Misterwhisper

23 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It however only covers a traveler for 30 days. Expats etc. who stay longer than 30 days have no use for it.

Unless you get yourself embroiled in a riot within those 30 days.

But here's an idea: Just land, go through immigration, grab a taxi and ask your driver to take you straight to the next riot. There always is at least one going on somewhere. Once you're done, file your claims. Could be a nice little earner. Fly to Singapore or Malaysia for a few thousand baht, stay a couple of nights, return to Thailand, and collect up to half a mill. Rinse and repeat every 30 days.

16 hours ago, chilly07 said:

Absolutely amazing. Just when you thought humanity was doomed they CPR an elephant and reunite with baby. Now can they do something about european warmongers. One of those darts would be a start!

I'd even donate a whole crate of these darts. Finally a sensible investment.

13 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

So you have to have 1.1 million € and give up that for 3 years to get what!!!!!! 1 rai land. What kind house millionaire build in land size 1 rai!? Ok dont need cut grass coz dont have space for carden.

No. You actually have to have 1.1 million euros that you can comfortably risk investing in a shady local company or an even shadier "Infrastructure Fund", hoping for the best that it's still there after those 3 years.

But ON TOP of that you also will have to shell out the costs for purchasing the actual land, building the house on it, plus assorted associated expenses (land transfer fee / utility connection fees, which can be considerable if your house is out in the boonies / land tax / "super-duper elite visa" fees / lawyer fees / a number of "donations" stuffed in brown envelopes in order to speed the entire process along / etc.).

So all things considered I think you are looking at around 2.5 million euros if you want to have a half-decent house.  

But as a bonus for your generous commitment you also will receive a coupon for a free plate of pad thai. Or so I heard.  

16 hours ago, DezLez said:

Do we know what happens, legally, to them if they refuse the "treatment"? 

They'll be subjected to being "offended on" -- in their 70-people prison cell.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

“The company used to belong to my brother…and I did not see him for a long time now and the company was dealing in the hemp business, not marijuana,” he said

Yes, yes, Mr. Anutin, it's common knowledge that all Thai families (particularly the very, very rich ones) are very loosely knit entities whose members keep their assets strictly separate, guarding them jealously from one another. They never-never-never collaborate in any business dealings nor ever-ever-ever help each other out.

But wait... I vaguely remember that "other" politician who at one time had transferred all his shares in a certain telecom company to his children, apparently) so THEY could attempt selling off those shares. If they had succeeded, the sales profit would of course never (!) have benefitted the original share owner because (see above).

And then there was the case where majority shares in a business (and I believe it again was that '"ther" politician) apparently were held by the maid, which basically made her the richest maid in the world. And giving away those shares was of course a completely altruistic gesture by the original share owner...

But we believe you, Mr. Anutin. Since you haven't seen your brother "in a long time" and haven't been involved with your brother's company "for more than 20 years now", it certainly is pure coincidence that your brother's company has a stake in the hemp business. 

Just go rub some tree barks, see what numbers reveal themselves and then allocate those seats accordingly. It's not rocket science, really. Every country bumpkin knows how to do it (though admittedly for another purpose).

A long list of nationalities already get 30 days on the visa waiver program.

Visitors from these countries typically visit Thailand for 2 to 3 weeks, i.e. less than 30 days. 

Many others, including China and India, get a 15-day visa-on-arrival.

The average Chinese tourist stays for 5 - 6 days, the average Indian for about 1 week, i.e. less than 15 days.

So who exactly is that "fee exemption" supposed to benefit? The very small proportion of visitors who are able to take enough time off work and have the disposable funds available for a long-term stay?

Well, maybe it's all those millionaires Thailand wants to attract... you know, those people who couldn't care less if their visa cost them $50 or even $100.

2 hours ago, DBath said:

I’d prefer to use the term ‘two wrongs…

"Two Wongs" would perhaps be more appropriate in this particular case.

Well... is there anything those Muslims are NOT against?

Here is how "freedom" works, folks: You have a CHOICE. You can CHOOSE not to drink, not to do drugs, not to marry a same-sex partner, not to eat pork.

Just as much as you DO CHOOSE to marry 4 wives and up or peddle off your under-age daughters to marry old geezers.

And just because something is against YOUR religious beliefs, does NOT make it categorically bad or "damage youth and society."

If only you read any other books than that d**n [you know what], you might just be able to grasp the abstracts concepts of "liberalism" and "freedom" a little better. Just saying. 

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai and China agree to carry on a long-standing friendship

Aw, that is soooo heart-warming ????

So... for how long exactly has this magnificent friendship been standing?

After all, up until the early 1950s Chinese immigrants were regarded by the nationalist Thai governments as little more than second-class human beings -- and treated as such. Then the Korean War tagged along, which saw considerable Thai contingents fight the People's Army to the teeth in the rugged, cold northern parts of the country. And subsequently, from the Vietnam War up until the mid-1980s Thailand fought its very own communist insurgency, repeatedly accusing China of aiding and supporting the rebels.

Oh yes, what a long-standing friendship through thick and thin indeed. 

12 hours ago, webfact said:

restricting the use of the drug to those above the age of twenty and pregnant women

????

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I watched the reconstruction when they drove a car into said tree.

I hear they went through 5 convicts gang pressed into posing as Banyin's passenger before they finally had a reasonably good idea of what really had happened during that alleged "accident". 

I have never understood the fascination of people with Phuket. it's the paradigm of an ugly, overcrowded and overdeveloped tourist trap. There are so many considerably more attractive and unspoiled island destinations in Thailand and the region where you don't pay through the nose for just about everything.

I even have a couple of secret destinations that I'd never share with anyone, lest I'd have to kill that person.

Seems total paranoia is starting to set in. Or as "starky" so correctly remarked... REEFER MADNESS! ????

What's the big deal?

Pork intestines and congealed pork blood "cubes", grilled lizards, insects in any form and description, steamed "maengdar", skewered tarantulas, morning glory straight from the cesspool, jellyfish and sea cucumbers, half raw cockles, duck fetuses in their eggshells, "dancing" shrimps, ant eggs, snake blood, fermented fish, fermented rice paddy crabs, dried squid and octopus, dog and cat meat in the upper northeast. And yes, even grilled or fried baby mice and rats are served in quite a few Thai regions. 

After ALREADY HAVING obtained stupendous loans and a government bail-out package, gone through a comprehensive debt restructuring scheme and narrowly escaped utter bankruptcy, Thai Airways graciously informs us that they...

"...no longer seek massive loans" and that their "economic situation [is] looking better".

Go figure.

Now they can splurge again - hooray! - and in a decade or so we all are going to experience deja-vu once more. It's an endless cycle with this airline.