sportsman69

Does the Royal Thai Navy not have its' own firefighters? So, they could not protect their own fleet in the case of fire at sea in this case? A bit of a concern. Luckily their enemies would mostly attack by land and out of reach of naval fire.

Thailand, the hub of firemen without fire equipment!

Agree with your bottom line, but if you read the story and associated links it is no longer Navy property. I believe it is now a rusting hulk in the confines of Krabi port under the jurisdiction of the Or Bor Tor requiring the waste of sheetloads of money to turn / maintain it, into a museum.

Basically a Krabi maritime version of Phuket's Welcome Gate.

Emergency responders rush to the scene as smoke billows out of the retired warship HTMS Lanta in Krabi Town this morning.

I can see that they are well prepared with protective clothing and equipment!

Yeah. Quite unlike the BKK oil fire BBQ this morning. There they all seemed properly attired. Hardhats, no thongs and hoses not looking like a garden sprinkler soakit hose.

Probable reason is that the Oil refinery has its own specialist team and must conform to something regarded as normal by international standards.

Somchai and the welder plus generator with a can of gasoline close at hand, gets them every time. Kaboom.!! At least they have no plan to put Thai into space, come to think of it, this could have been a failed practice run.!!

Wasn't there an article about no construction companies have bid on the airport expansion, yet, the director claims that work starts in August?

The man should be removed from his job for insulting everyone's intelligence.

You're assuming there will be an actual genuine tender.

I was carefully informed of one airport "tender" process (and it wasn't suvarnabhumi), where you had to kick 30% of total value in before your bid was even considered...... But Phuket and AOT have a little more scrutiny over them, so I'm not implying that's happening here.

Probably just a case of over-specifying and ridiculously high contractual penalties for delayed delivery. I still remember having to turn up to face NBIA (New Bangkok Intl Airport Ltd) to explain why they shouldn't apply late delivery penalties for equipment installation to us. (There were no walls on the main terminal building at the time)

Can believe.

Likewise not Phuket but swampy, a very good friend since deceased, a well respected engineer and concrete expert was " invited " to do a survey and report his findings on the concrete cracks in the new runway for a very good fee. He did a quick ringaround the trade and respectfully declined. I think from memory about 6 months after the time a German I think, who was an engineer for a consulting firm on the airport construction was found blown to bits in a rubber field near Pattaya under very suspicious circumstances. I think it was diagnosed as suicide as his hands were tied behind his back.

This one here seems Mafia 1 can't seem to work it out with Mafia 2

By the way how's the project going with updating the airport to A380 status

650 in cattle class down one airbridge, yer just gotta laugh, maybe they'l use prods !

Gotto go, close the windows, just saw a formation of pigs go by

Is there a web page for cases like this?

There may well be but I find real estate websites are so numerous that the search engines really get confused. Some other member may provide enlightenment.

I think It's always been said. "That an empty house is better than a bad tenant. "

With this in mind the best tenant is a long term one recommended by a friend. This of course brings up the fact that the tenant has only 3 months, hardly long term. If a good tenant is available who want's to stay in Phuket permanently, they would be forced to find new accom. at the height of the hi-season, thus not ideal for them. Possibly a solution could be to find a lone person who could live in care-take atm and remain in a spare room for a pre determined period after your return.

Unfortunately I know none of the above is a direct answer to your question, just offering logical thoughts. If your house was in say Rawai, Chalong or Nai Harn I have several patrons that would jump at the chance, however Kamala doesn't cut it as they work near here.

Good Luck.

RT @191Thailand: Firefighters at the scene of the fire at the Bang Chaak oil refinery http://bit.ly/Llh1kg - TR @faajung_Galz

Good to see the fire fighters are properly attired. Work boots and Safety Hats, not flipflops and balaclavas.

Looks like a good job was done. Could have been quite a cook up.

I had to lower the pump in the well today.

Must be the difference in location. Up in them, thar, hills in Rawai the water level in our well is one meter from the lid which is 50 cm above ground. Any doubters PM me for address. You can check.

We irrigate and water all plants daily, tomorrow same level.

You are lucky you have a underground stream on your property

Not a matter of luck, rather a though investigation of the lay of the land before my wife purchased

Not that it matters much at the moment, except we're also high and dry. 75 mm in the last 24 hrs. Even beach volley ball was cancelled today. Looks like more on the way.

http://thailand.nlem...-in-phuket.html

Closest consulate (honorary) is in Phuket.

Not that they can do much, financial assistence is not provided. An option might be to return to The Netherlands.

His daughter is no entitled to anuything, if he doesn't recieve any funds for her now.

The daughter probably has dual nationality, but not sure if he wasn't married.

Thanks for that Mario. I will contact Mr. Seven Smulders tomorrow.

Unfortunately his condition would necessitate a medivac flight and there's no money in the till for that, and would serve no real purpose anyway. We are talking weeks or days here not months or years.

The main concern we have is for his daughter. Alpons is the epitamy of Dutch stubbornness, and was always saying he was going to get her dual nationality. At the moment it is impossible to get a coherent answer to our questions, due to his condition, in an effort to help him. I don't think he ever got around to it Best we can determine is he's probably got 20,000 baht to his name. Rent is due, True a/c, elect bill, etc: all will be gone by tomorrow.

I doubt a formal marriage certificate exists.

His daughter when she appears briefly is less than helpful and gives no cooperation. It would appear to the casual observer that she is " freaked out " by her fathers condition, but I think the underlying problems are deeper than that and possibly being remotely controlled by her mother and no doubt will follow her footsteps unless we can do something to help.

Thanks again for yours.

Stafford.

As the title suggests can anyone provide me with contact details. I have a very dear friend languishing In Phuket Bangkok hospital with suspected cancer. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/566999-alpons-room-706-bkk-phuket-hospital/#entry5448821. I believe his sole income is 1/2 of the Dutch pension due to his lack of residency within that country. Upon his demise I believe this meagre amount will cease.

Family help, financial and otherwise, has not been coming at the speed it was anticipated.

To compound problems further he has a 16 year old biological daughter of whom he had sole control as her mother found a richer ATM machine and is now living in Denmark. Not surprisingly this girl has become erratic in her ways, missing school, totally lying despite obvious truths to the contrary, an image of her mother. She needs as much help as her father and certainly for a longer period. I believe she has a Thai passport, though possibly using her mothers family name. Problems could arise even if his family offer support and agree for her to move to Holland under their care.

It would be much appreciated if anyone could provide any details that could be of help both here in Thailand or overseas. At the moment we are a small group of concerned friends with limited resources.Telephone costs are not a problem as I have a very good voip service.

Thanks in advance.

Stafford

2x35 bath here in BKK - i really hope they get the meter taxi's all over the country at some point - well, i don't care about Phuket, as i found out it's easier to to to Phi Phi, from Krabi.....which means i will never ever, ever set my foot in Phuket again, if there is one place in this country i really don't like - that's the Place. But the wife and I love going to Phi Phi once in an while, especially the Resort Zeavola, everything build semi-thai style, it's such a great get-away from busy life in BKK.

Pattaya for a weeked with the boys, sure thing - but there you know your going to crazy-wille, so it's fun for a short weekend - But Phuket, no way -hate the place.

Sounds like all you know of Phuket is Patong. Phuket is an island the size of Singapore with a million residents with many different and varied communities. Besides the seedy nightlife of Patong, there is city-like living with shopping malls and expensive restaurants, beach life with resorts, some bustling, some sleepy, and even village type living. It's really the only part of Thailand I would consider living. Bangkok offers nothing for me, but I have never been fond of cities. Phi Phi..not sure what anyone see's in that retched stink pile. KeeNok backpackers and Thai people that are too criminal for Phuket. The worst. Good diving though.

Well you ain't dived on Osprey or Swains Reef's nor the Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef have you If you reckon PP's good. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give PP a zero.

Does anyone know the procedure if your doing it from patong to the Airport, price, how much time you have to allow for other pick up's and how late in the evening they run the service if your catching a 10-11pm flight

For Christ's sake mate, get a cab. Black, pink, yellow or green, even blood red, who gives a flying <deleted> what colour when It's compared to a 20,000 baht airfare that you going to miss.

Get Real!

Edit:

I think this guy has popped his clogs, How can anybody answer this question with real authority and first hand experience

All good in theory but I don't see my 82 year old granny being comfortable with the aforementioned suggestions.

I think the OP has to bite the bullet and spend squillions or mark a circle on the roof for the very first Phuket Rescue Helicopter. Yeah the same one they've been talking about for the last ten years. The same as most normal developed countries have at their disposal ATM.

On the other hand you find waste basket all over Phuket for Iphones...

Agreed. Junk it. Samsung Galaxy 2 Singapore 14,500 baht. way to go Yeah Yeah ! Bring on the Androids !!

I wont go into lengthy details here, you can PM me for that, but Alpons Driesdien, ex Tonga Queen and numerous other sailing vessels and adventures, 84 years young, is in hospital and needs reassurance from his friends and enemies to pull through. Visiting hours are anytime, he has a private room provided by another good friend whilst awaiting family help from Holland.

Call me if you wish anytime Stafford 081 607 2805.

10 more happy tourists. Keep up the good work.

Sorry, I don't agree. The deal was 6 tourists for 300bt. That's 50bt per tourist.

The tuk-tuk driver can count to 10, so can I.

He only wanted an extra 100bt for the other 4 tourists. That's a great discount. The Egyptian should have been ecstatic.

But no, the 10 rich tourists had to try and scam the tuk-tuk driver, didn't they!

For what? 100bt .... that's three freakin' dollars .... for heaven's sake!

Was it worth it for $3? They've probably spent $15,000 between the 10 of them for this holiday ... and they're making a fuss over $3.

I am THOROUGHLY SICK AND TIRED of this sort of attitude from foreigners towards Thai workers.

Wake up .... the lot of you!

I'm usually charged 70-100bt. I always tip a tuk-tuk driver a 20. I always tip a taxi driver a 50. For a buck or two, we both walk away with a smile.

We all tip in the US, UK, or Australia ... but when we get to Bangkok, rich tourists suddenly turn into misers, scrouges, and whingers.

Where is that tuk-tuk driver? I'll pay his fine - for the moral wrong - and shout him and his family dinner for standing up for himself!

3 cheers

There is no fare under 300 baht in Phuket. To move the tuktuk, it is 300baht. Thats 6 GBP, 7.3 Euro, 9 USD. If you are trying to tell me thats OK to move 500m up the road, well you need to come here and see how you feel after 2 weeks of these <unts. I am living in Patong 9 yrs and I have watched the fare go from 50-80 negotiable, to 300 non negotiable, and these <unts are becoming increasingly violent.

Futher, tourists have no options for transport. None, diddly squat, zero, except the one bus route that goes to Phuket town. These <unts have gone to extremes of violence to ensure that no public transport service is allowed to operate. They almost killed a naive young man who took the job of driving a public bus run by local authorities. They beat him to within an inch of his life. So I cant stay silent when I read some short sighted comment defending the driver in this instance. Come live here and see how these <unts operate.

And before you tell me 'why dont you move back to your own country'.....let me tell you that I can tolerate this one disgusting facet of life in Patong Phuket Thailand. I will never ever use a tuktuk unless I am dieing. Thats about my limit I reckon. I have a car and a bike, I will not sponsor their intimidation with my patronage. Come here and tip them 50 Baht mate, before long you'll be paying 500 to sit in the bloody thing.

"I will never ever use a tuktuk unless I am dieing." - I will chose death before giving 1 baht to a tuk-tuk driver.

Leave the gate open for me. C/u there !

How can 10 people get into a tuk tuk?

Impossible.

Someone this story doesn`t ring true.

Come to Phuket, you'll see it all. Not even a 1/2 load. I've even seen 18 human (?) beings in a Honda Dream samlor made out of reo bar, some young but 18 souls moving house complete with wide screen TV and desk fan doing 5,000 revs. " Ripley's Believe it or Not " has nothing on this place. Mention my name you might even get a good seat !

A tuk tuk is a 3 wheeler and accomadates 3 to 4 passengers max. Amazingly, the driver accepted 6.

Even more amazing though is, that the Egyptians managed 10 people into it. Love to see a pic of that

The fare of 40 Baht/person is ridiculous of course.

No. A Phuket tuk tuk is a small truck. You can fit 10 people in it, especially if some are children as it appears may have been the case here, and one or two ride in the cab.

I was hoping someone was awake, Patong doesn't have 3 wheeled tuk tuks like the rest of the country.

Only these imported Japanese Daihatsu Hijets. They seat 6 adults at a squeeze but only have 600CC of grunt.

Everyone calls them Tuk Tuk anyway.....Great photo.

Wrong. Totally disagree. That's the 7 you see on the near side, there's 7 on the other side + 2 in the front if the driver chooses to kick his Mia noi out and make her wait, probably to hook a john for a cheap trick, until he gets back to the rank.

They have boosted the output up to 660 cc so they aint no slouch down a 1 in 2 slope. Around Patong, flat country, licence to print money.

That's why I believe the going rate to buy one of these shit boxes with yellow plate second-hand is around 1.2 million Baht

In reply to poster #61 Philip Cook

" Limit the number of passengers to the number of approved seatbelts with seats on the vehicle. "

Must be joking. You obviously dont live in Phuket. I defy you to find a seat belt in any public service passenger vehicle except for the driver and in exceptional cases, the front seat passenger.

" Ladies and gentleman, I hope you have enjoyed your journey with us today, survivors to the left, walking wounded to the right. Those in bodybags please remain prone until assisted by an attendant. "

That's a bit of a strange request. Most hotels have the fire-exits locked to prevent runners, so you might find one for sale in unused condition.

A little off topic but I was visiting a friend on the 7th. floor of Bangkok Phuket Hospital on Friday and became confused when leaving his room. Turned right instead of left and pushed the handle of the door marked EXIT. Well all hell broke loose. 140 db. siren, like I mean LOUD, heads appeared from behind every door, security was summoned, what room was I in ?? 5 minutes to explain I wasn't a patient doing a runner, simply a confused visitor in a corridor where everything looks the same.

Next time I go I'll take a ball of string!

Would suggest you contact a reputable building company, if such exists, as fire escapes are generally tailored to the building itself to align with escape doors which may have to be installed as well. Oh and fit a battery backup security alarm as well, to secure against incoming and outgoing as well.

Any good architect should be a source of initial information.

An related article in Yesterdays Sydney Morning Herald Warning Aussies mentioning the scams . http://www.smh.com.a...0629-217yt.html.

However there are a lot of people /companies who have a lot invested in Phuket Tourism and they will fight any boycott. JetStar and Qantas are just two so in reality everything else is just farting in the wind for all the good it will achieve.

In today's Sunday Times(UK) travel section i will give you the headline and then a quote. Ref Michelle Smith

THAI TOURISM CHIEF DISMISSES MURDER.

quote

Yet Mr Sarayuth Mallam told a tourisim summit last week that "just one" murder was less important than tackling everyday tourist rip off's Mallam also urged local media to be aware that "when you present bad news this has a bad effect on the tourist industry"

Can you believe the thinking that you can stand up at a meeting and say this.

Yes.

When is the appeal hearing?

We will probably never be told. How big is the rug and the broom ? I hope not but the average attention span before the grass grows over is two to three weeks. Higher profile cases like this and the unfortunate Michele Smith and the girls in P.P. stay on the front page a little longer.

I guess it's up to the likes of us to ask just as you have done. These cases I feel are bookmarked in the " to do files " of the various countries concerned. The odd email or phone call to your Consul never hurts. I keep in touch with Larry just as a matter of course. Ask him yourself, his contact details are public knowledge.

No weapons? How will the tourists defend themselves?

Since I am an ex-cop, I had a long time expat friend of mine ask me in the wake of all these stabbings, murders and attacks on foreigners what weapon he should buy for self defense. I suggested getting an ASP expandable baton and pepper spray. This is, after all, what the foreign Tourist Police Volunteers carry. The hard part is keeping it where you can get to it quickly when you need it.

Girls should have no problem.

My condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of the deceased and injured.

"...the driver swerved to avoid a power pole blocking the road. "

Why was there a pole blocking the road?

Totally irrelevant Scott. If you cant drive to the conditions that may exist at the time, you shouldn't be driving at all. It looked to me in the photo to be well marked with traffic cones. Any sensible driver would have missed it.

Probably finished work at 12 pm, on the piss until 4.30 am. ....pop a few pills.............. that's the way I see it. Can some one get a police report to refute my theories, no I thought not.

A good reminder of an important principle of motorcycle riding. Don't outrun your sight-line, or, if at night, don't outrun your headlight. Meaning you should never be traveling at a speed great than that which allows you to safely stop, or at least avoid, any stationary hazard that "suddenly appears" ahead in the roadway. Lost on the Thai's, it's a good practice for those of thus that actually care about the safety in our riding.

Darwin might be dead but his theories live on. Further proof here. There are some that just don't get it no matter how hard you try to help.

The Phuket authorities have proved that they cannot tackle local mafia and local corruption. They have admitted it.

They should not be given yet more power which they cannot / will not use.

I'm also suspicious of "experts" that happen to be local businessmen.

I'm saddened that you judge me like that.

I often wonder what, exactly, the 'economic development' is here, that sucks Thais in to live here who can afford properties in the 2m - 5m price band. They can't all be involved in the tourism business. What other industries are springing up to act as a magnet for living here?

Don't get too concerned mate. It's just the spin doctors at work again, they usually come out in force around this time of the year like born again Christians, sprouting their drivel.

Had some Jehovah's in to-day, same shit, different program.

Edit; Thank god I'm an atheist !

I will definately give that a shot, now all they need is a side entrance to the airport to avoid all the taxi eggheads

No need to avoid the touts. Just jangle your car keys in their face with a ( false smile ), or any bunch of keys for that matter. They pick up on that pretty quick and look for their next mark.