pete_r

As for the poster who says that 90% of PAD are bought, there seems to be some on this Forum who are disputing your figures. Therefore, it might advance the debate if you could offer us any proof. In any case, they are still campaigning for what they perceive to be a fairer system, so I say let them get on with it!

The GF's whole housing estate in Bangkok have been approached by PAD recruiters, offering them 500b per day if they join the protests, a lot of them have taken the offer and joined in (i have personally witnessed it!) whilst the figure "90%" may be inaccurate, the fact still remains that PAD (who are against a government accused of vote buying) are paying people to join in their protests. Pot calling the kettle black, dontcha think?

Thanks Wolfie - nice to have a first hand report, straight from the horse's (wolf's?) mouth, so to speak.

From my father-in-law, who goes to the PAD rallies: 300 Bahts per protester per day of protest. Plus free food and free daily transportation from his province neighboring Bangkok. The mini-bus drivers who shuttle him and his friends get 3000 Bahts per load of protesters.

He mentioned these numbers back in June, maybe the rates have gone up since then.

In any case, 300 or 500 Bahts is a very good wage compared to factory work, 200 Bahts per day for 8 hours, no free food, no sitting around chatting with your mates.

Indeed, it's hard to imagine that most people wouldn't gladly trade a right foot for 300 baht.... but especially 500 baht plus free som tam... afterall, it's just a foot...

What is the chance of losing a foot at the protests? Maybe 1 in 100? The picture you show is scary (nobody wants that kind of injury!), but all things considered, 300-500 Bahts per day may seem worth the risk for the poorer demonstrators. Even after the events of 7 October, father in law is still going. Only, he stays away when the police show up.

As for the poster who says that 90% of PAD are bought, there seems to be some on this Forum who are disputing your figures. Therefore, it might advance the debate if you could offer us any proof. In any case, they are still campaigning for what they perceive to be a fairer system, so I say let them get on with it!

The GF's whole housing estate in Bangkok have been approached by PAD recruiters, offering them 500b per day if they join the protests, a lot of them have taken the offer and joined in (i have personally witnessed it!) whilst the figure "90%" may be inaccurate, the fact still remains that PAD (who are against a government accused of vote buying) are paying people to join in their protests. Pot calling the kettle black, dontcha think?

Thanks Wolfie - nice to have a first hand report, straight from the horse's (wolf's?) mouth, so to speak.

From my father-in-law, who goes to the PAD rallies: 300 Bahts per protester per day of protest. Plus free food and free daily transportation from his province neighboring Bangkok. The mini-bus drivers who shuttle him and his friends get 3000 Bahts per load of protesters.

He mentioned these numbers back in June, maybe the rates have gone up since then.

In any case, 300 or 500 Bahts is a very good wage compared to factory work, 200 Bahts per day for 8 hours, no free food, no sitting around chatting with your mates.

UPDATE: 500 Million Baht firewall may block 1,000 websites

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=131692

That title makes website blocking look rather expensive... 500,000 Bahts per website?

Have been looking at buying a house, found one at the end of a T Intersection in an estate, some Thai friends made a lot of comments about it not being good, is it really something to worry about?

I noticed the previous owner had put a mirror on the front fence.

I think it's got to do with bad spirits missing the turn and skidding into your house. Fortunately a mirror attached to the fence or on the front wall of the house (or both for extra safety!) will bounce them back.

I leave spiders alone, I was in the bathroom once and a big spider jumped out and ate a cockroach right in front of me. Anything that eats cockroaches can stay!

Are there any financial wizards out there who could give us poor suckers some valid advice?

Is there any way that the £ can be exchanged into US $ and than to bahts without making a loss on the deal?

Come on, why not make this a ThaiVisa first, with some real solid contructive ideas and advice.

I'm no wizard but will put in my two cents of observations in the last couple of months:

- The Baht has remained almost constant versus the USD in the range 34.0-34.6 THB/USD.

- The Baht has strengthened against most other western currencies (GBP, EUR, AUD).

- The USD has also strengthened against the same other western currencies.

Which I take as a sign that the BOT is pegging the Baht to the USD, and because the USD has been strengthening against the GBP-EUR-AUD, so has the Baht.

If not for that peg by the BOT, the Baht would be weakening against the USD like other currencies (due to investors buying USD as a safe currency), and the exchange rates GBP-EUR-AUD to THB would be more favorable.

A possible reason for the peg is to control inflation, which seems to be the priority of the BOT at the moment, and in disagreement with the finance minister who advocates supporting the economy by devaluing the Baht (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Finance-Minister-5-Baht-Devaluati-t218565.html).

surely they can't have cut him off so quickly

the media will often do that with nut cases like this...

I read a manuscript of a book he wrote, this was years ago, all i remember was that it was kickass.

Anyone know where I could find books by him and the like?

His own university bookstore refuses to sell it....

Yes if you failed to put on your reading glasses it was because he referenced a banned book in Thailand. Give it a good read again.

Don't use reading glasses and fully aware this nutcase had his book banned... but still think it's funny that as a professor, even before the banning his own school wouldn't carry it...

It very much depends on the reasons why the bookshop refused to carry it. If it was because the book content is -objectively- not worth selling, then yes it's funny. If it was because of pressures from "upstairs", then I think not so funny, regarding freedom of speech etc.

I am trying to decide what to order for dinner tonight (too hungover to cook), any suggestions?

Som tam with ketchup?

Any private hospital in Bangkok should be able to do it without prior appointment. Go to the (outpatient) surgery department.

The cost should be a couple thousands Bahts, or a bit more depending on the hospital you choose.

Seems expensive, but the whole tourism sector has been going crazy this year. Take a Noi Bai Airport Taxi (not one of the rogue Taxis), should be around 10 - 15 USD.

Spot on. The official Airport Taxis ask for a fixed fare of 200,000 dongs, about 12USD.

Unimpressive experience with the other taxis who gang together to ask a high price. A textbook example of a captive market, if one doesn't know the other options.

Fortunately there are the vans at 2-3USD per trip, but I don't think they are suitable to transport bicycles.

Overlooking the fact that Toxin didn't write this piece himself but commissioned it through one of his hired PR firms, what really beggars belief about it, was his presumption to speak for "three billion Asians". He's worse than old Lee Kuan Yew in terms of arrogance. At least LKY actually created surpluses, but what did Toxin do? - create the biggest debt mountain for ordinary people that Thailand has ever known, which will take years for future govts to dig their way out of. A bit like his "American friends" in the White House in that respect, so at least they are talking the same language. Wonder if GWB remembers that annoying square headed guy he snubbed at the APEC meeting, who is now pretending they were best friends during the "american century"!!!!

If you are talking about consumers debts, I may agree with you, as credit cards and other financial gadgets were unhealthily promoted during the Thaksin era.

However if it is the external debt you have in mind, this actually decreased under the Thaksin administration, and started to go back up the year of the coup in 2006, with the highest increase in 2007 under the Surayud administration. In any case Thailand's external debt remains relatively low at 37.9% of GDP, compared to Singapore at 96.3% (since you mentioned Lee Kuan Yew), the USA at 60.8%, or the UK at 43.6% (source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/th.../2186rank.html).

Thailand's external debt chart from 2000 to 2008: http://indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=th&v=94

Thanks, I read all Khonwan's pinned thread. I got alot of idea of how to proceed.

There're two variety for me to choose from. KU(KM) 94 and Rayong. Don't know yet which 1 is better for my soil condition.

It's kind of sandy soil.

Just curious, are you in/from Vietnam? KM94 is the name used in Northern Vietnam for the KU50 variety.

Rayong varieties are supposed to be more adapted to sandy soils.

Am I the only one in thinking that this could have been decided upon at a meeting between 2 very high profile figures less than a week ago (can't remember what the date was)?

If this is the case it looks more like an exit strategy for Chamlong and would back up opinions I have heard that the PAD leadership had split into factions.

I agree : the whole operation looks strange. Maybe an exit strategy to save face indeed.

Look at some pictures of Chamlong's "arrest"... He doesn't look like someone under stress...

http://thaicrisis.wordpress.com/2008/10/05...rested-7-to-go/

I smell a deal too. A meeting between Prem and Somchai, then two PAD leaders arrested the same week seem a bit much for a coincidence. The PAD leaders get a promise of mild or no punishment assorted with a nice face-saving exit strategy, Somchai gets more stability for his government, what remains to see is what Prem will get out of it.

A 30-day single-entry visa cost me 1850 Bahts (54USD) at the embassy in Bangkok 3 weeks ago. The delivery time was 4 days (more expensive for express delivery).

Does VN have visa on arrival?

Can I fly from USA to Hanoi with no visa until I get there? NanLaew's reply referes to visa on arrival desk??

There is a visa on arrival system, but you need to pre-arrange the visa with a travel agency before you travel. I think it's cheaper and the same amount of paperwork to get a standard tourist visa directly at the embassy.

I would buy USD or EUR in Thailand, and exchange them to Dongs in Vietnam. The rate for a direct exchange Bahts to Dongs is less good.

About half-way between Victory Monument and Sanam Pao BTS stations:

Twin Place Phayathai

122, 124 Paholyothin Soi 1

Bangkok 10400

Tel: 02-279-2799 / 02-617-2223

The building is quite deep in the soi (about 100 m?).

What are your feelings regarding those who support the PAD since the early beginning? There is very few of them, but they post a lot, like they don't have to work. Do you believe they are actually employed (paid) to defend PAD / democrat's view ?

I've wondered the same on a couple of occasions. A reason for the PAD to pay posters on an English-language forum could be to give the impression to foreign journalists and news agencies visiting the forum occasionally (i.e. when Thailand politics make it in the international news) that support for the PAD is more widespread than it really is.

As others have pointed out, for the PAD to be trying to influence the farang audience on this forum, or others, wouldn't be worth the effort, given the little say farang have on Thai politics.

Somchai once asked Purachai the Crusader to sign off 2 billion baht fund for his ministry, Purachai refused and trimmed it to 900 million.

Somchai was really pissed off and Thaksin had to shift Purachai to yet another post to allow Somchai full access to government kitty.

Source please?

That Nick is just a bleeding idiot with a purpose.

Idiot? He comes across as rather moderate and articulate.

Oh, so that Kwanchai who was offering to pay 10,000 baht for a head of a killed PAD leader is actually a nice fella fighting for his freedom?

That's a symptom of the rift in Thai society today, and the PAD's so-called "new politics" ideas (70/30 and so on) are only increasing that rift. Any proposal how to reverse course?

Stereotypes

Good link, thanks.

So please why not just let it die ?

Because there aren't enough threads to expose the personified evil that is Sondhi? Apparently that's what this board is for according to some members on the mission.

Consider it an effort to balance all the threads dedicated to expose the evil of Thaksin and family, Samak, TRT and PPP in the last 2 years.

Edit: Put it another way: Anyone exerting a large influence on the society is going to be criticized. Just like Samak is, and Thaksin before him, and others before. This is a sign of success (believe me in the case of Sondhi I really wish it wasn't, but here we are), so please don't whine about it (that's what the PAD likes to do, is it not? Take any chance to play the martyrs - more and more annoying as their influence grows).

Laopo, we heard you the first time. No one gives a dam_n about Sondhi's unpaid debts ten years ago or his admiration for Thaksin in the early days of TRT. It's history, it has been discussed back in 2005.

Sondhi's unpaid debts make him a crook as LaoPo eloquently pointed out. And today this crook has the cheek to brand himself as the white yellow knight in shiny armor trying to save the society from dreamed-up threats like the one in the title thread. So the whole history of Sondhi for the past 10 years and more is still very relevant today.

This is true for any leader or would-be leader: Their history is relevant to evaluate their current actions, and should be scrutinized by the society. Be it Sondhi, Samak (since the 1970s), or others.

My crystal ball suggests that the current strength of the USD may also be linked to the coming presidential elections in the USA, with "people" buying USD assets in expectation of a sharp increase in the USD after election day, either because of the likely Democrat victory and/or just because of the end of the Bush era. In which case the USD may continue to strengthen until November.

Any other crystal ball reading on that?