pete_r

Cheshiremusicman> I hadn't seen your post on the other sadao thread last march. In Bangkok you can find sadao leaves for sale on the markets sometimes, mostly during the cold season. Liquid sadao extracts are also available as pesticide in garden shops, but I wouldn't try to treat diverticulitus with that!

A general question: I find that some trees give a fresher shade than others, and wonder how the shade of a sadao feels compared to common garden trees such as mango trees?

Pete_r

Ghosts in Thailand have the same function as the big bad wolf in the Western world: To keep children from wandering out of sight.

I think the difference lies in that when children grow up they realize that there is no chance that a wolf is actually hiding in that dark corner under the stairs and stop believing in it. With a ghost, you never know, and so the belief stays.

"I understand that there could be delays in JBIC's loan approval as Japan's prime minister has resigned and JBIC is also undergoing restructuring. Still, we want to tap a loan from JBIC," he said.

V's

A source at the Transport Ministry said JBIC was still reluctant to extend the loan to Thailand because the loan approval process involves many agencies and the term of the current Thai government is due to end in the next few months.

Also, the recent declaration of resignation by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had also put the negotiation process for the loan on hold.

Usual bullshit from the local media. The truth is that JBIC will never lend money to a non elected government.

My thoughts exactly. It's not because Thailand has had a coup and military junta, no, it's because of some restructuring going on in Japan. Oh, and Mr. Abe just resigned last week, that's another handy excuse to add to the list, innit?

I was thinking about him too. 'Hope he is all right.

And also Pdf Redirect, free, no watermark, no added text.

http://www.exp-systems.com/

http://www.download.com/PDF-ReDirect/3000-...4-10721006.html

You can try Xanadu, a travel agency in Korea: http://www.xanadu.co.kr/eng/ticket/ticket_list2.asp

They quote 600 - 800 USD for a return ticket Seoul Incheon - Phuket (possibly with a stopover in Bangkok).

I also had a good service from Kangsan Travel: http://www.kangsantravel.com/

Which bank are you going to borrow 7 million baht from?

Sounds like a really bad idea to me, why not just take a year off and come and tour around.

well we would all borrow 1,7 mil each. and we would probably do it from dk. i do not want to tour arround becasue i want to live down there. i want to enjoy life with it's ups and downs (and that i am sure i will have plenty of) in thailand.

I'll do the maths: You plan to borrow 7,000,000 Bahts from Denmark. That is about 152,000 Euros at the current exchange rate.

Assuming an interest rate of 5% per year, this means you will have to pay 7600 Euros per year, equivalent to 633 Euros per month (I drop the decimals) or about 29,000 Bahts just to pay the interest.

Add the repayments of the capital and some small salary for the four of you, and the bar already needs to generate a minimum of 80-100,000 Bahts in net profits per month. I don't see a newly opened bar managing that.

Again, that plane has no business in Thailand at this time. BKK has enough to worry about without adding unnecessary risk.

A few months ago Thai Airways was trying to get some discount on their 6 A380s due to the delays in delivery. Maybe today's visit at BKK was a PR operation from Airbus to try to soften Thai Airways negotiators.

Glad to see I'm not the only one uncomfortable addressing younger people as "nong". It feels like a power game to me.

I have less problems with "pii", as it is sure to create positive feelings (unlike "nong"). Khun is also friendly enough, specially when used with the person's nickname.

I use "pii" for my brother-in-law, so my parents-in-law are "mae" and "po".

Do you suppose there is any reason why some seeds should NOT be sent??? I did not think there would be any harm in sending them as they are for personal use. Of course, I may be one of those ignorant people who ends up sending something which contaminates a whole freakin country!

As far as I understand, the thinking behind forbidding moving plants, including seeds, between countries is that they may be carrier of diseases in the form of fungus spores, plant viruses, etc... There is always a (small) chance that such diseases find a host without natural defenses in their new environment and prosper on to devastate the new host. If the host is a farmed crop, the result is financial losses for the agriculture (crop loss and cost of pesticides), or if the host is a wild plant, the result is damage to the local ecosystems.

Thai people seem to consider reaching 80 a jolly old age already (specially for men). From the reaction of the insurance agent you describe, I suspect living longer than 99 is beyond imagination!

Does anyone know why it is so difficult to get frequent flyer miles for Thai airways.

Tell your travel agent your FF number when you book. Send your original boarding card and copy of ticket to your local Thai aiways office or by post to Bankok.

Still no airmiles. Does anyone out there have any advice or similar experiences.

How long ago did you send the boarding card? The two times it happened with me, it took them about 4 weeks to process the claims. I showed the boarding card + ticket + FF number directly at the Thai airways office at the airport terminal, they were quite helpful.

In Bangkok the price for lime goes up during the dry season. This year it reached 5 Bahts/piece in March-April and the roadside restaurants stopped supplying them with the khao pad and noodle soup.

During the rain season, the price goes down to around 1 Baht/piece.

How about this one: In a race you are in 3rd position, and you overtake the guy in 2nd position. In which position are you now?

Another website for second-hand cars:

http://www.taladrod.com/Search/TLSch.aspx

Is Abhisit Vejjajiva Thailand's Next Leader?

He is a nice modern-looking front face for the Democrats, but he is too young to be a leader in Thailand. Even if he is elected, chances are that he will have to do as the older brothers in the party say.

Well, it does look like the 15 percent margin of victory for yes is holding up.

Note that the measure won handily in every region except the Northeast where it lost, and the North where it won but not by much. In other words again, not close.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/20...es_30045716.php

Another way of presenting the same data is to point out that the No vote got a majority of 61.6% in the most populated region of Thailand (15,635,769 eligible voters).

This will have to be taken into account by whoever controls the future governement.

Data from http://202.60.199.51/en/?zone=0 at 8.30am on 20/08/2007.

Is your Nissan a diesel or gasoline?

If it's diesel, it's about right. If it's gasoline, 14-15km/L seems more likely.

World, meet Gizmo.

Gizmo, meet World.

Gizmo, gizmo... Rainman, you're sure it's not a gremlin, right?

Don't feed it after midnight!

A reason for the lack of reported cases of asbestosis in Thailand may be because the disease is currently diagnosed as lung cancer, without further investigation of the cause. Another possibility is that the disease hasn't got a significant impact yet, due to the long incubation time (20-40 years) and the fact that Thailand's consumption of asbestos started to increase just 20 years ago (when the producers of asbestos switched their market to the developing world, due to the increasing bans in the western world). One more possibility is that asbestosis simply doesn't exist in Thailand, but that seems a bit unlikely.

According to the Nation website (search for "asbestos"):

- Thailand is the 4th largest importer of asbestos, with 200,000 tons per year (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/page.arcview.php?clid=3&id=30032839) (Asbestos warnings planned, 27/04/2007).

- The really dangerous types of asbestos, crocidolite and amosite, are banned only since 2003 (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/page.arcview.php?clid=2&id=30003982) (Asbestos can cause cancer but 'it's cheap', 14/05/2006).

the assailants managed to hail a taxi and get away with Bt27,000 in cash from the victim.

Police collected fingerprints from the Benz and found the victim's Bt27,000 cash in her purse left inside.

Is it me or is this totally two opposite statements? Am I the only one that has a hard time getting facts from these reports?

Damian

No, I didn't get that one either. Thought there might be an update which clarified.

Regards

Take it as a reminder to be wary of *any* fact presented in newspapers.

The figures are just flying around. I cannot catch them.

One question about the common square boards used for suspended ceilings. Is there any risk of finding asbestos in there?

Congrats, Garro.

My turn is coming soon too!

Steve, thanks for sharing your story and showing from inside the mechanisms and consequences of drug addiction. Particularly how the dealer can get control over his victim to snatch all the cash he can.

If nothing else, your experience will help me be better prepared if/when someone near me becomes affected.

Also a big pat in the back to Sheryl and Tony for their intervention.