haha

Can't say I have seen enough of Penang to comment, I was only there briefly and stayed on Leboh Chulia both times. Was not very impressed with it, but then again, it did the trick for the visa.

Chulia Street is sorta like a low-key Penang version of Khao San Road (to me anyway). You might want to try staying in a different area should you ever return.

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Ovenman's right, Chulia St is geared to the backpacker type. Next time visit Gurney Drive, on the northern outskirts of Georgetown. It's quite different from GT's Chinatown part.

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I've been to penang many times for visa runs. that gurney drive looks interesting. can you recommend any inexpensive places to stay in that area?

thanks.

thailand has been invaded by an outside force.

there is no way a thai would murder 900 of his own countrymen. it must be a foreign force.

haha: The troubles in the south are all about Thaksin, and only Thaksin, although I will admit that in the ten or so years previous to that, there were isolated incidents....but absolutely... and I mean absolutely nothing... on the scale of today!

The"insurgents" aren't outside invaders, although they see themselves as foreigners living in a country that is not their own. (The southernmost provinces were anexed by Thailand in 1902).

These "insurgents" speak a different language to Thais, dress differently, worship a different God....and are altogether quite different from ordinary Thais. They are not foreign invaders.

This is an internal - domestic problem that is fast escalating out of control for the government.

Things are sure to get a whole lot worse before they get better....particularly as nothing appears to be able remove Thaksin from his power base at this moment in time.

haha: no offence, but your posting is seriously out of touch with reality....it reads more like a sci-fi synopsis than a prognosis of a country's internal problems!

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out of reality? I got an open mind. so, you tell me what the reality is?

as I see it, the reality is that there is a large group of people who are murdering thai people. and they need to be stopped.

whether or not they have any legitimate claim to the land or not, they don't have the right to murder these people.

the reality is - they have to be stopped.

.wouldn't you agree?

I love this thread. OOO LA LA, I'm in paradise here in my closet sized studio APT, bowl of rice, cockroaches and rats. I'm happier than a pig in _ _ _ _

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ok. you are getting there. I can see you are starting to truly understand how lucky you are in this world.

now... read the following article.

http://www.irc.nl/page/13124

if you don't feel more fortunate after reading this article which is one of many on the internet, I don't know what to say to you.

...to the pursuit of happy memories.

...to the realization that you have been blessed.

my 2 cents...

thailand has been invaded by an outside force.

there is no way a thai would murder 900 of his own countrymen. it must be a foreign force.

and it must be more than a small group of people. ...we're talking about 900 murders.

these journalist are causing a lot of confusion for what taksin wants to do. the media is causing taksin to lose focus on what is happening down south.

..I wonder why?

for a country who prides itself on never having been conquered, the media sure looks like they are trying their best to help the invaders take their country.

..whose side are the media on? thailand, or the invaders?

get this. my guess is when those invaders come to bangkok, the media is going to put all the blame on taksin.

anybody want some odds?

when the invaders start to murder thai people in bangkok, what will the media say? that taksin didn't do enough?

in this time of invasion, the thai people need to unite to fight the common enemy.

stop fighting taksin, and work with him to get these murderers.

.....900 of your countrymen have already been murdered.

.....when will you comprehend what is happening?

The cheapest way is to take the A3 Sukhumvit airport bus (you buy a ticket and pick it up by the taxi queue just as you exit the terminal) get off at the Elkhami bus station Soi 63, then buy a ticket for an air-con bus to Pattaya (ticket window is the first one on the right side as you enter the terminal), then a baht bus to your hotel.

Seems like a lot of transfers but not a big deal.  Costs (may have gone up a little) are 100bt for the airport bus, 90bt for the bus to Pattaya, and 20bt for the baht bus, total 210 bt.  Total travel time about 2.5-3 hours depending on traffic.  Very easy to do.

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Baht bus to your hotel for 20 Baht??????

Last time I went to Pattaya, baht buses wanted 200 Baht to take me to Soi Bheakhow (South) and motorbike taxi 50 Baht per person.

I'm afraid that the Baht buses really take the p**s nowadays. Air conditioned taxi meter in Bangkok from Morchit bus station to Sukhumvit cost me 100Baht 6oclock in the morning last thursday, But baht bus wants 200 Baht from Pattaya north bus terminal to south Pattaya. Unbelievable, the difference. Incidenrtly taxi meter Friday night 9pm from Sukhumvit to airport cost me 220 Baht plus 60 Baht tolls. Traffic was at virtual standstill and had to cross Sukhumvit and start off in the wrong direction. Taxi driver knew his way around, if I had used AB3 bus, would have missed flight for sure.

I would NEVER recommend that anyone going to Pattaya from the airport go via Ekkami bus station, traffic can be terrible. Go to Morchit. Taxi to Morchit around 120 Baht ( get taxi at departure level (3rd floor) if you want to avoid 50 Baht airport surcharge and sometimes long wait). Morchit to pattaya same price as from Ekkami and much quicker.

Personally, after flying to Thailand, I cant be bothered with messing around and wouild rather pay for a taxi straight to my hotel. Usually 1200 Baht, but often can find someone to share if you want to keep down the price. Last time I used taxi, it cost 500 Baht total for me and gf for drop off at my hotel as tried to grab taxi at the same time as some Germans and driver was happy to take us all for a little extra as he had to do 3 drop offs. That can't be bad.

If you want to save money and this is not something that I have tried.Why not write a small placard, Something like " ANYBODY WANT TO SHARE TAXI TO PATTAYA?" and walk up and down the airplane b4 it lands. I would think that you would have a good chance of finding another 2 or 3 single travellers to share. Would then be similar cost to using buses and a lot more convenient.

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hey. that's a good idea. that "ANYBODY WANT TO SHARE TAXI TO PATTAYA?" sign. you might also want to consider using "www.craigslist.com" to schedule a share with someone.

there is a craigslist in bangkok now. ..look for the "share rides" section in craigslist.

I used to use craigslist in the states all the time to travel up and the down the west coast. saved a lot of money.

there are 2 sections to the morchit bus station. one for the local buses, and one for the buses going outside of bangkok to other destinations in thailand.

when I come back from pattaya, I usually walk to the other section with the local buses, and board the #77 bus to get to the world trade center. if I want to go the asoke side of sukhumvit, I take the #136 bus.

if you just want to get from the morchit bus station to the morchit BTS station, the #77 bus will take you there too.

the red #77 is 5 baht now. orange (air/con) #77 is 12 baht.

the secret to happiness is - "to not expect too much".

this applies to anywhere you are in the world.

I believe in the saying, "the more you want, the more you suffer."

for this to truly work, you need to do "reality checks" on your existence in the past.

imprint in your mind your existence in the world you lived in before you came here.

... from the 3 hour commutes day in and day out - to and from work. to the fears of "how to keep up with the jones". or maybe the freezing rain/snow for those who lived in the colder places. how about the lonely nights in a dreary coffee shop where nobody wanted to talk to you?

when you are able to do this successfully, you will never feel depressed for too long ever again. for upon retrospect, you will instantly feel lucky, and kiss the earth.

it works for me.

ahhhh. ooohhhhh.

I have never had any problems with immigration in all the years I've been coming here.

there was a couple of times in the past when I had to pay a 100 baht "fee". but I haven't experienced that for a long time.

still, they have been treating me with as much courtesy as is to be expected.

in fact, the service has improved immensely from the way it was 10 years ago.

back then, there were hardly any signs in english. you just wandered around trying to figure things out. hehehe.

you should have experienced the traffic before the skytrain was built. man, you would really feel fortunate now if you did so.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,...i211752,00.html

when I was still working on networks, all the companies I worked for used cat 6. infrastructure is very important, you don't want to skimp on that. most of the consultants that I spoke with would always say quote, "don't skimp on the infrastructure".

with the way technology is nowadays, why skimp on the cable?

if you had to replace it later on, you may pay thru the nose if you are a big company.

that's why I stuck it in the farang section.

I just read this stuff from the internet. check it out.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45313

http://pc540.blogspot.com/

http://www.radioblogger.com/

according to the stories, some book came out saying that al-qaeda is going to nuke some cities in the near future. ..like within 90 days.

whether this is fiction, rumor, or what. I'm not sure yet. but the internet is talking about it big time.

catch the drift from the links in the above websites.

I hope it's not true. but just the same. the word needs to get out.

www.slingmedia.com

as long as the people who are murdering people down there continue doing so, how can you implement the steps you suggested?

you can't.

the first step is to stop these murderers.  find out who they are, where they are, and punish them for the 800 murders that they have already committed.

then, you can plan for the future.

otherwise, anything you try to built, they will destroy.  do you remember the schools that they burned down?

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I my first post I asked for ideas of reform that could be used after the violence had been dealt with or at least calmed down enough, like when schools stopped being burned.

You posting about solar power, I wonder, do you think solar collecting stations could bring in some much need growth if they were place with in these troubled provionvces?

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I think the world is full of other people who would like to help others.

the key is to ask. nobody can read minds.

with the internet, you have this ability to ask all you want. maybe some people won't reply. you just need to keep trying.

with the internet, you have unlimited possibilities. solar energy is just one of them.

like I said, thailand has the manpower. and they are probably willing to work for a lot less than many other countries. with globalization, you have access to the world.

go look for a niche. that is what india did, and look at them now.

in regards to solar power, these inventors in the EU said they could produce the new flexible solar panels for about 1 dollar a watt. with the low labor costs here in thailand, don't you think you could get the cost even lower?

you won't know until you ask.

...on commercial size systems, I would ask the people who build them. get their feedback.

http://www.solonmover.com/english/projekte/lproj.php

http://www.solardepot.com/c_system_examples.htm

http://www.alpinesurvival.com/system3.htm

http://www.scottevest.com/

each website is a potential customer, a potential partner. ...talk to them to find out if they could be.

there must be over a million people in the south of thailand. form a committee to represent that area, and then, roam the internet to find business partners.

note: I am just a simple person with humble desires. so, I cannot profess to know all the answers to your questions. I can only offer what I know. but in my heart, I wish people the best in their endeavors as long as they are honorable.

some more links....

http://www.alpinesurvival.com/1-ENRPAK200.htm

http://www.alpinesurvival.com/system3.htm

http://superconductors.org/INdex.htm

http://www.futureenergies.com/print.php?sid=237

http://www.chinadepot.com/psps.html

hope this info helps...

part of the future is solar power, and super conductivity. in another string, I mentioned this.

I think thailand with all this natural resource of sunlight would benefit from research into solar power.

right now, there are some people in the EU who are doing research into the improvement of solar power technology. I'm sure they would be delighted to have partners in this research in other countries like thailand.

I heard there are people here in thailand who are already involved with solar power. but are they as advanced as those people in EU?

why don't you try to contact them to compare notes?

http://www.solonmover.com/english/projekte/lproj.php

http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsEUPR214.htm

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2004Dec/...41217028313.htm

http://www.scottevest.com

/http://www.alpinesurvival.com/system4.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424786.000

http://www.solardepot.com/c_system_examples.htm

http://www.odysen.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=116

maybe you can set up some deals with some of these people to make their products for them.

you have the man power. all you need to do is ask. it doesn't cost anything to ask.

you have the internet as a way to communicate with them.

there are many people in the south of thailand. why doesn't someone down there not try to talk to them?

do they need someone else to help them ask?

as long as the people who are murdering people down there continue doing so, how can you implement the steps you suggested?

you can't.

the first step is to stop these murderers. find out who they are, where they are, and punish them for the 800 murders that they have already committed.

then, you can plan for the future.

otherwise, anything you try to built, they will destroy. do you remember the schools that they burned down?

do you believe that a person who has read the koran is better than a person who hasn't?

just curious...

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Jez...

Common sence would dictate that a person that have read it might know about its content then a person that haven't.

Do you understand that or should I take it slower?

The person above said the 'answers' to this problem was to be found in the Quran, wich ofcourse is false. Something he would have known if he would have read it or even talked to someone that have.

If blaim has to be passed, blame the priest that pevert it to their own agenda.

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I agree with that.

so, curious....  do you think saloman rushie should be murdered because of his translation of the koran?

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Who is your question directed too?

AFAIK Salman Rishdie didn't translate the Quran (...), he wrote about it and the priests like he saw it.

And no, no-one ever deserves to die from whatever they write. Just common sence.

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I can't believe we agree on something.

I realize Mr T is as crooked as my path walking down Soi Cowboy,

  But Islam is the problem here....

  Read the Quran and you will see.

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Don't be so freaking ingorant.

Have YOU ever read the Quran?

Before you ask: yes, I have read it, back to back, several times. Infact I have written a thiessis (*sp*) on it which recieved highest grade some years back.

I have also read the Bible back to back a number of times.

Do you really want to take an argument of which religion that has most blood on its hands?

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do you believe that a person who has read the koran is better than a person who hasn't?

just curious...

I realize Mr T is as crooked as my path walking down Soi Cowboy,

  But Islam is the problem here....

  Read the Quran and you will see.

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Don't be so freaking ingorant.

Have YOU ever read the Quran?

Before you ask: yes, I have read it, back to back, several times. Infact I have written a thiessis (*sp*) on it which recieved highest grade some years back.

I have also read the Bible back to back a number of times.

Do you really want to take an argument of which religion that has most blood on its hands?

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I believe that most wars in history started out from religious beginnings.

for all the good that is supposely written in the "books" connected with all the different religions, they don't mean jack to me.

..because to me, people who practice religion are some of the biggest hypocrites in the world.

people who believe in religion get so caught up with which religion is the best that they are willing to inflict physical harm to others who argue with them on which religion is the best.

talk about crazy.

so, curious.... do you think saloman rushie should be murdered because of his translation of the koran?

for 7k baht, in the city proper, you are looking at mostly studios. if you want something bigger for that price, you need to either live further out, or buy a place. since you are married with a thai, you may be able to get financing from a bank.

I saw this place on sukhumvit soi 77, onnut soi 3 about 6 months ago that was selling for about 700k baht. it's not too big, but for a 3 person family, I think it would be ok.

at least for me it would.

according to the folks there, if I could get financing, the monthly payments would be about 4k baht excluding utilities of course.

along that same area, I heard that there was a place (studio condo) where you could buy a unit for about 200k baht. it wasn't the greatest place, but it was yours. heard it sold out really quickly. sukhumvit soi 77, onnut soi 25.

traditionally, the best deals for apartments in the city are rachada, onnut, and prakanong.

there are many small studio apartments out in rachada for around 2k baht a month. out in the suttisan area. sorry I can't help you with the footwork.

oh. one last possibility... I remember seeing a place in the pratunam area called ratchaprarop towers - ratchaprarop road, soi boonprarop. had 1 bedrooms going for about 7k-9k. has swimming pool, on-site pharmacy. next to pratunam area, and all the shopping around there.

good luck.

the value of material things including money is based on belief.

brainwashing has been a favorite activity in the world lately. so, why not give it a shot, right?

good luck.

EYE FOR AN EYE, TOOTH FOR A TOOTH???? What is this, the Capulets and Montigues??? If we need to keep in ancient grudges and mutinies that never have a happy ending, why don't we stick to the local ancient remedes.

What the early/pre Thai states used to do in time of conflict for the sake of Unity was send off their daughters or young sisters for marriage with the leader of the other state. This ultimately created family bonds / loyalty that are much harder to sabatage even between the lines of religion. This is highly effective for achieving peace if you ask me.

So what does that entail for the current situation???     Whoever get's Thaksin's daughter, particularly the one still in Uni is certainly a lucky man and ought to be commited to making offspring instead of bombs.

The older daughter not so bad either. How old is she now? Mid twenties??? Heck, even his younger sister, Yingluck, well, I'd do er (inferring a business transaction for you worried sensors )

And what would Mr. T get in return aside from a peaceful tie? Well I'm sure they can send four wives for Ok Awk, whatever that boy's name is. That should settle the score.

Harmony, love, and babies.

That's the best imediate peaceful solution I can think of.

Where's my medal darn it?  

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Not to feed my own ego or anything but,

Most of the other replies in this thread are pragmatic attempts to fulfill the naturalistic fallacy!!! No one seems to be contributing anything real accept cries and attacks on Thaksin and the Muslims. The 'Muslims' in question aren't any more terrorists than they are victims. If you know anything about the history of the region, this conflict on the Malay peninsula isn't that just happened the past few years, but is rooted as old as Middle Eastern conflicts, if not older...Ofcourse, the various conflicts over thousands of years have been in different forms, reasons, but are certainly not religous cultural conflicts solely, i.e. from Hinduism to Islam and Budhism and the current religous/ethnic struggles between the remaining two.

If you look from recent (last 2000 years) historical perspectives, many peoples have realized the strategic potential of the Malay Peninsula everywhere from Funan's (Pre Khmer) expansion/migration through towards the Indo China heartlands to Persian (Pre Islam) explorers searching for shorter sea/land routes towards China. You might be surprised the historical significance of Nakhon Sri Thamarat as a central port diverse of various ethnic peoples around a thousand years ago.(Regarding the Persians, I have read/studied less about than my knowledge of Funan but I'm sure some history buffs here could back up the exact purpose/expansions of the Persian powers in the region and their purposes over the past 2000 years) all the way up to the age of colonialism and the British control of the peninsula and the establishment of Singapore as a major port. These such events crushed Thai (and even smaller Burmese) historical claims over many years of warfare and vessel type rulership throughout the peninsula.

The reason why Thailand clings on so much to these three provinces is no suprise. The kingdom lost enough face succeeding the states of Kedar, Penang, among other peninsular states/provinces (anyone interested in specifics/years/or other pragmatics only needs 5 minutes of research) to Colonial Britain, which eventually had to give autonomy to the people anyway...

No violence is justified and each side has sufficient events in history to justify their actions no matter what angle you look at it from--- ultimately it comes down to suppression and the soverign right of lands and people. Like I said in my initial post, any violence that continues is on the same basis of the Capulet and Montague fued, which is just a cycle of violence, no one really able to tackle what the current issue is and what exactly is it either side wants.

Those who make comments like 'Crush those terrorists! Dirty Muslims' along these lines should take a stroll out of your world of CNN/BBC and Nescafe, you might learn something authentic. Before you get all emotional with your response, try reading and understanding Allegory of the Cave from Plato's republic first.

Ok, waiting for an intelligent/reflective post now...

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it takes two parties to talk.

those people down there whoever they are are not willing to talk. they just go around murdering people.

in this scenario, you have no choice but to defend yourself.

and you need to do this with whatever means you have available to you. this includes phone taps, etc.

this murdering has to stop before any sincere negotiations can be discussed.

a good friend who was also my boss once said to me

" if you're gonna bitch to me also give me a solution"

same for the south of Thailand

its a mess so

how can these problems be solved

not easily and so

i dont envy the PM's position at all

so guys lighten up and switch to solution mode

who knows you may win the nobel peace prize

look at Geldof   

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I also believe in constructive criticism.

somebody mentioned that they don't have jobs down there. somebody needs to see what options are available for that area.

how about solar power? could that area be used as a base location for the testing, creation, studying of solar power for use as an alternative energy source?

just brainstorming...

my 2 cents...

taksin is doing the right thing. going after the terrorists.

if he did nothing, people would still be murdered.

at least he is trying. that takes courage.