spidermike007

In fact the only way things will finally change, is when Thailand loses face internationally. Otherwise, no change will come from within. So, these international studies, and results are beneficial to Thailand, if they cause the LOS to become embarrassed to the point where they actually do something to fix the system, which is terribly broken. Most of Thailand's neighbors are making great strides when it comes to education. Considering how renowned the continent of Asia is for the emphasis they put on education, Thailand is seriously behind the curve. But for those of us who know Thailand well, this comes as no surprise. If the kids are not receiving a proper education, how bright does the future look? When in a recent study, 86% of math teachers in 16 provinces failed the test that they administer to their own students, how can we expect that the students will be able to comprehend the lessons?

The police is Samui, are some of the weakest cops on the planet. They are like young schoolboys. Nearly completely powerless. They are basically a revenue collection agency, and engage in almost no law enforcement, of any kind. The only people this will come as a surprise to, are people who have never been to Samui, and have never witnessed thousands of 11 years old riding motorbike on the main roads, without helmets. It has one of the highest per capita rates of motorcycle deaths in the world, partly due to the local boy scout troops not being willing to hand out speeding tickets, nor being willing to enforce drunk driving laws. So, when these goons say they are going to enforce a new law, it is simply a matter or time before the local club owners will offer enough cash. The Ark Bar is one of the greatest offenders on the island, both in terms of violating late night noise laws, and in terms of completely ignoring noise levels. Over 100 hotels in the area have to listen to their blaring music nearly every night. Pure unadulterated mafia biz. Samui is a mafia infested island, and the police have no power to deal with the gangstas.

"The coffee is ground by hand and brewed table side in a four-minute process. The fragrance is said to be floral and chocolate and the taste "milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries."

abcnews

I suppose to each his own. I myself would rather pass on the nutty flavor, in favor of something that did not pass through an elephant's rectum. Of course, some people will do anything for a thrill. But, some would argue that they may not have much of a life, if they are paying $1,000 per kilo for elephant pooh coffee.

True, Canadians earn more then 10$ per day. But Canadians are locked into a 3 year contract and paying double what their American neighbors pay, for less service.

Well, I pay $150 per month, for unlimited calling, texting, and 2GB of data, on my web plan. That sure feels expensive to me. The taxes alone are nearly 20% of the bill. Everything is more expensive in the US and Canada. Cell service is very reasonable in Thailand. At least for farengs. But, then again, I do not know many Thais that spend 1,000 baht per month on their phone plan.

Of course. But the real question is, when was the last time he did not do coke? How do you grow up as the son of one of the richest and most powerful men in the country, and become a normal, respectful, well intentioned human being? Which of course he is not. A Rockefeller, Kennedy, or Vanderbilt he is not. What kind of moral, and ethical system are the sons of billionaires taught in Thailand?

Cambodia, Laos, and of course Malaysia, and Indonesia have been years ahead of Thailand, when it comes to 3G service. A friend of mine who works for AIS told me the level of embarrassment and shame at AIS over being beat out by Laos is unspeakably high. Why this country is lagging behind is unfathomable. A nearly dysfunctional government is a large cause of many of this countries problems. If they do not start playing catch up, the future may not be very kind to this country which many of us love so much.

Interesting. So they do feel shame and embarrassment?

I've been under the impression that AIS, CAT (and the rest of them) simply don't know or don't care that their "less developed" neighbouring countries are way ahead.

Oh yes, they both know, and care very much. It is a tremendous loss of face for them, that they are so incredibly far behind the curve. That is a fact, according to my friend, who manages on of their busier outlets.

Well I'm glad to hear it. That means they are not completely ignorant.

I'm a heavy smartphone user since 5 years back, and I'm still waiting for proper 3G.

I would prefer 4G, but I guess that is just a wild dream here in Thailand.

I am here in the states right now, and the 4G is blazing fast. Clocked a speed of 50MB download the other day! Usually about 10 to 11MB down, and about 2.5MB up on the 4G network, but many places in LA are 15-50MB! Faster than my fiber optic wifi, or LAN connection. Amazing technology. Samui just got 3G a few months ago. Thailand is hopelessly behind the technology curve. Think of the crow the Thai tech people will be eaten when the LOS is overtaken by Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Burma and Bangladesh. Of course, they have already been overtaken by Malaysia and Indonesia, but we all know they are far more advance societies, in terms of infrastructure, GDP in the case of Indonesia, and per capita income in the case of Malaysia. It may only be a matter of time until Thailand is at the bottom rung of Asean, if their current direction continues.

Cambodia, Laos, and of course Malaysia, and Indonesia have been years ahead of Thailand, when it comes to 3G service. A friend of mine who works for AIS told me the level of embarrassment and shame at AIS over being beat out by Laos is unspeakably high. Why this country is lagging behind is unfathomable. A nearly dysfunctional government is a large cause of many of this countries problems. If they do not start playing catch up, the future may not be very kind to this country which many of us love so much.

Interesting. So they do feel shame and embarrassment?

I've been under the impression that AIS, CAT (and the rest of them) simply don't know or don't care that their "less developed" neighbouring countries are way ahead.

Oh yes, they both know, and care very much. It is a tremendous loss of face for them, that they are so incredibly far behind the curve. That is a fact, according to my friend, who manages on of their busier outlets.

Great talk by Vilasinee Adulyanond, director for campaign and public communication for Thai Health Fund. Thai people need to hear more of this kind of talk. Works are like weapons. They have tremendous power, especially when coming from political leaders. Take heed, those in power. You are tearing your country asunder when you utter idiotic nonsense in the name of collecting votes. Believe nothing you hear from these hatemongers.

Works for me. Personally I adore Bangkok. There is a reason why the Conde Nast survey had it voted the top big city in the world. I think the place is amazing. I have never been to such a big city with the kind of positive energy that city has. The attitude of the local people is unsurpassed. I have never seen people as warm, friendly, open, and as good humored and light hearted (for a huge city) as in Bangkok. I love every day I am able to spend in this "glorious city of the angels". Of course the city has it's problems, but name me a city it's size that does not.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is offering a total of nine 5-megahertz slots to bidders. Consultants from Chulalongkorn University recommended a reserve price of Bt6.44 billion per slot.

5 or 2.1 megahertz????

Maybe 6.44B 5 years ago when they should have been issued, now there is a 2 years life expectancy before 4G is the standard benchmark and 3G to be phased out, even in Cambodia.

Cambodia, Laos, and of course Malaysia, and Indonesia have been years ahead of Thailand, when it comes to 3G service. A friend of mine who works for AIS told me the level of embarrassment and shame at AIS over being beat out by Laos is unspeakably high. Why this country is lagging behind is unfathomable. A nearly dysfunctional government is a large cause of many of this countries problems. If they do not start playing catch up, the future may not be very kind to this country which many of us love so much.

I have started to take pleasure in asking Thai women, who obviously use some whitening agents on their faces, if they are unwell and suffering from some horrible ghost like ailment, without letting the cat out the bag of course and keeping a straight face. Their reactions can be highly amusing, but hopefully stimulate a little thought that may help them to stop wasting money.

I think you are referring to something known in the west as reflection, or introspection, or self analysis. Does that exist in Thailand? I have never seen it. I do not know if I have ever encountered a peoples reflective, or able to look inside for the answers. Does not seem to be the Thai way.

You should change your group of friends if that is the case ... or get some Thai ones.

I am very open to getting some thai friends. Most Thai men seem to want to have nothing to do with Western men, unless they have had a university education, or been out of the country. Of course there are exceptions. In Samui most Thai men only want to be friends if there is a money angle. But, I realize Samui is not a reflection of Thailand. it is an aberration. It tends to attract people looking for opportunity. But, meeting Thai men and establishing friendships with sincere, intelligent, open minded, and worldly Thai men would be delightful. It has not happened yet in my 6 years in Thailand though. And I have tried.

I have started to take pleasure in asking Thai women, who obviously use some whitening agents on their faces, if they are unwell and suffering from some horrible ghost like ailment, without letting the cat out the bag of course and keeping a straight face. Their reactions can be highly amusing, but hopefully stimulate a little thought that may help them to stop wasting money.

I think you are referring to something known in the west as reflection, or introspection, or self analysis. Does that exist in Thailand? I have never seen it. I do not know if I have ever encountered a peoples reflective, or able to look inside for the answers. Does not seem to be the Thai way.

I often ask my Thai girlfriend to repeat after me:

Black is beautiful.

White is bad.

try getting a Thai person to say that 100 times! What utter rubbish. How many of us prefer darker skin? Personally I find skin too white to look homely, sickly and ghostly. What have the Thai people succumbed to this utter nonsense? Why are some persons in a position of authority not stepping up, to try to

educate, and convince the Thai people how wrong all of this is? Why the obsession?

When you get up there in the high ranks you can pick and chose your targets. You don't have to screw around with 300 baht helmet fines when you're a Major General. You have to assume everyone is on the take. You just have to avoid them taking from you.

They're more like predators that sometimes try to help control traffic and maybe get into a gun fight sometimes. It's all a balancing act.

We call them a revenue collection agency. That is the extent of it. there may be a few detectives in

the LOS, that actually work on fighting, and solving crime, but we are talking about very few. Ever

heard of the keystone cops? They were more serious than these clowns.

Truth is rarer and harder to find in this country than gold, diamonds, or rare earth. For some reason, Thai people have a very adversarial relationship with truth. They have a hard time hearing it, and an even harder time speaking it. Face comes into play, but face is merely an excuse to avoid doing any

inner work, and getting to know one's self. Face forces one to not introspect, and get to the bottom of

an issue, and is one of the most corrosive and destructive forces in Thai society. But face aside,

there seems to be little willingness to tell the truth here. Of course, it is the complete opposite of

the great prophet Buddha's teachings, and therefore leaves alot of us perplexed. Just another one of

completely peculiar aspects of life here. It is nearly impossible for me to trust most Thai people.

When they tell me something, it seems to be for expedience, and there usually seems to be little regard

to the future, or the consequences of their actions, or words. But, in general Thai people seem to have

very little vision, or concern about the future.

What happened to the Red Bull case? The cop who obstructed justice, the staff who colluded with the cop in obstructing justice, and last but not least, what happened to the case of the Ferrari driver who killed the cop? Has this case been swept under the carpet? Has anyone heard anything? Is the newspaper intending to follow up on this?

It was swept under the rug, just like every other instance. Thailand is doing the least to fight corruption, of all nations in the "free" world. There is absolutely no fight in them. The powers that be here will fight tooth and nail to avoid having their gravy train interrupted, and the authorities and nearly completely impotent. Like 12 year olds fighting real men. Any, and all stories you read about the "fight" are only for public consumption. Thailand is decades away from positive change. Where is the Anna Hazari of Thailand? Only when Thailand drops from #25 in the world, to #50 in the world (that will definitely happen, just give this country enough time to destroy itself) will a fight be waged. By that time, the oligarchs will have their money offshore.

Impressive, 10 million fashion victims in a week. I guess the old "one born a minute" rule still applies.

You hit it right on the head. This is an inferior piece of technology, selling at top dollar, due to the fact that it is so hip. The Galaxy SIII absolutely blows this phone away, on every level, from the much better keyboard (not to mention the custom keyboard apps), the camera, the photo quality, the brightness of the screen, the speed, etc, etc. I could go on for a year, having used them both. But, the worldwide snow job continues, and people continue buying into the iphone hype. I say all this as a mac user. So, I do know what I am talking about.

iPhone 5 has already outperformed the SIII in Geek bench test results. Also not sure how you have used an unreleased phone?

I like Apple, but I won't claim it's so much better than the SIII speed wise. It should be, the SIII has been out for months.

I have not used the iphone5. I am sure it is an improvement, as apple had a long way to go, in the smartphone dept. But, I still doubt it comes close to the samsung. The photos on the iphone looked like mud. Little clarity. I hated the camera, and I tried many. I believe they used an incredibly cheap lens. On the samsung no such issue. Also the keyboard on the iphone really sucks. On the samsung there are many keyboard apps, that are brilliant, such as swiftkey, etc. I am thrilled with this truly smart phone. Samsung has outdone themselves, and I can see why apple is running scared.

Impressive, 10 million fashion victims in a week. I guess the old "one born a minute" rule still applies.

You hit it right on the head. This is an inferior piece of technology, selling at top dollar, due to the fact that it is so hip. The Galaxy SIII absolutely blows this phone away, on every level, from the much better keyboard (not to mention the custom keyboard apps), the camera, the photo quality, the brightness of the screen, the speed, etc, etc. I could go on for a year, having used them both. But, the worldwide snow job continues, and people continue buying into the iphone hype. I say all this as a mac user. So, I do know what I am talking about.

Interesting to hear that you used both of the phones already, taking into consideration that the Iphone 5 is not for sale yet. Unless you were one of the chosen few that were at the Keynote, I suspect that you did compare it to an Iphone 4s?

Anyway, I highly doubt that the build quality of the Galaxy is anywhere near that of the Iphone 5....so I do not think that it would "blow away" the Iphone 5 at least on that level.

I did not use the iphone5. Used the iphone 4. I sure hope apple made alot of improvements, as that phone was like a kid's toy. Such a marginal phone, for that kind of money. The build quality is way beyond the iPhone, which was slow, ponderous, etc. Also some of the apps like the camera are just downright atrocious. Not the res. The quality of images. Compared side by side, the Samsung had the typical brightness, and quality of a Samsung monitor. I showed the exact same photo to several people on both phones side by side, and EVERYONE remarked at how poor they looked on the iphone, and how gorgeous they looked on the real phone.

I agree the sync issue is the greatest challenge. But, it can be done. I sync the contacts with cheetah. I sync the photos with picasa, and then the google account. Very easy. I sync the music with doubletwist. also easy. Mail is a piece of cake, as the servers seem to be universal, to some extent. I use a notes app, that back up online. I also use password keeper, vaulty, and many other apps that sync online. So, the processes are there, it just takes a little more work. On the other hand I do not have a ridiculous cloud wiping out my email passwords every other day, so that is just one of the many, many reliefs associated with moving away from this deficient piece of hardware known as the iphone.

Impressive, 10 million fashion victims in a week. I guess the old "one born a minute" rule still applies.

You hit it right on the head. This is an inferior piece of technology, selling at top dollar, due to the fact that it is so hip. The Galaxy SIII absolutely blows this phone away, on every level, from the much better keyboard (not to mention the custom keyboard apps), the camera, the photo quality, the brightness of the screen, the speed, etc, etc. I could go on for a year, having used them both. But, the worldwide snow job continues, and people continue buying into the iphone hype. I say all this as a mac user. So, I do know what I am talking about.

Why should I worry about corruption?

I shop at Tesco, so don't deal with dual pricing issues

I have all of my car and motorbike tax and insurance completed by a trustyworthy agent so as to avoid the transport office all together

I rent so as to safe guard my capital and to avoid the land office

I have a long term partner (who is devine) but she understands I will never marry

I never go to bars and have absolutely no intention of my girl owning one

I abide by Thai law

I do not work in Thailand and live off the income generated by my offshore investments

I am here to enjoy my quiet little life with my beautiful girl, eat great food, and waste my life away in, and on, the Andaman sea

I didn't give a moments thought to the corrupt self interested grubs in politics and policing back in Australia. Why would I give any thought to their brethren here in Thailand?

Endeavouring to reconcile epistemology, with the nebulous metaphysics that comprise morality, is a fool's quest.

Tell me again why I should concern myself with corruption in Thailand?

Good attitude. Yes, the corruption affects some of us more than others. But, you are very smart not to own property here. And as long as you know what you are doing, you can avoid the nonsense, to some extent. Sounds like you have a good woman, and are living the good life. Kudos to you, and continued good fortune.

Compulsory driving lessons by a qualified instructor followed by a driving test on the road, not a piece of concrete would be a good start.

The UK has the safest roads in the world because it has one of the toughest driving tests in the world.

Imposing stricter traffic law will have no effect unless the police are prepared to enforce it. Somehow that seems a little unlikely.

But, how do you impose enforcement, in a virtually lawless land. How much actual law enforcement is there, in the LOS? Very, very little. The police are undertrained, undermanned, upderpaid, and under qualified. Very little of the actual law is enforced. People know this, and they know they can get away with virtually any crime, if they have some cash. It is like the US, in the 1880's. Thailand is the laughing stock on the world, when it comes to the police. It is like comedy hour.

The Kbank recommendation outside of the airport is a good one. There are only a couple of banks in the airport, and they paid a bloody fortune for the right to offer you a very uncompetitive rate. Exchange there only as a last resort. Not a good rate, ever. Better to do it outside of the airport.

Yes, all in one capsule. Works great the first time, and every time. Try it. Great stuff.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect App

And also it's NOT A DRUG! Isn't that great!! I know this from the FAQ on the Balimojo website:

Q. Is Bali Mojo a drug?

No. Bali Mojo is 100% herbal.

So if you ever are unlucky enough to be in a Thai Court after being found in possession of cannabis, you now know how to avoid a protracted jail sentence and save yourself a mountain of pain.

Just say to the court "It's not a drug because it's 100% herbal!"

Good argument I think you'll agree.

You seem to have an ax to grind against the herb industry. Or are you a rep for the big pharma? They tend to hate herbs, as they are effective, and 1/100th the price of the drugs they peddle.

I am a scientist, so I hate quackery, lies and superstition masquerading as the truth.

It's a simple matter of fact that despite all the multitude of things wrong with the pharmaceutical industry, and they are legion, any claims they make about the efficacy and safety of their products are held up to rigorous scientific scrutiny and testing, with the prospect of legal sanctions if they lie. Even then things go wrong.

The claims of herbal industry are held up to no such scrutiny. They claim anything and everything with no proof , studies or safety checks. There is no way of telling what is mere fiction, wishful thinking, placebo effect, or in many cases outright deliberate deception for profit.

I do not trust statements for which there is no reliable evidence, especially statements made by someone who profits markedly if I believe them.

It seems to be common sense not to be gullible in a world full of cons. At least to me.

OK I sort of hijacked the thread, but only to counter the Balimojo pumpers, and so this is my last comment.

I understand your concerns. One of the ways I test herbs, and herbal supplements, if the effects that I feel from them. With the bali mojo, I can feel how effective this one is, within a couple of hours, and continue to feel the effects for two days. In the case of other herbal products I take, it is the same. So, one can use one's own body, which is quite an effective way of experiencing benefits.