impulse

Some people just aren't cut out for living outside the nanny state.

You may enjoy it, but your Ranger will suffer in silence until one of the bearings rots out, the brakes corrode away, or its electrical system starts throwing error messages.

The options are simple. Spend $Trillions to make the city floodproof, spend $Trillions to move it all upstream, or spend a few $Million to clean up after each flood. I'm sure they could do a better job of keeping the drains open, but 5+ inches of rain in one day in a city no more than a few feet above sea level is always going to cause problems, no matter how much money they throw at it.

It is. You suggested they buy more airplanes. I pointed out where they could find a bunch of used ones that seem to need a new home.

Should stick to the hotel pool if not a strong swimmer... the ocean doesn't take any prisoners. Can't disagree, based on results here. But the idea of flying halfway around the world to an internationally famous beach resort, then not getting in the water... In fairness, we often swam in surf much rougher than anything I've ever seen in Thailand. But it's the deceiving rip currents that probably lead to tragedy.

Please post back your experience. It may help others on here. Myself included, though I wear coke bottle lenses just to see.

Quick tip for any TikTok'ers wanting a video of a cheating taxi driver for their Bangkok holiday feed... Approach a stationary taxi, especially one sitting in a queue in front of a touristy hotel. I rarely had a problem flagging down a moving taxi. Rarely found a stationary taxi who wanted to turn on the meter. Almost never in front of tourist hotels. I get the sense that they pay the hotel bellhops or security for permission to be in the queue, but that may not be true.

If that's the case, all they need is an 80286 computer and a 9600 baud modem to convey the wide range and all the richness...

Why buy new? There's an absolute buttload of parked up Thai Airways planes scattered all over Swampy. Looks like they haven't moved in years... I'm surprised they leave them at Swampy for everyone to see. The least they could do is put them out on a disused military base in the middle of Nakhon Nowhere, where they won't be a grim reminder of the airline's "competence" and superior buying decisions.

When is Zuck going to get himself a personality?

The way you've phrased that question contradicts my understanding of work permit laws. Foreigners are allowed to do many of the jobs that Thais could do, unless it's on the list of restricted occupations. But they need to have a work permit to do any work at all, even volunteer work.

Look what's happening in Philly, right now... Today. Shops have been closing left and right in LA, SF, Portland, Seattle, and other Dem controlled cities.

Are we taking bets on what some kindly taxi driver will return to his hapless passenger in response to this one? Last time, I think it was a hugely expensive violin...

Moon cakes with the egg are an acquired taste. I spat back out the first one I ever bit into, thinking that something had gone bad in the baking process. Someone explained the egg thing, so I tried another. Now, I love them. My favorites are lotus, and 5 nuts. I'm not keen on durian flavor, either. But a lot of people love them.

I think somebody smells the money. I'm forecasting weed in Thailand to go the same way as cigs and beer. Eventually, all weed for sale will have to come with a certificate of origin (commonly referred to as a tax stamp), and one or two families will control all the weed grown for sale. Because they'll be the only ones who can buy the tax stamps. They may still allow families to grow a few plants, as long as they're not for sale to the public.

That's the touchy feely part of the story. The other part is about the cartels who now control huge swathes of California and Oregon land, illegally growing weed. Taking over entire counties, stealing scarce irrigation water, trafficking illegal indentured labor... Outgunning and outnumbering local law enforcement who have basically decided it's not worth getting killed over a deadly game of whack-a-mole.

Any recent increase in China visitors is probably more related the the Mid Autumn Festival holiday going on right now, combined with the October 1 National Day Holiday. Happy Moon Cake Day, BTW. If you've never tried a Chinese moon cake, they're great. In limited doses.

Gosh, what's next? Blaming the Repubs for the horrendous crime sprees happening in Dem controlled cities, because they refuse to sit down and rewrite the laws around organized smash and grab looting? Repubs simply want to enforce the laws already on the books. They worked fine for decades. And they recognize that having theft and immigration laws on the books is meaningless if they're not being enforced. Like at the border, which was pretty darn secure until Biden's first day in office. And in the cities, before no-cash bail, defunding the police and the Summer of Mostly Peaceful Arson and Looting disguised as protests.

Has any of that actually happened, or has he just thrown $Trillions of dollars (that we don't have) at problems and held out GAO 10 years forecasts to prove that they're working?

While at the same time pushing out policy that's destroying their jobs.

Seems like the vast majority of them are from low wage countries with a land border. Hardly colonial thinkers... As a result, in the 2023 fiscal year, a total of 53,732 businesses that hired foreign laborers were inspected, leading to legal action against 1,587 employers and checks on 528,683 foreign individuals, resulting in cases against 3,464 people. The nationality breakdown of these cases includes Myanmar nationals at 1,850, Cambodians at 636, Laotians at 562, Vietnamese at 145, and 271 individuals from other countries.

If they're Chinese, I wonder how they're getting them to BKK. In each of my 5 flights this year from China to BKK, they've asked me to confirm I have nothing battery powered in my checked bags, and they limit carry on batteries to a reasonable size like a laptop. I've seen them confiscate a lot of power bricks that were too big, and those were often pretty reasonably sized. But over the limit, which is apparently pretty small. Edit: I'd also add that at least twice, I was delayed at Chinese airport security when I walked over there too quickly, before my checked bags had passed an x-ray screening. They asked me to wait 5 minutes and present my passport and BP again, at which time I went through. Can't imagine they'd x-ray one of those beasts and let it on the plane as checked or carry on. But then, I've been surprised before. Could be they bought them in Bangkok and are in for a real disappointment when it's time to haul it to China...

Could be, and pretty likely. But as a teatotaler for the past 34 years, I'm often called upon to be the designated driver. Occasionally carting my friends home after they've had a snootfull, even when that wasn't my pre-arranged plan.

Sad to see the contrast between the respect and condolences being expressed for one of our own posters who died in a traffic accident, and the absolute disdain for a Thai person who has died in a traffic accident.

Dang man. At 300 baht a throw, you'll be dead from exhaustion long before you spend your 100,000 baht.