Gaybutton

I don't know if farang are eligible, but your boyfriend certainly is. You might want to let him know about this contest. If he wins, he might even leave your wallet alone for two or three days. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Million Baht for New Panda's Name Published: 2/06/2009 A one million prize is being offered for the winner of a contest to name the baby panda born in Chiang Mai last week. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced the competition on Tuesday after a visit to the Chiang Mai Zoo to see the new panda cub, which is now seven days old. He said the contest was open to people all over the country. The entries would be shortlisted to four. Each of them would get 400,000 baht and a round-trip air ticket to visit panda sites in China. One of the four names would then be selected for the new panda and the winner would get the winning prize of one million baht. Mr Suwit also said Thailand would ask to extend the 10 year period the two adult pandas are on loan from China, which has four years to run. Under the agreement any cubs must be returned when they turn two years. Representatives of the Zoological Park Organisation would go first to China for negotiations and the prime minister would follow for government-level talks early next month, he said. The minister also presented a birth certificate for the new panda cub to Chiang Mai Zoo.

You're right. Only phony tourists are bothered by the ATM fee and would also consider a visa run to stay longer. In your opinion, what constitutes a "real tourist"?

I had a pleasant surprise today. I was on my way home, on "The Dark Side," driving up Soi Khaotolo from Sukhumvit. I spotted a big sign, "Papa David's 2." It's the same Papa David's restaurant so popular in Jomtien. Now there will be one on "The Dark Side" as well. From the outside it looked like they'll be ready to open in about two or three weeks. If you're not familiar with Soi Khaotolo, the easiest way to find it would be to go up Tepprasit Road to Sukhumvit. At the traffic light make a left and then get immediately into the right lane. Only a few yards up you'll come to a right-turn-only traffic signal. Make that right. That's Soi Khaotolo. Go up Soi Khaotolo, pass the railroad tracks, and then about 200 yards or so further up you'll easily spot the 'Papa David's 2' sign on the right. Excellent! For those of you in the vicinity, now we not only have a Continental Bakery out our way, but very soon we will also have a Papa David's.

Goes hand-in-hand with the 150 baht ATM fees, doesn't it? Yes, fans, let's keep Thailand a highly attractive tourist destination.

I see. The please contact both Prime Minister Abhisit and President Obama. They can certainly use advice from a man who has the answers.

Thai Visa has published the following report: To view the entire thread, click: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Immigration-...ne-t269827.html _____ Immigration Crackdown on Border Runners BANGKOK (thaivisa.com) -- Thai Immigration Bureau has issued a new regulation to be enforced from today, June 1, 2009. In a crackdown on foreigners who regularly abuse the tourist exemption rule of getting 15 days stay at border entry points, the Immigration Bureau has confirmed and informed thaivisa.com of the following new regulation: A foreigner who has entered the kingdom four (4) consecutive times on 15 days tourist exemption stamps, will not be allowed to leave the country and reenter Thailand. The only option is to exit Thailand and re-enter via an international airport, which will allow a further 30 day stay. Thaivisa.com has today confirmed the new regulations with the Immigration checkpoints in Pong Nam Ron and Aranyaprathet at the Cambodian border. We have also got confirmation from bus visa run companies that the new regulations are enforced from today June 1, 2009. Immigration checkpoints bordering Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia are expected to enforce the regulation shortly. The new rules does not affect holders of visas issued abroad. Foreigners are advised to apply for a Tourist visas or Non-Immigrant visas at a Royal Thai Embassy or consulate outside Thailand instead of abusing the 15 day exemption rule. As usual, holders of Tourist visas will be given 60 days stay while Non-Immigrant visa holders will be allowed 90 days stay. -- thaivisa.com 2009-06-01

I agree. Pattaya seems to be in a state of what I would call 'negative evolution.' I don't like the direction things are going. The beaches used to be much better. Traffic jams were rare. City streets were kept in good condition. The gay venues were consistently packed and few ever went out of business. Prices were much more reasonable. Police raids were unheard of. Any farang could open a bank account as long as he simply held a valid passport. These kinds of violent crimes were rare. I, for one, felt perfectly safe anywhere in town at any hour. Those days are gone forever.

I won't, but I will accuse you of causing this thread to go way off topic. This thread is supposed to be about the possibility of the Thai government controlling the baht, remember? So, let's get off of personalities and American politics and back to the subject at hand, ok?

It certainly seems to be moving in that direction. Only a few years ago this kind of story was unheard of. Now between the gangs, shootings, robberies, beatings, drugs, and everything else, it's all becoming too commonplace.

Pattaya seems to be plagued with more and more violent fights and crimes, and those involved don't seem as if they couldn't care less that there are dozens of witnesses. Only a few nights ago I was in Sunee Plaza, with friends, when a violent fight broke out in front of one of the bars. We saw one boy bashed over the head with some sort of solid object and he made a bloody retreat. We never did find out what the fight was about or whether anything further took place later. Now we have this, from PATTAYA ONE: For photos see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/june/n...1_06_52_3.shtml _____ One Dead, One Seriously Injured Following Jomtien Beach Fight For some time, there have been problems with copy CD vendors on Jomtien Beach. The disputes have centered on territorial issues. The two men involved in the dispute are Khun Nawin aged 26 and Khun Wootishai aged 23. On Sunday Afternoon, in front of hundreds of tourists, the two men came to blows and despite calls to Police suggesting a fight was about to start, officers arrived after the fight had finished despite the station being situated only 100 meters from the incident. Spikes which keep beach umbrellas from flying away in the wind and other weapons were used in the fight and both men received serious injuries during the scuffle and were rushed to Hospital. Khun Nawin, died from his injuries in Hospital while Khun Wootishai is fighting for his life and is on the critical list at this time. Police are investigating. ____________________ I like the line, "Police are investigating." Good. Better late than never . . . .

At the time of this post, the exchange rate is as follows: US Dollar - 33.87 Euro - 47.84 British Pound - 54.87 Australian Dollar - 27.1125 Canadian Dollar - 31.0125 The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Govt Should Rein in Baht, Exporters Say By Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation Published on June 1, 2009 Exporters are urging the government to give serious consideration to managing the exchange rate, as they say the baht's continued appreciation is destroying their competitiveness. They believe it is very important for the government to maintain a weaker and more stable currency in order to ensure Thailand's economic growth amid the global economic downturn and weak demand. The export sector is the Kingdom's key economic driver. The comments came after some economic experts suggested the government not try to weaken the baht, saying exporters did not trade solely in US dollars but used other currencies too. Sukij Kongpiyacharn, managing director of garment firm Hong Seng Knitting, said traders wanted the baht to be stable against the dollar. He said exporters relied mostly on trading in dollars rather than other currencies like the baht, euro or yen. The government should ensure a more stable baht, he said, because the currency had appreciated almost Bt2 in recent months, from 36.20 to the dollar in March to 34.40 last Friday. Sukij said the ideal rate for ensuring export growth was 35-36 against the greenback. Narong Seafood deputy managing director Arthon Piboonthanapatana said that most foreign importers preferred trading in dollars regardless of exchange-rate instability. He said more than 80 per cent of traders in the food industry preferred trading in dollars but the baht's strengthening in recent months had made it more difficult for exporters to win contracts. The baht's appreciation has raised per-unit prices. Exporters must lower their margins to maintain competitiveness. Foreign buyers can easily switch to other countries for their goods if the baht becomes too strong, said Arthon. Wanlop Pichpongsa, deputy managing director of Capital Cereal, Thailand's largest rice-exporter, said the baht's strengthening had continued to destroy Thai exporters' competitiveness. "Although the market price for rice has not changed, Thailand's price has increased slightly, due to the baht's appreciation. This has created difficulty for exporters, because other countries' prices, particularly Vietnam's, are now much lower," he said. Despite exporting worldwide, Wanlop said dollars accounted for 99 per cent of his company's total trading value. Paphavee Suthavivat, managing director of Swift, the Kingdom's leading exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables, said exporters could not shoulder their losses from the stronger baht by buying into hedge funds.

Uh-oh. That sounds just like me!

No, I'm going to leave it there. If I change it or edit it out, our responses won't make any sense. Actually, I'm hoping to see some responses to the content of the article, but I do appreciate the geography lesson.

It is? I didn't realize it's considered part of Asia. I would have missed that one on 'Jeopardy.' Good. That means I posted this on the appropriate forum after all, although it doesn't have anything to do with gay.

Convicted Killer Beheaded, Put on Display in Saudi Arabia May 30, 2009 Mohammed Jamjoom and Joe Sterling - CNN (CNN) -- Saudi Arabian officials beheaded and then publicly displayed the body of a convicted killer in Riyadh on Friday, an act that prompted a stiff denunciation by a leading human rights monitor. The Saudi Interior Ministry said Ahmed Al-Shamlani Al-Anzi was sentenced to death and then "crucifixion" -- having his body displayed in public -- for the kidnapping and killing of an 11-year-old boy and for the killing of the boy's father, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Amnesty International issued a statement deploring the punishment, with the group's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui saying in a statement it is "horrific" that beheadings and crucifixions "still happen." Even though the word "crucifixion" is used to describe the public display, the act has no connection to Christianity and the crucifixion of Jesus. The bodies are not displayed on crosses, Lamri Chirouf, who researches Saudi Arabian issues for Amnesty, explained. The Saudi Interior Ministry asserted that Al-Anzi's body was displayed as a warning that those involved in similar crimes would suffer the same fate, the press agency reported. The ministry said Al-Anzi kidnapped the boy and held him for a "malicious purpose" at a grocery store where he worked. He tied rope around the boy's neck and strangled him to death, the ministry said. When the boy's father came to the store looking for his son, Al-Anzi axed the father repeatedly until the man died. When police came to arrest Al-Anzi, Al-Anzi resisted arrest by threatening them with a knife. Police later discovered that Al-Anzi had been previously convicted of other crimes, including possession of pornographic videos and sodomy, the Interior Ministry said. Chirouf, the Saudi Arabian researcher for Amnesty International, said his understanding of how the Saudi government carries out crucifixion jibed with Saudi Press Agency's account. Government officials do use crucifixions, or public displays of executed bodies, as a tool to deter people from committing such a crime, he said. This latest case was classified as an offense of rebellion, one that basically rejected all of the rules of religion and society, he said. Chirouf said those crucified are beheaded first and then their heads are sewn back on their bodies. Then, the corpse is mounted on a pole or a tree. The English-language Saudi Gazette newspaper said the body was placed on public display throughout the evening and Chirouf said it was his understanding that the body was to be displayed for a few hours. In its denunciation of the punishment, Amnesty International deplored the "extensive use of the death penalty" in Saudi Arabia. "King Abdullah should show true leadership and commute all death sentences if Saudi Arabia is to have any role to play as a global leader or member of the G-20," Sahraoui said. The group asserts that "trial proceedings" in the country "fall far below international fair-trial standards." "They usually take place behind closed doors without adequate legal representation. Convictions are often made on the basis of "confessions" obtained under duress, including torture or other ill-treatment during incommunicado detention," Amnesty International said. "Those who are sentenced to death are often not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them or of the date of execution until the morning when they are taken out and beheaded." Amnesty International said there were 102 executions in Saudi Arabia in 2008 and is aware of 136 people believed to be awaiting execution. It says there has been "a high number of executions of migrant workers and other foreign nationals, in particular from Asia and Africa." Al-Anzi was a Saudi national, said Chirouf -- who added "nobody knows how many people are on death row" in Saudi Arabia.

Gentlemen . . . yes, yes, yes, yes . . . believe me I am well aware that I can donate all those satang to charity. I may be clueless, but I'm not that clueless. But that's not my question. Next thing you know, we'll start having debates about which is the best charity to which to donate them. I was thinking about the Women's Christian Temperance Union or the good Reverend Phelps at the Westboro Baptist Church. I might give it to the lame and the halt, if I can ever figure out what 'the halt' is. George Carlin had a couple good suggestions: The Home for the Visually Unpleasant or The Home for People Who Felt Ok About a Year Ago or The Home for People Caught Putting a Firecracker Up a Cat's Asshole. Some of those sound pretty good to me. Maybe next time GT decides to run a "give a bottle of Chivas Regal" contest, I'll throw in the satang as part of the prize and let the winner deal with it. As far as which charity, haven't you figured it out yet? "Robin Hood, what a crook! Gave away, what he took. Charity's fine. Subscribe to mine. Get out and pick a pocket or two." - Fagin, 'Oliver!'

What on earth makes you think that I do good deeds? As far as I can tell from this thread you're all just as clueless as I am as to a real answer to the actual question, which was how to cash them in. While everyone is graciously giving me free advice that I didn't ask for, the advice that I did ask for remains unanswered. If I donate it all to charity, fine. What does the charity do to cash them in, or do they too sit around scratching their heads while trying to figure out what to do? Maybe the charities donate them to charity.

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ 30 Cocktail Bars Shut Down by Banglamung Licensing Officials Thai-style cocktail bars are popular with local Thai’s and there are more of these small bars opening up every week. Many will open after their permitted time and the majority do not even possess licenses to sell alcoholic beverages. The Banglamung District Licensing Unit are well aware of these cocktail bars and in the early hours of Saturday Morning, Khun Pongsit, the Deputy Chief of Banglamung District assisted by civil volunteers conducted raids on over 40 bars which were all found to be open well after their permitted opening times as stated on their licenses and 30 bars were found not to possess any form of license. These establishments were ordered to shut down pending further investigations, the others that were licensed but open late are now also under investigation and some licenses are expected to be revoked according to Khun Pongsit.

All kinds of things happening in June . . .

I love all the advice. Of course not one response told me what I want to know. If I was back in Florida you know what I would do? I'd scatter them along the beach. That way, all the old farts with their metal detectors would have a field day. So far all the advice is telling me that I have to give it away (If I don't, now I'm a miser), weigh it, just keep it, or even drown myself with it. Well, if there really is no way to cash them out, I guess I might as well keep them. Then, about 300 years from now they'll have value to coin collectors. I thought about weighing it, but not all the coins are the same. I suppose I could weigh the can. I tried getting on a scale myself, seeing how much I weigh, then doing the same thing while holding the can and figuring the difference. The trouble is, when I get on a scale a card always pops out that says, "One at a time."

I imagine others who live in Thailand end up with the same little problem I have. Every time I get those little satang in my change, the ones that are worth half a baht or so, I just put them into an empty coffee can. That coffee can is starting to get full. There must be a a few thousand baht worth of them in there. The problem is getting rid of them. The banks don't want to fool with them. I'd put them in a plastic bag and donate them to charity or just give them to one of the boys, but with the amount I have in there, I'm not only curious as to how much I actually have, but if it's a few thousand baht, selfish old me - I want it! Does anyone have any idea where all those satang can be exchanged?

The closest I've seen is a type of flounder from India that is sold at Carrefour. Of course, it's not a cold-water fish, but I don't recall seeing any kind of cold-water fish sold at Thai grocery stores. So far, the best fish & chips I've tried in Pattaya is at Simon's Fish & Chips at Jomtien Complex. Maybe some restaurants have a better version of it, but someone else will have to make the recommendation if anything better is available in Pattaya.

June 1~15 Gourmet Set Menu House Champagne *** Amuse Bouche *** White Wine Cackle Berry Chardonnay, Australia 2004 Marble of Goose Liver and French Vegetables *** Crabmeat and Guacamole Crespelle *** Homemade Tagliatelle Noodles creamy Black Forest Ham & Cepes Mushroom Sauce with fresh Rosemary *** Apple Sherbet *** Red Wine Chalk Hill Blue Angoves, Shiraz Cabernet, Australia,2007 Pan seared Scottish Salmon on Shrimp enhanced Fennel Cream Sauce and braised Celery or Slow roasted Duck Supreme, nestled on Potato, Onion & Egg Plant Tart Topped with braised Artichokes and roasted Mushrooms Spinach Coulis & Cinnamon Jus *** Red Wine maserated Prunes with Vanilla Ice Cream and Grand Marnier Zabayone or Selection of premium international Cheese *** Coffee or Tea Calvados, Grappa, Remy Martin, Williams Food only 1,550 Baht net (36.50 Є), Menu with Unlimited Beverages 3,100 Baht net (73.00 Є) http://www.restaurant-pattaya.com http://www.condo-pattaya.com

On the Ting & Tong's Gay Thailand board, Oogleman has posted a series of reports and photos of several of the various bars in Jomtien Complex. You might want to have a look: http://www.gaytingtong.com/index.php

There is another way, with no limits. I posted the following in a different thread: _____ It's because the forum limits image space. There is an alternative method. Place your image on Photobucket. If you don't have an account with them, it's free. http://www.photobucket.com . Underneath your photo you will see a set of codes. One of them, the bottom one, says IMG code. Simply COPY the contents of the box, and then PASTE the code into the message you're writing. After you submit your message the photo will appear within your posted message. You can do that as often as you like without the message board limiting you.