ajarnmarc

If the motorcycle had come free from under the truck, 

as the driver was certainly hoping it would, 

she would of just drove home, 

and acted like nothing happened.

After all Thai's don't cause accidents, 

it's always the foreigners fault.

Unfortunately this time no foreigner was involved, 

so she had to take responsibility for this...

Since Thai's hate to take responsibility for anything, 

it's certainly a sad day for her.

Luckily the driver on the motorcycle wasn't hurt.

7 hours ago, KBsinter said:

Embassys,have no power over the Authority of the country 

they are in,........".live with it" 

Spoken like a person who works @ the Embassy...perhaps.

As I didn't t see anything mentioned about Authority.

The Embassy could make an inquiry on behalf of the family, 

or at the very least their own citizen.

Have you ever viewed The Embassy show,

featuring the Australian Embassy?

On the show anyway, they appeared to put some effort in representing their citizens, 

and family members, not hiding behind an issue of being a guest in a foreign country, 

so therefore nothing can or could be done.

Foreigners might think that the Embassy would look after their citizens welfare, 

as that's just good PR, but if they thought that about the American Embassy in Thailand, 

they would be wrong.

The American Embassy in Thailand only cares to stay as far away from any issues, 

concerning their own citizens as they possibly can,

so they can go home on time, 

and not be bothered when things go sideways,

concerning the citizens the Embassy staff is supposed to be here to support.

I think they forgot what they are here for...

it certainly doesn't appear to be to support their own citizens, 

in any meaningful way.

I've often found that American Embassy in Singapore is far more on top of their service, 

concern, and last but not least, assistance towards it's own citizens, 

who are having issues while abroad.

Yet none of these things can be used to describe The American Embassy in Bangkok.

That unfortunately is what we have to learn to deal with, 

and it's disappointing...

Really appreciate the time you took for this post.

Thank you.

Reports are currently provided on Vice news / Vice.com where shopping malls in developed countries are closing down @ an alarming rate, simply due to more consumers preferring to make their purchases through online vendors.

So how is this related to this story?

Simple, if you don't like to see the crazy waste, you have a voice...start shopping online instead, and the trend will continue, as it relates to traffic being cut towards people visiting shopping malls.

When I was recently in Malaysia a couple months back, it was surprising that the two malls there, 

though very large in size, there were very few people inside, and as result the temperature for one, 

wasn't a cold as malls normally are. 

At the end of the day the shoppers have a voice, 

which can be...stop venturing into the malls as a form of entertainment.

Look, sure, but purchase online.

The staff will end up working on the delivery side of things, 

but the damage, and huge waste of the space these shopping malls take up, 

can be put to better use, such as more outdoor forms of entertainment.

Its just a thought...

When the power line from Khanom to Samui finally broke under the sea. 

Who did the electricity authority call?

A Thai Engineer?

No, they reached out to Norway, 

and flew him in to sort out the issue on how to best engineer & design the new power lines.

Does anyone think that was illegal?

It only took four months to reroute the lines, 

due mostly because apparently no one locally could sort it out properly.

Lets not even get started on how many years Samui has waited to figure out what to do with all the garbage building up 

at the dump on the island, all the while it just keeps building up after what has been public stated, 

as more than four years worth of trash continues to build up, 

while the locals scratch their comunitive heads on who or what it's going to take to find a reasonable solution.

If one were to ask any successful Engineer / Architect where they were trained, 

chances are very high they will brag that they were educated abroad, 

not locally.

Same goes with many other professional positions held by Thai.

All will be proud to state they went abroad to receive their education, 

concerning their professional field.

So if it's something for them to be proud of, by obtaining their education abroad, 

why would it be shameful for someone from abroad to have designed the building, 

which certainly was built by people from Mayamar?

hope you can kindly update us on your results in Penang upon completion, 

so we can all know what's working currently...?

It's always helpful to know what the latest situation is, 

and how things work to make it as smooth as possible.

I was there recently; in Penang, and got a single entry Non O, 

which for now works for me, as that provides me with 5 months; 

including the extension I get at the local IO office, 

after the 3 month visa expires.

I didn't go through an agent, as there was any need to for the Non O, 

based on dependent.

I also purchased a bus pass, on the first day, from the transit center, 

which saved me a lot of money,

 and worked really well.

I highly recommend the bus service there.

If you don't wish to use the bus service, 

you can try the grab cab app, 

which also works great there.

Then you can schedule you pick up and departure point, 

but most importantly, you'll know in advance what the fare will cost you.

They also have in Kaula Lumpur, a rental wifi receiver that you can pick up at the Airport, 

which is really nice, since the Wifi service in Penang is poor, from most hotels.

With the receiver you can carry it on you, so you have internet connection wherever you go throughout Malaysia, 

without having to change your sim card.

This helps me keep signal with my mobile, so I can navigate around Penang using google map, 

while I walk around, and know I'm not going to get lost.

3 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

And for those who would like to go and visit this site, the GPS data would read 14.574623, 102.153784; open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, incl. weekends. 

Even though I have no intentions to visit, 

it's great to see someone provide the location, 

which is certainly going to be helpful for those who wish to visit this location.

Cheers to you Sydebolle for your time, 

and gracious consideration for others.

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Another alternative- smile politely and say 'Oh that's interesting, when did the policy change, they were always free in the past?'.  I forsee a rapid back-pedal.

 

To be honest if they legitimised it and issued a receipt I would not have issues with it- after all one pays for bank letters, embassy letters, etc. its not the payment that is the problem, its the graft.

 

Equally bad though are the old timers who see nothing wrong in slipping an Imm Officer 100 baht when doing a 90 day or processing other stuff- there's no need for it and they just add to the problem. 

I think this last statement has addressed the problem well. 

Those that equally like to pay, make it hard for those don't see a reason why they should pay.

Personally I don't see why we should have to pay for this service...?

I know that if I start paying for this simple form, everywhere else I'll be expected to pay as well, 

for similar forms.

The Thai's love to talk about what they get from naive foreigners, 

and so the cycle continues at every government agency in town.

Dishing out a few thousand dollars a year for visas and the trips to obtain them, 

is enough for me, as I also am expected to pay higher prices on an everyday basis, 

for daily items.

The Thai's consider everything we pay, as being only a little bit for us, 

yet when they are asked to pay the street price, they also balk, 

squirm, and complain. They would prefer we paid for their stuff as well.

After all we are fortunate to be in their warm company, they consider.

I never waste my time asking for discounts on items, 

so I don't take pleasure paying for things or services that should be free.

At the end of the day, by doing so, only makes it harder for the future generations to come.

37 minutes ago, LPCustom69 said:

Seriously?

 

The rules won't be relaxed because they don't want us here! I wouldn't be surprised if they tighten up a few other rules.

 

Retirees are tolerated. They want everyone else to come for a short trip, spend a lot of money, and go home!

Very True...for some it takes longer to realize this, so they continue to bash, hoping that in the end it will help them.

Sad really.

3 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Imagine somewhere in the world people are planning a holiday and preferably they're the much vaunted quality tourists with cash to flash.

They could go to any of the world's great cities with sights,   history and the highest of high end shopping or to countries with the most pristine of beaches.

NO,  they'll come to LoS to chase Pokemon because despite having it in their own country this is Thai Pokemon so it must be special   !

Thai Pokeman special .

Clearly the Thai tourism minister considers herself special for coming up with the insane idea.

Thai Children are already obsessed with games as it is.

Looking @ computers only as a platform of gaming, 

and nothing more.

So to promote Pokeman, would only drive them further onto mobile phones, tablets for their gaming obsession. 

She must have children, and of course ran out of original ideas, so she asked them for advice.

As only children would look to spend time in another country, after saving their money for months, years to come, 

relax and play games.

I thought I read that people don't come to Thailand for the late night entertainment,

they come for the Temples, and to experience the culture,

which Thailand has to offer, as I believe was stated by an official.

So why would they adopt an outside source of entertainment,

while remaining stubborn in their ways;

as to refuse to even try to learn how to communicate with the tourist, 

in any sort of meaningful way,

other that YOU, YOU, YOU come here!

It's a shame Thailand is even calling what they offer as tourism, 

it certainly isn't. 

Entertaining sometimes, costly most of the time,

and unpredictable all of the time.

Pokemon Go isn't going to create substance to tourism, 

when there's so much more that's missing already.

It amazes me that the TAT doesn't go to their neighboring countries to see what all they are bring to the population, 

as they continue to try to grow, in the very least; variety of options,

while Thailand just copies the same thing over & over again,

lacking any sense of variety along the way.

To often I hear people stating they want to make business, 

and when asked what kind of business? 

It's almost always Thai Massage, Villa Rentals, 

or restaurant...and of course the restaurant won't open until 17:00 each day.

SMH, not again...

I've personally compared many items to Big C, Lotus, and Makkro to Tops,

which now offers home delivery free of charge on orders over 1,000 bht I believe,

and Tops has beaten them all 95% of the time.

Without considering the cost of traveling to the store,

or the time to shop, I can justify the other 5% when the other stores have beaten Tops prices as

executable to pay.

With Makkro being setup as a basic warehouse grocery store,

there's really no reason why their prices even need to be in the same neighborhood as the more modern stores,

but the presentation is we are a warehouse, so our prices are cheaper than others,

when in fact they rarely are, if ever in my studies/ comparisons.

So come to Thailand to live,: don't eat out because? ???? Eat in/don't go to bars,don't go with bar girls,hate the way Thais drive, accuse all police/ immigration /any official as current. Use your time Wisley by being a keyboard thai hater on here. I really wonder why some of you ever bothered coming in the first place.

So you'll have something to write about, surely...

This is great news for Bangkok transit service.

Hope it's successful

It certainly has to be an improvement over what they have in place now.

Can only imagine the cost of importing this bus from Japan though.

Unless they caught Customs on a good day...Lol

I'm waiting to read from all the previous supporter, from this site, who claimed all that was changing was for the better.

Come on, jump in and show your support.

You've signed a contract, stating a certain salary, right? I don't think that your fiend at the MoE has got all the information of all schools here.

You'll never be successful to "confront" the director with anything you don't like, you're only asking for the usual "Bai Gai Gai reaction".

Best of luck !!! -

thx for the reply lostinisaan.

yes, indeed I did. What does it have to do with the illegal/unlawful practice of the school? My friend has most of the info and what he sees is that for the English teacher salary line the allocated money is 10% more. It is not something I do not like, it is something I have just found out, I definitely do not dig it, but that is beside the point now.

Maybe I could say that I want a new contract or they could give me that extra as a monthly housing allowance, since it is " my money".

It's not your money.

Where did you get such an arrogant idea?

you are right, it is not my money officially, but more "mine" than yours or anybody else's. Thanks for judging me as an arrogant mofo, that is what I am and that is why I have such an arrogant idea, this is not the first and not the lost time. your input was not much of value but I do appreciate anyway

You should not try to let others wire you up so easily.

It's clear to see that's what happened when you read a response you didn't agree with,

as your vocabulary went south.

You asked a question, or posted an issue to be more exact...

did you expect everyone would side with you,

and pat you up with their response?

The easiest way to put this, is spend less time complaining about what you don't get,

and put more time working towards getting what you want,

through hard work @ your school.

With the info your so called friend gave to you,

and I say this, because if you try to put this info forward,

your friend will surely deny all of it, to save his / her position,

but anyway, you think there's more money there in the budget than what you signed your contract for,

and agreed to work with as your salary.

Now at least you know that if your job is done well,

and your appreciated, the money could come your way,

once you are up for a renewal on your contract.

Easy, to understand; I hope...?

since it comes out of the ground, it's for all to consume, no?

After all it's a plant.

TIT

Seems like a great time for the expats to celebrate all the great things about Phuket...

If there are any?

After all, Immigration guidelines, and requirements should be at the top of any expats list,

when thinking of where to lay their heads, eh?

But the expats there,

just figure they will fall like they are used to...

inline and proceed to comply with whatever thrown at them.

I can hear it now...I'll just give them old data, to old accounts,

so I can be on my way.

Yet if this branch can get people to comply,

then they'll certainly inform the other branches around the country...

see it's not that hard to get expats to give up all of their personal data,

about themselves, after all they love to be social.

I got out of that unwelcomed,

overpriced, so called paradise back in 2003,

and I've never regretted it.

Even then though,

Immigration was by far the most difficult to work through,

and it was made clear, foreigners planning to stay for long periods,

should be warned...

they would need to pay their dues,

and stay quiet about it.

The only milk I drink is in a White Russian.

I don't drink alcohol, but I get the joke and liked it.

Nice one!

Cheers

"Cheap Charlie" is often a derogatory term used to characterize a "farang" who doesn't dish out money freely to Thais and cater to their sob stories of family hardship. A farang who doesn't like picking up the tab for everyone all the time is referred to as "Cheap Charlie" by Thais. A farang who merely meets the agreed price for sex without additional tip is called "Cheap Charlie" by Thai girls. The Thai newspaper should be clear about this being a derogatory expression and why.

It varies a lot in Thailand. Some will call you cheap charlie if you don't pay the buffet bill for everyone at the table, while others call you cheap charlie if you don't make your wife's family wealthy with luxury houses, cars and money.

And then there are those who trust that you will gradually build up the family successfully over time.

"And then there are those who trust that you will gradually build up the family successfully over time."

Would that more families were of this latter variety. I suspect a great many of us would do just this, if left to our own devices. Moreover, we would likely do so without even being asked. In Thailand, it is often not the fall, but the relentless bombardment of irony preceding the fall that kills you. The sudden stop at the bottom, becomes merely a formality.

Thailand is another place where there will always be a "shortcut" that is preferable to the more direct path. A fundamental aspect of humankind, taken to the extreme here that impacts both thinking, and on a more observable level, transit. In fairness, a great many foreigners have crafted similar mindsets in their own inimitable fashions.

From absurdity, there can simply be no escape, as it is pandemic in proportion. Perhaps the only useful observation that can be made here (or for that matter, anywhere) would be that they who do not put forth the effort to hone their senses of humor, fare the worst. Humor is perhaps not a cure-all, but it is a key element of acceptance, and the only useful weapon granted us by the universe, for the purposes of self defense.

Very well written and thought out...

I was at a bar the other night with my girl having a quiet drink, I am a fairly regular customer at this bar and I usually pay at the end of the night and leave a tip. This time it was a new girl that served me and wanted me to pay straight away, so I paid but didn't leave a tip as it was out first drink. This loud mouthed Farang? expat? commented I was miserable, a cheap Charlie and went on and no and got louder and louder until he left. ( I might add I do buy a girl a drink from time to time and the same with tips, also I live here and am not rich, and have a fixed amount to spend each week so I can't afford to leave tips every time I buy a drink ) If he didn't leave when he did, he was getting very close to getting smacked in the mouth.

He is one of the ugly farangs that live here ! Needed to get himself a nice girl or boy? for the night, it might cheer him up a bit, he certainly needed something !

I can relate to your situation & experience, as this being the norm.

There appears to always be some loud mouth guy wanting to make himself look superior to the ladies he's there to get on the cheap, by insulting another foreigner for not providing more,

which if they fall for and oblige;

he most likely will later take credit for with the lady which sucked up to him for his suppose bravery.

I've found a quick beat to the ground for the load mouth,

helps him to achieve what he was after,

just not leaving him in a healthy state to truly enjoy his later adventure;

as he had planned for,

a commitment to never return to the dive hole that harbor these loud mouths,

will help me in the end...

very tasteful of what's sure to be memorable later.

Yeah, we have been there and done that, that's why we are advising people not to go to KL.

Penang will do a single entry tourist visa with just passport, application form and photos.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/penang/contents/files/services-20140508-110623-169095.pdf

(Ignore the double entry tourist visa stated in this document, that has been phased out).

thanks for the link.

great footage.

Now if this can just be the case throughout the country,

all will be good and civilized.

As of the 17th of March,

we guests, as it's stated in other posts,

are no longer allowed to get residence letters from Immigration office.

We now must all go to our respected Embassies to get this document,

if we want to apply for a drivers license.

Tried to get a yellow book,

but was told that since I'm not married,

yet have two Thai Children,

I would need to have DNA tests to prove the children are mine,

even though I'm on both of the birth certificates,

with me signing them at the time of issue.

Just another way to welcome us guests into their country,

while they wish for us to follow all the legal status quos they place before us.

I've always been a firm believer that if a country want aliens to follow the requirements,

it's best to make it straight forward and easy to understand what is needed,

not to mention cost effective helps.

For those of you who wish to follow the locals statement of us being guests here....

it's not like we need to be reminded, is it?

I think we all know this.

People who have been arrested in Thailand for a crime and are granted bail, continue to come under the jurisdiction of the Thai court responsible, not immigration.

The court will then inform Thai Immigration by court order that you are Blacklisted from exiting the country.

One of the terms of bail that most people are not aware of is, that you have and continue to have a right to get a visa extension.

If you have a 1 year extension of stay it will be canceled and you will be given an under judgment extension of stay, which is extendable for 1900 baht on a month basis.

This extension is not done automatically, but rather on your request for a court order from the court staff from whom you have been allowed bail.

Now I can only speak for the Phuket Criminal Court, Bangkok Criminal Court, Bangkok South Criminal Court and Pattaya Criminal Court where I have experience.

On completion of your case in court, you must request a copy of the court judgment, to present to immigration on your departure, as sometimes the blacklisting from exit has not been taken down.

In the case that you are sentenced to serve time in jail or are given a suspended sentence, under Thai law, your Police case officer has a duty to blacklist you and deport you to your country of origin.

I have seen cases in Phuket of people convicted of working 3 days illegally, and had a difficult Police officer blacklist them and get them deported.

In this case, after 9 months, the Administrative Court in Bangkok overturned the case and canceled the blacklist as it was deemed unreasonable.

If you are arrested and accused of committing a criminal act, it is essential that you remain on good terms with your Police case officer and the court officials to fulfill your duties to them and achieve a good result.

Very informative, and constructive too.

These are the kind of post I look to view,

which can assist and advice people who are caught up in a situation within Thailand,

where answers to issues which arise are not so easy to obtain answers to.

Most would hope to obtain these legal questions or situations to be easily answered from their Embassy,

but as most may already be aware of, the Embassies here for some nationalities are not worth wasting time with.

They simply don't care to get involved.

Fortunately this isn't the case with them all,

just a few of them.

The U.S. Embassy here, in my experience has been the worst,

however the U.S. Embassy in Singapore is outstanding,

and very professional in their duties.

I've viewed the Show "The Embassy",

which covers the Austrian Embassy in Bangkok primarily in the show,

and they truly take their responsibilities here seriously,

and look after their citizens, the best they can.