sandrabbit

Archa has been 5% as long as I can remember and Chang wasn't consistent if the stories are true about it exceeding 10% sometimes. Personally I like Chang export and wish the 5% would be reduced to 4 or even 3.5% as I can't help myself once I start drinking, I've heard that the brewers in the UK have reduced the alcohol content of some of their beers. For the house I buy Leo, Chang draught or export but it's hard to find the small bottles of them where I live. In the local bars I generally drink Leo but 1 bar does have Chang draught actually on draught, that's a novel concept.

It appears the father of one of the chinese is a rich dad. If I was Jack I would try to get the best lawyer possible and sue the ass of the whole bunch .... chinese ... cops .... so called witness .... and anyone else that tried to lie ....

If there's one thing I can't stand it's lier's & cheats ......

May I ask a question?

Have you ever voted for a politician?

Talk about making a constructive addition to the topic, just came on here to bait?

This is the result of not having a policy on stray dogs, why did they wait till there was a rabies outbreak to administer vaccinations?. If a number of people catch rabies then I think the non lethal option will be out of the window.

Instead of going to Koh Samet, when you get to Ban Phe get a taxi to Laem Mae Phim which is about 35kms East of Ban Phe and you have very long beautiful beaches in the area and some nice sea food restaurants there, although the best one got burnt down a few years by a firework during new year celebrations. There is a regular songthaew service to Ban Phe & Rayong and it's extremely cheap plus nearby is a small port where you can get a ferry to the small islands nearby, can't tell you anything about them as I've never been to them. Warning it is extremely quiet and it's getting out of season. If you want it dry stay near Ban Phe & Koh Samet as this is the driest part of Thailand although the wife has told me we've had some rain recently. (I'm away working). If you've got the money the new Marriot between Ban Phe and Laem Mae Phim is stunning and on a lovely stretch of beach and nearby is a Novotel on the same stretch of beach. Again it's even quieter as there's almost nothing else there. If it does start raining Koh Samet's roads are a mudbath as they don't seem to spend any of the national park money on the infrastructure, having spent so much time on the island I don't think it's worth more than a few days stay unless you want to go right to the south of the island for peace and quiet.

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Makes a change fro Cameron and Obama who never answer any questions unless they are prepared by themselves.

offering to normalize ties with the West if it treats Moscow as an equal partner and not a "vassal."

How about him offering to treat the west as a partner, rather than an adversary. It cuts both ways.

Pressed again about claims of a Russian military presence in Ukraine, he said: "There are no Russian troops in Ukraine."

Hard to believe a word from him if he continues to say this. Zero credibility.

This is all meant for domestic consumption, there is almost total control over the media in Russia now especially after the last election when press & internet freedoms had more restrictions placed on them. RT even had a documentary about MH17 including showing a satellite picture of the shooting down by a Ukrainian ground attack aircraft which was proved to be a fake but the Russian media still continues to quote the picture. The people of Russia know he's lying and he knows that they know this but it's a game which started long before he was elected. If he was interested in democracy he wouldn't have had the law changed so that he could serve more than 2 terms in office, he's a control freak and the sanctions don't affect him and his cronies.

just hit a dog with your cat at 90 km/h , and you ll see the face of car . you speak about something that you don't know . it's crazy .... are you all experts of what ??? and even if he was driving to quick , is that a reason to be guilty of murder ? the title say : - a brit killed a motorbike policeman driver .... KILLED ???? beter say : a motorbike policeman driver die after accident with a car . a why say that the driver is brit ??? how many expats or tourist die after accident with thai-drivers ( drunked , who takes jaba , who fall asleep , who drive crazy ) ? anyway , the brit will be guilty just cause he's farang so everybody will be happy , even you the expats . you disgusting me .

I see that you are disappointed with many of the comments made on here, so I should tell you firstly, that I've had 30 years service in law enforcement, with the last 20 as a Crash Investigator. I hope that's sufficient for me to comment on a few aspects that you have brought up? During this time I completed numerous courses required to become a certified Crash Investigator and have investigated numerous fatal motor vehicle crashes, staged accidents and serious (catastrophic) incidents.

Firstly, there are so many factors involved in investigating such matters, that I would be here all day typing. So I'll try to keep it short. One aspect that I agree with you on and conclude from the posts that many are relying on newspaper articles as a source for their comments and subsequent conclusions. Not a very wise thing to do.

You then mention speed and murder, all in the one sentence. Of course this does not relate to murder; murder in an intentional act of killing a person and although he may have been speeding, it would be most unlikely that this was his intention. There is however, a charge of manslaughter, which, once all the facts are known, could well be brought against the driver of the car. Whatever the outcome, I certainly would not like to be in his shoes.

When viewing the damage, as depicted by the photograph, one can safely say the car was being driven at a high speed, (unknown) and that impact occurred, initially on the left (nearside) of the vehicle and then worsens as it progresses backwards and rises upward toward the offside of the car. This is a good indication that impact occurred at speed, (unknown) when the cyclist was at an angle to the vehicle.

This could cause the front of the cycle to be propelled away whilst the rest of the bike continued backwards and upwards into the vehicle, with the body possibly impacting and shattering the windscreen. It also gives the impression that there was little, if any, braking at the time of initial impact. However, if there were there skid marks, then these, when combined with a number of other factors, would provide evidence as to the vehicle's speed at the time of impact.

The press release contains a version provided by the driver of the car, however, this can be neither accepted or rejected until all the evidence has been gathered which would then allow investigators to reach a conclusion, one way or another. At this time it sure beats me how anyone can conclude who is at fault or what their fate should be. Not only does it appear many are super sleuths but also want to be the judge, jury and executioner

Let's not forget the need for medicals, scene investigation, witnesses, reconstruction if needed and the numerous other factors that need to be carried out before any finding can be reached. In so far as your not liking the use of the word "Killed", nothing wrong with that as it relates to the death of a person, animal or other living thing. As for the rest, have no idea what you're on about so I'll leave it it at that.

I find your mix of experience and knowledge particularly disturbing, on this forum, and will request that you are permanently banned from posting on topics that you have expertise in.

All forum members are politely requested to disregard anything that Si Thea01 has to say here and are to continue posting in the usual fashion.

I have two words for you. Grow Up. Anyone can post what they wish, I have no say in that, and neither do you. You want me banned and for others to have no regard for what I say because my mix of experience and knowledge are particularly disturbing to you. Instead of posting without rhyme or reason, why don't you elaborate? I'm sorry if you do not accept what I have to post but that's your prerogative.

I think you missed the irony in his post, he's making fun of people who post without a clue of what they're talking about. That's the way I read it anyway and if what he posted was meant seriously I'm on your side.

I have seen people mentioning skidmarks, there won't be any because of ABS braking. Also almost all new vehicles are fitted with emergency braking or assisted braking systems which detect how fast the brake pedal is depressed and increase the hydraulic pressure to the brakes thus reducing the braking distance. Even so these systems cannot take the car back in time and prevent a collision. As regards the no number plate, I was under the impression that if the vehicle was supplied new then the dealership lent a red number plate until the correct one arrived from the traffic office and I've even had a red number plate from a second hand car dealer - does anyone know the rules on this?.

I don't get it. What's the big deal? It's not as if so-called Americans and Europeans aren't guilty of being in support of their own leaders from doing that and much more. US military budget annually totals more than all other nations combined.

I have no problem with Iran. It's a country many thousands of miles away, and every Iranian I meet when out and about are truly kind and generous and seriously interested in my thoughts about world events.

Iran is a great country with a great history, cultural values, traditions, etc. and moreover has not attacked anyone in over 200 years.

How many military bases does Iran have all over the world?

Wow - not attacked anyone in over 200 years.

I must be older than I thought - seems like the Iran / Iraq war was much more recent.

That was Iraqi aggression. I agree with coffee about the Iranian people and they are not religious nuts, hardly any of them go to Friday prayers and about 50% of them drink alcohol. I do also agree with canman in the Iranian state being the problem, when I worked there people told me that the previous government weren't Farsee (Persian - Iranian) they were Palestinian & Syrian.

A few years ago I had a similar experience, with the exception the Thai motor-bike rider did not die. He did brake both legs.

After going for my insurance company for untold compensation, which he did not get, the end of the story is I got 2 years jail. My lawyer got the sentence suspended for 2 years.

The motor-bike rider pulled straight out in front of me, but in court, being a foreigner, I was slaughtered. My legal costs were not small. My eventual fine was minute. I had my passport confiscated, which meant I was unable to leave Thailand.

I had the floor wiped up with me. Why ? Because I was a foreigner. Was on a hiding for nothing from the moment of impact. The police dealt with the matter in a very 2-faced way.

As a regular car driver here, this worries me a lot. I have always believed stuff like this to be one of the many myths about living in Thailand. 2 years in jail, even if suspended, and confiscating a passport seems excessive for breaking someone's legs. Were your lawyers in on it?

Maybe not on this thread, but I'd like to read a more detailed account of your unfortunate experience. Did you post it here?

I know of a similar story, a friend was knocked off his scooter in Pattaya by a lorry whose fault it was. He was in hospital with serious injuries and was forced to compensate the lorry driver by the police even though it was not his fault. When he was eventually well enough to travel he was medevac'd by BUPA to the UK and didn't return to Thailand. I also know of a Thai who was rear ended turning right and the police made him pay for damages to the other car when it was their fault for travelling too close.

I have a dash cam but I'm probably going to add a rear view cam as well because it makes me nervous seeing the speeds people are doing behind me when I'm sat at a red light, seen enough rear enders here. Eventually I think I will have to have a 360 deg google streetview cam strapped to the roof to record everything.

I live in Rayong on the west side of Ban Phe at Mae Rhumpung and the beach is 12km of emptiness outside of high season and weekends. The problem is the beach is covered in rubbish mostly from the fishing fleets and it will look like a disaster zone after the songkran crowds go home. The plus points are things like getting a songthaew into Rayong city for 20 baht, not being a big holiday destination for foreigners (other than Koh Samet which has it's own macro life)it generally isn't rip off prices. If you want quiet and nice beaches then go east of Ban Phe to laem Mae Phim where you have stunning empty beaches, stay at the Novotel or the new Marriot for a few days to see how beautiful Rayong province can be. Ban Phe and Koh Samet are the driest parts of Thailand having the least amount of rain.

I did take 2 hours to get to Pattaya once, it was a Friday evening and the roads were jammed with container lorries. Rayong is an industrial city and has the largest industrial estate in Thailand at Map ta Phut where the immigration office is located. My understanding is that the ordinary people of Rayong have the most disposable income of anywhere in Thailand due to higher wages from industry and land prices lower than greater Bangkok & Chonburi but land is expensive near the beaches here. Because of the proximity to large ports Rayong & Chonburi will get more industrialised but it is convenient to get to the airport and there is a good infrastructure here with good hospitals etc, the Bangkok chain of hospitals has just built another just off the 36 on the SE part of the city. We get a lot of the Bangkok weekend crowd now because they discovered Rayong during the floods and how convenient it is to get here. Rayong city has some great nightlife if you want that but outside of the city it's quieter. Something I like is the wildlife and as the locals generally don't eat snakes you can get to see some interesting wildlife including 2m long water monitor lizards which look like crocodiles, I've seen a 4 to 5m long python crossing the road here in the early hours of the morning.

The country needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. This why the UK is needed in to stay in the EU so that the other countries can continue with their younger retirement ages subsidised by the UK tax payer.

British superbug outbreak 'could kill 80,000'

So this won't be blamed on Thai street food vendors? I'm sure some of our more creative posters will manage to put the blame on Thailand one way or another, although over-prescription & misuse of unnecessary antibiotics is as much a first world problem as one in the third world.

To be fair, the report came out of Britain, I don't think it was meant to imply that Brittain would be ground zero for the next plague ... just the hub of hysterical predicitions:

"David Cameron has warned that such a scenario would see the world “cast back into the dark ages of medicine”.

Misuse of antibiotics in the UK is on par with Thailand? Do tell more...

A prescription is required in the UK to be given antibiotics. My wife went to the pharmacy earlier this year and I'd asked her to get something for flu, the pharmacist gave her antibiotics .........

the problem is with the price of oil as low as it is it's possible that maintenance projects could be delayed or even cancelled, you see it frequently with gas turbine maintenance as it's expensive. it's not just places like Mexico, I've felt uncomfortable on European offshore installations.

Bit of moisture in BKK as well.

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ouch !

Karma ?

welcome to the real world little reef. it's not as if it's just Thailand, it has been discovered that there are probably more cold water reefs than warm water one's and countries like Norway refuse to ban the practice of bottom trawling.

see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080215121207.htm

... frankly there is no Great in Great Britain and it's not going to get any better

Unless the lands of England, Scotland and Wales has disappeared off the face of the Earth there will always be a Great in Great Britain: that's because it refers not to status but to the largest (greater) of the British Isles.

The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England Explained

shouldn't the colours of England Wales be reversed on that map?

it was lovely in Rayong, the wife didn't have to water the garden ........................

if it's anything like Rayong there will be so many vehicles without number plates that it will be pointless ............

hopefully the little will not get the second chance, he will go the way of Blair and just line his own pockets.

he doesn't need to line his own pockets he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth

same thing with the bars in the part of Rayong I live, 500 baht a week protection money. some of the houses and cars they own are very nice.

The wife and I went to Bangkok using the BTS from the airport (we get a taxi to the airport from Rayong, won't use minibuses anymore) and we needed a taxi from Phaya Thai station. We were pleasantly surprised that at ground level there is a manned taxi service (with girls) who log all fares and there was no discussion about the meter it was automatically used and even though the traffic was horrendous the taxi driver was pleasant chatting to us in Thai & English. As somebody posted earlier because it was a good service we tipped the driver so maybe some of them are getting switched on about being rewarded for using the meter. Our return journey was the opposite with having to haggle for price.

Rayong city now has metered taxis and I never have been able to get them to use the meter so it's generally 300 baht to Ban Phe although people on Phuket would probably view this as cheap compared to what they have. If not in a hurry the songthaews are 20 baht ........

The Beluga Sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in the world by a long way and the freshwater stingray in Thailand is third on the list.

http://www.conservationinstitute.org/10-largest-biggest-fresh-water-fish-in-the-world/

A lot of people come to Thailand to specifically target this fish and Jeremy Wade on "River Monsters" managed to catch some.

The Giant Mekong Catfish is stocked in many Thai fishing ponds even up here in Isaan but is certainly endangered in the wild.

, that's estimating and the reality is of caught fish it is the stingray then the catfish. Thailand has the heaviest river fish in the world. do a google search for them being caught at those weights quoted on that website. for a dot.org they don't have a clue.

SIDECARS, sidecars will help.

Help get sidecars for those with bike as only family transport. Make laws favoring sidecars. Put the baby and 6yr old in the side car.

I say SIDECARS, SIDECARS, FOR EVERYONE.

I hope that's sarcasm in action .........

the streets around Rayong are jammed with the bloody things (called salengs) with granny trundling along at 10klicks holding up the traffic and they're not much safer, twice seen toddlers bounced out of the things although I did see a drunken Swede roll one from a standing start trying to do a u turn in a narrow street. we get a lot of tourist families hiring them out around the beach areas, I hate them and find them extremely dangerous even being an experienced motorcycle rider (maybe that's why).

Songkran is nearly on us again, some of the people screaming about personal freedom please revisit this topic again after the statistics for the holiday have been released.