easyas

If immigration have any sense they'll put him on the next plane back to the UK

For precisely what? For being a foul-mouthed failed Footballer from Falmouth?

YES!!!!

Idiot !!!!

With a bit of luck he will get wasted in a bar in Pattaya or Phuket, get all loud mouthed and abusive and be found floating face first in the sea the following morning... Police report cause of death as "heart stopped"

The world would be a slightly nicer place if that happened.

What a vicious post!

Whole lot of bulldust all the way through this thread! 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 baht monthly income (or a combination of the two) should not be a problem for a genuine retiree with a pension/other income from his own country. The only people who are whinging are those who didn't bother to provide for themselves in their home country before dumping themselves in a low cost haven - no sympathy!

You are not required to have even one baht of income to legally retire here.

That's what I said - 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 baht montlhly income, one or the other, or a combo, not both!

Whole lot of bulldust all the way through this thread! 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 baht monthly income (or a combination of the two) should not be a problem for a genuine retiree with a pension/other income from his own country. The only people who are whinging are those who didn't bother to provide for themselves in their home country before dumping themselves in a low cost haven - no sympathy!

So how many people in Oz use solar panels? not many I bet.... except perhaps in the "out back"..? .

There are two places around Samui I have seen using solar power, one is the new Temple above Lamai , the other a resort on one of the islands off the west coast of Thaling Gnam area... (Koh Som, I think it is).. probably more around too....

It's a good idea, but until the world get off the greed or need for fossil fuel, it's not going to be a viable option.... although parts of China seem to be making a bit of an effort...

It's not just in the Outback (one word, not two!), it's all over Australia, significantly, but not solely, as a result of the Government there recognising the need for the world to reduce the use of fossils fuels and for its contribution to the world's need slamming a tax on carbon emitting industries which of course is passed on to the consumer! Solar panel system installations are subsidised however.

i dont really care for the enviroment i am skpticall that where there is climate change there is new business opptinuty. If the world os going to sink then it is too lte to stop it als it is probably a natural occurance anyway as we have had ice ages in the past.

poltions for me reuiens peoples breathing and lungs as for the world we must prtect the enviroment need green shit and all thsats

I always find your posts difficult to understand because you were clearly never taught to spell at skool! When you post at 2.25 a.m. you are ten times worse than normal!

If I understand you correctly you are a climate change sceptic.

That's your perogative - fortunately your views are only held by a small and ever decreasing number of dinosaurs such as George Bush Junior.

So how many people in Oz use solar panels? not many I bet.... except perhaps in the "out back"..? .

There are two places around Samui I have seen using solar power, one is the new Temple above Lamai , the other a resort on one of the islands off the west coast of Thaling Gnam area... (Koh Som, I think it is).. probably more around too....

It's a good idea, but until the world get off the greed or need for fossil fuel, it's not going to be a viable option.... although parts of China seem to be making a bit of an effort...

It's not just in the Outback (one word, not two!), it's all over Australia, significantly, but not solely, as a result of the Government there recognising the need for the world to reduce the use of fossils fuels and for its contribution to the world's need slamming a tax on carbon emitting industries which of course is passed on to the consumer! Solar panel system installations are subsidised however.

In Australia ii's on a house by house basis. I decide I want solar electricity and put in a solar system with my own personal battery bank. My next door neighbour decides against it. It costs me capital but my house value increases and I pay no electricity bills. Power cuts do not affect me. I will even get paid for supplying the grid any excess electricity I generate. It costs him no capital, but his house is less desirable and he continues to pay ever increasing electricity bills. As they say here - "up to you"!

There is sadly no provision for selling excess electricity in Thailand.

Recent topic http://www.thaivisa....ls-in-thailand/

So what?

That's a bonus in Australia - despite that here in Thailand still no power outages, no power bills!

Don't be greedy!

By the way - fire sale on gennies in Homepro! A few special offers available (still not that cheap though - 12.5 KVA 128,000 baht)

12.5! I could run my house on a 2.4.

Then why don't you - one step closer to a solution!

Sorry Claude - I did not see your post

This doesn't make any sense to me.

In Australia solar power works well and it gets dark there too. You just need to store the solar power generated electricity in a battery bank. There are many instances whereby excess electricity is generated and fed back into the grid. The electricity company pays you for it!

The restriction is the 'pipe' carrying the electricity. We can only receive 90 megawatts from the mainland.

Even if the electric company was to pay people for solar power(which it currently does not) - they still could not give it back to users in Samui. Unless (and we get to your first point )....

.......they store it here.

That is one huge battery (stack).

However, the multiple (temporary) large generators placed around the island are probable being switched on-line as power shortages happen. Maybe this is why we currently have less frequent, shorter power outages than the two hour ones first mentioned by the local boys.

But I could be wrong but that would be a logical thing to do.

Sorry Claude - I did not see your post

This doesn't make any sense to me.

In Australia solar power works well and it gets dark there too. You just need to store the solar power generated electricity in a battery bank. There are many instances whereby excess electricity is generated and fed back into the grid. The electricity company pays you for it!

The restriction is the 'pipe' carrying the electricity. We can only receive 90 megawatts from the mainland.

Even if the electric company was to pay people for solar power(which it currently does not) - they still could not give it back to users in Samui. Unless (and we get to your first point )....

.......they store it here.

That is one huge battery (stack).

However, the multiple (temporary) large generators placed around the island are probable being switched on-line as power shortages happen. Maybe this is why we currently have less frequent, shorter power outages than the two hour ones first mentioned by the local boys.

But I could be wrong but that would be a logical thing to do.

Claude - I'm not talking about a larger scale. In Australia ii's on a house by house basis. I decide I want solar electricity and put in a solar system with my own personal battery bank. My next door neighbour decides against it. It costs me capital but my house value increases and I pay no electricity bills. Power cuts do not affect me. I will even get paid for supplying the grid any excess electricity I generate. It costs him no capital, but his house is less desirable and he continues to pay ever increasing electricity bills. As they say here - "up to you"!

The time of centralized power generation is OVER!

I'm working for a renewable energy company selling, building and/or operating environmental friendly and carbon neutral Gasification power Plants. Yes, these plants are rather small, only a few Megawatt at the time are economical. But the idea is to have a lot of spread over all Thailand. With this, nobody would need the big coal/gas/oil fired plants anymore which damage our environment and health. Oh, and by the way, no more stupid power cuts anymore...

Sounds good but we need more solar power generators on these islands with so much sun exposure!

I am doing solar business on Samui but solar power wont solve the problem because the peak load occurs in the evening. To reduce the peak load which can lead to another burnt main cable it is necessary that electric heaters, electric stoves and pool pumps are not being used during peak load from 6 to 8 pm. Furthermore all halogen spots and high power garden lights should be replaced by LED.

This doesn't make any sense to me.

In Australia solar power works well and it gets dark there too. You just need to store the solar power generated electricity in a battery bank. There are many instances whereby excess electricity is generated and fed back into the grid. The electricity company pays you for it!

Ultimately the PM was responsible. She has to take responsibility, or she cannot call herself a leader. Certainly the governor of surat province should be immediately removed from his job. Immediately. He showed tremendous incompetence. The central govt. should have gotten the military involved after 24 hours. Once they realized the 12 year old boys running the power authority had no means of making the repair, they should have treated this like the national crisis this was, and done anything possible to get it fixed within hours, not days. Just one more black eye on the face of thailand. Just one more piece of evidence that regardless of the face they like to put on it, thailand is deeply mired within the 3rd world, and the infrastructure here is not what they want us to believe. Coming just before the peak season, the timing was poor.

Just go home when you can't handle the country

Are you one of those black or white guys, who do not permit the presence of gray? Is life so simple for you? What issues do you have with commentary? Would you prefer fascism? Many of us love it here, but that does not prevent us from airing our grievances. Is it possibly you are taking yourself too seriously?

I am taking myself too seriously?

This from the guy who wrote all these agressive personal diatribes against the mayor and now again about Yingluck and everybody else he can think of? Who thinks Samui is the navel of Thailand, who seems to have no understanding of basic Thai politics but wants everything to work as in the West? Who wants to remove everybody from his/her post who doesn't function like he wants?

Contrary to you I took this blackout very easy, and I have business on Samui that also suffered.

Seems you don't realize that your rant sounds extremely condenscending and patronizing, and when you love it here it certainly doesn't show in any of your comments. There is a big difference between an agressive rant and constructive criticism (or airing grievances as you call it).

Take a deep look in the mirror and you might realize that what you're accusing me of in your comment is more a description of yourself.

Have a happy life.

Totally agree!

Ultimately the PM was responsible. She has to take responsibility, or she cannot call herself a leader. Certainly the governor of surat province should be immediately removed from his job. Immediately. He showed tremendous incompetence. The central govt. should have gotten the military involved after 24 hours. Once they realized the 12 year old boys running the power authority had no means of making the repair, they should have treated this like the national crisis this was, and done anything possible to get it fixed within hours, not days. Just one more black eye on the face of thailand. Just one more piece of evidence that regardless of the face they like to put on it, thailand is deeply mired within the 3rd world, and the infrastructure here is not what they want us to believe. Coming just before the peak season, the timing was poor.

Give your political grandstanding a rest!

Stop your ranting & raving - if you don't like it here go somewhere else.

Good riddance.

So according to you, nobody should be held responsible? What about the lost revenue, on what is now a nearly deserted island, in the lead up to the peak season? Where does leadership come into play? Why would the PM not have responsibility with this crisis? Or, are you saying nearly 100 hours without power, in one of the top resorts areas of the country is no big deal?

Why the PM? What about the smuck who dropped his monkey wrench into the hole? (if that's what it was!)

Crisis - what crisis?

And it is no big deal - it happens all the time the world over!

If nearly deserted now then I'll be back - too smothered with rude arrogant tourists last time I was there!

Ultimately the PM was responsible. She has to take responsibility, or she cannot call herself a leader. Certainly the governor of surat province should be immediately removed from his job. Immediately. He showed tremendous incompetence. The central govt. should have gotten the military involved after 24 hours. Once they realized the 12 year old boys running the power authority had no means of making the repair, they should have treated this like the national crisis this was, and done anything possible to get it fixed within hours, not days. Just one more black eye on the face of thailand. Just one more piece of evidence that regardless of the face they like to put on it, thailand is deeply mired within the 3rd world, and the infrastructure here is not what they want us to believe. Coming just before the peak season, the timing was poor.

Give your political grandstanding a rest!

Stop your ranting & raving - if you don't like it here go somewhere else.

Good riddance.

unless he pulled the trigger he didn't murder anyone - rediculous If a Thai soldier on the ground was trigger happy and there's evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that he killed an inocent taxi driver then he should be brought to court to answer the allegations only in Thailand

I'm as flabberghasted as you!!! How on earth can any sane prosecutor seek murder charges against the prime minister of a country when soldiers were gunmen and he had not told them directly to murder Somchai the taxi driver. So ridiculous and it exceeds any bounds of legal reason. Amazing how the new powers can force the prosecutors act so frivolously.

Two very stupid posts! That's the same argument put forward by the Nazi top heirachy when tried for war crimes at Nuremberg after WWII - "I didn't pull the trigger"!

To compare the Apisit government to the Nazis is far more foolish that the 'stupid posts'.

You completely missed my point, which was, in contradiction to the opinions expressed in the posts I quoted, there is indeed a very well known precedent for a judicial body to accuse a head of state of criminal conduct including authorising the use of force causing death. There are in all probability many more such precedents.

This incident further serves to illustrate the overwhelming need for Yingluck to submit her resignation. Her level of detachment from what goes on in thailand at the micro level is astonishing. She should have been on the ground in Samui during this national tragedy. It is an abomination that this was not a resolved within hours, with the assistance of the military, if necessary. Events like this simply cannot be allowed to happen, and if they do must be resolved within hours, not days. She must resign now.

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

What a load of politically inspired garbage!

Stick to the macaroni!

The cable heated up, breached it's insulation, and allowed water to enter the core, and that caused steam expansion and greater rupture.

A friend says he saw part of the fried cable and he said it looked really nasty, like it had been melting sand around it from super hight heat. Just imagine this cable can power several hundred welding machines, and suddenly becomes one itself, to the earth around it.

Where did he see "part of the fried cable"? Deep sea diver?

my villa guys just check with PEA and they said solving prob will take until march and they want to proceed with electric on for 2 hours every 2 hours when that starts I do not know

2 hours every 2 hours is a continuous supply!

With 2 out of 5 planned nuclear power plants being in the south of Thailand (Sichon, Nakhorn Sri Thammarat and Tha Chana district in Surat Thani), this power outage might win over some people who were unsure whether to approve of those plants. "remember those serious power outages, we need sufficient power for tourism".

On the other hand, it should concern people. If a problem like this can not be dealt with faster, what would happen in the event of difficulties with a nuclear plant ...

Goodgirl, this is a very bad Idea, where to put the nuke waste?

Thailand has adequate nuclear disposal facilities. http://en.wikipedia....iation_accident

You have to be joking? 10 people hospitalised, 3 of whom died, as a result of a nuclear waste rediation accident!

tourists leaving the island

and now we only have a thousand left ????

what a load of rubbish

ive just been down on chaweng beach today

and had dinner on the beach with hundreds of tourists

then walked along to ark bar and had another drink and there were at lease 200 hundred there alone

200 hundred is 20 thousand - pretty big bar!

Anybody here know how she perfroms when she speaks in Thai? I mean, I am sure she is fluent, but is she a good speaker, or.....

Probably better than:

''As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.''

— President George W. Bush, on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007

or

"I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system."

— The very same George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008

or, again

"This thaw -- took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw."

— George W. Bush, on liquidity in the markets, Alexandria, La., Oct. 20, 2008

I love the expression (s) on Yingyuck's face when the Bloomberg reporter asked her about Obama requesting prayers from the Monk at Wat Po... she obviously was totally lost and almost in a panic as she summoned someone to come and translate for her.. ...what is she saying...? What did she ask..?? Hellllpppp?? Someone Hellllppp!

I saw that and agree it wasn't her finest moment, though the absolute consternation on her face and the rapid summoning of a flunky I must confess made me snigger.Still what did we expect, Talleyrand or Metternich?

Neither of whom are noted for their command of the Thai Language!

Or English, for that matter.

Some might have noticed there was a question and some talk about Thai food at the press conference. Obama mentioned that Thai food is one of his favorites and when asked to mention some specific Thai dishes he copped out and said he likes it all. Diplomatic perhaps but rather weak. So ... do the Obamas really like Thai food all that much? I think they have good taste in food in D.C. and Chicago, but note in this photo list, not ONE Thai restaurant! Some pundits are calling this Green Curry Gate!

Of course, perhaps the white house kitchen chefs can cook good Thai food but the public demands to know what Thai food he ate, and when did he eat it!

http://www.washingto...ry.html#photo=1

It is the typically banal question asked in Thailand, a bit like, "how are you", in English conversation. No one expects a long diatribe as an answer.

What was he supposed to say? "can't stand it, too spicy."

I reckon he does love Thai food and also likes spicy food in general. Most people of his wealth and sophistication in the U.S. are quite familiar with Thai food and based on his restaurant habits in D.C. it is clear to me he really appreciates good food. I just think he was jet-lagged and not prepared to say the "right" answer. I think he has more important things on his mind.

Like why was he wasting his time here at all!

First step for the Ministry of Educations English program is to write the name of the program correctly!!! It's not "Let Learn English", but rather "Let's Learn English". Just saying if they're worried about it, maybe they should start using spellcheck........

Same same you!

"Educations" = Education's

"Just saying if they're worried about it" - what mean you? Gibberish!

"spellcheck" = spellchecker

A job well done, fellas!

one day the tourists will be going to other Asian countries , its happening now ..Thailand just thinks

Assuming you're talking about SE Asian countries, there aren't many good alternatives. Vietnam? Laos? Indonesia? Philippines? Malaysia? Burma? Cambodia?

That's one military dictatorship, 2 communist countries, 2 Muslim countries, Cambodia and Philippines.

I seriously doubt that any of the above will ever be a substitute destination for Thailand. They are never going to be more than a side-trip.

In the grand scheme of things, a bag snatching and knife touch-up are hardly newsworthy anywhere else other than in the Pattaya media and on here.

Vietnam is already the number one tourist destination spot with most Western (non-US) travel agencies.

No soi dogs and next to no street crime - what there is isn't repeated - not easy with bullet in brain!