featography

"forecast the number of foreign tourists entering Thailand in 2010 would increase by between 8 and 10 percent, or about 15 million over last year"

Maybe I'm just no good at maths but if an increase of 10% is 15 million doesn't that mean that last year 150 million tourists visited Thailand.

Really?

I thought the total number of tourists who visited Thailand last year was 13-14 million.

Dr. Sethaput Suthiwart-naru needs a proof reader.

OOOOH no, you need to take class at university to learn THAI math

Thailand is rapidly becoming a NO GO TOURIST ZONE -- surrounding countries will be jumping with glee at the potential boost in tourist they will get from all the trouble and strife in the LOS -- this used to be the prime destination - but not any more -- the beaches in the south of Vietnam have as much and the whole country has more to offer if only they can develop their tourism infrastructure -- and then even Cambodia -- lovely coast line -- again lacking tourism facilities -- but sure that will come --- all tourists are really concerned with is safety and security and after the events of the past two years with airport closures and the events over songkran last year -- well nuff said -

Yea but remember what it says; security is only a major issue with the Asian countries. Europe and N. America won't be effected as far as the flow of tourists. hahahahaha

I think Vn is doing quite well with their tourism infrastructere. There is even a law strictly enforced against natives harming int. tourists. Been there in the last 6 weeks, saw that, done that, quite impressed and will return.

You have no problem with Maoist tactics? I seriously suggest you find yourself a bookstore and buy some books on the Chinese Cultural Revolution ..... or maybe start reciting the names of the 10's of millions of people that died because of Maoist policies.

You might rethink your answer.

I would suggest Edgar Snow's The Long Revolution.

Bill Hinton's Turning Point in China, Shenfan, Hundred Day War, The Great Reversal - his many essays in Monthly Review

Amazing how they hide this stuff in books, isn't it?

What will happen if the RED leaders ask all the protesters to dress in YELLOW to bypass the road blocks and security checks.

No sharp and witty answer for that one.

I will offer a factual tidbit I gleened from a Red with close inside info when it comes to planning these rallies;

This time govt prohibited the bus lines from contracting with the Reds for transportation into Bangkok. In the past, they have used as many as 60+ tour busses to get the people to the rallies from all over the country. The Reds are forced this time, to use personal vehicles to get all to Bangkok. If there is a beef with the traffic congestion for those days, blame not the Reds. It is a govt thing, probably to undermine the cause and create animosity among the Bkk locals with Reds.

Hello all,

My brother and his fiance are due to arrive in Bangkok on Tuesday 16th March. Myself and my girlfriend are due to go down from Issan to meet them at the airport in the afternoon and stay two nights in Bangkok. I'm just wondering what the popular thought on whether we should go ahead as planned or make alternative arrangements. My worry is that if there is any trouble spilling over into Tuesday it could affect their flight, or should they arrive ok, that traffic problems might make it difficult to leave the city altogether.

I was thinking of keeping an eye on how it progresses over the weekend and if things got messy to book onward flights for them up to Udon.

Any advice is hugely appreciated. Thanks a million!

I think it's highly unlikely that the airport will close. If there are major disturbances in Bangkok, I think they will not spread out to the airport on this occasion. You should be able to find an alternative route east/north-east of the airport which bypasses the majority of Bangkok. My only concern would be that if things look nasty, one or two airlines will cancel flights to Bangkok. Emirates is one such airline which often suspends flights to destinations during periods of civil disobedience in those destinations.

If you want to stay clear of any potential problems, then I would suggest staying as far away as possible from central Bangkok during the period of possible unrest. Find a hotel on the outskirts of the city or near the airport and you should be absolutely fine.

Yea, but will you find any taxis at the airport?

Whoever writes these articals should be awarded a gold plated wooden spoon for their efforts in stiring.

Or the fickled finger of manipulated fate

Stupidity rules on this forum. I understand that most repliers are drunks, fake teachers and know everything about THailand, no more specific, Bangkok when it comes to the prices of female entertainers. Very few seem to have grasped how a democracy works. Very few have understood that even the former civil servants are turning en mass into supporters of the UDD. Abhisit and his puppert master Suthep should indeed be very worried. Did they get away a year ago with the violence that they themselves orchestrated (Black and blue shirts beating up Red shirts at the hill in Pattaya) shooting with sharp on protestors, the fact that 20,000 monks will take part brings us to the comparison with Burma. You cannot beat up a monk. So you claim that weapons of war have been stolen (how incompetent of Anupong and friends) and I mean real guns not an hot air balloon of 250 million baht that is leaking and will never really fly, not the funny transistor radio antenna's that were turned into bomb scanners, money scanners, shit scanners whatever card you threw into it. Not even the aircraft carrier that was never meant to sail and is rotting away in Satahip or anything else funny that Anupong is responsible for and what the Thai people have to pay for.

The situation is clear and simple. Any child good solve the problem Elections. You cannot sit on the chair that does not belong to you. Not one European, American, Australian, would except that the army came in annulled the results of an elections, wrote a new constitution on a fresh roll of toilet paper and held new elections, from which hey asked the courts to annul the results because they did not like it. And than asked Anupong to threaten 60 politicians to change parties or else. If the government had came to power through elections they might have had the right to ignore the demonstrations. Now the demonstrators have the duty to wipe away the government

Hard to understand for drunks watch ASTV in their bars easy for the rest of us, who grew up with the idea that the vote of a poor bastard is just as important as the vote of Bill gates.

W O W ! You nailed that one to the wall.

It is needed. Well done.

"The recommendation follows an announcement by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that he had cancelled a five day trip to Australia scheduled to take place between March March 13 and 17."

I think PM Abhisit Vejjajiva just realized, being out of the country, is a popular way to get coup'd out of office.Read between the lines people. He is worried about his position. I am sure he is fully aware the Yellow brigade is very dissatisfied with his performance as well. For that reason, he wants to spread the power trip he is feeling, through out the country's Red Shirt brigade, with fear.Btw, if you farang got out of the drinking holes, away from the influence of the relatives you live with and around, started really surveying the local businesses, you would find the majority of the small business owners are glued to the Red Shirt channel on their tv's.I like to inventory small businesses in the multitude of villages in my city and province, jot down items I find that I may need in the future. That way I know where to go if I need... The number of Red Shirt channels on tv in these businesses far out number those watching the yellow channel.

Wait a minute. Has anyone seen a confirmation of this story? Both Matichon and Thai Rath report 69 M67 grenades stolen + 3100 bullets. Nothing about assault rifles. BKK Post says 3000 cartridges and about 20 grenades, quoting a police source.

I am sure that most of this b#$@#%t is put in the news to give either, the Bangkok Post, Nation and Thai Rai or, the military and govt, a good laugh while reading TV every day, with their breakfast or lunch. They are no doubt thoroughly entertained with the Thai Way knowledge, and western education/experience, opinions of the members.

Currently studying town planning atm, and this city is an example of how NOT to plan a city. Nevertheless, the situation certainly isn't unworkable!

Suggestions-

TRAFFIC

-Carpool incentives, including lanes and flyovers/expressways reserved for dual (or more) occupancy cars and buses

-Getting more freight onto the railway lines and off Bangkok's streets, possibly through linking all industrial centres/ports etc. with a good cargo rail system

-Congestion tax, which will pay for fast tracking extensions to the BTS and MRT

-Getting rid of the "variable one way" system which just complicates things and causes bottlenecks

-Express buses that utilise flyovers and expressways to get to destinations faster (for high traffic routes)

-Extending the Khlong Boat service hours and creating more routes by opening/cleaning up more canals

-Better driver training and harsher punishments for "third lane" creators (especially motorbikes!)

-Creation of larger carparks at the terminal mass transit stations

RUBBISH

-Banning plastic bags (and straws!!!) from being served at retail outlets, as well as more stringent packaging laws

-Creation of a city wide recycling scheme, with A LOT more rubbish bins being created. Could involve a rewards scheme?

-Either creating a drinkable water supply or forcing water companies to have a returns policy on their plastic bottles

-Disposable goods to utilise biodegradable technology

FLOODING

-A VERY serious problem, they need to get working on higher dykes along waterways as well as reversing the flow of many of the canals/rivers to spill out into flood control networks much like they have in the Netherlands. Also, gutters and drains in this city need a lot of work. Fixing the garbage problem might go a long way toward improving drainage.

-Immediate freeze of construction of low-lying buildings along "high risk" areas- these should be turned into GREEN AREAS instead (involving natural waterways/grasslands designed to absorb overflowing water)

There's a biggy!!! Stop every vendor from pouring grease and oil in the drains. There is a large percent of the cause of clogging, and pour water flow

This is not politics it is terrorism. It's about time to enforce the law and put these people who are only interested to regain back to power by any mean. I like to see all these people who threaten the peace to go to jail

where were you and your voice when the yellow shirts were rioting, taking over airports, shooting guns at the opposition in the streets, and driving over police officers???

I am visiting Thailand THIS week (from Australia). Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is visiting Australia NEXT week.

Sounds like a good plan.

Peter

I wish I could quote " when the going gets tough the tough gets going" but there is nothing tough about this super Elite puppet. He is more than likely dealing with confrontation in the ways Thais usually do by running away except when they have a dozen of their friends with them against one. He is running scared from the threat of an unknown number of red shirts demonstrating or maybe on orders from the elite/miltary that pull his strings. The sooner this guy leaves the happier I will be.

Youre not alone with that feeling

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

- Benjamin Franklin.

Have fun in the Police state....

How does quoting a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin manage to fit the political scenario of Thailand? A classical shallow statement which fails to quantify what is "essential liberty" and what is "a little temporary safety". Taking statements out of context does not make then right, apart from which, if Franklin lived in these times of rampant terrorism, I am sure he would have had the intellect not to use that statement in this context.

Spoken like a Brit

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

- Benjamin Franklin.

Have fun in the Police state....

Absolutely correct.

Those that don't learn from history, are destined to repeat it

Seem to recall from school the British were Big Brother in the 1700's. They too called the colonists disidents, terrorists, threats to law and order as well as names given the Red's.

How different?

TIT TOT LOS NTFT ROTFL LOL BRB BKK.. go figure.. A friend wanted to but a new Ford Ranger.. He offered to pay cash if they give a really good deal.. The car deal said one set price and would not come down for cash.. not one baht.. but they did offer him a deal of pay so much each month and pay over 5 years the asking price and get this 0 % interest.. just the asking price that was a low as they could have dropped is as that month was real bad for them and they need to move some inventory..

So, my friend goes to his bank and asks them what sort of interest they would give him if he set up a new account for sole purpose to pay for that truck. The said 3% and he said okay.. He deposited the full asking price for the truck and earn the interest pocketing him a ton of extra cash.. Make sense?? TIT??

Tell me what is logical here?? There is no real common sense here... You would think...??

NO!! IRMA LA DOUCE.. (the play or movie)... But that is another story... remember??

Car dealerships pay interest to the manufacturer/supplier on the cars on the lot, if they have not sold them say within 30 days. The longer a car sits on the lot the extra interest/cost to the dealer is penciled on to the dealers invoice. When a client wants the red one instead of the black one and I say I have to charge you more for the black one even though each vehicle has the exact same options, I have to tell the client that the red model has been on the lot for 6 months and we have to pay the manufacturer more money for it because it has not sold it has incurred us interest charges on our cost price. The customer thinks I am feeding him a line of shit. So the longer a car sits on the dealers lot, the more it costs the dealer and the customer. I sold cars in Canada for many years.

Are you sure its the same with Thai dealerships as Canadian??

TIT TOT LOS NTFT ROTFL LOL BRB BKK.. go figure.. A friend wanted to but a new Ford Ranger.. He offered to pay cash if they give a really good deal.. The car deal said one set price and would not come down for cash.. not one baht.. but they did offer him a deal of pay so much each month and pay over 5 years the asking price and get this 0 % interest.. just the asking price that was a low as they could have dropped is as that month was real bad for them and they need to move some inventory..

So, my friend goes to his bank and asks them what sort of interest they would give him if he set up a new account for sole purpose to pay for that truck. The said 3% and he said okay.. He deposited the full asking price for the truck and earn the interest pocketing him a ton of extra cash.. Make sense?? TIT??

Tell me what is logical here?? There is no real common sense here... You would think...??

NO!! IRMA LA DOUCE.. (the play or movie)... But that is another story... remember??

hard to do the math without knowing, how much is the interest on the truck,verses 3% interest bank is paying you, over what period of time?

If they want more tourist they should devalue the baht. I live here and its getting too bloody expensive. They just dont have a clue.

You got that right. Wife and I just came back from our first trip to Vietnam; 10 days for Tet. Everything was cheaper, except clothes shopping than Thailand. There are more international food restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City than Bangkok, they pride themselves in having strict laws against harming foreigners,easier immigration/ work permit laws, and even my Thai wife was amazed and wondered, "what the hel_l we doing staying in Thailand?!?!?!?

Now are you asking your self that question or us on the forum? "It is never to late to change the road your on." Stariway to Heaven, Led Zepplin

We're asking ourselves, not TV members. It's our lives and we are always looking at options.For sure, we are not married to, or locked into, Thailand

If they want more tourist they should devalue the baht. I live here and its getting too bloody expensive. They just dont have a clue.

You got that right. Wife and I just came back from our first trip to Vietnam; 10 days for Tet. Everything was cheaper, except clothes shopping than Thailand. There are more international food restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City than Bangkok, they pride themselves in having strict laws against harming foreigners,easier immigration/ work permit laws, and even my Thai wife was amazed and wondered, "what the hel_l we doing staying in Thailand?!?!?!?

I think the' folklore' linked to prostitution, aside from the prostitution itself, counts for 80 percent of the charm of Pattaya.The strange ' zoo' which is the Beach at night is one of the tourist attractions of the city! Otherwise WHO would take a stroll along the beach?It's polluted, crowdy,noisy.So TAT should ENCOURAGE prostitution on the beach, and police should do the same.I like the beach the way it is.It is an institution, a sanctuary, a living museum, a unique scene for unrrivaled stand comedian. It s almost poetic, at times...

I love the free people watching. More interesting than the zoo.

The crazier pattaya is and the more outrageously dressed its attractions the better as far as I'm concerned as they all add to give the place a unique flavor like nowhere else on earth.

And for all the complainers, there are a zillion other beaches in Thailand you could walk down that are exactly the way you like so why pressure to change this one? And in case you weren't aware, taking one of the girls is NOT compulsory despite them being there

In the name of Buddha, don"t do that!!! We the majority, on the other beaches don't want the prostitutes following you guys to ours.

The head of the Chonburi Land Office, Director Vaiyavuth Surapruik, said, "In 2008 the fees were lowered to help the economy. This has stimulated the sale of properties. Since the fees were lowered almost two years ago there has been no slow-down in the number of transactions at the land office in Banglamung which services Pattaya so now fees will go back up in order to increase government revenues."

As far as I recall is that the fees were lowered for 1 year in 2008.This was extended for another year from march 2009 on but since this decision was never properly announced the discount during the second year was not enforced at the land office.

The date in the original article from the Pattaya Times is incorrect. The expiration date of the temporarily reduced real estate taxes is 28th of March, 2010.

The new law was properly approved and announced as anyone can see from any of these multiple references:

http://www.thailandlawonline.com/transfer_tax.html

http://bangkok.angloinfo.com/countries/thailand/intax.asp

http://ezinearticles.com/?Thailand-Real-Es...&id=2387266

http://phuket-post.com/article/thai-tax-ti...reak-ends-march

Also note that this has nothing to do with farrangs -- it affects ALL real estate transactions in Thailand, regardless of the buyer's nationality.

It is not a tax increase -- it is a return to the normal tax rate, which the Thai government was smart enough to reduce to near zero for the last 2 years in order to boost the economy.

The notion that if there was no change in the average number of real transactions (where did the Pattaya Times get this info anyway?), that it means the tax reduction should not be extended is ludicrous on its face. Demand for real estate slowed when the economic crises first hit. In order to increase demand for real estate back up to 'normal' levels, the Thai government lowered the associated taxes. It is a fundamental principle of economics that lower costs (including taxes) for a particular product increases demand. So if the quantity and amounts of the real estate transactions in Thailand over the last 2 years have remained relatively stable, it is BECAUSE OF THIS TAX REDUCTION -- if the taxes were still in place, basic eco-101 teaches that the quantity and amounts of the real estate transactions over the last 2 years would have gone down.

The worldwide and Asean economies are now starting to recover -- if the Thai government is wise, they will extend the deadline for one additional year. Let's please refrain from all the cynical comments -- and remember that they were wise enough to at least reduce it in the first place.

Just went to Tesco (pattaya) Thaparasit rd/Sukhamvit , and just over the road on the corner to soi khaow Noi it looks like the reds are starting to build there stage again on the big plot of land that used to be a market a few years ago.

amazing they got persmison to do it there after the trouble they caused at the summit last year .

saw that the other day all the red shirts for sale already, guy in market selling pepper spray etc said special shipment come in from China, last week what you want he can get. good day to go on bar crawl around the big lake out of the way.

MMMM pepper spray from China??!?!?!?! Wonder if its as reliable as the gas canisters the police shot into the crowds last year.

Be thankful you're not Thai & work for DHL.

Laffin my #$$ off. That was funny

Why is it not a single Thai among my hundreds of Thai friends and acquaintances (farmer to professional) have never mentioned Friday the 26th?

Is this perhaps a farang news feeding frenzy, with even the embassies believing the local English and Thai media (fed by the scare-mongering of meddlesome politicians and retired military has-beens)?

B I N G O ! ! We have a winner

I'll be impressed when he cleans up the tuk tuk drivers, the jet ski operators....[/color]

...and from there clean out the corrupt police from the bottom up.[/color]

Won't be getting a massage for a while.....but could end up as a towel boy in the lock up! No time for these wan.ers. What was he going to do with $600k? The smart ones are still in the states...

I'll be impressed when he cleans up the tuk tuk drivers, the jet ski operators....