Misterwhisper

I know of no single country in the world - let alone their banks or money changers - that would accept foreign coins. Why not take a few bundles of Monopoly money? I think they should exchange at a very reasonable rate against the worthless North Korean won.

And what's the ridiculous penalty prescribed for such blatant disregard for the building safety code? 6 months imprisonment and/OR a maximum fine of 60,000 Baht. Guess what the bigwig owners of the hotel will get away with, if convicted?

If the man pursues this idea as his personal brainchild, he should have declared it as such. Instead he came across in previous news reports as speaking in his capacity as deputy PM, i.e. on behalf of the government of Thailand.

But then again, he talks and talks and talks and talks, often making the most ridiculous statements. One almost could gain the impression as if he were drunk most of the time - or suffered from an inner ear infection.

I can understand the problem of sudden staff shortages. What I do not understand is why there is so little planning ahead. Every year the Tourism Authority of Thailand increases its foreign tourist targets. That naturally means that the passenger volume at the airport will also increase, thus more immigration staff should be hired and trained on an ongoing basis to keep pace with this ever-increasing volume. And when one then sees that half of the immigration booths remain unmanned during peak hours, one wonders why supervisors don't notice that and report back, so measures can be taken to hire more staff. It is all a matter of organisation. Unfortunately it takes months of enraged readers' lettrs and Internet forum posts and negative newspaper articles locally and abroad before someone at the Immigration Bureau finally bothers to address the problem.

Perhaps Yingluck should advise her deputy to either shut up in the future or to make it clear that what he splurts out is his personal opinion and not said in his capacity as a deputy PM.

But then again, he probably was just drunk when he said Thaksin would return this year - or maybe he simply had another bout of inner ear infection.

"Would you like some nuts, sir?"

"Not from you I don't..."

When I look at Mr. Sablom's luxurious estate, I'd say it cost at least 40 million (and only assuming the land was already his family's property and he didn't need to purchase it). Plus about 7 luxury cars. Plus 5 million cash as a dowry. Plus an army of domestic helpers. Plus not inconsiderable monthly expenses for car insurance, estate upkeep, etc. Plus the daily living expenses of a rather large family. Producing engineering designs in your spare time must be really, really lucrative.

By the way, how much income tax has been paid on that extra income?

"Thaksin pointed out that some 66 million people support the movement [to amend the constitution]."

How did he come up with this figure? That would mean that every toddler, infant and underaged school kid would support the movement - if there is a "movement".

Is the man drunk again or is he suffering from yet another episode of inner ear infection? Why to him 'reconciliation' is synonymous with 'bringing back Thaksin' remains a mystery. Maybe he has an eye infection as well, that's why he can't see clearly.

And I was under the impression we already had F1 racing on our streets every single day. Silly me.

Hi, do any of you long-term residents of Bangkok perhaps know a good traditional bookbinder's workshop in the capital? I am talking a REAL bookbinder’s here, NOT one of the ubiquitous office supply shops that can produce softcover books with glued spines. Traditional bookbinding is a rather labour-intensive craft done by hand.

I have quite a few antique books that unfortunately (and unnoticed) fell prey to a recent house mice infestation. The damage is primarily confined to the cover boards. While some have escaped relatively unscathed, others need professional re-binding with a new cover. A viable shop also may be able to carry out minor repairs and/or restore some of the lesser-damaged covers.

It’s a very specialized art, I know, and my hopes are not very high. But any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Perhaps if certain Thai "entrepeneurs" had not treated their Burmese workers like serfs and paid them ridiculous wages for their hard labour those people would have wanted to stay. If Burma now seems preferable to them despite conditions over there still not being rosy, it should give reason for thought why they're leaving in droves. Short-sighted profit thinking once again comes back to haunt the perpetrators and now has them lament their unfortunate situation. If only they had considered that a little earlier and treated their valuable workers like human beings. Next big hit will be when scores of Burmese maids leave, just to be followed by tourism sector and fisheries workers from Burma. Thais generally look down on Burmese, Laotians, Cambodians and pretty much every other nationality in the region as "racially inferior" and in their arrogance forget who is actually doing much of the menial work in this country.

Try Siam Studio or Bangkok Studio. You should be able to google them. But I must warn you, renting a professional studio with all equipment (real electricity burners, those lamps!) is not going to be cheap. Figure a minimum of 20,000 Baht and up for a day. Alternatively, try one of the many bridal shops you see around. They often do have a smallish studio in the back and might be willing to rent it out. And if you still can't find a suitable place, call the PR department of one of the large advertising agencies (Leo Burnett, etc.). They should be able to give you some recommendations, perhaps even a freelance photographer with his/her own studio.

ya, i guess it does sound kinda fishy. not really sure how else to word it really.

I have $38 on paypal, looking to trade that for baht. I can withdrawl it but that takes 7-10 days to hit my bank, in 10 days i'll have plenty of money.

also open to other ideas, not trying to scam or offend anyone.

My oh my, sounds like you are really desperate to get $38 converted, that a little over 1,000 Baht. And how, if I may humbly ask, are you going to survive on that for the next 10 days before your "plenty of money" arrives?

I don't see your problem, thus your proposal sounds fishy. You can link your PayPal account directly with your bank account at KBank. If you withdraw money from your PayPal account to your KBank account, it's automatically converted into Baht and - voila! - there you have your much needed funds in local currency. Easy as pie.

It does take 5 - 7 days though, but with a bit of forward planning that should not be a major problem.

Patrick

True, Patrick. But everything in life takes a bit of planning ahead, doesn't it? Even a telegraphic transfer from overseas takes a couple of business days before it's actually credited to the recipient's bank account.

I don't see your problem, thus your proposal sounds fishy. You can link your PayPal account directly with your bank account at KBank. If you withdraw money from your PayPal account to your KBank account, it's automatically converted into Baht and - voila! - there you have your much needed funds in local currency. Easy as pie.

I do not believe Hitler representations are funny, entertaining, or neither anything that should be tolerated. Hitler would not have accepted the Thai people. Hitler was against many different groups of people.

I do not believe that turning children's icons into icons that represent hate and marketing them is justifiable, no matter how long ago that it happened. One can use recent international atrocities as a comparison to try and justify it, but one current action of attempted genocide does not make it okay to market the past ones.

This isn't simply about swastikas or inverted swastikas, but of hitler and representations of Nazi paraphernalia.

Didn't the nazis try to make their stuff fashionable in their propaganda?

Where are the ideas to market Hitler coming from?

The best way to build a bridge is not to promote symbolic icons of hate and genocide, but to forgive people and prevent repetition of the hate or symbols of it.

Reminds me of that scandal when Prince Harry appeared at a party in SA uniform. It triggered a hilarious rsponse in the British press.

For one, a satire magazine (can't remember its name) had a picture of Hitler on its cover with a speech bubble that said: "I've come as Prince Harry!".

Then there was that newspaper caricature showing Prince Charles arm in arm with Camilla. Prince Harry in Nazi uniform and wearing a swastika armband was standing before the couple. Charles said: "Harry! How can you possibly wear this horrible thing on your arm?" Harry replied: "I just wanted to ask you the same thing, father."

British humour at its best.

Using the swastika image, as the Chiang Mai students did some time ago is one thing since it's an ancient religious symbol, but glorifying Hitler and using Ronald McDonald as a Hitler image is a bit much. I expect McDonalds Corp., to sue soon.

Thai ignorance of history is just stunning. No doubt some politicians will soon be seen sporting the Little Dictator moustache.

Perhaps some young ignorant soul with cash to splash here will open a slimming spa called Buchenwald Bodyworks. Pathetic.

FYI: a black swastika in a white circle on a red background never was an ancient religious symbol!

I have to agree with TackyToo. Once a swastika is used in this configuration (i.e. the white circle on red abckground) it ceases to be a religious symbol. Also, those students wore them with fancy uniforms clearly inspired by Nazi garb. They must have conducted some (Internet) research in order to come up with those designs, hence claiming that they were ignorant of the meaning of those uniforms and the accompanying swastika is absurd. I think it would've been okay if they had worn them to mock Naziism, but unfortunately they were actually rather proud of them, displaying a worrisome admiration for fascism and what it stands for. We also shouldn't foget that Thailand used to have its very own "Little Hitler" in the form of Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkram and - after he was eventually deposed - was governed by a succession of extreme right-wing military dictators. To this day many locals just love to wear their uniforms. Teachers at government schools even dress in military-style uniforms complete with shoulder boards designating their "rank".

This megalomaniac has said over and over again that he wants to wash his hands off politics and that his biggest wish were national reconciliation. What does he think his regular video call-ins are? Fairy tale hour? If there is any obstacle to reconciliation, it is this megalomaniac with his super-ego who cannot and will not shut up.

Here's a link to a similar story that delves into the issue a little further, explaining why Thais are so ignorant about Nazism:

http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/features/33542-Thailand-and-the-Nazi-Swastika.html

[Just noticed you'll have to download the entire issue as a pdf to get the story.]

When it started out in the early nineties it was called "Buckskin Joe Village"; changed the name into "Soi Zero" quite a few years later. You were lucky when it was busy. It was fantastic then, drink prices were cheap, the atmosphere great and it was easy to party for a few hours. However, on the much more frequent quiet nights the place resembled a ghost town and then the hassle of different girls trying to pull you into their respective bars sometimes was a little much. The few punters who had strayed there were usually just as miserable as the girls. I also always found it quite bizarre when trains roared by right behind the row of bars on the left and everything started shaking for a couple of minutes or so.

Considering the rather insane and ludicrous statements we so frequently hear from MPs and cabinet ministers I've actually always been under the impression that they're blasted out of their wits most of the time.

Shouldn't the "most correct" answer have been: masturbate???

Thonglor Pet Hospital

I agree, Thonglor Pet Hospital (btw. Thonglor Soi 13 and 15) is the best - and priciest. Not sure if they can do MRI scans, though. I doubt it.