NIrishGuy

"Mr Vorayuth's lawyers also lodged a request with prosecutors asking for an adjournment of his client’s indictment to Sept 2 at 10am, saying he was sick. He submitted Mr Vorayuth’s medical certificate along with his request. The statute of limitations for the speeding charge against Mr Vorayuth expires on Sept 3." Source : http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/366477/indictment-of-red-bull-delayed-again-as-statute-of-limitations-winds-down SURELY they aren't going to try the old statue of limitations stay out of jail card -especially when it's not the state at fault for the delay, SURELY that can't be allowed even to be seen to run if on the 2nd they simply call in "sick' again - SURELY NOT - even for Thailand ? I mean OF COURSE he's going to wangle SOME way out of things either a little or a lot, that's a given I think by all sides, but to do it as openly and so obviously, I'm very surprised at that - ok so please some expat please check back on the 3rd in the press there and see was he indicted or not !?

I don't quite get it as the directors statement to the press states clearly that a) he / they didn't steal the money and run when things were looking bad and also b) that their accounts were fully audited ( I'm assuming by some reputable one of the big three accountants like PWC etc as opposed to jimmy tons accountancy services ltd - we cook your books for 10,000 baht service:-) As if the above IS the case then it WOULD surely have been quite difficult ( but not impossible I accept) for them to siphon off over half the company's yearly turnover in just two or three lifts ( as alleged) and all in the one accounting period without it standing out like a sore thumb in their accounts, as even if he used a (few) bogus companies to assist in that the transaction(s) would still have shown up like a lighthouse in the audit trail if anyone undertook even the most basic oversight check - surely ? Although I did laugh at his "actually it's all the fault of the shopping centres for locking us out and the power company for cutting us off, if they hadn't of done that we'd have been fine" - yeah, how dare they refuse YOU service when THEY don't get paid, whatever were they thinking !

Undoubtedly GR, jackd and less so maybe gaydar are the ways to go ( anywhere) but especially in Thailand, I can't imagine travelling somewhere now and NOT having my phone set to that location. On my last 7 week trio to Bkk and Pattaya I think I was in a go go twice and off'd a boy only once and even that was only as it was for a 3 some and the guy I was with wanted to pick who he was getting - and he'd great taste as unbeknown to him ( until later) he picked one of the boys out of the big cock show lol ( I "may" have guided his choice subliminally perhaps :-) But my point is that even a year or two ago it would have been unthinkable to go to Thailand and NOT off a few boys from go go bars but as online "dating" is now so prevalent it's almost getting to the stage you just don't need to go to go go bars any longer apart from wanting to yourself to experience the fun element of that ( if you still find it fun that is)

I totally agree and understand that, thus I pay my bill and "smile" - but it IS that very fact that the receptionist or whoever is not given or does not have or does not suggest or ask for that said leeway to drop the 10 baht off a 30000 baht bill if they feel its appropriate from their own management that drives me nuts. As let's face it Thais whilst they may not have the authority to make changes like that aren't stupid and even they MUST be aware that to force and issue of 10 baht on a 30K bill appears somewhat mean and excessive SURELY ? Although actually I do wonder about that to as perhaps in their culture it's something they don't even think about and "if its due its due" but I have a sneaking suspicion if it were them paying the 30k bill then they may too might also share my view on the matter if the boot were on the other foot perhaps ?

Ha I could go on and on - in a cafe I and whoever I'm with eats breakfast in EVERY DAY I have a long running ( and totally unsuccessful) dispute ongoing with the owner as I order my same food each day, it comes with toast and each day I ask the waitress for butter for my toast ( as it arrives plain), she then delivers a small square of butter and a shachet of jam and then lifts my check and adds 20 baht to it. Now I know the girls well and one day said REALLY !? You're really going to continually charge my 20 baht even though I eat here every day, never ask for or touch the jam ( as its a fry up) and your one round of toast comes butterless, wherein she smiled and says "oh big boss say I have to for everyone". So, one fine day when the big boss happened to be there I joking pointed out this little ongoing farce which takes place each morning and to my amazement got a lecture about how the cost of things is going up and why would I expect NOT to pay extra if I wanted butter on my toast, I then gave up and laughed in disbelief and paid my 20 baht pointing out that I was going to invite them to my home for breakfast one morning but there would be no milk in their tea nor butter on their toast as things were going up you know but apart from that they were most welcome - needless to say the irony and polite sarcasm was lost on them :-).

Ah but IF you were stealing the chocolate or hiding the broken bottle you may have a point about some poor unfortunate member of house keeping getting stiffed with the cost for not informing management and that would of course be a lousy thing to do by anyone - BUT when you've already made it clear to management at check out as you pay them your 25 or 30k baht that yes you drank a 10 baht bottle of water or ate one 30 baht bar of chocolate during your weeks stay then that is more just the hotel being miserable bastards and screwing you for every penny they can - but all whilst smiling at you whilst they do it of course and holding out their collective hands for their tips as you depart ......bless em eh :-)

Ha yes like you I've also had the bottle of water bill presented to me in several hotels - usually as I have ended up opening up the "wrong" bottle of water at 4am some morning with the lights off and whilst dying of thirst and reaching for the first bottle to hand - as of course I've ended up lifting not the two free glass singha bottles but the MUCH more expensive 10 baht singha PLASTIC bottle option - OHHHHH shock horror !??? :-) Which always makes me wonder what the HELL might be in the free bottles and why if they honestly believe its of a lesser (perceived) quality or they dont think my business is worth the 6 baht difference than than 10 baht plastic bottles that they even bother / have the cheek to give the glass bottles to their valued guests !? But like you what with it being Thailand one simply smiles through gritted teeth and pays up - whilst all the while in the back of my head thinking these Thai people must REALLY think us farang are such a push over and as thick as shit as to even continually try this crap on us and worse still us still to put up with it as we're paying our 30,000 baht check out bills ( not including tips of course :-) ! But hey ho, I guess its all just part of the lovely LOS experience - and at least we did get to drink the "expensive" bottle of water :-)

What cracks me in Thailand is the whole good grace thing seems to be 100% strictly one way. Such as in the above example the bill comes unexpectedly to say 102 baht, you already have 100 baht in your hand and perhaps only another 1000 note on your person to pay with, well hell there's NO chance they'll say "oh that's ok, sure give it to me next time, or "hey that's ok, thanks for the business, don't worry about it" oh no, they wait and take that 1000 no matter what and if that then means you ending up with a mountain of change in your pocket - TOUGH ! Likewise recently on checking out of Tarntawan they did the usual "Did you use anything from the mini bar last night before checking out Sir?" - and with me it's usually either "No I didn't" or the odd time sometimes maybe its "oh, I had a small bar of chocolate" - as I then smile and rub my tummy and make some crack about and I really enjoyed it as as I know it's tiny and only costs about 30 baht or so I think nothing more about it. They THEN (and after having already asked me) keep me standing waiting at reception like a pillock as they ring housekeeping and ask them to go check (like why not just do that in the first place if they really must!) and the worst part is ( and this has happened ) IF I have perhaps already settled my bill with them for maybe a weeks stay at say upwards of 25,000 baht roughly, they'll then call me back and say "Sorry Sir we forgot to charge for the chocolate (30 baht after paying 25k !!!! ) - now as I've stayed there many times the first time this happened I laughed thinking they were joking but I soon realised and now know they weren't and aren't - as they stand with their hand out waiting for the 30 baht change to appear from my pocket. Now fair enough I'm not debating that the 30 baht is owed so I pay it BUT !! wobetide should I happen to say not tip a bell boy enough or god forbid not at all ( never happens) or in the likes of the above example have no choice but to break a new1000 baht note for one or two baht on a bill - well TOUGH - you break it Sir and pay us please - but the other way round and you sometimes think and expect "oh they're sure to drop the one or two baht off" to help you out - NO CHANCE ! It seems the whole "it's nice to be nice" thing only works one way - especially if and when it's about money anyway it seems in Thailand - and that does my box in every time :-)

Never mind fish - I know a couple of women friends like that, one minute all sweetness and light and say one wrong word at the wrong time of the month and the next thing they're biting the bloody balls off you -AND I hear that they've migrated to Thailand too so beware !!

I'm going to report you to the big internet police thingy under the Trades Descriptions Act for bringing us all here under false pretences ! Now, about these cookies....just plain old chocolate chip or something a little more exotic do you think, what with it being the dark side there and all I'd be expecting something a little different !

Funny, I always thought that pussy was more of a too damp and smelly sort of off put - I mean we are talking about the same thing here - right ? ! :-)

More annoyingly after Stephen Fry writing his long and eloquent open letter to the Prime Minister of the UK I see he's just had his reply - saying screw you we're going basically - but BY TWEET !!! I mean REALLY and they complain that standards in schools are dropping etc, if the bloody Prime Minister can't reply to a letter on a serious topic other than with a bloody Tweet I despair. And I'd look over it if it was some knee jerk instant response from David Cameron whilst on a train or something, but this short "we're going anyway" response took days to be concocted and was no doubt mulled over by half the PM's press team with meetings and focus groups ascertaining the best PR method of reply with the chance of least damage limitation and the best they could come up with for the PM of the UK to reply to such a serious heartfelt was was to send a TWEET ! :-( Bloody insulting to the gay community if nothing else.

But surely as those athletes are there to representing our / their Country that Country ( through their Government) should then have a say as to whether or not they WISH us all to be represented at Games such as this and if not and the athlete choses to continue then that then should only mean then continuing to compete as an individual and not as a Representative of their Country ( which isn't currently allowed of course) . But leaving the athletes personal views aside for a moment or even what the Country prefers to happen how it terrible it must be for them for all this to be kicking off right at the end of their years of training and them working so hard to earn their place in their representing their Country in the first place, I'm sure they're gutted about the whole thing either way.

Whilst of course I like most other right thinking people am disgusted what is currently taking place in Russia I'm also amazed that more people aren't reminding straight people that here in Britain until both the year 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales and until the repeal of section 28 that almost exactly the same law was in place in the UK i.e "that a local authority ( i.e. Councils or Schools etc) shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship" That's almost word for word the same as what's happening now in Russia, so whilst it's terrible that it's happening again now there and we should of course campaign against that with all out mite the straight world here in the UK and beyond should perhaps remember ( or be reminded occasionally when the ask why are the gays always complaining and marching in Gay pride parades etc) that they too inflicted the same pain and harm on gay people here for many years - lest they forget ! Thankfully here in the UK things are moving on and improving, slowly but surely, but when one looks at the fight required just to secure equal rights re gay marriage and the very fact that the likes of Stephen Fry HAS to write a letter asking for society to stand up and stop this sort of behaviour ( and be fairly much either ignored or lambasted for having the "cheek" to do so) it shows that we've still a way to go in terms of being seen as equals in this straight world that straight people believe they graciously allow us to live in - just as long as we don't annoy them to much or be "to gay" where we might offend their precious sensitivities !

I too was in x boys last night and was almost instantly hit on by the new ( old - VERY old) mamasan, who started giving me her life story about being away and now just back etc and I instantly and for me very coldly just turned and said "yes I remember you well" and gave a look that said "so take yourself off and don't even think about bothering me" and then ( as I was bored anyway) said actually check bin please I go now - so hopefully see got the message and will remember to ignore me in future - but I wouldn't bet on it ! Interesting though to see the other mamasan ( who is also normally a pain in the ass too) sitting back and letting the new (old) girl crash and burn - I wonder what the politics there is ie do they split the room in half or is everyone fair game and if one doesn't succeed the other can have a go ? As someone said - bad mistake bringing her back, it's like looking at a bad madam tussauds dummy gone wrong - except one that just annoys rather than entertains you. :-(

I would question the ya ba being the drug of choice now, I know we (I) always assumed so and I actually had this conversation with a few guys in Bkk two weeks ago and they to a man told me now that Ice was by far the more common drug of choice across the board from sex workers to blue and white collar works as (in Bkk anyway) it was much easier to get apparently.

ha ha yes, absolutely, makes for a much more pleasant environment all round - and I WAS joking of course, it WAS 100% :-)

Well I wish they would just make it as easy as that in general and do away with all the other crap as it's so frustrating knowing you've to jump through a million hoops to get a thai friend over to the UK, knowing full well that he will have no intention of overstaying but still probably being denied, personally I'd be much happier just signing a bond and taking the responsibility to have him back to the airport or not when his time came ! I've actually a Thai friend staying in another European country right now ( I wont say where in case his BF is reading this but he can't wait to get home and it literally counting the days until he can get back to Pattaya.

Shit really ! See, this is why I can never go alone to markets, it ends up costing me a small fortune as I always forget that small but important fact ! :-) Well actually I "say" 100% but what I guess I meant was that you were talking complete and utter ballox and I don't agree with one single word you said ! Shit !! There I go again, I never can seem to get that balance thing quite right ! :-( Ok, lets stick with the 100% thing, much more polite all round I think ! :-) lol

@ z909 - Re your first point - absolutely - but I think it's generally accepted that the large Corporates should act both within the spirit of the law and not just to the letter of it and to pay next to no tax in ten years or more of trading in a Country in other words depriving it's citizens of the much needed income isn't quite fair when the rest of us have to pay up. Is this legal - yes, is it fair and equitable ( and good business) to be seen to be doing that the citizens of that Country - I don't think so and many others thought the same hence why Starbucks are now paying up. But I wholly agree that it's the Governments fault that this situation was allowed to occur in the first place and the Corporates where just playing by (and around) the rules as they stand at this time. However this is one occasion where even though our Government dropped the ball re forming better rules to avoid this being able to happen and are crap as usual ( and no doubt lining their own pockets from these rules too no doubt with their many Directorships etc) this time the people spoke and after a fairly effective boycott of Starbucks by many people here in the UK it appears it has prompted them to think again about their tax avoidance policy, however even at 10 million this year they're still getting away cheap for all the years they DIDN'T pay and I'm sure they know that only to well hence the payment now to stave off any further public criticism and to hopefully get their lost customer base back again. Re your second point - 100% agree there !

Going back to the previous discussion here re Starbucks not paying any tax in the UK for years and as to whether they were right or not to do for the sake of clarity I see today they have just announced that they now intend to pay £10 million pounds tax this year to the UK Exchequer, with more to follow next year. It seems their marketing people were listening to the public outcry ( wasn't just me then it seems) after all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23019514 Now hopefully some / many of the other large corporates who have been using exactly the same tax rules to avoid paying tax will also follow suit and a lot of money that has been denied to the Country will start coming back into it. Interesting to see them doing this though just before the various Governments agree new tax powers to stop such tax avoidance in the future, perhaps a case of paying something before all their avenues being cut off and them being forced to pay EVERYTHING they are due.

Is the survey staggered in anyway ? I mean say just for example ( and I KNOW it's not the case and I'm making these figures up to explain my point) but say British airways just happened to have a stunning new plane, with the best seats and service in every cabin and out of the UK population say a million people flew with them and 10% of them responded to the survey this giving 100,000 votes - BUT take some other airline them flying from the US or Asia and perhaps multiply the passenger ( and thus voting number) by 10 and there you get 10 times more votes for their particular airline - but that wouldn't mean that BA DIDN'T necessarily have the best seats etc then surely - unless I'm missing something ? And again the BA thing was just an example, I'm fully aware they are crap ! ;/(

Looks like a funny show, anyone got a torrent link to it perhaps ??

Assuming for a moment ( rightly or wrongly) that the boy just really didn't want to go off with you Christian - for WHATEVER reason, but basically he just wasn't that into you, would you REALLY want him still to have to go just because you feel he should? Personally I can think of nothing worse than being in the company of someone who really didn't want to be there with you, never mind the awkwardness of then them having to go home and fuck you too. And whilst it is of course simply a monetary transaction taking place I do still believe that the sex worker should (and must) always reserve that last basic human right of saying no should they chose to, without fear of any consequences from their employer or otherwise - and for whatever reason and not one that needs to be discussed or explained to the client - otherwise what started out as a simple mutual financial sex for money transaction turns into something much darker and unpleasant and something which is perhaps more akin to forced sex trafficking or even rape perhaps.