The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand’s infrastructure: “You’ve never had it so good!”

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Thailand’s infrastructure: “You’ve never had it so good!”

 

 

It was 1950s Britain when then prime minister Harold MacMillan told his fellow Conservatives that the folks on the “scepter’d isle” had never been better off.
 
“Let us be frank about it……most of our people have never had it so good”, he said.
 
He had borrowed a previously used US political slogan.
 
But now in 2020 Thailand, the expression should be aimed at denizens of both the UK and the US – as well as people from many other countries – for all their whining about Thailand. Online forums including Thaivisa are full of them.
 
If you are not one of them, good for you, neither am I!
 
While the situation caused by the pandemic has caused a great deal of trouble and heartbreak, that is hardly Thailand’s fault. They have, if the truth be known, done a rather good job of keeping the population safe and have extended the visas of the stranded repeatedly.
 
Meanwhile they have striven to continue to improve the infrastructure of the kingdom. Work that has been ongoing for decades and has seen the country change from a third world backwater into a SE Asian powerhouse and a player on the world stage. Work that has continued unabated through the pandemic.
 
My treatise today is about the wholesale improvements to the infrastructure of the country. While many may lament the passing of various “golden ages” when the Thais were more innocent and foreigners were less commonplace, few would argue that Thailand has not earned its place in the 21st Century.
 
I’m making little reference to the political situation. I recognize this is an area of stagnation and one that needs improvement, but that is for another day.
 
For this columnist, after 40 years living working (and occasionally even breathing) in the kingdom the changes have been extraordinary. And many have been for the best. I make no excuse for concentrating on Bangkok as that is where I have lived since I was knee high to a “tukkataen”.
 
I have put my observations under some clear headings, to wit:
 
Transport
 
Back in the early 1980s even the young could remember when the capital had rickshaws. Indeed, they were still the preferred mode of transport for many on the outskirts and in upcountry towns. Nowhere else was a city. In Bangkok rickety old filthy taxis had no meter. One had to suffer the grumbling of the drivers as they got stuck idling in traffic. No one wore a helmet on a bike or a seatbelt in a car. There was no law for that. Ancient buses and green micro-buses spewed out noxious fumes making for a filthy atmosphere that covered everyone’s faces in soot until the crash of 1997 ended construction. In comparison today the air is much cleaner.
 
(Yes, I know Chiang Mai is unlivable for three months – get a room in Bangkok, you’d be welcome back in the land of the living, we have temples too and if you promise to wear a mask we’ll let you in to our brilliant attractions)
 
Flooding was horrendous and far worse than it is today as it stayed for weeks. Great efforts have been made in pipe laying and improving the roads. There was no BTS. No airport link. Intercity travel was on orange buses with chickens for companions. Forget domestic air travel, that was almost non-existent. Even motorcycle taxis that are such a boon today were only just starting. Today even the provincial cities are getting monorails and trams. A fantastic sky train extension was built outside my condo in just 3 years adding a million baht to property values. Throughout Bangkok there are sky trains and monorails being constructed – the new Bang Sue Grand Central station is a wonder of South East Asia. Thank you, Thailand!
 
Elegantly designed Suwannaphum (my spelling) arrived in the noughties and they even upgraded Don Muang. The journey from the airport – subject to charlatans and danger in the past – is highly regulated, cheaper and problem free (only 50 baht extra!). Thirty five baht flagfall in cabs on the street– utterly amazing value in a brand new taxi with seatbelts in the back. Sea transport – you took your life in your hands in the past. Yes, there are accidents today but tourism is 100 times bigger, there are bound to be glitches.
 
All trains were ancient in the past and the notion there would be plans for a high speed one would have seen you carried off to Si Thanya……the reference to Bangkok’s psychiatric hospital leads me to….
 
Health/Education
 
Mental health? Good luck with that. Even general health matters had few options. Better just not to get sick! Today world class health facilities are everywhere and dentistry is top notch and affordable. Education needs attention especially in the Thai system but a huge number of options are available and there are literally hundreds of international schools to choose from. Soi dogs still populate the streets but compared to the past there is a fraction of them. Many diseases have been successfully addressed including HIV/AIDS where Thailand was and remains a world leader. Family planning programs not to mention the 30-baht health care scheme and improvements in social security have been marvelous.
 
Shopping/Banking
 
Back in 1982 you had the wet markets and very little else. Villa on Sukhumvit Road opened in 1974 and was the only supermarket. I had a long walk just to get a Foremost Banana Milk (forget fresh) and a 5 baht Cornetto. Bread? – dream on. Getting money was a long trip to your bank, no ATMs of course. When Central and Robinsons replaced Big Bell and Merry Kings it was like an epiphany! There was once a five hour traffic jam because Big Bell in Ploenchit had a sale. 7-Eleven? Not one. Not even one chain. McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut…yeh right. Try a 10 baht padthai or a fried rice with an egg on top. Coffee? Nescafe at a guest house perhaps. Tea? What’s tea? Even beer was far more expensive relatively than it is today as was most everything in the bars. And yet still they whinge….
 
Accommodation/Hotels
 
The concept of condos was well off. There were high class apartments but these were incredibly expensive because they were all rented by the Japanese and paid by their companies. There was a shortage. Cheap accommodation was called “flats” and was dire. The range of choice in the rental market today is incredible and it is a renter’s market due to the glut. (Sniff, sniff says Rachman Rooster crying over his 3% yield). The choice of hotels and guest houses is remarkable and with the pandemic they are all empty and crying out for customers and offering deals. What is there not to like about being in Thailand today – if you can get in that is!
 
Bureaucracy/Immigration
 
An area where the moaning is louder than ever. You think it was easy in the 80s? Try getting a tax clearance at Banglamphu every time you had to leave. They moan about a queuing system these days. Back then it would take you all day just like any trip to a government office. Noon? Lunchtime till mid-afternoon if you were lucky. Come back tomorrow, mai pen rai. No computers, no internet, no sense of public service. You’d have to consult an out of date guidebook if you didn’t speak fluent Thai (fortunately I worked on that as a matter of urgency). Today many government departments have a charter of service. DLT is a breeze, district offices well organized and convenient, immigration no problem at all so long as you get your paperwork together and have a modicum of nous. The Thais are, after all, as obliging and helpful as they always were, thank goodness.
 
Customer service/TV
 
Everywhere there is far better customer service. Delivery services abound even food meaning you don’t have to leave your comfy sofa. Where you can watch anything from anywhere around the world. Early 1980s Thailand had nothing unless you could find a million baht for a satellite dish. Cable TV. No. Netflix or live footy. Yeh right. Thai TV and the soaps were all there was. Dual language? – what would have been the point!?
 
Roads
 
Yes, the death toll is appalling but that is not primarily a problem of infrastructure. It’s a consequence of the number of cars and motorcycles, poor enforcement, poor training and the ineffectiveness of the police. There are amazing roads everywhere and the one to Korat is the jewel in the crown. The highways and byways stretch everywhere making the kingdom a glory for drivers and motorcyclists who know how to concentrate and drive defensively. Plod has even banned roadside checkpoints – a constant problem in the past no matter where you lived. Now there is even a remarkable plan to build a 100 kilometer long Gulf of Thailand bridge from Phetchaburi to Laem Chabang and there are trillion baht schemes to improve the ports and international trade between the west and China via Thailand. 
 
Many of the uninitiated think it is worse today than it has ever been. Nonsense.
 
We’ve never had it so good!
 
Focus on that and your life in Thailand may be enhanced and more enjoyable.
 
Another bumper week of news on Thaivisa started with no surprise. The Special Tourist Visa that was to see hordes of Chinese visit (is 150 a horde?) was put on hold as 57% of the population according to a NIDA poll don’t want any tourists. The “best laid” plans unraveled before an incredulous yet jaded forum.
 
On Wednesday the security chief Natthaphol blamed the Vegetarian Festival. That would be attended by many Thais who he said needed protecting from Covid-infested foreigners. The tourism minister and head of the TAT saw their STV baby in tatters on the day the tourists were meant to finally be returning. Now the end of October is the latest D-Day.
 
Ejan – a completely out of touch tourism source – plowed on regardless saying that Phuket was “completely ready” and passing through the airport would only take 3 hours…before the 14 day quarantine…..then the seven day wait….then….
 
These shenanigans are a bitter pill for Pattaya, Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai and even Hua Hin but it was only a test anyway. Just enjoy the quiet if you live there and if you have lost your job or your business, find something else to do. Try politician or policeman – those are going concerns.
 
Just don’t do what Mr Chow from Singapore did – be drunk and disorderly and naked in the street while on a five year overstay. There are limits.
 
Chiang Mai Airport 2 – not an infrastructure success story – looks like taking another 20 years. But the monorail in Pattaya moved a step closer even if the denizens are throwing so much litter that the drains are overflowing every time there’s a shower. At least it’ll be high up rather than a street-level tram – you’ll be able to see the flooding from above. Amusingly after big storms in QUOTES the deputy mayor called his minions together for a brainstorming session.
 
Bless! He said the pipes were too narrow and suggested nets to catch the trash before the floods washed the multi-million baht sands away again.
 
Fallout from the scandal at Sarasas schools continued. Around a dozen from Witaed Ratchaphruek were taken to court and bailed. Sickening lawyer Decha claimed that one of his clients – a cruel nanny – was just joshing when she put a black bin bag on a little mite’s head. Disbar this monster and jail the teachers who have so betrayed the trust of parents and our little ones.
 
It was also good to see a police probe call in executives from all of the Sarasas branches. But the time is ripe to not let the situation of child abuse in schools end with action at Sarasas even if it does go to the top. Strike now nationwide and rid the nation’s school system of violence in the name of class control.
 
Later in the week the new Labour Minister demanded that the credentials of all 11,200 foreign teachers working nationwide be checked. Do they have background checks, work permits and the correct visa? Fines and deportation await illegals and the agents can be sent to jail.
 
This is a new minister flexing his muscles and a knee-jerk reaction to one Filipino at Sarasas perhaps abusing children but certainly working on a tourist visa.  
 
In international news, the UK Labour called the testing system shambolic and the Eton Mess promised a “bumpy (ride) through to Xmas”. Ho, ho, ho!
 
Two legends of the music world died. Revered guitarist Eddie Van Halen of the band that bears his name died of throat cancer aged 65 and reggae singer Johnny Nash, famous for “I Can See Clearly Now”, succumbed to Covid complications at 80.
 
In sports a sensational super Sunday in the EPL saw Aston Villa demolish champions Liverpool 7-2 and Spurs see off Manchester United 1-6 at Old Trafford. In Paris Enable under Frankie Dettori failed in a bid to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the third time. Victory went to the French trained Sottsass.
 
Back in Thailand a Japanese tourist found out that ganja growing is not yet legal and his 2 million baht investment in hydroponics did not…er…hold water.
 
Six primary school kids were savaged at breaktime by two stray soi dogs that got into the campus in Sri Racha. The forum went ballistic calling for mass culling.
 
Ambulances were in the news again. A trucker hindered the progress of one in Nakhon Sawan drawing the ire of netizens while a uni student in Bangkok drew praise for going into the road to make a path for another ambulance crew.
 
This begged the question as to why her actions should have been necessary. The arrogance and rudeness of many on the roads is appalling. The fine must be increased from 500 baht to 5,000 and the police must prosecute all ambulance blocking infractions.
 
Meanwhile the shocking shooting of a state official in a meeting at Songkhla Zoo continued to be investigated. It appears to concern a barking deer.
 
In Chiang Mai a 33-year-old Thai wife said that her “lively” 85-year-old American husband fell from the 7th floor while cleaning the windows. He was found dead and the police said they would be interviewing the young wife again.
 
In Pattaya, Manager reported that the 108 million baht Bali Hai port development had been a total waste of money due to lack of maintenance. They took a swipe at the NCPO who had “returned the area to the people”. Even the dancing fountain was bust. Mayor Sontaya has demanded standards, whatever that means.
 
Finally, the Nobel committee decided to award the Physics prize to renowned scientist Roger Penrose of Oxford University. He got half of a large cash prize that he shared with Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for their collective work on black holes.
 
Rooster is the kind of person that marvels at the brilliant insight of these people who can describe things that they cannot see using mathematics, intuition and dogged technological research. I often fall asleep to YouTube videos about the cosmos.
 
Having failed yet again to grasp what it all means.
 
Rooster
 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-10-10

 

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[scammed]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

hey have, if the truth be known, done a rather good job of keeping the population safe and have extended the visas of the stranded repeatedly.

no they havnt, like rest of the world they had a brain fart and shut down economy.

agree on the choice for roger penrose for nobel price in physics though.

 

"In Chiang Mai a 33-year-old Thai wife said that her “lively” 85-year-old American husband fell from the 7th floor while cleaning the windows."

i agree with her, he has served his purpose

Edited October 10, 2020 by scammed

[rumak]

I agree that there is too much criticism and negativity.  What a wonderful world it would be if people

would get together and work things out sensibly.   Of course agreeing on who is being sensible and

who is just "full of rubbish"  would take forever and a few thousand meetings.

 

The fact that the infrastructure in Thailand has improved immensely in my time here is undeniable.

Living in the boonies 30 years ago I would often fall asleep at 8 PM  with some obscure book I was trying to read falling to the wayside.   Nowadays, even in the poorest areas of Africa the internet now

connects starving people to other starving people .  All captured on Facebook, of course. I wonder how they feel about never having it so good.  Personally i would reserve that for the "top one percent" ..... the eeeeelite .

 

 

But in line with my topic last week "Should i really stick my neck out?" ........ where i question the intelligence of those on forums calling the PIP  (people in power)  names and making fun of them

( Rooster seems to have gone away from that this week.  Hmmmmm ? ) ; in that spirit I will not challenge the sudden change in tone of this weeks narrative.  Maybe he woke up on the right side

of the bed.  Maybe he found his glass to be half full ( and thankful for that ! ) 

 

Does anyone think he might find a little humor in one of Rumak's posts?  Well,  let's not stretch the imagination that far .    

 

 

Edited October 10, 2020 by rumak

[yasbkk]

????????????????Thank you???????????????????????? 

A word of truth worth a million thanks 

 

I have lived and seen exactly what you said 

 

and can only say ????????????????Thank you???????????????????????? 

i lived and seen all what you described . 
 

[Chassa]

14 hours ago, rooster59 said:

“You’ve never had it so good!”

Wrong

 

It was better 38 years ago, because i was 38 years younger!

[trainman34014]

Bangkok being 'The 

[trainman34014]

Bangkok being 'The Land of the Living' says it all; never mind the rest of the country !

 

Ok; so we have some better roads than we had and now we have the internet to keep us amused but what about a National Sewerage plan with Teatment Plants etc being more important than uneeded Military Junk, how about a stable Electricity Supply without constant blackouts from a few seconds up to hours, how come there is no National plan to produce all Electricity by Solar or Wind Driven means, especially when this country has so much sunlight, what about getting all the filthy overhead wiring underground, could start by 'ordering' Developers to put all new wiring underground for every Building Project of New Moo Bahn's instead of adding to the overhead clutter ?

 

No interest from any Government in solving the annual Air Pollution problem in the North...Why ?  Lip Service will never cure the problem, only severe punishment for wrongdoer's.

 

I could go on all day but 'Never having it so good' never was the right response in Britain back when and it's not the right response now either !

[Dustdevil]

13 hours ago, scammed said:

no they havnt, like rest of the world they had a brain fart and shut down economy.

agree on the choice for roger penrose for nobel price in physics though.

 

"In Chiang Mai a 33-year-old Thai wife said that her “lively” 85-year-old American husband fell from the 7th floor while cleaning the windows."

i agree with her, he has served his purpose

Did she make sure he cleaned all the windows thoroughly first?

[rumak]

Many of us who came here long ago ( and the number was quite small) , came here to get away from

the Western lifestyle, politics, attitudes, and 9 to 5  for 40 years mentality.

 

The fact that infrastructure was not up to par and all the other "frustrations" of living in a third world country was understood.   Sure, life is more comfortable now, and being 35 years older I can enjoy

a more sedate life.   As a few others have suggested, however, 

it is not possible to compare the past with the present...... is comfort and being in late retirement something to dance and shout about ?

 

The current situation which overshadows all else is what the hell is going to happen to us:  those who

have firmly established lives and homes in Thailand and now are facing some daunting questions.

One can say that we should have known that we do not have any "rights" here......... but things change everywhere and for a long long time here there was no drama like there is now.  And the same sht is happening in many "home countries" as well.

 

I suspect many are , and more will be messed about by being in the wrong place or having the wrong visa .... at the wrong time.   I also am losing some income ,  and who knows what the govt will demand of me next week.   Hard to say "i never had it so good"  .  But,  for now it ain't so bad either.

Good luck to all............ See you soon on the road,  at the pub,   at the beach,   at our favorite restaurant,  in a mask free environment,  at a concert,       online.

 

 

 

[sawadee1947]

15 hours ago, rooster59 said:

. I often fall asleep

I fell asleep too when I tried to read your boring stuff to the end. ????

[PaDavid]

44 minutes ago, scammed said:

i hope i dont get to 85

You will when you’re 84

[jingjai9]

You admit you are Bangkokcentric, but I am certain you are aware that slow development in areas of the northeast and other "outposts" is one cause of political unrest in the Kingdom. Also, the infrastructure suffers from poor sewage and drainage and we must not forget the clutter and potential danger from the "spaghettied" telephone wires ( I state this not really caring what Bill Gates thinks).

 

It is admirable that you accentuate the positive but we cannot eliminate the negative.  The smell of sewers in the heat of the summer is one area that needs work for sure.

 

One other area seldom mentioned is the lack of uniformity in the level of walking surfaces such as sidewalks/footpaths. You have been here for 40 years. Honestly when is the last time you tripped or stumbled because you do not see the subtle change in grade of a walking surface or you ascended or descended stairs that were not really equal in height? 

 

Just wanted to add balance and vent some of my pet peeves. 

Cock a doodle doo.

[BritManToo]

Just now, jingjai9 said:

It is admirable that you accentuate the positive but we cannot eliminate the negative.  The smell of sewers in the heat of the summer is one area that needs work for sure.

 

One other area seldom mentioned is the lack of uniformity in the level of walking surfaces such as sidewalks/footpaths.

1) Up in Chiang Mai, been her 10+ years, never had sewage smells summer or winter.

(except when I walk past the horse riding stables)

 

2) Learn to watch where you step.

Edited October 11, 2020 by BritManToo

[PaDavid]

A very interesting read as always, Rooster, though I doubt the poorest of people living in my village would agree they’ve never had it so good. I watched (and helped nitnoi) my two neighbours plus one friend harvest 100kg of mustard yesterday. They started and finished by torchlight, and received ฿2,000 for their travails. 50 quid less the cost of seed, fertiliser, and wage for the friend. And, of course, the land had to be ploughed and tilled before they started, an irrigation system laid, and the crop watered every day for 3-4 weeks. And, when they sowed they had no idea what price they were going to get.
 

Last year, they grew pack chee, coriander, which is much more labour intensive, and is months rather than weeks between planting and harvesting. When the price dropped to ฿10 per kilo, they sighed in exasperation and ploughed the lot in. 

[Dice Man]

Rooster.......you live in a different World than me ! I see massive deterioration in the past 5 years, the death of  democracy for instance and not noticed by you at all???

[Pancho]

There are a lot of moving parts in the world today.

 

Its like a 4th inter-dimensional traffic choke point, in the dark. No one has a clue what’s going on. 

 

Truly, the practitioners are the beauty of this culture. I take refuge in that practice.

when I do pontificate, I find it best to be 3rd person. Like observing the cat in animal farm. Watching the watcher.

 

Never had it so good, is ambitious , having said that, this is a very good place to be. I mean how great is it to live in a country where the national seal is a hybrid man creature !

 

Im one of the old hands (21 yrs) who is truly enjoying the absence of the masses. One may find 1 or 2 Thais who would agree.

The chitchat around the campfire is......In Feb/March there will be very good things coming. For everyone. World wide. Fingers crossed.

 

Sources Say.????????????????.

[rumak]

31 minutes ago, Pancho said:

The chitchat around the campfire is......In Feb/March there will be very good things coming. For everyone. World wide. Fingers crossed.

A coupon for a free frozen pizza from 7-11 with your vaccine shot ?

[Misterwhisper]

I recall that many foreign movies on local TV channels had their original (English) soundtrack broadcast on certain radio stations.

 

So what you would do was mute the (dubbed) Thai soundtrack on the TV set, set up the radio next to the TV and tune in to the particular radio station.

 

All newspapers and TV guides weekly published detailed tables of the movies and the frequencies you had to tune in.

 

Then, finally, in 1991, arrived Thailand's first true cable TV service, Thai Sky, with a few English-language channels. While the movie, entertainment and news selection was very limited, it nevertheless changed things over night.  

[off road pat]

You are so right in this statement "The highways and byways stretch everywhere making the kingdom a glory for drivers and motorcyclists who know how to concentrate and drive defensively." I have been driving all around the land of smiles for 30+ years and have seen great improvements !!! Specially on the roads along the Burmese border and the highway to the south (Phet Kasem Road or Highway) !!!!

[Megasin1]

Most parents would read the packaging and not give a young child or baby a toy which they could easily swallow and get stuck in their throat. I am certainly not against progress or improvements, however you can alike the infrastructure improvements in Thailand to the toy analogy. The pace of progress has far outpaced the education, training and legal progress. A short time from Rickshaws to Mercedes has inevitably lead to the appalling death rates, poor driving skills and poor policing or control of everything. It would probably be best for Thailand if it suspended creating faster roads, trains and automobiles and concentrated on training, education and legal improvements and control so the population can actually catch up. The Government lauds its infrastructure improvements but pays actually no heed at all to all the other improvements that need to be made to match them.

[yankyoakum]

Coming from the Land of the Free and home of the gun toting brave and having set foot here in the early 70's I have to give the Thais credit, they have come "a long way baby" since I first set foot here 6-73. Sorry but my humble opinion medical here is far superior to USA Today and has been for quite some time, infrastructure is coming along, yea have seen a few power glitches but not many in Sattahip, saw more in Houston Tx... On the whole agree with Rooster's report today. There are people who would whinge if you strung them up with a brand new rope...We thankful to be here.

[Chassa]

18 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Tea? What’s tea?

Cha - Thais drank tea and coffee at that time!

[sambum]

"The Thais are, after all, as obliging and helpful as they always were, thank goodness."

 

I don'y know what to say - tongue in cheek? in all sincerity folks?

 

You should have started the sentence with "Most" - that would have been more believable!

Edited October 11, 2020 by sambum
Spelling

[terryofcrete]

Gobsmacked ! The only word to describe my immediate reaction to reading the column this week. My first thoughts were .. has someone threatened him with some form of dire punishment if he does not stop his negative and sarcastic observations on Thai news from the week that was. Having seen and listened to many accounts of the poverty now widespread with sources of income gone since the beginning of this cursed pandemic without any support available I am overwhelmed with scepticism at the positivity of the writer’s opinion and count my blessings that, although I spend a long time in the country every year, I reside in a country that cares about and takes care of its people, unlike Thailand .  

[overt2016]

Not sure what to make of this weeks post/rant rooster, but just to say you need a rest

from trying to give a rest from tying to give a positive slant to Thailand every week.

[Lacessit]

Thailand is like the curate's egg. I just wish I retired here 30 years ago, instead of 10 years ago.

[Soi Dog]

Reminds me of when I was a kid and I had to walk 5 miles to and from school through knee deep snow. And it was uphill both ways.

[fabruer]

6 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Bangkok being 'The Land of the Living' says it all; never mind the rest of the country !

 

Ok; so we have some better roads than we had and now we have the internet to keep us amused but what about a National Sewerage plan with Teatment Plants etc being more important than uneeded Military Junk, how about a stable Electricity Supply without constant blackouts from a few seconds up to hours, how come there is no National plan to produce all Electricity by Solar or Wind Driven means, especially when this country has so much sunlight, what about getting all the filthy overhead wiring underground, could start by 'ordering' Developers to put all new wiring underground for every Building Project of New Moo Bahn's instead of adding to the overhead clutter ?

 

No interest from any Government in solving the annual Air Pollution problem in the North...Why ?  Lip Service will never cure the problem, only severe punishment for wrongdoer's.

 

I could go on all day but 'Never having it so good' never was the right response in Britain back when and it's not the right response now either !

Seems you don't have much idea on power generation, transportation and storage. ????‍♂️ Keen to educate yourself? Start with googling "electric network stability", "peak electric demand" and as a next step try to connect the dots by googling what role renewable energy sources play in this context.

 

I am all for renewables and am happy to see that Thailand is increasing it's power production from 1) renewables and 2) decentralised energy production. Of course, there are still coal power plants but you could also google how many there are still in Europe/US and when they were built. Hint: coal power plants such as Bang Pakong PP in Chachoengasau are multi Billion Baht projects, they are - while arguably not green or clean - an important part of stable energy production in developing countries like Thailand. Besides, economically it does not make sense to shut them down after only 43 years of operations.

 

Lastely, I see your post as a synonym for many posts on this forum, namely people posting absolute <deleted> to topics they have no idea about. Of course it is a public forum; I however avoid to expose myself on topics I virtually have zero clue about - Dunning Kruger Effect comes to mind.

Edited October 11, 2020 by fabruer

[jollyhangmon]

33 minutes ago, Soi Dog said:

Reminds me of when I was a kid and I had to walk 5 miles to and from school through knee deep snow. And it was uphill both ways.

 

... same here, same here, but barefoot and it was over 7 miles.

Still, I miss them old times, things were much easier then ... 

 

[rumak]

26 minutes ago, jollyhangmon said:

 

... same here, same here, but barefoot and it was over 7 miles.

Still, I miss them old times, things were much easier then ... 

 

they weren't really easier for me .    but,  i still miss them   ????

 

ah, if we could only be back then with the knowledge we have now.