Travelman868

I wonder if Starbucks going to use the same tax avoidance schemes they use

in Europe.

" We can't pay tax coz we don't make a profit" Since opening in the UK

they have turned over 300 billion baht and only paid 200 million baht in

tax and nothing for the past 3 years They have 750 stores and claim they

do not make a profit. Well they are making nothing from me coz I not use now.

horrific accident , I guess this guy was not "used" to drive such powerful motorcycle ..Maybe the rental could ask the people some proper driving license ... shoking one more time .

having a drivers license doesnt automatically mean you have a brain, we rent bikes and always advise the renters thailand roads are extremely dangerous and to drive slowly, i am sorry for the guys family but we always see this kind of reckless driving usually from thais that we all complain about that put our lives at risk

If you rent bikes, do you rent BIG bikes to people who do not have a full bike licence ?? People who rent bikes on holiday

will have accidents from time to time but Thai cities and bikes over 250cc are unnecessary. I may be wrong but I would

suggest that experienced riders who have a full licence are unlikely to want a big bike.

horrific accident , I guess this guy was not "used" to drive such powerful motorcycle ..Maybe the rental could ask the people some proper driving license ... shoking one more time .

Yes, and, maybe the stories of the of the motorcycle taxi rider and the driver of the Honda City arte a total fabrication. Wouldn't be the first time would it they lies would be more advantageous

that being honest.

And of course it must have been the Russians fault because had he not been in the country it would not (could not) have happened.

Do be a bit sensible, the guy was in two pieces so he was travelling VERY fast. When will they stop renting big bikes to people

on holiday and without a full bike licence.

These 750's are faster than the racing bikes from 20 years ago and are not easy to ride.

I went to the Isle of Man a few years ago and even there, most of the riders did not know how to ride fast and safe.

I work on an oilfield in Kazakhstan and in my on and off 10 years here I have seen maybe a grand total of 5 motorbikes. People don't ride them here and obviously don't know how to....so why would someone who has never ridden a bike get on one in Thailand of all places,, on the wrong side of the road, without a helmet, without a license, probably pissed, at night.......as they say, the idiots' mothers are always pregnant......RIP but your own fault...and many other of your countrymen and your Russian cousins to follow I'm afraid.....

It should be illegal to hire a big bike to anyone without a proper licence. This is the third death in two weeks on that same road

In Pattaya there are so many Arabs riding these bikes all without licences. Total Madness

Go for tubeless tires.

You can get tubeless tyres for the little scooters?

You cannot use Tubeless Tyres on a rim made for Tubed Tyres it's dangerous

If you have tubed tyres buy a known brand of tube. There are better tyres available for some scooters but not all.

The Tyres supplied standard with the Honda PCX are not very good but IPC offer their Wave pattern with 70 series that

are a good fit front is 110/70x14 and rear 120/70x 14 work well wet or dry.

But ... the guy hopping out of the police van giving a V sign kinda contradicts the legless hero's claims!!! Like the smiling bomber in Bali, the V man has no remorse, so despatch him immediately, but the legless guy should spend time (about a lifetime) thinking about how stupid he really is. Footnote - love to see how he handles the squat starting block toilet in the Bangkok Hilton.

Footnote Thats a bit cruel

Ride in peace

I've seen so many inexperienced biker Deaths

It's time they made it compulsory to have a bike licence here

I've been riding 40 years

And even I get caught out now and again

God Bless

ah yes, a motorcycle licence.

"what colour this red dot? this yellow dot? this green dot?......ok!

press brake pedal when red light come on.........ok!

look at 2 sticks inside this box...........ok!

now you go pay over there....you got big bike licence".

"why thank you mr testing man, i will of course ride it sensibily".

I think that what was being said is :- before being able to hire a bike in Thailand you should have a BIKE licence from your

home country.

Being able to hire a big bike is nothing short of criminal. A friend of mine who used to race bikes says modern bikes are

dangerous for most riders and he sells them.

Thanks for your replies. Sorry should of given you more to work with. I'm a British citizen, spend 6 months a year in Thailand. Got a full UK driving licence and had for 15 years ish but unable to drive a motorbike in England as I'm not covered by the licence I got due to passed after a certain year I believe. Only thing concerns me I won't pass it if its just in Thai as not that confident yet. Thanks for the link ill get reading through that.

I did my full test in SaKaeo went to the immigration first and got the paper required from them plus my Drs cert. After registering done the reaction test and sight test both very easy then onto the theory which was done in Thai I had close to no idea what they were talking about but passed that test on the computer 26/30. Then went out on the bike and went round a small circuit very easy it was just a long day. I have to go back every year and get a new one which only takes a few hours to do to get the licence renewed. Not sure what other provinces are like. I only use a tourist visa but if you have a different visa you may be able to get a 5 year license after the first year.

There is only one bike licence in Thailand that I know of so you can ride any size of bike when you get it.

I got my licence up North East, the paperwork was the biggest pain. As I have a full UK and International licence for Bikes, Cars

and Trucks up to 7.5 tons I only did the Eye and Reaction test. Paid the money all done

None of the Thai guys I know on the estate I live in are getting anywhere near 40k a month.

The combined wage of most Thai families I know is 24-28k a month.

Generally the wife seems to have a better education (degree) and wage (14k) than the man (10k).

This is in a middle class, Thai only, estate just outside CM, bank staff, office workers, teachers, nurses, police, etc.

Another really odd happening

When the men get paid, end of month, they are expected to bring their wage packet home, unopened, and hand it to their wife. She will then open the wage packet, count the money and hand the guy 200-400bht for him to spend. She keeps the rest to pay household bills.

Same in Japan

About 68,970 police manned 2,339 checkpoints, stopped 719,010 vehicles and charged 123,770 people with traffic offences, of whom 37,420 did not wear safety helmets and 34,936 could not produce a driver's licence.

Every kid in the whole country isn't wearing a helmet these 3 days.

In the cities most are wearing helmets but in the country they never do anyway.

35,000 could not produce a driving licence Hmmmmm That may be because they do not have a licence and while the odd

fine of 200 baht is the penalty they will never get one.

but Thai can get border crossing permits easily.

My TG and I tried crossing over the Thai-Lao Friendly Bridge in Mukdahan and Immigration said she needed a Passport. Where can a Thai get a border crossing permit?

We used to live in Udon and used Friendship Bridge crossing for visa runs. Thai friend never had a problem just show ID and fill in form, no cost.

I had to pay the usual 1500 baht.

On an earlier post someone was saying that going into Laos would cancell his single entry type O and that was correct. I'm not sure why people get

the single entry when the multi is not much more expensive and allows total flexibity

The real scoop is the relatively low death toll on Thai roads considering the driving habits.

According to the article in the OP, Thailand had "only" 9,205 traffic deaths in 2011, which surprised me.

We can compare that to the following figures from the year 2000, from countries with approximatively the same population as Thailand:

France: 8.079

Germany: 7.503

UK: 3.409

Switzerland: 592 (but with only 8 million pop, multiply by about 8) = approx. 2400 equivalent.

Agreed, nowadays the figures in Europe are much lower, by about half.

BUT: what gets me thinking is how reluctant I am today to take the car to go anywhere in Switzerland or to drive long distances, because of the PITA it is to drive, because everything is forbidden, no place to park, parking tickets, ridiculous speed limits and the high risk of getting caught speeding exceeding the limit forced upon us, police looking for yellow jackets in the car, etc. driving in Europe is constant stress.

I wonder if nazism on the roads for the sake of safety is really worth it if it only achieves to halve or quarter the road deaths if compared to a country like Thailand, where driving remains a much more enjoyable experience than in Europe.

The figure for deaths is only the ones who actually die on the spot. It does NOT include people who die in hospital

as a result of the accident. The UN figure is 26,000+ killed.

69000 incidents Hmmmmmm Anyone who lives here know's that is a huge underestimate.

So if he didn't damage the apartment, then what was the motive of the landlord?

Everytime we have rented a house and paid a deposit we had to fight for the money back. Thai landlords seem to think they

can keep the deposits after making silly reasons.

I will only rent with a 1 month deposit now and take care.

Yet another num nut Thai driver trying to overtake when there is a line of traffic and no space to go into.

The tactic of barging back into the line and expecting someone to jam on their brakes for you sometimes has fatal results.

My sincere condolences to the families of the unfortunate walkers - they weren't even in the traffic!

R

What a tragedy RIP and condolences to their families.

However, the driver that seemed to cause the accident is in critical condition:

Snip>Kom Petcharat, the sedan driver, told police that he was driving home from the Lamai beach. Chamnan Choowaree, the truck driver, tried to overtake Kom but cut Kom’s car off too early, causing a rear-end collision, Kom said. Losing control of their cars and driving off the road, Kom was unharmed but Chamnan drove into a teashop, leaving him in critical condition. Chamnan was rushed to Bangkok Hospital, Thairath reported.<Snip

This happens all the time, driver tries to push into line when there is no place. I thought the driving in Udon was bad but Pattaya

is inhabited by far more moronic idiot drivers. I found a new way to cross the road here, I point at the car I want to stop and shout lol

it seemed to work but I still take care.

So this proposed new measure will keep death & carnage off the roads during the festival period ??

By baning the sale of alcohol over the three day festival, widely publicised beforehand of course so Joe public can stock up on their favourite brew, still enjoy their 3 day beer fest & the government keeps it's revenue coming in, problem solved!!

PROBLEM NOT SOLVED!!

Are they not capable of thinking any policy through to the end ??

People will stock up on alcohol ahead of the festival & still feel the need to drive.. this will never stop drink driving in a million years !!

Police mounting road blocks on every corner with the advisory reading: if you drink & drive during this period you WILL be banned automatically for a year, you WILL go to jail for 6 months, you WILL pay a huge fine, your insurance cover WILL double in price..

As in other countries this WILL have more effect !!

Banned for a year ??? Huge fine ??? Insurance Double ????/

Where do you live in Thailand ????

We were 12 people sitting and I asked "how many have a driving licence" the reply NONE, yet they ALL rode motorbikes. Therefore no one had

insurance and they did not have the money for huge fines.

Standard fine outside the big cities for, No licence, helmet, insurance, underage, speeding etc etc 200 baht for one or all of these offences. In the

country areas it's impossible to move around without driving.

However Thailand does need to do something about the accident rate. The official figures are far from accurate, the UN figure for deaths at 26000

is horrendus but I suspect the true figure is 30000 + and injuries run into hundreds of thousands.

The driving test in a nonsence because it can be passed with no training what so ever.

Every country has their own laws on "Underage sex", "Underage workers" etc. It's pretty much a crime in most country's for someone over 18 to have sex with someone 17 or under. 18 seems to be the magic number. ....Here in Thailand, it's agains't the law for anyone under 19 to be working in the bars. Not sure if Karoke bars are included. ...

Umm ...wrong. The age of consent in "most" countries is 15 or 16, regardless of the age of another participant, and 18 is no more unusual than 13 (12 and 21 are unusual).

The only countries which have laws on "underage workers" are Thailand and Japan, at 18.

... and its against the law in Thailand for someone who is under 20 to work in a bar (although they can be a customer at 18!).

I thought the rules were 18 to work in a bar BUT 20 as a customer.

The official age of consent in Thailand is 15, however if there is reward involved then the age is 18

Spain is 13 and some other EU countries have 14 or 15 age limits but very often age differences come into the

equasion. (sic)

looks like this is simply being tossed into the too hard basket, they know who the terrorists are but do nothing about it. Its time they started their own killing campaign against these so called terrorists if they know who they are but they are too busy sitting around doing bugger all. Until they actually start doing something about these people it will never change, they simply are not interested in arresting anyone, maybe they are being paid to ignore it all......

I don't think that is the case. The fact is, that Muslims think they have a right to do what they want to infidels, they don't care about the

misery they cause.

The fundermentalists want Sh ia law inposed on everyone. Women should be just available to produce babies and remain uneducated.

The problem the police have is that the Muslim community will not give up these people, this happens all over the world. They say they

do not agree with the killing but say nothing, which is condoning the acts.

While having nothing against the majority of peaceful Muslims we are getting close to taking drastic action. The Thai Government

thinks they can have worthwhile talks with these people but nothing will come of it. Unless you are Muslims they will not

honour their words.

The killing will go on and on.

The answer is not easy as these criminals hide among the ordinary people. Thailand will never give up the land and with so many

troops down there it is costing a fortune.

Maybe they should have a vote to see how many people want to remain Thai, the result would give the Government an idea of

the true situation. If 70/80% want to remain Thai then they will know what they are up against. If the Vote is 70/80% to become

independant Islamists then they will have to decide how to deal with that but at least they will have a better idea

So if you read the full news reports here, you'll be told:

--the three farang were arrested and will be criminally charged.

--the three Thais were were also involved as actors/participants in the filmed porn were being held as "witnesses." No mention of criminal charges.

--and the Thai police sent in a Thai woman posing as a wanna-be actress to get enough info for them to obtain a court search warrant.

Doesn't that sound just a bit like un-equal treatment???

The farangs only could be charged with working without valid work permits. But all of the participants (farang and Thai) presumably could have been charged with performing/engaging in porn.

AND having a bunch of YaBa as well

It would be nice to see more police officers on or in vehicles that were fast enough to catch the nutters in their - dare I say it? - Fortuners, or on their souped up bikes (mostly Thai) especially if they could be persuaded to be on patrol AFTER the sun goes down.

The police could also have a crackdown in ALL areas after dark, for vehicles without lights. In the country areas it is so common.

Of course had the driver known how to slow his vehicle by using his gears this would have been avoided. First thing I was taught when getting my Class 5 (HGV) and Road Train licences was how to stop the vehicle using gears and how to change without using a clutch (because if the hydraulics fails you don't have a clutch). At any rate thankfully the guy had not picked up the tourists first. And lastly, maintenance goes a long way. If the vehicle was using air brakes, when the air fails the brakes come on but it would seem he only had hydraulic. By using old chassis, and plonking new bodies on them (common in Thailand) then maintenance has to be paramount. Checking fluid levels are also essential daily for any heavy vehicle driver before leaving the yard/depot.

Double de clutching, or shifting gears using engine revs.

The bus may have had air brakes, early types did not lock on when air ran out.

Thankfully he had not picked up passengers

Very sad, but happens on a daily basis seemingly. Having been a reluctant passenger of minivans and tour buses in the distant past, what really gets me is the passengers who accept the outrageousely stupid driving as "normal", and who are just too meek to protest even when their lives are in obviously serious danger.

So true. Thai people do get upset but will not say anything. I don't use minivans, I would rather hire a car for the day at 800 baht.

We have been living in Udon for a couple of years and I thought the driving there was a bit iffy, just come back to Pattaya for a while

and the standard of driving here is awful. Not just Thai's, the farang's on scooter are totally stupid.

I know the idea of a driving licence for Thai's depends on where you live but people who are on holiday should have the appropriate

licence.

If everybody did the right things when going to a toilet it wouldn't be such an issue.

It's not the style of toilet but the people who make this a problem.

Hygiene is not something the Thais do well anyway plus farang in this country get a bit slack also.

Washing hands, flushing toilets, not leaking on the seats or floors for the matter.

Avoid using a hose to wash your a** cause they just never get cleaned, but then again

I would avoid public toilets all together, only if I really need to go do I ever use one.

I only ever use one if I have to go but then thats the only time most people use a loo.

So it's not just foreigners that are still ruining Phuket's reputation? I thought we were always to blame. It probably was the German guys fault for leaving his stuff on the beach, instead of renting a chair!

I don't understand why the German was upset. The boy ran over his helmet so it's proberbly a better fit than before.

Why would ANYONE in their right mind, provide the money and knowhow to start a business and hand control to someone else.

As a Farang I would even have to give control of the bank account to a Thai person. Now I'm not suggesting that I would automatically

be ripped off but !!!!!

It's just a non starter

As for the rules on land, I don't have a problem there. Even in Europe problems are caused when lots of foreigners move in and buy up

holiday homes. Spain is a good example. A few years ago it was possible to buy a villa for £25000 then everyone jumped on that

wagon and the prices went up to £100000. This stoppped the locals from buying in their own country. Now prices are back to £50000

Cyprus proberbly has the best system, they have land that is set aside for foreigners and the rest is for locals. Prices for locals are reasonable as are the taxes. Foreigners pay far more and also pay more tax.

Sure GLAD I don't live in Phuket !!!

So are we.......

was going to move out there in 20 11 but for sure now think the uk is paradise as for phuket and patattya only rubbish go there and drunks sexuall predetors and scumbags

Your one of the few that thinks the UK is paradise. All I read is discontent about HM Gov and the EU. Your comments about people who go to Pattaya are out of order.

When I went to Spain last year the place was full of drunken brits puking in the street and girls waving their knickers in the air