srisatch

I never hard of this site. Thanks. now I already watch the video of the powerful people. now i know why it should be block. But many people know how to use proxy servers to go around.

Some members in some topics seem to be having problems with LOS. I propose a new way of looking at this..and who knows maybe helping them towards Nirvana or at least thinking about where they have chosen to live.

Thailand is a fake country. There are and have been, of course, many others. The USA is an amalgam of a vast number of 'States',and it required war to amalgamate them..to some extent! The USSR was a similar pudding and collapsed. The so called Austro-Hungarian Empire? Over the centuries China has been warring with its peripheries and centralities. Empires have come and gone..particularly the British one. One could go on. But I was reminded of Yugoslavia. Remember that? Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia etc. Now Thailand. I propose that Thailand redefine itself. We will have the nations of Issan, Lanna, Thailand Central or shall we call it Suphanland?, There will be City states (like Singapore or Macau) of Bangkok and Phuket,and maybe even Pattaya? Khmer speaking provinces will be re-integrated with Kampuchea or whatever it is called nowadays, and the southern 'islamic'or 'malay' states will be rejoined with the so called Malaysia...after all what's in a name? Great Britain/United Kingdom..America/USA, Iran/Persia. Of course there will be some problems drawing lines, but that has never stopped nation builders...look at all those lines in the middle east desert and the bizarre construction of 'African' countries. It is time for the Thais (where did we come from?) (Maybe we should make a bid forSipsongpanna?) to put a stop to the dilution of the Thai way of doing things, get rid of hill tribes, Mons, muslims, sea gypsies/chao lay,and even chinese and assert our place in the modern world.

"Along with this there needs to be a serious attempt to change the "mai pen rai" attitude of the Thai people, as well as teaching them that they are wrong sometimes"

I only just came across this!!

Teaching them? Usual arrogant stuff?

Much of your factual observations are pretty much true. So what?

You say you 'know what you are talking about'...sure easy to say. Actually I think you know nothing about the way any Thai person thinks, the lives that they are born into and the world they negotiate. Do you speak Thai? Do you think Thai? Or think/speak Lao? I guess not.You are completely missing the mind set, both now and historically. Corruption? Look at bent politicians with their noses in the trough and corrupt fuzz in most western countries..let alone institutionalised business corruption....Just another westerner rant when it comes to 'opinion'....and most of the comments...I been here longer than you..well you should have learned a few things about people anywhere then.........all this old timer one upmanship...can't see why the forum gives air time to any of this....except as amusement

Beaches simply do not compare with LOS. Beaches in the north are black sand covered in cow pats, Kuta covered with!!..If you are a surfer waves are better than LOS, though, particularly at Legian. Aggressive beach sellers...we stayed at the Oberoi...touts and traders held back fiercely..by hotel but still obnoxious.....And all thought wife was an Indonesian hooker and treated her so....so she hated it. There is nowhere in LOS like Ubud.a place of peace and delight and beauty...Read Covurrabias, McPhee, Gorer....well depends what interests you!

H Pylori is here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori

Thread raises interesting aspects of life and health in LOS

Thais I know in the UK think some of our habits very unhygienic..shoes in house, picking noses etc

In Thailand I have been puzzled by the general lack of disease spread from communal eating and drinking habits and from apparently highly unsanitary management of meat etc in markets, shared eating and drinking utensils, consumption of pesticide doused insects,, rice field rats etc. One view is that Thais have immunity to many bacterial infections westerners are susceptible to, another that the methods of rearing animals..pigs and chickens in LOS.. mean they have less bacterial infections than western factory raised creatures soused with antibiotics. Absence of listeria/salmonell outbreaks in LOS interesting? Cholera is primarily a consequence of contact with water infected with faeces, dengue/haemorraghic fever is mosquito borne....but both a consequence of poor household and municipal sanitary/protective measures. In Sukothai there is a ruthless program of eliminating stagnant water in gardens..much bemoaned by fish lovers and a program of spraying drains..elsewhere??

I think you will be lucky to get anything much decent on that budget! Where are you? There are several companies in Phrae offering new build wooden houses..but pretty crude carpentry and joinery and closer to 1mB. There are really nice houses on the road from CNX to Sukothai via Thoen and Tungsaliam...we followed the route of purchase of falling down houses for the timber..beautiful planks but not cheap..veveryone knows the value of timber today...and take care with the regulations about transporting timber from one province to another..often has to be stamped as to its origin + maybe plus a bit of Tea money, though we did manage to get one from Trang to Nong Khai!! Good luck

Mrs. wants to get a loan from this Bank...Anyone had any dealings with them? Have a branch in CNX, which I have seen..don't know about BKK. They don't seem to issue ATM cards and so not part of ATM pool. I asked KBank if I could transfer money to them through Cyberbanking..apparently not...so are they a bank or a'finance house'?..any info welcome.thanks.

Very difficult, I know!. She can drive on her Thai licence for 1 year..after that she needs a UK licence or one that can be exchanged for a UK one. I had this problem...only company to come up with something was Swinton.

Just wonder if other Thai banks are planning to go the same route with SMART cards as Bangkok Bank? AS far as I know cards with chips only ie no magnetic strip won't work pretty much anywhere in ATMs. I use KBank mainly.Have the best ATMs and plenty of branches with a Deposit ATM.

It won't have escaped most people that SCB have pretty much a monopoly concession on ATMs and Counters at the airport. Not so in CNX!

Precis:

Abhisit is good but rich

Thaksin is bad but rich

Hi-Sos are bad and rich

Red Shirt Leaders are Hi-So..see above

Policemen and Soldiers and Politicians would like to be patrons: Good Bad and Rich

Non Thais are bad and poor

Kings and queens are good and VERY rich

Politicians are greedy bad and rich

Farangs love Thailand and are rich

Thais don't like farangs, well except when they enrich Issan, because they are rich

Rich Thais treat poor workers very badly

Like the comparisons with France..both as regards analysis..and what was DONE

Thanks to Jerrythe Young and Animatic

Oh tacky tourism..well I think its tacky because its mostly kitsch and down market, exploitative, ecologically disastrous and corrupt. Is Kamala Camelot?

Quote from above:

Though the Red Shirts have succeeded in calling attention to their agenda, the major societal forces of Thailand appear stacked against them," said Paul Chambers, a Thailand specialist at Heidelberg University in Germany.

"This includes the monarchy, soldiers in top positions, courts, the ruling coalition, and most business groups."

A good read is Siam Mapped by Thongchai Winichakul

Explores the ways in which..never mind the myth that Thailand has never been colonised..Thailand/Siam has colonised large areas of what is now its territory. One result is that in many areas Thai is a minority language. The North Eastern/Issan people speak Lao, in the South East they speak Khmer and in the North Kammuang..there are a myriad of tribal dialects..about 80!! ..see Studies in Tai Linguistics in Honor of William Gedney..and then there is the issue of Teochew, the Chinese, spoken by great numbers of people in the Central/Southern area and Bangkok. Thailand is a highly fragmented country. At its peripheries: on the borders with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, where refugees, insurgents, disenfranchised and denationalised hill tribe ethnic groups survive, Thailand barely maintains its sovereignty. A country massively centred on one city Bangkok and a tacky tourist industry is held together, just, by money, plentiful food, strong families, the hegemony and 'benevolent' autarchy of the monarchy and the unpleasant nationalism/racism that has been diligently constructed to create the notion of 'being Thai'. It is a great shame that the clearly constructive aspiration to representation by the so called 'rural poor'...not that poor!!..is hijacked by the demagogue and mobile phone and silk tycoon Thaksin..the Chinese Slim of Thailand.

Another word for swidden is: Assarting......the ramifications are countless....no comment?...

Funny.... imtranslator cannot manage either swidden or assarting!

No more to say.........anyway cannot speak as life in Doi Saket is PRESENTLY carried out with wet face masks! Decent articles on slash and burn on wiki....keep breathing........

chockdee69,

sorry to say that you described my own situation to a tee, except that you have been more generous to her.

mine skipped town and left me with two infants. so based on my experience, all i can say is pick up the pieces and move on.

it seems to me that these thai farang relationships are built on a lot of dreaming on both sides. one party has been trapped in poverty, the other in a different sort of misery, often lonliness. both are willing to suspend belief and gamble.

once in a while gambling pays off.

in the meantime, your in thailand. carpe diem.

Interesting post earthpig........For the ability of Thai girls to abandon their children, whether to Granny, husbands...whether farang or Thai, husband's family I have yet to read a decent explanation....not women who have themselves been deserted either....And while material gain for the woman is obviously a big motive in many thai/farang relationships..there is clearly much more...as often enough is not enough...but often enough IS enough to ditch the guy....somewhere in all this I think 1. Language and the articulation of feeling is critical and 2.Farangs know about guilt and responsibility...Thais?...not a criticism...just different........

Look like Takarb...ตะขาบ

but yours a bit funny color

Like those white cockroaches in BKK.........here in CNX all RED!!

Capture throw away in the wild streets..sure do NOT get stung...nasty....bit of Tiger balm and visit to nearest hospital

Wonder why you got them..too many dark damp places in your condo??

So the new card will not be a VISA card?

I dont understand...

Yes I do not understand this.......If the new card can be used in shops overseas...presumably Carrefour Central etc in Thailand...Try asking for Cashback in Tesco Chiang Mai?? Ha Ha Why not in ATMs...No info as to what system they will use...........Any way I agree with other poster..Thailand is a cash economy...if you can't get cash what's the point of the card or the account? OK The Internet bank is good but cannot transfer money from it to Kasikorn/SCB etc. Nationwide even want signed documents..At least Halifax do it on the phone!!?...so the Q will be..what will be the cheapest /quickest way to get cash to Thailand......Western Union/Moneygram stupidly expensive... UK banks charge transaction fees, %fees and lousy exchange rate.........

Regrettably this is quite straightforward.

Letters received from Nationwide March 6th 2010

It says they are improving the account. The letter and leaflet state IN BOLD..YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE YOUR NEW CARD TO WITHDRAW CASH OVERSEAS...but you will be able to use the new card in shops (some!!) overseas

They have decided that they will no longer bear the costs of free cash withdrawals...However it seems ridiculous that you cannot withdraw cash AT ALL even by paying a fee!

It relates to current accounts. ie Flex Accounts

Presently a cashcard on these accounts can be used without a fee either from the \UK Bank..Nationwide nor from a Thai Bank.This is through Cirrus. If you are using a Debit Card you are probably paying a fee. through Visa or Mastercard.........

Extraordinarily unhelpful move by Nationwide

Nationwide have announced that they are IMPROVING your current account

This improvement means that once they issue a new Cashcard+ to you,you will NO LONGER be able to withdraw cash from ATMs abroad. Presently not clear if you will be able to withdraw cash 'In Branch'

So now you wont be able to use your card in the ATM and they still do not do faster payments AND they say'Please use Nationwide as your main account'!!!

And in Thailand I can transfer money from an ATM to any other Thai Account..........So much for London Financial Capital of the World!!

Please cal/write Nationwide and tell them how idiotic this is...............Of course means that you will have to use a debit card lilke other UK banks with exorbitant fees.

I am in th UK...not much time to follow this............What's the explanation?? Was there a sugar cane hopper??I thought Thailand was the 3rd biggest sugar producer in the world?? Suppose its all eaten it poured on to noodles\? I have said before...rice disease, sugar disease, hyper-accelerating Toyotas, smog, ....only needs a plague of killer jelly fish off Phuket, Samui and Pattaya...and Thaksin bin Laden.Game is up..............UK quite nice today...warm, cloudless skies, daffodils, .............miss the frangipani though.

WHO OWNS LANGHAM??

For so many years Lamai has been a paradise in the midst of disaster.............NEW GENERATIONS, NEW MONEY?.........PROBABLY TIME TO NOT GO BACK?

Let's hope the police don't ever find out about what goes on in Bangla Road...

Oh I think Tanon Phum Phon Soi 11 Amphur Muang Phuket is probably where they should look, if the fuzz wish to score/in need of pocket money.Is the end of the month after all. Scores of Burmese "citizens" or "denizens" there and farang definitely "discouraged". Can a noodle tax be far behind?

I always remember this one with joy:

Wife: Tahhlink..cannot sleep your house no more

Me: Why not? You not happy

Wife: Velly happy. You good man, but too many goats

Me: Goats..? We have no chickens, dogs ,cats let alone goats

Wife: Yes, yes, I very frighten. Many many old goats here

Me: ??What they look like?

Wife: Oh same on TV

Me: ??

Wife.: You know heads, blood, sai(entrails). Pee everywhere

Me: Ah!! Ghosts

Wife: You stupid. What I said

My brother's kids want to renounce their Thai nationality, formally. Presently they have dual UK and Thai passports and UK and Thai Birth Certificates. They are 14 and 16 years old. Both born in BKK. The boy reasons that it is necessary to do this to avoid 'conscription'...the girl says that she wishes to visit Thailand as a UK national and not therefore be treated as a Thai citizen with no recourse to whatever services/protection a UK citizen might have in Thailand...(worried, I think, that Mum might try and force her to stay in LOS when she goes back)...no evidence for this...!!..not much as far as I can tell...but anyway!.(also knows that if she has a child he/she must be born in UK to acquire UK citizenship) Can this be done? Is there any point? I have heard!..hearsay..that it is impossible to revoke Thai nationality...even if you so do, you can always ..if you have a Thai Birth Certificate and Tabian Baan..get an Thai ID card and a Passport. Also heard..again hearsay...that though there is a regulation(is there?) requiring choice of nationality..at 18?/21? in practice people don't make that choice, nor is it enforced. Anyone got any experience of this?

Ooh look: http://www.yourdoctorfishspa.com/

only 175SGD!!...cheaper than some tickles...do they only do feet? Can they be deep fried once reached their sell by date??

We checked out pretty well everywhere. I think in part depends where you live. Our kids went to Varee for a while. c 21000 a term x 2. Seemed the best. But pretty formal and tedious just like the rest of the schools. Pleasant staff though and plenty of native English speakng teachers. I think Prem is probably better but expensive..and anyway we wanted them to be with Thai kids. Given a choice they then chose to go back to school in the UK!!

My daughter 7 years old went to school (20,000B a term) in CNX for Anuban 3 and Por 1. Given choice of Por 2 and back to the UK...she said : Back to the UK. Why? Well all I did was sit down, stand up, sing songs, write. No games, no play. .....And I never found out where my friends lived. Just came to school and went home in a minibus......Staff student ratio in CNX 35:1...Here in the UK 10:1..truly.............................