ham

that's what you get for 100 Baht, this one I've got at the mainstreet barage. The ones coming from Samui had a black one with yellow letters. What a bullshit.

TING TONG

Kinda army people made controle. Someone made a good deal with the rubber bands

And yesterday it was a very wett party. Big waves, high water, all beach wett and until 11 under water, people could not sit down, only drink, can you imagine the mess , not much people

Train, 2nd class sleeper AC, perfect, comfortable, space, nice scenery in the morning, breakfast and coffee, if you like (expensive). Arriving in Nong Kai quite well if you can sleep. Train was always a bit late when arriving (1 h).

I am interested to know what the main reason is that expats on the island don't wear a crash helmet whilst riding a bike on Samui. Is it vanity, laziness, gets too hot, or whatever, I personally have no idea! I would imagine probably 90 per cent of regular contributors to this particular forum would know someone that has lost some one they know in a road related accident. If someone can shed some light on this, please let me know as it seems apparent that I am missing something.

Expats= cool & invincible.

Drive slowly, nobody needs a helmet. That's just a bs like safety belts, airbags etc. What the hack those things helping us? Just that we can be faster?? There was a study ones in the us that all this crab is actually not helping us, it gives us just the feeling to be more safe and making us driving faster and more crazy. It is an illussion like all! Believe it or not it is up to you. But it should be also up to me if yes or not? They try again here on KPG like every 2-3 year to implement it with the police! Do you actually realize that Thais driving about with 30 km/h? Of coarse not all but the most! And you really think that those strange helmets people wearing, that this helps in the case of an accident? It is just another tool to manipulate people

It is just my personal view! I don't like it at all! I rather drive carefully and slowly and everybody should be able to choose by himself. I don't need somebody to tell me what to wear or not

This type of swimming pool is being built at some higher-end townhouse developments on Samui- it's an interesting feature, but I agree that it does come at the cost of privacy.

I was thinking the same thing. If you want your freedom and already in the morning those other guest swimming around and children playing in the front of your room. But I guess they like socializing when somebody rent a room like that and having children anyway. Who want's that on Ko Phangan when you can have (probably for less) a beautiful bungalow somewhere else on the island

Another poster mentioned the green looking water. I guess that's because the site is not finished and open yet!

Sorry I've got the thumbnail, here the original size (so you can better count the rooms and calculate the length approximately. I saw it, you can swim there, but did not try yet. The place where I took the picture is at the low basin to the one end, but to the extend of the picture it is enough deep to have a swim I guess. I will go again later to get some more pictures when the whole site is finish before x-mas. It is at the ex Had Yao Bungalow site, where all was removed this year and built new (4 new resorts, where before was one). This is one of it, just next to Ibiza Bungalow, but if I mention the new name it maybe taken as a covert add again. You may have a look at my website

I was yesterday out in Had Yao to take some pictures and I saw the longest swimming pool on Ko Phangan at a new construction site

If its clear again tonight, it will still be visible. So, if anyone out there is more competent with a camera, you still have time

mmm.... maybe not someone posted elsewhere that by tonight Jupiter will have moved.

hi sbk

all will have moved till dark today ;-)

yesterday (from Bangkok Post)

yesterday from the "Star's programm"

today

I mist it too

There are many words used to describe the PAD actions at Subvanabumi airport flying around now, occupation, terrorism etc.

My question is, this occurs to me to be something similar to what is happening quite frequently in other countries too, but as an example I chose France as I have frequently heard of similar actions there; blockades on roads, highways, borders, ports.

The reasons are sometimes - in relation to PAD's - much more trivial, such as oil prices, the price of strawberries, salaries etc.

So how does the current blockade/occupation/terrorism compare to that?

Someone with some real insight into such matters, please educate me.

/bbp

References: Google "France Blockade" or "French farmers block" for example

The different to your examples in France, where there are minor unhappy groups for e.g. farmers, that here the whole country stands on a junction (carrefour). History is made right now. It will have a very big impact to the country anyway and anyhow the outcome is. The old establishment is fighting against new upcoming power! Look at Myanmar (la byrmanie) and that’s the goal they have (military power with monarchy).

In France e.g. they just want better (higher) prices for some products. Here again, they stand at the junction. Soon we will know much more and which way the will go. I'm scaring the old fashioned establishment will succeed (I do not support Thaskis view of politics)! People will think that’s the better way, because it is the "yellow" way. They will understand later, too late!

No flooding and not much rain either. But the wind is fairly strong and the waves fairly high so if you get seasick you had better take something before getting on the boat. And no problem with accomodation, its very very quiet on Koh Phangan

Thanks a lot for the info! :-)

It is dry, even sunny a bit (right now) and the locals will be very happy, when sombebody coming asking for a bungalow ;-) not soooo quiet at the west coast!

Today, the high court of Thailand will announce it's verdit against the ruling PPP and the "Vote Buying" story. As they did already several times since PPP has got the "elected" power, e.g. porky face samak. They will be announced "guilty" and then they have to resign. The speach from the king is the next step. PAD will feel as the winner and leave the occupied places!

Now we wil go in the next phase (the ugly one). Taksin will tell his followers to organise an uprise against dictatorship. Since they have the army, the police and the whole old establishment against them, they(some) will go and terrorise the country from the underground. That could be very ugly and hurting the country much more then all what happen since the area Thaksin begann.

Yes, he should step down. Right enough, the party was democratically elected, BUT with bought votes!!

all are buying votes so it does not matter at all!!! Still they vote whom they belive, they are not so idiots as the PAD leaders want to blame them!!

Do you think he's competent to run the country? There's your answer.

He is, and he's a decent man

A decent man would have never accepted the post. He's closely related to a man who has divided the country and who now happens to be a criminal on the run. It was obvious from the offset that having another Shin family member leading the country was going to take us down an ugly path - he knew that, we all knew that. He never took the post to help the nation, he took the post to try and help his brother-in-law. What decent man does something so small-minded and selfish?

he is a blind money ars*** he had nothing else to talk about when coming back from peru, then about to build dust free streets, to a crowd (the whole country) who is just ahead of a civil war. He must be a seflish idiot like his brother in law! Because the PPP has a lot of support in the country! Not my one but still better then what is in the tube with Chamlong and Songhi! Faschism pure! Hidding behind the monarchie colors to blind the people!

Short & Long Term Impact On Thailand Tourism?

DISASTEROUS

It probably will be so for Ko Phangan (as well as the other destination of coarse) which place just was turned to a "better tourist place" by so many locals, by building more expensive resorts and bungalows, to serve a more spendable tourist population here. Those cheap bungalows are mostly gone and the only people who don't worry a political situation (backpacker and hippies) can almost no more find bungalows here. Sad to see how people must learn the hard way. I'm sorry for them but also somehow thankful for the lesson given by the spirits of the universe ;-)) to us all, that money is not everything. Lucky for those guy's with more moderate whishes here. Sad for those loaded with big credit now, given by the banks for AC-bungalows and swimming pools. I'm wondering what they will do if things going out of control really. At the moment everybody is still in waiting position, things could turn very fast to very bad.

Not to imagine the long term impact!

You can read my previous posts in the past few years. I am totally against the military running the country, but at the point we are right now, I would support a coup.

I think a coup is not needed, they (police/army) could just free the occpied places, simple as that. But I guess that's the whole point, they don't want to make their job, they want the full power as proposed by PAD!!

many death and many hostages on several different places, fight still going on at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbay and the Oberoi Hotel. Gunmen shoting into Cafe full of tourist. Police said all hostages were freed from the Taj Mahal Hotel. Press reporting about 80 death so far.

http://edition.cnn.com/

http://www.spiegel.de/

Who really cares what a bunch of farangs think about this. It's not going to change anything what you think.

- Somechai resign immediatly

- all Thaksin clan members out of government

- announcing ne PM of PPP

- Army/Police to clean up PAD protesers away from any occupied place

- Thai people get informed what's all about the PAD philosophie

- Chamlong in jail

- Thaksin in jail and life-long term out of politics in exchange with maybe a royal pardon and paying tax to the country (he confound politics with business, like so many politician in the west and other countrys around the globe)

- go ahead with the build up a democratic state

- be a state for "the free" (Thai)

Carib,

What every your are smoking, you really should stop.

not correct because his staement is quite right, so he better say where he get his good dope froom

In my opinion, in a country like Thailand, where relations between peoples are all based on their social rank in the society, it is simply impossible and pure utopia to believe that a legit democratic system could work.

It seems widely accepted here, that depending on where you stand on the pyramid of social status, that was given to you when you was born, you are "inferior" or "superior" to other peoples. And thus, stand "under" or "over" theses peoples.

So in that case, how can rich peoples from Bangkok , understand and accept the fact that their voice in an election as the exact same weight than the one from poorer peoples with darker skin from Isaan for example.

What do you guys think about that?

Of coarse the Thais are ready for democracy! Why not? They do (practice) it since many years somehow. And they did a big progress in the lat 10-20 years. Therefore we see those pictures in TV and in the Press, about the struggle between PPP and PAD. PPP (red) is unlucky because they can not escape the Thaskin Clan and cut off with those guys. And PAD is very dangerous indeed, because behind that yellow color which should make us believe they are "Royals" and the red ones not, are in fact on the way to try to establish a monarchist, military dictatorship with the idea that uneducated people should NOT vote!! Read their statements! Educate yourself! Watch that picture that went around the world, with that criminal who is shooting in the mass with somebody holding a picture of the King. Do you really think this guy will get punished for that? Of coarse we can't read about this here in LOS. But the truth is very scaring, if you have the understanding what’s really going on here. The old elite scares about the new and intellectual middle class elite who knows about real democracy. PAD is finally, if you see inside them as an organization, a far right wing movement and absolutely dangerous for Thailand and YOUR Business! They are "the wolf in the sheep’s clothing". The old structure is the real enemy of the democracy! Why you think nobody takes measurements at those airports!!!!

The entire power and money guy's scaring to loose their "money-pots" which Thaksin with the PPP statred to distribute as far as to the poor people with some very progressive ideas. He just thought he had to fill his pocket too, which was his mistake and what he pay’s for right now. This is democracy! I guess if the red ones find a way out of the Thaksin Clan they could be really successful in Thailand.

very good article indeed!

I guess the Thai people has to dig quite deep to get an answer, due to the fact that all living here with a lot of lies, corruption and only money and greed in the mind. I love Thailand but after all this years and the development in the last 35 years, I have to say Thailand is a big joke and it is not a funny one, ask the ones who not have the possibility to get something of his enormous big cake. Believe me there are a lot of them, to many at the end. We westerners here are not members of those of course, we living on the bright side!

Civil war could be one of the answers and I rather not imagine what would happen in this amazing country, when their "barriers" falling apart! The way Thailand has taken is a wrong way since a long time, we just did not see behind the mask, but it can be that the masquerade is falling apart very soon. It is not about PPP or PAD it's all about MONEY and POWER (like everywhere else in this time) and the missing of a free speech to all and about everything in this country (and in this forum). To many possibilities to hide.

I pray that there are some important voices to calm down the tensions in the masses! And "long live the king" and you know also why! You may remember the prophecies I heard so many years ago!

There are wise heads in this beautiful country, hope the have a medium to talk to the people!

Beside that comment it is quite the same as all over the planet, but as far my concern, the west has still the free speech about everything and anything and this is our (peoples) power, to have the possibilities to see behind the mask if we really want. But as we can see and learn day by day, people seems to like to live in lies everywhere. We need more Obama’s (= hopes for a change to a better world ;-) at least he try's, wondering if "they" let him succeed!!

I watching NHK (from HongKong) Weather news (it is 18.11.08, 13:59) in Vientiane, Laos and they don't even mention that storm in the gulf!! Can't be that bad

cheers ham

Here you go.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/3-Elephant-s...mp;hl=elephants

Or this.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Elephants-Tr...mp;hl=elephants

Or this.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Elephant-Own...mp;hl=elephants

thanks LiteBeer, that was I was looking for

like to know how to search on this forum to get that what you have here, you must have been searching too. I mean I could not find my own posting since I knew I had posted to this topic. But maybe I just to .......

I was searching with my nick, with elephant with report could only get old stuff.

Thanks a lot anyway, this helps!!

Or here

http://www.changbeer.com/

hi PoorSucker

thanks but I prefere Singha

I remember we had a posting serie regarding elephants in Thailand, I was posting reply's myself. But after searching quit a while I give it up! Who remember the postings? It was on the Samui/Phangan/Ko Tao section. There wa a link about an interesting report about elephants live in Thailand added in a posting. I would like to add this link on my website, when showing the elephant trekking places here. It was a very negative report about behaving here with elephants!

Somebody remember?

thanks for your help

ham

I guess she should contact the swiss embassy in Bangkok if she is married to that swiss guy legal (with passport etc.):

Embassy of Switzerland

35 North Wireless Road

Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Postal address

Embassy of Switzerland

P.O. Box 821

Bangkok 10501, Thailand

Tel. +66 2 253 01 56-60

http://www.swissembassy.or.th/

Maybe he get even "child-money" if he is living and working in Switzerland!

I think the warning of the PM and the bombing in Klong Toey are two different shoes. First was a political message (about upcoming political unrest incl. bombing) and second one is (I guess) a poor criminal act (means not politically motivated) "just" a land issue!

Whatever, poor way to try solve problems in any case!