superal

It seems that Vietnam is a more tourist friendly country than Thailand . The majority of short term tourists will not be aware of the Buddhist days restrictions in Thailand that make no sense to impose on foreign , non Buddhist tourists . However I think I am right to say that only selling alcohol is banned but not drinking ? So maybe an organised party and guests to bring their own booze . Or simply have a day off the drink .

Me too . Only outgoing calls and no videos . Had an email today from Skype saying , that for existing customers who still have credit in their accounts , can continue to use the calls / dialing pad until their funds are spent .

You speak the truth . The problem is , we are accustomed to Western world standards and Thailand as an emerging 3rd world country has much lower standards that are the norms to the Thai population . However if Thailand wants to attract Western world tourists , the tourist spots should be / could be vastly improved safety wise . including walkways , public toilet provision , beach / sea pollution , hotel balcony balustrades heightened , wheelchair access etc etc . Just maybe the reason Thailand is trying to attract more Chines and Indian tourists could be that they are used to low standards ?

Looking at the picture , could that be leaking urine on the ground at the back of the mobile toilets ?

Totally agree with you especially the majority of Thai pavements are tripping hazards . No provision for the disabled . No public toilets etc etc . Thailand will never improve as long as corruption runs the way of life in Thailand . Allocated funds for projects are pilfered to the extent that work will be to low standards . EG , there are 2 main highways in my area that were built only 5 or 6 years ago . Every year they will have large sections re-surfaced because the initial construction was built below specification .

Many shop owners also claim the road outside of their shops by placing sack trucks etc 1 meter out from the kerb to stop parking . Clearing the sidewalks should be a nationwide law and whilst they are at it , repair or replace sidewalks and make them safe to use . Also the power cable posts that are often in the middle of walkways should be moved

I wanted to make a posting on gardening but cannot find the appropriate forum . Which one do I use please .

25 years old ? and the rest . Very suspicious .

Need to pull out of the E.C.H.R. There are around 800,000 illegals in the UK with most seeking asylum which is taking years to process and the vast majority will be given asylum . Starmers only hope is to declare exit from the E.C.H.R. , halt all immigration including legal ( unless exceptional circumstances ) , stop the boats entering British waters and have a task force dedicated to find and remove illegals . However Starmer hasn't got the balls to do that . I believe Farage / Tice would sort it out . Maybe borrow Trump for a month ?

MIL was bitten by a young kc and was in hospital for 3 weeks . Apparently adult kc can control the amount of venom they give but young ones cannot and give all .

I also migrated to Teams which has opened but it does not show my transferred funds . Contacted Microsoft chat page that said 5 minutes wait but 35 minutes later no reply . Not looking great . Surasak recommended Mytello which I have joined , easy to do . 1.5 baht a minute to UK mobiles is good .

It is scary when I think how my grandchildren will cope in the current state of the UK . The country is in a downward spiral . How can the illegal channel crossing invaders be allowed to remain ? Starmer has mentioned an amnesty . For the UK indigenous folks there is very little help . No wonder so many are emigrating .

Starmer & cabinet are hypocrites . In opposition at PMQT they heavily criticized Sunak on immigration numbers . In government Labour has no deterrent to halt the boat crossings , which are at record high numbers and give the impression that they are encouraging it . They plan to build 1.5 million new homes in the next 4 years and these will be used mostly by immigrants . Trades to build these homes will be sourced from the E.U. because there are not enough British tradesmen Last year 79,000 British citizens emigrated from the UK , comprising skilled trades and professional people . Indeed it is a brain drain . The UK state pension is the lowest of any developed country with 2 million living in poverty and equates to 29% of their wages when they were employed .

Not to mention that the UK crime rates are off the scale , shop lifting is out of control and not attended to by the undermanned police force , housing beyond the reach of most young people , uncontrolled illegal immigration allowing criminals and extremists into the country and sponging off the benefit system , cost of living spiraling , state pension equates to half the minimum wage levels , hospitals running at 100% capacity , NHS has all but collapsed , doctor appointments minimum 2 weeks wait , price of a beer at a pub is out of reach for many , pubs and night clubs closing down at a high rate weekly , dentist appointments very expensive etc etc . I am glad to be out of it cos its not the country that I grew up in .

I totally agree . You get what you pay for . In my ladies restaurant a small breakfast is 150 baht and large 200 . The large sets you up for the day . 80 or 99 baht breakfast ? how ridiculous . How can they be making a profit when you factor in the overheads ?

I was going past a building site recently and was happy to see the workers wearing high visibility tops and hard hats but then I looked again to see them all wearing flip flops . Another guy welding with sun glasses . Then there were 2 guys working off a scaffold with only a single plank to stand on and of course no harnesses . Such is the concern for safety in Thailand . In the Western world , a bidding contractors health and safety records will determine if they get the job . All because the buck stops at the top with the C.E.O. and h&s violations / non compliance can result in heavy fines , prison and even closure of the offending company . Thailand's safety at work is in the dark ages . Asian immigrant workers are cheaply replaced .

Gambling and booze are not a good combination . I would go to a Thai casino . I also pop over to Cambodian casinos occasionally . I generally stick to the slots because I do not understand most of the Khmer tables . MIL won 4.5 million baht on the slots about 15 years ago . I reckon she must have given it all back by now .She goes there at least 4 times a week . I would like to know if there will be any regulation on slots payouts in the new Thai casinos . Or throughout Asia nut I doubt if there is any regulators / inspectors .

I am surprised that you say drinks earn the profits . Maybe if the price is hiked up by 4 or 500 % , as is the case in some Thai tourist areas . For a business to survive on just wet sales is almost impossible , hence why most bars have some sort of catering . My ladies restaurant is 90% Thai customers and caters for mid range priced food . Cannot compete with low priced street vendor food . BTW our beer prices are , small bottle Chang / Leo etc is 45 baht . Large is 80 baht .When you factor in refrigeration costs there will be little if any profit

Totally agree . People who post anonymous emojis have little intelligence , otherwise they would leave their reasoning . Constructive criticism is fine but going incognito is gutless .

But not too many expenses for street vendors . Amazes me when they park their rig outside of a restaurant to sell their food . It seems to me that less wealthy Thais get by on eating noodles or rice alone . Very high rents in popular areas are the main cause of closures , IMO . A 500% mark up on say a small beer that costs 30 baht to the business to buy but retails in some tourist spots for 150 baht is astonishing but even a hike like that cannot always save a business in touristy areas .

very informative video , thanks for sharing

An investigation already ? I doubt it , probably an excuse by the builder . Unless you have a link ? The building design and specs would have taken the Thai climate into consideration but whether the specs were complied with is another doubt . I digress but road construction is a prime example of the low quality of some Thai construction with corruption as the main cause . Near where I live in the north east of Thailand the newly built roads have much resurfacing every year . I am not a civil engineer but in the UK construction , when structural concrete is poured , there will be a test cube taken . Do you think that happens in Thailand ?

Correct . If internal walls not built and no window casings = no bracing

Ordinary Thai domestic houses are mostly built with cheat building blocks and only a single wall . No double walls with a cavity . They will have little resistance to any earthquake . The high rise that collapsed looked to me , when I first saw the video , that it was built above a sink hole because it dropped vertically . Then I saw the support pillars which to me looked to be too small and certainly not earthquake resistant .

I use the same cream for any new shows and catching them early works well . I also have had many growths removed mostly by freezing and 3 operations on my arm , forehead and the last one on my ear , where the surgeon cut a top section of my ear away . All ops under local anesthetic in the UK . Growths on ears are common because they are exposed to the sun most of the time and me , once a keen golfer I use to wear those baseball hats but they do not give sun protection to your ears . In Thailand where the sun is strong a sun barrier cream is important as well as a broad rimmed hat . Skin cancer treatment in Thailand is not easy to find , as it seems that Thai folks do not get skin cancer to the extent that Westerners do .