laurentbkk

The TAT hopes to see 14 million arrivals for the full year.

Between hope and reality there is a world . Lets keep fingers cross that the strong Thai baht will not push away those "rich" tourists .

Sorry to be so stupid but I thought in Pattaya it was normal to have sex and pay for it. What difference does it make here ? Because its a beauty salon ?and not "massage" parlor ?

So what next? The Thai vegie and fruit producers will take greater care in washing their produce? What a farce! The fact is that the fertilizers and pesticides used are absorbed into the plant. It is shameful that faster returns on a cash crop is more important than the consumers' health. I'm dying to find out how this gets resolved - slowly and inexorably dying.

I usually buy organic vegetables but so far I wonder if those are even safe .

I have posted on here before that it is hard to trust the claims of some organic produce.

My wife recently went to a seminar where there was a talk on the importance of healthy food. During an interval in proceedings one of the ladies there got talking to my wife about how she worked on a farm selling 'organic' produce and how they were tipped off when due an inspection so they could wash the vegetables before hand to remove traces of chemical fertiliser.

As I said yesterday ,with very strong thai baht ,better buy imported organic vegies from NZ .

So what next? The Thai vegie and fruit producers will take greater care in washing their produce? What a farce! The fact is that the fertilizers and pesticides used are absorbed into the plant. It is shameful that faster returns on a cash crop is more important than the consumers' health. I'm dying to find out how this gets resolved - slowly and inexorably dying.

I usually buy organic vegetables but so far I wonder if those are even safe .

"Also, she met with a ranking executive of Harrods, London's most famous department store, in an attempt to find ways for more Thai produce to be sold at the store"

Proof that Thai business does have a plan, baht up, sterling down, sell to the rich

Shopping at Harrods now is so cheap for those who can afford it. That's maybe why this Thai official is going to Harrods.

With a very strong Thai Baht importing chicken or shrimps will cost more than to buy in EU itself. Regarding vegetables , Thai producers should use less pesticides if they want to export to EU where rules for health are very drastic . Maybe its time to think differently.

With such a low USD we will be able to buy imported fruits and vegetables from Australia or New zealand following Free trade agreement now. Too bad for Thai producers.

So if the Thai exports are relly being hurt by a stronger Baht....my question is this:

So who is benefitting by a stronger Baht? It certainly isn't us, retired Americans who get paid our pension in Dollars. (And don't say we should go to another currency...even if our government would ever do that (which it won't).

If the Thai government was really serious about stopping the rise of the Baht against the Dollar/Pound/Euro they could simply require a 30 day notice peiod for anyone who wished to buy Baht beyond a certain amount. That would limit the availability of Baht for speculation.

So my question again is:

WHO is benifitting from a stronger baht?

Usually investor in capital market , as there are no taxes on stock transaction the money coming from abroad consolidate the Thai baht. The government must start to charge taxes on this capital. well that's what I think ... the amount of money coming for investments in Thailand is too much as very attractive if tax free.

All industries facing problems with their export market ..such as mine for instance not to mention tourists who wont find the country as attractive as before.We just jump 13 years back.

Well, it does not seem a strange incident. I have seen that in Turkey, too. And most probably in some other countries as well. When it comes to money, such events occur anytime and anywhere. Since incoming of parking lot is shared partly with local polices those armed people are not going to be neither penalized nor something else.

It doesn't happen in "civilized" country LOL

I just wonder how AOT ( airport authority of Thailand) will do to be in the top 10 ... Maybe the top ten worst airport in the world ? once again money and gun talk. Amazing Thailand campaign works well.

And after that, they will tell us that there is an increase in arrival of tourists. Total bullshit and lies.

WOW , does anyone look surprise about this accident ??????????? Not me ..those truck drivers , mini van drivers , bus drivers are totally nuts behind their wheels , how many accident have been reported already here involving truck or buses ? Does anything changed in Thailand ? of course not ..... and those are such coward that they flee the accident scene to avoid too many question , that is outrageous but unfortunately happen every day..even more in Bangkok , how many of us have seen drivers who cross at red lights ? I see about 2 or 3 per days sometime more.

Let me remind you 15,000 people died in traffic accident every year and more than one million injured. Amazing Thailand indeed

Great news for Central world ...

Ladies parking ..... so if we count : parking of platinum card from citybank , parking for central gold car , parking for platinum K bank , parking for ladies , parking for special things ... ETC .......... what is left for normal lambda customers ? LOL

First step would be to remove all these gangs operating in the Airport

Totally agree , specially the fake taxi drivers who think single men only go to Pattaya , they dont stay inside the terminal anymore but outside now. Not to mention the airport staff working in hands with some taxi drivers who probably give back to them some "tea money", it happen to me once arriving from chiang mai, taxi asked 600 baht to town I said NO use the meter , a staff from the airport said that was the normal price, yeah sure been here for so long I know prices.. when I asked her name she refuse to tell me and I went to report her to the "complain desk" totally useless they all help each others.

Clean up the mess first if you want your airport to be at least in the top 50.

"To prevent accidents, bus drivers hence are advised to control their driving speed, especially during heavy rain because slippery roads can cause accidents easily. Meanwhile, all motorists are cautioned not to make sudden lane change or cut in front of other cars abruptly."

I had the impression that was the bus drivers who are suppose not to change lane suddenly or cut in front of cars abruptly. Can someone explain why this is such a big issue now when we know that nothing has been done for ages.

Is that a joke ??????????????? Bus drivers are totally nuts ,they often race with other buses ,they dont give a dam_n about public safety or car drivers. They very often let the people go down or up in the middle of the road.

If you really want to have professional bus drivers, SEND THEM TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE AND HOW TO BEHAVE AND RESPECT OTHERS..

Everyday on my way to the office I can see those crazy bus drivers behaved like maniacs. Very often I had to put my car on the side to avoid collision with buses. Those guys are DAGNEROUS and I still dont know why the government is doing nothing specially after those accidents reports.

As those news are new in here. If Thailand doesnt impose so severe road regulation , traffic respect ,helmet etc .... the death toll will rise again . Many time you still can see people without helmet ,without seating belt , talking on the phone while driving etc ...... 15,000 people die every year in road accident , I hate to compare but in France (equal population) they have less than 5000. What they did in western countries can be done here. Does it sound impossible ? :blink:

You can disagree with his comments but those comments are the truth about Thailand . For those who live here for some time we all know ,its reality but maybe that's what make the charm of it.

According to the report, Mr. Storner professed loudly that he was an American national and that it was legal to smoke and possess marijuana in the United States.

what a <deleted>

Your being nice.

:lol: I agree with those comments ,what is legal in the US is US matter ... This is Thailand here ... Amazing how stupid people can be !

When Thailand manufacturers wont be competitive anymore on the international market , then maybe it will be time to act , as an exporter I already can see how difficult it is to maintain prices , somehow we have to increase our prices , not to win more money, but to balance with the lost we face everyday because of weak USD and too strong Thai Baht. Yes its good for some who invest abroad , buy properties abroad or go study abroad for sure but what is the % of the people who can do that ? Not much for sure. Not to mention tourists who will not find the country as attractive as before ,for the good prices of hotel, food etc .... You will see a tremendous increase in prices for Hotels in the next 2 months because of the "high" season.

Patong has became the Pattaya of the south ,no wonder many people dont want to go there. If they want tourists to come back ( not the single sex tourists men) they should maybe renew their policy there. I go to Phuket time to time but havent been to Patong for years ,its a total disgrace. :annoyed::annoyed:

one more time some foreigners who think they can do whatever they want in Pattaya. No helmet again and probably at that time full of alcohol or drugs that's why the other guy escaped. What a shame ,in their own country they would never do those kind of things.

RIP poor guy.

oh well we all know roads in Thailand are very dangerous not to mention Thai drivers don't have knowledge of manners and respect in driving .How many time we have seen people on motorcycle without helmets, Thais and foreigners. Maybe its time for the government to act quickly , as we know 15,000 people die on roads every year in the Kingdom.

Easy : Tourists will not see Thailand as heaven anymore as prices will be as high as many other tourists spots ,export will fall as other countries will be more competitive such as Vietnam,Cambodia etc ... Investments will drop as opening a factory here will be more expensive than many neighboring countries. See how the country growth tremendously during the high USD/Thai baht starting 1997. my company can stop exporting and dismiss half of the workers. This is the possible scenario if the bath continue to raise and the USD to fall . Import product will flow from China and other places etc .... I dont see where the figures of Export showing a growth of 30%is coming from. Thailand already export much less rice than before because of the price.

How nice , some Thais can buy football team in UK , vineyard and castle in France ,properties around the wrold and foreigners cannot do that in Thailand. I dont think its fair ...

Sorry for that security guard and hope he will recover quickly.

I meant exactly what you meant ...... better to take taxi from airport,who wants to be stuck in makasan area during rush hours.

I am not surprise at all but we have to give them time to re think about all details ,after all similar problems happened when they opened the new airport. But who are to be blame for such silly details ? I guess the architects who didn't think about luggage for travelers ( that's a joke knowing this is an airport link) . After all its still better , faster to take a taxi to the city center. Who want to be stuck in traffic after flying so long ? :angry:

"After all its still better, faster to take a taxi to the city center"

Umm, so let me understand this. The "Airport Link" is not connected to the actual airport so you need to find transportation there. You wait for a train for an uncertain amount of time due to delays and such. When you arrive at the "downtown" station, you have to take a taxi to your final destination. This whole time you are carrying your luggage around, being accosted by touts trying to sell you things, and in the BKK heat.

Whereas myself, I'll walk out of the arrivals hall, jump in a taxi with my luggage, take the highway and arrive at my home on Sukhumvit for 220 baht plus 50 surcharge.

I'll take the second option thanks