Asiantravel

WOW they will be bringing them in from Moscow in these soon

Yep, the weather has changed permanently in Pattaya starting just this year. It was most astute of you to notice that.

And of course there is a big outbreak of dengue fever getting under way right now! I suggest you either leave ASAP or OMG take your cereal without milk. Otherwise, you're doomed. Sorry--but RIP if the worst happens.

i am sure the relatives of the deceased will remember your feeble attempt at humour

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning of the need to take precautions against dengue fever, which has claimed 50 lives so far this year.

Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the Bureau of Epidemiology reported that a total of 52,008 people had fallen ill with dengue fever between from Jan 1-Oct 16 this year, and 50 of them died.

Of the total, 20,600 of the patients werein the Central Region, 14,347 in the Northeast, 9,076 in the North, and 7,985 in South.

For a mortality rate of .0000007 percent (50 / 70M Thai pop.)...I'll takes my chances and even have my cereal with milk!

I have never heard of Mozzies systematically seeking out individual targets - especially people who drink milk !!!

I eat a bowl of Tony the Tigers best Frosties with some Muesli and Milk every morning in Jomtien and I am one of those people that Mozzies avoid.

I rarely get bitten and when I do the result is a tiny pin prick mark. So may be Milk keeps them away....works for me

As for the weather - you can go on the internet and finds reams of utter crap about climate change....which has been taking place on a regular basis for the last 4 billion years since the big red molten metallic rock started to cool down a bit.

The recent weather in Australia is being blamed on climate change - but if you have a memory and have lived for more than 50 years you know that the weather in Oz goes in about 10 year cycles of floods and droughts... a colleague of mine used to love the floods when he was a kid and there was not even one TV crew around to film it and show it to the whole wide world who now stand back totally agog and quote utter <deleted> about climate change....

I came to Pattaya 7 years ago and the very first December I was here every one was telling me how cool it would be and no rain and it was boiling hot and rained every 3rd fricking day !!! But all around me was a massive collection of inebriated western / Scandanavian tourists who would not know if it was raining or snowing. The demographics have changed and now the people around me are from the Soviet block countries who don't give a hoot about the Pattaya weather as for them it is 70 C warmer than Vladivostok....even it rains a bit.

Unless any one is planning on having a Picnic under an Oak tree on a pleasant grassy meadow, or playing Golf or Tennis there is no need to worry about the bleeding weather in any country...suck it up and live it with it - Its called nature.

But... Governments around the world think we can change it all by taxing airplane tickets and buying carbon credits if you plant a tree in Guatamala.....give me bleeding strength...

Research suggests that, in addition to carbon dioxide, some of the substances that people produce and that attract mosquitoes are sweat, lactic acid, uric acid and a chemical called octenol. Lactic acid is emitted through the skin

http://www.wisegeek....than-others.htm

The reason I am concerned is that the outbreak of dengue fever in Pattaya late last year seemed to have been attributed in part to the rainy season hanging around which suits the mosquitoes.

I'm just wondering if all this rain again will mean even more prolific breeding of the dengue carrying mosquitoes?

The thing is the really like me because I take milk and cereal every morning for breakfast, and apparently they like people who digest lactic acid.

I don't want to get dengue fever because it sounds dreadful, so I guess it's keep up the full vigilance and defence again to minimise the risk

Yep, the weather has changed permanently in Pattaya starting just this year. It was most astute of you to notice that.

And of course there is a big outbreak of dengue fever getting under way right now! I suggest you either leave ASAP or OMG take your cereal without milk. Otherwise, you're doomed. Sorry--but RIP if the worst happens.

i am sure the relatives of the deceased will remember your feeble attempt at humour

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning of the need to take precautions against dengue fever, which has claimed 50 lives so far this year.

Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the Bureau of Epidemiology reported that a total of 52,008 people had fallen ill with dengue fever between from Jan 1-Oct 16 this year, and 50 of them died.

Of the total, 20,600 of the patients werein the Central Region, 14,347 in the Northeast, 9,076 in the North, and 7,985 in South.

The reason I am concerned is that the outbreak of dengue fever in Pattaya late last year seemed to have been attributed in part to the rainy season hanging around which suits the mosquitoes.

I'm just wondering if all this rain again will mean even more prolific breeding of the dengue carrying mosquitoes?

The thing is the really like me because I take milk and cereal every morning for breakfast, and apparently they like people who digest lactic acid.

I don't want to get dengue fever because it sounds dreadful, so I guess it's keep up the full vigilance and defence again to minimise the risk

Most people who take on cheap lifetime memberships are not naive enough to assume it's for an actual lifetime.

I shouldn't have to even mention this as it should be obvious, but when faced with a lifetime membership offer of 15,000 baht for a gym which costs 8000 per year to join, you're ahead if he stays open for a year and a day, aren't you?

It's an educated gamble with high odds in our favour.

It's a no-brainer to someone who lives here and trains year round.

How he stays afloat is his concern. His gyms are so run down already they can't get much worse. Nothing is maintained and so much equipment is unusable due to lack of maintenance.

If I get 2 years out of it I'm happy and I hope I don't have to keep training there for a lifetime. If he eventually closes, then that will make place for someone to open a real gym. Right now he has the market cornered with cheap gyms all over town and there's little chance for decent competition.

You sound like the people who paid for the Thailand Elite card

when you pay any lump sum amount upfront, you are still a sucker because you are risking the establishment being there indefinitely.

And it is most certainly not an educated gamble because in this day and age you only have to look at how many scam artists there are out there and even the owner of this establishment looks like he was a scam artist all along.

You sound like a ****** (sorry, I couldn't type it out without the risk of taking a holiday )

15,000 baht compared to what? Millions?

Your comments are absurd and hardly worth replying to. Go back and do the math. Also consider how long Tony's has been in business and how he's expanding.

California WOW – Have they just figured out it’s a scam?

A quick google search of other california fitness chains around the region (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia) will show you exactly what I’m referring to, in each of these countries the California Fitness gyms went bankrupt

http://thaicapitalis...out-its-a-scam/

I have my doubts about signing people up for a life time as you saw with california wow it doesnt work. A business like a gym needs constant cashflow. everything goes up over time. All it takes is for management to state they made a mistake and require all members to pay monthly or yearly and since there is no real competion it could work.

Most people who take on cheap lifetime memberships are not naive enough to assume it's for an actual lifetime.

I shouldn't have to even mention this as it should be obvious, but when faced with a lifetime membership offer of 15,000 baht for a gym which costs 8000 per year to join, you're ahead if he stays open for a year and a day, aren't you?

It's an educated gamble with high odds in our favour.

It's a no-brainer to someone who lives here and trains year round.

How he stays afloat is his concern. His gyms are so run down already they can't get much worse. Nothing is maintained and so much equipment is unusable due to lack of maintenance.

If I get 2 years out of it I'm happy and I hope I don't have to keep training there for a lifetime. If he eventually closes, then that will make place for someone to open a real gym. Right now he has the market cornered with cheap gyms all over town and there's little chance for decent competition.

You sound like the people who paid for the Thailand Elite card

Impose all the sanctions you want - by rights the DPRK should have collapsed years ago, yet they are going nowhere. These are hardcore, determined people, like it or not.

but .........

The NRA will no doubt argue that if all the family had their own gun, this massacre could have been avoided. When will these gun fanatics learn to lock the bloody things away?

can you explain why they were URLs mentioning the Sandy Hook incident and bearing specific dates well before the actual incident occurred?

Same way as everyone else mate :

http://www.thefreedi...nary.com/stolen

Just because ive got an opinion on whether the story is correct doesnt mean I speak different English to you.

I know what you are trying to do or imply but bad attempt, nice try though !

surely if you want to make assertions that the story was incorrect you should at least be prepared to back up your beliefs?

stolen past participle of steal (Verb)

Take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it: "thieves stole her bicycle".

Well if you had read my previous posts then you will see that I did by explaining an incident where I saw my friend being knocked down by a big 4x4 driven by a German and then the next day it was reported as a Thai women driving.

Besides if you don't know already know that the media here in Pattaya is paid off then you have either not been here long or very gullible.

oh come on ? now you are trying to argue the supposed innocence of this couple measured against an entirely different incident? Your posts are beginning to sound like those comical insurance claims statements

Same way as everyone else mate :

http://www.thefreedi...nary.com/stolen

Just because ive got an opinion on whether the story is correct doesnt mean I speak different English to you.

I know what you are trying to do or imply but bad attempt, nice try though !

Sounds dodgy to me. They dont look like they are desperate enough to steal a 300thb phone cover.

I would say there was confusion, the Thai (with his almost 0 social skills) knew only to resolve the situation by calling the police. Then, including the police they all shared the 3000 thb corruption fine.

Welcome to Pattaya !

I would have to bow to your knowing Mr. Unreaun better than me to jump to the conclusion that he has almost no social skills as you state above.

And you're right, why would you believe the media when they say she was a woman...................

"At the scene, officers found Ms. Unreaun Phakadaeng, the shop owner"

Pattaya needs more people like you to relate how it really is and take up the defence of the customers who walk away with goods from the stalls (that they apparently hadn't paid for).

As a matter of interest, how would you have responded (without physical violence) if you were the shop owner and in a situation like that?

Again you are assuming the story has been reported correctly. My view is it may not of been reported correctly. Really shocked how this simple suggestion doesn't seem to be sinking in with some people here. The theory that I suggested is irrelevant. My point is I don't believe the story and I have had first hand experience of how the media here are paid off to report differently.

The 0 social skills comment has really hit a nerve on this forum hasn't it !!!

If a customer had actually stolen an item then yes I would of called the police.

If a customer had actually stolen an item then yes I would of called the police.

Suicide, really ? something doesn't sound right in this story.

RIP to the innocent victim of silent pattaya region crime

So someone would go to such a remote location and go to all that trouble to commit suicide? Come on you so-called journalists wake up!

Having signed up for Mega on the first day here are a few comments.

What I like about Mega

1. 50GB Free
   
2. Encryption (allegedly poor and flawed) but it is a start.
   

What I do not like about Mega

1. Does not play well with Firefox (using Linux)
   
2. Even using Chrome, I have to leave the browser open to upload / Download files (I will ignore the fact that this was very slow for the first few days) as this may have been due to openng demand
   
3. If I have to shut down my broswer I have to restart the upload.
   
4. The interface is very basic.
   

In summary It is a VERY basic cloud storage not a patch on DropBox, Wuala, SpiderOak etc etc.

The encryption is not really a great bonus for me as I use my own encryption if storing slightly sensitive data on the web, and do not store very sensitive data under any circumstances.

I will keep my account in the hope that it improves, but at the moment all it is used for is backing up some DropBox files as an expermient. They need to get a decent Interface (or app) and they also need to improve its features.

I wish them well with their adventure but apart from the generous amount of free space there is nothing else to make me want to use it.

But based on what you have seen does it look like he has escaped the possibility of the authorities prosecuting him or trying to shut him down again?

That's just a little suspicious. Who the hell would steal a 300 baht Iphone cover?!

Who the hell would pay a 3000bt fine if they were innocent? Even more suspicious.

Someone who is scared sh*tless, cant speak English and knows they wouldnt even win if they were right I would say is a good candidate.

Really??? They wanted the cover and were too stingy to pay for it, so they took it. So where exactly is the confusion here???

Well your question holds value if you believe that they did walk off with it. The reading between the lines of my comment is that i dont believe the story and i think it was simply a confusion which could not be resolved thus the police called. Two sets of people that dont speak hardly any English, mixed with high ignorance and the need for corruption. Sounds like the perfect mix for misunderstanding to me. This could quite easily of been a case of misunderstanding about the price, the Russians walking off thinking they had paid when the Thai thinks they havent paid enough. So this will result in the Thai pocketing the money and then claiming the Russians didnt pay at all. Then the Russians cant defend themselves because of no English.

The fact that i had to explain shows me you probably believe the media here in Pattaya.

Listen ive known of Pattaya media being paid off to change stories about fatal car accidents, let alone a small crime. This is easy !!

You do have a very fertile imagination don't you?

" think it was simply a confusion "

what is so confusing about walking away in possession of something you haven't paid for?

" walking off thinking they had paid "

yes but in the real world just thinking you have paid for something is no defence?

" Thai thinks they havent paid enough "

if you read the article there is no mention whatsoever that the Russian couple paid for anything, so there was no question of them " not paying enough "?

Again as with other posters you base your whole argument on the media story being reported correctly. In fact your so confident its true you also think you look clever by mocking me.

Anyone who has been in Pattaya long enough will know that like everything else the media can and are paid off. I have experienced this directly when i saw for my own eyes a German run over and kill my friend and then the next morning it was reported as being an accident involving a Thai lady driver. So if you change the reporting of a death then an incident in Tukcom is nothing.

My exact theories as to what may of happened dont matter, my point is it could of quite easily been a different story and anyone who has been here long enough will know that.

So to answer your first insult to me. I would rather have a "fertile imagination" than be gullible and naive.

It is interesting, what some of the founding fathers really wanted for future generations

“The Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.” 
– Samuel Adams

“The Constitution preserves “the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation…(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” - James Madison, The Federalist, No. 46

“The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.” 
– Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers

“Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.
” –Thomas Paine

“When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” - Thomas Jefferson

...and....?

Really??? They wanted the cover and were too stingy to pay for it, so they took it. So where exactly is the confusion here???

Well your question holds value if you believe that they did walk off with it. The reading between the lines of my comment is that i dont believe the story and i think it was simply a confusion which could not be resolved thus the police called. Two sets of people that dont speak hardly any English, mixed with high ignorance and the need for corruption. Sounds like the perfect mix for misunderstanding to me. This could quite easily of been a case of misunderstanding about the price, the Russians walking off thinking they had paid when the Thai thinks they havent paid enough. So this will result in the Thai pocketing the money and then claiming the Russians didnt pay at all. Then the Russians cant defend themselves because of no English.

The fact that i had to explain shows me you probably believe the media here in Pattaya.

Listen ive known of Pattaya media being paid off to change stories about fatal car accidents, let alone a small crime. This is easy !!

You do have a very fertile imagination don't you?

" think it was simply a confusion "

what is so confusing about walking away in possession of something you haven't paid for?

" walking off thinking they had paid "

yes but in the real world just thinking you have paid for something is no defence?

" Thai thinks they havent paid enough "

if you read the article there is no mention whatsoever that the Russian couple paid for anything, so there was no question of them " not paying enough "?

numbers of laypeople are becoming disillusioned with or even hostile towards religion.

Yes, unfortunately in Thailand they have well and truly found their new religion-money and consumerism.

When I was in Chiang Mai I found they have a program at Mahachulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya Buddhist University called monkchat.

http://www.monkchat.net/

very sad but i guess another symbol of impermanence itself

Monks Lose Relevance as Thailand Grows Richer

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/world/asia/thai-buddhist-monks-struggle-to-stay-relevant.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0

Thai smog reaches record high!

Thai repossession of cars reach record high!

Accidents reach record high!

Thai household debt reaches record high!

Someone is high on something!

In the US toward the beginning of this recession there was a program called "cash for clunkers" where the government subsidized high trade in values for old cars on new cars. IMHO it did some bad things. It encouraged people to buy a new car with big payments. The used cars literally had to be destroyed to create demand for new cars and a lot of otherwise decent affordable cars left the planet. It did indeed mostly push sales forward so afterwards sales dropped, putting dealers right back into slow sales.

This rush of new car purchases could for instance affect new home sales or other sales. For at least five years those who bought will be buried.

In all fairness, this rush to debt is not a lot different from the West.

Yes but the relationship between the monthly salary and the amount some of these people are paying as monthly car repayments compared to what we paid in the West from our salaries is like chalk and cheese?

In fact, the percentage some Thai's are paying for their status symbol ( and i dont care that ALL it is ) is even higher than most people paid in mortgage repayments in the West but where we had a reasonable prospect of at least some capital appreciation on the purchase of bricks and mortar.

But to have some people in Thailand paying 80% or even higher of their salary for a depreciating piece of metal is sheer lunacy

car sales at a record high....so are the accidents and outright dangerous driving a lot (most) of the first time road users are causing.

Adhesive fast lane (slow)driving

average speed 90-100 they take a pedestrian speed as average

unpredictable behavior, causing a huge increase in accidents in my hometown. (car-motorcycles)

average ambulance and emergency sirene a year ago 1- 2 times a week around my house

Now once or twice a day!!!!!!!!!

be carefull out there......