TechnikaIII

I don't care what they do or say to get rid of him, just get rid of him. The problem being with deportation is that he will then soil the streets and beaches of Australia, ... unless they could fly over an open active crater in Indonesia and drop him in. Problem solved.

People are commenting like these acts only happen in Thailand.

Sure I'm a male, but I feel safer in BKK than I do in most other western cities I've visited.

You are safe here until your not.I see so many wondering around in total ignorance "feeling safe" Its easy to let your guard down when away from home as everything is out of the ordinary so you rarely notice when something is brewing.

These crimes are senseless and are sadly part of the world we all live in.

Remember people stay safe and stay aware.

I agree, except for "These crimes are senseless". These crimes are premeditated. For as long as there is such disparity between the wealth of the perpetrators and the victims, you can expect they will continue. Harsher punishments for the criminals may deter a few. But others who are still determined to have a go at us, may be more inclined to kill their victims, rather than hit-and-run.

With a population of some 90 million, most of whom are good people, it stands to reason that there will still be a large number of criminally minded individuals on the prowl.

Some arbitrary figures:

Take Norway with a population of approximately 4,000,000. If say the percentage of lifestyle criminals were 0.5%, this amounts to 20,000 individuals. 20,000 individuals who are at any time looking to steal from shops, assault including rape, steal cars, mug people in the streets, vandalize for whatever reason, kill etc. (And I can say that there parts of Oslo which are off-limits at night for single people, women AND men.)

Translate this 0.5% to 90,000,000, and we have 450.000 .... Watch your back!

I will put it to you that, in Norway, crimes such as vandalism and shop lifting involve a higher number of wealthier people than you would care to imagine. People who don't need to steal to survive, and youth from financially comfortable families who vandalize as a sport.

Robbery in Thailand, by Thai nationals will at least in part, be inspired by the proliferation of relatively wealthy foreigners. The life-is-cheap mentality that slams a rock into a victim's head .. well, can this compared with the numerous shootings in the USA? I don't know.

I sure hope the victim in the OP's article recovers without permanent injuries. What a hideous experience.

Notes:

1. My suggestion of .5% was for illustration purposes.

2. In Australia one of my work appointments was with Department of Correctional Services, with a lot of direct contact with felons in community service projects, and also required numerous court attendances.

3. A partner of 10 years in Norway was a store manager of a major supermarket chain. I was often there to see shop lifters being apprehended. The pin-up wall in the office featured security camera images of offenders. Only a few were down-and-out junkies.

....

Life is cheap in The East.

Another "East bashing" comment?

At a hospital in Melbourne within the past 72 hours

(Name of hospital, patient, and staff not to be mentioned)

... a young hoon lay on the table in surgery, being prepared for what was looking like maybe an amputation, with leg bits poking out - chopped up muscles and sinew - smashed bone - a total mess. Because? .. on his jet ski, he got too close to a boat, crashed and had the propeller do the job of mangling his leg.

Hey, this is not "The East"

Well at least if this idiot does survive with one and a bit legs, he won't be on his way to Thailand any time soon.

What a country! Peaceful loving people.

Your comment should read: "What a world! .. etc"

Road rage is everywhere, from Seattle to Sydney.

You are just another mindless Thai-basher

One may imagine that it's about time the government considered shutting down the notoriously bad embassies. Or at least giving them a well earned kick in the arse, putting them on probation, or simply, replacing them with decent ambassadors and respectful consulate staff. They want better quality tourists/visitors? So they should clean up their own act. I have totally written off the ED visa plans, even though I really want the opportunity to study. I don't accept rules being handed down by heavy handed disciplinarians who are clearly unqualified in most matters concerning real education.

That said, we should bear in mind that these officials have come up through a totally antiquated education system, where enquiry is discouraged, learning by rote is the method instilled in primary school, hobbling students as they attempt to progress. Most of the staff would need special remedial teaching, were they to attempt to study in developed countries. Yet their decisions shape our experiences.

You may be asked, but unlikely. I have taken the train from Malaysia to Thailand often.

The only place I have been asked by Thai immigration officers, was at immigration on arrival at Don Mueang Airport.

Otherwise, the airlines will not even let you board the flight from the port of origin if you do NOT have an onward or forwarding ticket, clearly showing intended departure date. I was stopped by Turkish Airlines in Oslo, because I had a one-way ticket to Bangkok. Turkish A. helped create a booking which I could use if needed. With this piece of paper in hand, and on their records, I was given the "Good to go" message. Airlines can be fined heavily if they do not comply.

Approaching Thailand from Butterworth by train, you will be given the usual immigration card to fill in before arriving at the border crossing. In this I suggest you show the date of intended departure, as well as either flight number, or other mode, "Bus/Coach" or "train". Have a plan "A" well thought out, even a printed itinerary so as to be prepared for query. If you seem at all in doubt as to your next move, this will create attention, and further questions, maybe even detention.

Aside from 'losing it' by throwing the bag out, that hardly constitutes rage. As for cheapskate airlines, Air Asia is not even in the same league of miserable stinginess as Easy Jet and Ryanair

Well, I prefer EasyJet to Ryanair any day. I used to travel the routes between Oslo-Torp to Newcastle and London-Stansted. But again, I played by the rules because they have tight margins.The people who were the most obnoxious, were many of the super-arrogant Norwegians, pushing and shoving to get on first to grab the best seats on the late night Ryanair flights. They would jump ques and ignore all the rules, from check-in to getting off at the other end. Rich golfers, flying from Oslo to Glasgow, trying to get on with loads of luggage, arguing, .. then laughing together at their sport of harassing the check-in teams. I used to love seeing them having to pay more. Rich bastards who can afford to fly business, just having fun with their £1 tickets.Back to Air Asia, once having learnt the online booking system, remembering to tailor the flight to suit my needs (I booked priority seats at a time I need them after a leg injury) ... the luggage, the meals, everything, it has become a breeze. The only thing I didn't like was the transit/change-over at KL on the way to Melbourne. But that has all been fixed now too. It's great.

1 up!! Hundreds to go!!

Rather, let's hope it's "One down" .. but yes.

... I have not read any of the comments on this one. But isn't it pathetic that they will attempt to promote the tragedy of another place, to put a few more farang bums on the Thai beaches, in stead of cleaning up their own act.

Perhaps we should remind the shit-for-brains 'think tank' that Thailand is still writing with H.I.V.

The 300-600% tax is the mother of all invention. It is absolutely outrageous.

Oh, this is not going to end well.

Due to the high profile nature of this case, these two need to be placed in a single-cell status away from the GP with 24-hour cctv.

I'd rather see them in protective custody, in a Safe House, whereabouts unknown to the police, until the case can be properly investigated.

You should start a business...assisting single moms in getting child support...but be ready...you will be inundated with hundreds of thousands of women in need of assistance...

I always thought that is what retirees were here for...to help pay the expense of bringing up absentee father's children...

" ... you will be inundated with hundreds of thousands of women in need of assistance..."

and .... become the target of as many pissed off fathers, among whom there will surely be a considerable number who would have you erased from existence, including those brazen enough to take care of doing it themselves.

Besides, .. how much does it cost to take care of a child in Thailand? Come on ... many men take on more than one child, right from the start! It's part of the deal in 99% of cases.

Well I have been growing old in Thailand for some 20 years now (I was 70 in May of this year).

I know and realise that at 70 I cannot do things that I could do at 60 or 50, certainly not physically anyway. I can still cut the grass with the strimmer but as there is 2 or 3 rai to cut I choose to cut the lawn as it is less than 1 rai and get somebody in to do the rest and I start around 6.15 and finish before 8 as it is cool then.

I still ride my motorbike but have cut back on long trips now as my reactions are slower and I will probably quit completely in a couple of years.

I am slowly writing my life story for both my Uk son and grandson plus my Thai son to read to show where I came from.

I am sad that I cannot play with my Thai son as I did with my UK as I was 60 when he was born and at my age the body and bones don't always want to do what the mind and memory does.

To slow down the ageing I find that keeping busy is one of the best things you can do.

Get onto the internet and find something interesting. Write your own life story for your Thai families. Learn to cook. Learn how to make furniture. There are zillions of thing you can do.

I make my own bread, rolls, cakes, pies, pasties, ham, bacon, sausage rolls etc all of which I have learned how to do in the 5 years since I retired.

If you want to sit and drink all day, then do so, but it's your life not mine.

Remember LG.

Life is Good and it is your choice to do with it as you will.

I am resurrecting my baking and cooking skills and doing fairly well with that.

I don't start drinking normally until about 6pm and have about 3 Hong Thong and sodas a night and I do drink in the afternoon sometimes if my mate comes over or I go to his place, other than that I don't bother.

I don't normally have the time to get bored.

Must go as I have 2 loaves ready to come out of the oven.

I have delayed many common Western "aging" problems by almost completely eliminating those " ... bread, rolls, cakes, pies, pasties, ham, bacon, sausage rolls etc from my diet." I am lighter in weight, more mobile, more agile and sleep better. At 65, I am in better shape than the 40 and 50 year old slobs I see dragging their fat around in Australia. Seriously, you could have more time to spend with your young Thai son, if you work on it. My healthy rock-climbing, skiing, Norwegian son is now 20, and I plan to know him well in to his 40s.

That said, I plan to buy an oven in Thailand, so I too can bake a few bits and pieces, if only to show Thais what real bread is like, in stead of that spongy fluff they buy at 7/11 and other so-called bakeries. I have even promised a few folks to make them an apple pie. I will have a small slice of each and give the rest away.

I know "old habits die hard", but it is not as difficult as one might think. Good luck to you.

Perhaps we should also be issued with body bags at point of entry. .. folded neatly of course, and attached with a non-removable tie, ... as that card is stapled into our passports. If unused, the body bag is returned on departure .

I agree with the technical definition.

A tourist is exploring the area and experiencing the culture.

Someone with the money to own a vacation home to escape cold winters for a few months and then return to their primary home would be cslled- - what?

If anyone wants to have a holiday home and come a lot but live in their home country 60% of the time and can show financial ability they don't need to work then allow them to be tourist.

Why do people that want to be long term tourist object to request to show financial capability to support themselves without working.

Probably because they don't have money and working.

Or is a tourist someone that lives 60% of their lives somewhere else and cones to the same place every year with enough money to relax and not working.

"Or is a tourist someone that lives 60% of their lives somewhere else and comes to the same place every year with enough money to relax and not working."

Yep. That is precisely what I do, except that it is more like 50%. I come back to the same place every time, then go to other parts of Thailand. I suppose there will be knuckle-heads who question the way I spend my time. I don't go near bars, nor do I go anywhere near jet skis.

Having a semi-permanent base means I don't I have to fly with a heavy camera tripod and other gear, that I use in my chosen retirement activities .. photography and painting. By paying for accommodation, and maintaining it during my absences, I possibly even qualify as a 'Preferred Tourist'. I bring money to the country, and never take any out.

Two visits ago, the Immigration officer I've met a few times, was driving past and stopped at the roadside where I was set up with large-format camera, "Hi ! How are you? I haven't seen you a long time! .. ohh I hope I can see the photos when ready" .. big smiles all round .. She stayed and talked 10 minutes or so.

I qualify for Retirement Visa. They know it, and know I will apply when it suits me. For now, I have to be elsewhere in the world a lot of the time.

Never been asked. I usually have just enough THB to get from the airport to my Citibank in Bangkok, where I make a withdrawal to cover me for the month, including rent on my place.

If you appear smart and relaxed, they will have no reason to be suspicious of anything.

This doesn't help your friend who was rejected, and I feel sorry for her.

I have simply deleted an Ed visa of my list of options, forever, even though I am studying Thai, and was looking forward to enrolling in one of the legitimate schools in Bangkok.

It is simply too much of a mess. End of story as far as I am concerned.

Hard​ for to farang to live on 25,000 a month but possible.

I live think 300k to apply for sounds a 1 year visa with work prohibited is a very reasonable requirement.

A one year retirement visa or one year student visa should have same financial requirement

"Hard​ for (to) farang to live on 25,000 a month but possible"

I live comfortably for 5,000 a month. Not difficult, and I eat well. If I have girlfriend stay for a few days, or overseas guests, ..ok it can be 10,000 But 25,000? LOL

The best bank account is the one your kids can't touch, your wife can't touch, and most of all the mother in law can't touch.

The problem for the children will be the extended family who see them as the "rich kids". Family is family ... and in Thailand that means anyone who can claim to be a relative. In Thailand they feel they have a right to share in the spoils. There is no health and accident insurance, ....well, who needs it when there are rich relatives.

I started bank accounts for two children in my neighborhood. To protect the accounts, I had the school principle sign as guardian for the accounts, with the bank books kept in the principle's office. When I returned from Australia after a 2 month absence, I went to deposit a few more baht in each. I found that the accounts had been closed, money gone. The irresponsible shit-bag mother of one, had put pressure on the school to hand over her daughter's account. The other girl was pressured to follow suit. End of episode one.