Oberkommando

75

Very well established hospitality industry supplier.

I'm always wary of a company that doesn't put prices on its website.

These attacks are on the increase. My friend was attacked without provocation on Sukhumvit road. He was punched in the back of the head but the attacker fled quickly so he didn't have a chance to retaliate.

much rarer than in the west, where you really must be on your guard at all times.

It depends where in the West you are talking about. There are many safe places and many dangerous places. Thailand is no different.

Thai Post office is a rip-off for anything over 2Kgs.

Better off with a shipping company. They all do air-freight which will take 6/7 days or Fed-Ex or UPS which will be quicker.

50Kgs will cost you 18,000thb or even more through the post office with no paperwork or customs clearance included, whereas a reliable shipping company will get it door to door for less than 10,000thb with all paperwork included.

You can harp on the word negotiations all you like.

Samak's cabinet tried to 'implement international policy'

illegally under Thailand law. And it was thrown out for that reason.

The word singled out word 'negotiations' is meaningless in this context.

The Thai ultra nationalists such as the PAD, certain groups of the military and their ilk are the only ones that were unsatisfied with the Samak cabinet decision, which was perfectly fine, as it pertained only to the temple itself and not the surrounding 'disputed' land. Cambodia withdrew their initial submission proposal after protest from the Thais about the surrounding land. Once this issue was resolved, the application was accepted by the Thai government and the Samak Cabinet and submitted to UNESCO by Cambodia.

Only now, after pressure from the nationalists and violent protests by the PAD have the courts been used to try to recoup the actual temple for Thailand, when clearly it does not belong to Thailand. As an earlier poster points out, they had a great deal, but they have now shot themselves firmly in the foot.

Will be interesting to see how many Farangs are jailed over this holiday period.

Nearly every Farang I know that likes a drink and has a car or motorcycle drinks and drives on a regular basis.

Pattaya will have to build more jails for sure !!

I know a few too.

Coming from a country with a decent education and awareness of the problems of drunk driving they really ought to know better.

Surely the most peaceful solution to the problem that the wife saw was to swap drivers so that nobody broke the law any further and everyone has an happy new year. I could not say for sure, because I wasn't there, and neither were you, but there might have been some memorable loss of face to help the recalcitrant drunkard to adjust his manners, without causing more trouble?

100 yards down the road he could have ran over and killed a small child.

Don't worry though, I'm sure his loss of face is punishment enough.

Going by the 40 killed on the first day of the holidays it's not working too well.

That's only 5 over the daily average so must be having some effect.

My condolences to your friend.

"Un-provoked violence is almost unheard of". There is an "almost" in there. And I also write: "unless you are really really unlucky". I state that in my experiense, and I include quite a few long time friends here, all of us are 15 + years living in Thailand, we all agree that Thaland feels much much safer than Nothern Europe does. You have proved that Thailand is not entirely safe, thank you and I agree, I don't see that as a surprise. I still stand by my assessment that Thailand is much safer from un-provoked violence than Northern Europe is.

FYI I have 25 years in Thailand under my belt and I know several people who have been victims of completely unprovoked attacks, not least of all another on Sukhumvit in Bangkok the other night when a friend of mine was punched on the back of the head by a random Thai male.

Alcohol fueled random violence has almost become a culture in come Western countries, however if you avoid certain areas at certain times being a victim of it can be almost completely avoided.

Much alcohol related violence happens in Thailand too, it is also a massive problem, however most foreigners won't be exposed to much of that simply because they move in different circles from the average Thai.

Thailand outside of the horrible tourist areas of patters/phuket/sukhumvit is generally safer for a farang than other major western cities...

No more or less safe IMO.

The ultra Nationalist yellow shirts PAD's political party (New Politics Party) symbol.

How many readers of this thread have had untoward experiences and not bothered to post? That would bump the numbers up even more.

+1

Regardless if PAD instigate it or not, this applies:

In the verdict, the court ordered the cancellation of the Cabinet resolution after finding that the

Samak government failed to follow the procedures prescribed for international negotiations impacting on the borders.

Under the Constitution and relevant laws,

such negotiations must be done under the legislative scrutiny.

But the Samak government bypassed Parliament and tried to push through the MOU

without consulting with the Council of State.

There is nothing to negotiate, the temple was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

The temple itself was built before Thailand or Siam even existed, it is Khmer and will remain Khmer unless Thailand tries to use military force, which it did before in 1954, before being removed (correctly, I may add) by the International Community.

History is repeating itself it would seem.

Is there no end to this Nationalistic chest-thumping from the right wing zealots in the PAD?

Tiresome, it has become.

When you arrive at PP, there is a desk that gives you a voucher anywhere downtown in a decent taxi for $9 that you pay to the driver upon arrival at your hotel. Where's the rip-off?

I have been dozens of times and never even been the victim of an attempted rip-off.

Taxi is flat rate $9 anywhere downtown.

Simples.

Speaks volumes that Suchinda has come out in support of this government.

Speaks volume that you didn't complain when he supported Thaksin.

Didn't I?

I was one of Thaksin's most vocal critics during his tenure so I suggest you get your facts right.

When he becomes financial advisor to China or India, I will be really worried! I wonder what it costs to become a financial advisor to these countries? I have an MBA backed by twenty years corporate experience as financial manager in health care, real estate, and insurance industries...even a short stint in cruise industry, so I would have a lot to offer these developing countries BUT ALAS I HAVE NO POLITICAL CONNECTIONS NOR GREAT WEALTH TO SPREAD OR BRIBE WITH....

What good would you be at financial advice if you are not wealthy yourself?

He just keeps on sticking it to this government.

Yet again he demonstrates he is far too politically astute for his detractors.

Violence and murder is much higher here yes, but you are only at risk if you have done something.

Someone I knew was mugged and killed on Sukhumvit Soi 22 by two Thais on a motorbike trying to steal her handbag.

What did she do exactly?

As usual Jayboy you're pretty much spot on the money.

Speaks volumes that Suchinda has come out in support of this government.

I just don't understand why the govt. continues to pursue outdated economic policies that keep Thailand firmly embedded in Third World status. They need to open up their markets to foreign competition, especially small scaled businesses that generate the most employment.

On another note, I am sittiing in Paragon Mall right now typing this. I just walked all over it. This is the "high season." But hardly anybody is here. There are more staff than customers.

The food stalls look deserted.........how they can stay in business is a mystery to me.

People simply are no longer flocking to Thailand......clearly the Paragon Mall wants to attract rich Japanese, but I only saw a handful.

Of course, this is just my impression at 11:30 in the afternoon on a Wednesday........I just think this place should be packed. It isn't.

Pride of Thailand the website says.

A lot of high end retailers keep outlets open in high profile places like Siam Paragon regardless of profitability.

He hasn't listened to Jiminy and is now in the clutches of Stromboli.

Are there any foreign investors left to discourage?

I thought we'd all gone to pastures greener already?

Vote with your feet and avoid Phuket.

Hit them where it hurts them most - in the pocket.

The Ministry of Justice was investigating the Santika tragedy so certainly not a BMA issue.

This was investigated at government level.

Don't forget PM Abhisit personally visited the club during the aftermath also.

Minister of Justice Pirapan Salirathavibhaga said it was normal practice in any crime for the police to handle it, even if they are implicated.

They have to be willing to expose any of their own officers connected to the crime, he said.

But officials inside the ministry have told the BBC that privately Mr Pirapan is furious that the police have regained control of the investigation and that he wants it handed back to the DSI, Thailand's equivalent of the FBI, which comes directly under his authority.

At the time of writing, that has still not happened.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7981841.stm

Thaksin's side having a coup?

Wouldn't succeed anyway, without approval. They never have, over the course of history.