Bob

I'm still at a loss to understand why, when they've known it for damn near 20 years, the pilot tubes aren't heated. We're in teh 21st century now and it would seem somebody could figure out how to heat the tubes for a few thousand dollars (or a cost that is far less than the loss of an airplane not to mention a few hundred lives). As Fountainhill noted, the preliminary report out today wasn't very nice to the pilots. Air France is going to pay bigtime for this one, I'd suspect.

I've my own Wan (or Waan) or, better put, he has had the misfortune of having me since he was 22 (he'll be 33 in November). I'm sure he'd kill* me if I posted a photo so I won't. By the way, I surely know the "only boy" who's photo is posted above (he and his lesser half, Khun Khortose, live about 150 yards northeast of me most of the year). [*On second thought, since he's read the provision in my Will that says he gets nothing if he kills me (my Thai lawyer inserted that one on her own initiative), it's likely he would only severely maim me.]

As an added comment, throw a few of those plastic lunch baggies in your luggage as they come in very handy to protect your personal items (wallet, passport, whatever) when you're out on the street. I've used them for years. I also take a somewhat larger plastic bag to protect my camera although, if on a given day you intend to really get into the water throwing, it's best to simply not bring your camera as it will get soaked regardless of what you're carrying it in. But, most important, have fun. Many falang hate Songkran whereas I've enjoyed it very much over the years. But I must admit that I don't think I'd like any more than 3 days of it anywhere.

In Pattaya, it's April 13th through the 19th. I thought that Bangkok activities were during the traditioinal time period (April 13th-15th) but, since I've never been there for Songkran, perhaps a BKK resident can confirm or correct that. In my neck of the woods - Chiangmai - it's April 13th-15th. In Hua Hin, it's only one day (with some minor water throwing on a few back sois the evening before).

I specifically asked the Chiangmai lawyer who drafted my Thai Will what the cost of probate would be and she indicated approximately 50,000 baht. Whether that's all inclusive of costs, hell if I know. You have to probate the Will just like you would have to do in any other country. The Will I had prepared was only drafted in Thai [they charge a little more to draft it in both Thai and English and, given she translated the Will to me prior to my signing it, I didn't see the need to have an English version (when I die, only Thais will read it anyway)]. I have a copy, the bf (and beneficiary) has one original and my Thai lawyer has the second original. By the way, if you're giving all of your Thai assets (bank accounts, furniture, or whatever) to someone and you would want them to also receive any after-acquired property (new bank accounts or whatever), make sure that your Will provides for that and then you won't have to draft a new Will if something substantially changes.

Technically, you don't, but it's a very good idea if you have any significant assets (furniture, bank accounts, car, etc.) within Thailand. And: (1) If you are either a Thai citizen or a foreigner, the Thai courts will honor a foreign Will if it was properly made in the jurisdiction (country or state) where you had it made. However, it's a major hassle to have that foreign will certified to Thailand and then you have to still probate the Will (another lengthy process with some significant cost). (2) If you are either a Thai citizen or a foreigner, it's wise to make a Will in Thailand solely to avoid certification of a foreign Will. But you still have to have the "Thai" Will probated (I've been quoted by lawyers here before that the cost is a minimum 50,000 baht and takes at least 6-8 months - but I'd guess the cost varies depending on where you live and have the Will probated). (3) If you are either a Thai citizen or a foreigner and don't have a will, a Thai statute controls who gets your stuff (not too dissimilar to intestate succession in any other country). But if your statutory heirs live in your home country (and they don't have a clue what you own in Thailand and/or have no desire or ability to mess with Thai lawyers to get it done, then you've still got a mess on your/their hands). In my personal opinion, if your Thai assets don't consist of much (let's say under 75,000 baht), I wouldn't bother making a Thai Will or even caring if the Thai probate process proceeds. The cost and hassle of doing all that likely exceeds the value of 75,000 (or even slightly more) baht worth of stuff. If, let's say, you only keep 10,000-30,000 baht in a bank account and you only have 40,000-50,000 of personal property assets in Thailand - and presuming you know who in Thailand (bf?) you want to get the money and property, I'd recommend just telling him/her to take the stuff after you croak and somehow leave your ATM number with a trusted friend so they can quickly exhaust the bank account. But if you have a car, condo, and/or any significant assets in Thailand, you're a bit nuts if you don't make a Thai Will to dispose of same. P.S. Thai law doesn't recognize the trust concept. If you have a pour-over Will and a Trust in you home country and you expect that this Will and Trust can be certified in Thailand to handle assets in Thailand, it won't (the Trust won't be recognized).

May I ask who lifted the curfew so I can flog them?

I possibly misinterpreted your comment "maybe she did not see it?" If so, sorry. With your current explanation, I'm still puzzled at the phraseology but I guess you're saying that the maid possibly never saw the open safe and that's why she was puzzled by your tip. By the by, the amount of your tip (600 baht) probably shocked her a bit. When I used to stay in hotels in the LOS, I'd typically tip the maid 20 baht per day and usually I'd hand it directly to her/them (usually once a week). While I was always satisfied with the service they gave before I tipped them, I often noticed the extra service they gave thereafter (extra towels, flowers, or whatever). They appreciate the tips (I presume they're paid fairly lousy wages by the hotels).

For over a decade, when I used hotels in Thailand, I always had some cash laying around (never more than a couple of thousand baht), cameras, and other items. Not once (out of a whole lot of times) did I ever miss an item or a single baht. As far as I'm concerned, 99% of hotel service people are as honest as can be. The hotel maid you talk about here is surely someone's daughter and probably somebody's mother. There's no reasonable basis for you to suggest that the only reason she didn't steal your money is because she didn't see it.

I agree that the vote wasn't mainly for Yingluck but I disagree that the vote was for Thaksin. I could be wrong but I believe the votes in this election (and in 2001, 2006, and 2007) were more of a philosophical vote for the have-nots and against the rich and powerful (nevermind that many of the Peua Thai candidates fall into the "rich and powerful" category). In a sense, not much different than the usual block of voters for Democrats (have-nots) and Republicans (big business and the rich)in the US. Peua Thai, in my view, would have had the most votes in this election regardless of who they suggested would be named as Prime Minister.

Believe it or not, the court won't have a problem in finding a decent and apparently unbiased jury. The modern voir dire process tends to produce a fair panel and I suspect they won't have any problem this time (presuming it gets that far). On the negative side of that equation, probably 30-40% of the initial jury panel won't in fact know much at all about the case (i.e., probably the same percentage that won't be able to name who the current Vice President happens to be....).

I would agree with you if decisions like this were made by people like us reading incomplete and biased news reports. Thankfully, however, such decisions aren't made that way.

Perhaps a bit of a rush to judgment by the press and everybody else as to what really happened (not only with the alleged rape itself by how the police investigated the case, what they wrote in reports for the prosecutors, and what decisions that the prosecutors made). So far, other than the public notoriety of the case (which I abhor), the only thing I know for sure is that the prosecutors did what ethical prosecutors are required to do - turn over any exculpatory evidence to the defense. They did this and that's what triggered the events of the last few days. Whoever leaked that notification (a letter from the prosecutor to defense counsel - a copy of which was in the hands of some hysterical reporter) ought to be chastized. I detest any lawyer who attempts to try a case in the press and that includes the victim's lawyer who gave his press conference yesterday. Even if what he said was all correct or partially correct, he was wrong in doing that. Either a rape happenened here or it didn't and I hope the decision to proceed with the case is made by reasonable people without the glare or affect of the tabloid press.

I've got to get you to an optician, boy! While the obesity problem in Thailand is not even close to the horizontal challenges in the west, I've been remarking for 3 or 4 years at all the fat Thai kids that are all of a sudden popping up. It's not a problem culturally as yet as fat is still considered by many as a sign of wealth and well-being (you never see any skinny buddha statutes, that's for sure). Yet, I'm occasionally alarmed in Chiangmai when I see a 5-10 year-old kid who's not only fat but morbidly so. As referenced by Fountainhill, I mark it all down to a slow change of diet. 10+ years ago, you'd almost never see a Thai eat sweets or in one of the fast food places whereas now they're the main customers. Unfortunately, if they keep it up, all our other 'good' western things (heart issues, diabetes, and the like) will come along with the so-called "good" life. Another big change I've seen over the last decade+ is the height of the kids. I'm 6'1" and a decade ago I never ran into kids in Chiangmai who were as tall as me (with one exception when I once ran into the Thai national volleyball team at Don Muang - those guys were giants by Thai standards). Now, on an almost daily basis, I see college-age and even some high-school kids on the west end of Chiangmai between 6' tall and 6'4". I'm guessing this might be also related to diet but heck if I know.

I really don't see much comparison between what the Greek people are thinking (and doing) with what the Thai people are thinking let alone doing. A substantially different culture, education system, and political history. Without trying to sound too negative (and hoping I phrase this right - and adding before I begin that I have great affection for the average Thai), the Thais compared to western people are generally shy and sheepish about any reaction to anything. For example only, a coup in Greece or the US or anywhere in Europe would have resulted in an immediate and bloody-as-hell armed rebellion whereas the general reaction in Thailand to such an event (19 coups within the last 80 years?) is not much beyond a whimper. They're taught to be subservient and their general education system makes no effort to teach them to think for themselves. And they seem to be struggling with those few in Thai society that are begining to do things (dress, eat, socialize, and even think) like those wacky falang. The old guard likes the system (and the profits that system brings them) just the way it's always been and, surprisingly, what's beginning to be a middle class (mainly in the Bangkok area) has historically tended to support the elite and conservatives. But maybe things are beginning to change (I'm shocked that Peua Thai is leading in the polls in the Bangkok area as neither the People's Power Party nor Thai Rak Thai ever won the most votes in that area). I'd have a more positive attitude where all this is going but for the existence of an unrestrained military leadership. They are the ones who ultimately will decide if they'll either allow a democratic government to rule or whether they'll simply take over as they have done so many times before. As I've noted before, I don't see much difference between them (the Thai military leadership) and the thugs running Myanmar so I personally wouldn't bet much of anything that Thailand's own thugs won't take over again. And I would note that I firmly believe that the military leadership has been encouraged to engage in coups by other elements of the amataya but that's a topic that probably shouldn't be discussed any further here.

That to me is the key to democracy, the people get to choose. And, to me, the other key is that the military leadership must always be subservient to the government. As to the amnesty issue, I have mixed feelings and I don't have the time at the moment to lay out all I would want to say about that. Yes, he's corrupt but in my view no more corrupt than most of the Thai elite. They convict him of a bogus charge (the conviction regarding his wife winning the bid on the real estate at the public auction was petty and, in my view, legally incorrect) yet the military's appointed Prime Minister (Surayud) is caught stealing a parcel of national real estate and he isn't even fined let alone charged with anything. Like President Ford (who, in spite of my absolute disdain for Tricky Dick, probably did the right thing), I think at times that an overall amnesty might be what's best for the country. For examples only, trials of wacky Sondhi and the yellowshirts for Government House and airport fiascos, trials of the soldiers involved in the turkeyshoot at the temple, trials of Shinawatra for the tax evasion or whatever, or even a trial of the military leadership who violated the constitution with their coup would seem to me to be totally disruptive to any chance of reconciliation and likely would lead to more violence. It's very hard to overlook some of these things - especially where the actions led to personal injury and death - but I really can't see how justice can be served while the country might be burning down. Obtaining justice (meaning trials and punishment) against the elite who've robbed and raped Thailand over the last 10 years alone would involve untold resources and probably another 20 years to resolve. And I don't believe Thailand has the mood or resources to go through all of that. So, if an amnesty proposal would cover all of the key players, I might reluctantly support it - so long as it coincided with an earnest pledge that, from that day forward, anybody caught violating the law and constitution would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In reality, I don't believe there is any good solution to this morass.

After reading and re-reading all these details (sometimes enjoyably envisioning some of the events I must admit), my reaction is essentially the same as Poster Rainwalker's. I'm puzzled and even almost insulted that anybody would think I would be clueless enough to buy a bar in Thailand! P.S. Neighbor Khortose: You can tell Scott he can have the bar back....

Given the length and comments of the thread you're referring to, rehashing all that a second time might be another train wreck of sorts. Publishing events of a bar closing, opening, menu, or whatever seems perfectly appropriate to me; however, publishing hearsay heard from barstaff or others about people's private issues (whether true or not) is beyond the pale from my point of view.

Parts 1 and 2 are now both online. Both are long reads but extremely interesting (almost none of the interesting parts can be repeated here or in Thailand due to the lese majeste law). Marshall's work is a substantial supplement to Handley's book and, at least to me, appears to be an honest and even-handed treatment of real events still unfolding.

Yes, a good idea. I'm not sure how England handles such things but that's how the states and federal government handles protests and public gatherings. I was never at the protest area and my knowledge of the area cordoned off was based on all the maps posted online in the newspapers. Probably was a bigger area as you note.

Probably right (little point to rehashing some of the history) and there's probably room for blame to be spread around a bit. Leading up to the redshirt protests were the events of the prior years including the 5-6 month occupation and trashing of Government House by the yellow shirts and then their protest at the international airport. And, given they suffered no consequences at all during those times, I do believe it led other groups to believe they could take similar actions with relative impunity (and one could argue that occupying the 3-4 block business area was less drastic than taking over the airport or Government House). Or one could possibly argue that the biggest problem the redshirts faced at the time was the color of their shirts. Bad actors on both sides, no doubt, and then things naturally accelerated after the assassination of Seh Daeng. But for those that argue that any substantial portion of the redshirt protesters were violent thugs, they're simply dead wrong as you've noted. Then again, most of the soldiers were simply young kids doing what they were told although it's likely some were a bit rogue (the turkeyshoot into the temple from the overpass being a prime example). Absent some reconciliation (and I see no evidence of that coming), what happened last year might later be viewed as just the preliminaries. I hope not but the underlying problems simply fester away.

The main platform of the yellow shirt group (led by ol' wacky Sondhi Limongkul) was that a majority of the upper house of parliament should be appointed rather than elected. Their reason was that they believed that the average Thai citizen, given they chose to vote for Thai Rak Thai in 2001 and 2006 and the People Power Party in 2008, are simply too stupid to elect the "right kind" of leaders. And that position came from a group (PAD) whose name means "people for democracy" (heck, almost like Fox News perpetually repeating its mantra of "fair and balanced" news reporting!). Your apparent position (that anybody that votes for Peua Thai lacks common sense) sounds like something Sondhi would say. I also don't believe that it represents a fair interpretation of why the Thai electorate is going to support Peua Thai this week (or voted the way they did in the 2001, 2006, and 2008 elections).

While Geezer can always succinctly respond for himself, I think you missed the drift of Geezer's comments. And my guess is he would absolutely bristle at your "birds of a feather" comment.

Presuming Peua Thai wins a majority of the seats in the house, this will mark the fourth election in a row where a party supposedly representing the have-nots has accomplished that feat. In 2001, Thai Rak Thai for the first time in Thai history won by a landslide and was the first political party to have over half the members of the house of representatives (with some coalition building with other parties). In 2006, although the election was later nullified and the party dissolved, Thai Rak Thai won 61.6% of the vote and, for a short time, ruled on its own. In 2007, the Peoples Power Party won the majority of the seats in the election although short of an absolute majority. And now we have the 2011 elections where the "have-nots" party will likely win a majority of the seats. These events - a political party winning a majority of the seats in the house of representatives - have never occurred before in Thailand and would seem to me to represent a fundamental shift in how the "have-nots" are responding to the old-line power structures of Thailand. And all in a short span of 10 years. And the background to all of this seems to be the waning of the power of the Thai monarchy. The vast majority of the Thais love their King (the why for this probably can't be honestly debated here) but there seem to be clear signs that, once the current King has passed, that may no longer be the case. The current King and the adulation of the Thais for him from all sectors seems to me be the only glue that has kept an almost full class warfare from breaking out here. Without that glue in the future, perhaps we're going to see whether Thailand is going to look more like a modern democracy (with all its warts) or more like the horrid dictatorship in Burma. Unless and until the military leadership and elite accept that, for better or worse, they're subservient to an elected government, the direction Thailand is going won't be known. But I have no doubt that we're witnessing the gradual unfolding of very interesting times in the Land of Smiles.

As a buddhist/mormon, I suppose the Thai province of Nakorn Utah might be able to handle that for you. Later, the US has a specialized civil procedure (class actions) to handle the divorces.....