Thakkar

To be honest, I feel more concerned about the knives and batons on sale along sukhumvit road. Aparently these drugs mentioned have personal uses that may not affect others; I can't think of a use for a knuckleduster or a stabbing knife that does not affect others adversely.

SC

Must agree with you . We all know what this thread is about . I could put it much more clear however TV mods would maybe take the line that it was a personal attack on the OP . Lets just say he dosen't like China .

To be fair, perhaps the only reason he doesn't like China is because it's so chock full of chinamen.

T

[<snip>

Here I see motocy drivers, taxi-drivers and everyone of lower income levels throw their garbage, including full bags directly from their houses, where-ever they feel like, including other peoples yards (outside the fence). They think it is a SEP - Someone Else's Problem - once it leaves their hands.

This is wrong and inexcusable. But even more pernicious are the rich doing things like driving in monster SUV's whose production and use create more pollution, waste and environmental degradation than a poor person can do in an entire lifetime. The damage from the SUV (and the rich person's entire lifestyle thus embodied) is not as immediately visible, so suck on that you poors!

The poor at least have the fig leaf excuse of being uneducated. What's the educated rich guy's excuse?

The offspring of rich children IMHO are driven by constant planned activities, tutors and such. The poor kids play and smoke and drink.

A couple of times I tried to explain this to some of the locals at the lower end of the income/education spectrum and for the most part they cannot understand the concept. Their comment is usually something like, "Kids need to have fun." Very few seem to have the idea about having the kids staying busy with scheduled activities to keep them on the right path.

TheWalkingMan

A good amount of day-dreaming, moping and general lolling about is not only desirable, but essential to healthy intellectual and emotional development. Since this is naturally a default state for kids, parents don't need to encourage it in their kids but do need to stay out of their hair a lot of the time, while being there for them when they need you.

I think good parenting is as much about knowing what not to do as about knowing what to do.

T

[<snip>

Sooner or later everyone will realize it is a global economy. Hard work and education will be the eventual keys to success. Let the market work, regulation rarely works. Don't bail out the bankers and don't subsidize the garbage workers. Let them both enjoy the fruits of their labor.

As a whiney, demanding teenager, I was told by my grandfather that in life, you don't get what you want; you get what you deserve.That is what you seem to be saying, and I have no argument with that. The thing is though that the bankers *did* get bailed out, while the CEO's who got us into this mess stayed out of jail and got to keep all their bonuses. Meanwhile the unemployment caused by their actions continues and unemployment insurance is allowed to run out. The reason for this is that the bankers are able to buy representation while the poor, regardless of who they voted for, have little representation.

Libertarianism is all well and good, if it could actually be put into practice. Some righteous intervention is warranted to level the playing field. The trick is to find a system in which there is a balance of power and when that balance gets skewed, as it inevitably will (trade unions get greedy too, as you've noted), there is a correcting mechanism.

These red shirts sound rather Maoist. Equality means equal opportunity, which is a great thing, not equal reality or results. It's not realistic to brainwash people into thinking a street sweeper and a brain surgeon are the same.

I completely agree that equality should mean equal opportunity. 15 years of free compulsory education is a good start, but more needs to be done. It's now generally accepted that a lot of the foundation for healthy mental and emotional development takes place before the age of six. Children of low income families should have access to some sort of Montessori type education before they enter grade one.

Furthermore, an entire support structure (child care facilities near work, etc) is necessary before it can be claimed that there exist equal opportunities. The good news is that we're getting there, albeit in fits and spurts.

A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report has pegged the number of female prostitutes in the country at 2 lakh.

can someone enlighten me? how much is 2 lakh.?

thaisabai

"A lakh (play /ˈlæk/ lak or /ˈlɑːk/ lahk; also lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; 105). It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan, and is often used in Indian English."

Why would the thr "WHO" in their infinite wisdom, report currency in lakh?? 2 lahk sounds a little too much like tee luk.I'll call bs on this breaking news story

The story appears to be from an Indian newspaper meant for a mainly Indian readership, hence the Indian nomenclature.

T

I believe that the majority of the posters who seem to believe that 'sex tourists' constitute the majority of the tourist traffic to Thailand are themselves so biased and isolated that they can only see Thailand through their own small prism of what is their own jaded reality. If they were to speak to normal people outside of Thailand they might find that there are tremendous numbers of tourists who have been to Thailand who have a completely different perception of the LOS and found it to be one of the most delightful places in the world due primarily to the hospitality of the Thai people. It is a very long flight from the USA to Thailand, yet older couples in their 50's and on up that I know personally have traveled to Thailand and find it a place they would like to visit again and not one of them ever broached the topic of sex tourism as they were the type of people who were totally ignorant of it.

I have a Vietnamese friend who works as a hospitality trainer to several 5 star hotels in Vietnam who just yesterday told me about reciprocal tourist arrangements where a Vietnamese can fly to BKK from Saigon and stay 5 nights in 5 star hotels for US $200 and that the more well to do Vietnamese who want plastic surgery go to Thailand for their procedures. He told me that the hotels that he works for have so many Thai tourists that they consciously have added a huge selection of Thai dishes to the menus in their restaurants.

On the last 2 trips I made to Thailand, I saw very few single males in the cabin on my flight. On the first flight, the majority of the passengers were Asian families with small children and couples and of the Caucasians, there were groups of youths and adults traveling to do missionary work. On the second trip I sat next to a Thai lady traveling back to visit relatives in Udonthani and in our conversations never once made an aspersion that I might be traveling to BKK only to experience the sex trade (which has never been my motivation for acquiring a retirement visa).

Believe it or not, there really are tremendous numbers of normal people who find a ride on an elephant a memorable life experience on the magnitude of a trip to, and preferable to a western theme park like Disneyland. There really are tremendous numbers of foreign couples who want to experience the exotic culture, but mostly, the well deserved reputation of Thailand as having probably the most friendly and helpful people of any people they have experienced. One couple I know in their 50's fell in love with a young lady in Chiang Mai who worked in their hotel restaurant and offered to sponsor her, live with them, and even pay for her tuition and these people are not swingers and the young lady was not offering sexual favors.

There really are more people who see Thailand through a positive prism than so many of the misreble posters to this forum who have such negative impressions and evidently see all Thai women as scheming hos from Issan.

So true. Thrice in seven years, my family and I went into the Lion's Den (Pattaya) and had great times without doing anything remotely sex touristy.

I had a client from Portugal, a monger extraordinaire, who could find a whore within a short time of landing in any city, even Jeddah. It's all in what you're looking for.

T

All joking aside, I was told something this morning that really pee'd me off. A girl from our village who regularly visited our shop with her friends has just been packed off to Pattaya while her ' responsible ' parents lounge around at home jobless drinking 40 degrees Thai whisky and gambling away what baht they have. What's wrong with that did I hear someone say ? Well, she's JUST had her fourteenth birthday -- that's what's wrong. As long as people like this send a schoolgirl to ' work ' in Pattaya, how will Thailand shed it's seedy image ?

The Thai's have been sending there 8-18 year old's to the city for as long as I can remember back to 1968. Not saying it's right, just saying it will never change here or in any other country with poor economic conditions for the majority of it's population. It's not good to try and judge another Countries culture and mores when there are so many things you think you know, but really, you can never understand unless your in their shoes. We are just visitors here. What appears to is happening at their homes with there families, probably isn't. Sometimes you have to do what's wrong to get good. Nothing gives us the right to judge them, unless you've lived a perfect life, which few people are able to in these times.

In Thai culture, sending a 14-year-old to work in the sex trade is wrong and illegal. Hell, taking 14-year-old out of school is wrong and illegal. A 14-year-old cannot vote, get a driver's license, or marry (without parental AND court consent).

So parents sending their 14-year-old to work in the sex trade *must* be judged and condemned. Cultural relativism does not apply.

T

A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report has pegged the number of female prostitutes in the country at 2 lakh.

can someone enlighten me? how much is 2 lakh.?

thaisabai

2 lakh is 200,000.

It seems to me that the Thai consul's effort is about changing the *image* of Thailand as a sex tourism destination. Indian tourism is mostly about family tourism, so this makes sense as part of his job in India. Thing is, the image is a result of facts on the ground. An honest way to change the image would be to change the facts on the ground. To do that, the economy needs to provide jobs and careers good enough to entice people away from – or not enter in the first place – the sex trade.

T

"&lt;deleted&gt; off, do it yourself"

Your missus seems to have a rather foul way about her.

Does she suggest this activity in Thai [far more amusing] or the "other" language?

In response to your question, she, demurely, says to tell you the same thing. And bring back some boiled eggs, chop, chop.

How to boil an egg?

Drag Mrs. T away from her gardening and demand: "boil me some eggs, woman."

"&lt;deleted&gt; off, do it yourself"

Get dressed, drive to Ruom Chok and order boiled eggs, toast and coffee at The Coffee Bus.

Consume, return home and say, "that was great, thanks for the suggestion, honey."

Isn't that how everyone does it?

T

Yeah, there's no option for "baked" in the poll.

I finally gave up trying to do baked potatoes here because it heated up the house too much and our little toaster oven was just too blazing hot to do the job properly.

Now I've joined our British cousins in producing "mash", ie. a concoction of boiled carrots, potatoes, peas and corn which I attack with a prized imported potato masher I found at our local Rim Ping grocery store. In a nod to our current location, I make this mash in a rice cooker, paying careful attention to the timing of addition of the various veggies to the boiling water. First the diced raw carrots, wait a bit (about the time it takes to drink 1/2 a big Leo), then the diced potatoes, wait a little bit (drink the other 1/2 of the big Leo) then the peas (just fiddle around with the glass and ice for the second Leo; the peas don't take long) and then the corn, which I buy already cooked from the cooked corn and fried insect vendor at a local market (only in Thailand will you find such a vendor)

Next, ask Hubby to come help me pour off the water in the rice cooker, top off his glass of Leo and send him back to the TV and then put some muscle into mashing the veggies in the rice cooker. I use chicken broth as the liquid with these mashed veggies, although the veggie water is a good alternative, too. Put the rice cooker on "low" and finsh that second big Leo.

Hey, we use the same timer!

Settings:

Boil an egg: drink one fifth of a bottle

Roast ten pound turkey: drink 9 bottles (next day get up from floor, throw the turkey).

T

am I just being ripped off like usual

I don't know. How are you usually ripped off?

Different goods have different rates of duty and the implementation is inconsistent so it's impossible to know in advance what you're going to end up paying. One customs official could see and electronic dictionary as electronics (higher duty) another might see it as an educational tool (lower duty). If you got an official receipt, then you were not ripped off.

one never knows with those sneaky chinamen.

Good Point. Always remain vigilant!

The Chinese want Thai men walking around all day, dazed and confused, sporting desensitized stiff ones while the women all giggle. Meanwhile they sneak in and take over all the gold shops.

Oh, wait...

T

Thanks all for direction given

I have my flight tickets , just need hotel.

Checking out with "Direct Rooms" for Dorset Seaview Hotel.

I like it if it is close to all facilities.

I am scared if not booked soon I miss out.

Hotel there seem to run at high occupency rates.

If you haven't booked any hotels in advance by the time you land at HK airport, there's a HK Hotels association desk after passing immigration and customs but before you get out to the passenger greeting area. It's always manned by a helpful staff from where you can check room availability, rates and other details. The rates offered here are always lower than walk in rates, and, I've found, often lower than any rates a travel agent or internet booking site will give you. You can call them from here to check rates: +852 23838380

The HK Tourist Association are also very helpful (as they should be) tel 28076543

T

Mashed, baked, fried or roasted

Squashed, whole, diced or shredded

Buttered, curried, spiced or salted

Homemade, store-bought, begged or borrowed

Gobbled, savored or a la mode

Truckstop diner or on the road

A spud will never disappoint

(exclamation point)

Thakkar

with apologies to Dr Seuss

I imagine the Chinese will go to war over their right to sell this stuff, and then demand the Channel Islands as a war reparation debt

SC

Nice one. Explains their new aircraft carrier and gunboats.

Anyway, my written Chinese isn't at all good, but it says something about students, little sisters, hundred uses or some such stuff. I suspect this is a product for men to apply on their, erm, member as a way to de-sensitize it allowing it to remain useful for a longer period. Not that I would know anything about such products.

This is highly unlikely to be from Mainland China because the writing is traditional Chinese used in Taiwan and not the simplified Chinese used in the People's Republic of China. Or maybe it's some kind of subterfuge, one never knows with those sneaky chinamen.

T

http://www.powerbuy.co.th/cct.aspx

http://www.waterpikthailand.com/

http://www.bigitshop.com/home.php

http://www.boomerangshop.com/web/default.aspx

http://www.mangpong.co.th/eshop/index.php

http://www.amornmovie.com/shop/home/index.php

http://www.itcity.co.th/

http://www.shop4thai.com/en/category/

http://www.thanni.com/

http://www.tohome.com/

http://www.machomeservice.com/store/topic.php?type=iMac/eMac/iMacIntel

http://www.usedmacmarket.com/

http://www.verasu.com/

http://www.invadeit.co.th/partner.aspx

http://thaidealz.absolutelybangkok.com/

http://store.apple.com/th

All Thailand based.

Happy shopping.

BTW, Invade IT (third from bottom) is affiliated with Thaivisa. I haven't bought anything from them, but I've had occasion to ask them questions and they responded helpfully and promptly.

Before taking a &lt;deleted&gt; in a Thai toilet with no paper but a water gun for God's sake make sure the water gun is working.

been there

Too much info.

That is why sometimes it's a good idea to keep your woman stupid.

"stupid woman"

Perhaps they exist, but I have yet to meet these mythical creatures.

On the interviewer's remark that Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul was fast becoming the most controversial member of her Cabinet, Yingluck said: "I'd like the public not to look at his face or his past."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/17/national/Yingluck-evasive-on-queries-about-Thaksin-30162970.html

I believe that, regardless of the questions asked, she's been given a bunch of talking points to repeat. Sometimes she veers away from those and the result is a bunch of word salad like above.

T

The 2010 growth rate of 8% has to be seen against the sharply low rates of 2008 (-0.7% to 1.9%) and 2009 (-4.9% to 2.2%). The second quarter 2011 growth rate was only 2%— low by developing country standards and needs.

I'm not endorsing inflation per se. I'm saying that growth should be a more urgent priority. As long as growth stays ahead of inflation, things can be kept under control and an overall positive effect achieved.

Right wing ideologues would have us believe that wages are always inflationary. Sometimes, yes. But more often, not. What matters is productivity improvements. In a growing economy, higher wages lead to productivity improvements in several ways: 1) happier workers work harder, 2) employers are more inclined to invest in technologies and training to get more out of each worker and 3) sweatshop foreign investors are replaced by higher value-added investors. Some industries dying out is not always a bad thing, provided the transition is handled deftly. While Thai politicians, like so many politicians elsewhere, may be a bunch of self-serving clowns, many technocrats within government are highly competent.

"You are fundamentally addressing the re-balancing of the global economy, and this should be achieved through the currency and not through internal inflation"

Currency values and inflation can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Some inflation has to be tolerated if one wants a weaker currency.

The point of economic growth is better living standards for all. I therefore agree with you that the rewards for Asian workers are long overdue. How else to achieve that except through higher wages? The strong currency hasn't led to appreciably lower consumer prices.

The West has indeed been living beyond it's means for decades (and prior to that, living on colonial exploitation) and a painful decade or two lie ahead as they adjust to a more sustainable standard of living. It won't be easy for us in Asia either because we are all tied together, and, unfair though it may be, we will all be affected. So our schadenfreude better be nicely sugared, because we might have to swallow it.

Meanwhile, Asia has it's own set of problems: poverty, environmental degradation, population imbalances, political repression and ethnic tensions, to name a few.

Let's hope saner heads prevail and we can navigate our way out to brighter and fairer times.

Cheers

T

Makes a mockery of the Thai justice system though.

Indeed it does, but what's new about that? The previous government misused the courts, as did Thaksin when he was in power.

<snip>

To be honest i never expected anything else from this government.

Exactly. I don't know why so many are getting so hot under the collar. This was all to be expected. As the financial Times calmly reports:

Thailand paves way for Thaksin rapprochement

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok

Less than a week after taking office , Thailand’s government has started rehabilitating Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s most controversial politician and eldest brother of Yingluck Shinawatra, the new prime minister.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/96882c28-c742-11e0-a9ef-00144feabdc0.html

Apart from (not quite explicitly, as yet) challenging the independence of the BOT, none of these are bad ideas if implemented without fear or favor.

The US is actively devaluing the Dollar and the Chinese are restraining the strength of the RMB. Small developing economies like Thailand are unfairly caught out having to spend precious savings to buy rapidly depreciating dollars which then they have nowhere to park except low-yielding US Treasuries. On the whole, Thai consumers haven't benefited much from the Baht's rise as retail prices of imports from gasoline to Gap clothes aren't as low as they should be. Thai exporters have benefited from BOT interventions only to the extent that they have just barely managed to keep their heads above water. Most of the benefits have gone to a handful of middlemen.

Lack of any real competition among local banks have allowed them to make a killing on exorbitant interest rate spreads. This situation is crying out for some much-needed injection of competition, something that can be accomplished by gradually allowing, first regional, then international banks to participate in the retail banking sector.

A truly independent sovereign wealth fund, as Norway has shown, is a great way to maximize returns from Thailand's reserves.

In the current climate, recession fears hold greater stock than inflation fears and targeting inflation should be a lesser concern. Thailand is a developing country with developed country inflation rates. That is incongruous. Higher inflation should be tolerated in a developing economy where the priority should be higher growth rates that pull greater numbers out of poverty at a faster clip.

Even the proposed minimum wage hike would not necessarily be inflationary. It really depends on how workers and employers (whether government or private sector) behave. If it leads to greater overall productivity throughout the economy, it would have a positive effect.

So while the motivations for the ideas may be suspect, depending on the color of your shirt, the ideas themselves have merit, IMO.

T