golferchin76

Not every dog respond to various types of training methods.
some dogs do need a little positive punishment (prong collar, shock collar) to condition them to better suit our 'civilized' society.
prong collars and shock collars (some with pager functions), work better than regular collars in obedience training because one needs to pull hard on regular collar and this can hurt dogs' air pipe in long run.

These tools help in novice obedience training. When dealing with dogs that bite, find out why they bite, combine various behavioral modification training with shock collars, prong collars.

For those who immediately jump to the negatives, and post useless stuffs. If you have a dog that develops behavioral problems like biting hands that approach, and if you don't know how to treat it, I suggest you leave the OP alone. Reward type training is just 50/50 on dogs with behavioral problems. For someone posted above, dogs should ALWAYS be on the leashed when you bring them for walk.

And you can buy shock collars on Amazon.

So all in all you CAN get things running smoothly if you try it would seem. Things can always be improved if people want to see that happen. I wish you luck with your development.

If anybody needs any information regarding any of the above please feel free to contact me.

Hi,

I carefully read the whole thread before I write this post.

First I try to ignore most of those useless rants because that's what TV is all about. Most people in this forum have nothing better to do, are pessimistic, are happy to shower you with cold water all day long.

Secondly, to answer your OP. A mooban's committee has no real power other than cause annoyance, to "legally enforce" any resolution. The term enforce means execute, compel by force. There is no "legal law" to back this up because it can and will lead to abuse.

There are a few useful posts stated that residents are obligated to pay monthly community maintenance fees, etc. If not, the committee in charge can take them to court. This is the best THE real law can do, and the result is to only get the payment in line. Residents cannot be fined, jailed, forced to comply with anything other than pay the community maintenance fee. Also, those particular residents can and may choose to leave the community (not physically), and the law says one can't do a thing about it. (I mean the real law does not say what you can do about it.)

Thirdly, why am I reading this thread.

The community I am about to move in, is a 75-ish unit gated mooban. Each house's worth is about 15 million baht or more, so you can get a feel of what type of community this is about. (everyone thinks he/she is right, no one agrees with anyone, people have BIG attitudes, etc.). I bought the house second-hand from my elder sister and am in the renovation process. I have lived here with my sister a couple of years ago and I liked the layout and the atmosphere of this mooban very much, but not most of the people. Some are great, but many are beyond reasonable.

But, the flood came and went. So earlier this year to rebuild, the committee has decided to collect up front the whole year's maintenance fee, which I happily paid because the waist high flood destroyed everything beautiful.

Do you know what nut scheme the same committee has resolved to proceed next? It decided that it will build a flood deterrent wall on the inside of the existing wall of the mooban. Therefore, I am in the process of researching, if I can "legally" object and say, "hey, do what you want to do, but fuc_k off I am not paying for the 100,000 baht you are asking."

I am not going to comply because of simple reasons:

1. more than 20 housess backyard are attached to the wall. And the plan is to build up on the inside of the wall. Will you let someone build a 1.3 meter high x 20cm thick wall that eats up your backyard space, not to mention its look? My house is not affected but I certainly would not if I am one of those residents.

2. The construction has already started!! even without budget collected from every household. Where did the star-up money come from? Did the committee abuse the up front community maintenance fee? The money that was to rebuild the look of the mooban and not other purpose?

3. Of course not all has agreed to this nut scheme. For residents whose backyard is attached to the wall, almost all are against the scheme. For residents like me, I am against it because I foresee the plan will fail eventually as it eats into other residents private property. When it fails, it becomes an incomplete project. What follows is a build contractor vs. mooban law suit. If the court favors the contractor, then every house owner 'check bin' to an unfinished wall. And this time around is really paying because it is hard to live in a mooban with a committee declared bankrupt.

4. Not to mention that I simply do not believe a chest high flood can be deterred. There are holes everywhere. I came from a flood prone country. The idea is: evacuate and rebuild. Move to higher ground if you can afford it.

Your goal is to create a better community for all. I say luckily the REAL law does not support the by-laws.

What's all the ruckus about? Just let him back into Thailand and the people greet him with open arms.

Depending on which side you're on, "open ARMS" will mean different things ;-)

i feel the same thing too. Let him come back. Solve and clear all these legal issues.

I just wonder if in his mind does he really has the courage to come back.

Coming in is easy, going out this time....is going to be "climb the sky" in our saying.

This forum is filled with so many negative opinions, filled with filthy vents, that ThaiVisa really disgusts me.

The culture belonging to the main demographic of this website is a lot different than what you are used to.

I agree with you, but you just need to skim over the first few pages of a thread to get the main idea of the story and what people think about that topic. Don't waste your time reading every single reply, and when a thread turns political it's best to just close the window. I would say a majority of conversations in the news section end up with the same fate.

The other subforums are pretty good though.

Thank you for your tip. There are good posts, although rare.

And yes the news section seems to turn political quite quickly.

I still find it hard to accept though, that ThaiVisa's news forum turns into a venting machine. Seems headlines are chosen to attract such responses.

The 2 primary costs are: 'rehabilitation' of properties and businesses, and attempting to 'safeguard' the Bkk area from future floods.

If Bkk was essentially abandoned, then most of those two major costs would be moot. Instead, investment could be put toward relocating gov't and businesses and residences to higher ground.

Of course that won't happen. Instead, gargantuan loans will be taken out, most of which will be pumped in to Bkk's sinking infrastructure, with a large proportion (35%?) clandestinely slipped in to rich peoples' pockets - ........then ever more dire floods will descend upon the sinking mud flats, and the cash carousel will keep turning 'round and 'round. Gives new meaning to the term 'bottom feeders.'

Sure. Abandon Bangkok. It won't cost anything.

I don't know where you're going to house 12 million people and the businesses that employ them. That won't cost anything either.

Who says it won't cost anything - you? Of course it will cost a heckavalot. But not relocating will cost more. Look at the basics: To try to maintain Bkk is like trying to keep an old decrepit ship afloat. Rather than spending annual bazillions sticking chewing gum on the myriad cracks in the hull - it would be smarter to start the long painful process of relocating to higher ground. Venice, Shanghai, New Orleans, Dacca, and Miami are just a few other major cities which will have to relocate, or watch themselves get innundated with stinky standing water.

Each year it's put off, the costs will climb - so it's better to face the music and start doing it now. No amount of infrastructure is going to keep Bkk dry in the long term, so why shovel tens of billions of dollars annually in to trying to do it - for a short term and questionably affective fix.

2 years ago, the talk was of building a giant berm all the way around the city, 360 degrees - I jest not. Now, there's talk of Km-wide cement waterways hither and thither. Guess what, all that infrastructure won't work! When you try to wall water out, you also wall water in. You can't cement mother nature in to a corner, and you can't pump out mother nature when sea levels continue to rise, as they will. Best to do the smart thing, and move to higher ground. Beach front property in Phitsonaluk? - not outlandish my friend.

You can relocate there first and see if the majority will follow.

The idea would not work and you know it because it won't pass the vote.

Do remember this is not a communist country like Cambodia.

This forum is filled with so many negative opinions, filled with filthy vents, that ThaiVisa really disgusts me.

You traveled here, chose to live here, and now what you do all day is you sit there and post sarcastic stuffs, venting sh*t to a lot of topics in the forum. Often time notionally calling Thais a race inferior to yours.

It used to be that ThaiVisa was somewhere I went to look opinions but now I just delete, delete, delete.

I am very grateful that my parents brought me here when I was 12. While Thailand is very different from say, Australia, UK, or Greece, it is in no way a lesser place to find a happy life.

The kingdom is not at all perfect. It never has been, and it will never will be. It is a loosely governed jungle. You knew it and that's why you are here.

Compare to what I am seeing now around the world, a LOT of so-called developed countries have made living a good life more difficult than ever.

It is true that there are a lot of bad sh*ts here, but I find them worse in cities, for example, New York, Paris. Problems appear different, but they inherently show that every human being given the opportunity can be just as selfish, corrupt, foolish, etc. etc.

The important thing is, you can find GOOD in this kingdom.

Where I live, flood was waist high, and is still 30-40cm tall. I see people helping each other despite of difficult living conditions.

The majority of Thais amazes me. They seem to wade through difficulties with more ease and smile.

It is one of the many many good things about this country and the people.

If you can't see or feel the 'good' in this jungle mess, then it is really not for you.

"Last year Thailand received 15.8 million international tourists, generating income of Bt585 million, he said."

That averages out at a tad over 37 Baht per international visitor. Is the quoted line a typo, or are the PM's advisors/scriptwriters slacking a bit?

Anyway, sad to say that Thailand (in common with just about every other country trying to entice tourists) can't be too picky at the moment.

you're right, that doesn't make sense. I think it's more like 58.5 billion or 585 billion. at the end, he was talking about 7 % of GDP, right?

It is entirely correct to report them as tourists are involved & this is a farang forum. Yes, they should be banned - if Hua Hin can do it, so can Phuket & Pattaya. It's just like giving the car keys to a person who has no idea how to drive a car with predictable results. Not only are jet skis a danger to the users, they are a danger to swimmers, snorkelers, windsurfers & small sail boat sailors.

This is NOT sensational & is is negative because 2 people died. A bit of sympathy instead of a rant would be more appropriate. My sympathy goes to the families of the victims

Jet skies are banned in Hua Hin probably the King lives there?

Jet skies are very powerful motors, even experienced get surprised and hurt riding them at speed. It is like riding motorcross bikes.

However, deaths and severe injuries from riding jet skies are extremely rare. If they are banned because of an unfortunate accident, the beaches will be a lot less attractive to tourists.

I think authorities (if they care) can device ways to make the experience safer.

1. let it operate at a certain part of the beach. rental owner can radio cut off the engine if a rider violates or riding too recklessly, just like go-karts.

2. jet ski engines can easily be detuned if there's such need.

3. jet ski owners must provide users (tourists) 'real' protective gears. Helmet, body armors, etc.

4. mandatory short 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 training sessions (jet ski can carry up to 3 people). The goal is to show how dangerous this thing can be, for example hit a wave in the wrong way and you would fly. Show them photos of injuries if need be. Then, let the users sign a death paper, let them feel the seriousness of this thing.

5. other things you can think to make this sport safer for tourists and others who use the beaches. Nearly 30% of beach going tourists tried this water sport 1st time in their life and had fun, because no such thing available for rental in their countries.

Deaths of that 'honey moon' couple are very very sad. They were not suppose to die (I doubt they are riding very fast) but bad thing still happened to them.

I dive a lot. Although it is a sport that requires training and license, deaths and severe injuries from diving are not unheard of.

I also race in motorcycle and touring car events locally, injuries are often especially on motorcycles. Some motorcycle riders, died, on the street.

There are things we can do to make sports safer, but injuries and even deaths will always happen. To ban it, there will be other sports to replace it, then same thing will happen.

More chance of a Honda Pickup

Saying that while I was out and about yesterday there was a dark blue new Honda Accord Estate with red plates

Hi friend and to the original poster,

Amarok and Ridgeliine are "mid-full size" pick up trucks. They are 10 centimeter wider than compacts we have here in Thailand. Length, wheelbase, height are almost the same but add 10 centimeter to width it becomes a giant.

If VW manufacture it here certainly I will sell my lovely Navara and get the Amarok, but I doubt it very much that we will see VW actually do that. I hope I am totally wrong tho.

Hi John - Actually I meant I have a motorbike, not a push bike

I also have two dogs, one sits on the back of the bike and the other on the front. Obviously I don't take them far or go 'flatout'. Shopping is a cinch on a bike, going out is easier than taking the car. I can park it almost anywhere, I shave my hair off so no helmet hair to worry about.

My point was that people who have pick ups don't need them. If I was an environmental geek (which I'm not) they are a problem. Fair enough the guy who has large dogs uses the back of his truck to some good use. I just don't like them, they are (in my opinion...!!!) a waste of space. Like I said, if you use one for picking up huge items every week/month, run a business which needs lots of stock or have an enormous extended family they are great. But, in Thailand (and everywhere else) the owners very rarely use them for what they are designed for. People even see them as being a status symbol, yet all I see is people struggling to park, nearly collect all of the motorbike users on the roads and have to do 32 point turns in a street.

Anyway, enough of that.

----

TransAm - heehee yes I'm a plonker too AND I've just helped some people on another thread

Hi Friend,

with respect, people have the right to choose what they want to drive.

I have a Nissan Navara, this pick-up truck is amazing. 2.5L turbo diesel (the more torquey version), pulls great, and returns good B5 fuel economy (if you drive sensibly). Weak point is that it may not be that environmentally friendly (diesel).

A lot of Thais, even farangs, like to drive pick up trucks. Because you can always store goods at the bed, and we all have a lot of junks and tools we need to carry around, including animals (which I don't think it is a good idea because my bull terrier was gone during a short trip and god bless I found it later, almost heart broken). Most importantly, pick ups are relatively CHEAP. Compare to a Civic that starts at 900 grands and costs an arm and a leg fully optioned. A Honda City, a Toyota Vios top of the range sells near 700 grands, they don't make sense to me.

Most pick up truck drivers on the road, drives quite carefully. It is those hired drivers in commercial pick-ups, who (some) drive like crazy. And let's not forget young people who drive like they are pro racers in their expensive Jazz, Yaris, etc. Some motorcyclists are another problem, you know what I mean.

My Navara on the motorway I usually cruise at 120km/h or less. Whenever I see a car approaching fast, I signal them that I will change to slower lane and let them pass. Aging can change your driving style. Of course, if someone starts high-beam me from far away, <removed> him I stay on my fast lane. You don't demand others to give you the right of the way, when I am driving over the speed limit already.

Lastly, "all" people on this thread did not fully understand Amarok or Ridgeline. These 2 pick up trucks are in different leagues. Compare to the compact pick-ups we have here in Thailand, Lengh, height, wheelbase may be similar, but payload is 500kg heavier (they are one ton ute, not half ton), and they are 10 centimeter wider (that's very wide). These two are "mid size" pick-ups and that's why we are not going to see them here, at least not in the near future. Though who knows maybe VW Thailand will assemble them here in the future for export and possibly start a domestic campaign.

Amarok is going to be a huge sell world wide. 2.0L but as torquey as Navara, with stunning fuel economy. Fit a DSG (heard that currently not available) in it and you have an all-rounder.

Pick ups are mucho more sensible than SUV's, don't you agree?

I agree with this. This airplane is not as strong as it should be. Pilots I know who fly them call them "Airbags". The computer system can make make it difficult for a pilot to properly control the aircraft. I personally do not like the :fly by wire" control system. I avoid flying on them whenever possible.

I am a pilot and I am not a Boeing stockholder.

they should have designed this aircraft where you can turn those computer aids off. Just like you can turn off the traction, stability assistance in a Nissan GTR and go all out.

But I wouldn't want to be the passenger tho.

I'm flying a 380 tomorrow night. Could do without all the horror stories from seasoned pilots it is funny to read these old guys go at it though.

you are going to to fly safely. i thought this airplane was designed to fly with up to 3 engine failure, and it passed stringent flight tests.

most of frequent flyers do have horror stories to tell, especially who travels a lot in stormy season, winter over western hemisphere, etc.

Once the regional hub plane I took was touching down at Rhode Island's airport in US, and just meters from landing the pilot blasted the engine and took off. After taking off we went into traffic in the air, in queue and keep making ovals waiting for our landing. This took roughly 30 minutes and the whole cabin was really really quiet, no one read or spoke. When it's our time to land, the moment the plane was going to touch down I was hoping for the worst and sitting really 'tight' in my seat. The moment right after it landed, passengers started 'YEAH' and applauding.

I'm waiting for someone to blame the Thais for this.

wahahahaha. It is one of those very few threads without people bashing Thais.

Unlike the typical, old man dies of heart attack in condo "news story", this is REAL news. What a story. Hopefully more details to come.

In the course of their investigations officers discovered that Mr. Victor's five bank accounts had been accessed everyday since his disappearance with a withdrawal of approximately Bt100,000 per day from teller machines around Pattaya

Five bank accounts? Guess Thai authorities haven't heard anything about the Russian mafia so far?

Amazingly, they can bring their prostitutes into Thailand without a passport or any other ID. Just because the Thais like Russian hores?

Mafia wars and real estate business. money laundering and there's no end. At least local cops are making good money too....... :jap:

I am a legit businessman and I have 6 bank accounts for my personal and business use.

Back in the days when I was a high school student, (that was 14-17 yrs ago) there would be flooding at Charoennakorn road whenever it rained heavily, as well as many parts of Bangkok. One time I drove to pick up my girlfriend in the morning to school, I was literally boating. The water level was so high it was at the half of my car door. When trucks of opposing traffic passed, they left wakes that hit my Mitsubishi Lancer and send the cabin sideways, the electronics came on and off I had to cancelled my pick-up plan that morning.

Till this day I still wonder why the water didn't enter my cabin , and my Lancer didn't 'jeng' in the middle of the shit hole.

Now most areas of Bangkok hardly flood, except those really low areas. Obviously the government and its contractors did do their job even though they did take money from the budget.

The cause of flooding, I personally don't believe is from a lousy waste water pipe line work, but from our beloved mother nature which is getting more pissed nearly every year. If it is going to rain 200-500mm of water every night in several provinces, as we are seeing this year, there's simply no way to stop the flood to overwhelm the waste water pipe lines (shit, in this case rain water, eventually rolls downhill to Chao Praya), especially when there's a high tide.

And I am not going to blame the co2 emission, global warming, as the main cause of our mother nature getting pissed off. This is a tropical country, monsoon hits annually, and severity of flood is rated as once per 10 years, 50 years, 100 years, 500 years and thousand years. This time it is rated as once per 50 years and of course that's going to look like shit.

Bangkokians who live in low areas expect annual flood to enter their homes. They know they can't fight with it.

It is the same as where I was originally from (Taiwan), every year we get a few nicely named typhoon visits and they create wonders. 2-3 years back I believe we had a record high of 8-9 typhoons that years. And this year only one. Sometimes super typhoons don't hurt much (in term of flood), they just cause a lot of broken windows and billboards, blown-away roofs, tiles, and shaken spirits, and happy construction companies. It is those medium and small typhoons that brought heavy moistures with them, and suddenly rain 1000mm in a matter of hours. Those kills. Also typhoon can catch you by surprise. They attack you from one side, enter the island country of Taiwan from east, and left the country at its west on its way to China, and suddenly make a full U-turn and attack the vulnerable west part of Taiwan. Roughly less than 10 years ago there was one and it was devastating.

If you leave in low areas, it is time to sandbag your main doors, and plug the pipes. And I don't believe scientists who said that Bangkok is going to sink in 10 years. Their claims are as inaccurate as stock analysts.

So the law requiring mandatory retirement does not count? can see a lot more such cases lining up, and the rich and powerful will hang on to their position until they die.

in Europe right now there is large civil unrest; one reason being becausevof a rising retirement age, they don't want to have to work longer but society can't afford all the civil servants pensions; here's this lady volunteering to continue. No reason some one shouldn't continue until they are 70 or so long as everything is still working fine.

Longer serving army posts could lead to greater stability also. 4 or 6 years a time instead of just 1 or 2.

A customer of mine in Rhode Island, USA is amazing. The company's workforce has a few very old employees who choose to continue their work pass their retirement age. They age between 70+ to the oldest being nearly 85 I believe and are still very active at work. The CEO of the company doesn't want to force them to retirement because these old men/women have been with the companies for decades, and he also feel that if they are out of work, they will actually live a shorter life at the end, because retired men/women at homes are very lonely.

So, these old dudes sometimes call my customer, the CEO (he's only 60), son you don't know what you are talking about, son this is not how we do things in the old time, etc (jokingly though)..... hey but they have fun working together.

I personally do not uphold the idea that the law should take away a person's right to work when he/she ages. The law should be there so for the ones who reach a retirement age, he/she can plan ahead and choose what to do, either it be continue to work, or cease to work and enjoy the retirement. For a few percentage of the population they just want to work until they can't move, sounds strange but it is true.

As for this acting auditor-general, if she can prove that her work quality doesn't suffer as she ages, why not let her continue her job, right?

after years in service, with continuous improvements, I have to say that I like the airport more and more.

if you compare what it is now to when it just started....you will see my point.

It took them a long time to make it working properly, but the end result is no joke. And when some hardcore Thai makes a vow to make it top ten, sometimes you have to believe it. The same goes for the land transport department, the head quarter is light-years ahead compare to it was 3-4 years ago. I work in the logistics and I give them thumbs up.

Not everything here works the way we want 100%, but when compare to things overseas, I think most parts of Thailand is progressing.

Sam

There is something the reporter from the nation have completely misunderstood the meaning of the word THAI and where it comes from.

For approx. 1000 years ago some Englishmen came to thailand for first time they had never seen these people before and did not know what to call them. As the days went passed, there was one thing that went on again and again, these people could sleep all the time.

one of the Englishmen came to think of the english word tired, so Thai comes from tired, because it is simular in pronoundsing .

you are joking.

Thais actually came from the Dai people in the mountainous Yun Nan province. This 'Dai' people still exists in Yun Nan and you can find similarity in both people's culture.

Wow ok.. seriously? I mean.. seriously? This IS Thailand right? The entire country is ridden with corruption and thievery from the top down. I thought everyone knew this... really? Wow.

So if it is common knowledge you will be able to name at least one and more likely dozens of individuals, and the specific cases just off the top of your head. I am not saying there is no corruption. I am simply pointing out that you are making statements based on hearsay and without facts. Your main argument begins with 'Everyone knows....' Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it.

Do you know what percentage of the health and education budgets disappear through graft? I don't. But then again I don't make wild assertions without any evidence either (unless I am drinking of course).

My main objection is your sentence right here:

This all boils down to the usual problem, some rich politician is pocketing the majority of the money supposed to go into health care and education.

You state that the majority of the education and health care budgets are going into a rich politician's pocket through corruption. The word majority means over half. I think that is a ridiculous comment and I simply do not buy it. If I were to hazard a guess I'd say that perhaps a few percent is siphoned off collectively by hundreds of corrupt officials. Of course that is merely a guess. It could be more. It could be less.

Way2muchcoffee is right. It's not quite over half. The going rate these days is about 30%. And do the names "Sudarat Keyuraphan" and "Chalerm Ubumrung" ring any bells? They were both former Ministers of Health. Use your own imagination on that one and draw your own conclusions. How anyone can amass over 500 million baht in luxury cars as a cop is beyond me. And yes, I've been to his house and have seen the cars. Makes me want to become a cop.

Non-sense!

A rich cop doesn't mean he make it his own.

First of all, he has to have a well connected soldier or cop father or relatives who already amassed an amazing amount and built up the relationship connection tree. Then the son just take it and prosper it.

You can be a cop, but you won't go very far on your own, especially when you have blue eyes and not dark hair. 555

It is correct about a huge number of patients per Dr even in BKK public hospitals.

However I do believe, on my experiences with the system over the last couple of years, that the Dr's do their best to avoid mistakes.

For instance: I have to go in to a public hospital in BKK for a small procedure soon and the week before I go for blood tests, an ECG and X rays to check I am fit for the OP.

They look to have the best in up to date gear like CT, MIR, radiation etc.

Probably much different in the far out provinces but I guess thats the same in most countries.

Suspect what the Dr's are scared of is what the see in places like the USA where there are huge claims for sometimes trivial reasons.

Is that a private or public hospital you are talking about? CT, MIR in public hospital?

Wow ok.. seriously? I mean.. seriously? This IS Thailand right? The entire country is ridden with corruption and thievery from the top down. I thought everyone knew this... really? Wow.

So if it is common knowledge you will be able to name at least one and more likely dozens of individuals, and the specific cases just off the top of your head. I am not saying there is no corruption. I am simply pointing out that you are making statements based on hearsay and without facts. Your main argument begins with 'Everyone knows....' Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it.

Do you know what percentage of the health and education budgets disappear through graft? I don't. But then again I don't make wild assertions without any evidence either (unless I am drinking of course).

My main objection is your sentence right here:

This all boils down to the usual problem, some rich politician is pocketing the majority of the money supposed to go into health care and education.

You state that the majority of the education and health care budgets are going into a rich politician's pocket through corruption. The word majority means over half. I think that is a ridiculous comment and I simply do not buy it. If I were to hazard a guess I'd say that perhaps a few percent is siphoned off collectively by hundreds of corrupt officials. Of course that is merely a guess. It could be more. It could be less.

I can't show you proof, but I swear over my neighbor's daily barking dog's life that a quarter to a third of public health budget was siphoned off in the process, and another was simply wasted. Just as the case in my country (Taiwan) where the cost of a complete set of LED traffic light cost only 33% of the budget set to buy it, and a doctor will get a 15%-20% cut if he installs an artificial hip in a patient so he will try to sell to his patients about, "your tendon needs replacement, your knee joint is no longer workable, etc, etc." And at surgery time he needs the salesman's instruction to assemble the dam_n parts in the operating room the first time he use it on the patient. Do you not feel strange how he talked to the patient into surgery the first place? The patient is lying on the surgery bed, unconscious, anesthetized, while the medical equipment salesman instructs the doc and the doc assembles the dam_n piece of joint into the patient's body.

And all these for? Mercedes Benz, mistress, new cellphones, watches.

I am not lying because the LEDs were from my cousin, and the medical equipment salesman is my college friend. And my mom shattered a part of a vertebrae from a golf kart accident and got operated and the bill was 1.2 million Baht at Param 9 Bangkok hospital !! Does the expense make sense to you? It doesn't for me, but that's my mother so we had to.

Sometimes it is a really ugly world.

In Thailand, public health care outside of BKK and surrounding provinces has an extreme low standard. A Thai can use the 30 baht per visit or social insurance from the job to effectively combat common cold or simple allergies but that's probably it.

Example 1. one of my trucker's mother was complaining about headaches for months. The son brought her to nearest provincial public hospital many times but all she could get was medication to ease the pain. One day she just fainted and fell to the ground. She was sent to the nearest hospital at Hua Hin by her relatives but declared dead past mid night. I asked my trucker what was the diagnosis from the doc, what was the cause of such tragic event. He said that the doc told him, "the water that feeds the brain cannot reach the brain, so she passed away."

water that feeds the brain cannot reach the brain= nam-liang-sermong-bai-mai-terng-sermong

What on earth was that!?!? A sudden faint fell to the ground with prior complaints of headache would suggest it is 'probably' a stroke. She very likely suffered from brain damage as blood engulfed her brain, suffocating cells and created internal pressure. And it was quite evident because when the sons arrived there was blood from her nose.

Example 2. another trucker's 2nd or 3rd wife (a worker in the rubber plantation) I am not so sure was complaining about daily tiredness and weakness and pain from the stomach area. Every time the trucker brought her to public hospital, or if she went by herself, it was same prescription; medication to ease pain. Few months later I said, hey man if you care about her enough you should bring her to a larger hospital and get a proper diagnosis, because it doesn't make sense such pain doesn't go away for a long time. So they went and made an appointment and "weeks later" finally it was their queue for x-ray (with several delays too). The diagnosis was that she's got a tumor her womb, and she has arrange to take it out quickly. So appointments were made and delayed (repeat that like 3 times, each time a few weeks) and finally nothing was done up until now.

Example 3. recently the old filling in one of my tooth chipped away. I went to Samitivej at Thonglor and got myself a female dentist and she told me this is going to be a big job. Need to cut out part of my gum, let it heal, then shave the bony base and strengthen it, cut that tooth in half, sand & grind it so it becomes smaller, then fit an artificial crown on top. I asked her if I can use a gold tooth (ok this is joking). The whole process should take a few weeks and no less than 4 visits. In addition to that, she pointed out to me that I have several decaying teeth so while I was there she grinded and filled 2 of them. It was grinding, sanding, filling, and I don't know what the <deleted> was going on but she made it hurt bad, and she wasn't gentle to force my mouth wide open. After an hour and 2 teeth filled, she said next appointment she would do more. I asked, "but I have another few you told me, why not do it today?" Well, it's passed her clinic hour so she wants to go home, later I saw her rushed out to the elevator with regular clothing and a hand bag and realized. The next time I went to a clinic on Petkasaem where my wife always visit. I went for the same old doc my wife recommends. The same tooth that previously declared unusable is still unusable but the procedure would be a bit simpler and he explained in much more detail, in understandable human language, and the price he quoted was much cheaper. (And he said a gold tooth would be doable if I want to, seriously). Then he fixed 2 more of my rotten teeth and this time magically it felt like a light turbulence in Air Asia only. And he also use temporary filling in my nearly half-chipped tooth and formed it to look like a real tooth and it is still right now in my mouth because he did such a good job I can chew with it and I am no in hurry to do the big surgery.

I've come from various jobs before, machining, jewelry manufacturing, car tuning, and trucking. In each industry and various fields of work, I've met with professionals who tried and were successful in perfecting their skills. Imagine a silversmith who has only a few years of education but can turn small chunks of silver into a fine piece of jewelry after hours of melting, hammering, annealing, soldering, drilling, filing, stone setting, polishing. And a young designer with college degree trained on CAD and keeps improving and one day his CAD file can be printed out directly from a prototype machine in a 3 dimensional wax form to be used as a mold or for presentation, conference purpose. An engine workshop takes a 2.0 liter Honda engine and after days of modification turn a stock 150bhp engine into a fire-breathing high revving 275bhp monster race engine (without force induction). A trucker, can drive a tractor/semi 3-4 days from Nakhonsrithamarat to Chiang Rai, cross the Mekong river into Laos, drive another 250km of treacherous snake-like 2 lane mountain road, at a speed competitive to snail to the border of China (Laos is LHD) which takes about 10 hours for that route alone, deliver the payload (fruit), and uses another same amount of time to transport vegetables from Yun-Nan of China back to fresh produce distribution center in Rangsit before head back to south, and he is clean from Ya Ba according to urine test. (The whole trip is roughly 4000km, and they do that 3.5 times a month)

All these people, when I converse with them about the work, they make sense (not all of them, but the good ones do), and when I give them tasks, they try to complete or discuss ways to complete them. These are real professionals, and they are Thais. Now, back to the doctors. I've always told my wife that, doctors are human beings just like us. They weren't born as doctors or they don't possess special magical skill because theirs were learnt skills just like everyone else too. Sure some can save lives, but it is why they are doctors and they didn't do it for free (can be very expensive) so don't look at them like they are God. And because they are humans, there will be good, average, bad doctors. A good surgical doctor can operate a non invasive balloon surgery in less than an hour and leaves only a nearly invisible scar. A bad one, can cut open your artery during a bypass surgery because his hand are not steady. And a bad plastic surgeon will do you a pair of really fake looking boobs.

A lot of Thai doctors take the job as a nine to five job. Not all of them, but a lot of them, and that's enough to feel scared. Only a small portion are genuinely good and caring and smart. But where are they? They work in private hospitals where only 10% of the population can afford their fees.

The rest of them are just not smart enough, well educated enough, and too ill equipped to combat anything more than common colds. And eventually some of them don't care no more because they realized they can't save the world they dreamed to save, because they do not have enough of the government's support.

Thai people and Thailand are know for not taking responsibility for behavior. hel_l. the average Thai "never makes a mistake." There are few consequences for inappropriate deeds. Lying, cheating, stealing, at all costs are encouraged. Young people want to become wealthy or wealthier and they see how they can accomplish that i.e. become a cop/politician/ govt. worker etc. Not that the salaries of said positions will bring fortune but because of the power to squeeze money out of others and rather than benefiting the country of Thailand they can increase their own bank account. How ofter is ANYONE in Lack of Sanctions (LOS) held responsible?????? LOL

What a joke. What a confusing culture.

I disagree with you. I have many employees who are responsible and who are loyal as well as honest. They are truckers, and engine technicians, and generally the public regards them as druggies and violent labor class.

If you get to know them and pick out the bad ones, give them that little respect they need and don't underpay them, they behave as good as you would want them to.

As for you wrote, "Thai people and Thailand are know for not taking responsibility for behavior." I saw you have a lot of posts containing negative comments toward the Thais as a whole. My experience is that the general Westerners or let's say Chinese, or any races on this earth, are just as cunning or bad if not worse in behavior. But I think generally 90% of Thais are good people by heart.

That's why we poor buggers pay thb200 to the lowly ranked traffic police...it's small time practice before they get into the real action and big dollars. The institution that is meant to serve and protect is apparantly rotten to the core from top to bottom. And it is not going to change with a government that condones and promotes an alleged murdered. Does anyone need anymore proof?

you got ripped off. i usually bargain for 100 Baht, and can get away with 50 if I am drivin my pick up

Mr. Somkid is innocent until proven guilty by Thai court. Would anyone care to disagree?

Mr. Taksin is innocent until proven guilty by Thai court on corruption charges, do you care to agree?

The Royal Thai Court = hasn't prove a dam_n thing yet.

The problem is easy to solve. Convert all Thai Baht to US Dollar, then abolish the Thai Baht. There will be no currency fluctuation ever ever again. http://answers.yahoo...22010551AAuJHoh

<deleted> is this about? the forum support freedom of speech, but not idiotic posts.

OK. If every country use a single currency, there will be no such problem. Should be all use gold instead?

you are helplessly stupid and shame on you thinking this is fun or in anyway cute.

"Before the 1997 Asian crisis the THB was at 25/USD. " Wow, really? So now 30 Baht, still a long way to go before it hit 25.

When it is approaching 25 Baht to a dollar, prepare to lose your job. You might not be so happy after all. And if you still think stupid foolish posts sound cute to farangs, think again.