A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[Jah_rastafar_I]

I think i might have posted this before but i just love the pictures of these 2 dishes i had at the fifth which is a more high class food court at MBK. Take note MBK also has another food court at the 6th level and many other assorted restaurants probably on every level.

Beef tacos

hot dog with fries

 

[Leongsam]

For some, it's a misnomer for Land of Sex :p


That food court is anything but gourmet. Even for a non-foodie, crap and crowded (location)

Yeah I don't like the stuff at the foodcourt there either. I go to the adjacent supermarket where there have a huge variety of local fruit produce all pre cut and gladwrapped. It costs a lot more then buying the fruits fresh but for someone like me who usually only has 2 to 3 days to spare in Bangkok, the convenience is worth the additional cost.

 

[yinyang]

Bangkok governor kena again, after torrential rain hit city yesterday

Governor under fire as rains bring city to a standstill
The Nation June 9, 2015 1:00 am



PRESSURE IS building on Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra after millions of commuters in the capital suffered a traffic nightmare due to flooded roads yesterday morning.

In addition to loud complaints on social media, the Stop Global Warming Association also called for Sukhumbhand to be sacked.

The association issued a statement demanding the removal of Sukhumbhand, other executives at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and district office directors responsible for the city administration's inefficiency in tackling flood threats.

The statement suggested that they could be removed by either the National Council for Peace and Order chief, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, or Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda.

"Please replace them with efficient, experienced and knowledgeable persons," the association said in the statement.

It warned that the failure to remove them could result in Bangkok continually suffering flooding.

Many Bangkok people lamented yesterday that they were forced to spend hours on the roads trying to get to work or send their children to school. Some schools decided to close for the day.

Ironically, as flooding wreaked havoc in the capital, Sukhumbhand and his deputies were in the Netherlands inspecting a water-drainage system.

Later in the day yesterday, Sukhumbhand gave an interview to Nation Channel explaining that the trip was made in response to an invitation and he would head home today. He apologised to those who had been affected by the flooding-caused traffic woes.

However, he explained that it took time for water to drain from road surfaces following heavy rain, with yesterday's downpour beginning at around 1am and lasting for hours.

BMA spokesperson Threedow Aphaiwongs Sukhum announced on Facebook that the heavy rain spread across the capital and at the Lat Krabang District Office the rainfall reached 103 millimetres.

Several key roads in Bangkok were swamped with floodwater. Among them were Bang Na-Trad, Sukhumvit, Asoke-Montri, Rama IV, Rama III and Lat Krabang.

At worst-hit spots, the floodwater was as high as 50 centimetres.

Flooding is a serious issue in Bangkok, and when Sukhumbhand campaigned for his second term as Bangkok governor he highlighted a policy to prevent floods.

So far, after two more years in office, many Bangkok residents feel he cannot deliver on his policy.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Maj-General Nipon Charoenphon said that the failure to effectively drain water off road surfaces was a key problem affecting traffic flow.

"We have been in contact with the BMA Drainage and Sewerage Department. But the situation doesn't seem to improve on Asoke-Montri Road," he said.

 

[yinyang]

OVERDRIVE
Debt-ridden Thailand being sucked into whirlpool of deflation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opi...d-being-sucked-into-whirlpool-o-30261656.html
June 5, 2015 1:00 am

Disinflation - or negative inflation - has hit Thailand for the past five months in a row. In the first quarter of this year, inflation was minus-0.5 per cent. The situation worsened in April, with inflation at negative-1.04 per cent. In May the disinflation surged to -1.27 per cent, prompting growing concern as to whether deflation is waiting on the horizon.

While disinflation is a temporary phenomenon of price decline, deflation represents a general collapse in prices and demand, aggravated by a lack of fresh investment and a marked slowdown in the velocity of money (its speed of circulation).

Once an economy plunges into a deflationary spiral, it is extremely difficult to perk it up again. A dose of fiscal expansion and sharp rate cuts will have to be met with renewed confidence and fresh investment to create employment. The advanced economies - the United States, the UK, Japan and most recently Europe - have embarked on this policy of Keynesian spending and zero interest rates to pull themselves out of the severe slump, yet despite seven years of unorthodox methods a recovery is nowhere in sight.

Indeed, a recovery can never come under the current insurmountable level of indebtedness. Global debt has reached $200 trillion, or three times the size of the global GDP of $70 trillion.

The global economy can't grow with more debt. Without debt restructuring, any recovery is out of the question.

Most Thai economists agree that deflation is not on the table yet, as the marginal fall in prices, caused by weak oil and food prices, will hit rock bottom soon after the economic pickup.

"We expect headline inflation to bottom out and then pick up gradually from June onwards," Phatra Securities reported on Tuesday. "However, we expect that headline inflation will not turn positive until the fourth quarter of 2015."

Disinflation and deflation aside, Thailand is entering a dangerous period of economic slump and geopolitical risks. The downturn is caused by weak demand, both internally and externally. Household debt has reached Bt10.4 trillion, in a Thai economy whose total size is Bt13 trillion. Thai consumers no longer have much room to buy. To consume more they will have to further leverage their household balance sheet. They can't create more debt.

This has resulted in an overcapacity or oversupply situation in the

economy. Businesses do not want to invest further because they can't sell their goods or products. Banks are more reluctant to lend for fear of bad debts. Small and medium-scale enterprises are being hit hard by the lack of fresh credit and weak consumer demand.

Externally, the Thai export sector, which has been the engine of the Thai growth, is sputtering. The export sector has also registered shrinkage five months in a row, with figures for the first quarter of 2015 showing minus-4.3 per cent growth.

The explanation is either weak overseas demand or a lack of competitiveness in Thai industries. If overseas demand is the problem, there is nothing much we can do. If we cut the prices - by lowering the baht exchange rate - other countries can do the same, triggering a currency war. If the problem lies in exports' loss of competitiveness, then Thai industries have to take responsibility.

So what should be the appropriate policy response from Thai authorities? Government spending grew almost 30 per cent in the first quarter of this year, offering a degree of economic stimulus. But we all know that fiscal stimulus has its limitations. One can't expect the government to create a heavy debt burden year in and year out in order to perk up the economy. Japan and other welfare states have tried this medicine before and all ended up with unsustainable public debt. In the case of Japan, the government debt to GDP has reached a staggering 240 per cent. Creating more debt risks destroying the value of the yen, now hanging by a thread and on life support provided by the Bank of Japan's government bond-buying programme.

Then it comes to the efficacy of monetary policy. The Bank of Thailand acted as if it had blood in its eyes when it cut its benchmark rate twice in a row to 1.50 per cent. The banking authorities must have seen disturbing signs in the economy, prompting them to cut the rates in a hurry. First, they want to send out a signal that they are providing an accommodative environment to stimulate domestic demand and growth. Second, they want to encourage the banks to extend further credit, particularly to the SMEs. Third, they want to rely on exchange rate targeting to boost exports.

In macroeconomic management, we can't overdo both the fiscal expansion and the monetary stimulus. Government overspending will create debt burden for future generations. Besides, disbursements are not timely enough.

At the same time, monetary stimulus, if it is overcooked, discourages businesses, industry, households and the private sector in general from making appropriate adjustments to the actual prices.

For the Bank of Thailand's low interest rate policy carries a double-barrel effect: lowering the cost of borrowing and weakening the baht.

But we can see that the banks have not cut their borrowing rates to match the central bank's rate reduction. Thai banks' profit margins remain at a historic high compared to banks in other countries, with profits of Bt50 billion in the first quarter of this year. A quick calculation projects bank profits at Bt200 billion this year. Banks are fattening their pocketbooks at the expense of the general economy and Thai borrowers. That's why Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul was rather emotional when he found out that the banks had maintained their borrowing rates intact. That means Thai consumers are not benefiting from this round of rate cuts.

Now we come to the exchange rate targeting. The baht is losing value in a hurry under the Bank of Thailand's deliberate policy to weaken the currency. Last month alone, the baht weakened by 4 per cent, almost touching Bt34 to the dollar. Siam Commercial Bank recently predicted exchange rate targeting could drive the baht down to Bt35 before the end of the year.

Destroying currency value is a bad money policy, but, strangely enough, most central bankers have adopted it in earnest.

Weakening a country's currency might benefit the domestic export sector in the short term, but overall it harms the nation's purchasing power.

Inflation will strike back with a vengeance. Under good money policy, the value of the currency remains stable over time. This benefits not only grass-roots citizens but also the overall economy, because all the participants do not have to play catch-up with runaway inflation.

A low interest rate environment, coupled with a weakening currency, discourages the economy from making the necessary adjustments. Bad companies, which should have folded, remain on the scene to create future burden. They use resources that they don't deserve access to. A low interest rate policy also drives away savings. Capital accumulation gives way to speculative investment in the stock market or real estate. Retirees or pensioners earn nothing from their bank savings. They do not deserve this kind of punishment from bad money policy, in which they almost earn nothing from interest returns while at the same time the baht's value diminishes steadily and harms their purchasing power.

In the end, the way out for Thailand is a combination of appropriate doses of fiscal and monetary medicine that allow the economy to adjust at its own pace. Thailand has already fallen into a debt trap, with combined private and government debt to GDP reaching 130 per cent. This high debt level will have to be brought down via restructuring, because raising incomes to pay down the debt looks almost impossible now given the global outlook. The government can tax the rich more to help out the poor. The banks must make less profit. The Bank of Thailand must not be tempted into a monetary trap, which would risk plunging the country into a zero interest rate environment. By that time it would be too late to save the baht.

 

[yinyang]

Topical slice of Thai mango. With glitzy malls to boot, over pressing priorities :p

 

[yinyang]

..more high class food court at MBK. ..another food court at the 6th level and many other assorted restaurants probably on every level.

MBK's a popular haunt (also likely to bump into another sinkie :p).

On food courts, personally like the Loft at Central World. Bit atas than normal fare, with array of thai, asian and western fare. Even serve you at tables. In evenings, used to have some small strings quartet. Can chill out. Missed out makan pics end April.

http://www.centralfoodloft.com/

 

[Froggy]

Ok ok Thailand is in deep shit economically, many businesses had closed, even a few of the high end restaurants I frequent has closed. But its not the end of the world especially for the Thais. If no work they can go home with their rice fields they can survive. This is how Thais survive, sabai-sabai, miu-bian-rai. Lives goes on.

 

[Froggy]

Something simple last night Japanese Taranabe, its black cod in rich fish stock

[video=youtube;JaBxpJiszb8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaBxpJiszb8[/video]







Some sashimi




Chicken yakitori


Place, in Thaniya

 

[yinyang]

Replay at Kasra jap restaurant other weekend. Seacon Bangkae. Tuna sushi with soft shell crab

 

[yinyang]

Spicy seafood salad at an alfresco joint, chill out with a sam look alike solo singer serenading at your table :p



Salted egg dish

 

[yinyang]

Time out for foot massage at famed river market Ampawa in Samut Songkram area (70km south west Bkk). In traditional wooden shophouse. Humid with fans, didn't last long. Excuse poor quality pics, blame the oppressing heat (not the fella behind camera) :p

 

[Leongsam]

MBK's a popular haunt (also likely to bump into another sinkie :p).

This damned place is full of sinkies. I can tell because they are loud, rude, inconsiderate,demanding and they speak funny. They do not treat the Thai staff well, do not return pleasantries and walk around with an air of superiority based upon a false perception that they are better than the Thais.

 

[yinyang]

damned place is full of sinkies. ..loud, rude, inconsiderate,demanding and they speak funny. They do not treat the Thai staff well, do not return pleasantries and walk around with an air of superiority based upon a false perception that they are better than the Thais.

Pow! Place's also traffic grid, bit claustrophobic for me (avoid crowds). Another sinkie giveaway: berms, tees and singlish accent:p
Besides, during this early stretch June -it's peak school hols time, with brats

...don't like the stuff at the foodcourt there either. ..adjacent supermarket.. local fruit produce all pre cut and gladwrapped. It costs a lot more then buying the fruits fresh .. convenience is worth the additional cost.

Likewise I'd do the same (even if I was on longer overlay). Cut fruits on wayside, I'd play safe

 

[yinyang]

Replay of volcanic egg (I kid you not, as what menu says) and moo tod traditional style
Down at riverside restaurant in Samut Songkram other weekend




Salad

 

[yinyang]

Al fresco joint, Kae Bangkok (sheep Bkk) at Parsi Charoen on Thonburi side.
See Sam look alike solo singer? Proudly tells me he had a Norwegian bf



Nothing like fresh thing on tap. Was a Buddhist holiday Vesak, but you know thais. Asked me to pay upfront to get away with it :p

 

[yinyang]

Big bucks bht10 billion to bank roll rail infrastructure, with help from nihons :p

Finance Ministry gets nod to seek loan from JICA
Erich Parpart
The Nation June 10, 2015 1:00 am

The cabinet has granted permission to the Finance Ministry to secure another 38.203-billion Japanese yen (around Bt10 billion) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in order to continue with the construction of the second phase of the Bang Sue-Rangsit suburban route.

The 26-kilometre line is part of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT)'s Red Line Mass Transit System Project.

The Japanese government gave the nod to JICA to provide the loan on February 10, 2015.

The Red Line project consists of two lines - the Dark Red Line from Thammasat University's Rangsit campus to Maha Chai in Samut Sakhon province, and the Light Red Line, which runs from Sala Ya in Nakhon Pathom province to Hua Mark in Bangkok.

Both the Red Line routes will pass central Bang Sue railway station, which will act as a connecting hub to the Mass Rapid Transit system. The Bang Sue-Rangsit stretch, whose construction began in 2013, is the first phase of the Dark Red Line.

" The central Bang Sue station will be converted into Bang Sue Grand Station to serve as a transport hub that connects railway transportation from the North and from Isan [Northeast]. It would later connect with railways from the East and the South as well," Deputy Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told the press after yesterday's Cabinet meeting.

The Thai government had earlier secured around 63.018 billion yen in 2009 for the construction of the first phase of the Bang Sue-Rangsit stretch. Around 59.388 billion yen has already been disbursed, which prompted the process to secure the second round of loan from JICA in order to continue with the construction, he explained.

Infrastructure contractor Italian-Thai Development signed a Bt21.24-billion contract on January 31, 2013, covering the construction of 20.2 kilometres of railway above the existing SRT alignment, six elevated stations at Bang Khen, Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Kan Kheha, Don Muang and Rangsit, and associated road and drainage works. The construction work is expected to be completed within this year.

The SRT also awarded a Bt28.8-billion contract on January 18, 2013, to the 60:40 joint venture of Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction and Unique Engineering & Construction, for building the Bang Sue Grand Station and the 6.2-km elevated railway.

Sansern revealed that the interest rate for the new 38.203-billion yen loan from JICA will be set at 0.40 per cent per year and the period for the loan is 20 years with a six-year grace period. The SRT will secure the loan in baht from the Finance Ministry. The front-end fee for JICA is set at 0.20 per cent and the one-time payment will be made 60 days after the loan is secured.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong has revealed that the new structure of the Department of Civil Aviation, covering short-, mid- and long-term strategies, will be presented to the Cabinet at next week's meeting.

Prajin also revealed that the ministry is currently contemplating increasing the airport taxi fee from the current Bt50 to Bt75 for small taxis and Bt95 for bigger taxi as requested by taxi operators but did not reveal any other details.

The Cabinet also approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to reappoint Ampon Kittiampon as Bank of Thailand chairman for another term.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

MBK's a popular haunt (also likely to bump into another sinkie :p).

On food courts, personally like the Loft at Central World. Bit atas than normal fare, with array of thai, asian and western fare. Even serve you at tables. In evenings, used to have some small strings quartet. Can chill out. Missed out makan pics end April.

http://www.centralfoodloft.com/

I have eaten at central world but don't know the name of the food court. I like their egg oyster stall

 

[Froggy]

Simple lunch at roadside stall. Krapao moosap, khaijiao moosap (omelette mince pork), kalampi (cabbage)

 

[Leongsam]

Pow! Place's also traffic grid, bit claustrophobic for me (avoid crowds). Another sinkie giveaway: berms, tees and singlish accent:p
Besides, during this early stretch June -it's peak school hols time, with brats

I saw at least 5 sinkie lesbo couples at the hotel I was staying in. There must be some sinkie LGBT conference going on in Bangkok.

 

[Froggy]

I saw at least 5 sinkie lesbo couples at the hotel I was staying in. There must be some sinkie LGBT conference going on in Bangkok.

Get use to it, every trip to and from Singapore you see groups of disgusting lesbos and hunky gays very touchy omg