Boater

• Increased demand for meat including tusks and sex organs
  
• Meat order was allegedly made by Phuket restaurants
  

The elephant, a national symbol in Thailand, is facing a new threat because of a developing taste for its meat in the country, it was claimed today.

The new interest in consuming the animal includes everything from trunks to sex organs, and could pose a significant risk to the survival of the species.

Wildlife officials said that they were alerted to the practice after finding two elephants slaughtered last month in a national park in western Thailand.

At risk: Although elephant poaching is illegal in Thailand, the new taste for eating their meat includes everything from trunks to sex organs, posing a significant risk to the survival of the species

'The poachers took away the elephants' sex organs and trunks ... for human consumption,' Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand's wildlife agency, said in a telephone interview.

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1krEqmhkW

No driver training whatsoever.

I often wonder just how these mimi bus drivers get their jobs ! I live on Koh Samui and believe me, its an absolute nightmare travelling thro Maenam in the morning when all these mini busses are heading for the Lompraya ferry taking passengers from hotels to the Koh Pangan ferry boats. They drive like maniacs, overtaking everything and anything and then if there is no room because of oncoming traffic, they just barge in , no indicators whatsoever and god help any motorbikes who happen to be in "their" space.

And then in the late afternoon, it all happens again only in reverse. Something just has to be done about these mini busses. I was at the airport today, a mini bus dropped his passengers and then did a screaming U turn and took off out of the airport, flat out, no reason at all, just his gung ho attitude. These busses are very high geared and all the drivers treat them like toys.

Koh samui drivers are some of the worst !

It is really quite simple to help half these deaths, Restrict the Vans Speed !!!!, they do it in Europe, why not here? , stops them from speeding !

Sorry to hear this PS....what you up to?

what will happen to all the decor?

sorry to hear you had to close down

In one of the pictures his feet appear to be touching the ground.

agree , this would not be treated as a suicide in most countries, was there a note??? ..... it wasnt mentioned

his placemnent of body suggests this was staged, as why would he hang himself where he did ? , when you could hang yourself with an easier death? , with his postion his body would have wanted to stand up .......

unreal really, i just showed this story to a Police Friend who automatiaclly said, this would be a murder enquiry !, untill they could rule it out then it would be sucide, but you should NEVER judge sucide before ruling out murder

'Boater'

... it is disgusting that the company is still operating... but now it has resulted in a death, i am hoping the police will re investigate

I assume there was an initial investigation and no negligence was found. Or not? I thought it was determined more or less to have been an accident. Something that under normal circumstances could happen (unfortunately) to anyone. Or is that not the case?

have you read the whole thread?

RIP. Did anyone have to face the consequences of this tragic accident?

not that i am aware off, and it is disgusting that the company is still operating... but now it has resulted in a death, i am hoping the police will re investigate

through now a tragic lost, i just hope criminal charges are brought against those involved and whom have covered this up

lets hope this never happens again ...

RIP

Ryan , who was seriously injured in this crash has just died from his injuries ....

i think thanks are in order for all the events that where held to help his medical treatment ,

RIP RYAN

"She asked me for my mobile & email, so I gave her my friends number and email instead."

did he have a good night ????

It does n't really happen in FV.but the billabong and emerald pub are good places to start.

been there on a friday night before ? , very happening ....

and the dealers who forced him to take the drugs to thailand knowing he was ' not all there ' and the dealers who where to collect the drugs all got off scott free? , in my eyes they are more guilty then he was

Air Asia are quoting Surat Thani as ( samui ) , so hopefully they will have a sceduled bus/mini van service from samui for passengers ...

i suppose it is a step in the right direction , and i can see the flights being full, all they need now is a route from Surat Thani to Singapore and HK,

^ agree. Many smoke. Most eat meat. Always seem to see monks at mobile phone shops lol.

Many drink whiskey. Some have girlfriends and/or boyfriends.

and gamble with the money in the donation tin, plus check and update there facebook profile for their Iphone4s .... and if they have time, and from a well off temple, watch the merc

Just notice , Air Asia are now flying from Surat Thani to Kuala Lumpur, 3 times a week, looked at some random dates and it was quoting 2,210 THB including Taxes ect ect Return !

Beats the run to Penang , and a far lot cheaper !, also good for boarding crossings !, as you only need to travel by road to Surat Thani, or even if you want to do a bit of shopping and get away, as still half the price of a one wy ticket with Rip Off Air to Bangkok

opinion

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation January 23, 2012 1:00 am

Sixteen hours prior to the US government issued a warning of terrorism attack in Bangkok on Friday, the 13th January, at 4.00 pm., Hussein Atris, 47, a Lebanese-Swedish passport holder, was apprehended at Suvarnaphoumi Airport near midnight on Thursday. What came after the following days showed the huge perception gap of Thai policy makers and their counter terrorism measures with the international community. Worsen still was the unpreparedness of Thai security apparatus to face up with the perceived threats of highly mobile and sophisticated terrorism networks. No wonder, they are still in denial.

Atris was under the watch list since Dec 10, 2011 when the Thai intelligence was alerted that a group of Hezbollah operatives, who were in and are coming to Thailand, could plan terrorist attacks in Bangkok, targeting foreigners, in particular Israeli citizens and assets. On the list are places they frequently visit or stay such as Khaosan Road (cheap hotels and a Chabad), Samui and Pangan Islands (for Full-moon parties) and Sukhumvit Soi 22. Although the Special Branch Police have been on the lookout, they did not have any lead as bits and pieces of intelligence were not case specific.

It was a stroke of luck that Atris was not aware that his name was on the wanted list. Had he chose to exit through land check-points, say, at Nongkai on the Thai-Lao border, he could slip out without notice—indeed not all computers at land border check-points are linked to the immigration's headquarters. After hours of intense interrogation, Atris disclosed the location of a three-story building in Mahachai, Samutsakon on the outskirt of Bangkok where he has accumulated explosive materials—urea-based fertilizer and ammonium nitrate. The Thai authorities believed that they were destined for the third countries not for local targets.

http://www.nationmul...d-30174278.html

why dont all the people who complain about the higher wage hike trying living on 240/300 THB a day, including paying bills !, christ it would be stretch to live on 500 THB a day !, in the western world the min wage is around 250THB AN HOUR !, and most people cannot live off that, yet apart from accomdation , most things in thailand cost the same as the west, and companies in thailand EARN the same as the west !, IE tesco, cashier in thailand gets 5,000 THB a month odd, yet in the UK they get 50,000 THB, yet both thailand and the UK make the same profit margins on goods sold? , but thailand is more profitable as they dont pay high wage

Last year, Koh Samui was number 3 on the list by the New York Times of the Top 45 Places to visit, but it has now been replaced by .. Myanmar !,

http://www.travel.ny...go-in-2012.html

Koh Samui, let alone anywhere in Thailand isn't even mentioned this year !, yet Thailand's neigbours are all appearing in the list !

Bangkok Airways is to launch non-stop daily flights between Koh Samui (USM) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL) on 31 March 2012.

The flights will be operated with Airbus A319 aircraft serving 138 economy class seats.

Flight PG 951 will depart Koh Samui for Kuala Lumpur at 17:55 for a 20:25 arrival. The return leg, PHG 952, will depart Kuala Lumpur for Koh Samui at 08:20 landing at 09:00.

Passengers will be offered inflight meals, a baggage allowance of 20 kgs and a lounge at Samui airport.

Presently, Bangkok Airways serves to more than 20 destinations both domestic and international. From Bangkok, the airline flies to Chiang Mai, Lampang, Trat, Phuket, Samui, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap, Yangon, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dhaka and Maldives.

From Koh Samui, Bangkok Airways flie to Pattaya (U-Tapao), Trat, Phuket, Krabi, Hong Kong and Singapore.

http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news12/171-BangkokAirways.shtml

Maybe the bag snatcher was her real boyfriend, and it was a set-up.

agree here .....

On this occasion all suspected prostitutes were over 18 and no foreign nationals were found.

i thought thailand didnt have any prositutes ?

The body of an unidentified Caucasian believed to be a foreign tourist was washed ashore recently in front of a beach- side hotel in Chaweng Noi, about 800 meters from the Koh Samui viewpoint.

A team from the Bophut Police Station led by Pol. Lt. Kojorn Lanamtieng, along with volunteers from the Samui Rescue Foundation, rushed to the scene to investi- gate and retrieve the body. The naked body was that of a male with fair complex- ion. He was about 170-175 cm tall and around 45-50 years old.

http://www.samuiexpr...f-chaweng-hotel

IF I had a business right in the olfactory kill zone I'd be righteously pissed off. Another local government problem that stinks, literally.

I think one thing that happens is people will sit down as the breeze is blowing away from them and order something; then when the wind shifts, they think, "Holy mother of God! What do we do now?" Eating food as you are blanketed by an overwhelming, pungent stench of ripe sewage is not an experience anyone is likely to endure twice.

I think there is an ice cream shop there if memory serves, and it makes me think about the Jelly Belly candies that have bizarre flavors, like vomit and boogers. Maybe there's a market for Chaweng sewage flavor?

does anyone remember tenerife back in the 90's , same kind of issue as chewang, but they resolved it , with a simple process !, they would at 4-5am , bring out a team of about 100 workers, 20 odd road cleaning macheines and sewage jet washers/cleaners .... the place smelt very fresh come 9 am !,

They also do the same in China .......

RIP Andy

Please, other posters, keep your comments to your self !, some people can go through such stress, that life is not worth living !, i presume people who post bad comments have a great lifestyle, money in the bank and have a care free life... well you make up 0.00001 of the worlds population

cATCH A BUS

i dont think there are any buses that cover that route...

maybe a mod can tranfer this to the phuket forum for better advise