Kimera

And the answer is that no-one seems to care sufficiently to answer your question. One of Thailand's great virtues is the tolerance it shows to people who don't fit the mainstream.

Yes good post! that should be the end of it!

You may not have a phobia by your definitions, but you certainly seem to have an obscession.

Yes, a very strong Obsession, one of which I'm verfy proud! I stay clear of TV's and Trannies........ A sorry Lot!

There is yet to be a great problem in thailand as to the LB issues. Where do they go when they get old and nobody wants to see them. This sorry rage is not new but one the scale it happens now where will they go when they are used up. I sta with my Isssan Familly every other month and NOBODY in Issan wants them. When will they go.....Well, there is one in Patong that owns a bar on beach road but likely it will be a case of their exsistance saddens even more with age........ NO sex for money, no jobs as entertainers what will they do as people of thailand don't want them. IT is going to be a big problem! What to do with Used Up LB's right now one very sad aspect of their exsistance is riing in as a demographic. High Death rates at an early age. Both self inflicted and abnormal deaths related to organ failure because of the horrific level of hormones injected.....Plain and Simple, they are dying young due to their life styles... I lived in the Hill of San Francisco adn drove thru the "Castro" gay neighborhood everyday. the place was bustling but 25 years later is is a smallish community where the motrality rate was many time higher than normal people, as is the case with transgender...

Ahh my american friend, I wonder when you get old who would want to see you ?

The story is good, but its a story that could have happened five years ago, and im sure it did to some people, it all depends on many things, the players personalities (we know nothing of them) its not a product of Thailand gone wrong its always been here, yes there are more people here now falang and thai, but the thai live here and they learn and yes Phuket (used to be a tranquil and beautiful place) Quote,,, Then I wonder what the place is like that makes you want to come to Phuket, not tranquil then? and I suspect that the girls there there would not spend one night with you for 2000 baht let alone 3 nights... take it like a man!!!

I found this on Stickmans submission section and thought it was spot on.

Phuket in my mind has become a very ugly place - greed, violence has replaced what used to be a tranquil and beautiful place. many many are starting to turn their back on phuket.....................so but a reality

read below

It Had To Happen Sooner Or Later

By Billy The Hat

The subject of the title of this submission is the sadness, but acceptance; of the changes I saw during my recent visit this Xmas to Phuket. Of all the places I have visited in Thailand, Phuket was always a favourite place of mine and I had made some great friends there, both Thai and farang.

This Xmas was my first return for a year, as my previous 2 visits during 2006 were to the northeast of Thailand, an altogether different experience with enough material for a future submission.

But this year’s visit to the island was to be very different holiday.

I arrived in mid-December at Bangkok’s new airport and looked forward to seeing what all the hype had been about. As my job entails the preparation of engineering and technical drawings for structural engineers, architects and civil consultants, I was naturally interested to see what had been built. First impressions, architecturally, were that the proportions of all that truss were completely wrong (subjective of course.) The place was obviously not finished, and the elements that stood were poorly fabricated and detailed. Where did all that money go? (Rhetorical question really.)

Also noted more military than any other previous holidays.

I stood and waited an hour for my bag. Equally frustrated passengers had already taken the small amount of seating.

I have been to Thailand many times and had long learnt some important differences as to how things are done here. If you had asked me, prior to the start of construction, how it would turn out, I would have said that they would make a complete ‘pigs-ear’ of it. No question. The Bangkok Post has stated that domestic flights may be returning back to Don Muang as early as March 2007.

My taxi transfer to my hotel was a little strange, due to the fact that the driver said absolutely nothing. Zilch. Not a murmur, no detours, no offer to see ‘velly plitty girls’ and no hard luck story. I was almost offended. Arriving at the hotel, of which I had used for several years, I noticed an unusually subdued welcome and atmosphere. I was in Bangkok for 3 nights and checked out the usual venues and some new ones. Yes, there was definitely a different pulse to the city this time. In the Emporium Mall I saw many more staff and security than shoppers.

These observations in Bangkok were not the cause of my sadness.

On the morning of my flight down to Phuket, I felt good as I was off to my favourite island and had already made arrangements to meet up with friends down there. Over the years, I had done all the tourists things and now all I wanted to do was relax, do as little as possible, and enjoy my time off. No deadlines, no screaming telephones, no stress, just 17 days of quality sloth. Bring it on.

It was mid-afternoon when I arrived at Phuket International and the weather was clear and warm.

But then it started.

Looking out of the taxi window, on-route to Patong, I could see the quite drastic changes that had happened to this beautiful island over the course of just one year. Huge gouges of earthworks had been scalloped out of the terrain, most of which was unretained. Where had all the trees gone? There seemed to be at least twice as much traffic spewing out noise and fumes. So much new domestic building was now lining junctions and intersections, mostly in the format of charmless linear blocks. We stopped at a junction where such a development had taken place. It looked liked it was ‘completed’ and was ready for occupation.

The concrete had already started to discolour and the metalwork showed signs of corrosion. How was the island supposed to sustain growth like this with its current fragile infrastructure?

Yes, I know it’s called ‘progress’ but civic planning designed by the blind, managed by the deaf and built with breathtaking incompetence?

If the island had a soul, it was gasping and screaming for its life.

Falung tink too mutt.

The taxi moved on.

Coming over the top of Patong Hill, the familiar skyline of Patong Beach came into view and we cruised down the hill into town, towards the guesthouse I would stay at for the next 17 days. This guesthouse is located on the southern end of the town and run by western guy and his Thai wife, and I have stayed here a number of times. Lovely people. As the taxi threaded his way through the traffic, it struck me how many more westerners were here this year. Yep, its high season I know, but this was more than I had ever seen. Not a problem, just an observation.

I checked in, showered and decided to go out and open the game with a herbal sauna, a 1-hour foot massage followed by a 1-hour oil massage. That should loosen me up a little for the evening methinks.

Out and onto the Two Hundred-Year Road, I bought some newspapers and headed in the direction of a tried and trusted massage shop, about ½ mile or so walk. It was during this walk that I first started to notice the different pulse and vibe now present here. It did not feel good and this was only my first day.

Where a year ago there had been sundry shops and eateries, these had now become massage shops, perhaps another 15 or so. (Patong is not a big town.) The sales pitch was now one almost akin to aggressive begging where the girls would shriek from chairs positioned in the walkway. Amusing at first, but very irritating after a few days and after a week I had started to take other routes or walk in the road to avoid the hassle. The girls had now got very greedy and this was noted when I started to take my daily massages. If I went in for a foot massage, there would be immediate hassle to have oil massages with the assumed extras. On the occasions that I had an oil massage, there would be at some point a question as to if I wanted ‘special massage?’ when asked how much, the girls would whisper ‘1000 baht’.

Greedy little...

“No thank you, just the massage please.”

“How mutt yoo give me?”

“No thank you, just the massage please.” (Always polite, no anger, you win, don’t feel bad, it’s your money.)

Even in Bangkok, I had never been charged/asked for this much for just a hand-job/other with an oil massage. More importantly, I wouldn't have minded so much but for the boorish fxxxwit attitude of most of the girls. What a difference a year has made.

A lot of frequent male visitors to similar places in Thailand may tell you that some of the nicest girls you will meet will be the recent arrivals. I don’t just mean bargirls, but ordinary girls who are there to work in normal jobs. I had a problem with my sunglasses, which, as they were an expensively framed item, required the services of a proper optician. I found a shop and entered, and was greeted by a most attractive Thai girl who asked in very good English, if she could help me. I explained my problem and she asked me to take a seat whilst she took the glasses away. About a minute later she returned, smiling, and said that the optician would need about 10 minutes to see if he could fix the problem and she then handed me a fresh glass of chilled water. I speak a little Thai but she was happy to speak in English. We conversed about this and that and she told me that her company, just for the high season, had sent her down from Bangkok. There were no buffalo or hard luck tales, her eyes were clear and her skin was unblemished by the current fashion to have a hideous tattoo. I liked her.

She returned behind the shop counter to retrieve my glasses and came back with them mended. I asked “How much?” and she replied “No charge!”

I was caught quite unawares by this and stood there a little awkwardly.

“Er....er....could I take you out for a meal tonight then?” I chirped.

“Okay, but I not finish work until 9:00, can you make it?”

“No problem, I will see you then. You like Thai food?!!” I joked, and walked out of that shop like a tomcat with 2 dicks.

We met up that evening and went to a quieter part of the town, away from the ‘Dante’s Inferno’ that is the Bangla Road area. (This area is mentioned later.)

Good food, lovely company and most certainly one of my best evenings during my stay.

There are no diamonds here but there are pearls.

Recently opened, but by no means complete, is the new Jung Ceylong shopping mall. This has been under construction for a number of years now and probably the only really finished part, which is open, is the Carrefor supermarket. Within the open plaza, you can marvel at the botched water feature, which soaks the pedestrian bridge and causes a bad slip hazard. To the right of the slippery bridge, your breath will be taken away by the site of a large model ship of no discernible style or origin, bobbing away in all of a metre of water! The Japanese seem to like it though.

Oh, and the noise. I must mention the noise thing. Does anyone know the person (Thai?) who spread the message that all farangs must be relentlessly bombarded with music at maximum decibels wherever they go? Go anywhere now in Patong, be it a market, restaurant, coffee shop, mall, whatever, and you will get no peace from this torture. This again has got much worse this year. More horrifically may be the fact that they think we like it! You can see it in the travel brochures now: “REMEMBER THE USA/KOREA CONFLICT AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL NOISE THING WITH THE LOUDSPEAKERS OVER NO-MANS LAND? IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JUST THIS TYPE OF EXPERIENCE, THEN COME ON OVER TO THAILAND FOR YOUR HARD EARNED HOLIDAY!!!!” <This is not just a Phuket thing and loud noise is found nationwide - Stick>

A little now concerning the behaviour of some farangs and why I can see why a lot of Thais may dislike us. As I said earlier, I had noticed a lot more farangs this year on the island. In years past, it was normal just to hear English, German and Scandinavian languages spoken. This year was different; many tourists from European Eastern block countries (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, etc,) could be seen and heard around the town. Going by their general behaviour, they were here for the first time, loud-mouthed, aggressive and arrogant. Not usually the best attributes to help you co-exist with your Thai hosts. Half of Rome also seemed to be here on one particular day, by the Patong Tower access road, where I was having a foot massage. They spoke very loudly in Italian breaking into English only to give the girls abrupt instructions as to what they wanted. They strutted around like they owned the place, moaning about the hotel and the food, “not like momma used to make.” The body language from the girls said more than any words.

In an intrinsically racist country, it is best to come and go as quietly as possible remembering that soon you will be back home. They have to live here. Don’t worry too much about the racist thing; they’re just as bad to their fellow country people. It’s not just you.

I was munching a mid-day breakfast, when I overheard 2 farangs discussing an incident that occurred the previous day. It concerned the issue of face. One blurted out the classic line: “Yeah, but you can't do that otherwise you will lose face and they (the Thais) will think you’re stupid.”

This never fails to rile me when farangs come out with &lt;deleted&gt; like that.

I just want to shout at them: “YOU CANT LOSE FACE YOU IDIOT, YOU’RE NOT THAI. STUPID, YES, BUT FACE SAVING IS THEIR HANG UP, NOT YOURS. GOT IT? IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT, IS IT?” (er...did I just lose face there?!!)

I continued to read my newspaper. The lead article was a ‘where’s the money gone?’ item. It transpires that after the tsunami, an international committee was set up to distribute moneys donated from around the world to the areas affected by the disaster. The local Colonel interviewed seemed rather upset that the donating committee had ordered a full financial audit as to the whereabouts of several million baht not accounted for. He inferred that the farang should look at themselves first! This item followed a recent story where 2 million baht of disaster money had gone ‘missing’ whilst in the ‘safe’ hands of the boys in brown. This case was stalled in the Thai courts, nobody charged, and that’s how it is here. Salt of the earth these people, salt of the earth.

On the subject of money, it is worth noting the huge price rises across the board. Some examples are: Beach chairs up 100%, a bottle of Chang up from 50-60 baht to 80-100 baht (beer-bars). Entrance to the Tiger Disco up from 100 baht to 240 baht. I saw ‘lady-drinks’ priced at 200 baht and this was an outside bar, not a go-go! Even the new flush of massage shops are charging top whack for some pretty amateur services. No matter how bad the service is or was, everybody has his or her hand out for a tip.

All of these things, and more, were starting to wear me down. It was usual that at the end my holiday, I always wished for a few more days. Now I was looking forward to going home. On New Year's Eve, something bad happened to me that shook me up a little. This happened in the Bangla Road area bars.

When I had first arrived and had nothing else planned for the evening, I would usually end up seeing some old friends (and some new) down at the various bars off Soi Bangla. It was here that I made my first big mistake. I broke the 2-day rule. I took the same girl for 3 nights before I told her that I did not want see her anymore. I thought that was that but she had now put an invisible marker on me. She had started following me and hung around where I was staying. I managed to avoid her until New Years Eve.

When I saw her she seemed okay, but as I’m not a psycho, spotting a real one was not so easy. I bought her a drink and wished her happy New Year. Then she started. “She say you take girl over there the other night”

“WHAT?”

The barmaid had told her that I had taken another girl from another bar the other night and was making a big issue about it.

“Look, I’m not your boyfriend and what I do is nobody’s business but mine, okay?”

My explanation, as if I was duty bound to explain to a bargirl, did nothing to stop her going on and she wouldn’t let the matter drop and enjoy the evening. Why hel_l, I was going home in a few days!

I had to get rid of her and I explained to the farang barkeep, who I knew well, what the problem was. I told him I was going to slip off to another bar and come back later. I paid my tab and waited until she was distracted with somebody else and made good a quick exit to another bar up the road without her.

About 15 minutes later, I was drinking at a bar talking with some girls who worked at the place where I was staying. I felt a sharp tug at my shirt and I turned to see that she had found me. She looked very agitated and was swinging a beer bottle in right hand. “WHY DID YOU WALK OFF?” she screamed.

She acts like this and wants an explanation?

I talk to her and keep a careful eye on that bottle. I don’t want to hurt her or cause a scene, and I manage to get her to walk away from the bar and out onto the Bangla Toad. I look to see if there are any Tourist Police around as I’m now sure that if I turn my back on her, I will get glassed. I try to speak to her but it is pointless and she is getting more worked up. She now empties the remaining beer and raises her arm to strike. Like I said, I did not want this to happen, I’m on my own and a long way from home, but she is not going to be allowed to do this. I have no choice now; I quickly grab both of her arms in a strong grip and walk her very rapidly backwards into a shutter door, and tell her to drop the bottle. She is now shouting and coming on like the victim. I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders. I try to turn and look but need to keep an eye on her. This is a bad situation. I glance round and see the face of a farang guy who asks what I am doing and notice that I’m getting the eye from a number of Thai guys. I tell him that I just want her to drop the bottle and I don’t want any trouble. His friend takes the bottle from her hand; I push her backwards, turn and disappear in to the crowd. I don’t want to hang around for any more.

This incident shook me up and the adrenalin was still pumping. I looked down and realised that I had some blood on my chest from two quite deep scratch marks. Otherwise I was okay.

A quick interjection here folks: If you read anything on Stick's site about ‘the 2-day rule’, be sure to believe it. Take it from me.

About an hour later, I return to my friend’s bar and tell him what happened. He seats me behind the bar, and tells the girls to warn us if they see her. A few drinks later I have started to relax again and get back into the party mode. The rest of that evening was great fun and I retired under the sheets about 7 or 8 the next morning.

The next evening, I am talking to a mamasan who I have known for about 4 years, and tell her about the previous evening. She stares at me with a mixture of shock and concern and demands to know who this girl was. I tell her a name, age, looks and the bar where she works. The mamasan disappears and returns about 10 minutes later. “I deal with her. This very bad for business”. She then bought me a drink, gave me a T-shirt and told me she was sorry that this had happened. I thank her.

I never saw the bad girl walking around Patong again for the remainder of my stay. Shit happens.

On my last evening on the island, I reflected on the events and observations of the last 2 ½ weeks. It felt a little like the death of an old friend and the sadness that brings. It was not just the bargirl incident, but also the culmination of many things. I am so glad that I had the experience of coming here before all of this.

Yes, I’ll miss the old island.

Rest in peace my old friend.

I have to go now.

Stickman's thoughts:

A lot of Thailand has changed - and been damaged by the oh so common effects of mass tourism.

There are a number of reasons why foreigners choose to come to Thailand, but I wonder how long all of these will remain. I mean, cheap prices and friendly service used to be a part of it, but as you have alluded to, these are not necessarily the norm these days!

The author cannot be contacted.

Well my friend I have to say you have opened up a bag of worms I am surprised so many posts !!!

I am having quite a bit of work done with the Dr at Dent Smile clinic at 218/39 Thepkasatrie Rd in Muang Phuket (Phuket town) The Dentist is a super nice woman and very gentle. The prices are better than where I went before.

Her staff speaks SOME English ... hers is better

Feel free to PM me for her number etc

Yes thank you I will pm you

so apart from the beach and bars what other things/attractions are there ? also is there a lot of british people living there ?

Check out the web sites its a beautiful place and Yes there are lots of British living in Phuket we are everywere in the world

well guys she only comes three times a week for 3 hours a day, so it isnt a full time job and she happens to do a great job and nothing gets stolen.

Thats the other side of all this, you have trust and friendship

yeah, youll learn that 1000-1500 baht a month doesnt buy either.

Yes I understand what you say but in many cases neither does 100 baht an hour as the Thais say its up too you !

can you say .

information overload

Can you say, originaly posted on 2004-03-02 13:49:19

3 years ago?

ummm...

There you see things dont get any better

Thai baht hits new nine-year high

BANGKOK: -- The Thai baht hit a new nine-year high against the dollar on Wednesday amid growing speculation that the army-backed government will soon lift controversial currency controls, dealers said.

The Thai currency reached 35.07 to the dollar in early morning trade, up from Tuesday's finish at 35.14-15.

The baht has risen nearly 12 percent over the past year, prompting the government to impose the capital rules in December in a bid to halt the currency's rise which has been dampening exports.

--AFP 2007-03-14

£ = 66.15 Today BKK bank no 12% drop over the last year less than 3% ?

well guys she only comes three times a week for 3 hours a day, so it isnt a full time job and she happens to do a great job and nothing gets stolen.

Thats the other side of all this, you have trust and friendship

I have visited Phuket Thailand twice, and I'm thinking about moving there when I sell my Florida home. My son has bought a home in Phuket and a room will be available to me. I like Phuket. With my income i'll be rich. I play tennis and I'll be looking for places to play. I play the trumpet so I'll want to attend jam sessions. I found a swinging venue Saxaphone Jazz and Blues in Patong. I met a lady from Quebec Canada there who was a good dancer and we danced for four hours. I really enjoyed the Blues Festival at The Hilton a few weeks past. I write fiction. I have published thirteen books. I have many interests. I'd love to converse with any forum member. I want to bring my two small doggies when I come so any info about customs (getting them there) would be appreciated.

Homepage

Phuket is beautiful and interesting place, I have a home in Thalang in the center of the island, I'm sure with such an honest post you will get all the help you need

When I'm next in town I'll be going right back to see the lady dentist there. She mentioned an upcoming few fillings, and I'll replace them with the new white filing types too.

On another track Thailand is good for much more healthcare. Go here if you want any sort of surgery, cosmetic or otherwise :

http://www.bangkokplasticsurgery.com/

I'm thinking of my ingrowing toenails, maybe even a circumcision. Which in the UK is £600. Thailand is amazingly cheap !

They also do ear correction, noses, bossoms, liposuction - tummy tucks, face lifts, etc all at affordable prices.

Circumcision Whooo.... just got an if'y crown (just joking) thanks for the input

He's right about the other thing

I pay mine 100 baht an hour as I think that is fair in relation to the job.

so on your 2 half days a week @ 4 hours a day, you could look at about 3,200 Baht per month.

I personally think 1000 - 1500 per month is a little cheap, as this is a person who works in your home. You are paying for loyalty, security and the cleaning, you wont get that if you pay peanuts IMHO.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

6000 to 8000 a month for this kind of work ie laundry. cleaning etc is a very good full time ( 60+ hrs) wage wage in Phuket your 100 an hour is 24000 per month this is serious money No wonder your monkeys like the the peanuts

On a more mundane note after the thread on Phuket being c**p, not something I subscribe to, I find it the most wonderful place.

Could someone give me a guide on how much to pay for a cleaner for a house on 2 half days a week?

I don't want to be mean but I don't want to be ripped off either.

Ta

Stu [happy to be coming to Phuket in April for good]

1000 -1500 bht per month

I get my teeth looked at while in Phuket as it is really cheap compared to the UK. It makes good sense to visit a dentist in LOS on every visit.

Imagine if you had your back to the sea and Bangla rd. Turn left onto Rat-u-thit road. Cross over and keep walking. At the lights turn right, and cross over. You will soon come to a dentist on your side of the road. This was where I went. Its a lady and she is very good.

I had all the amalgam fillings in my right lower jaw removed and replaced with the latest white type. The service was excellent.

In the UK a white filling is about £75. In Phuket they were £15.70 (1100 baht).

Thanks left and right Patong City

I've noticed a great deal more reports recently of guys getting drugged or doped in beer bars in Patong

and then waking up in their room 12 hours etc later with all their money and possessions

being stolen and with no recollection as to what happened and or feeling very ill.

Its a concern to see this becoming a all to frequent occurerence in Patong. I would suggest people going there be vigilant in who makes their drink and keep a very close eye on it

I live here and mostly you dont really need to be drugged you can just wake up in the morning (drunk or sober the night before anywhere in the world) and still find the same situation... I have to say that its never happened in Patong to me or any of my friends.. but please understand the rules and how MOST of the bars work

No-one seems to be safe in LOS these days.

Or anywhere else for that matter. The world seems to becoming more violent, and I think less tolerant, everywhere.

Nah.

I think the world was always less tolerant. It's just that now, it's easly reported.

You are are correct, its always been with us ( and on sometimes much worse ) except now we dont have to wait 3 months for the Clipper to bring the news,

I went to a few here and they were hacks. So I now go to Bangkok Pattaya hospital. There prices are almost the same as I would pay in the US and in some cases much more. I need a lot of work done in the future on implants and I think I am going to have to travel to Bangkok. Some of the dental places that advertise on this site have prices 50% of what Bangkok Pattaya hospital charges.

Thank you for the input

Thanks for the replies people

Can anybody recommend a good dentist on the island

Sorry to bring this back but surely some of you will have been to the dentist?

several shots of hard liquor, a Viagra and then vigorous sex with a bar girl is 'a life-threatening cocktail'.

how does a tourist hold his liquor ?

by the ears usually.

Whooo hold on with the vigorous

Can anybody recommend a good dentist on the island

Swede run over by 10-wheel truck

KARON: A Swedish man was killed instantly on Patak Rd on Friday afternoon after he fell off his motorbike and was run over by a 10-wheel truck.

Tommy Leif Jonsson, 50, was driving a dark blue Yamaha Nouvo motorcycle over the hills between Kata and Chalong when he apparently lost control and fell off his vehicle near the Plub Pla Resort, Lt Col Anek Mongkol of the Chalong Police told the Gazette.

The driver of a 10-wheel truck following him failed to notice the fallen Swede, who was killed instantly when his skull was crushed and both legs broken.

The driver of the truck, 29-year-old Suwanchai Karnprakob, fled the scene in the vehicle, said police.

He was later arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, and released without bail.

According to police, Jonsson was returning to his bungalow in Karon from Chalong Police Station when the accident occurred.

He went to the police station to report a motorbike accident he had just two days before in the hope of having his hospital fee for that accident covered by his insurance.

--Phuket Gazette 2007-02-27

The hill is scarey covered in spilt fuel and ridges of solid concrete from the lorries no wonder they blow the horn for Buda at the top

Condolances to the family..

Well not coming from a gun society i would not know that would I. So you are saying that there are no 6 shot 9mm hand guns?

No six shot - standard clip size 10-15.

The 9 mm is a semi auto round the pistol would have held up to 15+ rounds per mag. all the cases would have been ejected to the right of the gunman and would have been found normally with ease

Leading American brands want Thailand to be on Priority Watch List

Leading American brands Levi, Marlboro and LM, the Cable Broadcasting Satellite Association of Asia and the American Apparel and Footwear Association have urged the US government to downgrade Thailand to its Priority Watch List, citing worsening counterfeiting, according to the US Trade Representative's recent report.

Thailand is currently categorised in the Watch List as making limited progress in suppressing intellectual property violations. The USTR will announce its revision of the intellectual property violation grouping in April.

If Thailand is moved from the Watch List to the Priority Watch List, it would face difficulties when the USTR considers the country's status in the US' Generalised System of Preferences and other trade retaliation practices.

In the letter submitted to the USTR, Levi Strauss & Co, one of the world's largest brandname apparel marketers, said the piracy problem in Thailand is severe. The situation is hurting its local and international business. It said the Kingdom serves as a manufacturing base for imitation goods, and is a leading exporter of those goods.

-- The Nation 2007-02-27

It would be interesting to know how many of these products are made in Thailand. My firm in the UK sells (Realtree) clothing and they ARE made here!