CheshireTom

I don't think anyone has doubted her ability. She's obviously the world's best sprinter but, along with another couple of horses, is currently ranked a fair bit behind the world's best racehorse.

Agreed. And we shouldn't underestimate the resilience of the Thais. One of the everlasting memories of last year's floods (for me), was the clean-up operation afterwards. Not just that it happened, but the fact that the Thais still managed to keep smiling whilst they were doing it. I can think of a lot of places where the reaction would primarily have been finding someone to blame.

I hear Rangsit is going to be popular for Loy Krathong.

I think the Malaysia thing was a bit of a cheap publicity stunt. The pallets of water were handed over to the Thais at Hat Yai ... not too far from the Coca Cola production facility that was (and still is) churning out Nam Thip 24 hours a day. Coca Cola Haad Tip As an aside, I was out and about taking some pics yesterday to make some then and now comparisons of the effects of last years floods down here. We had three Tops Supermarkets prior to the floods - all three were located in the basements of department stores - Central, Robinson and Diana. The one in Central has relocated to the fifth floor but the ones in Diana and Robinson have only just reopened in the last month or so. So, any thoughts that some folk have that that everything will be back to normal in a couple of weeks is stretching things a bit. On the flip side of the coin, it does give you the opportunity to make some long-needed improvements.

The actual wording, as far as I'm aware, is that bikes require an inspection from the 5th renewal of the registration and cars from the 7th renewal. It's not a new rule - and it's one good reason why all those vehicle inspection sites exist.

They are both interesting side-trip destinations for lots of guys in Pattaya. On the other hand, some guys get no further than Sri Racha Tiger Zoo. However, I can understand someone who grew up in Eastern Europe not having the same desire to travel as normal people.

Miracid seems to be the locally preferred generic.

There, I fixed that for you.

Who are you to decide that posting pics of half-pissed girls is the only way of adding anything to the board? Lots of BMs contribute pics without the necessity to include a "trophy wall" - Teelak's recent, excellent TRs from Cambodia and Laos are prime examples. I would suggest that your "Post pics of some girls ..." outbursts are no more than poor attempts to divert the course of an argument which you have already lost. Lastly, I would suggest that with the continual advancement of facial recognition technology, uploading your mug to the internet isn't really a good idea.

Thais don't like farang food.

And, of course, once the waters recede, the real work begins with the clean up. In Hat Yai, some of the worst affected businesses from last November's floods (those in basements) are now just reopening.

I would think the inbound date is the killer. Personally, I'd bite the bullet and treat myself to biz class rather than pay over a grand on a crap airline for economy.

What dates are you talking about?

That's been one of the highlights for me over the last few weeks. I still find it hard to take on board that people would happily see the country totally f*cked if it got rid of their political opponents. It's a good indication of the divisions that exist when eventually the "gloves come off".

Google has got a disaster site up and running .... Google Crisis Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X94uIXiFZpw

Nowt. I was just reminded of the "Are you a Kafflik?" joke.

Don't worry, for many years I thought Al Baker at Qatar Airlines was a Yank.

C'mon, get a grip! Again, in your rush to sensationalise your post to try and drive home your point, you've got your facts all arse about face. Al-Hamizi wasn't arrested by anyone, let alone for drinking beer. He's a lawyer.

So what is the NEWS?? The worst case scenario, from what I've read/listened to, has the deluge from the north meeting the high-tide from the south sometime between Thu-Sat. Nobody seems to be taking bets on what the outcome will be.

Are you from Glasgow, or thereabouts?

Thanks. That explains the absence of Oishi tuna and ham/cheese sarnies in the 7/11s.

Yep ... same story today in KFC with lots of out of stock stickers over the menus. It seems to be the national retailers that are most affected - there doesn't seem to be too much of an issue with local stuff.

I think the women in question were spotted in Thailand. Does that lot ^^^ apply to Muslims in LOS? If not, why not?

From the link in the OP .... "In recent times the British Consulate in Pattaya has become increasingly busy, to such an extent the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) decided to upgrade the office to a Full Consulate. Two full-time positions became available (Vice Consul and Consulate Officer). These new positions required formal applications to be taken from within the FCO, and outside." I think it's quite appropriate that Pattaya should get a Vice Consul. As to why ... I assume the new HE in BKK could see the obvious conflict of interests that faced HM.