[Koh Larn: Mob of drugged southerners attack jet ski operator after "no photos" argument]

 

14 hours ago, falang07 said:

Proper tough boys, 20 on 1, yeah, cowards as ususal ????

Now, let's be fair here. The jetski operator had 3 others on his side, so it was a proper 5 to 1 ratio as is custom in Thailand -- a fair fight.......by Thai standards. ????

 

[Phuket facing worst tourism crisis in three decades - half of hotel rooms empty in 2020]

6 hours ago, xylophone said:

It might sound good in theory, however the Thais and for that matter, the Burmese, who work in small to medium sized businesses are paid a pittance and are barely able to survive.

 

Go up one level and the Thais who rent the shops and businesses that employ these people and sell whatever they sell, are also not much better off, because they are being screwed from both sides, the fact that the landlords put the rents up when they feel like it, and the fact that the tourists are not spending anywhere near what they used to.

 

It's the landlords and property owners who perhaps have the money stashed away, not the people you see facing the everyday public and tourists. And those are the people for whom I feel sorry, because they are "between a rock and a hard place" to quote an old Antipodean saying.

Oh, I was being sarcastic about having money stashed away. Saving for the future is hardly a Thai trait from what I've seen and known. And as for reading anything into my post asserting that the peons would have cash stashed away from fleecing the public is mysterious to me as they'd very obviously not be in position to do so.

 

But a post reminding us it will truly be the peon migrant workers who will likely suffer the most isn't a bad thing, so even if the sarcasm was missed and and some parts misinterpreted, your inadvertent reminder to perhaps drop the sarcasm and feel some compassion for the real victims of any economic strife Phuket may suffer isn't a bad thing at all.  

[Why can't I find 27.5 mountain bikes at any shops?]

Gee, I saw the topic heading and wondered two things: 1) why does anyone need that many mountain bikes, and 2)How does one specifically buy 1/2 a mountain bike?  ???? 

 

[Phuket facing worst tourism crisis in three decades - half of hotel rooms empty in 2020]

So, is it ONLY hoteliers that are suffering? Do the restaurants and entertainment venues have good cash flow? Do the low hotel occupancy rates mean tourist numbers are low as well, or are non-traditional accommodation like AirB&B creating too much competition for hotels?

 

If there are just as many tourists spending just as much money but not staying in hotels, will the gov't be concerned? I guess the only thing they could do in that case to satisfy the hotel industry would be to disallow AirB&B, but couldn't that blow up in their faces with people deciding they'd rather go to places where rules effecting their holiday spending and choices aren't being  dictated and limited? 

 

Thailand may be putting itself between a serious rock and hard place. 

[Phuket facing worst tourism crisis in three decades - half of hotel rooms empty in 2020]

Phuket business people should be just fine. They've been fleecing the public for decades and must surely have oodles of cash stashed away for these inevitable rainy days when they've finally priced themselves beyond what's competitive. They can just enjoy the down time and treat it as that nice long vacation they deserve for all their hard work over many years, digging as deep into tourist's pockets as they can. That's got to be hard work, so let them slack off for a few years to catch up on sleep and soap operas.  It will be very sanook for them!!!  ????

 

But of course, that could all be foiled next week when TAT announces that tourism numbers are way up over previous years. 

 

 

 

["Drive slowly if drunk" - New Year Thai road sign stuns the Japanese]

22 minutes ago, Dexlowe said:

With that kind of logic, you belong in Thailand. 

I knew any that any defense of posting signs that address the reality of people drink driving and a reminder to take some extra caution would quickly get criticized by people who maintain a traditional approach to the situation of doing nothing more than what has accomplished nothing.

 

You have shot down my post while offering nothing of value to the thread, and as that's probably the laziest and most useless thing to do,  I will graciously offer yo this opportunity to redeem yourself by showing your intelligence and stating what is so wrong with my opinion.      

 

[My first thai Christmas]

I loved being in Thailand during Xmas and avoiding all the hype and commercialization going on back home. I'd send a few cards out then make some phone calls, and that was it. There was no sense in trying to exchange gifts with family or friends back home as the odds they would reach their destination was very poor. (The first 2 times I tried getting parcels sent to Thailand they disappeared and never made it.) 

 

I don't agree with eating sushi as a proper Xmas meal in Thailand, though. ???? When a colleague wasn't hosting a proper Xmas dinner, which was fairly common, I always made a point of having Isaan bar-b-que, which is B-B_Q'd chicken with somtam and sticky rice. The chicken was the obvious replacement for turkey, the sticky rice served as my stuffing, and the green papaya salad as the veggies.  Worked for me. ????

 

[Sending item with battery outside thailand?]

I guess removing the power-supply battery may not solve the problem as they could still reject it due to the CMOS battery on the motherboard, but that would be way over-the-top, IMO.

 

If sending it without the main battery is an option, though, I replaced my Lenovo T430 battery recently with an aftermarket one for around $45 CAD delivered, so if the laptop is a decent or high-end one, that approach may be feasible.  

 

[Buriram: Savage dog attack leaves three year old girl dead]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Couldn't agree more, wealthy charities here driving around all day feeding the soi dogs, in fact many are not soi dogs, they hang around the road side all day, making driving a hazard, while they wait for their next feed, it has only increased their population. 

Ban Amphur Beach was basically my backyard and regular walking area. Packs of stray dog were always present in varying numbers, and it wasn't terribly unusual to be able count as many as 30 of them while walking the length of the beach. 

 

There were often times when when the same group of 3 or 4 people would repeatedly come on their bicycles to bring the dogs food (brown rice with some other stuff mixed in) and water, and they even put flea collars on many of them once or twice. This feeding would seem to happen for some time when the numbers were getting high, and then suddenly there were almost no dogs on the beach the next day.

 

Then the numbers would grow as new packs claimed their zones of the beach, and the cycle would repeat itself. I always wondered what that feeding situation was about. I wondered if it was good-will or people gaining the trust of the dogs over time then drugging them for relocation to a northern market.   

 

 

 

[Buriram: Savage dog attack leaves three year old girl dead]

What a horrible thing to happen! I feel so bad for that family and shutter to think what that poor child went through. She should be blessed in her next incarnation. 

 

One of the saddest things about this is that although they'll likely capture this dog and put it down, no real action or plans will be made to prevent the next young child suffering the same type of viciously horrible death.

 

 

[Customers in Pattaya’s famous bars and nightclubs down a whopping 40%]

It not just this Thai gov't that has wanted the removal of the sex industry from Thailand and the unsavory reputation in brings with it, but Prayut has been the most vocal about his puritanical stance on how (Thai) society should conduct itself. Whether or not he has actually done anything to accomplish this rater sudden and dramatic downturn in an industry that employs many thousands directly and indirectly supports a large portion of Isaan through daughters working in the "hospitality" industry, doesn't really matter because this gov't has certainly done nothing to promote it.

 

It seems gov't has been convinced that the only way to get those wealthy "quality" tourists and families coming was to completely change the tone and perception of Thailand by dissuading backpackers, party animals and sex tourists from coming to make the "new" Thailand suitable for their new breed of more desirable clients.

 

So now through whatever efforts and forces, their wish has come true, and the depression in the hospitality industry won't really effect the rich who want a "cleaner" Thailand. It will only create a wider gap between the haves and the have-nots, and only the have-nots care, so Prayut and his friends are likely quite pleased by Pattaya's economic suffering.

 

Pattaya offered something the world wanted -- even for many rich people and families. They were coming and enjoying that little titillation of rubbing shoulders with a risque situation. Unfortunately for many Pattaya businesses, through a variety of forces and situations including their own greed, the good times may be gone forever.  

[Why you want to come live in Thailand?]

It was for employment and adventure in my case. I figured a break from shoveling snow in the winter wouldn't be a bad perk either for a while. ????  

 

I had many good years there, felt proud of the contributions I made to the country through my employment and volunteer work and have fond memories of Thailand, but I have no desire to live there again. Like many others, I will be moving to one of Thailand's neighbors instead but possibly dropping in occasionally to catch up with friends.

[Thai Tourism: "Half of foreigners" don't pay their hospital bills; director points finger at three nationalities]

6 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

I had a chat with a Thai doctor from Sapphasit/Ubon R, but he said something totally different.

 

  The majority were from neighboring countries like Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. 

This is far more likely the truth. There are tens of thousands of these undocumented and semi-legal laborers in Thailand doing construction jobs and that sort of hard and more dangerous work. They get injured but can leave the hospital with a bill because they work for peanuts and don't have the cash to pay it all at once. Thailand needs the very cheap and vulnerable labor they get from their neighbors, so not a lot of pressure is put on them or restrictions made about paying up. There's no sense to getting tough about it because that would only stop the flow of cheap workers across the border, and that would have a devastating effect on Thailand. It's a lot easier to point the finger at tourists who have the money to make up for the real culprits they can't touch. 

[Bigger cause of expats leaving...]

The biggest reason I might have for leaving TVF is the constant opening of new threads dealing with the topics of mandatory insurance and the 800K baht bank requirement. 

[Who is looking forward to Google Stadia?]

Not me!

 

I guess it will be okay for people with unlimited usage high-speed accounts as it takes about 25 Mbps to get full 1080p resolution at 60 FPS. BTW, my research shows that the average US speed is currently about 18 Mbps, so I suppose few people will get to enjoy the full experience and most will have to step down to a 720p situation. I've also heard something about problems with latency. 

 

Can you imagine situations where a couple of kids are playing these high-resource sucking online game in a household, and everybody else is waiting 10 minutes for email to load!? It should be interesting. Even with only one gamer going at it, everything else would crawl in the average home. 

 

 

[Relocating to Vietnam ?]

Would I be correct in assuming that bum guns are just as popular in Vietnam as they are in Thailand? I'd be very disappointed to hear otherwise. That could be the deciding factor whether or not to relocated there. ???? 

[Jomtien Immigration Health Insurance Now Required for O-A Extensions]

Let's cut through all the c r a p and discussion to accept that there really isn't any crisis in Thailand that revolves around retired foreigners skipping out on hospital bills. IMO, this policy is nothing more than a product of xenophobia and a clear dislike of farang remaining in Thailand on a long-term basis by those who wield power. I suspect that blatantly unfriendly policy making will increase over the years to include more and more foreigners who want to remain or wish to move to Thailand to live there on long-term visas.  

 

 

[Saudi Arabia opens to tourists with investment appeal and no abaya rule]

They should have saved this announcement for April 1. 

 

Tourism and Saudi Arabia !!!!!     

[Thai Bum Guns In Oz - Plumbing Compatability?]

I've been back in Canada helping with family matters and have been here much longer than I expected. Those who have got used to using a bum gun for years like I did, probably find going back to the regular western method of cleaning oneself after doing their business is not satisfactory, but I wasn't in a position to install one, so I found a workable alternative -- a squeeze bottle. These things are not all created equally, and ones that are quite soft (easily squeezable) work the best. I've settle on these ones sold at the Dollarama stores for $1. They have been my bum gun replacement and salvation until I can return to a more civilized part of the world. 

[Convicted in Norway - Can I get problems with immigration in Thailand? Please help]

11 minutes ago, Nordude said:

OP, they're not going to find out if nobody tells them, so keep your mouth closed. I know of some crazy drug users from Norway who come here time after time. They probably have extensive records, but (unfortunately) immigration doesn't have access to the Norwegian police records.

Isn't this the type of thing the new immigration biometrics system is supposed to catch to ensure that these criminals are not getting into or staying in the country? And from what you're you saying, it's sounds like Norway isn't a good global partner by not allowing access to the records of its criminals, thereby exposing other nations to the worst of their citizens without fair access to information.

 

 

 

 

[Convicted in Norway - Can I get problems with immigration in Thailand? Please help]

The OP is the type of person who makes other's lives more difficult and more expensive by his selfish act(s). Crime, and especially financial crime, hurts us all, and I really don't understand why people would offer advice to help this person get around being punished appropriately. 

[Pattaya’s New Slogan]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, it should be every day in that usage but everyday is a word and is used an adjective. 

Exactly. How could we not feel sympathy for our students trying to learn everyday English every day of the week? 

[Pattaya’s New Slogan]

21 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So they didn't bother to ask one native English speaker what that slogan can mean?

I worked in a university where the Thai staff was eventually ordered to have all English language emails that were being sent out to blocks of students or other staff proof-read as the intended messages were sometimes nearly unintelligible. Most of the Thai staff ignored the directive, and those who occasionally gave in usually reversed the corrections back to the original errors, apparently convinced that there's no way a farang could know more than they do...about anything. The big boss never did follow up, realizing that what he asked his Thai staff to do just wouldn't happen. Thais have a lot of pride, and that's okay as long as you have the admirable actions to back it up.

[Pattaya’s New Slogan]

14 minutes ago, couchpotato said:

No he is not the mayor. Name Chanyut..boss of Sophon Cable, but integrated with the Bangsaen Clan for many many years. Always winds up as an advisor to some bigwig. So he has always been on tourist posters/signs.

Thanks for the info.

 

I wonder what value those who make such marketing decisions see in his huge image dominating the poster, to some degree. Perhaps his reputation and image give comfort to Thai tourists, but I can't imagine that many farang know or care who he is. 

[Pattaya’s New Slogan]

That's priceless !!!!  I think there's a popular alternate spelling for the word "come".  

 

Of course the real draw is the big photo of what I assume to be the current mayor. I personally refuse to be a tourist in any city where I don't know what the mayor looks like. ????  I can't help but feel the sign serves him more than anybody else.