I need someone to drive a car (with a soundsystem) from krabi to bkk. PM me if you have access to a car and want a job like that.

anyone know if there's a fullmoon party in kata beach or karon tonite?

I went to go check out the barricades outside MBK today twice. Once during the day and once right before everything started shutting down (which is 8pm now). It was pretty odd. During the day it was interesting and a bit entertaining, although I was asked to stop taking pictures. At night it was just strange.. the whole atmosphere was really just very serious and not somewhere I'd want to stay for too long.

Gotta say I've been one of the most dismissive of this whole thing, but now really probably is not the best time to be coming over here. Especially since this still looks like we could just be at the beginning of the escalation still.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmDQ-TSyNx4

Footage of the soldier getting shot today. Nothing graphic or disturbing.

sucks that im moving there in july

think it will die down by then ;p?

i wasnt really effected by any of this when i was there during march

There are occasional acts of violence, but it's highly unlikely that any tourist will be caught up in any of it. Your chances of getting hurt are much higher trying to jaywalk. This is why people have been generally dismissive of the whole thing.

However, **** *will* hit the fan pretty soon. Army will probably come in and clear everything out by force one day/evening. It's hard to say how violent that will be and if random destruction spreads all over BKK as the Reds get chased out of town... Supposedly the Reds are stockpiling weapons, there was that attempted fuel depot thing, so who knows how well they are prepared for the eventual attack. But just because they are willing to sit all day in protest doesn't mean that most of them are willing to really fight when push comes to shove... especially with their kids/wives there, etc... But who knows... If they really want to, it would be easy to burn down 1/2 of Sukhumvit with a good amount of easy to make fire bombs...

My guess is that the crackdown is coming within 2 weeks and the Army will clear everything out quickly and easily.

What vaccines are you talking about, exactly?

Most people already have all the vaccines. Japanese encephalitis vaccine is not recommended for people traveling during high tourist season. Malaria vaccine is not recommended at all unless you plan to go to the Mae Hong Son or very deep South and do trekking in the jungle/spend extensive time there...

I did not get any vaccines because my 2 month trip was very last minute. I decided on Thailand and bought my plane ticket abut 1 week before departure, received visa 1 day before departure...

after the clash it looked so optimistic that they would find a peaceful solution, but now the situation seems so stuck and like violence is coming. i think the question for tourists is how it will spread out in other parts of bkk or thailand. even when 25 people died during the first clash, i always had to think of cities like sao paulo which have a higher murder rate every day of the year.
i can understand that no one wants to be close to the protest area, but many countries are advising their citizens not to travel to thailand at all

You really have to check out one their barricaded areas out at night sometime. Propaganda from a charismatic speaker blaring out non stop and these guys are walking about like they know they have a greater purpose. They're not wearing red shirts and they don't have to. You can tell exactly who is who just by their demeanor alone. You know how you can get a 'feel' of a situation after being around something? The last feeling you'll ever get around one of these areas is any expectation of peace.

It's a completely different vibe than the last time I saw a a red protest camp which was a bunch of mostly chilled out guys listening to music occasionally dancing and just generally relaxing, waving their clappers, chatting with passer-bys, etc.

that japanese thing is the one im missing (didnt get any malaria though, only have the pills to take if i get fever and am away from medical care for days). i heard its recommended for the north, they didnt say anything about different times of the year though. is that a countrywide recommendation? i didnt get it because recently they have a new vaccine for that in germany that takes like 5 weeks, but i was out of time, and that i could get the old one in thailand, takes only three weeks but more side effects. didnt get it yet because i never stayed 3 weeks in chiang mai in a row

I'm out of Thailand right now. (Will be back this upcoming Winter or Spring I think...)

I know there are some hard core guys among the protesters... They are they guys who will push back hard if attacked. Do you think there are many of them? Not really sure if they are just a small faction that will be crushed or not...

******

I was looking mostly at USA CDC web site, but I can't find the travel time reference. However, I see travel time reference on some other sites, for example:

"Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes and occurs from May through October in Thailand. " Source.

They're certainly not just going roll over. Here's more video. This is the last footage from the Japanese cameraman who was recently killed in one of the clashes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8616339.stm

Nothing terribly graphic again, but it shows the scale of this stuff.

Wheres the footage of him getting shot? i want to see that.

Also all these protesters are complaining they aren't making as much money and all this stuff and economy is bad... ok they are ******ed they don't realize that the entire world is having this problem?

And if they want to make more money and jobs IE Exports (rice, food, art) and TOURISM, then crashing the BAHT will fix both those problems. Thats what they should be protesting about their currency being artificially high.

How can you say most people already have all the vaccines after you ask what vaccines he was talking about?

you do understand that different countries might have different plans for vaccination people / giving boosters and if you got all the vaccines/boosters in school and/or been to the military you are more protected than others. if you are 20 just out of the military versus 35 not caring about these things for 10 years you just MIGHT need different things

this is what they recommend getting in finland before coming over here

hep A, tetanus, typhoid, measels and couple of others I'm tired to put in the translator

I think most of these you get vaccinated when you are a child/in school and get boosters later on if you were in the army for example.

also depending on your destination and what you are going to do the japanese thing and hep B are recommended

I don't know if you americans get hep shots when you are kids but i dont think any of us euros get them.

there is also no vaccination against malaria. only pills that have side effects and are not 100%

Personally my doctor recommended getting twinrix (hep a+b). I got 2 shots before I came here and a booster shot 6 months later here in thailand.

Also what i hear is doctors seem to have different opinions about how long the hep shots are valid after those 3 shots (or maybe the patients forget and then just shoot a number in the air when asked). I was told I have to get another booster shot 10 years after the first shot.

Didnt read the whole thread but....is Full Tilt website down in Thailand now!!?? It has been down for me in Phuket and CM...

Working for me, BKK.

Kind of funny you ask that. Full Tilt's website had been blocked for months in Thailand. And now I can access it?! Crazy.

how much did you guys pay for the speed boat for phi phi island? and how long is the ride?

Hello,

I have my flight booked for the 17th May, someone I know has had their flight cancelled now when they are going on the 14th May although mine hasn't been cancelled yet.

Will I get the money back for the flight if they cancel it? I do not have insurance as they said I wouldn't be covered, but does this matter if the actual company cancel it themselves in advance?

Anyone else know the situation on this?

Flew into Bangkok on Monday. Surat Thani now, Nakhon Sri Thammarat tomorrow.

WRT the protests, I see this as a non-factor if you're not planning on staying in BKK. I was kind of a wuss and got airport shuttle to and from hotel plus room for like $24USD. Made my parents sleep a lot easier, and my hotel was ~5 min from the airport. Flight got in 11pm, domestic hopper at 12pm next day EZ game. Can't comment on how it would be to visit/live there.

Funny things in LOS so far

-I was at the night market, sketching about pickpockets and I walk through and get bumped into a bunch and feel like someone put a hand in my pocket. Oh **** i think and check but all my stuff is there, but find a thai business card with a phone number and "Pahm" on the back, turn around and some thai girl is waving at me with her friends giggling beside her. Didn't do anything about it. Yet.

-Taking out the coke bottles you get in shops and pouring the liquid in a plastic bag

-Another bump, and hand in pocket, this time it's some weird little snack bags with I guess strips of some dried fruit, wtf?

-Little kids yelling from buses

-Young students on the streets busting out their english on you, "HELLO!" "HOW ARE YOU?" I started talking to them and they just get so excited when they go "IAMGOODTODAYHOWAREYOU" really fast and more generic english in super-excited thaiglish. When I say "I am well" it's just like they all **** themselves.

-Banged out a thai first night, no pay for play
-Knew ~3 words in english used them all on me
-I approach her at club, she smiles, we grind no talking
-She goes "Mobile?" and I hand her mine she puts number in
-I try to talk to her, "No english" she says
-I'm kind of confused at this point, I think she's really hot but obv hard to progress this. I seriously ponder just taking out some baht waving it at her and doing the hand signal for penetration. She looks at me smiles, kiss/makeout (which I thought PDA's were a no-no?) She stops, "Boom Boom?" One of her friends asks me what hotel I am at, (this is a male friend) I tell him. He tells her. I'm on the back of the motorbike, at the hotel lobby, thai deskladys say stuff in thai to her (TukTik is her name lol) she says stuff back, good they agreed on whatever it was. Semi-sober at this point, tell her I gotta piss, lock up all my **** in their little storage thing in there, hide the key and gg. Next day it's just like smiles, I take out my thai phrase book and am showing her stuff so kind of a mini-convo where she will respond and I smile. So awesome. I was surprised she didn't demand money, I would have snap-paid. Welcome to Thailand.

Edit: Was 2nd night, not as tight i guess.

guys is there anyone in BKK that has a spare room? or is looking to move here and wants a roommate? Have been living here for like 1 month and living by myself is starting to become bad for the soul

I basically just want to stay in Sukhumvit or like Thonglo/Ekkamai.

Fwiw, I am 22, Australian, i play 6m and HU MSNL, down to drink n party wherever wenever i dont care.

gettin weed money you shoulda given her money

plz keep updates on next month of text messages.

ftp's site is down for me in phuket

software works like before though