bkkbound04

just because the swiss guy's wearing socks and sandals that doesn't mean he's not a fighter nor that he's less likely to be "tooled up" he could be hiding anything in those socks

the thai father in-law gives the impression that he's full of remorse

here's a wee snippet with some gyms there's 100's over there though, some of the ones on the list are well known and very experienced with westerners

you'll be near silom and the bts so you can travel easy enough so it's your choice

http://www.muaythailand.com/camps/index.ph...&location=1

it depends where you stay in bangkok

you'll be able to train at 1 of the camps as you wish and can just attend 1-2 times a week for private lessons you could pay anything from 2-500 for 1-2 hour private class but it's best to say what you want to do first, explain that you're a beginner and what you want to focus on..technique/fitness? lol if you say fitness then they may try & have you running/skipping and bouncing on the tyres for 30 minutes lol this is good training and does get you fit but if you are starting from scratch then it'll just zap your energy and you wont be as alert or able to enjoy the technical side of the training as much

plenty of gyms that train with westerners though, some are big & some small but they're all over bangkok so find 1 that's easy to get to from where you're staying

chok dee

saenchai sor kingstar= LEGEND

a wee clip with some of his training footage & his cartwheel kicks lol if anybody hasn't seen saenchai beofre then he performs these cartwheel kicks in the top stadiums against top fighters lol he's in a different league and last week or the week before fought 2 top thai's in 1 fight, 1st 2 rounds with 1 fighter & last 3 rounds with a fresh opponent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPie3e2ic9A...feature=related

lol the old bloodsport theme

it's reassuring to hear that many thai's are outraged at the actions of the thai media and the compensation awarded to the photographer and it's good to see the bangkok post have taken this story and put it in print

i'm still unaware why this part of the story wasn't covered by the bbc though as a license payer & british citizen i expect the bbc to report accurately, yet the poor reporting presented by the bbc is a completely different version, you'd be forgiven for thinking the bbc were still promoting thailand as a holiday destination, they kept repeating throughout the day how it was a tragic accident, the family had accepted that and the park had offered compensation for their loss...the details of the press/police extorting the grieving family should have been reported and would have served as a warning to the british public...i find it highly questionable that the bbc reported on this case all day with different feeds but failed to include the actions of the thai media/police

i'll be checking the bbc site after i've posted this and will then be emailing them to request an answer...at the very least it's less than amateur reporting and possibly a cover up in light of the bbc's problems in thailand of late..either eway though they've failed this british family and failed the british public

i hope news of the compensation paid to the cameraman emerges in the western press

i read this story on here when it was posted and it's tragic

the story was on the bbc all day yesterday, they mentioned that pattaya park had offered compensation and the story was delivered as a tragic accident where the thai's had done all they could( slowly)

that story puts a completely different slant on it from the actual events where thais photographed a dead child and then demanded compensation when the grieving father lashed out

i hope this story reaches the western press & i may well just drop a quick email/link to the bbc and ask why this part of the story hasn't been covered

if thailand wants to make a difference and wants western money then have an authority name & shame the police and journalists and make examples of them, remove them from employment and ensure this doesn't happen again

usher was fantastic singing his cover of gone too soon at the memorial the other night, a beautiful song

here's the original video & the text that explains a little about the song

Music video by Michael Jackson paying tribute to Ryan White. Ryan was a hemophiliac since he was six days old. When he was 13, it increase into AIDS, he passed away in 1990 at 18 years old.

the displayed video may not work but the link to youtube will show the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuavXaJjuqw

RIP

Ryan White

RIP

Michael Jackson

sad to hear pizza big's gone down hill when they opened with the original guys it was all premium ingredients imported and the food was always top quality, the original owner was a lovely guy and had been in the kitchen cooking since he was a child.they sold up and for a while the restaurant was ticking over and still producing good food..shame to hear it's gone down hill

i don't know how accurate this is now but i heard a wee while ago that the original owners of pizza big had opened another restaurant down towards jomtien on soi korea or something like that?...for the quality of food that dan used to cook it would be worth a visit to see if they are still there...i grew up eating italian, pals owned restaurants and i travelled all over italy & the original pizza big was some of the best italian food anywhere..i'll have a look for the soi korea restaurant next time i'm over

other place that used to be good for a bowl of spag bol or a nice tuna salad was the old guys restaurant on the hill as you go towards pattaya tai/jomtien..food was always consistant and hit the spot

had some nice steamed fish in the good view but that was a while back now

goodview was like a pub/restaurant with band..was mostly groups of thais when we were there

i've lost count of the amount of times i've seen farang being abussive to thai's and going completely over the top for very little money, seen this a plenty even at temples farangs abusing the shops that border the temples insisting that they get a discount and won't pay the 5 baht they are being asked...the 5 baht is nothing to the farang and the farang always has a choice to buy elsewhere but many times the 5 baht is the actual profit that the thai is making

seen this many times and it just puzzles me and annoys me, i honestly cannot relate to somebody with that mentality and then this thread over a 5 baht mistake, what a sad story, instead of enjoying yourself in a beautiful country and shrugging off a minor mistake(which can happen in any country) you've decided to post a thread about 5 baht...even with the low exchange rate what does that equate to? 10 pence? unbelievable

how much did the flight to thailand cost? accomodation etc etc etc and where does that 5 baht figure in the grand scheme of things

now everybody's different and to relay a positive experience of thais working in fast food stores on low wages here's something that happened to a guy in my group on our first trip to thailand, we had been in thailand a few days on a boxing holdiay visiting various camps, the trip was just over 2 weeks so apart from afew days minor expense a guy in our group was foolishly walking around with nearly 2 weeks worth of money in his wallet...it was well over £500 may have been closer to £1000, anyway long story short went to kfc in jomtien and when we left a thai girl that worked there came running after us all out of breath and handed the wallet to us as a group, my pal instantly knew it ws his and how daft he'd been, checked it quickly as you do and then insisted on giving the girl 500 baht the girl really didn't want to take it but my pal insisted & thanked her

it was only later at the boxing gym that we learned that the girl was probably lucky to have been on 50 baht an hour...that must have been close to 8 months money for the girl & staff

now being british i can sincerely say hand on heart that if the same situation happened in the uk and a friend left the equivalent in a uk outlet (approx £4-5000) then i doubt the staff wold have been running after my friend to return his money

was gonna recommend the lady on the corner of soi buakhao but appears she's moved on...shame as she was consistant with her soup and always delicious, seemed to be busy enough as well

perhaps they didn't spend as much money as was expected in the ausie bar either on drinks or tipping, perhaps they were offered the chance to purchase a bargain beer mat at $60 <deleted>? and laughed off the con

if they had been abusive in the bar and had been causing problems then why weren't they asked to leave before the theft took place? maybe their money was of more importance at the time

it is well known that a high % of foreign bar owners have a dislike for foreign women, even though their own mother is usually non thai these foreign bar owners often profess their dislike of ferang women, their personality, body build, way they age etc etc etc

..many of these types of "ex pat" will miss the fact that they are actually ratbags that don't possess any conversational skills, have a black hole of a personality and few are handsome men lol but that has no bearing on why non thai women aren't attracted to them..in their own minds if they can have a relationship in thailand or with a thai woman then surely this prove that all non thai women are evil lol

so with this in mind it does seem strange that this has escalated to this point but i'm pleased the story has gained international press

thai police are a farce and the more they & how they conduct themselves are covered by foreign media then i can only hope that improvements in their conduct can be expected in the future..though i won't hold my breath

my own experience of thai police..i caught a paedophile in an internet cafe openly browsing child porn twice, the first time i caught him i was restrained by people in the cafe as the paedo ran out the shop(i was very angry) the 2nd time a few weeks later i saw him in another cafe and immediately called the police...they took over an hour to attend and when we approched the paedo was again openly looking at child porn on the net,...when he saw the police he immediately turned the pc power off and removed a flash drive thingy(which i now suspect was used for storing his filth)

the police reaction to this ? nothing, they were more interested in looking at copied cds at the police station(to listen to music) we only attended the station afeter i insisted

comments police gave me before relasing the paedo without charge "it's only looking picture" this not crime" "this not your country" this thailand"

i only hope that more international press highlights the crap that thailand covers, it may actually force the hand of the higher powers in the country and push a real improvement through, the ratbags the country attracts and the failings of the police alongside their corruption are out of control & needs to be addressed

i hope u find that special someone soon bambina

i spoke to u online a couple of years ago..you're a nice girl with a good sense of humour

chok dee krap

why not take your own net,rackets and picnic basket...then invade a golf course

mabrachan lake ?

yeah i've had items stolen when sent from the uk ...

they stole our baby name book...i was disgusted by the theft

it does seem that books/mags go misssing...books are more expensive in los

kinda off topic...

i need to send documents to thailand that will actually arrive intact..confidential papers etc

i don't want to touch the uk/thai postal service...the uk charges are extortionate especially when they just point their finger at thailand and say there's nothing they can do...

what costs do fedex/dhl etc etc charge for forwarding papers(not heavy/bulky)?

uk-thailand?

i've never used fedex etc before

thanks in advance

lanna muay thai is an established camp with history in the area

the last time i visited there was another camp that headlined a couple of shows...i can't recall the camp name but their fighters showed good technique

if u vistit the boxing stadium in chiang mai u will find a couple of camps...u'll probably find the camp who's name escapes me...they seemed to compete regularly

there is a farang somewhere in chiang rai...i read an article on him and would love to trace the guy and if allowed learn from him...he trains traditionally and works out in the jungle/woods...

in the article the farang ajarn came across as an excellent teacher with a real passion for muay thai and strong morals

i hope this isn't perceived as abusive but i'm a wee bit confused..

u say this man hasn't given any monies to provide for his daughter?

..yet your husband/boyfriend gave you property that was already a shop/income?

the property/shop must be worth something and i imagine u had regular customers...i say this because u have managed to expand and buy another shop

if this is true then imho he has given something..maybe not regular payments, but an investment and buisness...

u didn't say if he's had contact with his daughter for the past 3 years?

It doesn't sound like you and your daughters father are still friends?

If he hasn't seen your daughter because he wasn't interested then that's not good...if he hasn't seen your daughter because you won't let him then that is not good either

i really don't want to offend u, you are a strong woman that has taken care of your baby on your own...i know how difficult this is...but i read this thread and u seemed angry about money?

do u want your ex boyfriend to give you money before he can visit his daughter?

do u want money but not want him to see your daughter?...

i hope you can work something out, i hope this post hasn't offended you, i'm just a little confused 5555 it does happen with me

i agree with a lot of the posts in this thread 5555 it can be frustrating

...but it can happen all over the world, we've had it in spain. i remember travelling from valencia to benedorm...ask for benedorm? blank stares...ask again but change accent slightly...same response

...this continues until the spaniard understands and then shouts at u "AHH..BENEDORM!" 555

i remember one of my 1st trips to los, i was sat in a restaurant enjoying a meal when the manager came over and spoke to me...i heard "alright mate?" "yeah i'm fine thanks" 555 that lasted a couple of minutes before i understood she was speaking in thai "aroi mai?" 555 oh well

i agree sj

no remorse at all

...just self pity

i hope that a real punnshment is handed out....not 1-2 mths uk wages and walking away from it

imho how this case is resolved could deter other farang drunk drivers i.e if the scot gets a meanial fine and that's it then it's hardly a a deterrent to other farangs that drink/drive

my friends and familly work in medicine, i've also seen the reactiion of my own gp and nurses...

imho thailand falls well short of the uk standard

compare thai hospitals with nhs hospitals.....compare private uk hospitals to the private types in thailand...bkk-pattay etc

thai falls short on both fields...i've tried to converse with a few consultants in thailand...the amusing/worrying thing is they don't speak fluent english..i.e don't understand questions put to them...they show a lack of english skills with their reply "yes" etc

...yet these same dr's claim to have trained in the uk/us...they can't have a basic conversation in english with a native yet are capable of learning complicated techniques and medical procedures in english? really?

one last point,

if u visit a thai hospital(private/public) or thai pharmacy why do they prescribe mass amounts of prescription drugs?

e.g uk dr would prescribe some antibiotics....the dr is aware of the condition u are suffering from and what medication should be given, u finish the antibiotics and u are healthy again pronto

in thailand u would leave the hospital with maybe 5-7 different set's of capsules...this isn't so much for prescription costs but more relevant to the fact that the dr probably wouldn't know the correct medication to prescribe...so they prescribe everything and anything

pte

sorry to disagree with u...

thailand's medical community is considered dire to most western countries...

99.9% of western doctors aren't suprised when they hear of botched operations performed by thai surgeons

bkk pattaya hospital is one of the key examples...it markets itself as a hospital on par with western hospitals lol they claim their dr's are all trained in europe and u.s...i'm sorry but if this was the case and these doctors were worth anything to the medical community( outside of thailand) then they'd have remained in the country they had trained in...but thai doctors don't make the grade in western hospitals

it may have something to do with the "loss of face" idea...i.e if u ask a question as u are unsure then u appear stupid anfd lose face...if u look at the countless professions in thailand this is clearly the case...the staff are sent to europe/u.s to learn a skill and return to thailand...but they don't ask the question they should...so they return to thailand only 1/2 trained and every job they do is either luck or disaster..and then needs re-done 2-3 months later...only in thailand

i learned the hard way that bkk-pattaya falls well short of the standard set by the west

hello all

i need to speak to darren mcgarry at key visa company pattaya.

I'm having no luck with the contact number i have and need to speak to him urgently

if anyone has mr mcgarry's mobile number if u could please forward it via pm or post in this thread

thanks in advance

i'd advise people to speak to the restaurant owners...if u get on with each other u may well end up with a bargain

i could have got a nice year brunello di montalcino for cheaper than i could have sourced in the uk

i read the title and thought to myself "hooray, they've actually done something"

i caught a paedophile in pattaya on 2 occasions(the same farang male)

the 2nd time i caught the paedophile i called the police, the farang was in possesion of a flash drive that he used to store the images

the top cop at the station obviously knew the guy and must have been on the take...to the disgust of myself and witnesses the farang was allowed to leave without charge

apparently thailand is fine for people to look at naked children...the phrase i heard from several thai cops was "only looking" "this thailand" "mai pen rai"...

i pray the bbc or any international news organisation blows the lid on thailands attitudes and society...

I'm very curious--how did you catch a pedophile?

i caught him in "enjoy internet" on both occasions...the 1st time the paeodophile was sat in enjoy internet before i arrived....as i sat down i caught a glimpse of his screen...the paedophile ran off while i had to talk to staff*became clearer later*

the next time was in a different store operated by "enjoy internet" approx 150 mtres from the 1st store

it became evident that "enjoy internet" and all their staff were well aware of this paedophiles activities and had no problem with it