Asiantravel

There are even young doctors working in hospitals at these kinds of salary levels

if you can't get this worked out, document your story and make a video and put in on you tube.

I think better for him to refer it to this Thai government body ( or he in the end may risk being sued himself by Chevrolet )

From my experience of dealing with this department business organisations don't like having these people on their backs

www.ocpb.go.th/main.php?filename=index

" overtook a slower moving vehicle, and came over the center line and into the opposing lane."

This seems standard behaviour by motorcyclists and motorists when southbound vehicles are turning right at the traffic light junction from 3^rd road into Pattaya Klang.

Very often in order not to miss the green right arrow the vehicles tear along 3^rd road on the opposite side of the double yellow line without any regard whatsoever for northbound vehicles who should have right of way. I have often had to pull over between a couple of buses parked on the left to avoid a collision with some jerk who thinks traffic laws should only be applied whenever they feel like it.

I dislike flying and have always taken the train if feasible. These derailments are getting to be a little too common in Thailand. It's going to be back to flying, I guess.

Driving is too dangerous, buses are pretty dangerous and now trains are dangerous as well.

Flying is the safest way to travel; here or anywhere for that matter.

Flying is so much safer, mainly because all the aircraft maintenance is done in other countries.

as long as you don't fly Qantas.

And isn't that a sad reflection of the times we live in, because 10 to 15 years ago, Qantas was unquestionably the number one airline in the world for safety standards.

Only one beach, Ao Phrao has been effected by the oil. Hat Saikeaw beach and all the other beaches in Samet remain unaffected. This true because I am here now to see it. Ao Phrao beach remains closed for cleaning and the oil spill isolated to this area in order to stop it spreading. They will open this beach and publicize the re-opening when it is safe and clean. Tourists can still visit the island and enjoy the sea and the beach. Much of the media have stated that there was a mass exodus of tourists. Many of the tourists I have spoken to are completely unaware of the situation on Ao Prao beach, they are more concerned about the weather and hoping the sun will shine tomorrow. My advice would be for tourists to come to Samet as normal and stay on Saikeaw beach or one of the bays on the eastern side and let them get on with the clean up. My advice to the media is stop over sensationalizing the story and instead state the current facts. The media talk about the effect on tourism and in fact they are the ones who are likely to have the biggest affect. I additionally urge members of thai Visa to stop making rediculous statements when they do not have current information or here to see what is actually happening.

LONG LIVE SAMET! Attached photo of Saikeaw Beach today

you accuse the media of over sensationalizing the story but equally, some could interpret your contribution as an attempt to to downplay the seriousness of the situation?

Does anyone believe no harmful chemicals whatsoever have been used in this cleanup exercise? Personally, I would have more belief in unicorns

" However, PTTGC has insisted that the chemical it is using to disperse the oil spreading over the Gulf of Thailand is safe for the environment and complied with the Pollution Control Department regulations.

When asked to name the chemicals, PTTGC president Bowon Vongsinudom said he could not remember the exact name "

I assure I am not trying to downplay the situation on Ao Prao. It is devasting. I am only trying to point out that the majority of Samet island is unaffected. The other point I am making is that the media continue to show those terrible pictures on the first day when they refer to the disaster rather than showing the progress that has been achieved so far. The media seem to need to continue with a shocking headline and a shocking picture. Seems bad news sells rather than the facts and the progress actually being made. The reporting of most of the media seems to be recycling the story from the first couple of days.

There is lots of contradictory information about the chemicals being used. I agree they are dangerous, they are bound to be, but surely it's the lesser of two evils. I hink everyone agrees that the number one think is to clean it up. They are just using the methods that have been used in previous disasters. Those that are recommended by the experts. There will always be people who have differing opinions. Surely good reporting is about telling the facts and balancing opinions from both sides.

And you are right it is just my opinion being here.

all I can say is if we have at least learnt something from recent environmental disasters- it is -don't believe what the officials are telling you

One Thai academic believes the leak could up to twice the size of that admitted by PTT Global Chemical.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/31/world/asia/thailand-oil-spill-beach

Only one beach, Ao Phrao has been effected by the oil. Hat Saikeaw beach and all the other beaches in Samet remain unaffected. This true because I am here now to see it. Ao Phrao beach remains closed for cleaning and the oil spill isolated to this area in order to stop it spreading. They will open this beach and publicize the re-opening when it is safe and clean. Tourists can still visit the island and enjoy the sea and the beach. Much of the media have stated that there was a mass exodus of tourists. Many of the tourists I have spoken to are completely unaware of the situation on Ao Prao beach, they are more concerned about the weather and hoping the sun will shine tomorrow. My advice would be for tourists to come to Samet as normal and stay on Saikeaw beach or one of the bays on the eastern side and let them get on with the clean up. My advice to the media is stop over sensationalizing the story and instead state the current facts. The media talk about the effect on tourism and in fact they are the ones who are likely to have the biggest affect. I additionally urge members of thai Visa to stop making rediculous statements when they do not have current information or here to see what is actually happening.

LONG LIVE SAMET! Attached photo of Saikeaw Beach today

you accuse the media of “over sensationalizing the story “ but equally, some could interpret your contribution as an attempt to to downplay the seriousness of the situation?

Does anyone believe no harmful chemicals whatsoever have been used in this cleanup exercise? Personally, I would have more belief in unicorns

" However, PTTGC has insisted that the chemical it is using to disperse the oil spreading over the Gulf of Thailand is safe for the environment and complied with the Pollution Control Department regulations.

When asked to name the chemicals, PTTGC president Bowon Vongsinudom said he could not remember the exact name "

So what exactly happens if you miss that 90 day reporting by a few months? I know they fine you usually 2000 baht for being a little late but not sure what happens when you are late by a few months?

I think if you are arrested you would need to pay even more. But don't know if it would affect the status of the visa itself in any way . Anyway, for me, having done 90 day visa runs in the past, this is no hassle whatsoever

Unless traveling to your immigration office of record is a major inconvenience, going to the office every 90 days gives the staff a chance to know you under easy conditions which can very well come in handy down the road when circumstances might be not so easy.

I agree. It's no difficulty for me to go to Jomtien. And I wouldn't say it's entertaining, but it's certainly not boring to go there every 90 days.

AND It's certainly better than doing visa runs every 90 days

how amazing !

There are many Indians in this area and I would just be curious if this hotel is owned by Indians because they have a total disregard for complying with planning and building consent.

Adding a few floors onto buildings in Bombay is a pretty standard occurrence and the local authority in Bombay doesn't even have the manpower there to keep up with all the infringements

We are told on another topic that there are somewhere between 9,000 and 26,000 , depending on who you believe, deaths on Thai roads each year

Using the lower number that comes out at close to 25 per day.

What percentage of those deaths would be in buses?

I would suggest a very low percentage.

If someone wanted to break it down I would expect motorcy to be at the top of the list with private cars and utes next.

Meaning that you would be far more likely to die in a private car than in a bus.

I travel in buses all the time, 4 different ones today, and I look around carefully and never see the emotive things that some poster come up with.

Such as, bald and shredded tyres, missing wheel nuts, buses on a lean, drivers with no licenses (how they work that one out I don't know).

In the almost 8 years I have been traveling on Thai buses I have only ever seen 2 instances of what I would call bad driving.

In contrast I see some real loony behavior from private motorists and when you are sitting up high in a bus you see these things so much better than when you are in a car.

Of course all the posters who 'would never ride in a bus' are such wonderful drivers that they have never and will never do anything wrong.

Well buses are for those people who ride buses. I hate public transport, it's just not my thing - I always drive - if I am visiting somewhere I rent a car and self-drive (except in Myanmar or other countries where self-drive is not yet offered, in which case I rent a car with driver). After clocking up perhaps half a million km in Thailand alone, having driven to Malaysia, driven a left hand drive Lao car to Thailand many times and over to Vietnam, driven in China, Cambodia etc. (and I'm talking cars here) although I even occasionally drive motorcycles, I think I know what I am doing. Being in control by driving your own car and knowing the way the locals drive you can still drive safely without ever being involved in an accident. And I do...I have never been in involved in an accident driving in SE Asia and I don't expect that to change.

I don't know how you can possibly avoid the consequences of someone running a red light or for example a truck behind you, failing to stop when you are waiting at the lights?

More ideas:

Protect ankles with a good pair of Merril workboots + tough rubber pants. . Problem, solved?

How about that

old ad on Pattaya People TV "Dogs away" - besically a high pitched whistle inaudible to us

Do they still sell these?

I am a dog lover also so I don't like to harm dogs unless it becomes a case of him or me. I was reading about this product. Has anybody ever heard of it? I would like to buy one if I know it actually works.

http://www.dazer.com/dog-deterrent.jsp

We are talking here about the incidence regarding a Thai boy. The laws were put in place by Thai law makers to protect Thai citizens. Unless you are a Thai citizen, you are in no place to criticize THEIR laws or to make any judgements as to whether those laws are appropriate or not . End of story

Actually I'm perfectly entitled to criticise whatever I want, as indeed is anyone else.

But it seems to have completely escaped your notice that my original post was not criticising Thai law but was criticising the hang-em-high brigade here who were advocating death and mutilation. I still do criticise them for this.

In Scandinavia they use chemical castration on paedophiles using the drug leuprorelin as a suppressant which inhibits the production of testosterone normally linked to the high sex drives. This is as an alternative to lengthy jail sentences and this can cut the rates of reoffending from 40 per cent to 5 per cent.

So would you agree with this as a potential form of punishment?

And what do you consider is more morally important ? A child's right to protection or the freedom of a paedophile ?

15 days early and up to 7 days late.

I recently got my first retirement Visa for 90 days plus another 12 months extension of stay. So my passport shows I am entitled to stay until October 2014.

As October 2013 will be my first ever date for 90 day reporting to the immigration office am I correct in that I can do this any time during the seven days preceding the end of the first 90 day period?

What ever your personal view is of the law, you are making a very bold assertion (and in my view totally incorrect) as to the capabilities of a minor to offer any perspective. He is a child.

My nephew is 13. He has a brain and is perfectly capable of saying for himself whether he wants to do something or not. On the other hand some people go through their entire lives without ever being able to make any sort of sensible decision on their own. Many of them post on here. Do we take it on ourselves to tell them what to do? I certainly don't.

I lost my virginity at the age of 14 during a very enjoyable relationship that lasted about 6 months. I knew exactly what I was doing and didn't regret it for one second either at the time or any time since. And it horrifies me that if the same thing happened today then the other person involved might well end up in prison for it, or be vilified by morons as being some sort of pervert.

So my take on this is that people should mind their own business.

if your 13 year old child was having paid sex (don't tell me that's not the case) with a 67 year old person, who was also accessing child pornography that is usually produced by organised crime or abusive parents that's perfectly OK with you?

We are talking here about the incidence regarding a Thai boy. The laws were put in place by Thai law makers to protect Thai citizens. Unless you are a Thai citizen, you are in no place to criticize THEIR laws or to make any judgements as to whether those laws are appropriate or not . End of story

Many people walk away from car accidents thinking they didn't suffer any injuries only to find upon closer examination, there were some additional injuries that may not have been immediately apparent at the time, such as neck injuries or similar, which only show up later. I would like to suggest you have a proper examination by a good doctor explaining to him or her what happened before thinking the only injury you have sustained was a cut?

As usual with these sorts of incidents, the newspaper article says nothing at all about anyone being involved against their will, or being in any way coerced, but the "hang-em-high" posters just seem to assume that is the case.

if you are referring to the 13 year old found at the house I believe in the eyes of the law they are not old enough to differentiate whether they are there “ against their will “ or have been “ in any way coerced “? So what is your point?

What the law thinks of it makes no difference as far as I'm concerned. Nor, apparently, does it affect the hang-em-high brigade (no civilised country I know of imposes a penalty of death or other physical retribution in this sort of situation).

My point was that if one is making moral judgements then one should be more interested in the opinion of the people involved in the situation rather than what the law makes of it. The law, after all, is an ass as indeed are most of the people who make the laws in the first place.

The death penalty may be ludicrous. But what is equally ludicrous is that this guy (and people like him) after already being found to be a paedophile in another country is free to travel the world to do even more damage.

And together with the computer images and calendars the police found, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to work out the reason why a 13-year-old boy is likely to have there? What ever your personal view is of the law, you are making a very bold assertion (and in my view totally incorrect) as to the capabilities of a minor to offer any perspective. He is a child.

As usual with these sorts of incidents, the newspaper article says nothing at all about anyone being involved against their will, or being in any way coerced, but the "hang-em-high" posters just seem to assume that is the case.

if you are referring to the 13 year old found at the house I believe in the eyes of the law they are not old enough to differentiate whether they are there “ against their will “ or have been “ in any way coerced “? So what is your point?

everyone is scamming these days in one way or another. Even what seemed to be legitimate businesses are scamming surreptitiously. Have you ever bothered to count the number of products on supermarket shelves that shrink in size, year after year but are sold without any adjustment to price? In my book that is a scam

I can't get my head around people that think young kids are attractive for those purposes. Makes me sick!

I can't get my head around how any man might think another man is attractive, FULL STOP

Let alone a child of either gender...

Why stop there?

How about ...

Fat people

Old people

Gingers

People of different races

F-rangs

Alcoholics

Republicans

Why did you leave out Democrats? I mean they have far more colourful history in this regard. The candidate to be the Mayor of New York being a prime example

If you really do want to have every single trace of you lost, then you might like to think about living under ground for the rest of your life, or up a mountain in Outer Mongolia. The chances are that you will be found anyhow. It turns out that the National Security Agency of the US can actually locate your cell phone even when it has been turned off and is no longer emitting a signal.

It was previously believed by people that you could only locate the last emitted signal and if turned off, then that signal was lost. Your last known whereabouts could only be found. Now, it seems that that’s not true. In Back-to-the Future-Flash-Gordon style, the NSA has gone beyond the bounds of technology, pushed the boat all the way out and they can find us even when you power down your phone. Is there no peace for the wicked, honestly? An even less peace for the honest, wickedly!

http://www.tothetick.com/nsa-and-phones

I was reading about this today and I wondered if anyone has seen something like this available for sale in Thailand?

The new device, called Chromecast, is a small stick roughly the same size as a USB flash-storage drive that can be plugged directly into an HDMI port on flat-panel TVs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2377231/Google-takes-aim-Apple-TV-new-device-brings-YouTube-Netflix-living-room-costs-just-22.html

I would like to suggest you try this drink which you can buy from Friendship supermarket or Best Supermarket. It tastes just like beer but without alcohol. It's made in Chonburi. it comes in a funky plastic bottle and looks more like a cola beverage on the outside.

Apparently this drink is very popular in Russia and it's made from fermented rye bread. I had never had it before buying it here in Pattaya.

http://www.fullcup.asia/products.html

The Consumer Protection Board is useless, they don't even have the decency to return an email. I know this from first hand experience, after sending a complaint about 3BB's advertised internet speeds where they claim speeds could be lower internationally because of "technical" reasons, this is in fact false, the restriction is purely administrative. If you complain 3BB tries to sell you a higher price package. Consumer Protection Board should be ashamed of themselves, they have failed, "King and country", in their duty.

I don't consider your views are generally representative of foreigners living in Thailand. They certainly responded to me. And other foreigners I've spoken to have also been happy with OCPB .

And one thing I have noticed (and other foreigners have agreed with me) is that you only have to mention to a retailer or business proprietor that you intend to report your complaint to the protection board and very quickly things become much more conciliatory. It is obvious that many businesses are scared by the prospect of having this organisation on their backs. I have no complaints about them.

so we all know the roads are dangerous, the sea ( s ) also with their speedboats, jetski's

what do we need next? some airplane crashes to be sure thailand is dangerous for

road, sky and sea and ... SEX

flying is safe enough because many of the pilots are actually western or otherwise foreign, as opposed to thai. where the pilot is thai they will have been trained to the high standards of the west and will be fired if they do not behave...and threats of violence/tantrums/bribes etc won't help them and they know that. its the buses etc where the typical thai mentality is allowed to run amok that the dangers exist.

Every time I look up and see a Thai Airways plane taking off or landing I pray the Thai guy at the controls is a better flyer than he is a driver..... Generally speaking of course.

Thai people seem to think they can apply the road rules when they choose without thinking of the potential consequences to other road users, such as when they ride or drive the wrong way against the traffic. This is a mindset and I would find it very hard to believe that they can automatically switch off and become so much more disciplined regarding safe piloting and not be tempted to cut corners when at the controls of an

aircraft ?