Ctkong

1 hour ago, ravip said:

What's up with the Chinese, Indians & the Russians?

Time up they pulled up their socks and joined the game. They are far behind, already!

The 'quality tourist' thingy is changing.

For Chinese, unless they are not on the wanted China blacklist which authorities vet before flying, it is not easy for the chinese to leave their country. It used to require a monetary bond of rmb 50000 to obtain a visa to go overseas. At least that is what my friend told me. 

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Thailand has this reputation among criminals that one can easily stay/hide there and stil do they dirty deeds if they choose

to and if got caught, there's a good chance to pay your way free and this is why so many of them are taking residency 

in places where they can get lost among the many other .foreigners that just looks like them..

Moreover if things go south, there are friendly neighboring countries happy to provide sanctuary for the right price. 

Thailand clearly attracts the lowlife from every country on earth…. Tourist stealing mobile phone while on the beach. Probably also following the Thai way of excuse blaming it on the alcohol. 

27 minutes ago, Hummin said:

any statistics ?

 

I believe brits are on top of the statistics of stupid crimes often, but more serious crimes I believe other countries is ahead. 

Economic crimes mostly by Chinese and Russians . These crimes need brains to fly. Brits crimes are mainly like you said.. stupid crimes committed by dregs of society. 

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Unfortunately they have misinformed people re the 60 day visa exempt entry. It is now June 4th and not being provided yet,

True… just got in today. Stamped 30 days only.. 

Parking the getaway bike in front of the shop where cctv is ? Engine running maybe ?

30 minutes ago, transam said:

The story is just telling us farangy's, on a farangy forum, that one of us farangy's is being naughty.

So, for some here, nothing to do with what Thais do.....😋

Given the relative small farang population here, number of altercations seems many. This reporting like transam said, is to inform the farang communities that antics some farangs are up to and also that Thais will make a complaint to police if it went too far. Soon we will have the farang making an apology on social media for all to see. 

If you are a fugitive, staying under Thailand’s law enforcement radar is not difficult unless you put yourself in the limelight. Thai police need inducement to work hard. This guy’s Facebook certainly in social media brings a black face to law enforcement. There is one thing Thai police hate more than losing money opportunities …losing face. 

22 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

 

This kind of "cooperation" (US detects criminals operating in Thailand and asks the Thais to bust them) has been going on for decades, long before animosity with China heated up.

Fighting international crimes transcends all politics. Politicians come and go but international crime busters will stay put.

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Thailand have been and still is a preferred place to run a scam, fraud and swindle operations from owing to the rife

corruptions among those who suppose to guard against such acts, and with the right payola and connections

nothing is impossible to perpetuate and get away with in Thailand...

Aided massively by the ‘porous’ borders with other similar countries in case of needing a speedy exit. 

With this additional fund, maybe foreigners no longer need to pay dual pricing at national parks ? 

8 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Crying out for tourists yet they still insist on bringing in additional charges I sometimes think these officials brains are in there nether regions !

Different departments different ministries not working in tandem. Each geared towards their own interest. 

5 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Exactly, a turnstile at arrivals, deposit money, then return to the plane. Maybe I am mistaken, but was there not a refusal by the airlines to implement this in the ticket as it was only for Foreign Nationals, and therefore a nightmare to police? Someone please put me right if I am getting it wrong.

Simplest way of incorporating tourist tax residents exempted is to put an electronic money bin at each immigration counter and ask tourist to slot in the 300 tb into the bin. Immigration officer not touching the cash and electronic money bin secured. 

I will make a quick reply to your dilemma without reading other posts. In Thailand, it is better if you know someone in the police force ( higher rank helps) to help. An off duty policeman but still in uniform can casually drop by at your daughter’s school to have an informal talk with the disciplinary master or person in charge about the issue. Make them aware this is just an informal meeting and no police report is made. That he is just helping out an old friend or relative and could the person in charge amiably resolve the issue without getting the police involved?
Of course you would have to make a donation to that policeman for his effort and time. It works for a friend of mine when he brought the police colonel along on his rounds to collect some problematic debts.  Thailand bureaucracy move faster when higher authority gets involved. 

3 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

Yes, BB disabled my ATM and online is good for checking balance only. SSA direct deposit from USA is the reason.  I also have to show up at a branch every month to 'unfreeze' the deposit. Any branch is ok to show up in person, we'll see.  Also transfer to my K-Bank account cam only be done in person at 120BT per.  Twenty baht if I want a check and go deposit at K-Bank. I've had the account since 2014. A form letter was maiked to your address on record a couple weeks ago if you're a direct deposit of SSA.

My missus has a K bank account. Recently she cannot do any atm transactions unless she input the Thai 16 digit ID into the atm screen format. Was told by the teller that all foreign account holders will have to present their passport at the counter to do any transaction from now on. This was to discourage money laundering by foreigners. 

I have friends who moved about to stay every few years (3-7 years) in thailand .

From beaches in the south to the mountain side in the north. Thailand has places for every taste. When the ‘burning month’ starts in the north, they just go south or overseas for a couple of months to avoid the air. 
I would say Thailand is a good place to retire ( other than the visa  bureaucracy ) as the cost is not high and it is within reach to other countries. 

35 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Polluted, congested and difficult for walking. Much better options.

Bangkok is a big city . It depends upon where you stay and how you plan your leisure. 
if you live just outside the ring road ( kanchanaphisek 9) the countryside is much better for walking and good quality restaurants and nightlife is within an hour drive if needed. Of course if you live in the sukhumvit foreigner area, the real estate there is expensive thus the inevitable congestion and commerce. It is the same in any big cities worldwide. 

On 5/29/2024 at 4:58 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Im going for walks, I'm going for massage, I'm sitting by the pool ,I'm going to the gym ....

I don't like to drink or bars 

 

Could I live like this if I retired ?

No thanks 

You know how depressed I would be  sitting in a dark 21sqm room in the view talay?

 

To each their retirement lifestyle but Thailand is a big enough country to occupy your leisure with her beaches, islands, countryside , nature parks and enough nightlife to titillate your tastebuds. Problem is enjoy with moderation and budget. There are also neighboring countries to explore . Australia is so isolated that you need to fly thousands of miles to reach other countries other than Indonesia.

Many monks in Thailand entered monkhood when young due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control. Some are not suitable for the role. After years of being a monk, some may find the role untenable. Without great self control and spiritual advancement, many lost their way along the path. However the fault of this monk is that instead of leaving monkhood to live a layman’s life he desecrate the purity of Buddhism with his action. 

Criminals ,on the run , ultimately done in by their women or close associates after altercations . If they only keep their head under the radar, there are many ASEAN countries to seek shelter. 

27 minutes ago, shackleton said:

This has to stop drunken farangs getting Pattaya the sin City of the world a bad reputation 

More needs to be done to get better quality foreign tourists  and get Pattaya back as a family destination looking at Temples.

The beach good restaurants  and so on rather than bars ect 

A concerned guest

Thailand like any other countries has their ‘party city’ where boys will be boys to let off steam and raging hormones. The only difference is to have good preemptive control over late night escalations with good medical services and security on standby as used during concerts. 

2 hours ago, mlkik said:

This happened in Soi New Plaza between Soi Buakhaw and 2nd road. The report says the Emergency services arrived quickly and that is a lie. It happened opposite Maew burger and I had time to order and eat my burger and chips before the ambulance arrived.

It happened before I arrived but Maew did not mention that he was hit by a car only that another farang had decked him.

Thai’s rendition of ‘arriving quickly ‘ in Thai time. Anytime before sunrise is quick.

again piss poor reporting . Is there a damaged car or not ? A car that big can’t simply disappear into thin air. 

6 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

I have only just left there and moved here.

Believe me when I say the worst place for misbehaving Brits is in Great Britain itself.

Never ending.

 

The current group of 20-35 years olds are just a pack of posing, drunken, drugged out, entitled aggressive animals always looking for trouble while crying the victim.

And that is just the women.

 

While it is embarrassing for me for the constant incidents here and in just about every other country we travel to in numbers it still beats the hell of living amongst them 24/7. 
 

I am moving upcountry soon and am praying there are not any others up there who have jaded the locals.

I can empathized with you on that. I try to stay in hotels not flooded with mainland Chinese due to their feasting habits during buffet breakfast. I try not to be identified with them as I am a Malaysian Chinese but western educated. Looks can be deceiving . 😁

America basically does herself a disservice when she freeze Russia’s 300 billion dollar sovereign fund as well as weaponizing the dollar for the whole world to see. Nothing can be more glaring to all by the ‘below the belt’ punches. If a global power like Russia can get such treatment, what is there to prevent America from doing the same to other lesser countries at her whims? 

8 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

Seems to be a reasonable decision. Within BRICS they can act on a same level as the other members.

I can't see any tight ties with Europe or US.

🙏

Maybe ‘arm twisting ‘ by big brother China whom Thailand depends for infrastructure construction and financing . However Thailand has a big trading partner in USA too especially the agricultural and seafood products. Some sectors of the economy need to be pro china while others need to be pro america. A dilemma indeed.