December 2013

Khon Kaen Retirement

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Bangkok Protests: Dazed And Confused

Tourism Authority Of Thailand: On The Level?

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Pretends Bangkok Protests Are Finished

Ministry Of Education English Fail

Tourism Authority Of Thailand: Bangkok Protests Drop Tourism 14%

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Disrespects World War II Veterans

Thai Tourism Tanks: Who Screwed The Pooch?

Ministry Of Education Has Failed Thai Children

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Begging For Tourists

Seven Dangerous Days Of The Thai New Year Campaign Kickoff

Ministry Of Education Has Flipped!

Khon Kaen Retirement

Khon Kaen Retirement selected blog posts from December 2013. You can see all posts at Khon Kaen Retirement.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Bangkok Protests: Dazed And Confused

The Tourism Authority of Thailand continues to publish their worthless “Situation Update: Thailand Political Developments” even publishing 2 updates on December 1st making them doubly worthless.

Since the Tourism Authority of Thailand has yet to figure out how to use Twitter and/or Facebook to get accurate, up-to-date, relevant information out to foreigners, they continue to publish an “update”

Tourism Authority Of Thailand International Public Relations New Year Fail

Accident Prevention Network New Year Campaign Fail

Pattaya Government Officials Water Safety Festival Lies

Evil Spirits Causing Thailand’s Road Death Woes

that is old, incorrect, sugar-coated, omitting facts, and, for the most part, worthless.

It is impossible for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, or anyone else, to maintain a static web site and keep it current when the Bangkok Protests situation changes by the minute. The only way to do this is via Twitter following people on the ground at the various protest locations. Instead, the Tourism Authority of Thailand posts photos on Facebook and Twitter of the Pattaya fireworks.

Now, even though something like 32 countries have issued travel advisories (as opposed to travel warnings) telling their constituents to be careful and avoid large crowds, and Hong Kong issues travel warning for Bangkok, the Tourism Authority of Thailand thinks that even though Protests damage tourism industry, TAT will still hit their annual goal of foreign tourists.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is delusional if they think that even though there are “clashes” on the streets of Bangkok, hotel and flight cancellations, travel advisories from many countries, and the foreign media reporting this globally, that there will be no impact on tourism.

Maybe, if the Tourism Authority of Thailand was honest on its Situation Update page and posted timely info via Twitter, foreign tourists would still feel that it is safe to visit Bangkok. But, when the Tourism Authority of Thailand tells you this in their latest update:

The ongoing anti-government protests in Bangkok, which had been normal to peaceful for 32 days since 30 October 2013, has turned volatile as of yesterday but are contained within one location near Government House and the Parliament where riot police fired tear gas canisters and used water cannon to hold off protesters from entering important state offices.

Foreigners will know they are not telling the truth. The Bangkok Protests were volatile before “yesterday” and protesters are in more than one location.

Here is what the Tourism Authority of Thailand fails to mention:

Casualties in #Bangkok

2 Dec at Govt House - 98 injured

1 Dec at Govt House - 58 injured

30 Nov at Ramkhamhaeng - 4 dead & 65 injured

— Richard Barrow (@RichardBarrow) December 2, 2013

But, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is quick to tell you twice that:

No tourists are hurt or affected by the volatile situations both at Ramkhamhaeng University and near Government House and the Parliament.

For tourists visiting the kingdom, it should be stressed that foreigners and/or tourists have not been targeted in the ongoing political protests.

Having info on this static web page is worthless as things change and change quickly. When the Tourism Authority of Thailand tells us that:

Albeit the volatile political situations in Bangkok, life in the Thai capital and all other areas of Thailand continues as per

normal. Tourist attractions and activities as well as businesses in Bangkok and other provinces are open and operating as usual.

Bangkok Protesters were very, very close to the Marble Temple in Bangkok and businesses in the areas were definitely closed. Even the Thai Immigration at Chaeng Wattana Government Complex had to set up temporary facilities to accommodate foreigners.

Siam Center, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon and CentralWorld Shopping Complexes on Rama I Road as well as Major Cineplex on Ramkhamhaeng Road are open as per normal.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand wants your money and gives out information that is not entirely correct. Some stores were open, some were closed and the only way to get current information was via Twitter.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand includes this worthless static map on the Situation Update page. Can you read it?

Obvious to see that the Tourism Authority of Thailand remains digitally challenged.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand should just stop with their Situation Updates as they currently are and just refer people to Twitter and tell them who to follow to get honest, accurate, and up-to-date information. But, that would damage the precious image of Thailand.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand: On The Level?

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is trying to make the best of the Bangkok Protest bad situation by posting almost daily “Situation Updates”, sugar-coating the bad news, omitting key information, providing worthless maps, and claiming they will still reach their goal of 26.1 million foreign tourist arrivals by end of this year.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is delusional thinking they will still hit their forecast numbers (but, hey, they can lie), going so far as to tell us that the 34 countries that have issued travel advisories/warning mean little since they are not Level 4 or Level 5.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is in serious damage control mode with tourism dropping in November and December and Forward bookings growth sees decline. TAT can see the big bucks go floating across the border to one of their ASEAN partners.

The article talks about the current Bangkok Protests and the impact on tourism while the Tourism Authority of Thailand clings to the belief that there is really no impact.

What I had never seen before is the reference to travel advisory levels.

Only three nations - Russia, Slovakia and Israel - have issued a Level 3 warning, while the others were content with Level 2. A Level 3 message calls for a high degree of caution, while Level 2 just urges people to exercise reasonable caution. So far, no country has issued the highest warning, the Level 5 “no travel” edict, according to the TAT.

So, I did some research and the closest I could find was this from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia):

Level 1 – Exercise normal safety precautions

Exercise common sense and look out for suspicious behaviour, as you would in Australia.

Level 2 – Exercise a high degree of caution

Pay close attention to your personal security at all times and monitor the media about possible new safety or security risks.

Level 3 – Reconsider your need to travel

There is a high level of risk in the country/area. This may be due to a very high threat of terrorist attack or a volatile and unpredictable security situation. If you are already in a destination where we advise you to “reconsider your need to travel” and you are concerned about the security situation, you should consider leaving.

Level 4 – Do not travel

The security situation is extremely dangerous. This may be due to a very high threat of terrorist attack, widespread armed conflict and or dangerous levels of violent crime. If you are already in a destination where we advise that you “do not travel” you should consider leaving unless you have compelling reasons to stay.

Except, the Tourism Authority of Thailand was talking about Level 4 and Level 5.

So, a bit more research and it appears that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is using this list:

Level 1 - Be alert to own security.

Level 2 - Exercise caution.

Level 3 - High degree of caution.

Level 4 - Reconsider your need to travel.

Level 5 - Do not travel.

Which, I believe to be an older version. I can see why things were changed from 5 levels to 4 since on the old list the Level 1 is just a normal day and not really a level to be concerned with.

The current situation in Bangkok appears to have subsided with HM the King of Thailand’s birthday in just 2 days. But, I don’t think it is over yet.

So, the Tourism Authority of Thailand can continue to publish their worthless Situation Update: Thailand Political Developments and hope that not all of high season is a loss.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Pretends Bangkok Protests Are Finished

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has issued a media release bragging that “large numbers of tourists” are visiting the Kingdom during the current high season.

This is utter bullshit and is an attempt by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to conduct damage control of the Bangkok Protests that have been going on for over one month and escalated over the past weekend.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is claiming that oodles of tourists are still coming to Thailand despite the political turmoil in Bangkok when they couldn’t be further from the truth. Here is what the Tourism Authority of Thailand claims in their media release - Thailand welcoming large numbers of tourists during 2013/2014 high season:

Bangkok, 3 December, 2013 — Thailand is welcoming large numbers of tourists during this 2013/2014 high season. Despite what travellers may have recently read or heard, they can be confident that Thailand is still a welcoming tourist destination even with the unstable political situation occurring in a small quarter of Bangkok.

Well, it was reported that 300,000 foreigners decided not to come to visit Thailand in November and I am sure that December will be even worse with 34 countries issuing travel advisories. Note also that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is implying that foreign media gets it wrong and only the Tourism Authority of Thailand should be listened to. Ridiculous.

Most tourist attractions in Bangkok, as well as popular tourist destinations; such as, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Ko Samui, and Chiang Mai are unaffected by the current political protests. No tourists have been hurt or affected by the situation.

This is a different tune sung by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as in previous “Situation Updates” the Tourism Authority of Thailand claimed that NO tourists venues were affected by the Bangkok Protests.

Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said: “Thailand offers a wide variety of tourist attractions, ranging from unique culture, abundant natural beauty and remarkable variety of activities, including soft-adventure, spa, shopping and medical tourism.”

Which has nothing to do with the current political crisis.

“Tourists can be confident that they will have an enjoyable holiday in Thailand. Thai people across Bangkok and throughout Thailand are waiting to greet visitors with a friendly smile.”

Or some tear gas, rubber bullets, or maybe a water cannon.

Any traveller considering a visit to Thailand in the near future does not need to worry, as tourists have not been targeted in the political protests. This is further evident by pictures of tourists visiting attractions and enjoying holiday in popular tourist destinations in Thailand during this week.

This is ridiculous and completely irresponsible on behalf of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Tourists do need to worry and be cautious and pay attention to what their Embassy puts out. Tourists also need to know where to go and where to avoid and the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t provide a good map that shows the protest areas.

December is one of the most exciting months for tourists to come to Thailand. There are various events up and down the country taking place during this month and through to January 2014.

Uh, there is the King’s Birthday celebration on 5 December and New Year’s Eve. That is about it. The weather is cooler. So, why didn’t the Tourism Authority of Thailand tell us what the exciting events are?

The Amazing Thailand Countdown 2014 will be organised as planned in seven major destinations - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri (Pattaya), Songkhla (Hat

Yai), Phuket, Khon Kaen and Chiang Rai from 25 December, 2013 to 1 January, 2014.

This is typical of the Tourism Authority of Thailand - take a one night event and stretch it to one week.

The Bangkok Protests rose to a crescendo over the past weekend and just as quickly died out to prepare for the King’s Birthday. But, don’t be fooled. The Bangkok Protests are not over. Starting on December 6th, they will start again in earnest with both sides coming off a couple of days break where I am sure they have plotted out new strategies.

But, the Tourism Authority of Thailand won’t tell you that the political unrest will continue and no one knows for how long. In the meantime, you can go visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand news site and see the cheesy photos of tourists at temples.

Ministry Of Education English Fail

Thailand’s Ministry of Education has come up with another idiotic plan to improve the English skills of Thai students that is sure to fail.

See, the Ministry of Education has determined that it is better to teach communication skills instead of grammar when the reality is you need both.

Thanks to Thailand’s Ministry of Education, Thailand ranks 55th out of 60 countries in English proficiency and shows no signs of improving. And, the new “plan” by the Ministry of Education will do little to help.

Thai Education English Proficiency And The AEC is the prime motivation for the Ministry of Education to up its standing in English proficiency, but focusing only on communication skills is not going to help when it comes time to test.

The Ministry of Education plans English teaching overhaul is the Thai Government pretending to care and the plan will fail the way it currently is.

Mr Chaturon said the overhaul will help boost the country’s international competitiveness, and will be a step towards preparing the country for the launch of the Asean Community in 2015, as English will then be used as the “working language” in the region

Not the way the Ministry of Education has it set up it won’t

“When the regulation is implemented, English education will be changed from a focus on grammar to communication, and all students will study English with full efficiency, depending on the readiness of their schools,” Mr Chaturon said.

I have read in the almost English online media sources that the current focus in English training is on grammar, but since English is way different than Thai, one must learn the basics of grammar in order to speak properly. I have no idea what the head of the Ministry of Education means when he says “full efficiency”, and I doubt he does either.

The draft emphasises four main points: adjustment of English learning and teaching practices; developing teachers’ English language competency; distributing better English learning tools; and English programme extension.

Notice that the Ministry of Education has left out the one key element to make this plan work - native English speaking teachers.

“More English communication courses should be provided to students and there should not be more than 20 students per classroom to allow them to learn efficiently and receive proper attention from teachers,” Mr Chaturon said.

Another reason this will fail is currently there are approximately 50 students per classroom, so this would mean hiring twice as many English teachers. From where?

The ministry also wants 40% of English-language teachers who do not hold a degree in English to pass B1, or intermediate, level next year, 60% in 2016, and 80% in 2018. For those teachers with English degrees, 20% should pass B2 or upper-intermediate next year, 40% in 2016 and 60% in 2018.

The Ministry of Education is clueless. First off, how can teachers teach English if they do not hold a degree? Secondly, for those Thai teachers of English that do hold an English degree, why is the first year requirement only that 20% pass the upper intermediate level. They should all pass or be fired. Third, there two higher levels - C1 and C2 - that apparently won’’t be tested since the Ministry of Education knows that none of the “English speaking teachers” will pass.

Heads of English departments cannot speak English. English teachers cannot speak English. So, Thai students cannot speak English.

This is just another save face and pretend to do something by the Ministry of Education that will never work.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand: Bangkok Protests Drop Tourism 14%

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is hurting due to the Bangkok Protests, and does itself no favors with its lack of understanding social media.

Continuing to post their worthless “Situation Updates” at TATnews.org, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, continues to do more harm than good for Thai Tourism.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is content to post worthless updates, maps you cannot read (but can order hi-res filling out a form), and sugar-coated info and totally ignore using Twitter and Facebook to get info out in a timely fashion.

Now the Tourism sector hopes House dissolution will boost arrivals which shows these folks are clueless about Thai politics, Thai history, and the current state of affairs. The House dissolution will

not calm things in Bangkok and will just prolong the agony wiping out high season this year.

The prime minister’s decision to dissolve Parliament to calm the current political chaos has come as a relief to tourism operators, according to Yutthachai Soonthronrattanavate, president of the Association of Domestic Travel, though he himself is not sure it will solve anything.

Looks like most tourism operators have no idea what they are doing.

The tourism industry has felt the pinch of the protests since last month. The number of foreign arrivals between the end of November and mid-December was 400,000 short of the normal figure for this time of year. Normally, the monthly arrival figures are about 2.5 million during this period. Meanwhile the number of domestic travellers dropped by about a million, or 30 per cent of the usual total. Tourism revenue is projected to lose more than Bt4 billion in the period.

Whenever the Department of Tourism, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and/or the Tourism Authority of Thailand post numbers - remember to halve good news and double the numbers when it is bad news. So, figure that the number of foreign tourist arrivals has dropped by close to one million and the number of domestic travelers is off by 2 million.

According to statistics released yesterday by theTourism and Sports Ministry, the number of foreign tourist arrivals at Bangkok’s two international airports from December 1-8 fell by 14.88 per cent to 44,524, from 52,308 in the same period last year.

Which means they really fell by 30%.

However, Yutthachai believes the anti-government protesters will not be satisfied with the call for new elections and will continue to rally.

Yep - the Bangkok Protests will continue and the Tourism Authority of Thailand will continue their worthless updates.

Here are the latest tweets on Twitter from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Amazing Thailand account:

See how the Tourism Authority of Thailand closely monitors the situation and “provides “as it happens” information with fast facts, figures and data for tourists, members of the media and industry insiders about the current situation in Thailand.”

All a bunch of bullshit from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

He said tourism operators had stopped launching marketing promotions to attract tourists, fearing they would get nothing in return. Normally, they would spend Bt500,000 to Bt1 million on such promotions during the high season, depending on business size. Once a new government is formed, he urged that it l ook after the tourism industry by offering significant incentives to help them to survive.

Not up to the Thai Government to help out the private sector.

Sugree Sithivanich, deputy governor for marketing communications of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the agency had been monitoring the situation closely. The dissolution of the House should not raise any concerns among foreign tourists.

Worthless.

So far, 27 TAT overseas offices have received calls from tourists about the situation in Thailand. They have not cancelled their trips, but mainly asked about road traffic and transport, as well as protective measures at the airports.

Who the fuck books their trip through a Tourism Authority of Thailand Office? More lies from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

As for events scheduled for the festive season, they will go ahead as planned. However, Sugree expressed concern that the political tension would lead to violence. This could be bad for the tourism industry.

Duh.

Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said if the situation gets worse, it will have an impact on Asian tourists. There are also indications that Canadian tourists are concerned.

WTF? Only Asians and Canucks? Ridiculous.

The Thai Tourism Sector, especially the Tourism Authority of Thailand, remains totally clueless. Tourism Authority Of Thailand

Disrespects World War II Veterans

The Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations Facebook page posted some info on a festival in Kanchanaburi this week.

Of course, the Tourism Authority of Thailand posted the info late since the River Kwai festival started on 6 December and only runs for 4 more days and there is no mention of it whatsoever on the TATnews.org website. Brilliant marketers.

Now, as an old soldier, the River Kwai, Death Railway, Hellfire Pass, all have significant meaning to me. Even though I was not in the military during WWII, I still find that places like the River Kwai are not only historical, but are places to show respect for the fallen and thanks for the freedom. Apparently, the Tourism Authority of Thailand does not.

Here is what the Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations posted on their Facebook wall:

In case you cannot read that, here is what the Tourism Authority of Thailand says:

6-15th December 2013 the River Kwai Bridge Festival is celebrated. Highlight of the festival is the Sound & Light Show, which tells the history of the Death Railway, the Hellfire Pass and the Bridge on the River Kwai. Once the 415 km long Death Railway runs from Thailand to Burma to support there the japanese defence lines.

The festival also includes a big fair at the Bridge on the River Kwai. It’s an excellent location for shopping and having some fun there; give the local foods and sweets a try.

This is how the Tourism Authority of Thailand portrays the River Kwai - shopping, foods and sweets. Disgusting.

According to PBS, thousands died working on the railway and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is going to have a festival.

Though records are sketchy, approximately 61,000 Allied prisoners of war are believed to have labored on the railway, including 30,000 British, 18,000 Dutch, 13,000 Australian, and 700 American soldiers. An estimated 16,000 of those troops died, many of them from diseases like cholera, beri beri, malaria, and typhoid, most during an intensified period of construction known as “speedo” that commenced in January 1943. Another 200,000 Asian laborers, mostly Thai, were forced to work on the railway. More than 80,000 lost their lives.

Total disrespect to the foreigners that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is trying to attract and very disrespectful to the Thais that lost their lives in this prisoner of war camp.

Notice too that the Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t even mention the term “Prisoner of War” or mention that Japan occupied Thailand during World War II.

They also don’t mention the places other than the Bridge Over the River Kwai to see around Kanchanaburi:

Don-Rak War Cemetery

JEATH War Museum (JEATH is an acronym for the primary nations that were prisoners there - Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland)

Chonk-Kai War Cemetery

War Museum at the Bridge

Thai-Burmese Railway Centre

Ban Kao National Museum

These are the areas that the Tourism Authority of Thailand should be recommending instead of promoting a light show and shopping.

I visited Kanchanaburi about 10 years ago and was amazed at what I learned. There is much more here than what you may have seen in the movie (which is mostly Hollywood BS) and some very caring people that take care of the small museums and the meticulously manicured cemeteries.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand should be promoting this as Hawaii does Pearl Harbor, honoring veterans, not promoting shopping.

Thai Tourism Tanks: Who Screwed The Pooch?

Report in yesterday’s Bangkok Post informs us that Thai Tourism has dropped significantly during this year’s high season because of the political protests in Bangkok.

What the Thai Tourism article doesn’t tell us is who screwed up and told the rest of the world about what is going on in Thailand.

See, whenever something bad happens in Thailand that affects Thai Tourism no one is supposed to mention it other than to say “No impact on tourism”. This applies to floods, protests, murders, rapes, accidents, road deaths, and any other catastrophe that would impact Thai Tourism and its bottom line.

During the 2010 Bangkok Riots, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand actually reported that Thai Tourism increased while Bangkok was in flames. They also told us that even though there were floods in Bangkok,

foreigners were still visiting the Land of Smiles and another annual Thai Tourism arrivals record was broken.

So, who fucked up and told the world that Thai Tourism had actually decreased?

Tourist arrivals down on protests is not the standard Thai Tourism message.

This year, Thailand is expected to welcome 26 million foreign tourists, lower than the target of 28 million. Tourist arrivals are expected to generate about 1.15 trillion to 1.17 trillion bah tin revenue, lower than the target of 1.3 trillion baht.

WOW! A 2 million person drop in Thai Tourism. And, a serious loss of revenue. And, the only reason the Bangkok Post reported it is that the news was already out in the foreign press.

So, who leaked the info? Who screwed the pooch?

Was it the foreign envoys? You know. Those Ambassadors living large in Bangkok issuing travel advisories? Not if they all posted travel statements like the American Embassy:

You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations. Be alert and aware of your surroundings and pay attention to local news media reports.

Brilliant. The American Embassy doesn’t even tell you where the large gatherings are taking place, so it couldn’t be them.

Maybe it was the Tourism Authority of Thailand. They are totally clueless and may have slipped and given out the info when they were updating their TATnews.org website.

For tourists visiting the kingdom, it should be stressed that tourists have not been targeted in the ongoing political demonstrations. Tourist attractions and activities in Bangkok and throughout the country are open and operating as per normal, but tourists are advised to be vigilant and avoid areas where crowds may gather. This is because there may be traffic disruptions or delays, thus causing inconvenience.

Nope, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still issuing their late, almost daily, misinformed status updates on the political situation but don’t give out any numbers of foreign tourist arrivals. Plus, the Tourism Authority of Thailand remains delusional thinking it will still hit their projected goal. Maybe it was Thailand’s Department of Tourism.

Nope. The Department of Tourism in Thailand still shows their ridiculous foreign tourist arrival numbers so they can’t be the organization that screwed Thai Tourism.

Maybe it was the Tourism Authority of Thailand using Social Media that exposed the truth. Here is the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s latest tweet on Twitter:

News: CentralFestival Hatyai is set to mark a new phenomenon for the retail industry as the first and largest shopping complex in southern.

— AmazingThailand (@ThailandFanClub) December 11, 2013

Nope. The Tourism Authority of Thailand places their focus on shopping down south where all those insurgent attacks take place - so it didn’t happen on Twitter. Maybe on Facebook.

Nope. The Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations Facebook page is promoting an area but doesn’t tell you where it is and refers to an image but doesn’t identify the photographer - so they are continuing to misuse social media and it doesn’t look like they revealed the truth about Thailand.

That only leaves the evil foreign media with their expatriate journalists on the ground telling the world, as it happens, what is really going on in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand.

These evil journalists tell the world that hotel occupancy rates in Bangkok are running at 30%-50% during the “peak season” - this is even higher than “high season”. They are also reporting that tourists have shunned Thailand and are heading for Japan and Korea.

Yes, it must be the evil foreigners spreading the truth using that Internet thing. It certainly isn’t the Tourism Authority of Thailand or other Thai Government Officials who are sworn to preach the party line no matter how ridiculous it is.

Thai Tourism will continue to flounder through December and into the New Year as the protests in Bangkok show no sign of letting up and those foreign journalists keep on reporting the truth.

Ministry Of Education Has Failed Thai Children

Today, yet another article is written in the almost English online news media about how the Ministry of Education has failed to educate the children of Thailand.

And, yet again, the Ministry of Education is not held accountable and will only respond by forming committees, scheduling meetings, attending conferences, and then ignoring what anyone outside of Thailand recommends.

Just last week, the Ministry of Education came up with the brilliant idea to scrap the grammar portion of English instruction and focus only on communications skills.

Today’s article, Thailand lagging behind in English will most likely be ignored by the Ministry of Education since the advice is given by foreigners. A better title would have been “Thailand sucks at English”.

After all, Thailand ranks 55th out of 60 countries on the English Proficiency Index (EPI) while two other ASEAN countries, Malaysia and Singapore ranked 11th and 12th respectively.

So, what does the Ministry of Education do to improve matters? They hold a seminar, gets some great information on how to improve English proficiency in Thailand, and then totally ignore it.

During the seminar, held last month by the Quality Learning Foundation and the Embassy of Finland, much useful information was provided to Thailand’s education academia.

The problem is that the Ministry of Education thinks that Thailand knows how to do everything and can’t be bothered with advice from foreigners. You can go the Ministry of Education website and see how full of themselves they are when you read the history of Thai Education.

While you are at the Ministry of Education website, take a look at the tabs on the top of the page and note that Executive and Planning are misspelled.

Also note that there are a series of logos above the fold for Untied Nations, UNESCO, APEC, SEAMEO, ASEAN, and Bilateral. Clicking on any of them returns a 404 error.

You can read the Modernization of Vocational Education article under “Projects/Activities - dated 26 September 2010 - and see that the Ministry of Education is all talk and no action.

You can read a multitude of news articles that sound good but mean nothing.

Back to the “lagging” article:

Asst Prof Sa-ngiam Torut, a lecturer at Silpakorn University, said China had already adopted a programme of English- teaching that included comprehensive textbooks and system evaluation. “Chinese students need to take the National English Exam in Grade 6, 9 and 12, with teacher promotion and bonuses dependent on their students’ achievements in the English National Tests,” said Sa-ngiam, who has published a research paper called “English Language Teaching Reform in Asian Countries”.

What a concept. Give teachers a bonus if their students excel. Teachers in Thailand would lose money.

Her research reveals that every educational institution in China is required to set up an English corner to offer an environment that enhances English learning. At college level, students need to pass College English tests before they can graduate. The test covers every English skill, including listening, speaking, reading, writing and also translation.

The Ministry of Education sets aside one hour per week for English training. I would bet my pension check that no English teacher in Thailand would pass the college level tests.

According to Sa-ngiam, Vietnam has been implementing a 10-year national plan for teaching and learning English, which was launched in 2008 and will run until 2020.

Vietnam understood the importance of preparing for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

“The consistency is all there - something that Thailand is lacking,” she said at the seminar. Education ministers in Thailand are often

changed, which has led to an inconsistency in the country’ s educational policies, Sa-ngiam said,

Thailand is lacking a lot thanks to the Ministry of Education.

Speaking at the same seminar, Pattanawimol Israngkura from the British Council said within the Asean region there were indicators that Thailand’s standards of English-language teaching and learning were falling behind the rest of the region. Following 9 to 12 years of English studies at school, exit levels for Mathayom 6 students were comparatively low when compared to key competitor nations.

This is polite-speak for “Thai students suck at English”.

The quality of teaching was another issue, she said. Limited data collected by the British Council suggested that primary school English teachers in Thailand have, on average, an English level of around “A2” (pre-intermediate) on the CFR (common framework of reference), and those at secondary level have a “B1” (intermediate) level of English.

These standards are about one level below teachers in Malaysia and about two levels below teachers in Singapore - though this was only a rough estimate, she said.

There you have it. Thai English teachers have about a 4th grade English level and they are expected to teach others.

“It is interesting to note that even though English teachers in Malaysia are already a step above their Thai counterparts in terms of their own English-language skills, the Malaysian

government is currently investing heavily to improve English teaching,” she said.

Malaysia also understands the importance of preparing for AEC 2015. The Ministry of Education does not.

Pattanawimol emphasised that there was a need for wholesale benchmark testing of English teachers in Thailand and to develop a needs-based training response to improve standards over time.

The Ministry of Education is planning on testing the English teachers but has set standards too low to ensure that no one fails. Why not hire retired, English-speaking expats already living in Thailand?

Sa-ngiam said that in order to develop its English-language educational goals, Thailand should create a national language policy and long-term educational blueprints with the help of educational experts.

No. This is the problem. Thailand just loves to create policy and then never enforces it. Seminars and meetings, conferences and committees are continuously formed and nothing positive ever comes out of them.

Doris Gold Wibunsin, a former director of the Fulbright Foundation and also a prominent figure of Thailand’s English-teaching reform policy, said after living in Thailand for 50 years, she was finding there was an increasing number of students and English-language teachers with poor English skills.

So, the Ministry of Education has done nothing positive for the past 50 years. Thailand would have been better off colonized by the Brits.

“There are many public and private organisations coming out with poor English language materials. It’s an embarrassment, and social media is actually helping to expand this use of poor materials,” Wibunsin said.

I can attest to this having seen some of the educational materials over here.

She added that on the positive side, students are braver and more prepared to ask questions, while teachers are more confident. However, a proper reform plan was needed, she said.

Students can be brave and teachers confident, but that doesn’t help them with English.

Wibunsin also pointed to misspelled English-language signs in public places, as well as English-language publications with grammatical inaccuracies, as examples of poor English language usage in Thailand, which should not be overlooked.

Just look at the Ministry of Education website.

“People who are making signs should have someone editing those signs. Are we allowing this to happen just because we don’t want to hurt the feelings of those who try to speak English?” she said.

Hire me as a sign editor!

To improve English teaching standards, Wibunsin suggested that the reform process hold on to five principles which she called “SCARE”.

Ah, the scary acronym:

The first one is sincerity - one should be sincere and determined in what one does. The second is continuity of the reform process. The third is accountability from government, schools and authorised personnel - as teachers and principles (emphasis mine) should be accountable if students are doing poorly on English tests. The fourth is the responsibility of - not just the schools and teachers - but of students themselves.

Maybe something should be done for the almost English online news media - an organization that should know the difference between principals and principles.

“Good students don’t worry teachers, they find ways to teach themselves,” she said. The fifth principle is excellence - meaning that schools and society must put pressure on the private sector, families and the government to make sure all sectors are working towards improving the standard of English-language use in Thailand.

But, nobody, especially the Ministry of Education cares. The Thai Government does not want an educated people.

In conclusion, Wibunsin said teachers were the most important link in Thailand’s reform process and steps should be taken to make sure teachers were properly qualified to teach comprehensive English-language skills to their students. The government, schools and communities

should support teachers so they are comfortable in their profession and have the resources to teach.

Agreed, but the Ministry of Education does none of this.

Authorities should also consider compensating teachers with the kind of remuneration they deserve as well as raising the standards for teacher certification, which would in turn, boost the confidence of teachers.

If standards were raised, there would be no English teachers in Thailand. If it came to compensation and/or bonuses, they would cheat to get them.

“If teachers become good role models, then they can manage the curriculum and classrooms, and they are going to produce students who are better in English.

I hope that all of the support mechanisms will be put in place, enabling teachers to do the jobs they are supposed to do,” she said.

Teachers have their hands tied by the Ministry of Education and will only do enough to get by.

Thailand will languish behind the other nine ASEAN nations, will lose jobs to those that are fluent in English, and the Ministry of Education will be to blame.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand Begging For Tourists

The Tourism Authority of Thailand failing to get their sugar-coated political situation updates (with a map no one can read and hasn’t been updated since 13 December) to foreigners on the TATnews.org website, has resorted to posting lame video interviews with foreign tourists to show the world that Bangkok is safe to visit.

This ploy failed mightily back in 2011 during the flooding in Bangkok when the Tourism Authority of Thailand interviewed the PATA CEO, Martin Craigs, and posted the video to YouTube, Two years old and has just over 400 views.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand can’t even get their own name spelled correctly.

Now that Thai protests cut tourist numbers, might spoil high season, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, via their ThaiTourismUpdate YouTube channel, has released some on-the-

street interviews with foreigners hoping to boost the foreign tourist arrivals numbers during this year’s high season.

You remember the Thailand Tourism Update website provided by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and video channel set up during the Bangkok floods to provide misinformation, incorrect information, and out-and-out lies. The website is still around but hasn’t been updated since December 27th 2012 and the YouTube channel has over 250 videos with most hardly watched by anyone.

Part of the problem with the Tourism Authority of Thailand is that they do not know how to get the word out using social media. No one reads the TATnews stuff. Few know about the Tourism Authority of Thailand video channel. Why? The Tourism Authority of Thailand doesn’t know how to use Social Media.

Look at the YouTube channel. Most of the videos don’t have descriptions or keywords. The three latest videos all say the same thing - Tourist interview in Bangkok - “We’re not effected by political demonstration”. No one knows about these propaganda videos so few see them. Also note that the Tourism Authority of Thailand had not released any propaganda videos since September 2012 on that Tourism Update channel.

But at least 39 countries have issued travel warnings and the tourist authority says prolonged protests would push arrivals down 1.3 percent from an expected 26.1 million in 2013 to 25.8 million.

This is another problem. I have seen reports that tourism has dropped or will drop anywhere from 300,000 to 2 million foreign tourists by the end of the year. No one has the correct amount of foreign tourist arrivals and no one knows how much revenue is generated or lost.

“We’re expecting minimal impact on revenue from tourism this year but are monitoring in case the situation becomes similar to anti- government protests in 2010,” said Ranit Tokrisna, a spokeswoman for the ever- optimistic Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Ever-optimistic is being way too polite. The Tourism Authority of Thailand continues to see Thai Tourism through rose-colored glasses.

Thailand’s airport operator said on Monday passenger numbers had fallen 2 percent over the past couple of months compared with 2012.

I am sure he said this without checking any real data. Never believe numbers from Thai Government Officials.

The Thai Hotels Association, which represents about 800 hotels, said 27 hotels surveyed in Bangkok had reported a total of about 25,000 rooms canceled for December.

This is more realistic. Wonder what the total number of room cancellations is? Don’t ask the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

You can see that the Tourism Authority of Thailand needs to beg to get tourists since they don’t know how to use Social Media.

Seven Dangerous Days Of The Thai New Year Campaign Kickoff

The Royal Thai Police have launched a new Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign in a lame effort to reduce the number of road deaths.

However, this new Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign is just the Thai Government pretending to care about the Thai people and will do nothing to reduce accidents or road deaths.

Every year, twice per year, the Thai Police announce their brilliant new campaign for the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year and the Seven Dangerous Days of Songkran, and every year, twice per year, way too many people die on Thailand’s roads.

The Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign will fail because it is the same old shit in a new wrapper. The Royal Thai Police do the same thing year after year, setting up checkpoints in the same locations, issuing tickets and collecting tea money, and

falsifying the actual number of road deaths. See, the Thai Police only count you as a road death if you die on the scene.

The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes the Mortality: Road traffic deaths by country report and the latest 2010 statistics show that Thailand is third in the world for road deaths at 26,312, or about 72 per day. Thailand also ranks way up near the top with 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people.

Now, three years later, with many, many more vehicles on the road thanks to a Thai Government subsidy program, the numbers have to have skyrocketed with all the new drivers on the roads.

The official dates for the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year haven’t been published, but it will be sometime around 28 December to 3 January. Last year the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year were from 27 December to 2 January - so it will be roughly the same this year I am sure.

Last year, during the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year, there were 365 people killed on Thailand’s roads. This works out to about 52 per day - far lower than the 72 per day that WHO reports. One would think that during the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year, with so many more vehicles on the road, many more drunks driving, the number would increase.

But, that would damage the precious image of Thailand. My guess for this year will be right at 350 reported road deaths and the Thai Police and the other Thai Government Officials will all pat themselves on their backs and declare it a success.

So, here is the brilliant new Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign courtesy of the Royal Thai Police:

BANGKOK, 17 December 2013 (NNT) – The Royal Thai Police has launched a campaign to discourage drunk driving in hopes of reducing road accidents.

I will bet that this wonderful solution doesn’t solve any problems.

The campaign, introduced by the Thai Traffic Police, is aimed at raising awareness among drinkers of effects alcohol has on human bodies and discouraging driving when under the influence.

So, there will be some advertisements on TV that will be totally ignored.

According to Assistant to the National Police Chief Pol Lt Gen Ruangsak Jaritake, this is the second time the campaign has been held in Thailand in an attempt to reduce road accidents and fatalities; following the first campaign which was focusing heavily on strictly enforcing law and punishment against drunk drivers. This year’s campaign will emphasize on providing information for drinkers and helping them avoiding harming themselves and others around them.

Well, that first campaign was a total flop as Thai laws are selectively enforced. The Thai Police need to confiscate and impound vehicles of drunks, issue them a ticket with a court date, and send them walking away. The only way to retrieve their vehicle is to go to court, pay the fine, take some driving classes, get counseling for drunk driving, and then get their vehicle back. If there is a second offense, the vehicle is not returned. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

The campaign will kick start on December 20. Entertainment venues and liquor stores that are interested in joining the campaign should contact the Thai Traffic Police at 1197.

So, this will be about one week ahead of the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year and I am sure that no one will call to join the campaign, the numbers will not decrease, but the Thai Police will declare it a resounding success.

What the article fails to mention is the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign slogan - Life Is So Short Let’s Be Happy - which, to me, encourages people to get drunk, drive like bats out of hell, and die sooner than later.

Ministry Of Education Has Flipped!

Thailand’s Ministry of Education has decided to entertain the latest fad in teaching - flipped classrooms.

But, it is obvious that the Ministry of Education has not thought this through or they wouldn’t be making this recommendation.

This is yet another show by the Ministry of Education pretending to care about the education of Thai students.

The Ministry of Education believes that Education reform has to start in the ‘flipped classroom’ but they are oh, so wrong. The concept of the flipped classroom, according to edutopia is “In this model of instruction, students watch recorded lectures for homework and complete their assignments, labs, and tests in class.”

Sounds good, right? The problem is that it will never work in Thailand until other changes are made. Changes like getting qualified teachers, providing broadband Internet in every school in

the country, providing computers in the classroom and outside the classroom so that everyone has equal access, providing equipment and training for the teachers to make this flipped classroom work.

A senior official at the ministry, in a recent radio interview, talked about introducing the “flipped classroom” concept for Thai students. He didn’t sound very confident about this new model of learning. But it was probably the first time that this method of “reverse teaching” was being considered as part of the country’s reform.

The Ministry of Education is not one to use logic and plan out a course of action. If any country was going to make this leap, they should start slowly in a few schools and test it to see if it works. And, see if it works for some classes and not others. But, I doubt this will happen.

Most likely, if implemented, the Ministry of Education will go whole hog and tell the entire school system to start flipping. And, it will be a disaster - just like the one tablet per child program.

An education expert has defined the concept as a “reversed teaching model that delivers instruction at home through interactive, teacher-created videos and moves ‘homework’ to the classroom. Moving lectures outside of the classroom allows teachers to spend more one-on-one time with each student. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and work through problems with the guidance of their teachers and the support of their peers - creating a collaborative learning environment.”

So, now, every Thai teacher has to produce videos. Who pays for the equipment? Will the videos then be burned to DVD or

uploaded to YouTube? How will the students watch them without a computer?

I’m all for innovation and was a teacher myself. I taught adult education at night school. This was standard lecture with some one-on-one interaction. My day job was at an alternative school for alienated children and we used the Raymond Corsini 4R method of individual, self-paced education as most of our students were one or two years behind their fellow classmates.

The Corsini system would work much better in Thailand and the cost would be minimal, bu the Ministry of Education is better at proposing methods that cost to pad his budget.

You can go to Google and search for “Flipped Classroom” and find lots of positives - mostly from companies that will benefit by selling you something to enhance the experience. There are also positive reviews from teachers and there are also negative reviews. The negatives show why this will not work in Thailand.

Again, from Edutopia -The Flipped Classroom: Pro and Con:

When I first started learning about the flipped classroom model, my immediate reaction was, “This won’t work with my students.” This continues to be an argument made by a lot of rural and urban teachers. Our students just don’t have the access required for the model to really work. I’ve had people tell me,

“They can use the public library.” To which I explain that there are usually three computers available and there is usually a 30-minute

limit per user. I’ve had people tell me,

You can burn DVDs that they can watch in their DVD players.” To which I ask how much of the day can a teacher devote to burningat least 10-15 DVDs at a time? I’ve also been told that students can use the school computer lab after school to watch the videos. To which I explain that we have only 27 computers available for the whole school, and that it would require an after school program to be put into place. (This last option, by the way, is the most realistic.)

Another tough sell for me is the fact that if everyone starts flipping their classrooms, students will end up sitting in front of a screen for hours every night as they watch the required videos. And as many teachers can tell you, not everyone learns best through a screen.

Easy to see that the Ministry of Education has not thought this through.

And, from The Nation:

Is the Thai education system ready for this reverse learning style? Most students, I am sure, would welcome the change. The flipped classroom offers a new, more exciting way to learn. The problem isn’t with the students. It’s with teachers, most of whom, I suspect, would find the reversal an uphill task. Many would probably refuse to change for fear that they might lose the students’ respect.

This sums up what is wrong about the Thai Education system. There is more worry about teachers losing respect than students

actually learning. Until the Ministry of Education gets competent teachers that sincerely care about teaching students and not about perceived respect, nothing will change.

The folks over at the Ministry of Education need to read The Flip: End of a Love Affair and Khan Academy: Why the Flipped Classroom Won’t Save Education to see why the “Flipped Classroom” is not the answer to all problems in education.

But, alas, the Ministry of Education will continue with the crazy ideas that don’t solve the problems in Thai Education.

Tourism Authority Of Thailand International Public Relations New Year Fail

According to PRWEB, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is sponsoring the Phuket Winter Wonderland Countdown 2014 at Karon Beach.

The problem is that unless someone reads the press release at PRWEB, no one, except the Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations department is going to know about it.

This is the third year that the Tourism Authority of Thailand sponsored this event on Karon Beach, but I can’t find any info online about it other than the press release.

Even when I go to the Phuket Music Festival website, all I see is info for the 2011 and 2012 festivals.

When I go to the TATnews.org website, the official news site of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, there is only info on the 2012 festival.

Following the trend of electronic music festivals around the world, the Creative Electronic Music and Dance Festival began last year by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in collaboration with Elite Entertainment and Karon Municipality. Phuket Electronic Music and Dance festival 2013 on Karon Beach in conjunction with Karon Beach New Year Countdown 2014 is another exciting event to attend to celebrate New Year 2014 with concept of Winter Wonderland.

If you do a Google search for the Tourism Authority of Thailand “Phuket Winter Wonderland Countdown 2014”, you will find one result - the PRWEB press release. Brilliant marketers at TAT.

This is an effort by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to rebuild tourists’ confidence and image of Thai tourism through music. Music is the universal language that bridges culture, linguistics and religions. This event is strongly promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in its massive online network.

Not promoted at all by TAT is more like it. I have seen nothing on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else promoting this New Year event. Maybe, because last year it was a Tourism Authority Of Thailand Karon Beach Phuket New Year’s Eve Party Fail.

The two-day festival will showcase an exciting line up of more than 20 International Domination, winner of the Best Video DJ of the World contest in Dubai 2012, also Pay and White who’s currently the top 10 world chart of Crystal Palace.

Last year it was 30 DJs and the copy/paste job by the Tourism Authority of Thailand is fucked up.

2012 PR

The 2-day festival will showcase an exciting line up of more than 30 international and Thai DJs. Top Thai DJs include J Monthon, who is also a presenter for IP DJ Hunt; DJ Domination, winner of the Best Video DJ of the World Contest in Dubai 2012; and Pay and White, who is currently in the Top 10 World Chart of Crystal Palace.

2013 PR

The two-day festival will showcase an exciting line up of more than 20 International Domination, winner of the Best Video DJ of the World contest in Dubai 2012, also Pay and White who’s currently the top 10 world chart of Crystal Palace.

Kind of cut out some vital info.

This year’s concept is winter wonderland; therefore party gore will get a chance to ride ferris wheel and get wild in foam party with pretty dancers. This event is not to be missed for sure.

You can see that the Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations staff can almost speak English.

Fashion TV, the world’s number One fashion and life style channel, it has invited more than 50 international fashion models to join the countdown on stage. Highlights of the event will be aired on Fashion TV to MORE than 500 million views around the world.

Except, if you go to the FashionTV website, there is no mention of the upcoming event.

So, there you have it. Another brilliant marketing job but the Tourism Authority of Thailand International Public Relations Department.

Accident Prevention Network New Year Campaign Fail

Thailand’s Accident Prevention Network is worried about more road fatalities this coming New Year, but is doing nothing new to prevent them.

Every year, twice per year, the Accident Prevention Network in Thailand does the same old shit to “prevent accidents” resulting in the same old results - too many road deaths.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity, but I guess the Accident Prevention Network in Thailand doesn’t realize that.

But, still, the Accident Prevention Network is worried about more accidents in the New Year period mainly because it damages the precious image of Thailand.

The Accident Prevention Network has revealed that the number of road accidents during the New Year 2013 holidays had shown an increase, with about two-thirds of victims dying at the scene and 82 per cent of accidents involved motorcycles.

Nothing new here. Remember too, that Thailand only counts road deaths if the person dies at the scene.

The network also offered a grim prediction that the upcoming holidays could see more severe road accidents because the government mechanism still lacked an effective preventive plan, while the number of cars had risen and many drivers still had bad driving habits like drunk driving.

Not that this will be reported by the Thai Government.

The network urged all provinces and local bodies who directly handle road accidents and are effective due to their familiarity with local roads and drunk residents, to set the goal of lowering the number of accidents and implement measures accordingly in this upcoming New Year period. The network also urged cargo trucks to suspend their running during the period to reduce accidents and traffic volumes.

But, they are not effective. At best, they are inept.

Under the theme titled “Pimai Sanjorn Plodpai, Ruamjai Lod Ubathet” (Together reducing accidents for safe travel i n the New Year), the Road Safety Centre with related agencies and alliances had campaigned to reduce accidents by employing stricter measures,

particularly from the midnight of December 27 until the midnight of January 2.

This must be the official dates of the Seven Dangerous Days Of The Thai New Year Campaign Kickoff the Accident Prevention Network is talking about. Oh, and just so you know, there will be NO stricter measures. It will be the same old checkpoints in the same old locations with Royal Thai Police officers accepting bribes in lieu of writing tickets.

The network, under the sponsorship of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, was also the centre’s committee member and recently handed out road safety leaflets to members of various media fields for news presentations that focused on risk-factor analysis, reports of accident- prone spots, and tips for safe journey to the holiday-makers.

There you go. The Accident Prevention Network has solved the problem by handing out leaflets.

Urging all to learn from the previous New Year, the network director Phrommin Kantiya said road accidents during the New Year 2013 holidays had increased by 2.6 per cent, from the previous period’s 3,093 cases to 3,176. About 68 per cent of victims had died at the scene.

It will be even worse this year especially if the numbers of road deaths are honestly reported.

He said 39 per cent of accidents resulted from drunk driving while 23 per cent were from speeding and the time from 4pm to 8pm saw the most accidents.

This is all old news and is reported every year by the Accident Prevention Network.

More than half (55 per cent) of the casualties were people in the working-age group and January 1, 2013 saw the most number of deaths at 78. He conjectured that many were possibly still tired from the previous day’s party, and rushed back to Bangkok to make it to work the next day hence they dozed off behind the wheel. He urged all sides to deal with accident-prone spots as many roads were still under construction or repairs while several roads suffered from poor visibility due to winter fog. He urged motorists to drive with caution and refrain from reckless driving.

The World Health Organization pegs the number of road deaths in Thailand at approximately 72 per day (2010) so the January 1 death toll is quite simply a lie. If they are using the two-thirds died at the scene, this means that there were 108 road deaths on the first of January - a number I think is really about 1/2 of the real number.

The upcoming holidays would see some 1,000 checkpoints for traffic-law violators and another 2,000 checkpoints to accommodate travellers, which used a budget of Bt1 billion in total, while the network’s road safety campaign spent Bt5 million, according to Phrommin.

Money wasted by the Accident Prevention Network since they never do anything to really get the number of road deaths down.

Pattaya Government Officials Water Safety Festival Lies

Pattaya Government Officials, at the opening of the Pattaya Water Safety Festival, told some real whoppers to the crowd contending that there were no marine accidents and no marine fatalities in 2013.

I guess these Pattaya Government Officials weren’t around in 2013 when the ferry boat sank enroute to Pattaya from Koh Larn or the speedboat crashed that killed a couple Chinese tourists or the Indian lady that was run over by a speedboat or the Korean tourists severely injured in a speedboat accident.

I know that the Tourism Authority of Thailand sugar coats bad news in an effort to salvage the precious image of Thailand, but to stand up, tell lies, and give out awards based on the falsehoods is despicable. I guess these Pattaya Government Officials really don’t care about those that died due to lack of marine safety in Pattaya.

The Controversial Pattaya Water Safety Festival begins with Pattaya Government Officials telling the crowd how perfect they are.

Officials who opened a Water Safety Festival, which runs from 25th December to 2nd January claim that it has been a good year for Marine Safety in Pattaya with no accidents.

This is like the Transport Ministry opening the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year campaign and shortly thereafter a bus crashes killing 29 and seriously injuring the other 4 passengers.

This remarkable claim was made despite Pattaya experiencing its worst marine accident in living History in November when 6 people died and over 100 were injured after a Ferry sank off the coast of Pattaya.

Actually, the number of dead is thought to be around 20 with Pattaya Government Officials allegedly doing the typical cover-up.

As Harbor Officials, Marine Police, Sawang Boriboon Sea Rescue Units and others, including Deputy Mayor Khun Ronagit, gathered at the Bali Hai Port in South Pattaya, we were told the Festival will see a crackdown on pleasure boats and how they operate, over the festive period.

Yeah, right. A couple of suckers will get ticketed for something minor, pay a small fine, and that will be the end of it. Then, the Pattaya Government Officials will pat themselves on the back and call it a success.

Reporters were told that no accidents and no deaths occurred during 2013, a claim which is clearly inaccurate. Awards were presented and flags were flown

during the opening of the festival as the families of those who lost loved-ones in the Ferry Disaster continue to grieve.

I guess these Pattaya Government Officials also forgot about the major oil spill off of Ao Phrao Beach on Koh Samet. Maybe it was because of the cover-up there and claims that the beach was clean in less than 48 hours.

It is amazing that these Pattaya Government Officials were able to pull this off with straight faces while completely insulting those who were injured or died during 2013.

Shame on the Pattaya Government Officials.

Evil Spirits Causing Thailand’s Road Death Woes

According to Government Officials in Chumphon Province, the reason that they have so many accidents and road deaths is not because of drunk driving, inept drivers, poor roads, driving illegally, or speeding. Evil Spirits are the cause.

Yes, grown men in Thai Government positions are convinced that evil spirits are the main reason that Thais die in road deaths.

See, we have complete idiots running the Thai Government at all levels if they believe that evil spirits are the cause of anything bad.

But, even when the Thai Government issues a report on the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year, besides the bullshit numbers of road deaths, they issue data like this:

Major causes of road accidents were drunk driving (46.90%), not wearing a safety helmet (24.96%), and fast driving (20.45%).

These idiots believe that NOT wearing a helmet causes accidents. Ridiculous. Getting one’s head crushed in an accident caused by drunk driving or speeding is more likely. Also notice that in this quote from last year’s final New Year tally, there was no mention that evil spirits were responsible of any of the road deaths.

But, yesterday, in the 2nd day of the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year we learn that evil spirits are now the root cause and Officials Combat Road Accidents By Monk Prayers.

(28 December) Officials in Thung Tako district of Chumphon province have unveiled the latest tool to combat the notoriously large number of road accidents during New Year season: monk incantation.

This is beyond stupid. Now the local Thais will drive even crazier believing that the evil spirits are gone and the drivers are invincible.

And, this is not the only bad juju caused by evil spirits in Thailand. Two years ago evil spirits caused the flooding in Bangkok and Governor Sukhumbhand shows he’s in charge of city:

Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra holds a Buddha image during a religious rite at City Pillar on Oct 8. The prayer ceremony was aimed at keeping floodwaters away from the capital.

Yep, another Thai Government Official chasing away evil spirits instead of addressing the problem and coming up with real solutions.

When a Thai Airways plane skidded off a runway during landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, ghosts and evil spirits were the cause.

According to Thai Airways Managing Direct, Mr. Sorajak Kasevsuvn, he feels that the accident might be due to ‘bad spirits’ on the runaway and he’s not taking any chances. Mr. Kasevsuvn has ordered a major ceremony to take place in order to appease the malevolent spirits; that many believe plague the airport.

This is when one refuses to accept blame or responsibility.

Previously, Thai Rath has reported that a ghost in “traditional costume” (which strangely resembles the outfit Thai Airways flight attendants wear) has helped evacuate the passengers from the aircraft shortly after it slid off the runway.

So, not all the spirits were evil spirits.

Back to the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year evil spirits:

District Director Wachira Pandusa led a merit making ceremony along a section of the Asian Highway Network, AH2, which runs through the province, in which a group of monks blessed holy water and sprayed the said substance on the road to chase away evil spirits which are believed to have caused frequent deaths and accidents on the road.

Right. It can’t be that the drivers were driving while intoxicated. It can’t be that they were going the wrong way. It can’t be that they don’t know how to drive. It can’t be because motorcyclists refuse to

wear motorcycle helmets. It can’t be because drivers were speeding, on drugs, or fell asleep at the wheel. The only cause was evil spirits.

According to the officials, the eviction of bad spirits will prevent future accident and help boost the morale of motorists.

So, if the accident rate climbs during the Seven Dangerous Days of the Thai New Year, will the Thai people blame the Buddhist monks?

However, Mr. Wachira also stressed that road safety depends on the commuters’ caution and willingness to follow safe driving practice.

Why? The road has been blessed by Buddhist monks and the evil spirits have been exorcised. Now, the Thai drivers can drive even crazier since they are protected.

Volunteers from ‘Stop Drink Network’ and a group of student reinforced the message by joining the ceremony to promote a campaign against drunk-driving habit during the festive season. The volunteers also organised a service stop at Khao Peeb Intersection where drivers are given wet napkins to refresh themselves.

More assistance that does nothing to prevent accidents and road deaths. Wet napkins? This must be so one has a cool face when he entertains evil spirits and crashes his motorcycle.

“It is crucial not to drink and drive, not to drive too fast, and not to drive while you are too tired”, said Mr. Wachira, “Our district had prepared the service point to facilitate the drivers when they are looking for a stopover, and we

had instructed officials to carefully monitor the roads to prevent any accidents.”

Same shit that is done every year and the number of road deaths continues to increase.

Reportedly, the authority also renamed the Asian Highway Network in the district area as “Mongkhol Road (Holy Road)”, to strengthen the luck of all commuters and passengers.

Nice how Thai Government officials can just arbitrarily rename a road to suit their Thai Buddhist beliefs.

The only evil spirits that the Thai Government Officials need to be concerned about are the ones that come in one liter bottles.