petercool

Safety is always the issue for me rather than just getting wet and common sense is what is called for whether you try to avoid the water fights or whether you join in. I must admit having a car is a lot easier than riding a motorbike but getting to local stores was not a problem for me over in the "dark side" in recent years. I just drive carefully and slowly and it helps to smile and just flow with it all rather than get angry about it when you meet a celebrating group on the roads.

At last, someone else who understands what MICE events are and that Pattaya beats many Asian destinations for such event selling.

These are paid reward holidays combined with a bit of business for top achievers in many categories and in no way can be equated with the typical visitor one might encounter here.

7th, 8th and 9th was what I was told around the Lake. But it may differ from one police district to another.

I must say that I am impressed with the erudition of some members of the forum which is a nice counterpoint to some of the posts one sees here ....

Meetings, Exhibitions Conventions in Pattaya...

I sure they will have one thing in common, they will be mainly male dominated events.

It is not uncommon for wives to attend these events and with separate itineraries while the males have their meetings or whatever.

yogi100. I was offering a very different perspective to yours. Simply that.

No intention was there to pick holes in your post and apologies if that was what it seemed like.

I can't argue with that ! Police, like many others, try to stay in a dry spot !

Hardly nit-picking. You made comment on an open forum that I replied to on said forum. At least I was polite.

I am uncertain of just where you looked when you say that Bangkok housing was just wooden or iron shed with no skyscrapers in 1984.

I worked there from 1965in high rise office blocks and lived in a residential area of very normal housing, comparable to today's.

In theory, all activity is supposed to stop at 6pm but enforcement of that is loose. Any major traffic jams on Sukhumvit over the Saturday and Sunday should abate after that however. What may be enforced more this year is the ban on high pressure water guns. It was attempted along Beach Road last year. I wish everyone a safe Songkran but it is not much point wishing you a dry one !

The group I belong to that does things for an official government branch has designated 12th to 19th as the dates when we will have the Songkran break from duties. If that helps.

MICE events and arrangements are normally such that the average resident may never see those attending.

They are top end visitors normally and stay at top end hotels and resorts, may play golf, and see major attractions - which need not include Walking Street.

If he in fact wrote the suicide letter in his pocket, what's to investigate by BIB ?

Very sad.

If the idea is get "better" workers than Thais or if for some reason Thais cannot be found for the job, then fine. But be careful if the motivation is for cheaper labour (not saying that it is though) because Labour Laws and minimum wage rules can trap you and fines are heavy.

Myself, I am confused sometimes by non-Thai Asian personnel and remember once in a very exclusive hill resort with my Thai daughter when she spoke for some minutes with a beautifully decked out receptionist in traditional Chiangmai "Lanna" costume only to learn that the girl could not speak Thai as she was a Filipino ....

In an ideal world, only court convictions would get reported and then the debates would be short. But when every arrest seems to hit the local news that's all we see and react to. I am willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt but cannot help speculating none the less.

Ok. I understand. That is always possible and in this case the procurer could have lied but then how would she have known him and his other actions speak against that possibility to my mind. In other cases, the burden of proof is with the family and just their word is not likely to gain any conviction even if they might gain money from a scared guy.

to "Sailing Home" - due process equates to fairness and in most cases I have seen in Thailand that can and does apply. A person is caught via an arrest warrant, can be jailed then bailed and the court will decide the outcome. Legal representation may not be freely provided though as it can be elsewhere.

To "theoldgit" - yes, you can indeed get "stitched up" by a family who might have known or even arranged that you had sex with their 12 year old daughter but the act itself is still illegal and morally inexcusable.

As a Thai festival, it does not need overly enthusiastic foreigners to increase the hazards of its modern day manifestation.

But if you like all that, go for it.

Some of us don't, that's all.

I have long felt that a max speed limit of 60kph should be posted all along SSCC and it is not just bikes but foreigners in cars who speed along that road and around the lake. I have been forced to the road side by oncoming speeding cars on the wrong side of the road on blind corners and traffic is getting heavier along the road all the time. It pays to be ultra careful when using SSCC.

There is a fine line between what is accepted as self defense or aiding a victim and breaking a law but in this situation and others Thai police would have done the same in their car. Risky, but a Thai could get away with it easier than a foreigner and I would not recommend such an action !

Funny. But it was a bit nearer to 1960

I used to like the older and more traditional scented water in a small bowl and asking permission of elders by younger folks to sprinkle some and the truer meaning of it all. I have long avoided, to the extent it is possible, the free for all soaking via buckets or hoses and will venture no further than nearby food and drink stores when absolutely necessary.