A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Pork dish with steamboat

shop with roof top restraurant

menu

chendol

finally a place for some beers

 

[Froggy]

Another cool morning. Back to Bangkok early morning marketing





Porridge stall






Kway Teow shop


Bee tai bak

 

[Froggy]

For me if I miss any Singapore food I will call home for help to get the recipe and DIY.

Today's prawn noodle with pork rib

 

[Thais]

Sawadee Ka... It is so nice to see Singaporeans love Thai.

Kop Khun Ka.

 

[Thais]

Chan Rak Khun Froggy... Chan Rak Khun....

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Sawadee Ka... It is so nice to see Singaporeans love Thai.

Kop Khun Ka.

So are you moving to singapore too or just your other nicks like ahneh or pinoy?

 

[Thais]

So are you moving to singapore too or just your other nicks like ahneh or pinoy?

Sir...sawadee ka... i am Thai...me thai no like ah nehs...black colour not nice...Pinoy no good...always steal money...me always in singapore, bangkok, shanghai, jakarta, hcmc, Kl and yangon...chan rak Khun Jah..

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

There are only 5 branches in Bangkok the one you went is probably the Bantadthong branch. Their seafood is always very consistent in quality and taste one will never go wrong with it. If one hops into a taxi and tells the driver to bring you to the nearest Somboon one will probably end up in a "copy" Somboon which is bad in taste, quality and expensive as there are many similar shops so please be careful. Look out for the real deal here http://www.somboonseafood.com/e-branches.html

Many Thais feels that Somboon is too expensive and more for foreigners although they crave to go dine there but there are many cheaper local alternatives however Somboon's cooking style and taste is rather unique.

Oh please take note to bring enough cash as Somboon believes in cash only, no credit cards.

http://www.somboonseafood.com/index.php

http://www.somboonseafood.com/index.php/en/branch/index

Increased to 7 branches 2 new ones opened.

 

[Froggy]

http://www.somboonseafood.com/index.php/en/branch/index

Increased to 7 branches 2 new ones opened.

Great to know Jah. Thanks. Was just at the Ratchada branch on Wednesday with visitors.

 

[yinyang]

No loose change, this 1.4B baht embezzlement :p

KMITL suspect's mum charged
Kittisak's kin accused of laundering money
Bangkok Post Published: 20/01/2015 at 06:00 AM

Police have filed charges against the mother of a prime suspect in the 1.4-billion-baht embezzlement scandal at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), alleging she helped her son launder stolen money.

Policewomen flank Radom Muttujad (in blue) after asking her to help with their investigation of the embezzlement of 1.4 billion baht from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. She said she received millions of baht from her fugitive son Kittisak, but knows nothing about the source of the windfall. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)

Radom Muttujad, mother of Kittisak who is still at large, was summoned to meet Crime Suppression Division (CSD) officers Monday.

Ms Radom is accused of stealing and laundering money, said CSD deputy chief Pol Col Nos Sawetlek.

However, the 56-year-old suspect from Phichit denied the allegations, claiming she has no knowledge of the scam.

"I don't believe that my son is that type of person," she said.

Mr Kittisak entered the UK on Dec 25 last year, days after the institute filed a complaint with the CSD against the first two suspects in the money embezzlement plot — Songklod Sriprasong, 40, former manager of Bank of Ayudhya's Big C Srinakarin branch, and Amporn Noisamrit, 56, head of the institute's financial division.

Mr Kittisak is wanted by police as he is believed to know the identity of the mastermind behind the embezzlement scandal, as well as additional information about the stolen money, which is believed to have been changed into assets, including luxury cars and land.

Police say their investigation had found that Mr Kittisak had transferred a large sum of money to his mother's bank account and asked her to buy plots of land and other valuables worth over 100 million baht during 2011 and 2012.

One key piece of evidence is the transfer of 6.2 million baht from the KMITL to her bank account, said Pol Col Nos.

Investigators suspect the asset purchases were attempts to cover up money laundering.

Ms Radom admitted that her son had given her a large amount of money to buy land.

"I simply did what he asked me to do without knowing where the money came from," said Ms Radom.

She said she asked him about the source of the money, but her son said he had earned it.

Police are unconvinced that Ms Radom is as ignorant as she claims because they have strong evidence of her involvement in the scam, said acting CSD chief Akkaradet Pimonsri.

Officers will handle the case carefully and ensure she is treated fairly, he said.

Police will ask Min Buri Provincial Court today to detain Ms Radom in custody.

The investigators have found no evidence to implicate Mr Kittisak's younger sister, Chutharat Patphai, and her husband in the case, but planned to seek more arrest warrants for those linked to the embezzlement.

The officers found Mr Kittisak had asked Mr Songklod to transfer money to Suraphop Tangpradit, a gold shop owner in Phichit, in payment for ornaments.

However, Mr Suraphop was cleared Monday of any involvement in the irregularities as he was able to clarify why the money was transferred to him, Pol Col Nos said.

Meanwhile, KMITL's director of legal affairs Worawan Suwannakut filed a new complaint with the CSD after discovering another 100 million baht had disappeared from its Siam Commercial Bank's KMITL branch in 2012.

 

[yinyang]

A rubber slice of thai mango today. Don't leave home without your rubber

Faulty condoms bought for 'recycling'
Bangkok Post Published: 20/01/2015 at 12:23 PM

A woman who complained that 1.5 tonnes of substandard condoms she was drying for "recycling" had been set on fire has been charged with illegally storing hazardous waste.

Part of the 1.5 tonnes of condoms left unattended in Ayutthaya, and then set on fire on Monday. (Photo by Sunthorn Pongpao)

The 38-year-old woman, from Samut Prakan province, on Tuesday asked police in Ayutthaya province to find the person who set fire to the 1.5 tonnes of condoms she had left unattended to dry on a block of land she owns.

Instead she was charged with illegally bringing in and storing hazardous garbage.

Naphat Menthong, from Phra Pradaeng district of Samut Prakan, met with police at the Bang Ban station in Ayutthaya to confirm that she owned the large pile of condoms left to be dry in the sun on the empty land in Bang Ban district. Part of the condom heap was burned.

She told police she had spent 30,000 baht buying substandard and unused condoms from a factory at the Navanakorn Industrial Estate at 20 baht per kilogramme. She had left them on the land for almost a year, waiting to resell them to a recycling factory in Samut Sakhon province.

She wanted police to find the person who had set the condoms ablaze on Monday.

Police filed her complaint, but Suphat Satrukhram, the health director of Maha Phram sub-district, asked them to prosecute the woman for bringing hazardous garbage into the district without authorisation.

Local authorities demand the woman pay for the incineration of the condoms at the Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Great to know Jah. Thanks. Was just at the Ratchada branch on Wednesday with visitors.

I miss that place. My place is just across the road.
Used to makan there then proceed to my homeground Claudia.
The staff always standby with umbrella to welcome me when it's raining.

Your porridge look so delicious with so much pepper I thot bro Chon posted that pic....

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

eadline looms for prepaid mobile users in Thailand to register

All users of prepaid mobile phones in Thailand will have to register the phone numbers before July 31st this year or face having their service suspended. That’s according to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC).

Mobile users must register SIM cards

The secretary general of the NBTC, Thakorn Tanthasit, has said that February 1st is the first day when registration will begin and that strict enforcement is required for registering phones, either with the operators themselves, or alternatively at Krungthai Bank, superstores like Tesco Lotus and Big C, and 7-11 stores. It will be interesting to see how they cope with the expected deluge of people flooding in to register.

The Nation reports that there are 110 million active mobile phone numbers in Thailand, 90% of which are prepaid. However, only 10% of users are registered.

pparently, mobile users in Thailand “will be given six months to register” or the mobile operators have been instructed to suspend the service for anyone that does not comply. Why? Well it’s all to do with preventing use of mobile prepaid phones in situations related to national security.

Existing SIM registration law ignored

NBTC commissioner Prawit Leesathapornwongsa statted that the requirement for prepaid users to register had in fact been law for quite a long time but has not been strictly implemented. The current law says that users must register before a new number can be activated, however that has until now been ignored by the mobile phone companies. However, he did say that the new rules are rather unfair to customers, so to “soften the blow”, the NBTC may relax the requirements, for example by preventing anyone not registered from topping up.

We’re not quite sure how registering is supposed to prevent incidents of national security, as anyone could simply steal a phone if they’re intending to commit a crime, or perhaps even buy a prepaid phone in another country and activate international roaming.

We’re not also sure why the “strict deadline” of February the first seems to contradict the other statement that “users will be given six months to register”. Your guess is as good as ours.

If you have not registered and you use a prepaid/top-up mobile phone, then pop down to Big C or 7-11 tomorrow and ask to provide your details. We suspect you’ll be greeted with blank stares.

Read more: http://tech.thaivisa...-thailand/3064/

 

[yinyang]

More barrel pork politics? But new terminal + runway will help

AoT board approves B48bn for airport revamp projects
Bangkok Post Published: 22/01/2015 at 06:00 AM

The Airports of Thailand's (AoT) board has approved a 47.9-billion-baht budget to build a new terminal and a new runway at Suvarnabhumi airport to ease congestion.

The two projects are part of a revised second-phase development for the airport. They are viewed as "urgent" and must be finished within the next four years, AoT board chairman Prasong Phunthanet said yesterday.

The AoT says the terminal and runway are needed to help the airport handle increasing passenger volume.

About 51 million passengers pass through the airport every year, which is far more than its existing capacity of 45 million a year.

The second terminal, a four-storey building covering 265,000 square metres, is designed to serve 20 million passengers each year, which will raise the airport's total capacity to 65 million passengers, Mr Prasong said.

The project, with an investment cost of 27.7 billion baht, will also cover a car park building and monorail system to take passengers to and from the new terminal.

Work is expected to be completed in 2019.

The new runway with a distance of 2.9km will include a fire response building and a drainage system.

The runway, with an investment cost of 20.2 billion baht, is expected to be finished in 2017.

The cost will include compensation which the AoT will pay residents living near the runway for its noise impact.

The airport hopes to increase flights and relieve air traffic congestion in case the first and second runways have to undergo repairs, Mr Prasong said.

To cover the 47.9-billion-baht investment budget, the AoT plans to use its working capital of 44 billion baht, topped up with annual income, Mr Prasong said.

The AoT will forward details to the Transport Ministry and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board for a decision.

 

[yinyang]

Can see where our tiny red dot came up to? :p

Bangkok ranks last in economic performance in 300-city survey
Thailand's capital posts negative GDP, employment growth in 2013-14
Bangkok POst Published: 22/01/2015 at 02:19 PM

Bangkok ranks last in economic performance in a new survey of 300 world cities by bank JPMorgan Chase and an American think tank.

A worker paints under war veteran statues during a renovation at Victory Monument in Bangkok, Jan 19. Bangkok ranks last in economic performance in a new survey of 300 world cities by bank JPMorgan Chase and an American think tank. (EPA photo)

Its economy "wrecked" by years of political strife, the capital saw real gross domestic product per capital fall 0.5% from 2013-14 and employment growth shrink 1.7% during the same time, the report by the bank and the Brookings Institution said. Bangkok ranks 259th out of 300 cities for economic performance between 2009 and 2014.

Thailand's dismal performance on the global ranking contrasted sharply with cities throughout the developing world - especially China - which dominated the top of the annual economic rankings. Macau, the Chinese territory known for casino gambling, outperformed the rest of the world to come in at No 1.

Macau has enjoyed a tourism boom, with gamblers coming to bet at more than 30 casinos, including the Venetian Macau, the world's largest.

Cities in wealthy, developed countries tended to lag behind. Though most of the cities surveyed around the world have recovered from the Great Recession, 65% of European and 57% of North American cities have not, according to the study, which ranks cities by growth in employment and in economic output per person.

The Malaysian capital placed 19th on a economic-performance ranking of 300 cities by JPMorgan Chase and the Brookings Institution, posting 4.1% per-capita GDP growth from 2013-14 and 3.4% employment growth.

The 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations region put in a respectable showing on the two organisations' rankings. Malaysia put two cities in the top 50 - Kuala Lumpur at No 19 and George Town at No 47 - while Ho Chi Minh City (23) and Jakarta (34) both outpacing Singapore, which came in 61st. Manila was the next Asean country to rank at 139th.

Bangkok brought up the rear at No 300, the only one of the Asean nations to post negative per-capita GDP and employment growth since 2013.

Inside China

Twenty-seven of the 50 top-performing cities were Chinese. Increasingly, strong growth occurred in the traditionally underdeveloped cities of China's interior, rather than its booming coastal cities. Land-locked Changsha, for instance, enjoyed economic growth per person of 8.6% last year and wound up No 15 in the overall rankings.

The coastal manufacturing powerhouse of Dongguan, next door to Hong Kong, registered per-capita economic growth of just 5.2% (unimpressive by Chinese standards) and finished No 70. Companies have begun to move inland as the cost of labour and land rises on the Chinese coast. And the Chinese government has invested heavily on infrastructure in the interior.

Big differences

Joseph Parilla, a Brookings research analyst who co-wrote the report, said he was surprised by the "incredible differentiation within what are considered monolithic economic blocs." Latin American cities, for instance, mostly sputtered. But Medellin, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, both broke into the top 50.

Cities in wealthy countries tended to perform poorly. But US and British cities showed improvement. Three US cities - Austin and Houston, Texas, and Raleigh, North Carolina - cracked the top 50. In the United Kingdom, London came in No 26, Manchester No 60.


Thai job seekers apply for jobs during a job fair at the Ministry of Labour in Bangkok Jan 19. Bangkok posted negative employment growth of 1.7% during 2013-14, helping it place last on a new survey of economic performance in 300 world cities. (EPA photo)

The United States and Britain have begun to pick up economic momentum five years after the recession ended.

"In developed economies like North America and western Europe, cities like London and Houston are flying high, while others like Rotterdam and Montreal are struggling," Mr Parilla said.

Commodities boom

The 18 cities worldwide that specialized in producing commodities such as oil registered the highest rates of growth in economic output per person (2.6%) and employment (1.9%).

"The recent rise in oil and gas production in North America partly explains the success of metropolitan areas like Calgary, Denver, Houston, and Tulsa, which are epicentres of the region's shale revolution," the report said.

Next year's rankings may be different. Oil prices have plunged to less than $48 a barrel from $107 a barrel last June, jeopardizing the prospects of cities that had been riding the energy boom.

Turkish delight

Four Turkish cities made the top 10: Izmir, Istanbul, Bursa and Ankara. Turkish cities boomed last year despite political unrest. "If you look at world headlines, Turkey is not in the news for its economic success, but it probably should be," Brookings' Mr Parilla says. "It has pretty solid macroeconomic policies."

Turkey benefits from its location at the boundary between Europe and Asia and from heavy investment in roads and other infrastructure projects, which creates jobs over the short term and is likely to make the economy more efficient over the long term.

 

[Froggy]

I miss that place. My place is just across the road.
Used to makan there then proceed to my homeground Claudia.
The staff always standby with umbrella to welcome me when it's raining.

Your porridge look so delicious with so much pepper I thot bro Chon posted that pic....

Never been to Claudia, wonder how's this place come pare to . . . .

 

[Froggy]

Yoawarat is Bangkok's Chinatown. Its currently being decked out for Chinese New Year with shops starting to sell CNY stuff





Went there to buy some stuff from here for home



Stopped by a noodle stall for breakfast

Meepok - as usual its plain no sauce no nothing so got add your own chili powder and fish sauce etc, this bowl is not cheap 50 baht $2.10


The soup with fish cake and prawn balls also 50 baht


See, the noodle is so little only 3 spoons full


Up-side is the cook is a chiobu

 

[yinyang]

Up-side is the cook is a chiobu

Soft spot for exotic, tanned puyings? Or was it the exposure? :p

Up-side some more.

 

[yinyang]

Vindictive military blokes? D-Day for YL

Axe poised to fall on Yingluck
NLA majority tipped to impeach former PM

Bangkok Post Published: 23/01/2015 at 06:00 AM

Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is unlikely to survive the impeachment vote Friday as more than 150 members of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) are expected to vote against her, a source at the assembly said.



The source said after hearing Ms Yingluck's closing statement Thursday that many NLA members had found Ms Yingluck was still unable to clear up accusations that she failed to stop the massive losses and damage under her government's rice-pledging scheme.

They also believe the case against her is backed up by strong evidence under the National Anti-Corruption Act and the law governing national administration regulations, the source said.

The source said the 150 NLA members, who are expected to vote to impeach her Friday, include the anti-Thaksin 40 Group of Senators, academics, and particularly military and police officers in the NLA. The motion requires the support of three-fifths of NLA members, or 132 votes of all 220 NLA members.

The source added that if the impeachment motion is successful, public confidence in anti-corruption efforts will be restored and the reform process and charter drafting efforts will proceed smoothly.

But if the impeachment bid fails, this will have adverse repercussions on "everyone involved", the source said, referring to the National Council for Peace and Order, the NLA, the government and the National Reform Council.

The NLA will vote first on Friday on Ms Yingluck's case, and then on the cases of former House speaker Somsak Kiatsuranon and ex-Senate speaker Nikhom Wairatpanich.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) had petitioned the NLA to impeach Ms Yingluck, accusing her of dereliction of duty for failing to stop corruption and losses in her government's rice-pledging scheme. She chaired the National Rice Policy Committee when she was premier.

Mr Nikhom and Mr Somsak face proceedings for their role in chairing a House-Senate debate in 2013 on a charter amendment bill to make the Senate a fully-elected chamber.

A highly-placed source at the Pheu Thai Party told the Bangkok Post that about 10 former party MPs recently met ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Yingluck's elder brother, in Dubai.

During their meeting, Thaksin believed Ms Yingluck's chances of survival in the impeachment case were slim, the source said.

However, the source said Thaksin hoped that Ms Yingluck would survive the criminal case being pursued against her under Section 157 of the Criminal Code for alleged dereliction of duty in the rice scheme. The case is now with the joint panel of the NACC and the Office of the Attorney-General.

In her closing statement yesterday, Ms Yingluck again denied all the accusations brought against her by the NACC.

She told the NLA that the impeachment case should not have been brought against her because she now has no position left to be impeached from and the 2007 constitution that provided for proceedings had already been abrogated.

Ms Yingluck also said impeachment could lead to a five-year suspension of her political rights and that would unfairly limit her fundamental rights.

She said that the NACC accepted her political opponents as witnesses in its investigation while rejecting several key witnesses that she had proposed.

In his closing statement, NACC member Vicha Mahakhun told the NLA the rice scheme led to policy-based graft, because rice in the government's stockpiles had been sold largely to associates at low prices, and these people later made huge profits from selling it at high prices.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

KOH TAO
Thailand backpacker death: Christina Annesley in mystery death on double Brit-murder island

Tragic: Christina, left, was found dead on the same island where David and Hannah were killed

KOH TAO: -- The 23-year-old Londoner's body was found yesterday after she had tweeted pictures from Koh Tao where Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed last September

Christina Annesley, was identified online as the girl who died in as-yet unknown circumstances on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old, of Orpington, south London, was holidaying in the South East Asian country as part of a four-month tour of the region.

Her last tweets, sent on Monday, reveal she was on the island of Koh Tao - the same place where Brit tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered last September.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: "We can confirm the death of a British National in Thailand on 21 January 2014.

"We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

Read More: http://www.mirror.co...nnesley-5023195

--Mirror Online 2015-01-22