Galong

It seems to me that there are very few if any role models. Thai TV (as bad as US TV) promotes all of the wrong things... sex, violence, sexism, racism and skin color prejudice.

I don't know if this is really a root cause for the way some (most?) teens are turning out... hmmmm.

BREAKING NEWS:

Nordic tourists acquire Legionnaires' disease in Thailand

Legionella may hinder trips to Phuket

The water samples from the hotel have not been processed yet.

The centre also cooperates with the World Health Organisation WHO.

Hmm, so they don't have any PROOF! but they put this out in the media just to phuk up tourism... that's reasonable.

Oh, WHO is involved. Aren't these the same ass clowns who claimed that more people would die from diseases after the tsunami than die directly because of the tsunami? Screw WHO, they are not to be trusted for anything. Who is WHO? How are they funded? How do they stand to profit from creating unnecessary hysteria

Question Authority!

"If another bombing were to happen in a main tourist destination like Phuket, it would destroy the whole country," warned Apichart.

What a dumbass thing to say. Oh, I guess potential bombers don't read the news. Way to go Apicart. Why don't you give them some blueprints while you're at it... dumbass.

I wish my country would start f*&^ing the Thais that live there. Thailand gets worse by the day.

Dude,

You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition (at). The really classy chicks like proper grammar.

''If retailers continue to sell overpriced products and services to tourists, the country's image and reputation will be damaged."

Wrong verb tense... me thinks

Buy a spotting scope and an attachment to clamp your camera's len to the eye-peice and you'll get the quality of photos that is usually reserved for those with deep pockets (big $). It's called 'digiscoping' and it's all the rave in the birding community.

I've fished a bit in Chiew Lan reservoir in Khao Sok National Park. Giant Snakehead fish are very fun to catch... and eat. they're a sucker for goofy top-water lures like the Devil's Horse or almost any buzz bait.

I've only caught fish in the 3 kilo range, but I've seen them up to probably 10+ kilo (caught in nets).

I'm hoping to get a fly fishing outfit soon and try my luck at catching big snakehead fish on poppers.

Rubber is a horrible monoculture; Nothing lives in rubber trees. They're toxic and they have replaces almost all of the original jungle in Thailand (saving a few bit for national parks). Why don't you do something original and creative instead of copying what everyone else does.

Little in it as a short to mid term project and scale is important (bigger is better).

Smarter is better than "bigger"... being earth-friendly is better than "bigger". A healthy environment is better than "bigger".

Sure there was a bomb... the environment gets bombed every time there is a full-moon party. But I guess that doesn't matter as long as the money keeps pouring in.

Khao Sok National Park is full of Thai tourists. I've never seen this number of tourists assault this natural treasure.

I can't understand why almost all of them arrive at the floating bungalows just before sunset, then depart early the following morning... hmmm, why bother coming if all you're doing is eating, drinking and making noise all night. I don't think I'll ever understand the Thai mind (not that my mind is superior or anything like that... just in case someone has a lighter near the business end of a flame thrower )

I did overhear a Thai woman who was part of a large group - 20+ - complaining that the 40 Baht park entrance fee should have included the longtail boat ride to the bungalows. Wow, now that's a new level of tight-wad-ness! Oh, and then she and her gang broke out several bottle of Johnny Walker. Go figure.

This is not the work of Thaksin.

This is a third party.

There will be a counter coup soon.

Got any proof to back this claim?

Disturbing the peace and making the current gov look bad could be beneficial to Toxin's side. Enlighten those of us who merely think of logical arguments as to who would benefit from the current state of affairs oh wise one.

Quite a few years ago there was a dark beer in Thailand called Black Tiger or something like that. Man, it was as horrible as that dry heave bile you get a mouthful of when all else is gone.

this is not good news but if one looks at the big picture these guys were very un organised as the bombs were only small and did minimal damage.

killed a few people but nothing on the scale of bali or other bombing sites.

just think how easy it would be to destroy thailands tourist industry by 2 well placed and powerful bombs.

you place one in the middle of koh san road and the other at nana plaza.

Gee Terry, can you come up with some other better target ideas for the criminals? Telling them how to do more damage is a wonderful idea.

All programming on TV and radio has reverted to its normal schedule. Needless to say, this is an amazing development - almost as if all broadcast media have been ordered to stop reporting updates.

Good! The culprits want to scare people and distrupt the economy. Having pictures of bloody people and speculative information DOES NOT help us, it's a wonderful marketing tool for whomever is behind this. The media is a big part of the problem.

Just back from three wild days of kayaking in Phang Nga Bay. I am a bit surprised to not see stories about ferries capsizing or overloaded speedboats taking a swim... hmmm, perhaps some lessons have been learned from the past?? Naw, just lucky probably. :-)

BambinA: thanks a lot, now it is clear

Galong: I just read an long discussion which ended in an usless bashing.

Point was that, that some found it extrem dirty on the beaches, rats in the bungalows and noisy from the speedboats. While others didn't has these experiences.

Are there more dirty areas?

There was also a long discussion about an italien guy who should be very ugly (so some people are telling).

But as then there were a lot of emotions, I am not sure what to belive or if there were just 2 people having their personal war?

Please some more reports about dirt/rats/noise.

Thanks

h90

Varin Resort is nice, clean and right on the beach. Rooms vary in price, but they're all reasonable.

Wherever you stay, be aware that some of the restaurants serve reef fish for dinner. Parrot fish are often filleted so you don't realize what you're eating.

Rats - A teacher on a school trip was once bitten by a rat at the Andaman Resort (corner with the nice beach). The owner laughed when told. I was there.

Noise - Thailand, 'nuff said. There can be someone at any of the bungalows who doesn't give a rat's arse about other people, so noise is always a 'potential' problem. None of the bungalows have any insulation, so noise travels easily and far.

Italian guy - yes, a real prick (and fat a ugly). He used to have a monkey chained to a tree on a short leash. He and his obnoxious friends go out fishing and sells fish to places like the Varin Resort. These fish should be caught and sold by the sea gypsies whose livelihood depends on such things... in my opinion.

My advice is to find a place that has a where you can rent the last bungalow. Sorry, I can't say where as I haven't been there yet this season. I'm sure they'll have another zillion new bungalows built on and island that isn't big enough for half of what's built already. See it while it's still worth visiting.

Don't do anything that involved elephants. The way Thais train elephants to accept people on their backs is nothing short of torture. Dont' take my word for it, check out http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...16_phajaan.html

If that isn't enough info for you, just type in 'thailand elephant abuse' in Google and you'll get plenty of info. Or, go to the Thorn Tree forum and search 'thailand elephant abuse.'

The argument that the elephants are unemployed is a bunch of crap. The mahouts are unemployed. There was such a rush to get as many elephants on Phuket once elephant trekking became popular that the gov had to ban the bringing of new elephants onto the island. So, all of these elephant camps are having the elephants have new babies. They get to have a life of suffering and abuse. Don't support this sort of thing if you love animals. It's pathetic and the truth is that you are NOT helping the elephants at all by riding on them.

That's strange as most American women don't keep their mouths shut long enough to build up enough pressure to fart! LOL :-]

But that must have been one wicked fart... should have saved it for an elevator, but then again, that might result in manslaughter charges.

I can't get my head around why they rape the environment if they think they're coming back. Why would anyone want to come back to a planet where the air isn't fit for breathing, there are no trees, no coral, no clean water, no animals, all of the birds are in cages and so on.

Besides, Buddhism at the advanced levels is about the abolishment of desire and a personal identity. Thais are 100% into desire and very much into personal identity (and good luck), the desire to be rich which is the opposite of what Buddhism is about. The eradication of the concept of a personal identity. That is the way to end suffering and to feel affraid of death. In light of this, the idea of 'losing face' is not in line with Buddhism.

But then again, I've never met a Thai who has read any of the source text. They seem perfectly content to let a monk tell them what to think and do.

I don't mean to sound like I'm slamming Thai Buddhism, but having a degree in Eastern Philosophy I find it very difficult to see any relationship between what is written and what is practiced... just like most other organized/institutionalized religions.

Peace. :-)

"Rotationally molded and amazingly heavy and rubbish to paddle."

Not since the days of squirt boating were whitewater kayaks made from fiberglass. You would have a really difficult time finding a fiberglass lay-up in a river kayak these days.

Rubbish to paddle? Um, how many different river kayaks have you paddled? Rotomoulded kayaks are the industry standard and way to go in a river kayak. That's why they're about the only boat available. :-)

Varin Resort is nice, clean and right on the beach. Rooms vary in price, but they're all reasonable.

Wherever you stay, be aware that some of the restaurants serve reef fish for dinner. Parrot fish are often filleted so you don't realize what you're eating.

Did you hear that the Bush library burnt down?

George was really upset as he'd only finished coloring two of the books!

I assume that all Thai men are cowards and won't do anything without extreme odds.

Rolling a drunk is a very cowardly act. The image of Phuket is increasingly being chipped away by this sort of thing. The world needs to hear about this!

I think that you the victim's position is wrong. Get the international press involved. Make Thailand lose face and THAT will get results.

Another option is to go to the tuk tuk pussies and have a little batting practice. But of course, the farangs will get in trouble for not being jai yen yen.

I much prefer overt corruption (Thailand) to covert corruption (US).