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Khon Kaen Isaan Thailand 2012 Calendar

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:43:04 +0000

Well, it is that time of year again and we have another free calendar for you depicting some fantastic photos from Isaan (Northeastern) Thailand (and one from the beach).

Photos from around Isaan – Khon Kaen, Roi-et, – and one from Hua Hin Beach.

2012 Thailand Calendar

You can download the 12-month wall calendar in English here and the individual months – January February March April May June July August September October November December

The calendar is also available in the Thai language in the same formats – wall calendar – January February March April May June July August September October November December

Files are in PDF format and zipped. So, you will need Adobe reader (or equivalent) and something to uncompress (unzip) the files. Files are around 25Mb – 30Mb – high quality and suitable for framing and hanging on your wall or just sticking in your cubicle.

Khon Kaen Isaan Thailand 2012 Calendar is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Cha-am My House Review

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:52:06 +0000

For the past two weeks I have stayed at a guesthouse at Cha-am Beach, Thailand.

Cha-am My House is located on Soi Bus Station and is about 100 meters from the beach.

Cha-am Beach

I found out about Cha-am My House from a Facebook buddy, Spider. He had told me that he goes to Cha-am every year and recommended Cha-am My House when I told him what I was looking for.

I told him I wanted inexpensive (around 500 Thai baht), A/C, refrigerator, TV, and wireless. Cha-am My House had all my requirements and the price was 400 baht per night. I did have to pay for wireless, but it was only 350 baht for the 15 days I was there.

The room is decent size, the shower has plenty of power, and the air conditioning kept the room cool. The ladies come by daily to clean the room, change towels, and provide 2 free bottles of water.

On the minus side, the A/C leaked a little bit of water, but a towel laid out on the desk was an easy solution. There is no in-room safe and I never got around to asking Charlie or his wife if they had a master safe for guests. It just meant that I had to hide money in a few places.

There is no bar or restaurant in the guesthouse, but restaurants are within easy walking distance. Aroy, Cha-am Pub, Neeshys, and AJ’s are all recommended – AJ’s and Neeshys mainly for good, inexpensive breakfasts and Aroy and Cha-am Pub for good dinners.

Cha-am Beach is a typical Thai beach with an abundance of beach chairs and umbrellas as it is a favorite weekend getaway for Bangkokians. The first weekend, there were not many folks visiting but in the past 3-4 days, Cha-am has seen an influx of Bangkokians due to the flooding in Bangkok. Pattaya, Cha-am and Hua Hin are the three primary locations to visit when there is a flood in Bangkok – nearby with cheap accommodations.

There are 10 or more other small guesthouses here on Soi Bus Station, and I am sure that they are all similar in design and price. There are also 15-20 small beer bars on Soi Bus Station and most have a handful of Isaan girls to keep you company.

So, if you plan to visit Cha-am, I can recommend Cha-am My House (032470799) – sorry – no web site – but you can get an idea of the location with this map.

Here is a video of Soi Bus Station and a little about Cha-am My House.

Cha-am My House Review is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Backpackers Shun Thailand?

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:28:15 +0000

An article at Off Track Planet that the Tourism Authority of Thailand needs to read, Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations for 2011, lists favorties for backpackers in 2011. Granted, the list was written in December 2010, but it was supposed to identify places for backpackers to go to. Hey, Tourism Authority of Thailand, where is Thailand?

Backpackers Unseen Thailand

Thailand is nowhere to be found on this list and there are some locations that appear to be taking away Thailand’s precious tourists. The Tourism Authority of Thailand should investigate this since they have failed at getting quality tourists, it appears that they have failed at getting the penny-pinchers too.

The list has Croatia as the best beach. Not Phuket, Not Koh Tao, Not Koh Samui, Not any of the islands with their crystal, sandy white beaches. Maybe it is because the beaches in Thailand are no longer white. Raw sewage and trash, coupled with beach erosion and coral bleaching, may account for Thailand losing out on this one. Add in the lack of care by the Thai Government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who have both contributed to the ruination of the Thai beaches.

The best dancing venue is Cuba. I guess the topless go-go dancers at Patpong and Soi Nana can’t compete. Even the topless teens on Silom Road during Songkran that brought shame to the entire Kingdom of Thailand didn’t stir up enough interest.

For Wildlife and Adventure it is Zanzibar. Perhaps this is because the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t understand niche marketing and has failed to promote Thailand as an adventure spot.

Istanbul for Old Traditions. Another FAIL for the Tourism Authority of Thailand who would rather promote the World’s Largest Outdoor Water Gun Fight and the Transvestite Beauty Contest than to promote Khmer ruins, Buddhism, and Thai Culture.

Cultural Mash-Up – Brooklyn, New York. I guess that the Tourism Authority of Thailand New York Office hasn’t gotten the word out yet about Khao San Road.

Metropolitan Mania – Mumbai, India. Hmmm. Is Bangkok no longer the “hip” place to hang out? Maybe it is the scams, pollution, traffic, corruption, and high prices that keep tourists away.

Party Central – Belgrade, Serbia. Serbia beat out Thailand even though Thailand uses Buddhist holy days to promote Full Moon Parties, Half Moon Parties, No Moon Parties, and any other reason to try to attract tourists – but apparently fail again.

Historical Sights – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – Not the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Not the World Heritage Sight and former capital – Ayutthaya, Not the Khmer Ruins at Preah Vihear (oops this one may be in Cambodia), Not the ancient city and first capital of Thailand – Sukhothai. I guess that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is too busy marketing to local Thais and doesn’t really care about marketing to foreigners, so more tourists lost.

Argentina wins in the Overall category so it looks like South America beats out Southeast Asia.

The Off Track Planet also had a list for 2010, so took a look to see if Thailand was on that one. NOPE.

Cambodia won out for the cheapest location which is a major attraction for backpackers. I guess Thailand has overpriced and overcharged too many tourists in the past and it is finally catching up to them.

Nightlife: Reykjavik, Iceland – Backpackers would rather freeze their asses off than fight the traffic and padded bills at the bars in Bangkok and Pattaya.

Beaches: The San Blas Islands, Panama – already mentioned the pollution at the Thai beaches keeping droves of tourists away unless you listen to the bogus numbers that the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand puts out.

Italy beat out Thailand sightseeing since there is nothing new in Thailand to see – same old markets, temples and elephants.

Bolivia won for nature despite some of the most beautiful areas in Northeastern Thailand (Isaan) because the Tourism Authority of Thailand fails to promote this area properly.

Hottest locals was Brazil beating the two-step shuffle go-go dancers of Bangkok.

And, Columbia wins in the Overall category – looking like South America is wooing many more tourists mainly from America who fear drug dealers in Mexico, and political turmoil in Thailand.

Looks like the Tourism Authority of Thailand is not doing it best to attract the lowly backpackers or any other foreigners to Thailand.

Backpackers Shun Thailand? is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Tourism Authority Of Thailand Steals Sri Racha Beach Photo

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:49:29 +0000

Sri Racha Beach Photo stolen by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

This was the Tourism Authority of Thailand final theft of the day yesterday. Intellectual Property stolen from Learners.in.th.

You can see the original photo that the Tourism Authority of Thailand stole here.

If there was a Guinness World Record for most thefts of Intellectual Property, the Tourism Authority of Thailand would stand an excellent chance of winning.

TAT continues to steal and steal and steal other people’s intellectual property. Just surf the Internet, steal photos and text and then post them to your Facebook page. This is how an agency of the Thai Government operates.

And, then Thailand wonders why it is on the USA hit-list for pirated software and copyright violations. How can we expect Thailand to clean up copyright violators, when the Thai Government is guilty also.

Only when the Thai Government cleans up in-house will we ever see the streets of Thailand empty of pirated software and stolen intellectual property.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand could lead and set the example, but they choose to steal.

Such is the way of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Steals Sri Racha Beach Photo is a post from: Khon Kaen

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Tourism Authority Of Thailand Sukjai Thailand Steals Beach Photo

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:06:51 +0000

Beach photo stolen by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

This is a nice photo from the Sanook Travel Channel that the Tourism Authority of Thailand Sukjai Thailand Facebook page has stolen.

Here is the Facebook post from Sukjai Thailand, Tourism Authority of Thailand, showing the stolen beach photo:

Tourism Authority of Thailand Sukjai Facebook

The only thing that the Tourism Authority of Thailand did to the photo was re-size it from 1024×768 to 584×438. At least the Tourism Authority of Thailand kept it proportional.

Despite having the amazing ability to re size stolen photos, the inept staff at the Tourism Authority of Thailand cannot read.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page where the photo was stolen it states:

which translates to:

Sanook.com has an Online Use Policy and is specific with regard to copyright and intellectual property.

ลิขสิทธิ์ตามกฎหมาย (Copyrights)

บริษัทขอแจ้งให้ผู้ใช้บริการทั่วไปทราบว่า บรรดาข้อความ ภาพ เสียง เนื้อหา ส่วนประกอบใด ๆ ทั้งหมดของเว็บไซด์ รวมถึงแต่ไม่จำกัดเฉพาะเครื่องหมายการค้า เครื่องหมายบริการ ชื่อ ชื่อทางการค้า สิทธิบัตร โนว์ฮาวส์ ฯลฯ ที่ปรากฎบนเว็บไซด์ของบริษัทนี้ เป็นงานอันได้รับ ความคุ้มครอง ตามกฎหมายทรัพย์สินทางปัญญา ของไทยโดยชอบด้วยกฎหมายของบริษัท แต่เพียงผู้เดียว

หากบุคคลใด ลอกเลียน ปลอมแปลง ทำซ้ำ ดัดแปลง เผยแพร่ต่อสาธารณชน จำหน่าย มีไว้ให้เช่าหรือกระทำการใด ๆ ในลักษณะที่เป็นการแสวงหาประโยชน์ ทางการค้าหรือ ประโยชน์โดยมิชอบ ไม่ว่าโดยประการใด ๆ จากทรัพย์สินทางปัญญาดังกล่าวข้างต้น โดยไม่ได้รับอนุญาตจากบริษัท บริษัทจะดำเนินการตามกฎหมายกับผู้ละเมิดสิทธิดังกล่าวโดยทันที

Roughly translated, it says that anything on Sanook.com is protected by Intellectual Property laws and Sanook.com will take legal action for any violation.

So, if anyone out there knows anyone that works for Sanook.com, or wants to contact them online, here is the page with the contact form.

I would love to see Sanook.com take legal action against the Tourism Authority of Thailand for violation of Intellectual Property laws.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Sukjai Thailand Steals Beach Photo is a post from: Khon Kaen