ysamui

Martin Duffy is attempting to provide a good life and education for his daughter, who will be left behind.

A long time supporter of Thailand, and friend, Martin Duffy, has been given some very bad news. His cancer treatment has not been successful and the doctors have told him he may see Songkran later this month, but will not see this coming Christmas.
I have agreed and disagreed with Martin, online, while we shared our thoughts on many Thai subjects. Whether we agreed or not, we respected each others opinion and this banter only grew the friendship that we now have. We understood each other's intentions and acknowledged that in most cases we wanted the same outcome, however, our decision on which road to take was the only difference.
I have been very fortunate that my life has crossed paths with a man of such good character and high moral standards.
I am asking you to please read the post attached, written by Martin, and help if you can, whether it be financially or simply by re-posting his request anywhere you believe may help.
It is important to note, Martin has enough money to manage his current situation.

Thank you for your time, Terry

Hi,

My name is Martin Duffy, please take 5 minutes to read my story.....

I am 45 years old, from Edinburgh, Scotland and I have a girlfriend called Nueng and a little step-daughter aged 7 called Khaimook.

Nueng and Khaimook both live in Thailand and I live and work in my home country Scotland for 6 months of the year and 6 months with family in Thailand.

Unfortunately I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in September 2013, following an operation to remove my kidney all seemed good till a recent check up confirmed the cancer had returned and is aggressive, and terminal.

My family and myself are devastated to say the least as our dreams have been shattered by this cruel disease, I have maybe months or even weeks to live.

Here goes....my bucket list...very small but very precious to my heart...

My daughter goes to a private school in Thailand because the state schools are horrendous, we both pay and fund this, my partner has a job but as we know the wages are a pittence to Western wages.....we do our best to give our little girl the best eduction and standard of life......she regards me as her Daddy and I love her as my own, without education in Thailand young girls slip through the net...I do not want this to happen....

I would like to try and fund my little girl to ensure she gets a decent education...nothing can be done for me and I have invested every penny into her future but sadly what I have is not enough ....hence this plee for help ....

So my bucket list is small....I want nothing for me but the knowledge that my little girl is safe and happy and my legacy can live along with her through her education and wellbeing ....

Thank you Marty

<<<< Link to donation site removed >>>>

Try these, (in no particular order) I am no expert, so its best for you to try and decide.

Samui Sausages: Maret
Adrian: 0842245764, 0869429279
http://kohsamui-web.com/sale-other/samui-sausage/

Samui Home Made Food (formerly, Big Joes): Banrak,
077 427597, 087 627 0779
http://www.samuitimes.com/big-joes-sausage-and-pie-shop/

http://www.samuihomemadefood.com/sausages-meats/

Choice Foods, Choeng Mon (opposite gasoline station)
077 417435, 077417046
https://www.facebook.com/choicefoods.samui

All Star, Chaweng
Tel: 07 7484524, 07 7425148, 07 7300304, 08 62 721113

Freight load factor in the month rose to 51.2 per cent, from 47.4 per cent last year.

More money in freight anyway

And on Thai service is same same

Although if "flight schedules were adjusted in response to changing demand, resulting in a 5.4 per cent drop in the available seat-kilometre (ASK) from the same period last year" means that they have switched to smaller aircraft, as seems likely, then the same freight-volume would show up as being a higher percentage on a similarly-reduced hold-capacity.

It does make sense to cut capacity, while maintaining schedules, at times of low demand. Similarly capacity is normally boosted, when demand is higher, switching to larger aircraft or adding extra flights where possible. This is simply normal practice, isn't it ?

Low-demand time (for TG) is therefore a good time to schedule major-maintenance, or try to lease out aircraft to other airlines, who are busier during the European peak-summer-season.

I have no idea what their margins, costs etc are. However, can any business be satisfied or profitable when they are 48.8% empty/unsold?

Have you seen the car the owner drives around in ? Do you know how much a car like that costs in Thailand ? And you need to ask how he gets away with playing loud music

Have a stab in the dark guess

You should turn the lights on, your stab in the dark missed by a long way. The part owner of ARKBAR actually owns 6 Lamborgini's. Does that make you 6 times more jealous?

Samsiam: "As for the chocolate in the pockets of american soldiers.....what a croc.....a pocket full of chocolate in the tropics.....yeah right."

You were at the war and witnessed that this did not happen?

Or do you simply "know everything"

I always thought it was down to skin colour but I've seen quite a few Thais who are darker than I am so maybe chickenslegs' explanation is right.

Either way, I've always found the "Chocolate Man" greeting from many Thai girls to be highly amusing.

Mate, that guy Chickenlegs is taking the PEE.

Black soldiers don't walk about with a pocket-load of chocolates. And white soldiers don't keep bananas in their trousers.

Maybe he is maybe he is not. But he is the only person who has actually understood and answered the question.

Every other person is stupid enough to think that every bar girl in Thailand had the same idea at the same about calling coloured people Chocolate. How the anonymous mass of bullies stick together. It's a shame they do not have the intelligence to think for themselves.

Do all topics eventually end up this farcical?

The term has nothing to do with skin colour.

The history of the term comes from the US troops taking their R&R here during the Vietnam conflict.

The black soldiers would usually have their pockets full of chocolate to give to their Thai 'girlfriends'. Hence the phrase, "Here comes the chocolate man"

The white soldiers preferred to give fruit. Hence the phrase "Hello farang. Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?".

I can not speak for these Thai "girlfriends" you mentioned above, however, I am very glad to hear from you.

Thank-you very much for giving me an intelligent answer to what I considered a reasonable question.

As I suggested earlier, there is in fact an "origin" for the use of this term. As there is for the majority of words and terms we use in every-day conversations.

Your answer makes complete fools of the arrogant, socially inept narcissists that made anonymous derogatory posts earlier in this topic.

I do not understand the motives of such people. Perhaps it is the anonymity that gives them the courage?

If you do not like a topic or have nothing constructive to add isn't it logical to move your mousse to the "next topic" icon, click on it, and simply move on?

I did not ask these 2 questions to start an argument or to be verbally abused.

I have been accused of trolling, posting a rhetorical question and have been told I am as "thick as a post" and "stupid"

Welcome to Thai Visa Forums ysamui! Unfortunately, this behaviour is to be expected when you get such a large number of sad, pathetic men, hiding behind their anonymity, in one place. If they can't prove that they're better than you, they'll just abuse you. Don't let them get to you, there are some decent folk on here.

Edit: ^ case in point. Here's a tip Pseudolus: if you have nothing constructive to add, go troll in another thread!

OK Jimbo

So let's answer his first question for him; the etymology of the word Chocolate.

c.1600, from Nahuatl xocolatl, possibly from xocolia "to make bitter" + atl "water." Brought to Spain by 1520, from thence to the rest of Europe. Originally a drink; as a paste or cake made of ground, roasted cacao seeds, 1640s.

To a Coffee-house, to drink jocolatte, very good [Pepys, "Diary," Nov. 24, 1664].

There you go. Then used as a way of describing black people because there skin tone sometimes is the same colour as chocolate.

Is that better for you?

Have you never seen white chocolate?

But to date, not one person has been able to answer the first and most difficult question. Nor can I.

The history or origin of the use of the term."Chocolate" has not been answered or even mentioned.

Perhaps the exact origin is not known and never will be. If that is the conclusion, fine, so be it.

But not knowing the answer and then abusing the person who asked the question... I will allow you to come to your own conclusions.

Actually it has. The origin of the term comes from the fact that the skin color matches the foodstuff. That is all, and it's not considered offensive.

There doesn't need to be a specific time or event, both factors have been in Thailand for quite some time now, but I suspect it might have become common during the Vietnam era when both were brought over by the Yanks in quantity, and in fact their upcountry progeny are now into the second maybe third generations now.

Whenever a Thai girl complains about how dark her skin is (fishing) I tell her I like it, it's the colour of honey and sweet just like her (and yes most of the time they reply "like your mouth").

Please, no more arguments. Maybe a debate is ok lol

I did not ask these 2 questions to start an argument or to be verbally abused.

I have been accused of trolling, posting a rhetorical question and have been told I am as "thick as a post" and "stupid"

There are 2 questions in my original post. The second part of the question has been covered and most likely correctly answered. No surprise there, as it has been pointed out to me.

But to date, not one person has been able to answer the first and most difficult question. Nor can I.

The history or origin of the use of the term."Chocolate" has not been answered or even mentioned.

Perhaps the exact origin is not known and never will be. If that is the conclusion, fine, so be it.

But not knowing the answer and then abusing the person who asked the question... I will allow you to come to your own conclusions.

A rhetorical question not only implies but demands knowledge of the answer.

Maybe I am as "thick as a post". I apologise for for not knowing the history and origin of this term.

It is impossible for this term to have commenced simultaneously in every province of Thailand.

Perhaps it was first used in a newspaper article, on TV or in a public speech?

That is the non-rhetorical question.

hmm, that is a tough one.

The OP seems to have a preoccupation with black folks.

the op seems thick as a post

Your obvious assumption leads me to question, why not call the Chinese - "Lemon"? Or Mediterranean Europeans "Honey"?

Maybe you are 100% correct about the reason for the name.

However if you had read the initial post correctly you would see that it also asked about the history of this word being used.

Does it date back to ??

Who started it? Maybe a celebrity on TV?

Perhaps you should read and comprehend the question prior to opening your mouth!

The OP seems to have a preoccupation with black folks.

I guess it does seem that way, but my preoccupation is more to do with trying to understand the perceived right and wrong on this topic.

I am reasonably new at this and my last topic was not specific to Thailand, and correctly, it was closed by the moderator before any real answer was given.

This time I am trying to follow the guidelines/rules of posting new topics.

Does anyone know the history or reason why some Thai people call coloured people "Chocolate"?

Let me try to combine some facts (as we know them) some guess work and some assumptions and attempt some calculations.

I apologise in advance if I miss anything or assume incorrectly. Please feel free to correct or advise me if any of this guesswork is way off the mark.

Fact - There are 61,318 permanent Koh Samui residents (thank-you jamesbrock)

- Koh Samui Airport has 1,000,000 arrivals per annum

- Ferry arrivals maybe 365,000 per annum (Guessing- 1,000 arrivals per day over 365 days - probably more?)

- Total number of arrivals, 1,365,000

- Assume that Jan - May peak season period (5 months) represents around 55% of visitors for the total year

- Total is 750,750 divided by 5 months

- Approximately 150,000 arrivals per month January - May

Add: Add 150,000 (arrivals) and 61,318 (permanent residents, thank-you again jamesbrock)

Conclusion: In the January to May period there is an average of 211,318* people on the Island every day.

*This figure does not include illegal aliens, left-over hippies or Thais in hiding. So maybe we should double it? lol

Please suggest any variations or corrections as I am very keen to try to get an answer that is as accurate as possible.

Very interesting numbers there ysamui!

I still haven't found any official indication of how the DOPA arrive at their numbers, i.e. whether foreign nationals residing in Thailand are included at all, or if it's just registered Thai nationals. Obviously, the number of 90 day reports, and, therefore, registered addresses of a large number of foreign nationals, can easily be attained - but the question is: are they included?

Another question I have relates to the number of dwellings. How are they collated? It was suggested earlier that the number of dwellings simply equals the number of unique registered addresses - but how does this explain Ko Tao?

Interestingly, while looking for answers to these two questions, I found a new document from DOPA called "Glossary of official English names of Provinces, Districts and Positions in DOPA" (I found this after producing the table above, so two of the place makes therein are incorrect), it has a wealth of data that I'd never seen before including the date when each municipality was created or upgraded. In it, alongside Ko Samui's entry, in the column titled 'Thesaban Nakhon' (city), it has 'To be announced'... Not too many others of the 166 Thesaban Mueangs (town) had this notation.

I wonder what the announcement will be and when they will make it. It may be as you suggest, the promotion or upgrade to a City status.

Well done Sherlock, you may be onto something here.

First let me say that I am in favour of the reasons and theory behind political correctness.

But how can it be clearly defined? This is not a new subject. It has been evolving for many years.

In 1976 (I remember the year as it was my first year out of High school) my parents were the contract caterers at a leading Australian University. Among the various confectionery items there was a product for sale called a "Golliwog" bar. A group of students came up to me and demanded I remove the item from the shelves. I asked them if I should remove the "WHITE Maid" confectionery as well. They said no, the white maid is ok to display.

To keep the peace, I did so, and promptly put a sign on the counter saying "limited supply of golliwogs for sale - can not display". We sold more golliwogs in the next month than ever before.

Below is an extract from the USA census 2010, and published by the United States of America Government.

It refers to African-American's (People of Colour) as BLACK persons and to non African-Americans (people of no colour) as WHITE persons.

People Business Geography Newsroom Subjects A to Z Search@Census

White persons, percent, 2010 (a) 72.4%

Black persons, percent, 2010 (a) 12.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a) 0.9%

Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a) 4.8%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a) 0.2%

Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010 2.9%

Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 16.3%

White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2010 63.7%

Why can the US government say Black persons, while the majority of the rest of the world would consider it to be politically incorrect.

I do not want to offend people, I would like to be politically correct.

And is the use of "White" persons politically correct?

But where do you draw the line in the sand and say "this is correct" or "this is not correct"

Were the students correct 36 years ago or is the USA Government correct now?

What does this have to do with Thailand?

You have not seen any "people of colour" in the streets or shopping centres in Thailand? Where should this be posted then?

The document states that there are 40,411 dwellings on Koh Samui.

It further claims a population of 61,318.

That is an average number of 1.5 occupants per dwelling....Very Very Funny

Not really. I see no humour in it.

I have 3 registered dwellings on Samui that I pay housing tax on and that have an address. I'll bet that my wife and I are not included in the headcount.

In the village where I live there are more than 30 other dwellings. All have proper addresses and are recognised by the powers that be. Again, I'll bet that none of the residents are included in the headcount. (Only 5 of the other properties are occupied all year round.) Some of the other properties are owned by Thai nationals, but the Samui property is not their prime address.

Hi Tropicalevo, the reason it made me smile, is that in my 8 years living here, I can count on one hand the number of Thai's that I know who live alone. The vast majority share dwellings/houses/rooms with many others to keep the cost to a minimum. You do not agree?

First let me say that I am in favour of the reasons and theory behind political correctness.

But how can it be clearly defined? This is not a new subject. It has been evolving for many years.

In 1976 (I remember the year as it was my first year out of High school) my parents were the contract caterers at a leading Australian University. Among the various confectionery items there was a product for sale called a "Golliwog" bar. A group of students came up to me and demanded I remove the item from the shelves. I asked them if I should remove the "WHITE Maid" confectionery as well. They said no, the white maid is ok to display.

To keep the peace, I did so, and promptly put a sign on the counter saying "limited supply of golliwogs for sale - can not display". We sold more golliwogs in the next month than ever before.

Below is an extract from the USA census 2010, and published by the United States of America Government.

It refers to African-American's (People of Colour) as BLACK persons and to non African-Americans (people of no colour) as WHITE persons.

People Business Geography Newsroom Subjects A to Z Search@Census

White persons, percent, 2010 (a) 72.4%

Black persons, percent, 2010 (a) 12.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a) 0.9%

Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a) 4.8%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a) 0.2%

Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010 2.9%

Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 16.3%

White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2010 63.7%

Why can the US government say Black persons, while the majority of the rest of the world would consider it to be politically incorrect.

I do not want to offend people, I would like to be politically correct.

And is the use of "White" persons politically correct?

But where do you draw the line in the sand and say "this is correct" or "this is not correct"

Were the students correct 36 years ago or is the USA Government correct now?

dam_n you ysamui for reviving this thread! Because the low numbers were troubling me, I went back to the DOPA website - this time with my girlfriend beside me (and not trusting Google's oft-confusing translation). Thus, I, once again, and for fear of being labeled, and quite rightly so, an idiot, have to admit I was totally and completely wrong with my earlier posts. (I'm glad no one felt the inclination to verify my numbers, as I'd much prefer to admit my errors than have them pointed out to me.)

It turns out, that what Google translated to 'Muang Samui' is actually 'Amphoe Muang Surat Thani', and Ko Samui is actually way down on page 7 of DOPA's list, translated by Google into 'The City of London'.

This will teach me to rely on Google's translation!

Therefore, without any further ado, here is - whether you believe me or not! - the official population of Samui and Phangan districts:

Thank-you jamesbrock for finally locating a document that can be regarded as "official".

Reading the document did bring a smile to my face though

The document states that there are 40,411 dwellings on Koh Samui.

It further claims a population of 61,318.

That is an average number of 1.5 occupants per dwelling....Very Very Funny

Australia has an average of 2.5 (and decreasing)

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/0/8DD7826E7F7235D8CA25732C0020820B?opendocument

United Kingdom has an average of 2.3 (and increasing)

http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/research/energy/downloads/40house/chapter03.pdf

Let me try to combine some facts (as we know them) some guess work and some assumptions and attempt some calculations.

I apologise in advance if I miss anything or assume incorrectly. Please feel free to correct or advise me if any of this guesswork is way off the mark.

Fact - There are 61,318 permanent Koh Samui residents (thank-you jamesbrock)

- Koh Samui Airport has 1,000,000 arrivals per annum

- Ferry arrivals maybe 365,000 per annum (Guessing- 1,000 arrivals per day over 365 days - probably more?)

- Total number of arrivals, 1,365,000

- Assume that Jan - May peak season period (5 months) represents around 55% of visitors for the total year

- Total is 750,750 divided by 5 months

- Approximately 150,000 arrivals per month January - May

Add: Add 150,000 (arrivals) and 61,318 (permanent residents, thank-you again jamesbrock)

Conclusion: In the January to May period there is an average of 211,318* people on the Island every day.

*This figure does not include illegal aliens, left-over hippies or Thais in hiding. So maybe we should double it? lol

Please suggest any variations or corrections as I am very keen to try to get an answer that is as accurate as possible.

Plentiful in Chiang Mai at the moment.

My local Macro store DID run out 2 weeks ago, but have plenty again now

Unfortunately, it is a bit out of the way to get there

Why not just buy a few cases next chance you get, not like it goes bad. . .

Good advice. Been there, done that! I just could not get enough.

The supply of Schweppes went wrong during the floods and took a long time to re-establish itself. As far as I know there is only one factory and so I suppose if there are any problems with it all production grinds to a halt.

No current shortage of Schweppes in Pattaya though so maybe it's just a Koh Samui distribution problem.

It has been in and out of stock for 5 months here in Samui. I was told that it had something to do with a supply problem with the cans??

I think Samui is one of the last drop off points due to the additional cost involved in shipping it across the water. The profit is higher for Schweppes to sell the limited amount of product closer to their distribution and factory sites.

Tonic Water is as scarce as hens teeth in Koh Samui. Is this the same throughout Thailand?

Not only are the sales of Gin down 90% over the last 5 months.

More importantly, I am being deprived of enjoying one of my favourite drinks.

Does anyone know the real reason for these constant stock shortages of Tonic Water that we are experiencing?

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Tonic Water is as scarce as hens teeth in Koh Samui. Is this the same throughout Thailand?

Not only are the sales of Gin down 90% over the last 5 months.

More importantly, I am being deprived of enjoying one of my favourite drinks.

Does anyone know the real reason for these constant stock shortages of Tonic Water that we are experiencing?