Pattayatony

Mike & Annie were close friends of mine and this has upset met. He had finished building a new house in Sattahip last year and was looking forward to his retirement with his wife Annie. I have only just found out about this a friend in Thailand called me last night in Cambodia to let me know of the tragerty. Why is it the good guys that must die like this. God Bless Mike and may you Rest In Peace.

Tony

Mike was well know in the Pattaya area as " Chicago Mike"

Mike & Annie were close friends of mine and this has upset met. He had finished building a new house in Sattahip last year and was looking forward to his retirement with his wife Annie. I have only just found out about this a friend in Thailand called me last night in Cambodia to let me know of the tragerty. Why is it the good guys that must die like this. God Bless Mike and may you Rest In Peace.

Tony

Yesterday I submitted my application for a Tourist visa at the Thai consulate in Guangzhou, China. Today I went to pick it up, and was quite surprised since I was issued a Transit visa. The guy behind the counter said something about a new rule and pointed out my entrystamps (30-day stamps) in my passport.

During the last 12 months I have entered the kingdom 5 times. Total time in Thailand: 79 days.

The entrys of the last six months are such:

Two entrys, one in May and one in October. Total time in Thailand: 25 days.

I was in the consulate once before and tried to apply, but was told to come back when I had a ticket out of the country as they obviously don't recognize land travelling tourists. I came back, yesterday, with tickets (AirAsia, printed from the net, had confirmation by phone they accepted e-ticket and onwards ticket to third country) to a country of which I have a valid visa.

Today the guy also mentioned that there was some issue with my tickets, but did not elaborate.

I have never been suspected of any crime in Thailand, my worst offense is a 4 day overstay almost a decade ago. I can not think of any "spots" that might be on their computer under my name.

Now, please tell me that this is bullshit? Or have the immigration legislators gone completely nuts?

And what can I do with this Transit thing? Can I extend it to the two months I have booked a bungalow for, or what? I was told it was typically issued for a stay of 7-10 days.

Well your not the only one. This is the reason why so many ex-pats are now coming to Cambodia. Some of the stories i hear from ex-pats who come here would make your hair curl.

TG 415 from Bkk to KL emergency landing at Hat Yai. Plane de pressurised at cruising altitude, oxygen did not work, forcing emergency landing.

Jai Dee.

11.20 am

I hope he's All right.

Anyone have any news?

Hope you and family are OK Jai Dee.

After a very hairy flight with Thai air in 1992 I said then I would never get on one of their aircraft again I will swim first

DPA

For Cambodia, struggling to regain its economic footing after 30 years of civil war and keen to shrug off its dependence on aid, Chinese investment has been welcomed with open arms and few questions asked, at least publicly.

The Chinese government is pouring money into bridges and roads (it donated 6 million dollars of steel bridges to Cambodia in 2001) and pledging military assistance in the form of new vessels for the country's dilapidated navy.

But China's emphasis is increasingly looking beyond aid towards desperately needed investment. Chinese, and now Cambodian investors, are planting hectares of bio-fuel crops like jatropha, which the Chinese industry devours insatiably.

Just last month yet another Chinese company inked a deal to grow mulberries over a tract of land in the country's south to supply raw silk to its factories and offering to build a factory to process the silk worm cocoons in Cambodia.

In May, China's fifth largest steel mill, Wuhan Steel, announced it had joined Shanghai-based Baosteel Group, Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Beijing's Shougang Iron and Steel Group to explore for iron ore in Cambodia's remote northern Preah Vihear province on the Thai border.

The relationship has not been built overnight. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website boasts diplomatic ties with Cambodia since 1958 and notes China's agreement to wipe outstanding loans to Cambodia five years ago - something the US, amongst others, still steadfastly refuses to do.

Cambodia's revered former king Norodom Sihanouk spends months at a time in Beijing and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao showed the value he placed on the relationship in April 2006 when he included Cambodia in a tour of New Zealand and Australia.

"Chinese companies come to Cambodia because we have a long relationship and Cambodia is openly courting Chinese investment," Chhin Cheadara, deputy director of the Phnom Penh Chamber of Commerce explained.

"Most of these investments are in the garments and construction industries, as well as mining and electricity production," said Chhin Cheadara. "This creates infrastructure and employment opportunities here, but more importantly, it is long term investment. In the future, we envisage more and more Chinese companies coming to Cambodia."

But this Chinese investment boom has worried some environmental and human rights groups. For instance, Australian mining giants such as BHP Billiton Ltd, currently exploring in the north-east for bauxite, have vast corporate responsibility programmes and are accountable to the scrutiny of media and shareholders at home.

Activists claim that Chinese companies may not feel these restraints and the Cambodian government has refused to rule out mining in environmentally sensitive areas if it deems the benefits outweigh the risks.

Chinese investors are not confined to mining either. In January one group was given the go-ahead for a hydroelectric plant in the coastal province of Koh Kong worth up to 215 million dollars.

Critics point out other potential drawbacks. The International Monetary Fund warned last month that soaring property prices constituted a risk to the country's nascent banking sector, going as far as to call the situation "a bubble" and cautioning that 90 per cent of loans were currently secured against property.

Analysts say the sudden rise in land values is due at least in part to the long Chinese tradition of property investment and speculation. Huot Pongan, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy said the benefits outweigh the risks.

"We don't have enough electricity. China is developing that for us. We don't have the resources to build mines and harvest our resources. China does. And China has been here for a long time and will stay here for a long time," said the energy minister.

By 2004, the World Bank listed China as one of Cambodia's key sources of FDI as countries like the US and Japan continue to drag their feet, preferring instead to fund aid and soft loans.

Council for the Development of Cambodia figures show domestic and foreign investment approvals more than doubled to 2.6 billion dollars in 2006 from 2005, fed by key areas which China has shown vast interest in, including mining, energy and construction.

And of foreign investment approvals, China was dominant, with 763 million dollars in approvals in 2006 - nearly double its 2005 total. In comparison, Russia was a distant second, with approvals totaling 278 million dollars for 2006.

"There are a number of reasons why Cambodia is receptive to China. One is the way it does business. China understands Cambodia. It doesn't throw us scraps of aid and then scold us in front of the world like a naughty child. That is not the Asian way - that is the colonial way," one Cambodian analyst said on condition of anonymity.

Tokyo, Japan, - (JCN Newswire) - JAL will start operating direct charter flights from Japan to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Up until the end of this fiscal year, ending March 31 2008, JAL plans to operate between 10-15 round trip flights, starting with a flight departing Osaka (Kansai) on November 20, 2007. (Subject to government approval).

The airline will operate direct flights to Siem Reap from Osaka (Kansai), Tokyo (Narita) and Nagoya (Chubu) using Boeing 767 aircraft. The aircraft will have a capacity of 200 passengers per flight, and the journey will only take from between 5 to 6 hours. The flights will only be sold as part of a holiday package offered by travel agents in Japan.

The number of Japanese travelers visiting Cambodia, location of the UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat, has been increasing every year. Based on data from the Ministry of Tourism, Kingdom of Cambodia about 120,000 Japanese visited Cambodia in 2006.

Up until now there have been no direct scheduled flights from Japan to Siem Reap. Travelers have had to change flights in Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh, for example.

JAL plans to operate a total of 400 round trip charter flights this fiscal year. Between April and September this year, JAL has already operated around 225 round trip charter flights to such tourist destinations as Budapest and Prague in Central Europe, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia as well as Toronto and Montreal in Canada.

Responding to changes in Japanese tourism demand, JAL also started operating earlier this year for the first time direct charter flights to Dubrovnik, a Croatian resort in the Adriatic Sea, and Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands, called the 'necklace of the Pacific'.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia, one of the world's poorest countries, is enjoying an influx of foreign investments, and land prices in the capital Phnom Penh have been shooting up.

Demand is strongest for affordable housing suitable for growing families and projects with foreign partners are particularly attractive to Cambodians.

Scores of South Korean construction companies are getting in on the action.

Camko City, a US$2 billion residential community, is the single largest investment in the country's history.

The project, led by a conglomerate of South Korean companies, has gone ahead with the government's full support.

Thach Sotharath, a commercial real estate agent, said: "The landowners, they want to build something – a big, big project – so they have only the land, they don't have the capital to build, so they have to find an investor to come to join venture or to buy their land."

With the high level of interest shown by investors, land prices in the city have skyrocketed from US$5 per square metre in 2004 to US$100 this year – a twenty-fold increase.

"Many investors have come in and Cambodian people are happy that they have so many jobs," said Sotharath.

Many foreign investors were once concerned about putting money in a country with a troubled past.

But they were won over by the Hun Sen government's business-friendly policies, which include a one-stop service to facilitate paperwork.

James Chang, a South Korean investor, said: "Many foreign investors used to be very worried about the political situation in Cambodia. But nowadays everything has been very stabilised."

With foreign investments pouring into the once war-torn economy, Cambodia's GDP growth is expected to hit more than 9 percent this year.

Cambodia's business boom can be attributed to Asian investors like South Korea and China.

Total direct foreign investment in the country has quadrupled over the past three years and it looks likely to reach half a billion US dollars in 2007.

While Cambodia is now seen as a profitable destination for investors, there are still concerns over business risks.

As the country opens its doors wider, it has to improve transparency, amid allegations of government corruption.

Tourism industry set for high season boom

By Cat Barton

With the monsoon season coming to an end, Cambodia's annual deluge of tourists is about to begin.

This season the industry is bracing for a half million or more tourists between now and Dec. 31 as predictions for a record year look likely to come true.

Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism said Cambodia is expected to get two million tourists in all of 2007, up from 1.7 million in 2006.

"Already from January to September, more than 1.3 million tourists visited," he said.

A spot check of hotel bookings confirmed that business is booming. High-end establishments from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville reported they are booked solid for the busy season - from November through next April.

"Our understanding is that most major hotels are running on full from November on," said Philip Set Kao, President of the Cambodian Hotels Association (CHA) and General Manager of Borei Angkor Hotel.

Set Kao said much of the increase is due to improved flight schedules, better roads and air routes.

He said a regular charter flight from Tokyo to Siem Reap scheduled to start in November is already having an effect on bookings.

The emergence of low-cost Asian airlines such as JetStar and AirAsia is bringing more tourists from Singapore and Malaysia, he said.

South Korea, Japan and then the U.S. have topped the list of tourists coming to Cambodia for the past two years.

The June crash of PMT Flight AN-24 -- en route from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville - that killed 22 including 13 South Korean tourists - did not dent the Koreans appetite for Cambodia. "Maybe they stop flying that particular route, but they still come," said Set Kao. "I didn't see any drop in South Korean tourist numbers after this crash."

Although in sheer numbers the visitors are coming, the bulk still do not spend many days in Cambodia and tourism officials continue to struggle with ways to get more visitors to do more than spend a few nights at Angkor Wat.

"We try to promote other destinations in Cambodia to get longer stays," said Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA). "This is our objective and goal. Not just that tourists spend three days in Angkor Wat - we want to give them other experiences of Cambodia." The government has been working with private sector groups such as CATA for advice on issues such as infrastructure development and new routing for airlines. CATA also is pushing the government to implement the tourist law, currently in draft form, aimed at making the sector more transparent and weeding out unlicensed or unscrupulous travel operators.

"At the moment, there are a few travel agencies who have no license, who don't pay taxes, and who simply pack up and run when they have a problem," he said. "We don't want this in the sector," said Vandy.

A major hotel building boom has also greatly increased the number of hotel rooms available. According to Yong Vorn, the director of the Tourism Industrial Department of the Ministry of Tourism, at the end of 2006 Phnom Penh had more than 9,500 rooms, including 137 hotels with a total 7,068 rooms and 197 guest houses with a total of 2,506 rooms.

Siem Reap had more than 9,000 rooms including 91 hotels with a total 6,638 rooms, and 171 guest houses with a total of 2,384 rooms.

But with tourism still largely centered on cultural and natural tourism - meaning the temples at Angkor Wat - the private sector is looking for other attractions.

"The private sector would like to have a theme park or an amusement park," said Vandy. "It is important for attracting tourists with children. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia all have one - we are seeking investors for this project."

CATA also is eager to see the establishment of a national airline carrier.

The contrast between the visitors to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is demonstrated by Raffles hotel chain's two properties - the Grand in Siem Reap and Le Royal in Phnom Penh.

"The two properties are very different in how and who they attract," said Julia Fesenberg, marketing and communications executive for Raffles.

Visitors to Phnom Penh tend to be business people. "In Siem Reap, that property lives for people who come for three days. Angkor Wat is a monostop. It is tagged onto other trips - people want to 'up-culture' their holiday and so they spend a few nights at the temples."

The advantage of being tourist-dependent has a downside. Siem Reap is more dependent on the season and more prone to seasonal fluctuations. Throughout high season from November to April - the Grand is nearly always full. In low season occupancy drops to 60 to 70%. Le Royal on the other hand has a fairly regular stream of clients regardless of season.

"All of the hospitality industry wants to get Cambodia to the point where it is a total destination - where you plan to spend two weeks in the country," said Fesenberg. "Phnom Penh is, after all, a royal city, a capital city, and then there are the beaches and the temples. One day, Cambodia should be a destination in itself. Phnom Penh is more unique - this is a city with hidden treasures, you can't do it in one day with a guide book."

Still visitors to Phnom Peng have increased dramatically.

Millan Lov, the third generation in the family that owns and runs the Indochine Hotel chain established in 1992, told the Post their business has never been better. He said more than 90 percent of the rooms at their two Phnom Penh hotels are booked for the season. He said low season occupancy was still at 60 to 70 percent.

"From year to year the tourist sector has grown up," he said. "In Thailand now they are not very stable politically, and they had the tsunami. I think these are factors in why more tourists come to Cambodia now."

He said that improved transportation and safety has been a key factor. "Also, five years ago you couldn't use your Visa in Cambodia. Now, you have ATM machines in all the towns and major places."

Lov thinks that the southern beaches are also picking up popularity in comparison to better known and more crowded resort towns like Pattaya in Thailand.

Set Kao said improvements in the roads and transportation are the key to growth in tourism.

He said cheap flights and more flights between Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville would encourage tourists to stay longer.

"If you want to have more tourists improve the quality of infrastructure," he said. "Infrastructure is the main issue - roads, airlines."

Im trying to get in touch with Shifty who used to have a restaurant/bar in Pattaya a few years ago.

Does anyone know where he went to.

Shifty's bar is closed down went broke. He opened another bar with a new partner but the new partner punched him out when he was caught cheating. Still in Snooky trying his best to find a new financial partner?????

This is the same Shifty that had Oasis Bar in Soi 7 or 8.

Mick is still going strong at the "G'Day Mate bar but dosnt get out of bed until 5PM.

A Cambodian lawyer told me that the maximum lease period is 90 years, but you need to be aware that if title to the property is sold or transferred, there is no legal way to compel the new owner to honour the lease.

I understand that the Council of Ministers (read Hun Sen) has recently, within the last few weeks, decreed that foreigners can now own property in their name. Exact details are still a little hazy, however.

Please be very careful about what Khmer Lawyers tell you If you need any advice you can PM me.

I think you may be talking about this an article from a news report on the 5th Sept 07 But the high powers to be say it may take many years for it to happen if ever. I have a way that you can form a company and own the land 100% safe and legal. Company's coming here to build factory's in excess of a $1Million want to own the land so yes there is a way to do it but it does cost money.

You are right about the lease hold it may not transfer if the owner sells the land but this all depends on how the contract is set up. So be very careful about info you get from Khmer Lawyers. I am trying to help a guy now who bought $700,000. in property and he didnt cross all the T and dot all the i.

Cambodia's private sector has urged the government to allow foreign ownership this week saying an open-minded real estate market would promote economic growth.

The Cambodian investment law was amended back in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of permanent fixtures, but as yet has not been enforced. The non-implementation of the act has in fact rendered the amendments as a forgotten law, and as such has now become out dated. In the current legal understanding, the old law will only allow a property investment in the name of a Cambodian national but with the pressure from the private sector to increase wealth, urgent action will be required.

Cheers Tony

This bank is virtually… bankrupted… “In the nine-month period, its net loss was Bt20,687 billion compared to the net profit of Bt4,6 billion in the same period last year”.

Their only chance was to massively recapitalize…

Well, they did it. And not by half of the spoon ! TMB announced this morning that they would increase the capital from “186 billions Baht to 437 billions by issuance of 25 billions shares at par value of Baht 10” !

And in the same time, the resolution says : “approved the allocation of 25 billions ordinary shares resulted from the capital increase, priced at Baht 1.40, which is below par value of the Bank’s shares, as currently the Bank’s operational result is still in red“.

Continued here.

Time to close all accounts with this bank?

I have just been given so info by an employee at TMB and they are saying it might only last about another year. So get your money out now, I know I have.

Cheers Tony

Think I know who you are talking about and used to work for his company in Phnom penh - If its the same guy he is legit but I'm not sure how he does it.

It is the same guy Steve and he is a very very switched on Business man. If anyone needs info on this you can PM me.

Cheers Tony

What Sheryl has spoken about here is correct. Property is being taken away from people by the Govt all the time in Cambodia its a nightmare in Sihanoukville.

I have just been doing some business here with a guy that sets up company's for foreigners so they can own it 100% but it not cheap to set up. He is mainly working for the big multi national companys and they dont want to invest a Million $ on building a factory etc unless they can own the land also, that they reason this has been set up. He tells me it is 100% safe and you own it 100%, but as always "Buyer Beware"

Cheers Tony

Hi Members and Guests, found this to be of some interest, the local Sihanoukville Advertiser. have a geeza , 40 pages, see top left of screen for page selection.

Hi again, just spoke with an Aussie in Sihanoukville and found out that the ownership laws have been changed about 2 months ago. Now foreigners can own 100% of the company and land. But if you want to invest, go to Sihanoukville and seek out a property lawyer who are all expats. There is a fair bit of red tape too wade thru.

The Sihanoukville International Airport should be accepting wide bodied jets within 2 weeks. Apparently things are moving ahead very quickly there. A lot of investment, a lot of things happening, and a lot of Thai/farang expats there as well!

If you believe this load of B/S you must also believe in the tooth fairy????

This is the first new moderator appointment that I will actually welcome.

Well done Sheryl - you're a saint

(Oh, sorry Monty - you're great as well.)

As usual I agree with you Mobi and congrats Sheryl you are truly a great Lady.

Cheers Tony

I split my time between Thailand and Cambodia, and am wondering if I am unique in this or if there are many others doing the same. If so, might be nice to have a forum or sub-forum where we good share Camb-related info (the forums existing for Cambodia itself being dismal in the extreme!).

Any others out there?

I Notice Teak Door have a sub forum on Cambodia should also have one here. What about it Admin?

I split my time between Thailand and Cambodia, and am wondering if I am unique in this or if there are many others doing the same. If so, might be nice to have a forum or sub-forum where we good share Camb-related info (the forums existing for Cambodia itself being dismal in the extreme!).

Any others out there?

Yes I think that would be a good idea also a lot of members on here asking questions about Cambodia.

Cheers Tony

Unfortunately this seems somewhat par for the course.

Think about it... If you had gone berserk and killed someone what are your options? To go willingly to a life or death sentence in a Thai prison, or payoff some people and skip town. Honestly, if it were me, I would do my best to get out of town. How about you? Would you relish the thought of paying your debt to Thai society via spending 40 years in the jug, execution or just pay a 'fine' and get out? Easy choice.

Personally, I think the guy should have been hung, but I feel that way about all senseless murders.

Wasn't there another case of a farang guy killing a girl on Soi Honey Inn in Pattaya awhile back. Last I read he was back in the UK.

Mentioned earlier was the Thai girl who had her NZ boyfriend bumped off. She paid some money and skated.

I guess the underlying theme is to always have some cash ready to pay your way out of those 'incidentals' from not wearing a helmet while on a motorbike to murder when living/visiting Thailand.

TheWalkingMan

The Soi Honey Inn one - is that the one where the guy frm London stabbed his GF because she as talking to customers at the bar he bought her?

If he is out and back in the UK then the Thai justice system is an even bigger joke than we all thought.

Murder is OK if you can pay but its not much they are paying for a life if the NZ one is much to go off???

The Soi Honey case >>>>He was let go because he pleaded a Crime of Passion. And also paid money.

Amazing - how the fk did he get out???

I have been told he bought his way out.

An unemployed Irish ex-soldier? Where did he find the money?

This really stinks.

Im told the money was sent over by his family?

Amazing - how the fk did he get out???

I have been told he bought his way out.

From the source that has been providing so much information on this case, the Irish Independent, comes their latest report:

SEIZED: Weapons Thai police believe to be related to the gruesome murder

PARADISE LOST: Dubliner Denis Leahy is arrested for the murder of prostitute Bupha Thanyachiangphin

Seedy sex resort home to hundreds of Irish

Upon first hearing that a middle-aged Irish taxi driver had been arrested in Thailand for the brutal murder of a young prostitute, I guessed it had probably happened in Pattaya - or possibly Phuket.

Sure, there's an abundance of both prostitutes and middle-aged Irishmen scattered throughout the Land of Smiles, but they're especially concentrated in those two locations. It turned out to be Pattaya.

Last Sunday night, 40-year-old Denis Leahy - a former Irish Army soldier and occasional Dublin cabby - viciously killed 24-year-old prostitute Bupha Thanyachiangphin at the apartment he shared with his Thai girlfriend. Initial reports stated that he'd tied her up and then stabbed her 20 times in the back.

Leahy immediately fled, but was arrested the following day en route to the Cambodian border after his taxi driver recognised him from the news bulletins and sneakily arranged to meet the police at a petrol station (there's obviously less honour among cabbies than among thieves).

Reportedly, he's already confessed his guilt. Speaking to journalists from a crowded Pattaya cell on Wednesday, Leahy explained that earlier that fateful morning he'd had a row with his Thai girlfriend, Khun Janyar - who worked at a local fish market - and had brought Bupha home to make her jealous. He said the plastic ties on Bupha's wrists were a bondage experiment gone wrong, and he claimed he hadn't stabbed her 20 times - only five. However many times it was, it was enough. Bupha's dead and, as realisation sinks in, Leahy probably wishes he were too. Yet another paradise lost.

Situated 150km southeast of Bangkok, Pattaya is Thailand's busiest beach resort, attracting well upwards of a million visitors each year. Most of these are package tourists from Europe, Japan, Russia and the Middle East.

The one-time fishing village first became a resort when US GIs from a base in nearby Nakhon Ratchasima began visiting in 1959, seeking R and R. Pattaya has since grown into a large coastal city. Its three biggest tourist attractions are watersports, golf and, inevitably, sex.

It's a full-on place, a sensory overload. I spent 10 days in Pattaya last December and was routinely amazed at the scale of the decadence. Truly the place was a Disneyland for adults.

It's extremely difficult not to pick up a woman in Pattaya. The whores actually heckle you as you walk past. Regardless of race, face or age, the girls throw themselves at farangs (foreigners). Many stick. Walking along the lengthy promenade, it's not uncommon to see elderly men walking arm-in-arm with beautiful teenage girls.

With everyone swimming in such shallow romantic waters, jealousy is extremely common. One night I almost got a Zimmer frame in the head for giving a light to some enraged German pensioner's girlfriend.

Usually, though, the jealousy is all the Thai women's. Midway through my stay there, I needed to travel to the Cambodian border to renew my visa. A bus picked me up at my hotel at 6am and then proceeded to pick up another seven passengers.

All of my fellow farang travellers were permanent residents, aged between mid-40s and mid-70s. They all had beautiful young Thai girlfriends waving them off. Throughout the journey their mobiles rang incessantly as their women checked up on them. The girls were obviously all terrified that their meal ticket had just left town (in fact, it became the running misogynist joke of that trip). When we returned, they were all there waiting, sulky and needy.

Most foreign residents are converted holidaymakers. With clear skies, budget accommodation and cheap booze, food and sex available at every street corner, it's no surprise that many westerners do the maths and decide to relocate. There's a large farang population - a significant proportion of whom are middle-aged or retired European divorcees, widowers and criminals.

Official figures aren't available but, from my own time there, I would estimate that there are certainly several hundred permanent Irish residents. Some of these are legitimate businessmen and entrepreneurs. Others are on the run. Sometimes just from a drab life back home. But there are tens of thousands of Irish sex tourists, holidaymakers and golf enthusiasts visiting every year.

I met an ex-soldier who'd come there on holiday with his soon-to-be-ex-wife. They'd had a row and he'd gone off on his own one night. He eventually came back a month later, and then only to divorce her, sell the house and assets, and return to Thailand.

He spent the first six months in Pattaya enjoying nightly four-in-a-bed romps with bar girls and ladyboys. Eventually his liver almost packed it in, so he began taking it easy - three-in-the-bed romps. He was on an army pension that could support this lifestyle indefinitely.

When I politely put it to him that he appeared to have something of a death wish, he didn't disagree. "We're here for a good time - not for a long time," he laughed.

He wasn't alone in this attitude. Some people are just partying until the money's gone. The suicide rate among farangs is high. When their cash -flow dries up, many of these guys suddenly realise that their teenaged Thai partner was only after one thing. And it wasn't their Viagra.

When their "swee-har" promised that they were going to "love you long tam", they were just quoting a line from a movie.

Often these men have burnt all bridges with family and friends back home. Besides, the thought of returning to some grey existence in Europe after an extended period of life in a hedonistic paradise is too much. From king to serf in just one flight. Many opt for a far briefer flight from their high-rise balcony instead.

Of course, not all Pattaya stories end in tragedy; many expats love living there. But if you've an appetite for destruction, all the ingredients are readily available.

One of a family of eight children from Dublin's inner city, Denis Leahy had served with the Army from 1985 to 1988. Unemployed and on the dole throughout most of the Nineties, he emigrated to Thailand and had been living in Pattaya since 2004 (though he occasionally returned to Ireland to work as a cab driver).

He's apparently already confessed and will reportedly plead guilty to a manslaughter charge. Unfortunately for him, his case has attracted much international media attention so there's now zero prospect of a police pay-off. The September coup may complicate things, but, if he's very lucky, he'll escape the death penalty and get a life sentence. A life of no life.

Irishman Colin Martin's recent bestselling book about life in the notorious Bangkok Hilton (Bangkwang prison) was entitled Welcome to hel_l. But Martin had been sentenced for killing a man. Denis Leahy killed a young Thai girl. Even if he gets life, it's unlikely he'll ever get a chance to write a book about it.

"I don't know what came over me - but I know what's coming," he told reporters last week. "They are going to screw me to a wall."

Olaf Tyaransen

Irish Independent

Here is the up-date on this piece of garbage!

My informents tell me he was released from prison several months ago and continued to live in Pattaya but the latest is that he has now moved to Cambodia.

Yes this is called justice if you have money to buy your way out ?????

Justice Thai Style.

I have brought this old thread to life because these scammers IKOBO are now advertising on thaivisa.com.

Please be very careful of this company.

Cheers Tony.

Is it a google ad that TV have no control over though?

Yeah, it's a Google ad, so all the more reason to bring this up as Thaivisa will not know. I actually clicked through it myself. No intention of using them but the name rang a bell. I think I had searched for them way back.

No its not a google that TV have no control over it is a paid banner add. Just dont become one of their Victims.

I have brought this old thread to life because these scammers IKOBO are now advertising on thaivisa.com.

Please be very careful of this company.

Cheers Tony.

Last night I had a massive hypo.

i went to bed late - about 2.a.m (no alcohol,) and took my overnight insulin without checking my blood sugars.

Around 4 a.m woke feeling terrible and knew I had a hypo coming on. There were no glucose tablets in my bedroom - nor any Coke, which is usually kept there for such emergencies. The wife had buggered off and no one around to help.

I struggled downstairs and grabbed 2 cans of coke (the last 2!!) some glucose tabs and some Kit kat chocolate biscuits. By this time I was nearly out of it. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break through my chest.

I managed to swallow all my stuff in double quick time, but still felt awful. Usually this amount of stuff would be enough to raise my sugar levels within minutes, but when I finally took a test, it was still under 50 (that's 2.7 in UK measurement). I've had hypos this low before - but that's at the start - before I've taken all this sugar - not after I've taken it. I found some more sugar, and the next reading was finally a bit better.

I reckon my blood sugars must have been very close to 18 (or 1). If I hadn't woken I would surely have passed out and died.

After a while I fell back to sleep, only to be continually woken with cramps in my calf muscles, which were excruciatingly painful and made me jump out of bed.

Today I don't feel great.

My diabetic specialist is out of the country.

Do you reckon I should see a doctor for a check up, or just be more careful with testing my sugars and adjusting the insulin. I was at the hospital last week and everything was fine.

Does anyone know if a really low blood sugar level can do any permanent harm?

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

Mobi

Mobi,

I hope you had a better night last night and your journey today will be full of surprises

Cheers Tony

12 years, now when was that jewellery robbery?

Regards

Some people will not know what you are on about so here's a refresher:

The theft of jewelry worth $20 million from the Saudi Royal Family by a Thai migrant worker led to the jailing of two senior police officers for corruption, The Times of London Reported.

The theft, which caused a diplomatic rift between the two countries, left a trail of bodies as Thai police sought to cash in on the jewelry taken from the royal palace in Riyadh, then newspaper reported.

Police Lieutenant-General Chalor Kerdthes, 64, the man charged with investigating the theft by the migrant worker and with returning the jewels to their owner, Prince Faisal bin Abdul Raish, was jailed for seven years, the newspaper reported. Major Thanee Sridokaub, 45, received the same sentence. Both were found guilty of kidnapping a Thai jeweler who was handling the stolen gems.

Chalor faces further charges of collaborating in the murder of the jeweler's wife and 14-year-old son after a ransom demand of $2.5 million was not met, the newspaper reported. Instead of attempting to solve the case, Thai police saw riches in it for themselves, the criminal court in Bangkok had been told.

Saudi Arabia broke off formal relations with Thailand, withdrawing its Ambassador over the investigation into the theft of the jewelry, which included a blue diamond worth $2 million.

Mohammed Koja, the incoming chargé d'affaires, said the gem would curse all those who illegally handled it, the newspaper reported. It is thought that 17 people died in incidents related to the jewelry theft, making superstitious Thais believe the curse was real.

Of those people killed after the jewelry disappeared, most, it is alleged, were executed on the orders of Thai police officers trying to cover up the fact that while they investigated the theft they pocketed most of the missing items, the newspaper reported.

When the Saudis started investigating the disappearance, a spate of assassinations shook Bangkok. In one day in 1991, three Saudi diplomats, A. Z. al-Basri, the consul, Fahad al-Bahli, an attaché, and Ahmed Alsaif, a telex operator, were murdered outside their homes. Two weeks later a Saudi businessman, Mohammed al- Ruwaili, who had knowledge of who had stolen the jewelry, disappeared.

The jewels, weighing 90kg, were stolen between June and August 1990 from the Riyadh palace by a Thai palace worker, Kriangkrai Techamong, now 46, who packed them in boxes and sent them to relatives in Thailand by DHL parcel post.

When Kriangkrai returned to Thailand, the farmer buried some of his loot and started selling items individually for $30 apiece.

He was arrested and the police seized the remaining jewelry. It was then that most of it disappeared.

Chalor, the investigator, put the items on display in Bangkok announcing a police department triumph. He was even given a medal by the Saudi Government.

The main items, however, were missing and others were later found to be faked copies. One of the pieces of jewelry was spotted on a high-society woman at a Red Cross dinner in Bangkok.

Santi Sritanakhan, a jeweler who was fencing the gems, was kidnapped and tortured on the orders of Chalor. A week later his wife, Darawadee, and son, Seri, were found murdered in a Mercedes-Benz, the newspaper reported. Thai police forensic officers put the death down to a road accident.

Later four men admitted committing the murders on police orders. They had demanded a ransom of $2.5 million from the jeweler. The thief who started it all-Kriangkrai Techamong-is free. He was released after serving two years and seven months for handling stolen goods after receiving two royal pardons.

The jewelry has disappeared and "only Allah and a few people in Thailand" know where it is, Koja reportedly said.

Life in jail has not been bad for Chalor. He has formed a rock group and produced his own version of Jailhouse Rock, the proceeds of which have been donated to prisoners' welfare. He is appealing. "Not all people in jail are guilty," he reportedly said.

Linky Link

I'm not surprised they don't want their citizens visiting Thailand, never mind all the prostitution and boozing.

So thats why Thaksin is having a run of Bad Luck, Maybe he finished up with the Blue Diamond.