Jeremy50

I know of a school principal in Don Mueang that also owns a 'karaoke' business and hires the girls straight out of his school.

That't bad, but let's not forget that Karaoke bars are not brothels it's amazing how many people think they are. Yes, some of the girls are available but many are not. Try taking a girl out of a karaoke bar, you will be disappointed.

Back to the brothels - all such establishments in Udon, Nong Khai, and other cities have been closed for many months now, some of the places have been bulldozed and 'normal' houses are being built in their place. Udon's Soi 2 was notorious for many years for being a place to buy very young Laos girls.

Si Se have another drug !

There's a difference between a drug user and a drug loser (addict).

I'm a drug user. I smoke the best hash oil and cannabis IN THE WORLD. Everyday. Legally. 100% Legal. In Colorado.

Haven't smoked anything since I came to Thailand. I'm not a drug loser (addict), because if I was addicted I couldn't stop.

Alcoholics, junkies, crackheads, tweakers and cigarette smokers are drug losers because they can't stop, 555.

Thailand is a shit magnet for people who are losers and take no responsibility for their loser actions...

You forgot about the buggers, queens, fairies, and dopers.

These little groups of boys on skinny wheeled motor bikes can be found all over Thailand. They seem to be looking for action, and an altercation with a foreigner would be high on their list of what might make a nice evening. Along with pulling wheelies, racing up and down, taking some unfortunate young girl to a 'bungalow' and so on. Don't be goaded by their stupid racist remarks as you pass by.

Kill somebody and get a $200 fine.

You're leaving out the 1 year jail term because that suits you better.

Use the zoom option or buy some glasses.

The man who slaughtered four 9yo school children with his pick-up truck which he was banned from driving because he is an epileptic didn't go to jail either. But he is a school director. I did hear that the families got 5000 baht though.

Ah yes, ASEAN. 2015 was going to be the year of big changes for the better. Free trade, less restrictions and tax on certain imports, open borders where folk can pass from one country to another easily, like in Europe.

None of this has happened, nor ever will. What is ASEAN, except a club for some of the most corrupt and protectionist nations on earth.

A Citycentric article. Most roads in Thailand have plenty of room for cyclists, it's the same piece of tarmac that you see monks walking down, or children riding to school on. Any road topic that shies away from the problem that nobody ever tackles - why are 26000 people dying on the roads every year?

Thailand Post, the organization known for folding, breaking, throwing and totally losing mail.

Exactly who`s expert opinion is this?

I receive a parcel worth 2000 euros from Europe every month since 10 years, and never had any problems...

I love Thai post office, they are very very good and their tracking system is the best i know.

From your supplier?

Stupid airhead girlfriend gets back on the bike with this animal. It must have been clear to both of them that the poor man was dead, but they went home and slept like babies.

'build barriers to protect cyclists' What? 100.000 miles of dividing barrier. And any user will not be able to escape into the road when some moron on a motorbike comes down the lane in the wrong direction. Not even half a brain cell went into making that comment. Why not build a roof over Bangkok to protect people from the rain too?

I'm sorry but, is the report saying he was only identified because of the actions of a FB user?

That is what the report says. However I'm not sure if he was identified before or after he turned himself in. It is very hard to get hard facts about this and there is a lot of speculation going on. At one time people on FB were claiming the car was stolen. Seems that was wrong.

Edit: I trust the Thai police and a lawyer to do the right thing more than I trust a mob on FB. If this really was just an accident it is just sad all around for everyone. I don't know where this happened and if it is a safe area for bikes but really seeing people ride bikes on highways and mountain roads is just asking for trouble. Sooner or later....

I have no idea why you think that riding a bicycle on mountain roads is asking for trouble. What kind of trouble? Landslides? Falling trees? Avalanche?

People seem to forget that riding a motorbike in this country is far more dangerous than riding a push bike. Speed and a more exposed position on the road expose motorcyclists to the possibility of all kinds of violent impact. Give me a push bike any day.

There are no cycle accident statistics available for Thailand. However, a cyclist who commutes every day through London traffic can expect one non life threatening accident [cuts and bruises] every 10 years. [ From last weeks Guardian]

Thailand lacks organized consumers, labor unions and the majority of the people is kept poor and stupid.

Therefore the door is wide open for companies like CP and a few more to rule out competition and exploit the country.

CP owns the whole chain from animal food to the processed meat in the shop that they also own. It's outrageous that simple processed pork meat products are sold at up to twice the price that the same products cost in Europe.

Thailand was never colonized by a foreign country, they are still colonized and exploited by their own elite!

Chantaburi province was 'colonized' by the French from 1900-1910, which is why if you go there you will see some rather nice colonial buildings, rather than the usual concrete eyesores redolent of every Thai city and town.

I agree with every post here so far.

It's not about special tactics to ensure cyclist safety, it's about general road use by motorists and the strict enforcement of the rules.

It's starting with tougher license issuance. But ongoing enforcement is key.

Has anybody else made the same observation as me in regard to the arrogance and stupidity on the roads? There are 2 interconnecting issues; The first is status. My car is more expensive than your vehicle, thus you must give way to me, regardless of road signs or rules. Size of vehicle too plays a role; I'm bigger, get in my way at your peril.

The second issue is the peasantry of low education having no idea whatsoever about road rules and road safety.

Unfortunately, arrogance and hubris are a big part of the Thai personality. To blatantly drive on the wrong side of the road or to speed dangerously, weaving in and out of the traffic, takes spadefuls of the stuff. Icarus was arrogant and look what happened to him.

Thailand should create a legal presumption of intoxication for anyone who runs. It should be presumed he ran to hide intoxication. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and this agreed presumption should be a condition of driving whether licensed or not.

There should also be heavy penalties for leaving the scene which would compound the penalties.

It should now be presumed that this driver ran because he was intoxicated, and intoxication should bring a presumption of being at fault. Failing to stop and render aid should also be a crime for the driver.

Drivers seem to believe that running is the answer to avoiding trouble when to the contrary it should compound the troubles.

Why do you live in Thailand.... Leave it to the Thai people to set their own laws.... if you don't like living here... there's the door... and please shut it behind you..!

Oh Christ, here come the pussy whipped "go home" sycophants.

My neck of the woods is full of these idiots, being led around Tesco by some hard-faced old bat, shopping trolly crammed full of coke and mama.

Just an observation, and most certainly not an excuse or absolute reason for these terrible accidents, but in either case did the bikes have lights?

I say this because I don't think I have ever seen a bike with lights on after dark in Thailand.

These are club cyclists who probably meet several times a week, all have lights. My tail light can be seen from 1000 meters away at least. My front light is 200 lumens, I have to be careful not to blind motorists. With the fast growing popularity of road cycling here expect further tragedies , with lots of people saying sorry and waiing all over the place, but of course absolutely nothing will be done about the problem. RIP.

The concern is the baht's appreciation against regional currencies.

So do not hope for a large fall against the dollar or pound.

There has already been quite a large fall against the pound - 4 baht in a few days.

Riding in a group in this country can be dangerous, these are only some of the many cycling accidents involving groups of riders I have heard about in the last few years. I nearly always train alone, I ride close to the edge of the road in the same space as someone would walk in. To be hit by a vehicle. that vehicle would have to leave the road. Riding alone allows one to concentrate fully on cycling safely and watching and listening to other road users. Of course, there are the loose cannons out there. The drunks, the people partying in their vehicles, overloaded trucks, people watching TV as they drive, people driving on the wrong side, small boy gangs on motorbikes etc..

Onlookers didn't intervene. What kind of sick society is this?

18 year old Thai girls don't have the maturity for affairs with old married men, most have a mental age of 14. The man deserves to go to hell for seducing her and then killing her. One wonders how many years the affair had been going on for. Was he perhaps her teacher?

Those paddles look jolly useful.

I have a seven year old Nokia smartphone, and just tracked down a new battery for it in Pantip, so it's good for another 3 years.

Take care of stuff, and wear it out, and you will never be poor. After all it's just 'sufficiency economy' a phrase much bandied about in Thailand 6 years ago, but never heard now.

My Thai wife doesn't know what Thainess is.

We both understand Thai culture and respect and admire it.

Presumably so do all those bewildered looking buffoons being led around my local Tesco by the ring in their nose.

Red means STOP!!!

Not in Thailand

The "idiocrazy" of the Thai driving is that they actually slow down when they approach a crossing.

Already miles before the crossing.

And when they reach the traffic lights and the light is Yellow or Red, the speed up to pass the crossing before the cars in the opposite direction have started to drive.

Only in Thailand ......

.............or drive slowly in the fast lane for 5 K before their intended U-turn. Or can't be bothered to turn the head lights on, and then at last just when they can't see anything because it is pitch black turn them on, and the fog lights too.

What the hell is the point of leaving these topics up for weeks and weeks?

More ' values ', more hypocrisy, more BS that no one will pay the slightest attention to.

Ladies dress appropriately or you encourage a sexual assault ! Does this apply to ugly women who may wear bikinis ?

As "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" who knows?

There is a fairly standard template for beauty, for most guys. Slim, young, pretty face. I know if the girl I have 'met' at Nana is a fairly standard 'beauty' as all those beer guzzlers in the 'sit and stare bars' at the entrance, give jealous and longing looks as I walk past with her.

I am not surprised, only a week spent in this place, and I am running screaming for the hills. The noise, pollution, crowds, and a zombiefied overweight population who shuffle around with a stupid little screen in front of their faces.