Wiggy

Bangkok taxis have meters? Most of my journeys seem to start with "no meter".

Try learning some Thai then. I had that happen to me only once in around a decade, when i was a total newbie and innocent abroad.

Actually, I'm fluent and been here 20 years. Try identifying some sarcasm when you see it.

Bangkok taxis have meters? Most of my journeys seem to start with "no meter".

"We're now helping foreigners staying in the hotel," said a police officer at the scene.

Why the need to mention "foreigners"? Does it matter WHO you're helping? I can see the headline in tomorrow's papers, "No Thais injured in hotel fire". So insulting.

How can this be so when Thaksin got rid of all the drugs?

Missus just mentioned that on Thai Channel 3 news just now that Thailand was warned by Lebanon of this on Dec 22, but declined to mention it as "it might scare tourists". This came from a defence minister. Worrying if true, but can't see how Thailand would know before the US, although I don't know how diplomatic information is spread. Chalerm also said this but could not elaborate as it was "classified'. Geez - who are we to believe?

Yes the van drivers drive like idiots. Feel sorry for the people killed. And why would it take 2 hours to put out a fire? From the looks of the picture neither the van or the semi-triailer is scorched from fire and the article says an explosion also. Of course the 2nd article says that just a fire broke out. Obviously a small fire. Moving on to more news now....

I think the photo was taken before the fire.

Global warming blah, blah, blah. Evidence please. This year was a La Nina year meaning more rainfall than normal. That's what we got and it was mismanaged. Simple as.

Excuse me smarty-pants how can you possibly know it's not going to happen again next year?

" La Niña is defined as cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean that impact global weather patterns. La Niña conditions recur every few years and can persist for as long as two years. "

I don't know - nor does anyone else. My guess is that it won't, though as these are the worst floods in over 50 years. Chances are next year will be just fine - just like the vast majority of years.

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

Since the whole man-made global warming scam has blown away like a dried-up chicken turd over the past 2 years, there are no "deniers" -- just level-headed adults who refused to be swayed into gibbering terror by alarmist cries from the likes of rent-seeking groups like WWF and Greenpeace.

Precisely.

There are still man made global climate change deniers? Hilarious.

I was talking about global warming, not climate change - two separate things.

is the water actually going anywhere or has this whole area just become and extention of the Gulf of Thailand ???

I had a chill up my spine a couple of weeks ago when I wondered the very same question?

What if this is the new " normal " ?

With global warming and changing environmental concerns within Thailand it could very well be the start of a new "normal." If so Bangkok is pretty screwed. The fact that a fifth of the city can be inundated in a couple week's time despite reassurances means they are in deep denial.

Global warming blah, blah, blah. Evidence please. This year was a La Nina year meaning more rainfall than normal. That's what we got and it was mismanaged. Simple as.

Is there a collection of photos anywhere on the net of this in Bangkok? Anyone know if the Thongo Lo area, soi 36 and soi 38 are under water? thx

I live in soi 36 and it's bone dry at the moment.

Absolutely correct - just one example: Heinz salad cream in Big C, Rama IV is 120 baht; in Emporium Gourmet Market it's 107 baht.

It would seem the Sukhumvit area Villas are faring better than the one you mention above... Found everything I was looking for, no problem.

But more broadly, I think you're making some incorrect over-generalizations... I do all the shopping for my family, and have for the past four years in BKK...

For some things, Villa and Paragon are always more expensive, mostly I'd say for fresh meat and fruits and vegetables (of course the vegetables at Tesco are usually pretty sad)... But for a lot of other food items, packaged and canned, they're the same price or sometimes even lower than Big C and Tesco.. And I know, because I regularly shop all of them...

I too had made that kind of assumption about places like the Paragon market when I first came here... But after years of actually pricing the same items regularly at all those different stores... it's not as simple as that.

Just for example, my wife like Davidoff brand instant coffees... At Foodland and Big C, they're regularly around 330 to 350 baht per jar... But at Paragon market, it's almost always on sale for about 240 to 250 baht... Likewise, when I buy cartons of Yolida natural yogurt, it's usually pretty much always the same price at all the different markets. And even for cartons of fruit juice like Malee or Tipco, the Paragon market regularly has them on sale at equal or better prices than the others.

And, I know, pretty much everything I brought home from Villa tonight I would not have found for any lower prices at either Tesco or Big C... Of course, I knew what things to buy and not to buy at Villa in order to pay a fair, market price.

But...I guess the main point to emphasize is... the Sukhumvit area Villas and Paragon market at least remain decently stocked as of tonight... So if you've been to your local Tesco or Big C and come away empty... there are alternatives available still.

I'm no expert, but I know of no fire that burns below 65 degrees Celsius - that wouldn't even melt plastic! Were the sprinklers really working?

Whatever, but this is Thailand. Look at the BBC now and see senior police, police staff and top businessmen being grilled by MPs. THAT"S democracy, not what Thailand has.

No democracy = no justice. That's what Thailand has, wants, will keep, and staunchly defend, as it suits those in power and not the interests of the people, as it should.

"However, theatres are on average only 25percent full, which is not enough to freeze the ticket price."

Again, the owner of a mega-company fails to understand Economics 101. Maybe the reason it's only 25% full is because the price is too high. Duh.

Why not improve quality of life for citizens then there may be no need for stimulants to get happy or high on? Drug/alcohol use is prevalent among the less fortunate - there must be a reason for this.

I've been a moderate drinker (two days/week, plus the odd glass of wine) for 27 years. In that time I've had two relationships: one of 12 years (amicable split), the other 10 and still together. Never had a road accident due to drink because I DON"T drink and drive, never been arrested, never been in a fight, never abused anyone, enjoy life, exercise and am healthy. So, alcohol is obviously NOT the problem. The problems are caused by a few irresponsible idiots. But does that mean I (and many millions like me) should be stopped from drinking? We're dealing with the symptoms and not the cause here. The cause being that so many people in the world lead crappy lives due to capitalism, that they seek a release from their mundane day-to-day existence - the same for drugs. My word, everyone keeps bleating on about how "free" we are then continue to tell us what we can and cannot do. Drink responsibly! I can, and do.

hold on

An underage driver involved in a tollway crash last month which killed nine van passengers has been released without bail, because she turned herself in to police and had not been arrested

and

The girl has been charged with causing deaths and injuries through carelessness and driving without a licence

how can you be charged with a crime without being arrested first????????

The reason why she wasn't arrested on the spot is probably because if she had been then the authorities knew she could go to jail. By 'turning herself in' (by the way, I recall hearing that the police told her to report to them on Jan 5th - slightly different from turning oneself in) then show a bit of remorse, turn up at the funerals, hand over a wad of cash and be released without bail and probably avoid jail time. I'd be watching the airport, as she could easily flee. Thailand - third world country and always will be.

Rest in peace. Horrific accident also in Korat Saturday. Sympathy to the families. In God we trust.

Then why did god let it happen? I wouldn't trust someone who does this to innocent people. That's why atheism rules.

I have also just experienced the exact same thing with dtac using an iphone 3gs!

I've had the phone for over one year and never had a data usage issue until this month... Im familiar with the iphone settings and don't use push or notifications etc.

After checking through my mobile bill online (skipping through the 106 pages!), edge/gprs has been clicking on around every 4-5 minutes for around 3 minutes of usage. My data plan is charged by the minute... In 10 days I have apparently used around 110 hours!

The thing is my phone is almost always in a wireless network and my wireless network has had no problems in the past month. I thought the iphone would only use a wireless network when available over any mobile internet..? The manager in the dtac shop claimed that an iphone will use both wireless and edge/gprs at the same time but I can't find anything on apple's website or others to support this.

Also what app or phone feature would use internet every 5 minutes?

I don't mind to pay if its a problem with my phone but I can't help but wonder if its a glitch on dtac's end...

Very interesting.. I'm starting to think it's something to do with DTAC. Anyone else out there with the same issue?

My 13" Mac Book Pro screen started to fail after two days. Called the Apple Store in Singapore and had a new one delivered in 5 days once the old one was received back in Singapore. Hopefully the new one will last a bit longer! I still think Apple are good though.

Guys, guys, guuuuys...

Sign up for the Unlimited packet at your operator.

I got AIS for 650 Baht.

Internet, Push Email, Notifications ect ect, running 24 hour.

Just if you travel oversea turn your internet service of by using: *129*1# to turn Internet off and *129*2# to turn on

Thats for AIS.

Don't know DTAC or TRUE

Hmm. Sign up for an unlimited package and double my phone bill (DTAC is 999 baht/month). Good idea.

Almost exactly the same thing has happened to me. Had the iphone almost a year with 20 hrs AIS data package, never went over that until last month. Thought it was a one-off, but then the same thing happened this month. I called AIS and the guy told me I had to turn off cellular data or buy the unlimited package. I asked him why when I only use it less than 20 hrs. He said that it was a quirk with the iphone, no choice, have to turn cellular data on/off as required or buy unlimited package. I'm familiar with the iphone settings, checked them all as far as I can tell. Can't figure it out. Something has changed for sure.

I'm glad I'm not the only one (I don't mean that in a nasty way). It does look though like I've sorted it. I did a complete restore of the phone back to factory settings on my Mac last night and restarted the phone like it had just come out of the box. So far, so good. I'm checking my usage hourly with DTAC and it's back to normal levels again. This is with cellular data, location settings and wi-fi all turned on. There must be a bug in there somewhere. I'll post any further developments.

To use an iPhone in the way it was designed to be used and to get more enjoyment out of it get an Internet plan.

My bill never goes over 3k a month and I use it for business calls, E-mail and looking at Thaivisa 24 hours a day. I also call home every week. My Internet plan with true is 699 baht.

My bill is 500 baht per month and I leave internet on all the time, why would people like me want to pay 3k?! It always amazes me how rich people think things like 3k for a phone bill is normal or good?! This is THAILAND, its supposed to be cheap.

The op should be able to leave internet on all the time, something has changed.

Like I said I use it a lot and call home a lot. But to have it on Internet unlimited plus 3G it costs 699 a month. So why not get a plan so the phone can be used with piece of mind?

I had a plan - it was 99baht for 20hrs/month and the most I'd ever used before was 202 minutes in a month. That was with Cellular Data - on, Data roaming - on, Location services - on. Then it changed without any input from me and it clocked up 138 hours in 6 days - difficult to believe I know.

You changed something, something you think doesnt matter but does. You said you hadnt changed anything for about a month now, well what did you change a month ago?

I upgraded to iOS4 in the first week of September. These new charges started 2 weeks later.