sambum

Must be fulfilling to know a couple of people that support dictatorship and blatant disregard for the will of the people....

Maybe try talking to the vast majority of Thai people who voted for Yingluck........ Sure, maybe some regret there vote and are fine with the situation...... But most are probably pretty dissatisfied with having their vote trampled on once again by the military.

"the vast majority of Thai people who voted for Yingluck"

A tired old chestnut, and still as inaccurate as ever :-

1. Votes for PTP in 2011, 15.7 million http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_general_election,_2011

2. Many of whom were voting rather for PTP, and their extravagant election-promises, free Samsung tablet-computers & immediate large pay-rises & everyone becoming rich like the Great Thinker within six months, etcetera, not just "for Yingluck"

3. Population of Thailand, 67.7 million https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html

4. 15.7 million is 23.2% of 67.7 million, and that's a long way short of being a "vast majority", I'm afraid.

How many of the 67.7 million are eligible to vote?

And I believe that the statement was to ask the vast majority of people who voted for Yingluck if they were satisfied with the military rule - not stating that the vast majority of the people voted for Yingluck.

And no, I am not pro Yingluck or her brother, just like to get the proper facts (wherever possible!!!)

The case has not even gone before the court. There are no charges yet. So it's just another act of the Junta being judge and jury.

A case of just making sure that "the bird does not fly the nest" as her brother did and is yet to return to face the music!

like many others on samui we see these idiots all the time

mostly speeding and overtaking into on coming traffic or forcing you off the road

take a close look at their number plates and you will see that they are not legally allowed to carry passengers of any type , which means they carry no insurance

foolish tourists and hotels/agencies selling these trips need an attitude adjustment

whens the general sending the troops to samui ?

Pardon my ignorance, but how can you tell from the number plates whether they are insured to carry passengers, or not?

And hot off the press, not to be out done, more eye catching headlines from Phuket:-

• Foreign Woman In Lingerie Sparks Outrage In Phuket

So actually the British government should be held responsible for the Nigerian scams?

Definitely! Great Britain, The British Empire etc etc have a lot to answer to the misery of millions of humans.

Just history. Not my words.

Not biased towards Brits, then? What about Germans (Nazis) Italians (Roman Empire) Mongols (Attila the Hun), Russians, The Incas, and even Vlad the Impaler? Or are these all covered by the "etc" that follows "British Empire"?

I am 81 and after dealing with black people, many from Nigeria, as their Insurance Agent/landlord/neighbor, for almost 70 years in Chicago, the black murder capital city in the US, I can honestly say I have never met a truly honest one and, am sorry, to see their increased presence in Thailand.

So you were an insurance agent at the age of 11? Honestly?

This Don Aleman is just a old fool

An old fool who also can't count, and tells porkies, or he was an illegally employed child worker!

what crime dod he actually do?If somebody is so stupid and sends money to a stranger because he he says so then whats the crime?

Did your mummy not tell you that it's wrong to tell lies? OK - acquiring money by deception - will that do?

Thailand has a huge tourist industry, but it is totally lacking in "welcome" or "customer service" - and then they wonder why their customers are the world's dregs

I wouldn't say that it is totally lacking in welcome or customer service, when I used to come as a tourist I was always very impressed with those aspects. Maybe that was because i used to stay in 4 \ 5 star hotels, (for the same price as a very average 3 star back home) Or maybe the low paid staff on the front line delivering these services are just getting sick and tired of dealing with rude, offensive and often drunk foreign visitors, constantly moaning that "things aren't done like this where I come from"

I suspect that the main reason Thailand attracts the dregs of humanity is, ironically given the theme of this thread, is that even taking into the extra travel cost, you can still have a verrry cheap holiday. And of course the infamous reputation of it being great for sex tourism. Thank God for the time being at least that football is confined to TV screens in bars...

People seem to think that customer service is something you PAY for - it makes me think they don't fully understand the concept of customer service...A towel twisted to look like an elephant is NOT CS, neither is someone parking your car....or running up to your room with a lass of champagne. CS is the ability to empathise with your customer and solve any problems arising. like fixing the air conditioner when it fails, not having building work around the site without informing customers before they arrive, offering discounts or better rooms when they have let down a customer - a proper lost property system all these things relate to honesty and straightforward dealing - the Thai philosophy so often stops once they've sprinkled leelawaddee petals on your pillow and the cheques gone through - the number of stars doesn't seem to affect this attitude.

As for "where I come from" - that doesn't enter into it - Thailand is offering a product - tourism - to the world and there are generally accepted standards - people aren't comparing "home' - they are comparing other countries they've stayed in and time and again Thailand displays a truly dismaying lack of concern in this area.

I felt that compared to 10 years ago CS in Thailand is actually very slowly being dragged into the 21st century, but since the junta, they seem to have turned the clock back, which seems to be confirmed by tis outrageous pricing policy.

"Service" is also the hidden charge (along with VAT) that they sometimes try to hit you with in restaurants in spite of the fact that this is not mentioned on the menu.

In reply to Shadychris post # 587 on 06 Feb - utter garbage! By that premise you are saying that whatever you buy - from an airplane ticket to a bottle of beer, the price you pay depends on how rich or poor you are?

Well I didn't actually go that far...... but wouldn't it be good if it could actually work like that!

I'd probably become an alcoholic very quickly!

It had cost me a few hundred pounds to visit a few tourist attractions when I was in the UK last summer. Now THAT is a rip of!

But not discrimination!

In reply to Shadychris post # 587 on 06 Feb - utter garbage! By that premise you are saying that whatever you buy - from an airplane ticket to a bottle of beer, the price you pay depends on how rich or poor you are?

I went with my friends as tourists to a national park as some of their friends working in BKK had a few day off last week. The park "had" a nice waterfall that they wanted to go to after we had been to a temple. I forgot my WP at work so full farang price 200 Baht compared with 40 for my friends.

The problem was this "had", as I have been there before and then it has been really nice... Now there were no water! So basically they charged us totally 600 Baht to see a waterfall with no water.... Even my friends where angry and argued with the park workers wanting a refund which they refused!

No refund? Now there's a surprise! (Not!)

Another one looses everything. When are the old men going to wake up?

Wake up to what ? To being old, ugly, broke, in poor health and unpopular ? Not everyone is a phoenix my dear 1312... (is that your birth year? wow...)

Lots of patronizing posts here, but so far, none that questions what is going on in the West, that makes so many older people rush here where they are easy prey, sure, but where they also meet kindness, respect, and people who don't look at them in utter horror... Yes money changes hands but so what if both parties are happy with the deal ? Doesn't money change hands in the West too, in the complicated field of human intercourse ?

No one questions why Western medical science works so hard on making life longer without wondering how to make it better, ie what old people will have to put into those extra years, if not solitude, despair and bitter anger.

Why the West magnifies youth and physical beauty in such a way that anyone over 40 starts to lie about their age, and spends absurd amounts of money just to look a few years younger ?

Why young people in the West all more or less consider old people to be something of a disgusting inconvenience and are not taught that with age comes experience and possibly a measure of wisdom which deserves respect ?

Yes, there are lots of old fools in Thailand, and guess what, some of them even manage to be happy ! Thank you Thailand for welcoming them.

Good post with some nice logic! " Doesn't money change hands in the West too, in the complicated field of human intercourse ?" Slightly off topic, but reminds me of a film where a hooker approaches this middle aged guy in some American city, and he says "Pay for it! I've never paid for it in my life!" She asks him "Honey, are you married?" He replies "Yes, happily married with a wonderful wife and family!" She replies "Honey, you paying for it ALL the time" (Wonderful line, and oh so true!)

I assume locals here wouldn't mind being charged ten times everyone else to go to visit Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, etc? Well, no need to stop there, just charge them double to go up to the top of the Empire State Building, visit the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and similar sites around the world.

And while we're at it make it illegal for them to own land or the majority share in a company. Both of which should be Thai laws forbidding their citizens from doing overseas the same things that they forbid us in this country.

That wouldn't work! The laws would have to be passed by the countries that the Thais are investing in. Can you imagine Thai judges passing laws that forbid Thais from buying English football clubs, for example?

The law cannot to be made by the country a Thai may invest in as that would be discrimination. The law would have to be a Thai law forbidding Thais to do the same outside their country as we are forbidden to do in theirs. It is called equality. If Thailand deems in wrong for foreigners to own land in Thailand then equally they should deem it wrong for Thais to own land outside of Thailand. Equal rights. Anything else is hypocrisy.

Correct, that would be discrimination, a perfect example being the one that you quoted in the opening line in your opening post! Ignore all of my post except the final sentence!

What opening line in what opening post ?

"The law cannot to be made by the country a Thai may invest in as that would be discrimination." That line! This whole thread is about the type of discrimination that would not be tolerated in any "civilised" country - TEN times as much for any kind of service/product is exorbitant, and if this country wants to attract more tourists, then do you honestly think that this is the correct way to do it? As I have said before, typical Thai "anti-logic" (We have no customers, so we will put the prices UP - that'll solve the problem!)

I assume locals here wouldn't mind being charged ten times everyone else to go to visit Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, etc? Well, no need to stop there, just charge them double to go up to the top of the Empire State Building, visit the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and similar sites around the world.

And while we're at it make it illegal for them to own land or the majority share in a company. Both of which should be Thai laws forbidding their citizens from doing overseas the same things that they forbid us in this country.

That wouldn't work! The laws would have to be passed by the countries that the Thais are investing in. Can you imagine Thai judges passing laws that forbid Thais from buying English football clubs, for example?

The law cannot to be made by the country a Thai may invest in as that would be discrimination. The law would have to be a Thai law forbidding Thais to do the same outside their country as we are forbidden to do in theirs. It is called equality. If Thailand deems in wrong for foreigners to own land in Thailand then equally they should deem it wrong for Thais to own land outside of Thailand. Equal rights. Anything else is hypocrisy.

Correct, that would be discrimination, a perfect example being the one that you quoted in the opening line in your opening post! Ignore all of my post except the final sentence!

"The entrance fee to the Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park in Phitsanulok province will increase the cost of entrance for foreigners from THB200 to THB400, according to a spokesman."

10 fold?

I would take 10 fold to mean 10 times more that being 2,000, 200 baht to 400baht is 100% increase. Would you not agree.

I think they mean 10 times more than a Thai would pay, and at the moment you are paying 5 times more. For example, the Thai pays 40 baht entrance fee, and you pay 200 baht, The proposal is that you should have to pay 400 baht which is 10 times more than a Thai pays. Can you imagine a Thai in another foreign country ( England, for instance) visiting a stately home or museum where the entrance fee is say 5 pounds for English people, and being asked to pay 50 pounds because he/she is a foreigner?

Personally, I think it is once again a perfect example of Thai "anti -logic" and in a previous post I compared it to the over pricing in bars because they had no customers, and the bars are now no longer in existence. Perhaps the policy makers who proposed these increases might see a message there?

The increase there and at other parks was made in response to an announcement from the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department that admission fees for foreigners should be made consistent throughout the country as of Sunday.. should read as.. admission fees for people should be made consistent throughout the country. Seriously is there any other country in the world where foreigners are required to pay more to visit an attraction than residents ??

Yes, there are other countries where foreigners are required more to visit attractions, Switzerland and Finland for example. The best way to look at it is not as foreigners pay more but that locals are discounted.

It can also go the other way, in Japan some attractions are discounted for foreigners.

So, just because Switzerland and Finland have double pricing scheme it makes it right?

I did not give an opinion on what I thought was right or wrong so I am not sure how you arrived at that one.

I think he was asking you a question i.e. "it makes it right?"

I assume locals here wouldn't mind being charged ten times everyone else to go to visit Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, etc? Well, no need to stop there, just charge them double to go up to the top of the Empire State Building, visit the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and similar sites around the world.

And while we're at it make it illegal for them to own land or the majority share in a company. Both of which should be Thai laws forbidding their citizens from doing overseas the same things that they forbid us in this country.

That wouldn't work! The laws would have to be passed by the countries that the Thais are investing in. Can you imagine Thai judges passing laws that forbid Thais from buying English football clubs, for example?

I really wonder why foreigners still allowed to pay same prices on public transport

and in food courts ??

Der PM Pryouth !

Please change this unbalance to ten fold immediately !!

Shhhh!

Can't possibly be true they are not that stupid here are they!

"Additionally, Suwan predicted the increase would not affect the number of tourists who visit the park as fewer than 100 foreigners visited the park last year."

And probably even fewer this year when word gets out about the price hike! The same logic as applied to a bar complex at the end of a local soi who were charging 90 baht for a bottle of beer when all the other bars were charging 70 baht. When asked why, the response was "because we have no customers!" Guess what - there are now no bars there!

Wasn't security supposed to have been tightened around Key tourist locations months ago?

Better stop closing down all those brothels then.

Brothels are in many Western countries including the United States. Not specific to Thailand

Your joke at you thailand is full of hooks ever were you go in thailand you run into brothers and hooks .

"Brothers and hooks"? Sounds like a veiled reference to the Shins to me!

Of course with all this speculation going on it could be that someone was peed off enough with the electricity co. to try to damage the transformer and disrupt supplies.

"Conspiracy theory!!!"

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"Police officers initially told the press that the explosion was caused by a malfunctioning electric transformer."

"Pol.Maj.Gen. Sombat Milintachinda, head of the EOD team at Pathumwan Police Station, confirmed to Khaosod that the explosives were homemade "pipe bombs.”

Why don't they put their brains into gear before making statements?

In the case of the most recent " suspicious" death on Koh Tao, the family was immediately told that the victim had died of natural causes, only for that to be later retracted and changed to "suspected" drug overdose. In the case of the Frenchman that "hanged himself" it was immediately classed by the police as suicide in spite of the fact that his hands were tied behind his back, so then that was retracted to be amended to a "suspicious" death, and then changed back to suicide. In the case of the 2 murdered backpackers, there were a multitude of statements that were later retracted - too many to go into.

As previously suggested, in the current climate, why don't the police chiefs order their officers to report every death/incident as suspicious until proved otherwise? Or at the very least say "We are still making investigations, so can not comment at this time".

I understand that in the incident at Siam Square, if police had said that bombs had gone off, it may have caused panic, but I stand by what I state in the above paragraph i.e. no comment is better than untrue comments because the story of the boy who cried wolf springs to mind!

You will better understand if you learn Thai.

You mean "Thai" or "Thainess"?

A bit off topic but :- Following conflicting reports from police last week they had – or not – arrested the man responsible for a dozen assaults including two murders during the past four years in the Bangkok outskirts, authorities believe he tried to break into the home of another woman Saturday night.

Once again "conflicting reports"!

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"Police officers initially told the press that the explosion was caused by a malfunctioning electric transformer."

"Pol.Maj.Gen. Sombat Milintachinda, head of the EOD team at Pathumwan Police Station, confirmed to Khaosod that the explosives were homemade "pipe bombs.”

Why don't they put their brains into gear before making statements?

In the case of the most recent " suspicious" death on Koh Tao, the family was immediately told that the victim had died of natural causes, only for that to be later retracted and changed to "suspected" drug overdose. In the case of the Frenchman that "hanged himself" it was immediately classed by the police as suicide in spite of the fact that his hands were tied behind his back, so then that was retracted to be amended to a "suspicious" death, and then changed back to suicide. In the case of the 2 murdered backpackers, there were a multitude of statements that were later retracted - too many to go into.

As previously suggested, in the current climate, why don't the police chiefs order their officers to report every death/incident as suspicious until proved otherwise? Or at the very least say "We are still making investigations, so can not comment at this time".

I understand that in the incident at Siam Square, if police had said that bombs had gone off, it may have caused panic, but I stand by what I state in the above paragraph i.e. no comment is better than untrue comments because the story of the boy who cried wolf springs to mind!

You will better understand if you learn Thai.

You mean "Thai" or "Thainess"?