Galong

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).

Certainly can't disagree with anything you're saying. My hope is that less revenue actually comes in due to this ridiculous new policy.

Yes, some of the places that are trying to get 400 Baht off of us walking ATMs aren't even national parks. I would like to know if there is some gov department to call in cases where forest parks, waterfalls, etc are trying to get the same fee as a real national park... I already know the answer, it was a rhetorical question. :-)

NORTH NEW CULINARY TRENDS

Dog meat is gaining in popularity in this northern province, with an increasing number of roadside food stalls serving dog meat dishes over the past few years. Three food shops on the side of the Chiang Mai-Chom Thong highway in San Pa Tong district are enjoying the rising popularity of dog meat.

Continued .. Bangkok Post

Am I the only one who finds so many of the aspects of this story "distasteful".

especially the last sentence which really "sticks in my throat"

"feedback" from thaivisa gourmets welcome

This is absoutely disgraceful!

Aside from the extreme cruelty that killing dogs for meat involves, eaters of dog meat risk ingesting all sorts of nasties and diseases from eating dog meat.

It is doubtful to say the least, that these dogs are being bread specifically in captivity for dog meat & most people don't even like to touch a 'soi dog' but are willing to eat one!?!? Can you imagine the risks unthinking people are running!

Do people even imagine that dogs are killed in anything even approaching a humane way & in sanitory conditions?

What happened to the saying that a "dog is a man's best friend"? This practice should be outlawed as a priority!

why would dog rendering be anymore or less sanitary and humane than the rendering of other animals like pigs, chickens and cows? If you are okay eating one of them then Dog is no different except for the western cultural practice of keeping them for pets.

I personally don't want to eat any soi dog but there are plenty of hungry people in Thailand and if I don't have to swerve wandering dogs on my next bicycle ride then good deal I say.

Well, let's see, in today's news it seems like Thai men like to beat women and children. Some posters seen to think that this is a cultural thing and we shouldn't butt in or have a bad opinion on it. Now the folks in CM want to eat dog!

Dogs are intelligent sentient animals with feelings and personalities.

BTW, soi dogs are a product of neglect and cruelty by the humans that should have taken better care of them.

I hear that dogs are often beat to death slowly because it somehow makes the meat taste better... I hear that some people like to eat puppies. Personally I find the whole idea totally pathetic and totally unnecessary. No, there aren't starving Thais who need to eat dog so that they can survive. That's absolute BS.

Anyone who eats dogs lacks compassion, which seems to be the order of the day here these days. Where is the Buddhist compassion? I guess it's a myth just like that jai yen yen joke.

But remember my fellow Americans, we're supposed to boycott Myanmar for human rights' abuses.

I think it's called selective hypocracy. :-)

I hope out of this tragedy some good might come & the police start to enforce the laws about children riding motobikes RIP.

Every minute of every day I see people riding without helmets. It is not uncommon to see policemen riding without a helmet. What is it about helmet that makes Thais hate wearing them? I wouldn't even consider hopping on a bike without a helmet... not even to go down to the corner of my road. It simply ain't worth it.

I would like to see the parents of this poor youngster held responsible for the tragedy. It is as much their fault as it is the boy's.

How many more innocent people have to die to before the police actually start enforcing traffic laws?

There are millions of lovely Thai women who are caring, loving people. I married the most compassionate woman I've ever met. We've been together for 13 years and haven't had any real typical marriage issues at all. I couldn't be happier.

Judging by many comments on this Forum and all other Thai related Forums, Farangs appear to think they are somewhat superior to Thai people.

Thank you for sharing your own ridiculous prejudices with us.

One only has to browse through the many threads on Thailand related Forums to come to the same conclusion as I have.

In what way is it ridiculous, are you telling me that many Farangs do not come across with a superiority attitude in many threads and posts?

I beg to differ.....

How many posts do you see slating Thailand and Thai people, Thai government etc, how hard done by the poor farang is............

But still, they come....and still they buy houses not in their names, and still they complain even though they knew it would never be in their name, they buy, then complain. lol

I bought a house too.

You should run for the PM office. I'm sure your racism would instill a fire in the bellies of your countrymen, you know, like Toxin did with his Thai Love Thai party.

You sir, are a racist plain and simple. You don't know nearly as much as you seem to think that you know. When in your life have you had to pay more merely because of your nationality or race? If you don't like foreigners, just come right out and say it. I'm sure in your eyes that Thais can do no wrong. I've certainly never heard a Thai man accept responsibility for his actions. It's alway someone else that's at fault....

I'm not wasting one more minute with you. You're a racist!

Under the 'news' section of the website, it says, "On December 15, 2005 about 01.30 p.m., over 7 thousand people from the nearby communities, Maehea, Nongkwaii, and Namphrae district, amphor Hangdong, gathered themselves in order to resist the NGOs trying to stop opening of Chiangmai night Safari... They spoke that after November 16, 2005, the soft opening day of Chiangmai night Safari had enabled many people in Hangdong to produce 700-800 Baht-per-day income for their own. Hence, if here has been no Chiangmai night Safari, they could not have earned much more money."

Um, so! There are plenty of ways to make money. Abusing animals for money is disgraceful. I don't remember reading in any of the Poli Canons or Sutras that it was OK to exploit animals for profit.

The government should provide options for the people of these villages to make a decent living by doing something more compassionate.