samuibeachcomber

agree,its all part of the service,although it would be a courtesy to warn/ask for this service in advance to arriving or upon making the booking.back to the post though,i think thai resorts should start thinking about putting on indian curry breakfasts if they see there numbers increasing....................but beware their indian customers will still complain.

so am i to take it that you consider islamic banking as BS, or do you think it has any value to the consumer over western banking?

so your real "bitch" is finding the article in the WSJ,and wondering who paid to put it there? most of the replies here have been about the actual benefits/or non benefits to the idea of a local currency,would it work/would n't it work.the answer seems to be that yes it does work.

i read the first few lines of the article you posted but my eyes glazed over,same old same old,the public will not spend pure and simple.a new mindset has developed over this crisis...............one of trust,or lack of it.no one trusts the politicians anylonger or western financial institutions.

the public service sector is too large and needs to be cut back big time,the money they save can go towards unemployment benefits,people need to be re schooled and educated with a worthwhile trade while receiving these benefits,the issuing of food stamps to the unemployed as a part of the benefit should be put in place too.

the truth is they dont know what else they can do,cos when paulsen did it early 2000 it worked,well it just put off the recession we now have.globalisation has helped to make this a very bad one.

I personally think the respose to this crisis particularly that of the UK govt.has been pathetic.they should have had a buckket load of money saved to deal with this crisis,but instead they spent it all.running a country is no different to say running a family,only on a bigger scale.

rule no 1,you should not spend more than you earn.

always put away at least 10% of your net income for a rainy day.If they had adhered to this simple principle things would not be so bad.you take australia,during howard years they spent big,threw a lot of money at the people at election time,but they had big surpluses to do this,and when they were finally defeated there was still a 20 billion govt. surplus,so australia,as yet,is still not fairing too badly.

back to the UK,now they are talking about printing money to put into circulation(no one else will lend to them anymore) this can be a very dangerous option.they've got no money for social welfare,including pensions.the country has to get back to saving,has to get back to training the young into apprenticeships,something of value,the country has to start making things again.

I find it very reasonable for people demanding special diets to demand the hotel help them have their special food. If the hotel has lots of Indian clients and fails to respond to customer demand with some Indian choices, it is common courtesy to heat up an instant packet on request. Whats the big deal? It would be outrageous if someone brings in a food similar to what you offer and ask for that free, but that is not what is described. There are many examples of this. Perhaps a person is on a gluten free diet and they can't trust your kitchen. Common courtesy to make special accommodations. BTW, it is the CHINESE who are most commonly called the Jews of the East not the Indians, because of the way they have communities all over Asia and are usually more successful and better educated than the locals.

perhaps i made up the saying.

I too saw the story as a simple but effective way to benefit a local community,keeping the goods and services,employment,etc in the community,everyone looking after each other,and especially good in the times we are in.

the western financial system has proved to be a failure since deregulation in the 80,s.............benefiting the few but hurting most others,and now its been exposed as a sham

its time to look at other ways,and this story has shown another way.

do resorts supply indian curry for breakfast?

We don't, but I have had Indian customers bring their own instant curries to the restaurant, demanding that the we prepare and serve these; free of charge, obviously This sort of behavior endears them to everybody at the hotel.

nothing would surprise me when it comes to some indian tourists,i once heard them described as jews of the east.and please dont call me a racsist with some politically correct formula,its just a view.but if they keep coming to thailand as tourist then i think indian curry has to be added to the thai breakfast buffet,but they will complain that its not good enough,you cannot win,but need to stand up to them and be firm,and if you dont need their baht escort them out and show them the direction of other places to go to.

kimmy,thanks very much will take a look.

ok,something to think about maybe i should go and see the bank.thanks.

do resorts supply indian curry for breakfast?cant see them eating thai curry.

Shops are already closing. Adding to that office spaces. Those too are more and more empty.

If you realize that most malls, offices etc were financed by banks/investors with only lease contracts as backing, the real estate itself is often located in areas that are not able to keep there value. Those are starting to default. Probably taking a few months to really brake the banks again. are they too big too fail again?

US communism is closing in.

Another problem is consumer confidence. If people walk on the streets and see shop after shop closed, when they go to work whole office floors are empty, other employees you worked with for years are fired. all this will make people more afraid of the future and spending will go even lower with a result even more shops have to close.

When that spiral down is broken there is not much left.

As i read this I am watching a documentary on BBC World about the MASSIVE

loss of jobs in China It is getting very serious there - so that is yet another dimension

to all this ..................the crisis hasnt ended and is getting deeper................

China was meant to be imune

china will need to start quick smart a social welfare programme for all the unexpected unemployed or social unrest could start.would imagine most of the population had been led to believe this was the beginning of a new economic dawn(a catch up with the west)and will feel badly let down.

I really feel the need to organise a will but on making enquiries have found it to be quite expensive to set up.Have had quotes in the 10,000 baht range.My will would be simple as i have no business interests here and do not own a property,so really at this stage its only about cash in bank a/c.But i would like to know that if anything happened to me that my g/f would be looked after with what i have here and make that access as easy as possible.

I remember reading in a similar post mark wolfe ,i think,mentioned it was n,t necessary from a legal point of view to have a written will,that just a written letter outlining my wishes and witnessed by a local resident would be legally binding just like a will.Mark if you read this perhaps you could comment for me,and any one else with knowledge of this could give me advice.thanks.

since the credit crisis in the western banking system,the media have been writing about the growth in islamic banks,now opening in the UK and i believe in australia.Has anyone any knowledge of how they operate(what are the principle differences in how they operate to western banks?)I read somewhere that loans taken out for property,interest is n't charged but that the bank take a share in the profit of the increased value of the property,or something like that.Any experts out there know the answers to my questions and any opinions as to whether they could be a safer option and more profitable to the borrower?

Economically it's a non-issue. It just makes a few villagers feel better. You can't enlarge the experience in any way, however. It will always be a local peculiarity, nothing more.

I still wonder why we have to read about it in WSJ of all places. Have they run out of real issues to address?

"It just makes a few villagers feel better" and, after all, what do they matter - dumb yokels that they are? As described in the article, it actually does rather more than that and (when it works), it strengthens the local economy and reinforces a sense of local community. Yes, local - and that's the point. Is that so hard to grasp?

As to why the WSJ should run the story now.......... do the words "credit" and "crunch" have a familiar ring?

yes spot on,but the global financial networks would hate something like that to take off,cos there's no money in it for them,but its a great answer to greed,and yes i am surprised the WSJ printed being the mouth piece of the finance system.It can certainly work in small communities but am not sure about big cities.

think its a great idea and only works in small communities,and makes that community a stronger place socially.the bartering system has been around since time began.the world banking system would hate this,no money in it form them,but it would bring communities together..................very very good on them.

an okker downunder full of chunder sums this post up!

Try turning off the power to the box for a minute,also removing the card and re inserting might do the trick.Has your dish moved ?I can recommend Samui Guru in Bophut if your still having problems 081 7264675.

thanks for your reply.did as you suggested,took out the card,turned off the power,and unscrewed the white cable that goes into black box,reconnected and bingo it all came back ok,many thanks.

currently i cannot get a signal for UBC.Phoned the local office in chaweng to make sure the account is paid up and they say yes no problem,has to be electrical problem or satelite dish connection.So i thought i would ask any of you out there in the bophut area if any of you are having a similiar problem or may know what the problem is that i have.any advice appreciated.

PS they did say they could send a technician out tomorow but would cost 500baht,but we rent the equipment from them and i thought cos we rent that they would n't charge.

so thats where the money goes.

probably the same as the drop in their temperatures,maybe its seasonal,there again i've never met an icy traveller,now you have the reason.

one at a time thank you,anymore's just an ego trip!

like all counselling it would only really work if both your father and mother want their problems resolved.I think the monks would be a good idea but before going to them perhaps you should mention this idea to your parents first.

I remember after our thai wedding ceremony,in fact after a 3 day period we were required to go to the temple to be instructed in buddhist ways in how to conduct ourselves towards each other and how to resolve differences when they arose.The advice given,i thought was very good,so i dont see why the monks could not help your parents.The fact that both their sons are concerned about them will show them that their family do care about them and may influence them to make this choice of counselling through the temple(the choice of their faith).good luck.

its late here in thailand and am off to bed,i dont think i can add anything more.....................good luck andy,the money must be somewhere and looks to me as though nationwide may have stuffed up.

ok so whats the time frame from filling out form,paying the money and it still not having arrived?

Money was sent on Monday 22nd Dec I was told it would take 3 working days, so that gives them Tues 23rd. Wed 24th. Mon 29th. Tues 30th. Wed31st. Mon 5th Jan. A total of 6 days thats why I queried it today.

ok,firstly make sure its definitely not in your g/f's a/c before going back to nationwide,see the bank girl that helpedfill out the form,ask to see the form and make sure all the details are correct i.e. your g/f's bank a/c no.and here banks swift code is correct.If everything is correct then i would start getting a bit demanding that they check to see what has happened.one thought is that the money was sent coming up to the xmas period and may be being delayed the thai end.you could ask your g/f to go to her bank and ask them to check also.If your bank are claiming it has n't been sent cos you did n't say the reason for sending the money,then the money should still be in your account in my opinion.