It’s my food u Twat!
Posted by sideshowBOB | Blog, Reader Submissions | Posted on June 9th, 2009
Thanks to all who made it to the F1 party. Lots of burned mouths swilling cheap beer. All good. We may have another party this month but maybe not. The 4th of July party will be so huge that it may be better to man up for that. Currently working on the limited edition t-shirts that we will raffle off at the party.
Checked this place out over the weekend. Good views, good coffee, free wifi, nice decor and unis using the resource center! 
The thing I love about the blog and the guides is we got some serious quality comments and reviews from time to time. With my last post I thought there were tons of good comments. Going to highlight a few.
This comment from 2 Week Trevor brought to light some of the feelings I have but I was not sure how to explain them. He nailed it:
ssb,
while i don’t disagree with any of what you’d stated re: tourism in decline, etc. i feel like there may be other contributing, related factors to thailand’s (in general) and bkk’s (in particular) loss of oomph with traditional traveling farangs.
while thailand overall still retains some distinct thai-ness that has made it so appealing for many for quite some time, to me it feels like the creeping ‒westernization” combined with ‒modernization” and/or ‒progress” in general (infrastructure, hotels, rests, starbucks, even the skytram – bless it’s efficient heart) and in spirit (pervasive/invasive tech driven, mtv-culture) over the past 12 years, has taken it’s toll on the unique place that thailand once occupied in many minds.
today, that uniqueness exists, but increasingly survives only at the edges and you have to travel pretty far to find some nice relatively unexplored andaman beach front and a big juicy dose of amazing thai without being visually, aurally and sometimes physically assaulted by noisy, fat, burnt-skinned euro snobs (or loud fat assed americans, if that’s your favorite repelling flavor) and an army of anxious, pushy thai folks with trite smiles pasted on their face, selling you worthless trash and trinkets.
So true. And I think what I meant about changes is sometimes I feel like I want less of the areas where you deal with the shit and want more of the fun stuff. A buddy of mine and I went on a bike ride way outside of Bkk and one of the best memories of it all is meeting smiling people, people cheering us on, no one trying to sell us anything and just well – lots of fun.
Lately though, I am most put off by the freaking BIB. Khun Frank shared this with us:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/sets/72157617714418287/detail/
Awesome photos in there. I am stunned that the big business powers that be in the lower Suk corridor cannot get these assholes dealt with.
Personally I get stopped by the police all the time and I don’t get why. Folks – my head is shaved right now and if I wear pants no one knows about the tattoos. Of course my stop last night after coming home from dinner with the gang could have been influenced by my shirt: “I hate Pigs!” , but my guess is that the BIB in brown can’t read English and they don’t know what the Pig term means.
Last night – I am crossing Asoke from Soi 19 and halfway up Soi 23. 2 cuties on a motorbike – sitting close.
The dude on the back jumps off to stand next to me. The superior dude sits on the bike.
P: “whoooa. Where u going”?
ME: “home”
P: Where?
M: Soi 23?
P: Apartment?
M: Yes.
P: Which one?
M: Your mom’s bitch? Oops. Can’t say my apartment name here.
P: What is in the bag?
M: Daywalker’s monkey’s leftover lasagna.
P: Have a nice night!
M: u2
I mean folks. What the fuck? It was not even 10pm. I was dressed decently. Why me? And what is it they are doing? They are harassing foreigners. And it is taking its toll and tourism and expats working here.
I have another though.
It was about 4 in the morning – late but I don’t think being out late should warrant suspicion. I was at a taxi coming back from Huay Kwang – getting a bite and a perv. I was just getting ready to cross Petchaburi road. I was sitting there spacing when next thing you know there was a tap on the window. I ignored the tap thinking it is like when Bubba knocks on my door at 3 in the morning.
Ignore it and it usually goes away.
Then I looked forward and noticed another cop standing in front of the car and the other dude still standing at my window tapping. I looked at the taxi driver and he looked at me with this look – this was my problem. Great. Once again I was dressed okay and I was in a taxi – what the hell would make them think I was someone they needed to pull over. Also this was a stop light and not some check point.
I rolled down the window.
P: Does not speak English. Just keeps motioning me to step out.
ME – who love his Mother – speaks in Thai: I need to get out of the taxi?
SSB – who spent a night in Lumpini: Tells taxi to flor it and will give him 10,000 baht since I will open the door a tad to knock over the dude next to me and we will end up running over the dude in front of the taxi.
P: Yes.
M: Okay.
S: taxi does not do as ask. I look to see the white shirt throught he stressed seams of the fat dude’s tight brown button up. Dude – layoff Bapple and go for a run or 2.
I get out and stand next to the guy. The light is now green and our taxi is stuck in the lane. Of course everyine is looking at me like I am some sort of criminal.
P: Where did you come from?
M: Huay Kwang sir. Had me some din din
S: I came back from your daughter’s aparment that is paid for by your superior officer. I see her when he is not around.
P: Where are u going?
M: Home. Soi 23.
S: Going to cruise lower suk looking for some CW to send over to PMMPs house and then toilet paper one of the empty police boxes.
P: Why are u out so late?
M: Just finished work and wanted a bit to eat. Going home now. Thanks for being so concerned with me
S: Cause your girl has to finish work at the Coyote joint before I can hook up with her. I know she tells you she works service at some restaurant but to be fair – she does give good service.
P: okay. have a good night.
M: Thanks.
S: U 2. Next time let me know u want to do this and I will stop of at the 7 to get u a goodie bag first.
Smiles all around.
Then there is this comment from MAZ – won’t quote it all here but funny stuff. Reminds me of my trip to that small village in England:
after getting fed up with that, i go to a pub, and pay 10 stinking dollars for a beer, which i know costs 30 cents in reality. i stand at the bar, get shouldered, spilt beer upon, not served for at least 10minutes, pushed in in front of, and then finally when ordering my beer, get villified for ordering 2 at the same time. i then forcefully get told by some cockhead maori bouncer where i can and cant stand to drink it. this, after spending id suggest 15 years drinking at the same place…u wouldnt think it was that hard to order, and then drink, a simple beer would you.
i have to go to bed early, alone, because i have work all week, so up i get at 6am, freezing fkn cold as winter is kicking in down under…i struggle off to work doing 40kmh on a 4 lane hway, because no one can drive, and cops are standing using a radar in peak hour traffic on the side of the road. i then get to work and sack some retard gen y receptionist who ive just had it with, and proceed to deal with cockhead clients all day. i come home to an empty house, cold, and cook some felch that passes as dinner.
can ye all please not ruin my fun time and cry boredom and despair with the hardship entailed in living in Bkk. i cant handle it.
I am dying here. Sorry Maz. We have our good and bad days too. How about a day in the life of Maz reader submit? Get on it.
BTW – Taco Tuesdays at Cactus tonight.
Check this review out by TokyoSexManiac:
Also had my bum licked, which is a first (I am collecting all kinds of firsts on this trip, having realized I will need to give my biographers something to write about).
Went back a few days later on a weekday late in the afternoon in the hope of really finding out what all the fuss is about, and guess what – Ms. Dull Isaan Girl is on the roster and while the massage was darn good, Mr. Floppy made his return. But Fa/La/Da/Pumpernickel saved the day, inviting Mr. Floppy into her farmgirl’s mouth, where Mr. Happy took over and spraypainted the interior with a special paint. Again, another first – for too many years, it seems, Mr. Happy has been worrying too much about teeth and never really got into the swing of things in that area. One mission accomplished, at least.
On the basis ‒third time lucky” I went back once more, and who should pop up? No, not Dull Isaan Girl (though to be honest she lightened up on the second time, what with me being a decent bloke and jai dee all that). Yes, it was the below-mentioned Rose, who seemed to have confused me with some long-lost lover and proceeded to sexually molest me until I made a special oral donation, then not long after went at it again as if she hadn’t seen a naked male for months or even years. I think she did a bit of massage too but that is beside the point. The girl must have sanuk injected directly into her bloodstream or something. Left her with a 200 baht tip (it would have been 500 but I deducted my usual 300 baht fee for oral services provided, she was quite insistent and as a gentleman I was more than happy to assist).
TSM – that is some funny shit dude. Send us a post!
Will exit with some politics – this is one of the better articles out there summarizing the current situation in Thailand and honest talk about the players. There is some good stuff in there and I like how they highlight that despite what people may think – Thailand is a country with a huge gap between the rich and poor. It sports one of the largest gaps in the world.
Now going into a full blown recession – tensions are going to rise:
In the period 1992 to 2007, the percentage share of household income held by Thailand’s poorest 20% remained roughly the same at around 6%. The share of the country’s richest 20% remained roughly stable at around 50%. In more than 15 years of development, the plight of the poor did not improve much. From a geographical perspective, gaps are also clear. In terms of monthly income, households in Bangkok and its environs had an average income of around 35,000 baht (about $1,000) in 2007. In the poorest region, the northeast, that figure was 13,000 baht, or roughly one-third. One explanation for this gap is that the agriculture-dependent rural areas benefited less from industrialization and globalization than urban centers, especially Bangkok.
The current global financial and economic crisis is hitting Thailand hard. The country’s political crisis makes a bad situation worse as many foreigners now think twice before investing or visiting in Thailand. The kingdom officially slipped into recession in the first quarter of 2009. Exports in the same period were down by more than 20% when compared to the same period in 2008. GDP growth was down 7.1% in the first quarter of this year over a year earlier, a far worse performance than the 4.3% growth in fourth quarter of 2008. Unemployment was 1.9% in March, or just above 700,000 people. While this may seem insignificant from industrialized nations’ standards, for a developing country such as Thailand this is a huge burden. Such grave economic concerns-both long standing and current-could fuel further political tensions. They could also enhance the appeal of groups such as the Red and Yellow shirts and their calls for a more inclusive society.
Party on!
48 Responses to “It’s my food u Twat!”
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Translator
One of the things I forgot to stick in this post is regarding the stupid ATM shit going on in Thailand.
Just after I wrote about K Bank not charging they started charging. I hope not to jinx this next tidbit of info but the Singaporean Bannk UOB is still not charging.
Given that I plan on opening an account with them so I can stick to the effing Thai banks
View all comments by sideshowBOB
In March, Two BIB stopped my cab at the corner of Petchaburi and Suk soi 3.
Stepping out, one politely ask if he could pat me down. Of course I agreed because I had nothing on me. Finding nothing the other began to ask where I was from and asked to see an ID.
After examining my ID like he could read anything, he apologized and returned the ID.
Since I wasn’t in a hurry and curious, I ask them what they were looking for. Without hesitation, they both said yaabaa and E.
This confirmed my suspicion that Bkk has an increasing problem with meth and Extacy.
So whats my point.
I don’t like getting stopped and questioned as much as the next guy. But with the increasing number of crazy headed meth users spoiling the Bkk night life, I’m all for the BIB checks.
View all comments by Muu sabai
muu – sure. They are looking for stuff.
Just like how the idiots on lower suk framing farangs have not made the streets cleaner or stopped anyone from smoking, do u really think stopping random people like u or me is going to help?
Let’s say u did have a tab on u. You will pay whatever it takes to not get into trouble. As u should. He will take your money and the tab so he can sell it to some guy in the force who is the real dealer. Yes cops deal.
So point is – this random harassment is not stopping the trade and damaging tourism. All they have to do is go to the known clubs to bust the people taking it in plain view, selling it in the bathrooms and then find the guy who is in the club, many times an employee, who has the extra kit when the dude in the bathroom runs out.
That makes a lot more sense to me. Why they don’t do it? Well some guy is making money from the club for ensuring the club is not busted.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
ssB: 3AM? Shit, if I waited that late the girl(s) would be long gone.
BIB were scared of the dreads. Now they’re making up for lost time.
View all comments by Bubba
“In the period 1992 to 2007, the percentage share of household income held by Thailand’s poorest 20% remained roughly the same at around 6%. The share of the country’s richest 20% remained roughly stable at around 50%. In more than 15 years of development, the plight of the poor did not improve much”
Whilst the poverty here is clearly poverty at a far more ass scraping level, the changes in percentage share of household income look far, far, worse in the US, Aust. and the UK.
View all comments by Fanta
bubba – I may stop showering to see if that scares them again
f – possibly but not sure what that has to do with here where the GAP between the 2 is what is causing the strife.
but you are correct the fucking bush years screwed the pooch. The Man – correct?
View all comments by sideshowBOB
The part of the FEER piece that I thought hit the issue clearly was that on sakdhina (which I suppose could be pronounced suckedineh)and the argument that it’s not, or not only, the ridged discrepencies in wealth but the entrenched discrpencies in cultural place that’s causing some of the friction. I hope they’re right and that it is precisely that but I doubt it. The gap in wealth wouldn’t matter a damn as long as the plebs thought that’s just the way the world is and should be (sakdina). Thanks for highlighting the piece. Appreciated.
View all comments by Fanta
The Petchaburi Road BIB crew are fucking turds. Their uniform color is quite fitting.
I got fagged up by one a few weeks back. This is an excerpt from a comment I left on Werewolfs site last week…
“On the way home down Petchaburi Road, I passed 10 policeman shaking down cars on the side of the road. 1 of the coppers let me walk 4-5 metres past the ‘group’ and accosted me asking where i was going/coming from/where i was from etc.
The whole time he was looking me up and down and smirking queerishly, with that kind of queer smirk that all queers have. He was queer.
Just before he let me on my way, he prodded my chest, then grabbed my right bicep and smirked ‘big strong boy’…… He then grabbed my prick and smirked ‘not so strong here though’ before letting me on my way. I felt violated.”
View all comments by Young Penfold
The gap between rich and poor is usually measured with the Gini Coeffient. Thailand’s is larger than many other countries’. But it’s about the same as the USA’s. So is it really that bad?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gini_Coefficient_World_Human_Development_Report_2007-2008.png
View all comments by Stat Guy
stat boy
Well – it is enough that groups of people are either closing airports or rioting in the streets. Dont see much of that in America – at least not yet.
Many scholars find that the Gini thing is missing a lot of the real poor here, the underground economy and that the government gives them many of the numbers. So of course they are trying to make it look better.
Whether or not any of this is true – a small group of very rich people have been controlling this country for years and a much LARGER group of not rich people are starting to grumble.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Has anyone ever seen a policewoman in Bangkok?
Anyone? Ever?
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
bbb – BMA has many women police and I saw some at the lumpini station. Also there are many women military police. but of the standard irritating BIB type – I have not seen any.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
Yeah, I think they have them inside the police stations, but never on the prowl. Odd. That tight brown uniform would probably look quite good on Thai women. Better than it does on Thai policemen, anyway…
“2 week trevor” did indeed nail it.
View all comments by Bangkok Bad Boy
Does anyone pretend they cannot speak both English and Thai when the BIB stop them? I use this tactic whenever annoying bargirls or touts don’t leave me alone. Works great and it’s fun too.
Of course an English speaking country passport might give it away to the BIB but I still think it would be fun to try.
View all comments by No English
All countries probably try to get their Gini down, some more some less. But it is a direction. You are right about the airport closure and power elites ruling the country. But that isn’t the indicator for Gini.
I once saw a Thai girl’s profile on a dating website with pics of her in a Thai SWAT team, with M-16 gun, combat uniform, at the shooting range and all. She didn’t reply me. She was even pretty. What a a loss (for me, not for her).
View all comments by Stat Guy
SSB….an example of todays annoyances:
Farang police fines v Thai police fines.
Thai:
Finish my ciggy, walk into a construction site and politely bury the butt amongst an acre of debris, dead bodies and general shit that passes for a waste disposal site in most countries.
Take 20 steps along pavement, continuing your cheerful day.
Get whistled upon, reemed in the arse, and cough over your 2000baht, knowing full well there is NOTHING u can do about it. Police or whatever they are, pocket the money, all takes about a 60seconds.
Farang:
Get caught on speed camera. Receive the fine 3 weeks later in the mail, after have forgotten about it. By the time i receive it, its one day to expiry. I write out a cheque, and post it off. End of story.
Nope.
Today, 3 weeks later, i receive a Final Statement, suggesting i pay this fine, or go to jail. 10kmh over a speed limit that is at least 30kmh too slow anyway, so im not happy to start with. I of course reach for my cheque book and note on a perfectly written out stub: $150 Police Fines Department.
Im busy, so i walk to the accountant (now i dont have a receptionist as she was sacked in anger after my Sunday afternoon… I ask said beancounter to phone the cops, tell them ive paid, and rack off. She does.
Mid sentence the phone gets put through to me, who is the only one allowed to speak “for privacy reasons”. I explain to the cop, ive paid it ages ago, this statement is not applicable, clean it up your end, piss off.
Not good enough.
You sir paid the first fine you received. Correct cockhead, i did, which by the way i received 1 day prior to expiry.
Im sorry sir but you have to pay a re-issued Statement, as the initial Fine expired. Fuckcheese, it expired because i only got it a day late, its not my fault it takes you 3 weeks to process my cheque.
“We were unable to process it sir as it expired”. Im angry now.
Im a businessman, who prides himself on a ridiculous fee’ing schedule per minute, and this has now taken 10minutes of my mental aptitude, let alone demeaning myself by sitting on a phone talking to a cop.
“You have to pay by this final statement sir, which expires today, and you also have to pay the interest component attached to it.”
Welllll….i put the phone down and breath…breath.
“I have already paid mr policemen, as suggested 10minutes ago. Do you not want my money? I appreciate you have 1million fines to process everyday as that is all this state revolves around nowadays, but to honestly expect me to follow this shit is above the call of duty”.
“you will receive a summons to appear in court then”.
Summons me fuckhead.
“so how do i pay by today then, remembering ive already paid, and you only issue demands to pay things ive already paid, on the day of expiry?”.
“you would have to come down to the station sir”.
“How? im at work”
“Could you come in your lunch hour?”.
The only place im coming in my lunch hour is in my accountants sweet gentle asian pussy fuckhead….summons me, il see you in court.
“No i cant”.
And i then hung up. So…here i sit, probably a doomed man. Im over it, beyond caring.
That….SSB….is why i cant handle hearing the doom stories in BKK lately. There’s enough bullshit going on in the real world that many of us cant handle the impending doom and gloom in Thailand. Make no mistake im not bagging the writers nor the stories…im just hearing from everyone and everything i read, that thai life is not so joyful anymore, it really worries me.
We need the escapism, the joy of it all…we need to picture the love when we are waiting on hold to speak to some dumbarse cop to pay our fines…we crave the 60 second fine…even if it is corrupt!!!!!
View all comments by Maz
I shagged a Thai policewomen. They do exist.
View all comments by bkk22
Wonder if have done the right thing ?
Just separated from wife (actually kicked to the curb but thats no fun admitting) and sold the house today…… so ive decided to take a time-out and go to BKK for the summer and screw work for 8 weeks.
So for a guy thats been a reader but not a poster, is there a possibility to meet some of you guys in person after the 26th june in Mango-bar and get some inside tips….. especially if someone would like to show G-clubs…..
But boy, do i look forward now to the summer
View all comments by Companyman
fanta – cool. it was a great article.
maz – I hear but unfortunately living here day to day means that we put up with shit too – especially if try to do business here. I do my best but real life always prevails.
speed cameras and tix in europe suck. totally agreed!
bkk22 – details please.
companyman – I can get your story up tomorrow – any edits? not sure if people are going to tear u up or not.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
@Companyman: Sounds like a good move getting away from it. We are always around. Not sure our tips will be helpful but glad to answer any questions you may have. If you come into the Mango evening time just ask the Manager when we will be in. You can also send an email to info@bigmangobar.com if you want to arrange a specific date/time.
View all comments by pmmp
I’ve been stopped (both on foot and in a taxi) at precisely the places you mention: Petchburi and the crossing from Soi 19 to Soi 23. Do the cops actually hang out anywhere else?
I was in Narcissus when it got raided on New Year’s Eve eighteen months ago so raids do happen.
The second time I got checked, I was sure I had something, having just come from Narcissus where the girl I’d been with had been taking E all night and had been using my pocket to store it in between toilet visits. She’d put a little rustly packet in there last thing that I assumed was her E so I flicked it out as I saw the police.
Not nearly quick enough (hey, I’d been drinking!) and they saw it. Lots of commotion as cops with torches swarmed under the seat. Luckily it was just a cough sweet but I spent the minute that they took to find that out wondering just how much I’d have to pay to avoid jail.
So, how much would I have had to pay? Anyone know?
View all comments by bibblies
The DSI have female police officers. I guess that’s one of the places a copper’s Uni-girl daughter can go when she morphs into real person and wants a real job. (Thammasat, Prince of Songkla, King Mongkut grads) Some of them are well over 40 kilos, 53 even.
Glock, Colt and H&K polos with jeans and skirt were quite popular.
Mostly they just dressed like civil servants. With Glocks and Colts.(Apparently since Tak Bae H&K won’t officially supply here.)
Although the police culture certainly prevails among them, DSI are generally not as “tightly wrapped” as regular cops back home.
They get quite a kick out of these sites BTW
Stickman is the runaway fave but they were surprisingly familiar with a number of farang blogs.
View all comments by Prufrock
SideshowBob…… cancel it please , and i write a more wellthought story of how a man has become hooked to LOS…… that has begun 10 years ago and evolved rapidly the last year…… both sad and happy….
View all comments by Companyman
By the way, may i ask questions in this thread?
Since my work is racing and there is a Thai championship on the 11-12th of July and i arranged full credentials for myself and some guests, is there anymore real die-hard racerfans that would like to tag along to Bira Circuit?
View all comments by Companyman
Good pictures of the BMA cops screwing over tourists.
I guess they didn’t get the memo?
Hotels are running at 30% and these greedy clowns are pissing off the ones that DO come.
Stupid.
I see about 12 of them between Soi 4 and the Emporium.
Each ones grabbing 3 or 4 tourists per hour? 96,000 baht per hour. Maybe 1 million a day for the Sukhumvit gang?
They are doing this near the Grand Palace, Kow San Rd, Silom Rd. and a few more places.
3 or 4 million baht a day are taken from visitors to the Land of Smiles?
Now they have at least 100 beggers out there bringing in 1000 baht each a day.
They rent the paths to vendors and charge triple to porn or rolex vendors…
Tony Soprana would be proud of this bunch.
View all comments by Boy George
Maz: Thanks for the story. Kick-ass! I agree 100%. All it takes is that kick in the balls that is my annual trip back to Farangland to reestablish my appreciation for the too-hot, over-crowded, squalor that is Bangkok. It is easy to become jaded when you have been planted in one place too long, and start to think suddenly that the grass is greener elsewhere. But Farangland ??? that grass ain’t green, it’s bloody dead. I just got back … does it show?
Companyman: I would like more info on the weekend at Bira. And a little vacation in Pattaya sounds, well, refreshing. And hey, Pattaya needs the business right now. I look forward to reading your “story” when you are ready. And you are not the first bloke to be smitten by the LOS.
View all comments by Khang
A friend and I got stopped as we were getting off the bus from Pattaya at the Ekkamai station. The cops searched his bags and found a roach and then found a small amount of ganja.
They started out at $1000 USD but he was able to negotiate down to 6000 baht to let him go.
View all comments by WPD
Just received notification to pay a fine for running a red light with pictures included of the SUV doing the deed. We sold the SUV in Nov last year, called and informed the BIB, they said to forget it they will catch the folks that bought it when they register. So beware they have traffic cameras in the city and they do use them. This picture, 3 of them, with a close up of the plate, was taken near the Paragon.
View all comments by THE MAN
In 9 years I have NEVER been stopped or searched by police in Bangkok.
Been caught speeding a couple of times (guilty) in camera traps on the expressways. Once fined in Pattaya for jumping a red light on a motorbike.
View all comments by MSB
As if the above were not enough, now there is this from the Bangkok Post:
“Flu report won’t close Pattaya hotels
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 10/06/2009 at 11:43 AM
There will be no closure of hotels in Pattaya even though two Taiwanese national claimed they had caught influenza type-A(H1N1) while traveling in the eastern resort of Pattaya.
“The Public Health Ministry must wait for an official report on whether or not they had really caught the swine flu virus from the resort city,” Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewoaradia said on Wednesday.
People and tourists should not panic about the report as his ministry has stepped up measures to prevent a pandemic of the deadly virus, he said.”
View all comments by I Phukit
i’m starting up a chapter of the guardian angels and i need some volunteers. anyone up for it? we’ll spend our nights beating ladyboy pickpockets and jumping cops as they take a piss in dark sois. if you join you get a snazzy hat and a whip decorated with rusted fishhooks.
View all comments by UnCochinoWetback
companyman – bad timing with our anniversary party but I love racing.
boy – they dont give a shit. that is the problem. none of the government or law enforcement ever has to deal with trie cause and effect for their actions. that is the sad part.
k – it is not jaded it is just telling things like they are just like maz is doing with england. hate to burst bubbles but we all have to admit that going on holiday anywhere is different than everyday life – no matter where the destination is. I cant really subscribe to the notion of sunshine only blogging – just isnt real.
msb – I think it is just a time and place thing. one of my points is these guys are pathetic about real profiling – which is dumb because to waste all that time and hardly ever catch anyone is pointless. they tend to pick people they think look the part but in reality are innocent while under their noises people are moving by them with huge stashes. cracks me up
i – not sure what u mean. u want a panic over it? who the fuck knows if they have it or where they caught it. u want the place shut down over it? that would make things worse right? seems they did the pragmatic thing for now.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
SSB- That is my exact point. Who knows how they caught it or where they got it from on their travels… So why publish it? This only adds fuel to the fire, and with tourism #’s dropping, there is no need to stoke the flames here. With even the mere suggestion of closing hotels, they are giving the perception that certain places maybe unsafe, which is completely absurd.
The swine flue is now a global issue, and unless you have been living under a rock for the last 6 months, you are well aware of it. It’s just another example of the insensitivity of the Bangkok Post to potentially create panic when there is no need.
View all comments by I Phukit
Glad you liked the review, all this being massaged gives me time for some creative thinking.
I would love to come along to the Mango at one point but last time I was here (better part of 3 years ago) I had a dalliance with one of the girls which got semi-serious but faded out into an email morass of vague promises and lost opportunities. Judging by the photos on the site she is still hanging about and I am ascairt she might go all Bobbit on me. Being a heartless bastard I can’t even recall her name but it most likely had at least one consonant and one or more vowels in it, if that helps.
View all comments by TokyoSexManiac
I was walking by the Suk Soi 4 corner booth the other day with a friend. I noticed one of the BiB smoking a cig. I experimented in this situation before and watched to see what the guy would do with his cig butt. In the previous instance he just tossed it on the ground. I was hoping to catch that same magic again, mostly to entertain my friend, and sure enough the guy just tossed his butt on the sidewalk. Sums it up for me.
View all comments by pmmp
ssb- i guess i look more like a stock dealer than a drug dealer!
View all comments by MSB
We saw you last night at cowboy, it no wonder you got stopped by the BIB you looked like a dirty back packer from koh-san road, I hardly call unshaven, old shorts and some knock off t-shirt being decently dressed combined with a large bulky crack head laptop bag. I am surprised they let you go at all you should count yourself lucky.
View all comments by kosh
Well, after my crappy experience returning from Pattaya and having a beer at one of the bars at the bottom of the BTS station – I walked back across the footpath and got into a taxi… with my shirt wet from a guy throwing a drink in my face …
So this taxi driver was driving up On Nut and was nodding out on me (a young guy) then his mood changes and he is driving like a maniac – screaming at himself – weird!
I had to grab by his arm and scream ‘JUT TINNY’ — finally I was out let out of his taxi and out of HIS MADNESS!
WTF!!!!
I see Thai police roadblocks all the time on On Nut, Snirakin, Petchaburi, Ramkhamhaeng, Ram Intra – seems everywhere these days!
View all comments by JDH
kosh – glad u got the pleasure. BTW – those are billabong shorts. orig. and that was MOS shirt. Orig. thanks for noticing.
also – this is not what I was wearing either of the times I was stopped. Both times I was actually wearing pants, button up shirt and decent shoes.
so not sure what u are driving at.
also when is it suspicious to have a laptop bag? which I did not have with me at my stops either.
View all comments by sideshowBOB
ssB… My Monkey wants to know if you have any lasagna left?
View all comments by Daywalker
@ I Phukit Couldn’t agree more.
Yeah. Bird “flew” – 367 deaths in 7 countries during the five years they spun THAT puppy out begs the question: qui bono??
Swine flu I when the Canadian gov’t bought millions in useless poisonous “vaccine” (Vaccine as in “vacca-COW-smallpox) is not an anti-viral concept. Virus works differently)
Scare everyone shitless and then sell the fucking snake oil. Stopping virus with a paper face mask is like catching rice with a squash racket.. Gee where have we seen THIS before??
I’m not going to get into dreary tales of the “marketing exercises” the that big Pharma pulls here (Upcountry vaccination scares for 500,0 Alex) and elsewhere. . . others do that better.
And it’s up there for anybody to research (if it’s still, like cool, and “advanced” and masterful to do so.
Between big Pharma’s obvious interests in selling USELESS vaccine, other “friendly” ASEAN countries coveting the crumbling debris from LOS tourism market-share and the willingness of ANY Federal Ministry in ANY government to inflate their gravitas with a home-made crisis, journalists dying for a story that won’t make them political enemies, Thai officialdom looking ANYWHERE outside its own policy and its own venal self, and small business superstars unwilling to tweak their business model buttons a tad and a marketplace full of people who couldn’t find their ass with both hands and a flashlight, I’d say we’re just in the beginning stages of another perfect bullshit storm.
Nice thing about a virus scare or a terrorism scare or an economic downturn scare or a web-porn scare is that you can you can toss any old polical feces in a bag and sell it to scared people.
Dealing with symptoms: that’s where the money is apparently.
View all comments by Prufrock
and now this from the Bangkok Post:
PM: 20 more flu cases in Pattaya
By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 11/06/2009 at 12:57 PM
Another 20 cases of A(H1N1) influenza have been found in the resort town of Pattaya, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.
The patients were all workers at entertainment places. All were now in the care of the Public Health Ministry, the prime minister said.
Health officials would examine people at major tourist attractions in both Pattaya and Phuket to get a more accurate number of how many people have so far caught the flu in Thailand.
On Wednesday, the Public Health Ministry put the number of confirmed flu cases at 16, after an 11-year-old 6th grade boy at a private school in Sam Sen area of Bangkok was found to have the flu virus.
The ministry ordered three classes at the school closed for three days and 13 other students from the school were placed under close watch after they showed flu-like symptoms.
The 11-year-old boy is the second case of human-to-human transmission confirmed in Thailand. He has not recently travelled out of the country, officials said.
View all comments by I Phukit
Note how the Thai press doesn’t want to identify the Pattaya nightclub where the entertainment workers tested positive for the flu.
Word is that it is the Star Dice disco in Naklua . . . popular with Japanese and Koreans.
View all comments by DJ
Let’s be clear here.
Wash your hands. Don’t bother drying them on the rag. Don’t flush with your hands. Don’t handle BTS/MRT (public) hardware (that evening software thing is up to you)
These cases are being chalked up in a controlled media environment. It takes time to separate ordinary flu cases from this so-called pandemic. And it’s going to be less and less “convenient” to do so as “policy” forms and a gravy train to profit from this panic shapes up.
I wonder who’s “working” on the vaccine? A vaccine for an organism whose survival characteristic is lightening fast adaptability and change, BTW. A vaccine which after having been formulated and derived now from present sputum culture will have little connection to any virus that may later evolve.
My own doctor in Canada and most doctors I know do not vaccinate themselves or their families during these scares.
There are no pharmaceuticals for the flu.
Take Ibuprofen instead of Paracetamol for symptomatic aches and pains. Don’t take stuff to reduce runny nose and eyes.
Gel-packs available at any pharmacy are great for reducing fever. Get ten, they’re cheap. Freeze ‘em, slip one under each arm, two near your femoral arteries and one or two at your temples.
Regular ice packs in Foodland bags wrapped in towels do the trick as well. Take lots of vitamin C and at first symptoms of flu gobble mega-doses of the stuff.
Wash your hands.
Do not use the public soap bar/ cake. I carry a bar of soap in a plastic bag and wash my hands.
Don’t towel your hands on that “Petri towel” wiping rag that sits on the counter of most joints. Wet hands won’t kill you.
Do not re-cycle condoms
Perhaps lay off the analingus for a spell.
Don’t panic.
View all comments by Prufrock
I just wash my dick in the morning and then I’m good for the rest of the day.
Pru…. Next time you are in the Mango.. ask someone for the book that bought for you. It’s in a cupboard. One of the team will get it for you.
(what a nice guy I am!)
View all comments by Daywalker
Thanks DW. (Books are good
And yes, of course, in spite of all your best efforts to conceal it you are (and I know you’ll fucking HATE this) a good guy.
And, when it all comes down to it, face to face where it counts (actually the ONLY place it counts, because all the other shit is a load of nonsense) I haven’t met ANYONE at the Mango that, upon being approached in a friendly open-faced way, exclusive of any bloggish baggage that was up here, wasn’t a decent person.
Not one.
This would probably include that ebullient YP fellow if I could just remember what he looked like.
View all comments by Prufrock
if, with economic development, the % wealth distribution remains stable, the poor are already getting a good deal. It means each segment got the same % improvement. Often the gap would widen because rich and powerful can seize the benefit of growth and may decide not to share. Personally, in good years i will go out more, spend more and tip more- fun but i also feel good spreading the joy
View all comments by oogh
Just to give people an example of how swine flu was blown out of proportion here is a link to a site where I come from, yes the link is literally to scaremonger
http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_swineflu/
Apparantly we bought around £500k of the vaccine and it is now going out of date and being given away to third world countries.
Our health minister decided it best to be prepared for an pandemic rather than to check the stats for herself on the mortality rates for swine flu sufferers. Think Thailand is run by incompetent people well welcome to Jersey!
View all comments by GogoAGogo