thaigirlwatcher

Here's a thought. California addressed the problem of plastic bottle recycling decades ago. They charge a 5 cent recycling fee on every plastic drink bottle. Supermarkets will then refund the same amount for every bottle that is recycled. There are enough poor people in Thailand that some would actively search out plastic bottles for a few baht. What's to loose by giving it a try? The status quo is a mess, literally. 

I hope the government puts in a proper well for them. So sad. 

I hope that these houses meet the same fate as those houses in California that were also built in the forest. 

11 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

That is essentially what we do in the West, in a more humane way. But it's not going to happen here due to Bhuddist objections to the practice of euthanizing dogs.

Same in America. I totally agree. If we see a stray we call the local animal control officer. It's his job to deal with it. No strays and rabies is virtually unknown and has been for decades. This sounds like the Philippines where all birth control is against the law because of the influence of the Catholic Church. Didn't realize that Buddhism is the reason that we see so many stray dogs in Thailand. It's best for a country to have separation of church and state in my opinion. That would allow for mass culling and greatly decrease the rabies problem. Finally, I realize that the culture of every country must be respected but that doesn't mean that I have to travel there. 

13 hours ago, uffe123 said:

Yes, there is a simple solution to this problem, LEAVE and this is what I will do after 20 years. Going to take my son with me so he doesn't t wind up with emphysema or something worse. Have never seen everything so bad. This country has gone to the dogs, and they will have a national medial crisis on their hands. But maybe some of the people might get a chance to ride on the billion bath bullet trains.

I reached the same conclusion as you did, to leave, after making several visits to CM as a tourist. Filthy air and water. I will never return. 

This is exactly what happened to a nightclub on Bangla Road in Patong in around 2010 or 11. What made it worse is that there were large characters on the perimeter off the dance floor made of foam that burned in a flash. 4 or 5 people died. The exit door on the second floor had been padlocked to prevent people trying to get in for free. The usual coverup followed. I paid attention as did the expats. Years later the owners/managers were brought up on charges. Paid a fine and got off. No jail time. 

Photos of the charred bodies were up for a few hours on the Phuket Gazette then quickly taken down. I saw them. Don't want to ever see that again. 

Want to know what happened to the evidence, the electrical rig? It was taken to the sea and dumped. 

Welcome to the Land of Smiles...Thailand. 

Raise the minimum wage to a "living wage" and some of that problem could disappear . The current minimum wage is a little over $1/hour. That's why in most Western countries the hookers are often drug addicts who can't hold a job. Women with average skills can earn enough to live on. Why can't the government see that? Because they are afraid that the businesses will move to other SE Asia countries with lower wages than the new rate. It's all of SE Asia that has this mentality and why hookers are so commonly found in this area. It's economics that lead women to be sex workers. 

The materials that are shown in the photo are for "plumping up" the vulva not for genital mutilation. This COULD be a misunderstanding 

That's the real solution at the end of the piece. Set up a committee. Works for every other problem in Thailand doesn't it? 

22 hours ago, Phuketboy said:

Absolute bullshit.  These guys take all the parking in the area.  There is nearly no space left for anyone else to park.  The way things have been going the only thing the tuk tuks will be good for, is driving to the beach to go fishing to feed the family.  Tourists are declining at a rapid pace, business are closing left right and centre and many girls are either going home or moving to other places.  Keep going Patong, soon you will be nothing but a fishing village once again.

 

We can only hope so

Mormon and moron. 

Uninterruptible power supply? That doesn't take into account the traffic, pollution, crime, rudeness, mafia and corruption on that god forsaken island. 

Funny response. Unfortunately, I don't see Thai infrastructure getting better in our lifetimes. Why would you put yourself through all the bullshit and uncertainty to live there? Of course...up to you. 

As one who has visited Phuket numerous times and had once thought, foolishly, of moving there I can understand your frustration. My suggestion...move elsewhere in that 3rd world country or to a better one. 

On 4/5/2017 at 10:29 PM, darksidedog said:

Now this seems to be a very good initiative, as some evil money lenders charge exorbitant interest and put poor people in a debt trap forever.

A point I believe though is being missed here is that Thais do borrow money very regularly and the banks are not too good at giving a loan in 20 minutes.

If you stop all the money lending going on, you run the very real risk of putting thousands of people out of work, from a short term cash flow issue.

Simultaneous to this, the Government should be introducing a swift acting state lending scheme at standard commercial rates to cover the problem.

Had they actually done so already, we would not have the loan shark problem in the first place.

Couldn't agree with you more.  Why doesn't the Thai  banking system work with its many low income people? I think because some of the elites in BKK benefit from this scheme. 

18 hours ago, imagemaestro said:

The coppers know absolutely nothing about the ICE rule in these situations do they?

Isolate

Contain

Evacuate

 

You don't spend ten minutes playing "chasey" round a crowded railway platform.

And use a stun gun when all else fails

Ladyboy...someone had to say it 555

I recently had a niece who had her iPhone 6S stolen in New York City. She used the feature called "Find my phone." If the phone is turned on it will be found by GPS coordinates to a very precise location and it was. The location was Brooklyn. She then remotely wiped out all data. She then remotely "bricked" the phone making it impossible for anyone to use. She then notified NYPD. They weren't interested in following up on the theft. Probably low priority which is understandable. She then bought an iPhone 7 but this time bought the insurance which would cover theft. Unfortunately, I don't know if these features are available in Thailand. I carry the same model of iPhone in Thailand and would give it up in a moment to save my own life but I can understand one fighting to keep such a valuable possession. 

It's called elephantiasis and can be the result of a parasite blocking a lymph node. Any good hospital should be able to treat it. He currently is in grave danger of an amputation. 

Phuket has been entirely paved so let's move north. 

How about offering free flu shots like they do in Western countries instead of worthless herbs and spices to combat the flu? 

13 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Well put.  Education is the key.  Move on to more productive and better paying jobs.  Can't live off the other taxpayers forever.

Didn't the government just lower the number of hours of instruction for each student/week recently? I was told by a hi-so Thai 10 years ago that poor education is the root cause of the problems with the poor in Thailand. It will take at least one generation for a quality education to bring up the standard of living for the poor. As someone else has said, I don't think that BKK wants the poor to be lifted from poverty. Keeps them easily controllable and provides a constant stream of young girls to the nightlife which benefits many wealthy Thai families who own the land and/or the businesses. 

Hope the water given to the runners was clean

Because the family of the motorcycle rider will want compensation.