hansnl

Horrible accident. Have yet to travel by train here, but as stated in comparison to the roads it should be safer to the buses...doesn't say much however.

Not true.

It is, also in Thailand, safer to be a train passenger.

Railway carriages are immensely strong compared to a bus frame.

Just have a look at the pictures of the accident, carriages all over the place, mostly structurally sound

And compare those to pictures from bus accidents.

Also, how many passengers were in the train, 1000 ,1500?

Compare this with bus accidents.

If this would have been a bus accident, with the same amount of passengers, there would be a much bigger number of victims.

Although, as an ex railwayman I am sometimes slightly disturbed by the condition of the railways over here, I will choose the train any time.

That said, some parts of the lines are good to very good (even double aligned) and sometimes parts are hopeless.

With some extra investment in track renewing and maintenance the railways could become a major transporter of passengers and freight.

A noticeable trend with accidents is that intoxicated persons seem to get away with out injury which seems very unfair as they probably caused the accident in the first place.

That is not a trend, but a well known thing.

Has something to do with the bodily reaction to the effect of alcohol.

Newspapers verywhere in the world are having quite a battle on their hands becasue of the internet. Advertisement income is in decline, number of subscribers is going down, in short, the written news on paper is in decline. Most newspapers are diverting into internet, and try to define the borders there, try to generate income & profit, quite a logical thing to do. Guess BP is doing the same. Maybe the era of the paper newspaper is coming to it's end.

There seems to be something going on. Private schools in Khon Kaen are shedding teachers, and taking on new teachers.....for less money.

1 offensive post deleted.

Apologies to anyone 'offended' by my light hearted post. Islamic terrorism (almost certainly) is a very serious threat to the stability of the country and I should not have tried to blame the lopburi monkey population.

May I offer the line "Islamic terrorism is a very serious threat to the world?"

Or maybe: to your health?

Why is it that constitutional changes always make me slightly mistrusting?

If a constitution needs to be rewritten all the time, I am afraid the grounds for that are......muddy? or maybe swampy?

Visit your local dealer or dealers?

From the 1-2-Go website....

Can I take a gun with me on my traveling date?

Guns or sharp weapons may be checked-in but not hand-carried. The passenger having such items should contact our staff at the check-in counter (Please be aware that such objects are subject to careful examination to ensure maximum safety for passengers onboard our flights)

How can I do if my ticket to be lost?

Passengers must perform as following:

1. Buy a new ticket in advance to replace the lost one for traveling.

2. Fill a petition and some documents will apply as:

- The reality lost ticket notice.

What are you provide some service onboard?

Along your journey, we welcome you with the convenience and comfortable in-flight service, available free of hot/cold soft drink and snacks, crispy Baked beans.

So.... who is translating the maintenance manuals?

http://www.fly12go.com/en/faq/index.php

If you buy a ticket from an airline, you don't buy a ticket, you make a contract with the airline to transport you from A to B, and maybe back.

Tickets are named, so buying a new ticket is bloody nonsense, in theory that would mean two mr X on the same place, or if yu would not buy a new ticket an empty seat.

Try to check in for a flight with a ticket with the name John Doe, and then produce your ID with a different name.

Guess what will happen.

Since the advent of the E-ticket, loosing a ticket does not mean you have to buy a new contract (ticket), but means you have to pay a rebooking fee.

And that fee has a maximum.

Religions have a tendency to depict their "Prime Example" in a recognisable figure.

I have seen statues and pictures of the Buddha in Thailand with all colours and kind of eyes.

Just like I have seen all kinds of pictures and statues of Jesus of Nazareth.

Most of those will probably far beside the real thing.

So what?

Is it really important?

Probably the reason why the Jewish and the Muslim faith forbid pictures of G'd, Allah and the Profets.

This it seems is a warning about the nascent Nationalism, PAD was bringing back to the fore.

Now, tell me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression a certain Mr T started to whip up nationalism?

The results were part of the HIV Vaccine Trial Phase III on 16,402 Thai volunteers in Chonburi and Rayong provinces. Half of the volunteers were given the RV 144 vaccine in 2006, and the other half received placebos. Of those who got placebos, 74 became infected, while only 51 of those who got the vaccines did.

That scares me...

Who where these "volunteers"

Second how will they be cured?

Obviously they are infected with HIV.

I wonder if the volunteers were paid?

For example:

"Here's 5,000 baht if you take this test.

PS. You may die early if it fails"

Nice.

You know it's been an equally long time since I studied ethics, but I can't help but wonder how many of these trials will be done in Sydney, San Francisco or Amsterdam.

You would be surprised!

In military transport the safety of the passengers is enhanced by the design of the seats, the discipline of the passengers, the fact the passengers are more or less of the same statue.

And most important hooking-in of passengers in case of an emergency.

I don.t see civilian passengers as a disciplined lot, and I really wonder if you might call them of the same statue.

And hooking in?

When the yellow shirts create a civil war with locals in Sisaket, is this a peaceful rally?

Yellow fascists want war INSIDE and, of course, WITH NEIGHBOR countries. It's not exactly what I'd call "peaceful rally". No, I'm not stupid, I know that Abi referred to the reds but all of us know that the biggest dangers for peace (inside and more important: outside) are the yellow and the laxity they benefit from HIGH RANKED persons in the country.

Quite understanding that you are a little off your rocker, but please could you be so kind to be a little bit more evenhanded?

Yellow shirts fascists?

What about red shirts killing people?

That is a nice act of loving of one's neighbour?

And whatever you say, or think, the biggest danger to ANY country is a division between the people of the land fuelled by opposing politicians, who do that not because they are so caring for the people, but only out of obscene personal gain.

Never trust a politician, they are only in the job for money or power!

Thailand's tourist arrivals to expand 10-15% in 2010

BANGKOK: -- The number of visitors to Thailand will expand 10-15 per cent next tyear to 14.5-15 million next year thanks to global economic recovery, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

It is also expected that the number of foreign tourists to Thailand will fall to 12.5 million to13 million this year, while tourism income would drop to Bt420 billion to Bt450 billion.

-- The Nation 2009-09-22

Rosy future for tourism....

The number of tourists include 2.257.877 tourists (2007) from Asean countries: Malaysia, Burma, Laos, Cambodia Malaysia's portion is already 1.551.959

If you would include Indonesia (233.919), Singapore (799.100)and Vietnam (254.252) it would be 1.287.271 extra tourists and totaling 2.839.230 "tourists" from the mentioned countries above.

I'm not even talking about China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea totaling some 4 million tourists.

In comparison: Europe is good for a low 3.7 million; the Americas for 818.000; Oceania for 731.000; Middle East for 454.000 and South Asia for 685.000

All numbers for 2007.

Edit:

For the statistics lovers:

International_Country_2007.XLS International tourist arrivals to Thailand by country of residence January-December 2007

LaoPo

Also interesting to know, or maybe even the most interesting, the spending per day per tourist and the number of days staying in Thailand.

A tourist spending 5000 baht a day and staying for 15 days is a lot more as a tourist spending 2500 baht a day and staying for 5 days.

But like everywhere in the world, the number of tourists seem to be more important as the amount of money spent in the country by those tourists

Don't worry your bread maker will be safe on Thai electricity. Now getting an adapter for those three prong Aussie plugs might be a small challenge

Oh really?

What about changing the plug?

Cut of the old one, splice the wire, and put on a Thai one?

Or buy a travel plug suitable for the amps?

A teacher beating a pupil?

Really?

How disgusting!

That said, what I hear from my children in school everything is possible.

Beating of hands with a ruler, slapping ears or face, bottomkicking, scissoring girl's and boy's hair and more of those very nice things.

Found out, in Thai law, teachers are not allowed to do any of the things, not even to touch pupils.

Based on children's rights of the UN, accepted by Thai Parliament and signed by His Majesty.

No more problems for my children!

Another one that hasnt realised, dont get into confrontations with thais,.....

FARANG 0

THAILAND 1

and heres another one who checked his balls in at the airport on the way in........

And you would have done ? .as it happens iv never backed dowm from what i consider a fair chance of a fight, but up against a gang of thais that dont consider the consequences, yes i will walk, you carry on dirty harry, but remeber ,this is not a movie, give it a go if you dont beleive me,

A fair fight?

There is no such thing as a fair fight.

If there must be a fight, go in with your mind working, and before you go consider what might happen.

Go in for the kill, and use any dirty trick you know.

Any doubts, don't start, just withdrw and wait.

There may always be a second chance you can win.

The best way is just to try to sail around trouble.

If there is no damage but to your pride, forget it.

Fighting is never worth the trouble.

I am not an American, and I am not anti-US, but when I read all this I cannot escape the feeling that somewhere along the road of history, the much praised freedom of the US has become a fable.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Somebody receives a pension from the US. The same somebody lives in Thailand permanently. Again the same somebody has to pay taxes is the US. And technically the same poor fellow has to pay Thai taxes on the amount brought into Thailand.

The same poor sucker has to pay taxes on the amount of money he has to put in a Thai bank for getting his extensions?

Unbelievable.

May I call this unfair, or in any case, a breech of freedom?

I noticed some of the Muslim oriented restaurants in Thailand are closed over Ramadan. It ended yesterday. Just an FYI. I'm going out for Arabic tonight!

Did not miss out on anything that those restaurants were closed.

It is higly uninteresting the ramadan ended.

I will most certainly not do that.

Never.

While the person on the bike may not be one with whom I wish to associate I do not see the sign as offensive. What I consider offensive is the curtailment of free speech that otherwise educated and liberal people seem to accept as right.

The limit of your knowledge is boundless.

Like most Thai people you have no idea what you are talking about.

The Nazi-swastika is a memento of around 50 million people dead, because of that sign.

For that reason alone, free speech should be curtailed.

Most people, with some knowledge and memory know, and would not want to be associated with that sign, nor with you.

Go to the Lao border, to Nong Kai and you will have, immediatly.

Sorry for my English language I am from Holland, I was in Udonthani and Nong Kai.with my Thai wife, they give visa for us.

Good Luck my friend.

Don't make excuses for your command of the English language.

Why should you?

Readers of this forum understand very well what you are writing down.

You probably also speak (some) German.

And Dutch, which is a very difficult language to learn.

And that makes three possibilities to convey your meanings.

And I assure you most English speakers only have English as a means of communication.

Aanvalluuuuuh!!!!!!!!

As this demonstration is widely mentioned in the press abroad, might we call this aother nail in the coffin of Thai tourism.

Since living in Thailand I dumped yahoo.uk account and hotmail.

Now only use Gmail, works just fine.

Chat is possible, the number of add's is widened every time.

Most of them useful.

Attachment size and number is very useful.

I send, on a regular basis, developed, compressed and encrypted "things" to a company in Holland, and they always arrive "clean".

Some can be rather big (10-15 MB), never a problem.

The upload time depends on the "speed of the day"

I order books, CD's and DVD's from Amazon UK regularely.

All orders arrive within 7 days after receipt of the shipment notification from Amazon.

Books are not be taxed, and never are, if sent seperately.

CD's and DVD's are taxed, and the strange thing is that although the kind of merchandise and it's value is specified on the customs declaration by Amazon, the total worth for taxes is always estimated by the custom's agent.

Last shipment was a small one, DVD's only, total value including P&P and insurance £ 34, estimated worth before tax by the agent was 1500 Baht, resulting in 340 baht tax.

22.5% including VAT 7%, not a bad deal, while Aazon deducted the VAT from the price.

Never mix books and CD/DVD, because the total worth will be taxed, including the books.

he report was made by Mr. Sami Haninen aged 35 from Finland and his girlfriend Khun Noi aged 27.

Inside job...just call me Mr. Cynical

As something like that is unheard of in Thailand, how dare you even to hint at this possibility?

Shame on you!