marchawkes

Only an ignoramus would compare populist and short-sighted Thaksin to Xe Jinping of China or Shinzo Abe of Japan or even Aquino of the Phils. The differences are many. Of note is that none of these would buy votes by introducing an open-ended rice-buying scheme or any scheme which destroys "leading exporter" capacity and burdens the exchequer. None of them have a corporation which was used as a cash cow to get into public office. Probably the only intelligence the article displays when making comparisons is to suggest a likeness to Berloscuni. The entire storyline reeks of tabloid trash journalism when one begins to search the article for analysis and insights.

Firstly - educated people in civil society stop to help others in distress unless its the very rare occasion where there are clear indications to the contrary. Secondly - if your Thai wife & Thai sis-in-law felt that you as a farang should not stop & help, nothing - absolutely nothing - was stopping these two Thai nationals from offering help - except maybe a warped sense of self-preservation.

Being with you - a farang - could not be held against them esp. if the car showed no signs of damage.

Why would the he-said, she-said of the person being helped off the ground count more than 2 Thai ladies who stopped to help?

I am reminded of what someone said - "If you think education is expensive wait till you see the costs of not having an education".

You keep trumpeting the positives of "adult only living" in Thailand whilst being unable to address a key aspect I've REQUOTED below:

Also, Thais cannot be kept from investing in an "adult only condo". Its their country and they make the rules. Another impractical non-workable suggestion.

-snip-

I've covered all this already, though you just dont seem to get it.

No one would need to be "prevented" from buying in such a building as only those agreeing to the requirements, in writing, would be able to do so in the first place. So if you dont like it you dont buy it and if you do buy it you agree to it. Very simple. There are loads of other condo buildings around for those who dont agree.

And all you need is a suitable contract enforced by guards on the door.

I dont think the situation would even arise anyway. Why on earth would anyone even think about buying in such a place unless they specifically wanted to benefit from the absence of other residents under a certain age? You say that people might buy there without considering that they may change their mind later on? That's tough but it's not my problem

I think Bokchoi has won the argument. Clearly people both Thai and farang are allowed to buy - not the hairbrain suggestion that Thai's could perhaps be restricted. Guards cannot lock someone out for bringing in kids or family contract or no contract esp. is a Thai owner decides he does'nt like the idea of a new baby or his family from the province being locked out. This is after all a "kids ban, family ban" in Thailand of all places.

Kittenkong keeps telling us that only interested buyers will turn up and everyone will follow the law otherwise the guards will turn ugly and anyway its not his problem. Such convultued nonsense. Kittenkong has also been talking plain rubbish throughout this thread and clutched at lots of straws, nonsensical examples - rather than lose face by agreeing that the idea of locking out kids and family will not work in Thailand. IF YOU CANNOT ENFORCE A CONTRACT IN A COURT OF LAW ITS NOT WORTH THE PAPER WRITTEN ON no matter how many millions are invested !!

Maybe a retirement village or assisted living or rehab centre or Sanitarium is something which someone in need of no kids, no family, no gym, no pool, no business centre, no toys, no noise, lots of privacy are looking at when it comes to Thailand.

Meanwhile the concerns raised by Bokchoi (quoted below) remain unanswered. A simple yes or no. Maybe "your correct" would have helped.

++

REQUOTE (remains unanswered)

You've still not answered the question on how you plan to enforce a contract for 'Adult Only, No Families' condo contracts, in Thailand. Readers would love to hear how you plan to enforce the 'Adults only - No Families' contract in civil society; NOT how you plan to lock people outside their homes or get physical or start a neighborhood brawl. So back to points I made earlier -

As I mentioned, I suspect that there would be significant extra demand for such buildings. And as I also mentioned, those who dont want to be restricted in such a way would simply not buy/live there in the first place.

What's the fuss about? I dont like these new condo buildings with sunken galleons and God knows what other crap floating around in the pool, or tennis courts and gyms and BBQ areas and air-conditioned lobbies and business centres and so on and so forth. So the idea doesn't enter my head to live in such a building or buy a unit in one. It's really incredibly simple.

Banning pets is not the same as banning kids? Of course it is. You can ban anything you like as long as everyone agrees to it, and as I have pointed out repeatedly everyone in such a building would be there purely because they agree with the rules.

Similar systems work perfectly well in many countries. No reason why it should not work just as well here.

Longing for a quiet, still place with no pool, no gym, no business centre, no families, no kids, no toys......I sense 'kittenkong' belongs in a sanitarium (and that's putting it nicely). Not sure who would visit - each weekend - if he finally did get into such a 'facility'. I guess Pattaya attracts a fair few loners and fruitcakes hoping to make a make-believe life in Candyland if not in the real world. For someone so confident about the demand for 'Adult only No Families' accomodation am surprised that Kitten has not put together lots of other kittens and found a builder happy to oblige - maybe Kitten needs to put his money where his mouth is and bring other like-minded folk along as well. Otherwise talk is cheap.

Brawls occur in almost every sport and at various venues around the world.

What makes this one different is players from the same country, in fact once on the same doubles team viciously attacking each other in a distant land - Canada.

What makes this one different is that we don't see jostling, pushing & shoving but a player pushed to the ground by a fellow-countryman and kicked and beaten by a once fellow doubles partner -all at an international meet.

Arguably, many may say that this is not out of the ordinary. But very much part of Unseen Thailand which the world got a glimpse at.

Mind you we could have excused it had this happened in the course of play - as in a rugby tackle. The genteel sport of badminton makes any such excuse impossible. Suffice it to say that the public display we see here is played out a thousand times in Thailand - outside the gaze of tourists. The Thai psyche & temparament does not cope well with even a minimal dose of challenge.

I think hoping that things change in Thailand is like hoping pigs will fly.Thailand is a third world country which likes to think its a Singapore or Taiwan. Sadly not !! Tourists need to walk with their feet and go to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia..........if violence and crime in that wretched neck of the woods troubles them - or go to Thailand at their own risk. As for Land of Smiles that is 1960s speech and not reality anymore. Sadly, that outdated sales caption 'Land of Smiles' misleads visitors into thinking this is still the 1960s.

My nephew is 23, he has 2 bachelors, 2 masters and is doing a Phd, all chemistry and physics related, I might add.

On the article, typical misogynistic drivel trying once again to abrogate responsibility. Then, to top this, TV members adding their own narrow minded views as to the woman's appearance.

A bachelors degree takes 4 years. A masters degree takes two years. 2 bachelors, 2 master at 23. Must have started at a young age. Smart fellow.

Very smart. Left school at 18 and now at Imperial college. He has completed his studies concurrently. I have great difficulty understanding what he is actually doing, though, I understand he is working on energy and is supported by the UK government in his endeavours as the materials are hugely expensive, sensitive and rare. he is working on alternative energy sources, non carbon based,, that he believes will save the planet. I hope he is right.

Am sure your not the only one having great difficulty understanding what he is actually doing. As to the point in 'The Nation' is trying to make........no matter how ugly one is, don't cut ones nose to spite ones face.

"goal of putting an end to the ivory trade". Likely to go the same way as all the other goals. The only goal operating in Thailand is make a quick buck by whatever means.

Someone who needed his retirement visa extended last week had a bad experience with the information desk at Jomtien Immigration. Before I accompanied them to that office I enquired the details and was told :

John completed the required form with photos, lease agreement in original plus copy, bank balance certificate in original & copy etc..The Thai man behind the counter at the Jomtien immigration information desk pointed out that there were 2 weeks left to run. He refused to issue a queue number and asked John to "go away". As John was travelling he explained that extending the retirement visa for one year was something he wished to do before travelling overseas. Apparently the man behind the information desk was unmoved and waved John away pointing to the people waiting.

John turned to the new person (who replaced Barry, I gather). The new person (Jobsworth, I understand) was most unhelpful and rude to boot. Unable to even get a queue number; John was about to go to a visa agent in town and pay about THB 8k to have his visa extended plus immigration fees/charges. Quite unnecessary and expensive by the sounds of it. I returned to the Jomtien Immig Office and waving my finger insisted that we needed the visa renewed/extended right away and planned to go nowhere. We got a queue number from the now upset Thai man who sits behind the counter.

Staff stamping/renewing passports were polite & efficient. If Jomtien Immigration get a bad name it will be because of the difficulty is with the Thai man sitting behind the Jomtien Immigration Office infomation desk & the new Farang-helper ie: Jobsworth.

People should not have to struggle & have unpleasant experiences given we are dealing with very basic, brain-dead procedures which do not need a Masters degree to understand. Moreover, people are paying for the service.

Raises the question - Do the rude, unhelpful lackeys at the Information desk in Jomtien Immigration hope that visitors will use visa services in town if discouraged from attempting a self-renewal? Is it just rude self-importance or maybe boredom? Are the twosome looking for tea-money? After all these tiny visa outfits which have mushroomed around Pattaya have built a connect into immigration with 'generous tea-money' - ask anyone of the visa companies if you know the owners or watch the bag full of passports which come in whilst one is waiting.

Just some thoughts. Whatever the story there is no excuse for unhelpfulness or rudeness from people signing-up to provide a public service.

hmmmm ... in my family we have italians , irish , scots , japs , thais , greeks , nigerians, germans , aussies , jews , indigenous austrailans and we all get along fine ....how about you ? any black people in your family ?

hmmmm ... in my family we have italians , irish , scots , japs , thais , greeks , nigerians, germans , aussies , jews , indigenous austrailans and we all get along fine ....how about you ? any black people in your family ?

I am an african american

The story is soooo similar to the dozen or so farang found sleeping on Jomtien beach past midnight. Brits, Italians, Yanks.........a tiny U.N. Almost all say that they will not go back home...not an option...will not even discuss it. All live off food, clothes and a shower provided by struggling Thai vendors along that stretch of beach. One or two have Thai girlfriends who look after them, surprising as this sounds. If only such farang would see that their love for Thailand and self gratification are no longer part of the equation. Getting to a point where survival is not this everyday struggle is where they need to move towards - and that means leaving the wilds of Thailand for a place called home.

Even if all bridges are burned, even if the welfare is close to absent, even if health-care is minimal, even if you have no place to call home, even if you have low chances of employment, even if you have to leave behind (temporarily) a Thai wife/kids, even if the U.S. is printing money & the rest of Europe is in pain, even if your worried about what will family & friends back home say...........yes, there are charities, social structures, free re-training programs, food banks, City Missions for homeless etc. etc. to help people through.

As long as struggling people have a wish to make some hard choices for a better future. After all its better to be struggling and getting reliable help at home than to be struggling in Thailand and begging to get noticed.

The monk, English teacher and other stories are tried & tested choices previous Thailand die-hards went for when faced with economic calamity. We eventually see many people who plonked for these easy options make the news for avoidable tragedies. The reason is that in 9 out of 10 instances such hurried choices are a band-aid put on by someone who has no wish to enjoy the long term benefits which come from making hard choices.

Quote - "the tour counters in question were owned and operated by Thai nationals". Thai-Russian partnerships are increasingly common so is heightened competition; more so in sectors which are lazy, expensive or poorly served - like Thai public & tourist transport. For some reason Thai moto-drivers, baht bus operators, taxi's and the like have the impression that they are 'sacred cows'. Will the Russian mafia help the Thai mafia Get Real?? Please don't leave it to the govt else we all wind up as Red Shirts.

After lots of drinks & past midnight Pattaya's Stalking St regularly provides valuable life lessons to street-wise, know-it-all farangs.

Quote - "The identification laboratory of the Bureau of Drug and Narcotic, Department of Medical Science found that the sleeping pills, Phenazepam or Fenazepam, are categorized in the benzodiazepines class, and are 10 times stronger than Diazepam (Valium) sedatives.

Dr. Nipon Popattanachai MD., the director general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said the seized pills can be purchased in pharmacies with a prescription from a doctor. When someone takes it, it would make the person sleep more than 60 hours".

Surely there are lots of tablets with similar or worse side-effects. Such medication - due to its impact - is sold only by prescription from a skilled physician in most countries. Perhaps, the concerns we read here arise from Thailand being an open unregulated market where pharmacies offer whatever they please or whatever a customer asks - with no questions. Probably there is some meaning to it when people tell "dopey farangs" that they are acting "too Thai for comfort".

... and that Bangkok is overbuilt with a low occupancy ratio in many condo's

Are you joking ??? Last month I bought one condo in Bangkok 6.6M bahts and I rent it allready 50.000 bahts/month. ROI = 9%

Thinking that Thailand is a 3rd world is a big mistake, I'm sure that in middle/long terme the £ will be around 40 bahts (and I will rent my last condo more that 60,000 bahts/month => double profit ! ).

There is no single silver bullet to fix the currency situation or answer the concerns of ’97. As a starting point 10 basics were spoken about in 1997. Most of it remains in the “too hard” basket even as Thailand frets about its currency, a slow global economy, rice subsidies, political uncertainty..........The 10 basics for starters are:

1) Discourage inflows of "hot" money. These are chasing yields and move out as quickly and suddenly as the funds move in. Thailand needs sustainable inflows not jockeys of the money market,

2) Govt debt & borrowing needs to be skewered towards improving infrastructure and 'productive-expenditure'. This creates wealth and profit thus leaving enough leftover to service the interest bill and repay principal. Borrowing to meet “consumption-expenditure” or lifestyle choices delivers a Greece or Spain,

3) High productivity is one of the best antidotes to inflation. It means that where people produce 5 widgets for THB 5000- they move to produce 8 or 10 widgets for THB 5,000-. Has the govt. a policy for productivity improvement? How do we improve productivity so that people showing up for a day's work are paid for 8 hours and deliver outcomes which match Spore, HKG, South Korea. Presently in Thailand - on average - workers receiving an 8 hour wage deliver outcomes for just 5 hours,

4) Domestic consumption: Robust exports to overseas markets is great. Not having a strong domestic consumer base is dangerous as the slow-down in Europe and the U.S. has proven. Finding ways to grow domestic consumption delivers insulation to the local economy,

5) Diversify the sources of revenue, job-creation, wealth-creation. Over reliance on tourism is a high risk given neighboring countries previously closed-off are now opening. Also, the very things which tourists come to look at often no longer exist in Thailand like - clean beaches, coral reefs, accessible green corridors etc....Hasty and one-eyed development needs to be managed lest it continue to destroy the natural beauty Thailand once boasted,

6) Make domestic settings attractive to investors. People are uncomfortable investing in a country where laws look good on paper and where the under-the-table laws have strong roots,

7) Attract foreign investors with programs which recognise and reward those who create wealth, jobs and social cohesion. It means a simple attractive tax system and rigour to stamping out corruption. Not easy given corruption is a way-of-life in Thailand. It locks out talent which will not pay or is not well-connected.

Socialism is great until one runs out of other peoples money.

8) Micro economic reform: How do we reform so that 'time taken to set up a business' is reduced to match Spore. How do we reform so that 'tea-money' does not slowdown investor appetite. How do we reform our police, judiciary and regulatory bodies/watchdogs so that the well-earned reputation for ineptitude and corruption are made things of the past,

Micro economic reform needs the brains of policy makers to go down to their spines.

9) Manage inflation, deflation, trade & budget surpluses/deficits and the currency though micro-economic reform rather than relying solely on monetary policy, fiscal policy and Central Bank intervention. All have nasty side effects, sap up resources and only sometimes deliver end-results. An example of fiscal stupidity is the rice-subsidy which is now seeing rice rotting in warehouses as consumers are buying superior quality rice at cheaper prices. The farmers are laughing all the way to the bank whilst tax payers groan from this wasteful handout.

10) Political stability. Investors will exact a price for doing business in countries which have a track-record of political skull-duggery.

Aussies miss target, shoot Phuket tourists

Tanyaluk Sakoot

In handcuffs, one of the two Australians is questioned after his arrest.

PHUKET: -- Two Australians angry with a Danish man who had not repaid money he had borrowed from them, shot at him last night.

They missed, hitting instead two German tourists passing by on Soi Sansabai in Patong.

Joseph Woerner and Johann Baschegger were hit, one in the arm and the other in the shoulder. They were taken to Patong hospital for treatment.

An hour later police arrested the two Australians, whom they named as Adam Lewis and John Cohw [sic]. The latter owns a tattoo shop in Patong and is accused of firing the gun. A Ruger .45 pistol was seized.

The two told police that the Dane had borrowed B380,000 from them. He had not paid any back and, with interest, he now owed them B1 million.

The Danish debtor has not been found, and is believed to be in hiding.

The two Australians are in custody and undergoing further questioning. Cohw was initially charged with attempted murder and with having a gun in a public place.

Source: http://www.thephuket...rists-36550.php

-- The Phuket News 2013-01-23

A few thoughts. There appears to be a inverse correlation between the number of tattoos and IQ after seeing his photo.

Regarding the amount owed, am a bit surprised to see the loan amount of 380,000 baht zoom up to one million baht.

Man I need to get into the loan business. And who in their right mind would loan money to ANYONE here without having

seizable assets to protect the loan...

Also nice to see the guy had a real gun, a Ruger. Some of the guns the vicious Thai gang bangers on scooters carry look like they would be scary to shoot. Anyway this is bad debt collection, popping off a few rounds in the general direction of the debtor and hitting bystanders. I have a friend who used to collect bad debts for the Hells Angeles. He said he would meet the guy , and immediately break his arm. As the guy is laying on the ground screaming, my friend informed him that unless the debt was paid he would then come back and REALLY hurt him. He said everyone paid........

If the debt collectors in Phuket adapted the same concept it would cut down on tourists being shot.

Thank god it was a Ruger - there would be one dead Dane if it was a proper gun like a Glock.

I personally know 1 of the alleged shooters........

Well,SC,as the name "ThaiVisa" indicates,it is a forum for people not borne in this country.We seek advice and information from each other,concerning visum,places to eat and so on.Certainly any native Thai is very welcome to participate,at least by me,but a fail to see,how this forum can be of much interest to any young person,especially Thai.Me.for instance,have no interest to join some forum,where most of the people are young Thais.Or from any other nationality for that matter..And if I did,I certainly would not expect the majority of them to share my views on things..In conclusion,I think you have to accept,that the "ageing farangs" on this forum do not see eye to eye with your opinions.Try some forum for young Thais! But I can tell you this: For fun,I asked some young people in my wife`s family what they thought about your OP.The answer was :kon baa! (crazy person) Last,your "Thailand is a forum..." Well,correct me if I am wrong,but I do not think,that Thailand is a forum! It is a country,a nation. ThaiVisa is a forum.

However, I have no problem with young Thai's participating even if they are different and bring something radically new to traditional fare served up on ThaiVisa. Talking to moderators - I am told that ThaiVisa was set up for 'visa matters' many many moons back. Over time ThaiVisa has mellowed, matured and morphed into a range of subjects and a broad mix of people participating. Moreover there are moderators whose job it is to decide what they are happy with and perhaps the changes that they wish to see as Thailand goes forward with a huge under-21 age group who are Internet savvy, curious and unstoppable.

The future belongs to the young (even reckless) ie: except where a club is called "Over-50s Farang only". I am told that ThaiVisa is not such a site and those who cannot change with the times must perish - like dinosaur's. So far be it for me to preach to young Thai's who participate driven by curiosity or boredom or to influence the farang debate or whatever.......

SC says "Maybe I am mistaken but I believe this forum includes young Thais and not just ageing farang"

Calling someone "crazy" because you disagree or find their behavior distasteful is not okay.

I don't think SC would worry about what the Thai wife's family says - given the cold indifference which come (if I guess rightly) with wealth & privilege. Put simply its nice to remain civil.

@SparklingCascades - Rest assured "this forum includes young Thais and not just ageing farang". I've checked with moderators and owners on this.

Lets keep discussions civil and all-inclusive even if we don't agree with people. This may have been a visa forum. It is now more, much more even if the name remains from the old days.

Am not sure why one would "send money" across the miles given one can book with reputed brands online (airlines and hotels, taxi and tours) and make payment for an on-the-spot receipt. This leaves a bank audit trail if one is using a card. Have done it a hundred times.

The second alternative is the good old-fashioned way ie: physically visiting a travel agency in ones home country and transacting eye-to-eye with a well-regarded travel agency. In Thailand I've booked and traveled on to Dubai etc....Cash in exchange for a physical air-ticket or printout with status 'OK' and a 'ticket locator number' which can be confirmed directly by the airline.

None of the comments on this blog show that either the first or second alternative was applied where people complain of scams.

"Sending money" reminds me of people sending money to Nigeria to buy oil wells, lotteries and a share in new inventions.

It has has the words "Beg you to rob me" written all over the money transfer !!

Getting ripped off in Thailand, just another story to add to the list. The Thai's better be careful, the Philippines and Myanmar are nipping at their heels in the ways of tourism, and without tourism, Thailand aint got much going for it!

Careful now.....caaareful! Hey! What did I say? Beeee careful Thailand!

You say Thailand should be careful and then take the Philippines as an example of good behavior?!??

What?? I simply stated that that the Philippines and Myanmar are "nipping at their heels" in building up their tourism industry. Absolutely no where did I make mention of the behavior of the Philippines in comparison to that of Thailand. Jayzus Chrayste eh, learn to read, or take off why don't ya eh!?

Riiiiiight the sentences above don't imply at all that Thailand will lose visitors to The Philippines (where police corruption violence and rip offs are hundred times worse)

But talking about reading comprehension, when did a million visitors to Burma most of which where Asians and Thais become "nipping at the heels..."?

Anyway I don't know why I'm bothering answering an obvious troll, carry on.

@Firestar...Importantly, people who do not agree with a one-eyed view of Thailand are not trolls - princess.

"Witnesses stated that the pickup truck was speeding through the city when it hit the minivan at a set of traffic lights. Police examined the scene and the truck driver was cautioned before being sent with the others for emergency treatment"

"driver was cautioned". Such undiluted nonsense. Booked for grievous bodily harm or worse would have been the charge for starters in many countries. How do we get people to drive safely if each time an accident occurs no severe jail sentencing follows. Apart from a one week blitz each year there are no community info packs for adult education, no school education on the subject, no credible driving schools, a licensing authority which is wedded to tea money........Drivers who maim or kill on Thailand's roads get a gentle slap on the wrist, a couple of small news items discuss it and on things go until the next body count ie: unless your a foreigner. Speaking of "gentleman in the picture" I think it is idiotic and very anal of anyone to speculate if the rescue worker is skilled or a farang etc..etc...Apart from adding nothing of value to the discussion such comments fail to give credit to rescue teams who daily and sometimes several times a day scoop up bodies from roads and condo's - along with body parts which sometimes need to be separately bagged. Some of the puerile comments above on the rescue workers display low IQ and pure idiocy.

Thailand, locked into a Third world mindset seems well-positioned to remain a cheap factory for OECD outsourcing. The near absence of health & safety, town planning, embedded corruption, very low implementation of any laws (of which there is no shortage) hardly helps Thailand vault into the same league as Spore or Malaysia......... and for people who believe that Thailand is not a third-world country you may need to first convince the IMF, World Bank, ADB & Transparency Intll !!