Travelman868

My ex-wife was born in Samui and her family were from Baan Tai on Koh Phangan (her Mum was born on the Island) and so I speak with some experience on this matter.

Banning guns on Koh Phangan (and Samui and Tao) is a very good idea. I say this because practically every Thai (and an increasing amount of long term foreign expats) either has a shooter in their car, under the house (in a little tin box buried in the sand) or has very quick access to one via a friend.

In the case of the local (and not so local Nakon Sri Thamerat bad boys that often come and get casual bar work onthe beaches) owning a gun is usually the only option if you want to be taken seriously amongst your pikey mates.

To aggravate this further, there seems to be something inherently violent in the very nature with the island people, especially the youth, quick tempered, very easily offended and with no sense of consequence.

I noticed that many Islanders also lack any genuine compassion for foreigners and would almost seem to take a degree of pleasure in witnessing the beating or swindling tourists at the hands of the locals or other Thais. The reason the police are not (usually) effective in dealing with muggings, beatings, thefts and rapes on Koh Phangan, is that unless they can pin the crime onto an innocent Burmese or mainland character, they are too bloody scared to confront a local lad for fear of stirring up trouble from by his brothers, uncles, parents. A green cop sent to Koh Phangan is on a hardship posting and is well out of his comfort zone.

Ban guns. It will make a difference because pissed up knob heads will be more reluctant flashing them around in public shows of bravado, which is usually when an accident happens and somebody get's caught in the cross fire and gets hurt.

A well informed post Thank you.

The article says that the Police will search people attending the parties take away the guns and give them back later. That's totally mad. Why do they have these guns in the first place

What are these people looking for. All over the world muslims are killing other muslims and anyone else who gets in the way.

They cost the world economy hundreds of billion $ each year. Every airport in the world has security that but for muslims would be limited.

If they hope to convert the world to Islam they should show suuni's and Shia's can live together.

But of course that's not going to happen.

sounds positive now they know how to deal with the problem there is no exxcuse to not make it work

i like spliting the island into finacial and resident areas. makes sense ar to protect people buying land next to a black moon party

also not sure what is meant about foeigner setting up business to buy houses and land. i think it is suggested to make it easier for forangs in tourist areas. which makes sense and would save a fortune in taxes for business and trying to sell from fornag comopany to fornag company is a nightmare

people still buy these places and buy land anyway it is creates more ghost houses when they cannot be sold due to people being put off by the selling proceedure.

Not everyone is married to a Thai which means that forang couples and familys have to pay allot each month in business tax just to won a house.

Malayasia you get a free 7 year visa with your house if u buy. but not good for me as i like Thailand.

If Thailand is split up into place were forangs can and connot buy land this shall stop thai worries that forangs shall buy out thailand.

They have a system in Cyprus where land is designated for forigners. More expensive than for locals.

However for Thailand I think it is better that farangs cannot buy. If they changed the rules then a 1 million baht house would go up to 5 + million.

In the UK the copywrite of a photo belongs to the photographer. Thats the law.

I think if you put a C in a circle with the year that should do it. If facebook will not show on site it up to them

Or just stop using facebook. Someone told me facebook was worth £100 million I thought it was overpriced lol

How about canceling wifi Internet service at McDonalds, that ain't a Starbucks or an internet cafe anyway.

Could turn off the A/C too. But seriously, many of the locations compete somewhat with Starbucks and have that Mc Cafe coffee shop or whatever it is called.

McD's coffee is the most horrible brew in the world. Starbucks don't pay proper tax in the UK so don't use. Independant coffee shops for me.

The "counterfeit goods" question is a very complex one..................!

I recently sent my 20yr old, genuine, Rolex Submariner back to the UK for a routine service because the Thai Rolex service centre in Bangkok wanted about twice as much as the London centre for the same work.

I bought a fake Rolex GMT Master II in Patpong market to replace it for the 6 months it was going to take to get my genuine one back over here but I was so impressed with the quality of the construction and improvements in the design of this model that I immediately contacted a dealer in the UK and arranged a p/x of my old Submariner for a new Rolex GMT Master II - so, Rolex Sa. in Switzerland have actually made a new sale entirely due to me purchasing of a fake copy..........................!

As I said - a complex question................

I sent my Ebel back to the UK for a service and a small part the bill £595.00 Would I buy a fake, you can bet on it.

Levi jeans £5 to make they sell in the UK for £80

Things maybe cheaper in the States but the rest of the world pay lots.

In the USA and UK most loan sharks are called pay day loan companies. As some states have laws on usery they do not operate everywhere.

The UK does not have any usery laws so these companies charge between 1734 and 4000% APR based on a 30 day loan. The companies that make loans over 1 year charge 278% APR

HM Gov have allowed these companies to get established but now think they are going to do something Hmmmm maybe or maybe not.

Some of the EU countries have usery rules but not all.

The thought for the day is "how much is a fair rate of interest when the default rate in Thailand is 11%" A lender needs a rate of 110% just to cover the none payers.

Then if they are registered and have to pay tax add another 30% Then the problems of collection from the ones that pay in the end.

Not difficult to end up at 2 to 300%

Thailand and large parts of the world need to realize that money borrowed has to be paid back.

THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WANTS AND NEEDS

The system does not work very well even for Thai's. The 30 baht card only works in the area where they have registered. If you live in Chang Mai and are ill in Bangkok you are not covered properly.

On the HIV issue again the treatment does not kick in until the CD4 is 200 or below. Less than 200 means the person has full blown Aids.

Sounds just like another of those hastily typed down horror news newspapers try to reel in readers with... A good idea here for everyone participating in the discussion is to think outside the box and check what AIDS really is and how it was "designed"... People not die of aids, but because of a tempered with test that is more or less "strict" in counting particular cells in the blood mix but does absolutely NOT detect any virus as there is none. Third world and also many southeast asian countries have the tests with the lowest treshold - kicking in very early. If the text says "positive", then the doctors subscribe medicine that not prolongs life of the patient for up to ten years as they say, but actually kills them by slowly suffocating the metabolism and destroying vital organs. In the past these "nice" doctors subscribed AZT to the poor victims of the AIDS scam - AZT is a trash medication - a waste of the cancer research. It was abandoned because it kills the patient within 10 years. Open you eyes people and please please read and research in the internet about AIDS!!!

I don't want you to believe me, but do your own research on this issue. There are doctors who were in the AIDS research and who dropped it and went public to expose this construct of lies that by now killed millions using medicine that had no other use but destroying and ultimately killing the host. As I said - do your own research and hopefully wake up!

Just as food for thoughts: I know Thailand's dive scene for over 20 years now. The dive masters and instructors to 90% are all messing around in bars and other "etablissements" almost on a daily basis, often drunk and not really keen on using condoms and all. None of them I know died of AIDS, but 5 of them died in fatal road accidents and one lost his leg.

Didn't you wonder why it was so quiet for a long time about AIDS? Didn't you wonder why all of the AIDS positive people who refused medication and changed their life style to non-smoking, no drugs, no alcohol and sports were ALL negative 3 months later and survived the "deadly" disease?

I know that my email will most likely kick off an avalanche of mails flaming me for writing all this. As I said - I don't insist that what I am writing is correct and I of course urge everyone to use condoms - but I want you to stop just dreaming and sucking in everything the streamlined media says and do your own research. It is important!!!! If AIDS were what they said it was, we all would be dead by now! Wake up!!!!!

This article is just another campaign to slow Thailand down and give it a bad name. Whoever profits from this has done another great job on keeping Thailand down. Every single incident that would not be worth being mentioned in the news abroad is blown up beyond proportion if it happens in Thailand. Some of you wonder why? No? Then keep sleeping...

When people write comments like this I wonder what is their motive.

Firstly, when Thai people are diagnosed as HIV+, they are not automatically given medicine. The Thai Government instruct hospitals to wait until the CD4 is down to 200. Thai hospitals do not check the viral count unless it is paid for.

In most western countries anti virals are prescribed immediately. This has the effect of decreasing the viral load and over a period reduces the possibility of transmission. The doctors are hopeful that medicine will be giver earlier.

CATWEASLE What happens in your home country I don't know, but AZT has not been used for years. I think your comments are unhelpful, and dangerous.

A reader writes:

I went yesterday to the Phuket Provincial Hospital for a doctors visit that was only five minutes as there was nothing wrong with me.

After that I sat waiting in a special section for 30 minutes while staff made out a bill for 1,100 baht for that five minutes with the doctor. A physician valuation/management fee of 500 baht; a hospital fee costing 200 baht and an administrative fee of a further 400 baht. That is more than I pay at Bangkok Hospital Phuket or at the Phuket International Hospital.

I asked them why it was so expensive, to which I was told they had different prices for foreigners. I left with a bad feeling as I don’t expect to be ripped off by a decent hospital.

If they want to charge fees like that they should at least make us aware of it beforehand.

– Gazette reader

Thanks for that heads up....I was going to give them a try

Re the pricing for locals againts expats you will find most European countries have a similar policy...being a NZr seeking medical help in the UK is much more expensive for me than a UK citizen

If there was nothing wrong why did you go to the hospital ????

I have used several Thai hospitals and have had good treatment at fair prices. Yes, I paid more than the locals but it has never been expensive. I do believe that the main tourists cities can be very expensive so you now know the answer.

NZ man. In the UK we pay for our NHS treatment every month.

I used to buy products for my company that were made in Thailand. The US company then found that China could make the same product for 2 cents an hour less so they moved.

This is the normal practice for American companies. Then the US go on about child labour !!!!!

I grew up in the 1950's and did part time jobs from the age of 11. It was normal in those days.

Does anybody know the flight paths involving these aircrafts?

Why do you need extra shade

Another pathetic article. Don't know why some people just can't grow up.

I thought it was a well written article. Bangkok is a mess

There are lots of fights at village events, happens all the time.

I am having a hard time seeing all the negative feedback here. Or wait a second I forgot, all you ever hear is negative feedback about Thailand on this forum.

Been a while since I needed to do a visa run but if memory serves at least 50 bucks to get into any of the other countries.

Free in Thailand!!

Also Ma and Pa Kettle hop on a plane - fly to BKK then think, "hey I have a visa, lets goto Cambodia" instead of just staying in Thailand spending their money here.

The fact is this is not short sited on Thailand's part, it makes good sense, they are the regional tourist destination and where most people start, they get more tourist then all the others combined. If they make it really easy for you to cross the border - you will.

Remember we are talking about tourists here, not Non-O or semi-residents, they are in the region for a week tro a month and gone.

Now if they wanted to take that to the next level. Charge people a couple hundred bucks to renew their visa in country, rather then having to leave. They would make a ton of cash there and semi-residents wouldn't be spending money on hotels, etc. in neighboring countries that could be spent on Thai soil.

I agree, it's a nonsense that we have to travel out of the country every 90 days. I live close to Laos but it still costs $50 to $60 each trip.

Why can't they give a stamp in the Immigration office and charge $40

I've not bought a car in Thailand but have bought 2 scooters. Both the dealers were fine until the money was paid then the service stopped.

I think because Thai's do not replace their cars or scooters very often, the dealers are not bothered about after sales service

I think the biggest problem is YaBa is relatively cheap. I'm told the street price is around 250 baht per tablet.

Nobody without a full bike licence should be able to hire any bike over 125cc.

The boy does not deny he had 2.47 gm of YaBa, this equats to about 8 tablets so he was proberbly selling. If he was using as well he may have been violent when arrested.

The only prominent marks are from the handcuffs, either that or he heals quick.

While I do not agree with the police roughing up these boys we do not know the full circumstances of the arrest.

YaBa is proberbly the most distructiive drug, it's cheap and available everywhere.

I wonder how much the Uncle paid for his release???

Prices in the USA have always been cheaper than most other countries. Same with Gas (petrol)

Most western countries now tax vehicles on their CO2 emissions and Thailand could do the same. However they do have a problem with older vehicles. We have all followed vehicles belching out smoke, what would they do about these.

In western countries they woulld be taken off the road but its not so easy in Thailand.

There are roped off areas at Jontiem. No Jet Skis or boats allowed

Why pick one of the most expensive places in Thailand to live??

I would always rent, outside the cities there are always properties available for between 4,000 and 8,000 baht per month.

Keep 50k in the bank, interest will give you about 5000baht per month. £600 a month = 29000baht

Total income about 34000 per month.

If you eat local food in village cost will be about 9000 per month.

1 or 2 Scooters? Basic scooter cost around 50K if you buy secondhand you will only get 30/30 warrenty, thats 30 feet or 30 minutes.

Electric, gas and water 1500baht a month unless you use Air then add 1000baht a month.

So it can be done on your income but basic living.

Downside you will not get a full UK pension.

I suspect it could be something to do with money lending. These loan sharks don't mess around and like to set an example from time to time.

Was this a dog show? Do the judges all have seeing-eye dogs? Even the photo creates enough doubt for me, and when in doubt, leave it out.

Toon? Isn't there a song about Newcastle.....................

Bigoted fool.

I think the world is going Mad. There are so many conflicts in so many different countries.

The USA need to settle down and stop interfering in places like Syria and the Muslims need to understand, there is

a limit to the patience of people putting up with suicide bombers.