Honkytowner

It seems face/image is everything in this country. Perception = reality.

I taught English to Thai-curriculum MBA students at a government university in Bangkok for two years. At the outset I was warned not to fail anybody, because this would affect the institution's record of academic achievement and result in a loss of income, as students would then go elsewhere to be assured of a pass.

Cheating during exams was the norm and nothing I did or said could stop it. The experience was truly demoralising and I've since found other more rewarding work.

If Thais can't learn to speak and write basic English by 2015, the country's economy is truly farked.

Why are so many celebrities—and politicians, come to that—such arrogant idiots? Ms. Germanotta certainly lives up to her stage name. Let's all surf and download her albums for free. Not that I'd want to listen to them.

Buchholz, you'll be up against the wall for that, once the Dear Leader returns!

Great piece of satire, though. Guess I'll be joining you....

I read recently that research has shown most accidental fires when people are filling up are are caused not by mobile phone use but rather by static electricity built up while riding inside the car. Fleeting bodily contact with the metal body of the car, which has a high capacity to earth/ground, causes the static to discharge and spark. So the old ban on mobile phone use at filling stations is based on myth rather than fact.

Many smaller travel agents will be happy to book you a "dummy" flight out of Thailand for a few hundred baht. Once you've submitted the ticket as "evidence", you simply cancel the flight. My agent used to book me on Iran Air to London for THB600!

It's not extortion if there's no threat, whether real or implied. It's simply the unhappy (for the farang) combination of a plausible sob story, gullibility and a misguided sense of charity.

So many "experts"; so little reliable information.

This wasn't a "robbery". It was a simple theft from a parked car.

Perhaps it was not the case here, but construction and maintenance workers in less-developed societies often don't wear body harnesses or other safety equipment because it's simply not provided by their employers, who are loath to spend on such "unnecessary" items.

It's a tragedy that innocent people were killed and injured, but I coudn't resist observing that Wikipedia says toluene is sometimes abused as a dissociative and euphoric inhalant, and at low to moderate levels "can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss ..."

I think quite a few members of Thailand's political elite must have been huffing this stuff.

"In the apartment the police found gold valued at about 365,00 baht..."

Hardly what I'd call a major haul of loot. That's just about USD11.80 / EUR9.00. Or, at today's price, about 7 thousandths of an ounce. And the gold shop owners had to pay the police THB100,000 to get back a tiny percentage of what they originally lost.

Nice work BiB!

Or are the subs at the Phuket Gazette just as incompetent as those at The Nation?

From what is being written about him, I'm regret never having had the opportunity to get to know "Bill" other than from his posts here. Clearly a man of admirable qualities, he will be much missed. Condolences to all his family and friends. R.I.P. Ian.

If the photo supplied is accurate, it appears that Chatu Mongol has a rather defective clone.

Of course the government is well prepared. They've all got their overseas properties and open-date plane tickets stashed away in preparation.

"Experts* confirm...." Time to sell up and move out then!

* Expert [def.]: Ex- = has been; spurt = a drip under pressure.

Living in Thailand is like being regaled by endless loops of the Goon Show and Monty Python. How can anyone possibly take anything from the mouth of an "authority" figure seriously?

I like to think of myself as a youthful 65, both physically and mentally. The reason I'm here is because in my last place of residence, Hong Kong, my wife (50) and I were both considered too old to be employable. Within two weeks of arrival in Thailand, I found a job that pays me very well indeed. My wife, aged 50, joined me and within a month had also found a good job.

There's definitely a different attitude to age here. I find myself treated with respect and deference everywhere. We've both been here for over three years now.

And for those seeking romance, let's not forget that wonderful Thai proverb: เป็นที่รักของชายชราดีกว่าเป็นทาสของชายหนุ่ม = Better an old man's darling than a young man's slave!

Amras wrote: "they need to focus on making the excipients harder to get".

An excipient is an inert substance used as a diluent or vehicle for a drug.

How would your suggestion help? Perhaps you mean "precursors"?

As I have previously pointed out, there's no need to use pseudoephedrine when you can legally buy ephedrine in bulk, in the form of the Chinese herbal medicine ephedra, or "ma huang" at any Chinese herbalist shop.

I don't understand why people go to such lengths and risk prosecution to obtain manufactured pseudoephedrine tablets when ephedrine in the form of the medicinal herb Ma Huang can be cheaply and legally obtained in bulk from any Chinese herbalist. Go figure.

I have the gold safe and sound. If Khun Akekarat will deposit THB2 million into my bank account, he will have it returned by courier the following day. 555

What is it with Fox News and "missing white girl" stories?

Maybe ... just maybe ... he's not a troll. In which case, I can only say: "Lust is blind."

I've only lived here for three years, but I've already seen several friends and acquaintances (mostly retirees or recently divorced) succumb to the charms of physically beautiful and charming but morally corrupt and predatory Thai women who have conned them out of almost every penny they owned.

Be very very cautious.

Buy a pair of these: http://www.zioneyez.com/#/home/ and every time you are extorted of money post the video to YouTube.