Galong

2.) Tourism is the largest polluter in the world. Ask those on the islands in Thailand, ask those that know about aricarft fuel jettisoning and the list goes on and on.

Do you have any evidence to prove this or is this merely your opinion? Here's something to try: Go to an island with no tourism and see how the locals treat the environment. You'll see tons of trash everywhere, trees cleared for rubber plantations or oil palms and all of the things that they can do to strip every last baht out of their surroundings.

Did you come here by jet? Yes, tourism is harmful. I'm not disagreeing with you about that. But, to blame it all on tourism is both unfair and unrealistic. The TAT should concentrate on tourists that spend more per trip instead of more tourists spending less... which seems to be their forte.

Clean up the national parks and make them world class. Right now, many are barely worth visiting. In Khao Sok on the reservoir, for example, the park rangers have nice houses, yet the tourists can only stay in shabby floating huts with holes in the floors and filthy toilets. High quality tourists deserve higher quality tours too. Sorry, but most of the Thai nature guides I've met (and that's a lot of them) aren't up to speed on their flora and fauna.

Good luck TAT, you'll need it as you've never proved yourselves to be anything more than mass tourism promoters in the past.

Way to gloss over the truth. The Mahouts are vicious and mean to the elephants. I've personally witnessed brutality and I've read a lot about it. The way they 'teach' elephants is called crushing... what an appropriate name for the way they crush the nature out of these wonderful beasts. Take a look at the National Geographic documentary http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...16_phajaan.html It's sickening the way animals are treated in Thailand.

Yep, I can type as fast as I talk... I majored in Eastern Philosophy and I taped all of my classes. I typed my notes when I got home. Over the course of time, it just happened.

Now, I can watch TV while working. I don't give it a thought at all. Furthermore, I use keystroke shortcuts more than the mouse. In other words, I'm fine with the other keys such as shift, ctrl and alt. I still look at the "F" buttons though.

The stat you should be looking for is the odds of heterosexual males contracting HIV through unprotected heterosexual sex with an infected woman. Probably not so high per encounter, but we know you can fix that with volume.

That's the point. There IS a chance of contracting this potentially deadly disease no matter how low that chance could be. It is NOT out of the questions that you could contract HIV from unprotected hetero sex. Anyone who doesn't believe this is playing Russian Roulette (spelling?) Worth risking?

Hey LaoPo, thanks for the story "AIDS virus is a "double hit" to the brain: study" very interesting.

"According to Mr. Suvit, quality tourists should have purchasing power and not exploit the country and the people. They must not create problems that lead to natural and environmental destruction."

Oh please, the locals have no respect for their natural surrounding and are raping it at every opportunity. For example, there used to be a lovely little tidal creek at Norpratara which the locals replaced with shrimp farms. I used to see monkeys and otters any time I went there. That's all gone now. There are countless examples of the locals raping the land. But, we all know that Thais never accept responsibility... it's always someone else who is the bad guy...

I've got my butt covered. Almost all of my company's business comes from MY five websites. They are in MY name in the US... screw me and you might as well close the doors. That, coupled with the fact that I'm the only person in the company who knows how both marketing and operations work should make me irreplaceable.

If something stupid happens, I've always enjoyed Malaysia. But hopefully, I'm just airing my distrust and nothing really harmful will every happen. If it does, you won't see me jumping off of a high-rise.

There are too many signs and advertisement mainly in Chinese/English with no Thai at all to confirm that.

Ah, but the Chinese aren't evil bread-eaters like us... they eat rice so they're OK.

How many signs in English have all of the words spelled correctly?

Crickey, I thought this thread was going to be about getting fat ugly tourists to stop going topless.

Seriously though, I am all for taming down the filth. But, it's going to take a lot of work getting Thailand's reputation out of the mud.

The drugs currently offered in Thailand, such as Efanirenz, Lamivudine and Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) to name a few, are capable of dramatically increasing a person's CD4 count AND more importantly, in drastically decreasing the viral load. This 'cocktail' costs about 8,000 baht per month. This is for the REAL thing, not the generic versions. I don't know exactly how they are able to offer these drugs this cheaply as they would certainly be more expensive in, say, the US. But, these are up-to-date drugs that are used in the 1st World to treat HIV patients.

Drinking alcohol renders these drugs almost useless. And, not changing one's lifestyle can also greatly hender the efficiency of these drugs as well as any other drugs. In other words, risky behavior is still potentially very, very harmful.

I'd like to see how this newer drug differs in its approach to the disease. I'll read more and see what I can decifer.

Thai Liquor Laws Won't Deter Tourists, Minister Says

The National Legislative Assembly, appointed by the military-installed government, is reviewing the draft. Passing it into law has been ``a bit delayed'' by detailed negotiations, he said.

``We don't want new drinkers to get attracted by the advertising or product displays,'' Mongkol said. ``Alcohol should be sold in proper places. We are talking in detail now about the sale times and places.''

--Bloomberg 2007-06-27

Why is the interim government so busy making laws when they said they took over and promised that would concentrate on getting a fair election going?

I'm all for curbing the serious alcohol issues in this country, but they need to put more energy into getting a democratic election on the books ASAP. The world is watching.

That made you look

This small bird flew into our patio window the other day with quite a thud. Fortunately It wasn't hurt in any way and quickly recovered after I picked it up and sat it on nearby branch.

It's very similar to another that did the same thing a few months back. Question is, are they the same family, they both look very similar but one has a longer beak than the other and different coloured feathers on its head.

geoffphuket

Hey Geoff, the top bird is definitely a spiderhunter. It is most likely a Little Spiderhunter, but it could be a Thick-billed Spiderhunter. Is there white at the end of the underside of the tail? If so, it's a Little Spiderhunter. I'm leaning towards a Thick-billed as the throat is not white enough to be a Little.

The bottom bird is a Common Tailorbird.

And yet there's another ongoing thread titled "The Thai Economy Is In Crisis"... hmmm.

My literature suggests those in the South won't be able to see it 'cos it isn't there.

Very cool lizard indeed!

Not to worry though, we've got the Garden Fence Lizard which has a wonderful orange-ish red head when it's in breeding colors. We also have a cool pale green headed flying lizard... still, I'd love to see that blue-headed cutey

OK, so thanks to the media the bad guys know that a huge number of troops will be in BKK... sounds like an opportunity to cause trouble elsewhere me thinks.

I hope they can stay alert enough and awake long enough to save those in struggle. If they are professionally trained and if the government wants them to take their job seriously, I hope they get a respectable salary... otherwise, this is a waste of time. you get what you pay for... innit.

If anything, most major religions around today survived periods of harsh suppression by various governments throughout their history.

And this goes the other way around too. Organized Religion has been one of the most powerful and deadly tools that man has ever invented. if you think that Christianity was spread by love, you better read some proper history books. The Crusades and the Inquititions were murderous and as violent as any time in recorded history. It was by fear of death, usually by fire or being drawn and quartered, that people in England at least were converted.

During one 100 year stretch in the past there were 44 popes. they were killing each other off everytime you turned around. The pope was the most powerful man in the Western world. Kings bowed to the pope. If mankind is to advance, religion must take a back seat. Let the superstitutions die a peaceful death.

Personal beliefs aside, organized religion is dangerous... in other words, believe whatever you want, just don't force it on anyone else and don't try to run the country based on superstitious beliefs.

It's not Amazing Thailand, it's A Mess in Thailand

It'd be a good idea for the cops to let things go back to normal, then hit 'em again. Keep letting it go back to normal and keep hitting 'em over and over. Eventually it might make an impact.

It would also be nice if Hollywood would make DVDs more affordable in the first place.

"Love it or leave it" Brings back memories of what the US authorities told those of us that protested the war in Vietnam.

Yep, that's the reason I left... he, he, he

Thailand does have problems and it's frustrating living here at times, but it's nice to have a place where I can vent my frustrations. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this way. to those who think that pissing a moaning shouldn't be allowed, sorry, I disagree. I think it's better than keeping it all inside

First, Google's YouTube backs down and now...

Abbott backs off, wants to continue sale of Aids drug

Abbott Laboratories, one of the three pharmaceutical giants whose drugs face compulsory licensing in Thailand, has backed off from its threats, saying it wants to continue selling its HIV/Aids drugs here.

Let me complete that sentence for you...

Because they realised that Thailand would steal it if they didn't. They will get away with stealing it because they put across an image of being a poor country when in fact the government COULD pay for this treatment at the regular price if they really cared for the poorer citizens.

Sorry, I see that those two links don't work. Cut and paste http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagep...amp;iCountryId=

I have read a post on TV in the past about the tigers here as well as seen part of the National Geographic/Discovery channel programme on the same. I have some free time in a few weeks and wanted to travel to a different part of the country, this would appear to be an interesting place to visit. Any thoughts or comments about this Wat? ...or other suggestions would be welcomed.

Must remember not to ask for a rug at the gift shop.

This is a major money-making scheme by the monks and they are making a killing thanks to TV shows not doing enough research before promoting such a place. Who has verified that the tigers were brought in to be protected? Are we supposed to believe everything a monk says just because he's a monk? This is a business plain and simple.

Yes, the tiger are drugged. They are WILD animals and just because the monks 'brought' them up doesn't mean that they now fully accept being forced to sit with countless tourists and get their photos taken. If they are not drugged, it is simply a matter of time before someone gets an arm ripped off. If they are drugged, then the monks are lying and therefore they're probably lying about other aspects of their little zoo.

Sigfreid and Roy hand-reared their tiger... remember what happened then? Type in "tiger attacks" in Google and see what you get. Go to the Thorntree Forum and search "Tiger temple" and you'll get plenty of accurate, unbiased information. Here is one thread

And here is another

doing good deeds for strangers or friends doesn't make Thailand unique. You'll find people in plenty of other countries who are just as friendly, just as giving and not looking for anything in return. Thailand doesn't deserve the sole title of Land of Smiles... you can get that almost anywhere in SE Asia and elsewhere.

There are plenty of countries that should also be called "Land of Smiles". I've had wonderful encounters with locals in Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Fiji, Malaysia, Mexico and Myanmar. I even found friendly people in Canada.

Plus, I came here are open-minded and accepting but after being screwed by everyone from employees, immigration, revenue dept and so on, I decided that I'll still stay because I love the environment. So far they haven't completely plowed every over and turned it into concrete... I can take or leave thai society. I see nothing special about it.

But still they come, and come again, and stay, and buy land in a Thai womans name, and moan and bitch on internet forums about how hard done by they are.

They do have choices, but their future will depend on whether the choice they made was right or wrong.

You know the rules of the game, and it's a game for the big boys, if you can't hack it, sit on the touchline and pass out the orange slices at half time.

Yes, we buy land in our wive's names because your racist government doesn't allow us to buy it ourselves. Thais can come to my country (US) and buy land. And, whenever something goes wrong or the gov wants to shake things up they pick on the buyer, even though a thai sold the land and a thai lawyer (in most cases) did the sometimes shady paperwork.

Answer me this please, why is it always the farang who is considered to be the causes of all the problems in this country? Aren't there any thais who are man enough to accept responsibilty.

I feel that part of the problem is that the Chinese who have colonized Thailand don't want to have to compete on a level playing field... thus they make it hard for non-asians to get ahead.

I may or may not spend the rest of my life here... haven't decided. The four families that I support by employing them a wages at least three time what they'd make anywhere else will suffer. But I'm sure the gov is ok with that if they can get rid of a farang. Trust me, I will make it my life's work to expose the facts about the Land of Smiles. I've got enough info for a book already, complete with tons of photos.

Land of Smiles.... yeah, as long as your wallet is open!