mancub

"

The three existing categories are land use, open spaces such as green areas, and mass transit, but the new plan adds the city's infrastructure system such as wastewater management, drainage, and solid-waste disposal."

Better late than never ,I guess ........

This case illustrates our culturally different mind-sets. We are outraged ,incensed at the nature of the alleged crimes, yet Thai courts considered him low risk and the accusations against him not so serious that he could be granted bail ,(albeit 400,000bt -which in itself says something ).

The fact that he was previously offered and accepted to pay a bribe to escape a previous charge also speaks volumes , both about him and the society he is living in.

The only innocent parties in this are the children .

Yes , the guy probably is a deviant ,and yes there probably was an extent of complicity or extortion by family of the girls and local police.

Conclusion ...being sent back by the Burmese was probably the worst scenario for all concerned ,especially as he can't buy his way out this time ,and the police who,after 3 years actually have to provide some hard proof .

My guess is that he was still up-tight at being "exploited " previously ....probably by a Ladyboy in Orchard Towers.

Not sure if I read it right, but if this year's pledging isn't worked out until October, then there may be a lot of disgruntled farmers in November , if they no longer see the rewards for their endeavour having the value that they've become accustomed to .

Why are they so ugly? And who wants to see Russian Go-Go dancers in Thailand anyway?

Pure "Spin" by TAT

They recognize that tourists have issues with safety,corruption etc , and that government and police are incapable of change , so,fearful of an adverse affect on tourism numbers , attempt to counter with this form of rhetoric .

His next profile pic update will most likely depict him in hospital !

Why all the negative vibes? Creating a road circuit is a darn sight easier than building a custom built track...it’s not rocket science.

I for one really hope it comes off

Especially as it is heralded as a night race , with all the additional considerations and implications.

I cannot agree with that. Especially if the underground and hence the surface is in such a bad state as it is in Bangkok. To make a smooth surface suitable for Formula 1, the whole street foundation has to be redone, otherwise one year after all the bumps are back.

And what about run-off zones, safety barriers, pit lane, parc ferme, garage zone not to mention grand-stands for spectators and fenced access to them?

And then the nightmare of redirecting all the traffic around the race track... not easy at all. I would believe it's easier to build a circuit from scratch meeting all the safety standards of 2013.

Would love to see an official response to this from the TAT ...

The fact that this deputy is also a police colonel says all we need to know.!

Yeah, that makes sense, but it is not what immigration have told us. We live in Trang and they refused to do the visa, so we called Nakhon Sri Thammarrat immigration (where my wife is registered) and they said we have to do it there. And we need to take a guarantor to act as proof that we live together.

Just by way of info, in Krabi, immigration insisted that the guarantor be Thai and a Krabi resident ,ie:registered tabian baan in Krabi.

Agreed , the Thailand of the present is more expensive for today's aspiring retiree than it was 20 years previously , but it was also more attractive then for many reasons .

Given the current trends in this country , I'm not so sure that such large numbers of folk will even consider it as a prime retirement option, and not only based on financial aspects .

The rudest and loudest people I ever seen.

i had the misfortune of traveling with a large grop of them on Airasia from Don Mueang to Singapore last night. <deleted>, it was chaotic from the time the announcement for boarding till the plane took off. Why is it so hard for them to queue up orderly,and why is it so hard to figure out what seat each has been allocated? They were arguing with each other, standing on the aisle, and blocking everyone behind them, where they should be seated! And, they seem to be all half deaf, cos they were all shouting at the top of their voices to each other even to the person sitting on next seat. Good thing I had my earphones and music.

Must be a cultural thing , I've experienced the same ,even at a lodge in NZ once (so they weren't low class Chinese).

Generally seem unaware of the concept of "consideration " unless pointed out to them .

must be your cultural problem.

most Chinese i know behave totally normal and proper.

and if it happens that i stay over the weekend in a hotel on Phuket and i have the choice to share the hotel with a group of Chinese, male American collage student who have a the same hair cut or large group of middle age white single men - i would prefer the Chinese group. they are the least disturbing ones. check in late quiet, having their breakfast very early in the morning and move on - you will barely notice them.

Thai politics ...with the best intentions ,I never get past the 3rd paragraph in OP's like this one.

I understand why the simplicity of an appalling CH3 soap opera is more worthy of their attentive efforts for the majority of the electorate in this country..

The rudest and loudest people I ever seen.

i had the misfortune of traveling with a large grop of them on Airasia from Don Mueang to Singapore last night. <deleted>, it was chaotic from the time the announcement for boarding till the plane took off. Why is it so hard for them to queue up orderly,and why is it so hard to figure out what seat each has been allocated? They were arguing with each other, standing on the aisle, and blocking everyone behind them, where they should be seated! And, they seem to be all half deaf, cos they were all shouting at the top of their voices to each other even to the person sitting on next seat. Good thing I had my earphones and music.

Generally seem unaware of the concept of "consideration " unless pointed out to them .

Being completely facetious here.....

The next Mega project; Move all the vendors 10m from the walkways, then move all the walkway structures ,bus stops and trees a further 7 metres away from the roads ( as recently suggested by the Road traffic accident chap ) !

Nah , I say let them be .It all adds to the mystique and character of Bangkok.It's not really a major danger to anyone and in a masochistic way it's good fun for the tourists (and gives them something to talk about back home).

Heaven forbid they turn Bangkok into the sterile Hi-so city that Singapore is !

Certainly most of the stalls on Sukhumvit ( Ploenchit-Asoke at any rate) are operating illegally due to the fact that they are quite blatantly selling fake,imitation copies of mostly Western goods .....

Rolex ,sexually explicit Dvds , Gucci bag ...Rayban sunglasses Sir ????

I think the majority of Thai main roads are quite well maintained with most road side "objects" placed at a safe distance. Two main problems spring to mind through, road works without suitable signage and the political signs that appear from time to time (especially during elections). No, the road carnage is caused by one object - the five hundred baht "tea money" that gives an automatic licence to drive -. If people are serious about stopping road deaths start by both driver and police training. Stop the use of handheld mobiles, stop the 3 year old kid sitting on the drivers lap, stop the 25 people in the back of a pick-up, stop the kids on motorcycles and most of all show drivers that it's not clever to race other cars just to be "at the front" and it is clever to have driving morals and road sense

None of that will ever happen in our life times, i've been here 20 yrs and it just gets worse

Don't believe it, I have been here 33 years and it's getting better - we don't have cars and buses getting hijacked on major roads any more - drive by shootings (although still happen) are not everyday affairs - drivers are slowly starting to realize that they can see more at night with their lights on (instead of saving electricity - I joke not). As far as Thai's are concerned they are starting to think for themselves (politically) - what is getting worse is the amount of posters who are knocking the place and the amount of exaggerated, negative comments that many westerners think it's their right to be able to make. It could get a lot better if western super brains dropped the negativity and came up with some positive ideas acceptable within Thai culture - have a nice day

Oh dear !,,,Well, if none of the suggestions repeatedly offered ie:

Having driving tests worthy of the title.

Having deterrents that actually deter ,and not merely inconvenience , etc etc are NOT acceptable within Thai culture , then there is no hope !

If thai culture encourages the acquisition of 3 litre powerful pick up trucks , then it surely must accept the associated responsibility .

Quite simply ,if you're neither educated sufficiently nor capable of safely operating your vehicle ,then you present a real danger to yourself and other road users .

How can a country as advanced as Thailand , with so many new vehicles being registered every day , continue to have such appalling driving standards ?

Roads here in Krabi are very good and the Authorities are also quite good at trying to improve safety by changing road /lane layouts and putting in fixed bollards at certain dangerous points to separate traffic. Most drivers ,however ,prefer to blatantly ignore these measures and the fore-mentioned bollards get demolished almost overnight.

Don't blame the roads , the trees ,the power pylons or the weather ,Mr traffic accident expert ,look no further than the driving habits of the majority.

In 2011, the average person visiting Thailand spent $137 per day - The average Chinese visitor spent $146.63 per day.[/size]

http://tatnews.org/index.php/news-releases/news-releases-2012/331-tourism-receipts-up-30-percent-value-money.html

I personally have no experience of the spending habits of the average Chinese , so I can't comment on these TAT figures . I would however , seriously, like to know what magical (or otherwise) formula is used to arrive at them .

If it's derived in some form from annual salary information provided on arrival cards , it's unlikely to be of much creditable value.

All countries track this kind of data and it is done through surveys. I've actually been hit up by folks doing the surveys at the airport but blew them off because they looked like they had a lot of questions on the form. It is estimates and regardless if the total is off 10 or 20% off it still is good for comparing information since the data is collected the same way for each group / country..

In 2011, the average person visiting Thailand spent $137 per day - The average Chinese visitor spent $146.63 per day.[/size]

http://tatnews.org/index.php/news-releases/news-releases-2012/331-tourism-receipts-up-30-percent-value-money.html

If it's derived in some form from annual salary information provided on arrival cards , it's unlikely to be of much creditable value.

I get called "mak-see-da" often when I'm wandering around the village . Being Isaan speak for the fruit called falang, it's humourous rather than disrespectful .

My sister used to drive a "Ford Pubic " , it was made out of old Corsairs .

Praise where praise is due ....echo the sentiments above , well done to everyone involved !