Johpa

the economist journalist put into much more eloquent words what I have been talking to friends about for some months now.....in particular the in-built mechanism to ensure no big party has dominance or popularity. government can only be formed with coalition of 3 or even more parties. a lot more room to manuveur with the various players, as opposed to trying to deal with one person, one party who doesnt need the seats from other parties to form government.

to put simply:

in the past prior TRT, the cake was 3 pounds..but split maybe 5 shares

TRT era: cake still 3 pounds, shared with none

many were missing out...so obviously not happy.

The Economist journalist does not have a clue.

The "in-built mechanism" simply insures that the long-standing ruling elite composed of the old high Sakdina families, many now intermarried with their partners in the Bangkok Sino-Thai business community (banks , etc) , and their hired protectors in the military and police (neo-Samurai) will not be excluded again from obtaining what they perceive as their fare share of the pie (or cake) as politics is still perceived in Thailand as the art of kin muang.

Their real fear is not another greedy Thaksin who refused to share the pie sufficiently (the real sufficiency economy), as they are all probably secretly envious of the Shinawats, but the fear that a future political candidate with charisma, perhaps one with good intentions, could use "populist" democratic sentiment to take away their pie altogether. What they really fear is a Thai version of Hugo Chavez.

Any financial news outlet, Economist; Wall St Journal; Financial Times is ten times more reliable than the vested interest rest of the pack. Plainly speaking, economics and figures do not (usually) lie.

I was surprised to learn that this new & improved "Constitution" is Thailand's 18th since absolute monarchy was abolished.... Another one written in sand...?

Constitution's written in the sand perhaps are fitting for those with their heads buried in same. The Economist. Wall St Journal, and Financial Times like to take economic data and statistics and explicate them in a manner to promote their own rather conservative vested interests, exactly like the rest of the pack.

I would spend my buck for the best local fresh coffee, what starbucks offer wasn’t in my itinerary, if starbucks are really good I would rather grind my own coffee beans.

I can't remember exactly which month is the harvest, but ask around and then visit some villages up in the hills above Chiang Mai and you can purchase your own Arabica fresh "green" beans and then you can keep them sealed in a freezer and take out small amounts and roast them yourself in a wok under low heat.

Flew Air Asia return BKK to CNX. Beware that Air Asia has significantly lower luggage weights allowed than do international flights so you might get hit with some surcharges that make the ticket no great bargain.

Just broke my cherry recently at Suwannaphum, after nearly three decades of annual usage of Don Muang, and I too have no major complaints. The plane did not park at a gate which was a bit odd seeing that most gates were unused. Immigration was little different than at Don Muang apart from the feeling I was waiting in line in an underground parking lot. The late night arrival went smoothly and it was easy to find the signs to the metered taxis at the lower level. I had one or two fairly polite requests for taxi service from the usual taxi touts outside of customs, but nothing terribly obnoxious.

Next morning returned for the domestic leg and again all went smoothly and the departure was a breeze. Again plane was parked away from the terminal despite most gates being unused. The return was the same but baggage was slow to arrive and complaints were to be heard by both foreigners and Thais in light of their only being two arrivals during that hour. One must ask what is the point a new domestic terminal when no domestic carriers are willing to pay gate fees?

The International departure check-in was perhaps the largest improvement over Don Muang, followed by the biggest disappointment, the forced walk through the lengthy Kings Power Duty Free Mall to get to the gate. This aspect really is a travesty and an embarrassment to the Kingdom. And I would be really pissed off if I were a transit passenger provided with no options to sit apart from the brutally uncomfortable seats at the departure gates. This same philosophy of design has also afflicted Narita Airport, but at least the seats have some padding and the area devoted to the duty free section at Narita, a far busier airport than Suwannaphum, is a fraction of the area. At long last the International departure finally had a plane parked at an airport gateway. I was able to notice that one of the reasons some of the gates were not being used was due to extensive repavement of the tarmac alongside gates D1 to D3 and adjacent C gates. So pavement and tarmac issues continue to be a problem at the new airport.

Suwannaphum is decidedly Thai in design, looking great from the outside, but being less than 100% comfortable from a usage standpoint, like some of that ornate Thai wood furniture. The airport looks terrific at night from the outside, and looks decent at day from a slight distance. But upon closer inspection the architects clearly graduated from the Terry Gilliam School of Brazilian Design. Not my cup of tea from an architectural point of view, but I am only interested in the functional aspects of an airport, and Suwannaphum is a slightly more functional airport, especially in regards to check-in than was Don Muang.

If I have anything remotely dodgy with me then I go through customs in Bangkok.

Even when I am not bringing in anything dodgy, I still prefer to go through customs in Bangkok. You never know when the guy in Chiang Mai has been told he is below quota in customs duty and the odds are thus greater that you will be inspected in Chiang Mai just as matter of math: fewer absolute numbers to inspect. For what it is worth, since 1981 I have only had luggage inspected coming from from overseas when I had it checked through to CNX, never in BKK.

Yes I've heard about issues with CM Ram recommending unnecessary treatment. It's a place where you go to be pampered.

My wife just had needed surgery at CM Ram and the care was excellent. The cost was a fraction of the cost in the US even with the "pampering". They even sent a nurse team up to our home a week after her release for a followup checkup and our house is not exactly close to the city nor easy to find.

Just curious if there is a word or concept in Thai for the granting or selling of an easement; that is providing a legal right of ingress and egress through one property to another? Yes, I can describe the concept into Thai, but is there a single legal term for the concept?

favorite phrase had got to be: "ca kin lao kan mai?"

Thai people get upset when you do not accept the "face" being presented.

FWIW, the Suay (or Kui) were the traditional elephant folks in the Northeast and in Cambodia similar to the Karen up north and in Burma.

Local cuisine and delicacies such as fried rats and tarantulas on-a-stick have never really lured me to the delights of Cambodia.

Firing a LARS rocket at a tethered cow really appeals to my adventurous sporting nature though...

Uff Da! I too have always wanted to toss a Norwegian at a cow.

The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

Nonsense, the scale is incomparable. And besides it was over twenty years ago, two generations have passed in politics since.

I'd argue that the scale is the same, the difference is that Thaksin began to monopolize the spoils and take it all for himself. The scale of his personnel wealth relative to the other players, placing him a quantum leap above the others is what changed. Other than that, nothing in Thai politics has changed much over the decades.

Don't be fooled.They are just as corrupt as the others.

They are all part of a clique taking turns at milking the country.

Words , words and words...

Exactly! It is only a matter of which clique within the old boys network shall get the largest slice of the pie. Thaksin simply did not want to play the game according to the rules and did not want to share. It is one thing to throw a few crumbs to the rural poor and endure being called a "populist" ( and earn the wrath of Sonthi Limthongkul) but when you start throwing crumbs to those who feel a bigger slice is in order, well then you get a coup. The Democratic Party under kingmaker Pichai Ratakul milked the country no less efficiently than did the TRT under Thaksin.

By a recent traveler:

"Elephant Abuse (Trekking w/ BMP Residence, Chiang Mai)

<rant deleted>

There certainly are some lesser quality elephant camps, especially the smaller camps. I have never seen a baby elephant chained to its mother as the OP described, but I have seen smaller camps where the treatment of the elephants was certainly substandard. But for better or for worse, the savior of the elephants in Thailand is tourism as there is not much traditional work left in logging.

There are some very good camps such as down in Lampang and the large tourist camp up at Mae Sa. Elephant ownership has become increasingly centralized and this has placed increased financial burdens upon the remaining independent owners and camp owners who tend to rent out there animals around Doi Inthanon and up around Pai.

And yes, breaking and keeping any large beast in check, whether it be a horse or an elephant, is not always a pleasant experience, but then neither is the aftermath of such a beast having run amuck amongst humans. The alternatives to domestication given the land situation and population situation in Thailand are simply not there unless you wish to have large scale culling operations as you do in Africa.

Jeez, getting pretty loud out there.

we know some people close to royalty but it's not allowed to discuss in here...

Well I once had a dog named Maa Deng so I suppose that makes us equals in our closeness to the Thai palace.

David, who also lives in my building posts on this account from time to time. Nothing unusual there.

As for my great great grand father, dont believe everything you read in the history books. Legally, I am bound in what I can say, but "doves do not fly in November

"I'm just glad that cows don't fly."

I go to Thai bars fairly often, if I dont see another falang all night I'm happy. So I watch Thais fight with eachother, and it's always always always a group on one. I've never even heard of a fight between 2 men in this country... it just doesnt seem to happen, and there are lotsa fights. If you want to argue this go ahead, but I know what I see. I am a professional martial artsit and I don't DARE get into a fight with Thai people, I will lose, I can't fight some dude and his 10 friends and get away without serious injury, I just can't. So I swallow my pride and keep smiling. I don't think it's a phenomenon aimed at falangs though, it is just the way it is done here, they do it to eachother waaaaay more than they do it to us.

Damian Mavis

My observations over the past 25 years are the same as Damian's. When I go to Thai bars with my Thai friends and we notice that there are other tables that are occupied by overly boisterous and drunk folks then we always leave after the first round of drinks and find a safer place to drink. Thai people know better than to hang around drunk Thai men in public places as most often the guys who get drunk in public are the known nak lengs.

Who's "they"? Mob beatings happen in many countries.

Perhaps Thailand does really have a problem with mob violence, vigilantism and off duty Policemen acting above the law as certainly appears to be the case.

Perhaps!?! Are you that new to the Kingdom to have a resident doubt?

Speaking of Mr. Smiles. My wife just came back form our old Soi in Bangkok with a rather disturbing rumor about someone and his family being house guests of the former in London. It's the type of rumor that she will only whisper behind closed doors.

I daresay one is best advised not to speak of Soi dog (most often from the bitches) rumors aloud or out in the open as that could lead you to a serious loss of face when rumor is proved to be false. There is significantly less loss of face to said female dogs if whispered behind closed doors after rumor is proven false as such rumor mongering is one of the raisons d'être in a soi dogs life.

Don't forget, หรือ has an "r" sound, not an "l" sound. That having been said, however, I do fear for the old ร. Some think that one day it may be replaced with "ล" - but I don't believe it!

Different vowels though would indicate we are talking about two different words.

It is a common particle that creates a question that shows a certain degree of uncertainty but at the same time shows a certain expectation.

In itself it might translated as "really" when that word is used as a question such as in the classic line: "You really slept with him/her?

So the original sentence might best be translated "It's really true?" where we would add intonation to show whether the statement is an interrogative as opposed to a declarative sentence.

China must be quite pleased with Thailand becoming a dictatorship then.

I daresay that Beijing has been fairly happy with the actions of its most southern monthorn for many decades now, much easier than all those embarrassing actions needed to Sinify Tibet. Burma is also unraveling more in line with Beijing's Thai policy of co-opting the resident elite.

And as the Tibetans know, resistance is futile because those billions of Chinese consumers are more important to the corporations of the world than are tribals in Burma. And ethnic Tais are not placed all that far removed from such tribial nuisances.

Chaiyo!

Pray tell why you would want to bring a dog that you love to Thailand, especially a large outdoor oriented dog like a lab? The dog will find the heat and humidity oppressive. If the dog gets loose then it better have extraordinary street smarts and had better be neutered as it probably has zero fighting skills. If it goes outside it will be subjected to countless diseases that are prevalent amongst Thai dogs to which it will have little if any resistance.

Better to go out and adopt the healthiest reddish brown soi dog that you can find. You will never find a more devoted canine friend.