ursandro

They must have been playing bridge.

They will keep digging their heels in, it's a given.

Nevertheless, I think the two Burmese guys will not be executed. Their only hope is a royal pardon when the dust settles.

I think there are a lot of factors that go into that, and I've seen them mentioned in this post... some people are haters anyway, the Western sense of superiority, and unfair expectations of recreating the standards of home in the adopted country... all true.

But I also think that Thailand sort of lends itself to being "hated", or at least being the object of constant, frustrating, "facepalming". This country provides one of the harshest contrasts between what it markets itself to be, and what is hidden behind the gloss. The mix of propaganda, top-down conformism, preached religious and nationalistic values, entrenched inequalities, inflated sense of self-importance (towards the rest of the region and its peoples), corruption... hits the long-term expat everyday.

In some cases, in mine for example, the Thai-bashing also shows care. It's particularly frustrating when one starts thinking how Thailand could improve, "if only this and that". It's when the change seems more logical, feasible and beneficial that the frustration sets in.

This is beyond belief indeed, as is the fact that many on this forum are showing a sort of betrayed trust in the "good general".

You really thought these things would change?

Western tourists are always welcome to spend money here. But then they are asked to shut their mouth if they dare voice their opinion on Thai matters...

Like basically everybody here, I do suspect an involvement of some sort of the village headman's relatives. Yet something doesn't add up even in that case... imagine you are the "untouchable" on the island, strutting around with impunity... you rape and kill (or the other way round) a foreign girl (I assume it's your first) with such ferocity, kill the guy who was with her/tried to save her, and then you leave the two bodies there, on the beach, to be found in the morning and create a huge interest in the case? If it's 2am at night, nobody is around, why not at least hide the bodies better, or try to dispose of them? and most importantly, why throw the bloody hoe a few meters away and leave it there?

How did that kid go to Bangkok on the day before the murder? I guess by plane? Have they checked the passengers list with the airline he travelled with?

Arresting the suspected culprits is only the first step. It's a great development, and UK/media pressure must have contributed a lot to it.
But after arresting the suspects there must be a trial. And if these guys are so influential down there, things could get murkier in the coming months. Once foreign/media pressure eases, I would not be surprised if these guy walked out on bail, or with lord knows what caveats.

[media]

Up to immigration. Chances are they will notice you are using two passports and might not be amused and they can cancel your visa/ permission to stay.

What they will do is anyones guess and your risk.

do you have direct experience of that, or friends' anecdotes?

Land entry points look for the depart stamp of the country you are coming from (Lao, Cambodia, wherever) and considering that you can't get a depart without an arrival stamp, you're snookered. Bangkok Airport immigration have no idea where you came from and will accept any valid passport as a fresh entry, subject to what thai visa they find in it.

That sounds like the ideal scenario. So basically by flying back into Thailand on my 2nd passport, I could just enjoy my visa on arrival, leave the country when it's due, reenter the country with the other passport and my NON-IMM visa is still valid?

For professional reasons, I have two passport of my home country. I use one of them (passport number 1) with my NON-IMM annual visa, and that's the only passport I've ever dealt with Thai immigration.

Without explaining all the reasons why I might need to do so, my question is:

- can I exit Thailand with passport 1, do my trip and re-enter Thailand with passport 2 on a visa on arrival? Of course I would leave the country in due time on passport number 2, and after my trip re-enter with passport number 1 and the usual NON-IMM visa.

But I wonder if Thai immigration is ok with it...

from the Italian news agency ANSA

(ANSA) - BANGKOK, 16 MAR - Tre proiettili calibro 11, in un

agguato che la polizia thailandese ha definito ''da

professionisti'' e dal movente ancora sconosciuto, a pochi

minuti dalle spiagge di Phuket: e' morto cosi' Luciano Butti,

nato a Montevarchi (Arezzo) 60 anni fa, ma residente dal 1991

nel paradiso tropicale di Phi Phi, dove era scampato per un

soffio allo tsunami del 26 dicembre 2004.

Il cadavere dell'uomo e' stato rinvenuto ieri in tarda serata

vicino alla cascata di Bang Pae, nella parte settentrionale

dell'isola, accanto alla moto che aveva noleggiato. Gli

inquirenti sono sulle tracce di ''diversi uomini'' visti

allontanarsi su una berlina; la precisione dei colpi - tutti tra

il petto e la clavicola - e il fatto che nei pantaloncini di

Butti siano stati lasciati quasi 22 mila baht (520 euro) in

contanti, fanno pensare a un delitto premeditato. Alcuni segni

sul polso indicano una possibile colluttazione in precedenza.

Butti si divideva spesso tra Phi Phi e Phuket, dove proprio

oggi avrebbe dovuto concludere con un accordo economico la causa

di divorzio dalla moglie tedesca, da cui aveva avuto un figlio.

A Phi Phi - l'isola resa famosa dal libro e poi dal film ''The

Beach'' - il suo ristorante ''Ciao Bella'' era un'istituzione

dal 1997, e insieme a un socio Butti gestiva anche alcuni

bungalow adiacenti al locale.

Lui stesso paragonava Phi Phi, in cui si era imbattuto per un

imprevisto nel 1987 quando era ancora incontaminata dal turismo,

a ''una bella donna da amare''. Nel dicembre 2004, il suo

''paradiso'' - come lo definiva - si tramuto' improvvisamente in

un inferno che per poco non gli costo' la vita: lo tsunami rase

il suolo il suo ristorante e lo costrinse a una fuga precipitosa

verso le colline interne, assieme al suo personale. Da quella

esperienza nacque un libro, ''Tsunami: scusate se non sono uno

scrittore ma un sopravvissuto'', con parte del ricavato devoluto

ai superstiti dell'isola.

Un anno e mezzo dopo, il ''Ciao Bella'' <deleted> riaperto. Butti

viene ricordato come ''gentile e generoso'' da un ex cliente. Un

fan di Barack Obama, ma anche di Massimo Troisi e Roberto

Benigni. Le sue foto mostrano un uomo gioviale, solare, sempre

pronto a una partita di beach volley con i clienti. Sulla sua

pagina Facebook, aveva messo come citazione preferita ''Tutti i

mali non vengono per nuocere. Forse un giorno anche la mia morte

fara' felice qualcuno''. Per ora, rimane un mistero irrisolto.

(ANSA).

Wrong information, guys.

The wife he was divorcing from was German. There's no Thai wife involved in this

Keep Bupa. Its the most reliable easiest to use and best cover and competitive price.

They told me AIA is a good one, and I'm actually looking for an insurance now. Does anybody have any experience with them?

Ok this is quite a common problem, I've found plenty of tips online, but somehow I can't solve it.

When I try to play FIFA online with my ps3, there are communication problems with the other user I'd say 80 percent of the times. It's an issue of port forwarding, I pored over every single advice I could find, I forwarded the ports that should be forwarded, but to no avail.

I have a True 4mb connection, and a Zyxel 660 router.

Did you have similar problems? Can you fix them easily? or is it simply a True problem and will never be solved completely? And if they're solved, do you want to play online against me? :-)

thanks for your help

I vote for Kayser Soze

My apologies then for the misunderstanding... (I guess with him using the 'we' word I was assuming he was speaking on behalf of the club.) Anyone know who owns/manages the club then?

Found this on the National News Bureau of Thailand...

"Superintendent of Thong Lor Police Station Pol.Col.Suthin Sapphuang (สุทิน ทรัพย์พ่วง) reported that he had requested for a business license from the Santika Pub owner Suwit Setsawat (สุวิทย์ เศษสวัสดิ์) who would be interrogated. "