TheGhostWithin

Did anyone else notice the similarity in this story to the Aussie one ???

"They did not discover signs of struggle but an ashtray filled with cigarette butts "

And this from the report about the Aussie

"and a many cigarette butts smoked by the victim."

Must be something dodgy in those Thai cigarettes !!!!!

Perhaps the Royal Thai Police have a shared folder on their main server which has a document titled "Farang Hotel Death", in which some officers, after purchasing their positions do not have the skills to sufficiently modify in order to have the report appear to be indistinguishable from any other.

There are some great cops that work very hard, there are also some shockers who clearly put absolutely no effort into the work they do - the death of a foreigner should be taken very seriously, especially when the patronage of those foreigners and the cash injection they constantly provide to Thailand IS a national treasure, even if most have forgotten it is and now take it for granted.

Of course they will not threaten thai airways, they were kicked out of suvarnabhum...

Kicked out for being too competitive, and as a result becoming too popular. And now posters as the poster above, are making Don Muang their permanent home. Leave Suvarnabhumi for the "sheeple" and the Sheeple herders with the flags, perhaps? I found TG domestic putrid, and their international service is slowly going the same way, with an aging fleet and aging fleet of air hostess'.

Air Asia still gets me to where I want to, and I can say I was only ever delayed once out of Penang, I sometimes do 10-20 flights over a 5-6 week period when I travel.

We need competition on the Bkk to Khon Kaen route ,it's thai air or the bus at the moment .

I prefer the bus, the last time I flew this route (and the only time) the air hostess provided everyone on-board water, except for the young Farang guy. She pretended she could not speak English when passing it out, and ignored me when I spoke to her in Thai. Not the best on a roasting hot summers day. At least with Chan Tour Bus I get a bottle of water and some sandwiches. And at 1/3 the price or cheaper than flying.

It takes 3x the time to get there, but hey, I love the Thai countryside, it is one of the most beautiful and redeeming qualities of this country. And the people I meet on the bus (yes, I like to talk to the strangers, and share smiles with them) are so much nicer than the Taxi drivers you will meet in Bangkok, or the "agents" you will meet at Suvarnabhumi when looking for a taxi or a new flight when you missed yours.

Makes me want to come to Thailand in March. Really something you can never get back, Carlos Santana is like no other musician in the world today.

Is it generally an older or younger crowd that went to Satana last time in Thailand? Expats or Thai?

The policy now, according to my lady (it has just been told in the Thai language news outlets) is that Yingluck has made an announcement that she will use Thai taxpayers money to compensate the families of the terrorists whom were killed in the attempt to overrun the base and kill the marines.

Shows a complete lack of understanding on how to do anything except smile and say "na ha"..

0.2% is minuscule, the NZD, and other currencies like the JPY have almost daily fluctuations higher than this.

With the state of the economy in Thailand, with businesses, corruption, poor governance, inaccurate statistics and the increase in labor prices all competing against each other, it is a shock that the THB is not fluctuating much more.

I stand by my belief that the BOT continues to manipulate exchange rates, using the USD as its target rate mechanism, rather than other foreign currencies, which is why the NZD (I am a Kiwi, so know the NZD exchange with the Baht best) fluctuates typically 1-1.5% weekly.

So why was that 0.2% move against the USD news? Oh yes, your peg slipped a bit. Diddums!

Near daily murders????

What are you on?

We are talking about Koh Samui - not Brixton, Queens, or Sydney

Thanks for responding - but it appears you may have missed, or disagree with my view of the tourists view of Samui.

Koh Samui is located in the South of Thailand, which is home to most of the Thai Islands which are popular with tourists, along with the tourist epicenter of Phuket.

When Tourists come to the south, they do not initially come for "Samui", they come for "Thai Island paradise".

When they read about the huge amount of serious crime which is taking place (mostly away from Samui admittedly) in these areas, they associate it with the whole of the south (my ill communicated purpose of the original post) and then decide on an alternative plan.

Even good places get blemished by nearby bad ones, as good people get blemished by notorious brothers or sisters. Parts of the south have become the Brixton of Thailand, to relate to your parallel. Samui may not be one of these, but nearby places most surely are. It does not matter if your property which borders Brixton is a 5 star or not, it still borders Brixton.

The Thai protestors were not concerned about whether the Russians were operating legally or not – they just wanted them out

There are a surprising number of Thai businesses including restaurants etc operating in Russia. How about if the Russians decide to kick out all the hardworking Thais in Russia in retaliation because they want them out?

Third world mentality at its worst.

I have a hard time believing any of this. Russia is an extremely dangerous place for dark-skin foreigners. Mobs of skinhead gangs attack Asians, Indians, Africans, Arabs and just about anyone who appears non-white on a daily basis in broad daylight. Most of the time they get away with murder and/or a small slap on the wrist. Knowing how most Thais love their country dearly, I doubt any are going to the cold, un-hospitable and dangerous Russia.

They come to New Zealand, to my city, where winters get down to 0 and summers rarely go above 23 or 24. They work for restaurant owners, typically always Thai, who pay them under the table (tax evasion), pay them irregularly and scam them out of hours work - their own countrymen. There are hundreds of restaurants in Auckland, the largest city alone.

If there shall be a war on Russians, well, it may be the Aussies next, or maybe the Germans.. maybe Mr. Ma-an will request a ban on Brastwurst sausages as Thai Sai Oua sausages which are local are losing demand due to the quality of the German sausages..

The market is either open (for investors and workers alike) or it is closed and xenophobic, you cant have both.

I would have thought it was a perfect opportunity to charge more after building better investment, banjsh the rubbish airlines and start upgrading the type of visitors you get.

Oh yeah, get rid of the drug infested full moon parties, the stigma around those is enough to keep me from the whole of the south.. of, and the near daily murders. Please make a clean southern island chain so I can have a place to relax away from city life.

As long as Pattaya see's sex as a growth industry, this will continue. Sad!

I would imagine that it would cease to be a growth industry about the same time police begin entrapping men with women that look older than they really are, and who lie about their age. Men enjoy a little fun every now and again, not everyone can or wants to take the time to pick a girl up in a club. prostituin is illegal but ignored in Pattaya, this was not an exception but the norm of activities in the city, a man and a woman doung what they need to do to get by and be happy.

when the Filipinos started killing foreigners in their Pattaya, Angeles City, over cell phones and a few thousand pesos, and the police started arresting people drinking inside gogos for takingmpart in prostitution, the industry certainly halted its' growth there too.

having his photo plastered through the paper after such a serious accusation is shameful for him, and the case should be battled in court prior to shaming the man.

Good or bad, it was a low blow.

What about more 'witch doctors' or free protective amulets? Surely this is a cheaper option to prevent people getting sick.

Alternatively, people with illnesses can just visit the local pharmacy and receive an on-the-spot medical diagnosis from an unqualified salesperson, buy prohibited medicines over the counter and cure themselves.

I would feel safer with my amulet and google than what I have read from some of the posts above. Some of the so called A grade hospitals in Bangkok and Pattaya have screwed over and over medicated a few of my friends too. Price does not indicate quality here, only the level of greed of the proprietor.

So squeeze farangs more to pay for budget of PTP who wasted gigantic amount of money in populist politics and rice scheme.

it is about more than this...

squeeze everyone accross the nation, as well as a huge medical tourism sector to pay for the policy to grow the rice mafia and fill the pockets of the few. this is a simple transfer of money from the majority to the minority.

Love to see those medical tourism companies continue to send customers to Thailand when countries such as Malaysia are offering the same products of the same quality often cheaper prior to these increases.

the minister said. C-quality medical-service providers, for example, should not charge the same rate as the top-grade hospitals, he said.

Does this mean, if you dont have enough money to pay for the top grade services your chances for survival decrease substantially? Or are we just talking about the facilities quality?

That would sound like a fair and reasonable expectation. you should get what you pay for, unsubsidised. Inventing another welfare state is not good for the world, nor would it help Thailand continue to grow.

Every country with welfare states in the world is currently or has been in a recession until very recently, with the exception of Australia. It is one of the major causes of the decline of western world economics: its okay to be lazy, and do nothing. someone else will pick up the tab. And if they don't, then kick and scream loud enoug for long enoug, and eventually, someone else will still pick up the tab.

I stayed some time in all southern states and also in Kelantan, Kedah, and Perlis.. And if you compare the economic power of Kelantan with the economic power of i.e. Perlis, you probably know why Kelantan is such a poor state.

Let them folks in the south have their own land, let them pray towards mecca five times a day, close the borders, and lets see how they can live in peace and in accordance with God's will. These southern states will then also be the host of the Mujahideen Pattani Movement (BNP), the Pattani United Liberation Organization (former (PULO), the Pattani Islamic Mujahideen Movement (GMIP), the Mujahideen Islamic Pattani Group, the National Revolution Front (BRN), the Pattani Liberation National Front (BNPP), the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK). All those folks the will then be obsolete and could work for the good of the southern states or on the implementation of the Sharia, connect the states to Kelantan, or enjoy their holiday an the gulf coast. I wouldn't care.

By the way, "Buddhists" or better Thais from the north could acquire land legally according to Thai laws, but I doubt that even I would accept a law, which allows you to buy land which had been illegally annexed (1904) beforehand.

"They have their culture. Have you forgotten yours? [...]

..this is an interesting article, which might give you an insight of the history and implications of Thai politics in the south (it might take a little to load):

https://docs.google....XdRxlXxOT-dcHXw

I will get onto reading this article now. Thanks. It will make a good first morning read.

Afghanistan was a soverign state, it hosted Al Qaeda. We all know what happened there, Mr. Bin Laden and Mr. Al Zawahiri.

Pakistan is a soverign state, it once hosted Lashkar I Taiba and currently hosts the Afghan Taliban (under agreement of non-incursion in northwestern Waziristan and the Swat Valley, effectively allowing completely autonomous regions from the Patkistani system and operating under Sharia law).

Lebanon is a sovereign state, it hosts Hezbollah, which has control of large swathes of the southern part of the country closest to Israel and Gaza.

These three states all have full control of their territories, or at least once did. One of these countries has lost partial control of its' lands, another has lost complete authority to govern. There is not a single state in the world in which over the long term a hosting of militant Islamist movements allows them to "settle" and cease being a burdern and danger to nations and states close to them. Infact, history has proven in Afghanistan and Indonesia that such "non-interference" agreements further increase hostilities and terrorist activities in neighboring countries and states. Those militant movements you mentioned would simply start attacking the Islands to the north of the states, as well as provinces such as Trang, Satun and Surat Thani.

I too have been to the northern states in Malaysia, and had a knife pulled to my throat along the way, by a man dressed in an Islamic cloak. I was told, before he knew anything about me, that I was a Christian American, and that Malaysia was a Muslim country for Muslims, and I should leave or die. This whilst he held a carving knife to my neck. Understand that no matter what you do, because you are white, because you do not dress like them or think like them, you are, and always will be, their sworn enemy. You may think you are their friend, but the notion of friend to them simply means "person whom has a use to gain leverage over the infidels".

Again, I ask you to show me a single scholarly article which confirms land was seized by Bhuddists from Muslims in any of the southern states of Thailand. The land was purchased from Muslims, and now they want their land back (nearly for free, after they have killed everyone else in the land owners family). Here is one example, there are many others: http://quitenormal.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/islamists-murder-villages-last-remaining-buddhist-couple-and-their-2-children-in-southern-thailand/

Given the history of women being oppressed in China, I would not let slip by a possibility that this Chinese woman (presumably in her 40's or 50's) is more than likely telling the exact truth. "Going along with it" without protest is something Chinese women have had to do for many thousands of years when a man tells them to do something.

I can imagine this woman's fear of being alone in a foreign country and having gone through this experience. I cannot imaghine that she would be on about lying to people simply to cause a stir in order to hide her implied sexual deviancies. There is no mentioin of her having contacts, or of friends being there to defend her.

Giving her a phone number and an email address is also to say that the man thrust out something at her and told her to take it. Of course she would do that rather than offend him. That has no bearing on his implied innocence or her implied guilt.

As far as I am concerned, the woman should be asked if she wanted this to happen, and if she says she did not, then the man should spend time in jail and pay her some compensation.

It would also do good for Thailand's image if the Thai government paid for her airline ticket and hospital fees for the pain and trouble that the people of the Kingdom of Thailand brought on this woman for simpy wanting to come to their country to experience the joys of travel, and instead experience the pain of being raped by (figuratively speaking) one of those smiling Thai people in the advertisement brochure that lured her here in the first place.

By going to his hotel room, it would be apparent (at least to a normal person) what the intention was. If she knew the intention and did not want it to happen, she could have asked for help at the hotel reception.

The "traditionally oppressed women" attitude would be fine, should the woman have been a teenager 40 years ago. I do not see many old Chinese in Thailand, a lot of middle aged Chinese. Older Chinese travel in those tour buses that do not make contact with anyone unless the situation is "rigged" by the Chinese company to maximise profit for China.

I don't deny what happened actually happened, but I do wonder if there were any marks on the man, if she actually told him she did not want to (this is important as a man, we are not psychic, and asking puts a lot of ladies off as it is awkward), and if she said at any point she did not want to go to the room alone with him. Why did she not text message someone for help? I assume being Chinese she had a phone and was glued to it, I have text for help several times in difficult situations in which I could not speak, such as when I was kidnapped by a Filipino gang in Malaysia.

This is a classic case of things going wrong because a foreigner did not understand the world s/he was in - I would not bring a girl back to my room unless I intended on some adult fun, or unless a third party that I knew prior to meeting the second person was with me. Its' common sense. Her story makes none.

I haven't read so much rubbish lately as far as it concerns Germany, they will never leave the Euro zone.

I 100% agree with you ! How come he can write that Germany will leave the Eurozone ??

Some have said that this option may be the most palatable for all concerned:

http://business.time.../#ixzz1sAMid1hi

I agree on both parts - Germany should leave the Euro Zone, but Germany will not leave the Euro Zone.

The debt and condition of the periphery nations are as we know very poor. The European monetary union functions as a single body. If one part of the body gets sick, people make a natural assumption that other parts of you may not be fully functional - even if the assumptions are completely crazy.

Because of the periphery debt, the Euro remains lower than it would, should the Euro Periphery nations have no debt and current account surpluses. This cheaper Euro, makes German exports cheaper, which under laws of demand increases demand to the point at which price and supply meet.

This increased German exporting, increases the value of the Euro (the old German currency was one of the highest in Europe, remember, whilst the Greek Drachma was one of the lowest in Europe) and makes importation, and also tourism more expensive. This is where countries such as Greece have fallen out. It also makes repatriation of funds less effective, as repatriating foreign funds against a stronger-than-before local currency means less local currency for your foreign exchange.

Yes, Germany should leave the European Union, No Germany will not leave the European Union. Germany profits from the downfall of the periphery nations. And the Periphery nations agreed to let this happen by joining the European Union. Now they cannot escape under current rules - there is no process of exiting the EU.

How nice to real a story with a Happy Ending, after murders, suicides, car accidents, drug arrests, etc etc. I too hope he was given a reward for his honesty.

I normally stay off Asoke, and often go to the 30's for dinner with friends, especially on 33. I would really like to come accross this guy, and catch his taxi, just to say thanks for being a good person.

A few years ago whilst heading to the local 7 for some pills (I had a sore throat from the head, I had just arrived back to Thailand) I was attacked by a ya ba crazed prostitute who took offense when I refused to allow her to accompany me back to my room, and it was a taxi driver who told me to get into the taxi, locked my doors, and threatened to make her stop if she did not walk away.

Some of Bangkoks finest, who would be Police officers or any other range of better roles anywhere else, are Taxi drivers in Thailand. The class system is the killer of the nation.

If what the author of this article said did come true,

If the dollar, euro and yen were to crash it would not just be a Thai problem ....

The result world wide would be so catastrophic, resulting in the collapse of all currencies, to think that the Yuan would be a safe haven, is the just the author's dream.

The collapse of the Euro and the Dollar, as the worlds two largest consuming blocs would mean that global demand for imports would fall. Demand for Chinese goods would fall, meaning demand for the Yuan would fall vs other countries. The Yuan would weaken. China would react as it always has in implementing trade import taxes (more so than currently) and subsidise local businesses to protect struggling local industries, and tax foreign companies operating within China at a higher rate. The result would be China having a rapidly reduced role in world markets.

Investing in countries of which their primary exports are items solely for essential living (e.g. coffee, milk, cheese, wheat) and then later on essential for the beginnings of growth (e.g. metals) is the best way to dodge the bullet. Some of these countries (e.g. NZ, Australia and South Africa) have some of the best interest return rates in the world, which is an added bonus.

The current issues with the Thai Baht are domestically instigated by the broken political system of Thailand, and are unrelated to international issues currently being faced. The greed of a few is beginning to bring suffering to the masses.

Please friends, understand his thinking. Thai children accross the Kingdom have been identified as lacking in mathematical neumeracy skills.

You can't deny it, the Police are the best at adding and subtracting accross the whole Kingdom. They are wasted on the streets. Besides, if kids come to school on their motorbikes without a helmet they will find Mr. Chalerm at the gates with their fine and a free pass to the detention centre, I mean room.

Love how it was stated that western and Thai incomes vs. cost of loving cannot be compared - many things in the foreign areas of Bangkok are now as expensive as in my home country, New Zealand. And yes, I live beside the fancy swank hotels and backpackers in the capital. They pay the same price I pay.

Property prices re skyrocketing, and the building standards do not compare to developed nations standards either.

Until you remove the corruption and huge gap between the 0.5% making insane amounts of money, and everyone else struggling to live, the majority will always want and expect less than the greedy upper grouping of Thai society.

You can fool a few farang to pay extra for sin sot by making us pity your poverty in comparison to our so called western riches but rating agencies simply speak a different language.

As we all know, our social, mental, intellectual, and physical existence is being formed by the society we live in, by the education and influences we do receive and process. Therefore we, or the politicians in charge, have to recognize the heritage and culture of the people living in the South when negotiating with them. The bitter hatred will not disappear by shooting more bullets from either side. Peace can only be installed by considering the past history of the people in the South, by stopping the forced economic disparity, by giving them their cultural identity back, as well as the sole responsibility of their natural resources, and some of their occupied land. The South is the Tibet of Thailand, just for those, who do not understand.

I do not mean to be rude, but have you ever been to the Southern States of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat?

The first thing you will notice, as that 90% of women are wearing head scarves. The second thing you will notice, is that the Thai written and spoken language is rarely used. The third thing you will notice, is that everyone stares at you - it is not just because you are a foreigner. It is because you are not one of them.

As you drive through the south, you will notice huge Mosques' along the sides of the road. I can assure you, the Muslim inhabitants of the south have their cultural identity. They have never lost it.

Government schools, which are shared by Bhuddist students and Muslim students alike, as well as Police stations, are guarded by armed guards and often barricaded with sand bagged forward military positions.

It is a crime to lose your cultural identity under sharia law, in converting to another religion. It is not allowed to marry into a Muslim family without yourself first converting to Islam. You then must confirm to the cultural identity of the South. No buildings taller than 2 stories, little industry and subservience by all women to the wills of men. They have their culture.

What they want is for the so called "occupation" to end, and the right to excommunicate members of the Buddhist community from the lands of the south. It has never been disputed (at least that I am aware of) that Buddhists legally obtained their lands, however are now being forced off with acts of terror in fear for the lives of their families. This, because they do not confirm to the beliefs of Islam. If they were good people serious about semi-autonomy, they would work hard and ensure they could get high up enough in Political circles to set wheels in motion. They have not, and are not trying to accomplish this. Their resistance is not over land, it is over religion.

They have their culture. Have you forgotten yours? Or is your modern day liberalism so entrenched in your own mind that you are ready to sell your soul to appease the apparent victimised every time someone claims to be a victim? Or are you so weak that you now see yourself as a servant to someone you fear? I assure you, given enough ground, you would eventually find a jihadi at your door, mortar through your roof, or car bomb through your work foyer.

No other civilized country with a strong modern military would stand for acts of terrorism against any of its' population (regardless of the excuse), by the way. If the government were not forcing back the hand of the army, I am sure that in time, things would be much better for those willing to contribute to the good of the country.

They can't have been too much of a "minor sensation", I can't even find them on youtube. I have searched for both "gang" names, as well as the leaders name and the leaders "nickname".

Has anyone managed to find these videos?

When I read "non-politician likely to fill Minister post' there was a moment I feared we might get a real expert on the subject. Then I saw "three possible non-politicians outside Chart Thai Pattana whom Banharn may select as the new sports minister."

Momentarily, I thought they were going to appoint Thaksin to Culture and Sports minister in abstentia. Or perhaps, because they did not need to be qualified, one of the few of the Shinawatra clan who does not already hold a position in the current government.. hang on.. Isn't ruling through bloodlines considered a monarchy or a dictatorship?

It doesn't matter who they appoint, nothing will change in the current government. The fish rots from the head, and the head is already well bloated and rotten.

I vote Sombat Simlah (check him on YouTube) of Mahasarakham for Culture and sports minister. At least he is amazingly talented.

I don't know this guy, but it appears he was a popular guy, all 'round! Who will be the new deputy PM? There aren't many of Yinglucks' relatives left who are not already in high ranking positions? Are we going to get competition over who gets to buy the new job?

If he was the same member who stated that the woman could not have been raped because she had dinner.. well, maybe being silenced will mean one less person to say such things.