zakk9

jaltsc, on 2012-05-23 07:15:00, said:

Very few Thais, particularly among TPTB think that the schools attended by poor upcountry people should be of the same quality as those intended for the urban elite, that would be a huge waste of government resources and may cause the society to evolve and change over time, no one of importance wants that to happen.

Of course children of people with money should have the advantage of getting a better education, no one disputes that but some fringe commie types.

The problem is simply when things are taken a bit too far and a school's administration is being a bit too greedy, and putting a commission in place to investigate this particular problem will bring about a reasonable solution, some PR lip service and then once the media attention goes way over time things can go back to normal.

Instead of building a dam, how about investing in making buildings more energy efficient. The level of insulation on buildings in Thailand is zero, just as you can insulate to keep out the cold, so you can insulate to keep out the heat.  Glass is a shockingly poor insulator, yet most of the modern condo being built in Bangkok have huge single pane glass windows. an astonishing waste of energy.

It's not that we need more energy to sustain our lifestyles, it just our lifestyle and sense of fashion result in an increase in the % of energy wasted through inefficient design, and use of materials.

I personally think the value of energy is too cheap and as a result we have become complacent about its use. If the price of energy were to be put up by 20 times, people would use a lot less of it and use it more effectively and efficiently.

There are already enough shopping centres here in Bangkok and surrounding areas, un-distinct pieces of architecture, why do we need any more? Just another group of people hoping to make a quick buck. Look at the old Siam Continental Hotel with its distinctive roof, knocked down to make way for a shopping centre, in an area that is already inundated with them. It would be nice if the residents could win this one as there is far too much literally uncontrolled 'development' here Thailand that is both environmentally ruinous as well as aesthetically ruinous.

Populist promises have almost always been the springboard for dictatorships. Part of the problem is the PTP policies are only window-dressing & nobody actually knows what their long-term agenda and policies are.
They are the living emodiment of the English "jam tomorrow" folk-saying ; "well kids, you know its just dry bread today but there'll be jam tomorrow". This is also the type of 'faith in the future' message has been used by many dictators through the centuries. Stick with us, even though your lives are going down the drain, we promise the future will be great. everything will be okay when Thaksin gets back, or maybe in the time of  his son's rule, or  his grandson, great-grandson.
PTP run the country on a skeleton-crew basis, ticking only the mandatory boxes and avoiding everything else. IMO their energies are devoted behind the scenes to installing a permanent familial oligarchy.
I would guess the next step will be to give all poor people a free colour TV, & by coincidence  people will be  watching red-government propaganda on the free TVs along with brain-meltingly bad soap operas and game shows. That wouldn't be so bad if the Govt actually made people's lives better (as promised).
The mistakes made pre-flood & post-flood which were shockingly inept, were brushed aside by the regime as unimportant, but the flood exposed the government-level complete lack of robust quick-thinking which are the trademarks of competent leadership. It also raised the question of what they consider important. Even the request to have a state of emergency during the worst floods for over 50 years, was rebuffed by Yingluck along partisan and control-freak lines.
All the meaningful pre-election promises by PTP  have failed to appear even in start-up phase, except for a few stragglers that emerged blinking into the light & feeling all alone.
People in the opposition are very concerned that the country they love is being hijacked, and in the worst case scenario the groundwork for a dynastic oligarchy is being laid-out. The feeling among many international observers is that the worst is yet to come & Thai peoples future is one of being industrially-fleeced & exploited & deceived.

A Songkran without powder is like having root canal surgery without toxic substances being rubbed on your face ...

The problem isn't necessarily that all Thais should learn English.

It's that the ones that do decide to learn English should be able to learn from better qualified English teachers.

Seriously speaking why should any of us be surprised about this. Thai's are quite happy to sit in terrible traffic and put up with instances of extreme selfishness by others which only cause delays.. why would the airport management care. Other than noises about  wanting to be a regional hub does anyone here actually truly belive that AoT could hope to emulate  Singapore Changi.

Case in point.. even though I live here and  travel very frequently internationally I decided on return from chaing mai last night to experiment with AoT  Limousine rental at the airport.  But before I go there let me just pretend that you are a newcomer flying in internationally and landing at  SWampy.

First thing you may experience is that their is an extraordinarily high chance that the plane will be apron parked and not gate parked so  you are piled into buses  and then ferried  around the airport o an incredibly long and lurching journey such that one could be tempted to ask " are we near Sukhumvit yet?". last night it was a 25 minute drive from plane side to  domestic arrivals gate....  your first experience perhaps but maybe after a 10 hour international flight you might see this as  Thai friendliness in wanting to show you everywhere around the airport tarmac

Second experience is immigration.. enough said

Now your through and even on Thai airways the baggage wait is long but I'll assume here that with 2 hours to get through immigration your bags should be waiting for you.

You were going to take the airport train to Makkasan but  the passenger next to you said don't as you have to get of the train walk down the road, across railway tracks and then onto the street and down a bit turning up some steps and there you are at  local underground... you have a bit if baggage and this doesn't sound like fun mind you , you do have a certain amount of suspicion about what the fellow traveller said Im mean how could the major rail link from airport to city not link up with regional train and rail links.. surely he must be wrong  .......great connectivity and planning here yet again.

So thinking to yourself.. Im terribly late Ill get  a taxi.. wandering across to the eager young ladies you are told that a limousine ride downtown to soi 22 is 3000B. Using your high level of maths  you work out that this is USD 100 or thereabouts.. questioning the lass as this seems high she immediately drops it to B1500 and tells you its a Toyota Camry.
Another nice experience but perhaps you are a trusting soul and believe that the AoT girsl were simply trying to teach you your first lesson about Thailand and that is bargain for everything.

So here are your first four experiences and you haven't even put a foot out of the airport.   And AoT wants to make Swampy a hub.. a hub for what .. abject pitiful miserable customer experiences.. perhaps.

But I digress.. back to my previous evening intrepid investigations... posing as a newbie tourist I wandered across to the girls smiling ever so nicely at me and told then I was staying in a hotel out near emporium on soi 24 and how much would a limo be to take me out there. B3000 was the answer.. Camry was the car quoted....

So back over to my thai girlfriend and send her over  without them knowing we are together.. she tells them she is just in from chiang mai first time in Thailand and staying with friends at Klong Toei near sukhumvit and how much would a car be to drive here there.. of course all said in Thai but answer was B1300.. yes no typo here.. the farang gets B3000 the thai gets b1300.
She comes back and then we both go over and I ask why i got price of B3000 and she gets B1300... answer is special price for Thai people...

Now there will be those whom on reading this will come out with the usual "if you don't like it why don't you go home". My answer to this high level mensa response in advance is that I would but I do want to stick around just a bit longer to see how Swampy really does evolve to become a regional HUB. I also dont want to deprive myslef of the humour and mirth that no doubt will be associated with  this amazing transition of this airport.
Ive said it before about the floods, the terrorists, the city planning, the infrastructure  planning, the tourist rip offs ( AoT included) and general ability of Thailand to execute projects and developments for the greater good.. Thailand let Singapore manage you and you can just  go on doing what you do best without having to worry about  troublesome things like  building infrastructure and actually doing a modicum of forward planning and execution.

Vietnam is next country who will get their act together with regards to regional travel HUB and Thailand  Swampy airport will continue to be the benchmark to all regional airports as to what NOT to do.

jaltsc, on 2012-02-18 09:16:04, said:

I am told by both the Israeli embassy, and the Iranian embassy, that these girls have already raised over one million dollars, for the Calcutta orphanage. The best bet is to Never, ever believe anything either the Israeli embassy, nor the Iranian embassy says. They are both snake oil salesmen.

Shame Dubai isn't an island as there is already a prototype Thai miscreant  there.