Crash999

According to the Swedish press it was the two Swedish guys at 25 A and B that opened the emergency door, according to the British press it was the British guys at 24 A and B. Everybody like to create their heroes. I wonder which version is true though. Anyone know which row the emergency doors were placed at?

According to this article it was row 24- http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/ba...0,5292523.story

From the video it looks like the crash site is around here: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=8.1...p;z=18&om=1

Video mirror-

Edit- although there is fairly strong wind in the video it doesn't appear to be raining hard. That said, however, the guys in the video are soaked which suggests it was raining heavily a few moments before.

This morning, BBC World reported that the plane circled the airport once and then came into land HARD and FAST. In my view, less to do with the training of the pilot and more to do with the mindset of the average Thai when in charge of a vehicle. Any vehicle.

The pilot reportedly wasn't Thai, but let's not let the facts get in the way of our knee-jerk assumptions and prejudices....

A quick look at the passeger manifesto vs. survivor list shows most (all?) were sitting in the back.

9/11 is only a small footnote in the pages of history.

If we're counting solely number of deaths then sure it doesn't measure up with other events or even the number of people that die in car crashes in the US each year, but that's of course missing the big picture. 9/11 resulted in a huge changes in global relations, governments, and via the mess in the Middle East left a legacy that will be around for all of our lifetimes. That's a lot more than a footnote.

Thanks Batami for sharing your experience.

As for me, I had just ordered a sandwich at a small restaurant in the basement of Ploenchit Center when I got a phone call from a friend who lived in the same building as I did. A small commuter plane had apparently hit the WTC, however he told me the hole looked very big. As he was talking to me the second plane hit and we both knew something was very wrong.

I told my waitress to make it to go and immediately paid. An American who had overheard my conversation walked up and asked what was going on- when I told him he rushed out.

I headed back to my apartment building and went to my friend's condo. Together we watched the towers collapse, saw the news about the Pentagon, and the news that a plane had gone missing in Pennsylvania not far from where my mom lives. Tried calling her but no use- not even a 'all lines are busy' message, just worrying silence.

After a few minutes my sister managed to call through to say that all was well back home. I watched the news together with my friend for hours, switching between CNN, BBC, and CNBC. I remember an interview on I think it was CNN with a women not far from where the plane went down in PA- she said she saw it fly low overhead followed by a small jet. I remember this clearly as I had wondered at the time if, in light of everything that was going on, that the flight hadn't been shot down.

The next day I remember feeling surreal, like it couldn't be real, and anger. I had been to the top of the twin towers and remember reading there that they'd been built to withstand the impact of a 727. I felt like hanging an American flag out of my window to show that I wasn't afraid. At the time much of the world (edit- except Robski and his friends) rallied in support of the US- a unique opportunity that was unfortunately squandered.

dont do it. peeple dont go to samui to reed. tourists dont hang out in bookstores. thais do but they dont buy.

Leaf him alone. He may be a little green but opening a bookstore branch is an idea ripe for picking.

Pyongyang

As good or bad? I imagine it'd be a 1960s futuristic airport with crumbling Jetson-esque architecture and no one there.

As for me, my vote for best major airport goes to HK- especially if one lives in HK and can zip through immigration via the thumb-print scanners.

what do you use?

Maid.

if The River duplexes (I think 180 sqm) on the river's (slightly isolated) right bank are already getting 200K psm, then its not a stretch to think that other top-end centrally-located freehold projects like the Sukhothai and 185 Rajadamri will get that....

it will be interesting to see what the leasehold residences like the St Regis coming up on Rajadamri (next to the Four Seasons) will get psm...

185 is starting at 170k/m2 and Nigel from Raimon was quoted as saying the premium units could go for as much as 300k/m2.

As for the St. Regis development, "Heinecke said prices for the residences would start at Bt30 million for a 250-square-metre unit and go up to Bt120 million for each of the four 800-square-metre duplex penthouses."

Yikes!

I am wondering if others can share some insight into why the rumoured prices for some of the new "super luxury" developments in the condo market are being touted at around THB200,000 psm. I am thinking specifically of The Sukhothai Residences, and 185 Rajadamri. I am wondering who will buy developments at these prices? Assuming 51% are Thai buyers, would the potential 49% of foriegners want to spend USD1m+ on property in a country where this so much uncertainty regarding political developments, (no election date fixed, no certain outcome, marshal law, high value baht, uncertain immigration laws etc). I know that THB200k psm is still a lot less than Hong Kong, Singapore or London, but these cities are in first world countries.

For Thais with this sort of money, when there is a limited market for re-sale, what is the attraction for them?

This is unless of course there is huge pent-up demand for property, which is waiting to explode upwards once the political situation eases.

Erm, getting back on topic, there will always be a market for ultra-high end condos like this. So long as one shows additional benefit for the extra money paid (in Sukhothai's example the hotel facilities, service, design, etc) then folks who have the money will look at buying it for their personal use. As someone else said in this thread, buying real estate is always for speculative purposes.

The top tier in Thailand is 200 baht/m2 versus 5 times that in Hong Kong. Why is HK so much more expensive? The answer is all the reasons you listed above.

PS- May be a bit late but I'm selling my place in North Shore if you're interested!

Does anyone actually live at Northshore? Or are all the units owned by speculators and condo flippers now trapped in a liquidity squeeze? I mean, when I look at the building a night, it seems that only 5-10 units have any lights on in them

Have also heard that the construction quality at NS is pretty bad. Wouldn't be surprised about that, however, considering that the building's foundation and steel & concrete shell stood abandoned and exposed to the brutal Thai weather for something approaching 10 years before Raimon bought it and finished it up a couple years ago. I suppose the pretty sales-bunnies at Northshore "forgot" to mention that fact to all the newbie tourists and expats who snapped-up units in that development

A lot of the units now are owned by folks in Bangkok (or elsewhere) who use them for weekend trips. On my floor two units (mine and a 'type 1') are for sale. Three are occupied by folks year-round, one is under massive renovation for some folks who are going to move into the penthouse, and the others are owned by folks who use them from time to time. There are about 20-25 units for sale which is about 15% of total.

In the beginning there were a couple of construction issues- most units had a bad smell because they forgot to cap drainage pipes not used if folks didn't install a dishwasher. Raimon went into each unit and capped them. Another problem seems one of design- some of the folks on the corner south-facing units have been complaining loudly of insufficient aircon and were at a deadlock with Raimon as to how to fix the problem. The crux of their disagreement is the owners (well, one in particular) insists that the aircon should be strong enough to cool the room down to a certain level during a certain time with all curtains open in full sun in summer. As for me, I have 2 aircon units and only ever need to run 1 at medium to cool the condo- maybe I'm lucky.

For the most part whenever there was a problem Raimon went in and fixed it. My issues were relatively minor- a couple of scratched floor tiles, sloppy paint finishing on the ceiling of the balcony, a paint drip on the balcony glass- and they took care of it all right away. A couple of owners (strangely enough, those who live there full time) seemed to have problems that went unfixed for some reason.

I'm happy with the place and if I was able to use it more often (now about once every 2-3mo) I'd keep it.

I agree the Hummer is just too big for Bangkok roads and parking lots, especially considering the steering wheel will be on the wrong side. A Corvette would be great- unique, gobs of power, and the type of vehicle that would normally be killed with taxes due to the engine size. The problem there would be servicing. My rather boring and practical suggestion would be a Porsche as it's popular, is reliable, can be serviced in Thailand, and there's enough demand that resale shouldn't be too difficult.

My friend's apartment overlooks the Northpoint site. Until about a month ago there was a fair amount of activity and noise but when I was there a few weeks back the equipment was gone. Beautiful showrooms though.

PS- May be a bit late but I'm selling my place in Northshore if you're interested!

Just to add my 2 cents, this isn't a Thailand thing. HSBC in HK won't allow a US citizen to open an investment account at all (even if it's to buy HK shares).

Marks and Spencers, Walmart, Beneton (who have 100% of their world wide production of hats in Bangladesh Export Processing Zones), North face (vast majority of their production), and Asda don't think so. Companies cancel orders for late delivery so garments manufacturers world wide aren't tardy

It appears you have some knowledge of the industry but I still disagree with you. I'm familiar with the folks you mentioned as we work with them as well as almost 1000 other retailers and brands across the globe.

The point is not that some folks source in Bangladesh because of course there is a garment industry there (we will do approx $350m this year ourselves) but what would be most appropriate for a person souring a small volume of t-shirts. If the OP is going to place 50,000 dozen knit tops then I would advise differently, but in such case he obviously wouldn't be posting here.

As for manufacturers world wide not being late with delivery, I only wish that were true as it would make life a lot easier (though air forwarders wouldn't be too happy).

Does anyone have contact or location details for the Double Goose Brand (เสื้อตราห่านคู่) t-shirt factory in Thailand?

thanks - want to buy wholesale.

Never heard of that brand before. In fact a quick search only comes up with your question!

Anyhow, if a factory is making for a brand they likely won't risk their business relationship by selling you a small amount of knock-offs. Your best bet is to contact whoever owns the brand and inquire about buying in bulk. Or if it's a concept you saw elsewhere there's always the option of knocking it off....

I'd think twice about looking at Bangladesh. With quota and the various duties around the world currently imposed against Chinese garments, retailers have scrambled to move production into alternative countries like Bangladesh. The market is currently saturated with orders and as such vendors are being relatively selective regarding who they service. Bangladesh is also rather notorious regarding the level of product quality and consistency of delivery. Price can be great, though.

Minimums in factories in Thailand that are large enough to have been audited by exporters would be around 200 dozen units per color per style, though there are ways to bring this amount down. Smaller quantities can be done but you'll be looking at smaller outfits that won't have record of compliance audits so you won't be able to verify if workers are treated fairly and respected.

Was pulled over the other week on the highway near Pattaya for the heinous crime of being a farang at the wheel of a motor vehicle.

Cop asked me where I'm from and I launched into pretty much my whole life's story. I wasn't going anywhere special and had a lot of time on my hands so figured I'd try a tactic of giving very long-winded answers to whatever he asked me.

Eventually he told me that in Thailand I shouldn't hang in the right lane as in Thailand it's only for passing. Oh I knew that, I told him, and was just passing the pickup in front of me. In fact I really don't like when people hang out in the right lane because it blocks traffic up. You can imagine if everyone did that there'd be no way to pass because it would be a solid wall of cars. And when I lived in America some trucks would protest the speed limit by driving at exactly the limit in both lanes and blah blah blah blah....

Sure enough, his eyes glazed over and he gave me back the license, telling me I could go. My girlfriend suggested that he was losing revenue as I was yabbering away so he decided to cut me loose.

I had a couple of audio systems installed by Sakol Technic. Not the cheapest outfit but they know their stuff and were excellent with post-sales service. Suggest you pop down and give them a visit- they speak English and can give you good advice regarding whatever you're looking to do. They're on the left-hand side of Ratchada as you head North, just past the Emerald Hotel.

Touchwood? hahahahahahahahahahaha

No, I'll say it again. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Oh, i wish I was free to reveal what I know about this company.

They tell good jokes?

He didn't that that Ferrari collection or his position in the Police Force by being a moral compass for the community or operating with high integrity. Believe me.

Moral compass + high integrity = Ferrari? Call me Saint!

Seems a lot of folks stopped reading the article after the first couple of sentences. The guy is obviously from a very wealthy family who can afford to put him in a Ferrari and pay for for his master degree in the US.

New one on me.. having had some ok cars (993, 850CSI, 300ZX) I never knew that there was a specific corner for fronts or rears ??

Direction of rotation is obvious.. Directional tread patterns sure.. But side requirements AND directional ?? Again new one on me..

Front and rear is obvious as many higher-end cars have bigger tyres on the back. If the tread pattern is not symmetrical then putting the lefts on the right side and vice versa would have an impact on performance. The OEM tyres on the NSX are one example.

But are all these guys cowboys, or are some offering a genuinely good product? Can't imagine they're all on the scam...

The legit ones are peddling a few offshore investment products- the most common ones are mutual funds from the likes of Royal Skandia and others. The idea is to get the investor to set up a monthly investment amount over a fixed period of time. The brokers get an immediate commission once the punter signs up based on a formula of how long the investment is and how much it is. The funds are front-loaded, meaning for the first year or two they're underwater and if the investor pulls out then both he and the broker lose- hence the brokers will often keep in contact until this 'clawback' period is over and then drift off into the sunset.

As there's relatively quick return it becomes a sales game. The brokers don't need to have a finance education as there are tools provided to them. They just need to know enough to sign folks up and earn their commission.

Overall nothing inherently bad about the system as there's some value in putting investors in contact with the funds if they'd otherwise not know where to go. However, banks like HSBC can provide a wide array of investment alternatives that don't necessarily require such a long-term committment and can offer more flexibility in terms of the type of funds.

I actually thought the same until I read recently that Thailand is classed by The World Bank and the IMF as having the world's 20th and 21st largest economy respectively. Thailand is not a poor country in global terms.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...y_GDP_%28PPP%29

That's GDP adjusted by PPP, making the Thai economy look stronger because stuff is cheaper here. In terms of non-adjusted GDP, Thailand slips down the rankings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...P_%28nominal%29

Interesting to see that Canada is on the 2nd tier list. Those devious IPR pirates to the North!