samuibeachcomber

I've never been in business so maybe members with experience will weigh in.

I posted last year that a friend booking up for a 3 month visit was shocked at the prices being quoted for accommodation in places he had stayed before and one had jacked their rates up by 200%. One of the receptionists he spoke to and who remembered him said there was nothing she could do because due to a fall in tourism the owner had put the prices up and instructed " no deals, no discounts . "

This seems to be a common attitude here and doesn't sound like good practice, if you're losing custom how does increasing prices encourage what custom is available to buy, stay etc. ?

HA HA!.....so true,its called thai logic!

A muddled and flawed article...not unlike TAT's usual press releases about tourist numbers.

The aviation problem only relates to charter fights in S/e asia and the passengers dont spend much anyway,but i guess some resorts may suffer.MERS is hardly going to stop people coming yet the thais attitude towards tourists may.

Thailand has had it good for many years but now have to compete with the rest of S/E asia.Good luck to them.A geniune smile may help and less violence towards tourists too.

This game of poker is still in play.

If the greek politicians were serious they would now be printing drachma's.

I think they are too lazy to do this,and would not cope well with running things without the EC holding their hand.

Meanwhile its the ordinary citizens who take the pain

And why is this all happening?You have n't said.Can probably guess though.

Any way your original house on your wife's land is n't yours,and if you used it as collateral for 2 nd. house then the finance is built on quicksand.

If you have been rolled by your in laws take what you can and move on,your son will be well looked after by the family in the thai way.

If i remember rightly years ago a lady was democratically elected,she was pro west,hence the "orange revolution.Russia did n't like her and she got framed for some wrong doing.Another election(rigged) and a pro russian president came to power,then he was recently kicked out.Russia again did n't like it,took back crimea and infiltrated east ukraine with army personnel in civilian clothes to help eastern ukrainians who,supposedly wanted to remain russian.

The fact is the west part of ukraine want closer ties with europe and the east do not....so inevitably the ukraine will end up as two countries.As a country (imo) it's not worth going to war for.Sure russia feels encircled after 1991 as well as losing a lot of "stans" too,but they would do a lot better if they embraced a proper democracy rather than what they have now.

Thank you Mr. Putin for putting us back into a cold war. What a wonderful person you are.

It is Merkel who has put us back into the cold war. Her E,U expansionist plans.

Putin has been in power for along time and has never been a threat until this Ukraine situation created by Merkel..

Then you have the U.S wanting to put missiles in places like Poland,

Remember what happened when the old USSR were going to put missiles in Cuba. So you can expect a reaction from Russia.

I have no problem with Russia but I hate the Dictating E.U and I am English.

Having just spent a week in Ukraine, the locals are definitely not blaming Merkel for this. Nor the US. Anti Russian sentiment is high in Ukraine and the Baltic countries. Considering their history with Russia, it's easily understood.

Just spent a week in Lithuania, now in Latvia, heading to Estonia.

Keep us updated.

Good image.

If I would have no one to run my kitchen, clean the house etc. and would be too old or too lazy to do it myself, I wouldn't mind my guests to do the work that I can't or don't want to do myself.

UK has a serious demographic problem. Natives are getting too old, and they hardly have children.

Falkland Islands would maybe oK for some migrants, but the shepherds over there would certainly not be too amused about your suggestion. What about Gibraltar?

The waste of forests etc began long before Islam. You can blame it on the Romans and their neighbours with all their wooden ships. Certainly true for Algeria.

Syria was quite oK once, Damaskus was a one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East once. But the West supported the rebels from North Syria, fully aware that they were actually jihadists. So, many of today's problems with fundamentalistic Muslims are actually products of the West.

You are mistaken. There is no need to let the people doing the house cleaning etc become citizens of the UK. Saudi runs entirely on "guest workers" and sends them all home when their contract ends.

It would only take a few hundred potential terrorists being sent to the Falklands to stop all illegal economic migrants trying to enter Britain, just as offshore settlement has stopped the boatloads of potential terrorists entering Australian territory.

You have to wonder why the Uk does n't copy australia's example.Is it because the UK are hampered by EU rules and laws?

No way, let alone humanitarian aspects. USA would only produce solidarity among *all* Muslims in the region. Maybe that's what IS wants.

I would personally count on the Kurds to fight IS.

And yet because of moronic US policy that all military aid to Iraq go through Bagdad the Kurds are denied the means to be as effective as they could be.

Agree ,i like the kurds if its one people that deserve their own country its the kurds.

If its not ISIS its another little clique emerging,we will soon lose count of who is who and who is doing what.Personally i would like to see the USA re introduce agent orange to towns in Iraq and Syria and just exterminate them.While i detested what this chemical did to vietnam it is one way to get rid of this filth,and before anyone shouts at me saying what about innocent civilians i would like to quote a line from a bob dylan song "anyone with any sense has already left town"

There are an estimated 6 - 8 million civilians in DAESH held territory. Anyone caught attempting to 'leave town', whether they be men, women or children are either killed or brutally punished. Rather than the quote from Dylan the idiom 'caught between a rock and a hard place' comes to mind.

how do you know this to be true,not saying its not just asking.If i was there i would find a way out rather than live in a hell hole.

10 aussie dollars a day is existing.

20 aussie dollars a day is surviving.

50 a day is living.

pretty much sum's it up.The beauty of here is if you have to be careful with money its doable,ok maybe not much fun but imho better than home.

As long as you have money,then you have no cares,and thailand is an easy place to live,sure the smiles have disappeared a bit,but weather, cheap living, are all good.

If its not ISIS its another little clique emerging,we will soon lose count of who is who and who is doing what.Personally i would like to see the USA re introduce agent orange to towns in Iraq and Syria and just exterminate them.While i detested what this chemical did to vietnam it is one way to get rid of this filth,and before anyone shouts at me saying what about innocent civilians i would like to quote a line from a bob dylan song "anyone with any sense has already left town"

I see that IS has assumed responsibility which is hardly suprising, as their aim is to scare everyone, however, the same number of people are killed on the roads here every day. You start to extrapolate those figures for year on year and you will find that "Thailand's War" is probably the worst in the world, as no one is interested in stopping the carnage. Off topic I know, but just trying to get a little perspective.

I can see the analogy...but dont think it fits.

Because at 52 I can't even look at a 23 year old without fear of being called a perv. In LOS I can live with one.

As long as you understand its not cos you are one hansum man.And the cost of these relationships and the material expectations that comes with this can be exhaustive.

Unless of course your lady is HI SO chinese thai with a bank balance bigger than yours.

I used to like Samui but its being overrun with concrete.

Terror attacks in Kuwait, France and Tunisia echo Isis methods

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/terror-attacks-in-kuwait-france-and-tunisia-echo-isis-methods

With regards to Tunisia the head of Islamic State in 2013 called on his supporters to take revenge where…

"a war is being waged against chastity and hijab," and where "infidelity, prostitution and adultery" are widely practiced.

Funny that the IS pig gangs conducting this so called war are themselves rapists, adulterers, and sodomizers. In addition to being kidnappers, murderers and thieves. They are essentially gangsters co-opting religion to legitimize their crimes against humanity. The lowest of the low. Absolute pond scum.

they need to be eradicated in the same way a pest controller comes to the house to get rid of cockroach infestation.

And WHAT, exactly, does this slaughter of innocents achieve?

To contribute to the goal of the Caliphate declared by Islamic State, the Apocalypse, as forecast in the Koran. As the PM of Australia has succinctly described DAESH, a 'death cult'. The rulers of DAESH will in the meantime be enjoying the fruits of the 7th century style of dictatorship.

Tunisians are the largest contingent of foreign nationals fighting for DAESH.

their simplistic aim is the destruction of the "west" and by allowing mass muslim migration they are on their way to fulfill this objective.

This guy is losing a lot of credibility.He got elected to water down austerity and he has n't had a lot of success as the EU hang tough.The trouble is the greek people want their cake and eat it too,that is stay in the euro and have less austerity,they are just like children.They need to grow up,whether they stay or leave,pensions have to be reduced and the retirement age has to increase along with taxes.

Leaders are elected to lead and take the hard but right decisions,i think he's passing the buck!

I am about as moderate as they come, when it comes to Islam. I quite long held the belief that 99% of Muslims are moderate and do not support the extremist monkeys. But, having said that I think we may be heading toward a tipping point. If more moderates in a position of influence and power, such as the great and courageous King Hussein of Jordan, do not start speaking up in a loud and clear voice, against the gang raping, murderous, thieving mafias like the IS monkey clans, the general public may rise up into an anti Muslim crusade, the likes of which the world has never seen. And the horrific part is that they may then target all Muslims. It may be the Crusades, part II.

It's going to happen!

For me Samui is already ruined by too much development inspite of crazy land prices money is still pouring in.Cheong mon is about to be ruined,bangkok air flight prices are so crazily high yet still capacity is full.Too many people with too much money are coming to spoil the island.It happens everywhere where there is no "development control"

Just waiting for the usual Muslim apologists to come along claiming we all have it wrong and these are nice cuddly people.

Lol, one has already resorted to to calling us the defamatory brigade. He apparently does not understand the definition of defamatory.

yes there's a sickness going round "we have to be nice and tolerant to everybody,even if they want to slit our throats"............

The only government trying to push back the tide is australia,however they do have the luxury of distance.

Europe is a major problem because of its closeness to africa and the middle east.But a bigger problem is getting 28 member states to agree on some action.By the time a decision is reached it will be too late.30 years too late.

One of the best ways to boost your immune system is mega doses of vitamin C taken over a 3 month period.1000 mg. tablets 2 after each meal,so 6 a day.I can recommend blackmore's as good quality....150 tabs for 800 baht in boots pharmacy.

They used to be sold at a kiosk in MahBoonKrang (I think 2nd floor, but not sure). Don't know if it still is. Personally I get mine in Cambodia, widely available in the more modern pharmacies in Phnom Penh (UCare, PharmCare, PharmLink etc..the Cambodian equivalent to Boots or Watsons).

Do they have an effect on you?

When I really can't sleep they don't seem to have any effect. If I am just slightly sleepless they do seem to help, but it could be as well placebo effect or nothing at all. If I can sleep an hour later with Melatonin, I might slept without the Melatonin the same, who knows.

A bottle beer works far better but regularly this results in an additional 5kg bodyweight...

Just bought some melatonin from moyra pharmacy.brand name circadin 2mg.A pack of 15 tabs 630 baht,so not cheap,no thai generic brand available.Have n't done anything for me and think i have wasted my money.Before i bought atarax 25mg. pack of 25 for 99 baht.It's actually an anti histamin but works reasonably well for sleep purposes....but still not good enough hence i tried melatonin.

You blokes clearly have a few comprehension problems.

They are australian citizens, they can come back any time they want.

The question is whether the government is going to offer repatriation to bring them home.

maybe they still hold dual citizenship,and that is coming up for discussion in parliament.