A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[rotikosong]

Yeah I'll be getting a SIM card anyway so if the WiFi in the hotel isn't up to scratch, I'll revert to 3G or whatever spectrum operates there.

2G,3G, 3G+ and 4G LTE all have
I don't buy my sim at the airport - always busy. Just buy at 7-11 - no wait. They all sell and have the same things as the airport shops have from the 3 largest telcos: AIS, DTAC and TRUE.

 

[KNNBSCB]

Oi, you all. Go travel section and give me some advice on Krabi please. Thanks

 

[Froggy]

First time have Greek food, Blu Kouzina, 893 Bukit Timah Road

Starters cheeses and dips and yoghurt etc











Salad



Main course seafood platter





Main course meats





Olive oil rice


Egg plant stuffed with rice


The wines



<a href="http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/joetys/media/SBF%202/14.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u400/joetys/SBF%202/14.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 14.jpg"/></a>

The dessert - Greek brandy


The food is fantastic really did not expect the food to taste so good but then again don't be surprise as the owner is Greek, chef is Greek and all ingredients to the salt is sea salt from Greece. A must try.

 

[Froggy]

Tanglin Halt seems to have all the good hawker food a few more years all these may be spread across many areas or gone forever after the enbloc. So come if you have a chance.

Longtong from a old couple in the hawker centre


Mee rubus from an old shop in the market hawker centre


The taste is the old school type


Beside the above stall is the dosa or thosai


All hot and freshly made, best!

 

[johnny333]

Always miss this in Thailand

Siam Paragon was having an Asia Food festival last week. I saw roti prata being sold.

In Pattaya's Central Festival food court(basement), there is a stall being run by people wearing songkoks & selling roti prata. They were doing well

 

[Froggy]

Siam Paragon was having an Asia Food festival last week. I saw roti prata being sold.

In Pattaya's Central Festival food court(basement), there is a stall being run by people wearing songkoks & selling roti prata. They were doing well

Look closely, no curry always only sugar, condensed milk, Nutella, banana. Don't like la.

 

[Grago]

Joe, what happen to your juicing regime.... Your last two post, Greek platter and the mee rebus, MOUTH watering..... Not forgetting the 'watery Poison'?... BUT running "contrary" to the effects of the juicing... :p

 

[Froggy]

Joe, what happen to your juicing regime.... Your last two post, Greek platter and the mee rebus, MOUTH watering..... Not forgetting the 'watery Poison'?... BUT running "contrary" to the effects of the juicing... :p

I juice every morning without fail and compromise and if Ii don't have to have dinner with people I juice the second time. As mentioned in the past juicing is to feed and nourish the cells and this is necessary and lacking for many people, juicing is not a diet and I still eat most things but naturally at a lesser amount. Most lunches I don't take not because of diet but simply because juicing make me full. When I'm back in Singapore I confess I do over eat a little but still its far from before.

 

[Leongsam]

I juice every morning without fail and compromise and if Ii don't have to have dinner with people I juice the second time. As mentioned in the past juicing is to feed and nourish the cells and this is necessary and lacking for many people, juicing is not a diet and I still eat most things but naturally at a lesser amount. Most lunches I don't take not because of diet but simply because juicing make me full. When I'm back in Singapore I confess I do over eat a little but still its far from before.

How much is this car in Thailand? It is my latest wet dream....

 

[rotikosong]

How much is this car in Thailand? It is my latest wet dream....

Is this a serious question? Cars in Thailand are not cheap due to hefty import taxes.
Pricing is similar to Malaysia, perhaps 5% cheaper.

The 650s would cost approx 30 million THB.

 

[Froggy]

Aiyo why so many quarrels here now a days, relax have some drinks, enjoy your life, broaden your heart and mind don't be serious

 

[ctsbh]

Aiyo why so many quarrels here now a days, relax have some drinks, enjoy your life, broaden your heart and mind don't be serious

Cheers, Bro..

 

[Grago]

Aiyo why so many quarrels here now a days, relax have some drinks, enjoy your life, broaden your heart and mind don't be serious

Excellent sentiments Joe...

 

[Froggy]

How much is this car in Thailand? It is my latest wet dream....

The Spider is every boy's wet dream. Let me see what I can find out when I get back o Tuesday.

[video=youtube;og9rT4l7fvs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og9rT4l7fvs[/video]

Spider spotted this afternoon at Thonglor's Starbucks

 

[yinyang]

How thai MPs fare, also when out of office.

Politicians’ great double dip
A publicly-funded pay scheme for lawmakers who leave office is drawing flak
Bangkok Post Published: 21/07/2014 at 05:19 AM

A pay scheme set up for politicians that have left office is causing a stir, with critics saying former MPs and senators should not expect to be paid from the public purse.



Since October last year, the Fund for Former Parliamentarians Act has provided jobless MPs and senators with a monthly income, with pay cheques ranging from modest to rather large, depending largely on how long they served.

The act, passed during the previous Yingluck Shinawatra government, was built around a simple concept: Politics is a profession and lawmakers should have a financial lifeline to sustain them after they have resigned or have been turfed out of office.

But the act has touched off a debate that seeks to answer equally simple, yet controversial questions: Do the parliamentarians deserve the pay? And can the pay help clean up money-driven politics?

The questions, to a large extent, have to do with the image of the lawmakers, and politicians in general. Frequent allegations of graft and power abuse have tainted their reputation. Critics say the lawmakers should take the moral high ground and be bound by a sense of obligation to work for the public good. They should not set their sights on making themselves rich from being legislators.

Under the current pay scale, MPs and senators are paid 71,230 baht a month, plus 42,330 baht in monthly allowances. The House Speaker, Senate Speaker and opposition leader receive an additional position allowance.

The act requires the government to pay every living former lawmaker, except those installed during coups, who end up out of work from the expiry of a House session, a House dissolution, resignation, or a military coup. They receive varying amounts, calculated from the salary table, depending on how long they served as MPs or senators. The pay ranges from 30% to 60% of their salary. They continue to collect pay for as long as they live, unless they have other sources of income, such as a state pension.

In that case, they must choose either the pay or the pension. Many lawmakers are former or retired civil servants already entitled to a state pension. Every former MP, including those with even one month in post, is entitled to the pay, an issue which is stoking further public displeasure.

The pay starts at 15,000 baht a month for former lawmakers who have served the least amount in parliament, and can go up to more than 40,000 baht a month for the longest-serving former parliamentarians. However, former lawmakers may choose not to collect the money. About 3,000 of them have not picked up their pay cheques.

The fund was created with an initial budget of 688 million baht allocated by the state in October last year, and about half is now left. The fund also covers other costs such as medical expenses. The state must inject a maximum 600 million baht each time to replenish the fund, if and when it runs out. Lawmakers make contributions to the fund during their time in office but most of the money in the pot comes from the taxpayer.

The largest portion of the fund goes to former MPs who were not re-elected, and former senators who were not re-elected or re-appointed. They are paid until they find other jobs or opt to receive a state pension, if they are entitled to it. In case of a House dissolution, the fund pays out for a few months until new MPs take office although in a coup, the pay period could be longer. Senators are not affected by a House dissolution but they can be fired by the coup-makers.

Udomdet Rattanasathien, a former Nonthaburi MP from the former ruling Pheu Thai Party, said the act remains in force despite the May 22 coup. He sat on the House standing committee which vetted the law. Mr Udomdet insisted it would be unfair to assume all lawmakers are rich and do not need the financial cushion when they leave their jobs in parliament.

“The fund was essentially set up to help former lawmakers. It’s only a small amount of money and besides, no one lives forever,’’ he said. In fact, he said some former MPs live in destitution after their career as lawmakers leaves them penniless. They worked for the honour of serving the people and feel they should not be treated any differently from civil servants in terms of entitlements to financial security when they leave, he said.

Atthawit Suwannapakdi, a two-time former Democrat Party MP for Bangkok, said the concept of the fund is sound but some details need fine-tuning. He said access to the fund should be restricted to former legislators who have held a combined parliamentary tenure of at least two to three years.

It would be simplistic to assume all lawmakers are rich and do not deserve the pay. In fact, the opposite is true. Some MPs have limited finances, Mr Atthawit said. Without the fund, they would be compelled to seek steady support from influential factions in political parties and could end up as lackeys involved in money politics. “Let’s be fair. If the MPs were all people of means, there wouldn’t be terms like ‘Footman MPs’ or ‘Slave Parliament’,” he said.

A Thammasat University sociologist said he opposed the fund. During office, lawmakers are given generous salaries along with perks, such as free plane, bus and train travel. When they are no longer lawmakers, they should resume the professions they previously held before entering parliament. The academic added that lawmakers should know they have an obligation to public service and not be preoccupied with financial matters. “They shouldn’t use taxpayers’ money to pay MPs and senators. Unlike people in other professions, politicians volunteer to serve the people,’’ the academic said.

 

[Luvurbaht]

Whats up here on this thread?

 

[Luvurbaht]

Why Sinkie food in a Thai based thread?

Tanglin Halt seems to have all the good hawker food a few more years all these may be spread across many areas or gone forever after the enbloc. So come if you have a chance.

Longtong from a old couple in the hawker centre



Beside the above stall is the dosa or thosai


All hot and freshly made, best!

 

[yinyang]

Why Sinkie food in a Thai based thread?

Return of the prodigal son, from thai shores :p And reliving what he missed out on sinkie food. Nothing more sinister than that

 

[yinyang]

Satirical piece on big birthday bash this sat 26/7 in Paris. With blues song slant, summertime:p

Summertime and the livin’ is easy ...
Bangkok Post Published: 21/07/2014 at 12:21 AM
Commentary

It’s summer and what better time to visit France, especially a gorgeous city like Paris. The weather forecast for the French capital for July 26 is: partly sunny, warm and humid. Temperatures should be between 19 and 30 degrees Celsius.

For some Thais, there could be no better time than July 26 to enjoy the City of Light. A special birthday party will be thrown on that day, and it will be hugely popular among those who stand on the opposite side of the National Council for Peace and Order.

When next Saturday comes around, Thaksin Shinawatra will turn 65. This birthday party will be yet another that the deposed prime minister has had to celebrate anywhere but at home. The last time he did that was when he turned 57 in 2006 — just two months before tanks and troops paraded through the streets of Bangkok and changed his life forever.

This year’s party will be a low-key affair with selected guests and carefully crafted messages to his well-wishers. With the scrapping of a plan to throw a birthday party for him at Wat Kaew Fah in Nonthaburi in the name of a merit-making ceremony, Thaksin cannot deliver his messages to avid followers in the Pheu Thai Party and United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship more directly. Still, technology will carry his wishes to their homes instead of the temple.

Last year his key word was “reconciliation”. He hoped Thais of all political colours would set aside their differences and reconcile for a better future. The message was repeated at a party in Beijing and to his supporters at the temple. His blessing was intentionally timed since Pheu Thai was planning to push forward an amnesty bill to parliament less than a month later. The only thing he never expected was the end result of that bill push.

His birthday wish last year turned out to be disastrous because the bill never kicked in and instead sparked a rally that escalated to the point where his sister Yingluck and her cabinet were prised forcefully from power in the late afternoon of May 22 by army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Thaksin knows what message he will deliver for this birthday. The key word will be “cooperation”, and again for the sake of the country. He wants his supporters to cooperate with the NCPO and follow the directions of the coup leader and other generals. Thaksin seems to have been uncharacteristically well behaved since May 22. The former prime minister has kept a low profile in marked difference to the coup back in 2006 when he showed signs of fighting back with a plan to set up a government in exile — an option at the time.

This time it is a group called the Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy that has been set up to win international support for opposing military rule. But the movement basically has been a dead squib from the beginning when the name of its leader was unveiled. Charupong Ruangsuwan has no record of fighting for democracy, and that point alone is more than enough for other countries to ignore its activities.

If there is an award for a former or present politician who is fully collaborating with the regime, then Thaksin is an obvious front-runner. Various politicians from the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties had not been able to stop commenting on this and other things — that is until they received a warning from Gen Prayuth. They should “look to Thaksin” as an example of how to keep quiet.

Thaksin knows that this coup is not a joke like the one which unseated him. He realises that he has no chance to counter the coup-makers because they are trying to bring the country back from being a deeply divided society. Everyone knows the former prime minister does not like losing and his patience has always run thin. But any opportunity for him to make a change is limited to just one option — a poll, regardless of what the new rules will be. Derailing the NCPO’s work will only cause a fresh general election to be held later rather than sooner.

The party he supports could still win next time — but really, he only has one thing left to live on. And that’s his immediate future.

So for now it’s cut the gateau and “joyeux anniversaire, Monsieur Thaksin”.

Saritdet Marukatat is digital media news editor, Bangkok Post.

 

[Luvurbaht]

Return of the prodigal son, from thai shores :p And reliving what he missed out on sinkie food. Nothing more sinister than that

Fine, I was thinking the thread was being diluted.