deecee10

Mad Maxine rides again!

Heading for The Thunderdome.

Police fleeing the scene.... just when you thought you'd heard it all.

It beggars belief.

Who were they fleeing from?

Themselves?

Not to worry.

As the trawl nets pick up the fish, the oil will escape through the holes in the net; leaving the fish behind nice and clean.

Not to worry.

As the trawl nets pick up the fish, the oil will escape through the holes in the net; leaving the fish behind nice and clean.

Things are definitely getting worse on Phuket but as long as tourists keep coming then I can't see much changing.

Phuket might well suffer through not having many repeat tourists but there appears to be plenty of first-timers from Eastern Europe, China, India etc.

It was so predictable that the authorities would understate the problem.

However it's hard to sweep an oil slick under the carpet.

Some terrible looking images.

Don't think the authorities have any idea how serious this is for the environment as well as for their beloved tourist income.

Marine life will take years to recover.

In addition the slick is not going to just sit there and wait to be cleaned up. It's going to spread to other areas.

This is hardly the way to attract 'high end' tourists or any other kind for that matter. Tourism will be set back several months at least.

There's no way of talking down this disaster.

I'll only whisper this because my moral code tells me that this guy was out of order. But I can see why he will get plenty of respect from guys who have been in his situation and not had the bottle to do anything about it.

Even this government is going to have trouble sweeping all this oil under the carpet.

The moral corruption of this government knows no bounds.

"Substandard materials" are in fact the standard materials in Thailand.

Shed no crocodile tears for this clown.

Anti-coup law.

"If it is placed before Parliament for deliberation and sails through, the government will no longer have to worry about the possibility of a sudden military-led power seizure."

That's a relief.

It's not as if there are any law-breakers in Thailand.

why isn't it going to Karon/Kata resort area or have they forgotten they get

one or two tourists wanting to get to their hotels there?

Have you never heard of 'no go zones'?

Never trust a guy with a Louis Vuitton bag!

Does having a fake Louis Vuitton bag count?

Thais have usually only ever experienced situations in Thailand and are not shocked by what happens on the roads.

They think that what passes for road safety is the norm.

Western standards of vehicle maintenance, driver education and road safety responsibilty mean nothing to them.

That's why these comments by the Transport Minister will have no impact (perhaps not the best choice of word) at all.

A strange story with perhaps a few pieces of the jigsaw missing.

It's his life and I guess he can do what he wants with it.

Reminds me of stories of people being influenced by quasi-religious sects and just leaving their past behind.

It's been tough on his parents regardless.

Hopefully they will not go through any more torture.

Someone will be blamed eg. in this case, the truck driver and that will be that - human error.

In a wider context, minimal attention will be given to the condition of the roads, the roadworthiness of vehicles, the skill level and attitude of the drivers etc.

I am rather sceptical that anything much at all will be done about this road carnage.

Reports by Western media might put a few tourists off Thailand or at least make them more aware of the risks, but sadly nothing will happen to change much.

Someone will be blamed eg. in this case, the truck driver and that will be that - human error.

In a wider context minimal attention will be given to the condition of the roads, the roadworthiness of vehicles, the skill level and attitude of the drivers etc.

Thailands answer to "The Fast and The Furious", except this isn't a film.

Can't keep up with all these hubs.

My head is spinning.

actually if you look at that hotel groups website it looks pretty nice...but...of course everyone knows that there are a zillion hotels all over the world who post pictures and descriptions that make them appear to be something they are not in reality....

part of being a reputable tour operator whether Chinese or anywhere else is that you have staff or a reliable ground operator that personally inspects hotels prior to taking groups there....

going by the four star/five star etc is very shaky....five stars according to WHO? or is it WHOM?

I agree. Where the ratings come from is important.

Self assessed ratings can't be trusted.

By the way it's 'WHOM' as the word follows the preposition 'TO'. I tell you this in confidence because not many people know (or care).

Yingluck is clearly an obvious role model.

She accurately reflects the ethical and moral state of Thailand.