Gsxrnz

No mention of the train driver doing a runner?

I answer all requests for new handbags/shoes/dresses etc. with "mai mee dtang". That seems to translate easily but is rarely appreciated or understood. She then starts talking about something sticky.......it's a confusing language.

Paint a bar of soap in clear nail polish/varnish. Guaranteed never to lather no matter how much you rub.

Change the contents of a shampoo bottle with sunscreen. Also guaranteed never to lather. If you want to be a total prick, exchange the shampoo for hair removal cream instead - might be a bit of a test on your friendship though.

Inject some white vinegar laced with chilli down a tube of toothpaste. It will lather......and your mate will be frothing.

Another chink in the facade that this group of monkeys in brown uniforms is supposed to uphold the law,

when in fact they are nothing more than extortionists with a government franchise.

Their mission in life is not to enforce the law, but rather to strip money from people. To even call them police

is absurd, and to append Royal in front of their name carries the absurdity even further. I have said it before

and I will say it again, fire every one of them, and start new with massive jail terms for behavior like this.

I agree with everything you say. However Thailand has the problem of who watches the watchers, and who watches the watchers that are watching the watchers.....it's a never ending chain of corruption that is so entrenched, nothing short of a western occupying force coming in with their guns locked and loaded is going to solve the problem. And that's unlikely to happen.

I cannot see any form of natural social evolution capable of dragging Thailand out of the current state of affairs. Maybe if there was a "real" civil war where the people revolted against the combined units of the police, army, and government. But that's not going to happen either. The Thai public are too laissez faire in their attitude, they're quite happy to be reamed every day by their civil and military masters.

Unfortunate to say, but maybe something like a huge national disaster resulting in millions dead, and a total financial and social meltdown which results in western aid and administration over an extended period, is the only hope that Thailand has for emerging as an altered society.

Loved the comment "Then business owners can be fairly taxed by the government, which is a preferable alternative to paying local officials under the table,”

Such insight is a rare commodity in Thailand.

Its a case of "look at us and see how well we did", ego boosting...plus you need a photo to pad out each and every news story that only ever comprises of 2sentences not including the prison one.

Sent from my GT-I8160

Not forgetting the four line paragraph that gives the rank, name, and station of all the BIB in the picture - that's half the story in itself.

We have yet to see anything explaining how this was triggered in the first place.

Pretty obvious I would have thought - inherent corruption is the cornerstone of the Royal Thai Police modus operandi. A kidnapping scam is just another day at the office for them. They don't need a "trigger".

In effect the police were actually performing their official duty to extract as much cash as they can from any kind of scam they can dream up. The plan was pretty good, however their performance was a little amateurish.....but that's not unusual.

"The case therefore potentially brings shame upon the entire police force, due to its global exposure."

An interesting choice of words, which seems to imply that were it not for the global exposure, there would be no shame brought upon the police force?

Those words appear in different forms in most reports of Thai police or government corruption being exposed internationally.

The government, police, army, press, and general public work on the "tree falling over in the forest" theory - If nobody heard it, it didn't necessarily happen.

I feel especially sad about the demise of the little fat girl statuette in this particular saga.

Some of the Russian blokes and a few other nationalities that wear "speedos" at the beach should watch this old ice-cream commercial from NZ.

Note that we call swimwear "togs".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyd0ey_FXB8

http://youtu.be/Vyd0ey_FXB8

There's only one thing worse than a fat, hairy, beer swilling, foul mouthed expat wearing a Chang wife-beater.

And that's a fat, hairy, beer swilling, foul mouthed expat that thinks it's OK to walk around bare gutted with his Chang wife-beater tucked into the back of his camo cargo shorts. Bunch of muppets with as much style as a $2 Rolex.

By all means don't tip any Thai person. We don't want those Thai workers earning 300 baht a day to get uppity ideas that they are worth any more and as good as us. Just bicker and haggle over every baht, and pick up those fallen satangs off the street.

What a horrendously racist rant.

Shame on you!

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6A using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I notice some comments travel at an extremely high altitude over some people's heads.

Or is this a funny reply to the sarcasm I think it was meant to be. Oh dear...............

Hmmm.....the double entendre - leaves many of us in rather a quandary, what??

Getting "intubated" sounds a bit gruesome though - wonder what that translates too?

I'm an unsophisticated eater and easy to please.

Bangers and mash. Punch and Judy, Thepprasit Soi 8.

Whether the BIB was fact or fiction (I suspect fiction), I'm concerned that your wife didn't try and negotiate the amount down.

Also concerned hat she didn't ask for firm proof that it was a genuine situation - such as a photograph of the scene, or a video call with the BIB. Every Thai girl worth their salt has video apps on their phone.

My pickup has over 60,000Km on the clock (I just had the service) and is 17 months old. I have them change the filter at every service, and I’ve spent a total of THB 10,125 for service. If I break the cost of service cost down by time, it’s about THB 20.0/day or THB 600/month. I spend more than that having it washed.

Also worth noting is that fuel costs THB 2.3 per Km, and service costs THB 0.17/Km, so fuel costs 35 times as much as the service.

Yeah, let’s cheap out on the service!

I don’t get it. It reminds me of a guy that has $5,000 worth of gear and spends $2,000 to go fishing, and then squeaks at spending $20 for new line.

You make some good points. Most engines appreciate being looked after and the filter change at regular intervals will give you improved mileage and performance as well.

Re your fishing mate - I've got one that spent 60k on golf clubs, spends 8-10k a week playing golf, and buys the cheapest nastiest second hand balls he can find.

Happens in many bars in Patts/Jomtien. They even give a little certificate of donation, even has an expiry date.

The first stop the scammers make is at the local BIB office to let them know they're operating in the area. PC's are confiscated and the BIB act as intermediaries. Of course, the BIB get their cut. Local rumour is 30-50%, depends on how scared the "perpetrator" is or how foolish they are. Have heard of it being north of 50k on a few occasions. 20-30k seems the norm though.

It's usually the bar owners Thai wife that does the negotiating. Sometimes it's a trusted Thai friend or staff member. Not unheard of for the negotiator to take a slice of the pie as well.

Or even better - one guy gets it negotiated down to 20k and gets a phone call from wife to bring the money. He gives a new staff member the money to go to the cop shop and pay the music police and get the PC. Staff member got permanently lost on the way...............TIT !.

How long before one of our fruitloop TV naysayers manages to pin this on the Thai bloke for parking his boat on the beach?

I'm still holding out for the blame being laid on the railing heights of Thai balconies or that someone didn't pay tea money or that Hitler's picture was displayed on the boat. I'm pretty sure those three things alone are to blame for 90% of the bad things that happen here to otherwise blameless farangs according to the resident gurus.

No no it can NEVER be a Thais fault, just ask any Thai.

Sigh............

What kind of motorbike was he driving since he could be thrown 50 meters from impact..

Any kind of bike. It's a complex calculation with lots of variables, but a throw of 50m after colliding with a stationary object implies a speed in the region of 65 klm/h at impact. Not really that fast.

your kidding right, 65k crash equals 50mt throw as you Put it, Perhaps you could outline your calculations, this idiot was cruising to say the least to be thrown 50m

Here's a link with the calculations - fill your boots. http://www.tarorigin.com/art/Arich/

Throw plus slide, particularly in the wet, would be around 50m at approximately 65klm/h if hitting a stationary object head on, subject to the variables in the equation. I've high-sided at slow speeds like that and wound up more than 50M from launch point. Also wound up a lot closer due to different circumstances.

Anyway, we don't have enough information to confirm his speed. He may have hit the trailer a glancing blow, maybe he got the brakes on before impact.....too many unknowns.

They're a week short of a year. It's up to you if you want to pay them more than their legal entitlement or not.

If you do pay the higher amount and are scared of future ramifications, set an internal HR rule that you will pay the higher severance in future only if time served is within say, 30 days of the next trigger point, and only at the company's discretion.

That way, a precedence is set but you have the policy documented to give you full control.

I don't see the problem, your cousin wanted his friend 'tenant in common' to become sole owner of the appartment when he ( your cousin) died.

Your cousin's friend has posession of the appartment, though seems not to have had the title officially transfered to their name.

Now a will has turned up in favour of the friend you say your cousin wanted to be the beneficiary of his estate.

Where's the problem?

That's how I read it too, perhaps our OP could clarify if that is indeed the case.

If so it's just some legal tidying up needed (and probably a fee at the land office).

Yeah I'm a bit confused too. Is it possible there are two "friends" in the story?

 

I have a Camry which is now almost 5 years old but has only 32.000 km.

I suspect that they would like to do a 60.000 km service next time when it is in the garage.

As long this is a normal service i don't care how they call it but if this is one of the big intervals with for example belt change i will pass as this only has to be done when you really are doing the mileage.

 

Rubbish, belt changes especially the "Timing Belt" are very time dependent as the belt rubber hardens, like tyres.

Failure to change can result in catostrophic engine failure if they break. I just paid $AUD1800 to have it done on wifes 2006 Holden Vectra (Opel/Vauxhall) with 35000Km in Perth

AUD1800 for a cam belt change sounds a bit over the top. Did they do anything else at the same time?

It would cost about $400 in New Zealand for labour and the belt.