A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[yinyang]

One of the 10 tuk-tuks joining the 'khan mak' procession from a groom's house to his bride's in Muang district in Trang. Groom Boonyarit Chaiwiset, who is a teacher, said the tuk-tuk must be a part of this important event of his life because he was brought up and educated by the money his father earned driving it.PHOTO BY MEETHEE MUANGKAEW

 

[yinyang]

Natural or manmade?

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/903580/rayong-fish-death-causes-debated

Hundreds of dead fish have washed up on Ta Kuan beach in Rayong, where fishermen have rejected official explanations that the deaths resulted from a naturally occurring plankton bloom. (Photo by the Bangkok Post)

 

[Onitsuka]

Never like angmohs



Crap missed editing that. Yep 1994.



Mi mia = have or not ; but what about that peeeeeee? Strange la

He just dragged the word Pee, which is elder bro. I'm sure you know that.

BTW, should be Mi Mai, not Mi Mia. There is a world of difference.

 

[Onitsuka]

sharp eyes you have there.

Paiseh, paiseh

Bangkok International Motor Show next week. Expecting more early 20s legs (and pics) coming up in this thread.

 

[rotikosong]

Mi mia = have or not ; but what about that peeeeeee? Strange la

He just dragged the word Pee, which is elder bro. I'm sure you know that.

Pee, in this context, means ghost. He was asking if your room was haunted.

I wish I had 20s legs too to be honest

 

[Froggy]

He just dragged the word Pee, which is elder bro. I'm sure you know that.

BTW, should be Mi Mai, not Mi Mia. There is a world of difference.

Ok ok normally for us brother we use the spelling pii, yes mai is correct as mia = wife

Pee, in this context, means ghost. He was asking if your room was haunted.

I wish I had 20s legs too to be honest

You nailed it, ya he meant ghost. Thailand misses you when you back?

 

[yinyang]

Priming the economy. Spend, spend :p

Tax cheer for Songkran?
Plan seeks to push domestic spending

• Bagnkok Post Published: 21/03/2016 at 05:30 AM
  
  
  
  Travel deals galore were on offer at the Fest & Fun tourism promotion, any one of which could net the holiday-maker a tax refund as well. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)

To heat up local dining and travel during the sweltering Thai New Year season, the government plans to roll out a new tax incentive scheme aimed at sparking a Songkran spending spree amid the languid economic recovery.
The tax measure is intended to entice people to spend the long public holiday (and baht) at home rather than travelling abroad, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said.

Like last December's temporary shopping tax relief, to take advantage of the scheme, people have to dine at or otherwise shell out at, restaurants, hotels and travel-related companies which can issue tax invoices allowing them to deduct a certain amount from taxable income, said Mr Apisak, without elaborating further.
The measure will be forwarded for the cabinet's approval in the coming weeks.

• The big issue: The war on Songkran
• Tariffs eliminated: 524 IT items involved
  
  The government late last year launched a special tax break allowing individuals to deduct up to 15,000 baht on purchases made during the year-end festive season to spur holiday spending. Taxpayers capitalising on the break raked in 4 billion baht in deductions.

Though the scheme resulted in some state revenue losses, it helped stimulate domestic consumption, with the Revenue Department receiving more in value-added tax (VAT).

Yutthasak Supasorn, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor, said the latest tax measure would help boost spending and drive domestic tourism during the Songkran festival.
He would like to see similar schemes implemented during the low tourist season to boost travel.
Those in the private sector have also shown their support for the measure.

Paisarn Aowsathaporn, executive vice-president for food at Oishi Group Plc, said the government was on the right track to stimulate consumption.
"We will increase our food stock by 30% during the Songkran festival and increase store management efficiency," he said.
Surapong Techaruvichit, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), has recommended that the government publicise the tax measure so that people understand and capitalise on it.

Apart from the year-end shopping tax incentive, the Revenue Department had also sought to boost consumption last year with a 15,000-baht travel tax break. The scheme has been extended for another two years.

Crowds throng the tourism fair held to boost domestic travel. A new tax incentive is planned for spending on dining and travelling during the Songkran holiday next month. APICHIT JINAKUL

The measures are aimed at the lower and middle classes, whose spending has not grown over the past 5-6 months due to economic sluggishness.

In another development, Mr Apisak said the Fiscal Policy Office might need to revise its economic growth forecast to 3.7% this year with the slow global economic recovery, as evidenced by the 11% and 25% contractions of China's shipments in January and February, respectively. The 3.7% economic growth estimate is based on a 0.1% export expansion rate. Mr Apisak is confident, however, that Thai economic growth this year will exceed 3%, compared with last years' growth-rate of 2.8%.

The Bank of Thailand is set to revise the country's economic growth projection this year due to heightening downside risks. The new figure will be released at the end of the month.

The central bank in December cut 2016 growth projection to 3.5% from 3.7% due to a regional economic slowdown, adverse effects from geopolitical conflicts affecting both global demand and tourist confidence and the worse-than-expected local drought, which is taking a toll on agricultural and industrial production.

Mr Apisak said the government had introduced both short and long-term measures to ward off the greater risks of the global slowdown. The long-term measures include big-ticket infrastructure investments -- a set of investment promotion packages and tax incentives for 10 targeted industries -- which are expected to be drivers for the country's S-curve economy.

"The economic foundation this government lays down under the new S-curve model will push Thai economic growth to 4-5% in the next 3-4 years," he said.

 

[Onitsuka]

Pee, in this context, means ghost. He was asking if your room was haunted.

Oh...how did I miss it ?

Anyway, couldn't have missed the 94 legs. They look yummy

 

[yinyang]

 

[tonychat]

He just dragged the word Pee, which is elder bro. I'm sure you know that.

BTW, should be Mi Mai, not Mi Mia. There is a world of difference.

i thought your Thai very good? how come so rusty??

you are not a regular in thailand.

 

[Onitsuka]

i thought your Thai very good? how come so rusty??

you are not a regular in thailand.

Time to get a Thai g/f to brush up.

 

[yinyang]

A tattoo slice of big mango

Magic Tattoo Festival

Believers from across Thailand travel to Bang Phra temple in Nakhon Pathom province to have their bodies adorned with tattoos and to pay their respects to the temple's master tattooist. They believe the tattoos have mystical powers, ward off bad luck and protect them from harm. Bang Phra temple is famous for tattoos and amulets believed to provide strength and security as they were introduced by a Buddhist monk, Luang Por Pern. (Reuters, EPA photos)

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

curry chicken laksa

 

[yinyang]

Airport link debacle, perhaps over shadowed by our EW's unfortunate fatalities

Ministers slam rail link for rescue chaos

• Bangkok Post 23/03/2016 at 04:00 AM

Passengers collapsed from heat prostration after an Airport Link breakdown trapped them inside the cars Monday morning.

SRT Electrified Train, which operates the Airport Rail Link (ARL), has been ordered to find the party responsible for the shambolic rescue operation which took place after one of its trains broke down on Monday, stranding hundreds of passengers in hot carriages.

Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck said Tuesday he had instructed the company to find out who should be held accountable. He added ARL management will be penalised for failing to properly maintain the system, which led to the break-down.

A power failure halted the train and trapped more than 700 passengers in stuffy carriages without air conditioning for an hour en route from Suvarnabhumi airport to the city on Monday morning.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said SRT Electrified Train, a subsidiary of the State Railway of Thailand, must be investigated for leaving its emergency backup power system out of order for months.
"I have checked. The airport link has had problems for a long time. No one has bothered to pay attention," Gen Prayut said.

He said the ARL trains would be modified to carry more passengers, and the company would not buy additional trains at this time. The six-year-old ARL route stretches about 29 kilometres from inner Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi airport, east of the capital.
Mr Ormsin said the company had failed to maintain the rail system and take sufficient care of commuters.

The deputy minister said he expected the purchase of new emergency power backup units for seven stations, at a cost of 32 million baht, would be approved by the SRT board by next Tuesday.

He said Gen Daran Yuthawongsuk, the director and acting president of the company, had been aware of the decrepit emergency backup power system since October last year, but failed to fix the problem even though he had the authority and money to do so.

Mr Ormsin said the SRT board had allocated the company 380 million baht for an overhaul of the system, but management opted for a partial overhaul.

Each ARL train requires a major overhaul after it has run 1.2 million kilometres.
However, the trains have each clocked up between 1.5-1.6 million km.
Gen Daran admitted Tuesday staff must improve how they deal with passenger rescues.

They should have opened the train doors for stranded passengers to allow air to circulate and advised them to remain on board.
The rescue was hampered by some passengers who managed to escape from their carriages and who descended onto the rail tracks, which prevented the train from being towed to the station quickly and added to the delays.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Any bros know where to find resources for taiyai / shan langauge to English translations?
Can't seemed to be able to find on the net. Thanks in advance.

 

[Froggy]

Any bros know where to find resources for taiyai / shan langauge to English translations?
Can't seemed to be able to find on the net. Thanks in advance.

Unlikely to find on net. For me whenever I need help on this I always look for Khun May who comes from Lashio but now lives in Bangkok, she speaks Mandarin too as they teach in school. Taiyai language is very similar to N.Thai language.

One of these is Khun May but 4 of them are Taiyai people from Burma, look like Thai ya?

 

[dietcoke]

Jah, the chicken curry noodle looks very good... where u eat? in sg or thai

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Jah, the chicken curry noodle looks very good... where u eat? in sg or thai

Initially din wan chime in else ah jah mistake I find trouble.....
Curry chicken laksa? It's either curry chicken noodle or laksa.....or this is new fusion?
That said curry noodles now hard to find.....bedok interchange HC last time 2 rivals from old Hong Lim now only 1 left standing after HC shifted location

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Unlikely to find on net. For me whenever I need help on this I always look for Khun May who comes from Lashio but now lives in Bangkok, she speaks Mandarin too as they teach in school. Taiyai language is very similar to N.Thai language.

One of these is Khun May but 4 of them are Taiyai people from Burma, look like Thai ya?

No thanks your reply totally unhelpful but many thanks for chiobu photo.
You eat good food and keep company of chiobus....Will only fuel more hatred towards you by the loser fellows here.

 

[yinyang]

No thanks your reply totally unhelpful but many thanks for chiobu photo.

Oy, long hair dictionary mah :p