Asiantravel

NCA's terminal in BKK is rubbish. Not enough taxis the two times I've been there. Will be going with Sombat or Siam First from now on.

Neither the skytrain nor the subway is walkable from where the buses drop you. And for the short trip around the park, not many drivers will be willing to take you.

I have arrived at the NCA terminal in Bangkok many times and never had a problem getting a taxi.

And I definitely wouldn't be basing my travel plans just on that. I'm more concerned about the poor safety record of buses generally and I just want peace of mind that at least NCA has one of the best safety records.

“ The Sri Lankans, who entered Thailand illegally, were also found to have been former members of the Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka.”

And after they served their time in Thailand they will be up for even more rough treatment when they go home

Irresponsible not only to himself, but to other road users to drive in this fatigued state.

I would doubt that comparison, in all respect.

Many English people would recognise Welsh, if they see a written phrase.

Indeed but it's the same script.

Maybe a better contrast would be could a Hindi speaking Indian from Uttar Pradesh recognise Punjabi Gurmurkhi script off the cuff?

But look at everything you said in post #2 regarding similarities and that there is indeed more than just a connection between Khmer and Thai ? I would not be surprised to find a Hindi speaking Indian from Uttar Pradesh would be unable to recognise Punjabi Gurmurkhi. Why should they?

I am talking about learning the basic history of your own language which quite clearly from the responses I get doesn't seem to be covered at all in their education system?

they say what is that ?

Very interesting!

Are you sure they did not recognise the script? The statement in the sense: "Why are you wearing this?"

Believe me not one Thai person has recognised what language it is

just had a look... unlike other parts of Japan...no traffic and yellow verges...no green grass.

unbelievable - Very eerie

It is "widely considered" (it's actually a fact but I'm not going there) that the Thai script was developed from - though not directly copied from - the Khmer alphabet/writing system.

There are a fair few similarities in the characters* , however you wouldn't get a Thai admitting that their writing system came from the Khmers in a million years even though the Khmers were 'writing' some 3-400 years before the Thai alphabet allegedly came into being...

While there are many similarities in the characters - Thai and Khmer share many 'roots' from Sanskrit and to a lesser extent Pali - the two are from completely different language families.

If you look at some early Thai writing systems which are now 'defunct' such as Lan Na (or more commonly Northern Thai) the similarities with Khmer become more apparent.

There is a can of worms being opened here and I'll leave this one to Richard....

However in answer to your question, Would a Thai be able to understand a Khmer in full flow as they may be able to follow a Lao? No. Would they be able to read Khmer as they may be able to read Lao...no...

No, but I would have thought they would merely be able to recognise that it is the written language of the country “ next door “? Again, I'm not expecting them to understand the content

I was given a T-shirt at a hotel I stayed in Phnom Penh which has Khmer writing on the front. What amazes me is that not one Thai that has commented on it seems to know that it is Khmer? They say what is that ? !

I'm not saying I would expect them to understand what the writing means but just that I would have thought they could recognise what language it is?

The reason I thought this is because I remember a Monk in Chiang Mai told me many words in Thai were actually derived from Khmer?

it can't that bad because it " fails to hurt Chiang Mai tourism sector " !!

No don't don't be an angry customer it's not worth wasting your time and it won't get you anywhere

just go to HOMEWORKS ( near Tesco Lotus on Sukkhumvit Road ) and its completely opposite in that from the moment you walk through the door they will be falling over themselves to help you-sometimes too much, but still better to be served by enthusiastic staff than apathetic staff

I just noticed you have paid the money. If you cannot get your money back and start again then my advice is not much use

No don't don't be an angry customer it's not worth wasting your time and it won't get you anywhere

just go to HOMEWORKS ( near Tesco Lotus on Sukkhumvit Road ) and its completely opposite in that from the moment you walk through the door they will be falling over themselves to help you-sometimes too much, but still better to be served by enthusiastic staff than apathetic staff

Not the whole province but may areas have been cut off or water restricted - and that dispite all the BS given out by City Hall

You are correct Joe !! Yes they had used the wrong English terminology on the notice they had posted on the door. But the essence is that this is what they forecast is going to happen this year. I don't know if this has happened in the past but they believe there will be a series of rolling stoppages affecting different areas.

The managers have advised me to keep a container full of water available at all times for when we are affected next time.

I've just done the washing up and, believe it or not, I used water to do that.

It depends what they meant by " province ". I will get a better understanding when they open the managers office later this morning.

Yes, we still have water in our building but I think what they were trying to convey is that there is a more serious problem further back towards the source? If people have storage tanks may be the won't see the effect of the problem until that water runs out?

Hi

the management in the building where I stay near Big C Extra has put a sign on our door, this evening saying that the water has been cut off " throughout the whole province " ? They said they would buy water tomorrow, presumably to fill three big tanks at the back of our building and this evening to use our water sparingly.

Has anyone heard any stories about what is behind all this and how long it is likely to last?

Can anybody advise me please. What are the exact dates for Songkran on Koh Chang ?

Well they don't have that many options the road was build many years ago and whom would have expected that it turned into a major holiday resort.

The empty land you see here and there on Beach Road are prime beach front land and is worth 10's mill bath pr rai so don't expect that a parking lot will be made there.

Hotel - condo - shopping center most likely, so more people will go there and create even more chaos, sad but true.

duh …………Have you never heard of underground multi-storey parking or even aboveground multi-storey parking ??

This could still allow for some kind of development above that? People should be made to pay an economic rent for the privilege to park their car in this area.

If they don't want to pay they can do the same as many other cities ( i.e park-and-ride ) where you park your car away from the beach area and hop on a baht bus .

I crossed over the border from Thailand to Tachilek a couple of weeks ago and I noticed dramatic changes such as good road improvements and many new shops and businesses since I was last there about one year ago.

And an absolutely huge growth in the number of motorcycles. I naturally assumed these were bought on credit like they are here in Thailand but an Indian guy told me the banking system hardly offers any credit at the moment so how all these young people have been able to buy their motorbikes is a complete mystery to me?

So I wondered if expats living in the main cities have also benefited from the opening up of the economy? Such as do you now have a greater range of places to buy imported foods etc?

For example it wasn't so long ago that Phnom Penh had a very limited range of supermarkets so I wondered what the position is in Yangon? Have any new supermarkets opened in the last 12 months?

I can agree with the OP that it is relatively simple to move from Thailand to Cambodia and that getting a visa to stay long term in Cambodia is currently simple and straightforward.

But I don't agree with this regarding Burma - or Laos for that matter?

In both Thailand and Cambodia you can stay in both countries long-term without having to engage in work or business activities.

I see no similar provisions for obtaining a long-term visa to stay in Burma or Laos on similar terms? In other words there doesn't seem to be anything similar to a retirement Visa in both of these countries?

While I agree with much you say, there are too many pedestrians who assume that international road etiquette apples here and just walk out expecting cars or bikes to stop for them. Also I see many who are too lazy to walk five yards to a pedestrian crossing further up and cross wherever they feel like it.

What is the point of crossing at a pedestrian crossing when these are switched off by the city/police every weekend and most other busy times. Not that the vehicles take any notice when the lights change to red anyway.

Does anyone know why the switch them off and I wonder if there are any statistics regarding injuries or deaths that have occurred at any of these lights that have been deliberately switched off?

This article is convoluted. Is it talking about educating Brits on how to drive? Why not bring Thailand up to global standards. The Wai may be heralded and seen in public but put a Thai behind the wheel of any vehicle and look at the Jekyll and Hyde scenario happen. The statistics are staggering by why not report the numbers for 2012 or in fact, shows meaningful stats like how many involved tourists?

yes yes.. once the car door is shut Buddhism and “ Thai love Thai “ goes right out of the window.

I'd say there's a 0% chance of her being extradited back to Italy, as the US legal system does not support double jeopardy.

Yes but it also means if she is found guilty in absentia then her travelling days are effectively over because as soon as she sets foot in another country that does have an extradition treaty with Italy, they will get her.

I was just reading about the tragic death of two tourist pedestrians in Koh Samui and of course the expressions of outrage that nobody cares about pedestrian safety in this country.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/628411-two-walking-british-tourists-killed-by-crash-in-koh-samui/

At the International music Festival here last weekend at the junction of second road and Pattaya Klang the traffic was a nightmare because it was all being diverted along second road. I watched all the tourists literally risking their lives as they darted across the road in between a few seconds they had between the lights changing. The motorists were totally unsympathetic and as I stood there, watching there were some near misses on a few occasions.

Meanwhile, there was a traffic cop sitting on a chair 20 metres away from the junction in the temporarily pedestrianised section of Pattaya Klang down towards Beach Road. He sat there, picking his nose completely nonchalant. I mean, for God's sake with so many tourists walking and so many cars in town , the city must have made a very decent amount of money from the rent they received from all the stallholders along Beach Road and I just would have thought they could have made a special effort to have the police take care of pedestrian safety-just for a few nights?

But things will never change will they?

You can get 3 wheel taxi bikes into town that takes 5 minutes...why provide bikes for guests to ride around the countryside when they could be inside the casino loosing $$

" why provide bikes for guests to ride around the countryside when they could be inside the casino loosing $$ "

exactly ! :-)

I may not necessarily want to travel into the town? I would just want the freedom to get out of that compound if I wanted and take a look at the countryside. Being taken to that kind of establishment without any freedom to move around outside would be too oppressive for me.

very shortsighted on their part in my opinion