[Exploited Thai workers: Debt, deception, and the dark side of berry picking in Europe]

9 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

If it's a well know fact why do they still go?

Because some years when the Blue berries and Lingon berries are plenty in the woods in Sweden they can make a profite,

but as climate is unpredictable they will not know if it is going to be a good year or not until they arrive, so they still come!

 

The ones who makes good money here are the Thai middle men who exploit their own people and charge extortionate sums so that the poor Eesarn farmers can go abroad to work!

 

[Thailand’s tourism authority plans strategy revamp to boost visitor spending]

Why don´t they just implement the 90 days Visa free for EU citizens to Thailand, as they promised  some time ago! 

 

[Cabinet Approves Visa Extension for Russian Tourists]

16 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

On the other hand, who wouldn't want to escape from that:

 

Looks like here in Sweden right now! ????

[PM to look into extending tourist visas to 90 days]

8 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

When I go to Penang it's 90 days on arrival no fuss for a UK passport. 

It used to be 90 days at arrival for Thailand as well, when I first came back in 1987! 

Would be very nice if they changed it back, as I usually stay 3 months, it would save a lot of hassle, money and time! ????

[Cable car system proposed by Pattaya City officials to solve Pattaya traffic problems]

A Monorail loop along Second Rd and Sukhumvit Rd had made more sense than this joke!

[Indian businessman attacked by "drunk" Thai woman after trouble over lost key card fine]

I forgot to give back my room key once when I checked out of a hotel in Korat.

Being a good man I later put the key in an envelope and sent it back to the hotel via mail thinking everything was ok!

A year later I returned to the same hotel and the cleaningwoman immediately confronted me and accused me of not giving back the key,

and said she was blamed for the loss and was fined 50 baht by the hotelmanagement, and demanded me to pay her back...  which I did! ????

 

[Doesn’t the TAT want tourists here in Thailand?]

9 hours ago, ukrules said:

They could make it simple and just issue 90 day stamps for everyone

 

That is how it used to be when I came to Thailand first time back in 1987!

You got 3 months stamped in your passport, with the possibility to extend!

[Why are westerners so offended over the word farang? Get over it.]

The word "Farang" comes from the Thai words for French people "Khon Farangset",

as France was some of the first western countries to do visit and do business with Thailand back in the days.

Since Thai people couldn´t see the difference between different western nationalities, they started to use the word "Farang" for all westerners!

If a Thai doesn´t know what country a western foreigner comes from they will use the word "Farang",

but once they know you and what country you come from they will usually call you by your countryname, in my case "Khon Saweeden" Swedish.

Indians and Arabs are usually refered to as "Khaek" which means guests.

 

 

[Thaksin's daughter could become Thailand's next prime minister as Shinawatra's set for comeback]

8 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

 

"When will the majority of Thai people start to support and elect honest competent people?"

.....

They will support and elect anyone as long as they are given a free sack of rice! ????

[Khon Kaen guy's lucky day as bride pays whopping 12 million baht dowry]

This is the kind of Thai woman I have been looking for in over 30 years of traveling around Thailand

.... and still haven´t found! ????

[Thailand will not rush to condemn Russia over Ukraine, says Foreign Minister Don]

Putin, Lukashenko, Kim Yong-un, Xi Yin-ping, Min Aung Hlaing and Prayut Chan-o-cha, what a gang! 

[Thailand Nov 1 reopening to go ahead providing COVID-19 situation remains stable]

I won´t be going until the bargirls are back and GoGo bars open! ????

[Phuket domestic travel restrictions for Thais and foreigners residing in Thailand]

If the Thai authorities had only ordered the more expensive Pfizer or Moderna vaccins directly from start, instead of waiting so long for the cheaper Chinese Sinovac to save money, the population would have been largely vaccinated by now, and they probably wouldn´t have faced the rising pandemic as they had one of the worlds lowest Corona infection rates for a long time and still has.

[Thailand says to add ICU beds after reporting record COVID-19 tally]

Up until now Thailand has done a great job to avoid the spread of Corona in it´s population.

... but they did one big mistake!

They waited way too long to order vaccines, if they had started to vaccinate the population earlier,

they might have had a chance to stop the spread of Corona that we see today!

Until now only about 1 million people of a population of 70 million has been vaccinated! ????

[Thailand reports first death of patient after having COVID vaccine]

53 minutes ago, karl said:

"Two other people suffered severe hives reactions to taking the virus, he said."

Hmm; reactions to taking the virus?

Yes! No wonder that people get sick and die of Covid-19 when they inject the virus directly into people! ????

[Okay given for Bt300 foreign tourist entry fee]

"...as well as insurance for foreign tourists during their stay."

 

What kind of insurance?

If the 300 baht entrance-fee really had included a full sickness/accident/hospital insurance, I would have been more than happy to pay it,

that would have saved me a lot of money as I now pay almost 10000 baht for the travel-insurance from my country! ????

[Visa exempt for Chinese and Indian tourists proposed to boost tourism in Thailand]

Forget about the Chinese they won´t be back för a long time,

instead work on getting the Europeans and other westerners back to Thailand!

Shorten Songkran to 1 day and give visa-free entrance for a stay up to 3 months,

like it used to be 30+ years ago!????

[Thailand to recruit 10,000 foreign teachers to boost English standards of Thai kids]

Much cheaper and easier to stop dubbing all English movies to Thai, and introduce more English speaking learning programs and kids programs on TV! ????

[World Class Pattaya's "lovely new" beach missing just one thing - tourists!]

Dirty water, speedboats and jetskis everywhere makes it hazardous and dangerous to swim!

There are no freshwater showers or toilets on the beach, so no way to freshen up after a swim or suntanning session!

Most tourists that TAT lures to Pattaya these days are Chinese and Indians non of those likes to spend the day in the heat and the sun sleeping on the beach!

It´s mainly Westerners and Russians that likes the beachlife and they are much fewer these days because of the sinking dollar, rubel and other currencies,

Thailand is getting more expensive and isn´t the value it used to be so many now go to other countries for holiday!

 

[For The Birds !]

A few birds from Lumpini and Suan Rot Fai Parks in Bangkok.

Plahgat

 

 

 

[For The Birds !]

On 2018-02-04 at 4:08 AM, jack2964 said:

Wow these guys are often perched up high in the canopies. Great capture!

There were actually four of them playing in the bushes, i guess they were a family with big chicks!

I only had 200 mm max zoom so couldn't get them closer although I cropped the picture! ; )

 

Plahgat

[For The Birds !]

Black-naped Orioles

 

[For The Birds !]

Wreathed Hornbill female photographed at the campground in Khao Yai N.P. 1999 ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[For The Birds !]

On 2017-11-25 at 3:13 AM, jack2964 said:

Got this a few days ago still can't figure out what it is other than an accipiter.

Probably a young Shikra, but also very similar to Besra?

Plahgat

[For The Birds !]

Reef Heron at Jomthien Beach, Pattaya.

 

Plahgat