punkonater

Enforcing sex education in ALL schools and in a National TV program would help. Not mentioned in the budget expenditure - not important maybe. Wouldn't like to admit that it REALLY happens...

I think not only that, but why drug abuse with dirty needles increases your risk significantly too.

There are Thai people here that do all of those bad things too. In fact, I'm willing to say that if it weren't for Thai partners in crime, then criminals wouldn't be able to operate here.

As for the comments about English teachers, most agencies in Thailand that hire people who are already here require either a TEFL or TESOL certification (government requirement) and get their teachers work permits right away.

maybe something like this would help:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/10/2815920.htm

It's really quite simple. These bus drivers are paid almost nothing, and the companies that hire them don't care if they get sleep. So naturally, they drink tons of these strong energy drinks (and probably some stronger illegal drugs), and think they can stay up. After driving buses back and forth for a few days their bodies crash, and they can't do anything else but fall asleep.

start paying bus drivers more, make them sleep, and there will be less crashes like this one.

well, all said and done, the last time I flew out was a flight that left at 3am. It was the middle of that week last year in May when we had curfews and such. Living in Klong Toey I was afraid about getting held up at checkpoints etc, so I hired an Airport limo for 1000 baht. It only took about 20 minutes to get there because the expressway was empty. I told the driver which airline and he dropped me off at the correct check in desk. Excellent service and worth it.

I got there right when the check in desk for my flight opened. There were only 5 people in front of me. When I got to the security, it was only about 10 people in front of me, and it took maybe 10 minutes. Had a nice stroll over to the gate. I got to my gate super early. This was pretty nice, as I'm super paranoid about missing flights.

For those that really hate long lines and being rushed... give yourself more time. Remember we're in Thailand. You can't force others to go faster, and when you do, they lose face and will treat you like shit.

and like I said before, the food and water complaints are only a priority once they've taken care of their efficiency problems.

And for the complaints about baggage handling... I've taken bottles of whiskey, wine, perfume, cans of maple syrup, etc. to and from Thailand. Maybe you packed it poorly. Wrap delicate stuff in a few t-shirts for padding and don't place it at the edge of the bag.

To be honest all the high food prices and stuff would be ok if they could get their processing speed high and ensure safety.

I mean, 55 baht for a bottle of water after you've paid much more for your ticket, not really a big deal.

(other airports do this as well, I've seen bottles of water selling for $2.50, which is more than 55 baht in JFK)

I think their priorities should be:

1. Safety and Maintenance (cracked runways etc)

2. Organization and Speed in processing passengers and incommoding/outgoing flights.

3. Transportation to and from the airport. (Get security to kick out taxi drivers that refuse to use their meters, and make that train more accessible.)

And for those who have been here are long or longer than I have... Remember the days of Don Muang as the international and domestic airport? Suvarnabhumi is still a big improvement.

*sigh* you don't get viruses from being cold.

Anyways, I always see parkas on sale for pretty cheap, however, most of the time when I see people wearing them and still shivering, it's because they've still got flip flops on.

Everyone up north, especially small children and the elderly, should have some:

-wool socks. (not polyester, has to be wool)

- multiple long sleeve shirts to layer

- long underwear + jeans.

The reason why this happens every year, is people here don't layer their clothes enough, and houses don't have any insulation.

drink hot tea and eat more than usual, when you're cold you burn more energy faster.

one last emergency idea: in the event of freakishly low temperature, people in the north should have some small spot heaters/electric blankets.

I think British prison would be too "nice" for this guy. Put him in jail here. You can't travel to other countries, break their rules and (apparently) incite violence and expect to just be shipped home. Crime in Thailand = Prison in Thailand.

At Wat Pho on a rainy day.

I think I've just figured out the red-shirt / thaksin's motive...

more from my boyfriend's office

Immigration office at Chaengwattana is finally open. I have to go asap. Is the expressway safe?

from my boyfriends office

Right.. I haven't read the whole thread.

As a farang that's lived in Thailand for 13 years, I honestly think that the farangs that join in the protests should be deported. It's not a good idea to get mixed up in the politics of a country of which you aren't a citizen. Unless you're a Thai citizen, it isn't your place.

on Thai TV, tomorrow and Tuesday ( May 17 and 18 ) are HOLIDAY, off from work !!

quick calrify : in BANGKOK only !!

I saw the announcement too on TV. Sucks, I do international work with the government. No pay, like for many others. Just got the word from a gov't official after getting off the phone too. shut down Mon and Tue

Will that then include the new Immigration office in Chaengwattana?

in the usual Thai practice here - the banks and the government offices will be closed :-(

I was trapped in a similar event for a re-entry permit before departure, the immigration was closed. hope you are not in a critical situation !

Flying out next monday, coming back end of July. Visa expires in June. So I need to extend and get a re-entry permit.

on Thai TV, tomorrow and Tuesday ( May 17 and 18 ) are HOLIDAY, off from work !!

quick calrify : in BANGKOK only !!

I saw the announcement too on TV. Sucks, I do international work with the government. No pay, like for many others. Just got the word from a gov't official after getting off the phone too. shut down Mon and Tue

Will that then include the new Immigration office in Chaengwattana?

Hey guys. So I play World of Warcraft with an SSH tunnel. However I've figured out that True (even though I have one of those "awesome" 8mb direct connections") limits individual connections to 15kbps, which even though I have a great graphics card and a brand new 5k router/modem (made for gaming), I get insane packet loss and always disconnect from the game client.

So I'm wondering. If you have a 3bb fixed line.

1. Is it worth it

2. How fast can you torrent?

3. If you game (what's your latency/packet loss like)?

Thanks all. I look forward to some replies.

Yeah I'm from Montreal and the subway there doesn't have any protective doors. But it's also been there for 40 years or so, so there is now a general etiquette of getting on and off.

My suggestion for the BTS...

Add more cars during rush hours. I mean at least 3 more. Also, instead of stopping right at the end of the station, stop in place so that there is an entrance right in line with the top of stairs. Makes things much faster. Obviously where I'm from isn't as crowded as Bangkok, so I would strongly consider adding safety doors like those on the MRT.

Another thing I've noticed since the BTS opened, was that when people stepped past that yellow line, guards would instantly blow a whistle at you. However during rush hour there's too many people for the 1 or 2 guards at each stop to keep track of. Hire more guards... Make them stand at certain points along the platform, and have them blow whistles when people try to rush in before everyone has exited.

friends and booze...

drunken

let my guess.. one of his 'friends' just wanted to see what would happen if he trown in an electrical cable

strange how an electrical cable can just fall... as they are not supposed to be anywhere near a pool, day or night...

maybe somebody tossed in a latern or something

Umm... what the hel_l is wrong with you?

Could you please give more details about this student's visa/school? Is he a student of a Thai Language school or an actual University??

I've been attending BUIC for 2 and a half years now but haven't taken a Thai class. I can speak taxi Thai, but I'd fail this interview for sure.

I really don't want this stuff to mess me up when I only have 3 semesters left.

just a thought now... Maybe instead of cracking down on the students... they should just have better inspections of these language schools. For example, if a school were found to be giving false attendance reports and writing students' exams for them... then the MOE should just revoke their license as an educational institution.

But of course, that would take more work... And we all know how much shortcuts are loved here.

*sigh*

Why does the Thai government always want to make things harder for themselves. Forcing International students to learn thai makes it harder for students to come here, and therefore some will be less willing to, which will lead to fewer international students, and therefore less money earned in Thailand off of them.

To be honest, if a school advertises that it's taught in English (like my uni, BUIC) then the student shouldn't have to learn Thai. It should be encouraged of course, since a university student will be spending a while here, but not forced.

Unless they send out notices to all schools that they need to inform students that learning basic thai is now required for a visa... what happened to the OP sounds like someone in the immigration office bs'ing.

Hi,

I've been trying to search online for the actual music in order to play the King's Anthem. I have been studying classical guitar now for about 8 years, and living in Thailand for 13 years. I'd be very happy if I could learn how to play the King's Anthem on guitar, or learn the chords. Any links to actual music would be so helpful! Thanks very much.

"MICT blocking CNN, Facebook, Yahoo, Flickr for some users/ISP's"

no they arent.

Working fine for me. True internet, firefox.

Bangkok's still about 1,000,000 times safer than most big cities in the western world.

nope. Every city has its places that you don't go alone at night, or that are prone to crimes like mugging and such. But at least in most western cities, there are cameras on streets (so if you're mugged or get hurt in a hit and run there's actually evidence) and the police will actually help you.