opengoal

The penalties for drugs here are well out of proportion to deter you from profiting from a state run business (bib)

I am wondering if the company in question would be VIP. Over the last 3 months I have seen 4 double deckers either being towed in or in the shed awaiting extensive repairs after going over on one side (one had more turf inside than a football pitch.

The Bus station I witnessed these events was Khon Kaen and I very rarely go past it so now do your sums and work out how many buses involved in accidents I would see if I stood there for a year then times that by all the other bus stations doing repairs. This company is the pitts and a serious threat to life, be warned dont travel on them.

I am wondering who issues this guys licence and are his crashes made public knowledge. If any of you are interested at the time one bus was being towed in MR ..... 15,000,000 baht Merc was being cleaned by bus cleaning staff and there was not a mark on it.... Travel Nakon Chai Air two drivers for the trip to BKK for 60 baht more.

I will take my camera there shortly but the pics will have an 18+ rating so put the kids in bed first

Today a friend told me a story of his experiences in Laos (Savannaket). Arriving at the consulate application desk in Savannaket he asked for a 12 month O Visa and obviously he was refused. Being persistent he asked again to which an official took his number and told him one could be made available for 65,000 baht.

After sitting in his hotel for 1 hour he received a call and the price was bartered down to 30,000, he has since been told he could have got this down to 20,000. The stumbling block to the deal was the agent wanted a bank transfer into his account which my friend was not prepared to do but offered 50% cash and the rest on delivery of his passport with full one year visa.

He could not get more info from the agent and he just let the deal slide. The fact that the agent had his number means it was given to him by the a consulate official which would suggest this deal maybe available if you know the right people.

Has anybody heard of this happening in Savannaket because Now I have the phone numbers and it may be worth a try.

SET listed clients? Do you mean that?

Actually I don't disagree in terms of political risk that a stable environment is what is looked for.But in Thailand at any rate (to forestall some genius invoking the China precedent where conditions are different) while the faltering progress towards democracy has had its problems, the illegal junta put an unattractive spin on all the specific issues you mention.In Thailand the junta and its allies -including the feudalists/bureaucracy (unlike the Communists in China) are enemies of the open society and globalisation.Their interests are monopolies and a continuing larger share of a national cake that would grow smaller under ther anti-foreigner policies.That's why foreign investors don't like coups in Thailand or Bangkok mobs dictating policy to elected governments.Geddit now?

Put more simply.... Its the old money elite, who dont want foreign investment because given a level playing field they will all be out of business in ten years, against the 'new money' led by Mr Thaksin who wants foreign investment so he and his cronies can milk the farang business ( eg BTS and the new airport).

The 'old money' wants Thaksin out of the game now before we have a change at the helm. God forbid this never happens bcos then thaksin will fear nobody and the old elite will be running for cover.

This has nothing to do with the normal people of Thailand this is a fight between the ruling classes for total control. It does not matter who wins because the natives will still get sh1t on from a great height

Looks like the North East is an archaeologists and meditators paradise. Now what can it offer the other 99.5% of tourists? A barren landscape and somtam. Let's be honest, there's a reason why people don't do go Isaan. It's simple, it's crap, and unless you married a bargirl and her family lives there there is no reason for you to go near the place. ( But Phimai is worth a look if you're passing through).

You are the reason TAT should not promote Isaan. North of Don Muang and you need a map. For the 20,000 of us that make this our home its great. The problem with Isaan is that the government never invests here so they will always have a migrant workforce. As for being crap keep believing it. You may stay away (please)

I think we are all missing the point here. PPP, Thai Rak Thai call them what you will have this love of " mega projects" simply because this means mega rip offs. There will be no nuclear reactor in Thailand but what there will be is a mega feasability study carried out at a cost of 1 billion dollars. from this 1 billion the usual suspects will cream off 0.6-0.7 of a billion. It will then be deemed not in the interest of the thai enviroment.

Everybody will then breathe a sigh of relief and believe they have a caring responsible government. Count up the amount of times you have heard the phrase Mega project since the election. The new terminal will gross them 100,000,000 in consultancy rake offs.

In Khon Kaen province they are talking about examining the possibilty of using an old runway 40 km outside Khon Kaen city to bring in cargo as part of the east west trade corridor while Khon Kaen Airport is situated 1 km from the the east west highway and has 3 planes a day. Can you see any logic.

Then all this rake off gets removed from these shores. Where I come from they would be known as F---ing thieves. Its obvious why wannabe politicians can spend 50 million getting elected because this will be repaid very quickly from the above activities.

Okay so Sunday night goes something like this. Bar Bor Pen Yang-Samlo Bar-Bor Pen Yang-Samlo Bar, 23.45 tuk tuk to Don Chan Palace See whats on offer. 03.00 get on strange motorbike get taken to hotel room or other destination for pleasure, then stink in your pit until mid day. Usually hit the consulate of a morning with the world clog dancing championships taking place inside my skull but not this trip.

Anybody up for it

Going for my visa to Laos this Sunday, I am right in thinking that the consulate is shut on Monday.

If you want dog food, go down Soi Na Muang (Khon Kaen) with Fairy Plaza on your left. Just past on the other side of the street is a pet shop with an open front selling bags of dry dog food

I am going to have a tenner on City to beat liverpool this weekend. Win or lose tonight Liverpool have nothing to play for at the weekend. They will only play half a team and they are guaranteed Champions League next season. On the other hand the boys in blue will be playing at 200% if the news this week is true. Lets send Sven off in style.... remember where you heard it first

The problem with this government and all the others here, there is no thai thai people in positions of power. Until there is a balance between thais and thai chinese we will get new scandals every week

Oh god, the Chinese-Thais are going to buy all the land up in Isaan.

Most of the land in issan is hocked into the bank and you know who owns the banks

OP got owned hard.

my thai friend is sitting with me and her family is all cops, she demands an apology from you OP since you falsely accused the police of wrong doing without evidence

SInce when has evidence been important when pursuing a conviction in this country. Police and evidence are never used in the same sentence here.

Is Euro 2008 being shown on UBC, if so does that mean because you have paid them you dont have to pay TCC

Saw a piece of paper hand delivered to a bar in Isaan yesterday. In a nutshell it says that the bar owner has to pay up to 5000 baht (dependant on the size of his tv's) to watch Euro 2008. Anything aired on thai tv is free and he pays UBC for right to watch it.

Hand delivered by a man in plain clothes stinks of a p1ss poor local police scam. Has anybody else come across this scam yet. The letter is headed T.C.C. Thai Copyright Collection and an address in Bangkok. We usually get the Bangkok Bobbies twice a year trying to scam up here. They only hit farang bars though.

The bar has no intention of paying but those Bangkok Bobbies can get pretty shitty if you stand up to them. They do their dirty work in cahoots with the local plod. Giving them a cut in return for letting them use rooms in the local police station( all adds authenticity to the scam)

Anybody have experience with TCC (alias Bangkok BIB) ?

Where can you pruchase any of these titles in Thailand ?

Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin and midgets being abused on tv does not require any thought (ideal for most thais). Most Thai people are not capable of understanding cerebal humour.

Case in point look at the drivel on tv its targeted at its viewing audience

A friend of mine living in Thailand tells me his wife wants to divorce him and she is so adamant that if he refuses to sign the papers she has a way to make him sign. My friend for his own reasons does not want to sign any papers maybe his child or his visa status.

He feels that he has to force her hand because if shes up to no good with the opposite sex (other farang) and he signs then she can show her true colours without loss of face (because she is divorced)

He has suggested seperation for a period and she flatly refuses, its divorce or bust. He has been assured by her that he can have custody of their child but does not understand his rights under thai law.

He is not looking for moralistic advice but wants to know can he be forced to sign divorce papers (without the obvious gun to the head approach). Also, if he is given complete custody of the child his he going to have a problem further down the line when he takes the child out of Thailand.

Anybody had any similar experiences or knows how the law here applys to him

Saw the real Songkran today. Took the kids to the front of the estate where we witnessed a gang fight,at 13.30 fueled by cheap p1ss. Some guy got a faceful of a metal kerb ramp infront of thousands of families. F..king moronic festivals. There is an excuse to be pissed here most days they dont need Songkran.

If we consider the death toll a legitimate cull of the knobheads I love songkran

Two friends of mine have been exporting a particular type of goods from Thailand to Australia 'under the radar' so to speak. The goods are legal but they do not have work permits.

An oppurtunity to speak to one of Australias largest retail outlets has prompted them to get legit. They do not have the cash to invest to acquire permits so are looking to start the company thru their spouses.

They would like advice from registering the company name to claiming back the vat for exports. They would like to know everything (including paying taxes).

If you dont know the full process but know parts please post below. If you have any links that would be helpful they would be appreciated. As they have meetings scheduled for the end of May, time is pretty much against them.

As somebody said earlier ' get off their fat <deleted>' and protest. One thinks civil war will be the only thing that will change the heirarchy. They could not care less what the world thinks, just look how they are behaving in their own country.

This will be my 5th Songkran and I am staying in the house this year. The last 4 years have taken there toll. 1 day is enough but 1 week you must be f&^%ing joking. Some posters here have hit the nail on the head.

The immature thai males groping thai girls because they dont have the know how to communicate with the opposite sex any other time of the year. Fueled with cheap booze they find there balls and fight 10 onto 1 and then they come back the next day and do it all again.

My friend best described the Thai mentality, if the Songkran Festival ran for 360 days on the 361st day they would be sad but for the next 4 days they would be excited because it was coming again.

Best described as infantile. Even my half thai/farang kids hated it last year, that reaction must come from my gene pool.

Please Scotty beam me to the 17th

A Thai person can cross the border into Laos at the Friendship bridge at Nong Khai using their ID card. The cost is 30 baht if I remember correctly. They will need a passport photo and be required to fill in a form and attach the photo. If that Thai person uses a passport they will pay the same as a Farang - $35 US dollars or Baht 1300.

My Thai wife and i crossed there last month to get my Non Imm "O" visa

A thai citizen does not get charged (only minimal fee) for entering Laos with a passport. Been 3 times with the wife on a passport.

I am looking for a manafacturer or retailer of cardboard tubes anywhere in Issan. I need a maximum diameter of 150 mm and length up to 2000mm . Anybody help

Its not the thai thai kids that are fat its the other lot the chinese thais

Dems will never win Isaan; I was telling them just earlier today to pull finger and get a real potential coalition farmer party who can win and keep the seats in the NE

Politicians who win elections in Isan and Democrats are incompatible, it has never worked, and probably never will.

What they should do is win big enough elsewhere and then try to show TRT fans that there are other ways of lifting Isan out of poverty, something that really works.

Generally speaking, Isanese must change their ways, it's unavoidable, they can't go on like that and rely on milking central government forever. This long term problem is probably the worst legacy of TRT's populism, and people knew and warned the country about it ong time ago, and Democrats realised it probably earlier than anyone else. Unforunately it was "give Thaksin the chance" brigade of half wits that ruled the day in 2000.

Democrat voter base is growing, while Isan is shrinking, time is on Dems side, they just need to be patient.

They are doing it in service of the nation, they shouldn't be motivated by results only, or they will never pull it through. If Democrats collapse, there's no hope for this country whatsoever.

I am sorry but just how much has Isaan milked the central government?

There has been almost no investment or development there in the past and they have been told to accept their lot in life, ie its fate and what happens happens - absolute <deleted> and just like the rest of Asia they want modernity.

Slowly but surely they are coming to realise the power of the ballot box after being shit on for years, investment and development going elsewhere.

Yes they need to change, but change by getting educated, seeing the rule of law as desirable and not the thuggery that is allowed under this and previous governments.

The march to modernity means equality of opportunity, better education and better health care leading to decreased child mortality etc.

Oh wait a minute - they are just poor uneducated subsisdtence farmers - they should just have suffient for their needs - a bowl of rice, backbreaking work in the rice fields and sending their daughters to marry farang at best or work in bar's at worst - they should know their place in life eh?

Can you remind me which eminent person preached about self sufficiency! Better education means knowledge. Knowledge is power..... we cant have that now

Another point worth considering is the cost of getting elected. A friend of mine knew the family of a wannabe independant politician who blew over 25,000,000 baht, in isaan, and still did not get elected.