DerringDo

Not exactly the fastest way to bring about National Unity, but it's a start.

As someone else has alluded to, perhaps their defence will be: "We didn't close it, they did. We're just a good excuse."

Yup, every once in a while people are busted for scams like this.

Arrest them and deport them. We don't need them based here.

Why do these type of threads always turn into a comparison to a mythical "western" country where the rule of law and democracy are absolute? Why does it turn into F's dissing F's instead of acknowledgement that what particular item has happened affects all of us who live or visit here?

Scammers will always be in tourist destinations because they're everywhere in real life. Generally, what you don't get is help from the local plod in perpetrating the crimes.

Fair play to the yanks for warning their servicemen not to rent jet-skis, prevention will lead to a much better experience for all who visit here. We do like it here or we wouldn't be here and who really wants all the toursists to dry up to teach anyone a lesson? The people who would be hurt are the ones who are least able to defend themselves against the vagaries of corruption and poverty.

Notice to all foreigners planning a Thailand Holiday.

Why take chances. Protect yourself...

come to Chiang Mai...... not a jet ski in sight...

No don't come to chiangmai we don't want all you tourists up here spoiling our beatiful part of Thailand. Don't have the problems that they have in all the major tourist areas can live peacefully here. If all the tourists pour in then it will ruin the place and become another shit hole like Pattaya full of bars and prostitutes and scammers.

Last time I was in CMai it had bars, prostitutes and scammers so I think your wet dream has already been wrecked:D

All the old chestnuts rolled out I see. Try and go to the UK, USA, mainland Europe etc. etc. Thailand has the right to do what it likes... UN charter notwithstanding.

If you want people to take your argument seriously then compare like for like.

I for one like living/visiting/working here depending on my work cycle and would not change it one iota. Certainly don't want it to turn out like "The West."

Only the very brave AND foolhardy go anywhere near Duty Free at Swampy.

I hope that whoever you are you don't get kippered by the cops and their "free" dropins into your bags.

Flew TG on my very first trip 10yrs ago and they were good. Service was excellent. Then I switched to ME airlines who are cheaper and the standard of service has increased every year acros the board. Currently use Gulf a lot and, well...

Jetstar, the codeshare is great, but Gulf well it's OK on the Bahrain leg. I found the new economy seating has good pitch but the old one was atrocious. Business is good and not that expensive on the long-haul and the lounges are good too.

1242 User(s) are reading this topic <---- More people than were reading the increased fees for WPs

I guess we all wanted to "see" the exploits.

Some very good points made here especially about living here.

My wife hated it at first. Until she made a friend she felt like a fish out of water. However my son loved it as it's cartoon heaven on our compound. I bought them both out for a holiday to start with although they have full Iqamas. After 6 weeks however she is willing to return for a further holiday which makes it a lot easier on the sanity for yourself.

When we got married years ago we did the leg-work ourselves and it was painless, about 6k all in (photocopies, taxi travel to Muang Thong etc) and you still have to present yourself at the register office anyway. You put all the paperwork in, go and have something to eat and come back and collect it after about 2hrs. We completed the process in about half a day but I was living in BKK at the time. We did get married and register it on different days, so maybe parts of 2 days would be more truthful.

With the Iqama process here (this year), the company did the paperwork for me to get my wife and son's visa reference. Then I sent it off to her and she did the rest using Nilly Travel, recognised by the Saudi embassy, for 5k Baht for both of them. 50-50 on the recommendation level. Although you need to give a lot of documentation here it is a GOOD idea to do another copy for her to have to hand in Thailand. Like having a copy of your Iqama and relevant Saudi visa in YOUR passport and YOUR picture page. So basically copy everything and give it to her. Our visa process after that was completely painless.

I doubt you'll be able to get the visa number without a valid marriage certificate, which you will need to have translated in KSA before they will give her a visa number. So be prepared for her to follow you about a month later.

I hope this helps, but it has just been my experience.

Nothing wrong with sharing a nod and a smile.

Ignorant people will always be ignorant in whatever country they're in. The post(s) about having a shared experience are probably the best reason for a friendly nod.

I knew this guy in Bkk and he was always very helpful. Nothing was too much trouble if you needed something doing.

Looks like life if they catch him, and at 56 life will mean life.

If they could locate him they could try for extradition, but that's why he pre-recorded and moved further away from Thailand, perhaps.

Methinks that perhaps he's rich enough to ignore his normal Thai passport and just travel around on a 3rd/4th/5th country passport anyway.

It may have escaped the first wave and may not be as badly affected as some countries but we will still suffer.

Now another point, I think I read in the last few months and was told about, is that all bank account deposit guarantees in Thailand will be reduced to zero within 5 yrs. So if you've got flash cash in the bank and the bank goes under you'll lose everything, i.e. NO depositor guarantee .

Which is one of the reasons the UK seized the Icelanders bank assets and helped push them over the edge I believe. Perhaps Iceland should have guaranteed the deposits but with a very small withdrawal limit in any one period.

Does anyone remember the article about Thai deposits/depositors?

Anubaan (Kindergarten) 1 is costing me 18400 baht this year.

Some of my Thai neighbours' children (Pratom level) are going to a government school where the price is about 4500 (four thousand five hundred) for the year.

Having said that I think another set of parents are paying close to 400,000 Baht at an "International" school.

The price varies depending on the type of school.

I'm sorry did you miss the words in brackets(parentheses)?

Anything taken out of context has a different meaning.

"Kor Tort" has more meanings and sometimes different from "Sorry": such as "Excuse me" with no acceptance of responsibility. Therefore the words are meaningless without some form of contrition. Those rip-off taxi drivers are a prime example.

My wife doesn't even apologise when she's in the wrong which can be irritating. Flip side is I agree with Barky's pretend nothing's wrong, therefore she expects no apology from me.

I have blown my top a few times with people who work for me (and with my boss behind a closed door which the staff heard anyway) and I really don't give a stuff about it. My staff explain to friends that I'm a "farang" so we do things differently. I'm known to do what I say and expect it from the people I work for and those who work for me.

Let the Thais play the face game and concentrate on getting things done with a team you can "trust" would be my advice.

Do you mean some of the poor people can actually afford glass for their windows? What about tearing down their wooden houses and throwing them in the poor house too? Afterall shouldn't they have done a property search and believed the government.

Perhaps the government should actually do what they said and pay up. Show some sympathy for people who are constantly lied to.

However I don't condone the threats to put people's lives at risk. If anything happens then they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The Royal Thai Army are loyal to HM.

The government manage Thailand for HM.

The 2 are not necessarily on friendly terms or even pulling in the same direction.

That is Thai style democracy.

There is a requirement for the bars in Pattaya to have CCTV so it would be possible to see what happened. It is a local law and a condition of the licence according to a friend of mine who has a bar.

Thank goodness mine weren't there.

When will someone go to jail for negligence. Safety standards are a joke in this park.

To the poster who said fuel prices had doubled that's not true for all taxis as they use LPG or are NGV.

An average of 8 to 10 baht a trip will hurt many casual users because their wages won't have gone up by that much. Some of my colleagues are already bemoaning the price increaseson public transport over the last 1-2 years because their wages have not kept pace with inflation.

Tips should be for over and above average service, not a given. Don't tip the driver and you'll notice a small difference in outlay for many tourists and expats.

If a taxi won't use the meter then wait for one who will. If you allow yourself to be ripped by the unscroupulous then you deserve it. There are many drivers who will charge a fair price with excellent service and THEY deserve the money.

Most taxi drivers make enough money to live on comfortably and to compare it to the west is just plain stupid. I travel by taxi everyday because my work is not in the centre of Bangkok and 3 bus changes is inconvenient and time consuming, so I pay for the privilege. Talking to the drivers of newer cabs, who pay 800 Baht a day rental plus around 500 Baht LPG, and they tell me that they are making anywhere between 1800 and 2000 Baht a day. That is around 15k Baht a month which is much more than what many jobs in Bangkok and surrounding environs pay. They have transport, aircon and a radio, some even have a VCD/DVD player for the rush hour traffic. You don't have to feel sorry for them. As other posters have said it's the owners who will benefit because they'll put rental prices up again. A truer and fairer comparison is in relation to costs in Thailand NOT elsewhere.

Privatisation doesn't guarantee higher efficiency, only profit for some at the expense of many.

Prices will rise whatever the "-ation" because wages rise and infrastructure costs more to maintain or improve.

Robber Barons are needed to generate painful change. Philanthropists are needed to soften the upheaval. Governments are catalysts for both through policy.

Sad day for those married couples where only one fits the retirement criteria. Looks like you'll have to look for somewhere more welcoming OR get a different type of visa. It may be easier for the children as they'll be in school and there are various visas around to help with that, or so I've been told.

I enjoyed reading it as a new guy to Thailand as it had some different places to go for a drink and a show.

It didn't fit in with P's "Social Order policy" and I believe thaty's why it was dropped. Who wants a national newspaper telling your visitors where to get a cheap s**g when you're aiming for the upmarket spend all their money in the big resorts type of people. It didn't fit with the image the previous crowd were trying to hoodwink people into believeing.

Unsolicited email would fall into the misuse category if someone complained about it Richard. Even something as innocuous as applying for a job as it interrupts a users day.

Cheers.