puipuitom

My son was depity at a 5* hotel in Koh Samui.

Tried to motivate the staff to remove the rubbish, but especially the glass parts out of the (private) beach. Imagine: you pay quite some money per night, want to go to the beach and.. half an hour later you step in a broken bottle...

IMPOSSIBLE to tech the Thais to clean up the rubble. Always the same: when a farang does not do it... it will never happen... After 2 months he was fed up seen so many things impossible to teach the Thais and insisted another place in that hotel group, but out of S.E. Asia.

My elder son worked as deputy GM for a 5*-hotel in Koh Samui. He tried to teach his staff to clean the beach especially from sharp things, like metal and glass parts. Remind: (children of) guests walking over the beach with chance to get their feet hurt... IMPOSSIBLE to bring over to the Thais to clean the beach. Everything what is over an arm's length.. nobody cares for... Better sit on chicken's way and think over the incarnation...

2 hours ago, natway09 said:

Just remember that Bumrungrad will want to operate even if you do not need yet.

Bangkok will monitor correctly

I have excellent experience with Bumrungrad, Dr Verapan ( spine surgery)

He diagnosed - after 20 years pain in the lower back ( = L4, L5- S1) - for the first time correct. That despite over 20 years visits to Dutch docters, physiotherapists, chiropracters etc.

He told me, they "could do SOME treatment, might help for 2 days of 20 years but.. in fact I expect you back for a spondylodese in a 3-5 months. Recovery might last months, so better do in your home country".

Exactly correct. 6 months later I was on a Belgium operation table for the first lower back operation. 

T-money not paid in time...

What I never could understand: why, when God / Allah or whatever name, who is unlimited powerful, could create the entire universe, needs simple HUMANS to punish those, who insult Him.

or.. does this Diety does not exist, or has close to zero powers at all ?

Years ago, the lady of the BOI insisted to see my official master degree of the "Universiteit van Amsterdam". She could not read it as was not offically translated to "University of Amsterdam" . We filed a complant, confirming we would finish our activities in Thailand. Next day the boss of the boss of that lady came to my place to deliver my workpermit. I have never seen that lady anymore at the BOI.

In the Brexit text nothing was mentioned about: leave next year, next decade, century, millennium, so I presume: per A.S.A.P.

Also nothing about: at which contditions. So, whatever, even when the British ( English) economy drops back to the Middle ages:

G O !

Remind: according to the man who is now Minister orf Foreign Affairs, the NHS will get 350 million pounds per WEEK, money what is now waisted in the EU.

So, be happy: LEAVE !

Happy I live in Netherlands, a country where euthanisia is regulated by law.

A person, in his full mind, may as a doctor to finish his/her live in case of unending pain and suffering.

My experience with Bangkok Bank in Pataya - North ( Sukhumvit): they withdraw the yearly account fee, and when that amount is finished, the bank account is closed. Cannot be reopened.

I think, it was more an additional line under the agreement after the  Cuba crises: "The USA will never commit any hostile action anymore against Cuba. As THAT was the main reason, why Castro turned to the Sovjet Union.

My question to all Castro-lovers: "how many political prisones suffered how many days in his prisons under which circumstances ? "

When it is done the proper way, you should find somewhere in/around your house a connection of one of the colour lines with a deep copper pole deep into the ground. In fact.. till the ground water level.

My experience in Thailand is, there is NO LIMIT to stupidity and laziness.

When you have figured out for one plug, which colour is the "life", which the "zero" and which is "ground", it does not mean, this is valid of all plugs/rooms.

You simply have to figure it out for every place.

And... when you are busy... find out if a earth-leak break device is installed, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device . In fact it compares "ingoing" via "life" with "outgoing" via "zero". If not in balance, electricity leaks away, for instance via your body. Then it switches off , for instance above 30 mA.  With 80mA over your heart, you get a new-life-trip from Buddha....Happily your DRY skin is a good resistor.  A WET skin might still give you a trip to the emergency room of a hospital.

When you are in a plane, are you then also going to chalenge the stability by all running to one side ?

Why you do that with the earth ?

Long time ago, CO2 was converted in O2 + Carbon, what we now call coal. We are doing now the reverse.

A grain specialist told me at Kesetsart: + 3 C average will cause only ONE rice crop per year in S.E. Asia, so NOT enough to feed everybody.

No problem, in a couple of years nature will have corrected the population. In normal words: starvation till a new equilibrium.

Same with Latin America: maise /corn crop will be reduced.

Middle East: only a few will survive.

I once spoke with a medical specialist and good friend of my business partner in THL "Thai see a doctor only being good when (s)he subscribes a lot of medicines. Amoung... anti-biotics".

So, a doctor who proves even your own body has the best healing power... is a waste of time and money, so do not visit that person again.

Working in the international food trade since 1977 my first step is always: in how far I trust the supplier('s chain) ?

Second: I insist for a risk assesment: which (theoretical) dangers are possible, what is done in the processing to bring these dangers back to acceptable hazards, what is the chance of still occurring and.. how large that impact is to (the health of ) the consumer. A piece of plastic in .. the rice gives a less impact than a piece of wood, and that again less as a piece of metal or glass.

Third: Any lab tests to support the above analyses ? And then NOT a 2x/year, based on 1-2 samples, without any info how many lab tests failed before the finally one acceptable which is presented. ( 24 previous tests failed, and finally nr 25... by coincidence... happy... is  o.k. ? ? )

An important side-effect is, it gives an idea about the food safety skills of the supplier.

Sorry to say, but... I did not meet even one Thai supplier being able to make such a  complete and thorough risk assessment / hazard analyses.

The last question is: which adulterations are possible for which the costs are lower as the results.

Sorry, but plastic imitation rice grain will cost more as the real stuff. So, why anyone will spend more to fake real natural rice ? ( think of density, so afloat or sink in water, colour, reflection, shape, ...)

I do business with Thailand since 1990 in foods. Till now I did not met one single Thai - except at some Universities - who had any understanding of food safety, risk analyses, of whatever in these fields. Their skill ends with holding up a certificate, but ... where it stands for / what is needed, and WHY ? ?  ZERO knowledge but also ZERO interest. Often even their "food safety specialist" is a hired in person for 1 day before, one day after and 2-3 days during the certification audit. Their own QC staff  hardly understands any English at all.

At a big rice mill even nobody had any idea about microbiological properties. "Oh, too small to see", was the comment after explanation what that meant.

I therefore prefer Sri Lanka, India, and Vietnam as suppliers.

Dr.Tipvon Parinyasiri
Director of Food Control Division  ( at least, in July 25, 2013 
Food and Drug Administration
Tel. (66) 2- 590-7175
Fax (66) 2- 591-8460

The division has the main responsibilities for food control are to ensure the quality and safety of food for protecting consumer's health in Thailand according to the Food Act B.E. 2522, such as:

• Setting up food standards and specifications as well as hygienic and labeling requirements;

• Controlling the production and importation of food products;

• Inspecting food manufacturing premises and sellers;

• Conducting sampling and quality assessments of food products;

• Taking legal actions, e.g. seizure, product recalls, prosecution;

• Controlling food-producing plants so that they meet national standards by using GMP;

quality and safety of rice,

1. Thai FDA has criteria/std to control for both food-producing plants and the product:

Food-producing plants : Controlling food-producing plants so that they meet national standards by using GMP

Rice : criteria/std for pesticide residue (MRL), comtaminant in food (such as Pb, Hg, As, Cd and Aflatoxin) and for the criteria of yeast and mold follow criteria of Department of medical science (DMSc.)

2. I would like to inform that Thai FDA and DMSc. (the government lab) have been sampling rice and result shown that still in the rang of safety : 

196 samples for Hydrogen phosphine and Bromide ion  (170 samples are in the range of Codex MRL, 1 sample found Bromide ion exceed the codex standard., waiting for the result 25 samples). For case that found Bromide ion exceed the codex std., we withdrawn the product from the market and take legal action to the food producer.

81 samples for Pesticide residue (Organochlorine compounds, Organophosphorus compounds, Carbamates, Synthetic pyrethriod), Comtaminant (Pb, Hg, As, Cd) and Mold and Aflatoxin (21 samples are in the range of std., waiting for the result 60 samples )

And from now, we have 6 months strictly monitoring and will has continuous monitoring program to ensure that the products are in the rang of safety.

3. For the other questions, I’ already contact and fwd your e-mail to the related agencies [(Department of Agriculture (DOA) and National Bureau of Agricultural and Food Standards (ACFS)] to let them know and give you the information.

Please ensure that we do our best for safety regulation and till now nothing to concern about the safety of rice in Thailand.

Money is in paper condensed trust in the wisdom + strength (economic, Industrial, political) of a nation, combined with speculation of the entire world in favour or against such a currency.

As the mayor currencies can be compared with ice cubes / wood pieces) in a bucket of water, which might be shaken and stirred more-or-less ( goes the US$ up, the € down, the Yen ??? ) holders of these currencies might switch to other currencies, which then might be pushed up a lot.

Therefore, my professor in international curries end exchange rates told the audience: "for the value towards the Euro of the US$ you have to be at the Faculty of Psychologic, NOT at that of Economy !

What happens in Thailand the coming months / year  ? Nobody knows.

What happens in the UK... ? ? Everybody was warned for a Brexit. Boris even told a few days after the election: "see... nothing happened, Pound still has the same strength". And seen his judgement, he is now minister of Foreign Affairs.

What happens in the USA with one of the two most hated candidates ever as president, so... 30-40% of the electorate felt deeply swindled ? In a nation with over US$ 22.000 BILLION state dept.

In Euroland some important elections are scheduled for end of this year and 2017 ( Italy, France, Germany). Banks in Italy are in much worse shape as ever feared, a country with € 2100 BILLION state debt. Any idea, what happens, if Italy will end up in "Greek" situations... ? in a Euroland with over € 13.000 BILLION state debt.

Japan with over € 9700 Billion State debt.

And you ask, what the TRUST in all these computer lines ( as that is nowadays a State Debt, it is even not printed paper anymore...) will be...

End then... YOU ask, where all the ice-cubes, called €uro, US$, Pound, THB will be in a couple of weeks / months /year.....

Get a via Internet working Kodi system ( €uro 50-75), install some add-ons and you have more choice as you could dream of.

To give you an idea: via FilmOn TV: life BBV 1-2-4-news, ITV 1-2-3-4, Channel 4+5, D4, More, Film 4, + a 100 others , French, German, Russian etc etc etc  And... all free-of-charge

The Temple Mountain was Jewish since the conquest by the troops of King David, around 1200 BC

Several times chased away, till finally after the revolt in 135 the Romans forbid any Jew in Jerusalem.

Later this was weakened, and during Byzantine reign Jews were just one of the many religions all over that area.

Mohammed used the name of Jerusalem in his "trip to heaven" story. Result: when the Muslims conquered the entire Middle East, a big most was built to hurt the Jews.

For many centuries several religions lives more-or-less side by side till the British conquered that area in WO1and got it as Mandate area called: Palestine.

In 1947 the UN came with a peace plan to divide parts of what is now Israel, the West-Bank (Arab Palestine) and Jordan, but the Arabs refused, and armies of the Arab countries invaded the just founded Jewish state of Israel, after they called all Arabs to leave the area. Result: 700.000 Arab refugees.

Pity for the Arabs, happy for the Israelis: the Israelis won the biggest part of the area. Result: Jews were expelled from the Arab occupied Jerusalem, even not allowed to pray at their holy sites. For the first time since over a millennium.

In 1967 the Israelis were  a few hours ahead of the Arab invasion, and - among others - conquered the entire West bank, inclusive Jerusalem. All religions were allowed to visit, see all as tourist or as worshippers. I visited it myself in 1971 and was happy to see such a mixture of people. Only , some hardliners at the Arab site liked war more seen their own interest. After quite some years, the Israelis had to defense themselves with a huge wall around their country, but.. included Arab Jerusalem, but especially the Temple Mountain at their side.

There can be peace between the Arabs and the Israelis in 5 minutes: stop trying to kill the Israelis, and accept a Jewish state. Borders: these are negotiable. Just as Israel absorbed approx. 6-700.000 Jews from the Muslim states, the majority of Palestinian Arabs have to be absorbed by the Muslim sites.

Remind: hundreds of thousands Muslims still live in Israel, even being member of Parliament. How many Jews are member of ANY government structure in the Muslim world ? NONE !

Already in 1994 I used some insulation on the top of the roof, outside. Result: temp in the rooms just under the roof dropped from 54-55 C to 46-47 C

But a Thai who understands he / she has to INSULATE.... there are not many.

Ask www.miccell.com or www.miccell.co.th.

1 hour ago, Docno said:

I don't get it. You mean he could pay for his op with 2 months' income (pension), and he can't make that happen?  

When nobody did any savings to have a 2 months pension in reserve, and he himself does not have the power of body and mind to get all organised...he is completely dependant on the others... Who clearly let him rot away.

THIS is MY fear for staying in Thailand when I am NOT in control of own body and mind anymore.

In all the years I visited Thailand since 1993, several 2-6 weeks trips a year,  I have NEVER seen one farang taken care of being in such a state.

In Netherlands, Belgium Germany, you are been taken care off, even when you donot have a cent anymore, and never anyone who comes to visit you.

This is exactly my fear: In Thailand as an older but still healthy man, with enough money to spend, it is PARADISE. But only God helps you, when health and money are gone.

But I never forget, in 1994, the French guy, whose house was for sale, littlebit north of Banglamung and at the east side of Sukhumvit. I was there with my Indonesian wife since 1974. Just during the tour he suddenly start to speak French to me: never tell your Thai lady, she is mentioned in your last will and will benefit. Not the first time an old and sick farang is found in the pineapple fields...

A former business contact went in 2005 -when he was 68- to Chiang Mai. I heard a few years from him, and suddently... hotmail, mobile 071798623, and land telephone 053 442238... not existing anymore. Never any postcard or so anymore. Where is he ?

Frans Adriani + Mel, Bo & Lex Jiraphong,   150/121 Tarn-Ing-Doi Village, Chiang Mai - Hang Dong Road, Tambon Hang Dong, Ampur Hang Dong, Chiang Mai 50230

When the Bangkokians are finally going to spolve their flood problem ? They already steel a large part of the revenues earned in the Central, to enrich Bangkok, but solving infrastructure problems ? NEVER.

Two points I miss: the efficiency of the body to substract nutrients out of the foods and let less go out "via the back door"  ( onecan eat whatever he/she wants and another get fat of much less)

The same in using energy for movements of the body. Some move more muscles to get the same done as another ( has to do with hormons and thyroid gland)

But yes.. ( very big part of ) loosing weight = eat less  +  move more

Read the history of Germany 1933+, where an "attack" of one Dutchman on the Parliament ( Reichstag) was misused to arrest all opponents of the Nazi party. June 1934, the Roehm Putsch or the Night of the Long Knives, when the former ally, the SA, was eliminated. The misuse of the military weak neighbours to occupy land which was formerly parts of the German Reich. Same as now happens with northern ( Kurdistan) Syria. 

Just as Hitler learnt from the Turks during WO1 ( .. "we will prosecuted for the extermination of the Jews when we loose the war" with the answer: "see the genocide on the Armenians, reported by dozens of our own military support in S.E. Ottoman Empire...nothing happened with that later "). Erdogan learnt a LOT of Hitler: erase all your opponents as quickly as possible, and .. complete !