s.pylos

I take 1x Vitamin B1 everyday 100mg tablet…. This works for me, 1000 tablet bottle is 360 baht [bought last week.. gone up 20 baht since my last bottle 2 ½ yrs ago]…

not sure if you’re a drinker, a friend says you need to take another tablet at night if you drink

As useless as garlic.... Save your money for a drink !

http://www.uspharmacist.com/index.asp?show...page=8_1768.htm

[sandy]

You know, seeing this video really bothers me.

I have lived and worked in Thailand for 10+ years. Thanks to some pretty good luck, a A LOT of hard work and following the rules, I have managed to stay here legally and have had a great and prosperous life.

Tourists like this are just plain wrong. This guy (and others like him) needs to go home. He can get on the dol in his own country if he needs money so badly.

I have filed a complaint at http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...hp?page=comment about this, referencing this post.

I encourage all of you to also file a complaint; maybe the Immigration Bureau will take some action. People like this make all farangs in The Kingdom look bad.

PLEASE ACT.

Did you used to live next door to the Gestapo?

So there is a farang beggar in bangkok and so what?

There is another guy playing the Guitar on Silom in front of the CP tower and there is s spanish guy doing "Silver Man" at Suan Lum night Bazaar...

The end of the world is upon us?

Get real the lot of you, this is none of your concern or your business! Listen to you I feel you are even more prejudiced and more ignorant than the Thai about foreigners.

[sandy]

Just to calrify the "rascist" issue here...

As I understand the underlying meaning from some of the posters here, I would like to clarify the word "rascist" some.

The human kind is roughly divided into 3 main branches:

1. The Caucasian, with roots from the European continent ("Farang" in thai language)
   
2. The Mongolian, which goes for east asian people plus eskimoes and native Americans (Indians)
   
3. The Negroid, which represent people with roots from Africa
   

For example...

/Ga-gai

From a biological point of view your are talking utter rubbish. Biology does not recognize the concept of human "race" there is one and only one human species, that of Homo Sapiens sapiens, which is not divided further. The definition of race is subjective, often unreliable, but always leading to prejudices.

Now there are mnany way of classiffying human beings, your use of anthropomorphic criteria is highly debatable because it does not take into account the diversity of peole within each group you mentionned. One could use blood type or more seriously genetic markers but still there owuld be exception.

But I am not going to lecture you on the subject. Do your homework, starting by The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen J. Gould. Accessible to the the lay audience.

[sandy]

[...]

One thing though i still contest, and that is that prostitution is a relatively small aspect of Thai society. It has changed the structure of many rural Thai villages, the moneys earned do often contribute a very sizable amount of available cash in these villages.

My problem though with the media, and there i think we do agree, is that the reporting is along simplistic stereotypes that neither challenge intellectually, nor is much new done, and often has very little o do with more complex realities.

Very true. And those who bother getting out of their armchair and travel in the far away countryside in small remote villages where western-style houses are litterally mushrooming would certainly witness it.

Many (but not all) are funded by sex-money (be it one off or sugar daddy). A female sex worker doing good can earn up to 60,000 baht per month (see the numerous bio published on the subject). But many are not that lucky.

So why not talk about it? Yes there are many things to talk about and amongst them the link between prostitution- money- familly duties - place in society and how money buy you respect.

Kate article is a start, maybe not an original one, but it is a start. Those interested will look further, while those who prefer lecturing the world from their lounge will besmirch it.

[sandy]

I'd wager just re-hash of an old story, doubt the writer has even been to thailand.

Kate has lived in Thailand for a long time, she is quite well known within the expat community in Bangkok, she is also fluent in the spoken and writen Thai language.

Almost perfect, if you overlook the biased reportage.

Why is it biased to write about a girl in Thailand who regrets getting into prostitution? The BBC covers all kinds of stories, including stories about prostitution in Thailand, the UK, and all over the world. What, they should just print happy stories? Seems like the journalist touched a real sore spot here! Bit too close to home for some I guess...

I regret joining the army sometimes but I don't have some journalist with nothing to write about make a story out of it.

Why doesn't she write a story about how she ended up in Thailand with nothing really significant to write about but instead chooses to kick a dead horses. She might as well write about how the USA took advantage of the Indians or indigenous people of Africa.

I think if she is not Thai, and I was Thai immigration, I would revoke her visa for making Thailand look bad. It's one thing to write about your own country, but to enter another, write things about it that happen in your own country and expect to stay in that foreign country is another story.

... and why not burn her on the public place at Sanam Luang whilst you are at it?

Why the heck another article on prostitution in thailand? Either prostitution is a myth (which many here seems to be willing to believe) or it is a so well-known or blown up reality that it does not desserve to be talked about. So many subjects that does not desserve to be talk about ... antisemitism, homophobia, woman's right, some monarch in some country... We all know about that why bother talking about it, eh?

Let's start the autodafe of the BBC !

[sandy]

Other topics that Kate --and her Christian organisations-- should be interested in answering, above and beyond the ones related to the extreme differences of wealth in Thailand (and in many countries, including the USA, Canada and ,...).

Why did Pim get a baby so young, as this would certainly make her life more difficult if the husband would leave?

Did she do it because:

1) she loved her husband or because she really loved the idea of having a baby, or

2) she loved her husband, but does not have a clue what a stable husband is?

Why do many Thai men get to be alcoholics? Is it just men?

Why is it that many Thai husbands use prositutes, if mariage is supposed to be so blissful?

Why are the customers (Thai and foreigners) always the target of those kinds of articles whereas the pimps are not?

Why is the village and its government not concerned about the real causes of this?

Why is it that many Westerm men come to Thailand for this? (Clue ... interview them! But I doubt we will ever see an article about that. Or will we?)

Actually there is...

Here is a beginning of an answer. Not perfect but a beginning ...

[sandy]

Rationalisations_of_sex_tourism.pdf

Probably pimp killing.

sure they were just tourists?

That was my first thought too

If it involves violence and Russians then it's usually not random at all. I bet there's a lot more to this.

================================================================

Yeap; Wintermute; I believe you are correct; of course there's more to this story that what we've heard sofar. I've lived and worked in Pattaya for almost 15 years now and I can tell you that there have been some pretty incredible encounters involving Russian citizens here.

As a rule; it is mostly kept "between Russians" and I would be surprised if this will not turn-out to fall into that same catagory.

Likely scenario could be: two Russian hookers (and there are litterally hundreds of them here !?) no longer desoire to pay-off their Russian pimps; these guys are not the pick-nick type and will go through extreme lengths to "save face" with regards to the rest of their "flock" . . . . tatsteless business, no kidding !

VERY classy guys ..... first thing you do is cast doubt on the 2 victims!

Yeap and it took less than 10 posts for Thai visa posters to start pht'sized on a 10-line piece of news.

From two tourists murder on the beach, the story is now that two prostitutes, heavily drunk started a fight with a local thai, challenging his manhod, and threatening him to call their big brother who it is well known as the lcoal dealers of Mercedes in Jomtiem, while being a good friend of the local Police Col, the same that was previously involved in this boat story, you know the german guy, if not britt, who used to held party on his yacht, well anyway the two drunken B***ch ask for it and I won't take my 4 years old back to this beach again, which was already packed with dirty backpacker probably looking for some way to finnace their next visa run to cambodia to avoid paying tax ! And If I am wrong it must be the islamists from the south because thailand is becoming a playing ground for fundamentalists who only think about curtailing our right to go the beach!

Pathethic...

[sandy]

So where does one go now for after hours fun like what Freemans had?

From a friend who likes late night parties; the news is that it's back to 2.00am closing everywhere.

The closing times being enforced by police since Monday night (5 Feb) have DJ's closing promptly at 2.00am and G.O.D not being able to open.

I must stress that this news is second hand and I won't get a chance to check myself until the weekend.

Can anyone confirm?

What about Soi 6? and there are always the usual karaokes doing lock in and where you can have a lot of fun.

[sandy]

To obtain a work permit to work legally in Thailand for a year, one of the requirements is to have a university degree........

This is a current loophole in the Thai recruitment regulations, which has allowed pedophiles, radically under-qualified individuals and other undesirables to teach in Thai schools.

So a paedophile with a degree is allowed to teach???

I am sorry this just typical of the muddled, knee jerk thinking employed by Thai officials.

With Expact blessing at times!

[sandy]

Sumet Jumsai, one of Thailand’s top architects, however, insists that the airport would have collapsed — corruption or not. Fifteen years ago he had fought against its location on a swamp. “Nature is now taking its toll in this swamp, and I feel everyone has got it wrong in the ongoing investigation,” he said. “The bottom line is that with or without corruption the runways and any structure not on piles will be subject to differential settlement and cracks.”

You do not need to be a brain surgeon to realise that concrete and steel do not float very well.

LOL !

So they need to close the thing down. AOT needs to pay to have everyone moved over to DM plus they need to absorb ALL expenditures for manpower for ALL the carriers. Swampipoon needs to be sank by pulling the plug or nuked and it needs to be broadcast on live circuit TV to be transmitted globally. A Sadaam like hanging of Taxsin. And the Governator needs to come over to BKK to hold motivational conferences for the Thai people; yup, that should do it !!!

You mean Sawampipumi ?

:D

Thanks for all the replies. A few questions please

John45, you wrote,

Box sizes are same as old tea chest (each one 5 cubic feet) ..about seven boxes per M3..cost £25/box Seems a good price to me.

Was that for the actual shipping cost or just the boxes?

s.pylos, you wrote,

I used Seven Seas, they deliver flat boxes and tape to your home and come back later to collect them.

Arrived in BKK 2 months later, the local agent took care of everything (I had only 7 boxes).

What was the cost for shipping your 7 boxes?

Cheers,

Phil

I paid 190 pounds from door to door.

They were very efficient, sending me SMS (in the middle of the night...! ) to confirm when they were coming and nothing was dammaged, except one jacket when the box were opened by the customs with a cutter... very clever.

the website is http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/

I don't remember exactely where is the local agent but it is not in the centre of Bangkok, somewhere on Rama 3 maybe, I took a taxi to go there.

[sandy]

I want to ship some personal items from the UK to Pattaya. The items only amount to the area equivalent to about two washing machines. Am I able to ship these items while I only have a non Imm O visa? I read somewhere that to do this one needs a work permit, is this true?

Also does anyone know of any shipping companies who can ship small loads like mine?

I’ve searched and searched the forum but can’t find the answer.

Thanks

Phil

I used Seven Seas, they deliver flat boxes and tape to your home and come back later to collect them.

Arrived in BKK 2 months later, the local agent took care of everything (I had only 7 boxes).

I did not have to pay for anything and was on a Tourist visa.

But you know how it is, every amn is an island...

[sandy]

I might have been lucky as I shipped 7 boxes from London to Bangkok by boat. They arrived here two months after my arrival and I got them delivered to my room by the local agent of the London Company after giving them my passport. I did not have to pay anything. The content was mostly books, Cd (a lot), clothes, speakers + ampli, I was on a Tourist visa.

The box had been open and the content checked as evidenced by the cut into on of my jacket that was on top of the box...

[sandy]

I just can not understand why so many people who visit Thailand frequently just don’t get the one year multi ‘0’entry visa come in and out as many times as you like with no problems 90 days at a time

Because the criteria for a non O are people who are married to a Thai or over 50 (or education or a couple of other lesser used ones)..

Simply visiting friends and family is no longer a valid reason although some consuls still incorrectly (in the eyes of the embassys) give these out. If you dont have a friendly consul or you are not in the above (IE all the young retired single) what do you do ??

You go back home and pass away slowly in London's fog... like I'll be doing soon...

[sandy]

9:30AM this morning on Yahoo... 33.80 and stable

Are you on a work machine, or at home? And where are you?

I called TOT and it is getting better. Now I only have Time out and Server not found errors...

I am in the Lumpini - Rama 4 area (home). A friend in Soi Ngam Duplee reports the same problem.

I guess it will improve lkater today...

Another TOT blunder?

[sandy]

Hi

It seems I can not access Google, Yahoo, the BBC and a few other websites. I get the following error message:

Access Denied (policy_denied)

Your system policy has denied access to the requested URL.

For assistance, contact your network support team.

other site such as Thai visa, The Nation BP are okay.

Anyone in the same situation?

[sandy]

You must exit Thailand, obtain visa and enter another country, exit that country, enter Thailand. Just the same as if you were leaving for good. As this border can often have long lines I agree you probably stand a zero chance to do everything in the time you have allocated - but have never been there so could be wrong. You will not need your work permit but you should have 20k baht on your person if they decide to check you.

You will have more than enough time. I usually even have the time to have a meal and do some shopping at the local market.

I have never carried 20K baht with me, and have never been checked for that or heard someone being check for that, but I have my credit card. If you get stuck in Aranyaprathet there are bus to come back.

DON"T

- use the service of the numerous guys who will come to you and offer you help. You can do everything on you own. If you are lost ask any offcial of shop keepers around. The Tuk Tuk from the station should not charge you more than 80 baht, ask him to bring you close to immigration.They tend to leave you at the market where their friends wil want to take care of you!

- pay more than what you have to, i.e. there is no extra charge becasue you don't stay a night in Cambodia, you don't need an "health certifate" and you don't need to grass the custom official in Cambodia when you get out as you are not an illegal immigrant!

Just behave like someone who has done than 20 times and nobody will try to scam you.

Do take a big good book as the journey by train is VERY long but enjoyable, plenty of food and drinks sold on board!

And when you are done with it report your experience here for other !

[sandy]

lets just screw the farang some more have you seen the price of Oishi at suwannaphoooooooom ? 70 baht when you can buy it locally for 19 baht!!

I nearly had a heart attack last time when I tried to buy a bottle of water with a 20 Baht note and was asked thirty. I gave 10 baht more but noooo ! She wanted 30 Baht more !! 50 Baht for a botle of water that can be bought for 10-15 Baht in town!?

This is definitiveley the most expensive ever Airport in the world, if nothing else...

[sandy]

Did that on the 4th of January.

Flew with Air Asia: 4900 return from Bangkok

Bus from the airport 8 ringgits (yellow bus). If you take the train you have to change from KL LLC to KLIA and this is not very convenient and takes time.

Stayed in medium range accommodation 100 Ringit / day (inc. breakfast) 2 minutes to Bukit Bintang at The Season View Hotel. For those in the know, looks like the Pinnacle in Bangkok + 10 years rundown. There are two other brand new hotels nearby that could be worth trying.

Took a taxi to the Embassy for 4.8 ringgits. Just take one in the street, the one waiting will try to charge you 15 ringgits. And no I don't have a fat stool bar arse. I simply don't see why I should not take a taxi when it cost no more than 50 Baht and you can have a chance to talk to a “local”... Beside, I don't have sewed jeans pockets with urchin in them...

Arrived at 9:15 and got number 52, then by some Thai mystery, a guy who arrive after me went before me! Don't ask...

I have 2 double entry tourist visas, several 30 days stamps and asked for a double entry visa. The woman behind the window said she would have to look at my passport first and she gave me a single entry visa. An Italian guy just before me got a double entry. He only had one 30 days stamp in his passport. So it is still possible.

The last window is for Thai this is why the guy behind it seems to be doing nothing. Clever people would have noticed that numbers start with letter A or B.

The next day got my passport back from the entrance and strangely enough there was no queue. The day before about 30 people were waiting to collect their passport.

Enjoyed a fish and ships for 40 RM (with drink, rather pricy but did not have one for at least 18 months!) otherwise ate in the street like I do in BKK for 5-7 RM.

All in all, a relatively good time

[sandy]

Wrong mate. We have millions of immigrants from East europe, Africa, etd.coming to UK and living there with no personal wealth all relaying on Social Services.

Another racist and prejudiced myth. Migrants contribute more to the UK economy than the UK citizens. There was a feature about this on both C4 and BBC2 some time ago and it is well documented. But I guess this kind of rubish myths have a long way to go...

[sandy]

names.

What has that got to do with the fact that they are a pair of theiving <deleted> and deserve what's due to them. "nuff said"

Its got quite a lot to do with it. Remember the Paris riots just over a year ago?

Its the N. African contingent who don't like being made to obey sovereign law of a country that they try to corrode and take advantage of from within.

They'll get theirs here, hopefully.

For your education there is no such things as north-african in France. People born in France are French. This is not the US or the UK. Those who created trouble in Paris last year were born in France probably from parents who where themselves born in France. This is not the place to discuss why there was unrest in the deprived estate bordering Paris, but it has litle to do with sovereign law...

So many racist and prejudiced comments here show once more, if it was needed, that being an expact does not always open minds and improve tolearnce or intelligence.

[sandy]

The 50-per cent cap will only apply to companies that deal with areas considered important to national security, or that have an impact on natural resources or Thai culture, he said.

Doesn't this mean everything!

Considering that the Thai are of chinese descent, that tribute was paid to china until mid 19th century, the monarchy is enshrined in Hindu rites, "bpla raa" is Khmer as are most of Thai dances, the verb "tam" is of Mon origine, Chili was introduced by the Portuguese, Issan is more Lao than Thai, The north was an independent kingdom until rather recently, thai scrip is based on Khmer and so on..

I too wonder what Thai culture means...

[sandy]

unfortunately no heads will roll

no one will ever be brought to justice

no one will end up in jail

THAILAND is doing itself in

and it is powerless to stop it

pity as the whole world is watching and shaking their heads

but TIT

A bit dramatic...

I believe the world is rather busy and has more important things to do than looking over here...

[sandy]

this is why the rules are changing .because of <deleted> breaking the rules.i wish theyd just raid places and get rid of bar owners and english teachers with no permits .half of them arent even english natives.what sort of english do they teach anyway?people who bring in money from working overseas and dont qualify under other categories are now going to suffer because of them.

You are slightly wrong ... at least on two points

- The visa runners are not breaking any rule.

- The one who breaks the rules are the schools which employ foreign teachers illegeally

For the bar owners... I guess there are many different situations. I am sure some break the rules and I amvsure other don't.

Basically it all goes back to the rules, which in the present case are rather unworkable.

And who makes the rules? ...

[sandy]