fw1

Does anyone know if anywhere plays decent hard house/ hard trance/techno late at night?

By this I don't mean Lucifers, Nana Disco, Marine and the likes, I mean the kind of stuff is difficult to buy and doesn't make it onto Top of The Pops like that 'castles in the sky' rubbish. They seem to put it on in Lucifers everytime I go in there.

After living in BKK for a few years I have given up searching. If anyone could help, I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Subway is the best in my opinion. I usually have 2 vegi delights at a time when I go...so good that they even make my vomit taste nice.

Absolutely agreed.

So what are they saying is the reason for closing these bars early, or are they giving one? From what I remember, the reason they were going to do the same thing in Bangkok was to crack down on prostitution. If that is the intention in Hua Hin then closing the bars down early isn't so bad right? Unless of course you want it to become another Pattaya. I know that those of us who go there as an alternative to Pattaya would be disappointed if that happened. Whether or not closing down bars early does help reduce it is, of course, another matter.

You can't blame the authorities for trying though.

No you're not wrong.

We should also clarify that wearing a condom is obviously a safer option...I assumed it goes without saying.

I think the problem the problem with HIV generally is that there are too many people that don't know enough about it.

You won't be thrown out for testing positive and you shouldn't let that stop you from taking it either. It's very, very unlikely that you will have contracted anything, and you will certainly know in time if you have. Though HIV can be carried for years without visible symptoms, this is usually not the case. It is much harder for men to contract the diesease than women, and even having unprotected sex with infected females is still not a massive risk. I know people that have lived in Thailand for up to 20 years and have slept with over a thousand women and they are fine, I also know 2 people that have slept with women (both Pattaya girls, one worked on Soi 8 in The Lipstick Bar can't remember where the other one worked) who have gone on to die of HIV. One of them is fine, and we think the other is, though he is too shit scared to go and take a test. You are only likely to catch it if a) you have a cut on your penis, or develop one during intercourse vaginal juice enters the penis eye and seeps into the uretha (urinating within 24 hours absolves this), 3) you swallow a lot of her vaginal juice during oral sex; bearing in mind that the enzymes in your saliva will normally neutralize any virus, this third possible form of contraction is extremely rare.

You also need to look into the type of test being offered. You probably know that there are different types of HIV tests going, offering different success rates. You probably also know that the way they detect the virus is by counting antibodies in your bloodstream. Bearing in mind that your body will produce antibodies for the flu, you need to make sure that you are in good health when you go, and not recovering from anything, as this will affect your count and make the results harder to interpret.

It sounds like you are one of many (myself included) who have been to/lived in S.E.Asia, played around and are a bit concerned about it. Having taken the test three times myself I wouldn't hesitate to take it if I were you. It's very unlikely that you'll have anything, and when you get the results you'll be able to put your mind at rest, feeling a lot better. There are, of course, some good sites on the web about HIV, and they can be easily found using Google.

Phuket Air remind me of RAM (Royal Air Morrocan): whenever I see their planes stationed on the ground, they've always got dents in them.

If, like Captain Chaos says, you are flying on a 747-200 then you are flying on an old craft (late 70's I think).

I don't but have seen tickets sold by them on www.ebookers.com , and I have seen their planes at Heathrow. From what I can make out run in concordance with BA and/or Thai Airways.

They look a bit shoddy to me, you may be flying on an old 737 with no in-flight entertainment, but in truth I'm only guessing.

Does anyone play or meet regularly to play Cribbage in Bangkok? I've played on the net for years, and after thousands of games on it, I'd like some human opposition for a change.

Won't be around until the end of the month though.

The Bangkok Chess Club meets on Thanon Silom at the Irish Pub below the BTS Station. There are some good players there, going all the way up to FM and IM level. I used to play for Luton and Bedfordshire myself. I too was an admirer of Rubinstein but more so Nimzowitch. I'm a bit rusty but can still play the French Defense pretty well.

I'd say learning Thai is slightly easier than learning the violin. With years of practice and dedication, you'll get there.

I'm inclined to agree with Loong Dave and Flummoxed, among others. Having first come to Thailand over four years ago, I have also been flummoxed by the constant stream of foriegners entering thailand, and thinking that they can do whatever they want. A lot of people seem to equate Thailand with freedom and the finding of it, thinking that they can then do whatever they want, forgetting that, like all countries, Thailand -like we know- has laws too. If you break them, you run the risk of being caught. If you punch a policeman (or ex-policeman) in the face, you run the risk of him getting his own back, as you would in any country (not a good idea in a country where the police carry guns). If you are caught smuggling drugs, you run the risk of imprisonment, same as you would anywhere else.

Personally, I blame all those crappy films like The Beach for putting into people's heads that they can do whatever they want here. Though ultimately the responsibility lies with the individuals themselves. Had either of them read The Damage Done, I'm sure they would have had second thoughts.

Like others, I have no sympathy for them.

I've always gone for the buses leaving Mo Chit. You get straight onto the Super Highway, so there's no need to be slowed down by the endless Sukhumvit traffic, and the 3-hourly motorway bus (97Baht) is by far the fastest. It goes along highway 3 and I've used it about a dozen times, it usually takes 1h 45mins, though sometimes longer, depending, of course, on the day&time.

I wondered if anyone could tell me where exactly on Queen's Gate the Thai Embassy is. Does anyone know what the nearest tube station to it is?

Also, I need to go there next week to apply for a visa. According to their website, they only process claims in the morning. Can anyone confirm? If this is true I will need to book a day off work.

Cheers

This is great guys. It's always good to know that there's always someone with a more voracious appetite for learning Thai than yourself. Just one very quick, very last question: what is holiday pay in Thai?

For example 'My company owes me some holiday pay'.

Thanks

I'm curious to know if anyone has flown long-haul with Eva Air to Bangkok. I'm considering doing it next month, as the idea of bigger seats in the Evergreen class (enhanced economy) is appealing to someone such as myself, who is just on 6ft and has a pair of knobbly knees that often jar uncomfortably on seat infront.

I'd be particularly interested to hear from other tallish, knobbly-kneed fellows if they have had such problems flying with Eva.

Cheers

Thanks guys. I'm going to start a new post, solely concerning Eva Air.

Yes the scouser, always worth remembering. What you are refering to is a false friend, which French has more of than all other languages (owing to the fact that so many of our words come from French and in turn, of course, Latin). Several of my students are French and find this more interesting than me. I suppose this is one thing that we learners of thai don't suffer from, though we do of course -as you've rightly pointed out- suffer from many other forms of language indifference. Most dictionaries will tell you that the Thai for rely or depend is cheu-a {I can't type in Thai on this computer}or believe, which of course doesn't hold in our language; I depend on you isn't the same as I believe in you, in English'.

I tend to suffer from using poor dictionaries; something which, admittedly, I should do something about.

I'd like to add though, "I like watching the rugby because it sexually arouses me." that's a great essay title.

Without knowing much about it, I'd have to agree with the guys before. That sounds well dodgy to me. I would look into it as much as possible getting e-mail addresses of several current teachers.

Ask them, then you'll know first-hand whether you are being lead up the garden path or not.

Thanks guys, this clarifies things greatly.

Just a question to Mike100. You said that you flew with Eva. How were they generally? They offer Enhanced Economy right? Is that so different to regular Economy? Being a bit larger than the average fellow, I would certainly appreciate the extra space.

Thanks

Thanks gents, this certainly helps make more sense of the document I am currently grapling with. Just some quick questions about vocab, which my dictionary/phrasebuilder also seems to fail with.

In Thai does anyone know what the following are?

1. costs/overheads

2. to run at a loss

And lastly, 'to pull your business out of a country/market'

Only sensible replies please.

thanks once again (snowleopard especially).

Hi Dr. Pat Pong, can I just check that you are speaking from experience and have entered Thailand before this way? I was planning on obtaining the 60-day visa, with the pretence of travelling through Thailand. And if it stops a problem from occuring then I will definately do so.

Thanks

Could anyone tell me how 'to be made redundant' said in Thai. How would a person say 'I was made redundant last month', for example?

I'd be grateful if the phrase and sentence could be written in Thai as it would be far easier for me to read that way rather than a transliteration.

Lastly, an informal rather than a formal expression is also a preference.

Thanks

I think you'd do very well to find one for that price. The nearest to that I know of is the Asia Airport Hotel, which is around 1200 a night. If the short taxi journey is a must, that may be your best bet.

Hi, just a quick question.

Has anyone ever had check-in problems with a one-way ticket and no visa (other than a standard 30 day tourist visa)?

I'm English and will be returning to Thailand next month. I've always flown with a return ticket but don't plan to do so. I'll be flying with Thai Airways, and I'll be checking in at LHR. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had problems of any kind with such a ticket.

Cheers