trainman34014

Thanks for the warning, I'm arriving at swampy on the morning of the third. I guess this means I should buy a bottle of whiskey (or two) at the duty free shop in-case I feel the need to have a drink!

Yes,

Considering the various reports of airport scams: delays at customs, drug setups, theft set up at giftshops, thieving customs officers, limosine touts, taxi meter scam..ect ect

you might need several stiff ones!!

AHH just joking!! never had the slightest hint of any of the above after many trips (but i had to say it since TIT(visadotcom)

Might want to save the whiskey to buy at 7/11 or Big C while here though, havent noticed any better prices at the airports.

Have a good trip and welcome to LOS

(that would be land of smiles...NOT land of scams!!)

Decent booze is still cheaper at Duty Free, and at least you know it's not some scammed watered down piss that you just might get passed on to you here.

A very useful document which saves so much time,hassle and money. Go get one today !

It's good here though about how they check the signature matches the one on the card several times though. You can never be too careful.

I have never seen my signature checked against my card in all the years I've been both visiting and living here. They don't care about that because as long as the machine clears the card and issues the doc's they have finished as far as they are concerned. Never had the problem the OP talks about either.

I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories but why doesn't the US and the UK tell the current Libyan government to hand the captured sons of Kaddafi over to some International Court ? Surely, the US and the UK still have enough leverage there to make Libyans agree to that.

I am sure the sons of Kaddafi have substantial info about the Lockerbie bombing. So, here is my question again : Why don't these 2 countries go for a legal offensive ?

The last thing the US and the UK want is for Gadaffi's son to stand trial in an international court. Just as the last thing they wanted was for Al-Megrahi's appeal to take place, which was why the deal was done to release him from prison in Scotland.

And it just so happens that BP signed a huge contract with Gaddafi the very day after he arrived in Libya !

Some people seem to have missed the part about this being a railway focusing on passenger travel. You can't run freight services at 300 kph and you can't fit them between 300kph passenger train services either. Methinks that their thinking is that the old lines would continue as is with slow everything. They also mention building the new line parallel to the old one and that's impossible because it winds its way around and up and down Mountains. The new line will have to be largely straight and a hell of a lot of tunneling through the Mountains will be required. Such an undertaking will take a thousand years to pay for itself, and all in all, it's just not worth the time and effort.

Joking apart; go out there when it's dark and piss around the street area of your house. Animals smell that and will not leave deposits there. Same goes for your lawns if you get trouble with Cats.

Even Tesco have a pretty decent selection.

There can't be many men that have not given money to or been scammed by a woman or women in their own country. Who ever heard of having a woman who didn't want your money, if you allowed them to get their hands on it?

When I first started surfing the 'dating' sites some years ago (I was 50's) I had women from all over Asia who wanted to be my 'friend' very quickly. I started playing the field with Filipino, Thai, Chinese etc etc and within a fairly short time the majority of Thai girls were asking for money. I say the majority because there were a few that didn't but they were not from Issan or related to poor families anywhere in the country. They were the ones that were a bit older (30's up) and had decent jobs, and their priorities were not particularly geared to fast bucks. They already had their own computers and had taught themselves some English. The poor ones were using Internet Cafe's. The range of money the girls asked for was between a few hundred Baht and 500,000 Baht to buy a new car. I can say that none of the Chinese girls I had relationships with, and there were a good few trips to China, never once asked me for money. They always said they would like a responsible man that would love them and have a long term stable relationship. I would point out that none of these girls were from poor families either and I think this is the key with the large numbers of Thai girls who are on the make. It's to do with the amount of poor families that exist in Thailand where all the pressure is put on the young girls to provide for the family. It may be true that they think we Farang are all stupid, and indeed some really are, but the main driving force is family pressure and they will do anything to relieve that constant burden.

May i suggest u find a new gf that u dont have to pay,itsd not that hard

I don't need a girlfriend thanks; I've been happily married for four years and apart from normal expenses I've never paid a bad or stupid satang !

Did he/she pay the usual bribe to the judges?

Only effective anti corruption campaign possible in Thailand would be to take all the politicians, civil servants, policeman, etc, put them in a giant boat, haul it out in the middle of the ocean and sink it.

Diesel is too expensive and will be needed to drive propeller's in the floods; also each crew member would want minimum 300 Baht per day and a liferaft. Bullets are cheaper these days and there are plenty of walls in Bangkok !

There can't be many men that have not given money to or been scammed by a woman or women in their own country. Who ever heard of having a woman who didn't want your money, if you allowed them to get their hands on it?

When I first started surfing the 'dating' sites some years ago (I was 50's) I had women from all over Asia who wanted to be my 'friend' very quickly. I started playing the field with Filipino, Thai, Chinese etc etc and within a fairly short time the majority of Thai girls were asking for money. I say the majority because there were a few that didn't but they were not from Issan or related to poor families anywhere in the country. They were the ones that were a bit older (30's up) and had decent jobs, and their priorities were not particularly geared to fast bucks. They already had their own computers and had taught themselves some English. The poor ones were using Internet Cafe's. The range of money the girls asked for was between a few hundred Baht and 500,000 Baht to buy a new car. I can say that none of the Chinese girls I had relationships with, and there were a good few trips to China, never once asked me for money. They always said they would like a responsible man that would love them and have a long term stable relationship. I would point out that none of these girls were from poor families either and I think this is the key with the large numbers of Thai girls who are on the make. It's to do with the amount of poor families that exist in Thailand where all the pressure is put on the young girls to provide for the family. It may be true that they think we Farang are all stupid, and indeed some really are, but the main driving force is family pressure and they will do anything to relieve that constant burden.

Only a little? All those little's add up to a lot !

I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma

I've lived in the North (CM) for more than a decade and never heard anything else than Myanmar.

Then you don't get out often enough !

Just 1 simple question:

How can it be that the price for let's say minced pork in Thailand is higher than in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands the transportation costs are higher, the costs of holding and feeding the pigs are higher, etc.etc.

So how can this be? Some people in Thailand are getting incredible rich of selling pork.

Just a few years ago the price was half of the price it is now. Sure transportation costs have maybe doubled, but the transportation costs are not 100% of the price of pork!

Can someone explain this to me? Or am I correct that some people who control the pork business are getting very very rich?

Supply and demand. The Chinese are now consuming more Pork than at any time in their history as more Chinks become 'Middle Class' and want to eat meat instead of the old diet of Rice, Noodles, Vegetables,Soup in any combination. Other Countries in the region and on the Sub-Continent are also eating a lot more Pork and the supply is shrinking, so the price will naturally rise. In the next year or two your mince will become a lot more expensive than it is now.

Off topic really but I've lived in the North of the country now for 4.4 years and I've never heard a Thai refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. They always call it Burma and the people Burmese.

Just for the record, Wifey thinks that Siam is a much nicer name than Thailand. She also thinks that Myanmar should be changed back to Burma !

>> Where do you find your Ground Almonds?

> At the bottom of a grinder.

My mom made everything from scratch (yes pickles), but never suggested home-made marzipan, I doubt it would come out the same as what I'm used to.

Of course you blanche and peel the almonds first right?

Wouldn't want dark flecks of bitter wood taste.

Tried that but the flavour isn't right. Hoping to find bagged ones in Hong Kong next month.

Please report on prices back here. Not shaped, flavored or colored, just the raw ingredient, I used to get a Swedish brand in log form for not much at all, I think 1/2 a kg each for just a few dollars.

Johnny; what do you want me to report on...the price of Ground Almonds or the price of Marzipan, if available?

All eager to get their noses back in the trough....that's if they were ever out of it.

By 2050 the whole City will have sunk so why bother filling in a few holes?

weird that those people do not take the boat to Cambodia after a robbery.

Why bother when you know you can pay your way out of trouble using the cash you nicked in the first place !

Big slabs of cheddar cheese and pickles at Macro.

Plenty of large slabs of Cheddar in our Makro !

Eyeball corruption v Taste corruption.....

Walk into a bar where there is an ugly old bat serving and after eight pints she will look a whole lot better then when you got there.

Come and live in Thailand and the beer tastes like piss but eight years later it tastes a whole lot better than when you got here !

From UK ordinary Air Mail; anything between 5 and 18 days.

Bakewell pudding,delicious and a great place to visit....real England

Or do you mean a tart made famous by Lyons and Mr Kipling.

Nah; I'm talking about the ones that used to be made by my Mum, and later by me. in England where I could get all that I needed anytime. Nice picture.