sfbandung

He doesn't look at all distressed by his predicament. And surely that can't be the parent of the victim? Just sitting there casually and not wringing his neck.

Is he in his pyjamas?

It's just so bizarre.

He gives his entire net worth (apart from the car and bike) to a chick he hasn't even shagged? 18M baht house? It would have to be Bangers unless it was on a 1000 rai block. Then does it again. What was the compo claim for? A brain injury?

I am sure you have better things to do than make up stuff and post it here, but you must admit it defies belief.

People referring to Private Dancer as if it shows how bad Thai ladies can be must have read a different version to the one I read. Idiot farang meets pretty prostitute, leaves her working in the bar and can't understand why she keeps shagging for money. Keeps crapping on about how happy he is when she wais him. Belts her one and gets taken out by the chick's sister. And he had the advantage of wealth and a good education. Not to mention the high quality individuals running the bars, particularly the one where "Joy" works. What a poor excuse for a human being. It is much more anti stupid-and-morally-bereft-Farangs than Thais doing what they have to do to survive.

I wonder what Stephen Leather's intention was?

"However, losses will be less severe should the gold price stop its downward spiral and start to increase."

Good to see the article was penned by a financial genius.

Thai national news is not worded for the benefit of geniuses, it's worded for mostly rural people who are quite the opposite and who don't have the benefit of a western education, you're a bright lad so you could have figured that one out, or perhaps not!

Never claimed to be a bright lad.

My father in law is a member of the "rural people" you speak of and if they are savvy about nothing else, they are very au fait with commodity prices. Perhaps I was being unjustly harsh but it did seem to be stating the obvious.

The Thai soaps have universal appeal. And language is no barrier as the story is always the same. Boy meets girl, boy (or girl) screws around, gets caught (usually at some private place like a shopping centre), lots of crying, unhappy mothers yelling at unrepentant offspring, some music, more crying, lots more crying, and everything works out in the end.

The end.

I haven't seen the movie and the worm eating scene sounds quite unique, but I bet the plot is basically the same. The poster even has the chick crying for Buddha's sake.

I think this was "advertorial". She paid the Nation reporter to do the story.

It was a bloody good investment. S/he is famous now.

And the police must have accepted the gender reassignment was successful adn that she is a woman. A bloke going topless is no problem and wouldn't have been charged ....

I believe those high numbers of casualties during a holiday season are unique in the world.

Indeed they are! Most countries with good highway infrastructure, strong driving laws enforcement, and skilled, capable ( I say that with some reluctance) drivers see holiday death tolls at a fraction of Thailand's during this and other holiday seasons. Most in this forum know why they're so high.

NOW...., ban all motor bike traffic (without exception!) during this time and the number would be cut by 65%+. Unfortunate that this is the single most common form of transportation here.

Why stop there?

Ban alcohol as well.

Ban everything. Sex. How dangerous is that? People dying of AIDS all the time. Ban Songkran, and Loy Kratong. Think of the fire risk. And drinking. And motorbikes. Pushbikes too. Ban walking. Some people walk around without looking where they are going and bump into innocent people. Swimming. Lots of people drown whilst swimming. Eating. The food poisoning numbers are horrific. Waking up. If everybody slept all the time then nobody would ever die.

And just after the switch from left to right hand driving. Amazing what April 1st can bring. Same stat here as that one. Better than half the replies taking it seriously ...

I only ploughed through 5 pages of replies and unless there is a vast amount of sarcasm out there more than half the replies are actually taking it seriously.

Fair dinkum. Next you'll be believing that the gorgeous woman in the ad for the dating site is really single and just waiting for you to whisk her away ...

This sounds like one of those rules where if everyone complied they would drown in paperwork. Our house is in my wife's name (please don't bombard me with how silly I am, our place in Oz is in my name) so technically every time we are in Thailand we should report that I am staying there. Which we don't do of course. This must be happening thousands of times every day.

Even the article says they are looking at hotels and guest houses, where it makes sense. If a (farang) mate comes round, has a drink and decides to stay in the spare room we are techincally required to report that? Madness.

Two Brits, a Dutchman, a Filipino and two Thais walk into a bar .....

And it isn't a joke. What is a joke is that anyone falls for these scams? Are there that many gullible idiots out there?

But the police won't get tough on them. They never get tough on anything they say they are going to get tough on.

YIngluck has just visited PNG (where I live with the Thai missus) and all the talk at the yacht club on Monday night was about what a honey she is. She certainly attracts attention.

But other than her looks can you tell me anything significant about her visit?

And that is the point - looks good, but that's all people remember about her.

Which is actually quite insulting and shallow when you think about it, that you are only remembered for your smile as opposed to your ability to do the job. Yet this is the card our venerable PM consistently plays.

I don't really take politics seriously. Being an Aussie I'd be pretty bloody depressed right now if I did. Australian politics at the moment makes Thai politics look like a picture of rational stability.

Yingluck inspires more respect from me than Julia Gillard. And to be shallow and insulting, as a bonus she is also much better looking ...

YIngluck has just visited PNG (where I live with the Thai missus) and all the talk at the yacht club on Monday night was about what a honey she is. She certainly attracts attention.

It really is depressing how almost every thread turns into a Thai bashing session. This is a scam, that's a scam, they are bad drivers, bad people, Thailand is crap. The opening reply is a thinly disguised slur on Thai women in general.

We only bought our car this year and missed out on the rebate which on the surface seemed a good idea. And my Thai wife is a good chick.

How many of the foreigners (note I'm not singling out any nationality) killed on the roads in Thailand are pissed idiots on motorbikes?

They do seem to be conflicting ambitions. Get the numbers up, keep the numbers down.

Comparisons with Europe are simply irrelevant. The allure of Thailand is its difference to Western culture.

As I keep saying to people, good weather + poverty + pretty girls = a vibrant prostitution industry. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as ALL the participants are willing and no one is being exploited. What I also say to people is that you can very easily avoid that side of Thailand and see a staggeringly beautiful place with genuinely nice people, great food and an intriguing culture and history. I recommended a flash hotel at Krabi to some friends who spent a week there with their kids. Hired long tail boats, went island hopping, wandering around and eating at nice little places at Ao Nang. They never saw a hooker or were scammed by anyone. They had a fantastic time and will speak highly of Thailand.

It's a great country.

We live in PNG, Thai missus for 3 and a half years, me 18. It is relatively as dangerous as any poor country where you are obviously far wealthier than the average punter. Kind of like Thailand really, just more primitive. You just need to accept where you are and keep your wits about you and not ask for trouble.

The funny thing about Yingluck's visit is that we have been invited to every function and the missus doesn't want to go. "What do I want to meet her for?"

We are in the process of applying for Permanent Residency for my wife and stepson (through the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby). Initially exactly the same problem, blind insistence on contacting the father, whose whereabouts are unknown and my wife and her family want nothing to do with him

I am getting that blind insistence from them also, even though I pointed out according to all their own documentation, we have met the requirements.

>We told them this and that the Thai authorities were happy to issue a passport based on a Phor Khor. We have now been told that they want to see a translated Thai Court Order saying she has sole custody and that will suffice.

They told us that we must get this permission from the father to have any visa granted for the child to come to Australia. I then pointed out that the child was already granted a visa (tourist) and was already in the country! they didn't respond to this point.

I also pointed out the same thing as you, that the Thai authorities were happy to issue a passport on the same Phor Khor, and as far as the Thai government was concerned the mother has full and sole custody.

I dont know you go about getting a court order in Thailand saying that the mother has sole custody, when she already does.

How do you ask the court to grant you something you already have?

We are talking to a lawyer about it right now. We are back in Thailand for Songkran and will have more evelopments then. Message me and I'll keep you posted ...

We are in the process of applying for Permanent Residency for my wife and stepson (through the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby). Initially exactly the same problem, blind insistence on contacting the father, whose whereabouts are unknown and my wife and her family want nothing to do with him.

We told them this and that the Thai authorities were happy to issue a passport based on a Phor Khor. We have now been told that they want to see a translated Thai Court Order saying she has sole custody and that will suffice.

I read the title too quickly and thought, "You beauty, a 5000 baht note. At last"

But no ... Does anyone know if there is a plan at some stage for a larger denomination note? Our builder always wanted cash and what a pain it is carrying and counting 200,000 baht, which is not even $7000.

Sad when greed, the lack of basic moral standards and a sick mind get together. As for the guy, they should lock him up and give photos of his own siblings and all youngsters in his family to his fellow paedophile inmates...

Dude, the Swedish guy was part of the sting operation. He was one of the good guys.

Not according to the article. He fled Thailand.

Is it just me or is it strange to anyone else that not far from the headline (decrying human trafficking) there is an ad saying, "Make a Play for Asian Girls".

Now concern turns to anger ...

Amazing.......and that without knowing the exact reason for his "missing"-situation.

Judging without knowing any back-ground, that's what people good at here!!

Not judging at all Joe. Just following what the logical progression would be from a parent's perspective.

You're right. We know only a small percentage of the whole story. But if I was a betting man ... Missing, big search, found "safe and well" ...

Now concern turns to anger ...

"Thank God you are OK"

"Why the f didn't you tell us that is what you wanted to do, you selfish @H?????"

I think that is quite a natural reaction for his family and friends to have.

The guy is not a 12 yo kid deciding to play hide and seek at the mall and taking it too far. He is old enough to decide what he wanted to do, but if he had a brain he would have cared about not making others suffer.

Having said all that, there may still be some information that we don't know and might explain things, but it seems highly unlikely.

That's exactly where I'm coming from. I have a 23 yr old son. If he pulled a stunt like this I'd be beside myself until I knew he was ok. But if it turns out he was goofing off without any regard for his family it would turn to anger very quickly.

But "my boy" would never do anything like this ....... Says naive parent ....