IMA_FARANG

Whitch types of pumpkin and squash can I buy in Thailand?

I realy love butternut squash, is it possible to get it in Chiang Mai?

I've seen butternut squash or even small acorn squash occasionally in markets catering to foriegners in Bangkok. It's not what I would call popular in Thailand. That's a shame, because baked squash is good tasting and healthy. It could easily be baked in a oven, or even a toster oven (for small squash). I like to bake pieces of squash in the oven on a flat metal cookie baking sheet with just a little brown sugar sprinkled on the squash pieces for sweetness. The sugar melts and gives the squash a nice glase.

About 2 years ago my Thai girlfriend ordered a dish that I had never seen before at a Thai restaurant in Bangkok. It turned out to be a vegatable soup with stewed pieces of young (green) Pumpkin in it. It was very good. I was told it is a Thai staple, but not that common any longer as it is considered "old-fashioned" and "up-country food". So pumpkin must be available in Thailand if you look for it.

Regarding comments on taking a female to the movies:

Being:

1. male

2. in my 60's

3. attached to one female partner for many years

My comment on taking a pretty young woman to a movie is this:

Which would be better...to have her paying attention to you and asking questions to you all the time; or having her sit there for the whole movie and never even looking at you?

But maybe I'm just dense?

First time I encountered a squatter was in the public (staff ?) washroom of a hotel. I was trying to get back to my room (7th floor) in a hurry. Asked the desk clerk if there was a nearby toilet and she pointed down the hall from the elevators.

Had the pants ready to drop before I even got the cubicle door open, only to be greeted by this little porcelain thing on the floor. <deleted> I says to myself, did the toilet sink into the floor ?

No time to contemplate any further. I saw the marks for the feet, but I just couldn't balance, especially with my denims around my ankles. Desperate times call for desperate measures. The raised edges looked pretty clean, a step forward and "plunk", sat right on the bloody thing. Fortunately they did have paper in the dispenser.

My first train trip in Thailand was also a bit of an experience. A squatter in a train that's rocking along, with a sign on the wall "Please don't make dirty in station" (as the toilet emptied directly onto the train tracks)

I learned the hard way to always carry TP or tissues with me, especially when travelling outside the city. My latest "soon-to-be-ex" (Petchabun bred and raised) also carries a supply with her.

In the M.E. people also do the squat/left hand routine. It is (in many places) considered impolite to offer anything to another person using your left hand (for obvious reasons).

I don't know, but I can't see how dribbling some water on my fingers and rubbing them together is going to clean them that well. The "bum gun" ? Well, the ones I have would work much better at putting out fires. I can barely use them when cleaning the hong nam, for fear of damaging the fixtures !

Squatting on Sitters. We've been having a lot of problems with that here lately. The company that has the contract to supply and service the portable toilets, as well as cleaning the ablution (fixed) washrooms, put up signs similar to what have been posted elsewhere in this thread (no squatting on the sitters basically). In addition to the broken seats, some people tend to squat a little too far to the rear, and refuse to clean up their mistake afterwards.

I would like to point out though, that if squatters are so great, why are they becoming a disappearing breed, and sitters becoming more common everywhere ?

Surely it should be the other way around ?

My first train trip in Thailand was also a bit of an experience. A squatter in a train that's rocking along, with a sign on the wall "Please don't make dirty in station" (as the toilet emptied directly onto the train tracks)

Oh yes....reminds me of quite a few years back and my visa runs to Penang. Are there still any of those old trains still running?

I always wondered about those small towns the train went through before it hit Malaysia. Had houses within a foot or two of the railroad. Must have been quite a smelly place to live.

By the way....in the house I had refunished for my Thai family....everyone wanted the sitters versus the squatters. Guess they've been westernised over the years. "Bum Guns" are still there though...that has never been abandoned. And the plastic basket of toliet paper to be burned later, emptied daily.

I think expats...those who live in Thailand as well as other countries...must be self-oriented personalities. Those that need a "society" that gives them a cultural "safety net" to live in may tend to have problems. If your view of the world is that of groups to join, you may not be happy unless you can't be a member of a local "group' to identify with. If you have to be an American, or a Brit, or a Scot, (or whatever)....you may feel uneasy living as an expat....because you can't identify a "home group" for yourself to join. If you are a person who doesn't feel the need to join a group, but would rather be your own individual person, then Thailand or any other country is all the same to you. If you learn to accept people you meet as individuals, not part of a "group", (either Thai, Farang, or some other group) then you can live and enjoy your time in Thailand or any other country.

In my 45+ years since I left my home in the U.S., I have lived and worked in countries from Denmark, to Puerto Rico, to Saudi Arabia, to Vietnam, to Thailand, to Turkey and Greece. I can honestly say I had friends in all those countries. Of course, there were those people that I didn't like, and those who didn't like me. in all those countries. But I never paid too much attention to that...because I am really emotionally centered in my own world...which includes my friends. my family, and those I care for.

Whether that is "well adjusted" or not is something that doesn't bother me. It's just the way I live.

Beware of making bookings with British Airways. There are a whole host of strikes and grief ahead and they might well go bust in the next few months.

See Link Below from Daily Mail June 16th 2009

British Airways: A Warning!

Typical over-reaction by the British tabloid press.

In fact, British Airlines is having problems, as are most airlines, with declining revenues...especially on the higher end... known as "seats up front" (i.e. business and first class passenegers). That has always been the revenue that gave them the money to keep them profitable. But the "recession" has cut down on business travel.

BA is asking it's pilots to defray some of it's wages and other compensation, not taking it in cash, but as shares in airline stock. The pilots association has agreed to some of the requests. It looks like there will also have to be staff cuts, mostly in flight personnel, including pilots. Fewer cabin staff, and that means, staff cuts.

There was an article about this last week on the BBC World service.

BA is doing all they can to hold on to it's staff, and hoping to minimise cuts...but they need to cut operating costs.

The pilots unions are working with BA to come to an agreement. Right now, both BA and the unions want to hold on to as many staff jobs as they can. We will see what happens later...when it gets down to the crunch of costs and staffing cuts. Right now, both sides realise cuts have to happen, but they want to minimise them as much as possible.

Expect BA to cut down on the number of flights and to combine it's routes to cut costs as much as possible....which means more full flights...and fewer flights per week. More work for flight attendents too.

Just arrived back in Thailand a few days ago and saw the new Flu screening process.

All visitors had to file single file past a thermal imaging camera. This must be to find people with high temperature. Shame no one was looking at the camera monitor!

Next everyone had to fill in a form and pass single file past a nice looking Thai lady who took the form, checked it and then allowed you to pass. I watched for a time and then saw the lady throw all the completed forms into a huge box. I went and looked into the box and saw what must have been thousands of forms, all mixed up. Either they had lots of people to try and sort them out later or they were burned.

Just for fun and to test my suspicions I filled in the form. All the usual questions were there such as passport number, flight & visa number etc but then tick boxes concerning your health. I ticked all the boxes saying, I had a headache, I felt sick, I had a temperature, I had flu like symptoms etc etc. I then got into line and handed it to the smiling Thai lady. She took my form, acted as if she was reading it, then said "Thank you Sir" and told me to carry on!

Just like Thailand, as I thought, it was all for show. Thailand loves to pretend to be doing things when the reality is they do nothing. But apart from causing huge delays I am sure every one felt better knowing their health was in such good hands!

Chris

It's really all rather meaniless anyhow.

First of all swine flu is already present in Thailand. Secondly, the screening of passengers on airlines arriving in an airport is mostly nonsense, because passengers can be exposed during travel, and not show any symptoms for the incubation period. They are still infectious, but they show no symptoms. It gives a good feeling to the public, because "something is being done" to prevent them from disease. But it is only symbolic, anyhow.

It just gives everybody "happy vibes".

This is so funny.

Personally I think it's kind of stupid....but each to his own.

In a capitalistic society the litmus test of any activity is how much profit it can make for the whatever group that controls it.

Achohol is a multi-million dollar business, controlled by a wealthy elite group, which provides a 'benefit" to the government in the form of taxes. Therefore it is a "good" thing.

Marijuna has no such legitimate tradition as Alchohol does. It has no money value to the controlling elite. It is rejected by them, and the government can not obtain tax revenues from it. When the elite can't control it, and the government can't tax it, it is a 'bad" thing.

If marijuna were legitimsed, and a wealthy elite were able to control it like Alchohol is, the government would be able to collect taxes on it's use. Then marijuna would be "approved " of by the government.

The long term results of use are similiar for both substances on the user's health.

But if you go just by sheer volume and number of victims, Alchohol's effects far outdo marijuna's effects.

It's just that Alchohol has a long tradition, therefore is "legal", while marijuna doesn't have that tradition.

I may be wrong,,,but I thought the issue was settled.

A Thai woman may own land even if she is married to a foriegner. Prior to 1990 (or so) the law did not allow the wife of a foriegner to own or buy land. But that law was changed, and now a Thai wife of a foriegner can own land.

Now the issue was that certain foriegners were using their wife as a nominee to buy land in their place. The wife was using the foriegners money, and buying land with it. The decision was that the practice was illegal. That doesn't mean that the Thai wife of a foriegner couldn't buy land using her own money. Nor does it mean she can't own land. It just means that she can't act as a surrogate for her foriegn husband for buying land or owning land.

Or did I get that wrong?

Again, their math does not stack up, nor is there much that can be done at this late stage.

It will simply improve with the passing of time.

BR>Jack

Just want to add it would also help to treat us that have been living here for several years

and been spending Millions of Baht to support their economy not to treat us as second or 3rd

class citizens. My wife and family are lovely but really THE BOYS in BKK suck

Not to get off the topic...and not meaning you personally....but I dispute the fact that Faranags spent "millions" of Baht to "help the Thai economy". I would assert that 90% of the Farangs on this forum spend their money to help themselves first, their families second, and only incidentally do they ever even think about the Thais they "help". Boozing it up in the local girlie bar and getting laid at the cheapest price is not "helping" the Thai economy, no matter what else you call it.

Don't get me wrong, I've been in Thailand off and on for more years than many Farangs, and I support a Thai family. I don't like the way I'm treated, still a foriegner even after 20 years, but that is just the way it is.

But for the farang whose idea of Thailand is bars and hookers, please don't glorify youself by saying you "support the Thai economy" by doing that.

I've been there too.

I read through the comments posted here, and with a very few exceptions, I read a lot of racist, pompous, self-serving trash from a self-rightous group of farang bigots.

We seem to have a group of people who are so in love with there own preconcieved predjudices, especialy about "jolly old blighty", that anyone who doesn't follow their opinions is inferior to them.

It seems like, from some of the comments, that the only contact some of the farangs expressing their views here ever had with a Thai person was at the end of his pr##k.

Anyhow, I'll list some things I would like to see happen in thai society:

1. Less glorification of the materialistic western life style. More emphisis of traditional "Thai values", and less of "western values."

2. A system in which value of an individual is based on that individuals worth...and not his or her money, possesions, or social standing.

3. A system in which the good intelligent students are rewarded....not simply those whose family has money or influence. A system where service to the country is more important than financial gain. A system where a worker feels taht after years of honest work, he or she can actually expect to benefit form the fruits of that work.

4. A tax system where a worker who pays his or her taxes can see benefits directly from that tax money in how it is spent, because the money is being visably spent on schools, hospitals, and services for the average person.

5. A system where public servants are rewarded for service to the people, and corruption is punished publicly. Then a worker could actually feel that those elected or appointed to "serve" him or her was actually interested in serving the people and not himself first.

But why go on,we know none of that will happen. At least not without a major change in the capitalistic system that benefits the greedy and corrupt and not the common people.

Oh and one more thing. Less reliance on "tourism" as a sorce of money...and a shift to income earned from Thai workers and their products rather than foriegn tourists. A society of maids and waiters, bellboys and "service workers" will always be dependent of the whim of rich foriegn tourists, and will never develop true economic independence.

I recently totally changed my diet, eliminating most sugar and eating alot of whole wheat: rice, bread and pasta along with low fat protein and drinking only water. I basically dont eat Thai food, everything Thai I order is covered in sugar, grease or msg.... totally unhealthy. I would really like to eat Thai food again but really dont know what dishes might be healthy. Anyone?

My Thai girlfriend had a Gall Bladder operation about a year ago. Now she has to eat a diet of low fat, low calorie, mostly vegatable and high fiber foods. No fatty meats allowed. She cooks her own meals, usually from local vegatables and fruits she buys from local farmers. The food she makes is, of course, Thai food that she learned to cook from her mother 40 to 50 years ago. That was before everything was stir fied, cooked in oil, and smothered with MSG. Believe it or not, the knowledge of how the people of that time made real Thai food that was healthy is still around. It is the "westernization" of the last 50 years that has changed the Thai diet to a high fat, high oil, and unhealthy, diet.

It will be hard to do, but you have to insist on Thai food like stews and soups without the oils, without the fats, and using healthy vegatables and lean meat. If you can't find that outside in the market, you have to learn to do it yourself. Learn how to cook healthy Thai food. It was once the way Thai food was cooked, before the curent high fat, high oil, stir fried era started.

Can anyone tell me what the banks are charging to cash travelers checks? Say, on an American Express $100 check.

I'm trying to avoid the new ATM fees.

Thanks in advance!

The 33 baht is correct.

If you are really interested and have the time to search around you may find that some particular bank has an arrangement with American Express which will allow them to charge slighltly less. But it will take you a lot of searching about, and someone in the bank who understands what you mean...and you'll just save a few baht per check. Is it worth the effort...I don't know?

I wll be going to greet my friends flying in on Singapore Airlines and with the new security in place I am unsure what area I can tell them to meet me in. Has anyone any recent experiences in greeting international passengers at BKK?

The other post by PattayaParent is correct. I went through this in February. On arrival and after going through customs come out the door and turn right. Go down until you see a sign saying Meeting Point and a large number 3 on the pillar there. The people meeting you will be allowed by security to come in that far and wait to meet you. Turn Right, not Left, and find that meeting point #3 and you will be o.k.

Oops sorry, but you're meeting them. You should be waiting for them at meeting point #3. Tell them to look for that, as I said above.

Seems some people don't mind buying a visa for Indonesia, but balk at paying something to go to Thailand. Also, most will pay a visa fee to enter Laos and Vietnam. At worse, I would say Thailand fits in the middle somewhere, and has some competition.

In this situation, I would have absolutely no objection to paying 1000 Baht to get a tourist Visa for Thailand.

I do, however object to having to pay the 1500 Baht visa into Laos, the high cost of taxis, rooms and food in Vientiane in order to be able to apply for this visa. I really don't want to be spending money in Laos that i could be spending in Thailand. As well as the complete waste of 3 days.

I've seen a few people complaining about the price of rooms and food in Vientiane and I always wonder why - until I ended up talking with an American in a coffeeshop who was asking me if I lived here and how I survived with it being so expensive! I looked quizzically at him and asked what meant by 'expensive' and his explanation was comparing a bowl of noodles bought in a restaurant on the main mekong road in downtown Vientiane with a side street stall in Chiang Mai!

I explained to him that the central area surrounding the fountain sq was tourist and UN expat central and pricing is way higher than any of the out lying areas. Vientiane is a capital and land prices in the central region is soaring you are talking $200 per sq m and over so the basic facts are ALL shops/restaurants will be more expensive than outside. This said it is still FAR cheaper that Bangkok and when comparing similar types of restaurants to those in Thailand in general it is cheaper also.

A comparison I made the other year was a night out bowling - I like a few games - so with a friend in Bangkok, his gf and my wife we had a full night of beer, food and bowling til kicking out time grand total - over 10,000baht. We then a few weeks later did similar in Vientiane grand total - around $100 aka 3300ish baht. Doesn't take a degree in Mathematics work out the cheapest!

Also I have to say during out shopping trips over to Nong Khai or Udon I've started to notice just how expensive the place is compared to here and many things we used to buy in Thailand we've started buying here because they are cheaper.

Even prior to the current global economic downturn, tourists liked coming to Thailand because it was perceived as a bargain.

Now, with the global economy in a mess, most tourists are really looking for bargains. If Thailand's tourism industry is not going to offer those bargains, it will lose money.

Thailand is simply not that special anymore. Other countries in the region are becoming more and more attractive to tourists (e.g., Italians are flocking to Bali, Indonesia right now).

In order to compete, Thailand needs to abolish its crazy visa system and put something in place that makes sense. And it has to start reducing prices to make it a bargain again.

The folly of raising prices arbitrarily--without letting the market decide the price--is evident in Pattaya-Jomtien.

Increasing numbers of tourists have been put off by the price increases and are going elsewhere.

It is now dead or close to being dead according to several sources who live there.

If you want to harm the tourism industry in Thailand, do this:

1) keep arbitrarily raising prices (ignore market reality),

2) make the visa system even more tourism/expat unfriendly, and

3) continue to discourage all tourists that are not wealthy from coming to Thailand with phrases like "we only want quality tourists."

Unfortunately, I think that is the plan.

You may not think Thailand is a bargain, but try living in the U.S.A. I will be retiring this year . I can live in Thailand on my pension/social security/retirement...or whatever you want to call it. In the U.S. I can't afford to live on the same monthly money .

End of story.

Could somebody with some knowledge of Thai tourism please explain why the TAT spend vast amounts of taxpayers money attempting to attract visitors to this country, whilst other government departments are doing their best to discourage tourism.

I cite the racially biased imposition of double pricing i.e. 10bt for Thais - 100 or 200bt for foreigners (unique to Thailand I believe) and the somewhat new addition of ATM charges of 150bt for foreigners. These impositions are now beginning to appear in guide books and travel advisories, thus pointing potential tourists elsewhere.

Are we now to assume that TAT stands for Thailand Against Tourism?

One of those grumpy old f@rts aren't you? Sorry nobody recognises your inate superiority to eveyone else in Thailand by virtue of you being a Farang.

If the only problem I had to complain about was 150 baht fee for an ATM withdrawal...I would be quite happy.

I've got health problems...I'll probably end up as a diabetic. My Thai girlfriend has a Gall Bladder problem, which will probably mean she will be visting the doctor at least once a month ffor the rest of her life. My daughter and her husband broke up, and the granddaughter is therefore living with granny.

It's called LIFE....it happens. Stop moping around and live it.

With all the bad press we hear of scams and rip-offs, I was pleasantly surprised on my most recent visit to LOS . I've always stayed at the Opera Hotel , Pratunam on arrival in Bangkok and after checking in had a beer by the pool before going to my room.

After a 3 hour kip I realised I didn't have my wallet . Searched the room - no luck . Panic !! Debit card / credit card / Bt23k cash / driving licence. I went to reception to explain what I'd done when I heard a shout . A young Thai lad of about 20 had recognised the photo of my partner in the wallet he'd found by the pool, while cleaning, and seemed genuinely pleased to have tracked me down !!

He wouldn't accept 1000bt reward, so I arranged for him to get the evening off and we had a few beers and saw a cracking live band in town somewhere, with a couple of his mates.

Thanks to his honesty I got my wallet, my sanity, a couple of new buddies - oh and a hangover !!! Restored my faith in human nature for sure

I had something similar happen several years ago. I took a taxi to deliver several boxes of clothes to ship home. I also had my passport, I.D. cards, and about $300 dolars in cash in an envelope. When I got out of the car I put the envelope on the back seat until I took the boxes out. I then paid off the taxi with baht from my wallet. The taxi took off and I started the carrying the boxes into the building. suddenly i realised the envelope was still on the back seat of the taxi. I thought the taxi was long gone. I went to the local police statio, and repoted the loss of my passport and I.D. cards. While I was there an officer came in with the envelope with my passport , I.D.s, and my money in it. The taxi driver had seen it on the back seat, and turned it in to the police. I tried to give a reward to the taxi driver, but he refused. It seems he was a devout Buddhist, and he wouldn't accept the reward for what he felt was his duty anyhow. Amazing.

So, you see, it does occur.

from what i've heard only old or very young people have died from this disease. basically, people with a very low immune system. so the general population doesn't have much to worry about. the main concern would be the mutation of the disease.

If that is what you've heard, you heard it wrong. Normal flu, the type you see every year tends to have the worst effect on very young or the elderly. This type of flu, mistakenly called "swine flu" by the general public although it is not a flu that affects pigs, but humans; is similar to the 1918 flu in that it seems to have its peak in the 20 to 40 age range with nearly 1/3 of the known cases being in that age range.

There are at least two variants. The one that occured in Mexico is more deadly, but still treatable, and many did survive it when they got treatment in time. The version that appered in the U.S. was not as deadly...apparenly a variant of the same flu virus...which mutates rapidly anyhow.

What concerns many is the apparent human to human contact causing infection. Unlike the bird flu, which was caused by handling poultry, this flu seems to be easlt passed from infected humans to other humans.

But you're right, it isn't something to be paniced about.

Hi

Afraid Suvanaphum does not feature in top10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8090767.stm

TBWG

True...but neither does Heathrow.

You know the Lie: Thai (and sometimes Asian) woman are often unfairly portrayed as more promiscuous than western woman in the Western media; I allege this is done under the subtle but persistent guise of racism, and it is unacceptable. bg's in Thailand's sex industry comprises but a tiny fraction (.2 % ?) of the young female population in LOS. In general the average young Thai woman "..is heavily pressured in society to look and act modest and chaste." ..from Good Medicine For Thai fever, 2004, page 116. This is why for many of those who marry conservative Thai woman, or Thai/Chinese women, there is frequently no sex prior to marriage. Many farang obviously do not go this route, however the best things in life usually take time and are not easy. Although the Western stereotypes of Thai woman remain in some quarters, the reality is more like," ..a Thai woman is likely to have had fewer sexual partners than the corresponding Western woman ." Good Medicine For Thai Fever, page 118. One could ask, why does Western media and western society in general still persist in believing the lie?

You also know the double standard for young women, and in LOS it is no different. From a Khmer proverb, "Men are Gold, woman are cloth." A Cambodian woman explained it this way.."the men look like gold. When it drops in mud we can clean it, but the woman look like white clothes; when it drops in mud we cannot clean it to be white again." ..from Sex Slaves, The Trafficking of Women in Asia, Louise Brown,2000, page 246. Should not the Proverb read...."Men are gold, and woman far more precious than that!!"

With all due respect I think your perception of "normal" Thai women is outdated..at least in Bangkok and the settled/city areas of Thailand.

I first came to Thailand in 1977, and outside of the bargirl scene, sexual standards were much more conservative than now. For example, when I first arrived here any young woman wearing shorts outside was considered to be "easy". Now teenagers and young women wear shorts in Bangkok, and no one thinks much about it. Even my 60 year old Thai wife will go out to buy food in shorts. That wouldn't have happened in 1977.

My wife is concerned about the moral "climate" in Thailand now that her granddaughter is reaching 13 years of age. She is trying to keep the granddaughter from watching "suggestive" music on Thai T.V. My wife says standards have changed since she 1960's when she was a teenager.

I remember about 10 years ago, when my Thai daughter had a "boyfriend' for a while. She said to me,"Daddy, I'm not a little girl any more." She was about 17 then.

Of course, living in Bangkok, I can't say much about what is occurring in the rural areas of Thailand and upcountry. But I suspect the big change began in the 1980's and 1990's, with the "soap opera" type shows on Thai T.V. The depictions of "normal" Thai girls (even though they were usually rich by Thai standards) started the perception that it was normal for a Thai girl to have a boyfriend/lover/partner. Especially if he was wealthy, and had a car to take her to the diccos/clubs (as seen on television).

I think your perception of Thai sexual standards is 10 years behind the current reality. But that is often the case in many countries, not only Thailand.

Latest info:

Total of bodies recovered up to 17. Nine recovered by Brazilian planes and ships, 8 found by a French vessel.

The area of debris covers an area of 200,000 sq Km, or about the size of the country of Romania. The exact location of the crash point can not be determined as ocean currents have been spreading debis about the area for the last 6 days.

The U.S. Navy will contribute 2 accoutic searchers to the search hoping to locate the pinger on the plane's "blackbox recorders". The accoustic sensors should be able to locate the ping signal from the blackbox down to 20,000 feet, if they can get close enough to the crash site. If located, recovery of the blackbox will need special mini diving subs, as the water is between 6,000 and 8,000 feet deep in that area. The accoustic searchers will be placed on a French barge that is currently scanning the area.

Bodies recovered will undergo an autopsy in hope to help detgermine the cause of the crash, If they have water in their lungs, it would indicate they drowned, which means the plane was intact when it hit the water. If there was a mid air eplosion, there might be residue in the bodies from the explosion. A sudden mid air decrompression would also be seen in the lungs if the victims died from decompression effects,

The reason why pilots don't fly hands on at cruising altitude is that it's hard to keep it steady for long periods of time. I've seen guys trying to handle a 747 at altitude for 30 minutes and it's a lot of work. Heavy jet are meant to be flown on auto pilots. In normal operation, an airbus hands flown can not exceed structural limits due to flight laws programmed into the flight computers. You can overstress a Boeing ( there is a good argument about this that I won't go in).

Normal operation inmost if not all companies is to engage the A/P below 10000 feet. If you want to have fun do it in the sim so you don't make your pax puke. F-16 stick is the same size and same position as on the 330 , so there........

I'm not an expert on the matter but:

1. True about auto-pilots. The computer can react faster and more precisely than any pilot can.

2. If there was a electrical systems failure, the computers might have gone down or auto rebooted. At the same time the auto-pilot system might have gone off line with the electrical failure.

3. The latest news I saw said that two more bodies had been found...sex could not be determined...which indicates the bodies were quite ....mangled. The possibility of a mid air plane decompression or structure failure was raised. But so far that is only conjecture...there simply are not enough details. The bodies found are being taken for an autopsy. It may lead to clues, i.e. if there is water in their lungs, then it would indicate they were probably alive until they went into the water. Also if it were a mid-air explosion, there might be fragments in the bodies from that explosion. But so far, there just isn't enough information.

4. And regarding automated systems. The problem with them is that the run on electrical power. When the power fails, automated systems do also. When the U.S. Cole was bombed, the electrical power failed. They could not transmit a distress message because their was no elecrtrical power to any of the comm systems.

5. A plane in Columbia was taken down by the navigation computer some years back. The pilot mistakenly entered the wrong destination for an in-flight course change. He entered CAL for CALI, Columbia. It should have been CLI for CALI. CAL was the code for another city. The computer did as it was told, turned the plane toward CAL. Then in accordance with instructions it lowered the plane gradually down to 5000 feet. Unfortunately at that heading there was an 8000 ft mountain in the way. My point is, automated systems, i.e. computers, do exactly what they are programmed to do. Even if those instructions are wrong.

There are so many things that annoy us, (me), I will have to have a think about them, but as Crudy21 said, we are paid to a job and being annoyed comes with the job. Does not make me hate it.

Off hand are some of my pet peeves.

1. Parents come on board with babies and children and just hand them to us and expect us to babysit them for the entire flight while they watch movies and eat dinner and still demand drink after drink while I have a baby hanging off one arm. They are usually the same parents who don't even bring clean pampers or babyfood and complain why we don't we have any on board. We do carry but they still complain it's not the right brand!

2. Parents who think that little Johnny or Mary is so cute running up and down the aisles from first class to economy class screaming, yelling, grabbing everything in the way and of course disturbing other passengers. When told to control their children they of course have a go at us and call us names.

3. Passengers when finishing their meal ring the call button and demand we clear the tray even though we still serving other passengers.

4. Passengers when finishing their tray put in the middle of the aisle.

5. Passengers not sitting in the correct seat and when told to move complain this was the seat they asked for and refusing to move while the correct passenger is standing in the aisle blocking the boarding of the aircraft.

6. Passengers using the toilet at the beginning of the flight and stealing everything they can lay their hands on including the toilet paper. This happens mostly out of the asian countries.

Oh so many more. I'll have to have a think. ha ha!

I was once on a Saudi Arabaian Airlines flight from Dhahran to Bombay (Mumbai now). The Muslims onboard would not flush the toilets if a Hindu was waiting, and vice versa. By the time we reached Bombay, every lavatory was filled with human feces. And it smelled.

The only time I had to chase down a stewardess was on a JAL flight. I was bumped up into business class as the plane was full (two flights were combined into one aircraft). The JAL stewardess brought out Japanese green tea after the meals and offered it to each Japanese passenger. I kept trying to get her attention and ringing the attendents bell, but she ignored me. I finally got up and walked over to her and tapped her on her shoulder. I asked for the green tea. She seemed astounded that a non-Japanese would ask for green tea. I had to explain that I happened to like Japanese green tea. But she did remember, and after the next meal, she offered me the green tea.

I was in the middle seat one flight, with two very large people on either side. The stewardess actually offered me one of the flight crews seats (it was a long night flight, so they used those seats to catch a quick nap in). I took it. This was on Singapore Airlines, by the way, one of my favorite airlines to fly with.

Well we all know that Thailand is a bit of a mickey-mouse country with an inflated ego and most of us have learnt that the powers that be in this country despise ordinary farangs. We have come to accept that unless we are especially wealthy our presence here is mildly tolerated. Thai culture teaches the uneducated locals that they are superior to us, and the educated Thais resent us because they know in all honesty that this is not true. Perhaps they have an inferiority complex.. but one thing for sure is that in Thailand they most certainly call the shots and stick together for their own interested so in that respect when we are in Thailand we are most certainly at the bottom of the barrel.

I am wondering how long it will be before we are evicted from this country permanently, and what will happen if we lose the right to own condos and the right to be married to a Thai.

I say this seriously because I dont think its too far fetched that things may actually come to this eventually.

Who was the rock group that had that song?

Paranoia...may destroy ya?

As usual they are completely ignoring the real problem.

For many people there are no real alternative or very poor alternatives to visa runs. I am one of the lucky ones that got my investment visa in place before they were terminated, but if you are below 50 and wish to stay in Thailand your options are limited.

'Give us your money and get the hel_l out!!', seems to be all they really want.

I don't want to be harsh, but if you can't afford to fly to Penang (or take the train) snd get a 60 day tourist visa, you probably shouldn't be in Thailand.

Are you spending most of your time and money buying booze and p#ssy? What value are you to Thailand, if that's all you do here?

I understand "vacations" and I've done them before, spending as much time in Thailand as I could. But I've always known I had to leave and go back to work to get the funds for my next "vacation".

If you can't afford the price of a tourist visa, then you shouldn't be in Thailand as a "tourist".