Quadra

you just need to look at the Thai pavements to see how much Thai's care for and respect disabled people confined to a wheelchair Professor Stephen Hawking would have a few problems if he ever came to Thailand for a holiday or to improve his knowledge about mankind's inelegance in Thailand

I agree Jim. There are some good wheel chair friendly places, but that's the small %.

Some Thais also exhibit strange behavior when the see a wheel chair. They sort of rush to get in front of it and then either slow right down or stop. They push by them when entering or exiting elevators and if in an elevator many seem to want to refuse to move a little to make way for them. Some Thais - all ages, both sexes, seem to need to stare at a wheel chair whilst others jump out of the way in a most theatrical manner.

It seems the knowledge about disability and mobility are somewhat lacking here.

So Jayman, share the joy, what are the ingredients & method ?

I guess that the keyword is "torrent"...

correct.. torrents have all the content you could ever want in very HD quality all out there free for the taking. No sat dishes or program guides required. I use a NMT that I tell it what I like to watch and it monitors the schedules and as soon as the shows air they are downloaded and wait for me to press play on my TV. Stuff that TRUE would never carry nor any of these other asian sats. It really all depends what you want to watch. I don't watch sports as it does nothing for me to see men running around playing grab ass.

What do you want to watch today?

http://eztv.it/

http://www.bt-chat.com/

http://www.seventorrents.com/

oh cool.. just noticed that Breaking bad season just started Sunday night in US and now the new episode in HD has already been downloaded and is waiting for me to press play. And Weeds... who doesn't like weeds?

Not all of us have access to broadband - geez or what

also I didn't see ASN on the channel list, is that still only on Grammy?? so Truevisions will again feature no american football?

Channel 113 for ASN. Enjoy.

I just feel that trying to act like a Thai has no purpose here. If you drive a beat up old motorbike with a beat up old side-car and wear a straw hat it certainly doesn't make the Thais think that you are any more like them. They actually just laugh and say "look at the poor faring."

And as far as driving like a maniac or doing illegal things sure doesn't help our reputation or your safety.

Just my observation really.

Really? You have returned to Pattaya after 3 months and suddenly there are lots of farang bike riders with sidecars and straw hats riding around Pattaya causing mayhem. I've been here 8 years and cant say that I have seen many of that description. I've also driven a car the. 8 years here and have had a few near misses always with Thai drivers. Anyway who cares what age the bike or sidecar is. If the guy wants to wear a straw hat to keep the sun off his head that's his business. Live and let live brother.

She is quite clearly a total nut job. I have lots of experience of dealing with women like this. Tell her that a gang of Filipino drug gangsters forced you to bed her in their efforts to gain access to her bank account. Tell her that in truth, you are actually in a very happy relationship with a garage mechanic called Rodney, and would she be so kind as to deal directly with the Filipinos if you could give them her telephone number...

55555 love it

You keep harping on about evidence, yet you seem just as quick to make your mind up as I am. A drunk farang is nearly always at the centre of these stories. I've seen their behaviour first hand more times than I care to remember. Added to that I don't have an irrational, frothing at the mouth hatred for them as every body else does, and the fact that this Thailand and everyone should be on their best behaviour in other peoples country, I will lean toward blaming the German. Baring in mind at no time have I condoned him being beaten.

Where's the evidence to say the the German guy was drunk, or pushed/assaulted the tuk tuk driver? All the participants to this sad affair cant be found or cant remember anything. As for the Thai police, well enough has been said about that lot already - totally useless and corrupt.

the post was there. it was there for an hour or so. it described a statement from the wife. why TV removed it I don't know. they can answer that.

no problems dude, you believe what you want, if you can't read a Thai newspaper, that's fine ....

I read it too. Someone has deleted that particular post.

Bkk stands for Bangkok

Yes...A.I.B won't do any thing to help.

It's a new policy for certain countries including Thailand and the U.S.

I would change my bank if Iwas at home.

I thought it was bad enough when the brought it down to 250 euros

a few months ago.

I will have to see how expensive it is getting money over the counter

if you can still do that.

Some one said B.k.k banks.......what does B.K.K. stand for.

Thanks for all the prompt returns...

True Visions (UBC) is showing all the matches in High Def.

I think this guy has an inferiority complex, lonely and sad. What a loser.

Any wheelchair users out there got any info on access, housing, medical insurance, motoring(hand controls) etc. I recently sent some info to toffo9 who will be coming to Thailand early October to live but any other info re the above would be appreciated, thanks

Thanks mate... If you see a young ( ish ) LOL guy in a sports wheelchair then come say hi

Hi David all the best with your move to Pattaya. I would like to have met up with you as I'm also a sports wheelchair user. I used to live in Pattaya but spend most of my time in Sukhothai now. Maybe sometime in the not too distant future when I'm down in Pattaya we can meet up for a chat and a beer. Jim

Good to see the spirit of goodwill to all men and charitable acts are so alive and well in Pattaya. At least he is busking and not begging!

totally agree .......

Me too. I think it's a bit much to judge this guy without knowing what his circumstances are. Maybe he is just another of those unlucky people who have been taken to the cleaners financially by a Thai lady who has a sick buffalo, mother is in hospital, brother in hospital after bike accident and so it goes on. Have a heart and give the guy a break until you know otherwise. Hopefully it wont be you in the future we are dropping money to.

The next Training for Police (real Government appointed Officers with a rank of Asst. Superintendant & above) I am to present is 23rd March , I will be showing some of this material, as , I believe that it is pertinent to "Authority" as part of the International Interest in Tourism. The Training by the way , is for Government Officers only.

No judgement on my part as a Trainer , just the incredible emotiveness that people without ANY Authority can produce when all that is real .is what appears to be Commercial lnterests . Don't know if that is a fact , purely an observation.

I find it absolutely fascinating that people can 'Volunteer' a public service that has repurcussions of alleged intimidation "hands across a camera" etc, questioning of members of the public without a 'just cause' & a total lack of substantive Government Authority.

In fact , a statement by the Police Chief in a public Newspaper (Pattaya Times) stated that these 'Voulunteers' Have "NO Authority" except as Translators. But, that is not what is being demonstrated by them from what I have seen on the posts & videos.

An Observation.

I am always looking for material to use in classes & I have to admit that ALL the "POLICE ? Volunteer " groups provide a plethora of material here in Pattaya , some serious , some levity . Thank you for that.

I still have to ask though , are these organisations purely Civilian with Police approval within a very limited capacity??

I would appreciate an answer from someone with managerial knowledge & no boat to row nor axe to grind.

But, it is none of my business , just asking. I doubt I will be answered anyway.

We have Volunteer SES (State Emergency Service ) personnel in Australia & they can always be found attending emergencies affecting & assisting the public in Bush fires , Missing Children , Overdue Boating incidents etc . They have the Publics respect & Thanks for their services, in the USA it is the same with missing people , aircraft lost etc , <deleted> is going on here ???............by the way , we all have to produce CERTIFIED National Police Clearances Annually from whatever Country we reside in or lived in in the previous 5 years , or from our Country of Birth , does that apply here ??? Again , none of my business , just asking.

Personally , I can see that a Volunteer Group to assist Tourists is a great idea , it just appears that the structure from vested commercial interests seem to think that a Uniformed Authoratian group is required . WHY ??? is 'power' a prerequisite??

Just asking !! No judgement , No sides

What a very good and pertinent post. I hope you show this at your session on 23 March and get some concrete answers in return. I think its about time this whole question of what the volunteer police or BIB or whatever you want to call them are told exactly what their role is in relation to policing. As was pointed out earlier by a high ranking Thai Officer they are only there for provide a translation service to the Thai police. It would seem to me that they are overstepping the mark by a long way. Time to put them in check. As for Mr. Miller I think he is just a frustrated radio DJ who could only make it in hospital radio back in the UK but for some reason seems to be full of his own importance here in LOS

I don´t need to have a disput with these "black sheriffs, nor do I need to a disput with their defenders. Problem is - as usual, the Thai police act an an very unprofessional way, to allow foreign men to act in public in these uniforms.

These uniforms make certain kind of impressions, which is not good! Uniform is not just some kind of dressing . It is a special dressing with certain meaning.

I think, in my country, police would never allow untrained foreigners to act this way. Problem is, the Thai Police act totaly unprofesional to do this. If their own staff do not speak english good enough, they should train them ! And they can use people to translate, but not uniformed "black sheriffs" for doing this job!

Agree 100%. Mr. Miller should stick to filming dead bikers by the side of the road (without the relatives permission I would guess) for the local cable company. Hospital radio in the uk seems a long way away now.

Does GPRS work well on the Happy prepaid? Where can I buy a GPRS Happy prepaid card? I remember reading somewhere they sell those.

if you are using your mobile to connect to internet through Happy you just need a normal prepaid card. You would also need happy to download the settings for your phone, AIS also do similar service. Price around 110 baht for 20 hours per month. 200 baht for 50 hours no contract and can cancel any time or upgrade hours any time

My sister was visiting and told my tgf she looked 'funky'. Tgf got out the dictionary then promptly asked me why my sister told her she looked like a bad smell....

Two that come to mind are not long after I came to Thailand I was in a bar and asked the bar girl I was chatting to where she came from, she told me she came from wooly lamb, oh i said ok. Later I asked one of my friend where wooly lamb was and he could not stop laughing. Turned out she was from Buriram.

I was in the shower one night when my g/f who I had recently met asked me if I wanted clean sex after my shower. Turned out she meant to say clean socks. We still have a laugh about it 2 years later. What a gal.

mak mak funny

not.

Agreed.

So the haemorrhoid brothers now include maigo6, lifeisrandom AND the urban cowboy known as RakjungTorlae. A truly eclectic bunch.

Agree 100%

...It's like they don't like pauses in conversation. When my wife and her sister are talking, it's non stop...both talking 500KPH at the same time and not pausing to even take a breath.

Just wondering if I'm the only one that notices this???

It's a highly efficient way of communicating - both transmitting and receiving at the same time. It's called "full duplex".

Dolphin can do this but they talk on one frequency and listen on another... full duplex.. Dolphin are the only creatures on this planet with a brain larger than a human. Maybe you are on to something... Can you do an MRI or Brain CAT on one of these creatures??? or is it that they talk and pretend to listen??? YES It's a trick! it's a trick!!

Just watch Fox News and their political pundits and presenters talking. Cant understand half the conversation because they all talk over each other. Maybe they are aiming their programming at Thailand lol. My g/f of 2 years tends to talk very loudly as if everyone is deaf and her mum is just the same. Beats me as to how my g/f's 1 year old neice gets off to sleep with both the gran and the mum singing at the top of their lungs to lullaby her. Still got a great g/f though and her family are great too.

It's wrong.

why?

If the 14,999 baht price is for Thai's only why does he advertise that in english. Ok some Thai's can speak english but very few know how to read english

The thing is people have still had accounts on 'soft hold' while operating WITHIN normal parameters.

Not sure what "soft hold" means, but I certainly got mine made inoperative about 6 months back. When I 'phoned N/W, the Customer Service person told me "it's because your card has been flagged as being used in Thailand recently". I pointed out that it had also been used regularly (as in the same pattern of frequency and amounts) in Thailand for the previous 18 months - because I'm staying long term in Thailand now........... Much embarrassment at their end, profuse apologies - and a promise that they would make a note on the account so it wouldn't happen again.

Interestingly, not so much as a query from them when I used the same (Debit) card to make over-the-bank-counter withdrawals of 200,000 and 400,000 baht - definitely not my normal pattern/parameters! If only............

I agree about making sure they have a contact 'phone number for you - and do just ignore those e-mails.

Had exactly the same problem with my Barclay A/c. Contacted Barclays and was transferred to their Fraud Dept. They told me that my card had been stopped due to the fact that it was being used in Thailand. I explained to them that I had been using my card for the last 4 years here with no problems. They had it flagged up as a possible fraud case. When I explaind the circumstances they had the card re-activated within 15 minutes. A bit angry at first but when I thought about it I guess they were only looking out for my best interests. Might be a good idea to let your UK bank or BS know that you are going to Thailand (for however long) might save problems later.

I love this weather (BKK). Nice brisk mornings and pleasant all day. It's nice not to be sweating all the time.

I'll second that mate. Makes a nice change from the constant heat and humidity. The Thais will now get a feeling of what it's like in Europe at the moment whith many countries without gas due to the gas delivery problems they are having via Ukraine and Russia.

Very cold here in Sukhothai. Girlfriend walks around most of the day with hat and jacket on (indoors). As for me, originally from Scotland I like this cold spell a pleasant change from the heat and humidity one normally gets here. Hope it stays cold for a while yet and give my sweat rash a chance to clear up lol.

I am up in Sukhothai at the moment and need to renew my visa. Does anyone know of any Visa Run companies in or around the Phitsanulok area who provide visa runs to Laos. Many thanks