Kerryd

People sometimes forget that for every jaded, pence-pinching, balloon-chasing old expat in Pattaya, there are 500 "newbies" that have just arrived off the plane and have never been outside of their home region/state, let alone in a foreign country on the other side of the world. And despite how widespread and easily available the internet is - very few ever do a detailed search on their destinations aside from things like "where is the hotel and where is the beach". But they've heard stories. Hand-me down tales from cousins and uncles and that nice man who used to take you out to the shed in the back for naked "sword fights" when your parents weren't around. But those stories usually lack two important things. Relevant details and - reality. For example. When I was in Afghanistan and people found out I was living in Thailand, invariably there'd be someone in a group that "had a friend who went to Thailand and he rented a house right on the beach, hired one woman to do all the cleaning and laundry and another woman to do all the grocery shopping and cooking - and he was sleeping with both of them - and it only cost him $75 US a month !" Seriously ! Between 2003-2005 in Kabul I heard that same story, almost word for word, from 3 different people ! And it was hilarious to see the confused look on their faces when I told them the Vietnam war ended 30 years ago. And then had to explain that things haven't been that cheap in Thailand since the mid-late 70s. (Then ask who their "friend" is and invariably they'll have forgotten his name or it will actually be a "friend of a friend" and so on. Because what they are really doing is retelling an old wives tale that gets passed around in bars and schools and workplaces for decades and none of the people hearing the story ever question the details.) But then some people hear such stories, hop on a plane and arrive in Thailand - totally clueless about how things really work here. And then they go to a bar, thinking it's just like the bars "back home" except they seem to be full of young(ish), attractive(ish) women that actually seem to like them ! And they start thinking all those stories they heard are true ! Until they get their bar bill and that "reality" that was missing from those stories hits them. Some sheepishly accept their newly learned reality that things aren't as cheap - or easy - as they were led to believe. And some get into drunken brawls with ladyboys in high heels. And one day, maybe, 2 or 3 of the 500 (per jaded expat) will become older, wiser and equally jaded expats themselves. (Right about the same time they learn about ThaiVisa/ASEAN Now and join the rest of the "socks with sandals and wife-beater undershirts" brigade of expats.)

Undoubtably this has to do with the vast amount of Chinese tourists passing through the airports. I too am a former smoker and I remember getting off a plane and zipping to the nearest smoking room for a butt before zipping to the Immigration lanes. Canada was actually one of the first countries to ban smoking on Domestic flights. And then they told airlines that smoking would be banned on any flight departing from Canada or landing in Canada. That was in the very early 90s. Some airlines even threatened to reroute flights to US airports instead so Canada softened the rule to flights that were less than 2 hours in duration. By the mid-90s though the ban was again on all flights. I remember flying on a charter 747 when we deployed to Croatia in Sept '92. Once we were airborne and out of Canadian airspace the smoking light was on. That deployment was also when I took my first flight to Thailand. Flew Lufthansa from Zagreb to Frankfurt to Bangkok. The plane took off from Frankfurt and you could hear the wheels retract and "clunk" into place and bingo ! The smoking light was on. I waited until I'd seen half a dozen other people lit up before I did myself. But when our rotation was over in Croatia in Apr '93 and we were flying back to Canada, the chalk commander declared it was a no smoking flight. We landed in Ireland for refueling and they let everyone off the plane. There was a mass rush for the smoking room and it was way too small. The chalk commander relented and allowed smoking only in the rear 8 rows of the plane. I swear that 747 flew tail down/nose up all the way to the West Coast of Canada after that because of how many people were crowded into the back of the plane so they could smoke. But when I took my 2nd trip to Thailand ('97) there was no smoking on pretty much any commercial airline And yeah, in SOME airports they have (or had) very nice smoking rooms. The Emirates Business Class lounge smoking area was a huge, well ventilated area above the main lounge area so the smoke never went into the rest of the lounge. The smoking rooms in the Taiwan airport were nice as well - when they weren't busy. But there was literally one room for the entire International terminal and one for the Domestic terminal and if you arrived at a busy time they'd usually be very crowded. The smoking room in the Bahrain terminal (Departure side) was terrible. A tiny room barely 4 meters by 4 meters with almost no ventilation. Whenever the door opened a huge cloud of smoke would fill the corridor. And it too was so crowded that people just started smoking in the corridor. I pitied the people who had to walk past there to get to the bathrooms. Swampy was a bit better - mostly because the smoking rooms were hard to find if you didn't know where they were already. But regardless of how nice or uncrowded the room is - you will still stink of smoke afterwards and your breath will still smell horrid. After I quit (13 years ago) I was shocked when I suddenly started noticing what other smokers actually smelled like after they'd had a cigarette and then I realized that I used to smell exactly like that as well. Then I thought of all the times I sat in a smoking room right up until my flight started boarding. I imagined a cloud of smoke following me all the way to my seat and hovering over me the whole flight. And then I imagined what my breath must have smelt like whenever I spoke to anyone just after having a cigarette. Not pleasant at all. And no, the smoke does not stay in the rooms because every time the door opens and people enter/leave, clouds of smoke usually escape. I remember finding smoking rooms in airports literally by smell. I could smell the stale 2nd hand smoke in a corridor and knew there had to be a smoking room nearby. And of course - the people who have to clean those rooms get exposed to the smoke as well. People getting cancer from 2nd hand smoke is what led to smoking bans in bars and restaurants in the 90s as well. But - there are 10s of millions of smoke-happy Chinese arriving every year and if they don't give them a place to smoke - you know they'll be doing it somewhere.

I've transferred stamps at Jomtien twice now. Last one being in 2020. Filled out the one form, handed it in with my new and old passports. Came back the next day to pick them up. No charge (that I can remember), no hassle. I don't even recall having to make any photocopies of anything. I do remember it being quite a simple process which was nice as I thought it might be a hassle. And definitely did not have to show an updated bank book. They could have been checking to see if you still qualified for whatever Extension you were/are on ?

I remember that. A birthday party. A birthday suit. A canine. (It was on WikiLeaks as well.)

Note there is NO actual details about his "death". No date. No location. No circumstances. NO NEWS except for the copy/paste story in the original post. He allegedly was last seen on the 20th. I seriously doubt he died and has been decomposing in his room for over 2 weeks without anyone noticing. Also, a quick search found another group where someone who seems to have a lot of knowledge about his activities mentions he was actually seen on the evening of the 21st at ABUNdance Modern Fusion Club - which is a totally different place than the Abandoned Mansion Bar & Restaurant. That person said he was staying at the The Coach Hotel and checked out at 1pm on 22 Jan - and then says the hotel refused to check the CCTV. (That guy seems to have some pretty intimate details about the guy's activities for some reason.) And whenever you see one of these stories with NO details - but they've already had a "GoFundMe" type appeal set up - you have to wonder. And surely if a dead Brit was found in Bangkok it would have made the LOCAL news long before it appeared - with GoFundMe link - in the news "back in Blighty" don't you think ? Think about it. Normally a "foreigner" being found dead anywhere in the country makes the news, with media and cameras taking photos of the location the body was found and so on. Yet almost ALL of these stories originate from English garbage media sites like the Sun and Mirror - with NO local news about them. I've even queried Thaiger about incidents that supposedly happened in their back yard (Phuket) and there was NO news anywhere about it - except for the story copy/pasted from one of those lame sites in England that "pay people for their vacation horror stories". And ALL of those stories have the SAME clues. NO specific date. NO specific location. NO specific details about the incident. NO local news reports. Nothing that can actually be researched or investigated to see if it's true. Think about it. An Indian gets pickpocketed by a ladyboy - it's headline news. A Brit gets into a fight with bouncers on Walking Street - it's headline news. A Russian gets into a scooter accident in Phuket - it's headline news. But a missing Brit being found dead weeks after going missing ? NO news at all ? Just a convenient "GoScamYou" link in an article in a British media site. If you can't see through the Kwaii khee then maybe you should get some glasses. And keep in mind - this is not the first "news" story like this to be posted here. They literally scan those Brit tabloids daily for any "Thailand horror stories" and then cut/paste them into Thaiger and ASEAN Now - often without mentioning where the story originated from (i.e. a British tabloid site). Surely some of you have friends/relatives in Essex that could give the Sangwine family a call and ask when - and where - the funeral is. After all, they've already scammed - er- "fundraised" more than enough to fly his body home so the funeral should be pretty quick - especially considering how long ago he may have died. Wanna bet you don't get an answer ?

Does having PR let you buy land ? No. Does PR let you pay the "Thai" price at hospitals ? No. Does PR let you pay the "Thai" price at National Parks or tourist attractions ? Some - but not all. Does PR let you skip out on paying taxes on foreign (or domestic) income ? No. Does PR mean you don't need a Visa/Extension to stay here all year ? Yes. Does PR mean you don't need a re-entry permit to go outside the country ? Yes. Does PR mean you will be treated any differently than any other tourist regardless of how long you've been in Thailand ? No. You will always be "just another farang". 190,000 baht fee if it's approved ? No wonder all the world's riff-raff flock to Canada. Spend 3 years in Canada pretending to be a refugee or "asylum seeker" (preferably from an African, Middle Eastern or Caribbean country) and so long as you aren't arrested (for anything serious) - you will be GIVEN full Canadian Citizenship at NO cost. The right to vote. No visas needed. Go anywhere, do anything with you shiny new Canadian passport. No need to speak English or French. No need to know about Canada's history. And now - no need to even show up in person to swear the "oath of allegiance" that you don't care about anyways ! Added benefit - as a refugee or asylum seeker living off of Canada's generosity - you can immediately start demanding that Canada change it's laws and regulations to suit you ! Meanwhile in Thailand - you will always be a "farang tourist". I'm betting that even if you were one of the very few that actually acquired Thai citizenship and you had a valid Thai ID card and passport - you would STILL be treated as a "farang tourist" 99.9% of the time.

It is safe - if YOU follow the rules and meet the requirements. In other words - do what you are supposed to do to live here legally. There is no need to use an agent - unless you do not meet the requirements. An Extension of Temporary Stay costs 1,900 baht. That's it. Add a couple hundred baht for photos and photocopies every couple of years. I put my 800k in a Fixed Term account the year before I could apply for a Non-O (and then apply for an Extension). That money has sat there ever since. Doesn't earn a lot of interest but technically it earns more than enough to pay the fee for my annual Extension as well as those photocopies/photos and a Re-Entry permit or two. And I never have to worry about "topping up" the account or withdrawing "too much" or having to pay an "agent" to scam the requirements. I've done 13 Extensions so far with NO problems and don't use an agent. 15 years ago, my 77 year old dad who was dying of lung cancer was still able to go to Immigration to apply for his Extension - 6 weeks before he died. If he could do it - without an agent, there's no reason anyone else can't. Pro tip: It's the SAME paperwork and photocopies needed every year. THINK about it and prepare it AHEAD of time. Get your photocopies done, update your bank book the day before you go. Sign your photocopies. If you don't have a computer/printer, get extra copies of the TM.47 from Immigration and photocopy them and make extra copies of the required passport pages. Each year it takes me barely 15 minutes to update and print the TM.47, print the scans of my passport pages, attach a photo and sign all the paperwork. A quick run to the bank to update my bank book and get my "bank letter". When you arrive at Immigration all your paperwork should be 100% complete. It takes me maybe 4-5 minutes with the IO from the time I hand over my paperwork until I've paid the fee and he's taken my photo (with the "ticket number") and I'm heading for the door. Pro tip: Take a pen with you so you can sign all the pages you didn't bother doing beforehand or the photocopies you decided you might not need this time. Pro tip: SHOWER and wear CLEAN clothes before going to Immigration. Seriously - WTF are you thinking when you show up stinking of body odour and looking like you haven't changed your clothes in weeks ? And yes - I HAVE seen people sit down with an IO and hand over their passport and bank book - and then expect the IO to fill out the paperwork and make the photocopies for them. (And of course they are ahead of me in line every time.) And yes, there are always people who "forgot" to make photocopies or sign half their paperwork and need a pen. And yes, far too often I've had to stand in line with people who stunk so bad it almost made you retch. And it sucks when they are directly behind you and you approach the desk/IO and they see you and then get hit with the smell and think it's you. (I've even made eye contact with an IO, pointed at my nose and then behind me so he knew it wasn't me that stunk so bad.) I spent 10 years working in Afghanistan and you could literally smell them from 500 meters away if the breeze was right - and they didn't smell as bad as some people I've seen at Jomtien Immigration. And people wonder why so many of the Immigration Officers seem to be in a bad mood all the time. (Another good reason to show up really early - to catch them before their mood turns really sour !) Still shake my head when people claim they'd rather pay an agent 20,000+ baht to get their Extension for them - because they "can't be bothered" to spend 15 minutes to do the paperwork themselves and only pay 1,900 baht instead. Uh huh.

Different Immigration offices have different procedures. For example, Jomtien doesn't synch-up your 90 Day report dates with your Extension application date. They treat them as two entirely separate procedures. At Jomtien: You need to drop off your: Passport, TM.47, Photocopy of Face Page, Photocopy of Visa/Extension page, Photocopy of Last Entry Stamp page, and Photocopy of your "Receipt of Address" notification slip. Pro tip ! TAKE a pen with you !! Save yourself time and effort as it can be hard finding one when you are there. Depending on when you go in, it can take 20 minutes or it can take an hour. They collect a dozen or so passports and take them inside. The next time they have a dozen or so more passports ready to go, they'll take those inside and pick up the batch they'd previously dropped off. They then call out the numbers in no particular order and regardless if you were the first person in line or the last. I have no idea why they decided to require a TM.47 and stack of photocopies each time now. When the 90 Day was inside the main building it was quick and easy. Even when the "90 day desk" was outside and we sat under the awnings. But ever since they moved into that new building, they've decided to make the process more complicated for some reason. They must have boxes of photocopies just from the trips I've made there in the last couple of years since they started using the new building. Major waste of time - and paper - doing that every single time.

Always a laugh when you hear about different Immigration offices having their own sets of rules and procedures, different from every other office. But if you do a border run on Day 179, "leaving" Thailand and then re-entering an hour (or less) later - does that count as not being "tax resident" ? It would look a little off if you "left" the country on 1 Feb and "entered" the country on 1 Feb and then claimed you are not "tax resident" because you were only in the country for 179 days. (Maybe why Canada uses 183 days to determine if someone is "deemed resident for tax purposes" ?)

"No matter how much evidence you show that proves the moon landings were faked, there are people who will still believe they were real. No matter how much evidence you show that proves the moon landings were real, there are people who will still believe they were faked." (I just made that up.) And yes, NASA DID lose the original photos and negatives from the moon landings. They were "accidentally" destroyed was the official explanation when people wanted to see them to find out things like why there are stars in the background of most moon photos. And why the shadows don't seem to match the objects in many shots. There's a wiki entry about the "missing tapes" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11_missing_tapes#Search_for_the_missing_tapes And why was the flag they planted "waving" as though there was a breeze ? (NASA tried to claim they had the flag specifically made so that it would "look" like it was blowing in a breeze - on a moon with no atmosphere or wind.) And why is it that photos of Earth, taken from the Moon, appear to be the SAME size as photos of the moon when taken from Earth ? It is NOT "perception". "Perception" would be seeing two different sized objects in front of you at different distances and thinking the closest one is larger when it's not. The distance from the Earth to the Moon is literally exactly the same as the distance from the Moon to the Earth. But the Earth is SIX times larger than the moon so why doesn't it appear SIX times larger in photos taken on the lunar surface ? Here's a simple test. Take a basket ball and a softball (or a soccer ball and a tennis ball) and set them a meter apart on a table. Stand behind the larger ball and look at the smaller one. Now stand behind the smaller ball and look at the larger one. According to the NASA photos - they should appear to be the same size. But in reality, if you were on the surface of the smaller ball and looking at the bigger one, it would appear HUGE by comparison. I do have an image supposedly taken by a Chinese satellite that was scanning the "dark side" of the moon - so that the camera captured the (back side) of the moon with the Earth beyond that. Amazing how much different that is compared to the "looking at Earth from the lunar surface photos we've seen from NASA". Here's another oddity. The current Artemis missions. The stated purpose of the Artemis 1 mission was to "examine the conditions astronauts would face on the lunar surface". That statement made me sit up and gasp ! Excuse me ? 6 "crewed moon landings" between '69 and '72 and NASA doesn't know what "conditions" astronauts on the Artemis 2 mission will face ? What, did they lose all that information as well ? It's not like the moon has undergone "climate change" over the last 50 years so how is it they apparently don't know what the astronauts will face when they land on the surface ? And here's a laugh. The first "moon landing" was in July 1969. Diamonds are Forever was a James Bond film released in Dec 1971, just over 2 years later. But the script was written long before that, the sets produced, actors rehearsed and so on. Filming actually started in April 1971 but the script was approved long before that. And who can forget the scene where Bond is trying to escape from Willard Whyte's facility (controlled by Bloefeld) and he crashes through a wall - into the middle of a fake moon landing set with a lunar lander, "astronauts" on wires hopping around and - a lunar buggy ! (Apollo 15 was the first mission to use a "Lunar Roving Vehicle" and that mission landed in July 1971 - months after the Bond film had already started filming.) Makes you wonder where they got the idea in that film to create a fake moon landing scene - long before anyone even thought to question if the moon landings were real ! And they had a "moon buggy" (which Bond used to escape into the desert) - even before NASA put one on the moon ! How did the writers "guess" about all that ? Or get the idea that the landings were fake and include that scene in the movie ? Here is the image supposedly taken by the Chinese satellite. Note how small the moon is compared to Earth. As mentioned, Earth is about 6 times larger than the moon so it makes sense it would appear much larger in any photo. Now imagine you are on the surface of the moon, looking back at the Earth. This is the Apollo 11 photo taken in July 1969 from the moon: And this is the Apollo 12 "Earth Shot" taken on 19 Nov 1969. Isn't it funny how the Earth looks the same size as the Moon does when viewed from Earth ? Despite it being 6 times larger than the moon ? By rights - and the laws of physics - the Earth should appear massive in those photos. But even if you did fake a moon landing - there'd be a lot of people who would know about it, including the astronauts themselves. (Because they would have had to been in on it as they would have noticed something was off if they took off from earth and just orbitted the planet for a couple days while another crew "faked the landing" at a studio on Earth and then they just returned to Earth themselves. It could be done, but keeping everyone quiet about it for 50+ years ? They couldn't make them all disappear in "accidents". What has always got me though was we landed people on the moon 6 times and then stopped. And in the 55 years since then all we can do is put a ramshackle little "space station" in low Earth orbit and we can barely even keep it supplied or change the crew. You'd think the Shuttles should have easily been able to make it to the Moon and back if those tiny "lunar landers" and "command modules" could. The Apollo 15 Lunar Module for example was 23' high and 31' wide and weighed about 11,000 pounds including fuel, water, oxygen and - Lunar Roving Module. (The Apollo 11 Lunar module was similar in size but only weighed about 8,600 pounds.) The Space Shuttle was 56' high and 122' long. The payload bay was 60' long and 15' wide by 15' high (15' diameter). The Shuttle weighed about 172,000 pounds. Surely if they could figure out how to get Lunar modules off the moon and back into space, and then link up with the Command and Service module to fly back to Earth before dumping the "Service" part and using just the Command Module for the final descent. Yes, the shuttle was much bigger. And that means it could also carry more. They could have built the "space station" on the Moon's surface and used the Shuttles to resupply it. Instead they have a little ISS sitting 400 kms above the Earth. Then again - why bother ? It's not like they can grow anything on the Moon. It doesn't have any oil. (Or the USA would have been drilling and shipping oil from there 50 years ago !). No mention of them finding any precious metals (gold, silver, platinum or lithium) or diamonds/rubies/emeralds on the Moon either. So there really is no value in putting anything - or anyone - on the surface for more than a short picnic. And that's a pretty expensive picnic. I wonder if Artemis 2 will carry pre-made "waving in the breeze" flags like the Apollo moon landers did ?

There is an "e-learning" app that you can do before you go to the DLT. https://www.dlt-elearning.com/forignerhome (Not MY spelling.) I renewed my motorcycle license last April. Resident Certificate. Medical Certificate. Passport. Application (done at the DLT). Fee - 505 baht (From the DLT website: New License: (Fee 205 baht for car, Fee 105 baht for motorcycle) https://www.dlt.go.th/en/new-license (Funny how it's more expensive to renew the initial license (105 baht) to a 5 year license (505 baht). Had to watch the video. Amused myself by making notes of all the mistakes. Did the tests (4 of them now). Reaction, Perception, Colour and Peripheral Vision (the new one) tests. And yes - it is still 2 separate licenses. More if you wanted to drive something else (like a transport vehicle or bus). I was told I if I made copies of the medical certificate and Residency Certificate, I could get both licenses issued that day. I had plans and didn't want to spend an hour running around trying to find a place to make copies (I was not in Pattaya at the time) so I just did the motorcycle license. I think it took me 2 1/2 hours in total, including the initial wait, the paperwork, the video, the tests and then getting the new license printed. In hindsight, I should have bit the bullet and got the copies made. Even if it took an hour it would have been worth it to get both licenses at the same time (but would have still been two separate cards). Pattaya is a nightmare though. Buddy of mine went there and they gave him an appointment time - for 3 weeks later - just to submit the paperwork. Old forum threads mentioned some people were given appointments 6 weeks down the road. I go to Chachoengsao as it's never so busy that you can't be done in a couple hours from walking in to walking out with the new license. My buddy gave up on Pattaya and went to a DLT in Rayong. Same thing, in and out in an afternoon. He used an "agent" - which basically just meant someone drove him to an office they are used to dealing with and then the agent waits while you do the video and tests. (They don't really do much at all except drive you there and back. Unless you need to do a driving test for your first license. Then they can take you to a "school" and have someone sign off on a paper saying you passed the test. A red note later and you are on your way to the DLT.) A lot of people will use an agent because they don't understand the paperwork or process, or even where to go. The "agent" is more like a guide, showing you where to go. But you don't really need one. Look at google maps for "Department of Land Transport" offices near you (and outside of major cities if possible). Go there with your (certificates mentioned above, passport, home license, certificate from a driving school if it's your first time). They'll usually have someone who can fill out the application for you in a couple minutes. They'll make you sit through the hour long, somewhat funny, video (with English subtitles) that you never get questioned on. Make note of how many people take a nap during the video. Do the (3 or 4) tests. Pay the fee. Wait for them to call you to get your photo taken and a few minutes later you'll have your new license. The tests are pretty simple. Standard colour vision test (differs from place to place as to how they do it). Reaction test (push a pedal on the floor while the "light" is green then SLAM on the brake pedal as fast as you can when the light suddenly turns red). Perception test (2 "light sticks" in a box 10' in front of you. Staff sets one stick in front or behind the other. You use a button to move the stick so it is beside the other one and they measure how close you got it. Repeat the test the opposite way.) Peripheral vision test. (This was a new one for me last year. There was a column on each side of the testing chair with a "light" around head-level. Instructor keys a light and you have to identify if it's red, green or yellow. Light might appear on your left or right side and be whatever colour the staff pick of the three.) Pro tip: the "testing chair" at the place I went to was inside a marked off square so you could move the chair forward or backward a bit. After you do the perception and reaction tests, move the chair back as far as allowable for the perception test so the lights are a bit further ahead of you. I had the chair fully forward and it ended up the lights were inline with my ears and hard to see. I could have moved the chair back almost a foot. First license is only good for two years. If I recall, unless you have a "yearly Visa" (i.e a Non-O or Non-B for example) you will only ever get a 2 year license. If you have a Non-O or Non-B (or other "long stay" Visa) then your first license will still be for 2 years but then you can renew it for 5 years after that. Also, fun fact, I recall that if you go to renew your license, do it around 11 months before your birthday. They will renew it to expire 5 years after your next birthday. So if your birthday is in November for example and you go to renew the license now, the new expiry date will be 5 years after your next birthday. Also note - it seems each DLT is it's own little "kingdom" with it's own interpretation of the rules. Just like Immigration, they have the laws and guidelines to follow, but the procedures at each place can be a little different. For example, one place might use a "colour wheel" for the colour vision test and another place may use the "traffic light" box. When I got my first (2 year) license, I didn't have to watch "the video). When I renewed it to get my 5 year license I didn't have to watch the video. But when I went to renew the 5 year license - I had to sit through the video. And just like a bank - if you have a problem getting a license at one DLT - try a different one. You can apply for your license - or renew it - at any DLT office no matter what your actual address is.

Many years ago there was a bit of a scam with "private investigators". Guy meets bargirl. Agrees to send her "big money" every month so she "not have to work bar". Guy gets suspicious when he phones her and hears a guy's voice or "bar sounds". She says she's "just visiting her sister". Guy hires "private investigator". PI spies on the girl and when the time is ripe - propositions her. Either she sleeps with him (for free) or he tells her boyfriend that she slept with him (for money). Even if she wasn't working in a bar anymore. Then after she shags the guy - he tells the boyfriend that she slept with him anyways. So basically he got paid to bang a bar girl. And seriously - if you met her in a bar and are suspicious of her - break it off. You've already lost the "trust" test and you'll never get that again. From experience. If she says "she only work bar a few days" - it means she's only worked that bar for a few days and that she probably spent years working in other bars. If you are sending her money so she doesn't "have to work bar" - then it's likely that she's got the same arrangement with 2-3 (or more) other guys as well - and is still "working bar". Back in the early 00's there was a hot number working in the New Living Dolls 2 go-go bar. Her nickname was "56k" because that was how much her boobs cost (28k each and they were AWESOME). That was before every 2nd girl you saw had fake boobs. Turns out she had FIVE "boyfriends" sending her money every month to "not work bar" - and she was STILL "working bar". Her biggest problem was scheduling, trying to con different boyfriends into changing their travel plans so they didn't overlap. I won't go into 5 pages of details but I've known more than a few bar and go-go girls over the years and after awhile you learn to see the signs. The "going for coffee with her cousin" or "going to the salon" trips that last 5-6 hours - or they don't come back until the next day. The trips to their home village that they try to convince you not to go on because you'd be bored. Attempts to get you to change your holiday plans (usually because they'll be home "visiting sick momma" or something) - or they panic because you tell them you're going to stay a week or so longer than expected. (And suddenly they need to make a trip "home" and won't be there for that extra time.) Finding the 2nd "Facebook" page is always fun. Had that happen once when Facebook gave me a list of "friend suggestions" and one of them was the girl that was living with me. Except her name was in Thai and she was "in a relationship" with a guy she'd started seeing months earlier while she was living with me. Both profiles had a lot of the same friends but the other profile had - obviously - no pics of me or the places we'd gone to. Basically, if you met her "in a bar" and she speaks enough English to carry on a conversation with you then you can be sure she's been "in the game" for a long time and knows all the tricks of the trade. And if you hire a PI to "check her out" you can pretty much be guaranteed that the answer will be that she's "still in the game" - even if she's not (or wasn't - until the PI extorts her). And seriously - if you are suspicious - it's not like there aren't a million (literally) other options out there.

So what, he punched a couple hospital workers and then ran away ? There's not mention of what happened after the initial assaults. Did they apprehend him at the hospital ? Is he running around Bangkok ? It looks like they got him at the end after the (security ? police ?) guy showed up. And if that was Canada you can bet the hospital staff and the (security/cop) would end up being forced to apologize to the guy and then there'd be an out of court settlement for "infringing on his rights" - even if he wasn't Canadian.

OK. Apparently a lot of you have NO idea how the Thai justice system works. It is Thai law that an accused must be free to defend him/herself from any charges against them. Courts can - and will - grant bail in almost every case unless there are (very serious) extenuating circumstances. They will even let you out of prison if you were already incarcerated. For example. The legendary case of Somchai Khunplome (aka Kamnan Poh or "Godfather of Chon Buri"). If the name sounds familiar, it's because two of his sons were former Mayors of Pattaya (Itthiphol - 2008-2016, Sontaya - 2018-2022) and the third son (Narongchai) has been the Mayor of Bang Saen for ages (the same Tambon his father was Mayor of for decades). Sontaya, owner of the Chon Buri FC, was also a Cabinet Minister in Thaksin and Yingluck's gov'ts. Itthiphol, owner of the Pattaya FC, was a Minister in Prayut's gov't. Kamnan Poh was arrested for the murder of a political rival, found guilty and sent to prison for 25 years. But ! He appealed the sentence and was released on a 10 mil baht bail. At the same time, he was also facing trial for a land fraud/corruption case. Needless to say - he did a runner and he would still be running if his health hadn't taken a turn for the worse and he had to go to the hospital. So even if you are found guilty of having someone murdered, you can still get bail so you are "free" to appeal the sentence or to defend yourself against any other charges. Even if you are already in prison, you can be released so you can defend yourself. Even if you are wealthy, guilty of murder and/or are an obvious flight risk - you can still get bail. And wasn't there a case not long ago of a foreigner accused of forging his partner's names on documents so he could sell their business without the partner knowing about it. (He hadn't been paying the taxes on the money they were making and got hit with a large tax bill. He couldn't get a loan - he claims - because of the "foreigners" owning shares in the company so he transferred his shares to his wife and forged documents to transfer his partner's shares as well without him knowing about it.) His passport was taken away when he was arrested, he was released on bail - and the police gave him his passport back because he claimed he had a job in Austria that would allow him to make the 200,000 baht per month payments the court ordered him to pay his former partner. (And they believed him.) But then he was busted at the airport as he tried to sneak out of the country. He was on overstay but complained to an appeals court and was released on bail. He moved to Korat but a few days later an "anonymous tip" led Immigration police to arrest him - again - over his visa status. And he was told it would cost him 120,000 baht to get released (which his friends/family apparently raised) and after about 3 months in the IDC he was released. (Very strange case.)

I'm assuming she was holding the original title deed (Chanote) and blue book for the property. So he falsified a police report claiming the originals were lost, forged her signature and was able to fraudulently obtain a replacement deed (and book) without her knowing about it. He then sold the "company" to someone else, using the valid - but fraudulently obtained - title deed. She probably found out about it when the "new" owner showed up and told her to get off his/her property.

Our Military Detention Center was seen as pretty harsh, to the point that anyone who went there really did not ever want to go there again. Not like Thai prisons. But stand by your bed room inspections everyday. Then station jobs (sweeping/mopping common areas, cleaning bathrooms and whatever else the staff ordered you to do. Then out to the yard to dig holes. And fill in holes. And dig more holes. All with the staff screaming at you non-stop. And strictly regulated meals. No talking to other detainees. Sit at attention until told to eat. 30 minutes to finish then turn in your tray. Marching (double-time) everywhere you go. And if you are in your cell when it's not "lights out" - you are sitting "at attention" on the edge of your bed. No laying down or reading a book. And you had to EARN privileges, like being allowed to talk to another detainee during meals. You were there to be PUNISHED, not make friends and do each other's nails. And from what I heard, no drugs. No gangs. No "illegal" activities or gang rapes or "shiving" other detainees. Extremely hard discipline and punishment for anyone breaking the rules though. And if our regular prisons operated like that you can bet there wouldn't be a lot of repeat offenders.

Yeah I had to laugh at that. "4 toilets that they had to clean with cold water". Poor snookums. And eating from trays that were washed on the floor. "Waaa - they don't have proper high-temperature, restaurant grade dishwashing machines to wash the food trays." And they had to wash with "little bowls of cold water". You'd think "cold water" would be a luxury in a place with little or no ventilation and definitely no air con. And despite supposedly being broke and in a cramped prison cell he claims they weren't allowed out of except for 1 hour a week, he was living soley of the "small pot noodles" one guy was selling in a corner of the cell. I'm shocked he wasn't able to "bribe the guards to move some prisoners to other cells" and "buy cleaning supplies" and "bring in food" and "send messages to his mum" the way he claimed he'd done in the Pattaya jail. And don't they normally search prisoners and look for contraband - like smart phones ? He claims he got one smuggled in, hidden in a package of baby wipes and then what, hid it in his "prison wallet" when he was transferred to the IDC where they apparently didn't bother searching him (or confiscating his phone if they did search him). I'm starting to think all those movies and books and stories from other prisoners about how bad things are is total fiction ! And he never once mentioned having to fight anyone for anything. I guess that only happens at Bang Kwang ?

Monks in Thailand do things all the time that are supposed to be against the "code of conduct" for monks. I recall going to the Phra Phatom Chedi (tallest chedi in the world at the time) in Nakhon Phatom in '98. The monks still carried the (talipot) fans to hide their face if they crossed paths with a (grown) woman. One senior monk was handing little scrolls of paper to people with (I guess) a lucky number or prayer on it or something. He gave me one but he motioned for my girlfriend to turn her hand over and hold it out, then he dropped the paper into her hands so he didn't risk touching her. Very "old school" at that place. Then we go to Wat Chai in Pattaya and the monks are smoking and drinking and talking on telephones. And a little over a year ago I was touring some ancient Khmer ruins in Isaan. One set was inside the large compound of a Buddhist Wat. On the right side of the compound was the Khmer temple and just past that I could see some buildings (houses) - maybe belonging to the caretakers ? But as I was approaching the ruins a pit bull and two other dogs came charging at me from those buildings, snarling and barking. I set my camera bag on the ground, pulled my (small) folding knife from my pocket, turned towards them and took a step while yelling about how I'd gut them like fish and feed their livers to the ants. It's not the words that are important - it's the delivery and tone - and volume. And sure enough, even the pitbull stopped advancing. And when I took another step, still yelling like I was the one who was going to be attacking them and they backed off and ran back to the buildings they'd come from. Generally, the smaller dog always gives way to the bigger dog, especially if it looks like the bigger dog isn't scared of the smaller one. I put my knife away, picked up my camera bag and that's when I noticed a couple of the monks that had been out sweeping leaves in the compound were standing off to the side (near the parking lot) just watching. It took a couple of minutes for my heart to stop pounding (lots of adrenaline pumping) and I kept an eye out to see if they got brave enough to come back but they didn't. But if you show fear and turn your back to them, they are likely to attack because that is their nature (dogs, not just pit bulls).

Uh huh. Someone is vastly undervaluing that haul. "the confiscated methamphetamine is valued at approximately 49.5 million Thai Baht (£1.1 million)" (Approx $1.456 mil US.) From another story about this: "Officials declined to say how much the haul was worth but a one-tonne seizure of crystal meth in May last year had a street value of US$25 million." So if 1 ton was worth $25 mil US last year, that's 850 million baht. So 1.65 tonnes would have a value of around 1.4 BILLION baht. At least. Lol - weird coincidence. in 2019 Australia announced the seizure of - 1.6 tonnes of meth - hidden in stereo speakers - shipped from Thailand ! The street value of that was estimated to be $837 mil US. And in 2018 Indonesia seized a shipment of - 1.6 tonnes of meth. (Allegedly from Myanmar.) Is 1.6 tonnes the standard shipping weight for meth or something ? And - lol - think about this. "The consignment, comprising 33 cotton bales and weighing approximately 1.65 tonnes," "a record-breaking seizure of 1.65 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine" So what, each bale was comprised of 50kgs of meth wrapped in a single layer of "cotton" ? (50kgs x 33 equals 1,650 kgs which equals 1.65 tonnes.) (US "tons" are not the same as Metric "tonnes". 1.65 "tonnes" would equal 1.82 "tons" in US weight.) Them numbers, they just ain't adding up !

In the MIRROR story he claims he was "asked to pay" 2,000 baht for his overstay and 500 baht for the night in detention (when he was first arrested). That would indicate just 4 days of overstay. Way more but of course we only get to hear his side of the story and it's not likely he's going to admit what really happened. From the Mirror article: "He bribed guards to have a few people moved to another cell to allow more space, he said." "He also paid bribes to have food brought in, for cleaning products for the bathroom, and to send messages to his mum in the UK, he said." "The police asked him to pay 50,000 Baht (£1,180) instead of 500 to release him straight away, and he couldn't pay it, he said. He was taken to court the next day where he was asked to pay 2,000 Baht for the visa overstay and 500 for the cost of the night he'd been detained." Totally missing how the police asked him to pay 50,000 baht - instead of 500 - to release him. Where'd he get the idea it shoud have only been 500 baht ? And seriously - if he was taken to court "the next day" and "asked" to pay 2,000 for the overstay (4 days worth) and 500 for the night in jail - then that would have been the end of the story (if he paid). And what, we're supposed to believe that he could bribe guards inside the prison - but couldn't afford a 2,500 baht fine ? And we KNOW how the system REALLY works. You get banged up for overstay and they lock you up in the local slammer until Friday (normally). THEN you get sent to the IDC in Bangkok so that you have to stay in a cell until Monday when you are taken to court. THAT is when you get told what your sentence is (fine, deportation, overstay, etc). You don't get "attacked in a bathroom, beaten by cops, locked up, "asked" to pay 50,000 baht instead of 500, then go to court, get "asked" to pay a fine, then get sent to the IDC in Bangkok anyways so you can go to court again. There's a lot of BS going on in that story. Zero chance the cops (or anyone else, even an angy "ex") would have known he was on 4 days of overstay. And then tracked him down and attacked him in a public bathroom. Did that make the locals news here back in late November ? He says some Russians "lent him the money" to pay his 2,500 baht court fine (in Pattaya). But he had money to bribe the guards so they'd move some prisoners to a different cell ? And get them to "buy cleaning products", bring in food and send messages to his mum ? He was able to get a phone smuggled in - by who ? A person willing risk arrest by hiding a phone in a pack of baby wipes -that the guards somehow missed - but couldn't pay the (bail or bribe) ? And he could call his mom but she couldn't send him the money ? He says he spent 8 days in the Pattaya jail and was sent to Bangkok on 5 Dec. So he would have been arrested on 27 Nov, "went to court" on the 28th and, if his story was true, should have been sent to the IDC on the 29th (Friday). Instead, for no reason at all, he claims he was kept in Pattaya for 8 days before being sent to the IDC on 5 Dec (a Thursday). Maybe too late (maybe) to get him a court date on the Friday so he would have appeared on the 9th. But ! He claims he spent 15 days at the IDC in one sentence. ("and a Bangkok deportation centre for 15 days") Then later says he had to pay 500 baht a night for the 5 nights in the IDC before he flew home. ("..after paying for the flight home plus 500 Baht (£11.94) per night for the five nights in the deportation centre") (Maybe it's supposed to be 15 days in total, 8 days in Pattaya and 7 days in the IDC. But then his numbers don't match up as he says he was supposed to pay 500 baht in Pattaya (the day after he was arrested) for the 1 night he spent in detention there, but he claims he ended up spending 8 days. So what, pay for 1 night, get the next 7 nights free ? And then says he had to pay 500 baht per night at the IDC for 5 nights when he was there for 7. And NO mention of going to court in Bangkok or being sentenced to deportation and blacklisted. He just says he had to pay for his plane ticket and 500 a night for the time he was in the IDC. This story has more holes than an go-go dancers fishnet stockings.

Lol - I just mentioned a couple days ago about how you almost never see any Chinese getting into trouble in Pattaya (bar brawls and such) and with "Western tourists" it's almost always drunken fights with each other or bar bouncers). And with the Indians it's almost always something to do with ladyboys. Getting into fights with them, getting pickpocketed by them or taking them to their hotel rooms and waking up in the morning to find out they were robbed by them. And here is yet another story about an Indian and ladyboys right on cue. Good scam if you can get away with it. Buy a cheap, fake gold chain at a market, take a couple pics wearing it, then pretend it was stolen and try to claim an insurance payout for the value of a real gold chain. Does insurance even cover personal jewellery ? You'd think that would definitely off the books. Too easy to "lose" something and then try to claim it. (Nevermind the insurer trying to authenticate the actual value of the item beforehand.) I remember years ago I'd leave Walking Street in the wee hours and go to the MacDonalds on Beach Rd to get an early morning snack before going home or I'd walk from Soi 7 down to Walking Street. I'd sit on a bench on the beach side of the road and watch the shenanigans. It was better than most sitcoms on TV and far better than most of those fake "reality" shows. I never had a problem with the ladyboys. As soon as one would make eye contact I'd just shake my head a little bit to let them know I wasn't interested and they'd ignore me. Then again, I wasn't dripping in gold necklaces, rings and bracelets - or trying to barter with one of them to go to a hotel room while 5 of my friends tried to hide across the road and point at other ladyboys they thought looked better (or cheaper). Almost every problem that happens down there is the result of people doing exactly that. Flashing huge amounts of gold and acting like an entitled ponce in front of people that barely have enough to money to eat. Or guys (Indian and westerners) looking for a cheap deal. There's a lot of reasons why things are "cheaper" down there. None of them good. Does seem a bit odd though when you consider how many times you hear stories about an Indian having a problem down there compared to a Caucasian (and literally never a Chinese).

This guy is Samuel LEE Jackson. The actor is Samuel LEROY Jackson. You're welcome.

Also note that the regular staff in those places are NOT licensed pharmacists and are NOT allowed to sell prescription drugs over the counter. Even if the pharmacy sells those drugs without a prescription. I take a tablet a day (Miracid) to control stomach acid and go to the Fascino near me every couple of weeks to get another couple of boxes. No prescription - but they won't sell it to me unless the pharmacist is there. If (she - it's always a she) is there they'll sell me as much as I want. (It was prescribed to me at the hospital when I first had the problem treated - 12 years ago.) Pretty much anything that's "behind the counter" can't be sold unless a pharmacist is present, even though they really don't do anything. Buddy of mine has blood thinners for his heart condition. Back in Canada - has to have a doctor's prescription to get them. In Thailand - he can get them at any pharmacy - no prescription needed - but only if the pharmacist is there.

So she says she was almost scammed by someone using "deepfake voice-cloning AI" - and now is going to use "deepfake voice-cloning AI" to try and convince the Chinese that they should keep coming to Thailand ? "On Wednesday, the premier revealed she was recently targeted by a scam caller who posed as another country's leader using AI voice cloning. The bogus government leader informed her that she had yet to make an expected donation." That tech is going to cause some serious problems for a lot of people in the future.

This seems to be a recurring theme over the past 2 years. Wealthy Chinese kid comes to Thailand and is "kidnapped". Parents recieve ransom demand. Kid turns out to be partying in Bangkok with friends and claims to know nothing about the "kidnapping" (but doesn't explain why they stopped contacting their parents or using social media). Seems to be a way for rich kids to get a big chunk of daddy's money when he's not being as "generous" as they expect.