Tom Parkinson

From the Thai Criminal Procedure Code:

Section 92 A search may not be conducted in a private place without a warrant or an order thereof directed by a court, save where it is performed by an administrative or police official in any of the following events:

2.  Where a flagrant offence is being committed in such private place.  (the only event that could apply)

So not only is a quiet dinner gathering of six an illegal offense, but also a FLAGRANT offense!  Amazing Thailand...

I cannot comment on policies today, because they are subject to change at any time. But I lived in Thailand for seven years, while consulting throughout the region. During that time, I survived here on 30-day visa exempt stamps — which was never a problem, since my longest continual stay here was 18 days. 

Most of of my trips were overnight. But I do remember making one day trip to Vientiane for a meeting. I re-entered Thailand on a visa exempt stamp without incident.  FYI, I was wearing a suit at the time. That may seem like an irrelevant detail, but perhaps not.

I live on Sukhumvit, so I get refused by taxis or offered set price multiple times daily. I’ve long since stopped getting too worked up over it. Life’s too short for that. 

But it that doesn’t mean I condone the practice. It’s simply not worth much of my time and effort to complain to the authorities. 

What I would love to see, however, is a phone app with the following functionality.  A taxi driver fails to respect his DLT obligation. I pull out my phone, tap the app, which turns on my camera. I take a picture of his plate. The app then brings up a number of check boxes (“Refused fare”, “Would not use meter”, “Abusive or rude driver”, “Dangerous driving”). I touch the appropriate box and then the “Send” button. The app would then send an email to the DLT complaint hotline (is there really such a thing?) and also upload the information to a web site that would keep a running (and searchable) list of offenders. 

Anybody skilled led in app development?

In the six years I lived in Thailand and worked abroad, I returned home to Bangkok 180 times. Not a chance in hell I was going to report my address again after each trip. I’d rather pay 2,000 baht each time...

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thaivisa notes that actions of the daughter in reporting the case on Facebook seemed to have been against the wishes of the family.

 

Quite possibly she resorted to Facebook only after her family agreed for her to have sex with the “officer” in return for dropping charges. 

And what about the "D Cup" coffee stand in Nana BTS?

3 hours ago, madusa said:

I don't believe he is champion in French without knowing the French language. Not possible. May be he memorized the French dictionary, even then I still think problems.

There is a top-ranked Thai player who came in 4th in a world tournament a few years ago. But he speaks essentially no English. A reporter asked him how that was possible.

He replied by saying that his lack of English proficiency was actually an advantage in Scrabble. An English speaker looking at a rack of seven letters will naturally become aware of words based on their frequency of usage. A non-speaker, however, will remember them in proportion to their suitability with respect to the openings on the Scrabble board. 

She's just being coy. The real reason is that it's not in the 20-year Strategic Plan!

What rubbish!  Prior to this order, there was a 1992 law of similar name, providing for precisely the same incentive. I've often thought of taking a folding chair up to Sukhumvit and snapping pictures of motorcycles speeding down the sidewalk past the "5,000 baht fine" signs. But where should I upload my photos?  And to whom should I apply to get my rewards?

Seriously, has anyone ever gotten a 50 percent incentive payment? Or even heard of anyone getting such an incentive payment? Why not focus on enforcing existing laws rather than passing superfluous new ones?

Oh, sorry... I forgot... because it's easy... and makes it seem as if the authorities are actually doing something... 

47 minutes ago, Been there done that said:

4 hours ago, hdkane said:

there is an layer of danger, instability, and insecurity that lies just beneath the surface of Thai society that makes me very uneasy whenever I consider its true magnitude and implications.

 

I'll give you my perspective...

Forty years ago Thailand was predominantly rural; the economy was driven by agricultural production. 

Then industrialisation and globalisation took hold. A fair slice of the rural population moved to Bangkok to take relatively higher-paying factory snd service jobs. In many cases, the kids are left in Isaan with the grandparents (or just grandma, if grandpa has already run off). 

These are the Thai migrant workers... more secure than the Burmese migrant workers, but not by much.

This migration has had major implications for the social fabric. The benefits of industrialisation and globalisation helped the upper and middle classes far more than the workers. While the workers may be be better off in terms of pay, their living costs increased substantially.

Thailand is now ranked third in the world in terms of income inequality. How in an age in which Facebook and Instagram immediately illustrate how our peers are living, can this inequality not generate jealousy, insecurity and envy? 

I think Thailand is a powder keg just waiting for a spark... moreover, Prayut and friends know this all too well. Why do you think they are so single-mindedly focused on stifling comment and dissent?

3 minutes ago, London Boy said:

I moved here at the age of 43 whilst going through a bitter, angry, spiteful divorce from a New Zealand woman. It was like being handed a parachute from a plane in free fall. The lifestyle, weather and woman all contributed to my recovery. I'll always be grateful to Thailand for saving me from a lifetime of depression.

My story is similar. I was going through a nasty divorce a decade ago and spent a week in Phuket after a business trip to Japan. On the way back to the US, I made a fateful decision to move here. It took me almost two years to turn the plan into reality, but here I am. 

I have no ties in the US any more. When I moved here, I resolved never to compare Thailand with the US. It's different... really different... but I don't ever stop to think whether it's better or worse. I simply concentrate on making my life here as best I can... and I'm happy... ?

27 minutes ago, smotherb said:

I stay because I like the even temperament of the locals, the courteous driving habits, the professionalism of the authorities, and the wide selection of steaks, cheeses, and wines.

When I first read this, I took it at face value, but had to snigger at the "professionalism of the authorities" phrase. I was wondering, "What are you thinking?"

Then I re-read the paragraph and realized that every single phrase was tongue-in-cheek!  Yes, I love it despite all these things, too! ?

10 minutes ago, buick said:

do you know if you can access benjasiri park via the new marriott hotel now ?  back when the hotel was the queen park

I live close to the Marriott, so I had been keenly watching to see if they would reopen the rear park access. It was indeed open for at least several weeks in February.  But every time I've tried it since, it's been locked up. ?

The ladies who really amaze me are the ones doing this while holding a baby in each arm! ?

19 hours ago, buick said:

standard rate is for thais, service rate is for farang (and thais who want maid service).

No. I stopped yesterday afternoon and spoke with the manager. The standard rate is available to anyone.

19 hours ago, buick said:

standard rate is for thais, service rate is for farang (and thais who want maid service).

No. I stopped yesterday afternoon and spoke with the manager. The standard rate is available to anyone.

Liberty Place on Soi 22 (between Asok and Phrom Phong stations) advertises studios for something south of 8,000/month.  It's 600-700 meters into the soi, but within a 15-minute walk of a lot... less if you have no fear of death and take

motorcycle taxis....  

I don't know that much about French politics. But what Macron has done so far seems quite impressive. And I had dinner last week with a French friend... and he agreed. 

"The Supreme Patriarch has expressed worry about reports of scandals at many temples concerning millions of baht in annual donations with concerns that the issue could affect Buddhism in the country."

Maybe I'm just an old cynic, but I was wondering if his true concern was about the continued flow of millions of baht in annual donations. 

I notice the references to PromptPay, which I also saw was supposed to have started up recently. Is that possibly the reason for new bank boilerplate?

I always find these threads interesting... Invariably they degenerate into rants about Thailand being a 3rd world country that will never achieve the moral and legal standards of the West. 

While I have some sympathies with these arguments, I would argue that it's more instructive to view Thailand through an anthropological lens of a country making a transition from an agrarian, feudal society to an industrialised democratic society following the rule of law. 

Viewed from this perspective, I think the most profound differences between ThaIland and the West result not from inherent differences in theology or morality, but rather from the simple fact that they are at different points in their respective evolutions. 

The Catholic Church struggled with the problem of "indulgences" acquired (and bought) to absolve sin throughout the Middle Ages -- and really only banished the practice in the 20th century.  

Thailand's transition, having begun late in the world's Industrial Age and continuing throughout the Information Age, has been much, much shorter. It's no surprise then that many institutions in Thailand are under stress as the old ways that once worked give way to new ways that are not yet developed, accepted, and understood. 

I have used the Kobayashi map and related info for apartment searches for years. It lists this link for an apartment on the corner of Sukhumvit and soi 22 for <10k baht/month... http://www.kobayashi.co.th/Thaigo/sukhumvit/apartment/sk1224.htm

On 9/29/2016 at 1:27 PM, ubonjoe said:

The last queue number being given at 15:30 has been in effect for little over a year now.

 

Source: http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/base.php

Ubonjoe, thanks for the clarification.  I was basing my statement on what I saw posted in Chaeng Watthana, and must simply have misread "2015" as "2016".  I was a little flustered by that time...

On 9/29/2016 at 1:20 PM, TerryLH said:

You probably could have used the bank in the building and saved a lot of time.

That's what I thought too.  But it didn't work out as expected...

My 800,000+ baht includes amounts from a Thai savings account and a US dollar savings account.  I asked at the Chaeng Watthana Kasikornbank branch for them to update my two passbooks and issue me a letter.  They said they could update the Thai savings account and issue a letter for that account, but not both accounts.  They said that I would need to go to the Muang Thong Thani branch to get the US dollar savings account updated, since that was the closest branch with a foreign currency office.

So I got a taxi to the Muang Thong Thani branch.  The customer service rep determined that she could update my US dollar passbook, but she didn't know how.  So she got help... After about 20 minutes, she successfully updated my passbook.   So I then asked for her to issue a letter.  To make life easier for her, I had a copy of the previous letter I had used when I got my 90-day visa.  Once again, she had to get help.  The branch manager came over, they chatted a while, and the branch manager informed me that they could not issue the letter at this branch -- that the only branch that could issue a letter on a US dollar account was the branch at which I had opened the account.  I calmly but insistently asked, "Why?"  Of course, she had no answer except "bank policy".  But when I refused to go away, she called someone else on the phone who spoke good English and informed me of the same rule... again without any explanation of the logic for the rule (not that I really excepted an answer).

So I got a taxi back to BTS Mo Chit, took the BTS to Phrom Phong, went to the Sukhumvit soi 33 branch and obtained a letter without incident in about 20 minutes.  When the customer service agent was done, I asked her if it was really true that, of the hundreds of branches in Thailand, this was the only branch where I could get the letter I needed.  Having lived in Thailand for 7 years, I was reasonably prepared for the answer... "No, you can get such a letter at any branch!"

I hoofed it back to the BTS, rode to Mo Chit, and got another taxi back to Chaeng Watthana...  All in all, just a routine day in Thailand...

I just received a 1-year extension to my retirement visa.  I came too late to apply for a multiple re-etry permit, but noticed that the queue for re-entry permits was extremely long.  While waiting, I noticed that Immigration now has an online application system.

I tried it this morning.  My experience echos many of the complaints I have heard about the 90-day online reporting system.  I went to the Immigration web site and clicked on the link "Book Appointment to Apply for Re-Entry Permit into the Kingdom".  I then got a message saying that applications could only be submitted using Internet Explorer.  After a bit of searching, I discovered that I do have Internet Explorer loaded on my laptop.  so I went back to the Immigration web site and clicked the link again.  I then got a warning message saying that there is a problem with the web site's registration.  IE gave me the option to disregard the warning, which I did.  I was then directed to a long and confusing set of instructions with a check box and an option to "Accept" or "Decline" at the bottom.  After accepting, I then got a page asking me to fill in relevant information.  After completing the form, I clicked "Submit", which then brought up a screen saying "If you have further questions, please contact your nearest Immigration office."  I submitted the form twice more with identical results.

Has anyone achieved success with this online application system?