dumpling

The issue of cleanliness should be pursued as it would not only improve things for tourist but also locals/nationals.

Lets hope that the right people listen and things improve.

I feel the national pride stirring and with a good amount of interest in this country I once again feel proud to be English oooopppps sorry British !!

The pub, Fullmoon Pub, has earlier been raided by police for servicing underage people

Forgive me for asking, but why do the underage people go to a pub to be "serviced" - what is wrong with an hourly hotel, the back of the car or even a rice field? (If that's a problem then come to me LMAO!)

For non-native English speakers, in UK a farmer will take his cows to be "serviced" by the bull!

You gotta be kidding !!!!! the way I read this is that you would like under age relations and posting this on a forum........hhmmmmm

Face is more important than lives? I'm shocked

Really I see it everyday!!

Let the finger pointing begin , much like the gladiators of old Rome , much posturing and ado about little that is relevant to more serious matters at hand , about time they all settled down to doing what needs to be done for the country as a whole .

You are correct the finger pointing has begun yesterday it was the fault of the non visiting mediators and today UNESCO is to blame , taking responsibility is not something they seem capable of.

The government has had their chance over this land this is very much closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

The majority of everyday Thai folk I chat with are not concerned over what is a small area of land they are more concerned about the boys that have to lay down their lives for it.

Hi all just wondering if any one else has or is having problems with facebook , I go to the login page and that annoying government message pops up!!!

Any ideas?

I will stick my neck out here and recommend them.

I have a 12mb service which they say is the best for international connections avoid going for lesser speeds as they regard those as domestic and the international speeds will suck.

Well, it looks like quite a few folks are satisfied with 3BB. So you went with 12Mb on their recommendation. B1490 plus VAT, right? Several have said they're happy with the basic 6Mb (B590+) plan. Have you ever tried someone's 6Mb connection? How do you know it wouldn't work for you? Their rep told me he thought the 8Mb plan would work for me. (Only the 6Mb plan, he said, was insufficient for 'international' surfing.)

A friend of mine moved to 3bb from true but was trying to save money and went with the 6 mb , he was not happy and international connection's were/are slow.

This prompted me to get in contact with 3bb and after speaking to them and then referring to literature on their web page we found that they break the connections into classes with all under 12mb connections as domestic all above as international.

They also had a 20mb special for high downloading but was a bit pricey for not massive gains.

hope this helps.

I will stick my neck out here and recommend them.

I had to pay a little extra to have them install a line into my moobaan but it was worth it.

The first month or two service was a little hit and miss but for the past 8 months they have been great ,I have a 12mb service which they say is the best for international connections avoid going for lesser speeds as they regard those as domestic and the international speeds will suck.

My connection max's download speed at 1.5mbs and for gaming connection is good with reasonable pings.

they are saying technical issues .....seems a little convenient given the current rumours

The three measures included exemption of visa fees for foreign tourists, reduced landing and parking fees at the airport, and insurance for foreign tourists in case of being affected by riots or other violence.

Do they know something we don't??

Since when has it been a ''crime'' for a tour operator to provide transport for it's customers.

Since it became difficult to collect tea money from international tour operators.

hit the nail on the head with that one payboy.

In my previous application for my marriage visa, I had to take a neighbour with me to the interview. Luckily my neighbour is my wifes best friend but what I did take offence to was the questions that they asked about our relationship. Did we argue ? How loud and how often? Did I go drinking at night? Was I a gambler or a womaniser?. Thankfully I am none of the above and my neighbour was happy to confirm this but still to hear my wife and I being discussed like this was quite unpleasant.

JAF

All those details are highly important for the "Thai gossip quota" a requirement we must all go through on a daily basis it seems

This kind of explains the reluctance to have mediators at the border.

Just another reason not to visit Phuket.

Been there once and refuse to go back the whole place is a rip off from the mafia tuk tuk drivers to the jet ski cons.

Phuket is becoming the joke of Thailand the sooner someone does something about it the better.

Sadly Phucket and many other places, it seems year on year it gets worse.I have been here nearly 10 years and at first I used to have to beat friends off with a stick as they all wanted to come here for a visit, the last few years it has been the other way around.Reassuring them it is safe they will have no problems and then laying done a list of things to watch out for this list gets longer and longer.

When will they learn 7% GDP is not to be sniffed at especially in the current global economic climate this figure has not moved for years but I think when it does it will be down and then the panic will set in.

Navy's costly sub dream needs a lot of explaining

easy to much Lao Hai La Hai (Thai whiskey)

So Thais shaking down foreigners for a monthly pay out has now been nationalised.

Thai government: herro U.N doo ta the climate change Thailand now cold mak all buffalo is sick can you send money help us ?

U.N: Sure Thailand we know how hard it is there take ........$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

why not work with the teaching staff already in Thailand? Verify all academic credentials. Require a minimum B.Ed. or undergraduate with a teaching certificate. Require the teachers to pass a competency exam. Fail and they are sent packing. Require continuing education. Increase the pay for those that qualify. It's time to rid Thailand of people who call themselves teachers but are not, and it is also time to pay teachers a decent salary. The wages for many are crap, so is it any wonder the jobs attract the worst of the worst?

If teaching is an honourable profession, then treat them accordingly. Nothing wrong with doubling or tripling their salaries if they are qualified, A teacher is a professional.

In the words of John Lennon.

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

ok a link to another one of my post this time the new weekly show is "the hub" a round up of the weeks information pertaining to Thailand's latest trend in hubs.

ooops sorry bbc I see you beat me to it " the hub with Nick Gowing".

Not to worry t,i,t, no copyright lol.

Maybe there is a new t.v program here ' the coup report " a weekly round up of the weeks coup- rumours and analysis.

its the same every where......humans are not meant to be monogamous...tell me another mammal that is... some of us try but its always a test

gibbons and the tamarins.....you did ask

No , I knew from the start and after the responses from the original post concerning Cambodia I applaud your choice of trickery ....lol.

April fools every one 5555555555555555555555555555

If or when this country goes nuclear I am out of here , as my doctor once said prevention is better than cure.

Can you just imagine if they have a problem with a reactor by the time they have worked their way down through the pay grades to find some one to take the blame the whole dam_n country will be glowing.

Taxi drivers will be happy

This program was a joke so much so that I wrote to points view lets hope they air my message .

Dear Points of view

I have just made it through one the most terribly misinformed and bias Tv showsi think i have ever seen, Thailandand tourism the truth BBC 3 was a sham of a program an unabashed forcing ofwestern views on another culture.

Your presenter was wearing such heavily rose tinted glasses I am sure she didnot notice a thing going on around her.

She had no conception of Thai culture and should have maybe focused on theforeigners them selves, the majority that visit the country show little respectfor them selves and even less for the native culture.

This is the attitude that local Thais learn from the so called civilizedwestern countries and is causing more harm to the society than development.

Thailand is a growing country and badly needs that growth; the down side to growthis that some one will inevitably lose out.

Her constant comparison to European destinations showed her lack of insight didthose places not have native populations that have been forced out oftheir homes due to development?

Did the new development not bring wealth with it to those people?

Thailand is still relatively new to all of this give the country a chance to catchup.

Please BBC if your are going to produce such programs on such a subject havesome one who has a little more knowledge of the country.

Yours looking forward to less pandering programming

Conception of culture?

Please tell me where and what kind of culture that can be found in Patong, not to mention Pattaya. This is where the tourists end up.

They come for sun, beach, the food and the drink, and hope for the smiles and Thai hospitality.

Food should be culture in Thailand, but it is hard to find the real stuff. Most of the restaurants (that look inviting to first-timers) serve western fast food or bastardized thai food.

The thugs running the streets in tourist destinations have no concept of culture and hospitality.

So unless you are working hard, as a tourist you go back with an overdose on sun and drink and not much else.

Thailand has 40 years of experience as an exotic tourist destination.

How has the development been in these 40 years for a tourist looking for an exotic vacation?

How has the development been for the workers in the tourist industry?

How has the development been for the beaches and environment?

Crime?

Traffic?

I have worked in Thailand for 5 years, and have visited frequently for 20 years, and know that there are many exceptions to the pessimistic impressions listed above, but I think the general trend is negative.

The last time (literally!) I was on Patong Beach I asked the jet ski operators to be more careful when approaching the beach, there were a lot of small children playing in the waves. I was told to move away, this was HIS beach and he did not care. I counted more than 120 jet skis on Patong that day, there were no areas off limits to these cowboys.

These days we go to 4-5 star resorts to avoid the thugs. That is not 'real' Thailand either, but at least it is safe and hospitable.

How about going to the PM in the standard Kosan road costume of fisherman's pants and a sleeveless top.In any culture I think seeing someone in officialdom requires you to dress a little better especially if you are trying to raise something of serious concern.