laobali

I know of several large academic conferences held in Pattaya. It seemed to be trying to establish itself as a conference venue.

The conferences I know were very successful, but some of the delegates got a bit of a shock wondering around after dinner!

Wondering why they chose Pattaya?

All she needs to do is go to a lawyer. If you will be footing the bill, best get one that speaks English.

In your country would you buy your gf a house? Many of my friends did the same and it was a night mare RENT

It's more likely that the gf and her existing family will become the nightmare. I agree. Rent and keep all options open.

Well done Mr Cop

One cop out of how many in Bangkok?

How many of that 10% were border runners?

Depends on how border runners were counted in the first place

Whoever they are and how many, they have an exaggerated sense of their importance to the economy. My guess less than 1%.

Do these clowns live in the real world?

No, Thailand. You already know that.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cup+moth&biw=1286&bih=676&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=a1k6VLGDDdjj8AX2k4GoDw&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQsAQ

Some of those have great potential as TV member avatars!

a lot of tourists just don't care

they are here to be a 2 week millionaire

bedding a new girl every evening

flying back to their home country

and boasting about it

a pair of british people died, it will not change their mind to come back next year and the next

as they cannot get this kind of pleasure, freedom, attention anywhere else in the world, for that price

Sadly you are probably right. I wouldn't even be surprised to see T shirts with "I survived Koh Tao!" on them.

For the same reason as McDonalds and other imported brand names are popular. Considered either better or more cool, especially among the young.

This is just not egg on RTP face, it's the whole (deleted) Thai omelette. What a huge loss of face for them.

Yes and they chose to lose face on the biggest stage of them all....it's called the World. Amazing really amazing.

The only reason 'they' (TAT specifically, who came up with 'Amazing Thailand' campaign in 1998) would be concerned with what the rest of the world thinks is because that's where tourists come from.

With some notable exceptions, Thai police are generally poorly educated and not very bright but their careers start with paying bribes to pass the police entrance exams. Those who get promoted to regional commands continue this trend but must also be aggressive and hungry with proven track records of passing enough money up the pyramids. They have to pay for plum jobs, followed by monthly fixed retainers. Jobs in tourist resorts are especially lucrative and command a premium. It is said that the Pattaya police chief job is worth B20 million a month in gross income before payment of the fixed retainer, so you can imagine how much the upfront premium might be for that job. Koh Tao and Koh Phangnan, which supervises Koh Tao, are not in the league of Pattaya, Phuket and Samui but they must also be lucrative posts. In addition to the daily crime busting work seen by the public police have responsibility to supervise a number of important businesses in partnership with local mafias, including protection rackets, illegal aliens, taxi scams smuggling of licquor, tobacco and oil, drug distribution, illegal lotteries and other forms of gambling, forest reserve encroachment, distribution of illegal cut wood etc etc.

Can you wonder that they are cosy with local mafias and resent being forced to do regular police work along with the intrusion of social media in their perfect little world?

It must be quite stressful paying all that money up front and passing bribes up the pyramid in the hope of getting into profit one day. They can't all end up at the top of the dung pile either, so spare a thought for those poor police recruits with their futures ahead of them!

Please never EVER compare the RTP to the Keystone Cops. The Cops were funny, the RTP couldn't ever be classed as anything amusing in the slightest. Quite the opposite.

It is an open and shut case. Move one.

Yes, move one Nom Sod fresh milk into a cage for life.

More likely he'll soon be 'continuing his studies' outside the country.

At least they'll get some sort of trial now and hopefully the proper defence to which they are entitled, whether they turn out to be found guilty or not.

A much closer look at this case needs to be conducted

An astute observation indeed.

Now they've recanted their confession. See related post. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/766594-thai-justice-in-spotlight-over-cracks-in-koh-tao-case/page-3#entry8502836

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/10/07/koh-tao-murders-accused-men-recant-confessions-tell-embassy-lawyer-they-were-tortured Koh Tao Murders: Accused recant confessions, tell embassy lawyer they were tortured

Most positive news yet.

Quite simple really - when you order, stress very strongly that you don't want the meal brought out in drips and drabs. You could offer them a monetary incentive.

Then all the dishes except one will be served stone cold.

Adapt or die (or as others have said, leave).

Buffet.

French fries from a buffet? No thanks.

It's people like him Thailand needs to get rid of and prevent from coming back later, if Thailand wants to move forward. You can't have all these feudal lords ruling parts of thailand separate from Bangkok.

And 'Bangkok' always knows best for the whole country?

Apparently, they don't have inactive posts in China.

Just not so many active posters .

It starts to be:

How we have to think, how we have to dress, how we have to eat...

What's next?

How to solve murders?

Can you imagine how boring and dull the culinary profession would be if all national dishes, Feijoada, Stinco, Eggs Benedict..etc. all had the same exact "standards" and procedures? Thais are crazy to suggest this bonehead idea and take away the creativity of Thai cooking by every chef and cook in the world by its mere suggestion.

I stopped reading the article after the first few paragraphs. So boring, it gave me indigestion!

I don't care who gets the bill, who pays, or who gets the change.

However when going out to eat 9 times out of 10 the bill is padded. My wife reads every bill like an eagle, Either it is that something appeared on the table that was not ordered, but charged for, or that was ordered and never appeared, or that 2 bottles Heineken charged, not one. And that is invariably with Thai people eating. Was in the hospital the other day. Charged twice for my zimmer frame. Wife laughed and said: "They think you look so old they probably thought you needed one for each leg".

I don't think it's necessarily padded, mistakes can happen either way. I've often left a Thai or Lao restaurant being hurried by the other half, to be told they forgot a dish or two on the bill. Local couples or groups always have someone go through the bill minutely for discrepancies which are usually easily rectified if you're being overcharged.

I have had a simular problem with the wife. , The wife and i go out to eat together, We both order together. but a few times the waiter has brought my meal before the wife's, I sit there waiting for the wife's meal to be brought but it does not arrive i just sit and sit, waiters come up to the wife and ask is there a problem with the meal, I say yes its cold now because its bad manners to start to eat before your wife, that usually gets a few stupid looks from the Thai waiters and i make them take the meal back because its cold. Is it me .

At least you have the choice to eat it hot. Many Thai restaurants prepare one dish at a time. If you want the food all served together, some (sounds like yours) will be getting cold in the kitchen while the rest are being made. The wife would understand that too. So yes, it is you.