hansnl

The sad thing is the tourists from Europe, Australia and the US, spending most into the local economy, stay away.

The poorer people depending on income from those tourists will feel this most.

Whoa, one Brit breaks the law and there is already a score of gainsayers and apologists ? Immigration laws are serious business in every country. Follow them. Respect them. Fear them. Don't mess around with them.

Now I was thinking that in most countries in Europe those laws & rules are.......flexible?

Respect.fear, don't mess around?

Tell that to all those economic asylum artists flooding your and my country.

Wife just did the same.

No trouble anywhere.

The bus number I do not know, but departs from the airport transport centre.

Discounts are negotiable

Airbags can be standard equipment

Guess no difference between CM en BKK.

Anyway, after sales service might become a little difficult if you buy a car in BKK and go for service ion CM.

I do know that Ford, Isuzu and Nissan have a 50,000-75,000 baht margin to play with, depending on the type.

As a foreigner you will probably become a better customer for service, kindly refer to that.

And of course, sometimes there are "promotions"

I posted this in another thread but it really belongs here!.

OK I have watched the CNN interview or the bit that is posted - see the live news today thread..

and noboby cares what my opinion is but me but.....

Abhisit doesn't believe his own spin; sorry, but he reminded me of one of my own UK mob, Tory or Labour - that sort of weasly politician that we get in UK who deny, prevaricate and, leave bits out in answers, stumble about but do everything but look confident or in control when they know they are on, shall we say, shaky ground. Humphreys or Paxman would have had him for breakfast or dinner respectively.

The very interview itself is an attempt to convey the Thai government message that this government is indeed legitimate, despite the world's scepticism, the interview actually opening with that very question of why do so many question your government's legitimacy. His reply says what he is programmed to say but the world has up to now not, I am afraid, bought it and for me, they are not going to be any closer to buying it after this interview. Sorry, but I am a media observer and that is what I observe...

And it seems remarkably that jingthing and myself are in agreement!!!

Your comments might be interesting, if you leave out the phrase "the World"

The Thai Government of the day is indeed legitimate.

If you are a media observer, you sound a lot like a one-sided observer.

On the other hand, aren't we all media observers.

And who is able to observe without any alignment?

We both are obviously not able to observe without any bias.

The reds want dissolution of the parliament.

If Parliament is silenced, democracy is completely gone.

Until the next election the Government can do anything without parliamentary control.

More to the point would be if the reds asked the Government to become demissionary pending elections.

Parliament remains in session, the government becomes a caretaking one.

Now suppose the election ends with the same results as last elections.

No party gets a majority, which would not be a bad thing, because coalition governments are mostly better for a country and the people.

And also suppose the coalition that will be formed excludes the Thaksin followers, just like the coalition of the day.

What will the reds do then?

Declare the elections not valid?

Go back to the streets again?

Go on till the country will be in civil war?

Or maybe a military coup ala Burma?

Open your eyes.

The only thing the reds want is the return of Thaksin.

Maybe, just maybe, we will see reason rise from all this trouble which is threatening to break up this country.

Glad to hear a happy story George

It was not very long ago (2 months) that many were blinded in Khon Kaen hospital doing eye procedures

If you come too late, the doctor can only try!

I happen to know one of those "blinded" people.

Actually, he did not see anything before the operation, the doctor tried and the operation did not succeed.

But, if you do not trust the KK Hospital, go to the University Hospital.

You pay more, but what the he**l

You can also go to KK- RAM.

Same doctor as in KK Hospital.

Difference........150% more expensive.

I have a hard time seeing the yellows being able to pose any kind of threat to the Reds, it seems the Reds would have them way outnumbered and it wouldn't even be remotely close.

You really think so?

Yes, there is.

The Stae bus company runs a bus from Nong Khai-Udon Thani-Khon Kaen-Korat to the airport.

Line no 999

Departure time from Khon Kaen around 22:00

Tickets available from the Khon Kaen airco bus station...in the evening, ticket window 1 in that bus station.

Arrival in Suvarnibhumi around 5-6 in the morning.

Price around 400 baht, including some food tickets valid in Korat.

And he is not in charge. Watch your back mate. If he shouts fire, who knows which way the bullets will be flying. Certainly Thailand will be flying up the UN's list of oppressive regimes and even onto US sanctions lists.

PAD, the people who wrested power from the People on the premise they were too stupid to vote, through mob rule and army control by their elite backers are now coming back on to the street to ensure that the power is not returned through the ballot box.

Can I have accurate soundbite of the day for that please on the BBC?

Nice organisation and I am not surprised they are disguising themselves as multi colourted protesters.

Once the yellow shirts go on, then the army will split.

As in every dispute, there are more sides, more visions, morefacets.

And let's face it, nowhere in the world "the people" are really running the country.

Anywhere capital is running the country.

And did you ever study the results of the last elections?

Although there was a great deasl of vot-buying by the reds, they were not able to get a majority.

NO party had a majority, so it was coalition time.

This coalition was dissolved, and a new coalition was formed; the government of the day.

Power of the people, dear sir, does not exist.

Politicians, anywhere in the world cannot be trusted.

They are in t for money, for power, or for both.

Don't even think that any politcian is in politics for you.

What is the weight of the car is the most important question.

1700 kilo,

2500 cc maybe 1:10; 3000 cc 1:9;5 auto transmission,

3000 cc maybe 1:10,5; 3000 cc 1:10 manual transmission

Maybe a little better, but not much

As far as I know, if you pay the whole price, no problem to get the car in your name.

Trouble starts if you want to finance the car.

Depending on the finance company or the bank they will give you a loan, but together with a Thai national.

Or a Thai national guarantees the loan.

Even so, the car can be in your name, or in two names.

But the fianance company get the ownership papers.

Best way, if you are able to do, pay the who;e sum, car in solely in your name, no need for guarantees from anyone.

I did!

Sometimes we have to admit to ourselves that we are definitely in the "throw-away" ratrace.

That being so, we go on living.

However.

Maybe ink for the the Canon Bubblejet will still be available,

The new owner might shop around.

To clean the printheads might make the difference for the quality of the printwork.

Have a look around, there will always be someone who will be glad to take all your stuff off your hands.

Even a dead monitor might be suitable for spare parts.

The answer to al the Songkran trouble, buy a very big watergun, fill it up with nearly freezing water and shoot.

Towards the crotch area!

Works fantastic with men and women.

Not sure if its the heat or just another crazy episode in thai politics --- well one this is for sure after two years of war in the streets - and the airport closures by the untouchable yellow shirts -- who is going to bother coming back here again for songkran or for that matter any other reasons to visit the "land of smile" - this has to be the death blow for the tourism sector - as if the world economy was not enough -- well maybe the PM can create a new project to plant more rubber trees and mass produce rubber duckies -=- VNAT - Vietnamese Association of tourism will be rubbing there hands in glee -the next major tourist destination - feel sorry for the hospitality industry workers also who are sure to face layoffs because of all of this --

if normal practice in riot control were applied -- and not the use of live rounds - things may have been a little different - maybe not - but without the high body count -- so much for the govt saying they were using international standards in riot control -- maybe i have missed reading something about the police and army shooting live bullets into the protesters - tear gas and water cannons are the most common methods used -

Not a good idea to have live rounds at all. In the stress and heat of a situation, it is very easy for a soldier to load the wrong bullets or forget if has rubber or live rounds in the weapon. Even if the army was shooting into the air the bullets will fall back to earth and potentially injure or kill someone.

Contrarary to what you think, it is a very good idea for a policeman or military to have live rounds with you if it is known that the opposing "forces" are armed too.

Any police force reacting to an uprising, demonstration or whatsoever will have a shield, a kind of baton, helmet, body armour, maybe cs-gas or pepperspray AND his personal weapon.

As I see it, the body count, seen the violent behaviour of the reds, the arms used against the police and the army, the high temperature, the knowledge that they are more or less at the end of their tether, it is indeed an example of high restraint of the security forces that the body count was not much higher.

Some time ago in The Netherlands there was a beach party that backfired.

The policemen threatened to be killed by the mob were indeed very lucky that they had available their pistol.

Several policemen were severely wounded, in the mob several were wounded and one "nice sweet boy" was shot and died.

So sorry, if you protest against something, better refrain from violent behaviour, it can backfire.

lifemagic.

so you went through all this to save 150 baht ( about 3 quid english or 6 ish us dollars )

or .... one ferang meal from the great cook in mad dog !

its very sad if you have to do this to stay or live here !

dave2

It is not about the amount!

It is about the money grabbing by the banks.

Banks, in general, that are to blame for the financial crisis.

If I could give the 150 baht charged by the bank to someone who needs it, I would gladly do.

But I hate giving money to banks diluting my pension by nearly 40%, and besides that cost me a COOL 9200 euro.

your are sure reading the wrong papers --- i cant recall ever reading that the present govt was duly elected -- they are there with the help of the army following a coup - u forget that part - and then the court banned all member of the present govt because they were taksins boys --- so if u are going to qoute facts - make sure the ones u quote are correct - and not pro yellow - sure sounds like it me and =- and the vast majority ahaaa

And if you wanna talk facts, no PM was ever elected by the people, MP's are elected by the people and then the MP's choose who will be the PM by parliamentary vote.

And just for your information, the coup ousted a caretaker PM who failed to call an election within the allotted time. They gave power back to the people and called a General Election about a year later, where PPP managed to cobble together a coalition government after failing to get a suitable majority to take power themselves. The Courts found the PPP leaders guilty of vote buying and banned them from politics, after which PTP was formed, but the Democrat party managed to get a big enough coalition together to take the government.

So maybe its you who are reading the wrong papers and need to check up on your facts

Wolfie, you are absolutely right.

But so sorry, this simple thing is very difficult to understand for people from the US who vote in a President, be it a stepped election.

In England there is a 2,5 party system, and there is always a majority due to the district voting.

In Holland, there are many parties in Parliament, and never in my life has there been a majority by one party, thank God.

We always have coalitions, which makes for a very moderate Government, all the time.

In Thailand it works more or less the same, coalitions.

And the pro-Thaksin coalition after the last election did loose out some partners to the other side: Abhisit c.s.

And if you look at his Government, he did not do too bad!

In relation to the economic world crisis

Fortuner is a better car in every aspect except suspension comfort, and if it wasnt for its Thai taxbreak it would have cost 1,9 mill baht.

I would rent a Fortuner 3,0d for a day, and if you find comfort acceptable you will not regret choosing one

I v had a CRV and I v had a Fortuner 3,0d. Wouldnt even consider getting a CRV again.

As for Chevy Captiva, its actually a Korean Daewoo sold in LOS and several other markets as Chevy. Quality and performance is ok, but if you cant stand the name or Chevy aftermarket...................

Indeed, the Fortuner is a bigger car.

But did you ever looked up the inside measurements?

Interesting stuff!

The Fortuner drives like a train, good diesel engine, but not enough space inside inside in relation to the outside dimensions.

I drive a CRV, good car, reasonable service costs.

Indeed uses rather high amounts of petrol.

The 3-litre diesel engine of the Fortuner, pulling around 1800-1900 kilo when loaded with people and gear is not really frugal.

10m km for every litre of diesel is barely attainable.

If you need a big car, diesel, lots of space, have a look at the Ford explorer.

The engine is just fantastic, and more frugal as the Toyota or Isuzu.

But did I have to choose, the CRV.

Same amount of space, drives very well, more carlike as the Fortuner.

Yes, not really frugal, 9,5 km per litre.

I never liked Honda cars, but the CRV I like very much

To close, Toyota had a name for build quality, HAD.

Have a look at the accelarator pedal of the Fortuner.

Take a meter taxi from the airport to the airco bus station.

Or take a meter taxi to the Kosa hotel, smack in the middle of the entertainment area.

Buses to Roi-Et, how often?

Will try to find out tomorrow.

Had a similar problem in Holland with my former employer.

Was pensioned off and rehired for projects during 2006 and 2007

If you are not a resident in the UK any more, as I am not in Holland, you might be free of UK taxes, as I am from Dutch taxes.

If you invoice your former company it depends where you actually worked for them.

If in Thailand, and invoice them for the work, no VAT (maybe income tax in TH)

If in the UK, there must be an invoice with VAT

So, up to you

I certainly hope this doesn't reflect some kind of anti-foreigner sentiment.

Would sure be ironic if it did!

Ironic?

Really?

Mr T was anti-falang

Actually, in a lot of countries, also in the west, there are laws against "showing affection in public" (lewd behaviour) or drinking in same.

I do know a few years ago one could not drink a pint outside the premises of the pub.

Not all laws are enforced, but they are there.

I am not certain, but I think there is a law in Thailand against kissing or showing affection in public.

If not, there are many Thai people who think it is not done.

About drinking in public, like smoking, I guess it might both be forbidden by law, but who cares?

In short, why buy a Volkswagen or Audi?

The most disgusting thing is that the "customers" are hunted everywhere in the world but that the "producers"can go on and on.

I do remember a case of an 8-year old Russian girl raped on tape and this filth displayed on the internet.

I somewhere read that the NZ and Australian police arrested hundreds of people that had downloaded this filth.

Strange thing is, I never read anything about the arrest of the "producers" and the finding of the victim.

And that illustrates completely the thing that makes me so bloody angry.

The police showing off (look hoe good we are, we arrested so many dirty old men).

They should be ashamed, they are unable to find the people who made this thing.

The film is just used by the police and justice departments everywhere to jack up the number of arrests, to look good.

But nowhere in the world any government tried to bloc this film.

I read somewhere that this filth can still be assessed and downloaded.

And, rightly, people are still arrested for downloading.

But when will the producers be arrested, will the filth disappear from the net?

One more proof of how good 'organized religion' is. We have a massive crowd of people in Europe coming out now claiming to have been molested by vicars, priest & bishops. How about the monks, which have accumulated massive wealth finally do something to help the people rather than have them go to their 'golden toilets' - check this, no joke! Pay for the sake of your soul, an age old business grounded on the superstition and childlike trust in 'authorities'. Well, the masters always said that you can talk to god directly, so cut out the corrupt middle-man. Sure there are decent monks, but I've seen to much of them shopping at Phantip Plaza, hanging onto mobile phones and smoking in public. "Here my son, your sins are gone, now go to the donation box"

Please do not generalise.

Most temples are NOT rich, and not every monk is in it for the money.

I know temples that are run like financial institutions and are there to glorify the temple, maybe.

But most temples and monks known by me are poor and trying to do some good, religiously and otherwise.

Yes, of course there are monks that are not in it on purely religious grounds and only going through the moves.

Of course there are temples that are rich.

But even so, they cater for a certain need of the general people.

You are right in your assumption that organised religion might be "over the top", a power-thing.

But there are still temples and monks, churches and priests, synagogues and rabbi's, mosques and imams or any other sect or religion, that try to do good, even fight for the wellness of the people against the politico's.

But, monks, priests, reverends, imams are only human.

With all the faults that brings.

And yes, being in a religious office might give more "chances", bring seductions.

But please, don't generalise.

Mind you, I am not a religious type, I abhor "organised religion" and I abhor politicians.

Members of both groups are mostly, but not all, in it for the power or the money or both.

But I do know that in religion there are more people less inclined to embrace power & money as in politics.

And I do know that lots of people need religion, rich or poor, organised or not.

About the "coming out" of all the "victims" of the Catholic Church, in Holland alone the number of victims is getting over the top.

Friend of mine said, if the growth goes on like that soon there will be no priest, monk, or nun free of guilt and all catholics will be victims.

Mind, I don't say it did not happen, I don't say it is awful, but I do get a tiny doubt if all selfproclaimed victims are telling the truth.

Yes, bank book balance and letter from the bank must match exactly. The reason is to prevent 'tampering', in much the same way as marriage certificate by itself is no longer acceptable to immigration for extensions of stay based on marriage and they also want to see copy of amphur ledger entry. Some banks actually freeze the account for 24 hours after issuing immigration letter to avoid account balance changes.

KOR ROR 2 and KOR ROR 3