fareastguy

The Full Moon parties was the main reason, why I have always stayed far away from Koh Phangan. I was seriously planning to visit the island this year or early next year, but will now have to change my destination.

It's a shame that they think this is the only way to "attract" punters to the island...

why Thai people cannot think outside of the box for a change & not look at what they think they have lost but look at what they could gain with a little bit of entrepreneurialism, it could make it a sort after destination for all the right reasons & provide healthy business for all concerned.

promoting a head-banging music festival for the "young-at-heart" is just a fast-buck return for little as possible expenditure!

Wasted opportunity due to usual short term profit & vision !

I hope they also follow-up on this with the airline/flight concerned on which "mother & child" returned to Thailand from South Korea....

as this means there are other "at risk patients" walking freely around Thailand to spread the infection!

Quote:

"All I've done is express my opinion. As a policeman, I will still take action against gambling for as long as it violates Thai law," he said.

I wonder how many illegal gambling venues he has his sticky fingers into already??

At the moment there are many such "dens" providing Liquor in the front & poke-her round the back (pun intended) type establishments

all this would do is reverse the above !!
And provide some top brass with a healthy monthly pension top-up!!

...this is what they call 'under control'....

Thai style "Under control" as usual something gets muddled in translation !!

Quote:

Reacting to news about two private hospitals denying treatment to patients suspected of having MERS, Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said the ministry's earlier meeting with more than 100 private hospitals had told them to deal with the patients properly.

Hospital: Good morning Sir/Madam how may we rip you off?

Patient: I have a cough, headache, fever and difficulty breathing.

Hospital: Ok Sir that's not our specialty at the moment, what you need to do is go outside & ride the mass transit system to north of the city then take a taxi to such & such hospital, they will be able to assist you !!

Have a nice day Sir/madam enjoy your stay in the "land of smiles" Sawadee ka

Rather worrying !!

Quote:

"Right now, we are checking the details," Pol.Lt.Gen. Prawuth told reporters. "Why he was carrying the gun, and whether he carried the gun past a security checkpoint in Thailand, I cannot say. We have to clearly check details first, and then we will coordinate with him to ask how we can assist."

As he has already admitted that the gun is his then he clearly carried it through Thai security on his outbound journey...

But co-ordinate with him to ask how they can assist for what reason, the only person he should be talking to is a defence lawyer ???

I hope the Thai/Japanese authorities have not pulled strings to release him back to Thailand with a warning only...

he should be held accountable for his actions just the same as any person on the street !!!

Thailand as we all know is full of double standards I rather hoped Japan was above that & would stick to it's principles in law !!

Lets fine for this or that.

It wouldn't happen in the west.

There should be a law.

Why don't all of you whiners (with 1000s of posts) go back to where you're safe.

I love it here, "just the way it is".

I'm guessing from your post you're a young-ish single guy & don't give a s**t about anything.. maybe even an "attached guy & still don't give a s**t about anything.. good luck to you, enjoy the dangers!!

But there are people here who have to work & support a family or simply do not wish to see their children die in front of their eyes, they have to take things a little more seriously !!

Maybe one day when you grow up a little bit & become a mature adult your attitude might change, in the meantime feel free to go out test everything !!

Again we see lack of fore-thought & infrastructure including water management... years & years of no development.
Just wait for the rain !!!

Like someone said you reap what you sow... this year it looks like it ain't gonna be rice !!!

Something's in the "pipeline" but it ain't water !!!!

Just more hot air!!!

Come to Pattaya... paradise for tourists... I expect another announcement tomorrow that numbers are increasing again!

Here it is just as expected the latest tourist figures are not just stable but increasing !!!

Every other country announces some kind of negative impact but Thailand just goes from strength to strength !!

Maybe they should share their wisdom with the rest of the world.

Who their right mind would want to pay 13 mil to try and drive a Lambo in Bangkok?

It's not where or how fast you can drive... It's WHAT YOU DRIVE !!!

It's called "status"

T.A.T Announces that M.E.R.S patients will soon be flocking to Thailand for the best treatment in the world all at very competitive rates !!

Good to see the Prayut government making criminal networks uncomfortable.

Lets hope the police officers involved in this tip off are held accountable and that reform of the RTP will make these incidents a thing of the past.

I'm sure they will be "transferred" as usual!

Excellent Hospital, excellent facilities, good doctors, costly, but you do get best quality care for your money.

It is regrettable it has got the first case of MERS in Thailand.

But what do you expect? We are a part of a bigger World.

I agree with your statement that it's an excellent hospital with the best doctors, facilities etc

It's probably a good thing rather than regrettable that the first case of MERS was detected there as they were quick to isolate him from other staff/patients, keep him under observation until tests were returned... obviously putting there contingency plans into operation without hesitation !!

Other hospitals throughout the nation will yet have time to prove if they are just as professional !

So this gentleman flew-in from the middle east with nearest & dearest at his side as a walk-in patient ???

Sorry I don't buy that !!

Singapore has similar challenges and in places the high ground water pressure. They utilise different building techniques like piling for months thousands of tonnes of concrete onto a site up to four stories tall. This compacts the ground underneath the site making it less permeable to water and creating a boundary layer to the ground water. Which is further isolated depending on the site, seems to work well,

They have also spent substantial efforts in isolating the island from seawater at least in the upper layers. This I do believe has mainly been due to the need for catchment and storage purposes and erosion prevention specially north western parts on the main island of Singapore.

The difference between Singapore & Thailand is that Singapore has a forward thinking long term infrastructure plan, drawn up by experts, executed by professional developers, engineers & contractors...

Thailand is quite the opposite !!

Considering the health system in Thailand I suspect the numbers will climb rapidly should these two cases prove to have infected others before detection.

Most Thais cannot afford hospital treatment for severe illnesses let alone go for even for minor ailments, so a little high body temperature, breathing difficulty etc will be "shrugged off" as normal daily issues such as a common cold or flu, with the rainy season arriving many Thais suffer colds due to the change in temps & humidity so this will also mask possible M.E.R.S syndrome...
whilst they are at large in the public domain they will spread the disease to family members & others that they come into contact with!!

It's all well and good having 69 hospitals nationwide on alert... but you need the patients on the "inside" to do any good !!

Tip of the ice-berg indeed

The man was taken first taken to a private hospital then transferred to a Government hospital- for God's name why? The outbreak in South Korea has been confined to a hospital so to transfer him to a hospital with less resources due to financial constraints and less quality management ????

The gentleman concerned was inbound for heart surgery.. so obviously the the hospital concerned makes most of it's money from over-charging tourists

not wishing to incur bad publicity or loss of revenue the "powers-to-be" have decided to move him out of that hospital purely on a financial basis and are withholding the hospitals name for the same reason.

Speaks volumes !!!!

Thailand (soon-to-be) hub of M.E.R.S.

Just listened to the news on TV...
The government has refused to say which hospital is currently being used to treat the infected patient or say which hospital is being used to examine/test people that have been in close contact with him

They have also refused to say which airline/flight was used on the inbound flight of the infected patient.

The reasoning behind the non-disclosure is that they are "in full control of the situation" and do not wish to spread panic among the general public or bring un-due attention to the hospital/s involved !!

Personally speaking I would like to know if I was on the same flight as the infected person so I could go to a nominated hospital & get myself tested as soon as possible (to declare myself clear or to stop further infection)

As for knowing which hospital he is in I would also like to know so that I could make a personal choice as to whether I would use that hospital at this moment in time or go somewhere else for other un-related treatment..

South Korea paid the penalty for failing to alert the public in the early stages of the first detection

I just hope Thailand doesn't go down the same path, saying it's in the public's interests not to know while all the time actually trying to keep domestic/tourist movements normal !!

Time to stay in-doors I think

Thailand can't even control dengue !!

How come street lottery ticket sellers are dealt with immediately for overpricing, by way of large fines, but it will take several months to deal with the real villains, the wholesalers?

There's a clue in the post... read it again...

One word sums up Somyot... SPINELESS!!!

I'm sure Thais like many nationalities use many substances and methods to enhance the growing or appearance of fruit/veg etc

However in Thailand where fruit & veg is mostly sold direct to market places without testing for pesticides or additives etc you do have to be careful what you're consuming.
Washing only gets rid of the external residue but not what the plant has soaked up!!
When exporting most countries have their own set of regulations of what is permissible & what is not, therefore testing is done upon arrival before release to the market place...

Thais have to learn that if they wish to sell overseas then it's best to do so at a standard the importer wishes & not try to pass-off what they are used to pedaling in the domestic market !

Chinese invented "monopoly" (not the board game) the real deal in the real world.
Thais thought they could cash in on the big spending Chinese tourist but weren't smart enough to do all the homework !

They got what they wished for a backyard full of Chinese entrepreneurs who can outsmart the smartest nations !!

Beware the "yellow peril "!!!!

All it will take is one case in Thailand and the situation will change very quickly. 85% of tourists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have cancelled trips to S Korea since the outbreak there started. For an economy that has become so dependant on Chinese tourism the consequences for Thailand could be devastating should it start spreading further throughout the region.

Totally agree.. it's a bit "previous" to make a ridiculous statement like that..as at the moment Thailand is MERS free.. luckily.

I'm just waiting for a Thai citizen returning home or a tourist to enter Thailand after being in an infected country to bring in the MERS virus while it's in it's "incubation period" and thus harder to detect any symptoms!!

However I'm not so sure if Thailand will be as honest in their reporting of all cases when it eventually does arrive as other countries have been.

I think they will be slow to report the early cases to avoid the inevitable tourist impact and try to avoid domestic upset... this will have a negative effect and actually help to spread the infection nationwide & further!!