nkg

Dino Park is great value for money.

Liars, damned liars and those who quote statistics. Not sure where this poll falls. Confusing at best.

Only 12.97% want Yingluck to step down, but 55.76 % think the leader of the caretaker government

should step down. Who commissioned this pole? What were the exact questions? Because these two

answers are entirely different. Did the pole designer not know what he/she was doing or did he/she know

exactly what they were doing and framed the questions in a way to get the answer they wanted.

If you go by the poles the Republicans won the US presidential race and Romney is president of

the United States. According to there poles anyway.

The percentages are answers to two completely different questions.

Here, let me show you:

Question 1)

Asked why only 46.7% of eligible voters nationwide turned out to vote in the Feb 2 polls, 24.16% of the respondents thought it was because the people were unhappy with current politics and the election system, 23.86% of them believe the people were fed up with politics, Nida Poll reported.

Some 21.01% of the sample believed it was because the people opposed the Thaksin regime, 12.97% said the people wanted caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down, 11.93% said it was caused by other reasons -- some polling stations were blocked by anti-government protesters of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), people’s concerns over their safety, people were not free and were busy working in other provinces, and 6.07% were unsure.

Question 2)

Asked what the caretaker government should do in the current situation, 55.76% of the respondents said Ms Yingluck should step down to open way for the selection of an impartial prime minister, 21.21% of them said do nothing and continue to work as a caretaker administration.

Only 6.20% wanted the caretaker government to use force to disperse the anti-government protesters, 4.92% said all sides should turn to talks and jointly find a way out of the political crisis, while 11.91% made no comment.

Interesting figures. There is no way I believe Sweden and Finland are so low.... makes me question the figures......

I agree with you.

Having lived in Denmark and been to Swden and Finland I saw a lot more alcohol consumption there than I see here.

I am sure the figures are distorted somehow.

The Scandinavian countries have ridiculously high alcohol taxes. And the Danish, Swedes and Finns that I see in Thailand are certainly not shy of a few drinks.

A lot of the Scandinavian booze is probably bought through "unofficial channels", which wouldn't show on the statistics.

Well, the 12 countries ahead of South Korea are all former Eastern Bloc countries, except for tiny Andorra (population 80,000)

Moldova Czech Republic Hungary Russia Ukraine Estonia Andorra Romania Slovenia Belarus Croatia Lithuania

The only countries there with a population much over 10M are Russia, Ukraine and Romania. If we changed the list to "Countries with a population of 12 Million or more", we'd have:

1) Russia

2) Ukraine

3) Romania

4) South Korea

5) France

6) UK

7) Poland

8) Germany

9) Nigeria

10) Uganda

Warning - boring factual post ahead!

"Shots of liquor" is quite a strange way to measure the alcohol intake of a country - as Euromonitor International acknowledge on their website.

South Korea's most popular spirit is called "Soju", and usually contains around 20% alcohol. Vodka, of course, is about 40% alcohol - which explains why South Korea are ahead of the Russians in this survey. 1 "Russian shot" would be equivalent to 2 "South Korean shots".

The UK drinks a mere 2.3 shots per week - but beer is hugely popular in that country.

The WHO (not the band) have the following national alcohol consumption stats:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption

A few examples:

Russia - 4th

South Korea - 13th

UK - 17th

Japan - 70th

Thailand - 77th

The Philippines - 89th

Apart from South Korea, all of the top 25 boozing countries are European, apparently.

Really, people aren't paying attention!

She is being nominated for the physics prize for her ground-breaking paper "Improved Determination Of Tau Lepton Paths From Inclusive Semileptonic B-Meson Decays".

She is also a strong contender for the chemistry prize, for her development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution.

OK, I'll ask them for the check. I can always ask for another form of payment if it doesn't work out. It's not a huge amount of money anyway. Thanks for the advice!

I had a small dispute with a Thai company, who are now offering to mail a small (4 figure) check for compensation.

Only problem is, I don't have a Thai bank account. Can you walk into a Thai bank, show them some ID, and swap the check for cash? Is there a fee?

Patong will become a war-zone, with its depraved inhabitants and visitors continually drinking and fighting. The streets will run orange with vomit. Tuk tuks will assume total control of transport, arming themselves with heavy machine-guns and rocket launchers. They will destroy all privately owned vehicles on sight.

The seas will turn brown with sewage, and the beaches will be completely covered with broken glass, excrement and used condoms. There will be hundreds of murders a day, and the corpses will be thrown into the sea.

Woe betide anybody who visits Phuket in ten years!

Now ---this is no Somchai and his mates chewing something over having a beer.This is serious well planned stuff,even down to the bullet proof vests and James Bond anti chase nails. Methinks we might get more of this as time goes on. Thought they might have taken the No plates off though

Since it was a well-planned robbery, I'd guess that the truck was probably stolen. Also, if they really knew their stuff they would have used fake plates, which they would have ditched soon afterwards.

no one pointing at him.......

Thank you for pointing that out.

What's your point?

Try doing a Google search for "kata hill sea view".

Maybe they are related to the "Karon Sea Hill" hotel.

Saphan hin 10:45pm Siva & Nine Emperor Gods Farewell

doomsday with all the firecrackers..don't miss it!

Thanks! I went last year (I had a proper timetable), it was VERY LOUD I just hope it doesn't rain!

Wang Dong, a Chinese businessman in Bangkok, said what's more important than saving money is the time saved, with better scope for business.

Listen to Wang Dong - he's a stand up guy.

Me and the missus are going to Phuket Town (Saphan Hin) tonight.

Exact times seem to be difficult to come by. Can anybody suggest what time we should plan on arriving/leaving? I only want to go for a couple of hours.

Thanks for the advice!

I bought a Nokia Asha 311 in the end. It seems like a decent enough phone, but the screen is a little on the small side (3 inches) and the resolution isn't great. In hindsight, I should have probably bought a Nokia Lumia 520 - 5500 Baht from Big C. The Asha is still a nice phone though for 3500 Baht.

Big C don't do refunds or replacements for mobile phones, so if you buy from there, choose carefully!

Disclaimer: I am no expert on mobile phones, although I am reasonably good with computers

My teeruk has been pestering me to buy her a new phone, so I've agreed. She says she has seen a Nokia phone advertised on TV - it sounds like a genuine smartphone from her description - camera, big touchscreen etc.

She said that the price was 3000 Baht - seems very cheap. After a bit of Googling, I think perhaps the model she saw was the Nokia Asha 501?

Anybody have any thoughts on this? Her requirements are internet access, a big screen, a basic camera and Facebook. And for some reason she really really wants a Nokia.

I did actually try Robinsons - the one in Phuket Town had one pair that fitted me, but they were Italian-style shoes that made me look like a wannabe pimp.

Robinsons in Jungceylon claimed that they didn't have anything bigger than size 10 US anywhere in the store, which defied all logic to me, given that most of their customers are farang. Maybe the shop assistants were clueless that day ...

I've somehow managed to never go to Outlet - I did consider looking there, I will definitely try there now. Any other suggestions very welcome.

I'm trying to expand my wardrobe a bit so that I am prepared for formal occasions. Unfortunately, I have "a few excess kilos".

Does anybody know of a good place to buy oversized white cotton undershirts or just plain white cotton T-shirts? Anywhere in Phuket is OK for me.

I also need to buy some new black dress shoes. The places I've tried so far have little or no large shoe sizes in stock. I'm about 45 European size - 10.5 UK, 11.5 US. I don't really want to spend a fortune, maybe 3000-4000 baht for something that will last a few years.

Any suggestions?

I've recommended him before - Somsak Optic in Phuket Town has always done a fantastic job for me.

My last pair cost me 1500 baht I think and have taken lots of punishment. When you're going south down the main road into Phuket Town, take the right turn down the one-way road leading to the roundabout with the fountain. Somsak Optic is immediately on your left. Apparently there are some other good independant opticians on that street too.

Mr Somsak speaks excellent English and does a free eye test.

Kasikorn Kamala was extremely easy for me.

Thanks for the advice. I will have a look for Tide next time I am in the South of Phuket.

Using the baby powder/liquid seems like a good idea. Would it be in the regular washing powder section or the babycare section of the supermarket?

Does anybody know where I could buy non-bio washing powder or washing liquid in Phuket? (Live near Patong but can travel)

My other half doesn't think the local supermarket sells it, unfortunately I can't decipher the Thai labels to see for myself.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

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