doggie888888

Back here in the UK when out walking your dog you must BY LAW dispose of your dogs sh1t in a plastic bag. These do gooders who brought that law out don't realise that a dog turd has a life of about 10 DAYS before it goes back to nature...ie eaten up by bugs and washed away by rain. When you put it in a plastic bag it takes up to 10 years to bio-degrade and even with the specially designed poop bags it still takes up to 4 years to bio-degrade.. The downside now is that everywhere you look there are plastic bags whith turds in , caught up in trees or just thrown over some wall, as nobody wants to carry a bag of sh1t home. YES PLASTIC BAGS ARE A PAIN.

I think the law says you must pick it up....does not specify with plastic bag or poo scoop or whatever. Use newspapers or brown paper bags and then chuck it in your compost!

I wonder if anyone (with a dog) has had a similar experience. I was walking my dog in my neighbourhood when a Thai lady requested that I walked elsewhere becasue her neighbour's dogs, who are NEVER walked, go beserk everytime I go pass and thus become a noise nuisance to the neighbours. I agreed to do so less frequently and wlak elsewhere whe I could as she was polite about it, although I did think I was on a public road and she should actually take it up with her neighbour with the nuisance dogs.

Anyway, I still sometimes walk past that house, becasue it is just convenient. Alas, the owner of the nuisance dogs (a farang) came out and proceeded to shout abuses and obscenities. Now, surely a farang should know better especially when it is his own dogs who are out of control whereas mine was meekly on leash next to me without a sound?

On another occassion, a dog escaped from another house and approached aggressively. Owner did nothing except to call to no avail as the dog came dangerously close with lots of snarling and teeth bared. Only in self defense did I then strike out at the dog with a stick. This was after a lot of shouting at it and trying to scare it away (not sure what language it understood). I apologised to the owner but she went beserk (understandably I guess) but hey, it was her dog who attacked. Again the issue was "don't walk your dog here".

So I guess my question is: do responsible dog owners (who pick up poo, walk their dogs and ensure they are not a nuisance to anyone else) have any rights with regards walking a dog in your own neighbourhood or are we just meant to lock them in our own yards till they become neurotic barkers or exhibit other antisocial behaviour for lack of exercise? Any ideas where to walk a dog in peace; I am not scared of soi dogs as they seem to be less of a threat than humans!

maybe he was a paedo or something.. in my experience, no matter how loutish expat young guys are they will rarely kick the shit out of an old guy with good reason.

The exception being when I was drinking in the 'we are the world bar" between soi 7 and 8 when all at once the smiling thai waiters turned into a gang of thugs and proceeded to kick the crap out of some old farang... I was shocked at how they switched from 'wai deeing' to leaping kung <deleted> kicks on a pissed up old man .. I haven't been there since ..

Er, do we then form a vigilante gang and beat the crap out of suspected peadophiles and other undesirables?

So louts can be judge, jury and executioner in the dark alleys? Now, that's a scary thought. Oh, I just remembered from other threads, we already have those foreign "police" volunteers

It would not be surprise me if the brilliant promotion is valid for Thai nationals only...

That's a POINT !!!! i can 1000% agree with you !

well said !!!

Gee the Thai bashers are out in force today. Having read through the first page of messages (who could stomach more than one page?), not one person knows anything about the actual terms of any promotion, but that doesn't retard ( ) the rush to pick it apart, deride Thai intelligence, mock Thai business logic ...

What a bitter bunch of little old ladies. There should be a separate forum for the cranky grannies to tsk, tsk, tsk as a chorus even if there's nothing "newsworthy" to tsk about.

Thaivisa IS for little old ladies and cranky grannies.

It's too hot, it's too cold. It's free so what's the catch, it's too expensive. Why can't they speak English? Why aren't the natives like us? It's so dirty, it's so sterile.....bla bla bla. And god help me, I just love reading all about it

Exodus?..mmmmm Probably not anymore than usual

Given opportunity, almost any Thai or other third world nationals would make the leap to good old USA.

It's all about Economics and opportunities.

It may surprise you that MANY Thais and 3rd world nationals HAVE ABSOLUTELY no desire to go to the USA. Regarding "economics and opportunities" it may also surprise you that many prefer to go to China as THAT is where the opportunities are nowadays, without the risk of getting shot in schools or at the shopping malls. For lifestyle, many prefer Australia/Canada/Europe over USA anyway.

I'd say your opinion was probably true a decade ago, but these days there are better countries to emigrate to or to do business with.

I could be wrong but I thought Pattaya hosting that failed summit was an accidental choice due to first choice Phuket being full in lead up to Songkran. So if the first choice had always been Phuket, why did mayor even bother to "beg" to host the second summit having failed MISERABLY on the first attempt? This is the real deal: it's an international summit involving PMs, Ministers etc and Mr Mayor forgets there is hardly a second chance when you fail in this league. It is not some church fete, which is about all Pattaya can organise and oh yes, we can also manage the proverbial <deleted> in the non-existent brothel very well

In my opinion (which matters little since I can't vote) the mayor sometimes suffers from delusions of grandeur and becomes blinded by it. Pattaya is not the "international world class beach resort" that the local PR machinery would like us all to believe. In the newspapers and TV news coverage of the cancellation of the summit, if an adjective was used for Pattaya, it was usually SEEDY. Surprise, shock, horror!

And why does Pattaya need to hold the conferernce anyway (are we becoming a MICE center, to use the lingo)? I thought we wanted families, high end tourist bla bla....now it APPEARS we want to cover the MICE market as well? It's so unfocussed that it actually sounds desperate and amateurish. And I suspect this lack of focus results in Pattaya's reputation being firmly entrenched in the SEEDY end of the spectrum. I got no issues with such a reputation, as that is the reality, but it irks me when people refuse to ACKNOWLEDGE this reality and proceed to make up stories about our "wonderful beaches", "infrastructure" and "high end shops and dining" etc to sell Pattaya!

Error in my last para: should be 50kgs each

My personal xperience only, and may be different for others:

I shipped some personal effects, old furniture and other household items to Thailand last year from Australia. Was told by the removalist in Aust that they should not attract duties...i was told on the goods' arrival here that the duties were THB20k...we negotiated it down to 15k. The agent here was 4winds (or something like that). We were careful not to pack electronic equipmet/electricals. We had some paintings though. Maybe I should have stood my ground, refused untl I saw some documentation etc but at the end of the day, I decided to save time and cut my losses: there is a list of dutiable items and other useful info that the thai customs "look at" and that should be available from your removalist in your home country (and they will have a Thai agent who will provide answers). That list is somehow reduced to mere "guidelines" and there can be any number of reasons why the shipment suddenly attract duties. I think the guidelines leave enough room for "interpretation", which nobody can help if a greedy customs officer looks at your shipment and starts "interpreting". I should have asked in Australia what's the worse case scenaro and commit it to the contract there (although it had lots of fine print!). Other than this duties issue, the local agent was fantastic.

We packed as much as we could with us in suitcases - with 2 Biz Class tix and frequent flyer membership and the customary "flexibility" to biz class, we stretched to 50kgs between the 2 of us...this was one occassion where the fake smiles and "dressing politely" really helped I think

the smaller cities and towns in malaysia are fairly low cost. some are even idylic (rustic) in their rural setting. they are moderate muslims and really quite friendly (albeit a litle shy). i guess it's rare that anyone finds one destination that fulfils all requirements, so it depends on your personal criteria.

Weeeeeeeeee, another thread about us and them.

When you use the term "us", please don't assume that we are all the same. If your "us" includes people of marginal income, lacking needed job skills or not possessing an ability to truly contribute to the well being and economic growth of Thailand, then yes, your assessment is correct. Horrible isn't it that

So let's look at your complaints shall we?

draconian visa regulations

Thailand has the same position as other countries like Australia, Canada, the USA and the EU. When was the last time you saw Australia set up a recruiting booth in Africa, India or even Europe and ask uneducated people that would contribute nothing of great value to the society or economy to move to Australia? You do realize that the UK, USA etc. all impose financial requirements in order to obtain investment or retirement visas right? Do you know how difficult it is for a Thai to get a tourist visa to a western country?

things like double pricing,

We already have a thread going on that but I know from my own experience in other countries that I often paid more for local services. Need some examples? Take boring Canada;

- University tuition for "foreign" students is in the tens of thousands while students resident in the province pay only a few thousand.

- Medical care is "free" to residents that may pay for some services such as non hospital based tests. Foreigners pay rates and costs that would preclude most Thais from obtaining medical care. For example, the charge to a non resident for a doctor visit can be $100-$250 depending upon the province. This is significantly higher than the $20-$40. a foreigner is charged in Thailand.

- Entrance to SixFlags amusement park in Montreal: Non residents pay approx. 2X the cost of residents.

150 baht charge to take your money out of an a.t.m.

What's your point? Western banks do the same thing. When use a bank that isn't my branch in the west, I pay an atm access fee + my bank's added fee. This can amount to 150B as well. I just noticed that my west issued Mastercard has been adding 200b fees to my card for purchases I made on the internet in the west.

,not being able to own land ,

Did you know that in Prince Edward Island, Canada non residents are not allowed to purchase land? The locals passed the law because they were worried about all sorts of rich foreigners coming in and buying up the province. It has withstood all sorts of court challenges because the law was intended to protect the local culture. Just like in PEI, if there would be a free for all in Thailand that would occur if foreigners were allowed to own land. Large chunks of agricultural land would be drawn out of the economy. Nevermind that, but alot of folks whining about not being able to buy land might then be whining about Indians, Chinese and Arabs forcing up land prices beyond the reach of western retirees because they were on buying sprees.

For those of "us" that are responsible citizens and have either the financial wherewithall or important job skills or that can help the economy, the welcome is there. If someone just wants to sit around drinking beer and copulating with impoverished sex workers in Pattaya and that would be considered trash in his or her own country, no the welcome isn't there.

Great post..it is really about each sovereign country making rules as they themselves see fit. If the "aliens" don't like it, well the airport is still open for now. As they sometimes say to new migrants in the "civilised" first world: if you don't like it here, go back to where you came from!

I don't see what this has to do with Thailand, so why hasn't it been closed?

Because many farangs in Thailand are overweight or obese???

It's such a pity re beaches around Pattaya (Jomtien, Dong Tan, Wongamat etc). Rather than spending biliions on the proposed skytrain and other hare brained "make the politician rich" schemes, it may return more in tourist $$$ if some investment was made in cleaning up the beaches and surrounding sea, and keeping it clean. I have not heard of anyone going to a city just because it has a skytrain or a Central or brand name shops...but certainly people do choose if a place has clean beaches and sea. Pattaya is unique in its combination of sea, sand, sun and, dare I say it, sex

Let the beach situation deteriorate further, you are left with a seedy sex destination with few redeeming features!

Even the beaches in RAYONG has bins every 50 or so meters and cnsequently a lot cleaner. I was hard pressed to find one the last time in Wongamat, and little surprise there is a shocking amount of rubbish strewn on the shore.

wish i had so much land. good luck with your garden. you may know already, but thaigreenfingers.com is a pretty useful resource.

This is not even debatable. DO NOT get a salt water pool. They SUCK!

Are you comparing to normal chlorine pool or......?

I have had experience with both salt water and normal chlorine pool, the former being a lot less work. But in thailand, where you can pay someone to come and maintain, I guess it does not matter which system.

Just curious how many of you have security bars over your windows?

I'm in Pattaya and have them. Though I see many upscale communities that do not have them and I'm wondering if the sleeping guard actually helps lower the amount of break-ins or not.

I am in north pattaya, and I have horizontal bars in windows. I was told: better to be safe than sorry. Aesthetically not the best look but I have louver windows, so the lines are not obvious. If you are in gated community, you are safer if you can tell the guardhouse (and neighbours) you are away for extended periods. A red note or two helps the guards understand

I also have a monitored alarm system as a back up. No break-ins to date.

Well if you want the job done right, hire a Farang.

I did, and he stuffed up the assignment. Charged "european" prices but delivered local standards.

It is not as easy as "just learn the darn language". Firstly, some people DO NOT have the propensity for languages and avoiding a foreign one altogether maybe a way to "save face" ie not to be laughed at. I don't mean to be rude, but is your wife even fully literate (reading and writing) in Thai...because that may indicate to you her ability to grasp a new language.

How many farangs here HAVE TRIED to learn and find Thai almost impossible beyond sawasdee khrub? It maybe age (way past learning a foreign language) or it maybe a lack of ability in picking up a new language.

First generation migrants to a new country tend to flock to familiar surroundings (reverse the situation: farangs hanging out with their own kind in Thaland) and it's usually the next generation that start to assimilate and become proficient in the language of their new country.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being very satisfied), I'd say TOT adsl is a 6. I am not sure what package I am on but I pay 1000 baht a month. There are times I don't get a connection, but usually if I try later, it's back on again...it's not a big issue for me, as I just do personal emails. If it's urgent and I have no connection, I go to the internet cafe nearby. The TOT speed I have is rather slow (some websites are slow to load) but again for emails only without large attachments, it's fine. I think if you wanted to download a 100KB file like music/video, it might take a few hours. Perhaps do it overnight?

My neighbour uses TTT...pays a lot more but seems to be speedier. But they also have instances of no connection, although I think less often than what I experienced with TOT.

i thought i was in the "safe" part of town; had some documents and my mobile phone with me (silly me)...ran into a group, pleaded not to get totally drench. thais respectfully did a small sprinkle...STUPID farangs ignored my pleas (either drunk, retarded, or both) and totally drenched me. that's the difference between thais celebrating their new year and STUPID white trash farangs going on a drunken spree. songkan was a lot more fun before these MORONS discovered it.

i am sure it's all tongue in cheek...it's actually quite funny.

in a country where money is the be all and end all of everything and morals and value have little, if any meaning it is not surprising that people will agree to do almost anything for money and can be bought for chump change. Does this not describe USA as well???

a taxi driver was interviewed on thai news yesterday or the day before, she was involved in the taxi blockade. she said that she was offered 1000b to park her taxi to block the road and had no hesitation in accepting the offer. she had no allegiance to the red shirts but said "who wouldnt do it for 1000b" 1000b is a lot of money for a country where the per capita income is low. that's whay you are here, isnt it...because it is cheap here. Say in USA or Europe, if someone offerred USD10k to attend, I bet you there'll be thousands lining up too. So it may happen in a first world country if the price is right.

endure

All for 3 times the minimum wage with free food too. Quite a bargain if you're starving and broke.

which is why there is some truth when it is said that these people are too stupid to be allowed vote in a democratic electoral process...... same with the yellows who took money to demonstrate. Ah yes, first we deny voting rights for stupid people. Then let's deny women as well, oh and what about those homosexuals/lefties/muslims/single mums. Gee, I wonder who decides which voter is stupid and who decides who gets to vote? Perhaps a better solution is improved education and reducing poverty over time?

a society as immoral and corrupt as thailands is just not ready yet for democracy as defined by western standards. Funny this, most Thais think USA and some European countries, Australia, NZ are immoral as defined by Asian standards. You are in Thailand mate, perhaps you need to be a little more generous in your opinion of your hosts here. If you were in my home and said my home is unclean by your standards, I'd boot you out before you can spell "culturally sensitive".

I would not be surprised if all the major businesses remained open tomorrow (including the banks, but maybe not government offices) 12 hours notice is just too quick for them to respond to

12 hours notice is plenty for an unexpected holiday! Most Thais I know can deal with 1 minute notice when it comes to holidays...but when it relates to work, sometimes one week's notice is not enough!

In some cities in other parts of the world, citizens are advised to have ready their emergency "cyclone kits" or "earthquake kits" if you live in a cyclone or earthquiake prone area.

Perhaps we should have a "riot kit" in case the worse happens and it is not safe (or convenient) to leave the house. Just remember to pack the gin or whisky, vodka, etc cos you'll need it

Read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - it will cure you of all superstitious inclinations

No comment on desirability of artifical plants vs the real thing

But I do remember seeing some at INDEX on Sukhumvit Rd.