Gandtee

Life's not much fun is it.

It took me a long time to fathom out why my wife could read the signs earlier than me. I then realised that the directions in Thai are larger than in English. I thought it was because she had better eyesight.

What a fiasco!!

It's a bit insipid but if you spark it up with sauces they provide, then just about edible. Not something I would go out of my way for. The food served in the food halls is much better. Cooked in front of you, tastier and cheaper.The added bonus is that you can people watch.

Well done the locals!! They showed the authorities that they were more competent that the company contracted to repair the bridge and also the incompetents that hired them. I wonder how much dosh was shuffled around when the contract was allotted ??

I'm feeling very gay today!! Not in the sexual sense, but happy and carefree. Perhaps my 'Gayness' would quickly evaporate if someone asked me I was gay?? And no, I am not!

Yesterday I attended an ashes scattering ceremony in Samut Prakan. The boat we were on had flotation pads, about a 300mm square with straps to put your arms through, behind every seat. When asked before sailing, the crew supplied new life jackets still in their plastic wrappers, but not enough for every one. I am not sure how effective the pads would be? Not very I should think.

The attendant should have clarified the fee before he parked so he had the option of paying or parking else where, plus who pays for parking at 2.30 am when dashing into shop for 6 pack and condoms.

6 pack of condoms? At seventy? If he was going use them he would have had the strength to fill this young thug in.

I can't understand why people would use an agency for so valuable and important a matter.....

Because it sucks waiting in an over crowded immigration room, surrounded by whining old guy's .

Why whining old guys? Old age will come to you sooner than expected. You now seem to be a whiner.

I have often thought that the Thai language cannot be concise. With the amount of retractions because 'we didn't say that' I wonder if that is the case. Or could it be that some people like to shoot their mouths off to look good and acquire face?

I would imagine that the British ambassadors complements on the Thai polices' professionalism was British sarcasm.

I'm flushed with excitement! Going round the bend in fact. I must get out of my cistern before I overflow.

We don't need their help but if it makes the families feel better then thats good.

I hope that is sarcasm?

I hope that both the British and Myanmar Embassies demand independent DNA samples. Both, sadly, from the victims and the accused. Very distressing for the victims family and friends. I feel for them.

Please send those Pattaya cops to Kho Tao ASAP, they seems to be switched on and know

the job better than those holidaying Kho Tao cops...

Not really. They were told who did it and stupidly allowed the informants name to be published. Let us hope there are no angry relatives of the accused around.

What a pitiful place I hope they close it down soonest. Reminds me of Blackpool Tower Zoo back in the 1960s Thailand is 40 years behind the west in animal welfare.

http://youtu.be/M60Q_0kd5lw#aid=P9Hb8oLm2P4

Sadly in most things despite having the advantage of instant reporting and opinions.

Blue Harbour

Owned by veteran architect and A49 design studio founder, Nithi Stapitanonda, Blue Harbour is a real gem when it comes to men’s grooming. Aside from the meticulous shop design which reminds us of a proper men’s salon, the real draw is barber Sawas Saard, who can claim more than 45 years’ experience in men’s cuts and shaves. This place is perfect for those wanting a classic shave with a straight razor or desperate to achieve that complete Don Draper look. The price for a shampoo and cut starts from B1,000, shave from B450.

2/F, K-Village, Suhkumvit 26, 02-661-2901-2. Open daily 10am-9pm.

FYI - I've not been so cannot confirm this place is still there, the info was from Sept 2013. You might want to phone first.

I thought that the barbers had stopped doing shaving when the HIV scare began some years ago. BT1000 and bt450!!! I get a haircut for bt70 and it just went from bt60. You are not a reincarnation of Liberace are you?

The police handling of this gruesome crime has been pathetic and an embarrassment to Thailand which has become a laughing stock in the eyes of the rest of the world. Not only the police are to blame for this scorn but from top to bottom, with shooting from the lip high politicians and police spokesmen to muddled, confused reporting. Reports besmirching the victims have been abundant with some of the TV posters playing their part in this shameful charade. My heart goes out to the victims families who, not only suffering the death of their loved ones have had to endure the shameful accusations bandied about of their loved ones. It will take some time for Thailand to regain some credibility after this shameful fiasco.

When my twenty year old daughter came to visit some twentyfive years ago my wife told me to warn her about what to, and what not to wear in certain places, as the locals were not used to seeing girls in bikinis, and for them, revealing attire. This is still good advice for some areas even now. But for Koh Tao I hardly think so. Regarding the hoe (job) which appears to be the murder weapon, there hardly seems to be a mention. Certainly I have read in the past reports of Thais using a job as a weapon. It seems an unlikely weapon for a farang to use. I wonder how many were involved in this ghastly murder? Only time will tell. We hope?

Although certainly a hopped-up farang in a drug-induced jealous rage is a possibility, maybe even a strong one, we should wait and see how this plays out...

The Thai PBS news report isn't very clear and some things may be lost in cultural translation:

Does "arrested" just mean "detained for further questioning"?

That is what this different report suggests:

http://bangkok.coconuts.co//2014/09/17/police-question-backpacker-focus-shifts-blonde-hair-found-victims-hand

This other report also suggests the pants with blood stains were found in the victim David's room, not in the suspect's suitcase ... which would be odd for a murderer to kill somebody then go to the victim's shared room and leave his blood-stained pants behind.

Here is The Telegraph's current report:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11100980/British-man-prime-suspect-in-Thailand-murder.html

The Telegraph quotes the head of Kho Tao police when I thought the regional commander had come to take over the case.

And these other reports could actually support the suspect's claim that the injury to his hand happened the day before--e.g. he cut himself on the sharp rocks in shallow water and then removed and discarded his stained and ruined pants in his room (speculation but possible) along with bandages.

In any event, you would think that if Cristopher Alan Vare is the murderer, then his fingerprints would be all over the hoe, and this could be very quickly confirmed without waiting for DNA tests.

We'll have to wait and see...

But if Christopher Alan Vare is not the killer, then the police are certainly splashing his identity everywhere before checking certain basic matters and presumably before even charging him with a crime. This shouldn't be done to anybody--Farang or Thai.

Giving out suspects names is what the BIB do here. Shooting from the lip. Unless of course it is an influential suspect.

Why not let the Thais sort their problems out themselves. Most of the TV posters are applying their western values/standards.Go back to the 50s and I suspect most western countries were going through this same scenario. The difference now is that every Tom, Dick and Harry can put his opinions for everyone to see. And get a kick out of seeing his name in print.

I am disgusted that the PM of any country could utter such words. Reprehensible

I would suggest that his statement has affected Thailand's image. Whilst he is deemed to be sorting out some of Thailand's

woes, by uttering these sort of remarks he is undoing much of the good he is doing.

No mention has been made of finger prints on the hoe. I suppose it will be determined if in fact it was the murder weapon.A very sad ending for two young people enjoying a holiday in paradise. My heart goes out to their families.

cardboard box, we lived in hole in ground!

jacky54, you need to get up earlier if you want to keep up with the guys on this forum.We all did the "hardship when we was young" bit last week, thanks to the Python.

Had you actually lived in a hole, I am sure you'd have reported it to HRW as unsuitable accommodation in a civilized country.

I just sent our ten year old out to the khlong to clear water hyacinth, good exercise too.

We did live in a hole in the ground. It was called an Anderson Air Raid Shelter and we slept in it most nights when the blitz was on in London and sometime in the days when daylight raids were being carried out. Us kids, like our parents endured hardship and I think we turned out better for it.

At his age I was working in a bakery, helping the baker grease the tins, press out the jam tarts etc. I also had a morning paper round and occasionally helped another baker delivering produce to shops.This was in the mid 1940s in London. No homework and I still had time to play on the bombed sites.