Petesear

Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) was introduced on 1 December 1990 for all new provisional licence holders of both mopeds and motorcycles. All learner riders are required to complete CBT before riding on the road (with the exception of riders who have passed a full moped test since December 1990). Full car licence holders qualifying after 1 February 2001 must also complete a CBT course before riding a moped on the road. Since 1 February 2001 individuals wishing to ride motorcycle combinations and mopeds with more than two wheels can now take CBT on these types of machine.

The point being that if you have not passed your full bike test or a CBT you will not have it on your International licence. Ergo you'll not have the right to ride a bike, regardless of cc, in Thailand... Correct?

If this is a thread about stating the obvious....may as well add....don't give your passport to rental firms and your travel insurance policy will pay out between 0-50% for motorbike-accident related expenses; I think they squeeze out of it with the 'act of an idiot' clause.

thats if they pay at all, because

1. Most insurances (travel) do not cover bike accidents at all. I think even hard to get local one to cover, they do like 15 000 baht cover which just about pays for the ambulance if you still alive

2. Must have bike license from your home country.

So if you hire a scooter on a car licence you are illegal?

In the UK you can ride a scooter up to 125cc on a car licence with L plates.

This enforcement of the law could seriously damage the scooter hire industry in tourist places!

What percentage of tourists have a full bike licence about 0.5%?

On the positive side it means less road accidents and deaths. Also less oportunity to scam tourists.

This is all positive for tourism unless you get stuck up north in a horse while lubricating your tonsils with a large cold chang.

In the UK you must have a CBT, regardless of age, in order to ride up to 125cc..

They have a lower level of Rape here compared to England so thats a good start

A lower level of reported rape..

There have been many cases of ATM's being stolen in the uk, although there was usually a JCB involved, and chains not strops, so it can be done.

Who is to say these guys haven't already succeeded with a few ATM nabs in Blighty?

Ten years is a long time on a tourist visa...

I think it would be a positive move.

It would teach them some discipline, teach them how to control their anger and teach them how to use that anger positively..

They will also get shown that they are not as tough as they thought.

Would they also earn a wage?

Mine is a glimpse of two of my passions..

Wonder if Thailand is the right country for a rehab. Plenty af drugs available here.

There are plenty of drugs available in every country... Or this just an anti-Thai statement?

We came to the UK to give our daughter at least some years of a British education and an accent.

We moved to a very good area with a good academy run school.

I feel she will benefit in the long run doing it this way but that is just my opinion..

I have no problem with animals being killed for food but I have a problem with the method of killing and farming!

I would not want to eat the meat of a carnivore, I can't imagine it would taste nice..

Good thread this and very interesting. This is something I have always wanted to know, but been afraid to ask.

I have no official facts to give you, but here is my educated guess:

Throughout history Thailand was never colonised by any Western nations, neither did Westerners visit or settle in Thailand in large numbers. In fact Thailand has never been a true multi racial society in the sense compared to many European countries.

But I believe this is going to change within the next 20 years or so, now that there is an abundance of farangs settling in Thailand. There are my three kids who are all registered in my surname and have English Christian names and I know of many more.

One of my neighbors who he and is his wife are 100% Thai and don`t speak a word of farang, have named their two children, James and Ann, so these types of names are now becoming fashionable in Thailand.

BTW, did someone mention that there is an erotic exotic photo going around of a poster`s girlfriend?

I would call 100,000 Japanese a lot of people and they stayed or passed through for 4 years. 50,000 Americans for 10 years lived in Thailand and hundreds of thousands more came for a week at a time to increase the gene pool for 10 years.

You make a good point that I did not think of.

As I said, mine is just a guess.

Is there an historian in the house?

Americans occupied Japan in large numbers for many years and also Thailand for 10 years. Both populations are getting taller.

.. and more belligerent too..

Happily married for 9 years and 8 days.. I met her at work in Bangkok, it was hard work to get her to go out with me but I persevered and it really was worth it.

Oh yea, and her Father is Chinese, her Mother Thai... I guess that makes her Thai-Chinese. All I know is she is beautiful, a lady and my wife...

Would a blindfold do?

It would if you help her if she wore it..

Beer Chang for breakfast, lunch and dinner.. It would tip most people over the edge....

The reason why foreign film companies come here is because 1) safety and union regulations are easy to bypass or cheap to handle 2) natural scenery 3) cheap facilities for film editing etc.. 4) cheap crew labor to set up and tear down prop sets

However Thailand is a very poor location to do let's say CGI or anything technically advanced. Film companies usually go to NZ, Australia, or Canada for that if they want quality for reasonable costs.

Plus it's a pretty bad place to mine local talent too. Notice even in films like Hangover 2 set in Thailand they had to import nearly all the asian actors because the local Thai extras/actors were so dreadful.

Not strictly true, props and construction crews will travel to anywhere in the world. They may well use locals as labourers but the cost of these people would have no bearing on where they film.

The director will go where ever he wants if the money is there. It is down to the supervising location manager to put across what is feasible...

CGI would all be done back home anyway, once the LiDAR mapping is done.

There are a few facility companies up and running in LOS, all local.

Anything that can bring work/money to Thailand must be a good thing.

Good to see all the 'Thais can't do anything right' brigade are not missing out on expressing their negative views.. Who knows it could get some of you out of the house as extras, as I'm sure some of you did on Alexander in 2004!?

A lot of filming is done in Thailand by outside countries, it is my industry, I would love to have an opportunity to get my company flowing in LOS.

Sadly it is a very tight industry.. One day we hope to get our feet in the door..

I didn't think they would allow outsiders in as it would be taking work away from more qualified Thai people/

Of course they do, when a production company films in Thailand they bring everyone they want to.

The locals are used as runners etc and they use Thai facility companies. My business is Locations, that is what is tight here, as it is everywhere else.

A lot of filming is done in Thailand by outside countries, it is my industry, I would love to have an opportunity to get my company flowing in LOS.

Sadly it is a very tight industry.. One day we hope to get our feet in the door..

For those who speak a foreign language but cannot read and understand pictures?

But you know how some signs are so badly translated here that you might start to ignore the English translation.

He might have thought it meant no skinny ties.

Indeed.. And has it been confirmed that this sign is posted at the location of this incident?

Until it has I reserve the right to know nothing about what happened before the camera was turned on..

The lovely irony from this topic is that it really has shown there are indeed some utter fools here these days....but not the bloke who was at the BTS station after being assaulted.

Just to re-iterate what has been said MANY times:

The video shows what happened AFTER the initial incident.

If you need me to explain that in any more detail, PM me.

Some of the "he got what he deserved" posters have embarrassed themselves here and shown themselves to be of lesser intelligence than any TEFLer I know...

Regardless of this being after 'the event', the story also clearly states that he was told NOT to take the balloons, right? This is stated clearly at the beginning of the thread. Had this man then walked away, taken a cab, we wouldn't be here wasting our time.

If there are not any signs saying no balloons, and he had earlier that day travelled on BTS with the same balloons, then I doubt anything was clearly stated!

All that happened was his daughter passed through the turnstiles and he was stopped. What happened after that seems to be everyone's guess..

If this was the US, the guy would still be feeling the effects of the stun guns and pepper spray if not still recuperating in the in the hospital from injuries while handcuffed to a jail bed .

But if this incident did happen in the Good 'ol US of A then the guard would have been able to explain why the guy had been refused entry even though his daughter had been let through, and there may have even been a sign explaining what is prohibited on the train...

There are signs that state balloons are prohibited and there is nothing to indicate the guy couldn't understand this. In fact, the farang appears to demonstrate an attitude of superiority (not an uncommon trait going by posts here) over the Thai security and doesn't seem to be the least bit concerned with following security's orders or trying to understand what the problem. It seems this foreigner believed he was above the law or at the very least didn't have to show the respect one should to somebody in charge of security in a public transportation terminal ... especially if one is a foreigner in that country.

And just curious, are you suggesting that subway, bus or train security in the US are able to communicate in Thai?

No, I am suggesting that they should be able to communicate in English.

Unless you were there, I wasn't, you don't know how the Irish guy was injured, what provoked it or anything else that happened off camera. So how can you really understand his behaviour whilst on camera?

What happened before the camera starting recording is the issue.

The 'he got what he deserved..' lot need to wait until the CCTV footage is released.

Was he hit by the guard? What provoked that?

Then the Westerner's behaviour whilst inside the turnstiles might be better explained.. Or not..

Farang come here and expect to be treated like royalty.

Maybe so, but they dont come to Thailand expecting to be smacked around the head with a metal detector either because one is carrying more than the permitted

Very obvious Corporal Somchai of the BTS special forces unit has not been trained correctly in dealing with problem customers, as very sure hitting a customer in the head with a metal detector is not in the procedures manual

What would you do if you are a security guard, and your subject get aggrasive?

Let him go and pretend nothing happens?

I suppose the Westerner should be grateful these 'guards' don't carry guns?

Would it not be possible to call the real Police in situations like this?

The issue here should not be about the balloons, it should be about whether the Irish guy was assaulted by the guard or not.

If he was then he should be charged.

Many posters here are saying how the Westerner is acting aggressively etc. But how many of those same posters would have quietly walked away from this situation? I know I would not have.

I'm not sure about you but if someone had just smacked me round the head with something, necessary or otherwise, I'd be a tad angry too..

If this was the US, the guy would still be feeling the effects of the stun guns and pepper spray if not still recuperating in the in the hospital from injuries while handcuffed to a jail bed .

But if this incident did happen in the Good 'ol US of A then the guard would have been able to explain why the guy had been refused entry even though his daughter had been let through, and there may have even been a sign explaining what is prohibited on the train...

I really wish the Nation would get a native English proof reader, a native of Austria is not an Australian

That's ok, Three quarters of the world don't know that Austria and Australia are different countries.

Or Thailand and Taiwan..