petedk

According to the other paper the red shirts are against this bill as it gives amnesty to ALL involved in political offences but they want to punish those responsible for the death of red shirts. What happened to reconciliation?

Seems it may be difficult to get this bill through.

Sent from my V972 Core4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

while the tourism and hotel industries are also calling for tax reductions to give them a competitive edge in the region.

Which part of the tourism industry is that? Mafia taxi drivers? Jet ski operators? Street vendors charging 120 baht for a plate of fried rice?

Or is the five star hotels charging Western prices for their services?

I think the OP faced one of the two kind of mental ditacture that exist for that case :

1) Or the person does not smake, and expect everyone to do the same

2) Or the person is a smoker and does not care if others are contaminated.

Both behaviors simply denote a lack of politeness, alas trait so common today.

Being an heavy smoker myself, bakc in youth when I was in the military I always booked a place in the train that was for smoker. While I was going from Paris to MArseilles, I often got problems in the middle of the trip , with people complaining I was smoking (the compartment was a smoker one, I did pay a premium for it!). Once even, a couple of old people used to stop the train (used the alarm signal), the wife claiming I was killing the husband. Even with the controller intervention they refused to move to a non smoker place(compartment I do repeat, so no pollution).

On the other hand, usual politenes (at least the one I leasrned), is to NOT light a ciggy before everyone have reach the cheese (or the last dish for Thailand) and to loudly ask for permissions. In a restaurant, it would mean you would simply step outside, because usually people do not finish (or start) all at the same time!

Usual politeness also would push One to ask such a question BEFORE to sit in restaurant, is it a smoker place? I can not bear smoke, do you have accomodation for non-smoker?

Saddly, and I do feel for the OP because eating in the smog is a poor experience (even for an heavy smoker such as me), politeness is as rare as 25 years old maiden serving beer in Nana plaza! Fact it is not about the legality of the thing but more on how we do behave / interact with other in a civilised maneer (or not).

I don't smoke and neither does my girl friend and I actually don't mind if my friends smoke. I am not an anti smoker but I do like to eat good food in non polluted air. It reminded me of the old pubs in England 20 years ago.

At that particular restaurant it wasn't just one or two who were smoking but most of the guests. Yes, I politely asked if they had an area which was smoke free but was told that smoking was allowed over the whole restaurant.

I realised by his tone and the fact that so many people were smoking that there was no point in mentioning that it was illegal.

We were just disappointed at having stinging eyes and sore noses and coming out with clothes that stank of smoke.

I don't suppose they care one little bit as there are plenty of customers. We will never go back and if anyone asks about the place we will tell them as it is and let them make their own decision.

I would probably have given her 100 - 200 baht (10%) reward and a huge thanks.

I have been in the opposite sitaution twice.

Once when I was studying and working part-time in a restaurant I saw a guy drop a HUGE wad of 5 pound notes. It seemed huge on my 20 pound a week salary but I guess there must have been 500 pound or more. I chased him and gave the money back to him. Not a word from him!!!!

Second time was recently in a coffee shop on Asoke. I saw a young girl paying for coffee and she dropped about 5 x 1000 baht notes. I picked them up for her and she gave me a big beautiful smile and said thank you.

The smile was enough

http://www.tohome.com/product_detail.aspx?product_id=20130400050&ProductName=i-mobile%20IQ4

I have used this company three times now and have been very satisfied with their service.

I believe The restaurant in question is tuba and if you go to Thonglor police station to complain then you are complaining to subordinates of the owner. Unfortunately TIT.

haha I don't want a libel case so I will say I can't remember the name.

So Tuba is owned by a top cop?

20,000bht fine for the restaurant.

2,000bht fine for the smoking customer.

Call any policeman, they will be happy to come and collect the fine, on duty or off.

Uhm do you know the reputation of Thong lor police?

Countless cases going on where the rich seem not to get punished.

I can have a break in, lock the intruder in a room, call the police who work just 4 minutes walk away, wait 50 minutes for them to come and convince us not to press charges.

I doubt very much if there will be a fine for the restaurant or the 15 or so customers who were smoking.

On the good side I can buy alcohol from the local supermarkets 24 hours a day.

To get my own back at smokers in restaurants, I replace the toothpick I just used back into its container

Disgusting! Glad I never use open toothpicks.

Personally I prefer to do a really smelly fart but don't always have the gas in me

Law No smoking where there is A/C and/or food served???? Suggest next time you check when you walk in and leave if they allow smoking, talk with the walk otherwise no one will ( they don't anyway) take any notice. TIT

I have lived in Thailand for 14 years and eat out at least once a week. (I don't mean food courts) and have never in those years seen anyone smoke in an airconditioned restaurant so I never think about checking if people were smoking before sitting down and ordering food!

Easy..., without siding up to all the drivel that posts like this incite. If you enjoyed the food, order "take out" and eat it at home. It's clear the 'ambiance' and social setting wasn't to your liking. You could even hire a motor taxi to go pick it up so you aren't rubbing your eyes while you wait for the to go order. Ask them..., may be they offer the delivery service if you're proximate to Ekamai.

Yes, that is an idea.

We were told that the food was very good and that's why we went there. Yes it was good. We live 5 minutes walk from the place.

Not sure if it made a difference or not, but the "police" the transport company "hired" to escort them were not the normal highway police who usually do the escort stuff.

The police were freelancing apparently and may NOT have known that route.

Read the last paragraph carefully.

They can still be on duty...it's just the company must pay/reimburse the police dept for the transport assistance.

At least one error in the article as Borommaratchachonnani Road is over here in western Bangkok not eastern Bangkok....but this is a Nation article.

Borommaratchachonnani Road is in western Bangkok but I just walked past Thong Lor police station and in front of the building is what am sure is the truck involved in this incident. I recognised it from the photo in the other newspaper as the front is all crushed down. I didn't have my mobile with me or I would have taken a photo.

Seems a bit morbid to go back and take a photo.

"We looked around and nearly all the customers were smoking".

Looks like you're in the minority mate, just go somewhere else.

You're right about that.

Yes, there are plenty of other good restaurants around.

I've been meaning to eat at a certain Italian resturant on Ekamai after reading good revies of the place.

Today I took the girl friend there and when we went in I thought I could smell stale smoke but didn't mention it or do anything about it.

We sat down and ordered the food and then the girlfriend said she could smell smoke. We looked around and nearly all the customers were smoking. We called the staff and complained and they just said that it was normal and that smoking was allowed all over the restaurant. We tried to cancel the food and leave but of course it was too late.

The food was quite good but we'll never go back as we came out with sore eyes and clothes sinking of stale smoke.

Is this beginning to be normal in Bangkok?

I received an SMS from True Ultra High Speed the other day. Forget what it said exactly as I deleted it but it was something about True upgrading their service and that disruptions would occur.

Came home yesterday and no Internet (Cable) and no TV. Reset modem and decoder and everything worked fine.

I'd consider the google Nexus as baseline. Google subsidizes the price - at least in the US - so these tablets are sold basically at cost. They're as cheap as you can make them without some major tradeoffs.

Aren't the Samsung tablets the same price as iPads? If so there really is no reason to get one.

PS: A 3000 Baht for a paperweight is not cheap, it's very expensive. Sometimes people lose sight of that.

Yeah, the google nexus 7 looks like the one for me, but where can you get them in LOS?? and service??

BigC had them on sale 2 weeks ago, but not at every branch

I still see them at Rama 4 and at Ratchada branches.

By the way the Google Nexus 7 is sold under the Asus name in Thailand.

No-one seems to have addressed my original question that is re- CS.....by that I mean customer service.

BTW - I have 3 devices - phone, tablet and Laptop - all currently running on 3G AIS at their current rate (850 mhz?)

Have you registered YOUR devices yet?

WHY do we need a passport?

Why can't you do an air card or tablet over a different phone?

Why do Telewiz no absolutely sweet FA about the new service?

Why do 1175 try to tell be that it won't be available in my area ( Already have 3G - have had it for years.....) or on my machine (which is perfectly capable of 21 mhz)?

to answer your questions

1. That's the Thai law.

All mobile phone numbers should be registered but no one ever bothers.

2. It depends on your air card. Is it capable of using the 2100 MHz?

3. Because they are simple staff in a shop. They are not consultants.

4. 3G is only becoming available on 2100 MHz these days. You have probably been receiving 3G on 900 MHz for the past several years, this is not the true 3G but a kind og 2G+. Plenty of threads about it.

You don't say where in Thailand you live but AIS are starting to upgrade their 3G 2100 MHz network in Bangkok and will slowly spread to the rest of the country.

1 - no it isn't - I've had a a/c for years - never shown a passport

2 - Nothing to do with my question - although it does support it.

3 - If a company is selling a product you expect the staff to know what it is. No excuses.

4- I'm fully aware of the difference that is why I want the new product.

5 - I t doesn't matter where you live I'm trying to register so they will tell me when the service starts.

1. It is the law and has been for many years. As I said it has never been enforced.

see: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/611931-buyers-of-pre-paid-s-i-m-cards-must-be-registered-nbct/?hl=%2Bregister+%2Bmobile+%2Bphone+%2Bnumber#entry6020853

3. Comeon. This is Thailand. Go to almost any shop selling electronic equipment and see how little the staff know about their products.

No-one seems to have addressed my original question that is re- CS.....by that I mean customer service.

BTW - I have 3 devices - phone, tablet and Laptop - all currently running on 3G AIS at their current rate (850 mhz?)

Have you registered YOUR devices yet?

WHY do we need a passport?

Why can't you do an air card or tablet over a different phone?

Why do Telewiz no absolutely sweet FA about the new service?

Why do 1175 try to tell be that it won't be available in my area ( Already have 3G - have had it for years.....) or on my machine (which is perfectly capable of 21 mhz)?

to answer your questions

1. That's the Thai law.

All mobile phone numbers should be registered but no one ever bothers.

2. It depends on your air card. Is it capable of using the 2100 MHz?

3. Because they are simple staff in a shop. They are not consultants.

4. 3G is only becoming available on 2100 MHz these days. You have probably been receiving 3G on 900 MHz for the past several years, this is not the true 3G but a kind og 2G+. Plenty of threads about it.

You don't say where in Thailand you live but AIS are starting to upgrade their 3G 2100 MHz network in Bangkok and will slowly spread to the rest of the country.

Iraq Awards Rice Tender to Thailand

Might have something to do with this

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/04/08/iraq-awards-rice-tender-to-thailand/

Will Thailand make any money out of selling Iraq the rice at $539.59 per ton? Anyone know the answer? And how about Thaksin's commission? This adds up to approx. 431 million dollars. surely he gets a commission, right? Well, maybe not, maybe he's just doing it to help his country out.

Not according to this article

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-18/thailands-farmer-friendly-rice-subsidy-backfires

Regarding AIS and their rollout of their 2100 Mhz 3G service in the BKK area,I spoke on the phone yesterday with one of their CSRs about it who seemed reasonably knowledgeable... Here's what she had to say:

She said they'll be bringing up different areas in three different stages: some now in May, more later in July, and a final stage set for October. Apparently, at least for postpaid folks, they won't changeover your service to the 2100 Mhz band until the area where you live has the network 2100 Mhz system turned on.

Of course then I told here where I lived and asked about the timeframe. And she said she didn't have any map, and that there wasn't any map online, showing the three stages of rollout for BKK and which areas were covered by which stage.

I also asked about how their network would be configured. And she said once you're switched over to using the 2100 Mhz 3G band on your mobile, that that network then would be the primary one for both your voice calls and data use. But if you then happen to go to an area where the 2100 Mhz 3G service isn't available yet, at least for the near future, that your AIS service would automatically roam back to the original/current 900 Mhz band (assuming your mobile supports that) at no extra charge.

Sounds like a resonable explanation.I guess it will take them a long time. I have two numbers registered at the same address and so far only one has been upgraded.

Upgraded my phone and it shows 3G but still the same speed

Try manually selecting 52003 network.

There is already a thread on this in the mobile section

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/623252-a-flurry-of-activity-as-3g-launch-looms-thailand/

You have to register with AIS first (need passport number). Wait for an SMS as they get to your number. Be prepared for a night of no useage. The upgrade is not stable at the moment. maybe it'll be better after the official launch on May 7.

I know it is not strictly on topic, but can anyone explain why every time I click on a video link on the forum i get the message "This video is currently unavailable? as I have just had again with this link

Try watching it directly on youtube ... youtube.com/watch?v=NjJ7xtMXwTo

Many thanks for the advice, nice bike too, but should he not be wearing protection.....I mean a skid lid.

and helmets!!!

Later I received a message

"Your number will be upgraded to AIS 3G tonight during 10 pm. to 7 am. Please keep using your current SIM+Phone and keep your phone turned on throughout the night. Upon completion, you will receive an SMS and the network signal will disappear. please then turn off and turn on your phone to start using AIS 3G"

Now 8.36 and no SMS and no service

I simply cannot use my phone.

What is the brand/model of your phone?

I would remove the SIM and battery, re-insert and re-boot the phone.

It seems like you should need a new APN configuration, maybe tick data roaming too.

I guess it could be that it is taking longer than AIS originally envisioned to cut over pre-subscribed users.

Sometimes it is best to let others blaze the trail.

edited to add: I did see some reports that the 'official' AIS turn-up might be delayed until 7 May, with TrueMove H following and 8 May and DTAC on 9 May. YMMV.

Actually I have two phones and only received the message on one of them. A Nokia Lumia 920. The other a Galaxy S2 works just fine.

Yes, I thought about shutting down and turning on again but I'll wait a bit and see if I get the SMS they claim they would send.

I think it is taking them longer than they anticipated as the same thing happened to a colleague a few days ago. She said her phone was down for most of the following day.

Tomato Puree is a common drink in some countries. My wife adds vodka AKA, A Bloody Mary

That's tomato juice. Tomato puree is somewhat thicker and more bitter in taste. It's used for cooking.