CapeCobra

I will visit this "Island of death" in the near future. I want to find out if Koh Tao has the potential to become as bad as Magaluf, Majorca, where violent death of British teenagers indulging in excessive alco binging, sex and drugs is way above the ordinary. The concerns of British parents about foul play by Spanish authorities is very similar to those expressed by our honorable TV detectives. Example: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/16/magaluf-british-teenager-chased-fall

I will report the results of my private investigation. CapeCobra

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent!"

Final sentence of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.

I do not know why it is so hard for some men to aim inside the toilet or at least stand closer.

If the imbecile tenant had bought a toilet mat it would have stopped the problem

Just pee in the shower, no need to aim at all.

Kitchen sinks are popular choices, too.

The missing photo

I solved the problem by installing a nice urinal in the guest bath room. It is highly appreciated by visitors. It is boring white, though. Later I found nicer models.

Here is the full story in English.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/a-victory-for-the-right-to-pee-standing-up/384754/

I have never been cheated by a Bangkok taxi driver. They always used the meter. Sometimes, they take a route I don't know. I check it on a navi app and, usually, learn something they know about certain times and places. Sometimes, I know shortcuts they don't. Always makes them happy.

Leaving a late-night place I walk along the taxi row just saying "meter only" in Thai. The first 4 or 5 will point backwards. I smile, they smile. I always get my meter taxi in no time.

Back home, the meter shows 200 B as you switch it on. It can pay off to ask for "no meter" and negotiate a price well below the metered amount. That is legal.

In some places, U.S. and Europe, trips to the airport are more expensive. Prices can cover the return trip if they are not allowed to pick up customers at the airport.

For me, the Bangkok taxi system has been very cheap and most reliable. There is no general standard in terms of quality. You have to develop an eye for taxis. Some I wave through and pick new ones avoiding bad smells, heat, and mosquitos.

Compared to London, queues for taxis at BKK airport are very short. They are even shorter in Munich. The reason could be that you pay over 2500 B to get to town in a meter taxi.

I assume that TV members being cheated and ripped off all the time by taxis, shops, bar girls and pubs, have something in common. I wonder what that could be. Do they just make up their stories? Do they just copy each other's "bad experiences"? Or, is there something wrong with me? Why are Thais nice to me? What is their hidden agenda?

Wise decision. There are solutions for every style, taste, culture...

About taxes and duty on imported and locally produced wine.

In Thailand, taxation on imported wines consists of customs duty, excise tax, local tax or municipality tax, health tax and value added tax (VAT). Tax on sales of wine is calculated based on either the ad valorem rate or the specific rate. The decision on which method is to be used is made by the Excise Tax Department, whichever is higher. Ad valorem taxes on locally manufactured products, mainly sales taxes, are calculated based on cost prices. Ad valorem taxes applied on alcoholic imported products are calculated based on the sum of import tax, cost insurance freight (CIF) value and other appropriate charges. Apart from the excise tax, sales of wine face municipal and health taxes, including VAT.

These same taxes are applied to locally made wines excluding the import tariff. For CIF value, the Thai Customs Department will compare the declared price of imported wine with a reference price. If the declared price is lower, a reference price will be applied.

As I said, the cost is close to 400%. This is the structure:

A CIF Invoice Value of Imported Wine $100.00 B Tariff (Import Duty): A x 54% $ 54.00

C Excise Tax Paid: Excise Tax Rate x (CIF value+import duty+excise tax paid+municipal tax) or 1.7647059(A+B ) $271.76

D Municipal tax: C x 10% $ 27.17

E Health tax: C x 2% $ 5.44

F VAT: (A+B+C+D+E) x 7% $ 32.09

G Total Cost: (A+B+C+D+E+F) $490.46 Effective Duty and Tax Burden 390.46%

Locally produced wine is calculated in a similar way excluding import tariff.

Australian and New Zealand imports pay less due to FTA agreements.

This information is a few years old when I dealt with the problem. I think I copied it from a USDA Foreign Service Report. They assist US exporters.

Americans stop persnicketiness and other Anglos their pernicketiness. GermanViking does not want to grow red wine, nor will he be able to grow red grapes. He wants to grow red grape vines. Understood, cleverlies?

Thanks for your help, but you brought me real in trouble with your word "pernicketiness" I had to use several dictionaries to find the right explanation.

Anyway I would use less polite words, but I save it.

A lot of this old hypocritical old farts like to pick on me, anyway I don't like to blame any nationality, caused ppl like these are everywhere.

They blame only themselves with their stupid comments, caused of the lack of knowledge.

My recommendation, if somebody don't have to post productive comments, then just read or leave this topic.

Haha. I assure you that English speaking barflies have problems, too. Hairsplittingness doesn't sound good either. The German "Spitzfindigkeit" is more to the point.

@Wikinger

Uhudler from Südburgenland. Known for resistance against all kinds of pest. Wasn't that outlawed some time ago for poisoning consumers with Methanol?

Uhudler is made of red Amerikaner grapes, as you said resistant against any kind of pests, I have them in my garden in germany very sweet, but full of small stones.

This grapes are forbidden to produces commercial wine in EU and USA etc.

Only in Southeast of Austria, on the Italian and Slovenia border they got the rights to produce until 2030.

In the Burgenland and also in some parts of germany(Mosel), they has add Glycol to the wine, not Methanol.

This was mainly made by big winedealers to getting more wine, caused glycol was cheaper and no own taste, anyway some was going in prison a lot had to pay fines.

Result they destroyed the reputation of the whole region, the mostly sober vinemakers was real angry, caused this scandal destroyed the business for all, for years.

PS: Glycol is what you normaly to mix with water and put in your car cooler to avoid that the water freeze. Very healthy

You are quite right. Diethylene glycol played a major role in sweetening wines during the Austrian/German wine scandal of the 80ies. Methanol and lead acetate was used for the same reason before. Here is a nice article about wine fraud in history.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fraud

Thanks for info on Uhudler.

I will check my price lists for Thai wines. I think, they are in the bracket 500-1200 Baht.

Americans stop persnicketiness and other Anglos their pernicketiness. GermanViking does not want to grow red wine, nor will he be able to grow red grapes. He wants to grow red grape vines. Understood, cleverlies?

@Wikinger

Uhudler from Südburgenland. Known for resistance against all kinds of pest. Wasn't that outlawed some time ago for poisoning consumers with Methanol?

Except for Chateau de Loei, I have been to all Thai wineries buying cases of their product, regularly. Monsoon Valley in Hua Hin is nice to visit in the hills. Their Shiraz Roses win medals in Europe. Their best reds are based on Shiraz and the Italian Sangiovese grapes. They also offer white Colombard. Very nice wine farms in Khao Yai area. Best dry whites at Granmonte using Chenin Blanc. They also have Verdelho (unique Portuguese), Viognier, and Cabernet Sauvignon (French, rare in Thailand). PB Valley produced some excellent reds with Spanish Tempranillo. The French winemaker at Village Farm uses Shiraz for their Chateau des Brumes. There are many respectable wines in Thailand. Thaibashers on TV have been degrading them regularly. Mostly in the category Value for Money. Please. Stick to your boxed Plonk. I prefer my Thai table wines over any box.

Import tax of 400% kept me from importing containers of excellent wines. Thought they wanted to protect their small wine industry. Not so! Local producers pay same as Ad Valorem tax. The political reason behind this stupidity is oil on the fires of Thaibashers.

Importing "juice" is cheaper, but I wouldn't go down that road.

What's wrong with apples these days? I rather go for olives.

Thailand is full of numb nuts. Why bring another? After watching his last interview, insulting the tv host, this guy needs some serious beatings.

"It's only when you see a mosquito landing on your testicles that you realise that there is always a way to solve problems without using violence" (My underline)

Now, where did I see this posted? Has anyone else seen it?

Probably, I posted it before. One of my favourite proverbs. I think it was Lao Tzu, but some believe it was Confucius who authored it.

I don't know prices for race pigeons, but fancy pigeons that only have to look good fetch steep prices. A Chinese magnate paid $328,000 for one of those birds.

Nothing wrong with a delicate Granny Smith.

Well done OP! I like trolly posts that make me chuckle.

I think I saw your girl at Jomtien Beach.

Countries with Lese Majeste laws most likely will not participate in any "Je suis Charlie"-type campaign. I understand. Watching such events may be unpalatable for some.

Thanks claffey,

Never been to this place. Beautiful photos on the Internet. Next time in Pranburi, I'll do the trip. Useful information for once on this strange forum.

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

So if it was icing, why don't planes ice up in cold countries more often?

I'm not saying it was icing. But it takes a certain set of meteorological conditions. The air and airframe have to be freezing at the same time that there is liquid moisture in the air that can freeze to the airframe. It usually freezes to the leading edges.

Think of freezing rain or frost, but the plane is traveling so fast it encounters or collects more moisture.

So why wouldn't it happen more often in say Alaska?

There are various aircraft systems that deal with icing & to answer you question, it does happen often in colder climates, hence everything from de-icing on the ground to various systems such as electro-mechanical heated strips to pneumatic systems to counter icing.

Icing is just one of the problems pilots can face with the weather.

I saw a claim this morning that radar data suggests the plane was not only travelling extremely slow just prior to dropping off radar but in its last moments it suddenly climbed at a rate which is not sustainable by this type of a/c.

Obviously I don't know how true that claim is and I'm not sure if it meant the planes auto systems had malfunctioned or whether it was being handled manually but there's about a thousand and one scenarios that could of happened following that.

Fortunately flight recorder data should be available soon and will hopefully reveal all.

When the air is moist, ice can form in temperatures as high as 25 degree Celsius.

Pitot icing happened to me once in a Piper Cherokee climbing through clouds to only 10000 feet. On a climb your indicated airspeed will be lower than actual. On a descent the opposite is true. A blocked pitot tube causes the instrument to show a much higher speed than actual. If the pilot reduces the speed not recognizing being fooled, a dangerous situation can evolve. Losing all pressure instruments and without visual info in clouds can be a scary experience. It happened to me in a warm country. There is speculation that this Airbus stalled when the actual airspeed got too low. Let's see what the black box will reveal.

R.I.P. to the victims, consolation to their families and a prosperous New Year to everybody else.

CapeCobra

If all these explanations are “subjective property of the mind”, then all these books and orally teachings are nothing but money-making activities. Are we all being deceived yet again? I have had some experiences that relate to various teachings, so now I wonder whether my mind created it all and nothing is really true or real. Has my mind imagined it all? Has the mind deceived all these so-called holy men?

Has anyone ever truly met an enlightened person? I haven’t!

Another question – why is there always a hierarchy in all religions? If we are supposedly all one, why the difference? As far as I am concerned, this is all man-made to boost the ego to those in so-called knowledge and to lower those in so-called ignorance. Mankind is indeed the biggest deceiver of himself and likes to worship a father-figure!

Belief, belief, belief! What is reality? How can you prove reality? And please don’t respond by saying that there is nothing to prove! If there is nothing to prove, then why have religion, books, teachings, or anything for that matter. And why was the mind created if it has no beneficial purpose in some way?

I have asked many Rinpoches, monks, gurus, etc., these questions and none of them can ever give me an answer, so who is knowledgeable and who is enlightened? Why should I ever follow or listen to those that do not know or at least cannot explain anything that would make sense to an ignoramus? Oh, yes, they use wonderful language for explaining a question as if they are the higher beings that you are not, and yet I notice that their characters have not changed, they are as selfish and materialistic as any of us!

I like this quote on belief:

“Cognitive Dissonance - Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalise, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief. - Frantz Fanon”

Maybe I too fall into this trap of cognitive dissonance. Maybe my subjective mind imagines that a knowledgeable person, or enlightened one, should not resemble the masses in any way and that they can not only explain to me in simple language what is true but actually show me.

I continue my path of discovery, even if it leads me nowhere!

Cognitive dissonant beliefs cannot be avoided. We must reduce their importance and add consonant beliefs.

Here is a song that deals with the problem.

Search in Youtube:

Cognitive dissonance (Dissonant & Justified):

Happy New Year!

CapeCobra