Sherlocke

I'm assuming this is the correct forum - they also seem to include Ayutthaya in the Chiang Rai forum.

I want to buy or rent a house boat on theriver there anyone know any contacts

....and while your at it!

Pattaya Man, – (or “Homo Changius” to give him his scientific name)....

The epitome of sartorial elegance you are not!

Men's dress sense in general in Pattaya is appalling - ANY socks with sandals is usually a faux pas.

However, black socks with black lace-up shoes, cheap nylon shorts pulled up too high with a shirt tucked into them - now there is a character who needs or is already having therapy!

Checked shirts with cargo pants - no imagination - they also make the fat look fatter.

comb-over hair

DYED hair - my god do you think we don't know that someone your age doesn't have jet black hair - (or ORANGE for that matter - why do they choose orange???)

toupees of any kind especially those that no longer match your hair or the ones that make sweat run out from underneath - you look like a leaky faucet!

overweight gold jewelery - I suppose it's just too hot to wear a sheepskin jacket too.....

Sting vests or singlets especially in restaurants - ugh the SMELL! and tufts of grey hair sticking out all over!

the wearing of shorts regardless - formal evening events - come on show a little savoir faire...

old gits who can barely walk wearing bright white or coloured running shoes - does viagra help you run too?

I took a video of Soi 7 the other day and when I played it back I noticed that not none farang male on it could walk without limping!

Shaved heads - we KNOW you are bald! - Shaving doesn't kid anyone - you just look like a puffed up geriatric skinhead who doesn't realise he's past his sell-by date.

Prison tats....in fact almost all military, merchant navy etc etc - it just shows that you were once young an foolish and now you are old and foolish - get them removed or cover them up - "cut here" really!

old men on steroids - you look GHASTLY - you look like a Christmas turkey that has been reanimated.

...and wearing a loose top when leaning over to leer at a bar girl - your tits are bigger than hers!

Interesting - where I work they actually asked an applicant to come in on that day!

The national limit is 90 kmph - if you exceed it you are breaking the law - so that is your choice. you leave yourself open to prosecution is the police should decide to do so. It may also leave you open to dispute in any incident or collision you are involved in whether it is your fault or not.

You are unlikely to be stopped for speeding if travelling near this limit as police seldom have radar etc - however there are other simpler ways to detect speeding.

If they decide that the offense for the day is "speeding" - you are likely to be stopped regardless of your speed and required to either pay a fine or a bribe. - the bribe is usually 200 baht for foreigners.

You may of course resort to common sense and drive at a speed that traffic and road conditions dictate........some people seem incapable of making a fair judgement on this though.

Very clear and good advice indeed !

Disagree.

Police often have radar or laser in the Chumporn area, 50 km north and south. and In Petchbury area and always in Hua Hin.

Prosecution of speeding? Never. Max fine is 1000 baht. 200 baht is normal

Normal cruising speed is 120 kmh for pickups and tour buses.

You aren't disagreeing - Thailand has very few radars - they are far from ubiquitous, my local highway force has ONE unit which they operate mostly outside their own station - I doubt if Hua Hin has many more either. use of radar will inevitably increase if the police realise money ca be made.

the National limit IS 90 (120 on motorways).

how you interpret it is upto you.

I wouldn't recommend relying on a suggested speed as a "safe" one as far as being stopped is and as I said before you might want to use common sense and drive according to road conditions.

I'd like to buy/rent a house boat in Ayutthaya - anyone got a contact?

"Same with these drone attacks when civilians get killed. It's terrible, but I'm sure the military does everything it can to limit innocent people getting killed. The same cannot be said for its enemies. " - this is a poster claiming to be presenting facts????

What are "war weapons"? are there any other kinds?

Usage is a factor - with the increasing use of certain denominations - the tendency is for larger and large denominations to become coins.

This is probably true as a general rule, but some societies are more paper-money focussed than others. Many developing countries (Laos, Camboia for example) have no coins at all. The UK has a £2 coin which would be almost as much a a 100 Baht coin, yet the US still has $1 notes (about 33 Baht). I also believe there's a 500 Euro note in circulation for some European countries who are used to spending large denomination notes. So, each society is different.

Of course there are differences between countries but the idea of usage will apply at different points in different countries but I think the overall idea is sound.

THe cost of living in UK is quite high compared to Thailand - so this would be in step with the idea of frequency of usage - a high cost of living would require higher "value" coins.

One could ask oneself what would I use to buy a certain comparable item in these countries - would it be predominantly coin or note? (one might for example think of a bowl of noodles compared to a sandwich)

BTW - THere have been £100 notes in UK for decades but they are seldom used. Oddly enough they are issued by the Banks in Scotland where the £1 note clung on for some time longer than in England and Wales - maybe even till now?

There are as you point out cultural leanings toward paper - private banking and money in the US has been incredibly conservative on the whole and piecemeal.

But there may also be a matter of cost in the short term especially in Cambodia. (Coins are initially more expensive to make/buy than paper money) However the average earnings in Cambodia are so low that the "high value" attributed to notes would cut in at a very low level. The riel unit itself is also of very low value.

Iuse this site

Speed test

it seems pretty good and has a new PING test site too.

my 3G seems to have been a little quicker - 1.9 as opposed to 1.2 recently - would this be a result of the new cable?

(BTW - AIS claim 7.2 - what a bunch of wanke_rs!)

From the original post:

"They got pretty much everything wrong, from the desire for white skin to being a wish to be "Western" (which it isnt of course) to the Western evils of Hello Kitty (which is Asian)."

Gee, now why would they ever get those impressions? Perhaps it's because when one walks into the cosmetics section of any store EVERY women's (and some) men's skin products boast that it "whitens". Then one looks at the models on those products and they ALL look much more white and Western than 99.9% of the Thais we see every day.

Yes but the desire for white skin is not primarily to emulate Westerners. Its to make a statement of not being someone who works in a field all day in the sun. Sun-baked skin is seen as "lower class".

agreed - but it is also to look more JAPANESE - not western.

Methinks too that SOME posters should think hard and long about WHY they don't like the colour pink and how society and upbringing (brainwashing and gender stereotyping?) has brought this about.

I think in tackling a real problem, the site has slipped up by concentrating on why women are associated with pink - not why men are DIS-associated with it..............What about Elvis's Cadillac?

What does the colour mean to you?

The "value" of the metal in the coin is irrelevant (within normal limitations - you wouldn't make it out of gold) -

Usage is a factor - with the increasing use of certain denominations - the tendency is for larger and large denominations to become coins.

This as te value of the unit of currency lowers against goods purchased and/or the increased spending power of the populace.

So you could look at it as the 20 baht replacing say the 5 and the 50 replaccing the ten from a usage point of view seen over a 25 year period (approx) or since whenec=ver the last new coinage was introduced.

I expect "good Viking stock" is a kind of soup?

I'm not in the least surprised you can't understand me....especially if you are a simplistic as your views on immigration suggest.

Still sounds like BNP to me get a reality check.

then tell it to those Vikings you like to dress up as........I'm sure they'd agree with you

It would be more useful to compare the effects of "immigrants" - in the widest sense - in other countries - it is the poor immigrant who contribute most to societies they join not people who come and simply spend money.

That's just complete nonsense. Immigrants drive down wages, work illegaly, are a liability to health care centers and in countries with socialised welfare are also a huge expense. Not to mention immigrants in most countries are more criminal than the original population.

That's the case in Europe and that's why Thais and others have such a hard time getting a Visa.

Farang immigrants to Thailand on the other contribute almost 100% positively to Thailand, spending lots of money, bringing know how and teaching the locals English. Thailand benefits massively with no expenditure at all on expats.

Sounds like the manifesto of the BNP!

Conclusion - internet in Thailand was crap and still is crap!

(MICT) - the

Mindless

Incompetence

of Companies

in Thailand - ?

every cloud eh?

BTW - did anyone find that post?

Immigrants WORK and PRODUCE.

No doubt. But you can't say they are tourists. Therefore in my opinion this is not related with the income from tourism. A tourist is somebody who comes to a country and brings money from abroad.

Tourists - no quibble with that - but are expats tourists or immigrants (as said - in the WIDEST sense)

tourism - has a some very unfortunate spin-offs for locals

It dispossesses them of property

Forces them to work for corporate wages.

Increases the price of land out of the range of locals

Increases the cost of living

Does not necessarily give work to locals at all - many use imported labour - at ALL levels from casual labour up to management.

Seldom is any effort made to educate or incorporate local population into the industry through training etc - they are expected to participate only on a very menial level.

Destroys environment

Destabilises societies, cultures and groups that have existed for centuries

Pollutes natural food resources

Strains infrastructures and utilities

etc etc.....

EXPATS - I would not say they are tourists - and of course they fall into different categories - those who work her and bring needed expertise into the country, and those who just live here or retire here.

I would say - set against the downsides of tourism - 6% is a very generous figure.

Immigrants WORK and PRODUCE.

Money brought in by expats is dissipated and the effects minimal.

in fact when it comes to medical etc they can end up asa burden....

Many are assuming the "the poor" get a good deal out of tourism - this is not necessarily the case.

It does not alter the fact that the figure is around 6% and the "effects" are all contained within that figure.

As for expats - well the ego-centricity of their "importance" is blatantly obvious.

It would be more useful to compare the effects of "immigrants" - in the widest sense - in other countries - it is the poor immigrant who contribute most to societies they join not people who come and simply spend money.

So the question now is WHO IS MARKSAMUI - and what does he know that has carmine so enthused?

Is my imagination or does my Itunes load much quicker now?

I'm on 3G - "aircard" from AIS - soon to be the most expensive internet in the world!

Whatever the official GDP is, the activity provides a lifeline for tens of thousands of Thais that would otherwise go without an income. Many of the activities associated with the tourist trade are filled by illiterate people from impoverished areas that are blocked out of other opportunities.

I am not justifying working conditions, just making the observation that without the tourism, these people would be further marginalized and suffer greater hardship. As such, the contribution is magnified because these people would become a burden or a source of conflict. Thailand's population is skewed to youth. Unemployed youth cause problems no matter the country.

Pretty much all nonsense there I'd say.

I've driven in both countries extensively and would tend to agree with the comments above - I've also driven in Europe and US and I have to say that countries like Germany Netherlands and UK have higher "skilled" drivers and ones with more roads sense, common sense and safety sense than anywhere else.

The standard of driving in Oz is "average" at best - I think the levels of traffic, type of car and road design leads to a relaxed form of driving that requires not a lot of extra skills - in Thailand to stay alive you need to be able to drive - those who have problems can't/shouldn't drive and maybe should consider getting off the roads.

THe significance of the colour pink in S.E. Asian countries is quite different from "the West".

As for women in Thailand - equals??? no way Jose!

Passive etc, the role of "prettygirl" is totally unacceptable in Western Society - most women here don't even have the basic education to question their role....

There's a common misbelief that "undertaking" is illegal in UK - I would think here there is definitely a "keep to the left" law and the rest would flow from that - hoever nothing in Thailand in law seems to flow or follow logic....so.........???

most alcoholics are pretty unaware of the time.

a good working definition of alcoholism if to ask yourself a few questions.

does it affect your work? - e.g.I can't come in today I feel rough.

You can't operate effectively at your job - you are "below parr"

How is your memory? Do you spend time looking for your glasses when they are on your nose.

Does it affect where and when you travel?

Do you not like socialising unless you have a drink?

Do you drive after drinking?

Do you get "excited" when drinking and then argumentative?

Have you become violent when drunk?

how many days per week do you not drink at all?

Do you always set time aside for drinking?

many people are completely unaware that they are alcoholics - they think their behaviour is either "normal" or acceptable to others.......

alcohol is just about the most dangerous drug you can take and it's LEGAL!!!