qualtrough

I was going to start a similar topic. In the last several weeks I wrote e-mail messages to four or five different Thai companies with professional Web sites (English Language enabled sites) inquiring about their products. Left my name, address, etc. so I wasn't some anonymous time-waster. Didn't receive any response back. Not sure why they bother with the Web sites.

Similarly, for the last nine years I have regularly been placing orders with a small family-run company. I have tried faxing orders and RFQs to them using their fax machine, but they never respond so I end up going down there all the time. Part of the problem is that they use their fax ribbons over so that incoming faxes are difficult to read. I don't know why they don't just unplug the thing. Oh, I know why. They use it to fax out. I would go somewhere else but they have the best prices by far. Probably because they don't waste money on things like fax ribbons

Has anyone with this compulsory insurance ever used to for their family?

My wife's having a baby soon and I'm not sure if the insurance will help.

One things for sure - we're not having it delivered in Bamrungrad like the last one - cost a bloody fortune.

Almost forgot Neeranam--Congratulations!

I have a company and for a while had my wife and mother-in-law listed as employees. I paid the Prakan Sangkom for them and they were able to use it for free or reduced health care. Not a bad deal. However, I believe it only covers workers paying in. My kids were not covered.

Arai wah? Mai kau jai!

Walking in the streets of San Paulo or NY certainly feels much safer than in BKK.

Speaking Thai again? Show off!

Amazing analysis of the situation.

You speak and read Thai therefore what exactly? You understand the situation better than anyone else!

Yes. It is pretty much a no brainer that someone who can speak and read the native language and therefore interact with the populace, read their papers and periodicals, and listen to and understand their radio and television programs might have a bit better understanding of any given situation than those who need to 'ask their girlfriend or wife' to find out what's going on.

People are scaredy cats for mentioning that Thailand has a large amount of violence? Sorry I don't follow that line of reasoning at all.

Yeah, I think they are scaredy cats and here's why. Thailand has had a high rate of violent crime for a long, long time. It flabbergasts me that many of you are discovering this for the first time, but that must be the case as we periodically have these threads about how dangerous Thailand is, or is becoming. If you are scared now you should have paid more attention before coming here. I suggest the moderator pin a post with the info on the crime rate so any ninnies considering living here can avoid that mistake. I also suggest that the moderator create a new subforum titled 'I Live in Thailand and I am Scared' where the scaredy cats can discuss things like safe indoor activities, how to avoid contact with Thai people, hiding under the bed techniques, etc. & etc.

[accidently snipped something here about agreeing with the OP, but I don't see the conflict there. I agree that there is a lot of violent crime, I just disagree with your obsession with it and your conclusions. I also think some of you are in denial about how safe you are in your own countries, particularly those, like me, from the USA.]

Do you really know what you think or what you write?

Yes I do, thanks for asking.

It may come as a shock to you but you are not the only farang who is fluent in Thai. By your rationale someone who has been in Thailand longer than you or who speaks better Thai than you would therefore more likely to be more correct than yourself.

Ones ability in the language has nothing to do with the facts. They stand alone. The facts are that thailand is dangerous and most statisitics bear this out. There is a high murder rate and high rate of violent crime.

Mentioning this doesn't make anyone a scaredy cat what it makes them is informed.

If you reread my posts I don't think you will find anything in them that says that Thailand does not have a high rate of violent crime. The point I have tried and apparently failed to make is that the nature of this crime is somewhat different than that found back in our home countries, and thus the likelihood of farangs falling victim to it is probably much lower than statistics would indicate. Your chances of being mugged, being the victim of a drive by shooting, being the victim of a serial killer, being the victim of random violence, etc. are almost assuredly much, much less here than in the US. Thai violence is seldom random or visited upon strangers (particularly farangs)/ In fact hit men here seem to take great care in only shooting their targets. The vast majority of the deaths in those statistics you are so fond of (which are somewhat dodgy--but that is another issue) are due to political and/or business disputes, inter-familial issues, or late night drunken behavior. Most foreign visitors and residents here will not get tied up in those things, and they can certainly take steps to make sure they are not. Farangs are in far, far more danger of being injured or dying in a road accident than they are from violence here. Sure, good thing to know, but other than using common sense what are we supposed to do? Do we really need these Chicken Little threads one after the other? Why not just pin some crime statistics and be done with it? I guess I am in denial, or perhaps incredibly brave, but I am not at all afraid to live here, and feel safer than I would back home. Sure, bad things can happen to anyone, there is the luck of the draw, but I think you are trying to frighten people needlessly.

I would've thought you have explained it clearly enough, qualtrough. But it seems not.

Apparently not! Did you see anything in my posts that denied that Thailand had a high violent crime rate, coz I sure didn't. Wonder where Tolley gets that idea??

Amazing analysis of the situation.

You speak and read Thai therefore what exactly? You understand the situation better than anyone else!

Yes. It is pretty much a no brainer that someone who can speak and read the native language and therefore interact with the populace, read their papers and periodicals, and listen to and understand their radio and television programs might have a bit better understanding of any given situation than those who need to 'ask their girlfriend or wife' to find out what's going on.

People are scaredy cats for mentioning that Thailand has a large amount of violence? Sorry I don't follow that line of reasoning at all.

Yeah, I think they are scaredy cats and here's why. Thailand has had a high rate of violent crime for a long, long time. It flabbergasts me that many of you are discovering this for the first time, but that must be the case as we periodically have these threads about how dangerous Thailand is, or is becoming. If you are scared now you should have paid more attention before coming here. I suggest the moderator pin a post with the info on the crime rate so any ninnies considering living here can avoid that mistake. I also suggest that the moderator create a new subforum titled 'I Live in Thailand and I am Scared' where the scaredy cats can discuss things like safe indoor activities, how to avoid contact with Thai people, hiding under the bed techniques, etc. & etc.

[accidently snipped something here about agreeing with the OP, but I don't see the conflict there. I agree that there is a lot of violent crime, I just disagree with your obsession with it and your conclusions. I also think some of you are in denial about how safe you are in your own countries, particularly those, like me, from the USA.]

Do you really know what you think or what you write?

Yes I do, thanks for asking.

Does anyone posting on this thread have any statistical (not anecdotal) evidence that the per capita rate of violent crime in Thailand has increased appreciably over time? If so please post or link to it.

I have not seen any evidence that the rate per capita of violent crime in Thailand has appreciably changed at all since I first set eyes on this place 26 years ago. In fact, it could well be less. In the early 80s buses to Phuket and points south were regularly robbed and people killed. I had a friend who was on one such bus when a policeman was killed. Just like now, there was unrest in the South, and unlike today there were still remnants of communist insurgency in the N and NE. As I mentioned earlier, the papers were chock full of crime stories, just like today. Ocasionally a foreigner would turn up dead here and there, just like nowadays. A DJ at Cartier Club shot down in broad daylight on Asoke, an American AUA teacher shot dead by a student while waiting in line at a bank.... There are vastly more farangs here today, so it would be unusual if the number of foreign crime victims wasn't greater in real numbers as well.

I can think of three things that might create the perception of an increase in violent crime:

1. Better communications (Internet primarily) lets us know things that we would not have been exposed to in former times when the only news we got was from the paper or our small network of friends. Nowadays every serious crime involving a farang makes its way to this forum, and our circle of friends (through the forum) has increased exponentially.

2. A huge increase in the number of foreigners visiting, living, and working in Thailand and thus an increase in real numbers of foreign crime victims, but perhaps not the per capita rate.

3. Some forum members might have been ill-informed or un-informed about the high rate of violence in Thailand and are only just now awakening to that fact.

I am not in denial. What irks me is that the "Thailand/Thais is/are violent, we should all be afraid" theme keeps popping up from time to time. If someone can produce some statistical evidence over time you might yet convince me, but in the meantime I think that the scaredy cats are just waking up to something that has been around for a long time and are disappointed that the Land of Smiles they thought they lived in aint what they thought it was.

Have I ever felt truly safe in Pattaya? .......

Always feel safe and its as thai as any place in thailand.

Located in Thailand? Yes indeed. A representative slice of Thailand? No way.

Sorry, but it is not a state of denial that leads me to feel that Thailand is as safe or safer for the average farang than, say, the US. I don't need to ask my girlfriend or wife about that because I speak and read the language and talk to Thais every day. It always helps to gather your impressions unfiltered by another party. Perhaps that is part of the problem here?

A very large portion of the figures for gun violence are due to the settling of disputes that in other countries would be settled by in small claims courts and the like. Another great share are domestic disputes, family members killing family members. And so on. Most farangs will never get mixed up in those kinds of disputes/events, especially if they somehow manage to avoid marrying someone with a background in the hospitality industry.

With the possible exception of Pataya, which is about as Thai as Torremolinos is Spain, your chances of getting mugged or in a fracas here are vanishingly small. I am shocked, truly shocked, at the sheer number of big girl's blouses on this forum. I imagine that the only place they dare express themselves is on the forum (pretty safe, no?), which would account for the fact that I have never in the long time I have spent here met such scaredy cats in person. Please, do us all a favor and either go home, or stay home!

One more thing. Thailand has had a high murder rate for a long, long time. When I first arrived in 1980 the papers were chock full of murder stories, just like today. If you people are concerned about this it tells me that you were not paying attention when you moved here, and are only suddenly discovering this fact. Sorry that your bubble was burst, but please stop telling everyone that the sky is falling.

P.S. Survived my visits to Lat Prao and Yawaraj, praise the Lord. I just don't know how much longer I can go on dodging these bullets!

Well, it depends where you go. I avoid drunks and drinking places. I avoid dark alleys, strange run-down neighborhoods, people who only speak Thai, and farang whom I don't like.

Peaceblondie-Why do you avoid people who only speak Thai? As a general rule I prefer Thais who speak only Thai. When you deal with a Thai who speaks English well they have often absorbed a lot more of the foreign culture than the language, which often is not a good thing IMHO. Different strokes for different folks.

BTW, I have to go down to Lad Prao and then Yawaraj this afternoon. Anybody know if those parts of Bangkok are safe??

Yes, Yes!!!!! It is really dangerous here!!! You should leave! It is a terribly awful place here...better to not come here at all!!! Especially up here in the northern part of Thailand.....I'm fearful of even leaving my house in the morning and I'm fearful of re-entering it at night just wondering what evil lurker might have gained entry and awaits my return!!!

Yes, Yes!!! Don't waste a day in this perilous place....leave now...or if you haven't arrived here yet....don't come!!!

Chownah

I second Chownah's warning. If you are considering coming please don't--it is far too dangerous. And if you are already here you had best pick up stakes and leave if you know what's good for you. Only careless fools would live here, or the incredibly brave (not sure which category I fall under).

P.S. If you are leaving please be sure to post the goods you are not taking with you in the classified ad section of the forum--thank you.

Not much new here to anyone paying any attention. I will say that the nature of the violence is somewhat different than back home (USA) in that there is much less random violence or stranger on stranger violence. In other words, you generally (especially a foreigner) have to go out of your way to get in trouble here. Thais are rarely 'in your face' as is more common back home. Drinking to excess and hanging out with those who do can be a bad idea, but then again, with all the bargoing and whoring done by farangs and other visitors it is amazing that there aren't more crime victims. One final thought. I can't really think of any 'dangerous' parts of Bangkok that I would avoid, whereas any American from a big city could easily tell you which parts of their city are safe and which are not so safe, some even in daytime. Example: I was in Venice Beach a few weeks back and wanted to walk back from the Beach to the main road to catch a bus. Bad idea according to the local residents I was with, who insisted on driving me up to the bus stop-which was not in a very reassuring location.

Just for the record, the 'Crying Indian' wasn't really an American Indian, he was an Italian-American. It was a good commercial though...

http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/ironeyes.htm

I plan to visit Chiang Mai in January for 6 weeks and then Bangkok for 2 weeks before heading back to the states. I plan on purchasing my Muay Thai equipment while I am there plus other stuff I find for presents for family back home.

I think I can fit it all in a large duffel bag weighing less than 35-40lbs.

Should I ship it home and pay the high FedEx rates or will I be okay trying to check it as baggage?

I will be flying United Airlines

Will customs give me any problems?

The equipment will be boxing gloves, head gear, thai pads, shin guards, etc.

At the fedEx rates for those weights you are much better off paying the $150. bucks for an extra suitcase at checkin time .

Mentioned items are not an issue at customs.

No need to pay extra for that piddling amount, so save the $150 and buy more stuff! For trans-pacific flights from Asia to the US you generally get a baggage allowance of two 32 kg. (70 lbs) bags. Here are the baggage allowance details from the United site for flights to/from Japan, which is what you will be doing if you are using them to go back to the USA:

Travel to/from Brazil, Japan, and The Philippines:

Any Ticket Purchase Date:

Economy Class 2 bags, maximum 70 pounds/32kg each First or Business Class 2 bags, maximum 70 pounds/32kg each

1K Premier Executive,

Premier Executive and

Star Alliance Gold Members 3 bags, maximum 70 pounds/32kg each

Military customers on tour 2 duffel bags, sea bags or B-4 bags up to 70 pounds/32kg and 115 linear inches/292 cm

Maximum linear dimensions of all bags: 62 inches/158cm (length + width + height) each

You can also put stuff in a carry on, and usually get away with another small bag like a computer or shopping bag. I have never had much problem bringing commercial items back to the US. On my last trip I had a bunch of stuff for sale and when asked I told them it was for sale on e-Bay. They said no problem. I asked an agent what amount you were allowed to bring in duty free and he told me $800. That was about 3 weeks ago at LAX.

One more thing. While they are not aggressive, they have razor-sharp claws so you don't want to get in any situation that puts them on the defensive. I used a smooth green bamboo pole to pick up one of the ones our dogs killed. The body slipped around the pole but the claws in one of its lifeless paws gripped the smooth bamboo so tightly that I was able to life the entire body.

Thai term for the monitors is "hia". They are supposed to be bad luck in Thai superstition. There are quite a few of them scattered all over Thailand. Not venomous, or big and dangerous like the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia; but the bacteria alone in these beast's mouths can kill you from a bite, apparently.

I just read somewhere that it has been discovered that Komodo dragons actually secrete a poison that is deadly, and that it was not due to bacteria as has been the theory for many years. You can read more about this on Wikipedia at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon...nt_developments

Thais by and large fear and hate the 'hia' as noted above. It is a common curse word, although I don't know which came first, the animal or the curse. I suspect the former. My wife refers to them as ตัวเงินตัวทอง which means the silver and gold thing, as hia is too rude for her. We had two small ones appear on subsequent days, but both were killed by our dogs unfortunately. My wife was so freaked out when she saw them she at first convinced herself that they were crocs or some other animal. She just didn't want to accept the fact that these creatures had visited our house-probably the bad luck angle.

I think that lockers are probably not on the top of any planning list, especially given the bombing campaign in the South and the general increase in terrorism around the world. Lockers certainly have disappeared in many parts of the US and other countries.

Ever been on a train here? The attendent sweeps up the waste on the floors (the remainder of any waste that hasn't already been chucked out the window by passengers), opens a window, and dumps it all out. Been doing that since I first sat on a train here 26 years ago. I thought that might change, but I just saw it the other day.

I visited Wat Kao Pra Viharn a few years back and the mess there was appalling. Plastic bottles and bags everywhere. It was like a garbage dump with some ancient ruins on the property.

As others have noted, you just have to grin and bear it, and lead by example. Several times I have overheard Thais remarking how neat or clean farangs are when they have seen me clean up after a picnic or go out of my way to throw something in a bin. Big changes won't happen in our lifetimes. It will takes generations, if it happens at all. I am also teaching my luk krungs kids not to litter, so there are two Thais that won't be making a mess--I hope!

To each his own, but I have never had any desire to be in the room when the delivery is being made. My wife (Thai) didn't see any need for it either. As for inducing births, I do not know a lot about that other than that my wife had this done for both our daughters. She had the babies within about an hour each time, and they came out very quickly. No pain killers. We were lucky, it all went smoothly. One thing you should be aware of: lots of hospitals here have a policy of keeping the baby in the nursery for a day or two before returning it to you. I wasn't too happy about that, but there seems to have been no lasting harm.

If you choose Pattaya and choose to live in a condo be sure not to stay any higher than the second floor.

The answer is ...

No

No

No

End of topic

I assume you must not be a moderator or you would have closed the thread? With few exceptions the contributors to this thread have provided some very useful and interesting information. 'No, no, no' might be a suitable answer in kindergarten but it contributes nothing towards answering the original question. If the topic doesn't interest you or offends you in some way please move on to another topic that suits you.

Some post offices insist you tie up the parcels with string. The boxes and padded envelopes offered by the PO are very good value, cheaper than the stuff offered in stores. They even come with tape and string.

Saw this in the newstands last month (DaraDaily) and had a good laugh. No, I didn't write 'Big Ass' on the cover and the red arrow, that is the way it was printed. My translation of the Thai script at the bottom --'Kissing Tata's ass, Checking to see if the zits are gone'.

Hmm, not popular in some quarters...

So my question is, were there no moving walkways from your gate? Or were some of them not working? Or was the long walk just because you chose to walk rather than stand on the moving walkways?

I personally always walk on the moving walkways if possible, or if not choose to walk along side them as after spending many hours sitting on a plane I like the bit of exercise.

There are walkways and they do work. My comment was directed at the fact that the distance from gate to immigration/baggage seemed very long in comparison to most other airports I am familiar with. Perhaps we came in at the furthest gate? While the walkways help, the problem is that people tend to stand on both sides and make it difficult to walk. In that case if you are in a hurry you can walk faster than you would move on the belt.