chricha

Yes the statistics published are conveniently prompt with little connection with reality but rather a PR exercise. We did a lot of crawling at 10-20km/h on route 4 south as it's under construction for 20 years I'm told! Having driven on Wednesday from Khao Kho to Bangkok and then on Thursday to Prachuap Kiri Khan (past Hua Hin) I was horrified at how many near accidents occurred. 1. because idiots insist on cutting right from the left lane because you are waiting in line with other cars but they are too important to wait so they try to hit your left bumper to make a gap. I am good enough to avoid a collision and give up in disgust but I'll bet many are not prepared to give in resulting in accidents 2. because the "roadwork ahead" signs are none existent! Travelling at 100-120km/h in traffic past trucks the last thing you need on a bend is traffic almost stopped before the merge left sign with no prior signage to indicate a roadwork hazard is approaching.

Sounds like I was lucky! I arrived in Thailand to visit my family and was due to leave on the 20th January. Due to a unsatisfactory last minute re-scheduling of the flight by Philipines Air, I cancelled this ticket as I was promised a refund (still waiting! ???? ). I then bought a new one-way ticket with China Airlines for the 17th. Imagine my horror when I went through Immigration at BKK on the 17th to discover I should have left by the 15th under the new 45 day visa exemption rules. I complained at the counter about having to pay a 1,000 baht fine and was made to wait 10 more minutes before they allowed me to pay the fine and leave. I was not the only one at this counter as an overstayer. I guess if it happens at the airport and is minor the police are not involved! so I was lucky Never made this mistake before and will never again! Before book ticket - check dates and visa stamp!!! But does this mean I will have problems on my next visit? or will it be overlooked as a minor and resolved issue?

These "world best city" rankings are mostly driven by who paid for the advertising. Search for best city to live in and you will get so many contradictions the rankings are almost meaningless. As an Aussie, l know we have some of the best cities and benign climate. I have visited Canada many times and I know they have a wonderful range of very liveable cities if you can tolerate the cold winters and love skiing! Europe has great cities but very crowded and unaffordable - not to mention the war on the doorstep! But cities in Thailand (like most of SE Asia) are blighted by the overcrowding and traffic and air pollution which according to a recent Australian study kills more than the road toll in Australia. I would not live in Bangkok due to the above and only visit on arrival or departure. But many rural parts such as Khao Kho and Raeyong - Pattaya is for desperadoes - are still relatively unspoilt and underpopulated. Phuket and the islands are lovely but increasingly unaffordable.

Unfortunately I am paying a high price to fly on the 28th. Wanted to book earlier but couldn't. In the past the sweet spot for late bookers is 2-4 weeks out when the airlines on-sell to the agents to fill the planes at cheap prices - but not this year! Flew economy direct with Thai for less than $AUD800 in May/June. Booked last week with a 15 hour journey via Manila from Sydney premium economy at $2550 - $2100 for economy. I'm very tall so the current "honey they struck the plane seat" trend means the airlines are now charging $US75 for aisle seats on the MNL-BKK leg! Wish I could afford business but it's overkill. I don't need the amenities - just a 33" not 29" seat! Comfortable long distance travel is now only the domain of the rich and cattle class is only for short rubber people ????

So much conjecture about the Yaris driver's actions. The reality is the CRV driver didn't see the Yaris as s/he was either on the phone, drunk or asleep and then collided with the rear of the Yaris which likely had the wheels turned already to assist moving into the oncoming vehicle. This is why I never drive a small car not just because I am a tall (196cm) man but you are so much better protected in an MUX or Isuzu DMax both of which I have and drive regularly. Small cars are hit low and the impact from a larger 2 tonne vehicle is so much more if your car is only 800Kg. Nobody has mentioned the Izuzu ute - was s/he asleep also? The Yaris would have come towards them at maybe 40 or 50km per hour as it was stationary until shunted. So imho they were also negligent, When I drive in Thailand, which is often, I am always vigilant especially when I see stationary cars or bikes and/or people. So two drivers were negligent - one criminally - resulting in this tragedy. Why the reporter felt it necessary to mention that the young man was the boyfriend I have no idea! How did he know this or is it just speculation? Re the U-turns in the fast lane comment - yes they are bloody dangerous. I have had so many near misses from cars pulling from left on highway to then slowly proceed to U-turn 1km down the road!! Not to mention the 2 lane U-turns which some drivers feel is their right to do even though there is only 1 lane!! They go to the turn area in the fast lane and stop!! If it's a big truck I understand although it is dangerous but for a small car to do it is insane as they stop quickly in the 90km/h+ lane!! So when I need to U-turn I do it as quickly as possible hopefully without stopping (freaks my wife out ???? ) and keep my foot on the brakes to reduce the shunt effect. In summary you cannot take your eyes off the road/rear view mirror in Thailand. There is an accident waiting to happen to you every 5 minutes in my experience

OMG the blinkered philistine attitudes of some of the commenters. 1. English as a second language is widely spoken thanks to cinema and the previous dominance of Britain and now the USA 2. Yes the Indian subcontinent has a high level of English literacy because of the legacy of Britain as a colonist BUT the accents are worse than 3. You guessed it the UK! 4. I'm from Australia and I can assure you 99% of Aussies will speak far more clear English than 50% of Poms thanks to the local dialect going back 1'000 years or more - just listen to these Scottish or Yorkshire TV programs - half the time I need sub-titles to understand their English!! 5. The problem with learning English from a non-native speaker was brought home to me as my Thai wife started her English course and the teacher had an Indian accent! OMG just what I need an Indian-English speaking Thai wife. 6. that's why Philiponos sound like Yanks because they learn from Yankees I'd take up teaching English if it paid well!!

Totally agree. The billions of $$$ made by organised crime would dry up immediately. Read the history of the legal opium trade at the museum in Chiang Saen. Until about 1920 Thailand earned huge taxes from the legal trade with a 20% tax. Once a Government introduces prohibition organised crime rubs their collective hands with glee. Then the gangland wars to rub out the opposition and mega-corruption to buy influence and so on and so on! The focus has been on shipping containers and airports But the incredibly rich drug cartels can afford submarines which are almost impossible to detect What other industry allows 100K of product to become 100M!! Sure some people will always use narcotic drugs whether legal or illegal. Sure THC can affect your health but marijuana helps far more people with pain management than it hurts. At least legal with taxes allows some to go back to help those who make the bad choices. Regulate and win - prohibit and lose the unwinnable war against illegal drugs

I am very happy to hear no-one died from an overdose of electrons at the school. I have had a few 240V electric shocks over the years but fortunately they were fleeting but I certainly woke up TO BE MORE CAREFUL! However the diatribe on semantics over the word electrocution is quite humorous! Dictionaries are (now) not the arbiter of word meaning or spelling but rather report on current and past usage as with the explosion of English as a second language the semantic usage and spelling are evolving rapidly Take the word awe and see how the meaning of awe-full to awful have morphed from full of awe to really bad and awesome has gone from meaning inspiring wonder or fear to meaning bloody good or even fantastic! So if electrocution which has been generally accepted as meaning death by excess electric shock is now widely used to mean severe shock but not necessarily death then this means there has been a semantic change and erudite readers will be aware of this and allow the context and facts to determine what actually happened. Erudite writers will clarify their usage so the reader is sure of the meaning. Personally I get incensed by the increasing prevalence of whilst vs while, amidst vs amid amongst vs among and similar marketing driven self-aggrandising usage. But they missed out on erstwhilst - I wonder why? Even the snob realised it was doubly clumsy. Try saying First whilst amidst analysts and amongst ghosts quickly vs First while amid analysts and among ghosts is much more natural

sawadee1947 and jacko45k both make good points. Australia does not offer anything but 90 day tourist visas which must be preapproved. And they cost $300 (about 7500B) which means you are less likely to be poor to afford to come here. The exception is 18-30yo who can come for a year or more to work - only $150. In Thailand the difference is that visitors who have Visa Exemption are from countries such as Oz, US, UK where they can earn much more and typically have more money. The Visa on Arrival countries are not so well off and more likely to overstay and work. They don't have a youth work program - who would want to work for 300b a day when they get $200 a day in Oz? The comments about the journalist writing this story are accurate unlike his/her facts. They don't seem to understand the visa types here or elsewhere. Not really hard - websites abound. Just takes a bit of professionalism (and/or a good editor) to achieve.

Tragic story. My heart goes out to the family of the young man shot dead for a minor inconvenience if that. I used to laugh when I first came to Thailand in 2018 and my GF (now wife) would yell at me when I made a quick lane change or overtook someone hastily. Reading this story I now understand her worries. In the past my solution was go faster and don't look sideways if they overtake and then ease off and let them go. As an old dog with many years of driving around the world I have never seen anywhere quite like Thailand for it's range of bad and careless drivers to out right madmen who seem to think to a gargantuan size pickup entitles them to do anything they want at any speed they like. In Australia I relax on long drives with only an occasional roo to worry about. In Thailand I am always vigilant on the roads - expect the unexpected and downright astounding stupidity!

The reality is if all drugs were regulated and controlled like tobacco and alcohol there would be no profit incentive for organised crime including terrorists. The BILLIONS of dollars in the illegal drug trade means that all levels of society are corrupted by this extraordinary flow of money. It starts with the poor farmers in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Columbia etc. who get a pittance for their crops but ends up on the street for ten thousand times the crop cost due to the danger money required to entice criminals to smuggle the goods often at risk of their lives. If regulated the taxes garnished from the legal sale could be then applied to rehab programs for the unfortunate victims. These victims would not be forced underground hiding their problems until they blow up and kill innocents. A 4yo girl is gone - my heart goes out to the parents and the others who lost their lives. We have woken up to the fact that guzzling gas is bad for the planet. Lets wake up to the fact that drugs are always going to be there and some people will take them. When they are illegal it adds to the spice of the forbidden and of course the cost for us all.

I have just encountered this issue in Australia so it is still causing headaches. Immigration had no problem with using her passport with "Miss C S" because the machine readable section at the bottom drops the "MISS" and she now has a permanent resident visa in the name "C S". But when I attempted to get her registered with the student system for free English classes they could not use the passport and visa as the visa does not have the MISS as on the passport and computer says NO! I have now supplied her medicare card so they can verify her identity! Very silly system.

Bangkok Barry Can't see a link between the two professions. "So adult movie stars are prostitutes? Which is what you're implying. Otherwise, I can't see a link between the two professions." OMG - She earns money appearing in adult movies - ie SEX for money - the definition of prostitution I think! Reigntax suggests one involves acting 55555 - OMG and what does a pro do when she pretends to be a nurse/doctor/mummy/dominatrix. We really are clutching at very small straws The only real difference is a camera is used to take a video for publication - usually not done for a trick with a client

Fantastic news as it saves the ridiculous waste of a day in Bangkok. Of course the cost saving of B4200 is also welcome. As I booked with my favourite Booking.com I will get a full refund for May 12. Normally I either hire a car or now with the new car we pickup tomorrow my family can pick me up at the airport and get on my way to beautiful Khao Kho. Away from the oppressive heat, smog and traffic. I must get an Easy Pass. It took 25 minutes to get through the Thanyaburi 2 toll gate heading north. Creeping along to pay B30 in a manual car is no fun at all! My legs were cramped and sore before I had travelled 50km from Bangkok. On the issue of Government requirements such as the Thai Pass - when I travel back to Australia this week I have to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration. This is much like the Thai Pass now without the insurance designing to ensure arrivals are vaccinated protecting us all!

My experience with ATMs is that all charge 220 Baht except Citibank in Bangkok - for Citibank customers only I guess. I withdrew 50,000 Baht in one fee free transaction on 6th April and the rate was a competitive 24.52 to $AUD. But was advised that Citibank will be gone from 1st July! https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/14/citi-to-sell-consumer-banking-operations-to-uob-in-malaysia-indonesia.html Guess that means I'll have to pay everywhere! Not all ATMS can dispense more than 20,000 but the newer ones in Lotus and Macro can give 25,000 and I have seen 30,000 on some. The daily limit is based on the card and for mine the upper limit is $3000 or about B75,000. Never use the local bank conversion as you'll drop another 3% - for the last question about conversion always slect the last answer. But have noticed my preferred Bangkok bank ATMs don't ask this any more. After agreeing to 220 baht it just dispenses the money!