It has become so bad on You Tube with TOT, that with the supposedly 1Mbps upload speed, the most you can achieve to YouTube is less than 5Kbps, which means uploading a 60Mb viedo takes over 12 hours to upload. The download from YouTube is also ‘Traffic Shaped’ so that videos jerk, and stop/start because they cannot get the data fast enough.

TOT, 3BB and True are all ‘traffic shaping’, some more than others. From personal experience and investigations TOT has increased their ‘throttling’ considerably over the past few months.

There are three main issues here:

1. Do these ISP’s not realise that they are actually NOT reducing users use of the Internet, NOR are they reducing the load on their servers or making more bandwidth available to other users. A user that wants to upload a video of other things to other servers, is going to keep trying until they do, with the throttling in place this means that they get far more failures, the dropped packetes have to be re-transmitted until they get through and what would be over and done with in a few minutes is actually tieing up even more bandworth for many hours. If there was no throttling the files would be uploaded and the bandwidth available to other users much quicker.

2. The ISP’s advertise 16Mbps with 1Mbps upload, for around 1,400 Baht per month, and 10Mbps with 1Mbps upload for 590 Baht per month.  It doesn’t matter which of the above you have you will NOT get what you pay for, and even more importantly you will only get around 5Kbps upload whether you have the 590 Baht or 1,400 baht service, The downloads being throttled too, means that you will get the same download speed for 590 bahts as you do for 1,400 bahts, So go for the cheapest option and you will have the maximum speed they will let you have. If you are accessing a site that is hosted in Thailand you may get better results as access to some of them is not throttled by the ISP’s.

3. The advertised speeds by the ISP’s are not real, they are fabricated by the ISP’s. They have all set up there own Speed Test Sites, and the servers they are hosted on have no throttling applied to them, so if you carry out a speedtest using one of them, you will appear to be getting the speeds they advertise. Very low practices indeed! Also some ISP’s have removed the throttling to some international speed test sites particulary those in LA, so that it appears they are giving faster speeds Internationally too!

This is not just happening in Thailand but in other Countries too, although possibly not to the same extent. Some ISP’s are playing the game and giving you what you pay for, for example Plusnet in the UK does no apparent throttling at all, you get what ever is available, NTL/Virgin however, are throttling your connection considerably, even though they ‘Offer’ the fastest speeds.

It is time that these ISP’s stopped throttling, and give the users what they pay for!

It is time for the laws to be changed to force IP’s (who are making billions out of us users) to stop ‘Traffic Shaping’ and make the Internet what it was designed to be FREE to everyone, and by FREE I don’t just mean FREE from payment to use it, but FREE of restrictions, such as throttling.

Whilst I realise it will never be totally FREE, as you wil always have to pay an ISP for the ‘door’ to access the FREE Internet, you should, at least get the speeds you are paying for without restrictions.

An 80-baht (GBP 1.60) commemorative banknote will be issued to celebrate the queen’s 80th birthday anniversary on 12 August 2555 (2012). Likewise, a 100-baht (GBP2.00) commemorative banknote will be issued to celebrate His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 5th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on 28 July 2555 (2012).

Thailand 80 Baht Note

Thailand 80 Baht Note

Two million commemorative 80-baht notes will be available as of 9 August encased with a hard-paper cover at 120 baht, and profits will be donated to charity. The blue note is unqiue in that it measures only 80 millimeters wide, representing 80 years of age. The front features a portrait of the king and queen. The watermark is of the queen with an electrotype crowned monogram. The Motion windowed thread on the back features the number 80 and the rose image.

100 Baht Note

100 Baht Note

Ten million commemorative 100-baht notes will be issued into circulation on 27 July 2012. The front of the note is the same as the current circulating 100-baht note, but the back has a portrait of the prince as well as a scene of His Royal Highness being conferred the title of Crown Prince.

He was officially crowned as Rama IX, the 9th king of the Chakri dynasty, on 5th May 1950, four years after his accession to the throne.

HM the King, who has been ruling the nation for 66 years, is currently the world’s longest-reigning monarch. Born in 1927 the King is now 85 years old.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

Songkran festival (Photo credit: -AX- )

Songkran in Laplae, Uttaradit, Thailand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Thai New Solar Year starts today 13th April. The temperatures are rising, and today it’s time for the Songkran Festival of Water to start.

Thailand‘s most celebrated festival is the Songkran Festival. It starts April 13 and lasts between 3 and 10 days, depending on where you are in Thailand. The word Songkran is from the Sanskrit meaning the beginning of a new Solar Year, but nowadays Thailand celebrates the New Year on 31 December.

The Thai people celebrate this festival with water. Everyone gets soaking wet and since it is the hottest season of the year, the custom is quite refreshing. Songkran is a Public Spring Cleaning Day, supported by the religious belief that anything old and useless must be thrown away or it will bring bad luck to the owner.

During the afternoon of the 13th, Buddha images are bathed as part of the ceremony. Young people pour scented water into the hands of elders and parents as a mark of respect while seeking the blessing of the older people. In ancient days, old people were actually given a bath and clothed in new apparel presented by the young folks as a token of respect for the New Year.

Until recently Thailand was almost entirely an agricultural society and this has been a perfect time to take break from the business of earning a living. The rice harvest is in, and replanting has to await the coming of the rains.

It is an old belief that the Nagas or mythical serpents brought on rain by spouting water from the seas.

The Naga

The more they spouted, the more rain there would be. So, one might believe that the Songkran customs of throwing water is actually a rain-making idea, but it seems that the Thais don’t really bother about why they celebrate Songkran – they just do it for having a great time!

If you are on a motorbike today you WILL arrive home soaking wet, as hundreds of people will be on the sides of the road with large tanks of water, throwing it at people on motorbikes, cars and each other. The Hua Sai Fire Engine is going up and down the roads topping up people’s tanks.

The local temples have events today and are all very busy.  Hua Sai, a usually relatively quiet town, has seen a large influx of people arriving from Bangkok and other large towns by car and coach, as people return to their home town for the Songkran Festival, a national holiday.

Songkran Water Fun

Related articles

• Songkran 2012!! (claudiaojeda87.wordpress.com)
• Thailand Rings In The New Year With A Massive Water Fight (gadling.com)
• Thai tour operators urge steps to ease tourists’ fears after Saturday’s blasts1972 (india.holidayhometimes.com)
• Songkran is coming: Where will you get wet? (chhunc.wordpress.com)

Grp Cpt Somsak said he was confident that there will be no tsunami in the six provinces on the western coast of Thaland.

The six provinces include Phuket, Krabi, Phangnga Satun, Trang and Songkhla.

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• 8.6 Quake Triggers Tsunami, But Little Damage (abcnews.go.com)
• NDMA rules out tsunami threat after 8.7 quake strikes off Indonesia (thegtapatriot.wordpress.com)
• Thailand: Tsunami Warning. (alfredmeier.me)
• Breaking News: Tsunami in Aceh 2012? (theamotimes.com)
• Indonesia earthquake sparks tsunami panic – The Independent (independent.co.uk)
• 8.6 quake off Indonesia, Indian Ocean tsunami warning issued (laaska.wordpress.com)
• Update: Tsunami Warning After Massive EarthQuake Hits Indonesia (disaster-report.blogspot.com)
• ABC News: 8.7 quake off Aceh triggers #tsunami alert (tonyserve.wordpress.com)

Here is an update by TAN (Video will be available at around 20:40 Thai Time (13:40GMT) when upload finished):

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• Sumatra Earthquake 8.7 threatens Thailand Coast (steveriches.wordpress.com)
• Update: Tsunami Warning After Massive EarthQuake Hits Indonesia (disaster-report.blogspot.com)
• Indonesia Issues Tsunami Warning After 8.7 Magnitude Quake Off West Coast (techfleece.com)
• M 8.7 quake hits off Sumatra (laaska.wordpress.com)
• Tourism: Thailand’s navy continues to fight pirates vandalizing Tsunami warning buoys (thaiintelligentnews.wordpress.com)
• Earthquake of magnitude 8.7 strikes off Sumatra, Indonesia (edition.cnn.com)
• Earthquake felt in Chennai, Base Sumatra (krzna.wordpress.com)
• Asean countries discuss sub-regional cooperation in tourism (southeastasia.holidayhometimes.com)
• Massive Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesian Coast; Tsunami Watch Issued [UPDATED] (techie-buzz.com)
• Indian Ocean under tsunami watch (devex.com)

According to initial reports, the quake tremors were felt in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India too.

A tsunami alert for the Indian Ocean was immediately put in place following the earthquake which occurred at a depth of 33km. The quake epicenter is reported to be at about 495Km to the south west of Banda Aceh in Sumatra. Tsunami alert are targeted for the following countries:
Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Maldives, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Pakistan, Somalia, Oman, Madagascar, Iran, UAE, Yemen, Comoros, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, South Africa, and Singapore

Indonesia and particularly the region around Sumatra is known to be a region prone to seismic activities all year long.

Tsunami waves are expected along the coast of Mauritius between 18:00 and 19:00 today.

Sky News reports that evacuation is going on in Sumatra.

Sumatra Eathquake

Sumatra from Sky News

Related articles

• Indian Ocean tsunami watch issued for Aceh quake (dawn.com)
• Indonesia issues tsunami warning after 8.9-magnitude earthquake – The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)
• Tsunami watch issued for Indian Ocean after Indonesia earthquake – Telegraph (johnnyjohnsen.com)
• M8.9 Banda Aceh (lithics.wordpress.com)

In the next episode we look at what could be happening. Have you noticed that your compass now shows North over 6 degrees away from where it was a few years back?

Is the end of the world imminent? Is the Mayan calendar right at the world will end at 11:11 on the 21/12/12? Watch the video series as we investigate.

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• NASA Video Crushes 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Claims (space.com)

Maya Calendar (Photo credit: Xiaozhuli)

Is 2012 the end of the world, this is the first part in a multi-part series that looks a little closer at the prophesies.

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• ‘No 2012 end of world’ for Maya (bbc.co.uk)
• ‘End of the World’ Is Near, So Pack Your Bags (foxnews.com)
• Mayan Calendar Predicts Doomsday in 2012. or Not (socyberty.com)
• End of World in 2012!? (leggotunglei808.wordpress.com)
• End of year 2011, Will it really be our last one? (daljitsingh.co.uk)
• Mayan Calendar Predicts Doomsday in 2012. or Not (maboulette.wordpress.com)

It continues to rain again today, very heavy at times. During the rain last evening we were without electricity for several hours. When it did return it kept going off again many times during the night as the rains continued throughout the night.

More rain and storms are expected over the next few days and more flooding in the Nakhon Si Thammarat province is likely.

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• Coast Road Deluged by Storms in Nakhon Si Thammarat District (steveriches.wordpress.com)
• Thailand Floods October 2011 (steveriches.wordpress.com)