Aujuba

All of those could be important at times. Someday all that info will be on a swipe card and we won't have to deal with so much in our wallets. Rigth now I just keep a copy of my passport. I've been here over ten years and have never had to produce ID for the police. I have used the copy of my passport a couple times at a hotel and a bank.

I've got connections to Surin but I won't be up there at that time. The FC surely is the north star of Surin.

Is the real estate market ballooning? If they can kick the tenents out they can reduce the number of available units in BKK. They are starting to say that the US problem is not just subprime and not just limited to the US. The world has an 'oversupply' in the market. It's a worldwide bubble like the Tech boom was back in the 90s. I don't doubt that the building quality of the places in Din Daeng is crap. They probably should be condemned but this is Thailand and quality doesn't really seem to exist for any lower priced housing. Anyways booting 30,000 people from their homes would help some of developments. I really doubt that 30,000 people are going to move very easily. If they are doing this sincerely, they should schedule the move for three or four years from now when a different gov't is in power, a gov't elected by the masses.

So how much is it to use the park?

I agree with Astral. The Thai authorities should deport him.

Flew into NYC from BKK and back from LA. The flight was smooth and as Gumball said the extras were great. The only negative was the music choices they had. They just didn't have stuff I like. They could add more. I would do it again but price might stop me.

The best trip I have ever had was nonstop from Singapore to LAX. All the seats were deluxe size so there was plenty of room. The food was great. The air hostesses walked around with all kinds of snacks in between the meals. They offered every kind of snack you could imagine from hot foods to chocolate bars. I felt very pampered on that flight.

How many British citizens are there? I know the population used to be about 58,000,000. I guess it's the number one choice for new immigrants in the EU. Seems like its pretty easy to get citizenship.

Simbo, keep us updated on your diet.

I think the nickname for Pattaya is the Elephant Graveyard. Like old elephants, old men go there to end their days. The countryside does have older guys but I doubt that many stay there all the time. When I go up there I go nuts after being there for some time and I'm a countryboy myself. On the other hand, city life in Bangkok is probably too poisonous for any older people to live past 70. The seashore and mountians are better for air and health. For those who are young, where you do see yourself living when you are 60? I'd bet that many abroad see themselves living in Thailand and many here see themselves abroad.

I don't see how this is funny. The guy was driving drunk, fled the scene of a crime, damaged property, fled the police, had a weapon. He also wasted government resources in calling out a special unit to deal with the situation. This guy should be put in jail for a couple years. They certainly wouldn't let a Thai get off so easy. But 13,000 plus Thai work in Israel. Thailand is more about money than morality.

I work with a Russian teacher. She said that a lot fo Russians who can come to Thailand have connections to the underworld or corruption. Another Russian worked as an English teacher. She got a passport from New Zealand and then took off to Thailand to teach English. She can't speak English very well but the passport and I'd guess her good looks got her a job. Anyways, she was responsible enough and did her best at the school where she worked. I guess New Zealand doesn't have enough work so she came here.

I guess I don't care because I'll continue using my air con. I think there might be something to global warming though. I feel that you can't blame people for using electricity or fuel alone. Someone who has a three bedroom house is worse than someone who uses air-conditioning 24 hours a day in a one bedroom. It's not about using electricity. There is a lot more to consider if giving up something is going to change the environment.

Question for people all over Esarn

Just curious how long you have been out there? It doesn't seem like the easiest place to live as a lot of the time it is hot and pretty dry. Living out there many of the farangs there probably have difficulty getting some of the things they are used to abroad. So how long have you been in the northeast?

BTW I just visit there ( Surin province ) for a week or so now and then. I can tell you when I go most of the time the sun gets to me when I ride motorcycles around because I'm pretty fair-skinned. I think it would be pretty hard for someone fair-skinned to be comfortable out there unless he had a car, air-con and avoided the sun.

viruses

plague

war

hate

violence

disease

torture

wilt

rust

horror

beatings

unemployment

starvation

evil

Love thy enemy. Without these I wouldn't know how wonderful my life really is!

Aren't you supposed to add mark my words? But you may be right.

Is the lack of action really about money from illegal VCD/DVD sales or is it about a bigger issue like leverage or freedom of information etc?

It does look pathetic to the outside world just as so many african 'democracies' do.

Lately it seems the news has more and more talk related to the weather. In Thailand, the heat seems to be worse than ever. This week in Thailand I am hearing more and more local people complaining about the weather. the first words out of their mouths is how its never been hot like this. One of the talk show hosts on ASTV was saying its getting hard for him to bear. It sounded like he would consider leaving LOS if things didn't change. I guess electricity usage is up too. Anyone else hearing complaints about the weather? Is it affecting you? Is this the beginning of something terrible or is it all natural?

As for me, I feel the heat when I am outside but most of the time I am in air conditioning. In the last few years I've become an air-con addict. Thoughts often cross my mind of going back to the US for cooler weather. If I do I may be an environmental refugee of some sort.

Well, you got what you wanted. Thailand is sabai sabai. Was it a regulary pharmacy or a Chinese traditional medicine shop?

I walked in there yesterday to check out the DVDs As I walked in about three guys offered the X stuff. I passed them and went upstairs. By the time I got to the third floor the vendors were all closing their shops. The sellers hung around their shops or went for a snack(some got beers). I guess they figured it wouldn't last long. I decided to sit and have noodles and wait a bit too. After a bowl of noodles and a bottle of water I gave up and went home. I don't know if they went into business after I left at about 6:15 pm or so. As I left the building I noticed a police car parked out front. Everyone knew the police were coming before they actually entered Pantip as far as I could see. It didn't look like the vendors took away their stock;they simple put cloth over the sides of their stalls or pulled their shop doors down. I wonder who the police chose to arrest and why? That would make a good story. If you ask the other sellers they'll probably be able to tell you why that one seller was 'victimized'

As for the illegal DVD business, if they crack down on it then fine with me.

Thinking like Robin Hood, the availability of illegal software and movies helps to educate people and advance development in countries like Thailand. Although companies loose out on some extra cash in their coffers, the world benefits.

Playing devils advocate for the rich, the companies that are suffering from piracy should be able to use the 'losses' to piracy as a tax deduction. If the US government can't do its job and get other countries to respect IP laws then companies shouldn't have to pay taxes to the US goverment for losses in those countries. The US government would be put on the spot to make the violators submit. Look at what the US has done to Cuba. Lots of American companies lost land and assets there when the communists took over. The US has blocked Cuba form doing anything with the US. Why doesn't the government protect today's companies?

In a more extreme way, movie companies could have a campaign in which they add script to their movies which belittle governments in select countries for their lack of responsibility in stopping piracy. They could add a few lines in a very popular movie which embarrass the leadership in those countries. Just as they use subliminal marketing in film like showing the brands of products they could bring their point to the publics attention. Stop or we won't stop the negative promotion of your country. Okay, maybe it's a bit over-the-top.

It could be by doing nothing, both countries are doing the right thing. By doing nothing on both ends, life goes on, business goes on, the rich still drink their champagne and the world's poor get a bit more education.

So is Pantip back in business? Anyone been there today?

Oh, why do all the x vcd sellers always look different from the other sellers there? Dark-skinned, long-haired, a bit scruffy, members of some Thai teenage techno-school motorcycle gang.

It sure looked nice last night too.

1. USD/THB = 27

2. EUR/USD = 1.40

3. GBP/USD = 1.85

4. USD/JPY = 140

But what do I know. Yipeeeeeeee!

I think there's a little discrimination in everyone. Thailand definitely discriminates more than the US does. When was the last time you heard of someone in Thailand going to court to get justice for being discriminated against. There's that girl who got her arm chopped off by a cop and still she has a hard time getting anyone to take interest in her plight. This country just protects the wealthy and corrupt. It's funny how so many sons and daughters of the wealthy and corrupt can go abroad to study and yet still can't seem to see the differences between their country and other countries. Most don't want to see the differences and don't want to give their countrymen education or true freedom.

The worst thing about this is that this is totally believable and it happens all the time. Maybe you are a fool to keep it running? Is the joke on you? Anyway, I'm happy to know there is a place to get a burger in Surin.

Long life and health to FC and its owner.

I recently got a rash under my arms after working in the extreme heat we've been having. The rash lasted a few days then the skin became very dry under my arms. i didn't do anything to treat it and now things are back to normal. Anyways, I checked out a few links and found some information which some might be useful to others who have gotten a rash in this hel_l heat.

http://dermnetnz.org/hair-nails-sweat/miliaria.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miliaria

The cops involved in this deserve to be in jail for life. Pigs like this are the reason why Thailand has so many problems. The police here need to be cleaned up with a purge by the military. The policehave always been the mafia. They deserve no respect from the people of Thailand. And I have heard that the initial cause of the southern violence is the result of sending corrupt cops and soldiers from the rest of Thailand to the southernmost provinces as punishment. They were put there instead of being fired. They abused the locals and now we have endless violence.

As Thaksin had his war on drugs, the current government needs to have War on Corruption focused on getting rid of all mafia in Thailand including corrupt police. If 2,000 corrupt cops were removed as Thaksin did with the 'drug dealers' Thailand would be a lot better off.