daveAustin

Chiang Mai gets it bad of course; all those horrible smoke belchers and the burning. They still do it. Aholes. I don’t think the burning and black smoke vehicles will ever change here. They’re killing themselves and don’t know it… rather they focus on ‘more important’ things like getting more visitors and people working without permits 😴😴😴 The clean air ‘back home’ is great of course; unfortunately one quickly gets used to it and then there’s only the woke drudgery left. 🙂

There are many sugar-free soda drinks, 7-11 has most—lemon, lime, sprite, blueberry etc. The downside is they typically substitute with aspartame which imo is infinitely worse.

😂good one. After you side with despot Russia despite them reneging on Ukraine security assurances (AFTER THEY WILLINGLY GAVE UP THEIR NUKES), after you crap on allied countries, after you threaten your nearest and dearest on their sovereignty etc etc. Nowt is secure under Trump. Hope Greenland and Denmark tell the deviant to FO!

The hub of tax! Instead of making things more expensive for Thais and fill the coffers of the greedy, how's about the government subside healthier options?

TAX TAX TAX TAX TAX!

This kind of thing happens on occasion. I wouldn’t sweat it and just pay. Will argue politely if feel have been done, but not to the point where someone loses face. You’ve been here long enough, it can mean more than life itself. Don’t sweat the small stuff & all that. The beer-by-beer thing gets old fast btw. I Only ever do that if there’s a party somewhere. Then you might get the ol ‘have you paid your bill?…’

Fair play, that’s some heavy duty S! Hospitals here seen to be businesses first anyway, pushing their drugs at hugely over-inflated prices. All about the coin.

‘Oh don’t worry, it’s just…. ‘ What it is is big brother poking its nose into the affairs of regular people. The majority of foreigners here are law-abiding and would have paid taxes to the hilt. They just make it more and more awkward for the regular guy to live in peace while letting bigwig Thais and corporations get away with it all. Reckon it’s going to get stickier and stickier to stay here full time. Please bring back pre-2000 Siam!

Well it would do, wouldn’t it. Up to a country who it wants within its borders, but when China has any input you know it is for bad/corrupt/evil<insert other dodgy adjective> reasons. Yuck!

wtf

Did Trump bring shame upon the US with his Zelensky lecture? Yep. I was pretty embarrassed for the US. It was a disgraceful act, Mike, esp since a little prick on the side was able to berate a state leader. While that donkey does not speak for all of you and there are lovely people in the US of course, it was classic Wild West US diplomacy and has everyone else pulling back from America. He is taking you full-on nationalistic AXIS.

Gotta feel for the Irish. Much like Sweden, chilled place being inundated by nutters with no clue where they are. The blame still lies on the EU and Merkel especially. Yes, let in the needy, but you tell the dodgy economic migrants to FO! Better still, send them all to Oz. They'll be right at home there.

I feel for the neighbour, they've got a bread thief living next to them.

Thailand can do what it wants and deports people all the time. I don’t know what the US is harping on about though with its current MO regards deportations. Ok, not this or that group, but still. Japan is one to talk regards singling groups out. Very stringent. Fair enough and up to them, just sayin. For sure, Thailand struggles with its moral compass, but every country has an agenda.

What does that make Trump then? Wonder how he would do in Zelensky’s shoes… a country with minimal resources at hand, having previously given up all their nukes, being ravaged by one of the maddest regimes in history. He would be totally lost as he is just a businessman. Any sort of affection I may have had for the bloke was totally shot with that debacle. Diplomacy 101: you do not embarrass and talk down to a head of state in your house. As for that donkey of a sidekick of his, who the actual F does he think he is? He should stfu and only open is trap when he’s spoken to. One of the most cringeworthy things I have ever seen. The human race just took a giant step back. Only wish that weakling Starmer would grow a pair and tell Trump and the US to go and do one.

… and take all their bases and special access with them.

Don’t worry about it. Life is fleeting and unimportant. Be like a Buddhist and in the moment.

Doesn’t matter what he said or if he wound them up, the response was an utter embarrassment for the US regime. That Vance is a gobshiite. Boys playing a man’s game.

Ooh, very bogun esque, from that irrelevant convict desert likely 😂 trying to get a dig in when the thread is about the EU. All you other numpty nations, convict ones usually, can only offer up mockery when you look at yourselves then realise what that little place has achieved. Alone?: Britain has always been alone. Influence?: it was inevitable the rest of the world would eventually catch up. Impoverished? 😂 It may be in a pickle due to rubbishy EU and own leftist policies leading to unchecked immigration etc — and the feminisation of the house — but where isn’t?

Gawd, what a thread. All the dolts are out.

Please don’t mention my town.

Hard to believe that number but one can dream. Let’s lose those other big groups. Thailand works better with max 20M tourists.

Preserving Thailand's Tourism Reputation lol

Yes, Trump will degrade America while trying to make his country 'great'. Have to side with the Left a bit here. While it is good to have some balance regards the whole woke issue (it is too much right now), he is OTT and is also pissing all over friend nations. They will gradually turn and do business elsewhere with less flaky entities. Trump has no F idea how much the US gains from NATO, for example. WWII: Most of the monies went into rebuilding Germany, while Britain got the shaft. Having stood alone for so long (US came in YEARS later when it was convenient) it was basically brought to its knees, and having to negotiate with the US for supplies in exchange for scientific info and whatnot, and was then left to build itself back up while seeing all this money pour in next door. Of the OP, he does not care one iota since he is very rich, very old and quite deluded.

How many Thais do you know? Having been to Pai recently, it is basically a free-for-all with people smoking happily in bars and along the street. Police presence is in evidence and relaxed and they know exactly what is going on. This stuff now is all because of the bad press of a few tourists, so the police have to be seen to be doing something serious. If the locals are annoyed by it all, then don't wish for tourism en masse and hand the money back! The kind of 'locals' that rub shoulders with these tourists are ALL making good coin. The real locals are around and about in the hills and have practically nothing to do with them unless they so wish. At times, Thailand is still like a little child grappling with growing pains. Court millions into your country with free visas (many from suspect regions), then you should expect the odd issue and deal with them appropriately... but start down the crackdown route and you just confuse the F out of everyone and have them scurrying for more balanced places like Japan.