keestha

Are the two mentioned substances the only drugs this test can detect? In for instance the Netherlands, roadside tests have become quite sophisticated, for instance marijuana, heroine and cocaine are also detected. An exception seems to be the fairly new drug GHB, which till now escapes detection.

Don't know about Chinese tour groups, but nobody who has his feet on the ground in the tourism industry will deny that the number of visitors from western countries has gone down. Talk to any hotel owner, tour operator or taxi driver. Important factors are the economical situation in Europe and the downward movement of the Euro. It is also noticeable that Europeans who are there have less money to spend. In my area I saw mom and pop stores who offer Chang beer for 55 Baht and Khao Pad for 45 Baht being packed with westerners.

It happens that hotel booking websites put a hotel in there they don't have a contract with, and if people try to book there, a message appears that the hotel doesn't have availability, and alternatives are suggested.

Happened to my hotel, I called to complain, the lady answering the phone sounded nice but was talking around in circles, so I thanked her and decided to just forget about it.

A well known and respected member who always seems to notice even the smallest earthquakes didn't chip in till now. Once asked him if he was by any chance living in the penthouse of a shoddily constructed high rise, but he didn't reply.

Remember a few years back (roughly 2010) a large reef was discovered off Thai Meuang between Phuket and Khao Lak. Heard nothing of it since.

Will it be fully covered with advertisements for local businesses in a few months time? Before somebody else takes the prime spot, better paste your ad on there: nice clean cheap rooms, cold beer hot girls, 150 Baht buffet breakfast, discounted tours.

Using ATM's you get a very bad rate for Euro's now, not sure about GBP/US$. The Thai Banks want to protect themselves against Euro volatility, so give 2 Baht less per Euro than they would give for cash/traveler cheques. Coming from the Euro zone, traveler cheques are a good option now.

I don't know where you trade, I get the international rate for USD that day and get reimbursed for any Thai bank/exchange rate/ATM fees. So, I use my debit card for all expenses in Thailand, the best part, you only take what you need.

Good for you, but European tourists I am dealing with constantly are hit with a bad exchange rate invariably, using Thai ATM's with a German, French or whatever bank card.

This is no different to a whip lash claim, the only difference is she is asking for a lot, and I think she is over doing it on the bull shit a lot, and another thing, she should stop posting photo's on Facebook, because that wont help her bull shit much

Yesterday her Facebook page was still publicly accessible, now not anymore. The publicity might have caught her by surprise.

Brilliant artist who has been at work there. Reminds me when I was still living in Amsterdam/Netherlands, for a long time there was construction going on in a downtown street I often drove through. Construction finally finished, there remained a pile of metal slabs and poles laying on the pavement. I assumed the building crew had forgotten to clear out properly, till I learned this was a work of art.

On another occasion, they constructed a piece of artwork in the middle of a nightlife area, it consisted of 4 metal slabs leaning towards each other, the pavement in the middle being deepened a bit. They finally removed it when it started reeking too much of urine.

This Karon artwork also looks inviting for males to answer a call of nature.

Using ATM's you get a very bad rate for Euro's now, not sure about GBP/US$. The Thai Banks want to protect themselves against Euro volatility, so give 2 Baht less per Euro than they would give for cash/traveler cheques. Coming from the Euro zone, traveler cheques are a good option now.

Beg to differ, I would think it would be better to cancel the work permit anyway. Once when applying for a work permit, I was sent to the police station to pay a 1000 Baht fine because I had refrained from cancelling a previous work permit.

Eat at street stalls, or walk away a little bit from the tourist area and you will see simple restaurants where people like hotel staff and bar ladies are eating. People can say what they want about Thailand, but it's never difficult to find cheap food.

Walk around the nightlife area till you see a bar with balloons all over the place, it means there is a party going on, and they'll have free food.

I am running a hotel, and the main building has a flat roof, on top of which there is a water pump, which switches on when water is used, to make sure there is enough pressure on the water.

The thing generates quite a bit of noise, I know that guests staying in rooms near by are slightly bothered by it. I am wondering about a do it yourself way of noise insulation, possibly building a box around it with styrofoam inside, I have already started saving it up when buying stuff like washing machines.

Your thoughts/suggestions?

Depression can seriously impair judgment. If a person who has committed suicide would have refrained from it at the last moment, possibly half a year later he would have been quite happy. A depressed person is by definition incapable to make a well thought out rational decision to do this.

People who survived the golden gate bridge jump (2%) all have the same story to tell: they regretted their action when half way down.

The post really doesn't make much sense without a pic of the guy.

Hrmpf. Nisit could be shocked if Hancock's thoughts would be projected at a screen at the other side of the room.

One direction and that is down . 50 years from now nobody will remember this band and other mass produced pop music, still people will be playing Rolling Stones and The Beatles, Mozart and Beethoven. Even Michael Jackson will have a name in the historybooks in 50 years.

Give the guys a honest fighting chance, they're young and could develop.

Still remember that in 1966 when I was in primary school, the teacher said that the Beatles would be forgotten in 10 years, but people would still be listening to Beethoven.

Sue the internet?

My thought. You might as well sue God.

(Sorry Christian readers, no offence intended).

Why go to the most expensive nonsense in Thailand? Other areas are much better. Phuket is the biggest rip off in Thailand. Welcome to the club.

Why, maybe the OP wants some serious nightlife besides beaches. Not so many options in that case, just Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin, Koh Samui, Ao Nang.

Which areas are "better" depends on a persons individual priorities.

Obviously a backpacker bus, starting from Khao San road instead of from the Southern Bus Station (Saitaaimai) like regular buses do. Backpacker buses are often enough in a bad technical state.

Still a lot of old people chewing betel in Thailand.

In India they make small leaf wrapped packages containing betel among other things, pan is the Hindi name for it. Burmese people also use it. You have to chew the package. It has a very mildly intoxicating effect, like drinking half a glass of wine, it makes that you can stand the heat better.

The Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Indian tourists will love it. They need this this of thing instead of a Soi Bangla.

Time to finally say something positive about Immigration. There is no Immigration office in Khao Lak, but since a few months there is a mobile Immigration office there every Wednesday, it is a van converted into a mini office. Today I did my 90 days reporting duty there, and the whole thing took less than 5 minutes.