trainman34014

It's going to take Britain 7 years to build High Speed 2 and that is only 120 miles long. How long will it take Thailand to build a railway anything between four and seven times as long and what will the final cost be?

In a country where they can't even get the ordering right for a few School Tablets for kids how are we supposed to believe that the Thai's could manage such a huge undertaking considering the high tech required. We all know that the Chinese and the Jap's are clever but will they be able to convince Thai 'Engineers' that they know best?

I've said it before and I'll say it again....this won't happen in my lifetime.

That explains everything...

Better an empty purse than an empty head (German proverb).

Never heard that....How is it in German language?

No idea; but in Thai it reads.......Better an empty head than an empty purse !

Another expensive junket for all the entourage and another photo' call for 'Miracle Thailand's' finest political 'Wonder Woman'.

Not far from Dubai either, so I'm sure there will be a meeting of huge importance in the family clan.

thai airways still the best service from LHR.

in economy the leg room is excellent,service second to none(meals and drinks are served very quickly compared to every other airline i've flown with).

the fact that you don't have to go through the 2/3 hour's of hell waiting in the arab airports is also a plus factor.

yes,the prices can be slightly higher but you can find some good deals if you're prepared to look.

Thai's prices from LHR are fine,and I used to use them a lot, but if you're booking FROM Thailand forget them because there are many cheaper deals. It always amazes me that they are so un-competitive flying out of their own hub.

Wifey has a cousin that is mortgaged up to the eyeballs with the Bank, Husband works all the overtime available and still skint the day after being paid because the Mrs spends every satang on 'keeping up with the Jones's', going to Temple and bunging dosh there to receive 'good luck' and various other types of gambling. She's tried to borrow half a million Baht from me on several occasions but I won't have anything to do with it so she tells Wifey she married the wrong Farang !

Anyway; every month she borrows 5,000 Baht from a woman in the market and has to pay back 6,000 every time. Two months ago she couldn't pay so the woman sent three heavies to ask for the keys to Hubbys BMW, otherwise every window in the house gets smashed along with anyone who gets in the way. With this she fell at the feet of her neighbour, a Spicy Meat Seller and he paid them off plus another 500 Baht. Wifey tells me she is not sure how Cousin is paying back the meat seller, but thinks he is probably getting a different kind of meat in return !

And what do they intend to do with these 880 Dogs? Chances are corrupt officials will end up selling a lot of them to where they were intended to go in the first place !

Majority of those 'death free' provinces are predominately Muslim. Probably the lowest accident Songkran count in them every year. Less drunk motorists

Too busy making Bombs !

OP: I was walking out of California Wow at the Airport Plaza @ 10:30am and the sound was the first thing to alert me?... "man that sounds like an American Fighter" ok my years (1st Gulf War Vet) on a USAFBase in late 80s helped where we had F-16's but when I saw the jet I was pretty sure it was a Falcon/F-16. The F-15 is a Navy jet and larger....think movie "Top Gun"....pretty sure it was an USAF made fighter and I doubted it was F-18...think Blue Angels in USA in the past...

Likely F-16...less expensive, less advanced, air to air fighter and can assist ground troops or close air support...F-16 is a hell of a jet but its as old as the Space Shuttle Program or near

just my 2 cents...

The F16 is still a front line fighter in many Air Forces even though it is old tech'. The Dutch do fab' routines with them at European Airshows every year. BTW the Aircraft used in 'Top Gun' were F14 Tomcats. The F15 is an Airforce jet and the F18 is a Navy jet.

Nirut reportedly confessed to causing the deaths. "But I didn't intend to kill them. Only those who drank all the coffee in their cups died," he said.

WELL after one died shouldn't he have worked out the best option would have been to lower the dosage as most people drink a full cup? These robbers really need to go to school before they start their criminal career! I am quite happy to drink six cups. And I like my coffee very bitter so I would not have thought poison.

You would have saved him from buying you another five cups then !

My wife says its Thai name is as best as I can put the Thai in English, Tarng lagum, she says it is harmless, gets its name due to its markings looking like a new shoot on the lagum plant.

Unusual; Thai wive's normally just want to flatten all Snakes on sight !

If he is so astute at using chemicals, then maybe they can strap him down in the execution chamber and let him administer the lethal injections himself.

Bit late for that....he's dead already !

I see Reliant 3 wheeler's and Bubble Cars are not on the list. Time to start an import business that would <snip> up a few Thai brain's !

Seriously though; what I wonder is how the Asean agreement affects all this protectionism in Thailand. I probably need to read more but if it's going to be an open borders EU style arrangement will it not be easier for people like Proton to flood cars into the Kingdom from just over the border without incurring huge import levi's?

If anyone knows the Poison Dwarfs address I bet he gets a lot of very interesting mail !

No thanks mate; I bake my own. I don't put free ad's on TV to try and sell them either !

I well remember my Father telling me that he and his RAF mates were ordered to bury B17's and Mustangs delivered to the Western Desert of Egypt as they were delivering far more than was needed by 1943. Just three years before they were out in the same Desert looking for any Aircraft, British, German or Italian that could be salvaged as they were so short of parts and materials. They couldn't even get Nuts and Bolts.

I guess after the War a few Arabs got rich on Scrap Metal !

Looks pretty boring and silly. I do hope everyone had a good time, but I truly don't see the draw. Playing with water guns stopped being fun for me and my friends and other countrymen when we were about 12 or 13 years old...

Looks pretty boring and silly. I do hope everyone had a good time, but I truly don't see the draw. Playing with water guns stopped being fun for me and my friends and other countrymen when we were about 12 or 13 years old...

Mine ended when my first Cowboy outfit and plastic six shooter,water pistol wore out,around 5 or 6 years old.

You mean you didn't move up to a Double Barrel Shotgun with Corks? I knew a bloke who moved on from there to sawn off ones and walking into Bank's with the trusty Mk2 Jaguar getaway Car outside. Much more fun than Water Pistols !

Can you really imagine walking around when you go out to visit a park carrying a "Tax Receipt" - Do Thai even know what one is?

I don't just imagine it, everyone I know in this situation does it, why do you find it surprising?

Every person working legally in Thailand receives their tax receipt (no need for quotes) from their employer every year. That includes the Thais of course, so yes they know what it is.

Or do you think it's just not worth worrying about a piddling few hundred baht?

PS This sometimes even works at private places with dual pricing, like Ocean World. But less so, since the justification about tax dollars doesn't really apply.

PPS Love your user name, do you give or just receive?

Now let me see; do I have all the things I may need to get into the park for half price? Right, got my Passport, Thai Driving Licence, House Yellow Book, Tax Receipts, Thai Bank Card, Bank Statement, Wife Et al. Ahh; it's Songkran so maybe I should put all these things,bar the Mrs,in a plastic bag in case I get drenched on the way. No; maybe I should put each item in seperate bags in case water gets in the one big one ! Oh &lt;deleted&gt;, I will just forget all this crap, stop being a Cheap Charlie, and pay the full price.

'Frequent use of Brakes and Yawning'. Seems to me I meet Thai drivers doing this almost every day !

Basically; New Year is an overdone thing in Thailand. First there is the traditional New years Eve celebrations on Dec' 31st, then Chinese New Year in February, and then Songkran in April. It's nuts and just reasons to get pissed and act like uncontrollable dorks. If the Thai's need a reason for an extra holiday in April and a few days off work why not just have a Bank Holiday weekend. No need for all the water throwing and additional drunken lunacy which leads to violent behaviour and multiple road deaths. Most of the Thai's around our way, and in my Wife's old village, just stay indoors until the lunatics are back in the asylum.

Bring Thaksin back quickly please and let's move on....he is a man who got things done for the country (whilst enriching himself and his cronies) which to me is better than some other useless dope like Abhisit who got nothing done (while enriching himself and his cronies).... Besides which, the country cannot be reconciled until he comes back

He got things done alright. He was in charge of the military when top brass killed nearly 100 young Muslim men unnecessarily. He oversaw a campaign which killed nearly 2,000 people (alleged dope pushers) extrajudicially. He got things done in terms of hiding assets, and avoiding paying taxes whenever possible. He got things done when he went to neighboring countries and cemented lucrative deals for his personal corporations. ....and those are just a few of the things we know about. Would be interesting if he ever 'came clean' and told us about all the things he successfully hid from the rest of us. He surely tried mightily to hide as much as possible. That's not the type of person Thailand needs to lead them on to the future. He should follow his own advice, and stay out of politics - but that's impossible for a self-glorifying rich man who's on a non-stop campaign to amass as much wealth as he can.

Maybe he's going to write a book revealing all his sins once he comes back and 'retires'. I'm sure it would be a best seller and would be legal money he was earning for a change !

Nearly an hour of decent rain in Hang Dong tonight. Hoping for more.

'Match Making' by Thai's or anyone else can be a disaster waiting to happen for numerous reasons. Winnie; suppose your Mrs finds a Farang for her Sister and he turns out to be a Bum who likes knocking Women around. I'm sure the family will be very grateful that your wife brought this into being by her interference !

Both I and my Mrs get constant requests to 'fix up' women both in and outside of her family but we shrug it off and tell them to learn English and go find their own. Better you have words with your other half and explain a few pitfalls methinks.

There is a Thai Airways Pilot in my wife's family whom I meet from time to time. He is a senior Captain with 14 years experience and he tells me it's only his age and the fact that his family are his pride and joy that keep him working for Thai. Many of his friends have gone to work for Middle Eastern Airlines where the money and conditions are far better. They are trying to recruit (poach?) a lot of Thai Airways pilots to initially take the Co-pilot's seat. Companies like Emirates are expanding at a very fast pace and offer high cash incentives, so for the younger man eager to improve his status and earning capabilities it seems a better prospect. Me thinks Thai are running short of happy crews and it is starting to show.