losworld

The number one reason is the economy. Number two reason is the economy. Number three is the economy.

Like someone else posted July will be the real test. Remember that even if times are tough people can only bottle up a vacation for so long. So from now to Jan. is key.

It will be interesting to note how many families are traveling and this may have something to do with safety of political climate as well as the current economy.

I think single guys looking to party will always make time for places like Patong and Pattaya.

Now what can really screw up the world economy further is the speculative rise of oil prices. If plane fares go up too much people won't get on the jet regardless of the deal at the other end.

Pretty low thing for him to do but telling someone to frig off won't win you many friends. A lot of guys may have cold cocked you for saying it. Be careful. Tell a Thai to fuc_k off and you'll be meeting his friends.

And this guy might give a new meaning to the expression cold cock. Be careful.

name='jpolten' date='2009-07-02 00:46:34' post='2844096']

Hello everyone!

Just returned from holiday in thailand,had a great time except for one upset in bangkok!

I was in a bar on nana drinking

Pretty low thing for him to do but telling someone to frig off won't win you many friends. A lot of guys may have cold cocked you for saying it. Be careful. Tell a Thai to fuc_k off and you'll be meeting his friends.

They should do like one of the G8 meetings. Hold the event in some castle/mansion far from the city, some place that is easy to cord off some 1km from the site in question and arrest anyone that tries to go over any fence/barricade.

Or draw a line in the sand and shoot anyone that steps over it, but same-same...

Why they need to put these meetings in a tourist-location...is just beyond me. Or actually, it is not...it's about money.

I've said all along they should have held it on an island with no roads to the mainland and use the Thai navy to monitor sea travel and then simply monitor air traffic... koh samui, etc. would work well. However, Phuket should be fine as its a long bus ride from Isaan and I'm not sure the protesters would be able to handle the Phuket mafia.

the three women detained Ying and Noi and forced them to provide sexual services on an average of four customers per day

Seems they got off somewhat lightly if the above is what happened.

You're right about that. My ex got 8 years for stealing my ATM card.

Dude you let your wife go to prison for 8 years for stealing your atm card? Isn't that more than a bit cruel and unusual?

What a total travesty of justice. The guy is 70 years old and they give him 150 years. What does it matter if they give him twenty years? It'll amount to the same.

What about getting the other thieves involved such as his wife, sons and business associates?

So Bernie steals 50 billion and carries the scam for a large portion of his life. He tells his sons to report him so he can play the "they didn't know anything game" and he is the fall guy (if you can call it that at 70 years of age). Now the wife and the kids will be able to continue to live like royalty with the money they have hidden away apparently in Israel.

Seems like we've all been scammed one more time by Bernie.

I think Chinese justice would be much more appropriate in this case.

One must give the Thais credit for their honesty on this issue and a certain amount of discredit for their lack of action against this corruption.

I've always believed that Western systems are as corrupt as Thailand in many regards. The prime difference between corruption in developed countries and developing nations is merely in the levels it exists. Developing nations and underdeveloped nations are generally corrupt from the top to the bottom and developed nations (i.e. Western) are corrupt mainly at the top. So if the average citizen doesn't see a corrupt police force, teachers, etc. he or she believes the system is not corrupt. Now if one is an insider at higher levels one would quickly recognize the corruption. This is an instance where the Westerner is more ignorant of this issue than the Thai.

no shouldn't be a problem... you can use bootcamp or parallels which will allow you to enter without reboot but I think bootcamp is more stable

You are lucky. You'd best not attempt this again or I think she may be back in Thailand. I wouldn't push any buttons with U.S. immigration.

Unless of course you are running across the southern border than no problems.

This sounds more like a b#tch list for expats.

The biggest reason tourism is down is the world economy. Next prices must come down by 30 percent or more. Thailand is still pricing like it is a hot market and there are no hot tourist destinations right now anywhere.

Thailand's promotion has not been that bad in reality.

As per visa laws, property, etc. these are not issues for tourists in my opinion but rather expats. I agree these are ridiculous xenophobic laws but the best way to remedy them is not to buy land until the property can be put under your name. As someone else put it vote with your feet. I have no sympathy for anyone who buys land under someone a girlfriend or wife's name then complains that about the law.

Definitely sounds plausible to me however your friend should have been able to discern this woman was nuts over the course of the relationship. Was there a great language barrier preventing this? Also did he threaten breaking up at any time prior or during the course of the events?

I think maybe she started poisoning him to make him weaker and less chance of success that may lead to dropping her for another woman. The amounts may have increased over time but to kill him would be counterproductive and without motive.

Maybe one should assume all Thai women are nuts and let them prover otherwise when entering a relationship... lol.

What was the booking site you used?

If it appears to be too good to be true it's probably not true.

Don't waste any money or time on it.

Unfortunately the cable and sat companies have you by the short curlies and know it.

Best bet is to ditch the cable or dish and try and get some ent via movies or reruns on yahoo, other portals if you search on the web. But you'll need a good internet connection unless you pre load.

This indicates one would have to be nuts to purchase property in Thailand. Are these guys buying land to simply appease their wives? It's like winning the lottery if it's in her name. A guaranteed pot of gold she can collect by punting her husband and selling the property. Where in the world would anyone in their right mind do something like this? God there must be a lot of insecure guys out there being hoodwinked into buying property by their Thai wives or girlfriends. The most ironic thing of all is the purchase could easily give someone added incentive to end the relationship rather than cement it together.

I understand the desire for property ownership but given the current economic downturn, the unpredictable actions of the government and the possible breakup of any relationship - why in the world does anyone want to buy property now?

Maybe it is time to simply say no to the Thai wife or girlfriend and if she doesn't like it find another mate.

A had a conversation with a previous Thai girlfriend of mine and she was in heaven as she'd found a foreigner in a wheelchair who was going to buy a house under the company but put it in her name due to her insistence that the relationship would end if he didn't! Now they are out shopping for a car! The guy is obviously insecure and Thai property laws are taking full advantage of suckers.

The only thing that possibly may make sense is a condo purchase once the bottom is in on the market but given the unpredictability of Thai government policy even this is questionable.

I'd say invest the money in property or stock elsewhere and rent.

If anyone has any counter arguments I'd like to hear them.

It appears the Thai government is prepared to use Thai nationalism and xenophobia to distract attention from the real crux of the problem once again. I've always said "blame it on the foreigner" is the easiest strategy. I hope this latest bit is nothing more than bad politics and not a trend.

Sorry if I sound a bit jaded but talk about rose colored glasses.

This is interesting. I recall speaking with a Thai woman in Bangkok and telling her I was headed to Hua Hin for a couple weeks. She said to watch out as there are little bugs in the sand that will bite you.

I spent a few days on the beach in Hua Hin and lo and behold I had all kinds of bite marks on the tops of my feet and ankles. Much worse than a mosquito bite they were larger and took weeks to go away. I don't get reactions from mosquito bites but I did get reactions from these bites.

Not sure what they were but I recall a friend of mine telling me that when he was visiting Rio years ago they had dug up the entire beach to get rid of an insect or parasite.

It would appear to be a sex act gone wrong imho. My guess is that Carradine had picked up an available individual and he was suffocated while playing his games. The individual probably then placed him in the armoire to do two things: avoid immediate detection and make it look like a suicide. If not articles were taken from the room then their was likely no motivation beyond turning a trick.

However, such a hotel should have security cameras in place to detect whether anyone else entered the room.

It's possible he could have done this on his own but I'd rather doubt it.

There's no doubt Thaksin is savvy and was once an effective politician but bottom line is the guy has gone bonkers. His ego and lust for power has made him into an impatient fool. If he was smart his best move would have been to wait for the economy and time to take its toll on the current gov't and wait for an election. Instead he has accelerated the situation as a result of his own greed and paranoia and simply blew it! Now the people of Bangkok will never see him elected and if smart the disgruntled in Isaan will look for another leader or a party with a real agenda.

Just jailbreak the iphone. I used my iphone with PDAnet in thailand with 12call internet hours and it works great. May be a better plan with AIS though. No problems with the jailbroken iphone and I'm on the most up to date software.

I find it rather odd when people constantly use the yellow shirt demonstrations to compare to treatment of the red shirts. It should be remembered that the red shirt demonstrations are orchestrated by a fugitive residing outside the country and not in the interests of national security. Secondly it is a different Prime Minister at this time and he should be commended for taking a strong stand when needed but at the same time doing everything he can to save lives. Thailand is lucky to have a PM with his heart in the right place. I believe he will do everything he can to assist the Thai people. I know he is limited by those around him but what is the alternative at this time? Thaksin has alienated himself and his party and his true intentions have been revealed with this latest debacle.

I feel for the misled mothers and families along for this ride with the Redshirts. It's abundantly clear that many of these Reds are nothing more than drunken paid goons. Thaksin moved his family out of the country because he knew what was planned but this is the beginning of the end for him. If the Redshirts are not careful the populace of Bangkok will rise up and expel them mob style and this will not be pretty. I've lost a lot of faith in the people of Isaan as a result of this last fiasco. Thaksin is truly an eogotiscal, sadistic, self serving, delusional sick man and many of his followers are truly ignorant in their actions. This is a sad series of events for Thailand that will not be easily healed.

I am a bit baffled as to why they would have the Asean summit in Pattaya to begin with. Its really not the image Thailand has tried hard to suppress. Secondly given the current political situation and protests why not pick somewhere like Koh Samui or Phuket with limited access from Issan where all the protestors seem to be from. Simply set it up in Samui and close off the island due to security concerns. Block all incoming boats period. Easy and safe. Thaksin won't shell out airfare for the cronies and even if he did it wouldn't amount to many.

If you are there that long then definitely look at Naklua or Jomtien. As per view talay 6 it is too crowded and busy in the area and they have a large mall on one side so if your view is that way then good luck.

If you have a budget of 50-60 per month then definitely I'd do the Naklua area. You'll get a great unit on a quiet beach and you are not more than 5 minutes from the main action.

good luck and let us know how you make out

I have rented in Naklua and Jomtien beach. If budget is not an issue there are some nice units in Naklua. I would have to say for best all around value and reasonable proximity (preferably motorbike or car) is in View Talay 1 and 2 or even the View Talay just down the road in Jomtien (I think #6). You can get an excellent price and 1 and 2 have a great pool and you are only 7 minutes or less drive from walking street. I stayed at the far end of Jomtien beach in a nice highrise unit but it was too far being 20 minutes by motorcycle to the center of town and very little amenities within close distance (and I drive fast). Anything within two or three miles of the city centre should be okay.

I don't know how long you will be in Pattaya but in my opinion you'd have to be crazy or drunk to stay in the center of the action for longer than a few days.

Is the movie good?

Terrible movie. I won't get into details beyond saying the script was weak, the direction was weak and the editing haphazard. Cage himself is okay and the potential was there for a much more interesting film.

One line I haven't seen here....upon reflection, and it bears repeating.

"Once a cheater, always a cheater." Can any girl reform? Can she live a good/decent/honest/caring life and put the past behind her? Of course, but it will never be easy to forget the past, to truly trust someone from that environment/background, and that's living together with a person. I can't imagine it working from a LD perspective, if you are an insecure/jealous/controlling/possessive person.

In fact, if you really want to win a girl like that, you have to be like they are...having many girlfriends (being a mariposa or jao-shu/jao-chu), making the girl feel that you have many options and that she's lucky to have you, lol! Instead men fixate on one woman (usually a beautiful one with many suitors) and then they become totally engaged in winning the competition, only to realize they're not so happy with their prize in the end. It seems like normal/average/"good" girls are not usually interesting or challenging. Men want to "conquer" the best coyote dancer or most beautiful girl...when the odds would exponentially increase with someone more suitable/compatible in terms of age/appearance/background.

Just my further 2 cents.

Great couple of posts. I do understand the attraction with many of the bar girls. These attractive young women appear to be easy going, fun, and non spoiled which contrasts not only with the age of the older men but also their resentment with many materialist, shopaholic, overweight and aging women many see as options in their own country. Now don't get me wrong there's a lot of diamonds in the rough in many of these countries but its the society and the economic vice we live in that has resulted in increased expectations and decreased happiness and that is why many are here in Thailand looking for "something else". I also get the impression the upper middle class girls could be very materialistic little princesses. Correct me if I am wrong but I've dated southeast Asian women in CA from wealthy Chinese families and the word princess needs to be replaced with "empress". I broke up with a woman from Indonesia when she insisted that the ring be from "Tiffany" in Bev Hills after I just paid for the two hundred dollar dinner at Mr. Chow's. This was our second and last breakup. The previous breakup was when I suprisingly showed up at LAX to pick her up from her flight and she walked out from the gate into the arms of another man. Great comedy as she unknowingly walked past my outstretched arms. Stupidly I took her back after she showed up begging at my door over the next few days. Give your head a shake!