womble

Friend of mine runs a bar in center of chaweng, bar has been there 6 years, last week has been record takings every night.

I went to eat in the restaurant and it was excellant. The best seafood I have eaten in Samui. My Dad thought it was the best he's ever had, and my Gf thought the same.

It is outstanding.

We had, curried crab, soft shell crab, coral trout steamed in soi sauce, king prawn in tamarind sauce (restaurant speciality), yam Sabeinglae (restaurant speciality), tom yam goong.

Everyone must try this restaurant!

Sabeinglae in Lamai very good sea food and one of the few places on Samui where traditional Samui food is served.

That looks like the kind of place i'm after, I love the restaurants that have the fish alive in tanks.

I don't think i've ever eaten samui food, looking forward to trying thsi place.

anyone know anywhere else that has a good selection of live seafood?

thanks limbos.

I have a few restaurants that I visit regulary, but am getting tired of eating in the same places. I have been eating in aow Thai near bandon hospital and pee soon in the car park behind green mango, food is great at pee soon, but the service is terrible, dishes always come late, the wrong things come to table, always forget orders, such a shame because the food is so good.

Can anyone reccommend a non touristy thai restaurant that has seafood and is good value.

I need somewhere new to go.

thanks.

A few topless glamour shots is hardly soft porn. Clever marketing though by manager, keeps people talking and will help attract a crowd that might otherwise not be interested in attending such a night if it was a male dj playing the same tracks.

So you get people into the music + an extra crowd of people coming to see a female (exotic) Thai DJ. This is great for a promoter as you can also be sure of a good turnout providing it is marketed well.

She's a good dj.......

And has a loyal following

Consistantly drawing a crowd where ever she goes, and never fails to deliver what the crowd wants.

I recommend any who doubt her djing skills to attend one of these nights, i'm sure you will have a good night and be impressed by the way she works a crowd...........

A tiny bit of research would show that Supakorn Vejjajiva has been the Deputy CEO of Post Publishing since at least 2006.

and employed by Post since at least 2003, but then why spend 2 minutes googling when you can start a thread and lament about historically repetitious discussions after having signed up 48 hours prior?

And you never start threads...............

never seen corrupt post office, just customs. Customs tell post office how much for tax, they collect and pass on. If you want to pay lower tax eigher pick your stuff up from customs or declare lower value on goods and put in invoice with shipment.

welcome to thailand......

I guess you've been here a short time and have only just started dealing with authorities, beaurocracy and have been initiated into how deep corruption permiates through society.

Get used to it and play the game like the thai's do.

Otherwise you will end up paying more waiting longer and getting frustrated.

Basic rule of thumb, you want anything done quickly, you pay.

By the way those fees in the police station, they too are forms of corruption. You are paying them for their time.

If you ever want something investigated, an accident, a theft etc, pay a little upfront and offer a further payment on completion of task.

play the game, play the game............

From what i've seen the clearest spots are eigher end of chaweng beach, eigher end of lamai and coral cove. The north has always seemed murky to me, bophut, meanam, can't even see your hand.

I'm trying to work out how to estimate which days will have good vis around Samui. I know most people who dive in this area do so around Koh Tao, being surrounded by deep water and far away from mainland rivers means the water is much clearer.

I free dive around samui but some days you can barely see your hand infront of your face, other days you can get 5 or 6 meters vis (this is very rare though). I was wondering if anyone knew how to guess which days and times of days will be best. High tide, low tide, full moon, half moon?

I'm fed up with getting all my gear ready and making the effort only to get in the water and realise you're wasting your time!

I know when it rains there is run off which is dirty and makes the vis very poor, also rough weather stirs up the bottom and likewise cuts down the vis. Other than that I know very little..........

Can anyone shed some light?

How can she not be arrested on arrival? How can she be a fugitive and yet just walk straight through immigration and into her limo?

What I find most disturbing is the fact the whole mess this country is in is down in the most part to her and her husband and yet her arrival coincides with an important meeting that will no doubt be central to continuing the economic misery that will be faced by millions in this country while her and her greedy ex husband work out ways they can pay people off to get back the billions that have been impounded.

Tension in Bangkok

Thai authorities, associations swing into action

At the moment, Mr Kongkrit said the priorities were to "heal the wound" by providing assistance to affected tourists. He said the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) had allocated a fund of 20 million baht, providing each affected tourists with a 2,000 baht daily expenses for accommodation and meals.

Travel agents and hotels are to advance the daily expenses to tourists, and to keep the receipts and travelling information of each tourist to back the claim with MoTS through TCT.

-- TTG 2008-11-29

Not too many opportunities for profit there......

How much of that will go to tourists, greedy sods with their fake reciepts, i'm gonna follow this one and get in contact with a tabloid newspaper right away, they

ll like a story like that at this moment in time. I can see the headlines now poor tourists stranded whilst Thai's up to ministerial level steal their cash whilst tourists stay hungry without a roof over their heads!!!

Remember all the money lost to graft after the tsunami, these people know no shame when it comes to corrupt practises.

Got this story from bangkok post:

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rejected calls to negotiate. Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang will remain closed until Somchai resigns, said PAD founder and leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

"If we have to die today, I am willing to die. This is a fight for dignity," he said on a broadcast by his own ASTV station.

PAD opponents will rally on Sunday at Sanam Luang.

There was chaos at U-Tapao, a military airbase with almost no civilan flight facilties.

"We were originally told we were booked on a flight but they are reselling people tickets," said Mark Underwood, 23, from Southampton in England. "We have no money. I am annoyed and we want to get home." (with reports by AFP)

Does that surprise anyone?????

Also might I add charging 7000 baht for taxi to bangkok is disgraceful, the drivers should be happy they can run a non stop shuttle service, knowing those lazy sods tho I bet they do 1 7g job per day and spend the rest of the day sleeping or drinking whiskey.

Is everyone charging 7000, my friend is landing in utapao today, i'll send a car from bangkok if they are charging that much........

anyone confirm?

I was thinking, they say there's no such thing as bad news/advertising......

Obviously in the short term for Thailand the effect on tourism will be devistating, however I had a thought (probobally a really stupid one) but maybe worth discussing, for a moment anyway.

Many people will be changing their holiday plans from Thailand to vietnam, malaysia, bali etc. But could all the news help bring attention to the country and attract people once thinsg settle down. Also all the people who switch will more than likely make Thailand their next holiday once things calm down and it seems safe again.

Unfortunatley I think short term the damage will be devistating and it will also effect into the mid term as people can see security issues. I guess i'm just looking for some kind of hope as my business is touist related...... So is it possible that next high season 2009/2010 could be a bumper one if things are resolved quickly as those that changed plans some back once it's safe and new tourists come who didn't think of coming before simply because the country and it's huge tourism industry has been brought to their attention even though initially for the worng reason.

One other thing I was thinking, us were becoming neglected and treated badly, they thought they'd always be a new plane load of us to arrive and many Thai's became jaded and forgot how important we are to their country and the income we bring them (not just tourism but in the export we buy, some of which cannot be exported at present as they go by plane not ship). If they blockade the ports aswell, then they will really see how important the outisde world is......

So perhaps if this high season really is dreadful, they will realise they need to treatus better and offer us more to get us to come back.

I voted no because you cannot give in to mob rule, it opens the door for this to be done anytime a minority disagrees witha demorcratially elected government.

The problem is it's the only way to avoid bloodshed as it seems the police and military do not support him.

The real problem here is checks and balances. That is, the executive branch of Thailand is essentially powerless against the military. In a democratic society, a party elected into power is effectively the will of the majority. So, by disregarding the PPP, the army acts in its own interests rather than serving the people.

This would definitely bring about problems if it's not amended.

What the PAD is doing right now is not so much childish (as stated above), but criminal, and it needs to be stopped. There is nothing particularly wrong with a peaceful protest, but this isn't one of them.

Also: I couldn't find this on the site, so I'll post it here.

Maverick Thai general reassigned to 'dance' duty

Nov 21, 2008

BANGKOK (AFP) — A Thai general who warned anti-government activists to book their own funerals ahead of a rally this weekend hit out at his bosses Friday after saying he had been moved to a role teaching aerobics.

Major General Khatiya Sawadiphol, an adviser to the Thai army, has courted controversy with a string of comments against demonstrators who have occupied the prime minister's offices in Bangkok.

An army spokesman said that Khatiya, who has written books about his combat exploits, had been appointed by army chief General Anupong Paojinda to lead the military's health club promotion task force.

Khatiya, who is under investigation on disciplinary charges, told newspapers that his new posting was "ridiculous".

"The army chief wants me to be a presenter leading aerobic dancers. I have prepared one dance. It's called the throwing-a-hand-grenade dance," the Bangkok Post quoted Khatiya as saying.

The army, however, denied the general's assertion.

"The working group is to find a way for army staff and families to exercise. It does not mean, as Khatiya sarcastically told reporters, that he will lead aerobic dances in the marketplace," Lieutenant Colonel Sirichan Ngathong told AFP.

The group leading the protests, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), have called for a blockade of parliament on Sunday after one of its members was killed and 29 were wounded in a grenade attack on Thursday.

Khatiya reportedly warned them to book Buddhist temples for their funerals if they went ahead. "Bullets will be fired from all sides into Government House so please get out," he was quoted as saying in Matichon newspaper.

In October, Khatiya warned that PAD activists squatting at the prime minister's office would face more attacks in future -- a prediction which was borne out.

He has also openly trained so-called "warriors" to counter PAD activists guarding the anti-government sit-in.

The PAD accuses the government of being a puppet for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Clashes between the PAD and the police on October 7 left two people dead and more than 500 injured.

This guy sounds like a bit of a loose cannon. That's an extremely amusing inactive post for Anupong to move him to..........

I can think of only one family capable of funding this with the connections needed to get things done and make certain high power individuals stand down from doing their jobs.

Usually if you follow the money/power trail you get to the answer. Think about it !

Actually I could probably come up with over a dozen families capable of funding these hijinks, some older high Sakdina families, some slightly more recent arrivals who happen to have lucrative monopolies, and a few families that own major banks. There are certainly enough families to create two competing factions, and I doubt any one single family or clan is in complete control of any one faction.

I just don't see anyone benefiting from this spectacle in the long term, but then again, Thailand has always been the land of short time and shortsightedness.

The thing is these powerful families who's fortunes have been made and continue to be made thrive on monopolies. To them a closed country is best, they do not want competition from foriegn companies, they also do not need to go multinational, they make enough off the Thai people. To them putting off FDI and/or tourism makes no difference, infact it helps them maintain their monopolies.

That is one reason for siezing the airport, they don't care about the countries image as they can survive quite nicely off the thai population.

Probobally unrelated, attacks of this nature or beatings or destruction of the vendors stalls are commonplace on thailand when landlords want low rent tennants out in order to sell or lease for big money.

Chuwit did it in sukhumvit and it was also done at chatuchak, neigher of these involved grenades tho........

Has anyone noticed it's gone aufully quiet down south?

no killings or bombs last few days, not that i've heard of anyway.....

BBC world reporting over 30 injuries at government house, no fatalities.

There will be no high season for the tourism industry this year!!!

Watching Thai tv now, looks like quite a few injured, although none look too serious.

India has a caste system...

Thailand has a system of patronage....

Whilst both very different they should both be replaced with a more progressive society.

There way the government has handled this has shown the world what us expats already knew, how poor the security is in the country. The events at the airport, particulary gaining access to the control tower so easily is an advert to extremeists worldwide what a soft target this country is.

It's totally within the realms of possibility that these events could plant seeds in extremeists minds that Bangkok would be an easy target to kill large numbers of westerners.

I doubt it would come from Thai muslims, on the most part they are far less radical than other muslims, even the ones carrying out the attacks in the deep south would probobally not be able to organise something on the scale of Mumbai. It's also not there MO, they are seeking a seperate state, a new country.......

It's unlikely they would go for mass killings of westerners as a way to try and achieve their goals.

Far more likely some British muslims come over on "holiday" and then carry out the large scale simultanious attacks.

For one thing the Thai muslims don't have the funding for such activites, or the logistics.

I repeat though, the handling of this whole situation is an advert to extremeists that Thailand security is not much to worry about.

I doubt there's many places in the world where it would be so easy to carry out a bombing that could kill so many, there are so many locations that if targeted could kill thousands and the security at these places is non existant. There may well be security guards, but these guys have no training and more often than not if they saw something suspicious they would turn a blind eye as they wouldn't want to bring any risk to themselves..........

Jonathan Head has been one of the most distinguished reporters on the current Thai political crisis.The insulting and ill educated posts on this thread about him simply reveal the boorish and ignorant nature of the authors.

Jonathan Head is a big coward who doesnt dare to critisize the government! Most of his reports are biased as hel_l.

Chicken @#%@

He's in some kind of trouble at the moment, maybe lese majesty.

Cutting the supply lines is a good idea, has worked in seige warfare for centuries, I think the mongols were the first to perfect it.........

Why can't they cut power to the airport? I know PAD must have generators, but it would help.

Can you imagine the mess to clear up in the airport when this is all over? Who is going to foot the bill?

The leaders of PAD should be put in jail and bankrupted and the money given to the state.

Imagine how many jobs at the airport alone are at risk sue to their crazy antics.

So far the airport LOOKS as clean as when the PAD moved in.

Cutting supplies may sound like a good idea --- but it isn't. same with electricity.

You guys have seen too many cop shows and are thinking about hostage negotiation. Instead .... think .... They are staying. No bottled water gets to them from outside then they have to look for it inside. No petrol gets to them from outside then they have to get it from the airports supply etc etc.

So far it appears that we have a situation with almost no damage to the airport ... escalating could certainly change that situation quickly!

I understand what you're saying. but up until now they have used their own supplies. It's one thing taking over a property in civil disobediance (spelling?), but it's another thing altother looting. It's opening them up to all sorts of law breaking as it's no longer a government building, but they are stealing supplis from private business.

I expect you're right tho, they'll get the supplies they need from whereever they can get them.......

Cutting the supply lines is a good idea, has worked in seige warfare for centuries, I think the mongols were the first to perfect it.........

Why can't they cut power to the airport? I know PAD must have generators, but it would help.

Can you imagine the mess to clear up in the airport when this is all over? Who is going to foot the bill?

The leaders of PAD should be put in jail and bankrupted and the money given to the state.

Imagine how many jobs at the airport alone are at risk sue to their crazy antics.