new2here

I think overpriced, expensive and cheap are perhaps not the best words here. To me, and this is a purely personal assessment, I’d say for Y and even C/J cabins, I’d call SQ a very good “value” defined by me as a comparison of what you get in those cabins, compared to the fare paid… as for TG, I’d call them a poor value — again as a personal comparison of what I get (in Y or worse, C/J) to the respective fare paid. However, to be fair, I think it’s not the best comparison of TG to SQ either as their market, pax demographic, governance and general operating structure are wildly different - all of which has some role on determining what you as the passenger experience.

To me, given the combination of… a) the dynamics of how retail banking works in this country and some of oddities (ie some corporations require their staff to bank with X bank because their employer banks with X as well) .. and b) the rather limited options of retail banks (again, there’s really only 12 +/- to choose from nationwide against an adult population of around 55MM) .. and c) a regulatory system that has limited real world consumer protection enforcement entity to hold banks to account for service issues and routinely does so leads me to a realization that entities like BBL have near zero motivation to really invest in their IT to better ensure failures like this don’t occur.. there’s simply no or little downside for them to do so.. and risk that they’ll suffer the wrath of a regulator is equally distant .. and finally their consumer base - while perhaps vocal about it, the overwhelming percent will, at the end of the day, stay put.. so the bank need only wait it out.

Hi, Of course, they’re going to say that.. They can’t say “we don’t want it” because that puts them on the wrong side of what really is becoming a one-sided environmental position … no company wants to be seen as being anti-environment..…. So… by saying “not now/not yet” they can still claim they support environmentally friendly policies, but at the same time, also try to dodge the costs that may come with it.

I went with a new colleague to the Labour office near Silom.. I asked this question because like you, I use my WP book (old style) for address verification They said that the old style is no longer issued and they can’t revert back to it. I guess the way books are now printed makes that programmatically impossible I asked if they could “free form” add it- they said that they can’t add anything outside of what’s approved and already in the system

I agree. I think when it comes to these kinds of positions, how a voter sees them is very much “front and center” or what’s been done that’s both tangible to that voter and what’s also been impactful. So, while I’m sure 200+ micro projects have been done, they are just that - micro projects but… i ALSO think that despite being “micro” they’re still political “wins” that the government can show off as successes I myself don’t see this kind of political position as one who can or will score the “big” win so to speak — rather they will hit a string of successive, smaller community-level wins … and in the aggregate will make him/her popular.

I agree with the others, it can really vary depending on the last-mile situation- ie your local PO and their staff etc For me, as I live in the Bangrak district of Bangkok, all the staff; from counter to delivery, have a fairly solid comprehension of english- be that written or spoken, so rarely is there cases of mail that just isn’t delivered… Sure, some staff are more … professional and “service minded” than others, but overall, i myself haven’t really experienced rampant service failures- but cede that perhaps in more rural areas where english/foreign language skills may be lower, the issue may become more prevalent.

I would, in principle, agree with that… but.. i also think that IF Thailand wants out of the cheap-labour market, then they’re going to have to show their ability to show much better “value-added” to attract foreign investment and capital projects. There’s also ways going to be some level of demand for the low-margin, high volume manufacturing sector (things like mid market clothing and mid-market electronics) but to me, the best way forward for a country like Thailand, is to position themselves as a high value-added design and manufacturing destination. Of course, that then relies on factors like the depth and breadth of the local labour pool as far as talent, long term government policies that favor long term FI, existing infrastructure to support that kind of build-out… some of these thailand has or can implement- others are a bit hit-or-miss… IMHO

While only 5 meeting standards isn’t a good look (barring an exceptional small class size etc) what i also recognize is that unlike Thailand, there really ARE quantitative academic standards that have to be met - and one usually follows up by some form of testing- there really is no option of “no-fail” which, IMHO, artificially inflates graduation rates and also simultaneously dilutes the value of those same graduates. So.. i’m reasonably sure those five have have at least met the minimum standards as set by the Texas Education Agency.

While her music is without a doubt legendary and some of the best.. for me, I’ll remember her more for her determination to overcome adversity and negative relationships and to still be able to be the best.. that to me is what Tina exemplifies.

I’ve said this several times, but IMHO, one way that I think the authorities can really make a dent in this kind of problem is seizures.. Sure .. impose fines… but.. if - for example - the offense is either egregious or perhaps a repeat offense - seize and permanently confiscate all assets used in the commission of the crime.. Start taking (permanently) bikes of repeat offenders… cars of repeat taxi scofflaws … land and structures of those that willfully violate drug or fire codes…. Yes, I think it won’t stop everyone.. but i do think once you start taking peoples high value assets - and perhaps their “tools” to commit these crimes, you’ll see less of it. Fines, IMHO, don’t really work— for many they’re just a cost of doing business.. incarceration only works of you have more money than time.. and for those on the lower end of the economic they generally have more time than money (plus incarceration transfers some of the punishment cost to the public)… so seizures to me “check all the boxes” if you will.

I agree.. under this line of thought, i could easily see the government imposing export curbs on any outflow …

Just from the most cursory read… it sounds like the two major groups that this is proposed to impact is Thai citizens and Permanent Residents## (## I am assuming here, this means those that explicitly hold the much harder to obtain legitimate Permanent Resident status and not some form of “long stay” visa/extension of stay) If so, I can see why they might try this… Why? Citizens and PRs are essentially a “hostage” demographic.. they ARE going to come back … so unless they want or can, remain “home bound” indefinitely, they’ll be forced to pay up. Plus, given the so-called “middle class” seems to be expanding, international travel I would reasonably assume would be something this group would place higher up their list of wants … so by the government targeting this group - makes sense.. they’re big and getting bigger and they’re a hostage market — they’ve got no other workaround

that makes sense and kind of matches tk the overall feeling that i’m getting from the banks i deal with…. thanks

Naturally, I don’t think it was some kind of deliberate, planned and purposeful attempt to somehow render their offices inaccessible.. by doing so, one could also argue that by doing so they would then be prohibiting customer or money from coming IN … so… That accessibility issue aside, the BBL at Paragon used a portable USB-style webcam clipped to the top of the computer, to take my photo and it was clipped to a bank-owned laptop (the laptop had a BBL property control ID type sticker on it visible) So.. perhaps IF the branch has this, it would be possible for the bank staff to come downstairs to you, to get the process done.. Just thinking outside the box if you will.

I’ve got at least one basic passbook savings accounts at each of the big 5 (a few i have more accounts at BBL and KBank) and each account is at the same location - Siam Paragon Yesterday I stopped by each branch to ask/get it done.. Bangkok Bank- the easiest. They had one staff who essentially was the “verification photo” person. Before me were several Thais - and they were processed the same as me. I could see the screen as she processed it. SCB- Said, after calling their internal service center - that foreigners aren’t required. Branch manager said that she felt the answer was incorrect but that she didn’t see a way to get it done in their system at that moment. She suggested that I try again maybe late month. Krungthai - System not ready. Did say that yes, everyone will need to get it down eventually, but right now today, it’s not yet ready. The manager (who i’ve known personally for a few years) took my number and said that she’d monitor it matter and call me when I can come back. KBank - Said that foreigners aren’t required to. Like SCB, staff in-branch suspected this might change later on, but for now, not possible. Krungsri - Easy and done within 5 minutes .. said it’s required for everyone - citizenship not withstanding. Just my own experiences from yesterday.

I suspect that there’s a difference between the day/time it’s received by the banks systems and when it settles and posts — that’s i’ll bet where the slow down comes from .. While not SSA, I do get a monthly wire from my US employer and often the bank (in this case Kbank) receives it pretty much instantly- at any hour of the day or into the night; but it won’t post and be visible to me nor settle, until the next business day.

I agree. At the end of the day, the insured bears the ultimate responsibility to know what’s covered and any limitations or exceptions.. I do also think that insurers could make this process easier — but again in the end, the insured bears the liability. I do think this is a good news story.. insurance issues aside, it sounds like he’s finally back “home” where his social support is most likely strongest and he’ll probably have a better overall long term case management… so to that end, it’s a good news story.

To be honest, I’m somewhat surprised that we haven’t seen more hotels and other type venues add on some kind of “fuel” surcharge or the like… Granted, this latest “spike” is somewhat new— so maybe there hasn’t been enough time for ideals out of the private sector to percolate up, but I’d also guess that this is a problem that the current government will want to stamp out asap - and most of the rival parties will want to keep in the spotlight as long as early May. So .. my hunch is that we may see action - if only due to political clout value alone…

To me, there IS a way to effectively root out this issue — but it’s unpalatable— do it like Bhutan. Require all citizens of X country (in THIS example only it would be Chinese) to effectively “buy” $X of non-convertible, registered (ie with a stated name on them) coupons directly from the Thai government (ie the TAT or similar entity) … at this point the government has a guaranteed income of $X per day, per person in their coffers. Once in country, the coupons would then be exchanged for their hotel or similar purchases… The hotel would then turn around and redeem these coupons from the TAT.. and this is when the government would have the chance to verify that the redeeming entity is a legitimate entity or a shell company or whatever… .. and since they’d be non-convertible and registered, the government would have a near guarantee “income” per head, per day without the risk of someone trying to sell them to someone else … or try to exchange them back into RMB/THB etc

To me, there will never be an officially set rate that will stomp out these crimes.. For those drivers it’s going to be X + (legal rate) .. so i don’t think chasing those off-meter drivers by upping the official rate will ever eliminate the problem. To me, those drivers who been arrested/fined previously should have their taxis seized via criminal forfeiture… yes, many don’t own the vehicle.. but by the state seizing the vehicle, now the driver has a second “penalty” issue to deal with the taxi cooperative… in addition to the criminal side … To me, that’s how you root out these issues— you take their stuff .. anything used in the commission of their crime should be subject to criminal seizure. Harsh, yes… but at this point, there really isn’t any credible argument in my mind that the crime is unknown to the drivers nor do i think you can argue that the fare haven’t been increased — due in large part to driver complaints…

Totally agreed. It appears to be essentially a “reverse” looking tool. So, while they may expect futures moves down, at the present, the preceding period was still up - therefore the rise in the FT. I also agree that the fund really appears to somewhat like a “line of credit” that can be tapped when times are tough - thus larger subsidies- and is financed in part by that LOC … but that some point in the future, that will need to be paid back.. On the surface, that seems like a wise move and having a fund like this seems to allow them to essentially smooth out the pains of temporarily high highs while talking advantage of any low lows to “bank” some savings.

If you ask me “could it ever?”. I’d have to say yes.. but.. i also think that the days of this question even being a realistic, large-scale question is still yeeeaaars away… One thing that, when i look back what I’d call my best teachers, one strong commonality is … connection… I had a connection between the teacher and me.. I knew what they wanted and expected of me.. and they knew what I could do with the right training, motivation and supportz So, for me, I think that for an AI-based teaching entity to become reality, that’s one big part of the overall puzzle that will have to be addressed. Where i could see AI coming into eduction sooner is in more ancillary or support positions… that’s where I might see it first deployed.

I kind of agree.. Yes, there are some areas in Thailand social welfare, eduction and support systems that aren’t as good or effective as they could/should be… that to me is a very fair statement and perhaps i’d also agree might be a *contributing* factor here to some degree… .. but… even IF that’s true, to me that doesn’t then translate somehow into a pass for the alleged here either.. I think it’s very fair to hold her accountable to the fullest extent of the law. … but as to the base argument of the article that essentially says unless improvements are made, there’ll be more of these cases — i think that’s probably a more accurate than not, statement.

I agree.. One thing I’m personally a big supporter of is “forfeiture” laws.. IF there’s a finding by the court that X asset was used in the commission of said crime, then I’d support the court ordering the forfeiture of that asset to the state. This is one way you can really hurt those who are at the top of the pyramid, but because they’re not commonly physically involved, also seem to evade any real consequences… If you start taking their assets - and that’s BIG value assets - I suspect you’ll see behavioral change. Same for repeat drunk drivers and those who continually violate laws regarding motorcycle operation.. I’ll bet if you start seizing cars and bikes (that means permanent seizure and not temporary possession) from those repeat offenders, you’ll see some change.

Good points For point 1, i think that’s a bit more complex… Thai has got to have the operating infrastructure (ie staff etc) to be able to add capacity from the beginning… and given a large percentage of operational staff have some degree of licensing requirements (ie pilots license, cabin crew certification, maintenance licensing etc) so it’s going to take time to find these people - and get them properly licensed and trained. but I think before that question is even considered, I think TG has got to be able to see demand *for where they fly* and think that’s what’s holding them back.. Until a few weeks ago, pretty much most all China travel was off limits .. and even HKG had some level of depressed demand due to lingering C19 entry rules.. So i think TG has to rework their network given the new reality of where to fly, who is flying and what the market looks like today. For point 2… I agree.. but i also think now is the time for TG to rework their fleet. Many of those stored aircraft will never fly again due to operating economics and network realities .. so given where the market is for TG today, I think it’s a good time to bring their fleet up to current standard - that will help drive down costs (CASM) even a .25% (25bp) reduction in CASM can mean billions of bahts, up operational reliability and i think perhaps most visually, improve the passenger-facing hard product. Point C.. Yes.. while I get it.. as a matter of national pride, you’d want a “hometown” CEO and leadership team.. but I think given TGs past history of leadership planning and execution missteps, it’s time to perhaps open up to a truly global candidate search and be willing to accept that what CEO talent TG needs right now maybe from a foreign source.