vermin on arrival

Peace Blondie, you are spot on. I and others have been saying that the writing was on the wall for the majority of foreigners in Thailand for quite some time. These xenophobic laws are being passed because the powers that be feel that they don't need us anymore. Since no action was taken in the past when Thailand changed the immigration laws to get rid of "undesirable" foreigners, it was clear that they could slowly push the bar up and make more and more of us "undesirable". It's a simply matter of time before most of the "good" foreigners who had their visas "sorted" out are the next on the hit list. I don't expect any change in government to affect these laws and this trend. We are not wanted anymore.

Agree that the price of Thai is just too high. And, more importantly, they have many REALLY old planes as well!

How does that work, really old planes and higher prices than the competitors?

Yes, the planes they use for most of their local Asian trips are really old. It makes me wonder how much they are investing in their infrastructure, and how much they are just trying to milk the existing equipment for maximum profits. You would think that with the prices they charge they would have top quality planes, but in fact it seems to be the opposite.

Yes, Midas. I wouldn't be surprised if this decline in profits led to another price increase. It all too often seems to be the response to fewer customers or lower profits in the LOS.

I'm not surprised by this. I used to fly Thai all the time even though it was more expensive, but lately the prices seem to be way out of wack and are much much greater those of their competitors. They seize any excuse they can use to raise prices. The only flight which seems to be a good value is the direct flight to JFK in the brand new planes. I don't anticipate using Thai again anytime soon unless its prices start to come down.

(george @ 2007-08-11 17:04:24) *

Total net profit during the first nine months of 2007 financial year ... stood at about Bt8.33 billion, down from Bt2.16 billion

something doesn't make much sense for me.

This doesn't make sense to me either.

I was a part of many useless and wasteful programs like this in the US. We used to actually try to get teenagers to stop drinking. Wanna guess if we had any success?

Radioguy,

Good post. If I know American teenagers(or teenagers anywhere), I think I know the answer. Were you also trying to get them to not have sex?

This story is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. How sad for the Thai people that this is the best punishment they could come up with. In the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a bunch of maroons!"

Really typical xenophobic nonsense. I really enjoyed the writer's concern about possible overcharging of tourists being caused by the foreign/western ownership of businesses.

Thanks for the info Ozzydom. It sounds like a fun place to visit.

At the end of the day...I would rather walk down a BKK street where I know that I can be reasonably safe, because lets face it....almost everyone here has told a story of gang attacks where there has been some provocation involved....very few tell stories of totally unprovoked random attacks.

Yes, I definitely feel safer walking down a BKK street than in NYC. However, I feel much safer having an argument/or any other kind of disagreement with a man in NYC. I'm not sure how things will turn out once a dispute occurs here in the LOS(or actually I am sure and I believe it is 100% going to be something really bad for me, hence I avoid any kind of conflict as much as possible). What might be construed as provocation here would be much less than in the US, where you can call someone an ###### and not get punched in the face. There, you'll probably just be called something similar. Here if you do that, you will have someone(even a woman) coming at you with extreme prejudice instantaneously.

To argue that there are not cultural differences in patterns of violence just as there are in marriage rituals, etc, just seems to fly in the face of common sense in my view. In the end, we really are flogging a dead horse here since we both have different points of view on this and won't be changing each others minds, which is ok.

Nice chatting with you gburns. Enjoy a good pint tonight(if you are the type of person who lifts one now and again)

Never had any problem using the Thai Postal service when I have registered packages, outgoing or incoming nearly a 100% record.

However, as already pointed out, if you get stuff delivered using a courier you are more likely to face heavy customs duty. If you don't register normal mail there is more chance it will go missing or be stolen.

I bought a 4 DVD set mailed from Amazon and was hit with a 2,000THB+ bill, more than I paid for the DVDs including delivery by courier.

A Customs Official once told me to get everything sent over using regular mail whenever possible, that way there is less chance of them checking.

And use your noggin' - register all packages coming in or going out.

Well I've never used fedex or the other courier services. USPS is just special post using the US Postal Service.

Certainly, getting hit by a 2,000 baht customs bill needs to be avoided. You got really screwed there man.

I have had problems with things sent regular Thai Post arriving in a timely fashion. One time this was sent USPS one week delivery and arrived in two months(I have no idea where things went wrong on that one). I just never get things that are not a document or small goods sent to me here. If these types of packages are important I use one of the US Postal services special mailings(2 or 3 day delivery) services, or I use EMS ,which are both significantly less expensive than the major courier services. I've never had to pay duties on the small packages I get sent in this way.

I go back home once a year and get all the important stuff I need from abroad and then just carry them through at the airport.

I guess if you need to get something sent maybe registered mail might work; it appears to have worked for you.

I am very pleased to read the commendations of the thai postal service from more seasoned hands.

My negative opinion was based on 3 instances of envelopes posted from Paris to Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Pakchong - none of which arrived. All three were thicker than usual (wedding invites, photos). Being new to Thailand I assumed this was a 3rd world country problem. But I will now assume the fault was not the thai postal service's and try again.

I've had problems in the past and will now only have important stuff sent to me via special mail. One item that was supposed to take a week took around 2 months to arrive. USPS Priority mail has never been a problem. If I'm mailing anything of importance to the US or elsewhere abroad, I use EMS. I've also used EMS to send things to Thailand from Taiwan and that worked out well.

If you read carefully, Damian hasn't named the individual. The circumstances of the scam have been detailed so that people might infer who the culprit is. Is this what you are alluding to? People can find out who the individual is if they PM Damian as I have done.

Otherwise, I think your method of dealing with the situation is a good one.

As for the Vp not knowing anything. Its not a surprise and I wonder how offen he even see`s a hanger floor.

Yes, his behavior is not suprising, especially in Thailand, but should have he come out with such a categorical denunciation of the claim without knowing any of the facts? Is that the charachterisitc of a good exec?

It just so happens that there is a Vaio on sale now in the classified section for a seemingly too good to be true price. what a coincidence.

Really so the bum has already got a new account and placed a new add. My god. The man is a pro.

What about Canadians and Irish - they are farang too - and isn't Calgary one of the most violent cities in Northern America?

is it? i thought it was in eastern europe somewhere

A city in eastern europe is one of the most violent cities in Northern America?

yeah thats right.

sorry what i meant to say is

who gives a crap about calgary

This exchange really gave me a good laugh.

I also enjoyed this post.

Came close in Pattaya once, but when the brit who looked high on Yabba, flashed the gun in in waist band. You know I immeditely thought you know this is the smartest guy I have met and decided that his thoughts were actually very correct biggrin.gif As matter of fact I decided that the only proper couse of action in the first place was for him to kick me, at our introduction.

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you ray23, but thanks for humorous anecdote. It provided me with a good laugh on my sunday.

This thread is kind of silly, but I got a couple of laughs out of it.

By the way, I'm American, but haven't gotten into a scrap for around 20 years. It only happened in my early 20's when I got into a couple when I was young and feeling my oats.

THAI executive vice president Narongsak Sangapong yesterday flatly denied that it ever took place.

''There was no such incident. I have not received any reports about it,'' he stated, insisting the story was based on ''imagination and hearsay''.

''The pilot would have certainly reported to the parties concerned if the incident had really occurred,'' ACM Narongsak said

your being too kind .

Thats the wrong man in that job .

I am with Mid concerning the VP. If he didn't know about this because he had not been informed of the daily documentation, he should have said he would investigate the allegations, or he should have said no comment. Instead he denies that the incident ever took place, without even attempting to ascertain the veracity of the report. This face saving denial does not inspire confidence in the management of the airline, or at the very least, that individual's competence.

I think Damian has done us all a favor by making this post. He's actually gotten the scammers ad removed from 3 websites which has potentially protected other TV members, etc from being ripped off by this guy. It really astounds me that anyone would criticize him for this. Thanks for giving us all the details.

I also think it was smart of him to try and get advice from as large a group of people as possible. We all know how hard it can be to get some form of justice/redress in countries such as Thailand. However, when you have such a diverse pool of members as you have on TV, with many having lived in Thailand or other parts of the 3rd world for decades, you can get some real constructive advice.

Don't feel bad Damian. We've all gotten screwed sometime. We just don't usually expose it on a public website. It took guts to admit it here. Hope you can somehow get the cash back.

Agreed.

It boils down to this with a lot of forum members. When a Thai does something bad their behavior is instantly identified as a national trait, whereas when these same members are back home and they hear about or observe someone doing something bad they almost certainly identify that person as a bad person and no more. The bedrock of these member's beliefs is that all 60 million Thais exhibit identical behavioral traits, whatever their socio-economic, linguistic, regional, and ethic background. Not very far removed from the old, "They all look alike to me".

I personally don't think they are all the same, I just think group beatings on one guy are more common here when violence breaks out. I think it's cultural (somewere along the line someone is teaching them that this is acceptable, I have no idea if its the home, schools, or government), not racial.

I'd also like to say that young Asian Canadians have a reputation for viscious group attacks too... don't know why they do it, but even the white meatheads that start fights in pubs think its all wrong.

Damian

I don't think that they are all the same either Damian, and I also think that it is a cultural thing. It seems that all too often there are TV members who when they see remarks that can construed as critical of things in Thailand instantly tar the people who say it with the accusation of racism. It's very frustrating to say the least.

This thread is so full of stereotyping and generalizations that it makes me nauseous.

The only 'gang vs 1' fight I've ever seen happened in Ontario, Canada, and I've been in Thailand for quite some time.

Coming from Ontario figure Ill reply to this. Even though it has nothing to do with Ontario! If you stay in your room and never go out your likely to NOT see any gang on 1 fights. All the gang on one fights Ive seen first hand have been in low to mid end Thai discos. I always wonder if the posters that think this is such a rosy safe happy place ever leave their rooms or tiny living area (stay in thier community). I go all over, from ultra rich bilionaire mansions to squallor and I see some crazy sheet.

Damian

I bet you do Damian. I'm getting older now, and don't like to go out so much anymore, but I don't doubt your word on this.

I brought someone very close to me in to the police at Thonglor to report her rape and after leering at her the whole time they took the report (twice) they turned around and threatened to deport me...

Damien, that whole situation sounds positively evil.

SBK,

I though that I was overreacting. Thanks for verifying that.

BTW, I found the thread about the murder you mentioned. What happened there is really bad. Imagine beating a child to death for not doing his schoolwork. Something really strange must have been going on in that family dynamic for that to happen(or the step dad was just really horrible).

Certainly, I guess why this thread might resonate with more long stay expat farang men is that we can see what happened in this thread happening to us if we get in the wrong end of the wrong situation here.

Around 2 years ago, I'm sure I narrowly avoided a sound beating once when I walked away from a situation in which a drunken Thai man was yelling at me. He was sitting around a table with 4 or 5 of his mates drinking whiskey, and I was by myself. There were around 20 or so people in the vicinity, and everyone got dead silent. It was a good thing that I moved along.

I do not dispute there is violence in Thailand, nor do I dispute that the prevailing conclusion in conflicts amongst Thais seems to be violence (whether its the wife hitting her drunken husband with the frying pan or a gang of Thais beating someone up).

What I do find extremely hypocritical are the posters who are most vociferous in their condemnation of "cowardly Thais" assaulting an English man, are the ones strangely silent when the one doing the beating is an English guy and his dead victim is a 10 year old boy. Where is the outrage over that? This thread has 11 pages, that thread 3, most of the responses by the same posters or by those people hypocritical enough to blame the natural father.

Anyone see a pattern here?

I for one didn't notice the other thread. Does that make me bad?

see my above response. I think that about says it all. Doesn't matter if you in particular noticed the thread, its the general response. All Thais are bad, cowards etc etc etc when violence against a farang occurs but when its the other way around the response tends to be less prolific and vitriolic.

Have I once in any of my posts here said that all thais are cowards or bad? Please show me where I might have said this. Or am I overreacting to your comment?

I do not dispute there is violence in Thailand, nor do I dispute that the prevailing conclusion in conflicts amongst Thais seems to be violence (whether its the wife hitting her drunken husband with the frying pan or a gang of Thais beating someone up).

What I do find extremely hypocritical are the posters who are most vociferous in their condemnation of "cowardly Thais" assaulting an English man, are the ones strangely silent when the one doing the beating is an English guy and his dead victim is a 10 year old boy. Where is the outrage over that? This thread has 11 pages, that thread 3, most of the responses by the same posters or by those people hypocritical enough to blame the natural father.

Anyone see a pattern here?

I for one didn't notice the other thread. Does that make me bad?

the worst place I've ever been to, East New York

ha, i accidentally got off at the east new york stop of the subway one time. went outside and wandered around (a young solo white girl)... i just had to cross the street to get to the station going in the opposite direction, but that trek across the street was one of the scariest of my life!

Yeah, it is really amazing how bad this place was. The subway station had a police precinct for the transit police, and every time I was going through the station, I saw people who were being arrested, and on the way into the station. The crime rate was so high that they had the police buses, mobile processing units, driving around. When it got dark, the gangs came out.

My work ended after 6PM so it was dark when things finished, and my work was outdoors. I remember walking back to meet the rest of the crew, and the boss, a black african said, "someone drive this guy to the train station, he's too white to be walking around this neighborhood at night." Race relations can be quite bad in the States.

There were almost no businesses in the neighborhood, and blocks filled with burnt out buildings or square blocks which had only one building standing on them.

I guess you were there in the daytime, huh girlx?

Secondly, only during Thaksin's government free treatment of AIDS patients was first made available, including free anti-retro-virals, the regular CD4 tests and viral load tests, when they were included under the 30 Baht scheme. Previously AIDS patients simply died if they had not the money.

ColPyat,

My understanding was that AIDS treatment was one of the few areas where the drugs weren't free or covered by the 30 baht health care. Am I wrong on this? Or maybe it changed when Thailand came out with its own generic drugs?