OneMoreFarang

Depending on what you do and if you need to get around town all the time then motorcycles are by far the fastest method. Then you can decide if you want to rely on the skills of the motorcycle taxi riders or if you want to blame yourself if something happens. IMHO many motorcycle taxi riders know what they are doing. But some think they are invincible. All in all I feel more comfortable to do it myself and blame myself if something happens. I ride in Bangkok since over 20 years, and I didn't have any accident which hurt. Worst case a collision with maybe 5km/h.

When I arrived in Bangkok many years ago I thought I will never ride a bike here. Then I used motorcycle taxis for years. I learned a lot from them. How cars and trucks and bikes ride in general. Where they use legal shortcuts like some small alleys instead of the main roads. Where they use illegal shortcuts. On the junctions on my usual way: red lights which are ignored and any other crazy moves which are done by many riders all the time. After years I bought a relative small and agile bike and I learned how to ride myself in this town. I recommend you by a small bike like 150cc. I suggest one with gears and clutch so that you get used to that. You will learn a lot with that little bike and if you have an accident or drop the bike, then the costs are not too high. Something like this. Perfect for Bangkok. 100km/h is no problem. Fast enough for the city and small enough to wiggle between the cars.

Please explain how it is possible that someone charges for a SMS which they send you. I understand that I might have to pay for SMS if I use roaming. But withing Thailand I don't know how that should work (without malware on the phone).

And who do you think came up with this idea? Thaksin's daughter? 555

They will do what is good for them personally and their criminal owner. Thailand? Who cares?

It seems some people break their arm(s) when they do that.

The problem with prison is that once people were in prison, they have often problems finding work, etc. And then they commit crimes (again). So, if it possible to keep people out of jail and still punish them that makes sense. IMHO that should not be used for serial offenders. If it is obvious that people commit crimes again and again, then lock them up!

I was never there and I don't plan to go there. It seems many of us have a distorted view about that continent. I recently saw a video (sorry, no link) that lots of people made up their mind about Africa since Bob Geldof and Band Aid in 1984. And then they never changed their mind. And it seems lots of "charity" organizations use that preestablished view of the continent to make money.

It is more and more obvious that nobody thought this through. They don't know who should get the money, they don't know how to implement it, the radius or area where it can be used, and I am sure there are other issues. On the other side it is obvious that they wanted to buy voters and that there will be big scams attached so that all that money is not "wasted". TiT. No transparency at all. And some people still support that party of the criminal.

Why do people buy these big plastic boxes with small engines? For me it seems they want to look like they have a big bike but can't afford or are not able to ride a real big bike. They should pay extra. 😉

To repeat from above: The printers are not banned in Thailand! People without import license are not allowed to import them. As far as I know it is possible to apply to get such a license, but obviously that requires work and time. I bought an original Prusa 3D printer from the Thai supplier. Problem solved.

Bangkok is home. There is no other city where I lived as long as I live here. And on a recent trip to the country where I grew up I kind of felt like a stranger.

I am sure if something like that happens to Thai people, they will think "I should have been more careful". Or maybe they think about bad luck and buying another amulet or whatever. Farangs, and especially farangs from that so called land of the free, like to blame road maintenance, the admiration, and whatever. And obviously they want millions for compensation. Personally, I think if there is i.e. a sewer cover, and that falls down when a person walks over it, that is the responsibility of the street maintenance, admin, something like that. But if someone crosses a street, he/she should look where he walks and act if there is a problem.

I have a little hope, just a little, that if such journalists would exist in Thailand, and if they would publish information like that, that then more people would ask why things happen the way they happen. I am pretty sure now, mostly through social media, there is already more exposed than years ago. Some politicians and influential people still get away with it. But others, also high up, go to jail. And for me it seems like more is exposed and more people, who used to be untouchable, go to jail. So there is hope that things will get better.

As we all know Thailand is not the USA. I wouldn't be surprised if the Hooters here have more rules what the girls and customers are allowed to do with each other are stricter in most other Thai restaurants and bars. All that corporate compliance and all that. And in Thailand not many people have to escape from political correctness.

Time to say goodbye.

Thaksin and this and that and he needs to be in hospital for this and that reason... Is there maybe one investigative journalist in Thailand who is able to find and publish a couple of statistics from inmates? Like: How many of them are considered seriously ill so that they have to be treated in a hospital? How long do they stay in average and maximum in hospital? How much money is spent on the treatment of the prisoners? Do they get same, worse or better treatment when they are inmates compared to ordinary Thais who work and pay for social security? Just publishing this information should give us all an idea if Thaksin is just one of those sick prisoners who get great medical care or if he is the exception.

Take care and all the best. And it is nice to read a "positive" story about your treatment by the emergency service.

Ask guys who go regular to bars and like those kind of girls and they will be able to tell you after a few minutes if she is new in the business - independent of her age.

If a guy can afford it, why not? The important part is he should not forget that he pays. If he pays regularly and he thinks she loves him that is a problem.

Bot necessarily. Some girls are happy if you pay for daily life - just like you would pay for a normal girl or wife who has no job. Personally I think it's fair enough to pay for daily life, and maybe even a little pocket money. But if she demands 5-digit monthly payments just to be with you, then it's obvious that she is not with you because she loves you.

Maybe because some of them are hot and available right now. And maybe they go in a bar and just want sex but then they think: That's a nice girl. Let's spend some time with her.

And what do these tens of thousands of hot single available friendly girls in Thailand want? A rich guy or at least a guy with a good income and a good-looking future. They also want that someone takes care of them. And they want kids and obviously the father pays for the kids, including the expensive school, etc. I wouldn't want a bar girl who did that job for years and now wants a comfortable retirement. But IMHO there are still some girls around, who just started with that job and are happy to stop it and settle down for one guy only. I also wouldn't want a "normal girl" who is online or offline looking for a rich guy. Because there is not such a big difference between normal girls who want a rich guy and bargirls who want a rich guy. Personally, I am since many years in a happy relationship, with a girl who I met in a bar. No problems - at least nothing that is specific only to bargirls. If I would ever be in the situation to look for a new gf, I would be open to normal girls and also bargirls who just started in that business. They are not all bad.

I wonder how many of those people are able to make informed decisions. Do they regularly go out at night? Late? Or maybe their children? Do they live in a nightlife area, and will a different closing time make a difference to them? Or is it just: They shouldn’t do that! Personally, I go out from time to time, but not as much anymore as I used to. And it’s a long time ago that they closed any bar while I was still there. When this discussion about changing from 2am to 4 am came up I asked one of the girls in Nana what she thinks about that. And she told me now they close already at 3am and not 2am. The same was confirmed by a friend in Soi Cowboy. I wonder how many of the people in this survey know details like that. I guess very few. So, they make decisions based on what?

Over the last years I looked at some of the reviews on YouTube of those things. They are getting better and better, and I would consider buying one. But the best of them use cameras and a permanent internet connection to be able to work as good as they do. And that is a reason for me not to buy one. I don't want a moving camera with unknown access in my home. I guess that "feature" will be eliminated in the next years. Let's see.