MrJohnson

On 4/27/2018 at 11:14 AM, Misterwhisper said:

It really is not very reassuring that political reconciliation in this country should hinge on an infantile rubber doll with a huge hollow head and a tasteless pink, heart-patterned dress with puffy sleeves.

Indeed. It sounds like a Marx brothers comedy skit!

On 4/28/2018 at 2:08 AM, Ks45672 said:

Safer to fly

.... 

Absolutely no doubt about that!

All froth, no bubble in my opinion. . 'Sprinkling coriander leaf of the face' - that is the Thai expression. Basically means window dressing. they'll need more than a mascot!

^{If Dan thinks that driving in Thailand is OK then I must be living in a parallel universe!  Driving Bangkok to Hua Hin I need a sedative, cup of tea and lie down at the end of it!}

A rather mild piece of bad and dangerous driving compared to much else. Intercity freeways are virtually racetracks these days. Terrifying!

Surely a rhetorical question? Apparently not.

The General will be PM for a long time yet, either at the ballot box or the end of a gun.

The taxi driver deserves his right of reply. While I fully acknowledge (as I have done so on this thread) that there are multiple problems with Bangkok taxis, I just have a sneaking suspicion that this whole thing is a ruse to drive traffic to this guy's youtube channel. Maybe I'm just a cynic.

So this breakfast was in Yasothon? Well, fair enough. I'd have to agree with previous posters. Go for the Thai breakfast. So much to choose from.  Noodle  soup. Jok with Chinese donuts. Grilled pork and sticky rice and on and on.

Bangkok taxi drivers can't have it both ways. When it suits them they will refuse fares and seemingly get away with it despite rhetoric from the authorities. Then, when it is raining or taxis are scarce, they will demand unreasonable flat fares. Then, if you are lucky enough to get one, they will whine and moan about how hard life is and that you should give them a tip. All of this happens to both Thais and foreigners, by the way.  I rarely use them anymore, preferring to use Grab. Unfortunately, I see a similar trend with Grab, especially when it comes to denying a fare. Still,whenever I get a little hot under the collar about  this, I just remind myself of the taxi situation in NYC, London or Sydney.Crazy expensive and often hard to find.

I'm not sure how long the OP has been here or who he is with or what range of Thai friends/aquaintances he has but.....

I don't  think Thai people are necessarily any messier than anyone else.  I've been to many a Thai house that has been immaculately clean and tidy.  And this has been in Bangkok, Isaan, Chiang Mai. Both rich and poor.

As I live quite close by were this incident occurred and saw the phalanx of police and 'rescue squads (meat wagons) + onlookers at the site yesterday morning I was hoping to get some meaningful information on what happened and to whom. Hmm. No such luck.

4 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I was drawing the comparison. Road rage may be on the increase everywhere, but it seems to have reached epidemic proportions in Thailand, like the road toll.

You may well be right but if search road rage on youtube you will see it in many other places. It is certainly best to not engage with aggressive drivers here as you never know what kind of weapon they may have in the car.

3 minutes ago, giddyup said:

So Thailand is no different than anywhere else? A bit like the road toll.

I wasn't talking about the road toll. I was referring to the road rage..The road death toll speaks for itself but look around and you will see road rage on the increase in many countries, not just here in Thailand.

Road rage is an increasing phenomena in many countries unfortunately.

Just now, Krataiboy said:

Eminently sensible and practicable ideas - which means we'll probably never see them implemented here.

Sadly, I think you are probably right!

It is a complex problem that will require a complex solution. Just a few ideas as s starter.

Better qualified teachers - trained well in their discipline (Math, History, Geography etc.) and trained to teach as well.

Adopt a different teaching pedaagogy (style) that is based on analysis and critical thinking - ditch the reproductive mode of teaching learning - otherwise known as Rote learning.

Change the curriculum and adopt a model that integrates subjects together rather than placing them in silos.

Eliminate the (widespread) practice of interrupting schedules at the whim of school management

Adopt a system of meritocracy in schools rather than patronage

Less marching and more reading.