News Forum - MEA says electrical wires seen in Crowe tweet are not theirs

[Thaiger]

While Russell Crowe’s tweets while filming his new movie in Thailand caused a stir on Thai social media, winning praise from PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and Phuket Sandbox authorities, one group was not nearly as enthused about his posts. The Metropolitan Electric Authority in Bangkok released a statement defending itself after Crowe posted a photo captioned “Bangkok Dreaming” that depicted Thailand’s infamous jumble of sparking electrical wiring. The post had garnered tons of responses and retweets with the hashtag “Welcome To Bangkok” trending, though many intended the greeting to be backhanded. The picture was used to simultaneously welcome the actor while […]

The story MEA says electrical wires seen in Crowe tweet are not theirs as seen on Thaiger News.

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[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

Remind me outrage the "Thai variant" of Covid19 caused among Thais.

[ThailandBob]

Those wires just mysteriously installed themselves. They go nowhere and do nothing. And nobody's responsible. Seems to be a common theme for common areas in LOS.

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

1 minute ago, ThailandBob said:

Those wires just mysteriously installed themselves. They go nowhere and do nothing. And nobody's responsible. Seems to be a common theme for common areas in LOS.

Like the pipes with waste water,  stray dogs etc etc. It wasn't me! It's not my fault!  A mentality stalling any kind of  progress here.

[mickkotlarski]

The wires are not electrical but mainly telecommunication and satellite TV cables.

Still though I can't blame the locals for being unimpressed by these eyesores.

Lets face it, this cluster of black egg noodles is uglier than home made soap.

Russell's tweet should read over head nightmare not Bangkok Dreaming.

[HolyCowCm]

Wasn't me! 

 

[JamesE]

Definitely not Thai grade wiring. They're stretched tight, no loops, none are wire-tied to its neighbor, they're all of uniform gauge, they're all up where you can't touch them. Something's definitely wrong. Probably a set piece strung up to resemble Thai wiring but placed to the production company's liability insurance standards.

If they were going for realism it would have looked like this:

 

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

23 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Wasn't me! 

I didn't do it! I wasn't there!

[Paco]

MEA dreaming...

[Bluesofa]

I bet it doesn't have the same impact as when Bill Gates posted similar photos five years ago:
https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/bill-gates-gets-wires-crossed-picture-thailands-drooping-street-cables/ 

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

20 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

I bet it doesn't have the same impact as when Bill Gates posted similar photos five years ago:
https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/bill-gates-gets-wires-crossed-picture-thailands-drooping-street-cables/ 

Deleted: bad joke

Edited October 17, 2021 by DoUKnowWhoIAm

[Jason]

The wires were one of the first things that I noticed when I first visited Thailand. Why on earth do they have so many?? And why are they droopy to almost ground level?? And why are amatuer electricians up on ladders, illegally tapping into the lines to provide electricity for the home/business :D

[Stardust]

2 hours ago, JamesE said:

Definitely not Thai grade wiring. They're stretched tight, no loops, none are wire-tied to its neighbor, they're all of uniform gauge, they're all up where you can't touch them. Something's definitely wrong. Probably a set piece strung up to resemble Thai wiring but placed to the production company's liability insurance standards.

If they were going for realism it would have looked like this:

In many streets the poles are falling because of the tons of cables. And if they have to fix cables they just wiring new cables becsuse they doesn't know which cable is wich cable and leaving the old ones til the poles broke or fall. It is really a joke if they talk about safety standards or they take it seriously. Even in the tourist areas they take it not seriously just drive along the beach road in jomtien beach and in Pattaya .

[Stardust]

3 hours ago, JamesE said:

Definitely not Thai grade wiring. They're stretched tight, no loops, none are wire-tied to its neighbor, they're all of uniform gauge, they're all up where you can't touch them. Something's definitely wrong. Probably a set piece strung up to resemble Thai wiring but placed to the production company's liability insurance standards.

If they were going for realism it would have looked like this:

In many streets the poles are falling because of the tons of cables. And if they have to fix cables they just wiring new cables becsuse they doesn't know which cable is wich cable and leaving the old ones til the poles broke or fall. It is really a joke if they talk about safety standards or they take it seriously. Even in the tourist areas they take it not seriously just drive along the beach road in jomtien beach and in Pattaya .

[Craig]

I’m not sure what’s worse- the electrical wire line dance going on or the crusty farangs living here who can barely dance. 

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, Stardust said:

In many streets the poles are falling because of the tons of cables. And if they have to fix cables they just wiring new cables becsuse they doesn't know which cable is wich cable and leaving the old ones til the poles broke or fall. It is really a joke if they talk about safety standards or they take it seriously. Even in the tourist areas they take it not seriously just drive along the beach road in jomtien beach and in Pattaya .

That’s a major part of the problem, adding news cables without removing old faulty ones or fixing joints. Much of the telecoms infrastructure (that’s what a majority of these cables are) even in developed countries can be a nightmare. If you were to look in the underground ducts or street cabinets in many parts of the U.K. you would see a total mess. Many years ago I worked for a Telco in the US and they had a simple rule for people wishing to install a new cable. Find one of your existing unused or redundant cables and remove or re-use that before you can add another. Its like most things that are wrong in Thailand, it’s done by everyday Thais not giving a damn then blaming it on authorities and government. 

[Bob20]

41 minutes ago, Soidog said:

That’s a major part of the problem, adding news cables without removing old faulty ones or fixing joints. Much of the telecoms infrastructure (that’s what a majority of these cables are) even in developed countries can be a nightmare. If you were to look in the underground ducts or street cabinets in many parts of the U.K. you would see a total mess. Many years ago I worked for a Telco in the US and they had a simple rule for people wishing to install a new cable. Find one of your existing unused or redundant cables and remove or re-use that before you can add another. Its like most things that are wrong in Thailand, it’s done by everyday Thais not giving a damn then blaming it on authorities and government. 

Here in CM they announced two years ago that Huay Kaew would be "the" street of the modern new CM with underground cabling. Yet all the new buildings (and there are many) still install everything via the street poles...  

But as you mention the UK, what makes me laugh there is that they will beautifully resurface a road and finsih it up to the last detail. Then two days later the men with white construction hats dig it up for an additional cable and repair it as ugly and bumpy as possible, as there's no coordination between departments.

[Bluesofa]

9 minutes ago, Bob20 said:

Here in CM they announced two years ago that Huay Kaew would be "the" street of the modern new CM with underground cabling. Yet all the new buildings (and there are many) still install everything via the street poles...  

But as you mention the UK, what makes me laugh there is that they will beautifully resurface a road and finsih it up to the last detail. Then two days later the men with white construction hats dig it up for an additional cable and repair it as ugly and bumpy as possible, as there's no coordination between departments.

There was something that was a good idea.
Decades ago when I worked for British Telecom, they had a free-phone number other utility groups could call if they were planning to dig in the road.
BT would tell them if the had any underground plant in that immediate area, in order to avoid hitting it.

[Soidog]

1 minute ago, Bluesofa said:

There was something that was a good idea.
Decades ago when I worked for British Telecom, they had a free-phone number other utility groups could call if they were planning to dig in the road.
BT would tell them if the had any underground plant in that immediate area, in order to avoid hitting it.

Yes that’s still the case. All telcos and utility company’s can and should register any work on their plant as part of the new roads & street works act 1991 in the U.K. There is a website called LanesearchbeforeUdig https://lsbud.co.uk which is part of the work any good planing office should use and make records available for other users. If you want something to knock you asleep at night, I’d recommend the following reading https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/43578/street-works-code-of-practice.pdf   

The biggest issue in Thailand right now is too many broadband providers and other telcos who just string in new cable. The local authorities should stop it but of course they won’t. I’m sure the laws are already in place but a few thousand baht gets you around it. All those wires you see are all due to corruption. Wouldn’t get away with it in developed countries as most of us know. 

[Brock]

Too bad people don't do a little research before they make rude comments. All he had to do is ask a local about what the wires were for and they would have told him they were for cable tv. You know, so they could watch one of his movies. Or not.

 

LOL 

[Soidog]

3 hours ago, Bob20 said:

Here in CM they announced two years ago that Huay Kaew would be "the" street of the modern new CM with underground cabling. Yet all the new buildings (and there are many) still install everything via the street poles...  

But as you mention the UK, what makes me laugh there is that they will beautifully resurface a road and finsih it up to the last detail. Then two days later the men with white construction hats dig it up for an additional cable and repair it as ugly and bumpy as possible, as there's no coordination between departments.

Part of the problem in the U.K. is that utilities pay what’s called “Lane rental” to local authorities to dig up the roads. Although they claim to try and coordinate works, the incentive is to have the telco and other utilities dig up the roads as often as possible! Things can get very expensive if the utility fails to compete works in time. 

[Bob20]

6 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Part of the problem in the U.K. is that utilities pay what’s called “Lane rental” to local authorities to dig up the roads. Although they claim to try and coordinate works, the incentive is to have the telco and other utilities dig up the roads as often as possible! Things can get very expensive if the utility fails to compete works in time. 

It makes sense to coordinate it, unless it's beyond a reasonable planning period. I also never understand that they as standard don't include some pipes under the foundations at a certain distance from each other for later use.

I just found it funny that they would inevitably dig up a road a week after it was all nicely finished

[gummy]

1 minute ago, Bob20 said:

It makes sense to coordinate it, unless it's beyond a reasonable planning period. I also never understand that they as standard don't include some pipes under the foundations at a certain distance from each other for later use.

I just found it funny that they would inevitably dig up a road a week after it was all nicely finished

Well of course our Thai friends realised that is well when they start putting cables under the road, especially in Pattaya. They are for more far sight then the British so instead of one gang one week digging up the road and then another gang another week the Thais with their always evident foresight just leave the trenches they dug uncovered and never back filled. This gives the opportunity for secondary works later without requiring the road dug up again. Not stupid these Thais. Well apart from the motorcyclists who ride into the uncovered trenches of course, or the pedestrians that almost drown when the road is flooded and don't realise the water in the trench is 2 mtrs  deep.

[Bob20]

4 minutes ago, gummy said:

Well of course our Thai friends realised that is well when they start putting cables under the road, especially in Pattaya. They are for more far sight then the British so instead of one gang one week digging up the road and then another gang another week the Thais with their always evident foresight just leave the trenches they dug uncovered and never back filled. This gives the opportunity for secondary works later without requiring the road dug up again. Not stupid these Thais. Well apart from the motorcyclists who ride into the uncovered trenches of course, or the pedestrians that almost drown when the road is flooded and don't realise the water in the trench is 2 mtrs  deep.

Yes, similar as to how they leave the drain-covers at the old level when they raise the road surface 10cm great for your suspension!

But seriously, the foundations are usually concrete. Why not poor the concrete around a pipe or put one underneath the slab at 50m distance from each other and use them as and when? Not just here, but anywhere.

[gummy]

Just now, Bob20 said:

Yes, similar as to how they leave the drain-covers at the old level when they raise the road surface 10cm great for your suspension!

But seriously, the foundations are usually concrete. Why not poor the concrete around a pipe or put one underneath the slab at 50m distance from each other and use them as and when? Not just here, but anywhere.

Actually for all my joking they are doing similar to that in a few places in Udon, and unlike pattaya they are backfilling after completing a section. They are putting in what look like accessible manhours at regular intervals too so later on cable pulling can be done with out digging anything up again.