witsawakorn

When those teaching english can barely speak the language then it doesn't look bright. Those with kids being taught english by thais at school will know what I mean.

The results do not surprise me one iota. Of all 58 countries in Asia,Thailand is 56th in English proficiency.

And when you have the entire population with an average IQ level 10% below the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong and markedly below other ASEAN countries what hope have you got.

It is a simple fact that to teach English effectively the teach should be a native English speaker.

My personal belief (shared by the majority of Caucasians who have been here for any length of time) is that Thais and Thailand are so xenophobic that there is almost a an unwritten policy not to encourage the children to learn English.

The average hooker has a better level of English proficiency than the majority of Thai teachers.

I have been here for a long time and I don't agree with your contention that the reason that the level of English proficiency in Thailand is Thai's xenophobic tendencies. My observation after more than 15 years working here is that the level of English here has improved a lot. If you want to compare Thailand to places like Singapore Malaysia, Burma, Philippines etc. then the lack of colonisation is the common and obvious difference. Most of the Thais that I deal with at work try their best to improve their English. I think the last line of your post tells me everything about the source of your so called knowledge about Thailand. I bet that you have had more conversations with hookers than you have had with teachers haven't you?. (Perhaps when you make statements claiming to represent the views of the majority of "Caucasians" (use of that word tells me a lot about you) who have been here for any length of time you should qualify it by saying that you are speaking for white people whose interactions with Thais is limited to whores!!!!" IMO realisation that a problem exists and admitting is the first step towards improving the situation so why knock every effort that is made to improve the situation. I must say that I had a very enjoyable time a few years back when I went to US with 5 Thai Engineers to do a job at a chemical plant. Safety requirements meant that everyone had to undergo a safety induction and pass a written exam with an 80% or higher score before being allowed on the plant. The Safety Manager told me that I could help my guys to put the correct answers (i.e. cheat) because he assumed that they couldn't speak English. I said no let them try and guess what they all passed with 80%+ scores. I lughed my socks off when I found out that the American Contractor on the same site had to get an exemption for his workers (all citizens or Green card holders) because most of them couldn't speak enough English to get through the safety exam. haha. What do they say about the word assume?

I don't think there will be any black outs. EGAT manages to carry out maintenance on its power plants without causing black outs. Many of the gas fired power plant can run on diesel anyway. The reduction in gas supply only affects power plant on the west side of Thailand. Plants located in Eastern Thailand are supplied from the Gulf of Thailand and wont be affected. I get the feeling that the MEA governor is just trying to show off how clever he thinks he is

 

Solar projects receive a tariff adder of over 6 baht per kWh so if all of the solar projects that were proposed went ahead we would be paying more than the current residential rate of less than 2 baht per unit

Sorry, but can you translate the above comment into non-technical terms.

If the intention is to promote solar power, why would there be a surcharge on solar power amounting to three times the current power rate (based on your numbers above)?

In order to promote development of Renewable Energy the government passed legislation in 2007 that allowed for developers of renewable power projects to be paid a higher rate for power (known as an "adder" than conventionally fuelled projects receive. The bonus payable depends on the type of project with Solar receiving the highest at 6.5 Baht/kWh on top of the current retail rste which is over 3 Baht/kWh (not less than 2 Baht/kWh as i said earlier). The cost of the incentive payment is passed on to the end user as it is factored into the Ft (Fuel Price adsjustment) tariff that appears on everyone's power bill. A similar system is used by almost every country that is trying to promote Renewable Enery decvelopment. Thailand's Solar Power Generation capacity increased from 2MW in 2007 to 432 MW at the end of 2012 so the policy seems to have had an effect. Sorry for any confusion

So they have learned nothing from the flood mismanagement. I seem to remember a cabinet minister running out of a meeting to hold a press conference about an impending inundation that had 250,000 people on the move. The warning was refuted an hour later and Yingluck wrote it off as being " well intentioned " !

Actually power supply planning in Thailand is very well managed so you can't compare to the flood management. I met the VP of a Singaporean power utility the other day who commented that power supply in Thailand is very well planned If EGAT had advance warning of the supply disruption then I have every confidence that there will be no disruption to power supplies. PTT has been importing LNG from Qatar through its terminal in Maptaphut since 2011. Part of the reason for building that terminal was to mitigate the risk of disruption to supplies from Burma.The comment knocking certain ministries for not approving projects over the last 2 years which could have resulted in an extra 1000MW is purely an attempt to slag off PT as I am aware of many solar projects that went ahead over the last two years. Solar projects receive a tariff adder of over 6 baht per kWh so if all of the solar projects that were proposed went ahead we would be paying more than the current residential rate of less than 2 baht per unit

The whole of Asia, except Singapore ,looks like a garbage dump, wherever you look there's rubbish, the place is a pigsty.

On the concept of transforming garbage into clean energy, they could jumpstart the program with that comment.

Actually the process of transforming garbage into clean energy has already started. I am working on a project to build a Waste to Energy Plant (WTE) which will be built near to the existing Nong Khaem waste collection depot in Western BKK. The plant will have exhaust gas scrubbers installed and will burn about 500 tons/day of garbage to generate nearly 10MW of power which is sold to MEA. Its a small start but a step in the right direction. A second plant is already planned for Phuket

How is he accessing the ingredients to make this ice?

Surely its not obtainable over the counter.

I believe it is made from cold medicine which can be bought over the counter here and in US, UK. How do I know? Because I watch too much TV!! In US I believe that people are restricted as too how mutch they can buy per day

RT @RichardBarrow: 8,635 foreigners in Phuket have work permits: British 1,169 people, Filipinos 668, Russians 646 & French 554.

Sounded a lot at first but its only 3037 Farang and that leaves 5598 presumably all Thai------- not a bad share when you consider all the scams and corruption that comes from them------ Dougal the Kiwi

So you count Thais as foreigners do you Doh!

Farangs drugging Thais? That's a twist.

Middle East looking

He's not farang (a white man). He coming from Middle East also he should be arab (muslim) ? Maybe from a crime burglar organisated group ! Did he acted for himself or for a criminal team...

They are everywhere ! After Europe target they go to the Extreme East and now stealing in Thailand (the European tourists goods in Thailand). Now we've seen it all !

I am sure that I detect an Arab accent in your writing style !! Sorry but what are you talking about? Arab looking? He could easily be Spanish or Italian. You have to be very careful if you want to start judging based on appearance. I know a born and bred Scousers with a Father of Arab origin. Is he a Farang or an Arab? Actually as soon as he speaks you could only ever call him a Scouser:-)

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

Why is it that so many TV posters think that observations made remotely through condo windows or from bar stools makes them construction experts? FYI many people build houses bit by bit as they get the funds together. I have worked on many "real"projects ("real" meaning costing over USD 100 million) and many were constructed on schedule. The funds spent on building a circuit would likely result in a good return on the investment anyway.

Personally I wish Thailand luck and hope it happens.

BTW there is a racing circuit near Pattaya called Bira but I am not sure that it is big enough to hold an F1GP

"Tourist Friendly Image???"

That should be dispelled the moment a newbie tourist meets their first Thai immigration official: unsmiling on a good day; grumpy and non-so-subtlety aggressive on a bad (overworked) day. LMFAO

Rubbish. Choose a line with one of the attractive female officers. An excellent wecome home as far as I am concerned. Once you've visited Thailand a few more times you will realise that people are a lot friendlier if you greet them properly and with a smile. If you want to meet really unfriendly immigration and Customs officials try transitting through the US. with a passport full of Asian stamps

Funny that they are worried the airport threatens to tarnish their tourist friendly image...how about the daily assault, intimidation and robbing of tourists in scam after scam such as on the beaches of Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui with the jet ski gangs?

Why? Aren't they allowed to be concerned about more than one thing?

Why not go after Thais that allowed and profited from the illegal land holdings as well? Don't bother to respond, we all know the answer...

Maybe because they didn't break the law?

When the devastating floods hit Thailand’s numerous industrial estates last year, hundreds of companies were forced to suspend production and close their factories. That meant that tens of thousands of skilled workers were left without work at a time when the Thai economy was just beginning to pick up again after the global financial crisis of the previous two to three years. At the same time, in an ironic twist of ‘reverse globalization,’ a number of Japanese firms, in an attempt to maintain some levels of production, decided to send their skilled Thai workers to facilities in Japan to supervise unskilled Japanese workers. www.bangkokbusinessbrief.com

WELCOME TO GRAND PARK AVENUE BANGKOK

(formerly Grand Mercure Bangkok Park Avenue)

Conveniently located in a quiet lane just off bustling Sukhumvit Road, the Grand Park Avenue is a 4 star hotel offering 221 elegantly decorated rooms and restaurants featuring Italian and Thai cuisine.

http://www.grandparkavenue.com/

Fire sprinklers inside????

i

I assume the fire exits were locked (chained?) as per normal Thai practice,

for security, of course.

There was nothing in the OP to suggest that fire exits were locked. Or do we now base news on assumptions? How many fire doors have you found locked in Thailand? Have you ever checked? I assume that you just copied your assumption from some other Doom and Gloom TV negative poster

Isn't it amazing that so many comments already criticise Thai standards.

If you don't like it, here's an idea: go home.

Have some sense and compassion.

Quite!

However, commenting on safety regulations or the lack of same might eventually mean that same would be revised.

Telling someone to stop commenting and advising to go home is not really the way.

Have some sense and compassion?

Indeed for the victims compassion, but definitely not for those who think that having safety regulations is just hindering the making of money.

And about sense, ah........

Fair comment but it seems clear to me that the people commenting on safety regs have no idea what they are and just make assumptions without any knowledge of the subject. For example Power Plant in Thailand are built to NFPA standards ( NFPA 850 to be precise) I somehow doubt that many posters would assume that The age of the building is relevant too since it can only be built to standards in force at the time of construction. Surely we should wait to find out the cause and final damage before commenting on lack of standards or don't the facts matter?

If you don't it here, go home. ZZZzzzzzzzz. Wish I had one baht for every time a farang living in an upcountry country village posted that..... :-)

But back to the topic at hand. Watch all the news media carefully. There will never be a follow up story about this fire, why it happened, and whether or not there were sprinklers... It will all quietly fade away, so no one will lose face. It is the nature of news here, which someone referred to as like a brushfire. Lots of fire, smoke and action at the time of the event, and then afterwards nothing... Follow up stories with more information would be able to pinpoint blame. But that is not accepted here.

The problem with trying to make predictions about Thailand by applying overly simplistic stereotypes is that they have a habit of proving to be wrong.That's why I was able to learn from one the English language papers today that:

1) The building was built before the law requiring sprinkler systems in high rises was brought in in 1992

2) The floor that caught fire first had recently been rewired.

3) The fire spread quickly due to the plastic UV block film that was applied on the glass on the inside.

Who really wants to know more given that nobody was killed or hurt?

Isn't it amazing that so many comments already criticise Thai standards.

If you don't like it, here's an idea: go home.

Have some sense and compassion.

Quite!

However, commenting on safety regulations or the lack of same might eventually mean that same would be revised.

Telling someone to stop commenting and advising to go home is not really the way.

Have some sense and compassion?

Indeed for the victims compassion, but definitely not for those who think that having safety regulations is just hindering the making of money.

And about sense, ah........

Fair comment but it seems clear to me that the people commenting on safety regs have no idea what they are and just make assumptions without any knowledge of the subject. For example Power Plant in Thailand are built to NFPA standards ( NFPA 850 to be precise) I somehow doubt that many posters would assume that The age of the building is relevant too since it can only be built to standards in force at the time of construction. Surely we should wait to find out the cause and final damage before commenting on lack of standards or don't the facts matter?

That's great news for Thailand. Some of the current government's real efforts to consolidate flood management powers (even if not yet completely successful) and the development of water retention infrastructure must be partly behind Japanese manufacturers' general vote for confidence. I also would have to think that Japan's own economic straights (strong yen and the Fukushima Disaster) would disincentivize Japanese companies from abandoning the massive investments they've made in Thailand's logistical networks. I certainly hope things hold together. To lose large numbers of Japanese companies would be a major crisis for Thailand.

Worthy of note that 2 positive stories get almost no response from the forum.

I bet there would have been about 50 posts by now if the headline had been to the effect that they were pulling out.

Says a lot about those who populate thaivisa.

Not everyone fortunately but I agree with your comment. Personally I take pleasure in the silence of the Doom and Gloomers who take pleasure at any chance to make a negative comment about LoS whilst apparently choosing to live here in preference to their country of origin.

wow, five whole kilos of marijuana!!!!

The DEA have outdone themselves this time, I wonder how much time and money was spent on this bust?

Why aren't they getting the ya bah that's coming in from Burma????

To hard methinks.

Easier gig hanging around Bankok.

I would guess that the DEA's remit is to prevent stuff from getting into the US. Yaa Baa coming into Thailand from Burma wouldn't be of interest if that is the case. Perhaps in this case they were just showing cooperation with theThai police as a PR exercise or to silence critics back home who are asking why they had people here so long with no visible results. Who knows? .

Since no-one else has remarked on the fact, it falls to me to observe that foreigners appear unable to distinguish between an Esaan taxi driver and a Thai military officer.

Yes when I saw the headline I had a comical mental picture of a taxi driver wearing a fake Army officer's uniform so it was a bit of a let down to find out that it was just some skinny kid claiming to be an officer. I guess the tyre iron was more convincing

"In 2011, a total of 606 films were shot in Thailand, generating a revenue of 1.22 billion baht for the economy."

This is of course somewhat misleading, because it gives the impression that 606 theatrical-release feature movies were shot here. In fact, apart from a small handful of low-budget productions and even fewer big-budget movies (i.e. close to none), practically all of these "films" were TV commercials intermingled with a few next-to-no-budget documentaries.

Divide the posted revenue of 1.22 billion baht by 606, and you'll find that the average amount spent was a little over 2 million Baht (roughly 65,000 US$) per "film", i.e. hardly in the league of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Most certainly dozens of "movies of a certain kind" also were shot here, for which of course no official permission was sought from the Thailand Film Office, because it wouldn't have been granted anyway. ;-)

You raise a good point. Thailand really doesn't keep a proper record, and to be blunt, 1.22 billion baht is chump change. For comparison purposes, British Columbia, Canada has a population of about 4.6 million vs. Thailand's 66 million. In 2010 It generated approx. C$777million or 23.4 billion baht from 96 foreign productions, of which 30 or so were foreign films. http://www.bcfilmcom...s%20Package.pdf If one does some number crunching it is obvious that more value is derived from the BC activity than the Thai activity. The end result is that the film industry in BC provides real jobs, real tax revenues and real investment. The Thai actiivity for the most part is for cheap scenery. There is no investment in training, no legacy of a local skilled workforce, no support of universities and technical colleges that train the craftspeople. In plain language, Thailand is treated like a cheap bargirl fling by most foreign film makers. Despite having a highly unionized workforce, higher taxes, higher wages, stricter workplace safety rules, BC beats Thailand as a foreign destination for three reasons; 1. The quality of the workforce 2. The availability of pristine settings or urban settings that are fully serviced for the film industry and 3. A government policy that supports the industry. Until Thailand does likewise, it will never have a film industry known for anything other than cheap horror/sci fi, chop sockey and pathetic porn. Thailand has alot to offer, but it needs to build upon its assets and to invest in its strengths.This is something I don't think the star struck government officials grasp.

All of which is very interesting but equally as interesting is what you fail to mention which is e.g. the financial incentives that BC offers to companies that make their production there. However there are catches ( as always) such as the requirements for qualification for the incentives including::

• For the Basic Incentive, the production company must be British Columbia controlled and must control the ownership of the copyright.
  
• For the Basic Incentive, the producer must be a British Columbia resident and a Canadian.
  
• The producer must be a taxable, Canadian-controlled corporation.
  
• The producer must have a permanent establishment in British Columbia.
  

Which must be tough on foreign filmmakers. Sometimes the cheap bar girl doesn't seem that bad after all ( every time IMO). I doubt that anyone really cares how much better than Thailand B.C. is for filmmakers anyway since nobody made any such claims.

Coal fired power stations can be clean if they are willing to spend money on closed filtration. But I expect they`ll opt for chimneys belching black smoke just to keep running costs at a minimum.

A coal fired power plant will never be clean because of the CO2 Emissions which wont change until Carbon Capture technology becomes feasible. Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides and Dust Emissions from the Chimney are of more immediate concern to the health of people living in the vicinity of such plants and a modern state of the art plant will have equipment installed to reduce emissions of such pollutants by the following amounts:

Sulphur Dioxide 90-95% removal

Nitrogen Oxides 75% removal

Dust more than 99% removal

A new coal fired power plant built in Thailand would have to meet such standards in order to get an EIA approved but I am not sure about Burma. Anyway if bank funding is required to finance the project the Lenders ( whether International or Thai) will ensure that certain environmental standards will be met as a condition of the loan.

FYI the only time that you will get black smoke out of a coal fired power plant is for a short period of time when they are lighting the coal burners with oil fueled light off burners if the oil burners haven't been set up properly. The black comes from unburnt carbon.Coal burner smoke is grey and is caused by ash particles. Smoke from a modern plant should be almost imperceptible

There are some existing small Gas Turbine power plant located at Kawthaung but I wonder why the Chamber of Commerce member from Ranong felt that she is qualified to make comments on the safety of its operation. My guess is that her assessment was based on the standard of housekeeping (cleaning) which she may well be qualified to judge but means little when looking at safety of operation.

I have a feeling that this is just a lot of hot air anyway. The Thai company gets its name associated with a big international project and the Burmese government gets to show its critics that they can deal with foreign developers who aren't going to bring their own labour force with them depriving the locals of jobs and who never go home when the construction is complete.It couldn't happen until Burma gets a real currency that can be traded internationally. The US embargo wont help matters either ( although it didn't stop Unocal building the gas pipeline to Thailand a few years back!)

I think the time for Thailand to worry is when they announce that a Chinese company is given a concession to build a coal fired power plant there because they won't need to comply with minimum standards imposed by Lenders ( because they have access to government finance)

It is quite frightening when the Thai authorities are not facing the reality with this terrorist act. What else is happening that they consider "normal"? By sticking their stupid heads in the sand they will unfortunately cause further innocent casualties.

It is NOT an ordinary spit between criminals. I believe they were out to bomb the Israeli or American embassies or God forbid they were after nearby targets frequented by tourists.

What is the reality that you expect the government to face up to ? Surely if the government makes a big deal of this matter resulting in panic reactions then that is exactly what the terrorists want. Based on the facts available so far we know that 3 Iranian nationals were ineptly handling explosives resulting in one of them blowing his own legs off. Unless they were friends of yours I can't understand why you would believe that these idiots were going to attack the US or Israeli Embassies or anywhere else for that matter. They could even be on US or Israeli payroll as part of a campaign to stir up anti Iranian feelings ahead of an important vote on sanctions. in fact the more i think about it the more plausible that seems

Grenades bounce? Who knew? Do they have a warning label?

Yes, not terrorism, most Iranians settle disputes between themselves with C4 and grenades.

That could well be true!! Does all C4 come from the US?

People complain about building inspectors... until the smelly stuff hits the fan.

The rebar I've seen going into foundations has been a joke. I can't keep from commenting everytime I see bundles of the scrawny stuff.

They have building inspectors here? None ever dropped by to inspect any of my projects. I can't comment on the quality of the steel but I've sure seen lots of smooth rebar going where it should be ribbed.

Really? You have stood by and watched the wrong steel going in the hole in your own projects. I hope you didn't kill anyone. Good projects in Thailand have quality ensured by the Owner's Engineers or Contractor's staff. Why do people from the West expect some government employee to come along and take care of everything for them. Most of the projects that I have worked on here have been built in Industrial Estates and every one has been inspected during construction by IEAT Engineers but quality and safety are always ensured by the Owner's Engineers and Contractors

really ??,.......so all the labourers were wearing helmets and steel toe cap boots with high vis jackets too i suppose ? ..........and all the electric earthed and the vehicles were all roadworthy / safe ???...........sorry, dont believe a word of it !

Why don't you believe it? Presumably because you have no relevant experience. I have worked on Projects in Thailand where all workers wear PPE on the construction site.and one recent project had no LTIs over a 30 month construction period. I can prove it Anyone can walk past a 2 bit building site in Thailand and see safety violations but projects run by multinational companies tend to require higher standards. Good safety standards are difficult to achieve on all construction projects worldwide but it can be achieved even in Thailand believe it or not.

God bless he didn't do it in a busy crowd, but I guess now Shit in the Fan...

No

He did it outside a school

But according to another report the first bomb went offf in a house rented by 3 Iranians near the school the school wasn't the target and it appears that the only people seriously injured was one of the "bombers' whose bomb bounced back off a tree when he tried to throw it at police when fleeing the scene and blew his legs off SNN!