The Deerhunter

18 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

I am reminded of the scene in Crocodile Dundee; "THIS is a knife."

THIS is a large collection of weapons. Yes, Americans are nuts.

"One house only had those items  The others were at the other house,"
How did you come to the conclusion that this was the haul from only one house , Deerhunter?

It is obviously down at headquarters where the intent is to allow photo ops to show what a huge haul it was. Nowhere from the article could you come to the conclusion that they kept the two "hauls" segregated.
 "Read the report again slowly and note the names.  And look at the photo."
Follow your own snarky advice.^^

And yes, I do actually have in excess of one thousand rounds for just one of my weapons back "home". It does not take long to burn through that much if you are going to spend a day  sighting in at various ranges out to 1,000 meters..

No one blinks over 1000 rounds legally held where you and I come from.  I always had that at home and much more in my gun shop.  The point is that this photo was taken here in LOS where such things in general are not common or legal.  And according to the pic, these guys had grenades mortars and other stuff that is not legal here or probably not legal where either you or I came from.  These guys were up to no good and presumably not legally in possession of any if it.  As regards details as reported in the article, my comment is unchanged.

19 hours ago, farcanell said:

You usually seem to know about such things.... Are they mortar rounds I see????

next to hand grenades?

 

Probably.  We never sold those in the gun shop I owned for over 20 years before retiring here.

I do  not understand this part.......   "The floodgates had been closed for 12 months and five days since 7 June 2017, as approved by the cabinet meeting on June 6, 2017."   Perhaps they mistranslated "before" as "since."   Or got the years wrong.   Otherwise??????????????????

2 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

Curious about what constitutes "...a huge amount of military weapons..." Maybe a quibble, but I think of the M-16 as an automatic rifle, not a machine gun per se. 1,000 rounds of ammo is not that impressive either, for anyone accustomed to US gun culture.
One does wonder why a tour guide would require these items, though.
Just where are they taking people? Are Van Damme and Seagal associated with these tours?
 

One house only had those items  The others were at the other house,  Read the report again slowly and note the names.  And look at the photo.

2 minutes ago, jippytum said:

For 250000 baht I would hire a lawyer on a contingency basis . The hotel's disclaimer if they have one no responsibility is not absolutely correct .When you stay at a hotel you have a reasonable expectation your belongings will be taken care of .The questions a lawyer would ask was the hotel negligent in not advising you  of the flooding risk .Has the carpark been flooded in the past for example .The possibility is yes. Was every effort made to remove your car or warn you to remove it as the water was rising before it became a write off .There are many examples in law where disclaimer notices are not upheld .At a venue coat check for example a recent case found the disclaimer 'items left at own risk ' to be invalid

another case involved a laundry and dry cleaners.

In Thailand?????????????  Or in a "back home" country ?

1 hour ago, Adeeos said:

Depending on the level of it's flooding,, as in,, over the motor?,,, etc,,  or inside flooded carpets?... I ask because it's maybe been totaled because of high labor, (BMW type labor costs), in addition to parts,, If the water was say, mid door,, it's not really an issue to flush all engine, trans fluids,, and refill,,, Carpets will have to COMPLETELY come out,, you'll NEVER get it dried otherwise,,same with the seats, etc,, My point is,, if you can determine the amount of damage,, it may be possible for you to let them total it,, then you might have the option to buy the car back from them as a salvage vehicle,, (much cheaper than a similar vehicle with a clean title),,, Then hire a decent generic shop, OTHER than BMW certified, at a cheaper labor rate,, to do the replacement work,,, such as flush as I mentioned,, remove, and either dry the carpets by laying in the sun a few days,,, seats, or replace them with other wrecked parts,, It can be done here in the USA like that,, Salvage title will affect the value on resale,, but if you intend to keep it, continue to drive it,, who cares? you'll know exactly what you have,,  It might be an option for you,, and help to lessen the $$ loss to you, if you let it go to the ins company,, If, "repaired" correctly,, you really shouldn't have any issues,,, As far as any flooded electrical parts,, should be easy enough to turn the key on, NOT running, and check things like power seats,, etc,,, Just a thought to look at,, 

 

Sensible advice.  Unlike some offered.  If the car has already been seen by BMW then they might/should have some of the answers for you already to decide whether this approach has possibilities.

44 minutes ago, The Deerhunter said:

3.5km.  Is that window dressing for am election or what?   Why start with such a small stage?  When are we hoping to get some tech specs such as gauge, projected train speed and how much of it will be double tracked?  Let alone a completion date that is not borrowed from Monty Python......

I hope to be proven wrong but it is hard for a Farang to remain positive  about some of these projects when the only information given seems to be based on  vague suppositions by officials who know nothing and reported by journalists who do not seem to know how to ask obvious questions.

7 hours ago, hansnl said:

And all that work is just for the double track metre gauge railway.

The whole line from Khon Kaen to Korat is one big building project.

May the Chinese strategic railway stay away for a very, very long time.

3.5km.  Is that window dressing for am election or what?   Why start with such a small stage?  When are we hoping to get some tech specs such as gauge, projected train speed and how much of it will be double tracked?  Let alone a completion date that is not borrowed from Monty Python......

On 16/11/2017 at 3:49 PM, Bluespunk said:

Scum

10,500 THB in fines coming up.  

  500 each!  I truly hate it that I have become so cynical but based on recent history of such cases...............!!

On 08/11/2017 at 10:10 AM, Get Real said:

Good!

We are getting a few but it is not even a melted drop of water from the tip of the iceberg.

On 08/11/2017 at 3:42 AM, wakeupplease said:

You just had to get the Not insured in did you not, so sad.

 

You forget the hotel is liable as they are at fault and the country for not making sure hotels and the likes of follow strict safety regulations, if they have any and anyone who is not a lazy B and gets off their read and does checks on hotels.

 

This is not an accident, its bloody murder by neglect.

 

Just another farang who cares?

 

The tourist industry will that is for sure in time.

 

If TAT and the country had any respect for tourists, they would pay the costs of their neglect.

More reason for Thais to not take responsibility for anything?    You are on your own out here Buddy unless you have your own good insurance.   This is the Wild West (or the wild Southeast) as it happens.   Zero chance of anyone fronting of their responsibility.  Hotel or Government!!  Know this and act accordingly before you come.   And as for someone suggesting get a good lawyer,    555!!!

On 07/11/2017 at 7:17 PM, Argus Tuft said:

Was wondering why this story sounded iffy....

 

There were far too many injuries for a mugging.

Yes.  Some of us commented that it seemed strange injuries for a mugging.  But I never even  thought he would have jumped to get the injuries.  Oh WOW!!!!  Must have been desperate to get the money.  Oh Wow again!!!

On 11/11/2017 at 1:10 AM, burgdawg said:

"TRUST?"

once you or anyone extends "'trust" to kon Tai, that is the very start of the CONfidence scam, kao jai mai?

You are had...but really, taken by one own gullibility and cc--culutral conditioning.

 

Kon Tai do IMMEDIACY very well---if you hand over baht, you get an excellent meal. You hand over baht, you get a bus trip, BTS ride or motobike taxi ride. Or shortime. Or fresh juice. Or fresh fruit. Anything that extends into the future more than 24 hours and you are hosed in the Kingdom.

 

The East/Orient works on all being NOW and various scams all involved this extension into "TOMORROW."

You want to entertain yourself, try explaining any financial intrument to kon Tai.

Yeah.  I agree.  They probably had good intentions at the start and then decided that it might mean a lot of work and planning for them.  Suddenly this avenue was easier once the money was in hand, they found the people due to arrive and nothing organised yet.  Greed and lack of planning are not necessarily exclusively Thai traits,  but perhaps they are not as scrupulous about delivering value  promised after money paid, as some other places.   PS  BTW my wife sells and health life insurance so we have some experience in this.  Get cancer, THEN ask for a health policy, and be surprised when they decline. Everyone's  time wasted.

I am not sure how many tablets this represents.  Thailand is very protective of it's home industry including it's tobacco market which is probably why they don't allow E-cigs or middle-eastern Shishka smoking.  Small quantities of anything (not obviously a class drug) will almost certainly be un-noticed even if they do X-ray your bags on arrival.  I do a "home trip" at least once every year and bring back all sorts of health supplement stuff, including caffeine tablets and even largish bottles of fish oil capsules.    Large quantities of one sort of pill that "might" be for sale or supply might look suspicious, but sensible minimum amounts just for your trip should be fine.  You have to understand how hypocritical this all seems when you can buy all sorts of nominally "illegal" stuff on street stalls right next to a police posts, or with police strolling by, as I have seen so many times, so no advice can be 100% bulletproof.

7 hours ago, Jedsada3 said:

Tokay Gekko eat insects and other small animals loke baby rats and mouses... killing them opens the door of your area to other harmful animals you don't want see in your home.

My Thai family call them Took-gairs. Gosh they are loud.  We have a couple that get right inside the house.  Harmless to us but really aggressive to each other. My wife videoed one long fight.

On 10/11/2017 at 10:21 PM, NanLaew said:

Bring all your vans here for inspection now!

 

Imperious demands sure beats the hell out of getting off your criminally-culpable, government-salaried, lard-asses and DOING YOUR JOB by going to wherever this 'transport company' calls their head office, check the vehicles in-situ and see what sort of van maintenance facilities and driver verification and test procedures they have.

 

That 50k baht fine is really gonna hurt too.

Agree with everything you say but the 50k fine was quoted as being the maximum.  That needs increasing.  A visit and site inspection as you suggest might well have uncovered situations that allowed more prosecutions and further fines. 4 dead and 50k fines only!!!!!!!!!

14 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yes?

 

Anyone who litters should be ashamed. 

 

That doesn’t mean his agenda is to cause Thais to “lose face”. His agenda appears to be about littering. 

 

I dont like those who crow how great they are on social media, but I do understand his anger over littering. 

 

Anyone of any race In any country should be ashamed of themselves of littering at any time.  Put it in a bin or take it home or back to the car.  It is not that hard.  The world and LOS in particular is a disgrace because people do not have self respect or self responsibility.  Throw it away.  Not my job to pick up after myself. Someone else should do it for me.  That is the attitude that is all too common.  As I said.....

  It is not hard to do or difficult to comprehend.

14 hours ago, coulson said:

What could they complain about? The lack of p1ss1ng on the street or the hindrance of things like general  order?

Or orderly queues for public transport or banks etc?

8 hours ago, rkidlad said:

The saddest part of the story isn't that they stole money from these runners. It's that they stole a perfect opportunity for many of these runners to post selfies on social networks informing the world of what they're up to. Many of these people may have been running for a charity and are now not going to get the recognition and validation their lives are so badly missing. 

 

Neither will Thailand get the publicity they want.  Just spent 4 nights in Hua Hin.  There would not have been even 20 rooms occupied in a 16 story hotel.  I sure hope some of the others were getting g better occupation.  The lady minister of sports and tourism will be bitterly disappointed.   That is 1500 people who will probably never come back

  Sex and entertainment is a more reliable drawcard than marathons, temples and waterfalls.  At least people know they are going to get screwed.

2 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

He didn't use it as a weapon, it was more a Pointer to show her the way..

Not so much attempting murder as threatening to injure.

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

I agree with some other posters. Multiple leg fractures is more likely caused by a traffic accident, maybe when trying to run away? Regardless, if he was mugged and had his property stolen, it really is going to be tough for the Thai Tourist Agency to continue to tell everyone how safe the place is.

Strange story.  Certainly not the type of injuries usually associated with a mugging.  Perhaps there is more to it but if she was there there as described it is quite an unusual event and outcome.  I suppose he could have been driven over by the attackers or someone else while lying unconscious after the attack.

On 04/11/2017 at 8:10 PM, kenk24 said:

Oh, it happens occasionally and is worth a laugh... my Thai is pretty good and I am fairly fluid conversationally and yet, there are people who cannot understand a word I am saying... it is as if they just see me and their mind turns off...

 

The other day, I stopped at a coffee shop in the countryside and spoke in Thai with the proprietor... she was totally blank and a Thai customer using my exact words, understood everything I said perfectly and repeated it exactly to the lady - who then understood... 

 

I asked the young Thai fellow why he understood and she didn't - we all just laughed. 

 

Of course, if it bothered me I could live in my home country where people understand my words, but not much else... 

 

As Samui says above - let it go - no malice... 

Yep.  Had that many times.  See a Falang and don't bother to listen because they "know" they won't be abke to understand.  I also have had other Thais parrot what I said and been understood.  It is interesting because we usually manage to understand when foreigners of all types mangle English but many Thais seem to have a zero threshold about us mispronouncing or using the wrong tone. 

On 23/10/2017 at 8:17 AM, dotpoom said:

Pity they didn't say it without the sc -  mb-g bit.

That bit works for me.  Good description.

31 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Since most hotels - even cheap ones - have pools, why bother to pay to sit on a refuse littered beach and watch the turds float by ? Better - and cheaper - to stay by the pool. remember that 100 baht a day would be better spent on a decent gog-go girl at the end of the holiday !

An appropriately indecent gog-go girl might be worth an even longer holiday.  555

On 21/10/2017 at 9:28 AM, mogandave said:

I see people sweeping the streets and sidewalks here every day.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

On 21/10/2017 at 9:28 AM, mogandave said:

I see people sweeping the streets and sidewalks here every day.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Yes but perhaps in a few towns but presumably not in Pattaya or many other parts of Thailand with extreme street refuse problems. I was wandering round a market with the wife a couple of weeks ago and  bought some take away nibbles.  Finished them and had a dirty paper bag in my hand.  I held onto it for several minutes looking for a waste bin and eventually saw a rubbish bin beside a stallholders table.  I smiled at the stall holder and rolled it up small and popped it in his bin.  He gave m a dirty look and started to get up.  Another stall holder on a different stall rushed over and retrieved my rubbish before this guy could get up, gave me an absolutely disgusted look and took it to his own stall,  (not the one I bought it from.)  Wife was outraged at me.  "All the years you visit and live here and do not know how bad manners that is.  You must ask permission before you use someone's personal rubbish bin."  She was mortified with embarrassment at my actions.  I said "I will throw it away next time."  She said "Keep it in your hand till you get back to the car.  Never use anyone's rubbish bin.  It is such bad manners."   Which of course what I would really do but I was really p'eed off.   I often bemoan the lack of public waste-rubbish bins but then, probably only foreigners will use them.  BUT!  You have to start somewhere, don't you.  How to instil civic pride in Thais????  Our land rates here would then go up from about 100 baht a year too a little more  than that and people would complain.  They should see my land rates on the house back home.   I Just got my 2017-2018 land rates assessment today.  They are over 95,000 THB a year. But we do get a rubbish collection there and have a few street bin ins the shopping centres.