organic

*inflation

Are people having difficulty getting by? Food inflation here in the UK is around 15%, though it varies according to the political affiliation of the responder. As for fuel inflation, we'll have to see on Fri 26th by how much the energy price cap is going to be lifted. For many people here, it'll be a choice between heating or eating this winter. Obviously, unless there's a severe cold spell, heating is not an issue in Thailand.

I've had an iLife one for a couple of years, cheap import from HK, works fine, very thorough. It is slow, but you can get on with other things while it's trundling around. Or go down the bar.

Visited Patong and Karon last month and was pleasantly surprised how much better the beaches are. Not as good as in the 80s before they got filled with tourist junk but still a huge improvement over last year. If the authorities did something about the litter problem and banned jet skis, I'd be well happy.

The owners claim GBP 11-billion has been spent at Heathrow since 2003

What on? I can't recall seeing any significant changes.

What are they concerned about. Wasn't it not more than a little over a week ago that they were claiming to have a cure for Ebola. Haven't heard much more on this ridiculous claim as of late.

Being tested by the WHO and the Americans as we speak!!

After that they are going to start trying to find a cure for Thaivisa-antithai-everything-venom all too common around here!

And if it's found to work fine, it'll still take a while to set up manufacturing for the stuff - in any country.

A truly stupid idea but I think it's an attempt to stop any more of the "old-fashioned" (best euphemism I could think of) wing of his party defecting to the Kippers.

Tourists not big on military dictatorships, who`d have thought!?

Interestingly hotel prices are going up rather than down despite demand going down and supply going up. A couple of years back 1000 baht got you a decent 3* hotel in Bangkok whilst 2000 baht got you a 4* or even 5* hotel such as the Rembrandt where we always stay at when in town.

Whenever there's a decline in tourism, Thai landlords put up the rents on commercial properties in the tourist sector, leaving the operators the choice of putting up their prices or go bust, so usually it isn't just hotel prices that escalate.

I've got a visit planned for December.

people who have never ridden a motorcycle in their life chose to do so when they come here on holiday, often when drunk.

And often enough wearing nothing more than shorts and a pair of flip-flops.

Some more info on the stolen passport trade: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/10/thailand-trade-fake-passports-crime-gangs-world

Created after the September 11, 2001 terror attack on New York and Washington, the LSTD database now has some 40m entries.

Overall it's a pity they did go for the sleaze aspect, it detracted from the point a lot were trying to make - what have they to look forward to back in the UK? Making a pint last all day in Wetherspoons? A freezing cold home because our energy companies are allowed to charge excessively? The complete lack of respect for the elderly?

I've got a few years left before my retirement but certainly, if I'm able to afford it, I'll be coming back to Thailand (won't be Pattaya though, no matter hw cheap beer is in Soi Buakhao).

The 'seediest place you have never heard of'! Oh come on, loads of Brits have been to Pattaya, and not just the pensioners and sex tourists. Whole report seems a few years out of date.

I'm due to go on holiday to Thailand in a couple of weeks so I'm keeping an eye on anything Thai-related in the news... but I hadn't even noticed the UK had issued a travel warning. I suspect neither have any other holidaymakers.

If you read the report, Thailand's actually 24th. CNN have promoted it to 7th, presumably so they can try to link it to sex tourism and make their report more sensationalist.

24th is still pretty bad.

many others even including the infamous Miami, never again, I do like the view onto the Miami from the Sofitel Sukhumvit though.

I used to stay at the Miami in my younger days but it got ever more squalid and my tolerance for dumps vanished. It's a pity, it could be quite marvellous if they caught up with 30 years of maintenance.

Ever been to Malmo? It's boring. You can go there easily on the ferry from Copenhagen but you'll soon want to go back.

While chatting to a Swedish woman in Thailand once, when I asked where she was from, she replied "Malmo, it's very boring".

The Malmoites need all the entertainment they can get.

The crown estates are numerous and generate much income.

How did the Windsor's come to own such estates?

The Norman Conquest (although the Windsors aren't descendants).

Well i am very pleased for them, they are a lovely couple, and one day this baby will be King.

As much as I love French wine and cheese I would have much preferred it if they had managed to export their revolution more successfully

We were the first in the world, England in 1651, France didn't catch up till 1789.

The strapline reads 'How a popular promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical islam and became a monster'. I can't see how that's glorifying him. Not read the article but it could well be sensible advice for other young people.

For non-Brits, the article on the article is from the Daily Mail, renowned for its panic and hysteria.

amazing that Afghanistan doesn't make the top 10 -

(or maybe they've missed one out as there are only 9 countries listed in the top 10!)

India, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Thailand and Yemen.

According to Aon, the top-10 countries at risk from terrorism are, in

order, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia,

Syria, Thailand and Yemen.

By strange coincidence they're in alphabetical order - coincidence or lazy journalist, perhaps?

Do the Brits on this board mostly think she did it? (killed fellow Brit Meredith Kercher)

I remember seeing something on BBC about how this was viewed by Brits sort of like the O.J. Simpson trial in the US, that most were convinced she was a murderess. If what prosecutors say is true, was part of some sort of 3-way sex game, I'd like more details on that.

No. The original prosecutor has a long track record as something of a conspiracy nut. The sex game stuff looks to be an invention of his fevered imagination. Of course a lot of the media failed to challenge it, it was just the sort of story they love.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/22/burmese-asylum-seekers-die-25-days-at-sea

Same incident?

I counted 5 lorises (and 1 iguana) the night before last so the crackdown's obviously having as much effect as everyone predicted. Might be more useful to start educating tourists rather than hoping on the cops doing anything useful.

Why Bicester, have people there never heard of condoms?

Flew with a Mid East airline a couple of years ago and on 3 of the 4 legs of the journey the temperature was just fine, on the 4th it was utterly freezing. A lot of passengers that joined at Dubai were heavily clad Nepalis, they were fine, but I had to huddle under a blanket the entire flight. Did ask the stewardess if she could check if the cabin termperature had been set too low and she offered to look into it. Nothing happened.