somtaamgaiyang

Just wondering about other's expericnces on the road regarding rude drivers and what brand of vehicles they drive....excluding taxis and tuk-tuks and songthews [which would head this list].

Having driven the 'mean streets' of LOS for a few years now i can say that [generally] drivers of VIGOS and FORTUNAS are way ahead of the others when it comes to bad road manners....speeding, tailgating, not giving way, etc.

What do other's see on the roads??

please share.....

1. A songtaew!

2. A taxi

3. A motorcycle with added sidecar

4. A Fortuner

In a group test of pickup trucks the Toyota Hilux failed to safely do the evasive manoeuvre the Swedish Motoring magazine "Teknikens Värld" do on all cars during testing.

This was the same Motoring magazine that forced Mercedes to change the design of the A type 10 years ago, because it failed the same test.

See the video from the test on this page:

http://www.teknikensvarld.se/tvtv/071031-toyota-hilux/

Is seems like it is safer to just go straight on with this car in an emergency. Evasive manoeuvre can maybe be even more dangerous, unless you have extreme driving skills.

It is a shame that many Thais care more about the looks of their car, than about safety.

They simply prefer large alloys and crome to ESP and other safety systems.

In Thailand only the rich drive safe cars.

Ironically and more worryingly, a buddy of mine was thinking of buying a Fortuner for the wife and kids, but the rep told him better to buy a Hilux because of Fortuner propensity to topple with high speed evasive maneouvers. Remember the Land Rovers from a few years ago that had to be retrofitted with better suspensions after one toppled at speed under non emergency maneouver.

High centres of gravity and big bouncy wheels are a very bad combination. They are prone to wander across lanes without steering repsonse to the driver because the wheels are so big and the steering rack is set for off roading.

http://simon.helenheart.com/ok96.html

I always have believed and will believe that pick ups are not meant to be used as high speed motor cars. Great in a straight line, but dangerous taking corners at speed.

Dont you think she looks a bit like an Issan version of Michael jackson? "whos bad! da da da daa daa!"

So that is where is he is hiding out!

Since last time I stayed in Khon Kaen, Sofitel have doubled their prices.

Am now looking at Bussarakam Hotel, supposed to be fairly new but can't find any reviews on this hotel.

Anybody stayed there or info from locals.

Do NOT want to stay at Kosa and/or Charoen Thani Princess.

thanks beforehand

onzestan

Doubled from what to what? Prices have gone up some but I have made bookings there for 1800 recently by phoning reception.

i notice the hi end shop have very little thaicustomers,

who arre they sellin to, got to be non thais. the farang who cant afford the stuff n their home cuntry

Not even hi-so thais are stupid enough to pay for goods with massive luxury taxes on them. That is what Daddies business trip to switzerland is for.

"Thais will buy a BMW and sleep on the floor in a B2000 a month room"

Oh really?

Again, another self projection post.

Scenario 1: and they were able to pay 3-12 million (not sure what the 7 series are going for nowadays, I drive a Honda) cash. Yeah sure, and they'd be renting a 2,000 Baht a month room.

Scenario 2: they finance 80-90%. Yeah sure, folks living in 2,000 Baht a month rooms would be able to afford the 80,000-100,000 a month payments.

p.s. we actually have a few strips of 1,000 - 2,500 Baht a month rooms for rent in the extended family. The typical transportation is motorcycle, saleng (converted bicycle/cart type setup), or foot. On the rare occasion that someone has a car, it's either a 20 year old pickup or one of the first Mazda's that ca/ef/n b,me off the boat here.

al

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the above comment was added by my 1 year old daughter.

my contribution should have read like this:

hengs post may be true, but that doesn't explain why the apartments i first lived in in bangkok 10+ years ago had a parking lot with about 10 beemers or benzes in it.

the top floor was all 2 bedroom suites for 12,000 and the rest was hong dios or one beds for 7-9k.

the top floor was all farang, so it would lead me to belive that the people with the expensive cars were living in single rooms.

we used to laugh about it at the time.

Ever considered that these were apartments that they had bought for use in the week while in the office, but there were big houses with the wife and kids inside somewhere outside town?

I know dozens of Thai businessmen who do this to avoid the traffic and to have a place to stay with the significant other and to sleep off excessive booze.

I was in Paragon Mall last week and couldn't help but notice how excrutiatingly hard many Thai men and women there try to look excessively Hi-So. It's pretty obnoxious how they saunter around like they're a Thai superstar or mogul at a country club... I can only tolerate being there for a short time and then it wears on me. I'm starting to feel that Thai men with a little money are nothing but oversexed, adulteristic, big-face-chasing egotists. Anyone feel the same? While I'm on a roll I also must say that I'm also bored of the little cuffed shorts, ambiguous top, and flat shoes that the younger Hi-So-striving women wear. All that excess precision makeup work too. They all look like clones! Why all the effort to impress others? Any ideas?

Simplest way to solve that one is not to go to Paragon. Per square foot is must be the most expensive shopping centre in Bangkok and probably contains more millionaires per square foot during opening hours than anywhere in Thailand.

Or didn't you notice the Chanel, Cartier, Armani and LVMH signs on the doors. It is an expensive place. Be thankful they don't have a dress policy to get in or did you never try to get past the security guards in LVMH in London?

Just to let you know there are plenty of wealthy people in this country. Where would you like them to go?

The last two months, I've purchased from Homepro about baht 150,000 worth of stuff including installation to outfit a condo in Bangkok. Mostly I've bought from Homepro store on Prachachuen Road -- stuff like 3 A/C's, two water heaters, refrigerator, curtain rods, custom made tables and cabinets/shelves from their Wood Centre, shower door -- and generally, my experience has been positive. Items delivered and installation done on day specified, though delayed on actual timing (though I think this is normal Thai habit). Response to problems reasonably quick and reasonable. It helps to know the name and tel no of someone in Customer Service who becomes familiar with your problems, so that you don't have to constantly re-explain everything.

Like everything else, buying something electrical or mechanical or where you have to assemble yourself, before leaving the store, you need to have the item opened and check for completeness, instruction booklet included, lights up when plugged in, etc.

Perhaps if the OP gave us a specific example of the shelves that fall down, we might get a better idea of what the real source of his problem is.

Free standing workshop shelves. None of the clips fit into the brackets without whacking the hel_l out them with a hammer after bending them with pliers to fit. The wood is all cut too big so it won't sit on the shelf without smashing it in, or dismantling the frame of the shelf which is a process in futility. Feet that shatter when any weight is put onto the shelf (i.e. two cans of paint). Read instructions which actually tell you to put in the top shelf first !!!

I bought two and put one together a while ago which needed 3 pairs of hands (Do it YOURSELVES), the wood is rotten already (2 months) so down came everything. I tried to put the other one together yesterday. Long break after frustration at the first one. Nothing fitted at all and two leg connectors missing. Threw it away in frustration.

Aluminium wire shelves purchased 3 months ago all rusting to hel_l. In essence, all of these products are only sold not designed by homepro. One person mentioned Ikea. Well put together whole bedroom sets in Europe all still standing straight and true with no effort whatsoever.

There is never anything in stock. I have had no stock reported on tiles, lamps, curtains, curtain rails, curtain end stoppers and a washing machine. I am outside Bangkok, so it is a little understandable but not to this level. Tile delivery was going to be 6 months since not even central warehouse had any.

Bought a washing machine there the other day. All the people wearing what appear to he homepro shirts are actually reps for the different brands so they talk up their own brands. Better to check on internet exactly what you want to buy because no-one inside is acting with a neutral opinion. Electrical prices are competitive in Homepro

Everything one buys in Homepro for house, kitchen or bathroom rusts. IT IS C**P.

Shelves that fall down, nothing in stock.

I have had a bad morning putting up shelves that should take 5 mins, missing pieces, useless instructions. It is overpriced rubbish.

This is much in the same way, when the stupid Osama Bin Laden tshirts were around a while ago. I took it to be that any wearer either didn't see the idocy in wearing them or was a supporter. Either way, it didn't offend me. However, it wouldn't take much of a histroy lesson to tie many of the problems in the south today to policies enacted after the holocaust.

However, when it is at a government funded school, at a sports day, this is a completely different issue. I am not pro or anti Jewish and I do worry occasionally that WW3 is on the way should anyone bomb Iran or Syria for supposed geo political aims. The difference is that I am pretty much free to read and see whatever I like from the internet or newspapers and make my own decisions about the rights and wrongs of the world.

Kids on the other hand in the hands of teachers are having their views of the world formed, and as such (unless they are amazingly talented young philosophers) need to have a considered view about issues such as the holocaust. As to whether Thais should care, an issue as large as this, which has managed to shape world politics for the last 60 odd years and has such a bearing on the world today, it will be interesting to see if the later poster's students know anything of the holocaust. Is Thailand immune? Well there is a war down south going on between Moslems and Buddhists so geopolitics is a daily issue in Thailand just as anywhere in the world.

It must indeed be a shame when these kids may or may not (I presume not) watch any international news and see Israelis bombing Palestine, or Iran threatening to to remove Israel from the map, or suicide bombers in Israel, Berlin style walls in the West bank, and THE PROBLEMS IN THE SOUTH and they ask their teacher "Why do they do this oh respected omniscient ajarn?"

To which the answer if Thai shouldn't give a dam_n about it would be "Mai bpen arai, it's just farang stuff, go and get your Nazi kit on dear, we have to march today!"

I would rather kill it than find out later that it was poisonous when a couple of kids in the soi are dead.

If those were the options the choice is obvious. The WHO says there were only 91 snakebite fatalities in Thailand for 2004. It isn't very likely that a random unidentified snake happens to be dangerous, happens to have a chance surprise encounter (snakes are rarely aggressive unless feeling threatened) with someone, happens to bite the person and then the person is unable to get medical attention. There are far more dangerous things around that go ignored just because they are not backed up by an irrational fear.

A mate of mine got bitten about 2 weeks ago in Chiangmai walking home on the klong. It definitely was venomous but he couldn't identify it. 6 hours later after a dose of anti venom he was ok, but it was scary.

Hi I hope someone here can help

My brother wants to be able to build a bungelow on land owned by the mother of his thai girlfriend

This will be unpaid work

What visa does he need to get so that he can do this without getting into trouble and where does he get it from

He already has a type o non immigrant visa

Many thanks for any advice offered

I would assume that he is going to have some paid local help, in that he isn't going to build the whole thing from scratch himself?

I doubt very much if a spot of digging and DIY would get anyone into trouble, or should we be aware of the cops sitting outside homepro when we pop in for a washer for the bathroom? It is going to be his bungalow?

Hmm,.. The old guy who lives over the road has a dog he's named "Hitler". I've seen a few motorcyclists wearing nazi helmets and insignia. There are spare wheel covers (for SUV's) available with a huge swastikas on them in the shops...

Guess what? Most Thais couldn't give a toss what was happening in Europe 70-odd years ago. Most of them couldn't tell you what was happening in Thailand at that time either.

There is polite (superficial) respect for other people's cultures here, but no appreciation. Why should they?

I think there is a lot of admiration for fascism in Thailand from the general population and people of this region. Most surrounding countries have tried Communism, the only real differences being a tolerance for monarchy and religion on the right wing of an extremist agenda.

I agree, of course most Thais couldn't give a toss about what happened in Europe 70 years ago. On a day to day basis, neither do I.

Why should they? Why shouldn't they? If you are an educator isn't that one of the points of teaching?

While the Simon Wiesenthal center took up this issue with the school, the holocaust and Nazis are not purely issues that are about the Jews. Half of the people that died in the holocaust weren't Jewish. It's an issue that deals with the evil notion that one group is superior to another, period. Everyone in the World Should know about what happened, because it's an important thing to understand.

Some Thais really do believe that Thais' feelings run deeper than Westerners; I've had Thai friends say as much. Do I think that antisemitism is rife in Thailand? Not really, if anything the antisemitism is much more common amongst foreigners here as most Thais don't even know what a Jew is.

Do Westerners deserve to have their culture respected? Why would anyone justify otherwise. Remember, youtube had to censor some videos in the name of sensitivity to Thais, and every time someone is ignorant about how a Buddha is supposed to be displayed there is an uproar from Thais. I don't think that Westerners have the right to ignorantly offend Thais and saying that the Thais have the right to offend us this way does imply that the Thais aren't capable of understanding another point of view. Doesn't that too imply that Westerners are superior to Thais?

Well what hope would these children ever have of understanding anyone elses point of view when teachers are so ignorant as to allow them march in uniforms such as these?

I'll say it again:

"Sticks & stones can break your bones but names (or uniforms) can never hurt you."

I know it's an incredibly difficult concept to fathom but TRY!

And to raise the level of quotation above the schoolyard.

"Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn"

Benjamin Franklin

"There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action"

Goethe

the piece de resistance

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"

Martin Luther King

Compared to Heathrow its a breeze...I have always found them helpful and usher people into the Thai lines to help to reduce queues.

Everyone knows Heathrow is crap, but then it is very old. SVB is brand new and is already failing badly.

It's nice to see that people are always complaining about the new airport. Keep up the spirit people and hope you'll get so angry about the new airport that we won't have to see you in Thailand again

oh ya, another ridiculous childish nonsense-comment from the "Farang rak Thai" - corner, wish u have a chance to grow up one day...

well, back to the topic, I have travelled to no less than 7 major Asian airports in the past 2 months, and unfortunately, Thailand is by far the worst at the moment, when it comes to immigration-procedures and waiting time.

If my itinerary or destination allows it, I will use other airports such as CM or HKT or land- / seaborders (Satun Sept. 2007: very quick and hassle-free and no silly pictures taken).

what I dont understand: that nightmare at BKK-Suwannaphum started only 3-4 months ago, before it was almost similar to Don Muang. but the new Visa Laws are in effect for one year already.....

Just wait till Xmas. Millions of frustrated tourists with kids jamming up the lines, filling out their cards incorrectly.

I would like Mr. E and his ilk to stay as by coming out the way he has for what he is, it makes it clear that the sickness of anti-semitism is alive and well today, as it has ever been. However, I still think any excitement about the Thai Nazi day is unwarranted; as it tells us more about the wacky educational system here than any epidemic of a neo-Nazi movement in Thailand, which as far as I can tell does not exist.

I think I can safely say that nobody who marched (the kids) had any idea of what they were doing, and the offence it could cause.

I also believe no one who set it up was anti semitic. They wouldn't even understand it. I am flagrantly pissed off that teachers in Thailand could allow their students to act (with a supposed education) as such ignorant pigs.

I am not in any way condemning the kids. If they had dressed up as HIV victims, abused Thai wives, corrupt politicians or aborted foetuses I would applaud.

I resent that the Thai education system allowed them to dress up as mass murderers.

Scott,

.......or how about a pageant depicting the carpet bombing of S.E. Asian countries during the VietNam war including a vivid portrayal of the effects of defoliation in which the tableaux could possibly be featured in a particularly fetching shade of orange. Obvously, the theme would have to be subtitled lest observers fail to understand the underlying message viz: how the champions of civilisation vanquish those who favour tyranny and cruelty.

Honestly, I am astonished by the sheer inability of those who fail to grasp the point of this thread.

You purport to preach upon what constitutes bad taste yet all of you are from societies that have signally failed to learn from the lessons of the past. Prancing around in a nazi costume is apparently a dreadful taboo yet the slaughter of innocents in the name of western democratic ideals is somehow more acceptable. Why on earth should the Thai be expected to subscribe to such a bizarre dichotomy to the point that they should teach their children about something so irrelevant as a 60 year old war among the heathen farang.

Just accept it chaps. The west, and all of its sacred cows placed on the high altar of cant and hypocrisy to be worshipped by the taboo ridden deluded, is of no consequence to the Thai and their culture. You have nothing to offer save your money.

I didn't see anyone here claiming that it would in any way be right for American schoolchildren to perform a march in school celebrating carpet bombing. Neither was I ever as a child in the UK taught that war is in any way something that should be celebrated. At least in the UK, we mourn the dead, we do not celebrate war. You are barking up the wrong tree if you can find anything to defend in the actions of the Nazis.

We are discussing honoring or celebrating the Nazis who carried out a systematic cleansing of peoples in their millions in an educational institution with adolescent minds involved. Carpet bombing was a horrendous thing but was carried out in the pursuance of war. Public record has shown it was debated by the war committees endlessly on moral grounds. Wars are not pretty things.

Exterminating a selective group of people in the pursuance of ethnic purity is I think one would believe a completely different thing. It is one thing to mourn people who lost lives in war in action, it is another thing entirely to be shown to in any way celebrate what has been written in history as a horrendous extermination of people on the basis of religion. Who knows we farangs may be caught in some crazy things as a group in future.

It may appear that I have nothing more to offer than my money, fortunately or unfortunately, I have my children to offer to this country. Very fortunately they attend a school where they would never be allowed to walk in Nazi uniform and and be taught by teachers who are intelligent and responsible.

Yes isn't it quaint how they look so sweet and harmless in their Nazi uniforms.

How endearing.

I suppose it was inevitable that most in this thread would miss the point of my post but then, given the demographic of the forum, no surprises there.

Perhaps I should amplify a little.

Dressing up in a fancy costume and simply having fun in the typical Thai way is a quite normal, rather endearing, facet of their culture and the fact that they chose an outfit representing the antithesis of that sentiment in the eyes of the average western observer demonstates their innocence in a way that I personally find deliciously charming.

But, to most here it seems that they have committed a grievous offence. Perhaps if a demonstrable irony replacing that innocence had been employed then perhaps the parade might have been more acceptable? Doubtless, many of the prigs on the forum would protest that no ' glorification ' would be acceptable but then they wouldn't have laughed at Mel Brooks' 'The Producers " .......springtime for Hitler in Chermanneeeee.... would they?

No, the only crime these sweet children committed was one of carelessness in that they failed to take into account the precious sensibilities of the westerner. Gosh, how dare they? Don't they know that if you dress up like a nazi you're only one goose step away from industrialised slaughter?

If only life was that simple but I suppose to most here it is in their little cartoon world. Talking of which, how do the prigs of the forum reconcile their stance on the Danish muslim cartoon debacle with their condemnation of the Thai school children? If memory serves me well most were less than charitable to the notion that muslims were justified in feeling their culture was under threat.

How do you spell h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e ?

Incidentally, keep it up Elkangorito. Did we ever meet at Glastonbury?

I fear you are missing entirely the point that this involved a school project and schoolchildren.

The innocence/ignorance of dressing up as a Nazi is somewhat lost one me, and presumably part of the project should have entailed a little research to discover that murdering millions should not really be something that should be glorified. Would the teachers have allowed the kids to dress up in Thai Rak Thai uniforms, have a pro democracy rally or insult the king? Actually a school project on the importance of democracy would probably be the greatest project they could have done, but then I won't hold my breath for a Thai school teacher to be able to teach that either. It appears that this school takes great pride in teaching historical ignorance.

The kids are not to blame at all, the teachers however, should get a paid trip to Aushwitz and an up close view of the chambers.

If educators are completely ignorant of history to the point that they cannot discern modern history in such a black and white issue as Nazism, then god help this country. The teachers involved in this case have shown their complete inability to form young minds and have no place whatsoever in a position of responsibility.

Tolerance and free speech are great things, however, in most civilised societies, however celebrating an idea that brings with it ethnic or religious cleansing is rightly not tolerated. As for the Danish issue, the cartoon may have been in bad taste, but insulting an idol is not a crime. Burning down embassies and issuing death threats however actually is.

Prohibition was tried and is ineffective, the slow drip of time works far better for social engineering.

and that is the same point we are making here by being pro the legalization of drugs.

I am saying that the efforts to prevent drug consumption must continue. Cigarettes are an interesting problem because governments are trying to internalise the social costs of consumption through taxation. In most western countries they are taking massively more in tax than is spent on health costs.

However, what has been discovered is much as everyone new, demand for cigarettes is massively inelastic so taxes will not reduce consumption. It is only for the last 10 years that goverments have got their act together to fight tobacco consumption and eventually there is a downturn in consumption, very little of it related to taxation. Bans and restrictions on where cigarettes can be consumed are proving much more effective in restricting consumption. The cigarette companies knew this for donkeys years and have fought restrictions whilst not really fighting taxation control at all.

There is a massive amount of conflicting evidence about the real health and social costs of tobacco consumption. There is a perfect correlation between growth of the combustion engine and lung cancer but anti tobacco groups don't dare let that out into the public domain. There is very little conflicting evidence on the effects of hard drug consumption.

Politically and economically tobacco has become so woven into society that it is pointless to enforce prohibition. However, in 100 years time does anyone think that 30% of humanity will still be smoking. I doubt it very much. The commercial tobacco industry has only been around about 80 years, the clock on its existence is ticking, and all governments have to do is restrict places where one can consume cigarettes, slowly raise the age of consumption and educate young people and lo and behold in a couple of generations cigarette consumption will reduce massively.

The AOT director projected the number of passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport would increase to its full capacity of 45 million next year.

The present AOT director seems to enjoy self-congratulatory statements to the media, three so far within a few weeks.

Beware, all glitter, no content.

Of I can't wait for that. For this airport to appear calm, collected and efficient, it needs a capacity at least 20% bigger.

"Depending on how it is asked, more than a third of Americans say Saddam Hussein was personally involved in those attacks [9/11]. In a New York Times/CBS News Poll in September, 33 percent of the respondents said Saddam Hussein was “personally” involved. In June, when Princeton Survey Research, polling for Newsweek, asked if “Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in planning, financing or carrying out the terrorist attacks,” 41 percent said yes."

Scary realy.

A typical outcome when discource is removed, by government, from the education process.

Discourse and also a biased press.

Study shows Fox News viewers misinformed about war, Iraq, WMD

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/714.html

Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War

http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/art...02&lb=brusc

Thank god we aren't in China at least. Dalai Lama is a terrorist successionist up here.