Spock

When I catch taxis from the departure area, I have never had a problem getting the driver to use meter nor been asked for 50 baht. Maybe speaking Thai is the reason why I get no argument from the driver. As for tipping, if traffic is heavy and the driver a decent guy, I will usually tip, but not 50 baht.

I have caught a taxi like this upon arrival for years, even before the barriers were set up. Can't see why anyone would consider you a cheap Charlie! You avoid all the scammers, queues, paperwork and fees and depart immediately. Why anyone would be criticised for showing some initiative is beyond my comprehension.

'Reformation' had been revealed rather than claimed quite some time before the death was applied. Perhaps you see justice in the execution of a prisoner who has already served 10 yrs jail. I think your comment does an injustice to the dignity and humanity displayed by Myuran and Andrew before and at the time of their execution. Do you see no injustice in an execution suddenly being applied after 10 yrs imprisonment, where one has become an acclaimed artist and set up a computer course, while the other has become a Christian pastor. Whatever your glib throw-away line implies, Andrew and Myuran died with dignity and courage. Personally thought their behaviour throughout the final months and minutes was hard to fault from outside.

Obviously you did not follow closely the plight of the men, or you might have appeared less suspicious of the 'claims' in light of the deaths staged largely as an act of political expediency.

Obviously you do not follow the misery and death that the heroin these drug trafficking scum and their ilk causes to the young and not so young people in Australia.Shame the rest of the of the gang didn't get the death sentence as well.

If you were a heroine addict hanging out for a hit, you'd have a very different attitude to drug couriers and dealers. It is a question of supply and demand. You make out the drugs are being consumed by innocents being drip fed by ruthless dealers. In any case, I was arguing the injustice of the manner and timing of the execution. However, as your views reside in a world foreign to my perception of morality and justice, there is nothing to be gained through pursuing this discussion.

I much prefer the relaxed attitude to drugs, in particular marijuana, in Cambodia and Laos. If anyone wants to see the most detrimental effect of Thailand's outrageously strict drug policy, just check out the overcrowded Thai prisons where 70% are in on drug offences. As somebody who enjoys an occasional joint, or these days a vape, I find the draconian conditions in Thailand unpalatable, and long for Laos to open up their long term visa options so I can stay there and still benefit from my Thai language skills. In most parts of Cambodia, having a joint is barely even an issue, let alone a crime worthy of a long jail sentence.

Crystal Meth is a scourge in every country, not just Thailand, yet Thailand has seemed incapable of reducing the scale of the problem in the many decades that the drug has been present in the country. Thaksin is perhaps most to blame of all politicians for the ridiculously aggressive campaign against drugs in Thailand. Giving police officers the right to kill resulted in over 2500 deaths of largely small time users and petty dealers. As always in this 2 faced country, the big dealers are either protected by the police or are the police, while the little man fights for floor space in sardine like conditions in a Thai prison cell.

This country needs to realise that its excessively authoritarian and punitive attitude to drugs is counter productive to society on many levels, including tourism. I don't know why the topic confines itself to Phuket, a province in which buying drugs of any kind is more difficult than other parts of Thailand.

You think Thailand is "tough" on junkies and drug dealers?

Try Indonesia!

http://goseasia.about.com/od/indonesia/a/Drug-Laws-In-Bali-And-The-Rest-Of-Indonesia.htm

I went to Indonesia in 1981 and have never been back there, nor do I intend to visit again. Even then I hated the tourist scene in Bali and could have bought marijuana more cheaply and safely in Australia. Java did not impress me one bit. The recent shooting of the 2 reformed Australian traffickers after 10 yrs in prison was barbaric and cruel. However you can have a better time in a Balinese jail as a foreigner than would ever be possible in a Thai jail. Nevertheless, for a drug-free stay, I would prefer Thailand to Indonesia anyday.

Amazing how "reformation" is claimed when having to face the consequences of criminality !

'Reformation' had been revealed rather than claimed quite some time before the death was applied. Perhaps you see justice in the execution of a prisoner who has already served 10 yrs jail. I think your comment does an injustice to the dignity and humanity displayed by Myuran and Andrew before and at the time of their execution. Do you see no injustice in an execution suddenly being applied after 10 yrs imprisonment, where one has become an acclaimed artist and set up a computer course, while the other has become a Christian pastor. Whatever your glib throw-away line implies, Andrew and Myuran died with dignity and courage. Personally thought their behaviour throughout the final months and minutes was hard to fault from outside. Obviously you did not follow closely the plight of the men, or you might have appeared less suspicious of the 'claims' in light of the deaths staged largely as an act of political expediency.

I much prefer the relaxed attitude to drugs, in particular marijuana, in Cambodia and Laos. If anyone wants to see the most detrimental effect of Thailand's outrageously strict drug policy, just check out the overcrowded Thai prisons where 70% are in on drug offences. As somebody who enjoys an occasional joint, or these days a vape, I find the draconian conditions in Thailand unpalatable, and long for Laos to open up their long term visa options so I can stay there and still benefit from my Thai language skills. In most parts of Cambodia, having a joint is barely even an issue, let alone a crime worthy of a long jail sentence.

Crystal Meth is a scourge in every country, not just Thailand, yet Thailand has seemed incapable of reducing the scale of the problem in the many decades that the drug has been present in the country. Thaksin is perhaps most to blame of all politicians for the ridiculously aggressive campaign against drugs in Thailand. Giving police officers the right to kill resulted in over 2500 deaths of largely small time users and petty dealers. As always in this 2 faced country, the big dealers are either protected by the police or are the police, while the little man fights for floor space in sardine like conditions in a Thai prison cell.

This country needs to realise that its excessively authoritarian and punitive attitude to drugs is counter productive to society on many levels, including tourism. I don't know why the topic confines itself to Phuket, a province in which buying drugs of any kind is more difficult than other parts of Thailand.

You think Thailand is "tough" on junkies and drug dealers?

Try Indonesia!

http://goseasia.about.com/od/indonesia/a/Drug-Laws-In-Bali-And-The-Rest-Of-Indonesia.htm

I went to Indonesia in 1981 and have never been back there, nor do I intend to visit again. Even then I hated the tourist scene in Bali and could have bought marijuana more cheaply and safely in Australia. Java did not impress me one bit. The recent shooting of the 2 reformed Australian traffickers after 10 yrs in prison was barbaric and cruel. However you can have a better time in a Balinese jail as a foreigner than would ever be possible in a Thai jail. Nevertheless, for a drug-free stay, I would prefer Thailand to Indonesia anyday.

I much prefer the relaxed attitude to drugs, in particular marijuana, in Cambodia and Laos. If anyone wants to see the most detrimental effect of Thailand's outrageously strict drug policy, just check out the overcrowded Thai prisons where 70% are in on drug offences. As somebody who enjoys an occasional joint, or these days a vape, I find the draconian conditions in Thailand unpalatable, and long for Laos to open up their long term visa options so I can stay there and still benefit from my Thai language skills. In most parts of Cambodia, having a joint is barely even an issue, let alone a crime worthy of a long jail sentence.

Crystal Meth is a scourge in every country, not just Thailand, yet Thailand has seemed incapable of reducing the scale of the problem in the many decades that the drug has been present in the country. Thaksin is perhaps most to blame of all politicians for the ridiculously aggressive campaign against drugs in Thailand. Giving police officers the right to kill resulted in over 2500 deaths of largely small time users and petty dealers. As always in this 2 faced country, the big dealers are either protected by the police or are the police, while the little man fights for floor space in sardine like conditions in a Thai prison cell.

This country needs to realise that its excessively authoritarian and punitive attitude to drugs is counter productive to society on many levels, including tourism. I don't know why the topic confines itself to Phuket, a province in which buying drugs of any kind is more difficult than other parts of Thailand.

Hopefully he got some kind of reward. I am sure the Norwegians could afford something decent. The guy deserves more than a thank you.

As stated, tuberculosis is closely linked to both overcrowding and malnutrition both of which are present in Thai prisons so he'll be putting the other prisoners and staff at risk.

Not just him but all the other sufferers who have been denied further medication. The other prisoners already ostracise them because they believe they will catch TB from them. Bad luck if they have no money to buy food because the other prisoners won't let them eat with them. I have sent emails to Richard Barrows, Bangkok Post, WHO and HRW. No reply yet.

I'd suggest a very carefully worded open letter to the AI, HRW, and WHO, along with a CC to the administrative authority in charge of Thai prisons. Make the letter very short and concise. Rewrite and reword until it gets the point home with the fewest number of sentences.

Medically, everyone has TB. Most people are healthy enough to fight it off. It is an opportunity infector that gets going when the immune system is compromised. Poor diet is a major contributor.

What is the AI?

Poor diet and overcrowding make Thai prisoners very susceptible to TB.

Thanks for the advice.

You could try amnesty international or some such group but I think they've already given up on Thai prisons as being beyond help... If you could get it into a newspaper like the nation or bk post the pm might notice that and order the prison governor or minister to do something... But that's a very big if...

Good advice. I immediately tried the Bangkok Post with the details of prison, hospital etc included. I have had no reply. I will try the Nation tomorrow. At times like this, you realise how small and insignificant you and your small circle of loved ones really are. It's all very humbling, and crushingly depressing. I've done all I can short of making myself public enemy number one at a prison that has no foreign prisoners or visitors. I will try Amnesty because I haven't tried them yet.

The hospital won't give out the medicine without a blood test. The blood test cannot be done if the supervisor will not allow the prisoners to be taken to the hospital for them. For 5 months the prisoners have been sent for tests and now it has suddenly stopped. Paying for the medicines, which his wife tried to do, will not work without the tests each month.

I should add that it is now 2 weeks since prisoners last received medication.

I have a Thai friend doing a long stretch in a Thai prison. He contracted TB about 8 months ago, but received no treatment for a least the first 2 months. I visited and made a personal appeal to prison staff and the 'doctor' as a result of which (but more so my friends obvious deterioration in health) he was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with TB.

At one point he lost the use of his limbs and his bones protruded from his rib cage, his legs looked like match sticks and his knees were badly swollen. He spent a month in hospital with his wife at his side. He used a wheelchair for another 2 months to get around in prison. Four months into his treatment, on one of my visits, I was required to pay 1000 baht to obtain his medication from another hospital because the doctor had not done the necessary paperwork to switch his 'but prachachon' over from his home to the prison district This switch was supposed to have been made prior to his hospital admission, but did not occur.

Every month he along with fellow prisoners with TB, are taken to a hospital for blood tests and given medication for the next month. When the last visit was meant to occur, the prison director apparently decided that none of the sick prisoners would be taken to hospital for tests. I don't know the reasons why the director denied the prisoners to attend the hospital for tests. My friend's wife tried to obtain the drugs for him, but was told at the hospital that drugs could only be given after blood had been tested.

I am in Australia, but have been back and forth throughout the last 2 years to visit and pay money into his prison account. I feel helpless to assist. Anyone familiar with tuberculosis would know that patients need to take around four different drugs over a period of at least 6-9 months. Failure to do so before the infection is out of the system has dire consequences. The disease becomes resistant to the drugs and if treatment is resumed and new drugs are used they are generally less effective and have more side effects. There is also a chance of reinfection and spreading the disease to others.

I returned from Thailand just a month ago. I want to help not only my friend but all the other TB victims who are being denied access to their drugs. I can speak some Thai but am by no means fluent. I use a translator to send correspondence between us.

TB is rife in Thai jails because of overcrowding. Prisoners with the illness are ostracised by other prisoners who are frightened to catch the disease, even when the prisoners are not infectious. My friend had to buy all of his food because the other prisoners would not allow him to neat with them. When he could not walk, he had to pay a prisoner to go buy and collect food for him.

Many years ago I had foreign contacts in the Bangkok Post and The Nation, but these people have since left the country. Does anyone have a suggestion as to who to appeal to for help for these prisoners? It is tantamount to murder to deny access to life saving drugs. I cannot believe that prisoners can be treated so abhorrently and carelessly.

For anyone who have been to Laos, this thread is good. Laos is a fantastic place, perhaps a trifle more expensive than Thailand and the local food is not so varied or tasty as Thai food, but the people are really nice, even more so if you speak Thai with them.

I agree with posters who say that chances are you'll find an English speaker, but that's not really true of the very ordinary folk with whom you'd like a simple conversation that's not too taxing on your Thai. Why wouldn't you want to speak directly to waiters, waitresses, tuk tuk drivers, a room cleaner, a street stall owner etc if you could? The vans and buses you take long distance stop sometimes at the most God-forsaken establishment for meals and refreshments. I felt hugely advantaged over other travellers being able to talk about their dog, how old it is, what the weather has been like, how many kids they have and other aspects of their life and mine etc etc. 'No sugar in the coffee' thanks, which means no sweet can milk, just the ordinary tinned milk.

I treasure my encounters with local people more than any other memories of time spent in a country. I am confident in speaking 400+ or so words 'fluently' in a flattish sort of way. I plucked a figure out of the air with 400, but it may be many more or perhaps less.

Enjoy Laos. I am 62 and just finished back-packing for 3 months and felt rejuvenated if at times feeling the oldest person in Vang Vieng or the least spiritual in Luang Prabang. You'll love it even more if you can speak Thai and love mountains and big rivers.

As an aside, Cambodians and Laos people seem to have a better grasp of spoken English than Thais.Why? Is it the French colonization of both countries versus Thailand's inwards looking culture and character? Or is my assessment of the English competency of the three countries simply incorrect?

the aussie kid and his family as millionaires also. he was studying at the most expensive international school in Bangkok and balling it up in Koh Samui.

No doubt he had enjoyed the benefit of corruption and significant wealth in Thailand, whether that was simple stuff like avoiding motorbike fines or more.

Now the boot is on another foot and it is all "young aussie with promising future as student/model" vs "super rich chinese bad guys" , when it is really just two silver spoon kids who got into a bar fight and one guy ended up a lot worse for wear.

Rubbish. You're an armchair judge with little apparent access to the evidence against the American boys. When you are a bit more informed, you're welcome to voice your opinion again.

There are some differences. Sabaidee for Sawathdee krup, korp jai and the word for bottle is gaaw (gow) which in Thai is koo-ut. Jork is glass and nahm gone is ice. I found the following from a Vientianne dweller online, but my experience in Laos exclusively supports 'gaaw' for bottle and 'jork' for glass.

"Bia Lao neung quat"

No, Bob, this is Lao. My Lao wife speaks Lao, as do I. You can say neung geow, but people will think you have walked in from the jungle. Quat is used here now and has been for a long time.

This was bullshit. Laos people knew that Thais said 'koout' but 'gaaw' was used by all to denote a bottle. You can use Thai everywhere up to at least Luang Prabang and be fully understood. Furthermore most people will immediately recognise you as a Thai rather than Laos speaker. You will find Thai very useful once off the beaten track.

Having seen the CTV from the club, the girl is definately lying.

Do you have a link to this footage?

She claimed she was in the night club with the 2 Americans whereas CCTV footage clearly shows her entering hand in hand with the young Australian. The Americans claim the Australian guy began molesting her and then they stepped in and defended her honour. They claimed that the Australian started the fight.The footage also shows the young Americans going up to the Australian and speaking to him after he had entered with the girl. There is no way that she was already inside with the Americans as she told police.

never any winners in a fight when the police are involved in any country, winner goes to jail loser looser to hospital, no matter who started it.

in my opinion better to be tried by 12 than nursed by 1

Except that in this case the likely outcome is loser goes to jail, loser goes to hospital. The American boys and the girl are lying.

Surely if the woman was riding behind him on a motorbike, she would have copped some of the acid herself, unless she poured it over him while stationary at traffic lights or something similar. Whatever, if you are going to douse someone with acid, wouldn't you want to be a safe distance from the victim? Doesn't make sense to do it from the rear of a bike, particularly a moving one where you are dependent on the driver for your own safety.

Humans do things Animals would never do,and the depravity in

the World is getting worse,time for a cull?

regards Worgeordie

Is the world getting worse or are we getting more info via the internet? What about the things that Isis are doing to women and children in Islam countries and the sheer medieval brutality displayed there? Cull? Who calls the shots? Isis? Christians? Thais?

The answer is that there will always be brutality of this kind - usually caused by a mental disturbance - and I am not sure that calling for the death penalty will resolve the issue. I'm not sure anything will, to tell you the truth and I have no answers, but I sincerely believe that brutalizing perpetrators in return will not act as a deterrent to others. Just saying "Hang 'em" is a low brow knee jerk response that solves nothing.

The 'hang em' approach seems to work OK on thaivisa. Isn't that all that matters?

The tricky thing is that the expat cost of living indexes don't include education, financing/interest, cars and the tax system and that is where Thailand compares rather negative to other countries.

Healthcare being another big consideration, especially with a young family.

A (rich) friend of mine paid GBP 20,000 for an operation here last year.

4 years ago, Bangkok hospital Pattaya quoted me 200,000 Baht for a simple hernia operation. It was cheaper to fly to the UK and having it done in a private clinic. This included tickets and a few nights hotel...

6 years ago I had a dental crown done in BPH for 15,000 Baht, not too bad, last year the same crown, on the other side would go for 45,000 Baht, 3 times the price in 5 years, the room, dentist and all equipment was the same...

I am having a crown done in Australia now for 50000 baht. How can it possibly cost 45000 baht in Thailand? Mind you I recently paid 2000 baht for a scale and clean at BIDC, about half the price of Australia, but not as thorough or with as many whistles and bells. I was disappointed because I was told the price was 1400-2000 baht and the dentist told me I had great oral hygiene because I had very little calculus build up on my teeth. So how come I paid the maximum price?

I took a rescue dog to the SF Bay Area from the Soi Dog Foundation. It was hassle free

and the dog's new mom met me at SFO with a nice bottle of wine.

Tell us about the experience from beginning to end.

The old cliche saying holds true....Don't spend more (invest) in Thailand than you can afford to safely walk away from. The clothes on your back, credit card and passport is all you need to walk or in my case drive away. If you don't abide by this simple rule then Sum num na when it falls apart.

What is the meaning of 'sum num na' and what do the individual words mean? Or give it to me in Thai and I'll get a translation. Please?

A friend of mine came in on an ED visa about 8 months ago. Her first 3 month extension went fine. The last time she went to extend, they only gave her a month. Her school has told her that is all she can expect next time as well. They claim that immigration is clamping down at the moment but will ease up in November. She checked at a nearby school and was told that they are also experiencing the same issues. Has anyone else had recent extension problems?

There have been a couple of reports about this here.

You can do a search on this forum.

If I was your friend I would not rely on what's the school says. School are in desperate situation: Most schools are now on one month and at this regime many will simply don't resist and close down as students will not renew their enrollment. So it's in their best interest to reassure students.

If they do ease up in November, it will certainly be because enough schools will have shut down and the number of ED visas will be down to their desired target.

By then how many schools will be left?

As for August 2015, only 2 schools in BKK were allowed 3 months.

Can you name the 2 schools or PM them to me? I want to learn to read and write Thai so I can improve my speaking and vocabulary. I am none too happy with people using the ED visa just to remain in the country or work because they just ruin the opportunities for serious learners.

I am quite happy for the baht to fall given that I am converting Australian dollars into baht. The only thing saving the $A from looking totally 3rd world is the falling Thai baht.