spidermike007

I have rarely had issues with taxis in Bangkok. Now, in Samui and Phuket, that is a different matter. Even Pattaya. But not Bangkok. Samui needs the most help. The taxi situation in Samui is completely out of control. They charge 100-200 baht for a 1 km. trip. They are super rich as a result. Ridiculous behavior, and shame on the authorities for not even making an effort to do anything.

Do you think that with all the corruption in the last 14 years that the military should have it solved in one month? A bit unrealistic I think.

I see so many times people being refused for the trip by the driver. I see more refusals then passengers stepping in actually. This should be heavily penalized.

Another thing is that so many taxis are "roaming" empty, this creates lots of traffic, traffic congestion and pollution.

And then there are those long queus of taxis, mostly old ones, that occupy whole streets and do not allow other cars to park or normal taxus to pick up passengers, like in sukhumvit soi 11.

Most taxis seem to be owned by Police, so there we go again.

Start cleaning up where it is due...

Well this thread is about swampy so I will refer you to my earlier answer.

Actually picking on the taxi drivers and motorcycles seems short sighted. If they went on strike (as a very good percentage of them are red) they could bring the whole of BKK and at least parts of the country to a very fast stop. I am not sure they have thought of that yet tho.

Let us hope they never figure that out.

I like the idea that they are willing to talk with the taxi drivers rather than impose on them. There might be a better solution they can both agree on. This is not a Democracy but it seems like people want to whine about it being transparent. Go figure.

I was referring to Samui, the land of nothing ever gets done, no progress is ever made, nobody of value ever gets arrested and nobody looks after the place.

Spidermike007

Why do they keep going on about free tickets for board members? That's chickenfeed and tokenistic. They need to deal with the cost structures , the bloated staffing, the free tickets for staff, family and friends of staff etc. They won't do that because of the payback for the union's support. It will just limp on, dead in the water..

Who is the "they" you speak of? You mean the writers of these stories? Also, 20 free trips per board member isn't necessarily chickenfeed.

Do you know for a fact that board members get free tickets for staff, family and friends of staff? No ... you don't.

And it would be safe to say they are all on either business class, or first class. So that is an average of $5,000 to $10,000 per ticket? How do you think that $100-200KUS compares to their salary?

If Thai is not willing to improve their service, food, equipment, seating, and any of the other aspects that will help the airline to be more competitive, the LEAST they can do is lower fares. Do that have that level of marketing savvy in them? Any creative juice to be seen anywhere in that organization? Of course the board members quit. No more first class tickets anywhere in the world. That was quite a perk. What was the cash value of that perk for them and their families?

Personally I have always found the service on Thai to be fantastic a lot better than other carriers. Most of their fleet is pretty new and the seating is far roomier than just about anyone else than Singapore. I would rate Emirates, Singapore and Thai in my top 3 carriers for service and comfort, though Thai has seemed to become far more expensive in recent years. Thats only my opinion of course

I would rate Air New Zealand, Cathay, Qatar, Etihad, Eva, Emirates, Turkish, And a host of others before Thai NOW. Thai outpriced it'self, thinking as Thai sometimes do if business is slack put up the price to get the same money in---stupid.

I think that rather bizarre, and ridiculous business model occasionally works in a place like Samui, or Phuket, for a restaurant, or something modest. But, in terms of attracting an international customer base, who have a lot of choices, and are apart from the complete lack of common sense and reasoning so prevalent here in the LOS, it makes no sense. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot?

If Thai is not willing to improve their service, food, equipment, seating, and any of the other aspects that will help the airline to be more competitive, the LEAST they can do is lower fares. Do that have that level of marketing savvy in them? Any creative juice to be seen anywhere in that organization? Of course the board members quit. No more first class tickets anywhere in the world. That was quite a perk. What was the cash value of that perk for them and their families?

Your landlord is right, anybody could have done it.

What should you do? Do not leave large amounts of money in a drawer, try to find a better place. Do not go to the police accusing your landlord. Write it off and move on.

Very true. I would say, generally you were at fault. You simply do not want to create a situation where there is temptation. So, always keep cash, your passport and all valuables locked up. I find just a decent quality luggage lock works wonders. When I travel, I keep everything locked up in my luggage, when I leave the room. Have never had an issue. Even with large amounts of cash. So, you have to be more careful. And no, DO NOT GO TO THE POLICE. It is always a last resort. You have no proof, and you do not know where things can go from there, but generally the police here are unhelpful and incompetent.

My mentor as it were, the guy who introduced me to Thailand many years ago

and then was on his 35^th trip here told me the “3 golden rules”

1. Always were a condom
2. Don’t fall in love.
3. Never give out your phone number

It took me 2 days to break all three.

Ah! Memories

Have A Nice Day.

I have two to add to the list. Abandon all search for common sense and reason.

They are cracking down on the wrong group. I have rarely had issues with taxis in Bangkok. Now, in Samui and Phuket, that is a different matter. Even Pattaya. But not Bangkok. Samui needs the most help. The taxi situation in Samui is completely out of control. They charge 100-200 baht for a 1 km. trip. They are super rich as a result. Ridiculous behavior, and shame on the authorities for not even making an effort to do anything.

calm yourself. you are just projecting. take two asprin and try again tomorrow. read a book. get your life together. stop your hate before it is too late. selfish dimwit. next time you have problem you can't solve, don't call a Police Officer, order a pizza. see how that works out for you.

You're joking, right?

As if calling a (Thai) police officer when you have a problem is going to help. And on the off-chance they respond, more than likely they'll make it worse.

Any problems in LOS are probably better solved by pizza delivery guys than the useless and corrupt BIB.

When I see a post like yours, i think either the poster is new to Thailand and is still in the honeymoon phase or has family with some connection to the uniformed mafia, hence the ridiculous head-in-the-sand attitude.

Very true. Very accurate. I have never heard of a situation when a fareng has called a policeman, and they provided help. Usually they are extorted. Or given a lie. Once, I was in a restaurant, and heard a big crashing sound. Turns out some dimwit was driving at a ridiculous speed, and could not fit down a narrow lane, as a car was coming in his direction, and he could not, or did not stop in time. So, he took out my bike, and three others. Then he jumped back on his bike and fled the scene. The funny part, is that he was known to everyone in the restaurant! A dimwit and a coward. The police did find him. And I was told to meet him at the police station. I spent the first five minutes berating him. Asked him why he does not have even one male gene in his body. Why was he such a complete coward? Why did he find it impossible to take responsibility for anything in life? Once I calmed down, we ended up agreeing to some sort of settlement, that allowed me to fix my bike, without going out of pocket. He asked me to tell his insurance people a bunch of lies, and I told him that was not gonna happen. I told him he had gotten used to being able to lie about everything in life, and I was not going to help him perpetrate the 9,000th lie for him. The police were of little help. They knew him. They applied zero pressure, they basically told me to just work it out. I do give them modest credit for finding the guy. But, to call these guys competent would be quite a stretch. I have a lot of other stories. Some involve extortion. Some involve theft of settlement funds. None are pretty.

Spidermike

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I wonder if they moved him to a fake inactive post!

He doesn't even look like a real cop in the photo so I don't know how he got away with it for so long.

What does a real cop look like in Thailand...I am not sure I have seen one...

Generally those at Sergeant or junior officer rank will be driving a Mercedes and wearing 50K baht designer spectacles or sunglasses. They will also have so much gold jewellery on it will look like they have got jaundice. A close inspection of their wallet will reveal a wide array of top end platinum cards. Their children attend all the expensive extra-classes outside school time and all the expensive non-vocational classes. All this is proof that this can be achieved on a salary of 25K baht per month, so how you expats complain that living here on a 40K baht pension can be a struggle need to get a life!

Where on earth did you get the impression they earn 25,000? They do not earn even half that. This is a big part of the problem. It is almost as if the lazy and cheap govt. beaurecrats have said we will give you only a crap salary, but you are free to do as you choose, and we will never pursue you for it. Kind of like an American banker. Above the law.

Spidermike007

Traditionally Thai females want to be fair complexioned.

This comes from the old belief that those whose families are dark ("dam") had ancestors who where farm workers that worked in the fields and therefore had 'dark" children.

The belief is that the Sun caused their children to be darker than those of higher social status and class who did not have to work in the fields as laborers.

Those who are fair skinned did not have ancestors who worked in the fields.

All this is scientific nonsense, with no basis in fact, but is a common belief among many Thais.

So Thai women want to be fair skinned, which shows the higher status of their ancestors and their families prestige in the past.

This is not limited is not limited to Thais ..... it is a common prejudice in South East Asia.

White or fair skin is associated with a higher social status and darker skin is associated with farmers or laborers in your ancestors heritage,

The preference for "fair skin" as being "higher class" (wealthier) is a common one in Southeast Asia.

It is interpreted as meaning that your ancestors were those being served and pampered, and not doing the serving back then.

It comes from the Colonial days, when being "dark" was interpreted as "having a bit of the tar brush" in your ancestry.... as the imperial British spoke of it, in the days of the British Empire.

My thinking is that loving ones self for what we were born with is closer to the "truth", than wanting to be someone else. Of course there is basis in what they believe. But love thyself. Especially when thyself is beautiful and you just cannot see it due to societal and cultural programming.

Spidermike007

Yes. The obsession with whiteness here is amazing. On most of the soaps, the ones who live in the 50 million baht homes are always pasty white. Like casper the friendly ghost. Except they are usually bitches. Loudmouths, scheming, conniving, and nasty. I always tell my thai girlfriend repeat after me- Black is beautiful, white is bad. She thinks I am nuts. They just do not get it. I cannot believe the number of stunning, dark skinned women here, who think they are ugly because of their gorgeous, cocoa colored skin. If only they knew the truth! I think a great business model is the "Chocolate Bar". Hire dark skinned girls only. I would love to see the look on a beautiful light skinned girls face, when you told her she cannot work there because her skin is too light. I love the very concept.

SpiderMike,

You have just resurrected three old threads on the topic of white skin.

What are you doing?

Just having some fun. Some threads should never be put to rest! LOL.

Spidermike007

The obsession with whiteness here is amazing. On most of the soaps, the ones who live in the 50 million baht homes are always pasty white. Like casper the friendly ghost.I always tell my thai girlfriend repeat after me- Black is beautiful, white is bad. She thinks I am nuts. They just do not get it. I cannot believe the number of stunning, dark skinned women here, who think they are ugly because of their gorgeous, cocoa colored skin. If only they knew the truth! I think a great business model is the "Chocolate Bar". Hire dark skinned girls only. I would love to see the look on a beautiful light skinned girls face, when you told her she cannot work there because her skin is too light. I love the very concept.

Yes. The obsession with whiteness here is amazing. On most of the soaps, the ones who live in the 50 million baht homes are always pasty white. Like casper the friendly ghost.I always tell my thai girlfriend repeat after me- Black is beautiful, white is bad. She thinks I am nuts. They just do not get it. I cannot believe the number of stunning, dark skinned women here, who think they are ugly because of their gorgeous, cocoa colored skin. If only they knew the truth! I think a great business model is the "Chocolate Bar". Hire dark skinned girls only. I would love to see the look on a beautiful light skinned girls face, when you told her she cannot work there because her skin is too light. I love the very concept.

Why does it take so long for justice in Thailand?

A terribly weak, and ineffective judiciary, that is compromised at almost every level, from what I am told. Judges with no guts, or courage. They can be bought for little money. I hear the same goes for the prosecutors. But, good on the ones who put this fool away for life. How sweet is that? Beautiful, I must say. Nice to see a pig locked up when he deserves it. Sounds like this hooligan felt like he was truly above the law. A Steven Seagal he was not.

If you've ever seen a Thai soap, there are often young pretty boys playing the role of the good policeman. The chicks seem to like that. However in reality, most cops are darker skinned than the lads on TV shows, thus, less appealing.

Have you noticed on the Thai soaps, how the people with whiter skin and have had the falung nose job, are the good people and the darker skinned Thais play the villain.

Just an observation.

Yes. The obsession with whiteness here is amazing. On most of the soaps, the ones who live in the 50 million baht homes are always pasty white. Like casper the friendly ghost. Except they are usually bitches. Loudmouths, scheming, conniving, and nasty. I always tell my thai girlfriend repeat after me- Black is beautiful, white is bad. She thinks I am nuts. They just do not get it. I cannot believe the number of stunning, dark skinned women here, who think they are ugly because of their gorgeous, cocoa colored skin. If only they knew the truth! I think a great business model is the "Chocolate Bar". Hire dark skinned girls only. I would love to see the look on a beautiful light skinned girls face, when you told her she cannot work there because her skin is too light. I love the very concept.

Always avoid western union whenever possible. They are an antiquated business model, and their fees are insane. Sure, they are very profitable but at our expense. They are a silly and ridiculous company. Always gives me great pleasure to deny them any business.

I always just walk up to the 4th level, walk out and there are dozens of taxi drivers very happy to see me! Easy, and simple. Always find one willing to use the meter. They know they will not have to wait on that horrific que. I guess all that will end. Oh well.

In order for real and meaningful reform to take place, within these ranks, the government has to get serious, and budget the money for this to happen. I spoke to a friend of mine, who knows a police captain, in a small station on Samui. He earns 10,000 baht per month. He has 10 men working under him. His regular rank and file guys make 8,000 per month. This is minimum wage. The equivalent of $6 per hour in the US. How does the govt. expect to attract talent, and keep them, with the expectation that they will not try to extort money out of the public to survive, on a salary like this? In addition, I have heard stories of police captains spending their own money for improvements to their main office, as they could not get the money from the govt. And I hear the officers are required to buy their own guns, gun belts, etc? Insanity is what this is. Also required will be massive reform of the forensic depts. Tens of billions of baht will need to be spent on equipment, up to date labs, technicians, etc. Overseas training, and where else can I go with this? The possibilities are limitless, as the level of reform required to get this dept. to world class standards is immense. So, do not say you are serious about this, unless you really are. All else is lip service.

The best oils for food preparation and human consumption are those which are high in monounsaturated fats (good), as opposed to those high in polyunsaturated fats (not so good), saturated fats (poor) and trans-fats (bad).

Those oils which are high in monounsaturated fats include olive, canola (which is getting a bad rap on TV it seems), avocado, peanut, macadamia, and then others to a lesser degree.

You left out rice bran oil. It is widely available in Thailand, and is outstanding on every level. Blows away canola, which I think is crap. Olive oil colors the taste of food way too much.

Spidermike

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

It has a relatively low flash point. That is our concern with cooking. So it results in high hdl. Canola is xlnt. if not cooked. Who on earth would consume it uncooked?

Spidermike007

There are a lot of alternative things you can try. Red roobios tea. Green teas. Many herbal compounds. How about trying cooking only with low cholesterol oils? Try sunflower or rice bran oil. Both are delicious, inexpensive here, and have very high flash points, which means fried food creates a lot less harmful saturated fats. Makes a huge difference. Eliminate all the very toxic oils like soybean, palm. and canola oil. Read the ingredients of everything you buy. Cut down on sugars. Exercise more. Much can be done before resorting to drastic measures, like taking drugs to regulate the cholesterol levels.

Few more years, they'll look like Texans.

Not sure anyone can look like Texans. Did you see the San Antonio-Miami final? I do not think there was a single cheerleader on the SA squad under 120 lbs. All were large. All had large waists. Not fat mind you. Toned. But large, big boned mamacitas. WOW. Glad they do not make them here, like they make them there. Too much milk, and beef? Who knows, but they are BIG.

Why should Phuket be any different to other parts of Thailand, including Bangkok, because some taxi drivers say so?

Because it is. The authorities really go out of their way in Bangkok, to make sure I can walk out onto any street and hail a taxi using the meter. Occasionally I have to shoo a few taxis away, who do not want to use the meter. But, I can ALWAYS find one who will. It is a wonderful and highly functional system. Of course, the drivers are not building villas, like they probably are in Phuket. Nor are they sending their kids to Oxford. But, please do not compare the completely broken system in Phuket, to the fully functional system in Bangkok. Please.