sambum

"Surat Thani Immigration Police Chief Naruewat Phutthawiro reported that the wallet, holding Thai and other currencies equating to roughly 30,000 baht, along with credit cards and a driving licence, was brought to the immigration police by Pakdee." How do you get 30k cash into a wallet? First of all, 30K of what currency? Secondly, just mix your currencies as stated above - "stupidity and humans are interchangeable"?

TAT need the publicity to gloss over the cynicism surrounding the release of their latest projected tourism figures for 2024! (From memory, Phuket are going to get 24 million tourists this year - maybe 25 million in 2025?) They'll need a bigger island by mid century!

A British holidaymaker on Koh Samui Island in Thailand is set to return home with a pleasant memory following a hotel worker’s return of his lost wallet during the new year celebrations. The wallet was found on Bophut Beach by Pakdee Trirat, an employee at the Holiday Inn Samui, amidst the festivities on the night of December 31. "Cronulla Sharks handed a dream run while Melbourne Storm and Parramatta Eels face horror schedule in 2024 as NRL draw is released, and other top stories from November 13, 2023." Surat Thani Immigration Police Chief Naruewat Phutthawiro reported that the wallet, holding Thai and other currencies equating to roughly 30,000 baht, along with credit cards and a driving licence, was brought to the immigration police by Pakdee." I fail to see what "Cronulla Sharks' dream run" has to do with a lost wallet?

My apologies - too much festive wine! I should have said "STEPMOTHER"! Sorry, or in the current vernacular - "My bad"

I left home at 17 - the main reason being my "traditional" mother in law, who wouldn't ALLOW me to do any of the jobs that were traditionally "woman's work"! Consequently, I learned very quickly how to cook (Cook or starve as I couldn't afford to eat out a lot, and "carry outs" were practically unheard of in those days - fish 'n chip shops were the occasional "luxury"!) Also washing and cleaning were tasks soon learned - if I didn't do it, nobody did it, and landlords do not like untidy, dirty tenants! I eventually got married, and my wife was pleasantly (?) surprised how capable I was of looking after myself! My attitude is that if both partners work,. they should share the chores, if only one works, then the other should do the bulk of the household chores.

Possibly the poster is referring to her "flowery" language regarding her experience - not querying the accident itself!

"old, bald, fat"? I think you should've gone to Specsavers! Not sure I agree 100% with the "old" or "fat" bit either!

".........aims to............" How did I know before I read it that that pearl of wisdom came from the mouth of the TAT spokesman? "The coastal city of Pattaya, under the auspices of the local tourism authority...." "Urai Mukpradapthong, the director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand‘s Pattaya office....." "As one of Thailand’s most sought-after tourist spots, the city lures visitors with a diverse array of attractions ranging from expansive sports facilities to enormous convention centres." And the obvious attraction isn't even mentioned, although the picture accompanying the article gives you a bit of a hint! And it ain't "sports facilities or enormous convention centres"! hansum man!

"...........they never sit for the driving test in the first place!" Even if they did, the driving "Test" is an absolute farce anyway!

I agree with all that you say, especially:- "4) Ensure there is correct training on how to drive a car before they get a license." My wife passed her driving test at the first attempt at 51 years old - bravo! But she had NEVER driven on a main road - let alone dual carriageways, and the test itself was carried out on an outdoor park outside the vehicle taxation centre - no wonder there are so many accidents when the driving "test" is such a farce - and who knows how many drivers there are on the roads that have had no tuition at all!

Google is your friend - Try "Celine handbags"!

A bit like watches borrowed from a friend who is now dead, and anyway, you'd forgotten about them?

"I was led to believe that you had to serve one third of your sentence before being even eligible for a pardon." "Sentence was reduced by Royal pardon to one year." I am confused! Is there a difference between "pardon" and "Royal pardon"? If not, then there would appear to be a miscarriage of justice here? Oh, sorry, I forgot, "TIT"

"Pregnancy" might suffice?

"Petitions for the granting of royal pardon cannot be taken into account by law until the convict has already served a period of time behind bars, according to the former deputy prime minister." "unless your surname happens to be Shinawatra" - to be inserted into the above statement after "behind bars".

I think the money is already there to cover all eventualities - the die is already cast, and Mr T will be a free man when he has served the rest of his 8 year 1 year sentence in hospital or house arrest - whatever you care to call it - but it won't be on a prison cell floor!!!

Doesn't really matter with the crooked set up the Army has put in place here!

Crazy! I call it Thai anti-logic! A few years ago a small complex of new bars opened in the centre of our "tourist town", and they were always deserted, although it was well laid out and set round a central fountain with pretty lighting etc. etc. My mate who had a bar situated about 20-30 metres away said "Why do you charge so much for your beer - I only charge 65 baht for a Tiger and you are charging 100 baht - why?" The answer astonished me (being a 2nd or 3rd time tourist at that time) - "Because we have no customers"! Needless to say afew months later the complex closed down and they built some bungalows instead!

Haven't read any follow up on the proposed drop in taxes/duties on imported alcohol either!

"Anyway , what happened to the Thai dog catcher with his pickup cage rammed with mange soi dogs ?" I suspect that the Animal Sanctuary people had a word with the police and the local Buddhist monasteries to remind them of the " Buddhist "all life is sacred" mantra, " and questioned what was the final destination for these "lovable, mischievous dogs"!

Thanks Joe! One of the reasons for posting the pic of the Pit Bull at the funeral was to illustrate just how crazy things can be in this country - how on earth can you justify taking a dog to a temple to "say sorry" to its owner that it has killed? With this mentality in mind, and the Buddhist "all life is sacred" mantra, I fear that this problem will persist until someone in Government has the balls to agree with many other countries and ban them outright - and also ENFORCE all dog owners to have their dogs licensed, and if the owners can not be traced, or deny ownership of the dog, that animal (through no fault of its own I might add) is essentially homeless, a stray, or as they call them here "soi dogs". These dogs, that are also a nuisance and sometimes a danger to people should be rounded up, put up for adoption, and failing any offers of a home, euthanised. This may sound callous or inhumane, but IMHO the end result would justify the means. Unfortunately - once again, IMHO, this is not going to happen as it would cost money to implement such a scheme, and this country is more intent on securing tourist dollars than looking after the welfare of people.

From my earlier post:- "Giant, aged 2, the Pit Bull breed or Ban Dog that savaged its owner to death last week has been taken to his funeral in Pattaya. He took part in a ceremony called "khor khama" in which he apologized to the corpse." Apparently, the dog was sharing the owner's bed when it suddenly attacked and killed him, so obviously it wasn't being badly mistreated. So your statement doesn't wash with me, I'm afraid:- "In certain situations, this dog, when cared for properly and trained, is your very best friend. Your wife, your children, and all of your property are safe with this properly cared for, loved, and adequately trained dog....." It doesn't matter how well cared for and well trained these dogs are it all boils down to the fact that they are UNPREDICTABLE and can quickly turn on even their own "families" for no apparent reason. This trait is in the genes of each and every one of them, so every one of them is essentially capable of fatally attacking people and other animals. Such an animal should never be allowed to be a "pet".

I think it comes from possibly being brought up in a country where all dogs have to be kept under control by their owners at all times, and have the necessary vaccinations against rabies etc. Any strays are rounded up and taken to the nearest animal sanctuary where if they are not claimed in a certain length of time , the dog is put up for adoption, and if not adopted in a certain length of time, euthanised. Consequently, no rabies, relatively few dog attacks and NO SOI DOGS!!! Oh, and by the way, Pit Bulls are illegal!!!

Thanks for the specific answer - the question was a bit tongue in cheek! I can't imagine a Pit Bull fittingt the description of your dog's antics!

Same same but different - our Immigration Office asks for 2 copies of EVERYTHING - almost 150 photocopies!!!