pisico

What's the point? You cannot travel anywhere in the city due to traffic congestion! As a friend told me recently, when we slowed to a stop on the expressway and I laughed at having paid the toll to avoid a car park. He said "You pay in car parks and this one is only just a lot larger, same same!" He has a point. Traffic is enough to put anyone off trying to reach any destination or tourist attraction. If BMA is serious - remove the stupidity of manually controlled traffic lights and sync them up so they allow traffic flow and time them at no more than 60 seconds per intersection. Have the BiB police traffic and the push shove merchants, people travelling the wrong way against traffic flow, have all buses remain in the left lane (create a bus/taxi lane) and issue some serious fines attached to a point system for those who ignore the rules.

Then whilst that is happening tourism and cultural attractions can be being built thus by the time BMA gets its s**t together, things may actually work ... ok - now I will stop daydreaming!

Embarrassing indeed!

Viet Nam increased tourism from zero to something. Is that the example to follow?

Bangkok is the only city I know that has access ramps on all its sidewalks for the benefit of motorcycles not the disabled.

Did he ever walk on the sidewalks of Ratchadamnoen or Pinklao? I think not.

Sidewalks in general, except for the smattering of streets in the Ratchaprasong area are craggy, full of dangerous holes and perennially dirty. Public transportation buses seem to be washed only during Songkran or when it rains.

Pedestrians are not considered to be a life form to protect from traffic. Soi dogs on the rise, a clear sign of urban decay.

All this guy can think of is to have peasants continue weaving silk as they do now to turn this city into a cultural hub?

It comes to show that people in this city's government have a deep disconnect with reality. They think we all live in the same bubble they do.

A frenchwoman aged between 23 and 33? What kind of news is this?

"Chiang Mai Governor Pannada Disakul said their deaths were coincidence."

Reassuring to know they're doing everything in their power to get to the bottom of this... NOT.

Worm your way out of this ANTI THAI bashers................................coincidence 55555555555555........this topic got critics, looks like a government has listened to the outcry..................keep bashing ( when needed).

This hotel should be closed--and the mess cleared up....For Chiang Mai's sake--and tourists...........greed again though.

And what is more important: SAVING FACE!

Everything in Thailand is so good that it could not be better.

Oi vey!

Again we have the BMA and proposing lousy projects. It's their M.O. to always announce stupid projects, wait to see a public response, and if there isn't an outrage, they go through with the project. Where's that Bangkok Eye project now?

KT is a so-called privatized company that is actually 99% owned by the BMA. Go ahead and google 'Amorn Kitchawengkul Hawaii' and you will see a lawsuit filed years ago where things didn't go the BMA/KT's way and it ended up in international court. This was back when Gov. Samak was about the exit as Governor of Bangkok.

What a load of dung. Trying to brand the different sections of this stupid walkway? Why not try to fix the roads and sidewalks

below?! Or add a moving walkway between Chidlom and Siam BTS stations?

More billions of baht of our taxpayer funds going into waste with a percentage into lining pockets.

Or... enforce the laws regarding public thoroughfare encroachment. Have police enforce traffic laws to get motorbikes off the sidewalks. Repave the most egregious cases of sidewalk deterioration and do all this having the safety of pedestrians as the main focus throughout. That would cost less but then again, who cares about being thrifty, conscientious and efficient? It's not their money. There is really no need to build a super walk way that will cost much more as represented in the current budget and that it will not be completed in the projected time-frame. A super walk way that will be crowded eventually by beggars and vendors, as it is the case in Anu Sawari (Victory Monument). Then again, would the politicians and police be willing to do their duty for the greater good?

Guess they couldn't get enough street vendors to sign up.

Hey! Motor-boys probably were not notified either.

To allow pedestrians on sidewalks or sky-walks? Unthinkable! This is Thailand!

Pedestrians: Who do they think they are?

5000 a month ? = 180 baht a night !! ........theres budget and theres stupid !...........Good luck with your search but at less than 200 baht a night I would be VERY careful what you end up with.

You would be surprised.

I have a friend renting a whole townhouse outside Bangkok for about 6000 Baht per month.

Three years ago I was living in an apartment in Udomsuk road for 4000 Baht a month. It was twice the size of the serviced apartment I'm living currently living at (and paying more that three times as much) and apart from the building being 10 or 15 years old and showing it, it was a perfectly fine place to live. I finally moved because it was too far from my work place.

The thing is that particular place has a minimum of 6 months rent contracts, so it's not good for my friend.

Of course I'm not talking luxury, just an acceptable middle class type of accommodation.

I would be interested in that townhouse since I work at home.

You say outside Bangkok. Exactly whereabouts?

Is it furnished, etc.?

I will appreciate that information and your friend's phone number.

Feel free to message me, please!

Pisico :jap:

A denotation of $100 dollars per MP is laughable considering that most of them are millionaires. The speakers comment is a joke as well, stating that the MP's don't have any spare funds with an election looming.

Japan will get the last laugh the next time Thailand comes with their begging bowl for a major loan.

You got that right!

In the great scheme of things Thailand is not supposed to give anything to anybody. They know better than that.

The country is a whirlpool where cash from all over finds its way into the government's coffer.

Everything goes in, nothing goes out. Otherwise the sidewalks would be used by pedestrians not by motorcycles; street and hi-ways would be well paved; the police would not shake up motorists and merchants alike and would indeed protect and serve the citizenry; and there would be an animal control presence in a city of 11 million people where soi dogs rule and the impending threat of a rabies outbreak looms. These are some of the most blatant symptoms of neglect.

With those empty gestures to save face, to earn face, they think we'll never notice their true nature.

The police were usless aganist the Red Shirts why did they think they would be any better aganist the Yellows.

This sentence is most accurate by deleting every word after useless

Does anyone know the standards at the Bangkok Police Academy?

How long does it take to train and prepare a professional law enforcement agent?

How many agents graduate every year?

<br />

<br />Well all treatment at Heathrow is free. Not sure about Suvarnbhami. At Samui the local rip off private hospital has a clinic so the answer there would be a resounding NO.<br />

<br /><br />Once had emergency treatment at Don Muang. Free of charge !!!<br /><br />Yermanee<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Looking like you do, and offering a beer to the Doc, I'm not Amazed at all........!

Can I carry your bags, please?

The Winne-bag-os?

Postpone the rescue teams to Japan. Since Japananese authotities, want to sort out problems in their own country first.

Sorry I don't understand.

jb1

Sure,

they don't have the time for nurse-maiding the Thai team around

and finding something for them to do, and no expectation they will be

self starting and speak good japanese.

A ringing endorsement.

Certainly! What experience Thais have with Meltdowns or Nuclear energy? Add to that the likelihood of not being fluent in English.

The Japanese did the right thing.

a Bank Safebox - this is why I started this thread

apply now. one of your grandchildren might be lucky and have one allocated.

Went in to the bank and got one a few years back. No waiting great service. Just cancelled it recently to use our own bolted to the wall one

Go and ask.

OK, go ask.

WHAT CITY?

WHICH BANK?

That will help.

Thanks!

I am speechless.

Obviously the suit, or suits, that came up with that idea and plan do not live in our world nor do they have an idea of how illogical their plan is.

Oh, I now I get it!

Maybe they think that the bulk of those lost souls that went to the wrong airport are quality tourist Farangs and since everybody knows all Farangs are loaded, Farangs will pay the near THB8000 without blinking.

Amazing Thailand!

This study addresses the symptoms, not the causes.

To ask for more funds to manufacture devices to monitor pollution is one of the facets of Thainess: if it is not Thai cannot be accepted as good. There are zillions of devices already set to go all over the world for less money than what costs to start manufacturing a new one from scratch. Oh, I forgot! To ask for more money (which will take a long time to be allocated) will delay any action and at the same time all that theater makes them look good.

There should be a comprehensive study to address exactly the causes of such pollution. Then, try to find a solution to the problem.

Assess the causes, study viable solutions and implement them. That is a real scientific and responsible way to approach the problem.

Hello everybody!

I found a visa run service virtually from anywhere in Bangkok to Poipet. Round trip: THB 500. One way 300.

A minivan will pick you up where you live. My personal experience.

Picked up at about 2:30 AM in Pinklao where I live. Picked up 3 more passengers in Nakhon Pathom province. Another couple in a Sukhumvit Soi and another one on the way to the highway.

One stop. We rolled into Aranyaprhatet around 6:15 AM. I was at the Thai Immigration at 8 AM and back around 9:30 AM. The vans have their hub in the Talad Market real close to the border, at a small eatery with friendly young waitresses and food of acceptable quality and prices. I got into the 10 AM bus and after delivering passengers to their residences in Bang Na, and other points along the way, I was delivered to the lobby of my condo at 3 PM.

Pros: inexpensive, efficient and courteous. Pick up at your place of residence at different times of early morning onward. The drivers will even wait 10-15 minutes for you if not ready.

Cons: It's a mini van, not a bus. Only one 15 minute stop along the way. Thais and Cambodians are the bulk of their passengers. If you want to chat in English or require babying, this service is not advisable.

It was a good experience for me. I have nothing negative to say about the people with whom I shared the trip to and from. I saw parts of Bangkok I did not know. I learned a few more words in Thai and Khmer.

Have someone fluent in Thai make the arrangements for you on the phone. I hope the moderators do not delete their phone numbers. If so, feel free to message me and I will give them to you.

089-250-4934, 084-352-9441 :jap:

this is a very big and very heavy piece for Thai government !

they are already very busy on dealing with all the 'physical' and 'visible' problems. this is something called 'cultural' and 'mental', that is miles away from their agenda.

'mentally' not prepared.

The people at large take their cue from the government: double pricing system, deep rooted nationalism, a sense that accepting anything that is not Thai or has never been Thai is unnatural and unwelcome. Why Thailand has not instituted English as a second language? Why the text books are replete of omission of historical facts, inaccurate and grossly outdated statements? Change is unwelcome. That is one of the signs of social decay the same as soi dogs are a sign of urban decay. Rejecting change is the first step towards decay. This is a tenet of Social and anthropological sciences.

Change will only take place once the coffers and pocket books start hitting empty. By then, the world will be far ahead and catching up will be even harder.

Abhisit's name is out there but the Author of this little 'essay'. A PAD patriot would brand the writer a traitor on the content. No wonder it's anonomous.

Never mind foot dragging, fairness or common sense. It's all about the national Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Saving face.

How do they save face when they appear to have no confidence in their own claims? The Cambodians are supremely confident in theirs and, hence, keen to internationalise the issue. PAD and TPN are the only ones that seem to have a coherent case on the Thai side, whether they're right or wrong. I suspect Thailand's going to lose face anyway; it's just a matter now of finding ways to minimize it.

True. But as you said, they will try to minimize losing face. The temple was adjudicated to Cambodia based on historical data and early French topographical surveys. It will be so easy to grant an easement of access to Cambodia and have joint management and maintenance of the temple so important to both countries! You may be right in saying that Thais are figuring out how to minimize losing face. But in the end, it is not about fairness or justice: it's all about losing face.

Abhisit's name is out there but the Author of this little 'essay'. A PAD patriot would brand the writer a traitor on the content. No wonder it's anonomous.

Never mind foot dragging, fairness or common sense. It's all about the national Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Saving face.

Op wants to stay in Thailand long term.

Based on his marriage he can get a multiple non-O visa, good for 1 year. It gives unlimited entries into Thailand during that year, but each time you can not stay longer than 90 days at a time. Than you have to leave the country but can come back the same day. By leaving the country and re-entering just before the visa expires you can get almost 15 months out of it.

Thai immigration will give a 1 year extension of stay if you cna show:

400,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand for 2 months

OR

an income of 40,000 a month (can be from abroad.

If you can't show this, you have to get a new non-O visa. A multiple non-O is available in Kuala Lumpur if one can show 100,000 in the bank. Otherwise a trip to Australia or Europe will provide a new multiple non-O without showing any money in the bank.

Hello Mario! Regarding the non-O in Kuala Lumpur, is that visa available to anyone who can show 100,000THB in the bank?

Can that visa be gotten by a USA citizen or a Cambodian citizen alike as long as the amount is in a Thai bank account? Is marriage to a Thai a precondition for obtaining that visa in KL?

Thank you for your kind attention to my questions.

Pisico

Backpackers spend quite a lot per head, they just don't spend it on accommodation.

High rollers are unlikely to go to the LOS - they have better options.

Maybe the LOS needs to rediscover the family holiday market.

It certainly needs to get the scams under control and reduce the pollution.

A very good point!

That is what Las Vegas did and it turned it around from the seedy image of past years to a favorite vacation spot for families in the USA and from abroad.

The problem is that LOS is always interested in saving face and not admitting that they have flawed ideas and/or that their planing is not well thought out (take the major sky walk that will cost billions) instead of having a hard look at themselves and make an effort to improve the quality of the country. There should be a campaign in which the government tell the public at large in Thailand that tourists make Thailand richer and better with their visits. That tourists should be respected by all and that Thais should be friendly to tourists instead of seeing tourist as a wad of money on legs. The public takes a cue from the Government and also implement their double pricing tables. As a Farang try to buy a ticket to see Muey Thai for instance. You will pay ten times more than a Thai to see the same thing. Try to make a taxi driver turn the meter in Pattaya. The list goes on and on. What am I saying? That will mean enforcement of the laws.

If the country improves in quality, more high-end tourists will come to Thailand. But, a country that shoos backpackers, lower or Middle class tourists is bound to stay underdeveloped in the tourist industry.

"A smattering of Russians and no one else" was how the tourist numbers on Koh Samet were described to me yesterday. "Even the staff are getting worried", said the restaurateur of eleven years in a prime location on the island.

"Low season hasn't even begun and I've never seen it this bad, even the Scandinavians have vanished."

This is the reality and these business owners are not expecting any growth in trade for the foreseeable future, particularly now with very high oil prices on the horizon with the revolutions across the Middle East, continuing global economic turmoil and the resilient strength of the Thai Baht.

So I think they need to be concentrating on quantity. Not quite sure how you control quality unless consulate interviews are conducted to get a 30 day holiday visa.

The hiso of Bangkok has spoken. Viva the Elite!

Obviously he has no idea what having to meet a payroll entails, or maintaining a healthy bottom line in a business environment.

Quality tourists? Qualify that, please!

Any tourist that has enough money to buy an airline ticket and come to Thailand should be welcomed with open arms. Those are the ones who keep the guests houses and small hotels going. Those are the tourists that help small restaurant stay in business and those are the ones who want to get as much as they can from their vacation because they have to save to buy the air fare and the money they will need to pay for their room and board. To promote "quality" tourism (what ever that means) is in fact the most anti economic strategy anyone can enact to save a business. Imagine a pizza parlor that will only admit customers wearing tie and suit and women wearing long dresses and jewelry and yet, it will offer a standard pizza and shoddy service.

Do the Thais in government ever read (or have access) to the comments in Thai Visa? I wonder.

So they would prefer to spend the money making sidewalks better for the motorcycles to roar along.........sensible choice !

Hey! It's not their money. So, who cares?

I lived in Brazil for 5 years. Vendors were blocking the wide sidewalks of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and even downtown Rio de Janeiro. Adding to that were the beggars and generation of "homeless" living and sleeping and procreating 24-7 on those sidewalks. After decades of that urban blight a group of merchants hired goons from the favelas and every morning 7 to 10 of those homeless, city urchins or vendors would show up stabbed and/or shot on the sands of the beaches ringing the city. There was a clamor by the human rights groups all over the world. Brazilians were silent on the issue. They were aware that such status quo was the result of a vacuum created by the government over decades of corruption and inaction.

Not that I advocate such vigilante-like approach to a problem that has been allowed to attain such proportions. But there is a parallel drawn between two diametrically different countries and cultures with a similar urban problem.

What affects Bangkok and the rest of the country is a massive lack of a proactive attitude regarding urban problems. Why not copy the Singapore model, for instance?

Why change traditions and have to accept the reality that the only laws enforced are those regulating Farangs? To enforce the law, to rid the city of urban decay such as soy dogs, encroachment of public thoroughfares by vendors that pay tea money to the police and store owners alike... that would be something that a responsible government would do. However, admitting that will imply that they have not done their job for over a century. Spending zillions on a new project will make them look soooo good! It is a way of saving face. A favorite hobby and passion in these latitudes.

Barring backpackers from teaching/tutoring English to Thai students doesn't help in the equation.

Thailand should do all it can to facilitate farang becoming scholastically involved with young Thais. Screen the farang, sure, to gauge whether they're decent folk, and have what it takes to share their knowledge. Young Thais need exposure to others who are different and who can expand their horizons in wholesome ways.

I was lucky to have been brought up in a family which traveled from country to country, back and forth between US and Europe (and a couple side trips to Africa). I grew up with large maps in my bedroom, and I had a stamp collection - so (pardon my boasting), I probably have as good a handle on current and olde geography as anyone.

I lectured for awhile at a Thai university. For sure, the students were at a v. rudimentary level regarding world affairs and geography/geology (ask a Thai U student to name the four countries which border Thailand. Then ask them to name 2 major cities in each country, for example). Yet, I relished the challenge of doing what little I could to expand their awareness on those topics. Apparently, funding ran out for my position (that's what the faculty told me) or perhaps more realistically, I was exposing students to too many concepts which were outside the norm (awareness overload) - anyhow, the U let me go - and now they're back to Thai teachers teaching English by forcing students to study the most archaic, convoluted and silly aspects of English language.

Example: Deem it necessary, that thou shalt abuse me thus?

Not outlandish, as some English language reference texts in Thai schools are archaic, bordering on ludicrous.

A sound analysis.

Thais are subliminally paranoid about losing their identity. Something that I can understand after having to move their capital from the original location to the current one after being raided by the Burmese repeatedly. Thais in the 21 century have a mindset somewhat of Thais living during the time of King Narai 600 years ago. It is not a surprise that the laws that are consistently enforced (even with draconian jail term for overstayers) are the Immigration laws. It all has to do with foreigners polluting the country's soul with their Western ways. Yet another reason they are not inquisitive. Another factor is the mantra that to complain is not polite. That presupposes an attitude of not correcting what is wrong of not improving what is deficient and to do nothing about it is OK. It is true that Thais are not the only ones who choose a profession for its financial appeal and not because love of the avocation. It is prevalent in many parts of the world. What is uniquely Thai is their propensity to shoot themselves on the foot. The Red Shirts do it to themselves, The Yellow Shirts do it to themselves, the government does likewise. How can it be understood as a pragmatic and enterprising attitude to make the lives of visitors, retirees or tourists more difficult with the many restrictions when the country depends on a nearly 10% of their GDP from tourism? They miss out on opportunities to move forward because saving face is of paramount importance in their psyche. Thais are reactive and not proactive. The reason they wait for something to happen to tell them what they have to do next, if ever. A recent example is the tourism slump after Yellow and Red Shirts shenanigans. To solve that slump a "brilliant idea" came to the fore: give free visas to the vast majority of tourists that would get them free anyway. Not only that the school system traditionally has omitted chapters of history but also is not interested in making Thais to awaken to their own mental potential. What do you do to prevent a bird from flying away?

To bar those who can come from developed countries to teach and bring Thais knowledge and advancement, not only in English, to a higher lever is blatant common sense that escapes Thais.

"a plan [by the Ministry of the Interior] to force thousands of people suspected of using drugs into detention centres and keep their names on official registries for future monitoring."

Does this mean that all tourists addicted to the drug "alcohol" can expect to be rounded up any time soon and hustled off to a boot camp?

And what about all the Thai dogs who go around badgering and harassing good citizens after a rough night out?

Will they be rounded up as well?

They bloody well should be. The dogs that is?

The numbers of Soi dogs in Thailand reach astronomical levels. I have seen urban decay up close in South America and Thailand really takes the cake. Stray dogs are a clear sign of urban decay at city management level. Animal control is as effective as the Traffic Police in Bangkok. Not long ago, a lady who owned a shop in Chatuchak and sold animals, mainly dogs, died from rabies. She bought puppies in Chinag Mai, brought them to Bangkok and a few weeks later one of them bit her and she shrugged it off. The dog had rabies and she ignored the usual and basic treatment in such a case. The fact that she was one of the higher ups in Animal Control in Bangkok, only comes to evidence that most positions in all departments and ministries are not granted on merit.

Thailand is a reactive country. The government needs to be in the midst of a crisis to start thinking about patching it up only to continue smiling and wadiing. It will be a long time before Thailand becomes proactive and follows, even if loosely, the Singaporean model, that would be a nice change. Dogs in Thailand can and will become a social threat when there is a citywide outbreak of rabies. Only then, the country and government will react to stamp it. Then again, there will be the many compassionate souls who will want to protect the four legged threats ruling the streets from being neutralized in spite of the froth dripping from the snouts. Why there is not an Animal Control presence in a city of 11 million people? Anybody has the answer?

ACCIDENT

At least ten teachers killed when bus plunges into ravine

By The Nation

Nan/Chiang Rai

Fourteen teachers were killed and 18 other injured when their bus plunged into a roadside ravine Monday, police said.

The accident happened in Nan's Song Kwae district at about 7:30 am. The 32 teachers were traveling from Ban Dai School in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district on an education trip Thung Chang district.

They left the Ban Dai school at 3 am. The ravine is about 100-metre deep.

Police suspected that the bus driver lost control because he was not familiar with mountainous road, causing it to plunge down the ravine.

Pongphan Chaiyawat, the director of Chiang Rai's Education Zone 3, said the tragic accident saddened teachers in Mae Sai and the entire Chiang Rai.

He said Ban Dai School Director Sak Luaraj was among the injured. He said the education zone and legal staffs would provide all necessary assistance to the injured teaches and families of the killed teachers.

The injured teachers were rushed to the Song Kwae and Nan hospitals. Pongphan said his deputy would become acting director of the school and teachers from nearby school would be mobilized to take charge of classes to ensure that the students could sit for the final exams

-- The Nation 2011-02-21

What sad news. May they rest in peace and a speedy recovery for the injured.

I've been in a Thai hospital where they'd implanted a plate, but not as it should be. Not only why accidents like this one happen, is a problem, also how people "recover", being treated in most hospitals,where doctors are mostly not doing a good job.

It happened at my former school a long time ago and people always remember this tragedy.

One such accident alone is enough physical and mental trauma for any human being to bear.

On the subject of treatment in hospitals, I can understand your situation Sirchai.

I have a very close friend who is a nurse in the ER in a major hospital in Nakhon Pathom. She tells me that, no matter how bad the condition is of a patient brought to the ER, if there is another patient with a good, private medical insurance, that patient will be treated first and receive better care than the one having only the "free" government coverage.

All this is in keeping with the mentality that a vehicle trumps a pedestrian, the color of one's skin and shape of the eyes and nose calls for a dual price system and the established idea that pay for promotions, not merit, is what rules this land in many areas, from public safety to health care.

Thais are OK. If they could only be proactive and not reactive in the face of ongoing problems that they choose to ignore. Saving face is more important than personal responsibility.

Back to the subject I must add that, as flawed as law enforcement is in this country, one must wait for a forensic report of the accident (no matter how perfunctory it is) before leveling accusations based on groundless suppositions and lack of solid evidence.

RIP the deceased and speedy and total recovery to the injured.

Look here: http://bangkok.immig....th/intro1.html

She reports to Suan Plu, you to Chang Wattana Road.

If the extension is from another office, they might require some proof that you now live in Bangkok.

Thanks so much Mario.

My posting had a twofold purpose: to update my information on 90 day reporting and to convey the information of my experience to others in a similar situation.

You are one of the Masters along with Lopbury and Maestro on the subjects affecting Farangs living, visiting or wishing to move here.

You make life easier for all of us.

What an asset you all are to Thai Visa!

Thanks again!

A week ago I went to Soi Suan Plu with my GF to see about her visa status. All the signs posted around that office clearly stated that the Suan Plu Immigration will exclusively deal with visa matters of nationals of bordering countries. We were directed to go to Chang Wattana to ask about her visa status and also about the 90 day reporting.

Since my GF is Cambodian and before coming to BKK she lived in Petchabun, we went first to the Immigration in Phisanolok. There we were told to go to Suan Plu in BKK. The Immigration officers do not seem to be in the same page although each one of them assured me they know what they are talking about.

Up until last year we sent it to Soi Suan Plu Immigration.

My question is: where do we mail the 90 day report?