dddave

I have not heard anything from BKB. I originally opened my account in Bangkok in 2004 which is still active. I recently opened a new BKB account in Pattaya. I MAY have unknowingly signed a FATCA document when I opened the Pattaya account as there seemed to be more signatures required than when I bought a house.

In my home state, drivers routinely ignored crosswalks until they started placing large cones in them bearing the sign : "Violating Crosswalk Laws: $500 fine" Drivers did take notice. Didn't cure it 100% but it did make a big difference.

A former reporter in Thailand told me that trials here are very secretive, rarely announced in advance. Actual trials are apparently quite rare as a sizeable percent of defendants plead guilty at closed hearings as penalties are usually double if a perp insists on a trial. I don't know if Thailand has a jury system or whether a single or a panel of judges make the ultimate decisions. I would guess "Judge" is a very lucrative position.

A very dear friend is kind of wondering if he has neglected to file an FBAR report in past years, what are the consequences of doing it now?

Yes. At first I thought this story was a repost of one just a month or two ago, same exact thing: an elderly woman crushed by a falling gate.

Reminds me of the fool last year who handed his passport to an IO at Immigration and a zip of coke fell out from between the pages. It was big in the new for a few days, then disappeared. I'd be willing to bet an "arrangement" was made.

In the last year I have bought several LENOVO THINKPADS on Lazada and they have been excellent. All 3 are former Japanese corporate machines and were in Pristine condition with 90% battery still available. The most expensive was a 6th gen Carbon X1, 16gb/512SSD B8500. Other 2 were a T780 B5500 and an X270 B4000 These are a good or better than any desktop you can find. If you need a larger display, you can use a monitor or a flat screen TV via HDMI. Note: Only buy from a domestic, Thailand based seller, never an overseas seller. Way to many scams. When I ordered a laptop from a Chinese seller, I received a box labeled as the computer but contained a plastic necklace. Lazada did refund but it was hard lesson.

When a close friend was hit by a car crossing at a Trapphaya Rd. crosswalk and later died from his injuries, the Pattaya police were very helpful. My friends family could not immediately come to Thailand so I stood in for them. The police assigned an English speaking officer to the case and he did everything he could to make sure the case moved forward. He and his supervisor were helpful and fair guiding negotiations with the driver and in dealing with the insurance company. There was never even a hint at a gratuity.

Love the Damian Hurst reference. For me, it was the elevation of the Starn Twins and their taped-together, out of focus mega scrap.

Interestingly, not a new thing. Sears-Roebuck used to sell catalog pre-fab home kits in the 20's and 30's. The kits would be shipped "Railway Express', mostly to locations in the mid-west and California. Some still stand.

I wrote a positive review of this service last year which I now will revise to "Thumbs Down"! One can no longer count on a 20 passenger mini-bus. My last two previous trips from Jomtien, while I paid the full B180 bus fare, a packed van showed-up: "No have bus today!" Not a pleasant ride. Also, I had specified getting off at On Nut which is listed as a stop. The driver refused to stop there, going ahead to Ekkamai. I tried again yesterday. This time a mini-bus did show-up. Packed with people and baggage. There is no baggage storage bin below the mini-bus so the bus aisle is packed with bags, in this case, many very large bags making it very difficult to get to the only empty seat, the rear-most bench seat. One also realizes one is trapped there should anything go wrong. Not a comfortable feeling The bus took the surface, truck route all the way into Bangkok, making it a terribly bouncy, nearly 3 hour trip. I think I had more air time than seat time. The driver did stop at On Nut as I had requested but getting out was like climbing a rock-fall. Never again! I'll go back to taking the airport bus from FoodMart then get into Bangkok using the rail link.

Udom Suk. Must be carry on luggage. You can also exit at On Nut, again, carry on only.

Agreed. I used to live in Phra Khanong and do know exactly what you are talking about. I used to walk down Rama-4 and cross near the bus stop as I didn't have to worry about the constant stream of traffic turning onto Rama-4 from Sukhumvit.

A good friend was killed crossing with the walk lite on Traphaya Road, Pattaya 2 years ago. Incidentally, the driver was a Brit, not Thai. A Russian man was killed last week crossing Jomtien 2nd Rd at a crosswalk, ironically by another Russian on a motorcycle so let's not put all the blame on Thai's. There's a crosswalk with a traffic light outside my building on Jomtien 2nd Rd and motorbikes and cars blow through that red light every single cycle. Many years ago when my home state of Massachusetts started to enforce crosswalk rules, also dramatically raising the fines from a few dollars to $200 when that was still serious money. It didn't have much effect until they started placing large cones at crosswalks with signs that read : "CROSSWALK VIOLATION $200 FINE" That got attention and drivers actually started stopping.

Once, about 10 years ago, I tried to count the number of CCTVs I was on from exiting the door of my rented condo in Phra Khanong to Nana Plaza via the BTS, about a 5km journey Even back then, I counted more than 30 CCTV cameras that I was aware of. Who knows how many others there were that I didn't spot.