impulse

You mean the ones who spent a a hundred grand on a gender studies degree, can't find a job (surprise, surprise) and want welders and farmers to pay their debts?

Give it up, man. You can't have a reasonable discussion with crazy, especially tag team crazy.

Consensus in the Thai blogosphere is: Forget about Forrest, run Jenny, run.

Seems like it would be pretty easy to look up how many Russians have been stamped into the country and how many have been stamped out. Subtract the number who have legitimate long-stay visas and you got yourself some data... Of course they're not all in Phuket. But then how do they know how many are actually in Phuket, other than those who report on TM30 and 90 day reports?

Meanwhile, there's been a localized surge in Google searches for "baby turtle soup recipes".

Somewhere in the Thai blogosphere, there's a discussion of a family's dilemma as the daughter's cheap-ass boyfriend won't pony up for the dowry.

Looking at the way money was doled out in sweetheart deals in "the West" during Covid and the Green movement makes Thai grifters look like like a bunch of amateurs. Probably $$$ trillions.

You've probably never boarded a plane at BKK going to China. I've boarded dozens in the past 12 years. 6 this year. The Chinese that I see are absolutely loaded up with goodies that they've bought in Thailand.

No doubt. But I have a little less jaded view of Thai cops, believing that a lot of them would prefer not to participate in the corruption, but are forced to- out of fear for themselves and their families. Not to mention pitiful salaries, and having to pay for their own uniforms, guns, etc.

I'm just positing an explanation for why most Thai cops don't go after corruption. They enjoy breathing.

Perhaps they enjoy breathing, and they've learned a lesson from the guy who got taken out.

To be complete, you need to add that the investigation has been going on for months, but without benefit of subpoena power. Pelosi handed them subpoena power by starting her Trump impeachment without a vote. Apparently never figured it would be used by the other side. My forecast still stands. Biden will have an off-camera health event which will force Dr Jill to announce his resignation. Kamala will pre-emptively pardon Joe to "quit distracting from the business of gub'ment" (a'la Ford/Nixon) and Joe will have negotiated a pardon for Hunter as part of the deal.

He didn't call for an impeachment. He called for an impeachment inquiry. To get subpoena power to demand evidence the Biden team is refusing to release. BTW, he broke precedent by starting the inquiry before the vote. Except he wasn't the first to break precedent. That was Ms Pelosi. Funny how they don't like it when the other side does it... Maybe she shouldn't have opened Pandora's box. Sadly, I'm forecasting politics by impeachment for the foreseeable future, On both sides.

The TDS is strong with this group. Heavy on the D.

Update... Came in today at around 5:00 PM and there was no line at all at immigration. Walked up to one of about 6 officers with nobody being checked. Took all of 1 minute (visa exempt). Sadly, that just revealed how slow they are getting the bags on the carousel. Still took 45 minutes to an hour to get out of the airport. Kinda scary for TAT, especially after seeing row upon row of Thai Airways 747's and A380s parked like they hadn't moved n a loooong time. The 737-800 I was on (from Xiamen) was full. Booked my next RT between North China and BKK for $258, so good luck to Thai Airways making money by adding flights to China. Edit: That's about half of what it cost pre-Covid. Shameless plug- If you gotta fly Xiamen air, they're really okay. Not as nice as one of the Middle East airlines, but nicer than most US and Canadian airlines.

Don't forget the ones on Pornhub. And the "influencers" doing travel videos. May not pay well, but there are perks. If the OP is interested in moving to and working from Thailand, I suggest he look into the requirements for getting the requisite visa and a work permit. Also look into the companies that offer shared work space and handle the formalities for staying legal while employed (for a fee). It's more complex than it looks, unless you want to stay under the radar. Look into the risks and costs of staying under the radar, too. But those are topics covered by hundreds of threads with thousands of (often conflicting) posts. For that, the search function is your friend.

I hate to ask this, because it shouldn't matter (but it does...) How were you dressed? Edit: Also, what's your nationality? Tomorrow, I'm flying in for my 5th or 6th exempt entry this year. We'll see how it goes... Hopefully okay because I can never stay more than a week.

Not at all. I just remember all the wingnut conspiracy theories that have come true.

The ones that get me are those that buy those stanky dill pickles and pollute 5 rows front and back of them. I rarely went to the movies in Thailand, so I don't know what stinks them up...

My fear (and I freely admit this is a wingnut conspiracy thing) is that they'll eventually require all cars, EV and ICE, to have smart odometers that phone home and tell not only how many km they've traveled, but where they are- using GPS tech. In realtime, recording forever where we've been. They'll hide it at first, then announce it as a data gathering thing to improve safety and efficiency. (It's actually already happening, like NorthStar) But eventually, it'll be used to send you a bill for driving in specific areas and/or at specific times. If they do it right, they'll even tap into your associated CBDC account and won't even need to bill you. And if you piss "them" off, or violate some kind of parameter, your car will be bricked for awhile. Edit: And they won't need speed traps any more. Your own car will rat you out. Scary...

A Thai man physically assaulted two transwomen. First sentence...

You don't have to pay any of those pesky road use taxes when you fill up. Though I think that's a temporary thing. Once they get EV's to a critical mass, I suspect they'll either tax by the km, flat annual, or figure out a way to tax the electrons. I don't think they wanna spook anyone just yet.

Man, I commiserate. I had the same issue quite a few years back when they upgraded the service available at my apartment. But getting upset after just a week is going to make Thailand a difficult place to live. That doesn't excuse it. But my life got a whole lot less stressful when I decided that local time is just different, and a price I pay for all the offsetting benefits.

I'd give you even odds between murdered, faked his death and he's on the lam, and the reported suicide.

Soundly? If Covid restrictions hadn't driven unprecedented changes in the way votes were collected, Trump would have won 2020. Easily. Repubs tend to vote on the day. Dems tend to vote by mail (if the option's available). I absolutely agree in the sorry state of politics when either one of those guys were the best the USA were allowed to vote for.