carib102

I have to say, the amount of cynicism on this thread is rather shocking and pathetic.

crane collapse, more cars in Bangkok, place to park my car during floods.... bla bla

Projects like this should be lauded as they do help alleviate traffic problems greatly and they create jobs. Thailand's logistics costs as a percentage of GDP are extremely high due its poor road and motorway network. Any efforts to address this huge problem are a step in the right direction.

And it won't lead to more cars coming into Bangkok. Those cars are already going into Bangkok and are stuck in traffic jams because there aren't enough bridges.

The cynicism comes from the reality of actually living in Thailand. This project is ambitious yes, but also untenable. There is no way in h*** that 10 bridges will be built in the coming 7 years, and the fact of the matter is that Bangkok doesn't NEED 10 bridges to alleviate the traffic problems. This is nothing but a pipe dream and you can get back to me in 2021 and we'll see how many bridges have been built and how much impact they have had on traffic in the capital. What Bangkok needs is more surface level roads. Plain and simple. Instead of building more condos, office parks, and malls, land should be used to create more surface level roads. In addition, all the crap alleyways that are called roads need to be expanded as there need to be more ways to get from point A to point B. Probably never gonna happen in my life (which should last another 30 years - roughly).

More traffic routes into an already near gridlocked city.

Hope BMA also have a Plan B.

Yeah, but since there will be more bridges available traffic will spread and therefore there will be less traffic jams during rush hour.

You've been here too long...starting to think like a Thai. There are still the same inadequate roads leading to the bridges, so traffic will simply bottleneck at the bridges. Of course Thais don't really care about the delay, or so my wife tells me. All mai bpen rai and just the way that it is.

I keep seeing reports of the slowing Thai economy and these aren't planned to begin construction until 2017, so I won't hold my breath. Let's see when they break ground on these bridges.

And I have to agree with apetley...I wish the BMA would budget 50 billion baht to build more roads within Bangkok proper to help alleviate the horrid traffic conditions. Or maybe 50 billion baht on a program to teach Thais how to drive in such traffic at least (i.e. it isn't acceptable to merge and then cross 4 lanes immediately, there are actual rules of the road that give specific cars right of way, driving a particular model of car DOES NOT automatically give you right of way, creating your own lane to turn is unacceptable, using the far left lane as a parking zone is unacceptable, etc etc. I won't even begin to touch on motocy driving infractions as the list would take me the rest of the evening to write and I want to enjoy my evening.

And so everything comes full circle. Anyone surprised?

I guess CP will be very happy for some time until EU/Russia relations return to normal and Thailand is told "нет больше свиней". Thai pork is damn good though, so maybe the Kremlin will develop a taste for Thai pork in addition for their taste for other Thai delights

Do they know that the EU is boycotting Russia?

That's the reason they are now exporting pork to Russia. And while the overall DEMAND may be 50,000 tons per year, the demand for Thai pork is certainly less, and will decline once the EU is no longer boycotting Russia.

@dotpoom - Is that the Cartoon Network Amazone? Last I checked they were still in beta mode or whatever, and only allowing annual pass holders entrance. Oh wait, I just checked the website and see they are open since the 3rd.
Stop back here to let us know how everything at that water park looks...we wanted to take the daughter there last month when we went to Pattaya, but the park wasn't open to the public yet.

That sounds wonderful pgrahmm and I hope the two visiting gals appreciate and enjoy it. Enjoy your weekend!

On tap for me this weekend is this little beauty.....

My new toy. It has 3 different kegged beers on those 3 taps, served ice cold at minus 3 degrees.

Now THAT looks like something good on tap!

They have been saying this ever since I arrived in Thailand 4 years ago (and maybe before). Thankfully I have a car of my own and am not subject to the taxi shakedown, but remember well 3 years ago when a taxi driver kicked us out of his cab on Rama 3 with all our bags, a stroller and a sleeping 1 year old baby. What a piece of s*** and I vowed not to have to use taxis from that time.

Where is that? It looks like a great attraction for kids and with a 4 y/o who is currently off from school I would love to take her there next week.

Sadly by the time you figure out how to use it the damn thing will be obsolete as both iOS and Andriod will have been updated umpteem times, requiring you to get the latest all singing, dancing, picture taking, gaming, socializing phone which will have just enough differences to drive you finally to the brink of madness. Enjoy your new venture into the world of high-tech!

We're off to Hua Hin. A stop at Black Mountain water park first for some fun in the (hopefully) sun and then off to a rented house to relax by the pool while my wife and her 10 friends cook an amazing array of food. Rum and coke is packed and I'm looking forward to a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend. Far different from what I would be doing in NE U.S. if I was still there. Amazing Thailand indeed.

US is second biggest exporter in world after China. Must be something more than just Kardashians I reckon. http://www.statista.com/statistics/264623/leading-export-countries-worldwide/

Ukraine is more a problem for Europe than USA. Duh. USA indirectly impacted of course.... but USA is energy independent (Gosh that sounds nice to say!).

Whole world should be concerned about Ebola. To act like it is bigger threat to USA than Europe or Africa is insipid.

Stock markets go up and down.

Was this article written for junior high take home test?

You are right. Whether anyone likes it or not, the USA is the worlds powerhouse for economic drive and innovation.

Everyone else, including China and the EU, feeds of the US.

When America crashes, the world crashes. When there is recovery America leads it.

BTW - wonder how good the Russian economy is these days? Strength of the rouble?

The Ruble is at an all-time low versus the USD...I think 41:1 right now. That is a helluva deal if you want to travel to Russia. I was there in 2003 and the exchange was around 20:1 and even that was cheap. Pack your bags fellows and head to Moscow...there are loads of girls there just waiting to find a husband from a real Western country.

That last sentence is simply the truth about Thailand. As for millions of Thais rearing well adjusted kids...well adjusted for what? To accept unquestioning obedience? Yeah we have that here. I prefer to have a daughter who is willing and able to question the status quo and make her own decisions. I would say my wife is well adjusted, but wouldn't necessarily attribute that to her parents, but rather her experiences outside Thailand. And my daughter has already "copped some racism" at school as a luk kreung. Lovely thing for a 4 year old don't you think? How bad will it become once she reaches her teens? We won't be staying to find out.

Our daughter is just 4 and we have her in a private pre-K school in Bangkok, but will be moving back to the U.S. for her primary and secondary education, as well as university eventually. My wife (Thai) and I both agree that it would be irresponsible of us to do anything else. Since we don't have billions of baht, there is little future for our daughter is she were to go through the Thai education system (read into that what you wish). I have two boys (17 and 19) who both went to the same school our daughter will attend, and both of them have far more knowledge than she would ever get in Thailand.

Vacations will be spent here so she can keep in touch with her Thai roots, and if she chooses to settle here as an adult that is her decision, but certainly she will be better off for having received a Western education.

Thailand is wonderful for vacations (if you can avoid the scams) and for single guys, but it is no place to rear a child. (IMHO)

That last sentence is an insult to millions of Thai people that bring up lovely well adjusted children,including your wife.Wait til your child cops a bit of racism at school,you may think differently.

Our daughter is just 4 and we have her in a private pre-K school in Bangkok, but will be moving back to the U.S. for her primary and secondary education, as well as university eventually. My wife (Thai) and I both agree that it would be irresponsible of us to do anything else. Since we don't have billions of baht, there is little future for our daughter is she were to go through the Thai education system (read into that what you wish). I have two boys (17 and 19) who both went to the same school our daughter will attend, and both of them have far more knowledge than she would ever get in Thailand.

Vacations will be spent here so she can keep in touch with her Thai roots, and if she chooses to settle here as an adult that is her decision, but certainly she will be better off for having received a Western education.

Thailand is wonderful for vacations (if you can avoid the scams) and for single guys, but it is no place to rear a child. (IMHO)

That last sentence is an insult to millions of Thai people that bring up lovely well adjusted children,including your wife.Wait til your child cops a bit of racism at school,you may think differently.

How about updating the driver registration database so you can fine offenders?  A few 5,000 baht fines should discourage most.  In NYC you can't park illegally for more then 10 minutes without getting a ticket, and I'm guessing cops here are far more cost effective than New York's finest.  While we're on the subject of tracking folks, how about revamping the ridiculous Tabien Baan crap?  When driving here at excess speeds we get tickets delivered to my in-laws place which is some 800 km from where we actually live.  Of course I have to report every 90 days so the Thai government knows where I am, but they believe my wife and daughter live in Tak.  What would the population of Bangkok be if they were able to realistically account for people rather than relying on an outdated Tabien Baan system?  My guess is in excess of 20 million.

In the end, this is as impossible as this: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/751925-majority-of-thais-plan-to-skip-alcohol-during-buddhist-lent-ddc-poll/

 

 

 

It clearly states fail to report is a thb 2000 fine !

Sent from my GT-P3100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

And Thai law clearly states prostitution and exceeding highway speed limits are illegal.

 

 

No response to prostitution, but we receive not one, but two tickets for speeding from out last trip to Tak.  Never had a speeding ticket in the past, despite many trips traveling at the same speed.  I suppose the general has recognized that turning on the speed cameras can result in significant revenues for the government.  I should also mention that both tickets combined are about 1/3 of what I would be fined for simply running a stop sign in my home country.  Still, this change makes Thailand less attractive in my eyes as part of the reason we are here is the freedom.  Without that I might as well go home and enjoy infrastructure, good schools, cleanliness, less pollution...oh the list goes on and on.  I think you all understand.

 

Not everyone can handle the cleanup on corruption, and the enforcing equally of laws. Not having the ability to buy off those speeding tickets must have hurt.  There are still those police that will try to exploit this renewed enforcement, but now there are real direct lines for complaints, and they are acted on by the military, something that never happened in the past, with lots of people fearful for their life in even lodging a complaint. I have had police refuse bribes now. Something that wasn't even questioned by the same officers a few months ago.

 

This renewed enforcement will have no effect on real tourists at all. Those police that try to exploit the no ID fine will be identified real fast, and negatively dealt with by the military, if the trend that is happening now continues, and with the majority of the people supporting their actions growing every day, the trend will continue. There are lots more people every day not afraid to report on corruption, something that would have gotten them killed in the not to distant past.

 

There could be an actual changing of the laws to legalize prostitution, rather than put all those people out of work, and in the process end the mafia, and corruption that goes with it now. Redirecting all that tea money into the government coffers could be done by the military in their anti-corruption campaign very easily. They sure as hell aren't going to end it, and put all those people out of work, and probably bankrupting a quarter of Isaan in the process, but it will also be real hard for them to ignore it, as they go after other areas of corrupt practices.

 

The next 3 years are going to be a very interesting time in Thailand for those living here legally, and above board.

 

I have no problem with the cleanup in corruption, in fact I am all for it.  However, the cleanup in corruption doesn't address all the other factors I mentioned, which are substandard and if I am going to deal with a country that actually lives by the rule of law it might as well be in a country where other basic factors have been addressed.  I'm sure Thailand will get there in time if they continue in the same direction they have started in, but it is going to take a very long time in my opinion.  In the meantime we will go back to my home country, where my daughter will receive a proper education, and once she has finished school we can consider coming back to Thailand...dependent of course on what changes have occurred here in the intervening 14 years.

Oh, as for buying off the tickets...I've never done so.  I always go through the hassle of paying them in person as should be done.   

And considering that they were 400 and 600 baht respectively I didn't even blink an eyelash.

Ok, here's the Thai side of this...my sister-in-law traveled from Samut Prakan to her parents place in Tak.  On the way back (on a bus) not only was she required to produce her ID, but also needed to produce her sons birth certificate.  Needless to say she didn't have said ID for her son with her and was sent back to the parents place until a copy of the birth certificate could be faxed to Tak police.  And this was before the junta.  So the inconvenience isn't just for foreigners.