hobz

With hotel occupancy so low have the smarter hotels started offering generous discounts, or have prices remained the same?

Thai logic dictates an increase in price to cover the losses.

Come on, no one with even a basic knowledge of economics can be that stupid.

Well, that's Thai logic for you. It has happened before.

You talk too much lad. Taking a break from Thai visa may be in your interest. :-)

Agreed my friend I'm trying to see a movie actually, And I keep getting drawn in here,, I love arguing too much

Good night friend. We will laugh or cry about this discussion soon. Hope there's no bloodshed. And hope the curfew is lifted soon. And we must really hope that the corruption goes away.

They had to be quick in the coup so that they didn't give anyone a chance to escape. Smacking people around is a different thing which they shouldn't be so quick to resort to. Use some common sense.

I never said what they SHOULD do.

Only saying that they allowed people to protest even though they said it would be against the law.

I think they should allow any peaceful protest. I think they should remove the "rule" that only 5 people can gather for political reasons.

I think they should disarm and arrest any violent protest.

I also think they should call out elections as soon as possible.

I think that they should eradicate corruption if possible.

*edit* Please read my words before telling me to use common sense, some people might get insulted by being told to "use common sense" .. It's common sense to use common sense, you don't need to say it

*Edit 2* I dont want to argue about it,, we both know what has happened, and ofcourse it's good that they didn't attack the protesters,, nobody wants bloodshed..., I was just reminded about the "final day" thing,, like Sutheps final protest, and my never ending "last time i eat unhealthy" or an alcoholics "last beer" ..

*Edit 3* empty threats and promises wont give you respect.

hahaha reminds me of when Suthep kept calling out the final protest, I wonder if the military too will postpone the "last day" 12 times

Quip if you will but they have so far been anything but indecisive or slow to act.

Except that they said the first day of the coup that gatherings of 5 people would not be allowed, and then they allowed it anyway..

They were probably just testing the waters. Let see.

When im fast and decisive i dont test the waters, you just contradicted your statement

The army has allegedly warned protesters that today is the last day protesting will be tolerated.

hahaha reminds me of when Suthep kept calling out the final protest, I wonder if the military too will postpone the "last day" 12 times

Quip if you will but they have so far been anything but indecisive or slow to act.

Except that they said the first day of the coup that gatherings of 5 people would not be allowed, and then they allowed it anyway..

The army has allegedly warned protesters that today is the last day protesting will be tolerated.

hahaha reminds me of when Suthep kept calling out the final protest, I wonder if the military too will postpone the "last day" 12 times

It's even funnier than I first realized,, The army is saying that protesting WAS TOLERATED until Today,, that when they first said protests was not tolerated, was just a joke? hahahahahahhahahha

In the UK after leaving Bangkok on Thursday. Will be back home in Bangkok in another two weeks. The military will slowly ramp up the pressure and that's when the real trouble will sadly start.

The real trouble will start if and when the red-shirts start their moves.. It could be tomorrow or in 6 months,, depending on how long it takes for them to get organized.

Thailand - the location of the bawdy Hollywood movie "The Hangover: Part II".

Sigh....Why do I feel like puking when i read this lame byline which seems to appear in every tourism related article about Thailand nowadays.

We saw a fair few tourists (Westerners anyway) and they seemed to be having a real hoot playing Foreign Correspondent on their social media accounts.

Ofcourse, normal people can still have a great time in Thailand right now.

I just have an allergic reaction to the bs that the military controlled media is spewing out, makes me wanna puke, and laugh. Laughing alot today

I would be very suprised if the Curfew does not end soon. Within a few days.

The military junta can play the "look we allow you to go out" as a trump card. And not playing it will be held against them,, so alot of incentive to play it soon.

I just wish to say that I love everything about this coup. I love the coup leaders, I love their supporters such as Scamper and djamie on this forum. The coup is a wonderful thing. I now realise that democracy in the west was a foolish illusion. We all need to promote coups and army takeovers. Whenever I visit the western world, now that I have come to this realisation, I will be promoting coups.

Sorry moderators if I'm not sufficiently enthusiastic. Here's a bit more to indicate my undying love for coups:

Lovely lovely coups. Promote them, advocate them. Coups are the way forward. Democracy is finished: democracy is the "old way". Coups are the future. I'm so glad I have had a chance to be present at this coup. I used to believe in democracy (silly me). Now I am a "coup person".

May I change my avatar to "Coup Anteater"?

Military rules is far better then democracy,, just look at how few protests there are in North Korea

With hotel occupancy so low have the smarter hotels started offering generous discounts, or have prices remained the same?

Thai logic dictates an increase in price to cover the losses.

A huge volume of ATM's exist around Thailand, it's a massive number, if one is void of cash, go to another one!

The concept of a bank run, based solely on the the fact that a single ATM can't dispense cash, require urgent medical consultation.

Cyprus and Greece will be recent examples where panic made banks stop withdrawals.

However, there is nothing that suggests that the same would happen here.

The only real argument presented is #3, that "Democracy has costs lives".

If they mean the lives lost during the recent protests I would like the blame the police.

The recent protests lead by Suthep were ruled illegal by court, yet police never acted on stopping them,

They allowed the "peaceful" protesters to block government buildings and stuff. A real democratic protest should not enter buildings, block people from going to work. That is illegal, Why? Because if it would be allowed for anyone to "peacefully" stop the government offices from doing their jobs, it would mean that TINY MINORITY groups can disrupt the government anytime they want,, And that is not democracy, that is childish "I WANT I WANT I WANT"-behavior ..

Just because Suthep gathered some 50k or 100k people does not allow him to disrupt the government, He can make their voice heard by marching the streets without blocking stuff.

In real democracies around the world police would have protected the government buildings. But in Thailand a minority group was allowed to bring the country to such a state that the military finally had to come in.

Unless they start giving incentive for police to uphold the law, this will be repeated again. Someone at police HQ must be fired and giving punishment for not arresting protest leaders and dispersing illegal protests.

I hope the reforms done by military now put in place something that gives police accountability and incentives to act and do their jobs, instead of being lazy money grabbers that almost everyone hates.

*removed my own post* realized i was breaking rules.

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

*removed my own post* realized i might be breaking the rules

No more a farce than the puppet governments of that crook in Dubai,

Being democratically elected must mean something?

If the people elect the sister of Thaksin, why are they not allowed to get what they wanted?

how about treating the many thais living abroad the same way. i am sure the borders will be closed permanently for all farangs.

You have no idea how easy it is to stay in Thailand compare to european countries, for a Thai person to visit Sweden for a 10 day holiday or something it's a MINIMUM 6 month visa process.

Maybe that is the reason why most Thai people never can go anywhere except the poor neighboring countries where it's even shittier and maybe that is why they never get to see how a good society works.

This coup is only about holding onto power, greed and corruption by the elitists who control Thailand.

This about the 12th coup d'etat and still the country is run by the same old cronies.

I reported before the measure of these people and how specifically they treat their own people aswell as foreigners.

Thailand does it everyday. Rules specifically designed to descriminate against foreigners (non Thais) has been implemented for decades.

Foreigners cannot own land


Foreigners cannot own a business outright only 49%


Foreigners cannot get a loan without a work permit


Foreigners cannot get a subscription eg: telephone


Foreigners cannot open a bank account without a work permit


Foreigners have no rights when married to a Thai


Foreigners can only do certain jobs, most others are reserved for Thais only


Foreigners with work permit must report to immigration every 90 days

… and the list goes on.

As for legal refugees and asylum-seekers, well they just sell them off to slave 
labour, incarcerate them, sexually and physically abuse them.

Thailands appaling treatment of the Rohingya people….

http://tastythailand.com/rohingya-muslims-kept-in-overcrowded-dirty-cages-in-thailand-for-months-video/

http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/thailand?page=3

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/2008-2013-five-years-hell-boatpeople-thailand-secretly-tries-options-19358/

Rohingya boatpeople by the Reuters news agency on July 17 reported such crimes against humanity by the Thai authorities, but it seems that most are not taking much notice or turning a blind eye.

When you plan to take your next holiday or living there, just remember the type of nation your supporting !

Here's some feedback and thoughts on your list of discrimination against foreigners, Please let me know where I am wrong.

Foreigners cannot own land <-- This is to prevent chineese or other foreigners from bying the entire nation.

When I last checked, Chinese immigrants and other elitists mostly control the country … Famously, the Shinawatra clan come to mind. Even so, you cannot physically take the land out of the country so this rule is rather pointless.

Many developing nations have laws like this to prevent rich foreigners to sweep up and take ownership of the land. If the land was suddenly owned by chineese or something, then alot of money that would otherwise stay in thailand would flow out of thailand.

For the record, I no longer believe that land can be taken out of the country, thank you for pointing that out.


Foreigners cannot own a business outright only 49%
 <-- See above

Correction, American citizens can own a business outright, except any other foreigner which is a slap in the face given that many other countries assist Thailand directly and indirectly.

Interesting, so, they hate all foreigners except americans? Doesn't sound right to me.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/188939-american-owned-100business-in-thailand/

Foreigners cannot get a loan without a work permit <-- This sounds bad. I understand not giving loans to tourists but to retired people that have ties with the community (own house etc) should be able to get a loan imho. So in this case I agree.


Foreigners cannot get a subscription eg: telephone <-- Not true in practice, many people i know have subscriptions on tourist visas!

No officially you cannot get any loan or subscription unless you have residency status

Again, in practice it is completely ignored. As I said, I know countless foreigners that have different subscriptions. And on the contrary I have never heard about anyone being denied a subscription (although i'm sure you will find an example just to prove me wrong.).

I personally have subscriptions to 3bb and sinet.


Foreigners cannot open a bank account without a work permit <- Not true in practice, many people i know have bank accounts on tourist visas! Wrong, officially all foreigners are not allowed a bank account without a work permit.

Actually you are wrong in theory and in definitely in practice.,

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

http://pattayatoday.net/news/latest-edition/stricter-rules-for-foreigners%E2%80%99-bank-accounts/

There's some extra documentation required for foreigners, and it is due to money laundering issues due to pressure from foreign countries! (ironic huh?)

I know for a fact that countless foreigners have bank accounts. I also know that some banks will deny applications. But going to the next bank usually works.

And I have a bank account in Thailand. So I know it's no problem. Also immigration expects me to show thai bank statements, knowing that foreigners can open thai bank accounts.

read this: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/248628-opening-bank-account-with-no-work-permit/


Foreigners have no rights when married to a Thai
 <-- Please elaborate? you mean when divorcing, or?

Correction,The only rights I am aware of it the fact that you can apply for a non-immigrant 'O' (marriage visa), and can apply

for residency (which is a mine field of bureaucracy)

I too hate the bureaucracy, but it's NOTHING compared to what a Thai must go through to visit Sweden (schengen) for a holiday,, almost 6 months long visa procedure..

Foreigners can only do certain jobs, most others are reserved for Thais only <-- This is to keep up employment for thais,, Makes complete sense,, it's not aimed _against_ foreigners, but _for_ thais .. I think it's the same in many countries around the world.

Wrong, most other developed countries would class this as clear discrimination, and would not be legal in a democratic society since this violates human rights, regardless of color, race, sexual orientation, & religion.

Not allowing non-citizens to work has nothing to do with human rights. It's about labor politics..


Foreigners with work permit must report to immigration every 90 days <-- I lean on agreeing with you on this one. But I would be interested in hearing what they thought when they came up with this rule and how they reasoned about it before i judge.

Just to annoy foreigners I guess, since immigration will already have proof of your place of work.

Why would you guess that? That would be incredible if it was true, and yet it is your first guess?

Can you imagine the meeting where they sat down and pondered the rules and said "can't we annoy the foreigners somehow?" "yeah how about having them come in every 90 days" .. If they really had an agenda to "annoy" foreigners, dont you think it would be way way worse?

It's way more likely that the 90 day rule came in for good reasons,, OR just out of pure corruption. Maybe they were thinking "we need to have stuff to do so that we can hire more staff and get bigger budget", if we force people to come in every 90 days we got alot of stuff to do.. thats good for our pockets ..

You see, my belief is that people think about their pockets before they think about annoying foreigners.. and i guess that's where we differ

ps. I want to add that I think _ALOT_ of stuff in Thailand is absolutely horribly done.. But I don't think it's because Thais hate foreigners,, it's because of corruption and incompetence / poor education / systems / standards.

Take the whole driving fiasco, alot of people die every year (mostly thais) because they cant get the roads safe,, is the lack of road safety there because the department of transportation hates Thais? No, it's there because of a mixture of incompetence and corruption.

This coup is only about holding onto power, greed and corruption by the elitists who control Thailand.

This about the 12th coup d'etat and still the country is run by the same old cronies.

I reported before the measure of these people and how specifically they treat their own people aswell as foreigners.

Thailand does it everyday. Rules specifically designed to descriminate against foreigners (non Thais) has been implemented for decades.

Foreigners cannot own land


Foreigners cannot own a business outright only 49%


Foreigners cannot get a loan without a work permit


Foreigners cannot get a subscription eg: telephone


Foreigners cannot open a bank account without a work permit


Foreigners have no rights when married to a Thai


Foreigners can only do certain jobs, most others are reserved for Thais only


Foreigners with work permit must report to immigration every 90 days

… and the list goes on.

As for legal refugees and asylum-seekers, well they just sell them off to slave 
labour, incarcerate them, sexually and physically abuse them.

Thailands appaling treatment of the Rohingya people….

http://tastythailand.com/rohingya-muslims-kept-in-overcrowded-dirty-cages-in-thailand-for-months-video/

http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/thailand?page=3

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/2008-2013-five-years-hell-boatpeople-thailand-secretly-tries-options-19358/

Rohingya boatpeople by the Reuters news agency on July 17 reported such crimes against humanity by the Thai authorities, but it seems that most are not taking much notice or turning a blind eye.

When you plan to take your next holiday or living there, just remember the type of nation your supporting !

Here's some feedback and thoughts on your list of discrimination against foreigners, Please let me know where I am wrong.

Foreigners cannot own land <-- This is to prevent chineese or other foreigners from bying the entire nation.


Foreigners cannot own a business outright only 49%
 <-- See above

Foreigners cannot get a loan without a work permit <-- This sounds bad. I understand not giving loans to tourists but to retired people that have ties with the community (own house etc) should be able to get a loan imho. So in this case I agree.


Foreigners cannot get a subscription eg: telephone <-- Not true in practice, many people i know have subscriptions on tourist visas!


Foreigners cannot open a bank account without a work permit <- Not true in practice, many people i know have bank accounts on tourist visas!


Foreigners have no rights when married to a Thai
 <-- Please elaborate? you mean when divorcing, or?

Foreigners can only do certain jobs, most others are reserved for Thais only <-- This is to keep up employment for thais,, Makes complete sense,, it's not aimed _against_ foreigners, but _for_ thais .. I think it's the same in many countries around the world.


Foreigners with work permit must report to immigration every 90 days <-- I lean on agreeing with you on this one. But I would be interested in hearing what they thought when they came up with this rule and how they reasoned about it before i judge.