Valentine

The Thai version of George Carlin's American Dream should be obvious to all. The Dems have had chances to implement education policies that will serve them well in the future but they never did, so the other obvious point is they continue to have far too many members who want continuation of the status quo. They should also fire their PR/marketing group who seem to have no idea about how to conduct an election.

Not quite Rawai but close enough, Delish do a really good breakfast with excellent coffee along with the best toast. Burgers & toasted sandwiches are also pretty good.

As well as CI it look as though we’ve also lost Baby TV, shame as my daughter is 5 months old.

That is exactly what I was talking about. Fox Crime is not a patch on CI. There is no guarantee with the cable providers for continuance of programmes that you have when you first sign up. When they were using Multichoice it was so frustrating as they would randomly switch the sports channels. Even though True do occasionally change they do have some semblance of stability in their programming.

Setup is around 16500 and that include 1 year free subscription after 1 year around 600B a month, what you see on Astro website is what you get

PM me if you want a contact number

Would be interested to know if available in Issan?

Price quoted by HD is from a Phuket supplier so you would have to find a local supplier. You could check JSat to see if they have any agents upcountry.

To play 3D movies on your 3D TV you also need a 3D DVD player, they are not available in Phuket at present

Pretty sure I have seen 3D Blu Ray player recently, perhaps at the shop in Lotus.

Conversely I have seen tellers, even at 7/11, ask people who are obviously pushing in to wait in line.

Interested, but only as a customer.

Exactly where in Thalang is it (saw nothing when driving through there), and is it going to be about as big as the one at the bypass which I am frequenting now?

Looks quite large to me.

6 years never had a problem with Astro. They don't take channels away, they actually give you 1 or 2 new ones every year. Recently added ITV Granada. Talk to Joe at Jaksat.

Do you have a program list? and who is Joe mand where is Joe

I have alway liked UBC (i know i must be the only one) but now i think its time to change, they are getting worse, will miss animal planet, discovery, history, NGC.

They have everything. Check out http://www.astro.com.my/epg/guide.php

It doesn't come from one news paper, but many first hand sources.

You just assume it's only from one paper.

And this is a rather weak, anemic, flaccid responce to a well conceived thesis based on observations.

"Never assume, when you assume you often make yourself an ass."

I don't remember who said this quote, but I like it.

I thought it was never assume as it just makes an ass of u & me.

The road which runs from the Honda dealer to Kathu has been a fairly notorious dump site but signs have recently been erected warning of fines (written in Thai so not sure how much but I think 2,000). PG used to run a regular column highlighting dump sites around the island but as some have alluded to the only way to really improve the situation is to change the mindset. People of all ages tossing rubbish off motorbikes, out of cars, buses etc do it because it is convenient & even if there were decent rubbish bins placed on the roads who would be bothered to stop & use them if the new ones had not already been stolen. The existing ones become eyesores because they are not cleaned regularly & so rubbish accumulates around the outside. Phuket's landfill & incinerator are seriously over extended.

Back home I happily paid to dump a trailer full of rubbish at the local landfill but not sure if one is able to do that here & besides there are very few who would make the trip & pay when they can conveniently dump their rubbish on some back road. Like so many things education is the key to this problem & we as individuals can make small contributions through our wives, gfs, kids, extended families, who hopefully will pass it on to others.

I have cable TV from KPP & one channel I liked to watch on occasion was Crime Investigation Network. It has now disappeared & been replaced with Fox Crime which is pretty lame IMO. Just about everytime I check it out there is something about tough police women. Like True the cable companies just change their programming at their whim. True always used to say they changed their programming based upon customer surveys but despite being with them since they arrived on the island as IBC I have never once been asked to take part in a survey.

Back to KPP. There are only a few channels I like to watch such as the sport channel when the rugby is on, Universal, SyFy very occasionally, BBC, Al Jazerrah, Australian Network, CI Network which now appears to be gone, the movie channel which could be much better if they published a list & times of upcoming movies (PA cable does show times in between movies but I feel the rest of their programming is inferior to KPP).

Satellite may be the way to go as Astro look to be run fairly professionally but not sure on guarantee of service if they decide to somehow block the service to Thailand as it seems it is actually pirated unless somebody can tell me how to get a truly legit service. I have said this before but my main concern in the near future is the upcoming Rugby World Cup as I have no real desire to watch it sitting on a bar stool.

I wonder just how widespread they are. When I was younger I remember bluebottles on our beach in the south of New Zealand.

They used to sell those ice cream makers (as Bunta described)at Verasu which is in the large furniture shop opposite Big C. Not sure if had a mechanical feature though. When I was a kid our class visited an ice cream factory & I remember them slowly moving one type of product through really cold seawater which made them frozen by the time they hit the other end.

any pool supply shop sells it, but mostly in 25kg bags

there is one between Bangkok Hospital and Vachira Hospital, going from Bangkok hospital right side before Phuket Gazette. Reasonable prices

Wow! I had no idea but I am too poor to own a pool... Problem solved and thanks again.

I am not sure they sell sea salt as I have only seen a more pure version. Sea salt for sure can be purchased behind the fresh market in Phuket Town. If approaching the circle from the Chao Fa East side you will see a kitchen supply shop & about 10 to 20m further on a small alley on the left side (this alley is the last turn off before the circle). Go up that alley until you come to an opening on the right. Ask for a 30kg bag of salt as this is sea salt. If you want pure salt ask for a 25kg bag.

A few months ago I tried to get a tuk tuk to take my gf and I from the Phuket Town bus station to the local bus station across town, but drivers refused to take us. All the drivers said they would only take us all the way to Kata for 500B.

Will the new system be as woefully inadequate?

Ideally the pink buses should serve this route.

E-Coli from Vacchira would be interesting. Which department would I contact?

Answer back from Bangkok company that tested to the Thai Standard for potable water (listed 30+ things that they tested for) was THB 20K. One problem was that the sample needed to be kept at 4 degrees C on the way to Bangkok. Major hassle.

Thanks for the info on ESP. Will check them out tomorrow.

In Vachira enter to the left of emergency, walk past the OPD check in & continue fairly straight until you go up to the next level. Should be a door in front of you with the testing department on the right after you enter. They should speak English in there but if you have difficulty finding it you will probably need to ask directions in Thai. Last time I used the service, quite a few years ago, it cost 4,000 which included checking various bacteria levels amongst others.

I agree with lanna in that prices have risen obscenely over the past several years. It was not that long ago when butter was half the price it is now as was the most staple of all foods here, rice. Look at the recent debacle with cooking oil. Before the shortage it was around 35 Baht now up to something like 55 in a matter of months.

They would see an improvement if they just changed the queuing system.

One line served by every desk and a spotter to direct the passenger to the next officer available.

That's too sensible.

Sure it won't be so difficult to find a shop which is willing to "test" your water for 1000 Baht or something. But a REAL test would cost far more - a large number of seperate tests would have to be run. Think of bacteria, metals, dust, organical materials, and many different chemical substances like insecticides and industrial waste products.

In countries like Ireland and Norway you can have your well water tested for a small fee, but this is heavily subsidized by the government.

And you know it will cost more??? please let me know then, and how do you know what they test for in that shop???

I have no idea what they actually test in that shop but if you want a comprehensive test which includes things like E-colli then you should go to Vachira Hospital. They will provide you with a couple of sterilized containers for your samples. Test cost depends on what you want tested.

The posers on TV just need to look at the scandal during his first go as PM. He barely made through the courts on corruption charges. It's all about patterns and how people do things. Nothing has change since the early days of Thaskin other than More greed and deception.

Yes, with an impartial panel of judges in the assets concealment case, just after he was first elected, Thailand would not be in the position it is now. No yellows, no reds, no killing of protesters & army personnel, no buildings torched.

There used to be a chef involved with Buffalo & then got into, I think it is called Little Mermaid, just up on the right from Karon Circle. I would like to know where he is, & if he is associated with Two Chefs then the food should be just fine & well worth a visit.

And there is a third one in Kata Centre almost opposite the Dino Park.

Are they the old Buffalo Steakhouses?

My suggestion would be to start offering pay per month programs or even shorter term.

I hate shelling out 50 000baht to get a decent rate at something that will last a long time, i would rather keep my larger money for my investment, my work, emergencies and quick investing in case something comes up

Not sure what you are referring to but our Thai course is 24,960 Baht for 180 lessons and not 50k. Perhaps some misunderstanding.

The big hint here is you would get more business if you offered a monthly payment scheme.

However, Gov Tri yesterday stressed the need for the mass-transit system to connect Phuket International Airport to the International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) in Mai Khao.

So, still no public transportation for the areas with only tuk tuks? The airport has the cheapest taxi's on the island... Typical! Nothing will change... Just like the bus station that still hasn't opened and has no way to get from it to any tourist destination. The governor stresses the need for mass transit to a convention center that isn't even built yet on land too low to be safe. What a joke!

The road which runs from Honda on Chao Fa West has a vast expanse of land waiting to be developed & the owners did bid for a convention centre there. They are now continuing to widen the road so in my view the projected Chao Fa City will eventually emerge c/w convention centre possibly with a skytrain having a station nearby. Chao Fa West should be a 4 lane road but many sections are not no doubt due to land issues which will take an eternity to resolve so a skytrain makes more sense as there would be no road left if a light rail was put in.

I agree the bus station situation is a joke as the people protesting about it knew about the project before construction started yet chose to wait until after completion before lodging a complaint.

Crackdowns quite often result in the arrest of small fry, in this case the ones touting on the streets, who may not even be aware they are working for a crooked company. The higher ups never get jailed.