chang1

6 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

conclusion:   THE VACCINE DOES NOT WORK !!

yes, hard to admit, but true : VACCINES ARE NOT WORKING !!!

The cult is strong with you! 

First you need to define "work".

If you are expecting no infections or transmission then of course they don't "work".

If you mean they don't reduce hospitalizations and deaths of vaccinated people then that is a bold statement indeed. Unfortunately these kind of anti vax statements are ALWAYS A CROC OF <deleted>.

as usual I will give a chance to show the source of this devastating revelation. 

So please provide a link or two to reputable sites with the studies that prove your claim.

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

What we need is a variant which spreads like wildfire AND doesn't really kill many people, I'm sure this will come along, it's just a matter of when...

How will that help anything?

10 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Glad you're enjoying yourself stay safe

Thanks. My wife's biggest concern is that our 7 year old will be abducted for organ harvesting in China. Although I share this concern I doubt they would want him for that as there are kids much closer with easier routes to China than a locked up island.

7 hours ago, pagallim said:

I know that my comment may come across as potentially fear mongering, however just trying to put some reality into the current situation.

 

There is an element of desperation amongst some locals that whilst for most, commiting a crime would be abhorrent to them, needs must.   Not so easy targetting tourists when there are many of them and in crowds, which is certainly not the case now.   Visitors currently stand out like the proverbial sore thumb.

 

Those who do choose to come here at the moment, just need to reflect on how to make themselves as safe as possible, because sure as chips, the police aren't going to do it for you.

Do you have any figures to show it is more dangerous now? I have my doubts she was killed for money. After 10 days of biking around I have not felt at risk anywhere but we don't go far from tourist routes. I have not heard of people being mugged here before and not heard it is a problem now. Bag snatchers on bikes are a known problem so don't carry a bag of goodies around. 

7 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

To stay safe, people should just travel within there known circles and always be safe, especially right now as the Delta and who knows what new variant may be skulking about.

To stay safe is impossible, just look at Thai roads. Sooner or later you have to weigh up the risks. I'm fully vaccinated and doing the sandbox thing. I have put off things and kept away from people but now judge travel is safe enough for us to get back to normal. Until a vaccine resistant strain comes along there is very low risk to us or our hosts. The anti vaxers have done their best to keep us locked up but we are now free and they are the ones who get left out.

12 minutes ago, robbioff said:

Phuket must be getting cheaper...how do I get in?

I would like to know how the amount is known? A small point but could be important. 

9 minutes ago, Mansell said:

Where do you get this nonsense from? There is no forest there….you are about a 100 feet from the road…..and when I was there all times of year nowhere to swim because there wasn’t much water. It is a dead end road. It isn’t much of a tourist attraction. I don’t believe she found her way there on her own, she had either been there before or somebody took her there. Much more interesting places close to Ao Yon than that place. Lived there for three years and pretty much hiked the whole area. The whole story sounds like <deleted> made up by the police to me……300 baht…..what woman would lose her life for that pathetic amount? She wasn’t a youngster, and she would have just given him the money. Story has huge holes in it.

Rape and possibly drugged up sounds plausible and money just a bonus for him. 

Were you led there or did you find it yourself? Is the area mentioned in guide books?

35 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

It is curious how this time, the international press has had a great impact on the tragedy, perhaps the fact that the victim was a person of high rank and social level had an influence.  I did not see the same repercussion with previous crimes in LOS.

I think there was a bit of a stir on Ko Tao a few years ago and earlier Taksin went to Samui after a similar case there which was also quickly solved soon after - the perpetrators even had the girls shirt on their boat - conveniently. 

Someone was saying drugs should be decriminalised, on the "Robin Hood" drug dealer thread, which I can sympathise with if users only ruined their own lives. This is an extreme case of how drugs affect those around the user. 

Assuming money and not rape was the motive here would cheap freely available drugs have saved her life? I doubt it but it is certainly a debate that needs investigating. 

To me drug taking is not a problem as it is their choice and only affects the them. If he/she overdoses it's their fault. 

The problem is how it affects others - partners, children, parents, colleagues and those harmed by the violence and crimes committed and things like drug driving. 

If laws around drug use are relaxed it may reduce the crimes committed to help obtain the drugs but all the other problems will still be their. 

Did this <deleted> kill her to fund his habit or because he was already under the influence? 

There are still crimes committed connected to tobacco and alcohol but you don't hear much about robberies and murders committed by people having a joint or two. 

I can't say I  have a solution but do think crimes committed to feed a drug habit should be treated differently. Stealing a PlayStation to help feed your family is way different to stealing it to feed your habit. One is desperation and the other is desperation but the second is desperation caused by choice. 

Even the risk of a death sentence does little to deter some people so another strategy needs to be found - not because we should care about low life's like this <deleted> but because we care about our wife's, mothers, sisters and daughters!

12 hours ago, Crisu said:

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/update-suspect-in-swiss-murder-in-phuket-is-a-thai-man

 

" the suspect is in fact a 27 year old Thai man"

Easy mistake to make, I  often wonder if I  am talking with a fellow Brit or a French man.

13 minutes ago, Harsh Jones said:

 Life is full of risks. And some ppl tragically find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Should these stories should teach ppl to use a little more rigorous  judgement ? I guess so. But millions of tourists do the same thing each year without being killed. Its just the odds. The hidden game of chance in life.

Far more tourists were harmed on Thai roads than by being attacked. The difference is they don't have the same shock factor despite being far more likely to happen. I had 18 months off work due to a bus driver falling asleep but never been attacked by anyone here.

4 minutes ago, Dexxter said:

I wonder if the murderer had his phone with him and the app installed. Does the app record accurate GPS tracks online in a database or does it just record check-ins to various establishments? If it does record GPS data then just match location and time with the tracks found on the victim's phone.

I have a sneaky suspicion that the BiB may have thought of that already. 

1 minute ago, Mickeymaus said:

I lived on Samui and I loved it. The end came with the Asian (Thai) crises and the following cheap Baht. Suddenly every idiot could travel there. First I tried to escape to Phuket / Patong. But it didn't take long until this paradise was destroyed too. 

To me it was the 2 week holiday makers who came in droves after the tsunami. Coconut island became a building site full of families and louts, taxis and McDonald's all of which ruined the atmosphere and greed took over everywhere - except the small shops with there double prices which Tesco put an end to. Before that it was all long stayers like me and backpackers - great company and everyone out for a good time. Of course there was the odd upmarket hotel full of the types I despise but the bars of Lamai were mostly off limits to those snobs. I stopped going there altogether about 12 years ago but hope to get back again soon before the island is overrun with boring people again. Trouble is I will only be able to stay a couple of weeks with my family - time changes us all I suppose. Soon I  will despise myself. 

27 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

If you are looking for this then you might have found your paradise. It was like this about 30 years ago. 

I may have been 10 years too late but Samui in 2000 was paradise to me.

1 hour ago, Bohemianfish said:

My Thai wife's view is that people, men or women, should go off the beaten path (jungle, national forest) in Thailand alone. Robbery or whatnot. The same could be said for anywhere, some places where the problem is more acute than other places. A crime of opportunity, very sad. 

 

Anyone, anywhere, should be concerned going off for a hike alone. Fall, snake bite, immobilized, no one around....

You and your wife disagree then - are you missing a "not"?

Mobile phones take care of most of those concerns but lone women are at an increased risk from men, this is the real problem we should not just be concerned about but actively doing something about. Whenever boys or men talk disrespectfully about women it should be challenged like racism should.  Some of the comments on this forum are very abusive and should not be tolerated as they foster an attitude or culture that women are there for our pleasure and to be dominated. I have been brought up with this and am also guilty at times. Yesterday in a reply to one of my posts someone said that he spanks his wife if she misbehaves - an obvious joke but really I should have called it out just as if he had said his black neighbour instead of wife should be called out as being offensive. Abuse of girls and women is a worldwide problem and we should be tackling the root cause not just the symptoms.