bangkokburning

As the article stated and I had written even before reading it - Thailand has nothing to offer except for a beach and they have shit all those up as well.

If you want to see temples - its Cambodia and Burma

If you want to visit tribes - its Myanmar, Lao and N.Vietnam

If you want to be in nature - its Malaysia

If you want to shop - its Singapore and HKG

The only thing Thailand has left to offer is a beach and as the article stated and I can truly attest (and hookers from Issarn). The beaches are a catastrophic mess. A mess from over development, garbage/sewage issues, fisheries, water pollution, garbage both from tourism and especially dumped of fishing boats.

Tourism is truly zero sum. What is spent there is not spent here. Further, in some people modest situation, an international holiday is a big event, especially if a family is involved.

Then there is a darker side, that the article does not go into. The nasty hookers, druggings, dope, muggings, thefts, hiv, the utter lack of assistance by police. The rudeness of Immigration officers when attempting to extend a visa and he need for a ticket out here as well. Dengue...

Finally, there s the total hassle of getting a TR from ones own country. A ticket out? The nation is connected to three countries and through hem an additional three. Bank account statements <deleted>!!

Yes, and as mentioned - people have rushed into many tourist services with mad abandon. How many massage parlors in Pattaya trying to stay alive on B100 hr massages? How many other me-too services of poor quality.

But it's funny because in the end, the wealthy in his country will remain so and they will enjoy their fancy cars and houses, maids, security guards and KTV girls. They are quite alright with the chaos. I guarantee. Bring on more if it insures their power and wealth. Property market in the dumps? You have to sell short your property in the years to come, nothing but opportunity for the wealthy Thai guy - stoopid farang.

Great article, I could have written myself. Been preaching it for years.

It's funny, the only business that will see any relief will be those can suffer the downturn the best. The little guys will be SOL sure.

Thailand can't do anything.

It can't attract Westerners: It has cold shouldered them for years, the THB is way too strong, and that ain't gonna change. Then you have the political instability of the last five years. The sit ins at the airport arguably did more damage than the events of the last weeks and months. People will always remember - I may get stuck and can't get back to my all too fragile job. Its too easy to find a a pretty beach elsewhere in the world.

Indian, Chinese tourists have to be some of the cheapest people out there. Russians?

The Japanese finished with Thailand due to violence and scams years ago.

The expat can't really help, they have little to do with high end package tourism.

The economies of the west will only get worse in the years and decades ahead.

Thailand made a conscious effort not to educate its population like Malaysia - so there you have it.

I suggest everyone go back to the farm. that's where the money will be - agriculture.

All the people who have dreamed of seeing Thailand have done it. Now, you have to give people a reason to come back. There is none. The people that work in the industry that are not paid well to be polite and kind are anything but. The love affair with Thailand is over and all the mess only exacerbated it.

Thailand's tourism is overbuilt and overpriced. Thailand's natural resources are a disaster. Another Philippines in the making. That's what we have here.

My gf deleted a bunch of favorite music from her library. I tried to save it back from the ipod with every conceivable utility that is out there for free or share. None worked. I would say just bite the bullet, start again.

Ipods do suck in this regard, but hardware is reliable and itunes is really powerful. If you only have a few gigs of music and are happy with that. Any player might do.

You should always have a backup. I have my music on a number drives:

The iPod

Netbook (iTunes Library)

Portable hard drive (Thailand)

External Hard Drive A (US)

External Hard Drive B (US)

Copied to my moms HDD for good measure

Copy to my little brother

Copy to my best friend (who ahs copies in Dubai and US)

26k songs is a lot to lose!

My hunch is that there is some sort of hot key / macro going on there.

Can you detail the issue and what is "click info"?

What is the question? I have some experience.

iLounge is good, but the old timers are tired of answering the SOS.

I can get you a number when my gf comes home from work. Better if you have someone can speak Thai. "No Toll" should do perhaps.

Your s.o. can tell him when s/he kisses you goodbye.

You can take the taxi# and file a complaint if there is one.

PM me cause this is not something im likely to remember ok? :-)

Hey, how do you like it up there. My GF is considering condos up there but it's all about price. I'd rather she look closer toward work. New mall in Lad Phrao?

Asked about speculation that red-shirt leaders were being sheltered by the Cambodian government, and even residing in Prime Minister Hun Sen's residence, Suthep said: "Maybe the media can discuss that openly, but on behalf of the government, I cannot say anything, as it would affect bilateral relations.

I'm not ruling that out for you. You are free to conjure any bogeymen you wish and it pleases me to no end.

I agree with Naam. The question needs to be qualified in a big way.

Himachal Pradesh, India

Malaysia

Parts of Indonesia, perhaps

Hong Kong

Cambodia (in ten years)

Vietnam, perhaps

Nicaragua

Argentina

Cuba

Rural BC Canada

Rural coastal Mid Atlantic region of US

Parts of East Europe, perhaps

I think Belize and CR were finished decades ago.

I don't like the Philippines. I don't like anything about the culture (or lack thereof). I find the people lazy and without dignity. It is a far more dangerous place than most people believe - on many levels. Most dangerous country in East Asia, hands down. Aside from some super cute teen pageant queen, most of the women are not attractive and their body/beauty are ravaged in mid/early 20s. The diet is horrible. The food, disgusting. Not fit for pigs.

travelnguy

If you are still monitoring this thread, pm me and I will give you some spots. You will need to bring basic camping gear, but food can be had in the nat'l park restaurants or short walks to a "restaurant (shack)". I can provide you with one bungalow recommendation.

google tezza + islands and that should get you to my friends page. Have a look. he does bungalows, I only camp. I can't stand the bungalow atmosphere any longer.

For awhile many yrs ago I was doing BKK-LAX-BKK w/ EVA. It was startup and a decent value although mod cons spartan. I am no longer doing this route.

It is a step up from CI China Air - what a disaster. But the food on both is dire.

I would not take the airport bus from anywhere but Khao Sarn road. I do not see them as reliable and the pickup points other than KSR and one/two hotels seem really dicey.<br><br>This guy has to catch an early plane. Buses are not running anyway, Not aware of any bus in this area.<br><br>Yeah, that airport bus has become REALLY pricey. I think B150 now.<br>

Fruit and rice. Philippines net importer yoy. My hunch is Burma and Lao as well. Malaysia possibly, Indonesia...(India, non ASEAN)

Its food so it's priority #1 for natl security. Not only will govts import, they subsidize!

Don't know about the figures. This is Lieland.

b220+ from Huay Kwang, no traffic - no tollroad. B20 for pick up.

The people "scamming" at the Thai Consulate are Laotian, not Thai. You'll have to clean up two countries at once.

All your preaching, foot stompinig and head banging is in vain simply because too many other people without your religious beliefs enjoy being somewhere where money can buy concenience. Perhaps you should marry your Thai sweetheart and find some utopia where governance is clean.

Indeed, they are Laotian and I have no more empathy for them. Even less. Crap government and people get the govt they deserve. Maybe they ought to be trying to change the government instead of being reduced to begging tickets. People forget what a crap commie government that is there in Lao.

My belief system has nothing to do with religion. I am in fact, an atheist.

It is not in vain, things can change one snubbed bribe at a time. Even better to call them a common thief. You are simply defending the indefensible - weakly. These people make astonishing amounts of money off the corruption. They are the same people that splash water on me as they drive by in their cheap Mercedes and don't give me berth when I am on foot. As if I cannot afford one of those stupid oil burning monsters. As if I care about that stupid emblem on their hood of their car.

I'm not interested in slagging you, you are quite helpful to this board. But it appears that it is your money that has bought your conscience.

Thanks for your advice on what I should do with my life. I've been here for more or less 17 years, traveled nearly every breath and stretch of the country, Same goes for all the neighboring countries as well. You?

It is possible that we will in time return to the states. I am not overly optimistic about the way the nation is headed. I can easily see us spending the cool season here touring the Andaman (until the coral is totally dead and the fish stock entirely depleted) and the Indian Himalaya in the Summer. I can see a life without her if that happens. I cannot predict the future. I have always taken this and every country as it comes. If I am really at odds with the people or the nation, I leave. Sometimes I don't go back - say, to a dump like the Philippines and that lot.

I used to have a Khmer girlfriend back in the states many years back. She had a friend come visit her. My lovely girlfriend so helpful to all, even those she did not know well, helped them for months settle their lives. The husband went back to Cambodia and the new fledgling govt. He got a job in the govt and someone got himself in the middle of the income stream that collects revenue for flyover rights. He came back to states about 18 mos later - new car, gold, all thee cheap trappings of what youd expect poor, uneducated people to do with new found money. Was so arrogant and condescending to my girlfriend I almost knocked the guy out. HIs wife was not much better. My poster child of what hapens to people and our money when it ends up in these said hands.

That's all I have to say. I think I'm done with the thread.

Corruption - bad

Feeding corruption - shame on you (who ever you may be)

Peace -

I am not having an easy time buying an OTC stock.

Qualifying the bid ALLORNONE. How much does this really impact the trade? It appears quite a deal, but how much? I'm trying to purchase blocks of 100-300, or a big chunk 6-800. I had left this open initially and rec'd partials of about 50% of my request, which was fine, but I do not want a partial fill of 50 shares!

Where I can see my bid is lower than others, I try to use strategies such as a smaller block or large block as enticement to sell me shares (at a lower price than the highest bid, but all bids are not close to the ask about <2-3.00 less. Is this effective, can anyone provide any tips here?

If bids exist:

32

31

and I wish to bid the following: 30.50 or below 32, below 31; what might make Market Maker take my bid?

How much might one expect a stock to decline in price after the dividend is paid for the year? OK not an easy question.

How about if a special is also declared?

At years end?

Any help - thanks

I'm in the process of purchasing a thinly traded OTC stock through Fidelity. It appears that the stock used to be priced "most recent price" based on the last price traded 9from my analysis). A day or so ago when I checked the stock, the price was dramatically lower.

Fidelity informs me that the price (is now/always was?) based upon the "lowest active bid" of the day. Is this standard industry practice?

This is imo nonsense. First, the bid has nothing to do whatsoever with the price. It is an arbitrary number some punter dreams to buy the stock for, even more so - the lowest bid. The ask would better reflect this. Moreover, the price at which the stock had traded last would imo be the best measure - and until now, by my eye appeared to be.

If true, when would I see the price based on anything remotely resembling an "real price"? Let's say the stock opens and trades one day at 50.00. Will that be the price reflected in my portfolio and if so, for how long? It would appear that trading day only. It would then revert to "the lowest "active" bid". As it stands now, there is no volume and the lowest bid is the same as it was the day(s) prior (not a huge shocker, the bid is out there).

I do not have access to all the bids/asks but nowhere can I find this low bid (although I am sure it exists).

The trader at Fidelity spent twenty minutes trying to sort the issue out. So my hunch is since she did not have an immediate answer - something is not right. Of course, the reason she is at Fidelity and not working in a real brokerage is that she can't cut it as a broker. She obviously did not know what the price was based upon herself. After twenty mins - came up with the above answer. I sent an email to Fidelity (and a follow up). They also confirmed this "bid pricing method".

Can anyone clarify this for me?

The personal action I take is that I do not pay bribes and inform the person grubbing for one I will not do so. I am willing to do what is required (the extra time/effort), that is about all I can do.

Withholding money is the best and only fight here for the individuals. What are needed are laws and enforcement. I am merely a visitor with an interest in a Thai national. I own no land, I possess no long term visa. Even for locals, it is all they can do as well.

Thailand will continue to descend down the dark path of corruption at all levels. I expect it to look much like the Philippines does now in about a decade - if we have a few more years of riots and unstable gov't that will be a clincher for me..

I guarantee you that if half the people bought tickets, the other half would be forced to do so - and then the prices would go up as well. So, I see my "crusading" is my self interest as well. All this nonsense about people filling out your forms, stealing tickets, special buses, flying in general, charging silly amounts for tuk tuk rides within Vientiane. This is all your guys doing - it's spawned out of laziness and your perception that the cost "is cheap". You have the disposable income, it's hot - why not? 150B to go from the river to the visa office is not cheap. In fact, that ride in BKK in an AC taxi would be about B40.

Same with the visa - if I front up and denied a visa. I don't use some corrupt mafia service - I leave (for awhile). They don't want my money - fine. Be it Vientiane or Penang. I don't grovel to stay here. I don't pay tea money. I move on. I am in fact a long stay - tourist.

There comes a time when a nation breaks from the corruption and cannot climb back out of the morass. Philippines, Indonesia, Lao and India are prime examples. Thailand is not far behind. Broken, failed states that have all seen their best days.

If it were not for my Thai girlfriend, I would be perfectly happy spending only the cool season here. Thailand is now as expensive as Malaysia. I have India (Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh) and Indonesia (Flores, Banda, etc) for exceptional snorkeling. My love affair with Thailand ended years ago when they tightened the visas and inflation hit. Then there is the political chaos (for those that live and travel outside Pattaya).

Malaysia has little coral and no nice places to live on the coast

Singapore, same and is expensive as states, but I honestly like the place more the older I get. I'd rather be holding S$ than THB as well.

OK, so I am a zealot for clean governance. Shoot me.

Namm - You need only look what a mess Samui has become to see what the long term costs become by "making things a bit easier".

Anything less than a total free flow of information is not good for democracy and freedom in general. Took hold China up as some model - pathetic.

People who read are not incited to violence quickly. I guarantee all those thugs on the barricades cant read past the 6th grade level.

Hmmm, by "total free flow of information," I'm sure you mean 100% freedom of speech, no exceptions. In the US, you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater or say certain words while boarding a plane at the security checkpoint. High ranking military officials cannot talk disparagingly of his/her civilian boss. And you certainly can't post on your website your intention of assassinating the President. Oh, it's safety and security you say? On US national television, there are seven words which cannot be spoken. Tobacco companies can't advertise freely on TV. Gambling websites are technically illegal, even if it originates outside the US. And of course, child pornography on the internet is illegal. And so on, and so on.

So tell me, what country in the world has "total free flow of information?" If you really believe what you're preaching, then there should NEVER be any exceptions.

Every one of these issues you raise are red herrings. Yelling "fire" in a theater or "I have a bomb" has absolutely nothing to do with the free flow of information. Anyone, can speak ill of their boss -and suffer the consequences. Assassination or even the conspiracy thereof (of anyone) has nothing whatsoever to do with "information" and are both criminal acts unto themselves in most countries.

Tobacco companies CAN NO LONGER ADVERTISE AFTER DECADES OF LYING TO THE PUBLIC, advertise because their product has been deemed a catastrophe for public health. What is the free speech argument here? The stuff should not even be allowed to be sold, only allowed to be grown.

Gambling websites are technically illegal, even if it originates outside the US. Again, not a free speech argument. Has zero to do with speech.

Any pornography deemed obscene by US court is illegal usually based on obscenity, not speech laws . There are a myriad of other laws that often make prurient pornography illegal as wel. Porn has been long argued as a speech issue and has had great success. Perhaps a better example. I do not see banning certain types of porn as a death knell to free speech. Unlike the Arts.

On US national television, there are seven words which cannot be spoken. This is your best argument. But this is a dictate by society, again - its the obscenity thing again. The obscenity crime overrides the speech issue.

I will not use any special services or transport on my visa run

I will walk to the embassy in the cool of the morning

I will take the ticket that I am allotted

I will wait my turn

I will never use an agent to procure anything for me

I will not feel sorry for people in the least if they can't feed their families because I am not willing to essentially hand them money - FREE. Might as well stick a gun in my back as hold a ticket ransom. Maybe they ought to get out of the racket and find a way to make an honest living. Stealing tickets is not honest. Something for nothing is not honest. I do not feel this lot in the least. Let them all starve. Lazy scammers - and you can bet that there is money to go round with the staff at the embassy AND they will get your money from the ticket even if you are denied a visa. Pretty good deal for everyone except me.

I didn't stand for it in Penang and I won't stand for it here.

And yes, if you don't feed it - it will die on the vine. What is worse, this is entirely about foreigners. Its not even something locals suffer so you suffer with them.

It's not about an "Asian sensibility" or the way "they" do things. Ask any Asian whether they like paying tea money or bribes, I am sure it irks them more than us often times. Malaysia and Singapore have virtually wiped out much of this nonsense. Better for it.

Id just wait till you are where you want to be. You will pay full freight for the card and have I suspect limited choices. I like DTAC. I like CATNET card for calling USA @ B4 per min. 009 on DTAC is B7 I think.

Anything less than a total free flow of information is not good for democracy and freedom in general. Took hold China up as some model - pathetic.

People who read are not incited to violence quickly. I guarantee all those thugs on the barricades cant read past the 6th grade level.

I think the old standard still valid. Used to be in USA 25% of net. Now I think its more 30% of gross.

I don't see a single male needing a place for more than 10-12k. After that you've left the need and moved to the want category.

If your hygiene is good, not overweight, no really bad (bad!) habits, eat Thai food (important), are semi open to the culture and have a stable income (you need not be rich) - your chances are that you can find a decent woman, even many years younger. Takes lots of time and a life outside Pattaya.

Many girls now don't even stay with the guy for the five years. The new trick is to call the cops on the guy for beating them. This is classic for Pinays in states now and I hear the Thai women are doing it as well. They get shelter, out of the house and expedited citizenship. You get a record. Lovely..

My experience in Penang was really ugly. It has nothing to do with how many times you use rec'd visa prior at any cons/emb. Has everything to do with # of visas and ...any trips home country matter not. In fact, while I did have 5 pieces of paper, 9 visas, over two+ years....and...I was never in Thailand more than 7-8 mnths during that time. Two of those visas were not even utilized!

They just saw they visas and tossed it back - almost literally.

I even had a ticket back to states and was only requesting a single and had money to show and had no extensions.

I said ..but I have to fly out of Thailand, I have a ticket out! He told me, get this... to fly in and out to get my two months. So, I try to be legal and they tell me to do something dicey.

You can no longer live on TRs. Sooner or later the hammer will fall.