Roj

Evenmoney wrote -hehe.. ok, but why would someone make a light hearted joke about a father being beaten up in front of a seven year old daughter, forgive me for not understanding your humour.. did I miss the punchline..? please teach me more about your comedy, it went right past my head last time!

The joke was about the Irish accent and not about the assault, as you well know. You`re not half as smart as you like to think you are. I do believe you think you`ve lost face judging by your petty reply.

Why would you assume that, I have been online since posting that reply waiting for a debate! So you assume that because I took offence to the joke reagrding the victims family I have no sence of humour..? Well I don't care where you come from or what constitutes you as an individual but a reply isn't needed to your arguement. Ive won this round already! better luck next time.

But you have replied, and the joke wasn`t regarding the victims family. You are deliberately ignoring that fact because you perceive that your vanity has been slighted causing a loss of face. Never mind.

Evenmoney wrote -hehe.. ok, but why would someone make a light hearted joke about a father being beaten up in front of a seven year old daughter, forgive me for not understanding your humour.. did I miss the punchline..? please teach me more about your comedy, it went right past my head last time!

The joke was about the Irish accent and not about the assault, as you well know. You`re not half as smart as you like to think you are. I do believe you think you`ve lost face judging by your petty reply.

This is a very simple case of an undertrained Thai security guard assaulting a foreigner! What discugsts me the most is that it was over some baloons and he was taking his very younge daughter home from a birthday party. I am a thai lawyer and Thai people do not condone this kind of behaviour despite what some despicable people might have posted on this site. I will be taking a very personal interest in this case and will be happy to take the victim case to court without charge. if the victim is reading you can contact me my office is on Petchaburi Rd betwwen atrium and Thantakit. Shame on any of you who condone such voilence!

You managed to spell violence the same way as an Irishman would pronounce it. You`ll do just fine as his counsel.

so because of my english skills you say I can't represent an individual in Thailand properly is that right? Its because of people like you that foreigner have problem in Thailand! I think you lonely person!

It was a lighthearted joke, but your excitable, over the top reaction to it here would suggest that the Irishman would probably be better represented by someone calmer than yourself. It`s because of angry Thais like you that foreigners have problems in Thailand.

This is a very simple case of an undertrained Thai security guard assaulting a foreigner! What discugsts me the most is that it was over some baloons and he was taking his very younge daughter home from a birthday party. I am a thai lawyer and Thai people do not condone this kind of behaviour despite what some despicable people might have posted on this site. I will be taking a very personal interest in this case and will be happy to take the victim case to court without charge. if the victim is reading you can contact me my office is on Petchaburi Rd betwwen atrium and Thantakit. Shame on any of you who condone such voilence!

You managed to spell violence the same way as an Irishman would pronounce it. You`ll do just fine as his counsel.

If it was the UK the guard would have been sacked and also prosecuted by the police. The foreigner would have been granted UK citizenship and £1m of taxpayers cash by way of compensation. The liberals would be gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands in anguish over the mental trauma they imagine the foreigner would be suffering and the British public would be saying the foreigner got what he deserved.

To BKK Brit. Luk Kreung is the rather clumsy Thai description of a child of mixed raced and equivalent to the now little used `half caste` in English. When used in context in spoken and written THAI it is not xenophobic (and I CAN speak and write Thai) BUT when inserted into a sentence in English, when the childs bloodline, as in this case, has absolutely no relevance, is derogatory. That is Angry Parents issue and he`s correct no matter what angle you try and look at it from. I`ve been here 23 years now and whenever I`ve heard other expats using `luk kreung` it`s always been intended as just that, derogatory.

Helium not hydrogen is the way forward.

Good point!! The balloons had to have been filled with helium, which is an inert gas. Guards totally in the wrong for stopping him. Wonder if anyone tried explaining this to the guards, or if they have even thought about it?

They have been told to stop people taking balloons on board. This is a BTS directive that the guards are expected to comply with. You don`t know their job. I`m afraid this is is a case of damned if you do and damned if you don`t.

Back in the UK transport staff going about their work are verbally abused and assaulted by arrogant members of the public on a daily basis because there is very little chance of the perpetrator being brought to book. Unfortunately, for some farangs, they think they can treat transit staff here as they do back in the West. Bad move, because if you start behaving aggressively towards staff you will be dealt with. If you`re asked to adhere to the byelaws here, just do it - it really is that simple and your day won`t be spoilt. Too many people take it as a personal slight if challenged (even some farangs don`t like to lose face).

Thank you, everyone, for your great information. The forum is great as usual. I see that Jomtien beach seems a nice place - definitely better for a family than the central Pattaya beach.

@bartender100: I am intrigued by your suggestion of Bangsaen beach. Could you pls tell me how I can get there by bus?

thank you.

I was in Bang Saen a couple of weeks ago for the motorcycle festival. For a family holiday, or any other for that matter, I couldn`t recommend it. Nothing for a family to do there and the beach and water quality aren`t anything to shout about - no different from any other Thailand urbanisation. It does have pesky semi tame monkeys on the road just outside the town but they`re more of a nuisance than an attraction.

What was the name of that telescope Thailand sent into space?

At the side of my house, in the concrete hard standing is a small 5cm diameter hole, it is a convenient outlet for rain water. Once out of curiosity I ran a hose pipe into it to see how much water it could hold, after 30 minutes I got bored and turned off the tap. During the floods this same hole became a spring, water flowed out of it. I can only assume that part of my house is sitting on a large cavity in the ground.

You`ve got a sure fire busines opportunity here - bottle it and sell it as Klong Spring.

Thais are showing their support for this new entente cordiale by wearing those Hitler T shirts.

I'm an outdoor sort of guy...and love to have sex in strange places like In a tree,barn full of hay and on the beach,in the sea, on a roller-coaster, In fact if you could name it..... I probably done it..! and that includes the mile high club...!

Now all this is said what is the problem here two people getting it off in the sea "SO WHAT".

and by the way don't bother to make any of your silly comments about my post because I'm not interested.

Average time for a roller coaster from start to finish is 2:30 seconds. Have you seen a doctor?

A self styled stud like this wouldn`t want the doctor to know about his lack of stamina.

The area where the alleged crime took place is quite close to the border with Burma, roughly 30km and sounds like a criminal act perpetrated by some desperate person/s. That fact that a Thai was also a victim is a bit odd.

Watch this space.

Odd that a Thai is a victim? Most crime in this country is Thai on Thai and the biggest victim group of violent crime is the Thai with next to nothing. Criminals like this look for an easy victim.

Maybe one day with a Red Thailand they`ll carry out Zimbabwe style land grabs. There are a number of PTP/Red politicians who have had business dealings in Zimbabwe and continue to do so including the Big Boss. Morals and principles don`t even register on their radar.

Even if the figure were true it pales in comparison with the fact that a small group of elite Thais own much of the rest of Thailand and the boys and girls of the sois will never own their own land because a super rich, over privileged, self interested group will do whatever is necessary to maintain the present lopsided status quo. Foreigners make convenient whipping boys when a diversion from the real issue is required. One piece of advice I`d give to farangs whose wife owns the family property is to get her to make out a phi nai gam through the authorities (not a lawyer). That way if you do out live her you`ll receive the property and be given time to sell it on as you wont be able to legally keep it.

Considering the variable condition of the taxis it`s good to have so many that you can choose from to avoid the ones with big bore exhausts, home made rear wings and music blaring out of the tinny speakers on the parcel shelf. Prices have been and will still be good value.

sparebox2.

You totally epitomise the utter stupidity of the Thai race, it was never about defeating clever races to enable the Brits to colonise it was about whether the country in question had anything that we wanted.

And he`s not even Thai - that`s some achievment.

If Thais need English language skill to go to work in Singapore.

I hope the Thai govt return an eye for an eye, and request Thai language skill for Singaporeans to work in Thailand. (Complimentry Thai language skill may be picked up in Nana & Soi Cowboy)

You are missing the point - it is not that English is spoken in Singapore and so there should be a quid pro quo, it is the fact that there needs to be a common language for people to work on large and pan-national projects, and the hope of the ASEAN Economic Community is that more of these should be forthcoming - if you look at the way the European project has developed (in terms of langauge), you do not get many Finnish doctors moving to be GPs in Portugal without knowing the language there, but on large programs and projects it is English that is the default language - companies such as EADS - the biggest defence contractor in Europe, may be majority owned in France and Germany but the default language inside the company is English.

A lot of technical work is done in English, and although people see the rise of Chinese, I do not see Mandarin, Cantonese or any of the other Chines languages taking over in the near future.

I am glad to say that some parts of the technical establishment in Thailand are taking these matters seriously, and are trying to raise the skillbase in technical and language terms to be able to compete after 2015.

For the first time I see them now opening up and accepting external help to prepare them.

the ASEAN experience could be the biggest shockwave to ever hit the insularity of the Thais.

Highlighting the skills of the Malaysians and Singaporeans is not a bad thing as this is the internal competition in ASEAN and the regional rivalry is the only thing that makes the politicians listen

Crobe

I understand you loud and clear. I also understand the important of a common language.

When EU come together, they pick a common language from the memeber countries. They didn't pick Chinese just because Chinese is the most widely used first language. Come to think of it, have the French, German or Spanard accepted English as the common language in EU? I still see headphone on almost every deligates in Brussel's meetings.

When ASEAN come together, they should pick a common language from the memeber countries. Not English, just because it is the most widely used second language. Most likely it will be Thai or Bahasa Indonesian.

This is good bait you`re using today, keep reeling them in - this is the best days fishing you`ve had for a long while.

<Snip>

Please provide proof for this slanderous allegation.

These allegations are just the tip of the iceberg. The ones' Birdpooguava mentions are minor, to some other ones.

Everyone knows the serial voting and counting irregularities that occurred in Bangkok, where those sympathetic to the opposition controlled the process.

I don't remember all the details, as this is all 'water under the bridge' now.

The one example I recall hearing about, was during the count at one of the polling booths late in the evening, miraculously the lights went out and could not be restored..............but they kept counting.

Frustrated Poll watchers knowing the game, resorted to shining their car headlights on the proceedings.

As far as I am concerned, all's well that ends well.......the voters overwhelmingly elected Ms. Y, even overcoming all electoral irregularities.

You have got to be a wind up merchant considering the drivel you post about Thai politics. All I can say is that you have no insight of internal Thai politics because if you did you`d understand the political mechanics of village life - ordinary Joe and Jill Public villager really have no choice as to who they vote for if they want their occupation in the village to remain tenable.

I think we can all do without the application of Western morals and values to Thailand. It is tedious in the extreme. If you want Western style hysteria then go back to Europe, the US, Aus or NZ.

I think many people who run their mouth off on these forums should try looking at things from a Thai persepective first before commenting.

That said I do not think it is appropriate for people to be paying any 13 year olds for sexual gratification.

I think it`s wrong to generalise on what a Thais perspective is. Although there will be Thais who don`t care I know not one amongst my friends and acquaintances who thinks that this behaviour is acceptable from either the paedophiles or the children who sell themselves to predators. You think you can speak for all of us by saying we can do without Western morals here but you`re showing you`re ignorance not only about the majority of farangs but also about Thai society which happens to be more conservative than many Western countries. I`m afraid it`s farangs with attitudes like yours that help to give Thailand its sleazy image. It would be a nicer country, not only for ordinary farangs and their families but also for the Thais whose country you`re in if it was you and likeminded farangs who went back home. Thailand won`t miss you.

There`s that HUB word in there again. Well, to maintain foreign business confidence the government will need to manage the water flow properly this year and if that means having to relegate the rice crop to a secondary importance and not worry about losing the country`s status as the leading rice exporter then that is what needs to be done.

There are any number of Thais -- Muslim or not -- who might be sympathetic to the bombers' cause.

Hard to picture a buddhist thai sympathetic to a Muslim cause

MONEY trumps Thai Buddhism just as it does everything else here.

It not only a religious issue; it is a political one as well. I have met many Thais who have expressed anti-Israel sentiment.

In 23 years and most of that time spent in wholly Thai neighbourhoods and interacting daily with Thai people right across the spectrum I have yet to meet a single person with anti Israeli sentiment, or for that matter, anyone having any interest in middle east politics.

Once again, Bangkok firefighters are well trained and disciplined. The last thing you need at a fire is a charge by an untrained, undisciplined rabble.

Your post above makes no sense... The issue was whether the BKK firefighters dispatched to the building should have done what they did...which was stand around and wait outside... or should have forced their way into the building to more quickly and directly battle the fire.

I have no idea what you're talking about in regards to "an untrained, undisciplined rabble."

I've worked with professional firefighters in the U.S. for many years. When there's a fire and/or lives are in danger, they find a way to do their jobs, even if it means causing some incidental structural damage in order to prevent a fire from burning through a potentially occupied building.

If you're driving a friend's car, get into a serious traffic accident and are trapped inside the car, do you think the firefighters are going to stand around waiting until they can contact the car's owner for permission to get you out? Or are they going to get out the "jaws of life" and cut you out of the car, if that's what is required.

There's effectively no functioning civil justice system in Thailand anyway... But even in the West, when was the last time you heard about a Fire Department getting sued for cutting someone out of a crashed car or forcing their way into a locked building in order to fight a fire?

I WAS a professional firefighter for many years at one of London`s busiest fire stations! I can assure you there have been instances of firemen being sued in the course of their duties. One at my own station, a driver, was sued and also prosecuted when he collided with a car on the way to a fire. He drove through a red traffic light and was charged with dangerous driving. In the nanny state UK a risk assessment is supposed to be made at some types of incident. This is how the story of the man who drowned in 3 feet of water because the police and fire service weren`t allowed to enter the lake came to light. What happens in the States has absolutely no bearing on the way other countries conduct their own business. Cutting someone out of a car? Of course you don`t need permission, stop being pedantic. People TRAPPED inside a burning building? Don`t be daft, of course the firemen will go in. Firemen in Bangkok and indeed London fight fires from INSIDE a building if at all possible. Firemen operate as a team and know their jobs better than you do. No offence intended.

i have not posted here in ages, and one reason is i grew tierd the the ranting back and forth about who should stay and who should leave, and who really understands and loves this country and its people. also the moralizing about what kind of farng one may be, or where they choose to live in TH having some sort of connotation good or bad. that said, i still come here to TVF toget the news and most inportantly, opinions, hopefully from learned board membes with knowlege, experience and expertise.

so .... here are my opinons and views and also some "hearsay" i have been told over the years.

DISCLAIMER: if i am wrong about some of the issues i mention please simply enlighten me to the truth of the matter and dopn't bash me as i am already telling you this is what i have heard and may not be accurate. i am seeking clarification.

i was told long ago (been here since 1988) that much of the fire department is made up of guys who wanted to be policemen but they flunked that exam and were offerred jobs as fire fighters. if so, what does that say about the intelligence level of those entrusted to operate this important service?

second, i was also under the impression that the fire department is a part of the police department and in many respects they are empowered to do what's necessary.

third, i was also told by other long-term expats, and quite a few Thai people, that many times the fire department shows up and will not start to work until given a "tip" to do so.

fourth, it is already stated by the TH authorities in charge that there were no sprinkler heads although the rest of the sytem seems to be there. law or not, this is a serious flaw that speaks volumes.

final point, and not a conspiracy theory just mentioning it as a possibility as all things are possible: if the owners wanted the old builidng down then a Saturday when it is closed would have been the perfect time to do that. and, IF THAT WERE THE CASE, they would have most likely availed themselves of the "local system" and called ahead and asked them to delay arrival, of course for a "tip". NOT LIKELY, BUT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN ANY COUNTRY, AND REGARDLESS OF THE NATIONALITY OF THE OWNERS, but we have seen crazier things happen here in the past.

sooooooooooooooo, can anyone address these points and either confirm or repudiate them for me please?

thanks.

Not intelligent enough to get in the police? Nonsense. Demanding a tip before starting work? Nonsense. You question the intelligence of the firefighters but it`s those know all expats who you refer to who, perhaps, need an IQ check. You only have to read through this thread to see someone desperately looking for anything that they can use to spout disreputable rubbish about the professional Bangkok firemen. For some expats it`s become a hobby to criticise everything Thai. There are lots of things in Thailand that can irritate Westerners but that`s the way the Thais live in their own country. If you live here life is easier if you learn to accept their ways - it`s a different culture, as you know, having been here for so long. Why not visit a fire station in Bangkok and tell them you are interested in their work? You will be welcomed and given a tour. You can then make your own mind up about these men.