Carrerakiss

Must be one he'll of a pub is security gaurds are armed.

With shotguns, presumably pump action if the guy fired his several times before the other guy could shoot his hand guns.

And I thought Phuket was bad.....

Ordering them to be shut down and actually shutting them down are 2 totally different things altogether.

And ordering them to shut down for one month only, another completely different thing. The compensation money they extorted and kept, (not all was returned) covers most their costs, so actually they have lost nothing at all.

And in one months time will they have insurance? Not a chance.

Just what message does this send to ALL the jet ski scammers in Phuket? Keep right on scamming. That's the message it sends.

This is more lip service only since most establishments are affiliated with policemen or Gov officials. Most likely the only places that this will be enforced are the businesses that don't have the police protection.

And the price for said protection has just gone up. I wager nary a soapie massage will close and how more blatant prostitution can you get?

On the one hand, Mayor is a fairly grandiose title for someone who is the head of a very small island village. So his abilities are probably far less than the title suggests.

On the other hand, the "fiefdom" system that exists in Thailand means that he and his backers wield something close to absolute power.

So you have someone with limited abilities ruling pretty much absolutely. And, might it add, with vested personal, commercial interest.

It's a recipe for accidents, corruption, murders, drug related activities etc, all under the guise of tourism.

No wonder the incidence of death, by whatever means, is statistically through the roof.

there are young foreigners in Udon?!

More and more. I'm almost tempted to add the word " unfortunately" because this type of incident tends to increase along with the increase of young males. And of course farang bars, massage shops and all the stuff that takes place in Pattaya, Phuket, Samui etc.

Personally, I hope the Udon authorities take note of the proliferation of farang bars and massage shops along the Soi in which this incident took place and keep careful control of it. By which I mean making sure that it does not spill over into adjacent streets or get too sleazy in and of itself.

Two years ago there wasn't a single massage shop on that Soi, now it's probably in double figures and the girls sit outside and constantly call out to passers by. Better they sit inside and keep quiet and whoever wants their services can go inside and others can walk along the street for a drink at a bar, without being pestered.

Hope the Frenchmen recover quickly and the Brits, if that is what they were, get done for assault. The latter meaning that they have to give a reasonable size pay off to the police.

The reality is that they will bumble along with a slew of ineffective ideas and initiatives that do very little, until such times as an iunrelated mprovement in global economic conditions result in an increase in tourism, at which time they will claim the ideas and initiatives are working.

Mind you, that's pretty much how all governments work 55555555

Wasting your time General Prayuth. With the morons, idiots and downright corrupt up country, that Triad will want the same bunch or closely connected to ,back ruining the country. So before there are any,so called fake elections, put into law some measures,to keep those who are criminals and hiding away, from getting involved. Until its sorted "Stay in control" and screw what the USA and others say about when to hold a vote!

The problem for the General, is that the kind of law you suggest would disqualify most people on both sides of the colour spectrum and virtually impossible to apply, because it would be interpreted by whoever is in power, to suit their own agenda.

Suspect you know that but just wanted to make some derogatory comments about those people living in the north of Thailand......as if they are any different to those in the south Pfiiiiff.

I suggest some of the readers be less racist or do not live here. These guys day in day out risk their life to help and save people with very little equipment like jet-skis in Australia. Then you get people who ignore red flags which should be obvious what it means and be disrespectful. The lifeguards have to put up with disrespect probably every day. I see some of the tourists they come here and look down on Thais. They would not behave the same in their own country. Most of the tourists here are budget end people and not educated.

Did you read the eye witness account? It doesn't seem like it.

Junta is backward thinking and totally out of step on this one. As mentioned, if bus companies are hurting due to other forms of travel, smarten up, get your act together and offer a good service. And I posit it's not just the price either. People are simply fed up of doing 12-hour+ journeys to the capital when they could get there in an hour. This goes for government employees, too, who's supervisors would send them on a bus or train... but now their budgets can allow them to fly and thus be more productive.

It is 2015, junta, not 1815. Get with it! Buses are a short-haul idea in this century, flying is the way forwards, or is it that you would just prefer to keep your people down? pffft!

That's true. Personally I'm not big into flying, but I do like driving. Even so, I think if the government could improve the roads and build some much needed motorways and expressways linking Bangkok with outlying provinces all the way to the borders, the journey times could significantly improve. It's unacceptable that a 560-odd km journey to Udon Thani takes like what 8-9 hours by bus and maybe 7-8 if you're lucky by car. It should take just 5-6 hours. But because of the horrible roads, with their u-turn bays, trucks overtaking at 60km/h slowing you down, there's no way it can be faster under the present circumstances.

If a bus journey to Udon could be shaved down to say 6 hours then the bus companies might become competitive, but if takes all day as you say, let the people fly.

Don't give them any ideas. More than a few bus drivers already try to meet the travel time scales you suggest are possible, and it's very scary.

Please note, no matter how good the road infrastructure is, thereby facilitating faster road journeys, the ability of Thai drivers to drive safely will NOT improve. So undertaking, swerving in and out of lanes etc, will still make the journey a lottery and at higher speeds, the potential to "buy" the winning ticket of an early grave will only increase.

Cheap reliable air services were a significant step forward for Thailand and I'm very disappointed to see the government try and shackle it, rather than nurture it. All the comments I've read slamming the statement by the government are, in this case, completely justified in my opinion.

Ah well, this is Thailand and everything ebbs and flows like a tide except with far less logic and reasoning

Police and physicians carried out an autopsy and believe the cause of death was asphyxiation, the case is being treated as a suicide and not as a homicide. The mans body has been taken to Koh Tao temple.

Why would they return the mans body to KT?

I would assume they did not perform the autopsy on the island.

Quite. It's also strange that the police performed the autopsy in conjunction with physicians. What did they do? Pass the scalpel?

I am not surprised that the news about the tied hands took a while to come out. It clearly makes it more likely to be foul play and that doesn't sit well with the current official policy that Thailand is safe for visitors.

What does surprise me is that the BIB didn't just untie his hands when they found him. I'm not sure whether to give them credit for being honest, or deride them for being stupid in messing up a cover up.

Why do they always have to have these committees and studies when other countries have good solutions that would go a long, long way to reducing accidents in this country. Do they really think they will come up with unique solutions that are better than other country's solutions.

One of the best solutions, but certainly not the ONLY solution, I know of is what we do is the US. You MUST have patrol cars out in all cities and on all highways in the country ready to run down a reckless or speeding driver or for any other traffic law violation. Once driver's know they can easily be caught anytime and anywhere then they will start to modify their driving habits. Thais or falang have zero incentive to modify their habits. I am NEVER stopped for speeding in a city and very seldom on the highways.

Checkpoints do not do the job. However, checkpoints at certain times and in certain areas for the sole purpose of checking on driver impairment due to alcohol or drugs is an extremely useful tools. Thailand does not do enough of this. Most checkpoints on highways are for speeding and lately there have been many reports of urine testing, but what about alcohol? Has anyone ever seen or had a Thai cop use a "breathalyzer"?

Breathalyzers are in fairly regular use in Udon Thani town.

I saw one being used a few years ago at NY on a motorcyclist. It was fairly superfluous though as the guy was incapable of blowing into it and had to be assisted accross the road to the fine desk by the police officer, because he was incapable of walking. I think they actually detained that guy.

But they're in use through the year as well, a friend of mine was stopped a few months ago around 11pm.

It happens to me sometimes. People park and block the driveway. Mind you, they are usually outside the gate and their vehicle is not on its roof.

I don't understand the across the board rage against this particular topic. But, I don't drive, so I guess I'm missing something.

Having personally just driven from Phuket to Udon...........yes you are missing something........the opportunity to risk your life and the lives of your loved ones. But if you haven't tried it, you won't know.

Thailand is hardly leading in terms of ASEAN deals with China. Singapore has many bilateral deals in place with the Chinese, and has done for twenty years or more. It takes time to learn how to deal with China! even Lee Kwan Yew the ex Singapore PM has said as much. Quite how Thailand has done in ten days, what took ethnically Chinese dominated Singapore, decades to do, only the Thais know.

And if Thailand says that Cambodias rail network is in poor repair, it must be dire indeed. The Thai network is simply desperate itself.

But I guess it can be said the government is doing something, at least THEY. say they are doing something. Good or not, we will see. A decent domestic railway network that could be used by ordinary Thai folk to get around the country, would rank higher on my list of priorities than a high speed link that misses out many Thai provinces and cities

Why are so many people getting their knickers in a twist about ASEAN?

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, to name a few, have nothing much to do economically or geographically with the Mekong River, and this article is about some of the countries bordering the river talking about reciprocal visa agreements.

Surely Thailand is already the regional hub in the Mekong area. It's the place with most flights from Europe, the largest airport and the place where most tourists start their Southeast Asian trips. For once the word hub is used correctly.

But is it being used more and more as the place travellers fly into before flying straight out to other countries in the region?

Swampy is not even in the top 20 unlike 3 other ASEAN airports Changi S Hatta and KLIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic

Euro visitors are a minority compared to other Asean Mid East Chian USa and Australasia

Not one of the top origin countires in Europe

Country or territory 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 * ASEAN 7,396,297 6,253,480 5,594,577 4,534,235 3,968,579 3,971,429 3,520,051 3,389,342 1 China 4,705,173 2,789,345 1,721,247 1,122,219 777,508 826,660 907,117 949,117 2 Malaysia 2,996,071 2,560,963 2,500,280 2,058,956 1,757,813 1,805,332 1,540,080 1,591,328 3 Russia 1,736,990 1,317,387 1,054,187 644,678 336,965 324,120 277,503 187,658 4 Japan 1,537,979 1,371,253 1,127,893 993,674 1,004,453 1,153,868 1,277,638 1,311,987 5 South Korea 1,297,200 1,169,131 1,006,283 805,445 618,227 889,210 1,083,652 1,092,783 6 Laos 1,106,080 951,090 891,950 715,345 655,034 621,564 513,701 276,207 7 India 1,049,856 1,015,865 914,971 760,371 614,566 536,964 536,356 459,795 8 Singapore 936,477 821,056 682,364 603,538 563,575 570,047 604,603 687,160 9 Australia 907,868 930,599 829,855 698,046 646,705 694,473 658,148 549,547

ASEAN does not equal the Mekong delta, which is what we are talking Bout here. Neither Singapore or Malaysia border the Mekong River..

Personally I think ASEAN is a waste of time, it won't pass the initial stress test. Besides, some countries will fair better than others.

Thailand for example has a lot to lose, since most employers want hard-working English-speaking employees, without attitude, and a strong work ethic, something which is apparently lacking in the country. Many I have spoken to want people from the Philippines, as they tick all the boxes.

This is nothing to do with ASEAN, simple a few countries bordering the Mekong River talking among themselves.

Although you are right, ASEAN itself is nothing other than a talking shop. But that's another topic.

A far more urgent task is the reform of the top heavy (more than 3,000 generals!), highly corrupt and inefficient Thai armed forces.

Hmm, this may not be at the top of the to do list of the current government, however merit worthy it may be.

Future governments, even if not dominated by military personnel, will find it to be a task way outside their power. Decentralization may or may not be a good idea to improve RTP, but divide and conquer is the phrase that comes to mind in terms of the rival to the power of the military.

Time will tell, but it seems the military in some form or another, are pretty much here to stay. May or may not be a good thing of course.

Tougher sentences aren't the answer to corruption

How could they possibly know since it has never been attempted here in Thailand! Say what you will, fear of exposure and punishment is a real deterrent to corruption. Thailand should at least give it a try.

Any kind of sentence would be a start. The only time a prosecution is attempted is when the corrupt official has fallen out of favour with powers that be, not because of corrupt acts per se.

Aren't the films about loyalty to your leaders and strong nationalistic feelings? what better example is there?

You think Hitler is the best tool to unite Thailand? This supported and commissioned by some who says he is not a Dictator.

Dictator, 193339

Once in power, Hitler established an absolute dictatorship. He secured the presidents assent for new elections. The Reichstag fire, on the night of February 27, 1933 (apparently the work of a Dutch Communist, Marinus van der Lubbe), provided an excuse for a decree overriding all guarantees of freedom and for an intensified campaign of violence. In these conditions, when the elections were held (March 5), the Nazis polled 43.9 percent of the votes. On March 21 the Reichstag assembled in the Potsdam Garrison Church to demonstrate the unity of National Socialism with the old conservative Germany, represented by Hindenburg. Two days later the Enabling Bill, giving full powers to Hitler, was passed in the Reichstag by the combined votes of Nazi, Nationalist, and Centre party deputies (March 23, 1933). Less than three months later all non-Nazi parties, organizations, and labor unions ceased to exist. The disappearance of the Catholic Centre Party was followed by a German Concordat with the Vatican in July. (See Adolf Hitler addressing the Reichstag.)

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/267992/Adolf-Hitler/10116/Dictator-1933-39

I'm not in any way suggesting the current government intends to take the same path, but you have to admit there are some very scary similarities between 1933 and recent events here.

But I don't think this junta is in it for the personal power, they're waiting for other events to happen and then ensuring some kind of pre ordained plan is implemented. Mind you, that's scary in and of itself

The disrespecful disdain for all things thai repeatedly been posted on this forum and thread is a disgrace.

If things are so bad and thailand so irredeemable, stop being hypocrites and return to the god forsaken homelands you emanate from and which are clearly unimpeachable in all aspects of life and society.

you all make me vomit!

Alternatively you could stop participating on a forum that you obviously find distasteful?

At least it is within your power to control, whereas your suggested action is not.

They'll just be put into inactive posts,.... case closed

Err, not this time I think.

Wouldn't be hard to get copy uniforms and go around promising "protection" in return for money. Frankly, I think it's more likely than real navy forces doing it.

Interestingly, it seems there may be some conflict between different branches of the military over who controls which territory. Which unfortunately brings out the cynic in me that, even though such a simplistic scam may not be down to real navy personnel, in the future illicit revenues from more complex and long term scams in Phuket may well start to flow. No evidence for that, just sadly something that almost inevitably seems to happen.