eddie61

Makro used to have great alskan pollock, which is very similar to cod and great for frying. They seem to have stopped importing this, which is a great pity.

Their dory. actually it is Pla sawai or Pangasius isn't worth feeding to the cat: it tastes like blotting paper that has been left in muddy water overnight. I tried their silver lined grunt, which was quite good, but no where near as good as the pollock.

Shoot the messenger and blame it all on the Burmese: Thais never take advantage of foreigners, are not greedy, are always honest, and never lose their plot when their big faces are broken.

Did they 'accidentally' return the infamous fake Blue Diamond along with those relics, too?

I wouldn't be surprised if the real statues have found a discreet home with the real blue diamond

The alcoholics aren't going to like this.

except at all little mom and pop stores who sell at all times

Thailand truly deserves its bad image.

The RTP are about 80% to blame.

What keeps the Junta from a systemic reform of this rotten force? Is it the fact that the Thai Army, Navy, and Airforce combined ain't got the guts? Thats my bet!

I hope regional competitors take note. The combined Army, Navy, and Airforce ain't got guts

Well, lets buy a few submarines tanks and jet fighters to solve this fundamental problem!

So at the end of the day you will still just have to pay Chotima Driving School to get a drivers licence and the proprietor of the school is running this service for the good of the people who drive on the dangerous Thai roads, I suppose on the positive side of things it’s a start to educating drivers in Thailand might be a better idea to get some traffic cops who could do a honest days work and prosecute the wrong doers on the roads

returning happiness to the people who run the country: tyring job, but pays well.

hab lain, load him slipely

dibe slobly!

roo mai?

mai roo loh!

.........and all I ever ask for is a bonk!

Everywhere in asia, especialy where Chinese hold sway, money in the right palms speaks volumes... its in the genes.You just have to live with it and its consequences

Very simple

1 russian = 2 chinese

3 chinese = 1.5 russians

therefore russian tourists have increased by 50% according to TAT maths

tourist revenue will increase next year.

TAT doesn't worry about the cost side of the equation

I have a thousand Baht that says the driver will never be brought to justice...

the driver had 30,000 in loose change on him to say he was under the limit and will never be brought to 'justice'

Copied from the Scuba Junction website.

"Safety and Quality first ….with an eco friendly touch" is our motto.

All our dive groups (courses and fun dives) are limited to maximum 4 divers to ensure close supervision and a more enjoyable time under water.

This poor young girl was entitled to the supervision and safety that she paid for and instead she died through lack of it. The tragedy is even more useless as we all know that after a few days she will be forgotten and it will be business as usual for the incompetents that run the water sports in this country.

R.I.P. Silji.

I would be putting a spotlight on the conduct of the diving course. There are many ways a careful instructor could reduce the risks of this happening to his students, but off course the boat driver also needs to be educated in the code.

Missing transport documents ?

Did he actually have any to go ' missing ' ?

The missing documents were probably the red and pink ones with a picture of HM the K.

thank god for small mercies

Quality tourists!

Groan,

The new predictably boring comment on Thai Visa.

hub of something is next on the roster of inane comments... oh... maybe I am the guilty one!

Some Chinese people are so rude and have no manner. They think they own the world and show no respect for others.

That's true but when their behavior becomes threatening and causes the safety of the passengers and aircraft to be in danger like in this case, their behavior becomes criminal.

So this matter should not have been treated so lightly by the Thai authorities. The Thai Air Asia flight attendant should surely not have faced translation issues (being a Thai) when explaining what happened to her and all the other little incidents that led up to this on board? So why didn't the Thai authorities act?! Release without charge and simple blacklisting? That's not enough! You're supposed to charge them!

I mean, you have signs (at least at Suvarnabhumi) that suggest that merely not wanting to comply with the security check before immigration is punishable by up to 1 year in prison but shouting, screaming, throwing hot water on a flight attendant and then threatening to kill yourself/blow up the plane is considered less serious?!!!

What am I missing? How stupid were the Thai police in this case? Captain obvious answer: extremely stupid!

Perhaps an agreement was madw between china and thailand for them to punished in china. After all, china is not just goin to slap their wrist and make them pay a fine. They could be looking at prison or worse. Makin china look so bad is going to cost them. Personally i would prefer thai punishment

Maybe; but that's ridiculous (if it turns out to be true). That's like saying if I did something wrong in China an agreement would be made between China and the USA to punish me in the USA. The incident occurred in Thailand. The aircraft is Thai. The airspace is Thai. The incident therefore occurred on Thai soil.

So what are you suggesting if a foreigner gets into legal trouble in Thailand they'll be punished back home? Apart from a few cases like pedophilia, this is not possible. Where an offence has been committed that would be legal in your own country, rest assured that being a non-Thai citizen is not going to save you.

Again, I applaud the Chinese government for taking action (the flight was on it's way to China) but it is still a bit puzzling as to why Thailand didn't punish them more severely in the first instance. What should have happened was (what would have made most sense) the Thais arrest them, charge them, then hand out some sort of sentence. If a prison sentence is handed out, the Chinese government could ask for the prisoners to be extradited back home.

That's what happens in a normal world.

Chinese law can't override Thai laws, just like US or Australian laws don't override Chinese laws!

I do think that money speaks above the law in both Thailand and China. Its hardwired in the gene...

This story of the Fully moon Party and all that goes on is very true and there is much more and dangerous activities that happen there as well. I use to go to the parties many many years ago and they where fun 20 25 years ago. But.... It is not the same and yes i am older... I truly would be for banning the Full Moon Party.... There is a lot of people making Big money and Yes the local police and Stuffing there pockets full of it. This is why it is still going on each month with no police presents.

Koh Samui and Koh Phangan have helmet laws but are not enforced except maybe once a month when the police need to make payments for their kids school or for some jewelry for the Mia noi. Also the roads are the worse in all of Thailand. This contributes to the many road fatalities and accidents that accrue daly. I have lost many friend from motor bike accidents here on Samui...

Keep smiling and be Safe people....

I think it is a wrong approach to legislate for these things.

I think educate is the better policy. I am not suggesting that Thailand will ever educate or enforce legislation, but the western countries should be in a position to inform and educate their citizens about the dangers of the amorality and lawlessness that make Thailand so much fun and so dangerous at the same time.

I don't think the west should try to change Thailand, it will find its own place in the world as it grows up and develops a consciousness.as a free society.

How about banning driving on new years eve and songkrahn, That will have even more effect on the accident rate, and is easier to enforce. plus everyone can get legless and not worry about going anywhere,....

Forget the tourists.

The Thai will be revolting over that. And disgusting too...

No, Thai's are immune to stupid laws.....

I think its great: finally a crackdown on tourism.

Those bloody tour buses doing right turns on crowded streets in Pattaya: please just tell the tourists to get lost. Cambodia is much more fun.

Unfortunately all those hoards of Russian teetotallers may not care if they cant get a drink at new year. Pity!

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

Sure, but those minor issues that you mentioned don't count here. What really matters is the vested interests of the taxi companies that control things and probably pay the BIB on a monthly basis.