sambum

Stupid insensitive comment! The guy is DEAD! Think about your post before you hit the "Send" button.

I didn't mention any location in my OP as well you know, and I find your tone merely argumentative! ("Knickers or diapers soiling"? "...for the sake of your knickers..." which, as it turns out, has nothing to do with you anyway" Is there really any need for such childish baiting? I've already intimated that "It's all over now", but you seem determined to extend this by posting in a manner that you know is likely to offend, and by singing the praises of TAT and their achievements in the hope of getting a response. Well, like a lot of posters, you really must have the last word mustn't you? Well "Have I got news for you?" Bye bye - "Auf Wiedersehn Pet" you are now "Ignored"

But we didn't have an "Extended Songkran" in our "neck of the woods"! And I don't expect we will have next year! Remember - heard it here first!!! 😀

"Well, the truth hurts, don't it?" ? I ain't gonna bite or suck anything!! As the song goes, as far as my home goes "It's all over now" Back to normality!

The Government seemed to deem it necessary to apologise for the confusion that the annoucement by themselves and TAT caused - that's how clear it was to everybody! And another publication reported "widespread panic" among the ex pat community! However, like Songkran in my neck of the woods, this difference of opinion is "all played out", so I won't be making any further comment except to say that I hope that your heroes at TAT are pleased with your performance:- "So far tourism seems up and this year's extended Songkran on track to be a success. The new format will probably continue going forward." Spoken like a true loyal employee!

"The AN boomers don't like it because they are old and extremely grumpy and generally hate their lives here." Old I may be, and maybe grumpy at times, but I - and probably thousands of others - certainly don't hate our lives here. In most cases (99%?) we prefer life here, but we are "entitled" to have our opinions about things that we don't agree with (as mentioned many times on AN!) And I find the fact that you find it entertaining that "an old doddery boomer" (what is that by the way?) gets angry quite telling of your personality. You probably find it entertaining to see a motorcyclist get knocked off his bike by a bucket full of water in the face? I suppose that "makes it more fun"? And the REAL meaning of Songkran:- Songkran New Year celebration, Rot Nam Dam Hua, a traditional celebration of elders Official name Songkran Festival Observed by Thailand Significance Marks the Thai New Year Begins 13 April Ends 15 April Date April 13 Frequency Annual Related to South and Southeast Asian solar New Year Songkran in Thailand, traditional Thai New Year festival UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage People performing water pouring on Buddha statues during Songkran in Wat Pho, Bangkok Thank you for your understanding!

"No, your brainwaves have confused WATER FESTIVAL with WATER THROWING." Well, I have lived here for nearly 20 years and if my "brainwaves have confused WATER FESTIVAL with WATER THROWING", then I wonder how confused the tourists visiting for "Songkran in Thailand" are? Maybe it should be renamed as "Even more amazing confusing Thailand". I would also like to suggest that the "even more amazing nationwide celebrations" are far from being "amazing" - more like an Oktoberfest street party with water being thrown about instead of beer!

"Phuket officials are moving to cancel the license ....." Of course, these things take time, what with all the paperwork to fill in, and mulling over all the different options of how to make some money out of it, while appearing to be doing the "right thing" so that the image of the country is not affected?

Pardon?

"If he spent all his savings, and all income from the "sanctuary" is reinvested in it, where does the money for a luxury villa and expensive cars come from?" Good point!

Nah, not fun for everybody, not fun for me - my balcony is down a leafy soi far away from the "Madding Crowd", and going by a few of the comments on here, it is not fun for them either. As I said earlier, it used to be fun, now it's a nightmare, made even worse by TAT's ridiculous idea of extending it to 21 days in some kind of attempt to "boost tourism". Are they thinking of trying to turn it into some kind of bizarre "roadshow" travelling the country for 21 days? The only "boost" I can think of is the increasing of the pharmacies' profits due to the sales of meds to counter effect the results of ingesting dirty water, "red eye", and the resultant "sniffles" from the effects of the buckets of iced water.

No, it's not the same brainwave - according to the publication that can not be name on here, the Min of Tourism & Sports and TAT announced on Mar 12 that the 3 WEEK MAHA SONGKRAN WATER FESTIVAL would begin on April 1st in Chiang Mai and wrap up on Apr 21 in Chon Buri and Samut Prakan (which is open to being misconstrued/misunderstood due to the poor wording) The Chinese guy was upset, poor thing because he had nobody to play with! (Not just my imagination!) And I used to like Songkran about 15 years ago, but I admit, I don't like what Songkran has become due to irresponsible behaviour from a few ill informed "farangs" who continue to "fight" long after sundown! However, I'm pleased that things have improved for you in Pattaya, but I do think that 9 days is far too long - IMHO 2 to 3 is enough! Next! 🙂

I see the latest brainwave to boost tourism from TAT has gone awry! Their announcement that Songkran will last from 1st April to 21st April seems to have upset a few (Chinese) people who were expecting to go around soaking people for 3 weeks, only to find that "nobody is playing" yet! 🤣 And another Government adviser is telling the would be revellers to "be patient"! Personally, I won't be leaving the house tomorrow (13th) which is the main "Dousing Day" where I live, and I've had too many buckets of iced water thrown in my face by drunken tourists who don't seem to realise that to do it to someone while they are riding a motor bike is DANGEROUS! Add to that, the washing up liquid, and other irritants to the eyes, and no thanks - been there - done that, so I'm staying on my balcony with the fan on full blast with a couple of cold beers, and let the "revellers" get on with it! 🙂

Yuk!

"Let the system deal with it how it normally gets dealt with." One could argue that "how it normally gets dealt with" is for the case to hang around until an offer of money is accepted.

Where's the "Pointing Finger" when you need it?

"Kershaw issued an apology for his inappropriate action in the public place and claimed that he acted under the influence of alcohol." Good old standard British excuse for misbehaving and getting caught - at least he didn't blame cannabis!

Makes a change to have 2 "Top Stories" running side by side that are about Thais! One about a Thai lady behaving badly by "vaping" on a plane in Chiang Mai - naughty lady, but not exactly crime of the century! The other about the fact that "Thai people ranked #1 in Asia’s list of top shaggers" Who knows - maybe in the next few days we might see a top story about a Thai behaving REALLY badly - like walking naked on Krabi Beach and getting a 500(0) baht fine for doing so! 🙂

They're not reporting any news about Thais!

"Phuket hotel evicts foreigner who threatened taxi driver with knives" I think if I was confronted by a taxi driver with knives I would threaten him as well! 🤣

They've done that once or twice recently "Related news" when it's not related at all - apart from the fact that sex seems to be involved!

Correct - we are "aliens"! At least that's what it says in the application for extension of stay!

Plus size obese old women? Or plus size obese old men?

" Important Documentation " or "Incriminating Evidence"?

No plomplem! I'm also a Quizmaster (QM) and contrary to what other QM's say - the QM is not always right, and if I'm wrong, I'll admit it!