Johpa

My bad. I stand correcte. Give the old guy a break. Heck, I am old enough to have been active on SCT in the usenet days. T'was indeed in 2001 and thus the 21st anniversary of ThaiVisa'a finest hour. It was mostly slowly downhill from that point.

This is the anniversary, actually yesterday for those in-country, of ThaVisa's finest hour in the wake of the 2011 tsunami. This forum had news of the tsunami well before the general global media and had details almost 24 hours, often longer, before the global media. Many posters here jumped into action helping to coordinate help both within the country and from abroad. It was a remarkable example of how an online community, back when it was a community, could act collectively for the common good.

Why is anyone surprised? Thailand has long been the most southern Province (มลรัฐ) of China. Once Thailand monetized in the 19th century, after folks no longer paid taxes with corvée labor, the Chinese, long familiar with a monetary system and concepts such as debt and interest, quickly filled the gaps in the economy, including becoming the tax collectors for the government. Today the Chinese, working with the sympathetic Thai-Chinese community, can easily work within the Thai economic system and avoid the legal restrictions on other foreign nationals.

Yes, invite the neighbors as luuk kop are quite the delicacy to many Knon Muang . At least it will greatly reduce the numbers and they will return the following year.

You can often find the GT-Rider maps at Mr. Mechanics in the big city or also up at the Xcenter in Mae Rim. They are an excellent complement to using online maps. When I pull out my GT-Rider maps those with only online maps always crowd around me asking where to get them.

I am not surprised by the number of Thais killed or taken hostage given the large number of Thais who work in Israel in the agricultural sector, especially on the Kibbutzim. As for the bigger picture, my own humble and worthless opinion is that both sides have long been, and still are, in the wrong. Pick a side and now you are now in the wrong as well. I highly doubt that a two state solution is viable only because the West Bank is simply not large enough to be a viable independent nation-state. A better solution, again in my worthless opinion, would to be to merge both the left bank and Gaza back into Jordan. Jordan is a "Palestinian" state as the people on both sides of the Jordan River share identical language and culture. Gaza could become the Mediterranean port for Jordan and with UN and Israeli financing the building of that port could employ many an unemployed Gazan and offer some hope to the Gazans. Unless the global community seeks out an alternative solution to the long standing horror of living in Gaza, dating back to the Egyptian occupation decades ago, the suffering on both sides will not end.

Try taking the back road to Mok Fa Waterfall off the 3009. Just after you connect with the 1095 is the Suan Mok Fah restaurant, a good lunch spot.

Both my kids were born in the US and both have Thai IDs and citizenship. They should be placed on the house list. Then they need to go to the Amphoe office, and yes sometimes it takes some tea money. And it also takes some time and repeated visits depending upon the Amphoe, but it can be done. You might need to contact your local headman or kamnaan to act as "phu yai" and grease those wheels as well.