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5555.How long have you been in thailand lol ?Not trying to be smart as i have the same problem when shopping in bkk with a friend.The reason is saving face !They don't want to admit they don't know something.That's it......a common thing with all thais.

I have taken many taxis in BKK who don't want to use the meter,have to argue with them to use the meter. In reference to earlier post about the meter's may be tampered with i agree.Just took a taxi on wednesday in BKK from Baiyoke sky hotel to Mo Chit bus station.Not two month's ago the fare was not quite 100 baht.This time with meter taxi it was 130 baht plus.

Also,anyone on here use the meter taxi at chiang mai airport ?They advertise meter taxi down town flat rate 120 baht.Why advertise meter taxi and charge 120 baht flat rate ?They never use the meter !They want 120 baht to go to hillside 3 on nimmanhaemen rd and they take the short cut through the airfiel,about 5 to 8 minute drive.Now i always take a tuk tuk or song taew.No wonder they lose tourists here when the first timer visiting here gets ripped off at the point of entry via air.

Thank's very much for the beautiful calendar.And to all who contributed those beautiful photos a job well done.Thank's again.A very merry christmas and a happy and prosperous new year to all members on thai visa.

Went to BKK from chiang mai last week.Most people on the plane were asian and when i went to baggage pickup i thought i was at the wrong baggage belt.Only about 50 or 60 people their.Also most of the people in the airport were asian.Stayed in bkk for four day's and night's not many tourists at all.I know and speak with quite a few of the vendor's on sukhumvit and they were complaining about lack of tourists and no sales.By eleven pm everybody was packing up their stalls.Also,many hotel's offering cut rates and discount's for staying one night (yes,discount for staying one night ).The hotel i always stay at has cut the hour's for the staff and they now are getting two day's off instead of the normal one off day.Also,their are still rooms filled with thais that are there because of the flood.If tourism is way up or increasing where are they?I know many restaurant/bar owners in chiang mai and they say their business is down by 25%.Something wrong somewhere with TAT figures i would say .

I imagined robotic warfare for years and now it is beginning. It's as affective as I thought it would be.

*deleted quote edited out.

What you are insinuating is idiotic and a crazy statement.Their are many troop's on the ground fighting and dying everyday so you can have your way of life.They are fighting the conventional way and losing lives because of the rules of engagement they must follow at great risk to their lives.I would say that the Taliban way of fighting is very gutless,(using suicide bombers etc etc.Plus many are kid's and women.What you have to say about that ? Are they not the gutless fighter's ?Get a life please and while you're at it get some knowledge.

Unfortunately, Preventive Maintenance is a concept that South East Asians seem to be completely unaware of. It involves common sense which is, as you all know, very rare in SE Asia.

All Westerners have common sense, to one degree or another, and that common sense tells us we must maintain things to get maximum usage from them.

Thais just don't get it!

That is a sweeping statement. I see people taking much better care of their expensive fishing gear then me and they are Thai. I kinda think it depends on the person and how much the maintenance costs.

But i think the case here is that BMA did allocate the budget but it just disappeared in someones pocket.

A sweeping statement? I would say a very accurate statement. Health and safety standards [lack of] are just one, glaring, example. Do you, for instance, consider families riding motorcycles four-up - or even five-up - including babies, to reflect common sense? Do you view labourers grinding stone in the middle of crowded streets, no thought for their own lungs, never mind passersby, to be in any way intelligent.

And we are talking basic, not PhD, levels of common sense.

I agree its not smart at all, but you tend to forget that those doing so are poor people. They often have no other form of transportation. Some people can't afford it otherwise.

Same with other other things, people want things cheaply done and labors have no choice in it do it this way or don't get the job.

Don't mistake common sense with poverty. Though part of your statement is too many don't realize the danger because its normal here. But it originates from poverty. I am pretty sure the 4 or 5 up on a motorbike would prefer being in a car but they cant effort it.

poor or not, no excuse for having too many on a motorbike.And espically the little kid's sitting directly up front.

Yingluck knows where the money train is. She turned down the Dutch offer to help, but "asked" the Japanese for expertise. This is great! Asking a country who builds a large nuclear reactor plant at waterside in a high risk tsunami location, but turning down the Dutch who have expertise for 300 years or so at water management and flood prevention. Yingluck knows that the Japanese swing a much bigger you know what than the Dutch when it comes to business factory investing and frequenting the legendary Thai "entertainment" trade.

Here here.Agree 100% . Know the ole saying money talks and bulls_ _ _t walks .

As with the red shirt protests, I wish the Western media would <deleted> and stop scaring away tourists with their panic-style journalism. It wasn't the protests or the floods themselves that made tourist numbers drop, it was the Western media's style of reporting events that had and have no effect on tourism. The TAT should contact the British foreign office and get them to slap a D-notice on the desk of every national newspaper, or at least dull-down their scare-mongering.

I don't think it is or was scare tactics reported by the media in the west.It just a warning of what was happening and that it may not be safe.I was just in bangkok a week and a half ago and their was a scarcity of water and other thing's in the shop's.It's the same here in chiang mai.Was in tops the other day and saw signs reading water six bottles per family per day.Also in 7/ 11 in bangkok sign reading it's not a joke we have no water.So,why would one want a whole wack of tourists in town when there is not enough supplies for the local population let alone a few thousand more tourists.Also,the shelves in many shops are still empty of many products.Would you as a tourist want to come to a place with your family and find that you can't get any milk for your baby in the local 7/11 or tesco ?Why place money making before common sense?It don't make sense.

""Personally I want to see people happy in the new year, but I am not confident about western areas, where it is difficult to drain water," she told reporters, when asked whether the floods would go on into 2012."

It is really simple you stupid woman. Stop pumping the water into Maha Sawat and give us some relief. But that will never happen as you have to save your precious central BKK from 10 to 20 cms of water. There are a lot of people here who are getting seriously pissed off. I can see violence erupting on a massive scale. This government/FROC has to go.

Don't agree with this post.Are you Thai or even a thai citizen ?It's their country not yours so maybe just maybe you are the one that has to go.If you could or can do any better then go and offer your services and or advice

This is a new government and i am sure the old regeime wouldn't have done thing's any better.The blame game will get you nowhere.Mother nature was the culprit here and previous administrations for not heeding previous warnings that this flooding could and did occur.So no need to place the blame on the three month old government. Finally,remember you and i are only guests here in this counrty and if we don't like the way thing's are we can leave.

Go north my son, loads of it up here

Where ? Here in chiang mai many 7 - 11's only have small can's of leo and i was at a bar last night and he only had three small singha left , a few chang and leo.Today was downtown and people were starting to complain the bar's were running low.Tesco lotus none.Not even coke,milk,or other soft drink's.....shelves and coolers like mother hubbards cupboard.

Yes perhaps they would contribute to the local economy if there was anything to contribute to. I was in every 7-11 and Cat One in Yaso today to try and get some milk and bread. Not a hope all out. Big C was the same at the weekend. Us ferangs are going to starve if this supply chain does not get back to some kind of order soon. Yes BKK has been hit bad BUT does everything have to come through the capital. No forward planning by them in charge AGAIN !!!

I agree.Even here in chiang mai hard to find bottled water and if you find any it's only small bottles.But plenty of Leo beer at 7 11.Now you can see that the whole country is centered around bangkok and dependent on that city for resupply.Who ever heard of that.Putting all factories in one area because of the big business and the rich owners reside there.Now i understand how these rich people in BKK can build these hotels and keep them running when the occupancy rate is next to 0% the year around.Why not diversify and put some factories in other parts of the country.And do they utilize air freight ? Especially for important essentials like food and drinking water.Oh,sorry i forgot that would take away too much of the profit of the big business.

Agree with majority of posts on this subject.Who cares what other people think.It's you and your wife's life.It's probably jealousy that brings out the comments that are negative.Enjoy life and don't worry about the giggles.I find that most decent asian women,seasoned bar girls excluded,have a low tolerance to alcohol.As for the conversation part that makes you feel uneasy,just give and take and cut her some slack.If she is a good woman then these are minor problems.Remember,finding a good woman here in thailand is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Does anybody know where one can lodge a complaint about a certain 7 eleven store and if so,would it be taken seriously by the receiver of the complaint.Thank's in advance for any help or suggestions.

My wife made computers, for a Japanese company, selling them for mega bucks, she worked 60 to 70 hours a week for 6300 baht. a month , sat along side her where Burmese on half her wage.doing the same job.

That's why the japanese and all the other companies that were flooded will stay in thailand.Paying wages like that and they can easily recoup their losses in two to three year's.Maybe even less.

as i stated before in my comment to another posting on here.It's only a matter of time and the same flooding will occur here in chiang mai .Every bit of green space is being built over with condo's and guest houses or some other type of business complex.Soon the water coming from the mountain will have no place to naturally drain.Already small warning signs.

Most farangs I know head out to Phuket, Krabi, Chiangmai , or Pattaya when landing at the airport. Bangkok is not on their first stop...so it does need to be stressed that the other tourist areas are fine and not under water

Ya, but those that come to chiang mai only stay for 3 or four day's.What's there to do in chiang mai if one stay's any longer.One can only visit so many temples and then you get all templed out.But, most go to and stay in bangkok for more time where there is lot's more to do.

I guess it is news to you folks that Swedish men take Thai women to Sweden to open up massage parlors. Big bucks in Sweden. Big bucks from Germans coming across the border too.

Perhaps a Swede could explain. I have forgotten because it was 3 or 4 years ago that a Swedish national explained it to me. There is something in Swedish immigration law that makes this very easy to do. I think it also works in Denmark but I'm not sure.

For some reason it does not work well in the US or UK.

True statment made here.I am surprised at how easy it seems for a thai girlfriend of a swedish,german,norweigan or even australian national to get a visa to go to their respective countries.The usa and canada seem to have air tight visa rules regarding this.Even more so then the UK.And i think their rules are quite strict

While I may not agree with the actions of these people in forcing open flood gates and tearing down barriers to try and get some relief from the flooding in their area, I can fully understand their anger and frustration.

These people are tired of the property, their houses and their lives being destroyed just save precious Bangkok year after year. How would you feel if your moo ban was flooded year in and year out just to so the one next to you could be saved? If you can imagine that, then you can understand these people and their actions.

While Yingluck & Company can be, and should be, blamed for the mismanagement of this situation, they can't be blamed for the flood itself. And no one can convince me that any other government could/would do a better job.

For to many years the rich and powerful, which means about .05% of the population, have been allowed to destroy what is, supposedly, protected forest areas to build their mansions and resorts, thereby destroying the ecological balance that Mother Nature provided. For too many years these same people have built, or have allowed to be built, factories, housing and condo projects, and other structures in low lying areas that block the natural flow of water, with zero forethought of what might happen. For too many years the experts, both Thai and foreign, have done studies, made recommendations, and issued serious warnings about what could/would happen, but since there was no "graft" or "corruption" money in it for anyone, they were ignored.

If anyone is to blame for this situation it is EVERY member of EVERY government for the past 50+ years since the last flood for not doing what was necessary to prevent it from happening again.

The one good thing from this is now maybe, just maybe, they will listen to the experts and finally do what needs to be done for ALL of Thailand, and not just Bangkok. We can only hope.

I agree with your post 100%.Here in chiang mai it's only a matter of time before the same happens.More flooding i mean ! Just see how much building they are doing with every little piece of land and green space being used to build condos and guest houses.With no attention at all for the environment .Even now when it rains there are many place's that have standing water after the rain stops.Warning signs nimmanhaemen RD and huay kaew road always flood in certain locations during rainy season.But they just keep on building and building and taking away the natural draining space for the water.I think soon,in the future they will see that a few mistakes were made.

Wow two streets in the whole of Bangkok, what a joke, yes lets all run.........

http://earthobservat...d=76234&src=nha

look at the before and after picture

remember the whole of bangkok will not flood at once !, it does take a bit of time, and untill you are in a flood, you will realise how quick the water can come ....... or if a flood wall breaks, the water can come in dangerously quick

better to be safe , rather then sorry !, as if they dont evacuate and bkk does flood heavily and they DIDNT give out a warning, what would people say then?

If it doesnt flood, GREAT , but they took precatuions, if it DOES flood, then they have made the right choice

Right on Boater. I agree with you.Some of these critics on here are a joke!What would they do in this situation.Seems they criticize every thing the government does.If they can do better then go to the FROC headquaters and fess up.If you don't like the job the government is doing,(the complainers i mean ) then by all mean's go back to your own country.Nobody is keeping you here.We are guests here and not here to ctitique everything they do.After all,it's their country and they can run the show.

...today the US help you, tomorrow they'll be ready to reclaim the favor and put it in your a**...

and don't tell me it never happened before

Very stupid comment mezcal.It's people like you who make this world a harder place to live.Shame on you for making such a stupid and biased comment.

My 5 cents worth - I'm in the process of applying for a Work Permit for Canada along with my wifes TRV but as i'm a Brit we flew to the UK. We are now in the 12th week of the process and have no idea when we will be successful as the Embassy will not commence any dialogue (it was over 7 weeks before we received a file number - that was when we were asked to take a medical).

Although i could go back to work at my job outside of the UK, my wife is stuck in the UK, and fortunately she has a sister to stay with otherwise we'd be paying for a rather lengthy hotel stay.

Bear in mind i already underwent a 6-8week process to obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion prior to making my application - it really seems like they (Canada) do not want people to visit their country...

Had we done my WP then apply in Bkk for her TRV it would be at least 4months more on the process.

Hi . I' am a canadian and just read your post.It's not that canada don't want people to visit our country.It's the fault of most of the immigrant's from the caribbean who have immigrated to canada,then have some relatives come for a visit and then try their best to have them remain in the country .I should add also other immigrant's also do this).They cause lot's of problems for our immigration worker's and even hire those immigration lawyers to help them.What they are infact doing is jumping the que and trying to stay in the country by circumventing the proper procedures.Therefore,when someone who is honest about having a visitor come to visit and has all the intentions of following the rules it makes thing's difficult for them.I know your cade is different but it creates a domino effect in all aspects of the process.Anyway,have patience as you are going to the best country in the world.Good luck and you have made a good choice.

Footnote,also,many sponsor their relatives,show all necessary requirements then after a few month's of their arrival they say they cannot afford sponsorship any longer.So,the system has to take care of them at tax payers expense.

I would donate some money each month but first would visit the place and meet the people that run the particular site or home where the children are kept.Same as done with children international .And would have to confirm with immigration first to ensure donating does not negate my visa.

countries that are known to "promote, produce or protect terrorist organisations or their members".

Could this be reference to red shirt leaders that are now in government?

Exactly

Not only protect them but elect them to positions in the government where they are immune to prosecution.

That being said one must consider the fact that they the states are paranoid anyhow.

And believe it or not Canada is worse.

What has happened to you that you can make a statement as such that canada is worse ?What evidence do you have to backup your statement.If you can produce such then let's see it.Then maybe i'll agree with you.

Always have to show my bank statement to the counselor when renewing my visa before getting a letter.I like to know where immigration got their info from that canadian's can only take an oath about their income and receive the letter.Maybe in bangkok but not in chiang mai.But,i know the american counsulate just takes the oath.But not canadian.

You forgot soccer. Are there any Thais on the Thai Premier League teams? Plenty of blacks and round-eyes.

Are you jealous because the black's and round eyes have the talent and physical fitness to play soccer professionally.Probably unlike yourself who sits around in the bar's bending the elbow most of if not all of the day.