Misterwhisper

That surely is going to help to... what was the wording?... ah, yes... "enhance the quality of life of [Thailand's] people on a sustainable and self-sufficiency path." Because "space" and "aviation" and "aerospace" is what concerns most people in this country on a daily basis so they can lead sustainable and self-sufficient lives.

Funny. Because it will be exactly these same hotels which in a week's time will be woefully empty again and drop their prices by 70% or more, moaning endlessly how dismal business is. And of course you can blame the hospitality industry for their rollercoaster pricing strategy. There is absolutely no reason why the same hotel room should cost 8,000+ baht today and only 3,000+ next week. it's the same room, the same overhead. Just imagine you went to a restaurant during a public holiday that asks 1,500 baht for the same set meal for which you had only paid 499 baht two days earlier. Would you feel cheated? I would.

These have got to be the ugliest swimsuits I ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes upon...

fewer FEWER!

Of which they apparently spend 30 years in retirement, living relatively comfortably on total savings of 3.1 million baht. "The National Economic and Social Development Council estimates that each person now needs approximately 3.1 million baht to spend around 30 retirement years in relative comfort."

And at what age are they actually retiring here if they can spend 30 years in retirement? At 40?

Mr. Nitinai is going to be in for a rude, rude awakening. Provided that his figure of 2,490 international flights over the April 11-17 period is correct, it would mean an average of around 120,000 international arrivals per day if the lofty 1 million total is to be reached at all. That would require each of these 2,490 inbound international flights to carry about 400 passengers. The only three aircraft types capable of doing so are the Boeing 747, the Boeing 777-9, and the Airbus A380 -- and only IF they are all loaded to maximum passenger capacity, which is an impossibility under Covid-19 mandated seating arrangements. All other aircraft types have maximum capacities of well under 400 passengers. So unless Mr. Nitinai has reliable information that ALL of these expected international arrival flights are of the three types described above AND that they are ALL booked out down to the very last seat too, it's just not working out arithmetically. But here is a clue: It looks very much as if Nitinai ADDED UP domestic AND international flights. His projected figure is NOT for international arrivals only, though the article quoted him as saying exactly that (cf. "Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) has indicated that around one million tourists. are expected to arrive in Thailand"). In my opinion Mr. Nitinan can consider himself lucky if international arrivals even reach a quarter of his projected 1 million within the ridiculously short time span of just 7 days. And let's not forget that a sizeable proportion of international arrivals are going to be Thai nationals returning to their home country for a family visit during the Songkran holiday, i.e. they are NOT tourists.

"As long as the Thailand Pass is on, I pass on Thailand."

Will it be okay if I submit clips of actual POLICE OFFICERS on motorbikes consistently violating practically every traffic law under the sun, including driving against the traffic flow, driving on footpaths, parking in prohibited areas, doing illegal u-turns, exceeding the speed limit, illegally crossing several traffic lanes at once, overtaking on the left, running red traffic lights, not stopping at "Stop" signs, driving down the wrong way in a one-way street, wearing no helmet, etc. etc.? I can deliver 1 clip daily -- and not just for 7 days but for 365 days. Shall I already plan my retirement? I reckon I can live rather comfortably on 10,000 baht a day.

Perhaps it would help the average motorist to lower their expenditure for vehicle fuel if they didn't need to jump on their motorbike or in their car for each and every god-da*n trip to the mom-and-pop store or "kap-khao" stall just 150 meters down the soi.

Is there still any product the Chinese haven't stolen/copied/back-engineered yet? I'm surprised they seem to have so much difficulty copying that MTU engine. I recall that classical story of a U.S. manufacturer (and copyright owner) of a particular communications chipset filing an international lawsuit against a Chinese company a couple of decades ago for having stolen their design and flooding the market with dirt cheap copies of the chipset. The plaintiff showed the court that even the English-language technical information leaflet the Chinese supplied with their copies featured EXAC TLY THE SAME word misspellings the original manufacturer had deliberately scattered throughout the text. But the Chinese company's lawyers argued that those exact same misspellings had appeared "by sheer coincidence" and were therefore NOT admissible as proof that their client had stolen and copied the design. The court dismissed the case.

A train full of Thai fruits? I hope they'll be welcomed in China with a brass band, a cheering crowd and lots and lots of confetti.

Look at the bright side: it easily beats the international arrival at Pyongyang airport.

It surely is a good initiative to ban single-use plastics from national parks. But please forgive me for asking: Who is going to police that? Is every single visitor going to have their rucksacks, duffel bags and vehicles searched from now on? Then, of course... what about those single-portion beverage tetrapacks that are so popular here, as well as PET bottles and aluminum cans? They seem to make up a large proportion of discarded items, not only in national parks but everywhere. Just walk along any railway line in Thailand and you'll know what I mean. Lastly, I always cringe when I read the ambiguous wording "a fine of up to xxx baht" because it gives me a quite clear idea to what "sort of people" the top fine is going to applied and what "sorrt of people" are going to get away with a couple of hundred baht, if any fine at all. In this case, "up to 100,000 baht" can factually mean anything between 0 and 100,000, so that is a huge spread. For a simple regulation like this, why can't the authorities just come up with a fixed flat-rate fine for EVERYBODY? You're caught bringing in a single-use plastic item into a national park, you pay 1,000 baht. You're caught again, you pay another 1,000, and so on. You arrive as a family of 5 and everybody has single-used plastics stowed away in their rucksacks, you pay 5 x 1,000 baht. And regardless of nationality or social status. Simple, isn't it? Perhaps most importantly, erect HUGE signs in both Thai and English right at the entrances of every national park, so nobody can claim they didn't know about the regulation. And make sure there also are appropriate containers right next to those sings where people can dispose of their prohibited items.

With all due respect, has there EVER been a time when "confidence in the force" was NOT "undermined" by the routine misconduct and lawbreaking of a large proportion of its members? I've been digging into my memories of the last 30 years and tried to identify a particular time period when the RTP actually DID enjoy confidence and trust. I failed. When something doesn't exist it cannot be "undermined".

True. But ONLY cannabis plants yielding no more than 0.2% THC by dried weight. Every other plant variety will remain illegal. Low-THC cannabis is also known as "commercial hemp" and is grown on an industrial scale mainly for its fibers, which can be made into linen cloth -- or ropes. These varieties will NOT make "high". You could just as well roll up your linen shirt and smoke it. High-THC cannabis will remain illegal. Only "academic research institutes" and of the government are permitted to grow it in high-security compounds. However, as far as I know, there are no limits on the content of that other main chemical compound in the cannabis plant, CBD (cannabidiol). Extracts and oils are reputed to have various beneficial medical effects. In that context, "Thailand's cannabis liberalization" is misleading, as it only and exclusively refers to cannabis varieties that explicitly do NOT induce a "high".

A bong dream?

Nope. If anything, they are advertising "nam plaa raa with HEMP leaves added". Because "cannabis" is still highly illegal. Like many other countries, Thailand makes a legal distinction between "hemp" and "cannabis": > Hemp = a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content not exceeding 0.2% by dried weight (that's the ganja variety which has now been legalized and which Anutin is promoting so vigorously) > Cannabis = a THC content of more than 0.2% by dried weight (that's the ganja variety that is still illegal and lands you in jail if you grow it in your backyard)

"One item on the 8 item checklist, called for decisive action against places of prostitution if they break the law." In other words: prostitution is perfectly okay during all other days of the year. A bit like that annual "7 Dangerous Days" road accident-prevention ritual where "decisive action" is only taken during a single week while the carnage is allowed to commence unabated as soon as Songkran is over. So what's the goal post for that magnificent campaign? A 5% reduction in prostitution-induced orgasms compared to last year? You know, like the same reduction rate that they have in mind for road accidents. We also need to give that valiant campaign a catchy moniker. I suggest "7 Dangerous STD-Ridden Days".

Maybe they could dispatch a salvaging expedition to Koh Chang. I hear nearly the entire Thai Navy is lying there off-shore, sunk courtesy of the French in 1941. Might be possible to retrieve a couple of old engines there and restore them. Good enough for second-hand Chinese junk subs.

I wonder if the Chinese are aware that all those German engines have integrated circuit boards made in... Taiwan.

Yes, but please remember: 1 World Cup. ONE! ONE!!! And that was well over half a century ago! Of course Ze Chairmans have pulled ahead quite a bit since then, having won FOUR titles in total. .AND they own RR.

And Rolls Royce is owned byyyyy....? (Yes, that's right!)

Be careful what "ties" you wish for!

Oh for goodness' sake! Just install a large rubber band in place of a complicated German engine and be done with it. At least the glorious Thai Navy will know how to operate it.