lamphun

The farang community in Pattaya is a blight on Thailand.

So pay nee City

Is that the same farang community that gets totally ripped off by local corrupt scumbags?

What a place. Mugged when you're drunk and ripped off when you're sober. The best thing about Pattaya is that it attracts all the criminals from other parts of Thailand thus leaving the rest of us free to enjoy life without too many worries.

Before Noel asks, I'm sticking my nose in here to see how the other half lives.

So what's your solution Boon Mee ?

Well, there really aren't a lot of 'easy' solutions here.

Bottom line though, we can't let Iran have the bomb and take out Israel as they have stated they will do. And. we can't afford to be modern-day Nevile Chamberlin's either.

Where does that leave us?

I don't recall the Iranians saying they were going to nuke Israel so I think your getting a bit ahead of yourself. There's a few hard truths to be faced here.

Short of a major invasion the Iranians are going to get the bomb.

Diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranians has not worked.

The Iranians want the bomb because they regard themselves as an important country in the region and want some major leverage. India and Pakistan already have the bomb.

IMHO there is no solution here except to let them get on with it and hope they behave.

So what's your solution Boon Mee ?

To be sure the Bush family makes money from the oil price increase but I think his major thrust is controlling enough oil to be able to use it as a bargaining chip with China. China more than anyone else is pushing the current demand and this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are US military bases within 250 miles of the China border on oil pipelines. There are US military bases in over 60 countries and territories. I think one of the reasons that China has not invaded Taiwan is the US can shut off Chinese oil supplies in short order.

It is my understanding that OPEC is nowhere near peak production capacity and could turn up the supply any time they wanted but have not done so. I have also read that they are at maximum production capacity now and are unable to build new rigs fast enough to replace old ones and that they are drilling new ones like crazy.

It is also my understanding that refining capacity in the US is maxed out and that any interruption in production like Katrina creates a price spike.

It would also seem to make sense that as oil prices go up the dollar would strengthen (if the US is making all of this money on oil) and the Baht weaken.

Oil is like money in the bank, do you pump it out and earn 10% on the resulting cash or do you leave it in the ground for the future appreciation.

Mostly valid points except that the US as a major oil importer is not benefiting from the high price of oil. A drop in the price of oil would most likely strengthen the dollar rather than the other way around. The Thai Baht seems to be climbing with the Chinese Renimbi.

Opec do have some spare capacity and there's an increase in supply from marginal fields in non Opec countries due to the high price making them profitable.

My remark about Bush having a punt on oil futures was a joke. I doubt he has the intelligence.

The North Koreans already have the bomb so I don't see the Iranians making the world a more dangerous place compared to those nutters.

Bush threatening to use military force against Iran has had two results. The first is to upset the Iranians who don't like being pushed around. The other is to cause a panic on the oil market. So why did he threaten them ? He must know his threats are empty so they won't affect the Iranians nuclear position except to make them more intransigent. Therefore I can only surmise that he's taken a punt on oil futures.

Chiang Mai's campaign against alcohol sales within the city walls during the holiday was a success, with a 70-per-cent drop in sales, said Wallop Namwongphrom.

However, some people brought their own alcohol and that led to drunkenness, fights breaking out and women being molested, he said.

What campaign against alchohol ? I enjoyed a few beers over songkran within the city walls. I noticed quite a few other people doing the same thing.

Arthur and Mavis Hetherington

Pass the Hovis, definately a spoof letter.

Foreigner knocked unconscious in city centre

He went on to say that the gang leader was a Mr Chai but he didn’t know the last name.

However, Mr Chai had recently shaved off his moustache.

-Pattaya Today

17 April 2006

Be on the lookout for an unnamed Thai without a moustache.

Don't forget to water the horse.

Busines as usual in Pattaya I'm afraid.

Well he was english. I heard this was happening on Khao San Road as well, the culprits beings farangs. I very much doubt it's acid, probaley yah hom or curry powder mixed with water. Still a stupid and malicious thing to do.

DJ Pat is boring in my opinion.

Who ?

Bashing backpackers,was one of Scampy's favourite topics. What he failed to realise was the difference between himself and a backpacker was that they went home after the holidays.

Glasgow ... based on the Irn Bru taxi.

I think Expats and Thai's are together on this one. The older you get the less you like it. Best to stay home and leave it to the young if it's getting too much.

Chiang Mai seemed a lot quieter this year, which might be due to the cost of petrol.

My reason for posting on this page is I think it will cover a larger audience.

couple of weeks back I had my 6 monthly check up with my doc and he thinks I may be in the early stages of alzheimers.

Just curious, how do you test for this ?

As for being forgetful, it may be that you're present lifestyle doesn't include enough mental stimulation. I'm not a big fan of the medical system in this country where diagnosis and treatment depends on getting lucky and finding a good doctor.

I suspect that you are advertising for Meechok Plaza. The rimping store there has always been busy whenever I've been there. It's not cheap so I'd imagine they're doing reasonably well. As for the businesses in the vicinity perhaps the rents are too high.

As UG seems to eat a huge western style meal every day perhaps he should be regarded as our galloping gourmet. That's if he can stop trying to push his "friends" places.

You're not getting many replies because the way you've set up the poll sucks. As mentioned before there is no way to relate the three entries to one another. The middle poll for price has no choices for poor value for money, rip off etc apparently all restaurants are wonderfully priced.

The final poll has the choice "Not fit for a dog" yet someone is claiming the Dukes is the most popular. Perhaps they were chosen because of that final catagory.

I understand what you're trying to do but proably the only way to achieve this is to run a single thread per restaurant. This might not go down well with the owners. Restaurant wars.

I go to Kafe a lot for dinner, but never during the day.. Thanks for that suggestion!

Also good that it's not TOO 'farang', but a good mix.

Cheers,

Chanchao

The Kafe also has a supurb location, being a few doors down from the hair academy If you don't get my drift, try sitting ourside around mid day

The Kafe has been excellent for a long time, but I'll give it a miss this week, it's too open to the street and getting there will be running the klong water gauntlet.

The replacement will be a Taksin employee. Sondhi is just a pissed off, failed businessman.

The rumour is BS by the way. Taksin has a lot of connections with Malaysia.

Was on an escalator in Hong Kong where a large group of mainland Chinese all tried to stand on the same step. The bloody thing took off at a hundred mile an hour and threw them all off the end.

It wasn't funny till about five minutes later.

You might want to ask yourself how much the actual land is worth. The building itself probably doesn't have any real value. Check out the price of land and add a bit.

Cold and rain in Madrid...

my room is getting worse...

Lets pass the hat round to buy a roof for Glauka's room. I'll start with 10baht.

Pissed down last night.

Looks like they skidded off the runway. Any idea when this took place ?