sandrabbit

I know it's not on your list but there are some beautiful empty beaches to the East of Ban Phe in Rayong and one of the nicest beaches on the mainland is there at Laem Mae Phim although you are a lot more more than 10mins from a big c or lotus. If you could put up with a dirtier beach and busy on weekends and a nightmare during songkran then Maerhumphung a couple of klicks to the West of Ban Phe is ok and 20baht by songtaew to the big city of Rayong so you have sort of the best of both worlds but not the best beach and it is cheap withThai prices. It is also convenient for the airport being to the SE of Bangkok.

I've had 2 passports by this method and it works ok but the problem is Thai immigration don't accept the passport without a letter of notorisation from the British embassy so when renewing your visa you have to go to Bangkok to get this letter which is free. So why don't they post the passports to the embassy to be picked if you have to go there anyway?. Thai immigration is like a brick wall, can't you see it's the same person in the pictures just 10yrs difference - I could scream lol?.

New possible sighting of debris at sea as China sends warships to join search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1444179/new-possible-sighting-debris-sea-china-sends-warships-join-search-missing

photo;South China Morning Post

I don't think this is debris from the crash. The time of the photo was 6:30am, but the timezone was not told. It might be pre dawn.

- The size of these pieces would be huge to be shown from the airplane.

- It's still dark, so every piece would have to be quite light colored

- Pieces are in relatively small group. Winds, currents etc should break it down quite fast.

There has been more realistic sound speculations for the "debris".

- Squid fishers with the lights on

- Some people who fly often on the route mentioned that there is many flower greenhouses which speed up the growing process by using artificial lights during the nights in Vietnam.

.. Just speculations, naturally.

Please see my modified photo and you'll understand that this isn't from a crashed plane. All speculations..

Cant view that (Sorry, you don't have permission for that!)

when you see the picture on the South China Daily News website it looks like, as someone posted in the comments section, as a cities lights at night.

Brings to mind some years ago when a man in this region (was he Thai ?) wanted to get rid of his wife and put a bomb aboard a plane. It worked. But that was before all the terrorist precautions they have nowadays. How good is security at KL ?

One more point: If those using the stolen passports were aboard and involved then that would make it a suicide mission. I suppose those guys actually did board.

I'm in the process of applying for a new passport myself (UK) and they say that I do not have to return my old passport for cancellation - they will simply electronically cancel it so it cannot be used. I suspect that would just stop it being used at places that have good electronic security like in the west - not around here.

I went to the UK last year on my 'old' passport as I hadn't changed my visa and I was only told it was cancelled when I went to the British Embassy to get my new passport notarised for immigration, the consular assistant was surprised that it worked.

You would think that the Thai navy would have some kind of presence in the Gulf of Thailand, but heard nothing of them yet. Lots of other countries are helping the search in the area.

This didn't happen in the Gulf of Thailand - it happened off the coast of Malaysia, apparently not too far from Vietnam.

Wrong sea, chum. Miles away around the coast of Singapore and back north again ...

Problems with geography?. Singapore is South of Malaysia when I was there 2 weeks ago. I didn't realise Malaysia had a border with Vietnam, even Borneo is a fair distance from Vietnam. Surprised no fishing or squid boats didn't see anything.

Those Boeing 777 airplanes are supposed to fall suddenly from the sky in normal weather conditions.

Even the Professional Pilots Rumour Network is guessing...so we will have to wait for some meaningful explanation

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/535538-mh370-contact-lost-9.html

What are you smoking? They have a fantastic safety record and it's a plane I fly on frequently with different airlines and even had an interesting conversation with an Aussie 777 captain in Ban Phe 2 years ago. As your link shows it has rumour in it's title.

Whatever happened to the last news that PTT was blaming the problem on faulty manufacture of the pipe? Has anyone read any Thai news follow up on what PTT has done to insure safety and security in the future? What reparations has PTT made to the population and business affected by the damage? Are they still blaming some obscure manufacturer? Why hasn't the Thai press reported any follow up on this?

This is one of the agranoying things about these topics, normally there would be an END product, but the reports only give the first arriving news rarely do we get feedback. Shame no one follows up -maybe it is deemed not important to them here, but westerners expect it.

The local people received compensation last year and that included a lot of people whose businesses weren't affected. PTT put things on like a concert on Mae Ramphung beach for the Bangkok elite and also a seafood festival in the middle of the same beach, not very good and the food stalls were from Rayong city not locals. There were also some turtles released along with shrimp larvae and white snapper hatchlings along with a display from Rayong aquarium which is worth a visit.

you don't need 365 just use livetv.ru which has most sports on it, have found it to be vetry good.

or you could just use livetv.ru and every possible sport you can think of is being streamed.

Think he should be careful mucking around in Singapore; that is one of the last places to be an arrogant a-hole in.

Really? I think he'll fit in just nicely.

he will fit right in, watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBhzFWp7daM

I'm in SG at the moment but I can't afford to go to the same places as him, maybe he's here to buy a plane as the airshow is in full swing.

My wife avoids the Chinese tourists as she believes they are carriers of swine and bird flu.

I avoid the Chinese tourists as well, but only because I am afraid they are going to use me as a spittoon. Did 3 trips to China and was amazed at their habits. Eating in a restaurant there was a real experience.

I know where you're coming from, when I worked offshore in China I either tried to be very early or the last one for food and 2 days ago in a 5 star hotel in Singapore a Chinese guy did a big hack in the breakfast room and was about to spit it in a bin when the staff directed him to the toilet. I don't mind real Chinese food but eating at the same time as them is an experience.

There is a very good convertor that I use called calibre for converting books for my kindle.

Turn on your tv and listen and watch the next International News The world is falling apart. It will probably start with the fighting in Egypt, then the fighting in Syria, then on to Central African Rep. then Sudan, then perhaps another country or two before the fighting in Thailand. What is going on with people?

It may be a suggestion for The United Nations , or some like body, to annex a large portion of little used land and establish a new country . Gather up all the people who find it impossible to live , civilized among others, and ship them over to this newly established country. Then let them all have at it.

I would even suggest a name for this country. It could be called the country of Moron. and all the people in it would be called >>>>>>>??

Sorry too late, Moron already exists it's in Venezuela.

I have no problem with the Monks and others doing their spiritual, religious thing. I do have a problem when the people who are actually supposed to use science, engineering and reasoning rely on this stuff.

Yeah it's clear these people didn't get to their position through competence. From the article we have the (former, fortunately) director of the international airport and meteorology dept. -

"Dr. Smith Thammasaroj, former director of Suvarnnabhumi Airport, told Thai Rath he was convinced of the existence of supernatural entities around the airport even though, he admitted, he had never encountered any particular case personally.

The scientist who once headed Thailand′s Meteorological Department said he had invited so many psychics to conduct ceremonies and constructed so many shrines "that I can′t keep count".

"We even had to build a condominium for the ghosts to reside," Dr. Smith said, "Because the spirits are so many individual spirit houses won′t be enough"."

How unfortunate that Dr Smith is called a scientist here.

Is that the same Dr Smith from Lost in Space?.

what they mean is that it's at the normal level of pollution, high. I will say though that the sea has been looking beautiful the last few days, like a millpond. (the sand is still full of rubbish from the squid fishing fleet though).

with sparkling white sand curving between palms and crystal clear water

Sure , 30 years ago maybe ..... I just wonder if they know what is crystal water ... check in Maldives, Polynesia, Caribbean , great barrier reef of Australia . I remember clear water also in Thailand ..but that was long ago .

He said, ecosystems underwater are pristine. ??? look this is not for the sake of Thai bashing but this guy must be a life long member of the Tall Story Club.

And also behind the sparkling sand there are piles of rubbish just of the beaten track.

I love Samet, but I know the other side of it..... Telling porky pies from a local governor is sick, better not say anything than this, promotion is one thing, con the tourist another.

Well to begin with it was not a governor it was

"Pisanu Kemapun, chairman of the Rayong Hotels Association"

Are you sure of your other facts. I don't think most tourists go to the beaches to wander off in the back trails.

Just a guess on my part. I am really interested in a beach this year to take my son to. Last year it was Krabi and that was a disappointment to both him and myself. Pattaya is off my list as is Phuket. Cha am might be the place to go.. But I would really like to here the truth about the beaches in Rayong

I live on the mainland almost opposite Samet, there are some very nice beaches and places to go here. If you want quiet white sand beach then go east from Ban Phe to Laem Mae Phim and there are also some beautiful empty beaches between Ban Phe and there if you have transport. It's low season so it's quiet, I live on Mae Rhumphung beach and during the week it's 12km of emptiness but you do have rubbish on the beach from the weekender Bangkok crowd but most of the rubbish is from the squid fishermen, plastic sacks and sodium lamps, fluorescent tubes etc but it's a Thai resort so beer and food is cheap and good roads from Bangkok so don't believe what some idiot posted earlier. Samet's roads are a mudbath if it rains, don't know what they spend the national park fee on. Rayong has a lot going for so don't listen to the naysayers come and see for yourself plus songthaew travel is so cheap, 25 baht from Ban Phe to Rayong - eat your hearts out Phuket lol.

I've stopped using the minibuses from Rayong to Bangkok now even though they're cheap at 200baht so I get a taxi to the airport then the skytrain into Bangkok. I use the same taxi driver all the time who is a natural defensive driver and is chilled when he gets cut up etc so I can sleep if necessary when I've arrived after an overnight flight. I once had a minibus journey from Victory Monument to Ban Phe which took about 2 hrs 10 mins on a Sunday afternoon which frightened the life out of me as you can imagine the speeds travelled at and traffic light queue jumping.

This is not just a Thai thing, where I used to live in S Wales the weekend warriors would come towing their jetskis and speedboats and get in the way of the surfers who had a designated area. They would also be operating way too close to shore at high speeds, stupidity occurs the world over when selfish people do what they want.

Thugs think like thugs, destroying homes and properties just makes it harder for the person to repay, a smart thug would say,no problem skip 2 payments i add 500B for every day skipped...very sure payment would resume, secondly.why damage the motorbikes? rather take them with you and hold them as collateral in case of default, any way, i am not a thug,so just guessing here.

and by overstepping the mark the police are involved now plus it was all over the news yesterday.

if you can get a proxy server there is currently a documentary on BBC iplayer about this very subject mentioning that there are vanilla flavoured tablets but I warn you it is hard going watching it because the female presenter's accent and pronunciation is awful.

The writing is on the wall and I am unsure what can be done. The PTP have taken over like a cancer and regardless of the medication this country now takes, they wont get rid of the cancer. In the west, the media and the people would string this lot up, it would be a relentless barrage of opposition from the public, but here, the Thai's just accept. They accept for a number of reasons, one is that they are genuinely scared of intimidation, arrest and extra judicial killing...people just disappear. Look at how the Government and the Police have intimidated the population with the scare tactics over the use of social media. The arrest any TV and News journalist for saying the slightest thing out of place, and the PM sues her critics.

I truly hope when this is all done and dusted and PTP have a vice like grip over this country, it's people and it's resources that the red supporters and apologists on Thai Visa have the balls to admit, even if only to themselves, that they endorsed and supported a dynasty of criminals to establish a communist regime in which they are the dynastic rulers of a one party police state. It makes me sick to the stomach to think that allegedly educated westerners could offer the remotest support to these people.

Tony Bliar and Emma Thompson, beware, you too are being used to lend these criminals a sense of advocacy. The PTP are waiting for that fateful day that we all know is coming, and during the mass grieving that will be witnessed on a scale the modern world has never seen, the fox will return and destroy his enemies while they sleep.

"it makes me sick to the stomach to think that allegedly educated westerners could offer the remotest support to these people"

Seems like the supporters of PTP and the Red Shirts have gone deathly quiet,could it be they are beginning to realise the terrible mistake,that they were mistakenly,supporting the underdog,but in reality,setting the table for Communism,and a Police State,control of the Country through the use of Fascism, Corruption and Wealth,for the already rich,greedy for more, by Undemocratic means.

Sadly, and eventually the Reds will realise they have been used by the PTP ,conned and naive,and they will not become rich, just more of the same,empty promises. until next time........

sorry but I'm old school, communism & fascism are opposites aren't they?.

I took 2 pics this afternoon on Mae Rhumphung beach, one showing foam and rubbish including large lamp chucked overboard by fishing fleet (usual) and one just of foam. I have left them as taken including size for you to make up your own minds although the amount of foam is much smaller than last weekend.

_{that's cheap for him so what are they complaining about?}

A proper comparison requires there to be a base level against which to compare the results of the recent assays.

Two questions need to be answered:

1. Was there a high level of contamination prior to the oil spill?

2. Mercury is not typically associated with oil spills of this nature. The dispersants declared do not have soluble mercury. This begs the question as to what the mercury level was prior to the spill? My gut feeling is that the mercury was in high levels long before the oil spill, and that the issue is only now becoming public. Thailand has had a very bad reputation for its dumping of untreated effluent into the ocean. I would not be surprised if the mercury was already present, along with other heavy metals.

I am in no way excusing the PTT, nor brushing off the obvious environmental damage. However, it does indicate that Thailand has a very serious problem and its local fishery is contaminated with heavy metal. The ramifications of the testing could seriously damage Thailand's fish processing and export market.

I agree completely, I live nearby at Mae Rhumphung beach and we always knew there was a problem with previous pollutants. We were lucky that the oil slick went past and hit Samet as there wouldn't have been anywhere near the fuss if it had hit this beach. We are seeing a lot of foam now from the 'detergents' used in the clean up process being washed ashore. I heard someone mention last night that they had seen oil washed up here but I think they've mistaken the foam for oil, will have a walk down the beach when it gets cooler and take some pics to show you what the results have been here. One thing though, it doesn't seem to stop the Thai's coming down from Chiang Mai etc from digging up the shellfish to eat while on holiday.

it's ok, looking at those wheels it's an 80's/90's BMW - phew!