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bunuel
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Agree with other posters. The official version makes no sense and sounds physically impossible. First of all, this is a very bizarre way to commit suicide - and even if this is true, as soon as he lost consciousness, he would release his grip and float to the surface. There is no mention of weights on his ankles or anything else which might have kept the poor man under water, so
the story does not add up as a suicide. It could have been a accident, of course - but then it wouldn't be a suicide. Hard to understand also conclusion that the victim's belongings being left on the rock suggests it was a suicide, rather than an accident.
RIP
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We need to clarify what they mean by "high speed train", anything over walking pace is high speed to many in Thailand.
They cannot be talking about real high speed trains as they need regular quality maintenance to keep the system safe, otherwise we will be reading about some exciting train crashes.
Malaysia's newish electric train system could serve as a model.
While not truly "high speed", they are plenty quick at averaging 140 kph (which is a heck of lot faster than currently).
Clean, quiet, convenient and comfortable, the shorter runs to Pattaya and Hua Hin would be ideal for them. It would alleviate a lot of the unnecessary taxis and traffic on the highways.
Precisely. And what some nay sayers are missing is that a rail link would make Pattaya et al
suburbs of Bangkok, and alleviate some of pressure on the city - a lot of people would leave
Bangkok if they could!
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21 hours????
Would love to see a syllabus or a lesson plan of this course in the Secrets of Thai Pedagogery!!!!
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We need to clarify what they mean by "high speed train", anything over walking pace is high speed to many in Thailand.
They cannot be talking about real high speed trains as they need regular quality maintenance to keep the system safe, otherwise we will be reading about some exciting train crashes.
Malaysia's newish electric train system could serve as a model.
While not truly "high speed", they are plenty quick at averaging 140 kph (which is a heck of lot faster than currently).
Clean, quiet, convenient and comfortable, the shorter runs to Pattaya and Hua Hin would be ideal for them. It would alleviate a lot of the unnecessary taxis and traffic on the highways.
Precisely. And what some nay sayers are missing is that a rail link would make Pattaya et al
suburbs of Bangkok, and alleviate some of pressure on the city - a lot of people would leave
Bangkok if they could!
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Arrogance has never been the issue. It is stupidity and greed.Arrogance of a third world country is astounding.
"It is stupidity and greed."
Interesting comment on a forum visited by economic refugees many of whom can't afford to live in their own countries because they didn't plan well for their retirement or who are unqualified and/or unable to find employment in those same countries that are collapsing under debt used to pay for things they were unwilling or unable to fund out of pocket.
If something is priced too high for you, don't use it or buy it. Time for some of the economic refugees from Farang Utopia to move on or stay away ... one more reason to raise prices.
As far as arrogance is concerned, there's plenty of that in Farang Land. Why anyone should expect "third world" counties to bend over and spread their legs to cater to Khun Farang being an excellent example of the vestiges of colonial arrogant mentality.
While I would not be so presumptuous as to speak for the thundering TV Herd, I think you are making the classic error of attacking the messenger, rather than listening to the message, which is that many foreigners feel that Thailand has become a xenophobic, if not overtly hostile , environment for foreigners. If Thailand has any ambitions of being a tourist or retirement destination, this hostility is bad for business.
Your post is a classic example of this hostility, since you erroneously presume all retired foreigners living in Thailand are sex-crazed economic refugees from the Western world. While such people certainly exist, I can assure you that many of us are affluent individuals who have chosen to live in Thailand because we love the country and its people. That much said, we also have the economic freedom to leave LOS when the political climate becomes unfriendly, and we get fed uo being insulted by insecure bigots like yourself.
In other words, you are driving away the very people your leader says you want - leaving behind those you say you don't. This is popularly known as a self-fulfilling prophecy. You might also want to consider that people like myself have friends around the world, and word is soreading fast smong the international elite that LOS is not as friendly as it used to be, and that it is time to find alternatives.
Of course, if your goal is to make LOS a Chinese plantation with a few casinos for the nomenklatura, keep uo the good work!
it used to be
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The assistant-secretary diplomat barely said anything, it's what he didn't do.
Being that there have been 3 coups in Thailand in the last decade, the US is not anxious to work out trade relations and things with a military leader who is supposedly temporary. The General said he's temporary at the beginning, so that shouldn't have been a surprise. And the diplomat said that he hopes 'all Thai people can work together and return to democracy'. The Gen uses that same phrase to describe the situation himself, every week.
What the diplomat DID do, was dare to mention that he'd spoken with 2 former PMs, to hear their thoughts, as a way of saying that he'd heard many points of view. That's it. He didn't even use harsh words. All this drama is just over someone listening to a former leader, probably just for a few minutes or something. To the people talking about the US supposedly interfering so badly, that's very childish. When the US interferes, brother, you'll know it
That hasn't happened yet.Nailed it!
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The immortal Robert Burns' " Ode to A Louse" comes to mind:
O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!
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I feel that the time has come to keep the travel luggage at hand.
If you feel like that, nobody is here to stop you.
I'm staying here and I fully trust that this government will change Thailand for the better.
Optimism is always the best policy - and I am confident that the government that overthrows this one
and cleans house will be even better!
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So are we still trying to say / somehow imply that if a foul mouthed Russian said bad words, or even if he threw a chair, that this somehow justifies a Thai or anyone else taking out a knife and stabbing someone in the stomach to show he is angry / lost his temper?
Whoa! Hold on just a sec! From my previous life-experience even I know that there are two sides to every story, so why the immediate come down on this guy? Maybe he isn't the full-Baht these days, and acted like an idiot at the police station by playing up to the camera, or maybe he was happy because he feels he was in the right and has nothing to fear down at the police station?So looking the way he is this is all just a joke to him. When are they actually going to do something about morons like this??
Or are we putting this guy down just because he is Thai, in keeping with the true Thai Visa forum tradition?
The apologists on this thread and the earlier one seem to think that gutting passers by is a reasonable response to show displeasure at bad manners, and it is usually the tourist's fault if they are beaten up or murdered....
What the thread appears to be about is that a Thai adult man could not control his adolescent rage in public, and furthermore the Thai legal system is unlikely to seriously punish him, thereby giving the message to other Thais that such behaviour is ok.
So the best thing the apologists can come up with is "don't offend any Thais". Well this should be made clear to everyone...
Not a question of being an apologist - its a question of survival. I lived in Patters for eight years and quickly lesrned to avoid direct confrontation with ANY Thais. While we in the West have a high tolerance for loud verbal disputes ( think Italy! ), Thais do not. I have a black belt in martial arts and am trained to stay cool in stressful situations, so I was able to adjust to LOS without too much difficulty. Rule 1: There is no rule of law in LOS - everything is about face and power. If a Thai crosses you, you need to get another Thai ( ideally in the army or a police general! ) to deal with that oerson in the appropriate Thai way.
Above all, don't get into a fight! Our Russian friends get into trouble not because they are bad people, but because they don't know Thai Rules, and sometimes make the mistake of getting into disputes. The fact
that Russians are often big and rude (in Thai terms) does not help!
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Anticipated projected in other words no idea, when are the Thais ever going to get over the fact that the golden years of tourists flocking to Thailand are over finished they had the chance and they ate the golden goose and treated the tourists with such contempt they stopped coming back we all know someone who was beaten robbed or cheated while on holiday in Thailand. but not to worry the sexpats will keep coming back as long as the girls and boys are reasonably priced.
Very sad, but very true. The bottom line is that the Thai authorities have indeed killed the Fatted Calf and transformed what could be a relatively sustainable tourism industry into something definitely not sustainable. Nothing wrong with Chinese, but reliance on Chinese mass tourism is not going to solve any problems since:
1) As is well known, Chinese tourists come in groups, and spend very little per capita; 2) Mass Tourism anywhere in the world is not generally sustainable unless extremely well managed. Needless to say, no
risk of that in LOS!
Bring on the casinos!
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Misleading headline. No direct quote from the embassy or the relatives.
Agree completely! Professional journalism 101 would dictate checking with
French embassy or the family to confirm this assertion by the Surut Thani RTP
BEFORE publishing it. And since the Thai authorities have a very irritating
habit of putting self-serving statements in foreign mouths, all the more reason
to double check.
The fact is, we have no idea what the French Embassy or the family thinks
until we get a first hand statement from them or their representatives.
Until then, this is self-serving hear say, period.
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"Kobkarn attributed the decline in tourist arrivals and revenues to the political crisis in Thailand during "the first half of 2014," in which parts of Bangkok were paralyzed by street protests that aimed to topple the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra." Quote
Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that delivering a third class product and charging for first class??
Tourists are not stupid, and have finally started to vote with their feet!!
Must be hard for the Thais to realize, that there are better and cheaper options to LOS!!
Such as?
In SE Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia - Sri Lanka and the Maldives and fhe Seychelles.
In Europe, anywhere on the Mediterranean and Caribbean, not to mention Brazil, Cuba and Costa Riica -
all of which are closer to Europe than SE Asia.
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Please - as a long time resident , I would like to propose a change in terminology to help improve the image
of poor Pattaya. The young ladies one sees in the afternoon and evening should not be called "prostitutes";
rather, in keeping with the good general's campaign to bring happiness back to LOS, why not call them
Beach Hostesses???
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Since LOS was offically named the second most dangerous country in the world to drive in for the second year in a row, glad to see this problem has finally caught the general's attention. However, there is no need for an expensive, time-consuming etudy. A brief tour of Thai motorways will reveal that:
1. Most Thai motorists have no knowledge or respect for basics of road safety. If anyone needs a few weeks of re-education, it is the Thai drivers - both licensed and unlicensed.
2. A similar re-education in Enforcement of Traffic Laws 101 is urgently needed for the RTP, who now have other priorities.
Will we ever see a massive re-education campaign of this kind? Don't hold your breath!
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I hope you realize that Thailand is not so easy to stay longtime and certainly not cheap anymore. It seem Cambodia is coming up followed by Myanmar and Vietnam as popular and easier locations for your kind of business. They seem to increasingly target digital nomads for workpermits and visa problems in Thailand.
At the rentals that you mention you'd better look outside the really popular areas. Probably the Eastern Seaboard would give you more variety at shorter drives than Phuket. I would start looking from about 15 km south of Pattaya to Rayong city, good beaches not just tourists but other people that live and work here. Easy access to foreign food and groceries.
Since you are seeking a beach combined with decent IT infrastructure along with stores, restaurants, etc suitable for family use, I would also recommend the Eastern seaboard south of Pattaya, stsrting with Jomtien. You could rent a lovely house with a private swimming pool for 30,000 baht a month, and have access to shopping, restaurants, and excellent medical services at Bangkok Pattaya, which has some great doctors and dentists at very reasonable prices. We looked around for a house eight years ago, and decided Jomtien
was the best option.
While some like Phuket, it is too much of a tourist ghetto for me, and way too far from Bangkok by car. Hua Hin is certainly an option - nice town, with lots of retired Scandinavians. It also has Royal Protection, being a residence of the Royal Family, which means good infrastructure. We preferred Jomtien because it is half the distance to Bangkok and airports, and because we found Hua Hin a bit boring, frankly.
I know some TV posters like to bash Pattaya, but we never had any problems there. Its a big city with lots of things to offer by daylight - excellent gyms, golf courses and tennis courts - and a number of decent schools . There is also a substantial ex-pat community, which is now mostly Russian and Scandinavian in Jomtien.
Relations with most Thais is pretty good, provided you stay off the roads at night and avoid dealing with the police if at all possible. This is relevant, since I know stories of big problems with locals in Phuket and Hua Hin, not to mention the South Islands.
Suggest you do a websearch along the eastern seaboard. Tip: while I would not recommend Pattaya's beaches to anyone, there are a number of clean and beautiful beaches on Koh Chang nearby.
Good luck!
T
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I had been under the impression that martial law was imposed to protect the country from upheaval,or civil strife. While this itself is debatable, this article now tells us that martial law is needed to somehow " protect the army".. From what, the article does not tell us, though it does tell us there may be rivalaries wthin the military which could lead to conflict. Unwittingly, the article thereby provides the ultimate argument for democratic elections as the only sustainable means of reglme change in the world of politics. As the article implies, military coups and martial law only breed more military coups and martial law - and that a recipe for disaster.
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Speaking of friends I have never been able to fathom why the governments of the US and Thailand are supposed to be so close. They do not share interests, culture, or geography. The Thais seem to benefit more from it than the US with one sided 'free trade agreements' that means Thai products are untaxed and US products are taxed 100%. Anyway, I suspect this currency swap business will fail to matter when China finally has to let their currency trade freely.
The answer is your question lies in the aftermath of World War II. Thailand had declared war on the US after Pearl Harbor, and was technically an ally of Japan, though you will hear conflicting stories about how the Japanese " forced " to be allies. Be that as it may, Thailand was under a military dictatorship headed by Field Marshall Phibun, who had been trained in Japan, and allowed Japanese troops transit to fight in Burma .
In the orocess, allied prisoners of war were sent to build a railway near Kachanaburi, which was immortalized in David Lean's " Bridge on the River Kwai."
Most of those orisoners were Aussies and Brits, and the governments of those countries wanted to occuoy Thailand as an axis power. The Americans vetoed that occupation and helped restore the monarchy. Thailand became a lynchpin in American Cold War strategy vis a vis China, and the country was a staging area for the Vietnam War.
Given this history, I think it is fair to say the two countries have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. Until now.
Think the Pentagon may have over estimated the loyalties of some people they have trained and armed.
It will be interesting to see what they do as things develop further...
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Lived in Pattaya/Jomtien for past eight years, and never had any problems, aside from the
traditional roadside police shakedown, which I managed to eliminate once I got a brother-in-law
in the army. I treat Pattaya like any Third World urban fleshpot in Africa or South America -
remembering that the best way to get out of trouble is not to get into it. That means staying
off the roads late at night, and being street smart at all times. Most Thai people I encounter
are friendly and accomodating, with the exception of the afore-mentioned police, who are
to be avoided at all costs when encountered on the street. Otherwise, great gyms ( Tony's),
a number of decent restaurants, a world clssd disco ( Lucifer) , a very good hospital ( Bangkok
Pattaya, if you know what doctors to ask for) , lots of good golf courses and Bangkok shopping
only two hours away. That much said, I am glad I don't work in tourism or real estate, since
current tourism management leaves much to be desired. Don't know who decided to mske Pattaya a
destination for Russian families, but that person belongs in the Tourism Hall of Shame. Russians are
fine in moderate doses, but too many drive all the other tourists away - and now Pattaya will be left
empty as the Russian economy takes a nose dive. Russians are not the problem, frankly - the fact
is the Las Vegas of the Sex Industry should never be sold as a family destination, or a resort (!)
Like inviting vegetarians to a barbecue!
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I have no idea what they mean by destination reviews. Do they mean people who visited Thailand are writing reviews and the number of these reviews is increasing? If so wouldn't it be prudent to mention whether or not the reviews are positive?
It's like a company claiming that they are really busy lately, but neglect to say that they are busy handling complaints.
I have written reviews for Trip Advisor, and you are entirely correct. All this means is that there are more on-line reviews of Thai travel product on Trip Advisor. Who has written these reviews and what they say are more relevant, and that is the unknown variable here!
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That "IN" Frisbee with take some removing from the Cranium
If this is the Norwegian I think he is, I understand Herr Garden perfectly!
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Spent a few weeks working on a Swedish feature film in Cuba during the early eighties, and I was very favorably impressed. While there was no question that there were cold war shortages of just about everything except rum, beer and cigars, the people were great to work with - intelligent, hard working and friendly. Say what you want about Fidel, but most people in Latin America respect the fact that he stood up to Uncle Sam and drove the Mafia out of Havana, We shot scenes in Tropicana, Riviera, and other famous places built by Meyer Lansky and the mob, and I got the feeling the Cubans were proud of their American connections from Hemingway to baseball. They just want to run things themselves. I also felt there was a major difference berween the ideological elite and the great majority of the people - most people are down to earth and practical, unlike the ideological elite. In many ways. Cuba has been caught in a time warp, which is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the country is clearly behind the times - but this has forced it to cherish its own culture and history, which has made it a great tourist atteaction. And if you have been to the big islands of Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, Cuba does not look so bad. I believe that if Obama succeeds in normalizing relations with Cuba, both Castros will retire and the country will quickly become a major tourist destination,and the revolution will be over.
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North Korea certainly did not invent this rumor - I recently spent 5 years in the Congo, where Ebola was first " discovered" about three decades ago by Dr. Peter Piot, who has been one of the heros in the fight against AIDS, which has also inspired similar paranoid rumors. The scientific community now agrees that Ebola is carried by certain wild animals - most notably fruit bats -and is transferred to humans when those animals are consumed as " bush meat". All known outbreaks have begun in remote areas, where bush meat is popular. The challenge has been for the African authorities to quarantine those affected areas and keep the virus from spreading to populated urban areas. The Congolese and Ugandans succeeded in doing this - while recently the Liberians, Sierra Leonians and Guineans have failed miserably. One of the big obstacles is the refusal by some Africans to accept any responsibility or modify their behaviour - much easier to blame the White Man!
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Family night out on walking street!
Nothing wrong with redefining your market, but flagrant misrepresentation
is never a good idea. You cannot just relabel a Toyota and sell it as a
Lamborgini!
This is a classic case of Lipstick on Pig Syndrome!
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Probably Austrian.Not understanding this story.. an Aussie with Euros in his wallet ?
This makes sense. Also hard to imagine an Aussie being quite so naive as this - most
Aussies I know are relatively street smart, and are well aware that the only law that
applies in LOS is the WC Fields Rule # 1: " Never give a sucker an even break! "
Trump, frustrated by Afghan war, suggests firing U.S. commander: officials
in World News
Posted
Have many friends who have served in Afghanistan over the past 16 years, and they all agree with this post, Due to the nature of Afghanistan culture itself, " victory" in a Western sense is not possible. Indeed, any study of British military disasters in that country in the 19th century would only add additional confirmation. Kipling did not call Afghanistan " the grave yard of kings" for nothing - the tragedy is that American military planners and politicians seem to have learned nothing from the past, and seem condemned to repeat mistakes again and again.
For anyone interested in the 19th century GREAT GAME, Peter Hopkirk's book offers an excellent introduction:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game_(Peter_Hopkirk_book)