Jawnie

This is a disgrace.....

Five years for more trains??? Who are they trying to kidd? That isn't a plan, that is a mean joke, on the riders.

Who cares about more commercial space? Is there a problem with people not being able to find a place to shop in Bangkok? No, I didn't think so.

The problem is the service on the Airport Link and people need a solution NOW, not in five, or more, years.

Since when is development of the surrounding area at Makkasan station a Transportation Ministry subject matter? Why is the transportation Ministry involved in development issues at a particular station? Moreover, if development occurs at Makkasan, it will make the poor service even worse because of the increase in ridership.

It seems to me that the Transportation Ministry still does not understand that the Airport Link line is a commuter line for local workers and residents. The huge majority of riders are local residents going to work, shop, or leisure who need a convenient, predictable, and timely train. Tourist make up less than 10% of the ridership.

If the line becomes more rider-friendly for locals, it will automatically become better for tourists.

Thais: you deserve much, much better than this.

Thais..ALL Thais, simply do not understand democracy. It's that simple.

Simply put, in a democracy, you listen to and compromise with your opponents, then move in a direction all sides agree on. You don't send in the army or the courts to drag them away into silence.

I've not met a Thai yet who understands this, or even seems to care. Thai politics is all about hating and dismantling your opponent. Meanwhile, children and adults can't read or speak English, and have no hope for a future except food carts, mindless retail, or the sex industry.

Still smiling?

Sir, your partisan sniping in meaningless and, worse, harmful to a discussion about getting Thai people educated. This has very little to do with the new Yingluck administration, per se.

I'm talking about all the Thais, young and adults, who are NOW currently uneducated. I continually meet adults who can't read, write, never used the internet or have email. These situation did NOT occur during the first two months of the new adminstration.

Lack of education and proper education has been a glaring problem in Thailand for a very long time. It is because of the political system and those controlling it (not Yingluck, not Taksin, or even Abhisit)...but those other institutions who strangle broad-based education, innovation, and change in Thailand.

Those who rule and lead Thailand do not want an educated workforce. An educated work force or population would quickly see how poorly they are served by their current leaders and form of government. Tipping the scale away from broader education reform are those who do manage to get an education. They then join the system to get rich, famous, or powerful. All this relies on an uneducated, pliant, or otherwise controlled populace. Thailand has much, much further to go to considered a legitimate player internationally. It's government and leaders are too backward and insular in their thinking to be international. Again, as soon as one makes comparison of international norms, Thailand is further behind than generally thought.

This even more so under this government. What incentive would Yingluck/Thaksin have to have a highly educated workforce who could see through all of their schemes and possibly be involved in the next PAD/Multicolor protest and vote against them in the next election? Better to keep people dumb and ignorant so they could rely on government handouts and hand out gimmicks like tablets which does nothing to improve the overall infrastructure for education. Or better yet, make them "economic slaves" by handing out credit cards,etc. to make them even more in debt

Their mistake seems to be that it was online. This all could have been avoided if the show were live on Silom, Nana, etc.

How do you spell "hippocrassie"?

Those who rule and lead Thailand do not want an educated workforce. An educated work force or population would quickly see how poorly they are served by their current leaders and form of government. Tipping the scale away from broader education reform are those who do manage to get an education. They then join the system to get rich, famous, or powerful. All this relies on an uneducated, pliant, or otherwise controlled populace. Thailand has much, much further to go to considered a legitimate player internationally. It's government and leaders are too backward and insular in their thinking to be international. Again, as soon as one makes comparison of international norms, Thailand is further behind than generally thought.

Since it is not your offering, it is not yours to remove. I hope that park personnel have some procedure for how to dispose of sacred objects left in the park other than throwing them in the trash.

Nor should you feel bad about the fact that you coveted it and wanted to take it. You did not so you did not commit the actual act. You did however, fall prey to craving, one of the root mental infractions. Rest and feel assured that proves only that you are human.

You need to let go of the statute externally. But also, and more importantly, you need to let go of your response to the situation. The attachment you have to the insight into your craving nature is far more serious than thinking about taking it or actually doing it.

My suggestions would be to visualize yourself making an offering of the statute to all the Buddhas; make the offering yours mentally. Then dedicate the merit to all sentient beings. Finally, pray that all the beneficial wishes made by the person who left the Buddha head will be fulfilled. In other words, apply the antidote to craving, which is extensive generosity.

More manufactured news and controversy... Move on, The Nation.

It's a typo. Not two million passengers a day, not even anywhere near two million. But, it is more the 2000 riders a day for sure.

They still run empty Airport Express trains past waiting riders who are local commuters. The line is really a local commuter line with airport passengers making up about 10% of whatever daily total is. They need to gear service toward daily users going to and from work. What kind of message does it send to your own citizens by running empty trains or trains with a few tourist on board while crowds of Thais waiting to get on over-crowded trains?

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the over-crowded trains, the careless, callous management, or the docile Thais who seem to stand by silently while being treated as second-class citizens by their own government?

Yes.

"There is a common misconception among many non-Buddhists (and even among certain Buddhists) that the Tantras are late and corrupt additions to the Buddha's Teachings. This is false. The Tantras are genuine teachings of the Lord Buddha, and they occupy a paramount position within the overall framework of Buddhist doctrine."

"Some of the misconceptions about the Tantras stem from their esoteric nature. Since the time of the Buddha the Tantras were always taught secretly and selectively. For their correct understanding they have always required the oral instructions of a qualified master; without such explanations they can easily be misunderstood in wrong and harmful ways."

........

"Through Mantrayana practices, a person of superior faculties can attain Awakening in a single lifetime. One of middling faculties can attain Awakening in the after-death period (bardo). And one of inferior faculties who observes the commitments will attain enlightenment in from seven to sixteen lifetimes. These are much shorter periods than the three "immeasurable" aeons required through the Paramitayana practices. But even though the Mantra Vehicle is thus superior in skillful methods, its view of ultimate reality is identical with the Madhyamika view of the general Mahayana. "

HH Sakya Trizin.

For some schools, the practices accomplish this over "three immeasurable aeons", (Mahayana). For other schools, it can be still be many, but fewer, life times. Some Vajrayana schools claim it can be accomplished very quickly.

Hi J.

Did the Buddha teach this?

Chanting accompanied with visualization of deities and symbols is a common Buddhist practice across all of the schools, I think. At the same time, the idea that there is no external god or reality being prayed to is a teaching that is integral to the practice of chanting. Again, these are skillful means intended to transform and purify our accumulated negative speech and mental karma. Chanting purifies speech, visualization purifies the mind suspending thoughts and breaking down mental patterns and attitudes. Our true nature is obscured by our karma, the skandas (heaps), etc. The practices remove them, ie, we are liberated. For some schools, the practices accomplish this over "three immeasurable aeons", (Mahayana). For other schools, it can be still be many, but fewer, life times. Some Vajrayana schools claim it can be accomplished very quickly.

Isn't the distinction between prayer and chanting, that prayer is a dialogue to the supreme, whilst chanting isn't?

You're probably right, Rocky. I was just mulling over ideas about prayer - not trying to state a case with any real strength. Perhaps what I had in mind was "non-directed" as against "directed prayer". For example, if I pray that my sick child will be healthy again, but don't direct that prayer to God, or "put God to the test" (Deuteronomy 6:16) then that might be a non-directed prayer (like a "prayer of aspiration" in some Mahayana traditions). There's some discussion about it here: http://newhope360.co...t-best-way-pray but I don't think that's quite what I'm saying either.

If a Monk visualizes the Buddha as a being in Nibanna whilst chanting then it's prayer.

Dhammakaya followers have a meditation practice that encompasses visualization (a luminous sphere or translucent Buddha Statue). Would that be prayer, do you think? It's not chanting, but it's some kind of objectification (the Buddha appearing as an object in mental formation).

Actually, one should do both - they are not mutually exclusive.

But, in the context of the question, the offering is made to the Buddhas for the purpose of creating merit.

It doesn't need to be a lot of food. As mentioned, bowls of water visualized as offerings will suffice. When one offers bowls of water, the offerings are visualized as filling the entire universe. Offerings are also an act of generosity.

The Buddhas don't need food, the offering is really a form of renunciation made in the presence of an image of the Buddha.

Perhaps they would prefer the food was offered to hungry people then, this would equally be a form of renunciation as well as more practical.

Making offerings is yet another skillful means for creating merit, which we can apply to our own future circumstances or dedicate to others. The Buddhas don't need food. Rather, we need to perform positive actions to counter the negative karma in our own mind streams. For some, seven bowls of water are offered each day. Each bowl symbolizes something different: water, food, incense, flowers, music, light... These, in turn, symbolize the five senses. So, when we make an offering, we are offering food, yes, but also the delicious and fulfilling quality of food - cutting our attachment to it - in a skillful way, by offering the food and the sense experience of the food. The Buddhas don't need food, the offering is really a form of renunciation made in the presence of an image of the Buddha.

Her father came from China

That's the key to the practice of offering food to the Buddha. It is more a Chinese tradition than something from Thai practice.

I've seen the same thing in Vietnam, Penang Malysia, and Singapore ... usually in areas with a large number of Chinese/local ethnic residents.

It always seemed "normal" to me to see offerings of food being made to a Buddha image because Vietnam was the first place I was exposed to Buddhisim, and I just assumed that making such offerings was what all Buddhists did.

Sorry Mr. Groongthep, but your inconsistencies have me between 'a rock and a hard place' in providing an answer that might move the topic forward. You said in a previous post that it is only up to the individual to acknowledge their own realization but here you say you would be skeptical of someone who did so. Similarly, your list of quotes of things we should not do, including relying on 'the authority of sacred texts,' is from, well, a sacred text. If that's true, how can I possibly rely on anything in your list?

I did not say monks had large groups of followers, I said emanations had large groups of followers - the distinction makes all the difference in the world. An emanation is the actual embodiment of the enlightened state. It is they who have large groups of followers who eventually attain realization.

Being skeptical of religious traditions, etc., is really an old, worn-out argument that has gone out of fashion. On the one hand, religious traditions in the past have made some mistakes and people of followed them much too naively. On the other hand, they contain the collected knowledge of the great religions of the world. What's the answer? Follow a tradition that works for you. Just because you can't find one that works for you doesn't mean they don't have value and meaning for lots of other people.

It is not the individual who determines whether they are realized or not. It is the tradition, and the realized masters, the emanations, within the tradition who recognize those who are realized.

Forgive me but I am always skeptical of claims that one tradition is in any respect better than another. Did the Buddha not teach that we should "be a light unto ourselves"? How does one determine if some Tibetan monks routinely have large numbers of enlightened followers or not without simply accepting the monks word on it? Perhaps they do, I don't know, but how would one ever determine if someone else had reached enlightenment unless you had reached that stage yourself? When one goes around claiming that he/she is enlightened or claims that others are so, then I tend to be even more skeptical since most respected Buddhist teachers of all traditions seldom, if ever, make such claims.

I respect your opinion, but I would offer this as food for thought:

Do not go by revelation;

Do not go by tradition;

Do not go by hearsay;

Do not go on the authority of sacred texts;

Do not go on the grounds of pure logic;

Do not go by a view that seems rational;

Do not go by reflecting on mere appearances;

Do not go along with a considered view because you agree with it;

Do not go along on the grounds that the person is competent;

Do not go along because "the recluse is our teacher."

Kalamas, when you yourselves know: These things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy; these things are censured by the wise; and when undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill, abandon them...

Kalamas, when you know for yourselves: These are wholesome; these things are not blameworthy; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness, having undertaken them, abide in them.

Kalama Sutta - Angutarra Nikaya 3.65

Italics added by me.

You raise an interesting point but I'm sticking to my conclusion. It is not the individual who determines whether they are realized or not. It is the tradition, and the realized masters, the emanations, within the tradition who recognize those who are realized. In Tibet, a single master might have 50, 100, 500, or more students who eventually became enlightened or achieved realization. There are no similar groups of westerners like this; if there were, it would be well known and publicized. In any case, I for one, don't buy your premise that no one else can know or that only the individual can say. Part of the path in gaining wisdom is being able to correctly identify those who are beneficial for traversing the path and those who have a negative effect. In other words, the path teaches how to develop wisdom to discern what to accept and what to reject.

I'm wondering what Thai's usually think about or ask when they are praying? Does anyone know?

Police and politicians running gambling halls and drug dens? I can't imagine why Thai society is in the ditch...

Rituals are forms, also known as skillful means, that have arisen from the enlightened state. The rituals are transmitted to/from the minds of realized beings and then passed to the human realm (and other realms). These forms, or rituals, when practiced in the proper manner and with the proper attitude, communicate and transmit aspects of the enlightened mind directly to the mind of the participant. Generally though, for rituals to be effective requires participants to adopt fairly conservative and introspective lifestyles and attitudes. That is, take vows and commit to rigorous ethical behavior for a long time. I think this is why westerners have a hard time with rituals - they can't handle the prerequisite lifestyle changes, and also because the Christian West doesn't accept Buddhist ritual per se, including those who claim to be Buddhists. It's also why the success rate for achieving realization is so low for westerners.

You are forgetting the importance of rituals.

Offering food and chanting are ritual acts. Many westerners, myself included, generally downplay the role and benefits of ritual in Buddhism.

Please expand. Thanks

Er...uh, they just found them. Patience.

Shouldn't a discovery of bodies of this number (and this recent - allegedly) get the attention of international media? Where are they?

Instead all we've got is local articles with Thailand's finest already pointing fingers.

Another stink. Start getting your exit visas sorted out.

It may well be as you say, that this is one common way of disposing of unclaimed bodies. But to me, it smacks of a deeper, more hideous scandal than red shirts being killed by the government and then the bodies hidden. The deeper scandal is that it involves the temples and monks. Truly, the monks and wats were involved in this crime, if that's what it turns up to be. To put it mildly, if such is the case, it leaves MUCH to be desired of Thai Buddhism.

Please tell me there is some requirement for hospitals or morgues and other governmental agencies to "sign off" on such "disposals". Please tell me that the wats and monks have some protocol for assuring everything is proper regarding disposal of bodies. Please tell me it takes much, much more than two people simply showing up with 169 bodies for disposal.

If this is a common method for disposing of unclaimed bodies, it cries out for massive reform and regulation. What your saying is that the Thai legal system and government provides a bonafide method for disposing of bodies. Any idiot, criminal, or corrupt Army politician in Thailand can see, as plainly as the nose on everyone face, that this provides final step in the process of acting and killing political enemies with impunity.

As other posters have said, making DNA matches will be a fairly straight-forward matter through the families.

If this turns out to be red shirts, it is a crime against humanity, which is a violation of international law.

Two men brought in 169 bodies ... and no one asked any questions?

According to the temples' abbots, the bodies had been brought in by two men from a local charity organisation who told them that the corpses had not been claimed and there were no legal cases related to their deaths

Believe it or not, this is how unclaimed bodys are dealt with. Every so often, the hospital mortuaries clean out their unclaimed bodies. It is not uncommon to have a large transfer. The Phor Tek Tunk in Bangkok set a record when it undertook a mass cremation of 21,000 unclaimed bodies to ease the crowding at its Bangkok cemetary. I think they were burning something like 300 bodies a day. In many cases, bodies are buried in a mass grave as a temporary measure until space or the numbers warrant a big batch shipment. Approx. 500 unclaimed bodies from the tsunami were mass buried 2 years after the event.

It is quite believable that the disposal of 169 bodies would not have raised eyebrows. The fees paid for the facilities most probably helped as well. What can a Temple do when what appear to be legitimate people say, hello we need to deal with our bi annual or quarterly unclaimed bodies. I wouldn't be surprised if the delivery boys didn't claim to be "official" .

I don't want to harp on this endlessly but the fact is that changes in service now could help the Airport line today.

The Airport Link line is really a local commuter line that over 90% of riders are local commuters and less than 10% are going to the airport. SRT managers need to acknowledge this and make appropriate service changes which will have little or no financial impact.

I've been told by station agents that they don't have enough trains to help alleviate the over-crowding on trains or to run trains more often. I was told they don't use the Express trains for this because the seats are different. I think this is nonsense and passengers waiting 15-20 minutes for a train at 9pm would be happy to use the Express cars if pressed into service for this. But SRT won't do this and continues to run empty Express trains while local travelers stand, wait, and watch as empty Express trains come and go.

Case in point. This week at 8:45 pm I arrived at Makkasan station on my way home. I had an 18 minute wait for the next train - that is a outrageous amount of time to wait for a train on a commuter line.

While I and many others waited, two completely empty Express trains passed through the station going in the same direction. When the "right" train arrived, it was packed full! It was past 9pm and we were crowding into a crowded car just to go home. I only travelled one stop and at that stop, over 60 people got off (I counted them). They were not going to the airport, they were all going home but had to wait and then ride a crowded train.

This is a service issue that could be corrected immediately if SRT would change its mindset about the Express Line.

The Airport Link line is really a local commuter line that over 90% of riders are local commuters and less than 10% are going to the airport. SRT needs to acknowledge this and make the needed service changes.

It's easy to say that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama has been a great inspiration, as he has for millions of people.

On a more personal level regarding those I've had direct contact with, Tarthang Tulku, Ripoche, a Nyingmapa master living in California. He undertook preserving and collecting the Tibetan versions of dharma texts that were scattered by the Chinese invasion. He reprinted many and has distributed over three million Buddhist text at Bodh Gaya India in the last 30 years.

Another is Gyaltrul Rinpoche, also in California, who teaches a small group of students the foundational practices of Tibetan Buddhism, and also some advanced practices for a few students. Many of his students are quite proficient at a wide variety of somewhat complex Tibetan rituals and ceremonies.

Two design issues for the walkway are 1) outbound trains are on the north side of the tracks, so how does the walkway provide access across the tracks (from below, somehow, I guess).

Second, the MRT has a relatively small footprint on which to site the terminus of the walkway. This is complicated by the train tunnels below ground. Together, these make it nearly impossible to construct a walkway that delivers rider directly to the MRT station entrance within existing the station footprint.

It does seem, looking at the various reports, that the ARL as an entity is pretty much broke and cash-strapped, and seemingly surviving at present only on the larger financial position of its parent SRT.

They're apparently having to cannibalize their spare rail cars for spare parts..... And there was a reference to the ARL asking for something like a 2 billion baht operating budget, but only getting 200 or so million approved by SRT, and the article saying they'd have to find the remainder from other sources.... Of course, no elaboration or explanation of how/where those might be produced.

It does indeed make one wonder if they don't have the cash to buy sufficient spare parts needed for their rail cars, how/where are they going to get the funds to build elevated station walkways and various other of their supposed forthcoming project facility improvements.

As for the supposed walkway, I was trying to figure out just how far 130 meters in distance would get one from the Makkasan station. Surely the distance to Petchaburi MRT is longer than that.... But I'm bad with meters... Maybe someone with more time on the ground out at Makkasan can venture just how far 130 meters would reach.

Yes, this is "Thai speak" or "bureaucrat speak" for what they wish/hope will be done some day. I, too, have no idea what he's referring to regarding any "link" to BTS since Phaya Thai is the only point at which the two lines intersect. In any case, the statement is misleading with regard to what is actually happening on the ground at Makkasan now.

It is also quite obvious to anyone using Makkasan regularly that there is no walkway being built there, nor any prep work being done. I personally feel that such a walkway is not feasible or cost effective. It is of course possible to build a walkway that is completely out of context and ill-suited to the remaining area of the site, and completely cost INeffective, which may be what is planned: stick a walkway in somewhere, anywhere. This would be consistent with my sense that planning for pedestrians and riders, ie, walking access to the station, was a very low priority (or missed completely) in planning the project.

A walkway will need to span over the train tracks and I don't see where the walkway would be sited on the MRT station side of the railroad tracks.

Since Thai government and society don't function like the US, I don't know what recourse Thais have regarding the need for an additional 80 million baht expenditure (the purported walkway) for a station that is barely one year old. In other countries, this would amount to a scandal.

I'm skeptical of his 2,000 daily rider figure for the Airport Express line, which pencils out to 60,000 riders a month. I've seen those trains and they are nearly always completely empty so I'm really skeptical.

Interestingly, of the total monthly ridership, assuming 60,000 are going to/from the airport, then 938,000, nearly 85%, use the line for purposes other than going to/from the airport. This simply proves that the line is really a local commuter line. Service and schedules should accommodate commuters and locals, and less so for tourists.

SRT denies closure of Airport Rail Link

The State Railway of Thailand board yesterday denied a rumour it will soon close down the Airport Rail Link system over liquidity problems and a shortage of spare parts.

Supoj Saplom, the transport permanent secretary and chairman of the SRT board, dismissed as untrue a rumour that has been circulating that the liquidity problems and spare parts shortage would force the Airport Rail Link system, which connects inner Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi airport, to cease operations in a few months.

Mr Supoj said the number of passengers had been increasing. The Airport Rail Link is also not suffering any liquidity crunch because it shares its financial accounts with the SRT which ensures that it has sufficient cash flows, Mr Supoj said. He also denied that many Airport Rail Link employees were resigning. He said the employees viewed their jobs as being secure.

According to Mr Supoj, the increase in passenger numbers on the link recently has been a direct result of the company's decision to slash the fare for the system's Express Line from 150 baht to 90 baht per trip. The number of passengers on the Express Line has increased from 300 a day to around 2,000 a day. "For this reason, it is impossible for us to cease our services. We are also in the middle of constructing the link between the system and the BTS skytrain, as well as the subway system at Phetchaburi station," he said.

(I'd sure like to know what specifically he's talking about above...)

Suchatvee Suwansawat, the dean of the Engineering Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a director of the SRT Electric Train Co which runs the Airport Rail Link system, backed up Mr Supoj's statement. He said the number of Airport Rail Link passengers last month on both the express and ordinary services topped 998,000.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the General State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), said that the SEPO has proposed to the economic team of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition that the Airport Rail Link should be expanded to run to Pattaya City and Chon Buri. Such an expansion could help the system attract more domestic and international tourists between Bangkok and the resort city. The SEPO has also recommended that the Airport Rail Link should be connected to the old Don Mueang international airport as well, Mr Somchai said.

http://www.bangkokai...n.com/news.html

Yes, this is "Thai speak" or "bureaucrat speak" for what they wish/hope will be done some day. I, too, have no idea what he's referring to regarding any "link" to BTS since Phaya Thai is the only point at which the two lines intersect. In any case, the statement is misleading with regard to what is actually happening on the ground at Makkasan now.

It is also quite obvious to anyone using Makkasan regularly that there is no walkway being built there, nor any prep work being done. I personally feel that such a walkway is not feasible or cost effective. It is of course possible to build a walkway that is completely out of context and ill-suited to the remaining area of the site, and completely cost INeffective, which may be what is planned: stick a walkway in somewhere, anywhere. This would be consistent with my sense that planning for pedestrians and riders, ie, walking access to the station, was a very low priority (or missed completely) in planning the project.

A walkway will need to span over the train tracks and I don't see where the walkway would be sited on the MRT station side of the railroad tracks.

Since Thai government and society don't function like the US, I don't know what recourse Thais have regarding the need for an additional 80 million baht expenditure (the purported walkway) for a station that is barely one year old. In other countries, this would amount to a scandal.

I'm skeptical of his 2,000 daily rider figure for the Airport Express line, which pencils out to 60,000 riders a month. I've seen those trains and they are nearly always completely empty so I'm really skeptical.

Interestingly, of the total monthly ridership, assuming 60,000 are going to/from the airport, then 938,000, nearly 85%, use the line for purposes other than going to/from the airport. This simply proves that the line is really a local commuter line. Service and schedules should accommodate commuters and locals, and less so for tourists.

SRT denies closure of Airport Rail Link

The State Railway of Thailand board yesterday denied a rumour it will soon close down the Airport Rail Link system over liquidity problems and a shortage of spare parts.

Supoj Saplom, the transport permanent secretary and chairman of the SRT board, dismissed as untrue a rumour that has been circulating that the liquidity problems and spare parts shortage would force the Airport Rail Link system, which connects inner Bangkok with Suvarnabhumi airport, to cease operations in a few months.

Mr Supoj said the number of passengers had been increasing. The Airport Rail Link is also not suffering any liquidity crunch because it shares its financial accounts with the SRT which ensures that it has sufficient cash flows, Mr Supoj said. He also denied that many Airport Rail Link employees were resigning. He said the employees viewed their jobs as being secure.

According to Mr Supoj, the increase in passenger numbers on the link recently has been a direct result of the company's decision to slash the fare for the system's Express Line from 150 baht to 90 baht per trip. The number of passengers on the Express Line has increased from 300 a day to around 2,000 a day. "For this reason, it is impossible for us to cease our services. We are also in the middle of constructing the link between the system and the BTS skytrain, as well as the subway system at Phetchaburi station," he said.

(I'd sure like to know what specifically he's talking about above...)

Suchatvee Suwansawat, the dean of the Engineering Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and a director of the SRT Electric Train Co which runs the Airport Rail Link system, backed up Mr Supoj's statement. He said the number of Airport Rail Link passengers last month on both the express and ordinary services topped 998,000.

Meanwhile, Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the General State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), said that the SEPO has proposed to the economic team of the Pheu Thai Party-led coalition that the Airport Rail Link should be expanded to run to Pattaya City and Chon Buri. Such an expansion could help the system attract more domestic and international tourists between Bangkok and the resort city. The SEPO has also recommended that the Airport Rail Link should be connected to the old Don Mueang international airport as well, Mr Somchai said.

http://www.bangkokai...n.com/news.html

Thailand wishes it had America's problems. Since we are flaming now, what would happen to Thailand's economy if all the prostitutes left? Yeah, that's a sound financial foundation...

I think you have proved another reason why Thailand will never be an economic powerhouse...."creative thinking, ingenuity, problem solving skills"....will never be a strong suit here.

Then how can you explain...that most socalled rich western (english speaking country), with advancement in education system currently are going bankrupt one by one? But thailand is still standing tall.

And ...just imagine if thailand is a true economic powerhouse, would many farangs be able to indulge themselve here?.....with cheap women and psudo jet-set millionair lifestyle per se

with the poor educational system and culture of never questioning authority.

Oh i guess you haven't heard through the grapewine,...that infact the certain authority has been questioning themselves of late, that's why 2 years ago the government has just declared that the English will be the second official language of Thailand from now on. So at the moment they're trying to improve the education system bit by bit. Give it sometime, things will not change over night, as long as it's moving in the right direction, however it may be slow, I'm quite content with it for now.

Agreed. Thailand and Thai language are very, very small fish in a huge English-speaking ocean that is expanding day-by-day. Any delay just delays Thailand's inevitable progress.

To most Thais Thailand is the world...they feel they will never interact much with other countries, especially western countries. So, why learn English? Besides none of the Thai soap operas are in English.

Here here!!!! Completely agree, and this is the fundamental problem!!! Thai's have an ethnocentric view of the world, and that is the fundamental problem.

That is accurate. Insulation from the outside world is one of many symptoms. I would offer that even the US, like any country, has various classes and I've seen my fair share of well educated folks who can't write but they darn sure hang that diploma on the wall. It's the accepted hall pass in our society. Always felt it was more about finishing something you've started rather than actually learning or coming away "educated".

Reading all these posts, many base line and contributing factors have been identified. As one said, keeping the majority of the population with their faces to the mud and backs to the sky supports a major internal and export industry in Thailand. Why would educated government types want to encourage educated farmers? Overwhelming demand is agriculture and until that changes, working to improve the unwashed masses is counter productive to business. What would it be changed to anyway? Agriculture is a perpetual, sustainable thing. Manufactering and technology goes with whims and economies. After it's over or the bubble bursts, you have a million folks who, after 20 years, forgot how to farm and turning it backward is hard. Look at the US. Even for all our economic woes, we "educated superior" ones still can't bring ourselves to pick our own vegatables. Farming is too "lo so"? We have waiters and bartenders with Master's Degrees.

Agree with others - learning usable English is also a by-product of needing to work and make money and in Thailand, the easy route for some without a great education is in tourist areas. From bargirls to mid-range shops/retail, the more the business line demands English interaction, the more the person will be forced to it by circumstance, not by latent motiviation to learn and improve themselves. It's about money. Neccessity is the mother of all invention and in this case, applies to human motivation to survive. Language ability is the great equalizer, moreso than a fancy degree or Grade A English on the school transcript.

Last, agree with the person who wrote about having an English A on CV or transcript is an accomplisment one assumes, because they were told all those years growing up, that's what you needed to succeed. My wife's nephew is a super star in school. Top 5 in the class, terribly bright, it's scary, but I can't get very far past hi how are you when I speak with him. He'll be in University in 2 years time and may as well come away with shiny gold stars for English on his transcript, but without exposure, or motiviation, it is simply about doing well in school, not about actual, usable skills. Language takes time and lots of exposure, and continued use, to be a usable thus valuable skill set.