Sydebolle

Only once Thailand understands, that tourism is a very delicate commodity to deal with, they might treat it like a little sprig of herb - too much or too little of anything can ruin the endeavours. Thailand should not focus on one particular group (Chinese arrive by the millions as zero-dollar-tourists); less is more and maybe they want to look how they did in the late 80s and early 90s. A fraction of arrivals with a much longer stay per capita and a considerably higher spending per capita as well - as said - less is more. Of course the quality tourists expect a comfortable return on their hard-earned money, so the government and its executive arms (immigration, TAT, service providers etc.) should review the present status-quo. Two-tier pricing in National Parks (locals 20 Baht, non-Thais 500 Baht) and other funny ideas go down very very bad with tour operators and travel agencies. It officially states racism which is not the best of commodities in relation to tourism promotion - me thinks! Get Thailand, presently on 101th position of a total 116, to improve English and other languages. A simple remedy could be to broadcast all those cartoons the kids love to watch these days ...... in their original version, be it English or Japanese. Once the kids reach 10 to 12 years of age, they are familiar with those languages, even if it is only a passive command - the rest can be taught but listening and perfectly speaking is a given. That, on the other hand, would mean, that the education ministry would have to rid itself of the conflict of interest in keeping the next generation(s) uneducated for the benefit of under-paying and misusing the electorate which voted them into office in the first place. You're welcome

Go Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, other days can be busy. You will need to get a visa for Laos, approx. USD 40 (depending on the passport country) in crisp new USD bank notes - or live with the exorbitantly bad exchange rate to Thai Baht - that's what I hear.

I did until I retired - it is a legal obligation ;-) The "irregularity was noticed once I was in retirement only

WE had accrued losses of THB 20 billion; TG recorded THB 10 billion profit - the banking crisis and the finance companies vs commercial banks springs to mind!

Interesting input for which I thank you. The "chattels" are history and if the Brits want to keep on the "tradition" - so be it. The American problem is not the locals shooting around like there is no tomorrow. The law makers keep the national rifle association and their idiocy alive. In my country every serving soldier (i.e. male, between 20 and 50 years of age) has a machine gun at home as well as 24 rounds of ammo. All those men are professionally trained in the handling of the gun and that results in the world's possibly lowest gun fatalities. The bridge jumpers; well, it cannot be the state's job to prevent each and every suicide as the state is rarely at fault to start with - me thinks

I am retired and hence no more contributions

Thank you VERY much, now that's sorted. Based on your kind explanation, I have been billed a base tariff of THB 3.897 (or THB 3.90) per unit (most likely kw/h) and that is to go up to THB 4.68. The increase would read THB 0.783/unit or 20% over the existing tariff. While I don't have an issue nor want to moan over that increase I wonder, how that goes down with the uncles and grannies upcountry with their electricity destroying equipment like old fridges and energy-inefficient rice cookers.

Was it the newest addition of the Tourism Authority of Thailand called "Barbequeue on the move"? Asking for a friend - Bonne chance, mes amis de la France"

Wondering, what kind of expert will analyze "political illness"

Well, so the King(dom) of Power(buying) comes to an end after 17 years in operation. During those 17 years they could enjoy a monopoly (like other retail business in this country), billions of Baht changed accounts and piggy banks and now they are "not happy"? Their unhappiness might be rooted in the fact, that the horn of plenty is not so plenty anymore after all these years - who knows. I - for one - never bought anything there as some prices were even more expensive than "duty paid" in town - luxury consumer goods like watches sprang to mind ....... It will allow now for ample additions of toilets; that was a real issue when Swampy opened in 2006 when they had more duty free outlet and space than toilets which were more than few and far between. Still better though than Santa Cruz International Airport of Bombay some 40+ years ago, where the toilets got forgotten all together which resulted in a delayed opening to add those private areas where one could "powder the nose"! Mysterious are the ways of the East!

Freedom of Speech - Thai style.

Nong Bua Lamphu - what an excellent choice! I am sure that the uncles and grannies of this province, lost between Loei and Udon Thani, will be more than delighted over the opportunity to share their 15 minutes of fame. Imagine hotels, restaurants and venue operators going all into overdrive; maybe not in service level but certainly in billing abilities ;-)

How to cook up the perfect deal and take an entire nation for a helluva big ride on the merry-go-round called Thailand! Let's see the reshuffling of the cards once the sick patient is healed and out of his confinement. In the meantime I suggest Dr T's daughter on the left side of the picture to change her tailor to an Indian expert, Khon Thai seriously looked at something else than her body shape. Not an issue usually but in a public appearance ...... Thailand Soap Opera 4.1 - the next season is in the making

Be prepared for a surprise, you might have a lot of month left at the end of the money with 70K cold rent and pleasing the willy on a daily basis.

If a Thai has no insurance, it is wrong but no real surprise. If a traveling Caucasian arrives without travel insurance, then (s)he is an idiot. In all fairness, the Thai healthcare system needs to look after its own people (first) and seems to do it - with questionable treatment and equally challenging qualifications of some of those medics. The positive flip side of the coin though is, that Dr Thaksin's healthcare bill presently accumulating at the police hospital, where he spends his prison term, is paid for the Thai government. Latter, not having any money themselves, splurge on tax payers money. Hope that clarifies the actual situation .......

The professor is in the wrong line of duty, he should have become a diplomat with his referral to being "open for interpretation" ..... truer words never spoken. Should the boys go ahead with their THB 560'000'000'000 cash avalanche, then the government (not having a single cent of their own) will have to borrow that from third parties. No commercial bank in their right mind will borrow them anything so that leaves the "government" banks left behind on the ice rink. Should, repeat, SHOULD, that mad idea go ahead, then a government bank will distribute that loan and subsequently go bankrupt - remember 1998, when all the banks parked their dodgy deals into finance companies they owned? Next step was to let those finance companies go down the abyss; of 57 some 56 went belly up. Whichever way, the tax payer will foot the bill one or the other way, so in essence the Bangkokian tax payer will pay for a populistic election promise-cum-post-vote-buying to the benefit of the 75% upcountry voters who have not the slightest idea, what all this is all about. But in true Thai fashion "happy happy happy" with lots of supply of "Baht" manna from heaven, to be invested in lottery tickets, local firewater and other essentials of Khon Thai to the utter frustration of those Thais, who have arrived in the 21st century! In closing, no surprises here as the voter, tax payer and backbone of this country has not been asked about the imminent survival need of Chinese built submarines - albeit without engines - to stir the shallow waters of the Golf of Thailand - and reminds of earlier hat tricks by another complete idiot who "preferred" an aircraft carrier built in Spain and ever since gets grown to the port bay of Sattahip thanks to all those barnacles who seem, apart from the admirals and the children on "National Children's Day" in January each year, "happy too much" ;-)

I asked quite some time ago at the office of the Provincial Electricity Authority on how to read the bill. Although nice and kind, nobody was able to explain this most complicated bill of surcharge, discount etc. on a simple household electricity bill and I wonder, if anyone reading this particular thread is able to explain the basics.

Well, good luck the PM is taking his job deadpan serious. I did not know that "tourism safety" is an issue in Phuket and apparently such a dangerous place that even the CEO of the country has to show up. Ever seen any tourism safety exercises around the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna or Buckingham Palace in London. The Statue of Liberty in New York as well as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco seem all to be less dangerous compared to Phuket. Well, as the saying goes, every day is school day! Count me out, I rather hop over to San Francisco

Loy Krathong Thai-overseas style in a muslim country - well, wonders never seize and the Malay religious police obviously had less issues with the appearance of Khon Thai than the dinosaurs back home ....... what a farçe!

I cross the Friendship Bridge 1 at least twice a month; never ever came across a Chinese tourist in any of the non-existing queues. Apart from Thais and Laotians you find only the odd ASEAN-visa-runner from the Philippines or Vietnam crossing from Thailand into Laos just to return on the next available border-crossing bus back to Thailand. Explains partly the massive tourism arrivals of ASEAN citizen in Thailand?

So what is the government always crying about all those dirty farang who drew the Thai healthcare business financially into the abyss? I - for one - paid my dues into the Social Security Insurance of Thailand - according to the law. Interesting enough is the fact, that when collecting the pay out due to retirement, my birth year on their file was making me ten years old than I actually am. In addition, all contributions from 1985 to 2000 were not traceable anymore. A legal pathfinding might have resulted in clarity but the legal expenses would have been in no comparison to the amount in question. So, I assume, that Dr Thaksin either heals his problems partly on my financial input ....... or was smart enough to get his contributions, if any, out in time!

As the Italians say "attenzione a non essere detronizzato" ;-)

Can anyone share the phone number of the worldwide well-known culprit of those "environmental disasters" with H.E. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, who quite obviously is either completely ignorant or smoke-screening activities like all his predecessors? No meeting is required, just enforce the law by the police, which is under the direct leadership of who? Guessing is allowed ;-)

Those around then will remember, that they built the QSNCC centre in a mere nine months as well as a long wall along Ratchadaphisek parallel to Soi 16 to hide the slums. Furthermore school classes were driven over to the new wall to "beautify" the concrete with children's paintings. To hide the fact over Bangkok's then already notorious traffic jam, the government declared a public holiday week and justified that with the statement, that "the school children could also enjoy the IMF conference". I was in charge of accompanying a European Finance Minister who asked me in the government-sponsored limo, what these discussions over Bangkok's traffic jams were all about as we were whisked through between QSNCC and the (former) Hilton Hotel on Wireless Road. The minister passed away, the Hilton manages another property but my memories over that Thai governmental hat trick remains a vidid memory ;-)

Well, that makes two of us. I remember the news on the Thai telly, while the radio would provide a - more often than not - delayed English soundtrack. Some funny moments were enjoyed by one and all. On the way to work in the morning I listened to the English news by Radio Thailand. It took a spoilt brat of a Phooyai to read the news, unfortunately they had not the slightest exposure to a native English-speaking person which had a more than entertaining element on the wireless. Agricultural produce like vegetables got verbally converted to furniture as veghee table; strawberries got announced as "sa-tra-bellee", a promotional support by the department of export on "pa-la-sa-teek" referred to plastic industrial issues etc. etc. etc. Still here, still enjoying while being slightly melancholic seeing, that the next generation is even worse on the issue of foreign languages and wondering, how they will manage the challenges ahead of them in the decades to come