sambum

" The Vietnam War played a crucial role, as American soldiers deployed in the region frequented Pattaya for leisure, igniting the town's initial tourism spark."

"The city soon earned a reputation for its lively nightlife, ................." Come on, be honest and tell it like it is!

Still clear as mud, so I checked my friend Google - now I get it!

I think the point of the other Club members is understandable - their money has gone into the Snowball and some visitor who has never played in the Club before comes along and wins it! OK - sore losers maybe, but the Club was at fault for selling him the ticket to play in the first place if he wasn't allowed to win!!! P.S. I've never heard of "Indian givers"??? , but I have heard of an Indian takeaway!

Seems pretty clear that the fishing boats were in Thai waters, as per the headline:- "Myanmar Navy Fires on Thai Fishing Boats in Thai Waters, Seizing Two Vessels"

And how do they avoid it if they don't know which "unnamed" restauraunt it is?

Agree to a certain extent. In the North East of England where there are many Working Mens ' Clubs, and a big part of the weekend entertainment there is Bingo, and in some of the larger Clubs, there is quite a lot of money involved, especially the "Snowball/Jackpot" game that if not won on the night rolls over to the next nightly/weekly session. Many years ago a "signed in" visitor to a Club won the Snowball game, but they refused to pay him because he wasn't a member of the Club, so was not eligible to play for the "Snowball" prize. All hell broke loose as they were of course quite happy to take his money when he purchased the game tickets, and eventually the Club Chairman intervened and sorted things out "to everyone's mutual satisfaction"! But they (and every other Club in the North East Federation of Working Mens' Clubs) did put a sign up after that stating that non-members could not play the Snowball/Jackpot game!

And the scooter hire shops would of course be willing to jeopardise their livelihoods by doing that?

"Have you ever lost something?" Yes, but not gold bars and cash totalling 3 million baht!

"The victim had left gold bars and 983,000 baht cash in the car while attending to business matters. Upon returning the next day, he discovered the car window smashed and the items missing. CCTV footage revealed two men, believed to be foreign nationals, making off with the stolen goods." Some people have more money than sense!

Did you ever get to a bar called The Red Fox in Walking Street? My best mate (R.I.P.) who was responsible for me being here owned it.

A lifetime!

I'm really glad that I heard about this earth shattering news - I will have to find some way of keeping my shoes in a "safe" place now!

I've been living in Lamai for nearly 20 years and love it here - not as "in your face" as Chaweng but everything you need/want is here. I'm in a modern(ish) house (Not an A frame hut!) for which I pay a very reasonable 10k baht a month as I'm here "long time" (Discounted during Covid) Yes, the real downside is the frozen pensions thing, which is really unfair, when you take into account the money that is spent on Immigration and foreign aid, which is in the BILLIONS compared to the few MILLION that it woud cost to pay every pensioner the annual increments regardless of where they live - minus the savings that the Gov't are making due to the fact that expats are not using the Health Service, or other benefits that seem to be handed out willy nilly to people that have paid not a jot into the system. Unfortunately, pre election promises are soon forgotten by the incoming government of the day, and the current lot are no different - they do in fact seem to be cutting pensioners'income down to the bone with this abolition of free TV licences for the over 75's and the cutting back on the Winter Fuel Allowance. ("New boss - same as the old boss - won't get fooled again"?)

".........but by Western standards the UK is actually relatively moderate." As are the pensions! But without getting political, or into a long discourse about it, you may be right about there still being a bit of money to be had in the UK, but I don't think that the average back packers to KSR fall into that category, and that is the point of the thread, surely?

"Khaosan Business Association President Sanga Ruangwattanakul attributes the decline to European tourists' uncertainty amidst the persisting Russia-Ukraine conflict." Has nobody thought that the reason that bookings are down is because the average "Joe" in Europe is having a hard job feeding his family and keeping warm due to the cost of food and utilities. Footnote: "In 2023, Chris O'Shea, the CEO of British Gas owner Centrica, received a total remuneration package of £8.2 million. This was an increase of more than 80% from his 2022 pay of £4.5 million." And so the prices of gas go up to help pay for this obscene increase - no doubt other utility companiess have a similar story to tell - B.P. for instance:- " BP's 2023 profits were $13.8 billion, which was the second highest annual profit in a decade." So basically, people are paying for these massive profits and salaries out of the money that they would otherwise be spending on non-essentials - like holidays!!!

Yes - the stopwatch on the Statute of Limitations is running!

"Exiled former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is set to return and face legal proceedings in Thailand, free from any special privileges." 🤣 Ha ha ha! "Big Brother" will be on hand to give advice and sort that out - no problem!

53.65 kilos as/in a suppository? I'd get banned from AN if I said what I really think!!!

"National Police Chief, Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panphet, activated an immediate manhunt on 22nd November following a provocative online video allegedly depicting a 'foreign gang' flagrantly flouting the law." So exactly how were they "flagrantly flouting the law"?

Unfortunately, the root cause is deeply set, and increasing the salaries, while a good thing, will do nothing to stop the corruption. There seems to be an "unwritten law" whereby for the most part any wrongdoers merely get moved to an inactive post for a while, and then resume their normal duties, or are transferred to another post/area. Another dubious procedure is that promotion seems to be bought rather than on merit or performance. I would like to see a situation where honest 🙂 policemen get rewarded with a decent salary, but wrongdoers, if found guilty should be immediately sacked - no inactive posts or transfers - sacked! You might then eventually get a police force that does not need to supplement their income by extortion/corruption, will do the job they are paid to do, and achieve promotion by virtue of their results, not by paying for a step up the ladder with money that has obviously been acquired through dubious practices. (You will obviously have situations where some officers families are wealthy enough to buy their offspring a step up (Big Joke?), but I would imagine these to be in the minority.

So how does that effect the Health Minister's plan? Or how does the Health Minister's plan affect them?

The last time I was on a train when they sold drink in the buffet car on the sleeper train from Bangkok to Butterworth was a great way to travel - cheap, decent food and drink at a reasonable price, and they even had a little bit of music/ disco after the meals were finished which lasted until about 8.30 p.m. and then off to bed. No drunks, just a bunch of travellers having a meal and a drink and a bit of socialising. Travelled once on the train since, and never again - worse than travelling during Covid.

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest! The first time I applied for an extension of Visa by means of Marriage to a Thai National, the I.O. wanted a photograph of the roof of the house in addition to the one taken outside with me and my wife showing the address. I said "there's nothing in the guidelines about that" and the I.O. said "I want a photo of the FULL house - including the roof'' My wife then intervened and said something in Thai to the I.O. who said "Oh, OK then" and moved on to the next "bone of contention"! After we left the office I asked my wife what she had said to the I.O. about the roof pic, and she said "I told her we can't take a picture of the roof of the house because there's a bloody big tree in the way!"

Isn't it ridiculous? Aferw years ago I was in my local Immigration Ofice, and the I.O. was asking a tourist for something, and the tourist said "But there's nothing in the Immigration Rulebook or Guidelines that asks for that" and the I.O said "I make the rules here!"