Kerryd

OK so this is on #3 road where "Chalermphrakiat 19" meets it. The girls said they were "stationary at the intersection" but what they really mean is they were probably on the lane divider, creeping into the oncoming traffic lane, while trying to cross from the #3 and head into Chalermphrakiat 19. The Kuwaiti was in the oncoming lane (presumably legally) and probably racing and suddenly there's a scooter full of women pulling into the lane in front of him. A very common event pretty much anywhere in the country at any time of the day. People want to cut across the road and start edging into the oncoming traffic waiting for the slightest gap so they can push into it a bit more and try to make the oncoming vehicles yield for them. Chalermphrakiat 19 leads to Soi Buakhao and comes out right by the "Buakhao Market" at the big curve in the road (north of Tree Town).

Actually yes. If your fingerprints are not in Thailand's database, nothing will come up. And if I look kind of like you and walk into any of the 50,000 "travel offices" scattered around the country and want to buy a plane ticket, what are they going to do ? Ask for "your" passport and assume you are the rightful owner of it. Travel agents are not "trained Immigration officers charged with protecting the country from nefarious travellers". So now "you" have a passport and a plane ticket and head for the airport. And most Immigration officers barely glance at the thousands of passengers they see each day. They check basic details (skin colour, hair colour, roughly the right age and - name on passport matches boarding pass. If nothing pops up on the scanner, away you go. I've never had one question why my hair is cut shorter than what's in the photo or why I don't have (or do have) a mustache. It's not a Cold War "Checkpoint Charlie in East Berlin" type interrogation like you see in the movies. And between 2003-2014 I flew from Canada to the Middle East a couple times, from the ME to Asia a few times, Asia to Canada and back a few times. Essentially went back and forth enough to have circled the globe (west to east and east to west) 3 times. Averaged 3 long distance international flights a year. Never had an Immigration Officer anywhere question me about anything more than how long I plan on staying. I just read an article a couple hours ago where an Interpol spokesman noted that only about 20 member countries actually check passports against the Interpol database. And MH370 was only 10 years ago. Yet two Iranians were able to board using a stolen Austrian and a stolen Italian passport. And 5 years ago when I was leaving Canada to come back here I "tested" the system. I checked in for my flight, girl checked my passport was valid and name matched the ticket. Gave me my boarding pass. I went to a food court and sat for an hour watching people check in and head to the security check. Or the bathroom. Or the food court. Or the shops. Then I went to the bathroom and then into Security. Where they scanned my carry-on and checked the name on my passport against the name on the boarding pass. And as I sort of looked like the person in the photo I was waved through and into the departure area. Which was why I was paying attention and "testing" the system because once I passed the Security screen - I was in the Departure area and could simply board my flight. NO Immigration passport check - at all !!! And that is in Canada ! I had recalled on a trip in 2014 that I didn't remember going through Immigration when I left but thought I must have just had a brain-fart or something. But no - when you leave Canada, no one checks your passport to see if you are really you ! Simple as can be. You check in for a flight. Get your boarding pass and go to the bathroom. Mohammed, who more or less kind of looks like you, takes your passport and boarding pass and goes through security. Security looks, yep, similar skin colour, dark hair, age looks right, name matches boarding pass - "have a nice flight" and away you go. (I suspect they do that in Canada because they don't really want to know who is leaving the country or accidentally "catch someone" that isn't supposed to be there in the first place.)

My theory stands. He (possibly) sold his return ticket and (possibly) his passport to get more money to stay longer in Thailand. Someone else, who for whatever reason didn't want to travel on their own passport, bought his passport and used it to board a flight to Finland and from there to who knows where. Consider that on the missing MH370 flight 2 of the passengers were Iranians who'd supposedly bought "stolen" passports in Thailand and were trying to get to Germany (on a round-about route to avoid the Middle East it seems). The "stolen" passports were from an Austrian and an Italian. On my first trip here back in '93 I was told that if I "needed money" I could go to a pawn shop and sell my passport. (I was in the military and on leave from a peace-keeping mission in Croatia so there was no way I was going to do anything like that.) 10 years later I recall an article mentioning that a valid US passport could fetch up to $10,000. (While a valid Canadian one was apparently only worth $3,000 ! Discrimination !) And no, it would not be the first time someone has gone bonkers during a holiday here. While I was in Kabul in 2004, one of our firefighters took a 2 week trip to Phuket. This guy was one of "those guys" that the girls would go out of their way to catch a peek of. (We used to see a gaggle of women in the "female tent area" all trying to sneak peeks of the guy when he was sun-tanning on the Hesco barriers around the tents.) During his trip he apparently fell in love (shocker) with the 3rd bar girl he met. He came back to Kabul, did his next 4 months and took his next trip to Thailand again. The Deputy Project Manager asked me (as the company Security Officer) to go with him to check the guy's bedspace when he didn't return from his holiday. He'd cleaned it out and left a pair of worn socks and a print-out of a photo of him and a girl in a tuk-tuk. He didn't give notice because the company was paying salaries "in arrears" so that if someone skipped out on their contracts the company could get the cost of their airfare back. But by pretending he was just going on holiday he was able to get his last paycheque before they realized he wasn't coming back. And lol - the guy thought he'd just "start up a dive shop" in Krabi or something. And then found out it's not that easy. And when the love of his life realized he didn't have a job or anymore money - she left him !! According to his friends back in Kabul, he had to resort to doing "odd jobs" under the table for a Canadian couple that owned a hotel and took pity on him. (And because he'd burnt his bridge with the company, there was no way he could come back and work with us again.) All because of a woman he'd met on a 2 week holiday.

Ah - "on the app". It's a scam that's been going around for awhile now. The bills normally look like a normal bill, but if you scan the barcode or QR code it sends you to a different website where they try to scam you out of an outrageous sum by hoping you just "click" on "pay" without paying attention.

Same here. I put my 800k in a Fixed Term account over a year before I was first eligible for an "Extension". As I was working out of the country and going back and forth 3-4 times a year it wasn't a big deal to use the 30 Day stamps (most of the time) but the Non-O and Extension made it less fretful when my holidays sometimes stretched to 32-33 days. Back then all Immigration wanted was to see that you had 800k in an account on the day you applied for the Extension. It was "expected" that you would live off of that money for the next year. In fact, some people had problems at Immigration because their account didn't show any withdrawals. But Immigration got over that and was happy as long as you had the money in some (accessible) account. And I've left that money in there ever since. About what, 14 years now I guess. I did scoop some of the interest out a few years ago but now just leave it there. And yeah, things have changed, often, since then. First with the having to have the 800k in the bank for 3 months before your Extension. Then having to keep it in the bank for 3 months after. Then having to have it in the account for 2 months before and 3 months after and then having to leave at least half the amount there all year. And it seems the idea of "grandfathering" people under the old rules went out the window decades ago as well. I recall a few discussions on this forum going back 18-19 years ago about people who were "grandfathered" under the "old" rules and only had to show 400k in the bank on the day they applied for their Extension. So long as they never missed renewing by the due date, they could (supposedly) continue doing that as long as they lived. That was back when the gov't changed the requirement from 400k to 800k, which caused quite a stir as Immigration wanted (single) old foreigners to show more money in the bank than senior politicians and military generals made (in official salaries) in a year. (I think someone back then calculated that the "average" tourist - meaning mostly "western males" - spent an average of about 2,000 baht per day when on holiday so they decided that any (foreigner) living here full time must spend the same amount and then rounded it up to an even 800k.) Didn't matter that most of the people "living" here weren't staying in hotels, eating all their meals in restaurants and partying in the bars every night. Huge difference between being on holiday for 2 weeks and living here full time. So I'm just going to leave my 800k in that Fixed Term account for the foreseeable future as I expect things will change, again, and probably not for the better. And it only costs 1,900 baht to do my annual Extension. No border runs or having to do Extensions every 3 months. And the peace of mind knowing that if something happened, that money is readily available (hopefully) !

Soooo, unlimited 60 day "Visa Exemption Stamps" - which could be extended for 30 days at an Immigration office for 1900 baht. Giving you a 3 month stay for 1,900 baht. Then a border run to get a new 60 day stamp and another 1900 for an extension when that one is due. So you will be able to stay for 12 months at a cost of 7,600 baht (4 extensions at 1,900 each) plus the cost of 4 border runs. And for as many years (currently) as you like. Until they suddenly change their minds and cut back on them the way they did with the 30 day Extensions 7 or 8 years ago. Must be a lot of skint expats rolling on the bar floors laughing their butts off right now and ordering a bottle of the "good beer" for a change instead of their normal small glass of cheap draft. And a lot of "digital nomad" (aka "begpackers") who will now be able to buy a skewer of BBQ chicken to go with their half order of rice once a day. All they have to do is show a "slip" from their employer and show that they have basically just over $14,000 US in "assets" - somewhere in the world and they are good for a year. They didn't clarify though. You get the 180 days, and then can extend it for another 180 days and then what, do a border run and get another 180 days ? Because the Visa is good for 5 years. If it was only good for 1 year that would be a different story. But by making it a 5 year Visa, that implies you can keep getting "180 day" stamps each year and then extending the stay by an additional 180 days each time before having to do a "border run" again. Sweet deal. But for the people who follow the rules and keep their money in the bank ? Not a bluddy thing.

This is becoming a weekly event. Police crack down on a "certain" demographic that keeps doing the same thing in the same place over and over again. A few scooters get confiscated, a few tickets handed out and everything is fine. For a day or two until it starts again. And then a week later there's another crackdown, in the same area, involving the same people. Again. Solution ? Just transplant a couple dozen (80-100) ladyboys from Beach road to that area. The "scooter gang" could drink all the fruit juices in the world (because they "can't" drink alcohol of course) and still not want to have anything to do with those "ladies" because it would be an affront to their religion (supposedly) so they'd have to move somewhere else to do their "scooter gang" impersonations. Imagine what fun they could have if they didn't have scooters to race around. They could find nice, quiet places to sit and drink orange or - shocker - mango juice - while discussing the benefits of not going to clubs or drinking alcohol or being "lured" in by scantily clad women.

Genital warts are from the HPV virus. They do NOT "blister" or "pop". They are just roundish, hard protrusions that appear in the genital area. If you have "blisters" in your genital area that "pop" you have a whole different problem and really need to see a doctor. Soon. As in - now. And as long as you are infected with HPV, the warts will come back. Maybe smaller, maybe bigger. Also note that HPV is linked to some kinds of cancers (cervical, mouth, anal, penile, vulval and vaginal cancers for example). Reading some stuff on the NHS, Mayo Clinic and other medical sites. They say that "eventually" the body should be able to eliminate the virus. If you already have it, the vaccine may not help get rid of it, but may help prevent catching a different strain of it. Unfortunately, for men, there is NO test to tell if you have HPV. The only sign is genital warts. (Women can get a cervix test that will show if they have it or not.) "Human papillomavirus, also called HPV, is spread by sexual activity. Some strains of HPV cause genital warts. Other HPV strains can cause cancers. Most of the time, the body can find and clear out HPV. But if the virus stays in the body for a long time, it can cause cancer. Getting vaccinated against HPV helps prevent cancer in men and women." "Who cannot have the HPV vaccine Most people who are eligible for the HPV vaccine can have it. You only cannot have the vaccine if you've had a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to a previous dose of the vaccine, or an ingredient in the vaccine. <snip - pretty sure most of you aren't pregnant or breastfeeding an infant - even if you yourself are still "breastfeeding".> Also note, pretty much every medical site I looked at said people up to age 45 should get vaccinated. On one FAQ it asked about people older than that and the answer was that they figure by age 45 you probably already have HPV. Here is a FAQ from the Bumrungrad Hospital (Thailand). https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/health-blog/january-2024/q-a-cervical-cancer They don't mention an upper age limit. They do mention the number of different strains and which ones may cause cancer (7 strains) and which may cause warts (2 strains). They also list the different vaccines (3) and which are effective against which strains. Go for the "9 Volent" as the 2 and 4 volents only protect against some strains but the "9" is supposed to be effective against all of them. As for the warts, pretty much any dermatology center at a hospital or clinic should be able to get rid of them one way or another. Like the Dermatology center at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. They laser off the warts. In and out procedure (speed things up and shave "down there" before you go). https://bangkokpattayahospital.com/center_clinics/dermatology-and-plastic-surgery/

Remember - when he was first "sent to prison" he complained he was having problems sleeping - despite not even being there an HOUR. He was then taken to the hospital because apparently thats what they do with all prisoners who have trouble taking a nap. And THEN they came up with a host of "illnesses" to justify why he was being treated in a VVIP suite instead of where ALL the other prisoners get treated. And NOW that someone has requested an investigation into his treatment, he suddenly has a number of NEW health issues and wanted to go back to his luxury dwellings in Dubai for medical consultations. Which is a JOKE when you remember the "medical visa" scam Thailand started years ago which was specifically aimed at attracting wealthy Arabs to come to Thailand for medical treatment. It sounds like a certain former PM may be worried his freedom could come to an abrupt end soon and is trying his old "just going to watch the opening cermonies of the Olympics and I'll be right back" scam he got away with last time. Makes you wonder if they've cancelled ANY of his passports ? Or is he using one of those cheapy "third country" passports like those Chinese billboards were advertising ?

Keep in mind that as of 2 July 2024 (a month ago now) Thailand is supposed to be charging VAT on everything shipped from China valued at under 1,500 baht. (Got to believe that they are already charging VAT on things over 1,500 baht ? Would seem really odd if you ordered something for 1,495 baht and got dinged 7% VAT but if it was 1505 baht there'd be no tax.) I haven't really been paying attention to the taxes on Lazada or AliExpress. I just set up a couple cheap and a couple expensive items on Lazada and all it tells me is VAT is included "where applicable". Had a look at TEMU. Looks like a knock-off of AliExpress in many ways. Lacking in product details on many of the items I looked at. You have to scroll through the pictures and hope they have the information you need. Looks like they have the same lame default search filters as AliExpress and Lazada as well where they give you results for every word you put into the search regardless of category. For example, I searched for motorcycle helmet. It gave me results for wall mounted helmet holders, "motorcycle running shoes", reflective "hello kitty" decals (that I guess can be used on cars or motorcycles), tube "neck socks" you can wear "under a helmet", safety helmets and so on. And that was even when you picked the category of "motorcycle helmet" ! (Amazon uses the default "and" function so if you put "modular motorcycle helmet" it will only generate returns on listings that contain all three words. On Lazada and AliExpress and Temu, they use the "or" function so they generate returns on any listing that has one of those words in it. I think the idea is to give you a massively huge number of returns so you see items that are totally unrelated but "hey, that one looks interesting, maybe I should click on it".) And as far as Lazada is concerned, half (or more) of their vendors are people running shops out of their living rooms/apartments or their stall in whatever market. When you place an order, they go online to AliExpress (or wherever) and order the item and have it shipped to you. I generally track my orders, especially if they are expensive or fragile. Clothing and books, don't care if they toss them through the gate. But a camera or special "double-wall" drinking glasses - I like to be there to receive them. And when I track the orders, it's rarely a surprise to see it's being shipped from China. And has to clear China Export Customs. Then arrive and clear Thai Import Customs, then get transferred and delivered. Probably 90% of the stuff I order from Lazada seems to come from China. USB powered digital alarm clock ? Shipped from China. Non-slip floor mat ? Shipped from China. Aluminum Grease strainer pot - shipped from China. Leatherette Passport Holder - shipped from China. Plastic A4 sized document protectors - shipped from China. Tent poles, canvas bags, clothing, electrical parts - all shipped from China. I've even selected "local" as the point of origin, which is supposed to limit the vendors to those that have stock and ship from Thailand, only to see the item is still being shipped from China. I think the only people that are going to have competition from Temu are AliExpress and Alibaba, though Alibaba is more of a "business to business" site than a "single item to a single customer" kind of retailer.

His sister (former PM Yingluck Shinawatra) is still in exile as well. Last heard living in London although she became the chairwoman of a Chinese Container Terminal company located in Guangdong, not far from Hong Kong. She is still facing a 5 year prison sentence as well. Kind of surprised she didn't get the same deal her big brother did.

I've never had an online site like Lazada, Shopee, Amazon, AliExpress or eBay ship something and then tell me I have to go collect it myself at the port. They ALL arranged for Customs Clearance and delivery, even for larger items. That's why you pay for "shipping". Unless the order is being held up by Customs for some reason. In which case YOU have to go sort it out yourself. I've had that happen many times. Item arrives, goes through Customs, Customs decides something isn't quite right and I get a notification (from whichever site I purchased the item from or from Customs themselves). I've had to deal with Customs in Laem Chabang a few times (I know the route there off by heart now). Also had to deal with different Courier companies (like DHL and FedEx) and their "in house" Customs brokers that handle all their import/Customs paperwork at the airport in Bangkok. Those "brokers" usually charge the maximum rates on everything they can to "speed things through Customs" so they can meet their delivery dates. But every so often something gets flagged and you, the customer, has to sort it out. Like ordering a $500 (US) item but declaring it to only be worth $45 on the Customs Declaration. The shipper/courier can't sort that out for you (normally) so you have to go yourself. And (normally) you can't hire someone else to do it for you because Customs needs to make sure the person collecting the item is the one it's actually being shipped to. You know. Keeps people from claiming/stealing other people's shipments and stuff.

I prefer a drip coffee maker. Especially with a programable clock function. Easy to use, easy to clean. I set my machine to start dripping about 5 minutes before my alarm goes off in the morning. I get up, pry my eyelids open, stagger to the bathroom, then to the coffee maker and I've got (however many) cups of coffee ready. (Depending on how I set it up the night before.) Most (North American) machines are set up to keep the coffee hot for 2 hours and if you need it, you just have to click the power button off/on and you're good for another two hours. Most have a "reusable" filter basket but I still use paper filters. Easier to clean, fewer grounds and less "silt" in the cup and the pot. Simply open the top, pick up the old filter and drop it in the garbage, insert new filter and however many spoons of whichever blend of coffee, add the appropriate amount of water, close the lid and press "program". (Or "On" if you want it to start dripping right then.) Old wives tales suggests you should never clean the coffee pot itself. I generally give it a scrub once a month. I bought this one from Lazada. Made in China (of course). 1,226 baht with delivery. Only a 40 minute timer for the heater which isn't normally a problem as I'm not making full pots these days. I generally set it up for 1-2 cups and that's it for the day. Lots of options for coffee on Lazada as well. Local and imported. Got about 2 more days on the Maxwell House. Just ordered the Folgers Monday morning from Bangkok and it arrived 25 hours later in Pattaya. The bag is from a local supplier (in Chiang Mai I think). Most grocery stores have a selection of (medium or drip grind) coffees as well. Watch out as the packages are almost identical to "whole beans". And many are "espresso grind". Basically pure powder for use espresso machines and "presses". You can use it in a drip machine but you usually end up with more "silt" in the cup and pot. And if you really wanted to, you could simply pop a new filter in, run a pot of water through it and now you've got a pot of almost boiling water for tea (or Ramen noodles or whatever - just don't make them in the coffee pot) !

From DHL: A Shipment is considered as undeliverable if (i) the Recipient's address is incomplete, illegible, incorrect or cannot be located, (ii) the Shipment is unable to clear Customs, (iii) the Shipment has not been released by customs due to non-payment of duty and taxes (iv) the Shipment contains prohibited items (v) shipment is refused by the consignee before opening the package. All undeliverable Shipments will be returned to the DHL eCommerce facility for customer identification and return service preference. Shipper may be liable for any and all charges and fees incurred in returning, storing or disposing of an undeliverable shipment unless the undeliverable shipment was due to the fault of DHL eCommerce.

From UPS website: Special Handling of Undeliverable Packages Shipments refused by the consignee, or which for any other reason cannot be delivered, will be held, and UPS will attempt to contact the shipper for further instructions. The shipper will be responsible for payment of all charges, including, but not limited to, forwarding, disposal, or return transportation charges, as well as any duty and tax, if applicable

From FedEx website: Can I refuse to accept an international package? As a customer you have the right not to accept an international package if, for example, it was damaged, you cancelled your order or you changed your mind. If you refuse to accept an international package, the FedEx driver may ask you for a signed confirmation of your refusal. The driver will then take the package back to the delivery depot. We will contact your shipper to inform them of your decision and ask them whether the shipment needs to be returned or destroyed. Keep in mind that you might still need to pay duties and taxes for importing a package. You can try to claim a refund on these duties and taxes directly with customs.

From FedEx website: 7% VAT to be imposed on imported goods with a value lower than THB1,500 | Posted on July 2, 2024 Effective from July 5 to December 31, 2024, the Ministry of Finance will impose a 7% VAT on imported goods valued less than THB1,500. As a result, goods purchased from abroad will be subject to the same VAT as goods purchased from local Thai stores. FedEx would like to inform our customers that we will collect 7% VAT on imported goods with a value lower than THB1,500 to submit to Customs Department. Customers can learn more about this VAT through the Thai Customs website or their hotline at 1164. Continue to check this page for service updates. For further enquiries, please contact your Sales Representative or our Customer Service team.

For "non-food" items, it's best to use Amazon. Especially now that they will estimate the Duties and charge you for them at the time of purchase. I've never had a problem with an Amazon package being delivered (via Amazon) and never been told I had to pay more than their estimate. In fact, I've often received (small) refunds when it turns out the Duties were less than their estimation. I stopped ordering from eBay and a couple other places because everything they ship seems to go by FedEx or UPS. I've had similar issues in the past with DHL shipments and UPS shipments. They all say the same thing - send us your passport and we'll clear the shipment for you in 2-3 days. But they won't explain how they can clear the shipment without me - if I send them my passport - but can't do it with signed photocopies. And then tell me I can go to a Customs office and "register" and send them a scan of the little paper card and that's good enough. I shipped some personal belongs home from Afghanistan when our contract ended. The company was paying for shipping so I decided to use that rather than carry a couple heavy suitcases through a couple airports. 1 large and 1 small box. Small box arrived no problem. 3 days later DHL tells me the big box is stuck in Customs and I have to send my passport and pay 22,000 baht to clear it. I had a friend drive me to Suvarnabhumi and went to the DHL "Customs Office". I argued that the box was just old clothes, bed linens, some books, work boots, coffee cups and so on. Basically the contents of my room on the camp that I didn't want to throw away. After a lengthy one-sided conversation, a clerk told me I could use a "private" broker to help me for just 17,000 baht. So I did that. Went to 3 different offices with different forms (and 100 baht notes) to get stamped and then to the DHL storage place inside the Free Trade Zone where they told me I had to get the other box because the shipment said "2" boxes ! The box they'd already delivered to Pattaya and I had unpacked days earlier !! The ****ers wanted me to go back, repack the box with the stuff that had been in it, bring it to the Free Zone and somehow get it inside - so we could then go to a Customs agent to verify that yes, I had two boxes. The DHL manager (British guy) came along and after a brief chat admitted they'd screwed up by delivering the first box before the 2nd had cleared Customs. They then took a shipping envelope, stuffed some bubble wrap inside, wrote on a label and stuck that on the envelope and Bingo ! I had my "second" package. Went to Customs, a clerk came out, lifted the lid of the big box, looked at my declaration, initialed and stamped the form and that was it. The ACTUAL Customs duties and taxes came out to about 1,100 baht !!! DHL was going to charge me 22,000 baht !!!

Said it (on here) many times. NEVER have ANYTHING sent by DHL, FedEx or UPS. They ALL use their own "in-house" Customs Brokers to speed up the process and they ALL automatically charge you the maximum they can so that it will clear Customs faster. I did a post about this a few weeks ago. I ordered some Hot Sauce from Amazon. Normally I'd order just 3 small bottles and it's never been a problem except that I have to use a Mail Forwarder to receive the package and then courier it to me because hot sauce is considered a "food item" and Amazon won't (normally) ship "food items" outside the country (various issues with foreign Food and Drug Agencies). This time though I decided to order 6 bottles, expecting they'd last me a year and save me money on multiple orders. However, I was forced to use FedEx because the weight apparently was too much for the "cheaper" courier the Forwarder normally used. FedEx held onto my parcel for 4 days before telling me - on a Friday afternoon - that I needed to get a Customs Registration number or send my passport to Bangkok with one of their drivers (yeah right) or come to Bangkok myself to clear the package. Monday was a holiday so I went to the local Customs office (in Laem Chabang) early Tuesday morning. Got my little paper "registration" card (no charge) and sent the info to FedEx before noon. They waited until Wednesday afternoon to respond and tell me - get this - that I had to pay them an additional 1,428 baht to "amend" my name on the shipping waybill because the Customs Registration card had my full name and the shipping label only had my first and last name !!!! No ****ing lie ! I have the invoice in front of me right now. They also charged me 200 baht for "Customs Charge/Overtime", 400 baht "Clearance Fee", 150 baht Storage Charge and a 200 baht Duty Handling Fee. 2,378 baht just for that. 746 baht for the actual Duties and Taxes (and 52.50 VAT charged on that). 3,176.50 baht total Duties, taxes, fees and surcharges. Value of my shipment - total ? 3,800 baht (plus shipping).

This is literally the exact same area where they had a similar incident what, a week ago ? And you can bet it's the same "demographic" again. And it's a problem that has been happening in that same area since before the covid lock-down.

That is terrible news. I used to live barely 50 meters from there. That restaurant is about 40 meters from "The Grand Day Night" hotel in South Pattaya. (Formerly known as the DayNight 2 hotel - where I used to stay every trip I made here between 1993 and 2004, when I started renting an apartment right beside the hotel). Barely 130 meters from TukCom. You'd think if the neighbours heard a loud argument one night, saw someone drive off on the owners moto, noticed the shop wasn't open the next day, or then next, that maybe they might have checked on them a little sooner. 5 days is a long time. The suspect was probably back in Myanmar 2 days after the couple were murdered. The value of life over here can be so little at times. People have no idea just how little.

You have to be really careful when ordering from those Facebook "sponsored" ad sites. There is literally no control over them and they can rip people off for ages and then literally just close the page and start a new one with a different name. And Facebook doesn't care in the least, especially if they are still able to generate Ad revenue from it.

This sounds like a scam ripe for plucking. Hundreds of billions of baht into "digital wallets" for select citizens to spend however they want (except maybe not for firearms wink wink, nudge nudge). Number of hours before people claim they were scammed out of the money ? Number of days before someone discovers that "people" connected to other "people" have registered hundreds of times. Someone has to pay for all that. Hmmm, I wonder who........

At the same time the gov't is pushing to legalize casinos (which are much more efficient at laundering dirty money).

Funny. Yesterday it was "200,000" condos. Today it's 1.3 MILLION ! Yesterday: Today: Do they get their numbers from the same place TAT gets their tourism numbers ? (Which is probably the same place that supplies everyone with their "lucky" lottery numbers.)