humqdpf

I have taken this trip many times as I live in Hanoi, the last time about 5 years ago. I have even done it with a motorbike in the guard's van (this costs extra and you have to submit the motorbike at a particular time so they can crate it up).

Recommendations: don't travel at a busy time as the best seating will be already sold out. Always buy the most expensive seats/beds and buy in advance - yes, you can travel at night and sleep but if you want a mattress and a small amount of space you need the most expensive ticket.

The journey took forever - cannot remember exactly how long and I think there were many delays - perhaps up to 24 hours. The train generally moved very slowly over certain stretches of track especially in Hanoi.

You should have no problem getting a taxi at the Hanoi train station.

Food and beer was provided by a guy in the corridor. I don't remember there being any dining car.

I have the same issue. In my case it's the battery that need replacing. I just ordered one on eBay from China for $30... or you can buy one here for $100.

Hold the option key down and click on the battery icon. it will tell you if the battery needs servicing...

I got this very noisy fan running so fast that it was very loud and intrusive - thia was an indication of the machine running hot.

I got an expert to take a look - it turned out to be some bad software which was looping infinitely and using up all the resources of the machine and making it hot. Simply stopping the process was enough to get rid of it and it has never come back.

that has offices in New Zealand and SE Asia. It's stated aim is to "set people free" from sex trafficking.

Why does that not surprise me!

NZ has HUGE problems with gangs, domestic violence and a simmering racial discontent. The police have a meagre 10% clearance rate on burgularies.

Yet these people feel the need to stick their beaks into the soapy massage trade in another country instead of sorting out the problems in their own country .

I think you hit the nail on the head.

It was the same with refugees. Until the hundreds of thousands of refugees started making their way to the EU, Europeans used to point the finger at less developed countries. Imagine the clamour and repercussions if an African country a few years ago tried to block refugees from some war torn neighbour - cuts in aid at the very least etc

Now the boot is on the other foot. Extremely poor countries like Uganda host up to an estimated 650,000 refugees from various wars - they try to integrate them, provide some land for them to cultivate etc. Imagine any rich European country with the exception of Germany hosting that number of refugees.

Trafficking makes a lot of money for the traffickers but there is also a living for those who make it a "humanitarian" issue. But it is all too easy to intervene in a SE Asian country where the authorities are at least pliable and the numbers are much lower than currently in Europe. A different story in Libya! Why don't these anti-trafficking NGOs work closer to home in Europe and neighbouring countries where there are estimated large numbers of unaccompanied minors at risk. You could start in the refugee camps and criticise the European governments who create them. You could move on to the transit countries and see how to prevent the sending of peoples to there near deaths.

trump says: The North Koreans love me! The North Koreans are rapists! We'll build a wall made of kimchi and make the Muslims pay for it!

Boring, repetitive ranting against Trump on the part of the obsessed anti-Trump mania.. Can't they come up with a new act? Why all the hissy fits every time they see Trump's name? It is unnatural and disturbing.

You're joking right? Every trump press conference is a rant. The man is a vindictive demagogic madman. His movement isn't normal. Decent Americans will make every effort to stop his diseased American fascist movement from taking the white house. Not a joke anymore.

The trouble with Trump and the media is that the media made Trump. More reasoned candidates like Marco Rubio could not get media coverage until he made his embarrassing hand size comment - then the channels covered him for a few days hoping he would say something controversial and then stopped bothering. But the media initially lapped up Trump's every word and gave him enormous airtime.

Trump would need to be careful about riling the media, especially the personal attacks - he could face a media boycott of sorts. They would not do a complete blackout. All it would take would be the major TV outlets having a reporter repeating Trumps lines so that his face/hair never appears on TV except in freeze-frame with his mouth open wide. It would be a bit like Robbie Williams' lines being read out in monotone by some geek in glasses. Once people actually listen to the content rather than experience the entertainment, they won't be so enthralled.

Another lemming for the one world government.

Ah, how heart-warming it is to hear a troll describing Stephen Hawking as a lemming! Lemmings are believed to be creatures known to be mindlessly suicidal. Given that Stephen Hawking is a highly intelligent professor who has fought a paralysing disease, given that he can hold an audience while being completely paralysed and only being able to operate his talking device using one of the few muscles available to him (in his cheek), lemming is far from my mind when searching for a descriptor of the man. (Actually, the mass-suicide of lemmings is a misconception).

As regards so-called "one world government," wanting to keep the UK as, lets face it, an associate member of the EU (not a member of the Euro, not in the Schlengen agreement etc) is hardly a clarion call for world government. But while we are on the subject, I am rather happy that we do have some world governing institutions - last time you saw Ebola? Polio? Without the World Health Organization, you would be seeing it and probably suffering from it. How do we deal with nasty dictators? An imperfect solution but we have organisations such as the ICC and now the African Union that make dictators think twice before torturing their populations.

Current EU policy is suicide for Europe. He is all for it. Therefore, he's a lemming just like you.

There is a world of difference between believing that staying in the EU is preferable to leaving and the view that current EU policy (on everything? just economics? migration? CE standards?) is bad for Europe. But suicide?

Although I have listened to many ardent Brexit followers who are intelligent and who are convinced of their own arguments that Brexit is the better way forward, I have yet to hear one of them to describe Remain as a suicide attempt. I think you may be in a party of one with that particular view. Good luck with your trolling

Another lemming for the one world government.

Ah, how heart-warming it is to hear a troll describing Stephen Hawking as a lemming! Lemmings are believed to be creatures known to be mindlessly suicidal. Given that Stephen Hawking is a highly intelligent professor who has fought a paralysing disease, given that he can hold an audience while being completely paralysed and only being able to operate his talking device using one of the few muscles available to him (in his cheek), lemming is far from my mind when searching for a descriptor of the man. (Actually, the mass-suicide of lemmings is a misconception).

As regards so-called "one world government," wanting to keep the UK as, lets face it, an associate member of the EU (not a member of the Euro, not in the Schlengen agreement etc) is hardly a clarion call for world government. But while we are on the subject, I am rather happy that we do have some world governing institutions - last time you saw Ebola? Polio? Without the World Health Organization, you would be seeing it and probably suffering from it. How do we deal with nasty dictators? An imperfect solution but we have organisations such as the ICC and now the African Union that make dictators think twice before torturing their populations.

Venezuela is the first country to experience extreme anarchy due to economic, financial, and government breakdown...

Those naysayers...who make light of the world's dire debt, failing economies, and jobs...should really pay attention...

Other countries are on the brink...propped up artificially by the International Monetary Fund...drowning in debt and not making the necessary changes to correct their situation...

Venezuela is the first...will not be the last...and some predict that all countries will experience wide-spread killing, looting, and systemic civil breakdown as people are unable to find work and feed their families...store shelves are empty...and desperate people roaming the streets in search of food...

Take precautions now...buy at least enough food stores and keep enough money at home to get you thru a 1 to 3 month (maybe longer) period of time...while hopefully this thing plays itself out...

I am not a doom and gloom type person...I study the signs...they predict the possibility of a dreadful future in the years to come...

There is always hope...but the window of opportunity to turn away from spending way beyond our means to pay...is closing ever more quickly now...

Actually Venezuela is not the first country to experience unrest (what you call anarchy) due to economic and financial breakdown - the USA in the early 1930s had a similar experience, as did many other countries at the time due to financial meltdown.

In recent years, Zimbabwe hit the skids until the locals just stopped using its currency and reverted to foreign currencies until they fixed on the dollar, mainly. Not to mention Argentina, Cambodia etc.

You make it seem strange that countries are "on the brink, propped up artificially by the IMF." The reality is that financial systems are inherently unstable (look up an Economist called Hyman Minsky who makes the case far better than I) and need to have central banks (the Fed system in the USA) and the IMF and other institutions to keep them stable.

What has saved the World Economy is the fact that some countries, such as the USA, realised that they were on the brink of a depression (incidentally, BOTH Bush and Obama did this) and spent their way out of it, thereby avoiding the horrific situation in the 1930s.

What needs to happen is a return to the Glass Steigal Act and related laws of the 1930s which was designed to prevent exactly this sort of financial catastrophe - they were all repealed (initially by Bill Clinton but then later by other countries) which set the stage for what we all experienced in 2008.

In the case of Venezuela, the situation is much more dire, a little akin to a person desperately trying to put out a fire using gasoline. Their oil boom made the authorities think they could hold captive a large section of the population who were poor by subsidising virtually everything. This was instead of developing the economy and building industrial capacity. The trouble is that the money from the oil is no longer available and no one wants to lend money to such a nightmare economy. The private sector can no longer do legitimate business, employ people, pay tax - when you see the foreign airlines pulling out, you know the place is in deep trouble.

But to equate what is happening to Venezuela with economies like the USA or even Thailand is extraordinarily far-fetched. Venezuela is no harbinger of doom for the rest of the world - instead, it is an example of how misguided authorities who do not understand Economics and have never read history can run a country into the ground if they really persevere. It is only a matter of time before one of three outcomes occurs - the authorities kill off the population through famine or violence, the population rise up and kill off the authorities, the military take over or a mixture of all three. It is always possible that a leader emerges and does a Gorbachev but nothing on the horizon yet.

She will face the Israeli justice system which in the past has not spared even Israeli presidents from prison.

Of course, this topic will attract the usual disgusting hateful over the top Israel demonization agenda comments.

Demonization agenda?

For goodness sake, in the State of Israel there is no real vocal opposition except for - - - wait for it! - - - the military and Mossad! Yes, former Mossad director, former and current generals and even the Minister of Defense was trying to argue against calls for certain actions that in any other context would be described as hate speech. Netanyahu replaced the Minister with someone who a) lives in a location where no one can vote (a settlement in the occupied territories believes yet again redrawing the borders so that the Palestinians have even less land to live on.

Imagine a scenario whereby those who ran away from violence from a land they had lived on since time immemorial and since then are forever denied a vote or a say in how they are governed but are kept separate from the voting population who are in that position because of their genes. This has all the hallmarks of South Africa under Apartheid.

To argue against Apartheid was and is not to argue against people of Dutch decent, to deny white people of anything or whatever. To argue against the current setup in and around the current State of Israel is not to be anti-semitic or to deny the horrific history of the Jews. It is simply to say that if you treat people the way the Palestinians have been treated to date, you must expect some fightback, some attempt at retaliation. Look at the history of African Americans in the USA, for instance - there is a reason why segregation in education, housing and all other aspects of life was abolished in the USA. Until then, we had unrest in the Southern states, the Black Panther movement etc.

Yes, clearly this lady was clearly a scam artist.

But what about the innocent person who buys a designer item in a store in Thailand and then returns it to a store in the USA if it is defective?

Before you think, well you have to be careful where you buy etc, what about the fake medicines that found their way into the supply chain of various proper pharmacy chains in Europe and in the USA?

Not everyone likes the same things - for me, I would stay a week in Siem Reap and would make an effort to see sunrise on the Ankor Thom, sunset somewhere else and a stop by the "soup dragon" if it is still in operation etc etc.

Why don't you check out the various guide books - you can even get them online at Amazon, and then plan out your own trip rather than hooking in the particular likes or prejudices of people like me and others on this forum.

There is a positive side to this case - it would now appear that foreigners who go to Thailand to have sex with children are highly likely to be caught because of heightened awareness among workers and management at guesthouses and presumably people in the neighbourhood.

that beast needs a farrier, but where wold one find a farrier in TH?

Looking closely at the photo on the left, it would appear that not only is this pony shod (i.e. is wearing metal horse shoes), its hooves are in pretty good shape.

I do not approve of the Neo Nazis -- but the Muslim problem in Sweden is hardly racism... This article is completely out of context leaving out the atrocities all over Sweden. But of course being Politically Correct for news services is better than being correct.

There may be a "problem" but you don't solve it with another problem!

Just one question.

What does any doctor normally do with a cancer?

The muslim thing is a cancer and these people are trying to reclaim the health of their country.

I really learn something new every day - the people (Muslim Arabs) who gave us our number system are a "cancer!" The same people who preserved the ancient Greek and Roman texts so that we European Christians who were in the dark ages could read them after the arrival of the renaissance. The same people who gave us our earliest form of scientific medicine. Hmmmm.

I have only ever heard the term 'Angel Investor' used in relation to theatre productions (especially in London where they are known simply as "angels") or some humanitarian projects (e.g. social enterprises) - these are investors who invest because they have a particular commitment to something cultural or humanitarian. If they get their money back, they invest again. If they make a profit, thats great and they can put that into another pet project. Invariably such investors are so rich that losing their angel investments does not affect them.

I don't think that your project is appropriate for such an investment. What you are looking for is an investor who would typically get a shareholding or a straightforward loan. For a shareholder, what you need to do is to value your business and decide what percentage shareholding you are willing to give up and at what price. In the case of a loan, you can try a bank or go for crowd funding.

Cruelty is our species darkest attribute. What we do to animals is only a glimmer of what we do to each other.

You're kidding right ?

What we do to animals is FAR WORSE of what we do to each other.

Now that animals are much less involved in industrial and transport processes), it is much less likely that they are going to be maltreated. Animals are not sent to concentration camps. They are not amenable to being tortured for information. They are not starved to death in large numbers and do not have barrel bombs dropped on them.

Yes, animals are subjected to experimentation but under what are now very strict rules. Cruelty to animals of the sort perpetrated on the dog in this case attracts penalties

Even if you do not agree with the claim, I think that you will agree with the proposition that humans, as a species, are far more aggressive and cruel towards their own species than any other species on the planet - humans seem to have no aggression inhibiting instincts (such as the wolf baring its throat while lying on its back denotes submission and the dominant wolf will cease fighting).

How long will he spend in immigration detention waiting for someone to stump up the air fare home?

I think the Thai government stump up the money because even if they stick him in jail for a few months it is costing them money. If you want a free ticket home this appears the way to go hang around an immigration office and get detained !!!!

It is not always the case that the deporting country stumps up the fare. Sometimes the home country pays for the flight but denies a passport to the individual until the debt is paid.

I cannot see this guy getting back into the country any time soon unless it is with a passport with a different nationality (some people are entitled to passports from more than one different country). It should be easy for the immigration service to catch him - once the name or name and birthday rings the alarm, they can check his fingerprints. He is unlikely to be able to pay for the fare anyway.

All the TVFers who said Donald Trump could not win a single primary. YOU were Wrong!!!

All the TVFers who said Donald Trump could not win over 50 percent of the vote in a primary. YOU were Wrong!!!

All the TVFers who said the Republicans would have a contested convention. YOU were Wrong.

And all the TVFers out there who still think Hillary has the slightest chance. YOU are Wrong. AGAIN.

I think you may be confusing the hope that Trump would not win a single primary etc with the prediction that he would not win a single primary.

I am no supporter of Hillary and I have never forgiven her husband for his support to repeal the Glass Stegal Act (which precipitated the banking crisis). But Trump, while very entertaining at times and sometimes hits the mark when it comes to the abandonment of the working middle class whose real income has fallen over the past couple of decades under all administrations, has no experience of high office, does not read history, is inconsistent and will be a destabilising force.

I will give you a prediction - Trump will win the election for Hilary. Never before will there be so many people voting for a candidate that they cannot stand, just to keep the other guy out of office! Old Democrats, left-wing democrats, old Republicans, followers of the Gun Lobby, libertarians and many more - all will be eating crow while they vote for Hiliary just to keep Trump out of office.

As an added bonus, here is a conspiracy theory for you - Trump never expected to get past the first few debates but he was put there to destabilise the Republicans and divide the vote so that the more sane candidates would get lost in the shuffle. No one, not even Trump himself, even hoped to win the nomination. But the real reason he ran was because he is an addict to that drug called celebrity and he was put up to it by the Clintons.

There are many reasons for wanting to be born in one country rather than another.

To be able to survive the most high-risk period of your life (neonatal = first 28 days), Singapore which has the lowest neonate mortality rate in the world .

Best middle-class childhood experience - Australia

Best place to grow up in poverty - Scandinavia

Best education - depends on primary/secondary/third level. UK or USA for higher level (Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, MIT etc).

Most powerful passport: Germany

Best place to start a company: I don't know but I have heard that Germany is good.

Best place to work: Canada

Best place to live - this is so subjective and dependent on so many factors.

The reasons for having the automobile air con checked are as follows;

- leaks

- other damage

- top up the air con gas

All the other stuff can be done at home, such as cleaning the radiator/exchanger. Many quality air con units will also have filters for cleaning the air as it passes through. And some of these air con units are also integrated into the car air vent system. You should definitely have these filters cleaned every year or even more often as it quickly fills with all sorts of dust, pollen and bacteria, especially if you or a family member is an asthmatic. If you are handy with tools and you know your car air system, you can do it yourself. Otherwise (or if, like me, you have better things to do!) you let the air con guys do that too.

There are a number of reasons why the dollar is lower in value against some other currencies.

However, a key reason is the price of oil. One of the main products for which only dollars are accepted is oil. There is currently a lower demand for oil, therefore a lower demand for the dollars to pay for it.

I thought this cartoon might be of interest!

"If we take a late retirement and an early death, we'll just squeak by." - New Yorker Cartoon

The best insurance is to preserve your body and mind with adequate lifestyle.

Good idea. So hookers only every other night then?

Actually the reference to hookers is more appropriate than you think. When I was in Bangkok and used to drink in a bar where there were also waitresses who were available for extra-curricular (ahem) activities, an elderly European guy used to show up (at least 80 years old). His entrance was always the same. The taxi would full up in front of the bar where there were tables outside and the first thing that would appear out of the taxi would be the zimmer frame. Several of the bar girls would rush out (he was a good tipper) to help him out of the car and onto a chair at his table.

In conversation he told me that he had a medical condition that restricted his movement and drained him of his energy. He had tried to live in a special accommodation in his home country but he was lonely and the cost of the accommodation made him broke. So he upped and moved to Bangkok. There, with a much smaller budget he was able to live in a nice condo, employ an assistant during the day and go to a bar during the evening.

Later, in conversation with one of the bar girls, she revealed that he would inevitably take one of the girls home but "him no boom-boom. Cannot." Instead, the girl helped him to bathe, gives him a massage and helped him to the bathroom during the night. But this chap always tipped well and treated everyone with respect and courtesy. He was also a great conversationalist and humorist. Never short of people to talk to.

That was one person's response to the question. But it might not be the best response for everyone, especially those who are a bit healthier than he who might be and may live longer and want a more varied life.

The first and most important item is money. Either you can afford the lifestyle you want, including the health insurance or stay in your home country and work until you do. For me, I would not live in Bangkok. Fine to visit but not to live. I would find somewhere where I could make friends - not just the bar flies but people who you might share interests, whether it is golf or archaeology. Try to keep a good humour - no one wants to talk to some grumpy person who thinks the world owes him/her something.

Many folks like to have a retirement occupation. That is fine but it cannot be one where you risk a lot of money and therefore your future lifestyle. Keep your interests and hobbies. As regards a spouse, a friend with or without benefits or a housekeeper, you need to keep the roles well-defined and keep your eyes wide open. As you get older, it is so easy for someone to become your special friend who will then isolate you and gain control of you and your assets - I have seen it several times. There is no need to be paranoid about it but it is important to be realistic.

Always a good idea to avoid taking on large responsibilities, whether they be through marriage, business or property, unless you are the sort of person who thrives on that.

It is also important to have someone you trust, either a family member in your home country or someone who lives in Thailand who can intervene if things go really wrong (if you have an accident, start to lose your marbles etc) and would have your best interests at heard. Often a good idea to make a living will (one that states your preferences should you lose your mind) if that kind of thing bothers you. For me, if I lose my marbles, I expect that I will not know about it and so it won't matter so much and then they can put me in a home.

Once you have set things up in a way that suits you, try to enjoy life!

he had a stiffer punishment cos he fleeced a thai? Funny thing is why would a thai agree to the pricing with no meter?

We all have been there - we are working and have a busy schedule. Then we encounter the overly chatty taxi-driver. To shut him up we might pretend not to speak his first language and address him in English (as air crew, she would be able to speak English well). You agree to his terms because you are in a hurry - no meter etc. Then he overcharges you by 600%. You still don't have time to argue but you are sure to make a complaint if only you get the time and opportunity. Her sister deals with it and she gets a result.

I remember in Germany years ago that there was a religious tax that you paid. This must give the authorities some power over the various religions.

I would be in favour of putting ALL religious outlets (temples, churches, schools etc) under state control. Too easy to have hate speech going on under the noses of the authorities, not to mention child abuse etc.

I cannot remember who did it but back in the days when HIV had suddenly increased drastically especially in certain parts of Thailand, the authorities then blamed the publication of the statistics for damaging the image of the country and having an effect on tourism. The fact that a series of governments had ignored the problem for years and had actively shut down any discussion of the problem and done nothing to encourage use of condoms and clean needles was ignored as the real issue. Eventually, the authorities were forced to acknowledge the problem and levels of HIV transmission were dramatically reduced, making Thailand a success story in that regard.

In the same way, the footage of the attack will damage the country, according to the authorities but they ignore the true cause of the damage, which is the attack itself and the belief among certain groups in Thailand that they can do what they like to foreigners because the latter are not related to anyone and have no power in Thailand. Only when the authorities are forced to take on the problem by rapidly falling tourism and business visits will they take on the problem rather than spinning it to the media.

I cannot remember who said that those who ignore history and doomed to repeat it but this is an example.