Merylhighground

Personally I'd doss down at the inexpensive but pleasant WE Train, if its still there, Or just jump a cab into town, have a few beers out and about (sounds like you've earned one) and head to CM the next day...

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

Phra Dhamachayo could not travel to the Department of Special Investigation to acknowledge the charges against him on Monday because he was experiencing serious illness from several diseases,

It's called ''shyting himself'' is this illness, now he has to face his crimes and see his empire crumble. maybe they can find a space for him in Thailand's rest room for the 'poorly as they cower from justice' AKA in Malaysia with the Red Bull heir....

As far as I still see it, and I know it's a hackneyed old comparison, but I feel a lot safer wandering around parts of Bangkok late at night after a few ales, and my old neighbourhood in Bang Phli/Bang Na (in the wee small hours) which has plenty of dark corners for any prospective 'criminal' looking to roll a 'rich farang' but in nine years there I never once had a 'hairy' moment though being in a bit of a state on many occasions.

In fact the only 'criminal' activity I saw were a few college kids having a dust up in the car park of a nearby restaurant which was quickly broken up and the culprits dispatched into the night.

There I knew most of the moto boys, the market traders, bar owners and restaurateurs as well as most of the late night denizens all of who I knew would 'keep an eye on me and mine'. Here in the UK it's very much every man for himself and ''I'm alright Jack'....if it comes to the wire...

When in Thailand I know I don't have to worry about my wife being out after dark alone but here there's no way I'd let her even nip somewhere local (for a pack of smokes or similar) after dark when the drunks are turning out. No chance. In Thailand she is always nipping out at all hours though usually for grub.

We have been now back in the UK for less than two months and I have seen several nasty 'incidents' in my local town centre already and even a few in my 'quiet' little village.

I know where I feel safer for myself and my family. Can't wait to get back in a couple of months.

OP, ironically, Bowie was probably best known in Thailand around the time of his 'slump' in the period following the Let's Dance/Serious Moonlight Tour (1983 - early 1990s when he was largely inactive).

During this time he was reportedly a regular visitor to Thailand, including one sold out show in Bangkok in 1983 at the Thai Army Stadium in Din Daeng, after which he had all but fallen off most people's radars.

In the following period when he was largely inactive musically, he reportedly visited Thailand many times during this spell of inactivity unless these visits are/were mere 'expat apocrypha'.

When I first started coming to Bangkok in the late 1980s/early 1990s there were still many reports (always unsubstantiated) of people who claimed to have 'seen' Bowie flitting in the late night down some minor Bangkok Sub-Soi or he had been sighted in Phuket where he was alleged to have visited his pal Mick Jagger at the latter's abode at the Royal Phuket Yacht Club.

It is also worth noting that Western music acts who have played in Bangkok or have visited Thailand, tend to find a place in the Thai psyche or in their 'music radars' if you will.

Perhaps backpackers from yesteryear...finding out that things have changed. They look like users, rather than peddlers.

Agreed! Looks like they were trying to relive a bit of the old 'hippie trail' and they are of such a vintage that they could well be reliving' their younger days.

Shame for them, no one warned them of the severe penalties they face or that times, and tolerance to hard drugs have moved on a lot since those days. Looks like their holiday could be 'extended' in a most unpleasant way unless they've got the cash for the pay off as it does seem a tad odd that the coppers were lying in wait for them unless there's been a set up here....

Heroin and Opium were staple favourites of travellers through Northern Thailand and the Golden Triangle. Some of the travel literature from the time talks of little else when it comes to travelling through this area.

The trouble with articles like this is that they play into the common myths which arouse from the glut of TV documentaries which hit the screens in the 1980s and early 1990s when the documentary makers chose to blur the lines between the seamier 'Thai' scene and the less seedy 'sex tourism' scene to gain a sensational angle usually about 'evil' Western Men' exploiting ' Poor Asian Women' (under-age or trafficked women' regularly featured in these documentaries) which led to a rake of misinformed articles in the common media who were also unable to distinguish between the twain.

It remains a sad fact and a cross that we must bear that Thailand, and the role of Western men there, will always be portrayed thus in the Western Media who don't like the truth getting in the way of a few clicks or a few paper sales.

I think it is a major upgrade and soon Pantip will be back in its glory days.

I think Panthip's 'glory days' are long gone now that almost everyone nowadays, seems a whole lot more internet savvy; more so P2P savvy, so even a backpacker just passing through, has access to P2P sites/fast internet for their music, film or TV show needs as well as sites like Amazon/eBay getting their act together in recent years, as regards to getting deliveries to Thailand.

I shudder with horror at times when I think how much I used to blow on my monthly visits to Panthip (and at how much nagging I would get from the missus) especially when we lived upcountry on a poor internet connection, in the meantime from those days to now, I, as so do many others, have now got several HDDs chock full of my favourite shows/films/music and so on, no need to buy their often second rate rip off crap from Panthip.

I think virtually every trip back to BKK would see me returning discs to Panthip which either wouldn't play, were just damaged, blank or even the wrong content, so in a way they shot themselves in the foot by making a song and dance about replacing substandard rubbish to the extent that I began to research more in the the world of P2P and Amazon.

When I had got the entire X Files/ Fawlty Towers/Blackadder/Carry On series for free, without a jump, stammer, skip, freeze or blip, I didn't look back and quite have quite enjoyed spending the silly amounts of brass I used to put aside for my entertainment needs on other, more deserving, useful things. Before our recent move the wife worked out the amount I spent on discs which had lain untouched for years and it wasn't pretty reading either....I couldn't even give them away....

The OP might have a leg to stand on if he could 'wow' us all with his knowledge of famous Thai artists of the last 40 years, which I doubt he could.

I think you must mix in the wrong circles OP, most of my Thai pals; who I guess are pals because they are music 'savvy', have a greater depth of knowledge about some Western Artists than I, especially those which never appealed to me per se such as The Stones, The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix to name but a few....One such pal could, and would discourse with almost encyclopaedic depth when he got 'on topic', especially after a few beers....

Weren't you on a few weeks back bragging about your 'wealth', now it's cheap trains, buses and public transport in general.

This is why I never shop at weekends in Thailand. It's treated more like a family outing than a function.

Nowt worse than trying to shove a trolley through Lotus with hordes of uncontrolled brats running around 'faranging' every thirty seconds.

This sort of behavior would be more appropriate for worshippers of the devil.

No it wouldn't. We're a peaceful bunch on the whole.

And my wife is a Chula graduate!!

Frankly there are better beaches around Asia but it's not a bad place. It used to be quite a blast 'back in the day'.If you walk West away from the hotels to the big rock and a little beyond, the little cove there makes a nice place to sit and feckle the missus away from prying eyes....

The bus from Ferringhi takes about 20/30 mins into Georgetown to KOMTAR, then down Jalan Penang around the docks and then up Chulia, taxi a little less time for around a steep 30/40RM.

I'd also say check out Georgetown which is one of Southeast Asia's gems, while you can. If reports are true that the local officials have given developers the green light to destroy the place, then time could be running out as much as UNESCO scream, they can't fight the money men.....

I'd also highly recommend the Malay/Indian food at Nasi Kandar (formerly Jasmeen on Jalan Penang, turn left at the top of Lebuh Chulia).

Apologies Joe, I just got stung for a 'Non immi B' multi and had a few last night in lieu of our annual Grand National 'beano' (my first one in ten years) and didn't read the post correctly....

And why not? Pooves are far too sensitive......You want to hear my old Dad go on if you want 'offensive'.....

and 135 of your earth pounds....

Which " famous school or company" did this low waged individual work for or is that a State Secrete ?

I'm guessing at one of the Thailand based 'Sendusyourlifesavings.com'' type of 'famous financial institutions' Thailand is getting a bad rep for hosting....

PM 'marcofunny'

I am sure he will provide details of how these "agents" are contacted and what costs are involved.

all I can say is business is booming for them, the person who cleared his overstay of 3 yrs is one of my coworkers and he clear it after 28th and he s back again and safe, I m sorry I wont provide any contact details or respond to any PM due to sensitive security issues, but I say it clear if you have a Thai gf or wife let she contact them, they can be easily found, many famous schools and companies uses their services.

So you are claiming the one success story you know of which was 'solved' by some anonymous 'agent' for an undisclosed fee should take precedent over the many reports of success related on this forum?

I dread to think what sort of place you work at where they would employ someone on a overstay. It looks like you may be needing an agent (or this forum) yourself soon as your employers clearly can't be providing you with the correct visas and Work Permit.

You can't whack a good old public display of uniformed neo-fascism dressed up as utter verbal bullshyt...

I wonder if the PR/Press department for these fools is full of slightly stoned/drunk folks writing the utter nonsense of their press releases......

Anyone have a username for the lass on the right?

If you could introduce me to that group of Thai lads who took you to a cluster of places including some of the "....more nefarious type of entertainment .." I would certainly plan on dropping by for a weekend there. Looks worth a cheap night anyway!

The nefarious places were of the 'fishbowl' type usually not to the liking of we Westerners, well not this delicate one anyway, but they were still there last time I went.

I'd say Lopburi is worth a night or two. The promotion pretties at Jan Jao were always very friendly and a good reason for many return visits.

I think the lack of 'expats' and tourists was, for me, a reason (apart from work) I used to visit fairly often. I'd always encourage anyone to get off 'the beaten' path if they can. Lopburi strikes a nice balance between touristy or totally Thai.

I used to love evening 'sundowners' in the duck restaurant nearly opposite the train station, watching the trains rumbling North and South to places more populated and sophisticated, and if I was single, making an utter nuisance of meself with the cute waitresses.

As an addition to my earlier post; The ruins in Lopburi are of mild historical import and interest though the museum at Narai's Palace is well worth a visit and the beautiful grounds are pleasant to wander around, especially at weekends when there aren't gangs of hideous school-kids marauding around, the Nearby Baan Chao Phraya Witchayen (Often translated as 'Governer's residence or Mansion) is worth a peep....Lopburi Zoo is also an OK place to kill an hour or two in the 'New Town'. Getting into all of Lopburi's attractions for Thai price (and saving yourself a whopping 100 or so baht) is ludicrously easy. A few words of Thai and the price drops without a blink of an eye...

More emotionally stunted Thai males battling to 'save face'......

Stripping away the hideously amateurish persiflage in this 'reporting';

An emotionally retarded Thai male thought his girl was running around behind his back. In an attempt to 'save face' he raced down to Pattaya in a rage with a deadly weapon, couldn't find his girl whose feet had probably not long since already been pointed at a nearby ceiling, turned his childish anger to the first person he thought he could 'take' and when the cops arrived he made the same old excuse. He is expected to be fined 500B and released later......

Hey Mr Nonthachit, here's a novel idea. how about jail time, driving bans, impounding vehicles, and heavy fines for offenders, repeat or not....it works the world over....Just sayin'