Kaad Suan Kaew - Fail!

[Gonzo the Face]

You complained for hitting your head on a ceiling?? My god CM is gonna be... ah, forget it.

Yep, you are right...........

Not sure but pretty certain i saw a guy get shot today but it won't impact the shopping or cultural experience..........

I'm starting to worry about how we can get my wheelchair down the escalators........

0

Not to worry Phil, down is natural, just clear the first step and the rest is automatic.

With regard to the original post, like a very famous man once said, "opinions are like a'holes, everybody has got one", after that statement he wasn't so famous and was never heard from again.

Now to those out there who agree or disagree, so be it . Thats your choice. No one is forced to accept the OP's position or reject it. Just remember that not everyone thinks Camilla Parker Bowles is pretty, but your opinion is as good as any others. We all have different levels of concern for our own.

With young ones, we have different levels of hazard and saftey. I agree about carrying the young close to the heart for as long as possible , it is very bonding.

But do show some concern about carrying the step daughter past her eighteenth birthday

Ease up and cut some slack guys :jap:

G

[nikster]

I'm not sure why you needed to talk to anyone at all. Couldn't one of you have held the baby and the other the pram as you descended the escalator? Or failing that leave the baby in the pram while descending but have one of you stand on the step directly in front of it to prevent a problem if the other of you lets go of the pram for whatever reason. I would have thought once you'd walked in through that noxious 1st floor parking garage the rest of your trip would seem a breeze by comparison.

NO! - positively NO.

Taking a pushchair onto an escalator is a non-starter. It is very dangerous, even to other people around it. That's why it's banned in most other countries.

Oh... keyyyyyyy

I do it all the time. Never seemed "dangerous" to me. With a 10 week baby, clearly you'd take the baby out first. With my technique it was absolutely safe for our 1 year old too though...

My advice: Calm down, new mom/dad! I know exactly how stressful it is in the beginning when you think this tiny neck could break at any wrong move and you see DANGER signs everywhere you look... but people have had babies for a long while now, you need to trust nature a bit. Not everything is perfect. Least of all probably Central KSK, the only thing that surprises me is that this huge building in ill repair hasn't fallen down yet. I don't go there if I can avoid it.

[macsurf]

Actually the girl at the information desk gave you some very key information (kee information!) about Thailand and you should thank her heartily! You have to remember 'TITs' after all - This Is Thailand. And she's just a body who is supposed to show up. Training ? Like with actual learning and a test ? For her salary ? Not much likely in either case. She's just a body and she did what she could with her limited abilities. Not taking the piss here, just pointing to the realities with rose-colored glasses off.

I remember being lost one day in my first month here in Thailand. We already spoke some Thai too - limited but enough to get around. I asked the security guard in front of the Thai Airways office which street I was on. He didn't know. I stuck around, made small talk for a cpl minutes, asked his name, how long he'd worked there, was it good work, etc. ? He told me he'd been there almost two years. After that I thought I'd give it another try. I asked again what the street was called - and another time only got the awkward Thai smile as he was mystified and embarrassed. IN TWO YEARS HE NEVER BOTHERED TO LEARN THE ADDRESS OF WHERE HE WORKED OR THE NAME OF THE STREET RIGHT OUTSIDE HIS BUILDING ! Two years ! I was shocked and incensed. To me it still seems like it would be of little bother to stretch the brain a little and put some information in there, but curiosity is a trait that has to be encouraged in the greater society for it to catch on. It's quite the opposite here.

Were you speaking to the guard in Thai? , Could you have looked at a map yourself?, Do you think it's in the security guards job description that he should be willing

and able to understand & speak foreign languages in order to give names of streets to any disoriented foreigner approaching him with a completely non-security related inquiry? If you were a young man working in your home country as a security guard and an old Thai man approached you speaking not a word of English, seemingly repeating a certain question over and over, might you have just replied "I dont know" ?

You were "shocked and incensed" ? Why should that be?

Could it be that you feel entitled to receiving instantanious gratification on demanding information from anyone you see fit to ask?

Maybe YOU should bother to stretch YOUR brain a little and put some information in there.

[Berkshire]

Perhaps you work in 'Health and Safety', or some other such 'new' labour/liberal nanny UK state position that most of us are happy to be here avoiding.

Well said

Most of the laws in the western countries are based on fear of what could happen. Also they take into account what is convenient.

For instance it is convenient to ride a elevator even though the power might go out and you can be stuck there for a day.

One of the things I love about Thailand the people are not afraid to live. Unlike the west they are not preoccupied with death.

Some good wisdom here. I'll add that rules and regs in the west sometimes has nothing to do with safety, but rather to avoid lawsuits. Try to sue McDonalds here because you spilled coffee on yourself and they'll laugh you right out of the room. In the US, you might get a mil dollars. On many levels, it seems that there's more common sense in Thailand than in the west.

[Semper]

I am not prepared to put myself, my family, or any other member of the public at risk. What's so difficult to understand here?

You are not in the western world

The foolish standards of the western world do not apply here

If you don't like it, best you don't stay here.

What is so difficult to understand?

Hmmm no risk?

That means

1) Don't use public transportation

2) Don't drive

3) Don't walk or ride a bicycle

4) Don't eat or drink ANYthing

5) Don't go to a movie theater

6) Don't be in any crowded situation

7) Don't be alone

8) Don't use any ATM

9) Don't speak to strangers

10) Don't rent

11) Don't buy

The list is endless! I have only lived in Thailand for 8 years so I am sure I cannot come up with an exhaustive list of how to not put yourself or anyone else at risk!

Really ... taking an empty pram down an escalator with one person in front and one holding it from behind is probably the LEAST dangerous thing you will do in Thailand

12) Do not leave your room or house.

[Semper]

I wonder if OP is related to WEHO

[macsurf]

The OP should consider transporting the infant the way that Thai people do, i.e. fashion a sling with a length of cloth and carry the infant close to your body. Thai children are so much calmer than western kids. Maybe it's because they are next to their parents, hear their hearts and feel their body whenever they are in new situations. Much better than being strapped into a chair that bumps along, a couple feet above hot pavement while your parents are nowhere in sight.

I agree that KSK isn't up to western standards and the OP deserves to vent. The first month we were here, Hubby hit his head on one of the low ceilings at KSK. Really hard. The staffer we "complained" to just did the Thai giggle and smile. At least she had the manners to wipe the smile off her face when I pointed out that it wasn't funny. But, (of course) they haven't raised the height of the ceilings. Hubby just has to pay attention if we go to see a movie at KSK. As they say, this is Thailand.

He's adapted and perhaps the OP's family should if they plan to remain here for a while.

In my opinion it takes a lot of gall (impudence, audacity) on your part to actually bother the 'staffer' with your "complaint" just because your husband is unable to use his eyeballs and his brain well enough to avoid walking into things.

[jdinasia]

I am not prepared to put myself, my family, or any other member of the public at risk. What's so difficult to understand here?

You are not in the western world

The foolish standards of the western world do not apply here

If you don't like it, best you don't stay here.

What is so difficult to understand?

Hmmm no risk?

That means

1) Don't use public transportation

2) Don't drive

3) Don't walk or ride a bicycle

4) Don't eat or drink ANYthing

5) Don't go to a movie theater

6) Don't be in any crowded situation

7) Don't be alone

8) Don't use any ATM

9) Don't speak to strangers

10) Don't rent

11) Don't buy

The list is endless! I have only lived in Thailand for 8 years so I am sure I cannot come up with an exhaustive list of how to not put yourself or anyone else at risk!

Really ... taking an empty pram down an escalator with one person in front and one holding it from behind is probably the LEAST dangerous thing you will do in Thailand

12) Do not leave your room or house.

13) Don't stay IN your room or house (faulty electrical wiring etc ......

[uptoyoumyfriend]

i noticed the loss of my atm card at 7:30 pm at the same ksk mall.

it took me 10 minutes to find my banks branch check on my balance and temporarily close the account.all this without a account nr,bankbook or passport.i was then advised what to do get a new card the next day/holiday!

all this with a smile .

incompetence- where?

[MrBrad]

Ever spent any time on a bed? It's the most dangerous piece of furniture known to man. More people in the world have died on beds than on any other piece of furniture--or anywhere else for that matter. It's true! Beware.

[ianf]

I am not prepared to put myself, my family, or any other member of the public at risk. What's so difficult to understand here?

You are not in the western world

The foolish standards of the western world do not apply here

If you don't like it, best you don't stay here.

What is so difficult to understand?

Hmmm no risk?

That means

1) Don't use public transportation

2) Don't drive

3) Don't walk or ride a bicycle

4) Don't eat or drink ANYthing

5) Don't go to a movie theater

6) Don't be in any crowded situation

7) Don't be alone

8) Don't use any ATM

9) Don't speak to strangers

10) Don't rent

11) Don't buy

The list is endless! I have only lived in Thailand for 8 years so I am sure I cannot come up with an exhaustive list of how to not put yourself or anyone else at risk!

Really ... taking an empty pram down an escalator with one person in front and one holding it from behind is probably the LEAST dangerous thing you will do in Thailand

The original poster is slightly over the top in my opinion. But the advice from this poster is spot on and I tried to follow it by staying in bed all day.

Unfortunately I fell out and banged my head on the bedside cabinet. So now I have gone back to bed wearing my cycling helmet. Unfortunately ...... etc etc etc (continued on page 94).

[msg362]

I'm not sure why you needed to talk to anyone at all. Couldn't one of you have held the baby and the other the pram as you descended the escalator? Or failing that leave the baby in the pram while descending but have one of you stand on the step directly in front of it to prevent a problem if the other of you lets go of the pram for whatever reason. I would have thought once you'd walked in through that noxious 1st floor parking garage the rest of your trip would seem a breeze by comparison.

I agree.

You carry your baby when you go down a flight of stairs don't you? What do you do when you go to places with no elevator at all?

You are going to have to be a bit more flexible if this is going to be your home, there are much greater inconveniences in the Land o' Thais than this.

OK - I'm going to spell this out.... If you read my original posting you will see that there was no problem with carrying the baby. We actually suggested that. Did you read that? The problem was with the pushchair.

I am not prepared to put myself, my family, or any other member of the public at risk. What's so difficult to understand here?

OK what risk, you hold on to the push chair and travel down, your wife holds the baby,, do not let go, everyone is happy! Then your blood pressure is lower and you do not spend time writing on Thai visa which could be better spent with your family . Jai yen yen, TIT!!!!!

( btw I spent 30 years assessing risk and this so called risk is close to the bottom. Even if you let go of the pushchair, the likely injury ( consequence) is minor.For risk here, try crossing the road/ motorbiking without a helmet, electricity not earthed,etc etc

This is Thailand with it's great features ( no speed cameras, no one saying 'don't do this' ) but with it's problems. I love it here. Go with it)

[james24]

Customer service is crap here because no one is trained, that costs money. People leave jobs so frequently that signing a contract is pointless, costly and more trouble than its worth.

The girl does sound very rude and unfortunately because the majority are so nice the one that isn't is alot more noticeable than would be normally

You should complain though.

[IanForbes]

How does one get from point A to point B anywhere in Thailand if you are pushing a wheelchair or a pram with a baby in it?

The elevator would be a walk in the park by comparison. You can't travel on a sidewalk anywhere in Thailand for more than 10 meters without running into an obstacle. That means walking in traffic around parked vehicles that force you right into the lane of oncoming bikes and trucks.

Thailand is not for the ill prepared or weak at heart. It's not a "nancy state" like most western countries. Stay home if you don't like it.

/

[Contractor]

It's not a "nancy state" like most western countries. Stay home if you don't like it.

Do you mean a "nanny state" or a country full of Nancies?

[CMX]

In visiting or living in Thailand, as anywhere else in the world, the foreigner encounters differences, some true challenges. This is because we've all learned to expect things in our own culture that can not be found everywhere. (Because I am accustomed to certain behaviors does not however mean that they are better - hard to believe.)

What seems difficult for many of us (here on Th Vi) to accept is that we cannot change things for the "better." Annoying as it may be, adaptation is called for. Flexibility. Letting go. Hanging loose. Relaxing. Accept acceptance. Seems passive, but it requires an act of will. Observe and adapt. You are not in Kansas any more (I just made that up).

So it goes.

[IanForbes]

It's not a "nancy state" like most western countries. Stay home if you don't like it.

Do you mean a "nanny state" or a country full of Nancies?

Similar expressions, but slightly different. A "nanny state" is where people expect the government to control every aspect of their lives. A "nancy state" is where wishy-washy people act like little school girls and can't handle anything out of the ordinary.

[eek]

Well..i imagine the thread has run its course...

//Closed//