General Reports

[Sprite13]

Not sure where to post this, so here it goes:

I am looking into spending some time in Thailand (my first time there) and I have an offer to be relocated in either Chiang Mai or in Ban Phe. Which of these 2 cities would you recommend as being overall the best in terms of natural beauty of the place, safety, nightlife and for the hobby as well?

Thanks for any feedback.

[Opebo]

Opebo,

I don't do much in the way of reprting, correct. That's mainly due to the simple fact that nothing much is any different from previous visits at all.
New ladies cum, old ladies get older. Some disappear.
What can I say?

Freeler

Alas it is impossible to access very old reports, Freeler. I would love to know what is going on in those towns.

[Freeler]

Opebo,

I don't do much in the way of reprting, correct. That's mainly due to the simple fact that nothing much is any different from previous visits at all.
New ladies cum, old ladies get older. Some disappear.
What can I say?

Freeler

[BuleDaddy]

How about some reports in that case? I'm stuck in Isaan and finding precious little. Also can you fill me in on some cheap options in Phuket for girls and hotel? I'm considering my first visit there.

Khon Kaen has a website. I hear the prices are lower there. Older geezers go there. Pattaya is better than Phuket.

[Opebo]

BTW I am happily fucking my way through Isaan and Central Thailand. Life is so good!

How about some reports in that case? I'm stuck in Isaan and finding precious little. Also can you fill me in on some cheap options in Phuket for girls and hotel? I'm considering my first visit there.

[Freeler]

Hi,

Still here in Thailand!
I've run into a bit of trouble at internet cafe's that use AVG free virusscanner.
Here's what happens:
On plugging in my usb drive with compact flash card, I get a virus message: Info.exe is hostile and needs treatment. If I 'heal' the virus, in fact a file gets written onto the card. This is in fact more like a virus - the device won't work on any computer!
If I don't heal, but ignore, i have no access to the card.
But wait, there is more!

What to do to save the card and files?

Well unplug the device, replug it and choose 'open files and show content' (or something to that extend) from the USB-pop up window. Do NOT choose ' no action' or any other possibility - you will have no access..
The files will now show - there is NO virus, NOTHING is lost. After you close the window, and still want to access the card, you need to go through the procedure again...!
If you accidently 'healed' access as shown and simply delete the file that AVG wrote on it. It is in the root section of the card.

The above only happens when AVG (must stand for AVeraGe) and the CF-card get together! It does not happen when I plug in a USB-flash drive a a mobile hard disk. Or with a decent virus scanner.

If you use AVG at home, throw it out, get Norton instead and back it up with Zone alarm pro.

Freeler

BTW I am happily fucking my way through Isaan and Central Thailand. Life is so good!

[Oosik1]

i just pulled this following report from the phillipines general forum by (?) 617. there had been a discussion in the thailand photo gallery on this topic, but overwhelmed the purpose of the photo gallery......photos, not chat. however, that said, this is an interesting report.

as follows:

be careful about what you carry across a border

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

what's in a laptop? court ponders legality of border searches

ryan singel 06.20.07 | 2:00 am

is your laptop a fancy piece of luggage or an extension of your mind? that's the central question facing a federal appeals court in a case that could sharply limit the government's ability to snoop into laptop computers carried across the border by american citizens.

the question, before the 9th u.s. circuit court of appeals, arose from the prosecution of michael timothy arnold, an american citizen whose laptop was randomly searched in july 2005 at los angeles international airport as he returned from a three-week trip to the philippines. agents booted the computer and began opening folders on the desktop, where they found a picture of two naked women, continued searching, then turned up what the government says is child pornography.

in june 2006, a judge from the u.s. district court for the central district of california threw out the evidence, finding that customs officials must have at least "reasonable suspicion" to begin prying into the contents of an electronic storage device, a decision the government is now appealing.

"electronic storage devices function as an extension of our own memory," judge dean pregerson wrote. "they are capable of storing our thoughts, ranging from the most whimsical to the most profound. therefore, government intrusions into the mind -- specifically those that would cause fear or apprehension in a reasonable person -- are no less deserving of fourth amendment scrutiny than intrusions that are physical in nature."

while it's not clear how many laptops are searched at the border each year, both business and recreational travelers are increasingly toting computers with them, complete with hard drives full of personal pictures, confidential corporate documents and revealing internet logs. an october 2006 survey of business travel executives revealed that some companies were rethinking rules on proprietary information being stored on traveling laptops, and 1 percent of the respondents reported they had, or knew someone who had, a laptop confirep001ed at the border.

the reach of such searches will likely widen as more and more people opt for smartphones, such as apple's upcoming iphone, which combine elements of traditional computers with the voice capabilities of a cell phone.

the california decision is the first to challenge that trend, and it makes laptops, and even usb memory sticks, very different from every other item brought across the border, including luggage, diaries, prescription drug bottles and sexual toys -- all of which customs and border agents have been allowed to search without cause for years under the "border exception" to the fourth amendment.

the government says the rationale behind that exception -- that border agents are responsible for protecting the safety of the nation and enforcing copyright and obscenity rules -- logically extends to laptops. "for constitutional purposes nothing distinguishes a computer from other closed containers used to store highly personal items," the department of justice argues in its appeal brief.

moreover, requiring government agents to have a reasonable suspicion before searching a laptop will invite smugglers and terrorists to hide contraband and evidence there, the government argues. "if allowed to stand, the district court's decision will seriously undermine the nation's vital interest in protecting its borders by removing the significant deterrent effect of suspicionless searches," reads the filing.

arnold's lawyers, kevin lahue and marilyn bednarski, disagree, arguing that it's not very difficult for law enforcement agents to come up with "reasonable suspicion."

"no ordinary traveler would expect their private files to be searched at the border without any reasonable justification," they told the appeals court. "the government's argument that a traveler can simply avoid exposure by leaving the laptop at home is an oversimplification of its function and role in daily life."

lahue has support from the association of corporate travel executives and the electronic frontier foundation. the two groups submitted a friend-of-the-court brief tuesday arguing that suspicionless searches of laptops are overly invasive, and that prior to the california ruling, the government had no limits on what it could do when it seizes a laptop and makes a copy of the hard drive.

already travelers have reported customs agents seizing laptops, making copies of the hard drive and returning the computers weeks later. that practice scares the travel execs' association and the eff, which argue that under the government's reasoning, border authorities could systematically copy all of the information contained on every laptop computer and cell phone that crosses the border, without any court oversight.

"a suspicionless unrestricted search of a laptop computer is simply electronic eavesdropping after the fact," the groups told the court. "(it) is distinguishable from the forbidden general searches of colonial times only by the technologies involved."

the case's outcome is far from clear-cut, according to lahue.
"a lot will depend on whether the court decides it's like searching a piece of luggage or like a body-cavity search," lahue told wired news. "a diary, even one that is labeled 'my secret sexual fantasies,' has always been fair game."

the government's reply brief is due june 26, and the case will likely be argued sometime in the fall.

source: http://www.wired.com/politics/law/n.../laptopsearches

[Artisan2]

A fairly interesting book on Trink, which gives his background and has excerpts from the old columns:

"But, I Don't Give a Hoot! The Life and Times of Bernard Trink, Bangkok's 'Nite Owl' " by Jennifer Bliss, Post Books, published in 2000.

[Frankfurter]

Sean Double, A2, Naughty,

Guys, thanks a bunch for the heads-up.

I appreciate the memories this brings back.

Yes, BKK has changed and the Post with it, in a not good way.

They now want to be politically correct, like the deplorable U.S. press who is trying to win the price for self-censoring and journalism prostitution.

Although Trink had -as you mentioned- his weak spots, like his stubborn refusal to recognize the fact that a man CAN actually contract HIV/Aids from a lady.

But I still miss the old geezer, let’s wish he is OK. As far as I know he was married to a Thai, right? I hope she is still around and takes care of him.

P.S.
The other day I had to laugh (or cry?) when the Post wrote an essay about some older ladies who were being observed selling their bodies to guys on the streets in the outskirts of the city, and how outrageous and unheard off this is. Man, what does this writer think about himself in the morning when he looks into the mirror I wonder?

[Sean_Double]

I miss Bernhard Trink's wise "lifestyle" column in the Bangkok Post.

Yo Frankfurter,
Yes, I miss Trink as well. It's a sad story if Artisan2's report is correct. He was a nice guy and is hopefully OK. He had a sort of unique position among farangs (or just readers of the Post) and did a very good job with a lot of style. His posts just seemed to get more and more irrelevant as time went by and the Post couldn't justify having his column on a lot of different levels.
Bangkok has changed a lot on the last 25 years; the last thing that the Post would want to run now is a prostitution update by a foreigner.
There was a time when I first went to Thailand (a long time ago) when his column ran on friday and we'd wait and read it to figure out where to go, and it was always good. In his last years his columns just sort of lost it with announcements of bar openings and denials of the existence of HIV; he sort of bacame an embarassment.
I think he was really a very nice man who didn't get the realities of the changing scene; although I agree with him that Bangkok has never been the same since the Thermae moved.
Cheers
Sean

[Naughty]

I miss Bernhard Trink's wise "lifestyle" column in the Bangkok Post. Does anybody knows what happened to him?

Most people who liked Trink (as did I) will like this: www.bangkokeyes.com

It's good, but monthly instead of weekly. Not competitive with this forum so I think Jackson will leave the link in here.

[Artisan2]

I miss Bernhard Trink's wise "lifestyle" column in the Bangkok Post. Does anybody knows what happened to him?

Ultimately he became an anachronism and a while after being dropped by the Post he had an "I Don't Give A Hoot" web site in 2004. Featuring weekly updates same same the newspaper column it fizzled out after about 7 months. He was unwilling to use a PC and someone had to actually key in text from his typed hardcopy (same as at the Bangkok Post). The website at one stage were actually seeking somebody to carry on doing it. His site started as subscription-only but there weren't many takers and it became gratis which may have influenced matters.

The BBC interviewed Trink prior to his shunt from the Post and commented how he looked like he was at death's door.

He was reportedly seen around BKK for a while but wasn't receptive to being approached. He'll be in his mid to late 70's now.

[Frankfurter]

I miss Bernhard Trink's wise "lifestyle" column in the Bangkok Post. Does anybody knows what happened to him?

[Frankfurter]

Frits,

You pretty much provide an accurate account on how the lower class girls deal with money.

Additionally, they fall for numerous other unwise financial dealings, i.e. gambling, lottery (Try to expain to the girl, that the lottery is actually a tax for people who are not good at math. You will have a blast when you see her total incomprehension!), and other scams any western girl with a normal IQ would never in her right mind go for.

Some of the Isan working girls also buy into questionable real estate deals for their efficiency apartments in Pattaya (I only know of such cases in that city) without having ANY clue what they are actually signing.

I always wondered how the transition to the “real” life in a foreign country works out, both for the girl and also for her husband.

Girls from the Thai upper class sometimes are exceptions, however, but only 1 in 10,000 farang ever has a chance to meet somebody like that. Their money is typically handled by the family; but even they can blow $10,000 on a single long weekend shopping trip to London.

[FritsVanegter]

Hello,

My Thai GF works as a nurse practitioner at Mahidol university. Her salary is not just moderate like most officers. She will ask for money sometimes but I will usually refuse just pay a ticket to come to Europe. The problem is that they think all westerners are wealthy. NO they are wealthy during their stay in Thailand. I think a lot of Thai people cannot deal with money properly. Buy a new phone because marketing predicts that without even having paid the last one. (they say a lot of Americains are living on credit too) If their parents or sister ask for some money she will help because it will give her something like good '' karma''. I will help if I can but not if she gets into financial trouble because her loved ones did get these troubles just because they know they can rely on their sister. They just spent their money to quickly before actually having it. I will save the money for my trip before going not pay it afterwards. A lot of the beerbar girls go shopping after their first customer instead of a deposit in the bank. I am afraid it is just a question of common sense. They live from day to day. Instead of buying some english grammar to improve their marketing skills they will just buy jeans nr 28 or get tattoo nr 13. Another reason not to pay to much for p4p Just pay standard price and bring them a book the next day Greetings Frits.