hansnl

3 months ago I was in Copenhagen.

We checked the flight prices for a direct flight with both Thai Airways, SAS - Scandinavian Airlines System, British Airways and Air France....and Thai Airways was far the cheapest....so no complaints from me

But can anybody please tell me why tickets from The Netherlands/Germany to Bangkok are nearly half the price as tickets with the same companies from Bangkok to NL/D

One Company charges € 399 all-in for a ticket originating in Dusseldorf, while the charge from Bangkok is € 734 all in)

A not so new way of doing the same thing is putting a pay cap on the highest amount paid to any teacher. At the university I taught at, the emphasis was retiring good teachers, foreign and Thai, due to their high pay and hiring local teachers. An article in one of the English newspapers some time ago said that now there are so many Master degree applicants to all forms of work, the employers are now paying them the same rates as Bachelor degrees. Just another way like where you work to get you to leave. I expect teaching for foreigners will be slowly eroded away until it is not a viable way of working in the LOS. Now it is not about quality but the bottom line. Why pay for one when you can pay the same for more?

By the way, 19K is not much more than the Thai teachers started at where I taught. Foreign teachers got more depending on experience and level of education.

Friend of my daughter, 29 years old, double University degree (teaching and agriculture), Thai, was working for a private school in Khon Kaen for nearly 3 years.

With her another 7 teachers were fired. They were all earning 8,000-12,000 baht a month, for working 6 days a week, 8-10 hours a day, holidays were not given. or sometimes a day.

After protests about the delay of the monthly wages, the teachers were all fired without any compensation, while some of the teachers worked there for 10 years or more.

A few weeks later, after the school holidays, all the teachers were replaced by new teachers, fresh from the University.

For a pay of 6,000 baht a month.

Now the parents start protesting.

Why would that be?

Luckily, all teachers found other, better paying jobs, some in teaching, some in very different jobs.

AKA - also known as.

I guess we can call him Takki Shinegra now.

[/quote

Mr T, aka Thaksin, Takki The Fugutive

Sorry it is not the other way around, Rotterdam to Bangkok.

Now this is interesting. What if a large portion of this money were redistributed to the people of Isaan?

You really think so?

Allegedly he stole money from the state.

The money "distributed" to the people from the Isan came from the state too.

Or maybe you mean the money he spent on alleged vote buying, allegedly paying the red shirts, allegedly this.....allegedly that.

So many times allegedly, I would say where there is smoke there must be fire.......allegedly

Mr T, more as all politicians, or maybe most, is not in politics for the people or even his/her voters, but in politics for money, for power or both.

Never trust a politician, anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

Ahhhhh....the niceties of private hospitals.

Try to find a state hospital, or a university hospital.

Cheaper, same docters.......

Always went to Khon Kaen RAM, paid through the nose, service?

Then went to the Khon Kaen University hospital, was treated by the professor, spoke perfect English, told me the following:

If you want to pay a lot of money, go to RAM.

If you want the best treatment, come to this hospital

I don't see how a fall in the govt at the 11th hour will derail the court judgement against him, first there wouldn't be enough time for his cronies to regain power through an election or parliamentary vote before the verdict and even if and when they came back to power they wouldn't easily be able to influence the court at this late stage, since all the hearings and evidence gathering has finished.

It's more about timing for an election since the longer the Dem coalition holds out the more the economy will recover and with each desperate attempt to force them out, Thaksin is losing more and more credibility. They've got the momentum going now with the Cambodia crisis and want to create a last ditch attempt at forcing the govt to slip up (perhaps some military bloodshed to quell the riots). Remember these are conniving but not entirely sane or clever people involved (UDD, Puea Thai), just listen to some of their crazy rhetoric and accusations.

If he survives the Asset Seizure, then a PT govt would be able to work on somehow creating a re-trial for Thaksin, but I believe that a marginal decision will rule against him, considering how much havoc he's created for the country. Just imagine what sort of havoc he could create if you gave him back 2 billion US$. Perhaps they hope that behind the scenes they can cut a deal with him, whereby he gets his money back eventually when he's proven he can stay out of politics and fade away.

He can fight on and on, drag the country down as a bargaining tool but frankly I think one man taking on a whole system that has the courts and ethical advantage is just too big a mountain to climb. Ultimately he needs not only to somehow weed his way out of convictions but then face down a very dissatisfied country if justice is ultimately stymied.

What it might come down to his an outright civil confrontation between two halves of the country to the point that everyone loses, and ultimate Thailand has to ask itself do we put an individual or the country first. And I don't think Thaksin really wants to see that far down the line.

Oh yes, that is what he really wants.....power, raw ultimate power.

At any cost!

Now this is interesting. I wonder, could this also be done with a car?

I still have a Landrover Defender 110 in storage in Holland.

Bought it in 2003, modified it a lot, and would like to have it in Thailand.

The import duties and taxes are stupid.

I have been in the lucky circumstance to be able to compare three competitors side by side last month.

MU7, Fortuner and Thairung Elegance.

All 4-wheel drive, all automatic, all loaded with goodies like camera's, music centres, the lot.

The Fortuner was 2 months old, had 10,000 km on the meter.

I think this is a driver's car, very much so.

The engine is very smooth, the gear changes were hardly discernible.

Very fast indeed.

Nice car, typical Toyota, not really a funcar to drive, but presumably very much trustworthy.

The MU7, more trucklike with it leafsprings in the back, very strong engine, very fast too.

Nearly 3 months old, 9500 km on the counter.

Gives the idea that it is much more spacier inside as the Fortuner, impressive "face".

Not so silent inside as the Toyota, the gearchange is as smooth.

Then the Thairung Elegance.

It is an Isuzu, same engine, same gearchange.

I think better looking as the MU7, but that is personal.

Gives the idea of being less spacier as the MU7, but in fact is a little bigger.

Build quality is very good, no creaks and rattles.

As silent as the Toyota.

My choice, if you need a high speed express, Toyota

If you like a car with more space as the Toyota, MU7

For me, Thairung.

Friend of mine bought the new Mitsubishi SUV.

He tells me it is fantastic indeed.

Always had Isuzu, but now says the Mitsu is the better and most modern car.

Not so very silent, but very fast and pulls like a bat out of h_ll.

Don't know if the above is of any use.

My personal transport is a 8-year old CRV, and I think I will keep it for another 2 years.

Maybe in 2 years I will have the same problem as you have.

But then again, I will try to wangle an extended trial run with Toyota, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, and the Thairung offerings.

Seating comfort is very important, not only for the driver, but also for the passenger.

So don't hesitate to try out the back seats too.

Sit in it for some time, very enlightening.

I think the quality of the offerings in Thailand is good.

Should not be a problem as she has allready all the papers.

It only can be a problem as she is refused a schengen visa in the past from one of the schengen countries as they work together.

It should indeed not be a problem, but call the embassy before you go to there, you need to make an appointment for a visa.

Visit the website for telephone numbers and the rules.

I avoid Krungthai ATM machines.

I recently tried to withdraw 20,000 TB from one of the Krungthai ATM machines in Bang Yai and the money did not disburse.

I had to go to my bank and report the time and location of the machine along with the printed receipt.

It took a week to get my money back in to my bank account. During that time I noticed the same Krungthai ATM machine was Out-of-Service.

Also, at least on the Krungthai ATM machine I was using, the ink on my receipt began to vanish within a few days.

I stick with the Siam and Bangkok bank ATMs. Never had a problem with their machines.

Having a problem with an ATM can happen.

It are just machines, operated by a computer.

So many things can go wrong if you combine mechanicals and electronics.

Murphy's law!

However, KTB machines look different on the outside from SCB and BKB machines.

But as long as they are real ATM's and not the ATM/Paying-in machines, good chance the innards are the same.

The printers in the ATM's can be different, some use dotprinters and some use heat reaction printers.

The slips of the first can be good or bad quality when delivered, but tend to remain the same.

The heat reaction paper react to heat, and lose the clarity very fast if kept in your pocket or purse.

Keep your slips at home asap in a cool place for as long as needed.

The fact that the KTB-ATM was out of service after your troubles, means that they are working on the problem.

Surely that would be a good sign?

I mostly use KTB, for withdrawels from my KTB-account and withdrawels from my account in the Netherlands.\

In nearly 4 years never had any trouble, bar once when my card was not accepted by the machine.

A media tycoon who always seems to keep himself in the news. I'm so tired of this guy's self-serving agenda. It does nothing to advance this country have two opposing sides lead by such ego-centric morons.

Lord save us if this guy even gets a sniff of "official" political power.

NEVER TRUST A POLITICIAN, FROM WHATEVER SIDE, FROM WHICHEVER PARTY.

THEY ARE ONLY IN IT FOR EITHER MONEY, POWER OR BOTH.

AND MOST CERTAINLY NOT IN IT FOR YOU, ME OR ANYBODY ELSE BUT THEIR TIGHT CIRCLE.

Some time ago I helped out a family member, he had a loan of 20,000 baht with an intrest of 2000 baht per month, a cool 10% per month and 120% per year, as extra security he had to hand over his truck.

Had the money, paid the "bank" and went to collect the truck.

The "manager" was a member of a well known state agency, and the secure storage of the truck, being a lot for impounded cars & all, was managed by the same agency.

On the one hand it seems to be quite reasonable if you own the biggest chunk of a company you would like to have influence.

On the other hand state companies have a tendency to work so very well, although there are and were state companies that did better before as after privatisation..

That said, the "market" and the "lights" leading companies don't do so very well either, don't they.

Various airlines in the private sector are showing that the management is not fulfiliing the promises they did.

And what about banks, I seem to remember that the current economic crisis can be laid on their doorsteps.

So, I think that all the ailments of state businesses can be found in private businesses too.

Can we maybe conclude that most managers are not really suited for the job.

A good education is not a guarantee for being a good manager.

Favouritism is rife in most businesses, just like bribery, just like people raised in positions very much above their capabilities.

In short, in general, I am most certainly not raising my hat for nearly all business managers.

I have no idea if man is changing the climate.

But would somebody please tell me who changed the climate before there were so many people living on earth?

There maybe are too many people on earth, I could easily believe so.

However, there are remedies for a raising sea and for loss of land.

It is called water management.

It means dykes, polders, and more of those nice things.

The Dutch know all about it.

The Thai Government might ask some advise from the Deltaworks commission.

Would be interesting.

However, that would probably seen as a massive loss of face, asking advise from a farang.

Before living in Thailand I lived in the Netherlands, near the town of Gouda.

The land around Gouda is somewhere between 4,5 and 6,5 meter BELOW sea level?

Actually, 40% of the Netherlands is below sea level.

So what is the problem with land above sea level?

Build some dykes, install a lot of pumps, problem solved.

Thaksin and TRT "knew" before, that they will have an uncompromisable majority

In the last elections TRT (Thaksin owned) did not reach the majority.

The party became the biggest, but needed other parties to form a coalition government.

Can somebody explain in more detail what the "cockroaches" do for money? Is this common in Thailand? Are they just allowing their wife/girlfriend to work in a bar or is it more like a pimp where they take a cut from many women? What exactly are they doing for the money?

Never heard of something like this in Thailand, unless it's just the girlfriend thing.

What cockroaches do for a living?

They live off the money from others, by force, coercion, threats or any other means.

Something like pimps do.

Mostly of prostitutes.

...................

Anyway, rape is a filthy busniness, stays with the woman for years, if not forever.

Not very good for tourist business.

Repressing this story in the national press in the hope it will not reach the news abroad is understandable.

Of course, in this day and age that is false hope.

It's this that's the scary part :-

train drivers will be technical staff of Siemens, manufacturer and installer of the rail system, as SRT has not yet received test run operation training from Siemens

Not that the public test will be operated by Siemens staff (I'd trust a German driver any day), but that if the link opens any time early next year your Thai driver will have received a maximum of 3 months training! and it seems that, at this time, no (or very few) staff have actually been recruited.

Rail systems of this type usually have at least 3 months of full-service trial running without passengers (and the drivers will have had at least a month of simulator training before that), during this period all the operational procedures will be tested and staff made fully conversant in the procedure should, for example, a train become diasabled on the viaduct and require to be evacuated. At least it's not underground!

I know several people working on this project (at least two are TV members, though I doubt they will jeapordise their positions by public comment).

More or less you are right about driver training, in general.

However, the systems installed in this line are rather modern.

In fact, the system could do, with some modifications, without a driver.

Like most metro type rail systems nowadays, coupled to the non-existence of level crossings and the isolated level of the whole system, I think that the amount of actual training can be as low as one month.

If you start with experienced drivers, fact is the time needed to unlearn the tricks of the trade will be a very big part.

Going from scratch is much more simple, cost effective, shorter.

Some metro lines only have a driver in front for psychological reasons, and emergency situations.

This is typical Thai again, overreacting and blowing things out of proportion, I be quite happy to go to Cambodia and have a nice holiday, the Cambodians must be laughing theyr heads of, I am sure Cambodian Newspapers will run comic strips on this issue.

Next the going to tell us, they have started to shoot Thais in the streets. As far as I know Cambodians are not as hotheaded as Thais that do things first and then think.

I am afraid you are wrong, on most points.

Cambodians have been, can be and are or will be very hotheaded.

And can be rather, shall we say, violent?

Killing fileds, ever hear about that?

Might be handy to read some history, maybe?

I wonder if gov't offices have licensed software.

Just guess!

Just ask where most pirated software, CD's and DVD's originate.

Now keep that in mind.

Now, ask yourself who runs the country.

Any more questions?

As I hear, Shell diesel seems to be Euro3, while most other diesel is Euro2, or worse.

Don't really know if it might be true, but I do know that all pumps in the Khon Kaen area are supplied from the central storage facility on Mithraparp Road, Shell is supplied by tankers with plates from Bangkok and Rayong.

So maybe it is true, who knows?

Anyway, my 9-year old Nissan Frontier (just rebuilt) seems to be more happy on Shell.

So Shell it is for me, although I feel rather funny about supporting Shell/Royal Oil.

Again, it is shameful that the US-Navy advertises so openly that the main reason for them to come to Thailand is Rest & Recreation.

In normal diplomatic wording it should have been called a courtesy visit from the US-Navy to Thailand.

According to my wife and father in law, and myself, the Vietnam era is long gone, and the US should behave like any respectful state.

Advertising the R&R so blatantly is very degrading for the Thai people.

The Nation is a yellow shirt propaganda machine only.

If you want news, don't read this papers trash.

Please sir, tell me, what paper I should read?

The train refused to stop even the barriers were down?

Speeding train??

That would be moving I presume.

Would someone please teach these reporters to write correctly. A thesaurus is a great thing, but I don't think this story reflects the truth of the events. At least in English that is.

Due to some stupidity seven people died.

That was not necessary!

The engine driver will always ask himself the same question over and over, could I have saved the lives of the people in the truck.

In all probability he will not be able to do his job any more.

And next time passing a spectacle shop, get one.

The heading was about a truck refusing to stop, not the train.

I go along with you partly, the truckdriver refused to stop.

And the term speeding train is in regular use, faulty or not.

All in all, the result is the same, seven people died, a train driver will probably shocked beyond recovery, the people collecting the human parts will not sleep very well for quite a long time, if ever.

There is nothing more disturbing sitting in the cabin of a locomotive, see what is going to happen, not being able to do anything about it but slamming the emergency braking on, bracing yourself and close your eyes while waiting for the crash.......

1 Don't trust banks

2 Don't trust investment "specialists"

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