Old Croc

Here's the truth. As usual with the north-eastern whingers it's all about cost. Udon and Issan generally are very cheap in comparison because it doesn't attract huge numbers of tourists. Also, for the bigoted, they are unlikely to come across Chinese, Russians, Indians and other nationalities they dislike. It does, however, provide a haven for those on a tight budget, mainly government pensioners. I can't understand why some there have to venture away from their local version of "The Red Lion" and flock to Patong just to start a whinging thread on this forum. As others pointed out there's over 20 beaches in Phuket Province and access to some incredible tropical Islands. Why stay in a smelly party town when you so detest the genre? Phuket, and particularly Patong, are expensive for Thailand, and a lot of the high costs, particularly transport, stem from mafia control and official corruption. This is well known. High costs exist in many popular tourist areas around the world and unfortunately puts some places out of reach for some budgets. That's the reason I don't holiday in Monaco or the south of France. You should be grateful for places like Patong and Pattaya, they provide employment for your stepdaughters and grandchildren. Does the poster really think Patong is the only place in Thailand where drivers don't stop at pedestrian crossings?

A bit simplistic to place the complete onus on a driver to stop before any accident. The other party has to shoulder most, or all, of the blame if their carelessness causes the situation. As I previously stated everyone should take reasonable, common-sense precautions to ensure their own safety. You can't always drive at a speed guaranteed to prevent any accident. For example, if someone runs on to a busy road from behind a parked delivery truck and is hit by a car driving within the limit, it's not the driver's fault, that blame lies with the victim. The alternative would be having someone walking in front of every vehicle holding a flag.

The title also does not describe cars either. A four-wheeled electric disability scooter does fit the description. If you are under the impression that a scooter can only have two wheels you should try to expand your knowledge with research. Knowledge is always preferable to just trying to up your post count by continually and negatively quoting lines from other members comments. It allows you to have an actual opinion of your very own!

I can see where the "Fun" part applies! The fact that something can't be registered by the road traffic authority doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal on the road. If something is not categorized under the act doesn't mean, it's automatically illegal and subject to fines if found on a roadway. Bicycles, ATVs, bogeyed up farm vehicles, electric wheelchairs, etc. etc. all exist on Thai roads with immunity. What constitutes illegality?

Among your many talents you also read minds! The title of the thread specifically states, "3 or 4 wheel small electric vehicles". This exactly describes disability vehicles. Do you also plan to attack the posting by a moderator a few posts above this? Continue your pedantic stalking of my comments and I will continue to call you out for what you are.

Many years ago, I hit an old lady (80s) with my car, breaking her ankle. It was at night on a busy intersection. Her family decided to cross 10 meters back from the intersection, through a line of traffic waiting to turn right. They dragged her through a gap in the lineup and into the left lane where I was proceeding straight through with the green light. The family sprinted out of the way leaving mother to her fate. I managed to almost completely stop but still gave her a slight bump which caused the injury. I took her, and a couple of her family, to the nearby public hospital where the typical long wait for treatment commenced. After an hour or so her family members became impatient and left, leaving me, and my then wife, alone, and astonished at their callousness, with the lady. We chatted, a lovely lady with a sh... family! As her family didn't care, we also decided to leave after she was eventually taken in for treatment. I've never felt a shred of guilt for this, instead blaming the lady's family members 100%.

A number of factors involved here. The painter's colleague (spotter?) had gone to the toilet leaving his partner alone. The entrance, and the painter, were just around a blind corner possibly making it impossible, or difficult, for a driver to see, or expect to encounter, someone crouched down in the driveway. The boom gate was rising which would naturally be where the drivers focus would be. It should also have alerted the painter to an approaching vehicle. There is a certain obligation for a person to be cognizant of their own safety in a situation like this. (Working on a roadway) Criminality requires mens rea to be proven. The initial accident would not be considered criminal, but possibly the failure to stop and then leave the scene could be. Although this could be attributed to shock or a disbelieve in the horror of the situation. The lady will find herself charged with offences and it will cost her financially and mentally. The unfortunate painter should not have been where he was without taken basic safety precautions. (TIT) No one is 100% to blame for this tragic situation.

Of course. However, very few on this forum would be living and working for the average Thai salary. I venture that most of us work for international companies or have pensions, or other income, sourced from the home country. That income is what makes Thailand incredibly cheap for us to live.

Humans Will Soon Go Extinct Unless We Can Find 5 More Earths (msn.com)

The Irish found their own way to all corners of the earth when they ran out of potatoes at home.

Who'd have thought that movies don't always depict accurate locations and timelines!

Ignoring the babble, the short story is there are no ferries from Bangkok to the Gulf Islands. To get to them you need to fly or travel south by land (bus, car, train) to find a ferry port.

Is there now a subscription fee?

For future reference: Power of Attorney Tor Dor 21 - Thailand Property (thailand-propertylawyer.com)

Where I now live in Loei Province the nearest rail is also about 150km away (Phitsonulok). I don't expect every isolated area of the kingdom to have a train service, but one of the world's major tourist destinations should be linked to the capital, before too many trains to China are built. All announced planning for future train routes still doesn't include this major Island city. Geography precludes airport expansion, so commuter flights won't continue to meet the future demand. On our farm, the sewage goes into holes in the ground, and no one collects rubbish apart from some guy who pops up very occasionally to get the bottles and cardboard. I don't expect much more, I chose to live here. However, I do have water piped to the property despite the very isolated area. I don't think it unreasonable to believe Phuket should have a better source and distribution of this essential commodity if small rural towns and properties are catered to. Comparing rural communities to a virtual city state that attracts 9 million international visitors a year is a little silly. All of Phuket should be on government water and have modern garbage and sewage disposal. Despite your claim that income flows one way with Phuket the opposite is much more correct. Most of the Islands tourist billions find their way to Bangkok's coffers. (And more than a few officials' pockets on the way!) Believe it or not, I checked that very link on wiki you quoted before writing and didn't make any claims about GDP. Read my words again. The Richest Province title that many frequently use is more about average wealth. This is why I specifically made comment about industry and agriculture. The capital, and the provinces with the big car factories and other industry are always going to rank highest in GDP.

Pre-covid, more than 9 million international visitors visited Phuket Province annually generating an enormous amount of tourism income for Thailand. Obviously, as a small Island province it doesn't generate income from industry nor agriculture, but has long been considered to be the richest province. it contributes much more to the Thai economy than it receives back from the centralist government. Yet it lacks much of the basic infrastructure common in other parts of the country. There is no train service, local transport and roads are very poor, water provision is sometimes critically low and household water is not available at all for many in this small urban Island. Despite the off-putting countenance of the character in the pic at the top, in my opinion, he does have a point about the dismal lack of environmentally sound garbage and sewage disposal. However, I feel the central government, of which he is part, is more to blame than the locals for the lack of funding to upgrade these facilities.

"Some people" make their life unnecessarily complicated.

Yes, hence my point. You should know what stamp you will get (don't you) and buy the ticket to fit that time period.

So basically, even when the other side of the international date line, you still use the date in the US! Do you not buy return tickets for the allowable time? I work out my return date at that stage. To travel you really need to understand and adjust to time differences. Not so hard for me when in SEA as most countries there have the same time as my home State. Thailand is 1 hr. out. Doesn't the US have something like 6 separate time zones? You could still wake someone up on the other side of the country without leaving her shores.

Yes, when your meaningless quotes are from mine. I see the notification and mistakenly think it may be something interesting.

Keep reading Lou, you can probably get another 6 posts from this.

This I can't understand. The arrival stamp clearly states the date your stay ends. See the OP. Why wouldn't you pay attention by casting a glance at your passport? I don't see how it's possible to accidently miss the day or miscalculate a stay. I can understand such things as flight delays, awkward scheduling or simply not caring because of nil consequences.

You are probably right. I've never overstayed in Thailand (or anywhere), so am unaware of their procedures. I wasn't disputing, just a little surprised they would waste time and effort to place a meaningless stamp in a document. I do know in Australia you wouldn't get such a stamp, although an overstay automatically generates a referral in the computers.

I'm surprised they would put that stamp in for 1 day over. Did you upset the guy somehow? Just for information, while there is no penalty on returning to Thailand, such a stamp could sway a decision maker in some country's embassies to reject a visa application.

On an android phone open a pic of text in the gallery. Hit the share icon - G - translate.