ableguy

I felt a bit older than yesterday.

If you can believe one word of this report you need medical attention.

Simple solution for the police.

Prove you are not involved by always siding with the farang customer and always arrest the jet ski liars.

Until then WE DO NOT TRUST YOU!

Any Thai government people should be ashamed of the lack of care for tourists.

Trust me with all of this hitting the internet... The jig will soon be up.

My friend everyone in government has their nose in the trough, same military same BIB ,its a way of life, the only time I have heard a Thai complain was because they cannot get in on the act, we are looked at as nothing and if you cannot accept this you should not be here.

'...Jet ski operators should be given a 30-day amnesty in which to clean up their act. After 30-days, any infraction, scamming, agression, etc., or other behaviour which brings Thailand's diminishing reputation with tourists into disrepute and their business should be closed down and they should be banned for life from operarating a similar business'.

Dream on bro.

What's that old line about any publicity being good publicity...apparently not in this case. A pat on the back goes out to all those who posted online and helped to publicize these scams. Unfortunately, in Thailand, often the only way to bring about enough pressure for change is when a problem gets so bad that it makes the international media and the high-up officials in Bangkok finally become aware of it.

I agree with everything you say but am sceptical that this scamming will cease, I suspect a bit of noise then business as usual.

I woulg suggest four main negative factors # 4 rip off Thailand

:bah:

'Most foreigners are robbed here at one time or another'...any stats to back up that comment?

A new study published this week found that Britons travelling to Thailand face the highest risk of theft, food poisoning, traffic accidents and loss of belongings.

http://www.telegraph...zard-table.html

Happy to help.

I would hardly call 15 Jul 2006 "this week".

They crack down on this but Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy go full speed ahead. It confuses me!

and long may they do so - if they closed nana, cowboy and pattaya bars - the visitor figures to Thailand would be slightly behind Huddersfield in terms of numbers!!

Remember!! Whether youre in denial or not - Thailand IS built on rice and sex!!

Hang on a minute, I lived in Huddersfield for over 30 years and we have a good tourist area. Nora Batty's house, Sid's Cafe and I don't see many Whippets or Ferrets in Thailand.

Please pm me where I can get a pac kage tour.

So I am assuming that the police will now police Soi Cowboy and the like to arrest the daily occurrence of "Bar Fines"? Or would that cost this government to much in lost revenue?!?!

Why would the BIB police soi cowboy? this is a source of revenue for them the group sex thing just makes good news ( for some people ) the clowns who believe anything the BIB say.

Tuk-tuk drivers really are the worst cheaters of all in Thailand and their constant pestering really should have been dealt with ages ago. Nice to see that someone in power takes notice of such things (even if he doesn't respect farangs). When it comes to cheating tourists, Cambodia, Lao and Malaysia are a lot worse. I think tourists really need to stick up for themselves and refuse to take a lot of crap that these local leaches dish out on tourists on a daily basis. Sometimes people need to know when being nicey nice doesn't work with these creeps.

Sadly just a pipe dream as in LOS it is a national trait to rip off farangs.

Second attempt, forget the earthquake quacks just google positional vertigo it will explain all.

Here's an idea: Let's determine who wins the great ThaiVisa religion war by seeing which side expresses more tolerance, compassion, and understanding for the other in this thread. Winner gets eternal salvation, online bragging rights, and a Reuben sandwich on cardboard rye at the Duke's. Ready? 1...2...3...go!

I would sell my soul for a New York deli reuben sandwich right now.

I am no doctor but you could be suffering from positional vertigo, a problem that originates in a canal in the inner ear, minute pieces of protein break off the wall of the canal and touch a nerve that sends information to the brain on what your body position is taking into account many factors, the information it sends is false and causes dizziness from mild to very severe. It can happen from just sitting in one position too long, standing up, sitting down etc, etc. The problem can become accute causing vomitting and the body falling down but the symptons go away after a couple of minutes. I have had the problem for about two years but I should stress it comes and goes maybe nothing for six months and three or four problems in one week. In general nothing to get too excited about unless it becomes really severe when surgery may be needed to block off that particular inner ear canal. With me when I have a problem my eyes tend to roll but it only lasts a few seconds sometimes when lying down or sitting up in bed suddenly. Anyway hope this helps you might want to ask your doctor to consider this, all the best.

And yet another GREAT reason not to buy a condo in Thailand!

I am comfortable with a low-rise condo building in BKK. The western fault line is a few hundred km west of BKK and most earthquake waves making their way here will be medium to low frequencies, coinciding with the natural frequencies of mid-rise and high-rise buildings.

And what risk does liquifaction present? I make reference of course to the soggy ground that is Bangkok.

If I recall, and correct me if I am wrong, the the quake that leveled Kobe had three important damage characteristics;

1. The ground becoming soggy for lack of a btter term;

2. Ensuing fires;

3. Collapse of lowrise unreinforced masonry structures

And what of the fires due to downed power lines, and ruptured gas lines that will follow a mild quake? Walk along some of the side sois off of Suhkumvit and you see multiple unreinforced masonry buildings. These structures would simply crumble. The streets would be impassable for rescue vehicles.

I am particularly concerned by the potential for toxic chemical leaks. If one looks at the flood damage in the south, the amount of pertrochemicals, pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals that have spread out and now contaminate the soil and ground water is frightening. Of course, not a word of this aspect of the floods gets mentioned in the local media. Imagine if the chemical tanks at some of the Bangkok region's manufacturers ruptured. Is Bangok able to deal with massive releases of Chorine or ammonia gases? How about strong acids or caustic chemicals?

Mummy, I'm scared.

Go home pussy

Most Thai laws need updating but why bother ? nobody seems to care about laws.

If its up north just parade around in a pro yellow shirt if down south a pro red one, should make life and your vist a little more interesting...

FYI, there is a North and South Issan. Besides the red shirts are not just from the North. Perhaps one of the largest concentrations of their support is Si Sa Ket.

Try and get out of the Sukhumvit ghetto once and a while and turn off the TV and actually go somewhere in Thailand for a change.

WOW are we a bit cranky or what ?

Normally one says that "alcohol was involved" when talking about road safety figures as it is often impossible to apportion blame in an incident entirely to any one party.

Unless a farang is involved then the case is cut and dsried.

I still swoon over a good Yorkshire lass with a proper set of udders.

Awesome. Simply awesome.

I once traveled up as far north as Derby, and I do recall that the local gals seemed nicer than those from down south.

If only I'd gone even further north to Yorkshire.................

We dont care fir you bloody Southerners messing with our Yorkshire lasses so bugger off

I think maybe you all should read the story of The English man Richard Hewitt - who was locked up at Pattaya Police Station. If it wasn't for Tracy Cosgrove (Melissa Cosgrove Childrens Foundation) he would still be there. He had no help from the British Embassy. Andrew Drummond wrote the story.

He was there because of what he had been pushing down his throat or into his arm, a truly pathetis individual.

"He has tried to send many letter from Thailand to the UK but they never seem to get through."

Tell him to try the internet. I find it nearly 100% effective.

plus letter to the uk cost around 100 THB Plus, although you can find an internet cafe for 10 THB...... as oer last post... SCAM

So did you give him the 3,000 THB to get his new passport????

Actually a 10 gram airmail to the UK costs 17 baht airmail or 12 baht surface.

50 grams works out at 45 and 30 baht.

Of course if you need to buy a pen, paper, envelope etc. better give him 100 baht!

Yes but if you want it to get there it must go registered cost 74 baht, dont register it and it will be stolen for the value of the stamp, sad but true.

Check out the Nilawan Soi 67, 5min walk to stunning beach, 5 min Tesco and Mall, 7 to 8 min downtown and they have really good food, I live here and we go to eat there often super nice people, I would say 15 min toall other good beaches on a bike. e mail info@nilawanguesthouse.,com Good luck

Because Sukhumvit is a magnet for crazy people

Just the tip of the iceberg. Bangkok is crawling with these scumbags. I hope the cops etc name and shame the scum.

Maybe the scum should name and shame the cops, or someone should they dont come much worse.

There should be dedicated areas, strictly enforced, for throwing water.

I wish I could be police chief in my town of Chiang Rai for the 10 days of water throwing. I would provide my men with 500 plastic handcuffs each, and instruct them to disable all water throwers who were outside the designated water throwing areas. The offenders would be strung, wrist to wrist, for hundreds of meters, and cut loose after a minimum 5 hours detention. Second offenders would be strung until a day after the water throwing is over.

Too harsh? Not as harsh a penalty as befalls the people (mostly young women) who are thrown off their moving motorbikes by a bucket full of water thrown full force, at point-blank range by a strong young man.

Trying to lessen the harm of Songkran in Thailand, is like trying to lessen the rip offs by jet-ski operators and tuk tuk drivers in Phuket. It can't happen, because authorities are culturally castrated from being effective. They have the testicular fortitude of eunuchs - unable to stand up to rowdies.

Being a bit harsh on the eunuchs are we not ?

ban the use of the big vinyl pipe watercannon and strictly enforce it. they are banned in pattaya but you can see them being used everywhere and the police do nothing.

How do they kill people with these ?