Thaifan

Even though it's not my scene I like to just let nature take its course and look after myself as much as possible by avoiding things that are bad for you and eating healthily, I think it is a valuable sector within the Thai Economy so if people can afford it and want it done. Go for it!!!

Maybe we should also think about our personal cleaning products as well!! Shower Gel invariably comes in plastic containers. Maybe we should return to using bars of soap - especially those which have little in the way of packaging. Shampoo is a bit tougher but perhaps we should lobby to ensure the bottles are made from recycled plastic.

Who knows what is in the minds of the Generals!! Maybe they have run out of Burmese to kill so they want to harass the Bangladeshi's.

Yes we can all follow good advice to make our planet greener, but it isn't just in our private lives, when I was working I used to encourage recycling in the workplace. When I worked at The InterContinental Hotel in Sydney, we used to chop the tops off the plastic litre containers for milk and then put soil into them and plant seeds from trees and grow seedlings on the Hotel roof. These were then planted in urban areas where there were too few trees or in rural areas where regeneration was needed.

No way!!! Lobbying Govt does often have a positive outcome but it takes a long time whereas a public demonstration will hopefully produce faster results. Indeed Obama has already today, reiterated his support but says he still needs to win over both Congress and the Military. Maybe he stands a better chance now that so many people have demonstrated to show support.

Whilst agreeing with most of the Posts that this seems a problem that is going to take a magician to solve, I think they are generalising and being too simplistic. Yes there are major divides between rich and poor and it will always be difficult to get the have/have not's to agree, but as for the educated vs uneducated I think it depends where you were educated. If you have only been educated here in Thailand you are not taught to question things and sometimes even not to think for yourself and consequently consider yourself part of the 'elite' who support the yellow shirts. However those educated overseas who are taught to think for themselves and to not accept things without evidence are less inclined to fall into this category. I know many educated people who are Thaksin supporters and recognise that he did a lot of good things for Thailand. I did see Abhisit as one of these well-educated individuals who could perhaps take the middle path and bring both sides together but he recognises that his grip on power depends on yellow-shirt support so he hasn't taken the middle path and indeed stupidly destroyed my confidence in him by appointing as Foreign Minister one of the idiots responsible for closing down the Airports. Unfortunately we cannot turn back the clock but during the previous two Governments which were democratically elected after the Coup(unlike the present Government); when they were going through turmoil because of Court challenges if they had taken the middle road and asked Abhisit (not his party) to become Prime Minister, we may have found a way forward. It would not have been easy to lead a Government made up of people from a different party but if done carefully could have been possible and it would have avoided the need for the red shirts to form. That would have been the true 'middle path' that Thailand so desparately needs. Now we have a deeply divided Country, with an un-elected Government and nobody has the charisma(which Thaksin did have) to lead the Country forward.

The Asian and South Pacific region has really experienced natures fury lately and my heart goes out to all those suffering and their families.

I would feel guilty about using services that many Thais need but cannot afford. When I have had to use the Hospital system - through necessity not vanity - I have been very impressed by the service and care. Excepting their policy regarding wound care - they have the view that to prevent infection and avoid scarring then a wound shouldn't 'scab' over. Therefore everytime you go to have a wound dressed they scrape it. Trust me it's very hard not to scream, it is such a painful process.

A very interesting article indeed. Hard to imagine so many Thais would adapt to the climate. Sweden is one of the few countries in the world which I haven't visited but it is supposed to be a very advanced free-thinking society. Therefore I think Ivdkeyes is probably correct about Thai Massage, it would be very popular with Swedes.

Another case of high-profile people getting away with things the average person wouldn't. I suppose clarification of his term 'boys' is necessary. I like Thai Boys but not underage ones!!!(takes us back to previous Posts warning us all to check ID's to ensure we don't mess up an under 18 year old. I know many choose their sexuality long before reaching 18 but also many also change their preferences later on so the 18 minimum is not oppressive, but necessary to ensure safety of the younger population.

I think while Thai Government policy is reasonably 'green' the average Thai is less focused. Too many plastic bags and too much polystyrene, non-biodegradeable Packaging, and too much of a disposable society are all major problems here in Thailand. However Thailand is one of those countries most likely to be affected by Global Warming - too many people fail to give credence to the belief that Bangkok may be underwater in 50 (yes 50, not 500) years!!

Thanks, It's always good to know the derivation of popular expressions!!!

I am lucky not to need to worry too much about the US$ (excepting that it's decline often affects us all)because most of my assets come in the form of the AUD$. However that has varied from a low of 22 baht to the dollar earlier this year to the present 30 baht per dollar. How long will it last? Do I assume I am in Thailand for good and buy baht now at a good rate or will it get even better? Who knows? The recent Global Economic turmoil has taught us we can never count on anything these days nobody knows what will happen, not even the so-called experts!!!

Crazy Expat, you asked for creativity, but you may regret that. I have tried to take into account what all have said and want to avoid causing offence(religious connotations)I liked Smokers food suggestions but have tried to go one stage further to satisfy Bob's comment about some postings having no substance, unfortunately this will mean you having to rate postings: Appetizer Soup, Fish, Main Course Sweet, Dessert Cheese, Beverage Now I hear you say 'how does that help with ranking'? This is where YOU need to rank postings - Appetizer is a newbie finding their way, Soup could be actually done by naming a soup - Consomme, a lot of liquid but no body, or Minestrone, full of lots of varied substance Fish could be used for fishy posts where the content is dubious i.e an isolated opinion rather than unarguable facts, Main Course, substantial and satisfying, Sweet, a cute or funny opinion, Dessert differs from sweet because it is healthy (fruit) and nutritional (nuts) Cheese, a bit cheesy i.e. funny to some but offensive to others, Beverage could be named like the soup - A spirit could be strong and powerful, wine tasty and with a bit of a kick, Beer maybe lots of substance or a bit too much and lemonade could be no substance but lots of fizz. Maybe a bit too complicated, especially as many of the posts are open to interpretation, but you cajoled us to be creative and many of the latter posts have moved away from the point, so I have tried to adapt the best ideas of a number of other posts.

Thanks. I accept the 30year lease would actually legalise everything but the family have already agreed that should anything happen to him I can continue living in the house as long as I want. I don't even want to think about him going before me but am almost certain I would want to stay in Thailand.

Thanks again for some very useful information. I was lucky in being able to open a KTB account with no difficulty. Since then I have opened several accounts with them always without any difficulty and have never encountered a visit when nobody on the staff speaks English. Though they charge a relatively small amount for some routine requests the Bank Charges, which enable Australian and British Banks to make such enormous profits don't seem to exist here. My only criticism is the low rate of interest but then again I suppose i wouldn't complain if I ever needed to borrow from them!!

I have never had the courage to bungee jump and now I feel even less inclined.

I believe one of the deterrents which keeps Thailand a reasonably crime-free country compared to most Western countries, is the fear of going to prison. In most Western countries it is no deterrent at all as the prisons are more like luxury hotels. Without any experience of the Thai prison system I don't actually believe it is as bad as some say. I admire the useful way in which they try to rehabilitate prisoners - much of my furniture was bought in a prison sale - where once a year they hold a huge market in Bangkok to sell furniture produced by prisoners. The quality is excellent and the price way below that found in Department Stores.

This story also made the BBC news!!

I thought One-Two-Go had ceased to operate? I flew them several times a couple of years ago and never had any problems. Now I tend to use AirAsia because as a resident I am more price driven than I was when I was a Tourist, however Bangkok Airways is still my favourite. (partly cos of the cute guys they employ, I am sure)

Ivdkeyes, I don't think that Tata can keep up with demand in India yet so probably are not exporting any Nano's yet, though I do keep meaning to pop in to the Tata Motors showroom on Sukhimvit Road and ask them. Chon Buri does have a showroom selling the Chinese Cherry I talked about in my earlier post and that sells for 359,000 Baht probably the cheapest saloon in Thailand. Without seeing both models side-by-side it is hard to say but I imagine the Nano is smaller and more compact, so ideal for Thai roads.

Whatever your 'scene' I echo that Tiffany's is a must-see show for visitors. I have never taken any visitor who hasn't loved it. I even took my parents when they visited from England and didn't tell them in advance what type of show it is just that it was a colourful Cabaret with great songs. My Mum guessed but my Dad was shocked when I told him that all the performers were actually guys!!

Sad news indeed!! Hua Hin is one of my favourite places in Thailand and as an ex-railwayman I am always concerned about train accidents. I always criticised Australia's XPT's being over 25 years old and that they needed to be replaced by a Tilt-Train or one of the new era models. However, one advantage of the XPT is that though they have derailed, when they do they always stay upright which helps prevent fatalities.

I also congratulate Rio and am confident the Games will be a success. I will never forget what a different place Sydney became during September and October of 2000. Just a pity it didn't last!! For that month Sydney was like Thailand - the Land of Smiles!!!

Thanks again everybody!! I did obtain my Visa before leaving Australia and have renewed it twice with no problem. I have the 800,000 baht in a separate Thai Bank Account I keep just for immigration purposes. My worry was that I thought this was just for renewal purposes and for an initial application you needed more, so you have reassured me that I shouldn't have any problems if I do accept the job. Again from my experience the ease depends on which Immigration Officer looks after your application, some do it very quickly others need every i dotted and t crossed. Thaimo is also right about updating your passbook on the day you apply (I had the letter from the Bank only 24hours old and had updated my Passbook the day before but they still sent me back to the bank to update it on the day of my application). Another tip concerns the 90 Day reporting - I forgot once and was fined 2000 Baht for being 24 hours late. I was told that even when the Immigration Office is closed there is a Duty Officer working and so you can actually report 24/7. I have never actually checked this claim out.