Kerryd

The article stated that they tried to go there but the crowds were massive so they went to the zoo in Si Sak Ket instead.

How many of you went directly to the Walking Street cameras to see if you could spot if your "teerak" was really just out visiting her "sister" ? There is also an app that lets you see all (well, "most") of those Traffic Cameras scattered around the country. It's called iTic. Works better on a phone than a PC it seems. After you open the app you see a map of Thailand. On the right side are 4 small squares (3 white, 1 black). Click on that and you'll see 6 icons. Each will show different information like the current pollution index (the AQI icon), gas station locations and so on. The "Traffic cone" icon will show you all those Traffic Cams scattered around the country. Click on one and it will show you the live feed from that camera. Note that it seems they are not (yet) linked to all the traffic cameras as I've seen a number of cameras on different roads that don't appear on their map so I'm guessing it's a work in progress. Also, when I first installed it, I could click on the gas pump icon and it showed me literally every (major) gas station in the country. Doesn't seem to be working now for some reason. Could be the internet, could be the app. It can be a handy tool at times. Like if you're about to head downtown and you see that it's wall-to-wall traffic jammed up at one intersection or you see it's pouring rain on the way to (wherever). Would be nice if they could use it with Google Maps so you could change the language and use it for trip planning. Maybe one day......

So he "hid" for 19 years in the same city, undetected, that his mother lived in and the crime was committed in. Makes you wonder why the police were questioning his mother at all after that long of time. Perhaps trying to close out some "cold cases" before the Statute of Limitations expires ? Note: The Statute of Limitations for offenses punishable by (death, life imprisonment or sentences exceeding 20 years) is 20 years (in Thailand). For offenses punishable by sentences between 7-20 years, the Limitation is 15 years. For offenses punishable by 1-7 years, the Limitation is 10 years. Take the case of the Red Bull heir (Vorayuth Yoovidhya). "Wichian Klanprasert, a Thai police officer, was killed by Vorayuth Yoovidhya, grandson of billionaire Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya, in a hit-and-run incident in Bangkok, Thailand, on 3 September 2012. Vorayuth, then 27, was charged with speeding, fleeing the scene of an accident, and reckless driving causing death, but has never been arrested. The statute of limitations on the speeding charge expired in September 2013, and on the fleeing the scene of an accident charge in September 2017. The statute of limitations for the reckless driving causing death charge will expire in 2027. (Apparently all charges against him were dropped in July 2020.) (No reason given for why the charges were dropped but basically he just has to wait for 3 more years and he too can return to a hero's welcome with no fear of being arrested.)

OMG ! He drove 500kms to see a baby hippo ! Surely Hollywood must be planning a major motion picture about this exploit ! "The man who spent part of a day driving to another province so his wife could see a baby hippo - and lived to tell the tale !" (Sure to be a bigger hit than Joker: Folie À Deux !) Sheesh, I've ridden (motorcycle) over 600 kms in a day to visit an old bridge (over the Kwai River) in Kanchanburi and Khmer temple (Muang Sing) and then down to Ratchaburi to link up with friends. Or 500+ kms in a day to visit historical parks in Khamphaeng Phet and Sukothai. On one trip I rode close to 1800kms in 3 days from "Chon Buri" to Ubon, Yasathon, Roi Et, Surin (and other provinces) and back, stopping to visit old Khmer temples along the way. I visited 23 ancient Khmer sites basically in 3 days. (Many sites were little more than a few old stones sticking out of the ground or a lone Stupha/Chedi in the middle of a field so I didn't spend a lot of time at them.) Just this year, I rode to Chachoengsao in the morning to renew my driving license. When I finished I looked at my watch, thought about what little I had to do (for the next 20ish years), got on the bike and rode to Buriram so I could wake up at 5am the next day and attend the Sunrise Ceremony at the Phanom Rung temple - and then rode back to Pattaya. If spending part of a day driving in an air-conditioned car to go see a baby hippo at a zoo is a newsworthy accomplishment - then my "exploits" should be ranked up there with legendary figures like Leonidas and Heracles and Achilles !

Remember, this is the country where a senior gov't official publicly chastised a well known (female) singer for doing too many "pelvic thrusts" during her performances. Which basically caused a fad that still goes one with almost every singer doing a few at some point during their performances.

By "statement" do you mean the "bank letter" certifying that it is your account ? Or are you talking about "bank statements showing monthly deposits" ? Yeah, you still need the "bank letter". But you don't have to show a "statement" showing any activity on the account. Fixed Term accounts don't usually have a lot of transactions aside from the annual interest deposit. In Jomtien what I do each year is prepare all my paperwork in the week before I have to submit my application. Then the day before I go, I head over the the bank, update my bank book and get the "bank letter". Then photocopy the first page of the book (that has your name on it) and the page with the updated balance, sign the photocopies and that's it. It usually doesn't take more than 4-5 minutes when you sit down with the IO and they check your paperwork - if you have everything done ahead of time. That's how I've been doing it for the last 13 years now anyways. Note ! Some Immigration Offices may have different requirements. It used to be that Immigration wanted to see a "savings" account with transactions listed (deposits and withdrawals) to show you were using that money to "live on" while in Thailand. As that was the entire purpose of having the money in the bank - to make sure you had enough to live on for one year. At Jomtien they didn't worry if it was a Savings or Fixed Term account or if there were any transactions on the account. So long as the money was there when you did your application they were happy. And. Some Immigration Offices wanted people to update their bank books and get their bank letter on the same day as they made their application ! That wasn't really practical to expect people to wait until the banks opened, get their bank letter and bankbook updated, then try to get to Immigration and find there's already 300 people ahead of you in line and they've stopped handing out queue numbers for the day.

Note: I am discussing different policies with my Insurance Provider now as I may change my motorcycle policy to something better this year. They sent me this comparison chart. Note they have even more "classes" of insurance for a total of 9 ! Right now I have no idea what the difference is between Class 1 and Class 1 "Comprehensive Value". The only difference between the two classes of "First Care 2+" seem to be that one covers you in the event of a terrorism event and the other one doesn't. But each insurance provider may have different coverage amounts and different clauses in their policies. So if you don't like the coverage or cost at one place, go to another.

Sigh. There are basically 3 "Classes" of Private Insurance plus 2 "sub-classes" as well as the Compulsory (Gov't) insurance that all vehicles are supposed to have (though many don't). This is from a (major newspaper) article dated 22 Aug 2024 so it's fairly recent for those of you who get your information from the guy taking a whizz next to you in the bathroom at your favourite beer bar. Class 1 Class 1 insurance, or “All Risks,” offers the most comprehensive coverage available. It protects against damage to your own vehicle, third-party property damage, personal accidents, fire, and theft. This policy also typically includes additional benefits such as 24/7 roadside assistance. Class 2 Class 2 insurance provides coverage for loss or damage to your vehicle due to fire or theft, as well as third-party liability. Unlike Class 1, it doesn't cover damage to your own car from accidents. This option is suitable for owners of older vehicles who want protection against major risks like theft and fire, but are willing to self-insure for collision damage. Class 2+ Class 2+ insurance offers the same coverage as Class 2, with the addition of protection against collision damage to your own vehicle. However, this collision coverage is typically limited to a specific amount. This class of insurance is a good middle-ground option for those who want more protection than Class 2 but find Class 1 too expensive. It's suitable for mid-range cars or drivers in areas with moderate accident risks. Class 3 Class 3 insurance provides third-party liability coverage only. It protects against damage you may cause to other people's property or injuries to third parties, but does not cover your own vehicle, or protect your car from fire or theft. This basic coverage is suitable for owners of older, less valuable cars who are primarily concerned with meeting legal requirements and protecting themselves from third-party claims. Class 3+ Class 3+ insurance offers the same third-party coverage as Class 3, but also includes limited protection for your own vehicle in case of a collision. Class 3+ is a good option for those who want some protection for their own vehicle beyond the basic third-party coverage but don't need more comprehensive policies. Compulsory Insurance known as "Por Ror Bor" Compulsory insurance, or "Por Ror Bor," is mandatory for all vehicles in Thailand. This basic coverage protects against injuries or death caused to anyone involved in accidents. While it's the minimum required by law, it doesn't cover damage to your own vehicle. From a different site: Note that if you have a claimable accident, even if you've been "accident free" for a decade (or more), your rates will go up the next year. Depending on the amount of the claim, they may double (or more) as the Insurance Company tries to recoup the money they spent (your money) as fast as they can. Also note - if you have "Class 1" insurance and get into an accident - you are likely to be found at fault no matter what as YOUR insurance will be dinged to pay for everyone's expenses. (Never mind that it will be your rates that will go up as a result.) You'd have to get a lawyer involved right away to make sure the other party's insurance pays for the damages (assuming they are at fault).

The Human Rights Council is often made up of the worst human rights abusers in the world. They get on those councils for the specific purpose of cancelling/deleting/deflecting any investigations or resolutions aimed at their own actions. While usually being quick to heap blame on everyone else (especially Israel) for their alleged "rights abuses". And - they can be bought. Easily. Note that the same Human Rights council has almost never (or just "never") condemned Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, the Palestinians or even the Syrians for "human rights abuses". But they have passed HUNDREDS of "motions" and "resolutions" and "reports" about alleged abuses by Israel. Funny how that works ?

So she was falsely accused and "defamed" - if it was the other way around she'd be arrested and getting sued. And the 3,000 baht probably never existed in the first place (or his wife took it before he left home).

On my last trip from Canada about 5 years ago, I had packed some stuff including a "bali-song" knife and a couple brand-new Leatherman multi-tools in my checked suitcase. I had stupidly bought one of those "special" suitcases that Customs has the "special code" for the combo lock so they can open your bag without having to cut the lock off. I was sitting at the Departure Gate reading a book when 3 cops (RCMP) showed up looking for me. When my checked bag went through security screening, they saw some "interesting" stuff and because they had the code to open the suitcase, decided to do some snooping. They found the Leathermans - which were perfectly legal. And they found the bali-song - which was illegal in Canada. So they removed the bali-song and put a printed page inside the suitcase to let me know that it had been opened by Customs. After a 5 minute conversation with the 3 cops, they were satisfied I probably wasn't an Al Qaeda terrorist and left. And of course, when I get home (in Thailand) and open my suitcase, I see the note - and see that the 3 brand new Leathermans had also gone missing along with the Balisong. That's when I realised - the scanner had seen the Leathermans on the x-ray and they opened my suitcase to look at them and then found the bali-song knife. They wanted to keep the Leathermans so they took them, knowing I'd be long gone before ever realising they were missing. They used the bali-song as the excuse for opening my suitcase. If I'd used a normal suitcase with a separate lock on it, they probably would have skipped right past it. But knowing they could open the bag and "snoop" without me knowing it gave them the opportunity to do just that. And they did.

Note the emphasis on "Western foreigners". Not Indians. Not Asians. Not even Africans. Just those "dirty farangs".

Well, the US arrested him under somewhat shady circumstances to begin with. They sent ATF agents posing as Columbian rebels to Thailand to meet Bout. "They" wanted to buy anti-aircraft missiles and the US (and ONLY the US) had a law against selling those things and trumped up some charges of Bout being an accessory to "killing Americans". Bout shows up in Thailand and gets arrested. Russia protested and even Thailand realized they shouldn't have allowed it to happen (as he hadn't broken any Thai laws) but they claimed he had "visa issues". Then the Americans tried to do an end run around the Thai gov't because they thought the Thais might release him and deport him back to Mother Russia (they were only holding him on visa related charges after all). So the Americans, assisted by some "friends" in the Thai police - snuck Bout out of his jail cell and tried to get him to the airport where the Americans (as in, probably the CIA) had a plane waiting to smuggle him out of the country. But they were caught and Bout was sent back to jail. And then, for whatever reason, Thailand gave into America's demands and extradited him to the US. And then an American female basketball player gets caught smuggling drugs through a Russian airport. But ! She's "black" and "LGBTQ" and it's the "evil Russians" so everyone feels sorry for her and forgets WHY she was arrested in the first place. All the public saw was a poor (lol) black LGBTQ woman being held in a Russian prison. Remember that ? It's like there was a news story in the media every weeks about her. And finally the US had to make a deal to free her. So they left even MORE deserving Americans in Russian prison and traded her for Bout just to appease the public. And the drug smuggler got a hero's welcome when she got back to the USA. Probably the first time that's ever happened.

Water looks calm in that photo but the Gulf has had a lot of waves in recent weeks. And an overloaded barge with a loose cargo that can shift unexpectedly can be a serious problem. Lucky for them they were in fairly shallow waters apparently or that thing would have sunk like a rock in seconds.

The "M6" is a stretch of new highway, elevated in some places, that follows the #2 highway for a ways, starting on the west side Pak Chong district. It splits away from the 2 at the East side of the Lumtakong reservoir and takes a more "northern" route to Korat. It connects to highway 204 on the West side of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima. I thought this was supposed to be some kind of "superhighway" when it was first announced but most of it just seems to be the same, lame, 2 lanes (each way) cement highway that will need extensive rebuilding every 3-4 years. Wasn't this highway connected to the Chinese (owned/operated/profited from for decades) high speed rail project ?

For starters - look at the second picture. That is not a u-turn. That is the overpass that starts at the Boonthavorn shop (heading south towards Sattahip), about 3 kms before you get to the Highway 332 intersection. I just came back that way last night in fact, going the other way. (Just after the rain in Pattaya stopped and the flooding went down.) It appears that the one of the riders probably took the overpass lane and the other rider didn't realize it in time and tried to cut from the "old road" onto the overpass lane while speeding along and misjudged it, hitting the sign that points to the different lanes. This is the exact same overpass but heading North. Google's image of the North lanes is dated June 2024 but their image of the South lanes (the Boonthavorn side of the overpass where the accident happened) is dated Oct 2023 when construction was still ongoing. Both ends of the overpass are virtually identical though. Maybe they call it a "u-turn" as there is a u-turn under the middle of the overpass.

I lol at everyone who seems to think that shipping "foreign foods" from (the UK, America, Europe or even Australia) is "free" and that Thailand wouldn't have any Import Duties and Tariffs on it. Of course it's going to be more expensive ! Just like buying authentic "Thai" or other "foreign" foods would be back in your home countries. If it's such a burden for you, simply send some money to family/friends "back home", have them run around and do some shopping for you and then mail it to you (don't use a courier like FedEx or DHL though). Make sure you track what the item(s) cost "back home", add the postage/shipping fees and hope it slips past Customs without them tacking on (I think it's about 20%). I recently ordered some very hot sauce from Amazon. Paid about $112. Paid through the nose for shipping because it was shipped via FedEx (not by choice). Paid through the nose again because FedEx was playing stupid games to add more fees to the invoice. The actual Customs Duties and Fees on the order came out to almost bang on 20%. So imagine a shop doing the same thing. Right off the bat they'd literally have to double the price of that sauce to pay for it, the shipping and Duties. PLUS add on their own mark-up to pay for the shop's expenses and labour. And maybe, if they're lucky, they'll be able to make a small profit. While listening to everyone whine about why it costs so much more here than "back home".

Uh huh. Always take a buddy with you when you go to visit your "girlfriend" at a "hotel" (that probably has a "heart" and "Open 24 hours, rooms by the hour" sign outside it). And she sounds like a winner. Has a guy in bed and two more on the way. Makes you wonder how Mr Tosawat knew where she was. And how it seems Mr. Thapakornkrit just happened to have a bunch of friends in a pickup very close by to come to his rescue. Got to love how the suspects had to sit in the middle of a truckload of bottled water in the back of the police truck.

This is the second time in the last couple of months where it was reported that Indian "nationals" were working - selling food from carts. Last time it was about a fight between different "Indian nationals" selling food from carts. This time it's an ice cream vendor. I must have missed the announcement that made it legal for foreigners to work without a work permit or Visa, in jobs supposedly "reserved" for Thais. Because neither article said a whisper about them working illegally and as we know, catching foreigners working illegally - or overstaying their Visas, is priority one for the BiB.

Nothing in the OP or the original article says anyone was actually removed. In the SiamRath article this story was translated from, the headline is:"ด่วน! สั่งเด้ง “หัวหน้านายช่างตรวจสภาพรถ” ขนส่งสิงห์บุรี เซ่นบัสนักเรียนไฟไหม้ พร้อมตั้งคณะกรรมการสอบข้อเท็จจริง". Google translate isn't the greatest when it comes to translating Thai to English (or the other way around), but it translates that headline into: "Urgent! Order to dismiss "Chief Vehicle Inspector" of Singburi Transport as a sacrifice for the school bus fire, along with setting up a fact-finding committee". Meanwhile, nothing in the article says anyone was dismissed. Just that 2 senior officials were assigned to investigate. "assigning two civil servants, one in the position of head of the department (an experienced vehicle inspection technician) and one in the vehicle inspection division of the Singburi Provincial Transport Office, to assist in official duties at the Department of Land Transport to ensure that the fact-finding investigation proceeds smoothly." And as I mentioned on the Facecrook post, a lot of people will jump and shout in front of the cameras for the next week promising changes and enforcement and standards (yadda yadda) and then a week later it will be back to "business as per normal". Just like happens after every nightclub/hotel/shopping mall fire where dozens are killed.

On one hand, assorted gov'ts in recent years have "vowed" to "get rid of the sex trade" (mainly in Pattaya for some reason). And now on the other hand, they want to decriminalize it (I'm sure it's mainly so they can tax it). So they don't "want their cake" - but they do want to tax it. Just another day in "The Hub of Hubs".

Well, America won't put a serial sex offending, tax evading traitor behind bars either and they claim to be the "champions of democracy" and "leaders of the free world" where "justice is blind". (How true those words really are apparently.) So if the mighty America won't lock up criminals because they are rich, why should Thailand ? But seriously. Thaksin escaped last time by getting "someone" to issue him a diplomatic passport so he could go to China "to watch the opening of the Beijing Olympics". And then, even after he announced he wasn't returning to Thailand - they did NOT cancel his passport and he was able to freely fly to the UK - who welcomed him -and his stolen billions - with open arms. All they had to do was, the instant they found out he'd left the country, was cancel his passport and have the Chinese detain him and we wouldn't be going through this now. Same could be said for the fugitive wanted for killing a policeman who also fled the country and roams the world as a rich playboy without a single worry about being arrested it seems.

When a different story was posted yesterday I went to the WISE site to see what I would get if I transferred a sum of money to Thailand. I noticed my last transfer was 2 weeks shy of 1 year ago. However, if I had transferred the same amount now that I did a year ago, I would receive 27,000 baht LESS than last year. Most (real) tourists do not scan exchange rates daily/hourly and plan their trips based on if the currency in the destination country has strengthened or weakened over the course of the previous couple of weeks. Most (real) tourists have little or NO idea what the exchange rates really are until the day they travel and see the rates at the airport. They have NO clue if the currency in the destination country is "firmer" than it was months ago. Or that they could have gotten a few hundred more baht if they'd travelled 3 months ago. It's mainly BIG businesses and Stock Market related businesses that pay such close attention to the rates as they deal in 10s-1,000s of millions in transactions daily. If Toyota made ฿500 mil in exports this time last year and only got ฿450 mil this year for the same volume of sales, it would be a significant loss. (By my rough calculations based on the WISE exchange rates of today vs 15 Oct 2023, the baht is about 10.81% stronger now than at this time last year.) But for Yon Wang from Guangzhou who is getting 4,641 baht for his 1,000 Cny (Chinese Renminbi) instead of 5,142 he would have gotten last year, it probably isn't going to make a difference because he probably wouldn't have a clue that the baht was weaker a year ago and would have no idea of how much less he will get this year. All he knows is, he was 1,000 Cny to spend on his vacation and when that is done, he goes home. End of story.

Edit - seems the emoji is still there. Odd as I scrolled through the entire list twice and couldn't see it. Come back an hour later and there it is !

Sounds more like those "bloggers" are pulling numbers from their nether regions. As there is literally NO way they would have ANY actual idea of how many DTVs have been applied for/issued. Pretty sure Immigration doesn't stop what they are doing to do a database search and total the numbers from around the country every time some so-called "blogger" drops in looking for information they have no right to know in the first place. Which is why the estimate is "1,500-2,500". Because they've talked to, or seen posts on forums, suggesting "15-25" people may have applied or been granted a DTV and then just added 2 zeros to the number to make it appear more "news worthy". And Immigration has to know what a schmozzle this is going to be. It has the inklings of a "big boss" coming up with a grand scheme without thinking it through and then when the (khee) hits the fan, let the minions sort out the problems. Remember the hassles of people trying to get "confirmation letters" from their Embassys to verify that they were getting (x amount) of "pension" income to meet the 65k/month requirement. And the never ending "800k" rules. First it was have 800k in the bank when you applied for an Extension and your bank book had to show deposits and withdrawals (to show you were actually using that money to live on while in Thailand). And it had to be in a "savings account". Then it was just have that much in any account. Then it was have it there for 3 months before you applied. Then it was 2 months before and 3 months after. Then it was 800k in the account 2 months before and 3 months after and then you could withdraw half of it - but it had to be topped up 2 months before your next application. Next it will be "have 800k locked into an inaccessible term account for 365 days before and after you apply for and Extension and show that you have another 800k in a Thai bank to live on for the next 365 days but half of that has to be locked in for the full year so you will need another account with an additional 400k and half of that will be locked in for the full year so you will need another account with 200k (and so on and son on)". Meanwhile, anyone with a faked "letter of employment" from Bill's pizza shop and Laundry Mart can get a DTV visa for 10k and just has to show the equivalent of having 500k in ANY bank - in ANY country - as "proof" of having enough funds ? Or go to "Omm's Bar and Short-time hotel - now with "Cooking School" and sign up for a course on making fried rice and that's good enough ? And remember when people could do unlimited border runs to get 30 day stamps so Immigration cracked down and said you could only have three 30 day stamps in a calendar year ? And now they have 60 day stamps with no (apparent) limit to how many times you can do border runs ? And 180 day DVT visas that only require one border run a year and you can keep doing that for 5 years at a time ? Yeah, I can see a whole bunch of "amendments" coming in the near future and none of them will be beneficial to most of us.