hpwheelman

Hope the father is charged with damaging property. Maybe he wants to join his son in the monkey house.

Actually I know one of the crew. She posted a few days ago about this. She and her crew were threatened with 3 months in jail if they didn't leave after that incident.

No idea about if the father was charged. Doubt it.

The Bike Zone guy was telling me where to get some Topeak gear now that he doesn't stock it. One of the reasons I love that shop and will buy there first if I can. If he does't have it he will help you find it or tell you where you can get it.

There is a bike shop way down Ekamai. If you turn down soi Ekamai from Sukhamvhit and go straight about 10-15 kilometers (or 4 large overpasses) you will find a bike shop on your left hand side. I'm told they have a selection of Topeak gear there. Good luck. I haven't been yet, hope to go next week.

Did anyone recommend that you turn down the pressure yet? Keep it at max and it will always leak. Drop it down by a 1/4 if the pressure and that should help it last a lot longer.

Ah someone did.

RIP Buncherd Khorklangyai

I teach a self defense class in Bangkok, just to deal with people like this. Scum

Maybe the next one they try this on will snap their arms

Isn't this the 3rd case in a year? At least one of which was a child? Ignorance or superstition is no excuse for unintentional manslaughter.

Another tragic loss of 4 lives. This is not the moment to discuss helmets and driving proficiency. RIP

If not now then when? When everything is fine and people can't see the what happens when you drive poorly or don't wear a helmet on a motor bike? I think this should be handled like the handled smoking in my home state in USA. There we got to see real dead peoples lungs and hearts. People who smoked and those who didn't. Here they should post photos of the accidents, Especially of kids, for kids in the equivalent of 5th grade. I noticed that's about when kids start driving those bikes here. Not much you can do to the adults who have made it this long in life and are determined to not change, but you can make a very good impression on kids when you start showing them human body parts and what a person looks like when their head pops open like a coconut. Especially when those you show are the same age as those viewing. And not to mention cops doing their jobs, not letting kids ride around, and making sure people have real licences, and have to take a test that is worth taking. The motor cycle licence exam here is the same as the car one, and a quick trip around a small course on a moped. And that's in Bangkok. Don't even want to know what they do elsewhere or I might flip out.

Had a pair brought in from the US. Love em. Be very careful following sizing directions. There are no Authorized dealers in Thailand yet, but you do see fakes. And FILA has come out with a similar shoe that I have seen at Central World. Difference is that they are thicker/stiffer on the sole. And they combine the last 2 small toes to make it easier to put on. I don't like fakes, and the FILA look like their design defeats the purpose, at least for a minimal shoe. Good Luck

Dang, what will all the old expats do with all their free time and money now that there is no beer to drink? There will be chaos, riots, and disorder. Bars will be wiped out. Brothels business will shrivel. Pataya will cease to have a reason to exist, for a little while. Imagine Thailand with out beer! Fewer bars and brothels, fewer death due to drunk drivers, cops may become sober on the job! It's international image as a place for old expats and young backpackers to come to get drunk cheaply and buy women for next to nothing will change! This is horrible! What will Thailand and the tourism industry that relies on this image do???

Wait - _ -

That might be kinda nice.

Hope it is OK to say this, but has anyone actually asked the Royal Family if what someone said was insulting to them? I mean, shouldn't they be the ones actually deciding that? Didn't the Human Rights meeting have someone say that? I think it was the King of a European country.

So which is it. Are the dykes holding, or have they been breached?

P.S. Does anyone have link to the Thai Flood Center or other Thai News sites with updates? Thai language OK.

http://www.thaiflood.com/

http://flood.gistda.or.th/<br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; ">

http://www.norsorpor.com/tags/%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A1

http://www.pantip.com/cafe/wahkor/topic/X11160624/X11160624.html<br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; ">

http://203.155.220.231/intranet/Forecast/fcc.htm

http://www.thaiwater.net/web/

http://dds.bangkok.go.th/Canal/

Maybe one of these?

Went in on the 7th. Filled out the 90 day report form they provide, using info from my passport and arrival/departure card in my passport. Handed the paper and passport to the lady, out 2 minutes later. In Nakohm Phatom. Glad I don't have to jump through so many hoops! But I am here for University, have been using the same immigration office/people for over 3 years now and it's a small office where I am recognized. You guys have a lot of hoops.

Thanks to this unedifying news that incompetent but powerful crooks will settle their differences by a game of soccer, I cannot get the memory of the footballing nuns from a Monty Python episode out of my mind.

If this novel approach to solving world problems works can we expect to see Taliban United vs Washington City any time soon?

No, you can't. We consider that sport to be a woman's game, or for children. No offence intended, but if you don't know that by now, you should.

And exactly who are 'We"? Whoever you are, I suggest you Google for Norman Hunter, Nobby Styles, Chopper Harris and a few other gentle folk. Maybe you are from the country where excessively tall males play netball and others play rounders - under different names of course. How very butch. No offence of course.

Why I should have an intimate knowledge of what those of a different country and culture think about particular sports is beyond my ken.

Was wondering who that would piss off. We would be Americans. As in the Washington city (Assumed this was supposed to mean Washington DC, but I could have been wrong) people. I am guessing you meant basket ball and baseball as well. Or maybe volleyball? Remember that we Americans had to Google that guy, uh... The football player who went to play for the LA galaxy soccer team. Hell, I didn't even know we had a soccer team in LA, and I am from there. I honestly am not intending to insult, I am just letting you know we really do not know or care much for that sport, and as a nation we really do think of it as a child's/woman's game. Men play baseball and American Football, women play soccer aka to the rest of the world as football. And as to why you should know, well if you wanted to make a relevant comment about the two countries playing a sport game to determine anything, you should pick a sport that both would want to play. Ahh I remember now, David Beckham. International superstar right? Could walk down any street in America and be left alone cause no one would know who he was. Most still probably don't.

I ride a MTB but about half the members of my club are on road bikes. I would recommend bringing both.

Unless you are thinking of upgrading one or both. Another good place to get bikes here is www.BikeZone.co.th They carry high end rode bikes, tri bikes and mirida MTB's. What others say about the roads is true. I ride them a lot in Bangkok. They have pot holes, roads higher then the man covers by 2 or 3 inches, rain covers with the slits in the same direction as traffic (as in hit at the wrong angle and the front wheel of a road bike will fall in), Steel plates that seem to have been forgotten about, what I can only describe as small speed bumps randomly placed in the road, and the list goes on. There are places for road bikes, and there are even those who use them in Bangkok, but having even just a front end suspension helps. Have fun!

Thanks to this unedifying news that incompetent but powerful crooks will settle their differences by a game of soccer, I cannot get the memory of the footballing nuns from a Monty Python episode out of my mind.

If this novel approach to solving world problems works can we expect to see Taliban United vs Washington City any time soon?

No, you can't. We consider that sport to be a woman's game, or for children. No offence intended, but if you don't know that by now, you should.

I do not understand how/why the taxi system works in Bangkok, but onceyou head to the resort towns of Samui, Phuket, Pataya, Hua Hin and so on, it ismafia controlled. Is the government really so weak that they can't get the taxisto obey the law? Are the police really that corrupted that they don't seem tocare? Are the people so cowed that they just can't stand together and say"No More!"? I am glad it's in the news a lot lately; hopefully itwill embarrass enough people that something will be done about it.

I remember that fire. I was at the Sala Dang BTS station on my bicycle. I could smell it so I followed my nose towards it. I ended up on the Sukhamvit road where I first heard, then saw, then passed and finally beat by a good 15 minutes or more both the fire trucks and ambulances heading to that fire. When I left and went back to the main road there were still fire trucks stuck in traffic. Something should really be done so that they can get through. I should not be able to ride for nearly an hour and beat a fire truck to an emergency.

This was no random attack. Sounds like gang/mafia stuff with so many attackers. they left his apple computer so a hit, not mugging. this person was wanted by someone. 25yrs old with a luxury villa, so wealthy for such a young person.we'll see what he was up to as the investigation unfolds (may be). has obvoiusly upset someone with connections.

RIP young man & dont piss people off again!

LOL (sarcastic here) Yeah, after you get back from being dead you should remember not to piss anyone off again.

I agree that this sounds more like a hit or a warning gone wrong then anything else though.

Always be prepared to fight (know how to do that too, likely more important then having a knife or other weapon). No matter where you go. People who would do violence to you will not hesitate, so you should not either when it's warranted. It may just save your life.

As to the comment about the witnesses not helping or not being sure about the numbers, what do you expect. Rarely will you find people willing to jump into a fight that is not their own. It's a survival tactic, and sadly why these types of people can get away with what they do. Also, "eye witnesses" are some of the worst sources of information if you need specifics. Unless they are trained and know what to look for, you can have a room of witnesses shown the same thing and get a different story from each of them.

Ex cop here, so I have an idea of what I'm talking about.

I do have a legitimate question concerning the right to work.

I am a student at a well respected Thai University, working on getting my bachelors degree. What are the specifics about my right to work in Thailand? I have been told I could work up to 20 hours a week without a work permit, but I haven't been able to find that in writing.

I had to double check for the little red satire letters , but did not see them. As someone noted, whatever minor rights you may have that are written on a piece of paper in a government office somewhere , the reality is you have none. The mindset here is pretty clear. If you are driving down the road and a Thai runs into you, the policeman at the scene will tell you it is your fault, because if you had not come here the accident would not have happened. Against this backdrop, they want to talk about foreigner rights ?? Too funny.. Hey, maybe they should have all the Thai police attend this seminar............

The policeman story pops up every time a foreigner wants to express here his/hers enthousiasm for living in Thailand. Interesting.

Interestingly enough, when I was stationed in Japan, as a military police officer, I responded to many traffic accidents. The general consensus there in Japan was that if the foreigner was not here, the accident would not have happened. I have seen many people charged with offences that they would never have been charged with had they been

Japanese for this simple reason. Only with properly ranked individuals would this rule be different. On the flip side, there were many TA's that were very much caused by foreigner's who did not know or did not respect the local laws. Not to even begin on the DUI/DWI or just plain old drunk and disorderly cases.

Basically I am saying that it may not be the case every time, but it does happen, and more then you may think.

“We want to know why the police are being so unfair, and whether there is something else behind this. We would like the Phuket Commander to leave Phuket,” said one of the protest leaders.

It's called LAW. Something you have been breaking for 20+ years. Odd concept here going to jail for breaking the law, I know. The thing behind it is called international law and international pressure.

For whatever reason the cops are doing their job here, I say good that they are doing it. Now if we could just get them to do this everywhere else...

It said shocking. There was mention of prostitutes. I thought that the police were maybe arresting the hookers. THAT would have shocked me. This? This is business as usual. Where is the shock?

I have been using an ED visa for the past 5 years, but I will graduate this year.

I have a high GPA, and am on the Dean's List.

I used to work part-time as a teacher.

I think it is silly, not to allow real students to work at all.

My university informed me that I could work up to 20 hours a week on a ED visa.

[i think some people are jumping the gun on this one a bit; of course condolences to those directly affected, but to immediately assume the accident is a result of poor driving standards is unfair - for all we know it could have been caused by some other reason like brake failure or swerving to avoid a dog. The driving standards are not good in Thailand, but that doesn't mean that every accident is down to them. Accidents happen unfortunately, and they happen everywhere.

You seem to have missed the story on Tuesday describing this accident. One of those passenger truck drivers decided to pass cars on a down hill shoot, unfortunately for all involved he went to fast and could not get back in his proper lane in time to avoid hitting a bus. This accident was a direct result of poor driving standards, and anyone who has ever driven on a mountain road in Thailand knows that it is one of the most dangerous things to do here. Thai drivers pass on blind curves at high speeds (or just figure the on coming traffic lane is there to make the curve easier to take at high speeds sometimes). This was an entirely preventable incident, and my condolences to the families of all the victims. Oh and I like many of the commenters here I am sure have a Thai drivers license. I got mine here and went through the actual test/class. It is a joke. If you want to know that your not supposed to drive a tank down the road, but it's OK to drive a car without headlights, then go take the test. Seriously, that was on the exam.

i've ridden up khao ito a couple of times on my roadbike, its a real gut buster from bangkok (even taking a train to prachinburi & riding from there it was still a gut buster). the road conditions in the area & up the mountain were pretty good. never heard any serious complaints from my MTB friends about the trails & from what little i've seen from the road these are well marked w/some safety features. there are no shops on the mountain itself but plenty around the base.

there's a fairly well-stocked bike shop on the way out of prachinburi to khao ito (sorry can't find their business card for contact details) that probably know quite a bit about it.

Hey that's great info, thanks a lot. The gut busting will be good sell maybe as their all training for some road race coming up.