MyNameIsFarang

And with that years of work by TAT come undone. A few more articles like this in prominent Western papers can absolutely gut the tourist trade among people not already committed to visiting Thailand. Other tourist boards in the region must be in a good mood today.

Where does the article mention drugs? It does not nor do any of the articles on the wires as of this moment.

When will they catch up? Never. Why? Xenophobia, authoritarianism, corruption, cronyism, deforestation, pollution, bad economic policy, relative lack of natural resources, poor educational standards, absense of a mature and informed body politic, and the list goes on.

Does anyone know where you can buy a blackberry or a treo in ChiangMai? and about how much do they cost?

http://www.truecorp.co.th/blackberry/

Maybe what they really mean is "City of Piece"

Dammit, you beat me to the punch(line).

I seem to recall that its proper name is already Udonthani International Airport.

Spray the rooster thoroughly with a garden hose every time he sounds off.

But be sure no one sees you or you'll gain a reputation as a cock-soaker.

What about Eddie the eagle, a no hoper that did alright out of it!

Yes, he did alright out of it, got famous and made some money. How nice for him. But what good did it do for the sport he "competed" in? I place that in quotes because the word competition implies that you have a hope in hades of winning or at least a respectable placing.

There's a definite line between a legitimate competitor and a self-serving glory hound. Allowing these no-hopers in is just a step above pissing on the Olympic flag and if they had any appreciation of the true ideals of competition they would stay home.

Letting someone with so little talent into a prestige competition makes a mockery of sport.

Thais invest Bt200 million in 'heartfelt' roses for Valentine's Day

So what's the average rate of return on that investment?

Frankly, has your friend performed this very simple research - enter www.google.com into the adressfield of his prefered browser. Enter webhosting + whatever countryname, he might find relevant, into the searchfield. Clicked search - and looked at how many million pages he'll get as a result? (E.g. 'webhosting thailand' yields 627,000 pages)

This a very poorly thought-out way to search for the number of web hosting companies in Thailand.

It's not reasonable for the Thais to be expected to construct a two-tiered immigration law with one set of rules for poor people from neighboring nations and quite another for relatively rich foreigners. Despite the protests of those incarcerated (and their misguided defenders here) the treatment of these detainees is as good or better than anything that would have befallen a poor Laotian or Burmese.

There are ample and well-publicized means for an individual to stay in compliance with Thai immigration law. Putting these people into jail is entirely appropriate as it prevents them from disappearing once more into the woodwork. Detaining them guarantees that they return to their home country at their own expense.

The guard claimed he did not aim at anyone when he fired his pistol.

Thailand in a nutshell.

Me and 4 other guys will be going to Penang for a brief 2 day 'holiday'....

What is generally the best way to go? Da planes are to expensive. We're not averse to driving ourselves, but we are leaning towards the bus as it is virtually the same thing anyway (but with more comfy chairs)

I was wondering what the veterans had to say before we comitted, though - thanks!

Skip the bus and take the train. It will take you all the way to Butterworth Station in Malaysia. Then you've got a 10 minute walk to the ferry landing and a short, cheap ride over to Penang.

As I recall you won't arrive quite in time to submit your visa application that same day, so plan to turn it in on the following morning. If your visas are simple, and you beg and plead with the counter-man, he'll often have your visa for you on the following day right before they close up for lunch. This will leave you just enough time to haul-A back to Butterworth to catch the return train.

Don't forget that the Royal Thai Consulate in Penang closes on both Thai and Malaysian holidays.

Ladies & gents!

i'm planing to visit Laos for a week

but i'm still deciding whether to go by plane, by bus or by train(?) from BKK

any of u guys ever tried the bus from Khao Sarn rd?

or took the train from Hua Lumpong??

any suggestions to share?

welcome!

The train is good fun. If you're going alone you may or may not want the first class cabin. It's a bit odd to be cooped up in a small compartment with a stranger overnight. A second class sleeper berth with A/C is what I always recommend. The song-thaew ride from the Nong Khai depot to the Friendship Bridge will set you back 40 baht as I recall.

Plane is a good option as well. Fly to Udon Thani and then take a private car to the border at Nong Khai. Or you can get the public bus. That takes an hour and cost the princely sum of 10 baht last time I did that. Thai Airways also operates a nicer shuttle bus from UTH to Nong Khai which will drop you off a few hundred meters from the Friendship Bridge.

Taking the bus all the way from BKK? Not if you paid me...

Mt errant 3 year old son threw a toy metal car out of the window of his friends 12th floor apartment which landed on the bonnet of a car below.

May we presume your child is farang? A Thai would have fled the scene...

It the toy car is farang as well just get the police involved and they'll rule it a suicide...

Pre buy at USD 20.- .

Will they also take 800 baht? Or is it another screw-job like the visas issued at certain land borders if you don't have US greenbacks?

A fresh graduate from best colleges like ABAC, Chula, Thammasat, ect get about 10000-12000 a month.

A average soapie girl make about 50000 bahts, top side line make about 100000-150000 bahts a month. Some popular karaoke girls make over 200000 a month. A country of absurd contradiction.

So how many Thai cuties are interested in studies!!

I don't see it as a contradiction nor is it absurd nor does it have much in particular to do with the Thailand.

The majority of the graduates of the "best" colleges are still woefully unskilled compared to their counterparts in other nations. They go into a strict vertical company structure where their hopes of advancement have more to do with patronage than merit. And let's face facts about Thai productivity...

Contrast this with the girl in the entertainment field who is usually free to charge what the market will bear, makes her money primarily in relation to the quality of the service she provides, and does it all with minimal interference from regulators and middle-men.

What you're talking about is the difference between a highly skilled independent contractor and what can only be described as corporate cannon fodder.

If you still find the disparity in wages troubling, consider that the 500%-2000% wage disparity is almost exactly the same as you'd find when comparing the livelihoods of an escort and an entry-level office worker in any Western country.

So what's wrong if they convert "Beer Gardens" to just "outdoor fun places"? Serve non-alcoholic beverages, heck promote the newest green tea flavours or some healthy fruit juices, and have the rest like it is - live music etc. Nobody will lose their job and it will be just as popular, maybe just the kind of visitors changes.

Naive beyond words...

Thai cops are great. Everyone should own one.

Sure, he has mishandled a few issues and he might be an egomaniac, but he won the vote. Twice.

So did Hitler.

Let's get to the important issue: will this force up the minimum age of bar-girls?

When pigs fly...

The Thais are proud of their history, even though they've been invaded by the Burmese many times, they managed,through negotiation, to keep the British and French at the borders.

However Thailand has been colonized economically by the Chinese, much like Singapore.

I do stand to be corrected.

Nearly every kilometer of the border of the modern Thai state was dictated by either the French or the British. And the Thais did not "manage" anything. That Thailand was not directly colonised has only to do with the fact that both colonial powers desired a buffer between their spheres of influence.

"Wipe Out" ? Kinda harsh. Sort of like what happened to the drug dealers. They began to suffer from lead poisioning. The bodies began to pile up.

555 TIT. Chuwit gets my vote.

Getting rid of the soapy barons would be easier. You could just drown them and no wasted resorces. Of course, the guy who gets a backhander for ammo won't be too thrilled.