JimHuaHin

Read the heading, read the article, 200 million domestic Thai travellers, not tourists! When you consider the number of Thais who commute between towns/cities to work each day, the figure is not unreasonable.

Thailand - international hub of international hubs.

Can you please define the term/phrase "Traditional Thai culture"? Thailand only came into existance after the 1932 revolution. Tai people (note the spelling), only appeared in what is now Thailand about 1,000 years ago, emigrating from South West China. What today is called "Thai culture" is heavily influenced by the older Khmer and Mon empires/cultures. For what it is worth, from my experience, most lower and lower middle class Thai couples live togther and have not been formally married; while middle and upper class Thais (especially those with university education) will have a (big) formal wedding ceremony as a show of "status" and "face". On the other hand, in Thai-foreign relationships, Thai females maybe under pressure to formally get married, just in case the foreign male dies "in testate", ie without a formal will, as under Thai law de facto or cohabitation relationships are not recognised, and thus the female partner is not entitled to any of her departed partner's estate.

Similar to Hua Hin - mainly young men, a small proportion of families (young and old) and some older men.

I have just finished reading a book edited by Michael K. Connors and Ukrist Pathmanand "Thai Politics in Translation" (NIASPress, Cophenhagen, 2021) and am now reading Puangthong Pawakapam's "Infilitrating Society: The Thai Military's Internal Security Affairs" (ISEAS, Singapore, 2021). What is clear is that the Thai (read Bangkok) power elite do not want change, as the status quo benefits them. Creating positive mythologies about the great wisdow and morality of ruling family, and mythologies of ignorance and stupidity of the working classes (read the peoples of Issan, Lanna and Pattani) making them unfit to participate in "democracy" (read decision-making), as well as mythologies of government officials as the moral agents enforcing the will of the ruling family justifies the status quo. The military, especially through ISOC (which has been around since the mid 1960s and founded, under US military advice, to supress communism) seeks to mould the thinking of Thai people (ISOC officials visiting all rural schools to teach Thai children right thinking and behaviour) and to respect the moral authority of the (Bangkok) ruling elite. Of course, now the super rich (Chinese-) Thai business families have a marriage of convenience with senior Thai military personalities (from different factions - thus hedging their "bets") for mutual benefit (of course, similar "marriages of convenience" date back to the times of Rama 4 and Rama 5). The "system" will not change unless this "married couple" will gain mutual advantage from the changes. These traditional elites are using successful old-and-tried methods to maintain thier control and wealth; but in the age of modern technology, these methods are starting to fail, as the old military leaders cannot adequately adept to the age of "5G". The Thai economy needs to adapt, increase productivity, increase innovating, and encourage the people to work for a great goal that benefits all. But for many youth, the establishment's "killing" of Future Foward Party destroyed hope fo a better future; so why should I work hard for a future that does not exist and an establishment that enslaves me?

Why all ADM deposits? The aim is to stop money laundering, right? So why not set a limit on deposits before the new procedures are required? For example - depositing Baht under Baht 10,000 - use the existing system. Once you want to deposit Baht 10,000+ you use the new system.

"... should he go straight to the airport buy a ticket pay the fine and go. He has been advised by an immigration volunteer that that he cannot do this and must surrender himself to the local immigration officer ( Pai ) , he is unable to make a decision. The immigration office have been aware of him for at least a year without making a direct approach , except through the volunteer." Clearly the IO is aware of him and his situation, and have been unwilling to act until now. Has your friend asked the volunteer what will happen to him after he surrenders to the IO and what his options are? If your friend has more information on what the IO plan do do with him, it will help him make a decision. You friend may also want to inform the volunteer of his full situation. For example, I am elderly and have health issues, but I have been able to continue to annually extend my "retirement visa". I have no family in Australia, no relatives with whom I have been in contact with over the past 50-odd years, and all my friends In Australia are either dead or 85+ years old. I am not eligible for any Australian government pension or assistance (to my knowledge). I have no need or desire to return to Australia, and wish to die here. Maybe if your friend is in a similar situation, his local IO maybe "persuaded" to work out a solution in his favour. Good luck.

So, basically, what happens in Thailand if there is large nuclear war in the northern hemisphere? The Thai economy will all but collpase (especially as the Thai economy is heavily dependent upon China, which will be impacted, especially with its high energy dependency on Russia). No monies will be able to be transferred to Thailand from those countries "destroyed". How fast and how much the nuclear fall-out will impact Thailand will depend on what types of nukes were used (dirty or "clean"), how many were used and were they detonated on land or in the air. The nuclear fall-out will enter the atmosphere and will spread - how far and how fast will depend on prevailing weather and wind patterns. Eventually, some fall-out will impact Thailand; how much and how severe, see the above paragraph. If interested, consult Richard Wolfson and Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress "Nuclear Choice for the Twenty-First Century", MIT Press, 2021.