General Reports

[QUOTE=Run Mann]The Times story does make that point which is one of the reasons he is not on the Forbes list for his individual wealth or as an individual. However, beside his own personal stash, which is still a considerable sum, he does have some control over the trust. You're probably right though, most of that money will not be distributed anytime soon to the people who need it the most.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what control he has. It's hard to say. But, to give you an idea of what kinds of land holdings the RHB has...they own everything from Parragon Shopping Mall, to all of soi Lang Suan, and a good deal of Sukhumvit soi 4 (Nana), for example.

I read somewhere recently that the RHB is the majority land holder in the whole country.

Is it coup time again?

PAD lockdown - how much of an effect is it having? Presume these things never get down as far as Suk but from the UK it is being reported as a big deal with military intervention possible!

OTH, I read another report about the wealth of royalty, and His Kingness owns over 3500 ACRES in BKK alone.

From the AP 45 minutes ago............

Quote:

BANGKOK, Thailand - A mob of anti-government protesters pushed their way into the compound housing the offices of Thailand's prime minister on Tuesday, one of a series of actions against state agencies in the capital.

The demonstrators, from the right-wing People's Alliance for Democracy, stopped once they entered the compound at Government House at about 2:30 p.m. and did not attempt to enter the official offices there, footage on Thai TV channel 9 showed.

Earlier, mobs of alliance protesters took over a state-controlled television station and besieged several ministries in a self-described "final showdown" to try to bring down the elected government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

It was the first time in recent years that a large crowd managed to get onto the Government House grounds. The crowd of several thousand appeared peaceful.

Samak was expected to speak about the situation late Tuesday afternoon.

The protests were the latest effort by the alliance to force Samak's government from office. The group contends Samak is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now has gone into self-imposed exile in England.

The protest group led months of demonstrations that ended in Thaksin's ouster by the September 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

The strategy of the alliance now appears to be to provoke a violent crackdown from the government, with the goal of winning public sympathy and perhaps compelling the army to step in to restore order. The need to preserve order and avoid violent clashes was one of the excuses given by the military for the 2006 coup.

Gen. Anupong Paochinda, the country's powerful army chief, reassured the public that the military would not stage a coup, adding that the latest crisis can be solved politically.

Police on Tuesday were exercising obvious restraint, and there were no reports of them using any force.

Tuesday's actions by the alliance, which aligns itself with conservative factions of the monarchy and the military, began with a pre-dawn raid by about 80 masked members of the group on the main studios of TV Channel 11, operated by the government as National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, or NBT.

Footage of the incursion showed the attackers, armed with clubs and iron rods, herding staff out of the building and destroying some property. The station was prevented from broadcasting until police rounded up the invaders more than an hour later. Police said the attackers also were armed with knives and at least one gun, a .45-caliber pistol.

Crowds of protesters took over the TV station a second time at about 8 a.m., pushing down a gate and rushing past police to occupy the offices. The station was temporarily forced off the air, resuming broadcasting within an hour from a remote location. The protesters claim the station is a political mouthpiece for the government.

The Thai Journalists Association protested the seizure of Channel 11, describing it as a threat to press freedom and freedom of expression.

As many as 30,000 supporters of the alliance carried out protests at about four government ministries and Government House.

In some cases, they were preventing employees from entering, according to a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to a reporter.

Samak, whose party won national elections last December, has refused to step aside and insisted as late as Monday that the protests would not affect Tuesday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

But by Tuesday morning, the government said it was moving the meeting from Government House to military headquarters to avoid protesters, deputy government spokesman Natawut Saikau said.

Protest leaders claimed several hundred thousand people were on the streets of Bangkok, but the numbers appeared far smaller. The group has a record of vastly inflating its crowd estimates.

"We are now controlling most of the key government offices to prevent them from coming to work," said Sondhi Limthongkul, a co-leader of the Alliance. "Today, we declare a long, long holiday for the government."

Outside of Bangkok, protesters said they had blocked three main highways leading into the capital.

The group has accused Samak of trying to amend the constitution to help Thaksin avert a string of corruption charges against him. They also have accused the government of failing to aggressively prosecute cases against Thaksin and refusing calls to extradite him to face justice.

It has also proposed replacing the country's electoral democracy with a system that would be dominated by appointees from the bureaucracy and the military, on the grounds that the country's rural majority is not sophisticated enough to choose good public servants.

The alliance appeared to be a threat to Samak's six-party coalition government earlier this year, but had been steadily losing influence. It alienated many Bangkok residents by disrupting already bad traffic in the capital city.

It also has lost its focus since Thaksin — who returned to Thailand when Samak's government came to power — went back into exile into England, becoming a fugitive when he missed a court appearance on one of several corruption charges pending against him. Thaksin claimed he could not get a fair trial in his homeland.

The group has hopped from issue to issue to try to rebuild its following. Last month it attacked the government for allegedly giving up Thai territory to Cambodia, and this month it has joined Bangkok residents unhappy over plans to move Parliament to their neighborhood.

Unquote

Amazed there are no comments! The place seems to be going into meltdown - the trains/the airport closures in Phuket etc and that is before the "conclusion" of the Govt House issue (amused to see Prince Andrew is due to meet Samek at Govt House in next few days on official visit)

Next are power stoppages - threats to shut Mae Moh power plant which provides 10% of all power for the country and Union leaders trying to persuade members to walk out in various industries.

Surely this will filter down to Suk and the sois at some point - will be a case of "where were you when the lights went out at Nana?"

I read a post here some time back that showed a picture and specifications for two different size Durex condoms....one for the asian market and one for the west. I've been searching for it for days, but I can't seem to find it no matter where I look. Can anyone with a good memory please help me find it?

Thanks a million

I got a few shirts and suites tailored from Fashion Avenue on my last few trips and was quite happy with the tailoring. However, I now work in a job where most of my colleagues / clients wear high end european suites. I'd think there must be tailors in BBK that can make comparable suits, but I'm not sure Fashion Avenue is up to the job. He may or may not be (I didn't have the eye for these things when I visited few years back), but if I remember correctly, he didn't have quite the quality of materials and choice of cuts to make the best stuff.

Any recommendations?

I am a fairly avid monger / traveler. I have been to several places around the world in search of pussy, including Rio and BKK a few times, by far the best mongering places, in that order.

I am planning a 10-day visit to Asia and am planning to spend part of it in BKK, but am also itching to try a new place. My primary (only) purpose in visiting is mongering, so the destination must be busy enough with mongering activities and offer an average quality of experience that is comparable with whats available in BKK.

The reason that sets Rio and BKK apart is that not only the best experience you have here is very good, but the quality of your "average" experience is pretty damn good. By contrast, in a place like Buenos Aires, your best experience will likely be as good as in, say, Rio, but the average experience is much inferior. This is also somewhat correlated with the ease with which sex is available. In these two mongering heavens, p4p is available pretty much 24x7.

With all this preamble, does anyone have any suggestions for alternative mongering locations? I briefly looked through some of the forums and several asian forums look quite busy (china, malaysia, philippines, to name a few). Would appreciate any pointers. And, of course, I will share any unique experiences on this board.

[QUOTE=David 2]I read a post here some time back that showed a picture and specifications for two different size Durex condoms....one for the asian market and one for the west. I've been searching for it for days, but I can't seem to find it no matter where I look. Can anyone with a good memory please help me find it?

Thanks a million[/QUOTE]It was my ad in the classifieds:

[post]706619[/post]

[QUOTE=Stiffoak 571]Amazed there are no comments![/QUOTE]
I suspect the newer guys don't know or care, and us long-time residents have seen so many demonstrations, coups, etc. that we're jaded.

[QUOTE=Jayf1970]I got a few shirts and suites tailored from Fashion Avenue on my last few trips and was quite happy with the tailoring. However, I now work in a job where most of my colleagues / clients wear high end european suites. I'd think there must be tailors in BBK that can make comparable suits, but I'm not sure Fashion Avenue is up to the job. He may or may not be (I didn't have the eye for these things when I visited few years back), but if I remember correctly, he didn't have quite the quality of materials and choice of cuts to make the best stuff.

Any recommendations?[/QUOTE]

Raja's Tailors, Sukhumvit Soi 4, across from the Nana Hotel.

[QUOTE=Betong]I suspect the newer guys don't know or care, and us long-time residents have seen so many demonstrations, coups, etc. that we're jaded.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Until there are tanks rolling up Suk, and there's blood in the street, there's nothing to be too alarmed about. That is less likely to happen, than in the past. For one thing, PAD is in truth, a right-wing, Royalist group masquerading as a populist democracy movement. Therefore, they actually enjoy wide support in the army.

Other than worse traffic jams than usual, I haven't noticed much of anything. The vast majority of Thais aren't involved and don't care that much, because they are powerless to do anything about it.

is it possible to get a internet shop that really provides high speed ?

something that may allow you to watch for example some live broadcast.

until now i just found reasonable speed.

thanks in advance

montecristo

[quote=montecristo]is it possible to get a internet shop that really provides high speed ?

something that may allow you to watch for example some live broadcast.

until now i just found reasonable speed.

thanks in advance

montecristo[/quote]
most so called "high speed" internet shops are not really fast enough to allow reasonable remote connection to your workplace using citrix gateway or the like.

i did know a truelly high speed shop in a small mall off sukhumwit soi 11 (east side). can't remember if had indian restaurant or coffee shop at the entrance to mall. i am not sure sure that it is still there however. i think it may have gone to build the villa supermarket. so this is really no help other than to say high speed does exist ocassionally, will normally be a large shop with at least 20 pcs, and will normally be double the rate of most shops per minute. they are hard to find. most are just tinpot internet shops for games or chat. so look for a serious high class looking place. someone who lives in bkk should know i guess.

even few of the hotels have a truelly high speed connection. i have found livingstone's lodge to be quite fast however if you have your own pc with you. just sit by the pool and order something to drink or eat and use the internet. you don't have to be staying at the hotel.
the manager will supply the password. it doesn't seem to change so obviously i know what it is.
not sure if fast enough for your "live broadcast" but probably o.k. for relatively low resolution video like my football team's match replay, i would think, although i never used it to watch video (usually real live girls are occupying my time when i am not working) :d

[QUOTE=Old Thai Hand]Exactly. Until there are tanks rolling up Suk, and there's blood in the street, there's nothing to be too alarmed about. That is less likely to happen, than in the past. For one thing, PAD is in truth, a right-wing, Royalist group masquerading as a populist democracy movement. Therefore, they actually enjoy wide support in the army.

Other than worse traffic jams than usual, I haven't noticed much of anything. The vast majority of Thais aren't involved and don't care that much, because they are powerless to do anything about it.[/QUOTE]

The only thing I noticed was they were selling beer past midnight at the convenience store at Nana the night of the coup. Our friends and family were panicking when we didn't answer our cell phones. We were too busy with little Isan hard bellies. Oh boy! That trip netted me more young (19 y/o+) booty than the hippy days, or the quaaluded disco days. Only while in in Pattaya the week of the Asian Pacific Conference did the numbers and quality came close to that w/good2go pooyings!! I'm dying to get back and hear those little kitty cat lao voices.