The_Other_Mac

Don't take love-advice from a teenage girl. [Runs away]

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Wonder who you was talking about

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Udon.

I think you've just named it

Those lights hold up the traffic that backs up all the way to the river, over Taksin Bridge, and at least several kms up the Krung-Thonburi road, quite possibly beyond, before the lights cycle. That's inbound evening traffic. In the morning it apparently takes up to two hours to cross the bridge into Sathorn; and this is the place that has the almost-complete Skytrain extension that TRT have been blocking for the last 5 years.

Why do they do it? By letting the pressure out at Surasak onto the expressway ramp, the police help keep Silom moving and stop gridlock that could easily ripple across the streets to north of Lumpini. It also keeps Sathorn itself relatively clear, at least for the business commuters leaving the office. It seems to me that they are keeping their own turf relatively clear, at the expense of those trying to get into the city.

If you hung around until around 10pm, you would witness a different event: Sathorn becomes filled with convoys of roaring, overloaded trucks which head down Rama 4 to the port. These actually pulled over earlier, outside the city on Rama 2, which comes up from the South. They line the hard shoulder for miles outside, and voluntarily sit there for hours. Apparently there is an understanding between the police and the haulage companies: they wait until rush hour is over; the police don't hassle them for being 20 tons overloaded. Of course that in turn means that the road surface is in appalling condition, but hey it's a system.

Several huge bridges are being built, and at planning stage, south of the city centre, which should alleivate the traffic in a few years by providing a more direct route to the port from Rama 2; and later by allowing traffic to bypass Bangkok entirely, en-route to the eastern seaboard.

Oh for heaven's sake, just dive in. She's obviously not utterly naive and can choose to push you away if she wants to, which she apparently doesn't. More likely you'll be the one whose heart gets broken, which is a refreshing experience you appparently haven't done for over a year.

All authors are self-obsessed. How else could they possibly believe that strangers want to read what they write? Don't let Udon deflate your ego, he hasn't even got a hovercraft.

Lad Prao is a top area. If you're looking for a great place to stay in Lad Prao, PM me. It's too good a secret to release to the forum at large :-P

Don't take love-advice from a teenage girl. [Runs away]

this like a jerarchy...we belong to bambina´s harem that can be found within Kayo´s harem... ...

well, well this doesn´t sound good to me...I WANT TO HAVE A HAREM TOO!!!...free pencils and notepads for new members...  

a

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(I'm guessing that's hierarchy, rather than government-by-the-Jerry. Whoever he is.)

I nominate Kayo to be the first member of your harem. Now you can chase each other in circles

I can't believe this thread is still running! :-D

And shouldn't it be Bambi's harem, not Kayo's?

Suburban pickup owner with a sense of humour

Meanwhile, Amorn Chantharasomboon, a constitution drafter

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Interesting choice of career...

Order a fruit shake, the type that is "bpan", from places like MK/BBQ Plaza. Drink it quickly through the straw, and make sure you slurp the last bit like a small child, so all the juice is gone but the slushy ice remains fairly crisp on top.

Point at the top.

I think we can safely assume that this resolves the spat with Badawi over the comments at the UN.

Actually there are street vendors from the piss poor 500 Baht a day variety to those grossing a few hundred thousand Baht a day.    Most of the latter aren't actually on the street... but still in rather uncomfortable stalls in wholesale market/mall/shopping center areas. 

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Every now and again, I learn one of those "but everyone knows that" facts, and realise how little I understand Thailand... Now to me it's obvious that JJ stalls are a nice little earner ("everyone knows that"), but how about food vendors? The other day I smilingly told the gf about the food vendor who asked for my phone number "in case she needed computer lessons". GF pointed out that a typical suburban khao pat vendor with, say, 3-4 tables and a half-decent permanent patch, is probably making 2,000-3,000 per day. AFTER expenses.

Not saying they don't deserve it, they started their own business and they work bloody hard.

I like the way Thaksin has converted Suvarnabhumi airport into an event venue, rather than use the Democrat-owned Muang Thong Thani. Slick.

But two countdowns! I wonder if they are on at the same time, or whether they'll compete to be first?

Hey, don't stop! This thread is really useful!

Personally, I think they should spend the money on an escalator to nowhere.

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Is that the modern Buddhist's equivalent of buying a stairway to heaven?

Let's see, 10 tonnes of oil would be a bit over 10,000 litres.

Or is it 100,000?

Or is it 300,000?

The strong winds dispersed it before it could cause damage. Or they pushed it over the top of the boom. The boom was deployed to contain it. Or to keep boats away. Or as a standard precaution, after the oil had already dispersed.

The automatic valve shut off instantaneously. The manually-operated valve took 30 minutes to close.

The incident is over before it started. Or we will know in a few days.

I think we need to get to the Truth here. Let's wait to see the report from Manager; I expect them to report that the oil was part of an order placed by Shin Satellite and the cover-up ordered by Thaksin's sister.

In other news, a 300,000 litre sewage detergent slick from Jomtien was neutralised when it met cleanup chemicals issued by the Fisheries dept off the coast of Si Racha. A TAT official reported that the Andaman coast was unaffected by the incident, and denied that they were planning a buyout of TA, recently renamed to Truth.

ตะวันรุ่ง - rising sun. (morning sun)

There is a soi near the Other Mac's house, that's called the Rising Sun

It's been the subject of many-a posts

At least I know of one

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Groan

How confusing though. I always figured ตะวันออก (tawanawk - lit. "sun out" - east) to more literally mean sunrise. Which I guess it must still do; so it just happens that ตะวันออก has been codified as the one that means "east" and ตะวันรุ่ง as the one that means "sunrise"? Or are they both completely fluid in usage? Could I say ทางตะวันรุ่ง (tangtawanrung) and be clearly understood to mean "east"?

And, I suppose รุ่ง (rung) must be the same word as in Wat Arun? (can't spell, sorry). Are some of these forms archaic? Someone once told me that "tawan" is older than "ahtit" อาทิตย์, so I always use อาทิตย to refer to the actual sun... so รุ่ง would be the normal word for dawn?

Ratchada at night (Thai red-light district with 2,000 room massage parlours etc).

The expressway spaghetti junction at Dindaeng - because you can't help thinking they could have designed it a lot better.

Sampeng lane (6 foot wide lane selling wholesale).

Hopewell pillars (take the slow train from the airport).

The ghost building (abandoned skyscraper) at the river end of Sathorn.

Wat Lat Phrao - "ordinary" suburban temple crammed with hundreds of golden Buddhas of every size.

Office commuters on the Khlong San Saeb canal boat.

Phra Pradaeng (undeveloped green area across the river from much of the centre). Lots of potential for tropical rural life with skyscrapers in the background.

Find some on-going roadworks/construction project, and if it's possible to reasonably get access, look for the shanty-town where the construction workers and families live.

Look at Nancy Chandler's, the majority of interesting places are not dominated by tourists.

Practice holding your camera steady while zoomed in, and please respect people's privacy. Don't take close-ups of people's faces without their permission. Don't take photos of sex-workers or their customers.

How about "dtawanrung"? (It's the name of a soi near me.) I think it's spelt ตะวันรุ่ง.

Bangkok's police are calling for

They are police, not lawmakers. Relax.

Most Thais consider driving a relatively menial job, and therefore it's usually the most junior person who drives. And of course he/she cannot object or make a fuss. Effectively they are alwys pressured into drink-driving. This public statement addresses that, by pointing out that it IS the responsibility of the more senior passengers to say "Nong, it would be illegal for me to let you drive."

Just a couple.

10: Which BTS station would you alight from to visit Bummungrad hospital?

As I visit regularly, this bothered me for ages. On a map it seems to be just about equidistant between Ploen Chit and Nana. So I ended up timing it from each. The answer is Ploen Chit, although I can't remember by how much.

Of course there's always the randomising factor of the traffic lights crossing the mouth of soi 3, vs the traffic cops manually waving cars around at the expressway ramp. But the lights change less frequently. More importantly, it's a lot more pleasant strolling up soi 1 than choking on the fumes of soi 3. So there.

11: What is the unique name of the restaurant down soi 12?

There are branches of Cabbages and Condoms around Thailand now

13: 7pm in BKK - what is the time in Nadi?

I really ought to google where Nadi is.... I bet it's a fraction of an hour different...

14: How many high pitched beeps are there before the skytrain doors shut?

Twelve.

29: Which Thai politician is famous for his tache?

I reckon you mean Chuwit

30: When a jumbo comes in to land, what's that whooshing sound you hear for a few seconds as the wheels drop? ...I always thought it was the wind resistance against them but the noise stops after a few seconds so perhaps it's the wind on the wings and the noise stops because, ...well I don't know this one so I've thrown it in.

It's the co-pilot's bowels evacuating.

kanombpang

BG

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Wrong on both counts

Just supposing I'm loitering in a Thailand-based chatroom at 3am, and I get harrassed by a katoey. What should I do about it?

And should I admit it to my girlfriend?

I don't think this plan is designed for Bangkok, where even the soi dogs get a free meal from the vendors at the end of the night. I doubt it's intended for anywhere where the local economy can sustain foodcourts or bunches of vendors. Try thinking about Isaan during the hot season, where not enough people can afford to buy from vendors, for the vendors to be able to sustain the starving with freebies.

Is there proof that there is god?

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There is plenty of proof that human beings are both stupid and arrogant and desperatly, pathetically desperatly need, not want - NEED to know what happens when they die because they can't comprehend anything beyond their comprehension.

We are also good storytellers.

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Well some of us are. Hey Scampy, how about an update on the Bible? "Jesus and the Temptations of Shanghai"...

exactlt , that's why I always end up feeling a right tit

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Yes, I'm left-handed too.