impulse

Did you hear that? The collective tightening of thousands of sphincters when they read this and realized that they weren't out of the woods hiding in Thailand. That's why these articles are valid. Cautionary tales... Great if it stops a few of them for buying a ticket to hide out and continue their antics in Thailand.

If you'd actually read the article, they're already at 454,000 HK arrivals for the first 7 months of 2023, anticipating a full year at 700K. Not too much of a stretch to believe they can get to 1,000,000 with some targeted marketing and cajoling the airlines to offer up more seats. They mention a limited flight schedule coming back from Covid as a hurdle. Once the flights resume a full schedule, I hope they get there. Anyone know if HK is visa exempt or visa on arrival?

Looking at the photos, the custom cabinetry missing, the wood doors swapped out for cheap plastic, and all the other damage, I'd be surprised if $20,000 USD would cover it.

If the first plane was a decoy and he was on the 2nd one, he knows the lengths someone will go to to kill him and he'd be a fool to show his face anywhere in the world. And I don't think he's a fool. It'll be interesting to follow whether it was a missile, a bomb or just bad luck that took down the plane. So far, all I'm seeing is speculation. But I'm limited to English language sources on the interweb, and not all of those since I'm currently in China. So please keep posting any updates.

The Op photo shows calm seas. Happens all the time in calm water. Has to do with the center of gravity vs the center of buoyancy. You can also throw in fancy terms like metacentric height. Some boats sink upright, others capsize. If there's enough air trapped under a capsized boat, it'll float indefinitely. That's why you'll see hundreds of YouTubes with people clinging to their capsized boats when rescue crews arrive. Regarding the terminology, we just called it "taking on water". What happens eventually is anyone's guess.

How much ya figure you'd have to pay a Russian morgue attendant to say "you can quit trying to kill him, he's dead". Thanks for the post and the update, but I'm not convinced. Of course, I still think Epstein may be on a beach somewhere with Ken Lay. I still think the first plane may have been a decoy.

Look at a map. What city is north of Richmond? Can you see why normal people are a little less than pleased that people go to DC to get rich sucking the gub'ment teat? Has nothing to do with the Confederacy.

What is it with Thai women's toes?

Oh, I forgot my other favorite, though it's not as relevant for Uni Girls... The best paying, most secure and longest lasting job available to many Thai women is "mother of some foreigner's kid" Wear your wubbies. Check them for holes. On a more complex note, there are a lot of great Thai women and there are some idiots. The problem is cutting through the cultural differences to figure out if that's the source of friction, or whether she's just an idiot. That goes both ways, too.

Reports are that 2 Wagner owned aircraft took off. One crashed and the other one turned around and landed in Moscow. If I were cynical, I'd suspect the first plane was a decoy. If that is the case, we probably won't know for awhile.

You mean he was not on the plane? And they killed 10 just for appearance? I'd say he's dead, thank the gods and might this bring some light at the end of the tunnel in the Russia-Ukraine-USA-NATO madness. I wouldn't be surprised if that plane was a decoy and he was on the second plane that turned around and landed back in Moscow. Not saying that's the way it happened, but...

Apologies that I don't have more specific guidance like brands, but I'd just get on Lazada and search for "guitar hooks" and "screw anchors" or "concrete screw anchors". Even if you don't buy from Lazada, you can print pictures of what you want to wander around and search locally. That's the kind of project for which I used to love scrounging around Chinatown's hardware sections. Blocks and blocks of hardware. Edit: If you do buy from Lazada, make sure your purchase will be sourced locally and not "overseas" or you may be waiting awhile. Not too long, but awhile.

Advice? Don't take relationship advice from reprobates.

Please, please, please. Post back with the solution you find. Don't be one of the guys who leave us hanging when we do a search in a few years on the topic.

I was very happy with several Maktec tools. Makita's lower end brand. Much cheaper on average than Makita Brand, and generally easier to find locally and online.

When I fly in from China, the airlines occasionally ask to see the currency and I show them 4000 RMB, which is about the equivalent of 20,000 THB. I've never been asked by immigration to show cash, but YMMV. FYI, I'm a US citizen

If any prisoner's death has the potential to cause millions to take to the streets, I'm sure they'd chopper any of them out. Has nothing to do with fairness.

Maybe a long term positive. After the rioting quieted down.

I doubt that the death of any other prisoner, ever, would bring millions of angry supporters onto the streets to protest. They can't afford to let him die. Yet. And they certainly can't appear complicit (by commission or omission) in bringing about his death. They did the smart thing.

Tiny little detail on the linked story about him being remanded in a non-air conditioned medical ward. That could be quite a shock to a 74 yo who's not accustomed to it.

The OP may get one or 2 suggestions here. Go to Orbitz.com, Hotels.com, Agoda, etc, and there are probably dozens, with details like pricing and ratings and availability. Click on the option to search by map... I was gobsmacked at the number of $4-10 hotel (hostel?) rooms available in Bangkok. Foolishly, I had them sort by price, low to high, and had to scroll through pages and pages before I got to hotels I was interested in. I suspect Buriram will have quite a few, too.

The thick plottens...

I'm sympathetic to the OP because I've had similar issues of tiny details causing hours of frustration. I'd suggest hiring a visa agent in your location and let them fight the fight for you. It's their business to know exactly what the Consulate requires, and to wait in the queues for you (instead of you being on hold for hours). I usually paid about $100 for the service in the USA. Well worth it on those occasions that it didn't go smoothly. I gave them the documentation they specified, they checked it and asked for clarifications and a few days later, my passport would show up with the visa. I always chose to pick mine up in person, but they also offered Fed-Ex delivery for a few dollars more. Shameless plug to anyone needing visa services in Texas: I've been very happy with VIP Passport Services in Houston. I have no affiliation with them other than being a very satisfied customer on several occasions. Mods, feel free to delete that plug if it violates any rules.

It may be helpful to specify an area of Bangkok, because there's not so much advantage to being close to the MRT or BTS if you're still an hour's (and expensive) transit ride to work or school.

Last month when I took a big bus from Kanchanaburi to MoChit, they actually stopped at the BTS/MRT stations in front of the Chatachuk market to let some of us off. But you had to be paying attention and ready to bail out, because the guy didn't stop for more than 30 seconds. I got the sense it was an unauthorized stop for him. BTW, the MRT is just as good as the BTS to get to Sukhumvit where it crosses Asoke.