Darth Bangkok

Just interested to know what people's opinions are as to why there is so much traffic here. Personally, I think it is a lack of roads, not an abundance of cars. I can expand on that if anyone wants, but I won't bore anyone just yet.

And when I read the "solutions" proposed by the authorities, they seem, to me, to be ill conceived at best. For instance, these new bus lanes that are being proposed. They will buy expensive new buses with doors on the right side and build bus stops on traffic islands to make an express lane for these buses (the third lane of traffic presumably). Won't that take away 1/3 of lane capacity precisely in areas where it is needed the most? And existing bus lines would still be there. Those buses never limit themselves to just the first or even the first or second lanes. It seems to me that this will crowd the roads even more and make an almost impossible situation totally impossible.

I have a few ideas on ways to improve the buses (which I think the route system itself is excellent). But I won't prostelize (sp??) unless invited to.

I don't know about it being near the surasak skytrain station. when i went , it was in a most incovenient place, there is only one bus route that passes it. it is to the east of Huay Kwang and to the north and west of Ramkamhaeng Road. You can get to it from either Ramkamhaeng Road or the road across from Robinson's on Ratchadaphisek Road. either way, its about halfway between the two. be careful no to miss it as it is off the road and down a soi a bit (there is a convenience store on the corner - how's that for narrowing it down!)

i rode my bike there.

the process is the same as at most places. apply in the morning and then come to pick it up on the third day. that is due to all the efficiency there. bring a few pictures and fill out the forms there. there is also an 'express' service where you can pick it up the same afternoon for about ฿1,000. unless you say otherwise, you will be assumed to want this service as you are a farang. but being that it is located where it is, I don't think they get too many refusals. I refused because I'd rather waste time than get ripped off.

Are Asia Books still refusing to sell Phasuk and Baker's book? If so, what's the Asia Books connection and should we be taking our business elsewhere when buying books?

I have long suspected a connection between ASia Books and the gov't. The stores are only in tourist areas and most of the books are either travel guides, books for reading on a plane or coffee table books - the big ones with lots of pictures (like foods in thailand or home fashion, etc.). In other words its like watching the English language news on channel 11 (brought to you by the public relations department -hint hint) - no news except for rosy business outlooks and advertisements for boring places around thailand.

go to kornikunia (sp??). at least they have real a selection of books that apply to people who have more than a passing interest in something.

I bought the Thaksin book at Bookaszine. they gave me the display copy from the counter and when I asked for a new one, they said it was the last one (SURE!!!)

Anyway, I haven't finished it yet.. too depressing. The man lies with a straight face. and its not even about a secret past... its well know all over. How could he be allowed to stay in office let alone be so well respected?

can we be deported for writing these messages?

met at dunking donuts in the mall bang gabi. i was with my two friends and she was waiting there for them.. after that we went upstairs to daidomon for my friends birthday dinner.

after that, it was a few dates with the epxeriences of the previous writer. however, I enjoyed being single in thailand and was growing impatient after three or four dates.

but my patiece held out (things soon got better!) and she eventually saw so much of me that I lost contact with all the others and its been around two years now of dating seriously and exclusively.

IMO politicians do represent to a certain extent their countries and their people. So mocking them is enough to make it feel like mocking its people. Although I agree that some of the posts here are directed to the so-called idiot politicians, I don't think all are.

Of course we are mocking you . And meemiathai you are stupid enough to believe these Governement statements ???

You're the prime example why we regularly have a good laugh

Dreeaaam dream dream dream dreaaaammm...

Dam-n Stupid song

And people who think of others as stupid are clever!

That is something i didn't say , but at least i was thought not to Brag my ass off unless i could deliver the promise.

Thailand is mostly smoke and mirrors.

Instill a large sense of pride in your people.

It's just a way to keep the population stupid so you can get away with the most.

Keep education low, people poor but give them a big national ego.

Very smart

Not unlike the US i might add , thailands great friend.

and I always thought I was the only one to feel that way...

maybe we would have less cynicism if the gov't was able to deliver on ONE of its promises.

now excuse me while I go to make several thousand more copies of the same documents so i can travel across town tomorrow and submit my teachers license (which I already have) application to members of the esteemed E-goverment.

"What does it take to host an Olympic venue? A strong sense of nationalism and the resolve to spend the money to scratch that itch on the international theatre. Does anyone really doubt that the Thai can get behind a long term project if it will show great face on the international scene?"

it takes a lot more than that. What sports would Thailand even compete in (I'll leave out patpong jokes for now). You'd need more than 10 or 15 athletes to compete. There is no sports program in Thailand at all, not even for football. There are more people here than in England, why is there not even ONE serious football league here, let alone several tiers (no, bangkok bank vs. bangkok university is not a serious league). Imagine the Thai football team (automatic entry for host nation) vs. Brazil? that would be a boon for thai nationalist spirit.

besides that , how many events would be postponed or cancelled because no athletes showed up on time due to traffic? or swimming events with only one particpant because everyone else was late.

you'd have to literally pave over bangkok in its entirety and try again. the only reason tourists have positive things to say about bangkok is because it is so different than anything else they have experienced and have the pleasure of leaving after a few days. and since they are not on a tight schedule such as they are at home, everything is fine.

like most projects in thailand, this one is starting at step ten rather than step one and there is no appreciation for what is entailed or how to get it done.

in theory, the money is still in thailand, and buying lottery tickets is helping to recycle the money which stimulates the economy. but as the article states, thaksin "claims" that the money is being spent on social programs. it is more likely being sent out of the country when new cars for gov't officials (BMWs and Mercedes) are bought or they take foreign trips, etc.

"Politically, it makes some sense for a Thai to be included on a flight to the international space station. There are a lot of factors involved according to what I've read, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened."

the only reason is to stroke some fool politicians ego. what possibly could a Thai astronaunt contribute? space exploration is undertaken with the goal of furthering scientific knowledge. its more than just memorizing an elements table. Thai scientists (are there any?) aren't even trying to find out how to stop the bird flu from spreading even though it has decimated the poultry industry (you would think that something that affects their bread and butter would cause the gov't to do something). instead, they rely on other countried, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the UK, the US, to do the work for them.

Why would anyone let a Thai on board a spacecraft who could not contribute? what is the thai going to do? make sure the other astronauts glasses of Tang are always filled?

My wife is in her last 6 months of her 25 year contract, and guess what they have done now? They have increased her salary more than double with promises of more after the contact has finished.

I think this is to try and keep her in the job after all the training she has done. Hope she doesn't change her mind and stay there.

What rubbish you speak.

Why is the above unreasonable.

It is exactly the same as it would be anywhere in the world.

Of course the hospital want to keep such a valuable employee! It makes sense.

If you wife wants to do it then it is her choice and the hospital is offering an attraction to stay.

They provided the education for her and have expected and received their repayment.

All seems very fair???

It is just your opinion of a tried and tested system that is the problem not the system itself.

Put yourself in the shoe of the employer!

CT

I think he is trying to point out that his wife was being underpaid before this. so during the time she was paying off her indentured servitude, oh, I mean debt, they were valuing her work less, and hence it took longer to pay off. now that it is paid off or about to be paid off, they are paying her what she is really worth. or as the writer feels, what she should have been getting all along. so he is right to say that his wife should quit as soon as she can because why should she work for someone who has systematically taken advantage of her over a number of years?

lopburi, you are right. i am getting tired of this place. nothing to show for my four years here except a shrinking brain. the fiance visa is a way for my GF to get into the US. whether we get married or she leaves within three months is still under consideration. I will aim to go back to the states by february next year, unless I get kicked out before that!

also, i'm sorry if i seemed accusatory in my last post. i didn't mean to. you were right and i was just trying to supply the info. the question was rhetorical (unless you have a good answer!). i just don't know what else i could have done without lying. it seems that some people will just never have the opportunity to "qualify" for a tourist visa. but i was very surprised to read the other writer's posts because I can't figure out what was so substantially different between the situations.

there was no friction at the last either of the first two interviews. the first one, i answered two questions like 'what is your name and why are you going to the US" and then asked to sit down. the second one, I didn't go to i just waited in the waiting room. the third time there was no friction until the end when it was clear that she had made up her mind. and i just used some of her words that she scolded (loud enough for the whole waiting room to hear) other applicants with. like one chinese guy whose english was not so good and she yelled at him a lot. to another thai lady she said in thai "why can't you answer the question that I asked you?" two or three times. so i said that to her because she had no responses to my or my GF's questions.

it turns out that teaching is the only viable profession for most people. what about the people who just want to live here and make a life for themselves? that want to be contributing members of the communtiy, but the only way to stay legally is to get a work permit to teach. there are so many professions that foreigners are not allowed to fill. and not all of us can be blessed enough to be sent here as expats by huge companies or want to wait long enough to advance high enough to be sent.

i would love to work here in my profession (accounting) but have to real chance to do anything but teach. and that is not always a set deal. i have a teachers license already. did you ever try to change schools? i need a license to show where i can work and at what times. the ministry of education does not care about our credentials or experiecne or anything except having piles of paper on there desk. once they send your application back enough times and the pile gets high enough, they send it upstairs and wait for the fat cat to get back from the naughty passage parlor and he signs it.

it has nothing to do with standards or any regulations. they accept your application based on the mood of the lady at the desk in the room full of morons at the MOE.

"The posters GF qualified for a visa; probably with or without the boyfriend. You give us no information about your GF. "

we submitted all of that info: money in the bank (almost 200,000), my bank accounts both here and in the us, letter from her employer, letter from her mom stating how she helps her mom (old lady) take care of her aunt (old lady) who has cancer, letter from the aunt, her mom also takes care of a kid whose mother has to work and has no time for him, her mom wrote a letter about this kid too (that my GF helps her take care of the kid), letter from the kids parents too, copies of things like her health club membership to show she has ties here and that it is better for her to live here than work as a slave at some resaurant somewhere in NY, letters from me explaining our relationship, invitation emails from my mother inviting her to stay with her in New York.

what more do you suggest? i can't help that she is 29 and pretty and doesn't make a lot of money. there aren't many opportunities here. but ######, if we are to believe what they say about our benevolent dictator (that is a a great business man) even HE could make more in the US.

"Thanks for the quick replies and advice. I had not known that a boarding pass was necessary first, so glad I asked here! "

yes, of course. you are not allowed to plan ahead and use your brain in thailand. once , i flew to austraulia on a 16:30 flight. I had to pick up my ticket at the Qantas office. which didn't open until 14:30. i got to the airport early and decided to get my re-entry permit first ot avoid being rushed later. what a fool I was!!!

at suan plu you don't need anything, but at the airport you do. is there some logic to this?

i recently got together my documents for a US fiancee visa (haven't decided whether to apply yet or not - something about having the US govt make one of my major life decisions for me).

for this letter, I believe you can submit one letter which you both sign. then your problem would be solved. maybe you can check if you can also do this.

The best place for the correct info is the US embassy visa dept.

this writer has obviously never tried to do this himself. what actual answer would you presume you would get? you get nothing but a rehashing of the purposely vague regulations and statements like "again, unless I have all the facts, I wouldn't ba able to tell you. It is up to the visa officer's judgement" and blah blah, fnBLAH. this is of course after you spend ten minutes EXPLAINING all the relevant facts to him.

yeah, i was denied a US visa for my GF, so we went to South Africa instead. I was stamped for 3 months and she for 1. and it was an awesome trip, even better than the US would have been.

but alas, that stamp in her visa didn't help us get the tourist visa the next time we applied!!

Up2U, can I ask a question? not aimed at you,

what the ###### is a VIP terminal? Why would the airport need one, and why would it be in phase two, rather than later after the important things are taken care of?

this airport has been under construction for more than 40 years. how can any of these phases be expected to be finished in our lifetimes?

anyway, the fact that passengers transferring to domestic flights have to travel across bangkok seems to me to be mostly a ploy to get people to drop a few hundred baht on taxis or to promote limos and other premium services that are not worth it. fleecing tourists is number one, and only situtations where money can physically be seen count. the fact that after one or two nightmare transits through bangkok, people might stop coming, does not factor into the equation.

You haven't looked at her contract yet, but you know she has to work for them for ten years? Now, wouldn't that be part of her contract?

Once again, the advice to U is to grow up and check the facts!!!!

/// dfw

don't be so hard on him. his girlfriend might not even have a copy of the contract. thai society is all about people in power taking advantage of people who don't have power. these types of contracts exist in all areas of thai employment. sometimes an employer just hands the thai a contract and tells them to sign it. if the thai person wants to read it first they are told "just sign it, you don't need to read it" not even a verbal explanation. then try to get your thai girlfriend to explain to you what she signed! I am assuming that this girl is intelligent, but sharing information and explaining circumstances is not a strong trait of thai people. they just accept whatever 'poo yai' tell them ... no questions asked.

when I studied my mba at chulalongkorn, there were a lot of students who signed their lives away to be slaves to banks and other companies. they had to work for 7 years or more for less than ฿20,000 per month or pay back 3 times the tuition and room and board they were paid.

and absurd government

they would have to build roads first before they can add bike lanes to them. right now there are only superhighways that pose as roads and dead-end sois everywhere. what if a bicylce rider ever decides that he needs to turn right instead of left on a road? is it safe to assume that people would make roundtrips and travel in both directions? (although I am sure a thai would be able to convince me I was stupid for using logic). is he or she then supposed to turn left, cross three or more lanes of traffic, travel up to 2 or 3 kilometers, make a u-turn by gambling with your life, cross more lanes of traffic, then stop and say a prayer to thank God you are still alive.....

frond, thats an amazing story and i can't believe it is true.

i've been here for 4 years, have a master's degree from a thai university, a work permit, and have been dating my Gf for 2 years. she has been denied a tourist visa 3 times. the last time, the thai (bitch) officer didn't even look at any of the documents, she literally took out the previous application and compared it to the one we were submitting. she then asked my GF 3 or 4 questions to see if they match the application (like WHERE are you going in the US!!) she then grilled me for a while and ended by saying "i can't take into consideration your situation" !! but she had also said that she couldn't be sure that i wasn't going back to stay and wouldn't keep her because i could earn more money in the US. I referred her to all of the info in the papers we submitted such as our affidavit and copies of my passport pages that showed EACH and EVERY year, for the four years I lived in Thailand and the one I lived in Hong Kong, that I return to the US in February and come back in May.

we had also travelled together abroad before several times.

does that mean i should apply again? I don't know. I don't have the work permit anymore and am going through that ludicrous process of getting another one because i changed employers.

your gf will need to be in bangkok for the interview which is generally a day or two after you submit the documents. you do not need to submit the documents yourself, someone else can. i don't think you can do it by post because an officer will usually go through the documents to make sure they are complete.

make sure you have plenty of 'evidence'. your GF is on trial here and is guilty until proven innocent. i've been here for 4 years, have a master's degree from a thai university, a work permit, and have been dating my Gf for 2 years. she has been denied a tourist visa 3 times. the last time, the thai (bitch) officer didn't even look at any of the documents, she literally took out the previous application and compared it to the one we were submitting. she then asked my GF 3 or 4 questions to see if they match the application (like WHERE are you going in the US!!) she then grilled me for a while and ended by saying "i can't take into consideration your situation" !! but she had also said that she couldn't be sure that i wasn't going back to stay and wouldn't keep her because i could earn more money in the US. I referred her to all of the info in the papers we submitted such as our affidavit and copies of my passport pages that showed EACH and EVERY year, for the four years I lived in Thailand and the one I lived in Hong Kong, that I return to the US in February and come back in May.

It comes down in the end to the fact that they don't want anyone to go and will manipulate the rules any way they want to make there case - but never explain to you how they applied the rules. For instance, it is obvious my GF is now on some list of "make sure you reject" We waited for three hours for the thai bitch, while people were coming and going all morning with visa approvals from the two polite farangs. we had been optimistic for the first two hours, because the previous time we applied right before the start of the Iraq war and NO ONE got a visa. but after other people were coming in and leaving with their visas in less than a half hour, our spirits fell.

of course I created a big scene and caught the thai bitch off guard and she got scared, but it didn't help our cause in the least (of course). subsequent emails with the head of the visa department about her unprofessional behaviour and refusal to look at our information (she had asked several times for information that she was actually holding in her hand such as 'I don't see a copy of your work permit' She had not only the copy but the ORIGINAL too) led nowhere excpet for I am sorry you feel you weren't treated properly we try our best. But I didn't FEEL that way. We WEREN'T treated properly. and all my complaints about how thailand sucks and these things would never happen in the US went out the window.