law.

You thikn that good??

No one was suggesting leaving to go anywhere. My country has its own problems, but if you want a new life in a different country, it's never out of the question, but there are no free passes in this world. I was in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, so I have an idea about how the soldiers must feel, it's not an easy situation to be in. What my country would have done in this situation is not material, my country is not currently experiencing a widespread government protest. I don't think any of this is good, and I never suggested that it was. I can see you are quite angry and I can certainly appreciate that emotions in this situation are very high at this time, which is even more reason to find solutions that are not based upon anger, but are based upon our ability to find peaceful solutions. There is an old saying that violence begets violence, which means violence will always be met with violence, so where does it end? I could have called you a lot of names when I wrote my post, but I chose to just make observations and rationalize them with an honest plea to please choose your words carefully and to try and understand where your emotions are coming from. I genuinely understand your contempt, and I appreciate the fact that you are angry, because no one who loves their country wants to see it split into factions of violence. I love Thailand too as my adopted country of choice. I want to see this end just as quickly as anyone else, but in a way that will end the violence without using violence to try and end it.

Passon, you keep talking about a 'peaceful solution' maybe you didn't hear the government did offer parliment dissolution and for fresh elections, in return for the red shirts to end their protest. This in my opinion would have been a 'peaceful solution' but the red's rejected this offer, wanting more. The government tried to negotiate, the red's won't negotiate, so what, give the red's all they want?

I agree with iciparis.

The 'Red shirts' need to clear up what they want!!!!

The wanted parliment dissolution and new elections, the could have had both if they went home when the Priminister annonced his plans!!!!

But they must have been 'told' by the red leader 'we need this (whatever it is they want now) too' - got too greedy!!

RED SHIRTS GO HOME PLEASE!!!!!!!

i know i'm a 'farang' but the people of bangkok think the same!!!!!!

Its time these red shirts went home, attacking a hospital is about as low as it possible to go!

Injure people with bombs, guns etc and then povent those wounded from receving medical care, even in wars this is uncommon i belive

Im not Thai, so my opinion may not matter, but the red's are creating too much damage for thailand as we all know!

the government can not accept any of the demands from the red shirts, that will cause many more problems!

What is Thaksin doing? He a Citizen of Montinegro, has at least us$300million. Why not just live life and forget about trying to destroy thailand and hireing from what the washington post sugests, assasins!

Anyone know why they moved immigration from suan plu to cheng wattana? its such an inconvinient location!

Anyway i went there from victory monument on a mini van, but wasnt direct to had to take a taxi the rest of the way (about 50b)

returning was easy, just a mini van to mo chit BTS, so i recommend going to Mo Chit BTS an getting a mini van direct from there

opus, i should read the other threads first!

I see my options are, go to the immigration at cheng wattana (if the reds have gone!) and pay 1900b for 7 day extention

go to cambodia for a 15 day excemption stamp, cost approx 1500b

pay a overstay fee of ???? 500-10000b depending on delays.

go to SIN and get my non-imm 'ed' visa!

cambodia looks like the logical option

Hi

My 'visa excemption' stamp expires on the 20th of april, i have a flight to london on the 20th.

But due to the volcanic eruption and restrictions on european airspace, it seems highley unlikley my flight will be departing on the 20th.

So what will happen if my flight leaves, say 5 days late, thus overstaying my visa by 5 days?

My flight is via Abu Dhabi, where airspace is open, but i dont want to wait there for a unspecified amount of time!!!

thanks nick

I read somewhere that about 48% of death on the road in thailand are pedestrians, not sure if it's true. But we all know how hard it is to cross a thai road, and when they come to a pelacan crossing (yes there is some in bangkok) im not sure the drivers know what to do 'what a red light?, no cars?, i'm not stopping!'

In my opinion they should start by having a driving test similar to the UK's and get them to understand what a lane is!

I haven't been in Thailand long, so i dont know much about the situation

but can someone please give a clear defenition of what these 'red shirts' want.

as i understand at present they want. Parliment dissolution, democrasy, no corruption and Thaksin.

I'm having trouble understanding this as no corruption and democrasy are quite contradictory to Thaksin, aren't they?

and all these deaths and injurys is upsetting, the thais as i see them are peaceful people, but are now creating a voilent reputation for themselves.

Thanks thaiphoon

looks like im off to cambodia tomorrow then

Hi,

Here is my situation; i'm a British citizen, my visa runs out on the 24th march

and I go to malaysia on the 1st april so i only need 8 days,

as i understand you get 14 days at land crossings, which is adiquate,

but i have spent 120 days on 2, 60 day tourist visas (from laos) and 45 days on 2 visa excemption stamps from the airport

so my question is: will i get a 14day visa excemption stamp? or because i've been in thailand for more than 90 days, will i be refused entry to thailand?

Thanks for any help