Burma Bill

Well I never!!

Great to see the progress of this SRT metre gauge double track to the Mekong at Chaing Khong. It will certainly improve travel in this region, also providing a link with Bangkok. I see SRT have got their priorities right and are delaying the Chinese HST from Vientiane to Bangkok via Udon, Khon Kaen and Korat.

Sorry for the houseowner, I hope it was insured. However, the fire destroyed a load of garbage preventing it piling up and festering for rats and soi dogs!

NEVER!

Very sad IMO. Trying to escape persecution and genocide being dished out by a terrible Junta run terrorist organisation - the Tatmadaw!! At least they were given refreshments and, I hope, advice on how to remain in Thailand legally and not be thrown back across the border.

Correct. I, and many other Northern folk, do not regard them as crooks, as can be seen by the reception he is currently getting in Chiang Mai. If you want crooks, look at the yellow business magnates, military, parliamentarians (excluding MFP) and the so-called "establishment" - the people who stitched up the Shinawatras! I now live in Cambodia so maybe I will be able to see them during another cross-border visit.

With respect and IMO, it is the yellow establishment in Bangkok that is scamming Thailand to this very day! I refer to him as "sir" because I lived in the North of Thailand (Lanna) and benefitted from all the improvement projects he introduced throughout his 2 terms as a truly democratically elected PM, also the one term with his sister as a truly democratically elected PM. Basically, prosperity was brought to the north in tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and business investment. I witnesed these and that is why I do not give a damn about the hatred that eminates from down south. I bet many of you moaners were not even around during Thaksin and Yingluk's terms as PM.

Welcome home, Sir, and ignore all the BS being aimed at you - especially from AN! Very disappointing I could not be in the welcoming crowd - enjoy your stay.

Maybe British mafia from the Costa Del Sol?

Thank you. Here is a recent observation on a Thai Air Asia flight. I was one of two passengers needing a wheelchair. Mine was supplied when I checked in and I was wheeled to the cabin door where I alighted and was able to take my seat near the front of the cabin. The second passenger, being severely disabled, had his own specially adapted wheelchair which he operated himself (no carer), with additional help at check-in, security check and boarding the aircraft. His seat was right at the front of the cabin. His own wheelchair was folded and securely stored near him at the bulk head. He was the first to board, then myself, and we were the last to leave the aircraft.

With respect, not strictly true. As a retiree on a 1 year retirement visa, I was invited to join the Thai Tourist Police as a volunteer, a job I did for 9 years. I did not need a work pemit as this was waived by the relevent government employment agency. Eventually I received a small wage which was agreed by TP HQ in Bangkok - 100 baht per call out. This was pre-covid and before I moved to Cambodia.

Sorry you had to pay for a wheelchair. I recently made 2 international "Fly-Thru" flights with Thai Air Asia from Siem Reap to Chiang Mai via DMK. I did not have to pay for a wheelchair - one was provided free for each leg of my journey. You cannot book a wheelchair with Thai Air Asia, you have to tick the "unable to walk long distance" box when booking on-line. When checking in, then you will be asked if a wheelchair is needed. An excellent sevice with caring ground crew who pushed the wheelchair. Thanks Thai Air Asia.

With respect, Thaksin was PM of a truly elected government. He was stitched up by the Bangkok "yellow" establishment who hated him.

Yes indeed, spying on your neighbour is one of the Tatmadaws evil methods However, swift retribution is handed out when these spy agents are identified Six people including a child were killed by a local resistance force in the town of Saw in central Myanmar’s Magway Region on Sunday night, relatives and locals told Myanmar Now. A group of at least 13 gunmen arrived at the house of 60-year-old Khin Maung Lin, the accused junta informant, at around 8pm. https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/alleged-junta-informant-killed-alongside-family/

I used to live near Chum Phae which has other "J Arthur's" who are not necessarily Thai. (ex pat bars pre-covid)

UK nursery rhyme (wikipedia)

Regarding landmines, the UNESCO site of Preah Vihear is now clear of such devastating weaponry. However, it would be very unwise to try and trek through the mountainside forests from the Thai side of the border - keep to the stone steps. This area of Northern Cambodia became the last stronghold of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Now a very popular tourist attraction with tours from Siem Reap.

Poipet in Cambodia, across from Aranyaphrathet in Thailand, is very popular with Thais and other international gamblers who pack the resorts and casinos, especially at weekends. There are no casinos near Preah Vihear, however westwards along the same mountain ridge at the Chong Sangam (Sisaket, Thailand) Choam (Cambodia) border crossing is the mountain top, luxurious Sangam Resort and Casino in Cambodia, again very popular with Thais and foreigners especially from the Surin/Sisaket and Ubon regions. Surprisingly, it is Khmer owned, not Chinese (as I have reliably been informed).

Thailand’s Kantharalak district to reopen Preah Vihear temple after 16 years A very misleading headline. Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO and major tourist site, has always been open as it is wholly within a mountainous area of Cambodia. As you can see in the photo, from the Thai side a pair of closed rusty barbed wire covered gates will, I presume, be opened to provide foot passage to the stone steps ascending to the temple. There is no road access from Thailand, just the steps - it is so mountainous. From the Cambodian side, a steep winding road has to be negotiated. You have to park at "base camp" and change to 4WDs driven by trained locals to the temple car park area above. No such chance for cross-border trade and traffic - impossible when I visited pre-covid.

Thanks Sheryl and yes, as I experienced at Aranyaphratet. I had taken my normal dose of insulin at breakfast, then no food/drink at Immigration, other than the chocolate bar from a kind tourist. This life threatening risk is the reason why I have never been able to get Life/Medical/Health/Covid insurance, only Accident insurance with Bangkok Bank when I lived in Thailand.

You have my sincere sympathy as I am a type 2 insulin dependent diabetic. Since being diagnosed 30 years ago, only once have I gone HYPO, and it was a very frightening and upsetting experience. Pre-covid, I was returning to Thailand from a holiday in Siem Reap. I found myself in a massive queue at Aranyaphratet Immigration having crossed from Poipet. After 2 hours in the queue (with another 2 hours still to wait) I started to develope the same symptoms as described by your goodself. I collapsed onto the floor and people came to my aid. Fortunately I did not pass out and was able to state "diabetic - sugar needed". A very kind lady gave me a thick chocolate bar. Thai Immigration itself sent a medic who provided a bottle of drinking water and escorted me to a wheelchair. I eventually regained my normal composure and was processed through immigration much earlier than expected. I had my usual insulin injection earlier that morning but did not expect such a long wait - my mistake! Please note their are NO drinks/food facilities upstairs in Aranyaphratet Immigration - not even a cold water dispenser for people waiting in such long queues. Now I carry a can of COKE with me when travelling.

What a muppet!

In case you are wondering what they could be used for (ref. Google) Through their diet primarily on rodents the Indochinese rat snake is natural pest control, regulating rodent, frog and lizard populations as well as providing food for birds of prey and larger snakes. Due to it's size the rat snake is a food source for locals in the countries they are present. They were regular visitors to my garden in the mountains near Phayao, where I had a large rice storage shed that attracted mice and rats. They are NOT venomous and will not harm you. Leave them be and let them go on their way, as I did.

Not necessary in Chiang Mai - "home territory". One of the family businesses: Welcome home Sir!

for exmple THAI which needs the cash to repay debts and purchase new planes?