robanywhere

drove from don muaeng to ladprao this morning. it was fine, moving fast. but feeder roads and connecting roads will be jammed.

as the crisis deepens north of don muaeng (sai mai, etc), will put increasing pressure on the Viphavadi-Rangsit tollway, including abandoned/parked cars (if the tow trucks can't keep up)

btw, imho it is likely that don muaeng will have some flooding in the next 24-48 hours (air force moved 30 planes two days ago), so you may be diverted

OK, now for a translation to Thai so I can give this to the village fathers? I think their sandbag dikes violated every single guideline in the article. And, of course the village flooded anyway (waters seeping right through the dikes or toppling them over). You'd think with a village flooding every year, there would be some expertise built up in this science at the local level. Apparently not.

If we had a translation of this in Thai, I'd photocopy it and have it distributed anonymously to all the sandbag sites, and the local city hall. Wouldn't dare hand it over myself, as everyone knows a farang can't give advice to those who insist it must be done "The Thai Way."

FloodTip_Sandbag_TH.pdf

in the bangkok area, typical wage is 8,000-12,000 /m for full work week, plus yearly bonus of one months salary (but really good ones are as high as 16,000)

some variables are whether she is thai or burmese, live-in or live-out (live-in pay is cheaper, but then you are paying for her meals and accommodations), with experience/references, and level of English skills.

also, most maids steal and lie, some more than others, (i've been through about 6 of them over the last five years), so honesty and integrity is pretty important, especially if you leave the house/flat in their care for extended periods.

good luck.

i got my physical at Samitivej in July, fairly routine, run out of their Wellness Center, but not overly impressed.

my wife got her's today at Bumrungrad, and she said it was ok too.

these two hospitals (along with Bangkok Hospital) cater to a lot of the expat crowd in bangkok.

another consideration might be price, depending upon if your employer or insurance will pay for it.

lend her your ATM card to test whether she is really an honest girl...

this is just too funny, it must be true....

put the foxes in charge of the henhouse, let the wolves herd the sheep... LOL

and why the CCTVs... ? that's so the BIB can see when some jet-ski extortion happens so they can rush over to be johnny-on-the-spot to help "negotiate" a settlement, or better still, to keep the jet-ski operators in line so they don't cut the BIB out of their share of any extortion money....

sunday comics on tuesday.... thx

if you are looking for men's clothing, a lot of expats and visitors from their companies go to Raja's on Soi 4, just to the left of the entrance to Nana Plaza.

Jesse and Victor have been in business many years and have a good reputation backed up by repeat business and new word-of-mouth clients.

my experience with three leases here is that they are extremely one-sided and favor the landlord. generally there are no penalties for nonperformance by the landlord but all kinds of clauses if the tenant is nonperforming. in conclusion, the trustworthiness and general disposition of the landlord or lady can make the difference between heaven and hell.

my advice is take the money and run... why would you want to even venture into the legal waters on this?

be thankful she revealed her true self before you were settled in there. in every house that i checked out before renting, i made a point of contacted previous tenants regarding the landlord's reputation.

Do I need a work permit to catch a crocodile?

yes

Do i need a work permit to catch a soi dog? what about a rat in the attic? a fly in the kitchen?

(and don't say the difference between the two is the reward money, because we all know that unpaid volunteer work also requires a work permit...)

I drive this road at least once each day. Used to drive a small bike but these last few years bought a car due to the danger of bike driving.

No idea what taxis have got to do with this topic as locals don't usually use taxis,

My respects to the dead man and his family.

actually, the locals do use the songtaew taxis... especially the service workers at the beach resorts/restaurants/etc. they are the main riders in the songtaews that run between the beaches and phuket town... now whether they would use songtaews between the beach towns is another question.

for the past five years, i myself use a car (or rarely motocy) to get between bangtao-patong-kata-rawai just because of the tuk-tuk mafia.

if songtaews were available (or even meter tuk-tuks) like in every other thai province, i would prefer to take them...

my condolences to Mr. Nyman's family.

Paying for women simply gives me the option of saying goodbye without tears.

Wasn't it Charlie Sheen who said "I don't pay women for sex, I pay them to leave"

yeah, and rodney dangerfield had a great line, "The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less."

if you've ever been married or had a gf, then you will probably agree...

this news story is much ado about nothing.

the comments were made at an india event... obvviously the speaker was putting a positive family spin for the indian tourism market. most tourists from india are families. you will rarely see an indian in a beer bar, karaoke joint, or massage parlor.

however, i saw a number of groups of indian men negotiating with Walking Street freelancers last weekend.... very amusing.and pathetic because of their attempts to get group sex at discount prices...

the treatment of *any* prisoner like this is appalling. but in this case is even worse since he evidently did not commit a crime other than being destitute and disoriented.

I would have thought that the Thai police would contact the relevant embassy if a foreign national were taken into custody and held (without charges), at the very least just to reduce their burden of housing/feeding another inmate.

it is also disturbing that the Thai police cannot recognize when psychological and medical treatment are needed.

a very sad case... and one that could happen to anyone who might get slipped a drug in their beer and are wandering the streets in an incoherent drugged state...

Saw an altercation between the Jet Ski guys and some Indians on Pattaya beach last week.

The Indians,apparently, won !!!

As soon as the dispute started a young Indian girl got on the phone and within 10 minutes about 50 Indians turned up and completely swamped the locals and their pet bib.

Check one for the tourists !!

Fantastic. I would hate to see the fate of these scammers if 50 Russians turned up.

Or is that I would like to see their fate????

hey, what is that phone number she called???

and maybe there's a business opportunity here...on-call Pattaya Bodyguard Service.... to protect you against the jetski scammers, tuktuk mafia, ladyboy hustlers, pimps and drug dealers...and errant BIB...

i'm a bit disappointed at the posters on this thread... a visiting group of teachers and students get shot at and all i read are a lot of cynical comments, jokes, and the typical bashing at BIB and thais in general. i feel sorry for the woman who suffered even six stitches although the bullet only grazed her skull. she is truly lucky!

this sort of incident is not so infrequent, and i would think it would fall into a couple of scenarios:

- the driver pissed off another driver (like the pilot that was shot on the way to suvarnabhumi)

- the teachers made some unsavory enemies at the market

- the shooters were bored delinquents or high on drugs and the car was a random target

it may be difficult to find the perps because this probably happened on a more rural highway without cameras and they did not pass through any toll booths, it was at night so eyewitnesses would be rare. however, i have been surprised before in how the BIB can find their man, whether they turn themselves in or others report them (or maybe these have been just scapegoats).

I travel within Thailand with just a Thai DL (the number on it is my passport number). However, I would carry a copy of your passport (and visa page if available) just in case, and second photo ID.

Be aware that foreigners are required to carry a passport at all times (but a certified copy is acceptable). In practicality, just a photocopy is fine. I actually did a color photo reduction and laminated it, and carry it in my wallet.

now i realize why the raw sewage story is such a concern for the Phuket authorities... it will definitely cut into the extortion revenue of the jet-ski scams if tourists don't go in the water....and then a lot tea money won't get distributed up the food chain....

this is hillarious.... ROFL... "industry experts"

This guy is asking someone from Phuket Land Transport Office (previously FIVE years ago) if there is a transportation problem for tourists in Phuket....

..... and he basically answers that the worst part is the deals made between tuk-tuk drivers?

and then he asks the Phuket Tourism Association what the worst problem is....

...... and they say that their Thai tour agents are being undercut and bypassed by foreign tour guides?

it's like asking the fox how the henhouse is doing today.... i think he forgot to interview the Phuket Jetski Scammers Association too...

what a load of crap... anyone bother to ask the TOURISTS what was the worst part of their "Pearl of the Andaman" holiday? anyone bother to read police reports and complaints?

The problem here, like in Pattaya and Phuket beaches, is that the swim zones (marked by cabled buoys) alternate with no swim (open) zones. If you sitting at the beach, you want to swim in front of your beach chair, not walk down to the next swim zone.

The solution is to make the entire central beach zone SWIMMING ONLY, and restrict the jet skis and parasailing to either ends of the beach. It would make the beach safer and much quieter.

Last New Year's I spent in Bali.... the second year in a row... even though I own a Phuket condo.

I'm definitely thinking maybe I should spend my retirement dollars someplace else...

As one tourist on the plane told me... " Phuket? F*** it... "

Wow, his family must eat a lot of rice. Bt3000 per day from just the one jetski, plus the income from the other two boats....

i feel sorry for the next batch of unsuspecting cruise ship customers....

why on earth would these tourists want to ride around in a hot windy noisy unsafe tuk tuk driven by a rude obnoxious money-grubbing driver?

most short-time tourists will probably want to see the sights comfortably and safely in an air conditioned van, perhaps with a courteous tour guide explaining the sights.

i'm spending my songkran in chiang mai, where i can get anywhere in a songteaow for about 20 baht.

phuket? haha, what a joke... i hope the russian mafia boots out the tuktuk mafia and their boss...

Does anybody know where it will be, please?

i was at the flower market last Sunday and drove by where they were setting up barracades and checkpoints. It is a over by Democracy Monument.

" Mr Lindberg appeared to be wealthy – he paid six months’ rent totaling 42,000 baht in advance and often lent money to a woman called “Lin”. "

Since he died with only 500 baht in the room, it seems that his wealth disappeared as quickly as did "Lin"....

hmmm, seems like this guy hasn't travelled to Phuket or Samui lately, or else he would really know the definition of "rip-off".

CNX is one of the best places to get around the city, by songtheow (may need to negotiate if you are a big nose). Can be 15 up to 80 baht, depends on where you hail them, and where you are going. The tuk tuks are con artists like everywhere else in Thailand, but generally don't pay more 100 baht any time of day or night. :Everyathing is negotiable, and there is always another coming around the corner.

The taxis are great, especially if you are going to or from the airport (and have baggage). But i always insist on a meter or find another taxi, because the meter price will ALWAYS be cheaper (especially in Phuket). The songtheows don't run from the airport unless they are dropping someone off... so either have to wait or walk to the Airport Central Mall (which I've done, out of principle).

All in all, CNX is a good city for local transport, but i usually rent a motorbike, or a car at the airport if I bring my family....