Enid

I would suggest to move into an estate that has a community pool. If not then visit other people that have pools who give a glowing report about their pool builders and use that builder. Never trust expats unless you have seen there work and you have references from independent people that have used their services.

1) which type - concrete, fibreglass etc

I have a concrete pool.

2) chlorine or salt

I have salt, but bad idea. No one in Khon Kaen understands salt water pools. I had the maintenance guy adding table salt to our pool. The new guy threw chlorine tablets in and neglected the salt. Get chlorine pool as every Thai pool maintenance worked understands them.

3) skimmer or overflow ( does a fibreglass pool automatically mean skimmer etc)

I have overflow. Looks good, but it is more expensive and is just a another place the water can leak from if the expat is incompetent.

Look at all the pools around your area and get the same as them. Use the same builder as them and get the same maintenance guy as them.

If there pools are looking good then you are on a winner.

How much did you initially pay for the pool. ?

450 000 baht.

Well, it is update time for the never ending pool disaster.

We went from 5000 baht water bills to 700 water bills after the new contractor fixed the leaks. The kids have learnt to warn us when they want to swim so we can turn the pump on so the balance tank does not overflow.

As of last month however our balance tank which was built by the original contractor developed a crack which started leaking water. The water bill this month is over 16 000 baht ( I can take a photo of the bill to prove to any doubters that this is the truth as I know the original contractor simply refused to believe it because he didn't want to do warranty work). Not only that, the pump is on automatic so because the balance tank was empty due to this leak it ran dry for nearly a week before we realized there was a leak and it is now not pumping water. The pool water started turning green so we also bought 10 bags of salt (6 from the original contractor because he does have damn good prices) to keep the level at 4000ppm not knowing where the salt was going.

16 000 baht + 3000 baht worth of salt + new pump at 15 000baht = 34 000 baht. The costs are never ending on this pool disaster.

The new contractor is coming on Monday to let me know how much it will cost to repair this leak. I will let everyone know the cost at a later date.

Be very very careful my friends of expert expat pool builders in Isaan.

Because of this new leak and after we repair it I am putting the house on the market and we are moving. I simply will never live in this otherwise beautiful family home that my kids grew up in again because of this pool.

I know that the expat that built this pool reads this forum so I say to him with the utmost respect. Learn from the mistakes you made on my pool and ensure that all the good people whose pools you build in the future do not have the same issues. Preferably stop building pools. It is definitely not your forte.

Merry xmas and a happy new year.

The "dirt"may be filter media which is for some reason pressed into the return channel. This is possible if the flowrate of your pump is too high for the filter.

Thanks. The pool company fitted a matching pump and filter assembly. It is too big for the pool as explained above as the expat had this bright idea that if we fitted a bigger filter and pump set it will alleviate the issue. All it did was alleviate 15 000 baht from my bank account into his company who supplied the pump and filter.

Anyway the pool company have finished the overflow gutter as per attached photo.

They cut the rust "cancer" out, widened the guttering as excess water escaped over the previously narrow gutter when the kids jumped in the pool. The new guttering does not allow leaves to get stuck in it now either that previously blocked the return pipes.

Water bill is now stabilized at 700 baht a month. A refreshing change from 5000 odd baht a month.

i would like to add something concerning "dirt after backwash". are you running the pump for several minutes on "rinse" cycle after backwashing with the waste valve open? if not this could be the reason for the remaining dirt.

Hi...Yes. We did this backwashing 5 times in one day as an experiment. I fed 1000 litres of clean water through it on backwash with waste gate open. Then rinsed it for 5 minutes with waste gate open. Then filtered the pool as per normal. Dirt returned. Backwashed again and so on 5 times. Each time after 45 minutes the pool floor was starting to build up with dirt again.

Thanks for the feedback and ideas though.

BTW - With waste gate open an observation was made through the site glass and every time the water was running clear. After backwash and after rinsing.

Thanks again for the feedback. If you can think of any other reason for the dirt entering I would love to hear it.

I can only assume it is a hole between the pump and the pool and though pressure of the water feed to the pool would exclude dirt entry due to water pressure one could assume that if the hole was on the right angle (in line with the water flow) the water would be sucked in.

I may be wrong, but with due respect I was right every other time when discussing problems with the expat builder.

We got the quote. The guttering repairs as well as replacing the rocks with a flush grating came to 41 000 baht. To double the balance tank capacity came to 120 000 baht.

I have decided to go ahead with the guttering. The new contractor simply could not believe an expat oversaw this job when he saw the below. One photo is the concrete that has fallen off the side walls of the gutter exposing the bare bricks. This is all around the pool as well. The other photo is concrete that went down the gutter return line and set in the piping which blocked 50% of the return water going back to the balance tank. The new contractor showed me this with a mirror and a torch 30 cm down the pipe. I cannot do this repair either due to financial constraints.

I have decided not to go ahead with the balance tank due to financial constraints as well. The pool has been a hole in the ground for the last 9 months that I have simply thrown money into when it was promised to be under warranty so my money situation is not what it used to be. The contractor has stated if we leave the filter on when we go swimming the water will not overflow out of the balance tank. He is right. As the water goes into the balance tank it pumps back into the pool. Downside is my kids cannot swim without telling us as we have to manually turn the pump on and then back to auto again when they have finished. Upside is we save 600 litres of water each time we go for a swim. Per week that was 4200 litres or 22% of our overall pool capacity. (The kids love swimming everyday).

I cannot reinforce enough, be very very very wary of anyone including expats that offer a warranty on any work. It seems the more they talk about pools the less they know about pools. I trusted this guy and he made up excuses not to do repairs, dragged the job out over 9 months and was simply out of his depth when it came to fault finding as was proven in the last month with the faults that have been discovered by the new contractor as well as the faults I found myself that the expat and his team could not.

It beggars belief that the faults just keep mounting up;

1. Balance tank too small

2. Balance tank valve incorrectly located

3. Grout needed replacing 18 months

4. One water leak at jet into pool

5. Seven water leaks around perimeter overflow

6. Rebar pocking through the concrete and rusting

7. Pump that needs bleeding before I can turn it on

8. Concrete set in overflow return lines blocking 50% of the piping.

9. Concrete coming away from guttering walls exposing bare bricks

The new contractor starts work today and I will send more photos when the repairs are completed.

i would like to add something concerning "dirt after backwash". are you running the pump for several minutes on "rinse" cycle after backwashing with the waste valve open? if not this could be the reason for the remaining dirt.

Hi...Yes. We did this backwashing 5 times in one day as an experiment. I fed 1000 litres of clean water through it on backwash with waste gate open. Then rinsed it for 5 minutes with waste gate open. Then filtered the pool as per normal. Dirt returned. Backwashed again and so on 5 times. Each time after 45 minutes the pool floor was starting to build up with dirt again.

Thanks for the feedback and ideas though.

It would be a waste to have such a huge universe with billions and billions of stars and not share it with anyone else.

If we discover life we must be  smarter than them as we would have the technology to find it. That life however could be a one celled organism or something of similar simplicity.

If other life discovers us then they will obviously be smarter than us. I wonder how they would describe us?

While they prepare the quote they have plugged the holes with play doh to ensure there are no more unnecessary expenditures. The last water bill came in and it came to 853 baht. After 2 years of an average bill being 5000 baht with the chemicals this is a welcome site.

The salt has been checked daily and dilution has not dropped below 4000PPM.

The play doh cost 120 baht.

We went to Kasikorn Bank in Phuket last week and showed them our passports with the retirement visa in it and we had an account 1 hour later. This is our second Thai bank account. The lady was very sweet and spoke wonderful English. It is easier to open an account in Thailand than Australia. Transferring money however is a different story. They are happy when you deposit it, but if you want to transfer it off shore they make it hard.

Mum let me reply.

After telling the new pool company that there is a leak and that it is losing 19 litres an hour they believed me! They actually respected my comments and with no agenda they tested the pool. They didn't say it was evaporation. They believed me. The understood it was costing me 5000 a month and told me that they would get right onto it.

The new pool company used play doh to isolate the perimeter overflow tank and within 1 hour they found 7 leaks. That is 7 more than the last company found in 9 months. It allowed me to rest easily because that 7 leaks was a 19 litre a hour leak that cost me salt and chemicals every week.

It was not evaporation which was disappointing to say the least as I will have to pay money to have it repaired now as well as paying for the balance tank to compensate for more than 2 children.

They will be giving me a quote in 5 days so I will post the cost and all updates of repairs.

I will include photos as well. I pray they can fix it so this nightmare can be over.

Firstly as per forum rules I will not mention or hint as to what the company that my son used in the following nine month disaster. So please don't ask. I am only writing this to share my sons’ pool building story and to add valuable information to this wonderful and informative forum so you may use it if or when you have a pool built. He has suffered financially, stressfully and time consumingly and I would hate to see anyone else go through what he have been through.

This is his story.

I had a 6 x 3 salt water chlorinated pool built 2 years ago by a company whose expat consultant assured me he had vast experience in building swimming pools and also consulted and repaired other disgruntled swimming pool owners pools after leaks etc were discovered.

Why did I entrust this company in building the pool? Because the expat told me it came with a warranty and I would save considerable money in the future if there was any problems. The expat also lived in my house ( we just bought it and we lived in the rented house next door) and oversaw the pool construction on a daily basis. Great news for me as this would ensure no problems what so ever in the build.

I believe the problems began on the day it was handed over to us, but previously knowing nothing about pools I had no idea how much the water bill should be, how much water it should use. No idea about salt PPM, chlorine levels, PH. Nothing. I had a pool guy come in and do everything. I was naive when it came to pools.

After moving the family to Laos for work we rented the house out and that is when the tenants started complaining about water bills. It was consistently around 5000 baht a month for a small 3 bedroom house with 2 people living in it. On the 4th of October, 2013 I sent an email to the consulting company telling them the issues my tenants had. There was this water bill situation as well as dirt entering the pool and settling on the floor one hour after the filter was turned on (yes, we backwashed etc). Suffice to say it took them over 6 weeks to make there first visit all the while the water bill was being paid at about 5000 baht a month.

I will fast forward to a week ago, the pool re grouted (by me), 300 emails later, on average 6000 baht a month in water bills and chemicals (salt, PH minus) and about 10 visits by this company. The only positive about this time period is I became an expert in pool maintenance as well as gaining an intimate knowledge on my pool. The downside is the more I knew about my pool the more I found wrong with it.

In this time the company repaired one leak at the end of the pool after all the visits. It leaked again. They came again and dug up the same area of the pool and found the same leak again. The repaired it and refilled the pool. It leaked again. It was coming in through the LED light and I personally drained the pool siliconed the leak and refilled it. That leak stopped. I thought that would be it. Job finished. Nope. The pool kept leaking albeit at a slower rate.

I checked it myself and found the below problem with the balance tank float valve position. It was at the top and constantly overflowing into the overflow! As soon as someone entered the pool it overflowed to the street as well as there was no room for water displacement. They could not find this basic simple issue after 10 visits. This leak had been there from day 1. The expats response when I sent him the below pics. I quote him here. "I have nothing to say about this" He washed his hands of it.

It doesn't stop there. Even with the valve which we had another pool company move to the bottom of the balance tank completed the balance tank still overflowed when only 2 children swam in it for an hour. The balance tank was simply too small and not capable of holding the displaced water from splashing, jumping kids in the pool. The expat said it is correct and designed to hold 2 children! In other words we cannot swim in the pool as a family due to significant water loss. Never mind that I have to stand at the pump house and manually shut the pump off so it does not suck air when the balance tank empties. Then wait for the water to fill up the tank again and turn the pump back on to fill the pool to the brim. The expat said the balance tank is perfectly fitted to the pool. I asked him to get in the pool with me for 10 minutes and swim around a bit. He refused and steadfastly, arrogantly and stubbornly stated the tank is the right size.

It doesn't stop there. There was another leak. I found we lost 180 liters a day when the pump was not on and 460 liters a day with the pump on. The expats response. Evaporation. Never mind the salt disappearing as well. I am now going through 20 kg of salt a week to keep concentration at 4000ppm.

It doesn't stop there. The dirt going in the pool after each filtration cycle. I vacuumed the pool one day, backwashed it and filtered it 5 times to test this issue. Every time within an hour the pool floor was layered with a thin film of dirt that built up were the grout is. The expats response. He said it was the dirty environment we lived in. Never mind that the pools within a 50 meter radius don't get this layer of dirt. Anyway he said we needed a bigger filter and pump set up. I humored him and paid 15 000 baht for a bigger filter and pump. Yep, the same issue was happening. I wasted 15 000 baht for nothing. The expats response to this. He stated and I quote "I have seen this problem once before and cannot tell where the dirt is coming from" We will never know he said.

It doesn't stop there. The filter needs bleeding every time we turn it on so we cannot run it in auto mode. I have to go out, open the pump, add water to bleed it. I have to do this twice a day. He won't address this issue either after being informed.

It doesn't stop there. A few days ago I got another pool contractor in and they showed me the rebar that is pocking out and rusting through the perimeter overflow channel. They isolated the perimeter overflow and within one hour of arriving found 7 holes in the perimeter overflow that is leaking water out into the surrounding area. This is where I decided to cease using the old company (yes, after 9 months I was very very patient and gave then ample time to prove themselves) and have now engaged the new company who have shown nothing but professionalism and most importantly have shown me results.

The new pool guys that came have not only found the new leaks within the hour, but confirmed that the balance tank is too small and needs to be replaced or engineered to accommodate more water. How did they test this? Him and I got in the pool and did 2 laps. The balance tank was full and overflowing 3 minutes later.

Like I said I will not name names or company’s, but I just want to tell you my nightmare story so you good people can be very wary of some expats that state they are professional pool builders, but are simply unable to build pools. I can understand one problem. Two at a stretch, but when you have;

1. Balance tank too small

2. Balance tank valve incorrectly located

3. Grout needed replacing 18 months

4. One water leak at jet into pool

5. Seven water leaks around perimeter overflow

6. Rebar pocking through the concrete and rusting

7. Pump that needs bleeding before I can turn it on

What does that tell you. BTW, It is a rhetorical question.

Good luck everyone in your endeavors. I sincerely hope you have better success than me.

Thanks Mum for allowing me to post!!!

So dreadful....I feel sorry for the family that have to live with this everyday.

I wonder if this mall will have a fish pond at the bottom of it too?

"Madness Pills"!

I spoke to my heart specialist today about this and apparently yaba means ya - "pill" and ba is "mad" or "crazy"

Dreadful drugs if you ask me and I think the name is correct. You would have to be crazy to try them.

IMG_0933.JPG Great news. My wife's 25 year old cousin who had just got her degree in accountancy had started a career in banking had it all wiped out. The evil that did it was her neighbor who was 16 year old boy high on yaba who shred her to pieces with a machete. This act of madness has ruined my wife's family and yes has also affected mine. Yes I think madness pills is a apt name for this evil drug and I hope the military wipe it out .

What a beautiful young women and such a tragedy. I am sorry to read this and my condolences go to you.

I too hope they have success with this drug issue, but unfortunately I don't have much faith as globally the trend has been an increase in drug supply and use as far as I can tell.

I wish them luck and tackling this terrible problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina

Thailand: Sent at least 60 doctors and nurses along with rice.

Thanks. I did not know that. But my point is that the majority of the world looks to the USA to help, even expects the USA to help, in times of crisis, whether caused by political unrest or by Mother Nature. Then the USA is criticized when it voices it's opinion. I just think that although the USA can be overbearing and arrogant at times, it still should be given credit for the assistance provided to other nations. It really seems to me that a lot of the USA bashing is done out of jealousy. Jealousy of the fact that the USA is in fact a super power both economically and militarily.

I am not American, nor do I have any desire to be. But I think credit should also be given where credit is due.

Russia takes Crimea. China is encroaching on disputed areas of the South China Sea. USA takes Puerto Rico. No difference, but I know which system I would prefer to live under.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

I am not American..although I have been accused of US bashing I can say I am anti the people that control Washington...

I have never been anti American..I have lived in the states for roughly 10 years at different times...

I know American history,I follow US politics, I try to have an open mind & try to use facts...sometimes conjecture connecting what I perceive as dots

because it is not always possible to believe what is fact & what is propaganda.

I think I can ..(which is probably a wrong assumption.)..that anyone that is bashing the US...is not doing it out of jealousy...and not attacking the american people..

it's the government that needs attacking.

Yeah there are some Americans that are idiots..but that's in every country

I have many American friends so it's not like I don't want them in my life.

But I do disagree with you...

Ukraine was supported by the US to topple a democratically elected government..maybe not a good one...and then installed neo Nazis as it's puppet...to challenge Russia.

of course in the western media Russia is the bad guy..that they invaded Crimea..but really..Russia had their Black Sea fleet there & the US wanted it..so that was never going to happen.

Re. China...yeah we hate them too..but it's the US challenging China in the South China Sea.

Remember Iraq...?..the lies? that wasn't the only time the US has lied...ask the people living in central & south america how good the US treats them.

How many countries has the US had their democratically elected governments removed through violence,supporting the ruling rich elite to suppress their people * allow the big corporations in to take control.

Any aid given by the US usually has a price..don't kid yourself.

If that's the system you want to live under..that's your choice...

but then I live in Thailand..I don't want to move to the US,Russia or China

Since 1945, the USA has been responsible of helping remove 36 governments, most being democratically elected. Usually the events are kept secret for years and only come out as the limitations of the information act allow the information to be released.

36 my friend. 36. When some say "If America says the Thai coup is bad, it is" I shake my head. Not because of I am watching a bird fly back and forth in my field of view, but because I pity the gullible.

I suspect some will say where is the evidence of these US backed coups? No problem. If they ask I will provide, though it is easily accessible and common knowledge. Well not common knowledge for people that think the rice scheme is not corrupt!

"Not because of I am watching a bird fly back and forth in my field of view"

My husband had a good chuckle at that one.

I would like to see evidence though. I have lived through one world war (only just) and am aware of many American sanctioned coups to overthrow elected governments, but I was not aware of 36 since 1945...

So to get this straight the EU is punishing Thailand for removing an accused mass murderer, accessed terrorist and convicted criminal fugitive that is running Thailand while being unelected and was ushered into power through the UDD who funded the 7 months of terror attacks in Bangkok. I wonder what the EU members would say if these daily terror attacks happened in their country? I wonder if they would ask for the government to be returned if their children were killed by terrorists that supported the illegitimate regime and that regime refused to arrest anyone that committed crimes in defense of it? I wonder?

The EU clearly understand however that elections do not define the legitimacy of a government in power. Look no further than Ukraine and the EU support of armed neo-nazis in overthrowing an elected government. Western media narratives portraying the rabble as aspiring for “freedom,” “democracy,” and “closer ties with the West.”

The Russians called it a "bloody coup" however. Who to believe? On Jan 25th, 2014, 29 Ukrainian leaders of political parties, civic and religious organizations, sent an open letter to the UN and leaders of the EU and the US, decrying the Western support for the neo-Nazi campaign to carry out a bloody coup against a legitimately elected government. So do we believe the Russians here or the West? I am not perplexed because I understand the fundamentals of global politics that the people that call me naive don't.

The EU's condemnation of the Thai coup, but support of violent neo-nazi uprisings exemplifies that special interests over principles, define when "democracy" must be respected, and when it can be ignored. Americas condemnation of the Thai coup, but support of the Egyptian coup against a democratically elected government, exemplifies that special interests over principles, define when "democracy" must be respected, and when it can be ignored. Governments do not adhere to political ideologies, they simply use them when and where profitable. Some are naive to think otherwise.

It is not this love for democracy that some on here purport to respect because if they did that narrative would have been evident under the PTP regime. It is a measured groomed narrative that through propaganda allows one to have this warped ideal that the West is right so Thailand's coup is bad. It is those same people that believed the PTP propaganda too. Those same people that without thinking praise the Ukraine uprising and praise the Egyptian coup.

They are propaganda and conspiracy junkies and it makes their naivety look like Einstein’s intelligence on steroids. I am not angry with them or hate them. I pity them.

​May reconciliation be with you. It is contagious you know!!!

Not sure on the reconciliation is contagious comment as we are isolated from any Thai politics in Phuket, but you do make sense dear.

I remember when the first cache was found the doubters stated "This is not enough to fill a pick up". Then the next cache was found and the doubters said "This is not enough to fill a container". Next cache found "This is not enough to start a civil war" Next cache "The guns are very old" Next cache "Some of these guns were found in yellow provinces" Next cache……Well lets wait and see the below comments if any.

I am happy to hear the excuses though. Under the PTP we didn't hear any excuses or anyone downplaying the finds. Why?

Because the PTP found nothing!!!!

The PTP found nothing? Blatantly incorrect and a yellow rant pointed at centrists who do not like "your side" -- though you have no side since you are not Thai.

Go to google (it's a search engine) and type "2012 weapons seized Thailand". The list includes

Major seizure at Cambodian border by police -- 12 RPG missile launchers, 12 M79 missile launchers, 6 M16 automatic rifles and 17 AK 47 automatic rifles were found.

Intercepted North Korean missile parts at swampy...the list is pretty long just for that one year.

To make the whole thing even more ironic, the Thai military seized 100,000 rounds of ammo, dozens of guns and missile launchers in 2012 at the Myanmar border..and all that was in.... a pickup truck. So the pickup truck comment still stands correcting you.

The UN estimates 80,000 illegal weapons are in Thailand. So far, the seizures are a drop in the bucket altogether.

That was all that was said in the truck comment (and that post also said seizures of any size were good -- and which part of course you didn't quote). Then you painted the ball yellow and ran an own goal.

Congratulations!

Before I reply count how many times I am condescending towards you.

Starting…………………..NOW.

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate your feedback.

These other finds while wonderful had nothing to do with the current conflict (as in the past 7 months). I am sure in 2002 when thaksin was in power he found weapon caches as well. Nice one. Good on him.

What weapons have the PTP found in the past 7 months that pertained to this current situation that I am talking about? What weapons that would have been used against the peaceful protestors have been found by the PTP? What weapons have been found that would have been used to murder and maim the enemy of the PTP?

Don't refer to arms found 2 years ago in an unrelated scenario. Not arms found 10 years ago and not arms found 50 years ago.

In 7 months of near daily terrorist attacks the PTP found nothing. Arrested no one.

In less than one month (to reiterate this is less than 1 month) This list is pretty long just for that one month.

Guns - 1219

RPGs - 56

Grenades – 406

19^th of June – Weapons found in Bang Khen. two RPG launchers, five RPG grenades, two AK47 rifles, eight AK ammunition magazines, 200 rounds of AK ammunition, 25 RGD6 hand grenades and two rifle stocks.

19^th of June – Surin - multiple arrests, seizing 3 M79 grenade launchers and 94 grenades, 2 AK assault rifles and 229 bullets, a carbine, a 9mm handgun and 60 bullets, an RPG launcher and 17 rocket-propelled grenades, and 18 hand grenades.

16^th of June – Ayutthaya - M79 grenade launcher with 16 M79 grenades, 17 hand grenades of different types, including RGD-5s, an AK-47 along with four magazines for an AK rifle and 30 ammunition rounds

10^th of June – Nonthaburi - a rifle, a carbine gun, a machine gun, several rounds of ammunition, as well as four flame grenades and four smoke bombs.

5^th of June - Police in the lower Central Plains area have arrested 121 people wanted on old arrest warrants, seized more than 200 illegal guns and about 2,600 bullets over the past seven days.

5^th of June – In Chachoengsao province, a joint policemilitary team raid on the home of a former village head resulted in about 50 handguns and rifles being seized along with more than 500 munitions.

5^th of June - Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district, an AK47 assault rifle and munitions along with two hand grenades

3^rd of June - Chiang Saen district on Wednesday resulted in the seizure of an M16 assault rifle and equipment plus a large number of explosives and detonators used in a milling business with an expired permit for the explosives.

Rayong police retrieved a large number of explosives and weapons The items include 13 M79 rounds, three grenades and three homemade pistols.



Pattaya, police found four hand grenades and one smoke grenade by Jomtien Beach Road III.

Fire arms seized in Samot Sahkon. One AK47 assault rifle with foldable stock and 777 rounds of ammunition for the rifle, one rifle mounted with a telescope and 38 cartridges, one M79 grenade launcher, one MP1 submachine gun with 48 rounds of ammunition, one carbine with 154 cartridges, one M4 submachine gun with 275 rounds of ammunition and a silencer, one pistol, eight improvised explosive devices, three hand grenades, 120 bottles filled with gun power, three cameras, a bundle of electrical wire, a UDD staff card and a UDD guard card No 3084.used in the Trat attacks

Charupong Ruengsuwans resort found with a cache of weapons

Troops arrested 22 armed suspects and seized a large cache of arms on May 23 in Khon Kaen also showing that thaksin controls the violent militia uprising

A joint raid by police, troops and and administrative officials led by Pol Col Nipon Hemsalamad, the Singha Nakhon police chief, conducted a search in a house in Singha Nakhon district on Monday morning. After the raid, police said they found and seized an M16 rifle with 73 rounds of ammunition, a 9mm pistol with 28 rounds, an M26 hand grenade and two methamphetamine pills.

More than 3,000 people were rounded up and a large number of heavy weapons seized under a coordinated crackdown by police, military officials and civilian volunteers

​Stopping……………..NOW

​So was I condescending to you?

Goodness me. I am over 70 and I knew you were talking about the present as well.

I googled "Unrelated 2014"and got 25 300 000 results. I wonder if Fangferang was the 25 300 000th.

I remember the farmers suicides. There was a direct link to financial difficulties and their suicides. Their families even admitted it was due to no rice scheme payments. Thje link was there and it was solid yet some denied it and said it had nothing to do with the rice scheme as if they knew more than the family members of the victims knew.

Then we have this article and some posters having shown examples of numerous others that have resigned as well. Absolutely no link between the resignations and the military yet the same people that deny a link between suicides and rice payments when the proof is there (from their family none the less) state there is a link between the military and the resignations when there is no link whatsoever.

I am an old duck, but my brain still works and some people don't make a persuasive argument when looking at their previous posts. It seems the story changes depending on who they support.

Shame on some for spreading rumors.

Thai Airways are broke but as they're a national carrier you'll be fine, and just as well. No rumour mongering at all. Read the news if you are in any doubt as to the dire financial crisis that Thai Airways is in.

Your tickets will almost certainly be honoured.

General P is actually addressing the dire consequences that this is having on the coffers. No one else addressed it. Good on him and the Junta.

I am sorry dear, but I have rung my family in Australia and they have checked and said Thai airways have not filed bankruptcy. Isee they are in financial trouble, but no reports of them being broke. My daughter checked the internet as well and alleviated my concerns. Even other posters have said they are not broke.

Please send the link to show me so I can show my family and so I can change tickets as I do not want to take any risks with a bankrupt airline.

Hi all. I am interested to know if they are broke or not too as I have tickets back to Australia to see my grand kids in 2 months time.

If they are broke I will have to change airlines.

wooloolooloo - Are they in fact broke as you have suggest ? I am very worried now.

They are not "broke". They recorded a loss in 2013 (and prior losses in 2011 after two years of profit)

They face a lot of pressures, one of which was the CEO who I think has been dumped recently.

They are facing increasing competition from LCCs (low cost carriers) and are diversifying their business. The new yellow Thai Smile uniforms are much more cute and refreshing. Thai Smile are now the brand for short-haul flights.

Airlines worldwide are facing the same pressures.

Thai Air going "broke" would be catastrophic, and is not going to happen. General Prayuth is just trimming some fat (lard)

Thank you for your detailed answer dear. It is much appreciated.

I read TVF for information on what is happening in my "adopted" country and seek the guidance of the forum members to provide accurate information.

Shame on some for spreading rumors.

Take care.

So after all that you agree that I was right. I stated about 5 posts ago and tried to convince you which you now begrudgingly admit.

If you say so, Jamie.

Hi all. I am interested to know if they are broke or not too as I have tickets back to Australia to see my grand kids in 2 months time.

If they are broke I will have to change airlines.

wooloolooloo - Are they in fact broke as you have suggest ? I am very worried now.

"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends". Abraham Lincoln.

I hope Thailand through the army mends its friendships.