BOS2BKK

Let me guess.......Koh Larn?

Never been, is it nice? The point of that ending was to suggest there are countless resorts in Thailand, take your tourist dollars somewhere that appreciate them.

Don't worry too much. I promise everyone they will be able to find whores wherever they go.

Let me guess.......Koh Larn?

Never been, is it nice? The point of that ending was to suggest there are countless resorts in Thailand, take your tourist dollars somewhere that appreciate them.

Don't worry too much. I promise everyone they will be able to find whores wherever they go.

yes and all this also feeds, clothes, schools 100's of 1000's of mums dads and children

builds houses condos businesses

etc etc

you cant have one without the other

one day when Pattaya grows up it will be Los Vegas

Wow. never have a more ridiculous collection of statements been uttered. Crime and filth is okay because people use it to feed their families? So a mugger is a pillar of society because he buys his kids school uniforms? A drug dealer is deified because he feeds his wife? I think anyone who can think that way is justifying having more than once benefited from the fruits of shady enterprise. I wonder if you could dismiss it so easily if it was your 15 YO daughter taking Yaba and screwing drunk Arabs?

Next. Las Vegas has from day one been a haven of long term smart business. Was it mob run back in the day? HELL YES. But the average gambler never saw any of that. They skimmed at the top realizing, unlike your friends in Pattaya who are just feeding their families, that the big money came from people coming back, year after year. The only time a gambler ever saw anything that had to do with the Mob, was if they tried to cheat the house. Seems a little backwards from your logic, since I can get a hotel room in Vegas cheaper than I can in Pattaya, and nobody will try to rob me or scam me, and I will never have to get into a punching match with a drunken Brit.

I love Thailand, but one thing that drives me nuts is the myopic nature of the Thai thought process. To a Thai it seems long term planning means 3 months. This handicap is what causes all their problems. They struggle for the short term gains rather than focus on long term stability.

Some day Pattaya may grow up and become Las Vegas....one can only hope...Las Vegas is one of the most tourist friendly places on earth. There are no cheap condos for barely solvent retirees to take poor little Isaan girls for cialis fueled supporting of families, so I can see why the average Pattaya resident would not care for it.

I am sure it can be blamed on Thaksin and or a KeNok British punter.

In the US passports can be revoked by any Judge in any pending criminal case. It has nothing to do with the nature or severity of the crime rather it is based on the potential for flight from prosecution. This decision is made on a case by case basis. During pre trial/bail hearings the prosecutor can argue to the judge that the accused is a flight risk, and ask for such measures as bank accounts to be frozen, passports canceled, even bail denied outright based on the perceived risk. Equally the defense has a chance to make a counter argument. In a case where the arrest warrant is issued after the accused has already fled the country the prosecutions request canceling his passport would be pretty much indefensible.

I dive all these sites regularly. I can say for sure the coral is in rough shape. The Irony is the divers are for the most part the most ecologically conscious groups of people out there. I am not a Thailand basher. In fact I usually read alot of this commentary with disgust at how much Thai bashing goes on by people who are living here as guests.

That said, I can't help but think divers are being singled out because they are tourists. Almost no Thais dive. I wager at everyone of these sights the fishing boats (who are not supposed to be there anyway, yet always seem to be) are responsible for 100 times the pollution of the dive boats. I have seen it with my own eyes. The saddest thing, is the largest factor in coral death is sudden water temperature shifts, which are beyond the control of anyone sitting in a boat. If the close the Similans I can say for certain Thailand's already suffering tourist trade will take yet another hit from shortsighted politicians. Of course, they could always restrict access by raising the park fees? I wonder if that is being suggested.

I was once scheduled to meet my girlfriend at a restaurant for dinner. In classic Thai fashion she showed up a full TWO hours late, after numerous text messages saying she would be there in 15 minutes. Also in Thai fashion she was towing her friend Nok. Both of them work as receptionists in my building.

She immediately launched into a story of how she and Nok went to YipYap (I couldn't say the Thai name if I tried) in the outskirts of Bangkok to meet some friends, and the traffic was sooooo bad coming back. I looked at Nok and smiled. Nok just sat silent with that blank stare and let my darling continue. I asked "Why didn't you just say that you were stuck in traffic in your text? I would have left and come back, or we could have met somewhere else later" She gave the traditional Thai reply of "another lie, some bullshit and more lies"

While we were playing this game I kept smiling at Nok who sat silent with the blank stare. After about 5 minutes of back and forth, letting her dig the hole deeper and deeper, I finally asked "So I guess Nok forgot to tell you that she was still working the desk when I left for the restaurant, I talked to her for 5 minutes, and she wasn't off shift for another hour after that? So I am confused about how she went to YipYap with you when she was working all day?"

I got the blank stare from both of them. I laughed.

The thing is we are quick to assume a lie is covering something nefarious. Thai women are so conditioned by Thai men to sneak and lie to get everything, that they often lie about nothing. It is just as likely she was at the salon, shopping, or eating SomTam with friends bragging about how much gold she has. She could easily have been worried I would be angry that she spent money, or didn't ask my permission (which drives me nuts, and I constantly tell her she doesn't need to do). I have a friend who says "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the longest distance between two points is a Thai woman"

To this day whenever my girlfriend is obviously lying I just say "Okay, so you're going to YipYap with Nok?" My point is made, she blushes, and wanders off to do whatever it is Thai women do when they're not asking you for money.

Sadly there are many people that get into overstay and have absolutely no way of paying any money to get out of Thailand.   Letting the 20,000 baht continue to build will allow it in all practicality to never get paid!

Please remember that embassies will only get involved with your distress when you are admitted to hospital for major sickness or charged with a legal case and detained.

Sorry my friend but I think that is a poor excuse. If you are so broke that you can not afford to pay for your own inability to mark a calender you should not be on Holiday in the first place. If you read my post I offered a solution to that. If you show up and you can't pay the fine, you should be taken to jail.

You are letting these over stay people off the hook far too easily. In the vast majority of cases of people I have spoken with on over stays, they blatantly mocked the system. Pointing out that a visa run might cost 15 or 20 thousand Baht every few months, when an overstay only costs 20K no matter how long you stay. One man on another ThaiVisa string said he had a 1500 Day overstay!! He had the money to support himself in Thailand for nearly 5 years, then he had the money to obey the law. It is an insult to the host nation and should be punished accordingly.

I think all these people casually talking about year long overstays should be scared witless. It is about time the Thais started cracking down. Sure there are special circumstances from time to time, like a person getting sick or whatnot, more often than not it is just some cheap charlie who doesn't want to spend the money on a visa run. It shows a complete lack of respect for their host nation, and the Thais have every right to be offended.

An "oops sorry" visa overstay is a few days. A year long or worse overstay makes you an illegal immigrant, particularly if your working. In most of our home countries were are infuriated by the rash of illegal immigration, but we do not pay that same respect to the Thais. I think the easiest solution for the Thai government is to lift the 20K Baht cap on the fine. If the fine continued to accumulate indefinitely then there would be no monetary incentive to a long overstay. If, upon departure the person could not pay the fine, then jail time is a warranted alternative.

I keep coming back to the thought that this is simply a case of western arrogance, and an utter disregard for the rule of law. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. You embarrass yourself, and your home nation when you act like an ignorant disrespectful traveler.

I must, in all honesty, say I was looking forward to reading about attacking pirate boats, armed with automatic weapons, being blown out of the water into tiny splinters. Searched and repelled, after an armed attack, is going to be a "forever job." Possibly it is another example of the political policy of NATO trying to be so correct, that the forces they oversee have their hands tied. (Possibly I should have used a stronger word than "possibly".)

The Thai assault crew took 200 Baht each in Tea money and threw the guns overboard so they wouldn't have to write a report. :-)

But Seriously. Good job to all onboard HTMS Similan

Are the charges from UK?

However, more than one thing is strange here. Why this step-daughter had to wait 8 years for escaping (as she apparently did recently)? How did this girl came into the hands of this Briton? Foster parents? Adopted child? Maybe his own daughter, which would then be incest? Very suspicious.

And now suddenly the solution: big tam tam around the case from the Immigration Police. What do they want to proof? In my opinion, it smells or we don't have enough information... I am and remain meanwhile very suspicious! There is more that we do not know!!!

If you remove the assumption that the adopted daughter is Thai, which is not stated anywhere, and couple that with the recent crackdown by immigration on foreign nationals in Thailand to evade prosecution the story makes perfect sense. A British pedophile fled to Thailand, and was picked up by immigration police.

Sometimes we try so hard to read between the lines, we don't actually read the lines themselves. I am not saying this is surely the case, just pointing out that deciphering the story isn't necessary if you take away that assumption.

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

The F16 is not an expensive fighter. In fact it was specifically designed to be a cheap lightweight fighter that could be fielded in larger numbers to supplement the aging, heavy interceptor the F15. It is a first rate aircraft, but it is not new, and knowing the Thais extensive relationship with the US military they were more than likely purchased at a steep discount new, or as refurbs. Any country that has a 1000 year old enemy to its north, and is surrounded by communist regimes needs a good military. Rural development money is wasted if the Burmese roll back into Thailand and sack the capitol again.

"Thailand is suffering the same growing pains all of our nations faced at one point of another." - now if ever there was an elitist or "high-horse" comment, it has to be that.

Many people see Thailand as "Third world" or developing" - well the latter maybe - the former is just nonsense - this is the modern world and Thailand is a "grown-up", wealthy nation - the wealth is and poer is distributed very inequitably but this does not give it an "excuse" or get-out clause. It is a country of equal status to any other and has responsibilities which it shuns.

I think you missed the point of the statement.

In reply to your comments I will say this. Bangkok is modern. Thailand is a developing third world Nation. To think any differently is naive to the point of delusional. The Thais have been flirting with modern first world concepts for a hundred years, but never quite embraced them. They were doing well under a previous PM who shall remain nameless, but the minor aristocrats saw to it that all that forward progress was flushed down the drain. The Kingdom is a shining star among SEA nations, but if you think it is a modern, grown-up Nation, then you have been here way too long. Thailand is by all quantifiable standards a developing Nation.

Once again I am at a loss to see all of you sitting up on your high horses. Thailand is suffering the same growing pains all of our nations faced at one point of another. The Thais handle them differently for sure, and it is a shame they couldn't learn from our mistakes, but everyone is on their own journey. The hysterical thing is the elitism present in so many of these comments.

The original article referred to Baht 70M? Last time I checked that was about $2.2Million USD. Which of you is from a country where a judge could not be bribed for 2 Million dollars? I am certain I could get away with Murder in America for a third of that amount in well placed bribes. Good on the Thais for milking this pervert for every penny he has. If he doesn't have punishment coming to him, at least justice can bleed him dry. The difference between Thailand and the west is our pretense that these things don't exist. Just like the westerners who cruise Soi Cowboy in disdain, and say things like "this would never be tolerated in my country" I have news for you, it goes on just like this everywhere. The only difference is the amount of daylight hitting it.

You think for one second this alleged pervert didn't ply his trade in his home country? Of course he did. He is here for the same reason all of you are. His money goes further in Thailand.

Feel bad for the poor exploited children who have their lives destroyed by savage perverts, but get off your hypocritical soap boxes about Thai corruption.

I really get annoyed with the constant berating of Thai society I see on this page. I understand the Thais have different values than we do. The legal system is corrupt, as were all of our legal systems at some point in history. Every EXPAT residing in Thailand is here VOLUNTARILY, and most of you because your MONEY is more valuable here than at home. Even the highest minded person on this page likely takes advantage of his privileged status within Thai culture, and yet you seem to be the first to berate the Thais for aspiring in their own way to attain a small piece of what you have. I am not one of those pie eyed tourists infatuated with Thailand, having never left Sukhumvit. I have been here for some time, and I have seen all the good and bad Thailand has to offer. The bottom line is, as distasteful as I find some aspects of the culture, and as baffling as I find some Thai behaviors I realize that this is THEIR country. I have to conform to their value system, they do not have to conform to mine. Please I ask all of you economic refugees to stop taking your bitterness out on the Thais. They are living their lives, their way, in their country. We are all guests, and alot of us seem to forget it.

Bomb Victim Still Fighting for Life, Explosive ID as M79

The security guard who was seriously injured by the latest bombing that took place at King Power Dutyfree in Ramnam area is still fighting for his life as doctors continue to operate on his brain to find bomb shrapnels. Police have identified the bomb as an M79 grenade which is believed to have been thrown from the vicinity of a nearby hotel.

-- Tan Network 2010-08-27

Just learnt here M79 can be thrown and exploded. Think it was a launcher, rifle like not a grenade.

Once again this is contradictory information. The M-79 designate refers to a shoulder born grenade launcher, that fires 40MM grenades of literally dozens of types and designations. M-79 is one of many launchers to fire this standard 40mm grenade. The M-67 referred to in the initial article is the current US issued Fragmentation grenade. The M-67 is hand thrown, not launched. A hand thrown grenade has a highly variable maximum range, dependent entirely on the thrower, and is fairly inaccurate. An M-67 thrown from a moving motorbike, and landing on pavement, would bounce and skitter all over the place. Imagine a steel baseball, which is essentially what it is.

The M-79 can launch a much smaller, but equally powerful 40MM grenade 200 meters, with pinpoint accuracy in well trained hands. This grenade detonates on impact, as opposed to the hand grenade which has a 3-5 second delay. I repeatedly see this strain of misinformation coming from the Nation. it is an issue because the two weapons work in such a completely different fashion as to represent a vastly different threat. A trained grenadier, with an ample supply of 40MM grenades can knock down a building, or decimate a crowd, with a great deal of accuracy from a distance, and from cover. The first indication of a problem would be the detonation. The High/low pressure mechanism devised for the 40MM grenade makes a distinctive "thwoomp" sound, but it is not very loud, and could easily be termed an essentially silent weapon in the din of Bangkok.

A person tossing a hand grenade would likely stand out, and be more easily identified because he has to get close to the target, and there would be a second or two of warning between when the grenade hit the ground, and the detonation. Also the blast from a hand grenade throws fragments with a 5/15Meter kill wound radius, but with very little blast. Simply hitting the deck in that warning second can make all the difference. The 40MM can be loaded with a fragmentation round that behaves similar to the M-67, but there are also readily available dual purpose HEAT type rounds designed for use against bunkers and vehicles that can cut through inches of concrete or steel, and transmit the blast force into the target. Again a very different threat.

It's a common improvised booby trap. You wrap the spoon with a heavy rubber band, then smear it with a little motor oil. The band dissolves in a few minutes detonating the grenade. Bits of greasy rubber band will be left stuck to the spoon. Anybody who served in a well trained unit like the Thai Rangers would immediately recognize it for what it was.

They were saying that in Thairath too, about the rubber band smeared with oil being used to delay the explosion once the pin had been removed.

Soi Rangnam, the scene of the explosion, was also the scene of fierce fighting during the May 2010 disturbances:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi6-OP0fxPo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e65exr4nh-o

Any Spoon activated grenade, which is fairly standard, and manufactured by just about every country that makes munitions can be used for this. All you have to do is find some way of holding the spoon (the metal lever that pops off after you pull the pin)allowing you to walk away and have the spoon released later. Putting them in a tin can works, so when they fall out, or are pulled out, boom. Electrical tape or rubber band with some sort of solvent on it will give you a minute or two delay.

Grenades of this type are not the miniature nuclear bombs they are made out to be in the movies. They kill by throwing out fragments of metal, so large pieces of the grenade are often readily identifiable, particularly if it detonates in a container, like a trash bin. If it was dropped in a bucket of petrol as another poster stated, you would get a decent fireball, and the petrol would serve as the delay.

Their are many references to M79 grenades on here. The M79 is not a grenade, it is a stand alone rifle grenade launcher made during the Vietnam era, making it fairly common in SE Asia. It has since been replaced in the US arsenal, but occasionally shows up in special demand settings, and is readily available in countries that rely on US surplus materiel.It fires a 40MM grenade that looks like a giant pistol bullet. Most commonly they are HE Frag, but 40mm grenades exist in a number of forms from smoke, to high explosive, Shotgun, incendiary, and even Thermobaric variants.

The frequent reports of "M79 Grenades" turning up can be misleading. Are the saying a grenade was fired? An unfired grenade was found? or an M79 launcher was found? Unfired the 40mm grenades are very safe. The have a setback/spin safety that requires they be fired to detonate. There is no way to detonate them directly. Fired is another story, they are a very potent stand off weapon, and in the right hands, can be devastating.

How do they know it had a rubber band around it?

its called a freudian slip.

It's a common improvised booby trap. You wrap the spoon with a heavy rubber band, then smear it with a little motor oil. The band dissolves in a few minutes detonating the grenade. Bits of greasy rubber band will be left stuck to the spoon. Anybody who served in a well trained unit like the Thai Rangers would immediately recognize it for what it was.

But then again, I am sure the trained crime scene investigators don't hold a candle to the genius at work on the Thai visa comments board.

Tensions rise. I just hope when this is all over the Thai people get what they want.

Half will , half wont ,therin lies the problem which will not go away with one protest no matter how big.

I think it is more like 1/5th (the well connected MIB and government insiders) will get what they want, and 4/5ths will go away wondering why they bothered to vote in any of the several revoked elections.

They had a coup...then an election...the election voted back in the people the coup removed...so they had another lesser coup...then another election...which didn't work out so they appointed the guy they wanted to win...How do you see that as a legitimate government?

Hey friend. I routinely go to Soi Cowboy with friends. I too neither drink nor ho and it has never bothered anyone. If you look at the tone of your post it is very negative, and in spite of your saying you don't judge your friends, it is clear by the end that you do. Maybe what you are picking up on is that your a basically nice guy, but your negativity ruins the fun. I was brought up to beleive everybody doesn't like somebody, but if everybody doesn't like you, then look in the mirror. I am not trying to shoot you down. On the contrary. I am encouraging you to reassess how you interact with people. Your post says it all my friend. You may beleive you are being non judgemental, but you are not.

Many current models of grenade have secondary safety devises beyond the traditional pin. The US issued M67 has a clip that holds the spoon in place even if the pin is pulled. In high stress situations there are more than a few stories of people forgetting to pop this clip before throwing the grenade. An amateur whith know training may not have known about the clip. If this were the case then there is no danger in approaching the grenade and taping down the spoon. THis is speculation based on one posters description. Without seeing the grenade it's hard to know for sure what happened.

FYI for all the above Posts. The correct dose for SMOKING CESSATION is 150Mg a day for 3 days then 150Mg twice a day until you no longer feel the urge to smoke. Dosages in an antidepressant setting and for some other off label uses can be higher. If you exceed the maximum of 450Mg per day there is a risk of seizures. This is totally dose dependant and if you stay below the 450Mg max dose the instance of seizres is no higher than with a placebo. Depending on your personally body chemistry you may feel none to all of the side effects. This drug affects potent neurotransmitters in the brain and will effect everyone a little differently. Common side effects are "speedy" headache insomnia anxiety etc. Unfortunately all antidepressants modify your brain chemistry and yes in some rare instances can actually cause depression. This is well documented and does not occur often, but it does occur. If this occurs you should discontinue use of the drug and the symptoms will clear up in a week or so. Smoking is an extremely unhealthy habit, and the side effects with this drug are minimal compared to the damage you are doing by smoking. Please do not let one persons bad experiences dissuade you from trying this treatment. Also for the one poster there is nothing in the chemistry of this drug that would cause physical addiction, and there are no reports of psychological addiction. The drug has been on the market in one guise or another for more than 20 years and is regarded as safe in the prescribed doses.

No we don't have any details, but lets apply a little common sense to this. This is not the Thai police looking for Tea Money. They were asked to arrest the guy by the FBI. So with all the shenanigans that go on in Thailand, Pattaya in particular, this guys shenanigans were the cream that rose to the top of all the other shenanigans. When you see what is overtly tolerated in Thailand by every sector of society, then consider that this guy was singled out by INTERNATIONAL law enforcement as being noteworthy, how much more do you need to know?

Seems like Thailand is going the route Hawaii took. Sell yourself as a vacation paradise, then become really resentful of the tourists. I believe the new Hawaii state policy is for all potential tourists to wire transfer directly into the state coffers, and they will mail you a postcards and a bundle of mini surf board key chains.