connda

Remember, if you are driving down the main road, and the pick-up pulls out it front you because your status must be low if your riding a motorcycle, you skid on the raid-slick road and crash into the truck -- it's your fault because you are farang. That's why drivers of cars, trucks and even motorcycles will stare you right in the eye and then pull in front of you -- you're farang, Always your fault.

I am shocked!! It was only two against one!!

Unbelievable!! alt=blink.png width=20 height=20>

Yes, in most western countries if some doofus gave some guys on a motorbike the finger they would either (1) wave cheerfully and thank the jerk for his instructive communication because everyone in the country would be mindful of the importance of supporting tourism or (2) they would return and one would pummel the moron while his friend held everyone's outer garments but refrained from participating.

I wonder if some of you are visiting the planet for the first time.

The situation would rarely, if ever, arise in the west because road users there are educated and know how to ride / drive and are generally courteous enough to give way to pedestrians crossing the road. Time and time again in Thailand I see mopeds blazing through areas where people are crossing, giving zero regard to them...even when others, i.e. Farangs, have stopped to let them cross, e.g. at a zebra crossing. Uneducated fools with no regard for anyone but themselves.

p.s. The Farang was still stupid to give the bird but if he / his wife had just nearly been killed, I can understand why he did.

Not trying to be funny here, but in most countries in the world it is illegal to cross the road in places otherwise authorized for that purpose. If the German couple were on a crossing, then that would be another matter. IMO, both parties were wrong with what happened here (with the facts available).

I agree whole-heartedly with your PS. It seems there are a lot of people on here that don't realize what giving the bird to someone here is. Its a bit like sitting in a bar with your feet on a table pointing directly at someone at the next table.

The first week I was her, a high speed motorcycle missed me by inches while I was crossing in a crosswalk under a solid run light to traffic and a flashing green light for pedestrians. The jacka** split traffic and flashed by so close I could feel the draft of air pushing off his motorcycle.

Lesson 1: Crosswalks don't mean a da*n thing here in LOS.

lucky he was not shot to death

Lucky he wasn't hit by the motorcycle, severely injured, then shot, hacked, or stabbed to death for being in the way.

Maybe you should post your inquiry here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/142-organic-farming-smallholding-and-kitchen-gardening/

I live in CM so I posted on the CM forum. I'm not making a trip to Ubon or Udon for seeds. I'll look for seeds that are produced local and used local.

Thanks

Here's my vote for the best 5 ingredient Pad Thai in Chiang Mai. Pad Thai is all they serve along with drinks and snacks. A plate of Pad Thai on a banana leaf was 25 baht, although they may have recently raised their prices to 30 baht per plate. They also have fresh squeezed Orange Juice until they sell out.

Turn right on Chang Moi Soi 3 from Thapae Road (the road is roughly opposite of 7/11 but towards Thapae Gate. The soi has a street sign marked Chang Moi Soi 3). Drive until you can see the soi ending at Chang Moi Road in front of you (one way traffic running left to right), The shop is on the right side of soi 3. Parking available in the covered garage to the left of the shop. Cheap and delicious. Google Earth placemark attached.

Best 5 ingredant Pad Thai in Chiang Mai.kmz

One should consider the fact that ThaiVisa is possibly one of the most famous forums about Thailand on the web.

One might also think about how simply "liking" a page may bring scrutiny.

How many Thai police do you think can read and understand english?

It won't be the one's who can't "read and understand english" that you'll have to be worried about.

I'm looking for a source of certified non-GMO seeds (or heirloom seeds) here in Chiang Mai (city) for planting a vegetable garden. I don't want to inadvertently grow or eat any Franken-foods.

_____________________________________

May you live in thoroughly boring times. ^zzzzzzzZZZ

You'll know you're about to hear the "Big Flushing Sound" when the folks pulling the strings tell you that "Liking" Political Humor is a crime. You eventually get to the point that everyone is a dissident until proved otherwise. Break out the water boards.

Myanmar of all places has gone the other way to Thailand on this and is more or less hands-off when it comes to internet activity (bar one particularly prominent anti-government blog), although that has unleashed a whole new set of problems in relation to hate speech in recent months...

"Anicca Anicca Anicca" (Change, change, change)

I guess Buddha had it spot on: Everything changes. And everyone should be a student of history and you'll see clear examples of the rise and fall of counties, cultures, societies and civilizations.

We seem to be on the cusp of A Big Reversal, sort of like the upcoming magnetic pole shift on the sun. In Earth's case, most of the so-called democratic countries who, on the surface, vocally espouse principles of "freedom" and "democracy", but who in the shadows implement totalitarian policies that limit the personal liberties and freedoms of individuals while moving the wealth of the nation to the upper crust of society;

Contrast this to emerging countries and nations (such as Russia, China, Myanmar, etc) who are moving out of the shadows of totalitarianism and starting to implement policies that enrich their citizens while increasing personal freedoms and liberties. It's ironic when citizens of the "old democracies" seek political and humanitarian asylum in these newly emerging (limited) free-market societies. What will the future hold?

My you live in thoroughly boring times. ^zzzzzzzZZZ

And whenever you think you've seen it all... What worries me more than that single psycho shooter is the amount of other brainless male Thai lowlifes out there who might become copycats because of this. I'm quite sure he will not do that jggy dance thing when he's standing in front of the creator after police has killed him...

My sincerest condolences to the family and RIP to the victims.

I wanted to write something about why that guy to the left did not go for the gun, but who are we to judge - let's face it: 99.9% of men simply aren't like Superman, Captain America or Bruce Lee, and most probaby 99.9% of us would be Pussies like that guy in a similar situation... sad, but true...

Man you beat me to it,

I've literally been in situations this dangerous,been shot at etc(former life as a Bouncer/Security business in both North and South Ireland and elsewhere)

and I'm well able to wrestle a gun away from someone if I have to,also there was a few seconds while he struggled to pull it and cock it,

but frankly not everyone can be switched on 100% of the time,

I'd love to say I would have disarmed him,but in all honesty I probably would wind up dead in a similar situation.

Yeah, I've been on the business end of a rifle once with a drunk on the "trigger" end. It was not a time to play hero, it was a time to just get distance and attempt to diffuse the situation. I lived to testify at the guy's trial, and he did go to prison. I wasn't particularly scared at the time, but thinking about it now just about makes me want to wet myself. For anyone with a "hero complex" -- best of luck.

Sweet Jesus. What is going on in this world? Life is becoming cheaper and cheaper.
My prayers to the victims and family. I'm so sorry.

When i got Pneumonia recently,i went to three hospitals to make deals with them, McCormick in Chiang mai gave me the best quote so i took it, 5days 17000B, including medication and xrays,, the warning bells rang, get insurance!!

17000 baht (about $550) would have been $17000 in the US. $550 is a one month insurance premium on a low-end health care plan in the US. Holy crap man, your five days in the hospital were dirt cheap. Unless you get pneumonia every month, you're better off establishing a health savings plan for yourself here in Thailand and pay your hospital bills by yourself. By the way, if you would have gone to a government hospital, you could have got a private room and care for your 5 day stay for about 8K baht. Insurance companies only cover private hospitals, and private hospitals are 2 to 4 times more expensive than their government equivalents.

Simple solution - no insurance no Visa, like Europe

Not so simple.

What about the expats over 65 or 70 years of age, and those expats with a pre-existing condition? No insurance for them, means no visa for them, means no money into the Thai economy from them.

An idea might be that those without insurance, pay an extra levy attached to their visa. This levy, or medical fee, goes to the Thai Government to ensure older uninsured expats receive medical care, should they need it.

Why don't they just offer foreign expats affordable insurance with maybe a 70/30 deducible scheme that can be used at government hospitals. It would be a win-win situation.

How do you translate "lethal injection"?

Here in Thailand, "lethal injection" means three years in jail and then freedom. The underbelly of Thai society must like it when "farang are in season". Easy to kill and very little down-side as far as judicial consequences.

Again, if I wasn't committed to my foreign national Thai family, I'd be gone. No, I don't like it here in the Land of Open-season on Farangs.

“All three suspects refused to allow the translator provided by the American Embassy to join the proceedings,”

I'm surprised the translator didn't show up outside the building with a sharpened length of re-bar through his chest (having clumsily fallen onto it whilst exiting the courthouse). Obviously having an AE translator must have cause these poor musicians a huge loss of face.

can someone translate this offer? from cimb

ตอบแทนพ่อแม่ พาท่านมาเปิดบัญชีฝากประจำพิเศษซีเนียร์ ดบ.สูง 3.35%ต่อปีไม่เสียภาษี 1-31ส.ค.56ทุกสาขา เงื่อนไขตามธนาคารกำหนดโทร026267777

It says its a special savings account for "seniors" high interest of 3.35% per year no tax deducted

( that means it's not a fixed rate ) applies from 1 -31st August 2013

They probably want a large amount of money deposited > 10 or 20 million.

>10 million they got the wrong falang on their sms list......thanks

If Thailand banks ever go the way of Cyprus, those folks with +10m baht in their accounts are going to be in for a rude awakening -- definitely not worth 3.35%. In this day and age, it's not wise to put anymore into an account than is covered by government insurance -- and even then???

By the way, I saw a bank on the right-hand side of Thapae (past Thapae soi 2) offering 3.7% on a 37 month fixed account (written in Thai) if my memory serves me correctly. Not bad. 50K min deposit.

At least the buses are still colorful

I've noticed what you mean though, hell, my girlfriend's family has a car and two pickup trucks and they're all the same dull silver color.

Yeah, and it's not just Thailand. I've been doing some research and this is sort of the new normal in "modern car color technology" is everywhere. The manufacturers boast of a new era of paint technology where the colors have a gloss so shiny that the paint seems to swim under the surface, but the last cars I looked at, white, black, and silver didn't quite "Swim under the surface" of the topcoat. These are truly boring colors. I could image a sky-blue or ruby-red "swimming" under that topcoat, but the car manufacturers aren't producing much in the way of color. Has the world's population become that conservative and boring? How immensely sad (but not surprising).

Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black. -- Henry Ford

Are consumers subtlety being nudged toward purchasing cars and trucks that are flat out dull to look at? Recently I became aware that most cars and trucks driven in Thailand (consumer market as compared to the commercial market) are not really interesting to look at. The primary colors of cars and trucks seem to be only white, black, or silver, with another subset of cars and trucks painted what I’d refer to as “dull, dark” or “light, dusty” colors: example -- dull, dark green or light, dusty green; dull,dark blue or light, dusty blue. Whatever happened to cars and trucks painted in natural and bright vibrant colors? Is this somehow against Thai law for passenger cars and trucks to be painted colorfully, except for commercial vehicles? I find it very odd…almost disturbing. Why would a whole cultural defer to a drab color scheme for one of the most expensive purchases in their lives. I’m not saying that there are “no colorfully painted cars” – there are, but they are few a far between, and many are either custom jobs or sports cars (like Mini Coopers). The next time you're on the road, just think about this post and look around. Strange huh?

I’m going to have my beat-up 22 year old Toyota repaired (body work) and re-painted after the rainy season. I’m going to have to consider some natural, bright vibrant color just to stay out of the consumer car color funk!

Giving the spate of train wreaks, bus accidents, and attacks on foreigners (fatal and otherwise) I believe that the Ministry of Tourist should promote a new ad campaign:

*** Dangerous Thailand ***

See if you can survive your stay!

The communication lines into the US Embassy in Bangkok probably make a huge sucking sound...sort of like a Hoover vacuum cleaner.

/sarc off

Yeah, a mate of mine got attacked after withdrawing money out of an ATM south of Korat in Nong Bua Sala. Attacked by two Thais on a motorcycle. He got away with minor injuries by ducking into a housing development and getting someone to call the cops. Lucky he didn't get killed with the way expats and tourist are getting murdered lately.

I personally lived in downtown Korat at the time and never had any problems. I felt reasonably safe in that area, and my condo had a security guard. We never had any problems.

First off, I'm a guy, so you understand my anatomical issues. I looking for recommendations for bike seats that are made to relieve the pressure in the crouch area. I've seen split seat models online, but would like to get a recommendation from someone who uses a seat like this and can recommend a brand available in Thailand. I'm going to end up with nerve damage if I keep using what I've got. After about 10 kilos on my current seat, my butt and my "friends" are fast asleep. Its not comfortable at all.

Thanks

Refuse to pay a buck fifty cab fare and throw a paper cup at a taxi driver (allegedly) and get hacked up by a machete wielding cab driver. Help break up a bar fight and later get shot by the jackass involved in the fight. Refuse to stop singing and knock a tip box over and get stabbed to death in the stomach. Isn't their something a bit wrong with this picture?

Killing tourists and expats seems to solution for any "loss of face" nowadays. Has it always been this way or does it seem to be escalating?

If I had it to do over again, I really reconsider my decision to move here. But I've invested too much time, money, and have extended (Thai) family that I support...can't bail now. This is a dangerous place to live and to visit.

My condolences to the Carter family. I am very sorry for your loss.

Holy crap!!! This is the same scumbag that shot three tourists last month. What is hell is him still doing on the street?