richard_smith237

I was in Scratch Dog (Basement of Windsor hotel - Suhumvit 20 (Bkk)) about 6 months ago - I had the same thinking and tested the fire exit, I wasn't brave or drunk enough to give it a really hard shove, nevertheless it didn't open.

IDEA... Post a list of Clubs and places where many people go where the Doors have been tested by 'us posters' and failed.

Crass indeed... the words Immature, inconsiderate, careless and downright insulting also spring to mind.

Bangkok has a hotel with a restaurant called Tsunami....

(the name existed before, Dec 2004 btw).

As far as quality is concerned... Samsung LED with a surround sound system is rather excellent. Also, the prices have dropped a little over the past month or so.

True Visions lets the picture quality down a little (on the 46" I have), however I am sometimes surprised by True and the quality is rather good (I have not yet worked out how or why it improves).

DVD's, even the Panthip and Fortune town DVD9's at B100-150 show up excellently - I've not yet had a chance to watch a Blu-Ray Movie but I expect it'll be quite an experience.

This TV (46" Samsung LED Series 7 - With Blu-Ray home theatre - B89,000) should last me many years - at least 5.

(so when put into perspective its costing B1483 per month which is cheaper than the True Visions Platinum package)

Often the 'Mai-Pen-Rai' phrase gets quite up my nose - particularly when its the offender who mentions it !!

At one end of the MPR spectrum.... Someone crashes into my car and they say... "Mai Pen Rai"

And at the other end of the MPR spectrum.... Wrong food order comes out and the waitress says... "Mai Pen Rai"

Now clearly there is something wrong with the offender suggesting there is no problem when there clearly is one. But I try to apply perspective and that perspective is this... It's ME who decides if there is a problem or not when something goes wrong to ME.

The 'Mai son Jai' comment sums a lot of it up quite nicely... the Give a F$%k factor is simply lacking in a lot of cases...... and when you hear the mai Pen Rai comment, what is really meant is 'Mai Son Jai and I don't want to have to deal with any issue'....

The length of the sentence is extreme by British standards - Many will say the laws and sentences are soft, however that is not the issue here.

It maybe illegal but he was caught with tiny amounts, he should have known better yes.

29 years, when murder's get less seems quite extreme.

He's lucky to have been transfered to the UK, I'm assuming he is now serving with people who have committed far worse crimes and serving a lesser sentence.

I've never had anything to do with drugs or know anyone who has, however I still think the sentencing in Thailand is excessively high and unbalanced when compared to the way other crimes are handled here.

Good luck to him getting off - I'm sure he's learnt his lesson and if that was his only crime then he may well have served enough IMO.

I have travelled with two lap tops on a number of occasions - However, I have never had my back searched and only once had it scanned upon entering Thailand via Bangkok Airport.

You could always simply say that they are both your own. i.e. you keep all your music photos and personal files on the one, and you use the other simply for surfing the internet thus keeping your personal equipment safe.

Maybe someone can give precise information on your customs status when bringing in two laptops but I imagine it's a relatively normal situation.

If there were an equal mix of darker and lighter skinned women throughout the social and economic classes in Thailand then I doubt there would be any identifiable preferences in Westerners choice of skin tone.

This is system of a socio-economic availability.

If the situation were to be reversed and in general lighter skinned women were less financially secure than their darker sisters the question may well be… ‘Why Do Westerners Like lighter Skinned Thai women’.

It’s only when all other factors are equal and social pressures are removed this question can be answered truthfully without men attempting to justify why they ended up with an ill-educated monkey, someone who sold their body or on the flip side why they ended up with a pasty skinned wealthy white woman.

Quesiton: Why do westerners like dark skinned asian women?

Answer: How many lighter skinned women do you see in the area’s where Westerners tend to hang around?

I think we all know which demographic group is attracted to and which avoid the areas with a greater abundance of Foreigners.

I will renew my insurance with 'Sri-Muang' in Jan 2010.

This is the will be my 3rd year with them. The first year I was with Thanachart insurance who put up their quote for my 2nd year. So, I shopped around and found Sri-Muang to be the best (although not the cheapest, but things like the value they put on your car must also be considered).

They e-mailed my quote for Jan 2010 already. My insurance will have come down from B46 to B41,000... and that is after I claimed for a bump a few months back.

I used to train with a Thai guy who was a bodyguard for a canadian, the canadian has gone back and he is now working security at a bank at JJ mall, he was on 16 k a month and is now on 10k a month working from 11 am to 7 pm, I don't have his number but easy to find him as I know where he works and trains. nice guy, speaks english etc

This option sounds interesting.

Although I'm estimating the work to be between 6pm and 3am... Sometimes we don't go out and this would mean the driver simply does a lot of hanging around, although usually by 10pm if we are not going out we will inform the driver he can shoot off.

I would like to be able to work with a driver who can offer lots of flexibility. i.e. sometimes he'd be required at midday, but mostly its to cover my GF and I if we go out at night. A lot of the time he would be required to simply standby just in case.

Rather than a 'Business Driver' on fixed hours, more flexibility would be required... more of a 'Social Driver' who can be trusted.

When she sms's or calls you if she's running late...

*basic respect for another person...

I had similar issues when planning for my sisters visit.

She will arrive with 3 children and very few of of the taxi's have rear seat belts, as such I don't want her to use taxi's.

As I will be busy I have hired a Toyota D4 mini-van for her (B1800 per day - 10am-10pm) - They offer child seats, its my understanding that a few other Van-for-hire businesses also provide their own.

She will bring her own child seats for use in my car when she is not using the hired van.

If these van companies charge B1800 - B2400 per day (the quotes I received) - then they may charge significantly less for a single collection or drop off.

Excuse the last line of the previous reply, a duff from a dicky phone.

A couple of Westerners responded via PM.

Thanks for the interest but this is better suited to a Thai.

Good pointers.... I have taken taxi drivers numbers before, one in particular who used to be a driver for a foreign couple, unfortunately a couple of phones later the number is lost and I can't contact him.

The reason I'm looking for a driver rather than a taxi is that being an employee I can check / scan his his ID etc and have him checked out....

The

I was lucky enough to have sufficient contacts to get my Girlfriend off a DUI charge a couple of months back. It was a good lesson learnt and she doesn’t drink when driving now.

We both like a drink, but as we are not married she doesn’t live with me and her parents insist on her being home by midnight (which I sometimes stretch to 1am).

As I am not comfortable with her being alone in a taxi late at night every time we go out I have been taking her home in a taxi and returning to my friends.

We will marry in a couple of months and it’s likely this pattern will continue as my girlfriend is somewhat of an earlier bird than I.

Regardless of the decadence I’ve come to the conclusion that having a night shift driver would be so convenient it’s a possibility I shouldn’t over look.

Additional reasons for this are that Taxis don’t (or very rarely) have seat belts in the back. On my own I sit in the front seat and use the belt. With my girlfriend we sit in the rear without seatbelts which I am uncomfortable with.

Too add to this we often get poor drivers – last night I think the driver had terrible eye sight which at times was worrying, some rush too much, some play their dodgy music too loud, some hawk and spit at every traffic light etc etc…

My question to the forum is: Does anyone else have a night driver (6pm to 3am). And does anyone have an idea where to get one from?

A driver would be driving my car so I’d also be looking to install a hidden GPS tracker.

I’m assuming monthly salary would be something close to B10,000 per month.

As I understand it, Meung is a term used for animals and as such should never be used when regarding a person.

However, as in the western world using an insult in context can be a good spirited wind up with very close friends. I rarely hear the word ‘farang’ except for when its accompanied by another insult playfully directed at me.

In short: context is key to the use of what wording to use and when. There are many words I only use with my closest friends and only when going through a comical verbal sparring session.

I have found that there are very similar social rules here to those I have been brought up with in the UK.

Some of my close younger Thai friends still call me Pii and wai me when we meet, many of my close Thai friends of a similar age simply offer a handshake.

In Chatuchak Market last week I simply called out my girlfriends name, if she was so far away that I would have to raise my voice and be heard more than 5 meters away I closed the gap.

For waiters and waitresses etc – when I need to get their attention if they are clearly younger I use ‘Nong-Krup’, if they look a similar age I used ‘Koh-taught-krup’ if they are clearly older I use ‘Pii-Krup’.

At work it’s a little more complicated, especially when younger but in a higher position, then I find simply using the formal name (not the nick name) works.

Respect is often portrayed in more than just the words used. I find that eye contact and a relaxed posture often give off more than simply calling someone Khun, or Pii, but realistically every individual situation is so dynamic as in the west its difficult to summarise.

For those new to any country, if the correct etiquette is unknown following the polite etiquette of your home country is often a good course of action as there are more likely similarities than differences and the polite intention behind ones actions is often clear even when the perfect phraseology cannot be found.

They've done something similar at our new condo but with the parking facilities.

We have 3 cards for personnel entry to a 2 bedroomed apartment which is fine, but we've been allocated just 1 car parking spot.

To enter the residents car park we have to use key card entry. We have to purchase / rent another card at B1000 per month if we wish to park the second car. Rather cheeky if you ask me.

We're currently parking the second car in the visitors area and will continue to do so as I object to being charged extra for a second spot in a condo that has 2 bedrooms.

Cars take up space so although I object I can understand some of the logic. However restricting personnel cards to 2 per household is simply ridiculous. The op should be kicking up a real fuss about this one...

Question though - how will visitors and delivery drivers enter the Moo Ban ? surely there must be some permanent security on guard ?

Accidents have a habit of happening anywhere at any time. Tragic? Yes. Preventable? Probably not.

<snip>

No mention of life jackets in the article.

RIP, We all get over confident some times,

Yet another accident, more great news for the tourist trade!

I can't see what this has to do with the tourist trade and what impact it could possibly have on it. It seems quite clear that this is simply a tragic accident.

We arrived a couple of weeks ago with 2 adults, one toddler, a lot of bags, car seat, buggy etc (all the crap you need to travel with a kid) so was expecting to need 2 cabs to get us into central Bangkok (approx 300 baht per fare).

Thai hubby goes to taxi rank desk & is told they have large station wagon style car on fleet. Great we think, 2k baht the man says!!!!

&lt;deleted&gt;..... hubby not wanting a scene left it to me to make one so I told the guy no way, not shouting but with a look of disgust that he was having a laugh, & asked hubby very loudly why these people want take HIS (thai mans) hard earned money. Thai don't love thai huh? No, just forget it we will take 2 separate taxis on the meter & be done with it. Amazingly the fare for the station wagon came down to 700baht inclusive toll charge.

2k baht is more than we paid to get is to Gatwick airport from London the day before & in a much nicer car & much much further. !!!

Now I could have demanded 2 cabs on the meter & it would have come in a bit cheaper but tbh I didn't want to go in 2 cars if we could go in one so we agreed. But talk about TiT huh!!!

Scamming is still def going on ime so be aware of it.

On principle you should have told him to stuff it, and why !

In similar circumstances I tell the offending rippoff merchant that had they started at a reasonable price in the first place then it would have been ok. However, as they started from such a high price I don't like them or trust them and don't want them to have my business (the same goes in the markets etc).

I pay for business class becuase I don't want to fly economy. Why should someone else get an upgrade becuase they fly economy a lot?

If the flight is full and they upgrade you rather than put you on the next flight then OK.

Why do people always want something better than the next person without being prepared to pay for it?

The recliner is part of the seat and part of what people pay for. It's use is normal.

Its anti-social to use it at meal times.

It's also rather anti-social to recline the seat quickly without warning the person behind, a gentle motion is fine.

If you can't handle someone infront of you using the recliner when sleep time comes around on a flight you really should be upgrading yourself of flying less.

Or take an airline which is known for better legroom not the budget carriers for the socially-uneducated passenger who doesn't possess any regard for his fellow passenger.

I used to get a 6 month tourist visa (3 entries) from my consulate in the UK.

If this is possible it seems the simplest option.

I am also tired of fat ignorant and smelly passengers. The only way to avoid it is to upgrade yourself. Otherwise take some medication with you...works every time...just slip it in their double vodka while they are too busy belching to notice.

A lot of people possibly pay for business class because of the types of people they don't want to sit next to....

IMO charging extra for excessively obese people would be very unfair.

If the flight is full (in Economy and business) I think it would be acceptable (albeit a little unfair) to refuse them flight on the grounds of safety and comfort of other passengers.

However, if the flight is not full, I also believe it would be fair to permit them two seats, again on the grounds of safety and comfort of other passengers.

Additionally, if economy is full and business class has spare seats, I would also suggest that it’s fair if a non-obese passenger is upgraded to business class providing the obese passenger with two seats, again on the grounds of safety and comfort of other passengers.

To add to this discussion:

I think stinky people should be prevented from flying.

enjoy your fun......but be sure never to make the same stupid mistake again..........

Do not ever again ask for advice on a forum where your answers will arrive from those who have never enjoyed a liason with lady from the bar scene, have never been relieved of one baht by a Thai lady!!!Know when you are among arrogant self righteous people........and avoid them like the plague!!!

Agreed…. The best advice will come from those who were clever enough to avoid avoiding being ripped off before…

Some of people I know are so arrogant and so self righteous they have never even been manipulated or scammed by a prostitute – I’d never take their advice.

I papped my horn at a woman crossing the road the other day.

In a moment of politeness I stopped to let a woman cross as I hate to see people abandoned in the centre with traffic passing foot either side in both directions.

Well she took her merry time crossing the road and did that ‘lazy ass, flip flop shuffle’ as if she were walking reluctantly to her doom.

Of course I was in the wrong, she had no intention of nodding in curtsey and gave me a filthy look as I papped and signaled her to move it along…

I am not normally impatient and regularly give way to pedestrians. This lady really was taking the pee with her shuffle. My Girlfriend was with me and thought so too.

It made me think, why do I bother? The same with giving way, holding doors open etc

IMO both Pedestrians and drivers need to improve.

Drivers can be more courteous and give people time to cross the road. It seems to me that when I cross the road the on coming vehicles seem to accelerate.

And Pedestrians can cross the road with some intention of getting to the other side soon and not show such a blatant disregard for the driver in the car who has been good enough to stop and give way.

I find both examples hugely impolite and infuriating and a perfect example of ‘me me me self-centeredness’ which is so prevalent in today’s city society.