Fore Man

The government MUST out an end to this public lawlessness...Thailand is inexorably sliding down the slippery slope to the abyss of anarchy. Already there is a sense of lawlessness throughout this country. Drive-by shootings are common here, such is the brazen lack of regard for human life. People feel free to operate motor vehicles as they wish--often driving dangerously and without respect for their fellow man. Nobody seems to believe the law is something to be obeyed...they make their own statutes to serve their selfish interests and get away with it constantly.

How to end this mess? As a former military operator and tactician, one plausible idea at this point is to take 'extreme measures' to eliminate key protagonists who are inciting regular people--who lack intellectual capacity-- to carry out acts of civil disobedience and suggesting sedition by setting fire to provincial courthouses. If 'extreme measures' means surgically taking out ringleaders with long range rifle fire, then that is one solution available. It is also very public. You must then provide a means for the main body to leave Bangkok without fear of being shot at or incarcerated. Canalize them using water cannons, acoustic devices and accompanying loudspeaker instructions along an egress route with buses and other forms of mass transport at assembly areas, preventing the flow of thugs into side streets to cause additional mayhem. Then move the group en masse to temporary cantonement areas outside of the city where they can be fed and sheltered until arrangements are made to send them up-country. This can be done with precision and compassion and not further fan the flames. Once the head of the snake is severed, the body is controllable and the mass hysteria will ebb. There are sizeable armed forces here that are equipped and trained to perform these tasks easily. The real issue is motivating and commanding them to do their duty and to do it successfully (minimal bloodshed but GET IT DONE).

Endeth the sermon.

Well, one easy way is to start using Fairwayfiles.com (free) to track your scores; they allow you to print out a wallet card showing your handicap index, but not the detailed scoring that made up that index.

I use a handicap calculator that I bought online a few years ago that does create the list of scores that make up a handicap index. It is the customary form you see on most handicap cards issued by golf clubs. It shows the past 20 rounds with the top 10 rounds annotated with an asterisk. Unfortunately, this system is no longer sold in the form I have it in, but you can probably Google a similar system. They all generally cost money, but it is a one-time fee and in the $40 range.

Once you have the handicap created using a calculator system, and have created the detailed scoring data needed for a traditional wallet card, you can then simply create a 'generic golf club' wallet card--the front side that lists your name, 'club membership number', date of handicap index, and the computed handicap index; maybe toss in a slick logo too to make it look official. All it takes is a creative mind and PowerPoint. Good luck.

Lived Thailand 5+ years; all but 5 months in Chiang Mai. We've never regretted it...we absolutely detested Pattaya. Way too hot and humid too. CM has a lot going for it, especially if you factor in golf. Courses are generally less expensive here--a lot cheaper than Phuket or the high-end Hua Hun courses. We have some very scenic courses in the province or in nearby Chiang Rai or Lampang provinces (e.g., EGAT Mae Moh is an underrated stunner). Kanchanaburi is simply too hot and we weren't thrilled with the quality of golf courses there other than 1 or 2 of them. There can be some lengthy commutes to get to some of these courses which are located well outside Amphoe Muang. Getting around CM is a breeze compared to nearly anywhere else. Prices for most every commodity are less costly except for durable imported goods, which are probably the same anywhere in Thailand. So far, CM has not been impacted much by the ridiculous political situation either. Head to Chiang Mai; you won't be sorry.

I crossed into Burma via the Chedi Sam Ong border point a few years back...and there were no controls on where I went once across. The 'entry pass' was good for 24-hours. In fact, we simply drove our rented van up to the famous wat and the nearby bustling market to do some shopping. The Burmese border guard, a major...who spoke a little English and practically no Thai, immediately accused me of being an espionage agent for a certain American agency, which I vociferously denied. Apparently, very few Americans or other Westerners ever travel up to that border point and he was amazed to see one then. He asked me "where do you come from?" to which I replied "California". He chewed on this a moment and then pointed his finger at me and said "Hollywood!". I instantly morphed into a friendly movie director doing film location studies, and we became fast friends. This officer then asked for a bribe ("can you give me three pictures of George Washington please Sir"). Which I gladly handed over to him as I had some small U.S. bills in my wallet.

Even with so-called official travel permission to enter this forbidding country, my advice is to be very, very careful what you say, where you go and what you do. Nothing is as it seems. My own trip there could have turned bad as I was completely under the whim of this border guard. With a practically-new van worth a lot of money in that country and no helpful witnesses, my driver and I could have simply vanished and nobody would have been the wiser. This happens in Burma/Myanmar and it could happen to you. I certainly wasn't thinking straight when I decided to make that long trek up from Kanchaburi, and would never think of trying such a stunt again.

Watch your six!

We call these field expedient explosives in military parlance...and can be made from such common items as metal or PVC cylinders (pipe lengths & fitted caps). And yes, black powder contained in fireworks or faster-burning smokeless powder used in munitions can be used. Such expedient devices can be extremely lethal and/or do a lot of property damage. The red shirts, or whatever group is behind this, is certainly not creating a great reputation for their cause or for this nation either. Thailand is quickly appearing to the world to be no better than Somalia, Lebanon, or Iraq etc and despite the leanings of the majority of its populace it outwardly is no longer a peaceful society at all. What a shame.

I built a pool for our new home in Chiang Mai. We originally wanted a uniquely-designed tile pool as they are quite beautiful. I was talked out of this idea by a local pool company whose name shall remain private in this post (you can PM me and I will provide it). The owner of this particular firm advised me that a tile pool was asking for trouble in this province--due to the fact that the area is adjacent or very near to a seismic fault. He told us that every time a tremor occurred, that he was engaged by many owners to come out and make extensive repairs to pool slabs...and that required removing tiles to get to the damage underneath. And then the owner still had to pay for the cost of replacing the water that had been removed. He also mentioned that tile pools were hard to keep clean due to hard water mineral deposits on the sides. Based on his advice, we changed our plans and contracted with this company to build a prefab pool, using a stout concrete slab buttressed by vertical fiberglass members that contained a rounded pool lined by thick and durable (so far) PVC material. It uses a salt ionization process instead of the traditional chlorinization method. This has resulted in an attractive pool that works well for us. But it is definitely not as eye-pleasing as the tile design we originally envisioned.

The bad news is that we had major difficulties with this builder. Our contract also included a surrounding raised patio area...built over the crawl space surrounding the pool...and covered with 'sand wash'. This 'sand wash' looks nice enough and provides solid footing; it is also not as slippery as a tiled surface...but it needs to be cleaned with high-pressure water about twice a year. The builder did everything he could to save money on this patio construction. We had to have him tear down his shoddy job on the perimeter railing (based on reinforced concrete and ceramic balustrades) and pay another company--our original home contractor--to do it right. The pool became filthy from improper operation of the pump system and once again we had to badger the company owner to come out and fix it. This process took 6 weeks! The pool and patio construction was the singlemost major problem spot in our entire home construction project spanning 24 months. We had other minor issues not associated with the pool, but they paled in comparison.

In the end, we have an attractive pool that works well but we pay our maid an extra amount to maintain it. We trained her to maintain the pool...she devotes an hour every day to this task. We originally asked for assistance from the builder and were willing to pay his off-duty employees to peform this maintenance regimen for us, but when the owner found out about it, he ordered his employees not to take our money...he had a much higher monthly rate in mind. Greed is alive and well in all facets of Thai business, especially this loathsome man and his company. When a pool light burned out, he insisted on over THB 10,000 to replace it, claiming it had to come from France.

I thus strongly suggest that anybody interested in building a pool NOT use this particular builder. You WILL be sorry. Please PM me if this is a concern to you and I will provide the company name and particulars.

Hand-grenades of this type is available for purchase if you look round.

I doubt any responsible members here would want to purchase it. No need to look around.

Anyone whose brother in law knows a distant cousin in the police who knows a neighbor in the army who doesn't know a Redshirt rogue general but who knows someone who knows a Redshirt who knows the Redshirt rogue general or who knows some army commander who is on the payroll of the fugitive, who himself now has established some mob contact in a country on the Adriatic, can get hold of a rifle or rocket launched grenade (very different from a hand grenade) not to mention the the rocket launcher.

Seriously. Seriously it's easier than that. A lot easier.

Actually, it's so easy it's scary. Imagine buying such a lethal munition as a hand grenade in the West!

I live in Chiang Mai and have acquaintances in the hotel and resport business. They are all seeing dramatic downticks to their occupancy rates lately. We expect that room bookings will decline after the end of the high season, but nothing as dismal as they have become over the past 2 weeks. These people are convinced that the red shirt rallies are the spoiler involved, as tourists, even the hardier or braver ones, are rethinking their travel plans and heading off to a less risky location. These include Vietnam, Malaysia and selected areas in China. CM is also beset by terrible air quality right now but that is not well broadcast outside of Thailand and has not been the subject of multiple diplomatic warnings.

We live just north of the city and visibility hasn't been this bad in the 5+ years we've been here. My wife complained of burning eyes for the first time ever this past week and she is from the Thai north where annual burning is the normal practice. We were out driving today and passed through the intersection of Mae Jo Road and Highway 121. Off to the SW side of that major intersection, authorities were burning down brush over roughly a 3-rai area. I use the term 'authorities' because there were several fire trucks and uniformed officials to be seen. I thought that setting brush fires was illegal but yet it is obviously condoned...even during the worst air quality period we have observed in a long time. Shame on Chiang Mai provincial officials for not initiating a prolonged, multi-faceted and deliberate campaign to reduce this major health and safety concern. Maybe it will take a plane crash at the airport to wake these idiots up.

An earlier poster on this page (Bina) suggested that a Thai ought to respond to this topic, so we can gauge their reactions. In the absence of that, I can relate a conversation I had with a young Thai university student in Melbourne. I asked him "why do Thai drivers act so dangerously and with no consideration for others on the road?" To which, he replied, "That's easy, it's because they think and behave with the 'Me First' mentality". Beyond driving manners, I think this sums it up for most deviations of commonly expected etiquette norms at the hands of Thais. The young man's answer made perfect sense to me and has stuck with me ever since....it explains succinctly the attitude of most Thais here with regard to their actions towards others: the dumb old lady at the bottom of the escalator, not thinking to hold a door open, passing on a blind mountain curve, blocking a narrow lane while running a quick errand and so forth...the obvious attitude isn't one of intentionally trying to be rude, but a much more basic 'Me First' mentality. If you can remember this is what motivates most Thais, then we may certainly be disappointed but not insulted.

The OP has touched on many social behaviors which are not accepted outside of Asia. There are a myriad of such practices which stymie Westerners. Even my own loving wife will open a pneumatic or spring-loaded door and then allow it to slam in my face if I am in trail. The thought of being considerate to another person, even a family member, just does not compute. They are on their own wavelength. It seems to me that Thais and other East Asians simply go about their business with no regard for others...none absolutely. This is not intended to create disrespect...again, the behaviors that we have been brought up on simply do not register here in his part of the world. This seems odd to me, because the population density here is greater than most everywhere else (except India perhaps) and one would assume that being considerate would be an important social norm. People are definitely considerate (obsequious?) to those of a higher class, but that is different than demonstrating simple courtesy to their fellow man or woman.

One of my peeves...how about when somebody decides to park his vehicle adjacent to an ATM or shop on a busy lane, impervious to other drivers who are immediately inconvenienced? Do they have any thoughts about their actions and how they affect others? I am convinced it is not callousness, but simple mindlessness...I have found that most Thai have one-track minds...a single-minded purposefulness which cannot be burdened by extra thoughts. The ability to multitask is a rare ability.

How about on the golf course...when a slow, wagering, imbibing group of 5 or even 6 Thais (or Koreans, or Chinese) refuses to allow a trailing 2-ball to pass through them...a very common occurrence here. In the West, such behavior would invite being escorted off the property by course marshals. Not here. Social etiquette according to our own terms is lacking and probably never will occur in Thailand. Thus we expats have to learn to accept this apparent rudeness and get on with our lives...and try to block out negative thoughts. I agree with the OP that most Thai people are among the most friendly and gracious anywhere. All in all, I am more comfortable here than I would be in my own homeland. There are distractions and letdowns to be sure, but they are usually offset by the positives.

They will get frustrated. They don't have the majority support or the moral authority to pull off what they are demanding. They do have fermented fish. You figure it out ...

You're wrong again dude - they have majority support in the country as far as people i know - tuk tuks up here are flying red flags - I have yet to find any yellow fellows outside of BKK and this forum

Geez... you must be in a stricktly red neighborhood. I'm in the outskirts of Chiang Mai near Maejo University and for the most part, all the Thais that I hang out with are sick to death of it all. And by the way, I was raised here in Thailand so I only usually only hang out with my Thai family and neighbors & only speak Thai. I was all around town this weekend and the amount of those wearing red is sparsely few. It's a losing battle trying to get a Government not guilty of Graft to walk away because of a bunch of peabrains who believe that if their exalted Leader is put back in charge that money will come floating down from Heaven. They need to face reality (as do you "Chiang Mai Fun") and get a job instead of sitting around waiting for miracles to happen, as this will fizzle and fade very soon.

Amen to that...good post YEOWWW. I live around the corner and see it much the same way. There is an undeniable undercurrent of support for the beleaguered former PM but the locals are tiring of the problem and seem to understand that the UDD is fighting a losing battle. The battle may be nearing its end, but I'm afraid the war is a long way from over. As somebody else said, earlier, the age-old issue that divides the intelligentsia from the rural poor is the real problem. It will continue to fester until the Thai elitists figure some way to appease their needier countrymen. This will take a new champion who has yet not emerged onto the scene. When this modern-day Lochinvar comes riding out of the sunset, it will be a time of reconcilation and healing for the populace. Pray that this day happens sooner than later.

Despite how vigorous the pro-Thaksin supporters claim no money is changing hands for the supporters, we in the capital don't have to go far to hear from people that have been offered cash to attend - the maid of my last workplace for one.

Turnout directly equates cash. Thaksin is going for it this time.

I know quite a few thai's that have left pattaya, and they have informed that they collected 2000 baht for attending, and will get 2000 baht a day till it is over.

So someone must be funding this movement. Since somebody wired 1 billion baht from europe a few weeks ago, they do have plenty of coin. The Anti Money Police are investigating this hugh transfer already.

Let's do the math...1 billion baht consumed at 2,000 baht per person per day provides for 500,000 'person-days'. If an optimistic amount of protestors--say, 100,000 of them--were supported by this largesse, the money would sustain 5 days of this nonsensical buffoonery. Somebody really must enjoy throwing his money down the Mother of all Toilets. What a joke and a travesty to the millions of Thai people who scrape out a living to try to keep from starving. Better the Omnipotent but Disgraced One dole out his money to the poor as alms instead of paying for ill-fated protests. Heck, had he paid his taxes for the sale of Shin, he would still be in office. Double shame on this meglomaniac twit. The Thai people deserve far better but are too obsessed with the Man for their own good.

Mine too; all is normal.

Did you pay your bill?

Yes, we did. All other UBC channels are fine except these 3.

No they did not - but there have been reports the channels are now scrambled, as other channels on True, so perhaps your box is not working properly and program needs update.

Perhaps, but all my neighbors are reporting the same problem. Yes, we are showing these 3 channels as scrambled, with error code E16-4. I ran the refresh program from TrueVision's website and it didn't solve the issue. I guess we'll need to contact the local office tomorrow.

9:16 PM in Chiang Mai--our UBC/TrueVisions channels 1,2 & 3 are off the air and stopped working about an hour ago. Did the government shut these stations down purposely regarding the ISA?

I'll add my two cents. In most militaries around the world, including Thailand one would find that arsenals and unit-level armories alike are guarded with not only human guards and intensive physical security systems, but access to them requires layered access measures and penetrating a minimum of triple-lock security. The arms facility itself is locked with more than one ultra high-security lock and the individual weapon racks are also similarly locked. The keys to these facilities are also very carefully secured and controlled. One poster questioned what an engineer unit was doing housing such items. It is engineer units that customarily use military explosives & demolitions in the accomplishment of their unit missions and they indeed maintain stocks for these purposes.

More to the point though...nobody simply strolls into an arms room or arms depot, and walks away casually, or surrepticiously with 6,000 weapons and explosives. Any insurgent-led attempt to do so would be the cause of a major incident that could not be brushed under the rug..nor would it be. This reeks painfully of an inside job. Identifying those persons in the chain of command who are responsible for the security of these missing arms should be a simple matter; they in turn should be publicly named and charges brought against them for high treason to the state. Placed under intensive interrogation the truth would be bound to emerge. This would include unit-level armorers, supply personel and unit commanders all the way up to and including the seniormost general officer placed in a direct leadership role. Something also tells me that all this will never occur. It is a very sad day for the Royal Thai Army.

Brianwl,

Most CM area golf courses will rent you a set on a per-game basis. But if you are looking for a long-term rental you might be able to negotiate this with golf retailers operating at either the Stardome Driving Range or Lanna Golf Club. Or failing that, perhaps with one of the popular courses but I suspect at premium pricing.

Good luck!

Hi, I am a member a GV as well and am taking some time off after overdoing things too much late last year. I plan to start playing again in March if I knit back together satisfactorily. I play to 16~18 normally, but occasionally surprise myself and get down to 12~14. Of course it can easily slide the other direction just as easily :-)

Before I took my lay-off at the beginning of this month, I was playing about 4 times a week but all over the CM area...not just restricting myself to GV. With the high season here, I don't play the high-end courses too often except for CM Highlands, which offers a reasonable longterm expat rate all year long.

Please IM me and we can discuss more...I'd like to know your age, how often you'd like to play, preferred times of day, any restrictions on available days of the week etc.

I have a U.S.-spec, U.S.-purchased (Oct 2009), brand-new, unused Ping G15 driver for sale. It is fitted with a Ping Soft Regular TFC149 graphite shaft (see photo), 10.5 degree offset loft, with brand-new G15 head cover. I have been advised by local pro shops that the U.S.-spec SR flex is similar in performance to an R Asian-spec shaft. Older players and slower swingers will add 10-20 yards when hitting with this slightly whippier shaft. I don't hit long drives but they are always dead straight and carrying about 220-yds.

I'm selling this driver because I prefer to use my other new Ping G15 13.5-degree driver, purchased during the same trip as the 10.5-degree version. In Thailand this same (Asia-spec) driver is normally priced as low as THB 16,700 when sold at best-available discounts. Yes, like the G10, I realize that the price will drop over time as this new series matures. I will sell to the first buyer who brings me THB 15,200. I am located in Chiang Mai area. I can ship the club outside of Chiang Mai but not outside of Thailand. Payment for face-to-face buyers will be in cash; others can wire transfer the agreed sum to my Thai bank account and I will then make the shipment via EMS.

There are many fake Ping clubs sold over the Internet or in local shops today; most overseas buyers are at the mercy of these fraudulent 'dealers' to offer a genuine Ping product. I believe this practice is prevalent in Thailand and can cite some examples…including shaft delamination on brand-new 'Ping' irons. If this concerns you, then please read Ping's warning on their official website as follows:

http://www.ping.com/clubs/counterfeits.aspx?id=6980

Please IM me if interested in this genuine G15 Ping driver; leave your contact phone number and I will call you back.

...The latest rules (2008-2011)says that a singleton is considered a group with the same rights as any group; they are hardly ever encountered in Thailand in my experience, because they would normally have joined another group, if not then the course is not full and it doesn't matter...

Thanks tgeezer...I was not aware that singles have had their lot improved...good to know, but interpretation and recognition of this fact is left up to the golfers in front of a single...and we all know where that leads to...it's called frustration. I often play in Chiang Mai as a single and occasionally as a double. As a single, I never turn down an opportunity to join other golfers when invited...by them or the starter. It's usually a lot more fun, challenging, and leads to new acquaintances. More often than not, these pick-up groups contain at least one player who is better than I am and I can quietly try to learn something useful.

Back to the topic though, the real issue beyond simple manners on the golf course is that there is a huge lack of course marshalling on many Thai courses...when groups of 5, 6 & 7 local golfers are tolerated by management it is a travesty on the game and certainly tells me about the manners of those playing who refuse to allow a smaller, faster group to play through. A group taking 20 minutes to complete a par 4 needs to be admonished and if their play doesn't accelerate, they need to be expelled. As if that would ever happen here! I have also seen up to 14 people on the green ahead of me...7 players and their caddies.

So as 'guests' in this country it would be best to bury the issue...it will never be understood nor corrected.

Have any fellow duffers out there experienced problems with lack of good manners on area golf courses?

It's a sad truth, but it seems that most golfers we come across are almost totally lacking in an appreciation for, or observation of tradition-inspired etiquette out on the links. Unfortunately, my experience shows that the majority of violators are of 'Asian heritage'. My partners and I have found that while many local and touring Asian players have no regard at all for etiquette, we are pleasantly surprised by the occasional group that allows faster players to overtake them, or perhaps to join them for a pleasant round of inter-ethnic comaraderie.

The attached files are excerpts of the rules of etiquette for your reading pleasure. I cannot properly cite them because they were sent to me by a friend who did not know their true source.

I should hasten to add that it is a generally accepted fact that single golfers have zero rights out on the course except that they paid to play a game.

Now...if we could only broadcast these same two pages to about 5 million Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporean and Korean golfers who do not observe these genteel rules on the golf course...who were largely brought up to play golf by learning it on countless driving ranges that dot Asian cities...and who take a game of golf as a privilege of the monied class and don't gave a hoot about how their arrogance affects others who are out to enjoy their game as well. This entire category of unsporting players has missed out on how to play the game of golf in a gentlemenly manner and that my friends is a sad reflection on Asian values versus those typically observed in the West.

For example: here in Thailand and many other locales we have the 'Call Hole' phenomenon on most par 3 holes. It is carried out exactly as the text mentions, but in this case the group behind doesn't actually play through....they just hold up the group in front of them while they get to tee up and exhibit their prowess ... or lack thereof. I see the 'Call Hole' tactic as achieving nothing good except allowing a faster group to retain its playing tempo at the expense of slower players ahead who are already on the green. It also allows a group of inveterate gamblers to place wagers on the "Call Hole' tee...to see who is good enough to perform with another party watching and critiquing them. At its very core, it is a way for the more alpha-male, macho types to show off and demonstrate expertise that others may lack, and thus receive their playing partners' adulations and praise...or to look good in front of admiring wives and girlfriends.

But as a good friend of mine commented "the one benefit to the 'Call Hole' convention is that the number of claimed holes-in-one has been reduced by approximately 60 percent".

Do you agree or disagree? Well, remember good ole' Bernard Trink, the famous Nite Owl of the Bangkok Post and his famous closing line:

"I Don't Give a Hoot!" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Trink)

Sorry, but that is a ridiculous price for a membership at Lanna...other area courses that are far and above Lanna in quality and much less subscribed (busy) are available for far, far less money. Caveat Emptor buyers....Good luck, Greg!

I absolutely agree with earlier poster. Airport Customs will generally charge you extremely high duties to release your clubs...unless they slip through their net...you could pay up to 100+% of the value of the clubs (based on Customs' own perceived value) and if the receiver reneges or refuses the shipment, you'll never see them again...the conclusion as to what happens to them is left up to your imagination. Normally a refused shipment must be returned to the sender by the express shipper. Not in Thailand! Moreover, Customs works closely with FedEx, DHL and UPS, and these express shippers will also assess a ridiculous and unethical 'Customs Service Charge' to obtain the release of the items you sent. Bring them with you and maintain control. Try to limit the number of legs on your airline journey to minimize the time the clubs get handled by baggage handlers at intermediate airports. Direct flights into Bangkok are the best way to do this....and then personally check them in for any subsequent flights in Thailand. Am I paranoid? You bet. Golf clubs, especially expensive brand names, are a prized commodity here that cost 30-40% more to acquire than in the States, and even then they are Asian-spec, not U.S.