trainman34014

Jealousy mainly. In my home country the 'lower classes', for want of an expression, are always bitching about people who have got anything that they don't have.

I brought my family up to believe that with hard work anything is possible no matter your family history of perhaps working class roots. I think it is true to say that there are many more Thai's than my fellow countrymen who have inherited wealth previously gathered through nepotistic means or corruption. However; that's the way it works in Asia generally and i just can't see the point in jealousy at all. What good has it ever done anyone? Happiness is not about what you want; it is about wanting what you have.

She just thinks another uniform with even more medals on it than the white one would look cool. You can only laugh at these perpetual jokers really; i mean, the Woman can't do one job properly so how can she possibly do two? War is a disgusting and terrible thing but this sort of comical behaviour by people who are apparently the brightest sparks in the country just makes you want to see a neighbouring country invade Thailand just to see how they deal with it.....apart from running away !

When you want to get into power you need to have someone to hold your banner as you give the banter.

The rice farmers believed they were chosen to wave the flag for a modern day Joan D'Arc but as she was burnt at the stake then perhaps the farmers now realise that you can't have your cake and eat it.

Farmers live in an inclusive society what their neighbours think they must show to be part of that brigade if not woe betide them.

The lot cannot realise that they have been hoodwinked for the farmers do believe in trusting nature however they are not geared to handle the responsibility of cash, it is the paradox that has held them so far.

Anger comes to them as soon as Lao Khao is poured it is a white powerful substance that has led them to the road to ruin.

Rice is the staple food of Thailand to have it contaminated is to tell the Thais you are no longer the chosen ones

It is a rare thing to believe that farmers can be hoodwinked quite as badly as this. I am sure the red propaganda machine is going into overdrive in the villages, but at the end of it all, this whacks them straight in the pocket. Not easy to put a spin on that one.

The red propaganda machine doesn't even need to get out of first gear in the villages. No matter how they get whacked in the pocket, or beaten around the head if it came to it, they will never vote for the Democrats as they never have, and never will see them as the party that will help the Rural communities. You have to live in a more Rural area to understand their thought patterns and what is happening now is to put pressure on this bunch of morons they like to think are in power to help them. They do not want to get rid of them, they just want them to keep their promises no matter if it bankrupts the country in the process, because the mighty poison dwarf in Dubai promised them they would all be rich in six months if they gave PT a landslide victory at the Polls. Most of the country folk still believe the way to financial heaven is to bring back the great messiah and give him back the reigns. They are almost completely unshakable in their faith in him.

Different facts to separate.

1) Thai bank fee:

all Thai Banks with the known exception of AEON keep a fee for each ATM transaction with a foreign card.

The fee has been risen from 150 THB to 180 THB a short time ago.

With the maximum amount of 20000 THB on most ATMs that comes close to 1%.

Bangsters!

2) Issuing bank fee:

has been discussed above. I am not from UK or US and it would not help you to get tips on german banks,

But as in UK or US there are german banks which do not charge a fee for ATM transactions and also reimburse the Thai bank fee on application.

3) Exchange rate:

the rate is usually determined by the debit/credit card organisation.

For European VISA it can be looked up here:

http://www.visaeurope.com/en/cardholders/exchange_rates.aspx

For US VISA:

http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp?src=ex_rez

BUT:

some Thai banks do so called "Dynamic Currency Conversion" (DCC).

NEVER use such ATMs (they are usually marked).

DCC means: the Thai bank does the currency exchange to your currency using their own rates and charge the card with your currency. The exchange rates used are terrible and would probably fullfil the criminal offence of exortion (I do not know whether they are publicised in the internet).

With the bad exception of DCC the exchange rates are identical whichever ATM you use.

They are determined by the credit card company and not the Thai bank.

4) Cash in at the bank counter

Often you read the advice: walk into the banks branch and cash the money at the desk showing your debit/credit card and passport (looking like no fee is charged).

Don't do that!

This is not an ATM transaction (but a cash forward?) and will always result in much higher fees (rude awakening when the statement comes in).

Am i wrong in believing that merchants need your permission to convert using DCC? I've had a couple of friends tell me recently that Tesco/Lotus have been using the DCC method without asking permission to do so. Upon challenging this with management they were told that this is now the new method applied in all Tesco/Lotus stores upon orders from above. I haven't checked it out with my banks but i'm sure i've read previously that merchants cannot do this without the customers permission.

Perhaps the Cabinet-Meeting was called, to learn how they were supposed to spin the collapse of the rice-scam, some years earlier than the Big Boss had intended ?

One looks forward to hearing the views, of the recently-silent one, with interest. Who will he blame ?

Must be the rest of the World's fault for rigging the price of rice so Thailand loses it's number 1 exporter tag. Conspiracy to assist Vietnam, India, Et al push Thailand down the rankings and damage the Thai economy. Those pesky foreigners again !!

Hopefully Chalerm didn't go all that way just to be rebuffed again.

"By my calculations, the core money is not worth much more than US$500 million at today's liquidation value, and Thaksin's capacity to hold on to the debt is diminishing fast, by the day. So, in brief, his net worth has declined from a notional figure of US$5 billion to the present value of US$500 million," said the international financier, who asked not to be named.

He is even selling his Hong Kong real-estate.

Look like he is refilling his bank account through diplomatic pouches from those aspiring for a turn at the trough.

http://psmp3.com/play.php?id=YQp8jwRcoDo&t=Thaksin Thaksin held 2 luxurious paties in Hong Kong

Check out how pissed Chalerm is at the end

That's hilarious. He can hardly stand up. Scary too that the old drunk has power.

That boy needs to stop drinking that ear medicine. By the way; it's scary that any of these incompetent, corrupt, conniving clowns have power !

Thanks for the heads up as i've been thinking about trying it. However; it seems to be no love at first bite, or last bite for that matter. Think i'll stick to The Dukes, The Hideaway, Implaplao, and all the other places i know are a lot better.

Rode my bike through three local village's this morning and counted 14 rubbish fires and two more fires lit by farmers to clear undergrowth. That's the most i have seen on any one morning in five and a half years, 3-4 is the normal count, so things aren't improving, they are getting worse.

I know this is not the book section....but I find it relevant here.

I stumbled across this book with an open mind from a very sceptical background.

" Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander, M.D. A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife.

An amazing story from a highly educated person who also did not only disbelieve religion and everything that goes with it.....but he had hard core belief that there is no soul and what we think of ourselves is just the brain doing its job.

After his personal experience of being on life support and virtually "brain dead" he recalls his experiences in this book.

Now I have doubts.

Worth the read.......don't knock it 'till you try it.

Cheers.

I've had two friends in my lifetime that have had near death experiences; one so close to apparent death that his wife was told to gather the family at his Hospital bed because he would not last the night. However; he pulled through and some months later i just had to ask him if he knew what was going on at the time, or if there were any silver lined stairways, or doors with his passed relatives standing waiting for him, or was he up in the corner of the ceiling looking down on himself, yada yada. He told me he knew absolutely nothing and that it was all a blank until he woke up 30 odd hours later, so he would not have known he was dying, or even dead. The other person told me the same and from their personal experiences they were pretty sure there is nothing there 'on the other side'. I guess there is only one way we will ever know for sure....or not know !!

All this reminds me of conversations i used to have with my Father many years ago about life and death. His theory was that the difference between heaven and hell, is that hell is what you are living, so you shouldn't worry about death...because that's heaven. Takes some thinking about.

He also said he thought that Jesus was a Space Man sent from a World in another Galaxy. His reasoning was that we Humans were probably a very bad lot bounced out of this other World and dumped on the nearest usable Planet. Again; takes some thinking about.

Three posts have mentioned Mainland cheese. I went back again to Rimping Nim City. Still couldn't find it and I looked in all 3 areas where they keep cheese. Which Rimping can I find it in and are there any other shops that keep it?

I buy my Mainland in BIg C. They've got three grades with the 'Vintage' being the strongest and tastiest, 250 g for 175 Baht, the other two being 165 Baht for the same weight. Haven't yet seen this new 'Epicure' yet though but would imagine it will show up before long.

12 Month Mainland is selling on special at Woolies in OZ for $5.95 a kilo. Not great but OK - I got 3k. Normal price is $10/k for this age. 36month is about 15$/k. So CM prices are higher but I think still worth it in view of how hard it is to get good cheese in CM at an ok price.

After you have lived here long enough cheese that tastes like crap back home starts to taste good.

Rather like the beer !!

Best beef i've ever tasted used to be in the U.S, where i believe the animal to be a 'steer' as opposed to a 'Bull'. I'm no expert but i always found U.S. steaks to be a lot more tender than any other i ever tried in more than 50 other countries.

I find the best way to do Australian beef is roast it slowly wrapped in foil with sliced onion and garlic. Also good for beef casserole in the oven chopped into chunks with veg's and gravy. If i have any beef chunks left over i use them to make steak and kidney pies. Christ; now i feel hungry !!

Will try to explain a route to a really good body and paint man but unfortunately don't have his phone details.

Off 108, past Hang Dong Market and turn right at the top toward Ban Dong. Carry on past back entrance to 'Rungaroon 3' Moo Bahn, then Ban Dong Temple entrance on your left as you bear left into village. Take first right next to a corner shop on your left and you are now in a quite narrow soi. Proceed to the end and turn left into a further narrow soi and then on about 350 m. Next to end place on the right of this soi you will see what looks like a yard with a few vehicles in it. Give him a shout or he will be working in the yard. English no good so need your seat cover with you. I know many who have used him and they praise him to the skies. I pass every day on my bike and have seen a lot of his work which appears excellent to me. Don't know about price but would think reasonable from what i've been told.

I had a battery replaced on Super Hiway 11 and 1006 and told them I wanted to keep the old one. They took it 4x, basically every time I looked away, and finally I had them put it in the back of my SUV and closed the back. After paying I came back to the car to find they had taken it out and closed the door behind them! I got it back and gave it to my gardner so he could sell for a little extra money for himself. Last time I went to a little shop on 1001 near Mae Jo and the nice young guy offered me 400 bht for my old battery, so like people all over the world there are good and bad, just nice to find the good ones.

Yep; a nice little earner for the battery boys. Our local recycle man is offering 600 Baht for a used battery this weekend.

Batteries don't last long here if you don't look after them. Check the distilled water level frequently and get yourself a battery tester so you know when it's almost time to replace it. Keeping a set of jump leads handy is also recommended. Keeping the car covered or under cover when not in use does help make certain things last longer. You should also check your tyre pressures at least once a month too as rubber/nylon breaks down faster in tropical conditions.

I know some folks just don't understand anything mechanical but a little bit of common sense and care will keep your motoring stress free.

Makro have good quality Australian beef but i don't use it to make burgers. At the price you have to pay for beef here, making burgers from it just seems a waste of good meat. Just sayin'.

Three posts have mentioned Mainland cheese. I went back again to Rimping Nim City. Still couldn't find it and I looked in all 3 areas where they keep cheese. Which Rimping can I find it in and are there any other shops that keep it?

I buy my Mainland in BIg C. They've got three grades with the 'Vintage' being the strongest and tastiest, 250 g for 175 Baht, the other two being 165 Baht for the same weight. Haven't yet seen this new 'Epicure' yet though but would imagine it will show up before long.

A relevant story (I think) to boosta's original post:

I know a Thai lady who was born at the same time as the 'killing fields' were taking place in neighbouring Cambodia but she knows nothing of Pol Pot and the KR.

I'm not being judgemental of anybody. Just a statement of fact.

My wife who is approaching her 50th birthday knew next to nothing about Pol Pot and the KR until i explained what had happened in Cambodia and got her to watch a couple of recorded documentaries i had obtained. She knew even less about the Japs and WW2 until i took her to see the graves of my two relatives at Kanchanaburi. Many Thai's live in a kind of vacuum through their childhood and some continue to do so for almost their entire lives; they are brought up to know so little about what goes on in the outside world that when they get older they actually avoid news from afar. Even now, my wife would never dream of watching any international news as she says..'Why i want to know about that when it not affect my life? '. It's a sad thing but they would rather watch 100 channels of junk than watch most factual programs about either history or current affairs.

What parts of Bangkok are due to go under first? Nothing in the article, of course, to provide any indication. Anybody remember those artist sketches a year or so ago of the underwater Bangkok? Giant pods floating on the water and connected by water taxis. Think I'd rather relocate to Khon Kaen.

It's sinking to the East; so lets call that the stern end shall we. Better get up West toward the bow and make sure you gather lifebelts on the way.

Internet sucks, whatever you do for many it became a serious addiction. People addicted to forums have lack of social life, and since most Thai gfs are pretty useless for a good discussion not hard to understand why TV meets a need !

you can only shag for so long

Whoever told you that was a party pooper !