Patanawet

it's less than 400 bucks in my country's currency.

And the relevance of that is?

It should not to be too difficult for the government to ban the renting of these motor bikes to tourists.

Keep them for the serious riders who having bought them will be a bit more responsible.

Clearly a true English gentleman!

BTW, Windows 8.1 is better as 8.0.

Do you mean 'as good as' or 'better than'?

Isn't 7 the best so far?

One measure could be --- drug and alcohol testing all public service vehicle drivers as they come on duty.

Bus, train and van drivers.

Has anyone ever compiled a list of his promises over the years and the results?

I could kick it off with the pledge to cure Bangkok's traffic problems years ago when the Post had a daily banner counting down the days. We know the result of that one!

Easy - apply for a new passport - then no risk of blacklisting

How would that help?

The blacklist is in the Immigration Department computer available at all the immigration desks.

He would, in addition, need to change his name but they might even be able to trace him through his date of birth.

Happy ending for that guy ..... poor man !!! but I still dont understand why the wife has waited so long to inform the police ... anyway the essential is that he is alive .... Thanks to the rescuers.

What do you imagine the Thai police would have done if she'd reported him missing?

I always understood that Olive Oil is best for health. However I cannot afford the best quality and do not like the taste anyway.

The best substitute is Canola (oilseed rape) which has all the qualities of Olive oil and is only about 120 Baht per bottle (Villa).

It has the plus that is has a higher smoke point than Olive Oil. I believe that all oils turn to transfat when they start to smoke.

If the cost is a determining factor as to which oil to use --- then you're using too much oil in your diet!

This thread has been hijacked from the original question about the legality of the "fine" to tirades from the hoardes of posters who got their degrees from the university of stating the bleedin' obvious (that is that no one should litter).

The answer is stated clearly in the posts referring to the Bangkok Post investigation (and the link therein). They are NOT police of any sort. They are city officials who have no power to fine. They are there to give information including "do not litter or you may be fined by the real police".

Why do they not fine Thais? Because the Thais know all about this scam.

How can you tell if they are real police? Real police carry guns.

If they are not legally registered to carry passengers -- how do they stand for accident insurance?

Hellodolly said "It would be nice to have one of them broadcast the news in english by qualified English translators."

Try True channel 90 ------- "IN CHANNEL".

News summaries every hour and extended local and international programmes in the early evening --- in excellent English (well, U.S. English).

The article stated >>>>adding that a survey team found 700-800 vendors selling alcohol on Silom Road, a venue famous for Songkran water celebrations.>>>>>

TOSH!

I was in the Silom area of Patpong/ Soi 4 along to to the Skytrain on Saturday.

The area was so dangerously crowded that I cannot imagine how a "survey team" could have shuffled far enough to find 700-800 vendors selling anything legally or illegally.

I didn't see any vendors on the street selling alcohol. The only alcohol being sold was from normally licensed venues.