A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[Narong Wongwan]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

My Gawd so many fatties!!!!!

Big is beautiful!
Thailand got their annual miss jumbo queen beauty pageant

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Bkk arrivals was a massive human jam, last sat afternoon (probably 1hr?). I took a 'short cut' by joining priority Q for family, old and disabled. :o I probably passed test, as 2 young ladies were asked to get lost. Sorry for poor quality pic, as had to do this on the sly

 

[yinyang]

Dinner with spicy seafood tanghoon. Went down well with 3 pints Hoogarden draft beer:p

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Nothing like a good iced capu, strong arabica bean flavour to start day



Replay of nearest to our tah mee. Ordered piset (special large), and aunty added plenty trimmings. All for princely sum thb40 ($1.60)

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

My Gawd so many fatties!!!!!

LOL i wanted to find an issan band or something unique to thai culture because i searched on YT and most of the bands performing were those western styled rock bands with thai angsty lyrics like bodyslam for example. I don't really like those types.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Check around 0:30 seems like it's a sinky guy having an argument with thai bar staff on price of drinks.

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

A tourist photographs a Buddha statue at Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn, in Bangkok. The number of foreign tourist arrivals Thailand in 2016 is expected to reach a record high of 32 million after 29.88 million tourists visit Thailand in 2015. Tourism industry accounts for 10% of Thailand's gross domestic product and its one of a few positive factor to drive the country's economic recovery which projects to grow at 3.5% in 2016.PHOTO BY EPA

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Russkie mafia out

​Russian faces deportation over gun attack

• Bangkok Post Published: 19/01/2016 at 02:54 AM

Authorities will deport a Russian national who was arrested over the weekend following a gun attack at a resort on Koh Phangan if he is found guilty of breaking Thai laws.

Sergei Milentie, 31, was apprehended on Saturday in connection with the pre-dawn attack at the Palita Lodge Bungalow which caused panic but no casualties.

Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpan, commander of the Tourism Police Division, said foreigners found to have violated the laws will not be allowed to stay. The Russian suspect faces deportation if he is proved guilty.

The Russian is one of the first to feel the effects of new policies currently being adopted by the Immigration Bureau.

Sergei Milentie: Denies any involvement in Koh Phangan shooting. (Photo by Supapong Chaolan)

They include the catchy slogan featured on the bureau's new web page at immigration.go.th: "Good guys in, Bad guys out".
Immigration police announced Monday the opening of a centralised mechanism to oversee and control the entry and exit of foreigners.

The newly established Thai Immigration 24/7 Centre, located at Immigration Bureau headquarters, is divided into three working rooms where officers can monitor real-time CCTV footage at airports, ports and border checkpoints. An advance passenger processing system installed at the centre will allow officers to know personal details of visitors before they arrive, with more than 50 airlines cooperating.

"In the past, Thai police didn't have an official command operation centre like this to oversee the travel of foreigners, Pol Gen Wuthi Lipthapallop, deputy commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police, told reporters.
"But from now on, commanders can quickly and concisely see every movement in each airport, port and border checkpoint nationwide,"
"This centre will be able to entirely control the foreigners in order to let the good guys in and keep the bad guys out," Pol Gen Wuthi said.

That has become the Immigration Bureau's new slogan and can be seen on its revamped web page launched at the New Year: Good guys in, Bad guys out.

The new centre opens after the deadly bomb attack at the Erawan shrine killed 20 people and injured more than 100 last August. The blast prompted Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to order a reform of the country's security and border control systems. Mr Milentie's arrest also underlined concerns by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon who has instructed local authorities in Surat Thani to stamp out foreign mafia groups on the resort islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Samui in the wake of the attack.

Gen Prawit is concerned about influential figures who have frightened tourists and hurt the tourism industry, especially foreign business operators. "Be they foreigners or Thais, authorities will make a concerted effort to stamp out mafia groups," said Pol Maj Gen Surachet.

Mr Milentie appeared at a police press conference Monday, where he was told through an interpreter that his alleged offence could result in his deportation. The Russian suspect denied being a member of any mafia groups and said he had nothing to do with the shooting.

He faces initial charges of violating the immigration law and the night entertainment business law. His arrest followed those of three Thai nationals including 54-year-old Chanin Petchsri, mayor of Tha Khanom municipality in Surat Thani's Khiri Ratthanikhom district. The two others are Sihanath Chaipinij, 62, and Jarong Hongthong, 38, while a fourth suspect, Jirat Khwatkaeo, 38, is still on the run.

The court on Monday denied bail to the three Thai suspects out of concern they would interfere with the police probe.
Mr Chanin is accused of hiring two men to open fire on Palita Lodge, a resort next door to Chang Phuek Bungalows and Similan Bar, the property he owns on Koh Phangan's Hat Rin beach. He leased the bar to the Russian businessman.

Meanwhile, Surat Thani police chief Maj Gen Apichart Bunsriroj has told officials to scrutinise all foreign nationals doing business in tourist areas and draw up a list of Thai nationals partnering with them. The database will be used in the campaign against both Thai and foreign mafia groups.

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

White vs dark fuss, and ramblings from long time tan chart resident on local delights at Petchaburi stretch:p

Lightening strikes again

• Published: 17/01/2016 at 02:01 AM
• Bangkok Post Newspaper section: Brunch
• ​
  

The controversy over the Thai ad about light and dark skin, which zipped across the world last week, threw up so many questions besides the obvious one about stupid executives of skin-lightening products having too big a marketing budget.
In 2016 have we progressed in our attitude towards, and treatment of, women? Some days I think Thailand truly has, but then along comes a day where I see an ad for a frivolous product about dark skin that plunges us back into the dark ages. But then again, I have women on my mind this week thanks to my location.

Your correspondent has been hanging out in a swanky hotel on Phetchaburi Road for the past five days running an English camp. It’s been a hoot, but this column is not about hooting nor about English. It’s about hot tubs and prostitutes.
Despite its close proximity to everything inner city, I haven’t really spent much time on Phetchaburi Road in, oh, 25 years.

Back in 1990 I was living in Huai Khwang, an area just off Ratchadaphisek Road. It wasn’t the most luxurious part of town; locals referred to it as Bangkok’s largest open-air prison, thanks to the proliferation of dubious types who made their homes there. The fact my friendly next-door neighbours were robbers and murderers didn’t disturb me. It ensured I wasn’t ever robbed or murdered myself, since I was often helping their offspring with their English homework just to be neighbourly.
Then I landed a job on the other side of town. It meant I would have to tearfully farewell my robbing, murdering neighbours and move elsewhere, but for a couple of months before I found alternative lodgings, I had to journey down Ratchadaphisek Road, turn left on Phetchaburi Road and catch a bus to my work.

That was my introduction to Phetchaburi Road, 26 years ago. I would wander down to the bus stop at 8 o’clock in the morning, which was just about the time everybody else on that road was knocking off work. That’s because Phetchaburi Road was a centre for Bangkok’s monolithic massage parlour industry.

Those of us brought up in white Anglo-Saxon Protestant homes tend to imagine massage parlours as seedy, cockroach-infested places with flickering neon signs and girls who, as Gilbert and Sullivan famously said, may very well pass for 43 in the dusk with the light behind them. Nothing was further from the case on Phetchaburi Road.

I generally saw it at 8am, but on some nights going home I experienced it when it was all lit up like Christmas trees. I was reminded of my first trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, with wall-to-wall establishments complete with massive neon signs, blinking and cascading and vibrant in their colours.

They had names like Cleopatra, which was the biggest one at the time and the one I was very familiar with, though not for any untoward reasons. My bus stop was smack bang outside the front of it. Massage parlours are called arb ob nuad in Thai, or “Shower Sauna Massage” if translated directly. Sounds clunky, I know, but it’s still shorter to say than “sexually transmitted disease”.

Twenty-five years ago we were in the early to mid Aids era, and things were even more conservative than they are today. Social values dictated women should be chaste on their marriage day, for instance. There were two common comments one would hear as a Western man in Bangkok back in 1990. The first was: “Well, you know, Aids is a foreign disease brought into Thailand by Westerners.” The second comment was this: “In the West, you have free sex,” spoken by Thai men whose eyes would glaze over in envy.

It revealed the fact that paying for sex was the norm, and it usually happened along Phetchaburi Road. The incredible thing about these places was that every one of them boasted dozens, if not hundreds of girls. I know; I went inside one in 1990.

One of the guys I worked with was turning 25. Six of his friends and I went out to dinner to celebrate, drinking copious amounts of Mekhong whiskey, until one of the friends announced we’d be taking our birthday boy to Phetchaburi Road.

Half an hour later we ended up at a place called “Beauty Fun” (as opposed to, say, “Ugly Fun”?). We were ushered inside to a room with a giant glass pane. Behind that pane were about 60 girls, with numbers attached to them, sitting on tiered platforms. They all stared in our general direction, but none were interested in us. That’s because there was a television right in front of us on the other side of the giant window pane; the girls were watching whatever soap opera was popular at the time.

They were seated under three big signs. To the far left was a sign above the girls saying ha dao, or “Five Stars”. These women had applied their make-up a little better, sat a little swankier, and generally held a more fashionable disposition. They had lighter skin, something very appealing to Thai men. In the middle were the girls below a big sign that said dara, or “Stars”. These two dozen or so girls were pretty, but clearly had lost the gene pool lottery to the girls on the left. But the most tragic sight could be found to the right.

That was a group of girls sitting beneath a glittering sign that read, starkly: thammada. “Average.” These were the girls with buck teeth or a small but unsightly wart on the neck, complete with stubborn little hair sprouting out of it. They were more dark-skinned and thus less attractive.

After much jostling and cajoling, my friend chose number 62 from the “Stars” group. A young man in a waistcoat nodded, pressed a button and spoke into a microphone: “Number 62.” The look on number 62’s face said it all. Without taking her eyes off the TV screen she sighed, reached for her handbag, slung it over her shoulder and stood up. She muttered something to the girls next to her (“Tell me what happens” no doubt), and made her way towards the back and disappeared from view, reappearing a few minutes later to greet my friend.

That was my one and only foray into a Phetchaburi Road massage parlour. In September 1990 there was a terrible accident on Phetchaburi Road just down from the brothel strip. A liquid petroleum gas tanker running a red light overturned and exploded, burning 90 people alive, most of whom were sitting in their vehicles in a traffic jam. It was a horrible accident and in a strange way caused a shift in the Phetchaburi Road dynamic.

Times change. Thai men no longer have to seek sexual gratification in concrete monolithic brothels. The notion of free sex being a Western ideal has died, though HIV certainly hasn’t, but at least it is no longer of epidemic proportions or considered a farang disease.

So many of the Phetchaburi Road brothels and bars have disappeared. The area has an urban decay feel about it now, with car rental shops, government offices and mini marts now dotting the road. Cleopatra is long gone, though the building remains and is still an entertainment palace. But are the monoliths in our mind still there? Do we still make girls sit underneath signs that deem them five-star or average based on their skin?

Maybe not, but we still torture them with abhorrent social values that equate their self-worth with the colour of their skin. Sometimes the monster just morphs into another shape; in this case, concrete monoliths have shape-shifted into tubes of lightening cream. Shame on those stupid executives.

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Multi billion baht court case vs ciggie firm Philip Morris

Youth groups gathers at the Government House complaints centre in November to denounce Philip Morris (Thailand) for allegedly making false declarations about the value of its imported cigarettes. The lawsuit reached the Criminal Court on Monday. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

Philip Morris tax evasion case reaches court

• Bangkok Post Published: 19/01/2016 at 01:06 PM

The Office of the Attorney-General filed a multi-billion-baht tax evasion lawsuit against Philip Morris Thailand (PMTL) in the Criminal Court on Monday, a charge the tobacco giant's management insisted was "without merit and unjust".

Attorney-general's spokesman Somnuek Siangkong confirmed on Tuesday that the case reached the Criminal Court on Monday. The defendants included PMTL manager Troy Modlin and some Thai staff, Thai media reported.

The court accepted the lawsuit and called the plaintiff and defendants to a meeting on April 25.
Media reported that foreign executives of PMTL face arrest warrants because they had not surrendered after failing to attend earlier hearings. The Thai defendants had reported earlier and been released on bail.

In a statement released on Monday, PMTL's Mr Modlin said the charges brought against the company were without merit, unjust and in violation of Thailand's obligations to comply with the World Trade Organisation's customs valuation agreement.

"PMTL has done nothing wrong. Not only are these charges wholly without merit and in violation of Thailand's obligations to comply with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, they also call into question Thailand's commitment to fairness, transparency and the rule of law," Mr Modlin stated.

"Prosecuting this case will also undermine Thailand's stated desire to revitalise its reputation in the international community as a market-based open economy that is investor friendly."

In 2013 the attorney-general indicted PMTL for allegedly under-reporting the value of cigarettes it imported from the Philippines between 2003 and 2007 to avoid paying the full amount of tax. The value of the imported products and avoided tax was estimated at 20 billion baht. The offence is liable to a fine worth four times the amount, or about 80 billion baht, and/or a jail term of up to 10 years.

The company reportedly declared 5.88 baht as its CIF (cost, insurance and freight) rate for a packet of L&M cigarettes from the Philippines, while other cigarette importers declared it at 16.81 baht per packet.

PMTL also declared the CIF rate on Marlboro cigarettes from the Philippines at 7.76 baht a packet, lower than the 27.46 baht reported by other importers.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

A tourist photographs a Buddha statue at Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn, in Bangkok. The number of foreign tourist arrivals Thailand in 2016 is expected to reach a record high of 32 million after 29.88 million tourists visit Thailand in 2015. Tourism industry accounts for 10% of Thailand's gross domestic product and its one of a few positive factor to drive the country's economic recovery which projects to grow at 3.5% in 2016.PHOTO BY EPA

When i visited the highest parts of the temple were closed off. Closed off for renovation i think.

 

[Froggy]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Gosh I really missed Thai food after away for more than 2 weeks

Breakfast

 

[Froggy]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Favourite and best Thai beef noodle

 

[Froggy]

Back to Bangkok with a vengeance cos have barely 24hrs here. So on the way to the next destination pit stop at my favorite Thai sharksfins restaurant

Starter




Fishmaw with eggs


Puay leng with oyster sauce


Peking duck


leftover from duck - this is black pepper duck meat


Minced duck with lettuce wrap

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

SQ's price war ex Bkk. For a slice of the market pie

Singapore Airlines enters fare war with discounts

• Bangkok Post Published: 21/01/2016 at 06:29 AM

The airfare price war is intensifying in Thailand with Singapore Airlines (SIA) the latest to join the fray.

Singapore Airlines is offering discounted fares on both business and economy class flights from Thailand.

The airline launched a campaign this week offering discounts of 16-42% for flights from Bangkok to all destinations on the network of SIA and its regional sister carrier SilkAir.

SIA Thailand's offer of heavily discounted fares follows hot on the heels of largely similar campaigns by Emirates and Qatar Airways earlier this month. Executives who are familiar with SIA's operation said yesterday the airline's offer was meant to emulate the same sales success enjoyed by the two Gulf carriers from their campaigns.

As with Emirates and Qatar Airways, SIA wants to significantly ramp up its advanced sales in the earliest part of this year under the "early bird" theme. By enticing ticket buyers with attractive offers, these carriers are achieving the greatly desired objective of changing the behaviour of Thai and Asian travellers.

The approach means travellers are encouraged to buy tickets in advance, rather than booking closer to their travel date.
This is beneficial for airlines as they can sell a lot of tickets while accumulating early revenue from their campaigns.
SIA's discounted fares, branded as "amazing" by the airline, were described as being attractive and largely matching the rock-bottom offers extended by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Flying on SIA economy class from Bangkok to any of the five Japanese cities on the airline's network, via its Singapore hub, costs 10,900 baht for an all-inclusive round-trip and 47,400 baht on business class.

An economy ticket to Europe (12 cities) from Bangkok with a connection in Singapore is a mere 23,300 baht net and 78,300 baht for business class. A round-trip flight to the US (four cities) from Bangkok via Singapore costs 32,000 baht net in economy class and 123,700 baht in business.

SIA's promotion lasts until Feb 15 for both online bookings and appointed travel agents and is valid for travel between May 1 and Dec 31.Officials from SIA said a good number of discounted tickets are being offered, insisting the airline is not using the same tactic employed by many low-cost carriers of actually offering only a small number of tickets with very low fares as an advertising gimmick.

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

 

[tonychat]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

SQ's price war ex Bkk. For a slice of the market pie

Singapore Airlines enters fare war with discounts

• Bangkok Post Published: 21/01/2016 at 06:29 AM

The airfare price war is intensifying in Thailand with Singapore Airlines (SIA) the latest to join the fray.

Singapore Airlines is offering discounted fares on both business and economy class flights from Thailand.

The airline launched a campaign this week offering discounts of 16-42% for flights from Bangkok to all destinations on the network of SIA and its regional sister carrier SilkAir.

SIA Thailand's offer of heavily discounted fares follows hot on the heels of largely similar campaigns by Emirates and Qatar Airways earlier this month. Executives who are familiar with SIA's operation said yesterday the airline's offer was meant to emulate the same sales success enjoyed by the two Gulf carriers from their campaigns.

As with Emirates and Qatar Airways, SIA wants to significantly ramp up its advanced sales in the earliest part of this year under the "early bird" theme. By enticing ticket buyers with attractive offers, these carriers are achieving the greatly desired objective of changing the behaviour of Thai and Asian travellers.

The approach means travellers are encouraged to buy tickets in advance, rather than booking closer to their travel date.
This is beneficial for airlines as they can sell a lot of tickets while accumulating early revenue from their campaigns.
SIA's discounted fares, branded as "amazing" by the airline, were described as being attractive and largely matching the rock-bottom offers extended by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Flying on SIA economy class from Bangkok to any of the five Japanese cities on the airline's network, via its Singapore hub, costs 10,900 baht for an all-inclusive round-trip and 47,400 baht on business class.

An economy ticket to Europe (12 cities) from Bangkok with a connection in Singapore is a mere 23,300 baht net and 78,300 baht for business class. A round-trip flight to the US (four cities) from Bangkok via Singapore costs 32,000 baht net in economy class and 123,700 baht in business.

SIA's promotion lasts until Feb 15 for both online bookings and appointed travel agents and is valid for travel between May 1 and Dec 31.Officials from SIA said a good number of discounted tickets are being offered, insisting the airline is not using the same tactic employed by many low-cost carriers of actually offering only a small number of tickets with very low fares as an advertising gimmick.

i will never ever take Singapore Airlines....i rather take a boat than to fly in one.

 

[NanoSpeed]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Replay of nearest to our tah mee. Ordered piset (special large), and aunty added plenty trimmings. All for princely sum thb40 ($1.60)

http://i1[quote="yinyang, post: 2371355"]Nothing like a good iced capu, strong arabica bean flavour to start day

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Another top-notch photography from YY. Apple phone ?