Diablo Bob

Thing is Bob, are you certain that in every location that factory farming methodology is employed in Thailand that they also have such careful and no doubt expensive considerations in place to prevent such contamination? I'd be surprised, as there are still many such farms in England and Wales that do not (I visited one early this year that was a 'factory farm' yet had a wooden gate to prevent animals leaving).

What you have obviously got expertise in, and what many American farmers have clearly seen so important as to invest heavily in, is the all too serious threat such system can pose. It doesn't really prevent pandemic, though, unless every single farm follows suit. If only American farmers do it, it has only limited effect. Nevermind the fact that once (if?) a human trasmittable form of vird flu develops, it won't matter how well protected the animals are - infact, it will be us who need the biodomes. Your comments seem to be more on the protecting the animal side, which becomes less significant once we have a mutated human-type antiobiotic resistant flu developing out of SEA.

Incidentally, he doesn't really need to go out of his way to find an audience to 'sing to'!

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Will, you are correct, what I am talking about is most likely a few generations away from fruition here in Thailand. And yes, the procedures in the US and other developed areas are to protect and isolate the animals from desease.

But still, the utilization of these barns could be a help in the containment of the desease and help prevent spreading and infecting millions of birds.

Well Peter has pointed to the solution, not the problem...... What Peter neglects to mention that the "Chicken Barns are bio-secured, limiting the area and population density which could be infected "IF" a there was a virus attack.

Having constructed these facilities throughout much of the USA, Central America and South America, I can attest to the routine endured by someone just trying to enter a barn...... showers, surgical scrub up and wearing of surgical scrubs to enter a facility then upon exit the same routine prior to putting your street clothes back on. Furthermore, you can only enter a single farm on a single day to further reduce the chances of humans transferring disease between barns......

As for animal to animal transfer of disease, well the animals are born in a bio-secured environment and never leave this environment until its' time to be slaughtered....... and animals just "Walking in" doesn't happen!

In short, just another environmentalist on his soap box looking for an audience to sing too....... "Sorry, Bad tune!"

Taking the "Self Centered form of analysis" to this new law, I can say it his has little to no direct impact on my life........ I am early to retire and early to rise type of person, so the midnight curfew is no issue. Now, banning the sales of beer at my local mini-mart will force me to go to a Big-C or Carrefore earlier in the day to stock my fridge, rather than jump on the Honda and grab a few bottles of beer for my after dinner relaxation.

Now as for the tourist, well if you haven't scored by mid-night the government just probably did you a favor! This lessens the chance of waking to the "Coyote Ugly" girl of your nightmares.......

Why stop with the arresting the drunk driver's passengers?? Following this same logic, it's apparent they should arrest the bartender that made the drinks...

Well this isn't anything new...... in California, around 25 years ago an actor on a motorcycle was side swiped by a drunk driver. He ended up losing a leg and arm and his career. The Bar was sued along with the bartender for not stopping serving drinks to the drunk. The actor won the case......

Today, bartenders are given instruction on how to identify someone who is impaired and they can not legally serve you drinks in fear of a potential lawsuit.

While this proposal is ludicris, the intent is admirable. Again in the USA, when you get popped for a DUI, it is an automatic loss of your license if you refuse either the blood test, breath test etc...... IF you take the test and are legally drunk, it is an automatic 12 hours in Jail (Starting when they get you processed in!) and a subsequent levy of either 48 hours in Jail or 48 hours of community service plus a $2000 fine. In addition you are now required to carry an additional insurance binder which cost $??? a month for 2 years after serving a 90 day suspension on your license. Now that is for your first offense..... the penalties just get worse for the second and third offenses. I think that after number 3 you lose your license indefinitly.

Now, I know all about the first offense personally, there was never a second or third........ the costs for doing something stupid just weren't worth it. It started taking taxi's when I went to a party rather than drive myself. A lesson learned through the pocketbook.

The alternative, of course, is to hire a full-time driver, but it's frequently hard to find a reliable one and the cost of cars here is very, very high due to import duties.

I am not assuming anything, but judging by your posts, it sounds like you will be here on a full expat package. This means your husband will be allocated a driver and a car. If you live fairly close (within an hour) to your husband's place of work, his driver would be able to transport you when he is available. However, if you want to be truly independent in the areas you specify, you will need to be able to drive or take taxis everywhere. Most non-working women expats I came into contact with who came with their working husbands bought 'cheap' jeeps either new or second hand from other expats leaving the country.

Secondly, so-called 'international schools' vary wildly in quality and cost. Sometimes I think half the major families of Thailand are in the school business -- and, yes, it is big business here. At the top of the heap are ISB (International School of Bangkok) and Bangkok Pattaya

It's Bangkok Patana, not Bangkok Pattaya. I have seen quite a few posts referring to BPS as Bangkok Pattaya for some weird reason or another. And although these schools are the oldest and the most famous, Japanese students will normally go to the Japanese school; German speakers to the Swiss school; French speakers to the French school and so on Not 100% of the time, but most of the time.

International schools provide a private bus service that travels around from house to house in your area, picking up other students along the way; this service will usually be paid for by the company as part of the deal, though it is an optional extra. Most kids travel anywhere from an hour to two hours to school, and is a common and usual arrangement. This is not due to the distance but because of the traffic conditions. I was lucky that my school and father's workplace were very close to each other; it was because of this that our family could choose a place from a wide variety of areas.

Whatever you choose to do, you, your husband and children will have to compromise. If you want to be in the company of other expats, rent a place on an estate like Lakeside (lots of Americans) as Terdsak suggests or Ladawan (lots of Brits and Australians) or move into a condominium - you might hate this idea at first as you are used to living in a house, but it is a fantastic way to get to know people. Of course, if you want to live in Chonburi, that's another kettle of fish altogether and not my area at all, but there's plenty of people here who can help. Good luck!

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1. First of all, we're still negotiating the contract cause what they've offered as a 'standard' contract cannot really meet our needs in thailand.

According to the contract, the post that my husband will be holding will not be entitled to the company car and chauffeur (which will be a great problem for us if so cos I dun drive and judging from where he company site is, without a car is impossible!!)

Secondly, I do not possess a driving licence and at first I thought of getting one in thailand but after reading the details on the process, I think it'll be rather tough to get one cos everything's in Thai. So if I don't speak Thai, don't read Thai, forget about it(even though a native thai speaker can be there for you, no translator means lesser chance!) Therefore, in this case, getting a car for myself will be out of the question.

2. And as for the schools, well, my husband's french. My children are pretty young, the one who's going to school is only 3 years old. I speak English and I'm from Singapore (Used to be an english teacher in S'pore). So, I spoke english to my girls. The only problem for my girl is that she understood english but always replied in french. And that is the reason why we would prefer to get an english speaking international school rather than a french international school.

And since i was born in Singapore, i grew up living in an appartment plus we used to live in appartments before in France too. The thing is just that we finally come to a conclusion that living in a house is a better choice for us than condo or apartments. Not that we dislike people but we just prefer to have a little more space for us.

That is also why i thought perhaps getting an empty house can be cheaper in terms of rental rather than a house fully-furnished. But while I was searching through all the classifieds in the internet, it seems like almost 80% of the houses for rent are fully-furnished. I wonder if this is because I search in the english websites or just simply because there are more fully furnished houses for rent.

3. Another HUGE question that I start posing in my mind is whether Pattaya will be a better choice or outskirts of Bangkok in facilities and ease of travelling. There's definitely lesser choices for the international schools in Pattaya but it's not really a problem since my girl is still rather young.

Then in terms of distance between say Bangkapi or Bangna to Chonburi and Pattaya to Chonburi, I really have no idea which is nearer too. Anyone has any idea about this?

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Maybe an answer to a few of your questions.......

For some strange reason, here in Thailand houses are normally rented either furnished/partcially furnished..... this is normally because when people leave a house they tend to leave something behind! Consequently, after about 10-15 renters the house is now totally funished with the utmost lack of taste!

If the hiring of a driver is for your husband to commute to work then I would seriously consider moving closer to the workplace and purchasing a motorcycle..... otherwise you are going to be paying for a driver to eat and sleep his day away. If the driver is for your use, consider purchasing a motorcycle....... cheap, and another reason NOT to live in Bangkok. Oh, my sister, who is no spring chicken has been driving her Honda Dream in Pattaya & Chiangmai with no problems...... the license requirements are not insumountable, a slight hassle that a few baht makes go away, quickly.

Pattaya is closer time wise to Bangkok, there is less traffic, less hassles and most of the shoping convieniences available in the big city. Housing prices are substancially lower than Bangkok. I think that the schools are either British or American systems.

Personally, I would choose either Sri Ratcha, Pattaya or ANYWHERE else in Thailand, rather than live in Bangkok. That's why I chose Chiangmai......

Reading another forum about Chuwit Park has got me wondering about the future of Sukhumvit as a tourist spot.

Those of you who have been around awhile remember the vibrant nightlife along Sukhumvit road where one could stop and have a drink or two while taking in the ambience of this part of Bangkok.

Not anymore. As more and more hotels go up (at least 5 more being built in the Suk road area), I wonder what all these tourists will do besides look at t-shirts and copy dvds.

Take a look at Sukhumvit between Asoke and soi 1. Unless your looking for a Starbuck's, Subway, Coffee world or something else, there is nowhere to spend an evening outside just kicking back and having a beer / chat with friends.

I am not talking about those of us who don't mind to go to Nana or Cowboy but the others who would like to sit down OUTSIDE and watch Bangkok go by. Don't believe me check out the throngs of people sitting in the open air at 1 am having a beer on the sidewalk but that's another story altogether.

These little bar beers used to be so popular with so many people from what I noticed. It's really sad to see in my opinion. Sukhumvit Road used to be a place to go but now it's just a spot you pass by on the skytrain on the way to somewhere else.

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he outdoor beer bar is still open on Soi 19 in front of CountryRoad...... You can see Sukhumvitt if you are sitting in a bar stool! Well, I guess that depends on how long you have been sitting in the bar stool.......

Hello,

Can anyone give me directions on how to get to the Domestic Airport in Bangkok from the International airport, ive been told you can take a walkway from one to the other in only 10 minutes walk which is more often than not quicker than waiting for a taxi or a bus, is this true and if so how do i find this walkway after arriving at terminal 1

Cheers

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Question: What is your destination from the Domestic terminal..... If it was Chiangmai or Phuket, just skip immigration in Bangkok go to the transfer desk and let them drive you to your airplane! If not the above, follow everybody else's instructions......

One more hour, then it's off to Kabul International bound for Thailand. Should be back home in Chiangmai permanently as of 10:00am, drinking beer by 10:15.....

Been a long time coming! Been a long 4 years.................

Most of the red lights on the tops of buildings in Bangkok are cell sites or hand phnoe repeater sites for hand phone users.

This may be true, but the reason for the flashing red light is for collision avoidance of aircraft. The lights are always placed on the highest portion of a building, consequently if there is a tower on top of the building the light goes on top of the tower.

In addition, depending on the guy wire configuration, you might even see lights 1/2 way up the guy wires and at their base.

Lastly what range of temprature can i expect for november, 10-15 degrees maybe???

Expect 28 Day and around 20 Night, even in January/February (Coldest months) the night temperature MIGHT drop to 15, but by 10am, its back to shorts and t-shirt weather. Personally, I might wear a sweat shirt in the late evening - early morning, but I never resort to long pants.

Now the wife and daughters are in down jackets..........

Nowhere in CM is still under water other than the river and canal itself, which the water level had also receeded significantly.

Ted,

You must understand, it isn't really conflicting information, it is just that some of us are still so shell shocked we are in a state of denial......

^__^ is correct in his statements,almost, there are still area in Chiangmai under water! Yes, the water has receded significantly....... when you were 3 meters over flood stage and now we are down to just 1 meter, I guess that is significant!

OK Guys.......

The flood is over, the water is almost back to normal, there are still places closed due to flood damage. Unlike the other areas in the TV forum, the Chiangmai contingent has a sense of humor and we love to &lt;deleted&gt; with peoples minds. By the way, don't ask if we have Bangkok Bank in town, don't give us an opening..... we WILL take it if the oportunity is presented.

Oh and the areas in Chiangmai still under water? The Ping River, The Moat and every Klong & lake!

All my British friends just want to know what address to use when they have their bar bills totaled and what terms the bar owner should be aware of prior to using the FCO as the guarantor for the upcoming invoice?

They really feel that since the British government has assumed the responsibility and bills of all the imigrants in Britian , it is only fair that the government offer the same support to them!

Richard,

I know that Nakorn Payap International school has an "Adopted" sister school. This is in an impoverished area of Chiangmai.

The teachers donate time, the school donates books and they have joint visitations between students. Why don't WE approach the international schools in Chiangmai to work as a go between. At the very least they would have an idea how to let the f**king beaurocrats save face and get the task accomplished.

Next week is vacation week at NIS, but I will make a point of meeting with the headmaster to get his feel on the situation.

You can handle the fund raising........ I don't do money!

Oh, ....... put me in for 500 baht.

Good luck!

If Loy Krahtong is on Nov. 16 in Thailand does that mean the it is on Nov. 15 in the US

Ahhhhh...... Full moon Nov 16 in Thailand is Full Sun Nov 16 in the USA to be followed by Full Sun Nov 17 in Thailand and Full Moon Nov. 16 in USA.

Related topic:

Fantastic Barbeque recipes at: http://www.otherwhitemeat.com/ the site from the Pork Producers in the USA.

When living in Iowa, we used to go out to the Pork Fair and eat free pork barbeque for a couple of days at a time.......

I saw a few of these grills, unfortunately I don't have a massive supply of wood and the local charcoal sucks (Burns to hot & fast). I currently have a single 55 gallon drum barbeque in Chiangmai.

I think I will just get the Weber Q and at least it fits in the trunk of the car.

Let's see, we are getting the animal bark with bird tunnel valued in the billions I presume, they (Government) are talking about a tunnel to Mae Hong Song valued in the billions.

What is wrong with this picture? They can't afford a few million for this school?

This sounds a lot like a school I read about near Nan, the Government was shutting it down because they didn't have enough teachers (1), why didn't they have enough teachers? Because their budget couldn't afford more than 1. Was there another school close by for these students, NO! 20Km away was the next nearest school....... Oh.... the single teacher in question was teaching every age group and had more than 50 in each class. She had been at this particular school for more than 20 years and said that even if the school closed she would still be teaching there, a truly dedicated lady to her profession and her community.

It seems that the Thai Educational system WANTS to keep the poor ignorant and at the bottom of the ladder where they sit right now. The pull this Bullsh*t in almost every poor area of the country.

Slightly off topic...... but

The previous two threads mention loss of limbs and skin. I saw a piece on Animal Planet (Thailand) last January about a Pit-Viper (Rattlesnake) found in Cambodia, Southern Issan and Southern Laos which when you get bitten you are almost guaranteed to lose something. The most disturbing fact was that it was responsible for more deaths than the Cobra and Krates combined, and I didn't even know it existed......

Sorry, I forgot the name, Duh.............

You ruined my thread with your useless posts.

What i should call you guys? 

Why not LAZY, like you....... Go to GOGGLE.COM and type in Chiangmai and follow the threads from there, or are you waiting for us to do it for you? It seems to me that at 1:19am, you should have plenty of speed on the internet to pretty much get it all sorted out in 15 minutes.....

Check it out: http://www.bbqthai.com/

No Weber's though ....... I am having a Weber Q brought to me from the states this December to satisfy my lust for barbeque.

Never been on a night round the bars in Jomtien are they any good !!!

Seen them on a day seem to have a few ppl in them anybody been ?

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Tiger,

Jomtien is kind of quiet, whenever I am there I go up to Country Road area and tour a few places with the Mrs....

There was/is a great Vietnamese restaurant over behind Country Road.

Looking for action, just take the Song Thew over the hill to South Pattaya.

Flying Thai this Sunday back to Thailand....... guess Chicken won't be on the menu, and I hate fish!

THAILAND GET's A SECOND OPINION!!!!!

Transparency International (UK NGO) released their figures today.......

Thailand came in 60th least corrupt with Indonesia at 140th.... Then again we are tied with Cuba and even Bulgaria & Uruguay scored better than the Kingdom, but what the hel_l, we were better than most of the Eastern European countries, African Countries, Middle Eastern Countries and Most of your Island Nations.

Keep up the good work Thailand, next years goal should be to do better than, lets say Botswana, Namibia and Colombia who out scored us this year.......

Practice makes perfect.

Actually won't feel to bad forking over the 200 baht to the police for the Friday afternoon party this week, knowing that there are a shit pot full of people worldwide, most likely forking out even more than me!

For your information: http://www.transparency.org/cpi/2005/cpi20...nfocus.html#cpi

This would be an interesting set of statistics, but most likely skewed.

It would seem that in us Westerners point of view, I would want to see what percentage of these attacks are on Western residents vs. tourist's, what percentage were carried out in the entertainment venues vs. the housing/suburbs. Was the motives for the attacks robbery, revenge etc.

In addition, what other groups (Japanese, Arab, Indian's etc.) have had attacks on their groups.....

At the end of the day you will most likely find that Bangkok is actually an incredibly safe city.

When a Westerner gets attacked it makes front page news....... not so with the Indian or normally the Japanese etc.

When you consider the hundred's of thousands of tourist the come to Thailand on a yearly basis your chances of being one of the "FEW" is rather remote, Assuming 250 attacks/yr (High Side) and only 200,000 Westerners (Low figure) you are looking at around 0.13% or 99.9% chance that everything will go without a hitch.

Before everybody starts elevating Bangkok into the East LA, Jamaica, Lebanon etc. status, lets slow down and really look at the numbers....... This is a non-issue.

Womble, I have been reading your replies for the better part of today, and whenever I think "He can't get any dumber than this!", you mouth off again.....

I actually said I prefer my long term girlfriends to have had a total number of sleeping partners in single figures, ie. Less than 10.

Now where I come from, the above young lady is a PRO, has loose morals, easy to lay, Rode Hard and Put away WET!

I really can't see anything wrong with that statement. I make no claims whatsoever that I am better than others, or that i am a saint, I admit to the odd massage, I just find it rather sad tho (another spelling mistake) that most people can't draw the line between what should be an hr or 2 of fun, not a lifetime of 'mutual love'.

Wow, Why should other people draw the line in accordance with your standards? I dare say, you are wrapped a little tight for Thailand or probably anywhere else except a strict Islamic State.

Really the only point I am making is that I couldn't marry a prostitute.

Great..... At least you identified this as an individual preference and didn't demonize everybody else their choices......

"Girls who are prostitutes, divorced, have kids, have mental problems, are drug addicts, feminists, don't have a job, lazy, rude, whatever."

Ahhh.... This isn't a full sentence! Missed that week in school, huh?

As for farangs working here, I never mentioned tour groups, I said bars or something in the tourist sector.

Hmmm,

I still reckon most farangs that work here are involved in the tertiary sector, primarily tourism.

Well you started off OK, then regressed to pot shots again....... Inasmuch as I haven't seen the data, I will make a wild ass guess like you, I think a majority of the falangs are working in the educational sector! Who cares? Are they happy! Are they a burden to society? Who the &lt;deleted&gt; cares!

I also never said I had anything against class, I just said a partner from the lower echelons of thai society is not accepted by upperclass Thais. This is a fact, and if you mix in these circles, which no doubt some members do, they will confirm this. It has nothing to do with right or wrong, but everything to do with making the right choises for a happy successful future.

You seem to be pretty hung up on class aren't you? God forbid the day when a classless society truly emerges....... you wouldn't have anybody to look down on.

remember me writing "There are many girls from the same villages who choose to work as maids, waitresses, cleaners, cooks. I would choose any of these girls over an ex pro"

Boy, that's really big of you....... what makes you think that you pass muster for them? You seem to think that you are a wanted commodity, you had better get a second opinion on that one chief!

These girls are from the same class, and I have no problem with them as a partner, it just so happens that because I take my Job seriously, and have certain responsibilities to the company I work for, it can and never will be an option for me.

Well now, I know what I am going to say will go on deaf ears, but you don't owe your company shit! They own you 9-5 M-Fr, the rest of the time is your own...... you are doing this, not the company!

I saved the best till last tho............................

"The icing on the cake though, that really shows what a hypocritical, snobbish, chauvinistic, class obssessed muppet you really are is that you think it is ok for you to go sleeping with 'brass', but your wife has to be all pure and virginal."

This climax to your post is quite simply wrong. Re-read my post, and next time you criticise me, atleast get your facts right.

Truth hurts doesn't it?

And BTW, it's a forum, Spelling doesn't matter, it's not an A Level exam, even tho your girl has already passed hers with 100's of punters!

I will save my best for last........ When you are trying to impress people by your vast pool of knowledge, you at least try to spell correctly! Then you go on to pot shot again, are you between the ages of 20-25? Your immaturity shows through, If you are older than 25, you should be ashamed. Regardless, I would suggest you apologize to your parents for wasting a lot of money on your education. You didn't learn anything did you..........

Ps. - I didn't bother correcting your spelling mistakes.