samuibeachcomber

With the current situations in Thailand and abroad, will there be bargains to attempt to draw the tourists and expats back to the LOS?

Certainly it sucks on the whole for the Thai people, especially the ones closest to the bottom of the economy, I would think that some possible upsides for those of us who love the country and want to spend more time there might be rewarded with cheaper airfares and relaxation of immigration at least for the short term.

cheaper airfares and relaxed immigration,i dont think so,airfares will increase as will immigration laws.Tourists may well find other safer more reliable places to visit IMHO.

My staff normally wear yellow T-shirts as a uniform, but we have told them to wear something else until this is over.

maybe thailand's in a quasi civil war state already without knowing it,why not draw a line across ubon ratchathani,korat and phisanilot and call it north thailand,PPP can have chang mai as its capital,and everything south of that line give to PAD and call it south thailand...........problem solved.

Thailand shouldn't be referred to as a "Land of Smiles" any more. The 'Land of Idiots' is far more appropriate.

When terrorists (of any description) take over a country's main airport, a government must react swiftly and decisively. However the PM's request for the police to remove the protesters by 'gentle means' typifies the absurdity of the Thai Psyche (i.e. trying to save face at all costs and don't offend the guy who's beating you over the head with a hammer as he may get angry)

The PAD have now officially put me out of business. I have lost millions of Baht because of this latest development but I may recover by moving my business, and jobs, elsewhere. So I'll get over it, but how many Thai businesses are on the verge of financial ruin or bankruptcy?

Personally I detest the PAD Idiots, but I have now lost any hope I had in the current government to restore law and order.

No matter what happens, I fear there will be bloodshed in Thailand on a scale never seen before in modern times. The seizure of Suvarnabhumi airport will be the tipping point for an economic cataclysm that Thailand will never recover from.

Never start a business in Thailand. How selfish can you get worying about your own finances over the future of a country. It is essential to get the prime Minister out, can't you see this?

That comment has just stunned me.

Care to explain further??

yes an amazing statement when you consider PAD and PPP are as bad as each other, <snip>

no one knows where all this will lead to,but i do get the feeling that thais are beginning to polarise into either the red or yellow camps.................sides are being taken.WAS in a thai restaurant last night and was wanting to talk about the current situation and it was recommended i not talk about it all,i think thais are beginning to worry about it all too.

Tourists stranded in Pattaya wonder when the Bangkok protests will end.

Look mum! PAD hostages!!!

its a tough life!

here we go again more home brew political commentary from the armchair.

the thais involved in this power play do not care about your business as they do not care about tourism,its really low on their priority,sad but true,and being an expat here makes you realise what it must be like for foreigners living in our own countries back home,somtimes not easy,sometimes unwelcoming,am sorry for your business and all the others suffering right now,and particularly those in the tourist industry,these are very dificult times abiut to get worse.

herbert is special and not friendly in front of everyone, but once the visas are obtained it looks all the pressure went away and he's back to a normal state, you can even joke with him.

i can"t recommend the trip of course as it's using a dangerous way and asleeping in narathiwat is not recommended.

regarding easyway, it's the cheapest i could find and it's easy to make a booking with the business owner and pay to the driver in the morning.

did you ever use easyway,cos i called them(said they were in mae nam)and they told me they only go to penang,not kota bhuri.

Just had to redirect my Girlfriends flight to samui-pattaya because of the problems in Bangkok. I was surprised to hear Bangkok Airways have changed the price from 2155b ++ to an all inclusive 4000b. When i asked about the old price they said it was promotional and this was the new price.(very nice not to add a fuel surcharge but i am pretty sure its hidden in this new price) I was a little anoyed that they tried to tell me the price has not gone up, and it was always this price but yet somebody has deleted the old Utapao fare from their web page????

I dont know how everybody else feels but i have had enough of them squeezing the life out of tourism on this Island, in the current economic climate do we need a Boutique Airline? 4000b for a 40min flight on a twin prop is really two much. I feel they are trying to make the most out of the situation in Bangkok. It looks like all tourists are getting redirected this way and they are trying to milk it as much as possible.

They have a bus going to Bangkok from Utapao but they cannot say how much.

Also can somebody tell me whats boutique about walking 1km to the Departure gate and a inedible chicken roll sandwich/ fake orange 'juice'?

they were offering a special internet price samui-bangkok 2500 baht each way,if they are re-routing flights to pattaya price should stay the same and include frre bus to bangkok.

so now the summit is going to the PPP capital instead of the PAD capital,why not divide the country in half,have 2 countries,southern thailand and northern thailand,like the 2 korea's,then everyone could be happy.

would n't firefly have a desk at samui airport where you can buy a ticket?

would n't worry it'll be over by the weekend,if it lasted till xmas might as well close the place down

i dont know torrenova,but like you i think its scary and have been pondering what to do,imho i have n't seen a policy that will cover 100%,but i would like one that will pay the hospital bill for you.I looked at one policy coming from the UK,I think the name of the co.is walkers at my age 59 its expensive 60,000 baht per year,it also covers you while out of thailand for emergencies up to 75%.am currently looking at just accident cover you know if you are injured in a car accident,motor bike or hit by either,and on samui the liklihood of this happening is quite high,i will keep you posted if i find some good hospital cover.One thing for is the premium is a lot less for joint family,and if you are young.

I am amazed at Farangs total disregard for their own safety.

I was absolutely shocked last night in Pattaya, I saw a helmetless Farang roaring down 2nd Road on a sports bike at breakneck speed, flying past bars that had other Farangs smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, and some of these guys actually ended up taking an unknown girl with all her possible unknown diseases back to a hotel room.

Do Farangs have no regard for their safety at all ?

I wonder how many of these so called educated people have a wife back in Farangland that they will endanger with whatever disease they contract in Thailand?

I find it totally disgusting, then again, maybe their parents didn't care enough to educate them about the dangers of Smoking and Drinking and driving too fast.

What the he-ll is wrong with these people ?

are you serious or is this a wind up?

What about the lomprayah high speed catamaran? Which one is better?

you've had reall bad luck.The ferries and catamaran service will be fine,just a question of deciding where to go.If its Phuket,check weather first,if its ok book ticket at travel agent,ferry plus coach about 600 baht.

If you decide to go to Pattaya,you could take the catamaran to chumphon(5 hours)then a coach takes you to khao san road bangkok,the bus takes about 8 hours,the total cost is 1200baht.once you get to khao san rg.pick up a cab to Pattaya,about 2 hour trip,fare 1000-1500baht,so total time taken samui to pattaya about 16hours.good luck.

Another brilliant use of our tax dollars- all the plants and trees that were planted near the lake (after Loy Krathong when the walkways were flooded to the point that the fair had to be abandoned) are now under water.

Work started just as the lake water receded enough to allow access, but when it was still raining and more heavy rain was in the forecast- wouldn't it have been smarter to wait a few weeks after the heavy rains had departed the area?

It was so obvious that this was going to happen, and such a waste.

Maybe I'm completely wrong here- is it beneficial for young, newly planted shrubs to sit completely submerged in polluted water for several days?

i would n't think so but we are in thailand.

I really dont know where your attitude comes from.One of the endearing features of the thai people is their ability to maintain a smile inspite of adversity and hardship.

I don't intend to be anti-Thai, but I know exactly what the OP means by blank expressions. The smiling ideal and the blank expressions can indeed exist in the same country.

well maybe the blank expression is just reflecting an inner calm,h_ll they sure can get excited too.

Have to put my hand up and say i have always found Bell buses to be very good.When i lived in Pattaya i used them often and thought the service to be very good,but i guess like anyone they too could have a bad day.In general the bus service throughout thailand is very good,IMHO.Unlike can i say the UK,where trains can be cancelled at a minutes notice,and they just dont care.

This is not about race or culture its about poverty.

One of the things about Thailand which gets me down is that on a day to day basis the majority of Thais I encounter have this vacant expression on their face like they have less than 10 brain cells. I like going to The Emporium because the looks on the faces of the customers are different. You can see their minds moving in their facial expression. You suspect that they have goals and ambitions and money. That maybe they like film or painting.

Can anyone else relate to this? Am I just another elitist who wants to stick to his own kind?

Hand to mouth existences create zombies out of peoples and its sad

I really dont know where your attitude comes from.One of the endearing features of the thai people is their ability to maintain a smile inspite of adversity and hardship.

cant say i see any vacant expresions here on samui(except the odd drunk)only smiles.If i lived in Bkk maybe i'd see many.

In the west its different,if your happy there everyone thinks your weird,if you smile at a woman they think you want to get into her pants,if you are unfortunate and your caught smiling at a guy,then they think you're gay,just best not to smile.I mean you are smiling just cos you're happy,not allowed to be happy in the west.

brings back memories,i did this trip in 1972,ended up rented a house in telak bahang,it was the next village on from batu feringi,glad you enjoyed.

My wife's uncle just bought a truck load of burnt rice hulls to use around his banana trees. The stuff looks beautiful. Jet black and the texture of coffee grounds. Does this stuff contain any nutrients to improve the soil and is it worth it to till some into the garden?

Thanks

well it would n't hurt,am not sure about any nutrients left after burning though.I remember g/f uncle using the rice husks to cover burning old timber to make charcoal.

10 baht is the correct fare from Jomtien to the Dolphin Circle for Thais.

i thought it was one price fare for all,i can remember paying only 10 baht from jomtien to soi 6/2nd road,thought it was brilliant.Back to syd's question,i think its a great idea but with little hope of success,but it says a lot for your imagination "piper at the gates of dawn" come to mind,it also tells me you are fed up with your other half lying around doing nothing..............you have to treat them like children,much cheaper for you to take away the TV.

i just ran into a friend of mine who told me the following story:

he got a bike from down the road from his apartment to not far away, knowing it would be a 30B ride. the guy asked for 50 and my mate refused. the guy got aggressive, so my mate just walked off, the guy came after him of course, and my mate gave him 40b and said that was it. the guy got really agro and asked him if he lived int that apartment, and told him to watch his back, and that he should be scared, and yada yada yada. my mate isnt too concerned, but we have both heard stories as u do.

well, i had very little advice to give...anyone else?

<he didnt get the number of the guys shirt, or the bike reg., though this could be arranged>

sorry if this is incoherent, im writing in a hurry...

maybe the correct fare was 50baht,hence the reason the taxi guy got mad.

Yes, similar thing happened to me recently. I travelled back to Oz to do some jobs including maintenance on a rental property I own there. New tenants wanted to move in early so there was an overlap and I ended up spending a fair bit of time with them as I went about my tasks.

Anyway they were very keen to make various improvements and fix/change some things (with nil suggestion or encouragement from me). Guy had friends who were tradesmen etc etc. can we do this? is it ok if we do that? we want to stay here for X years, and so on until I eventually said, look that's not really fair if you do all that stuff, i.e. had to hose them down a bit. But I gave them the ok to do a couple of things and I did (or organised for others to do) a whole lot of other stuff.

No sooner do I get back to Thailand though then I get an email saying ... "wife and i have been talking and seeing how are doing all these things to improve your place we think you should do x,y,z" <involved changing the terms of the lease>.

I wouldn't put this in the category of "being held to ransom", and I think these folks are basically good people, but it is certainly off-putting when this happens. Had to say ... please only do those things you are required to do under the terms of the lease and refer any other matters to me/the managing agent to be dealt with on a priority basis".

anything to get a rent reduction,i hope they prove to be ok tenants for you.