You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

General chat about life in the Land Of Smiles. Discuss expat life, relationship issues and all things generally Thailand and Asia related.
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Nereus
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by Nereus »

Bristolian wrote:Am I missing something?
How is the poor person in the wheelchair supposed to exit, are they supposed to hurl themselves over the poles blocking their exit?
There is a very good eye hospital in Bangkok. :rasta:
There are two places, one in and one out, just not opposite each other! :thumb:
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by PeteC »

....when you're gone from here for a few weeks and actually miss the place. :shock:
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Bristolian
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by Bristolian »

Nereus wrote:
Bristolian wrote:Am I missing something?
How is the poor person in the wheelchair supposed to exit, are they supposed to hurl themselves over the poles blocking their exit?
There is a very good eye hospital in Bangkok. :rasta:
There are two places, one in and one out, just not opposite each other! :thumb:
You are so right! I only got new Bins before Christmas and maybe I need another eyesight check.

However, it really is unfriendly to the wheelchair users and is simply an excuse for the police to ignor the issue "job done". A wheelchair bound friend came to Thailand a few years ago and it really highlighted to me the issues.

I'm off for a new eye test :D
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

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Bristolian wrote:However, it really is unfriendly to the wheelchair users and is simply an excuse for the police to ignor the issue "job done". A wheelchair bound friend came to Thailand a few years ago and it really highlighted to me the issues.
Yes, it is bloody disgusting! These people have started the following to try and push for some action:

Wheelchair Rally to File Class-Action Lawsuit Over BTS Accessibility at Court

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crim ... ssibility/

BANGKOK — Some had no legs and propelled themselves along. Some were paralyzed and pushed by companions. A few zipped along under electric power.

All shared a purpose Friday morning when, by the dozens, wheelchair-bound citizens converged on the Civil Court on Ratchada Road to file a class-action lawsuit one year after it failed satisfy a court order to make its popular commuter rail service accessible.

“It’s not about winning or losing; we’re aiming for social impact,” said Theerayuth Sukonthavit, the leader of disabled activist rights group Transportation for All. “Last time everyone thought we’d won, but in reality, we still cannot use the BTS.”

Ninety-eight people signed onto the class action submitted Friday to the court clerk.

The lawsuit seeks 1,000 baht for each plaintiff for each day that has passed since the Jan. 21, 2016, court-ordered deadline for the work to be completed.

It comes more than two years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling that all stations along the BTS Skytrain’s two lines must be wheelchair-accessible.

The court gave the city one year to complete the work, but City Hall and its contractor dithered, making little progress despite regular apologies and assurances it would soon be done.

Representatives from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, or BMA, and Seri Construction have said they faced difficulties with land-rights issues and scheduling workers.

Some work has been completed at the stations, but only in fits and starts, without one of the promised lifts going into operation.
Theerayuth disputed those reasons, saying Seri Construction had its budget on the elevators and now could not afford to finish the installation. 

Seri’s project manager contradicted that Friday, saying the money spent to acquire and store the elevators was not a significant cost to slow the project.

Itthiphol Boonrak insisted the obstacles are the limited working hours and difficulty integrating with the stations’ existing electrical systems.

The BMA official responsible for the project, Prapas Luangsirinapha, said Wednesday that disabled commuters can ask security guards at the stations to help carry them up to the platform. He also said he did not believe they had suffered any damages by the lack of accessibility.

The head of the disabled rights group said it is dangerous to involve the contracted security guards because they are not trained to care for wheelchair users.

Theerayuth said the problem is that the law can be a paper tiger.

“The problem about the law in our country is that there is no punishment,” he said. “The most the Administrative Court can do is only send an inquiry to City Hall, which we think is not enough.”

The class-action lawsuit is the second filed since they became possible in 2015. Only one has reached the courts before, a 500 million baht suit brought in May against an Australian gold mining company by residents in central Thailand.

Joining the kilometer-long rally was Jerome Thibaut, a 33-year old Frenchman who lives in Hua Hin.
He said it was nearly impossible for wheelchair users in Thailand to live without their own car.

“If you have to use BTS or MRT, you have to check which station you can use,” he said. “This is why we try to change it, because the wheelchair people should be able to go anywhere like common people who can walk.”
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by Bristolian »

I hope that these guys can make a difference/change. As an able bodied person I rarely think of the disabled but....
After a couple of weeks looking after my wheelchair bound BIL my sights were totally changed.

There are few access points to the Mass transport system in BKK, getting to the sky train or on a bus is near impossible. Lowered pavement access is inevitably blocked by motorbikes or traders. Try if you will, to gain access to a restaurant, toilet and you will be blocked.

You might be lucky to find a small area where you can push a wheelchair without having to resort to using the road; and all the issues that this entails.

Good luck to these guys who are fighting for basic access, they deserve our help.
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by HuaHin61 »

You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

you are sleeping and do not open an eye when you hear chicken "kickerikiiii"
take it easy
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by hhfarang »

You were in Thailand too long when you move back to your home country and life is so much better that you wonder why the hell you ever moved to Thailand in the first place.
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Re: You've been in Thailand too long if/when......

Post by StevePIraq »

Bristolian wrote:I hope that these guys can make a difference/change. As an able bodied person I rarely think of the disabled but....
After a couple of weeks looking after my wheelchair bound BIL my sights were totally changed.

There are few access points to the Mass transport system in BKK, getting to the sky train or on a bus is near impossible. Lowered pavement access is inevitably blocked by motorbikes or traders. Try if you will, to gain access to a restaurant, toilet and you will be blocked.

You might be lucky to find a small area where you can push a wheelchair without having to resort to using the road; and all the issues that this entails.

Good luck to these guys who are fighting for basic access, they deserve our help.
All BKK sky train stations are now getting elevators for disabled people only. They were supposed to be complete by the end of Jan but are delayed. All MRT have elevators. Still this is only small progress for disabled.

http://www.accessiblethailand.com/city/ ... -skytrain/

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/transpo ... -elevators
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