spidermike007

The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. They came in droves. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons.

So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. They came in droves. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are perhaps the majority who visit Thailand now. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for some of the super low budget Chinese tours. Not many rich Chinese are not visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 460%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. 

I was recently with a group of friends, and we wanted to order a bottle of wine, at of one of those high end restaurants in the EmQuartier complex. It was Bella Rocca Restaurant. I asked about a 2011 Chianti they had on the list. I was told they were out of stock. I asked about a Barbaresco, at 2,600 baht. Again, out of stock. How about this Nebbiolo? Do you have the 2010, as stated on the list? No, we only have the 2015. OK, what is that wine like? Is it drinking well now? I do not know. Is there anyone here that is familiar with this wine list? No. Sorry sir. Wait a minute. You have 100 bottles on this list, ranging from 1200 baht to 10,000 baht per bottle, and NOBODY who works here knows anything about the wine? Are you serious? We all just looked at each other, and got up and walked out. We realized the restaurant was a pretender. And more than likely the food was marginal at best. It was all dressed up to look like a very nice Italian restaurant. But, it appeared to be only window dressing. High end tourists have little patience for that lack of quality and lack of service. 

But again, the lack of vision, combined with a naive, surly, silly, churlish, and ignorant sense of nationalism, bites the country in the butt. And again, who is the loser? The Thai people. 

The entire country is suffering from a declining tourism industry. And that will not change. It is a permanent declining trend. For a hundred valid reasons.

Although there are certainly some credible allegations that have materialized, since the whole Weinstein scandal broke, there are also alot of opportunists who have used this as a pretext for their agendas. Let's face it. Women have been using their femininity to get ahead for millennium. And there is nothing wrong with that. We use what we have to work with. But, the burden of proof is so minor these days, and reputations and lives can be shattered with one allegation. The system must work to establish a burden of proof on the accuser, and must set the bar higher than it currently is. The histrionics from some members of the movement, like Rosie O'Donnell, and especially the hysterical Minnie Driver, have been too much. When Matt Damon spoke out, and defended George Bush Sr. for patting a woman lightly on the butt, she excoriated him. When Damon had the audacity to say there is a big difference between patting a woman on the butt, and rape, she screamed no. It is about the same thing. Come on. There have to be limits. It is not the same thing!

I have a dear friend, who told me a great story. He said his mom was in Times Square during the celebrations after WWII ended. The soldiers were returning home, to a heroes welcome, which they deserved. She told her son that she was standing around, greeting the soldiers as they paraded by. She said she was kissed, hugged, and fondled by hundreds of soldiers. She said she probably had 800 guys put their tongues in her mouth that day. She told her son it was the best day of her life, and possibly the highlight of her life. Nearly all of the women in the crowd were kissing hundreds of complete strangers. Nobody thought it was the slightest bit inappropriate. How things have changed!

Due to this whole movement, relationships, and friendships between men and women have been changed. I know very few guys in the US who are getting any action since this movement started. They are finding it hard to even date a gal, in a normal manner, as things have gone dangerously out of control.

12 hours ago, sanemax said:

Ant time a Foreigner visits another Country , its quite possible that immigration will ask him a few questions .

   Why do you feel that your friend should be allowed to travel the world without any I.O.s asking him any questions ?

An immigration officer asking a few questions is fairly routine. Being taken aside, and brought into an office to be grilled by two officers for 30 minutes is not routine. It is bizarre. I would have lost it and laid into those goons very hard. He was scared. Thailand is missing the mark and failing the test. 

2 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Hope these businesses or the factory employees are not too dependent on this company. 

 

Granted they were operating without a license, but some major projects in Thailand start off unlicensed.  No health violations were found.  A softer approach would have been more beneficial.  Heavy handedness is the order of the day for Thai officialdom.

It was said of a great king of ancient days, that he wears his power very lightly. The same cannot be said of Prayuth. On any level. Not sure what was "really" going on with this factory. But, when it comes to this administration, you can be sure that it is not what it seems. 

A friend of mine, who visits Thailand annually, and has done so for the past 15 years, was pulled aside by immigration, and two agents spent 30 minutes asking him dozens of questions, just last week. It made him very uncomfortable. Why was this necessary? Sure he has a few extensions in his passport. But he is a good guy, a law abiding man, and is quite wealthy. He brings alot to the table. Thailand desperately needs more tourists like him. Thailand is completely missing the mark. There are so many things they are doing wrong, from a standpoint of both tourism, and behavior toward ex-pats, at the government level. They are destroying the economy with this foolishness. This administration is the worst in a very long time. They must go. Appointing the biggest joke to head immigration was a decision that is ten levels beyond boneheaded. Dumb and dumber. 

To the current administration. Get out. Get out now. You are not effective or competent. You are not wanted. You are not popular. Get out!

I agree with everything except #8. It should have been more specific. See Korean or Japanese customers. The rest of Asia pays less than foreigners. Especially the local men. 

Absolutely not. I would encourage them to fly business class, if they can afford it. And fly around the country, as much as possible. Come in december or january, but not during peak season, if it can be helped. He will have the time of his life. 

53 minutes ago, Proboscis said:

Hyde-Smith is too moderate for you? What do you want? The equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition for everyone who does not think, love Jesus and have sex in precisely the way you do? As the previous poster said, a giant step backwards to state sanctioned violence like the way they used to do it, such as public hanging. Not even the most evil of serial killers do public hangings.

Thank you. She is a monstrously misguided human being who is allowed to be a hater, by the current crop of bigots and racists. Accept reality. America is never going to be white again. So what? The ethnic minorities are what have made America great. Certainly not the white southern bigots. Legal Immigrants commit 9 times less homicide than Americans. And illegal immigrants commit three times less homicide. Who are the maniacs?

2 hours ago, JKfarang said:

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we maybe confusing the high speed rail fantasy with the dual track project?  In either case, I drive past this area between soi 88 and 94 in Hua Hin often and they have been working on this section for months now, primarily just moving dirt around as far as I can tell.  Granted we have experienced a fair amount of rain here during that time.  That said, at the current rate of progress I'm guessing it will likely take about 5 years just to get from there to the crossing near Khao Takiab which is less than 10km to the south.  To Prachuap town and eventually Singapore seems almost inconceivable, in my opinion anyway.

They have already begun clearing many areas between Hua Hin and Prachuap. The high speed elevated line being built between Bangkok and Korat is coming together at a surprisingly fast pace. It is a wonder what can be done when you throw hundreds of billions of baht at a project. The high speed train is not a fantasy. It is happening right now. And it will be amazing to be able to get from HH to BKK in a little over an hour. 

4 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

I am not sure what you are saying here.
You talk about the danger of chemical leaching, then post a link to an article that says there is NO danger of leaching from modern bottles.
I refill a couple of six liter water bottles at my condo's RO machine all of the time. Costs five baht each. I then (sometimes) use a washed out Coke Zero bottle with label removed to carry with me. Not all the time, because I am disabled, and it can be difficult to manage, but I try. ????
Yeah, I am a subversive "libtard" who took the ZPG pledge (Zero Population Growth) at university, and kept it. I am not a fanatic with it, but make an effort to spare the planet for YOUR children and grandchildren. I hope you will. too.
YOU being all, Mike, 555. Not picking on ya. ????

You can order these bottles on ebay. They cost 100 baht. Shipping is free to Thailand. They are safe to use over and over. Made of hard plastic. BPA free. The normal bottles you refer to, like the Coke Zero is made of a soft, low grade plastic, that degrades, and the chemicals leach into your water. That is the difference. Easy deal. Safe. Clean water, without clogging the oceans with our personal waste. We all have to take some responsibility. Sounds like you are doing your part. All I am saying is there is a safe way to accomplish the same thing. Those plastic water bottles are messing with this planet, in a huge way. The future consequences are unforeseen. I personally, am going to try to be as little a part of that, as I possible can.

Plastic #1 is intended for one-time use only. As a precaution, these bottles should not be reused or heated and can be recycled once into new secondary products such as fabric, carpet or plastic lumber. Some studies have found levels of antimony (a toxic chemical) discharge from water bottles that have been placed in the heat for prolonged times, or used multiple times. It’s always best to make sure that your water bottles are not temperature abused even though PETE does not contain Phthalates.

That paper should be used as evidence #1, when making the case before the education ministry, of the dire need for foreigners, to teach english here in Thailand. Even the Thai english teachers, for the most part, cannot speak, read, write or comprehend english with any level of proficiency. How are their students expected to do so?

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

 

Unfortunately it's dangerous to reuse most of the plastic bottles - or all of them - that bottled water comes in.

Dangerous leaching of plastic.

 

https://www.verywellfit.com/can-i-reuse-my-bottled-water-bottle-3435422

 

The bottles you show in the pictures sounds like a solution. Certainly the metallic ones should be safe.

The bottles shown are made of a harder plastic, and are BPA free. You are correct about re-using normal plastic bottles. But, these are cheap, shipping from China is free, and they are readily available on e-bay.

It is a hugely important project. My understanding is that the entire line will be elevated, and it will be a high speed rail, initially linking Bangkok with Prachuap and Hua Hin, and eventually to Singapore. The trains in Thailand are so outdated, and slow. The highways are congested with far too much truck traffic. There are no airports in use, within the Hua Hin area. There should be 40 flights a day out of Hua Hin. Why that is not the case is a complete mystery, and further evidence of the gross incompetence of this administration. But, to their credit, the high speed rail moves forward. One small step for the Thai people, one giant step for Thailand. 

This man is completely lost. Many have become so sensitive, so thin skinned, and so wrapped up in their own world, that their perspective is completely gone. Being called anti vax is such a nothing. It means nothing to anybody. So what? Big deal. Why the sensitivity. Cop to it. You are anti vax. It means less than zero. Grow some thicker skin. Man up. Stop being a child. Get real. He does not have a clue.

This man has no idea what it means to be called the N word, the long history behind it, the intent and malice inherent within this term, nor what the people brought over from Africa as slaves have been through. As a white man with many black friends, I can say to this day, that they continue to face discrimination, racism, hatred (even from the US president), and are constantly profiled by the police in America. 

Often this things relate to a man rushing into things, and not getting to know a woman well enough, before diving in head first. For the men out there who are trying to find their way, in this rather complicated arena, always remember one thing. Take your time.  Since most Thai woman are usually trying to push the agenda, in terms of time, it is important to push back. If it is good, it is only going to get better. If there are issues, they are going to reveal themselves over time. 2 years minimum, before you commit large sums of cash, or commit to marriage. And that is two years, full time! Be like Bond. Do as Bond would do. Be a man. Man up. Now is the time to show who you are. 

You can call me overly optimistic, but I think the junta is going to get slaughtered in the upcoming election. The army has to go. A friend of mine was recently at the Moto GP EVENT in Buriram. He said when the guy who promoted the event, I believe it was Tanaisiri Chanvitayarom, Managing Director at Buriram Circuit, got up to give a short speech he got a standing ovation for doing such a great job. The crowd was very enthusiastic, and many reported it was an exceptionally well run event. 

Just the concept of Thailand taking a moral stand, to protect an ethnic minority is an idea that is hard to grasp. Has there been any history of this? One may hope that the new incoming administration (definitely not the army) might have more of a humanitarian point of view. But, how often has Thailand been known to stick their necks out, to help those in need, or stand up for those in dire straits? The recent fiasco with the repatriation of the Uighurs to China comes to mind. 

Thailand has a long history of signing ASEAN charters, then completely ignoring the laws it has agreed to.