Chernsarmkhuat

15 hours ago, smedly said:

book hotel 2x nights for PCR testing on 1st and 5th day 

 

after the 1st test you are free to go out and mingle and get infected 

 

2nd test on 5th day test positive ................................ banged up your 3 week holiday ruined

 

anyone that agrees to this needs their head looked at 

 

there are now 200 positive tests in Phuket every day that are listed as  "from abroad" these are people who test positive within 7 days after arriving in Thailand - over 2000 per week   

Friend of mine, negative test before flying to Phuket, negative test first day, day 5 positive test, locked up in an old mosquito infested hotel. No symptoms whatsoever.  

5 hours ago, Jack West Jr said:

Stop blaming tourists . My advice to travellers : steer clear of Thailand , do NOT come unless you need to be here . E.g. my wife who will somehow has to make it back . She will be carrying a test kit , as this whole quarantine thing is starting to look like a government/hospital/hotel scam .

It does seem to be at best a racket to boost to the coffers of the beleaguered hotel industry, I went through quarantine 14 days twice to get back to work, plus insurance. But has it degenerated to a scam? It would be  interesting to know which hotel it was and if it has happened to any other guests of that particular hotel. If those two were a target they wouldn't exactly be flush with money but on the other hand, can't speak any Thai, no company to help, don't know anyone in Thailand, no back up.

8 hours ago, itsari said:

When is the booster shot coming on your knowledge of the mixing of vaccines ?

I take the trouble to read about a subject before i post .

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/19/mixing-covid-vaccines-what-you-need-to-know    Guess you didn't read this then. I can only find 1 country mixing Sinovac and AZ.

46 minutes ago, Daithi85 said:

I don't think Thai people need a test. 

Yes Thai people need a test, the Thai man I was on the mini van with going from the airport to our Assigned State Quarantine hotel said he missed the first flight he was booked on. He lived in a remote area of the USA and the test results takes longer. By the time he got to a major center the  72 hours was up. His test was overdue by 3 minutes. He had to be tested again and take a later flight. 

14 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So basically around 11,190 per month, or 373 per day, so basically 1 plane a day.  Airport is ripping with activity isn't it.  However, there are a few that have come back, returned whence they came, then returned again.  So in reality how many true people.  If I went and came 4 times they would count me as 4 foreign arrivals, even though I am the same person, going to the same house I have. True I did leave and arrive, but then it is different for a true tourist who comes just once during the year.  Kind of skews the stats in my view.

Seems about right 1 plane a day, maybe 2 ever other day. I came in last Friday only saw passengers from my plane in the 2 hours I was there. The board that tells you where to collect your luggage wasn't on, wasn't difficult to find, the only belt running was just after passport control at the far end of the airport.

Good one particularly liked the LOTUS and the tourism slightly down from last year, comments.???? 

On 11/22/2020 at 8:35 AM, rooster59 said:

The week that was in Thailand news: Wring the rooster’s neck – not mine!

 

 

This week your columnist exchanged the order, quiet and tranquility of Bangkok for the hubbub of an upcountry village. It was my annual sojourn in the far north east of Thailand, delayed from cancelled Songkran after the pandemic hit Thailand.
 
I was woken at some ungodly hour every morning by the “cock-a-doodle doo” (the rather annoying ekki-ek-ek in Thai) from the crawl space underneath our elevated bedroom. Wiping the dusty residue from weary eyes I vowed vengeance and promised the cooking pot for the raucous rooster. 
 
It made a change for another rooster to be facing grief - my readers often want to wring MY neck!
 
Still, I had to admit that such was the early hour we all went to bed – before the maid in the TV soap even got a good slapping – that it seemed reasonable to get up with the rising sun before 6 am.
 
Recalling a gay character in Little Britain, I’m the only farang in the village of Non Somboon in the district of Pha Khao (white cliff) just across the border from Nong Bua Lamphu. Loei province is off most tourist itineraries even when there ARE tourists. It is one of the most stunning areas of natural beauty in Thailand.
 
Arriving there by car after the long drive from Bangkok as the sun set was magical. The in-laws gave me an unpretentious, lovely big hug outside the five-bedroom house. Muggins paid for the pride of the village that was designed and built by my brother-in-law. He died earlier this year so there was much heartfelt chatter to catch up on over dinner of sticky rice, fish with more bones than flesh and some delicious freshly caught crickets.
 
I made do with a tin of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom supplemented with a few slices of bread I’d baked in Bangkok. Non Somboon is not overly endowed with bakeries, Euro custard cake being about the only thing in the village shop.
 
Gran kindly went to the neighbor’s to borrow a chair as there wasn’t one in the house. It was a bit rickety so I sat on the first step of the stairs apologizing for “sitting high” perching my soup on my lap.
 
None of this causes adverse comments. In our twenty year relationship, the rellos have long since accepted that my back is too bad for floor sitting and I need my own fodder. They know I understand their culture even if I don’t throw myself into it like some newbie desperate for approval. And they know they can speak to me in standard Thai because I’m as fluent as they are in Bangkok-speak. 
 
I can interject with the odd salient remark during dialectal babble even if I can’t speak it at all. (Except for a few phrases designed to make people who don't know me cackle at the weekly market).
 
It was pleasing to note that the house was in no worse state of repair than last year. The bathroom sink still leaks over the floor and the lightbulbs haven't been replaced. Mai pen rai. Gran has come to terms with her diabetes and granddad was even going to work threshing rice after recovering from a mild stroke a while back. 
 
He’d bought a flat screen TV with the proceeds and was watching "muay Thai". I feigned interest and he was astounded that I knew Khaosai Galaxy and had met his twin brother. Showing him a clip I keep on my phone for such occasions with me "sparring" with Olympic gold medallist Somjit Jongjohor completed the illusion. Rooster brownie points rocket....
 
The sister-in-law’s kids, dumped on the grandparents after she disappeared owing a small fortune to us all, were polite and doing well at school and practiced a few words of English they'd learned in class. The nine year old brought me coffee every morning and said "thank you". Neither child resented following the electronic device rules I place on my own two little chicks.
 
On walks, the villagers were as friendly as ever. Isaan is legendary in this regard and Loei is no different. Except for that pesky rooster it wasn’t noisy at all. The Thaksin era loudspeakers have all gone. The village was abloom in flowers and I noticed a greater civic pride than in recent years. The weather was also much better than Songkran with a chill in the air late evening and early morning.
 
No one wore a mask and no one even talked about the pandemic except perhaps to refer to the state of the economy that they’d heard about on the news. There were a far greater number of flies than usual which perplexed me. This was explained after I saw a large pile of mushrooms that had been given to the family by a neighbor opposite who has set up a mildly odorous mushroom farm. The locals know how to maintain peace through donation.
 
I fully expect to live in Non Somboon in my dotage. While I can only survive for a week right now, in the future when I have all my stuff and the internet around me I see no reason why I can’t quit Bangkok. I live like a hermit in Ratchayothin anyway, and trips to England over the last three decades taught me that I see more of my relatives there than they see of each other. You make plans to catch up during a yearly visit, and I expect I would visit Bangkok many times a year for Scrabble.
 
We did side trips to the charming Erawan Cave that like most "tham" is used for "thamma". Almost deserted except for a few folks seeking the correct lottery tickets after making their prayers. We also went to Phu Kradung water park and I feared a "conversation" after reading online that they charged more for foreigners. I needn't have worried. They had a Covid special, adults the same price as kids, reduced to 50 baht! There were two families there and the others left because there was hardly any food. I'm one who enjoys the lack of tourists.
 
I returned by overnight bus from Sribunruang and despite the inevitable accident (not ours) near Khao Yai that slowed progress, I was back home at 5am after stubbornly walking the last five kilometers to avoid paying a 60 baht taxi fare. I then settled into a ten hour binge-fest of The Crown on Netflix.
 
Some habits never change. It was my treat for being such a good boy in Loei and marked the start of twelve days without a wife and young children. Absence will make the heart grow fonder, something Mrs R was reluctant to believe years ago, but which she now accepts whole heartedly (so long as I pay for her and the kids' "thiaw").
 
So back to work and see what I'd missed in the wilds of Loei.....
 
Tuesday featured some alarming scenes near Parliament House when water cannons and tear gas were used on protesters. There was also some shooting and police were brandishing weapons used to fire rubber bullets. Up in Loei Mrs Rooster had explained some of the latest shenanigans to mum. Gran looked mildly concerned, even shook her head in disapproval,  before taking another generous mouthful of sticky rice soaked in dried chili sauce. Priorities are important.
 
Also at the protests, “Ice” was found in a police van and seven riot police officers underwent drug tests - but, perhaps somewhat expectedly, plod was exonerated by plod. The international community – as well as many of us in Thailand – scratched our heads as to the relevance of giant, inflatable rubber ducks.
 
Just as well that the tourists are returning though less in droves, more like the trickle that came out of my Loei tap. Hapless TAT guv’nor Yutthasak said that 681 foreigners would be arriving before December. This is slightly down on last November when it was 3 million.
 
December promises to be even better as 2,000 investors are queueing up, each with a million bucks in hand to buy condos and stocks and get that oh-so-coveted work permit. Am I the only one who wouldn’t worry too much about work if I had 30 million baht to play with?
 
STV tourists are also flocking to the country in their dozens before March. This is partly thanks to Yutthasak’s buy two nights in solitary confinement, get one free. Yes, he proudly suggested a series of “imaginative packages” that included flights on Thailand’s bankrupt national carrier who are now flogging stuff online to get back a few satang of the billions of baht they have secreted into the pockets of trough dwellers for so many decades.
 
We had already been told on Monday that there were more returning retirees in October than tourists. At least some are managing the hoops and requirements needed to see their long lost families and loved ones in Thailand again. I met one of them – a Brit from Chessington – in person. He was glad the quarantine was behind him.
 
Meanwhile others in the tourist business harped on that the pandemic was in fact a “golden opportunity” to reintroduce the wonders of Thai culture and handicrafts to “premium tourists”. Forget Patong, Walking Street and Nana, now it’s basket weaving, traditional fishing and painting on ceramics. What could possibly go wrong (mark that as a rhetorical question).
 
ATTA – the Association of Thai Travel Agents – suggested opening Thailand to visitors from 22 Chinese provinces. Either that or 2 million jobs would be lost. They seemed a little tardy with that observation.
 
The TAT’s Yutthasak might need to be careful what he says, of course. There is precedent with the news this week that a former governor had her appeal on a 50 year prison term rejected by the Supreme Court. Her daughter is also doing a 40 year stretch in connection with malfeasance in the procurement of an international film festival. I smell pressure from the US here if not in the court decision but in the fact there was a prosecution in the first place.
 
In international news the LOTUS – Loser of the United States – continued to claim victory in the election while president-elect Biden counted down the days. Rudy Giuliani had to admit the latest lawsuit failure as, a tad symbolically, his black hair dye started running down his sorry face. A “message to you Rudy” – “stop creating trouble in town”.
 
The WHO said Europe was in for “a tough six months” though news of the efficacy of various vaccines, especially among older people, continued to offer hope. Though vaccine creator Ugur Sahin of BioNTech said it would be next winter before life was back to normal.
 
Elon Musk apparently made $15 billion in a week after Tesla was listed on the S&P 500. Hopefully he’ll appreciate the value of philanthropy rather than defaming people in Thailand; some time ago a court denied cave rescue hero Vernon Unsworth a miniscule fraction of his wealth after Musk Melon called him a “paedo guy”.
 
To wit, the Boy Scouts' Association of America is facing lawsuits from a staggering 100,000 claimants over sexual abuse. They have filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to establish a fund to pay off the maltreated boys, one of whom was already awarded $20 million after being abused by a scout leader. The case dwarfs those against members of the Roman Catholic clergy.
 
Iconic celebrity singer, comedian and presenter Des O’Connor died aged 88. One of my Scrabble pals, who was a multiple winner on the word game show Countdown, said he was a great guy and a total professional who had time for everyone. Fellow comedic great and friend Eric Morecambe once quipped during famous banter: “Des O’Connor’s a self-made man. Well it’s nice of him to take the blame”.
 
Back in Thailand it was announced that cabbies could charge 20 baht extra for bags that were 26 inches long. They could charge 100 baht for a golf bag if they told the customer beforehand. This was always going to be a disaster so it was no surprise that by Saturday the DLT announced it was only for trips to and from the airports in Bangkok.
 
Frankly – putting aside the rogues who don’t turn on the meter and who wait like vultures at tourist sites -  most Bangkok cabbies are decent enough and a rise in the 35 baht flag fall is well overdue. (Though they might keep it well below the 130 baht charged to get in a London Black Cab – hundreds were shown returned on a deserted lot in the UK this week – my heart bled….).
 
In related news a friend of an airport passenger stranded abroad picked up his mate's car at Suwannaphum (my spelling) and was slapped with a 60,000 baht parking charge as it had been left there since March. The AoT rep called it a misunderstanding saying they had already helped six people in similar circumstances.
 
In drug news the Thai authorities said they were relaxing laws related to cocaine and opium for medicinal purposes and where it would “benefit the Thai government”. Cue the forum drawing comparisons with the convicted heroin felon in that very government.
 
A Thai/German who was irked by a delay flying from Phuket to Bangkok suggested that Vietjet should be bombed. Swiftly arrested, he could well find out that there is something worse than airline meals – fish head soup in Thai clink.
 
Finally, back to my sojourn in Loei. As I left the north east I saw a reminder as to why I love that part of the world and Thailand in general.
 
It was a sign at a roadside “khao tom” stall that said simply:
 
The handicapped and unemployed eat free.
 
Rooster
 

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59 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

ever been grilled by an American or Canadian border guard or immigration official? You don't have a clue what an real interrogation is like I'm afraid..

1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

ever been grilled by an American or Canadian border guard or immigration official? You don't have a clue what an real interrogation is like I'm afraid..

Ha ha Thanks for the reminder they are scary when they are friendly.

 Well done and thanks very much for sharing, I am in Thailand now and if I leave, I  don't qualify to return my medical insurance cap is 1,000,000 baht. Have to decide if it is worthwhile to get a more expensive health insurance policy.

Thanks for the tip on the permanent chain lubrication and the English owners manual. I took my wave to the local bike repair shop, for a small service and oil change, cost about 560 baht, during the service to kill time I walked across to the computer shop and spent 1200 baht on a fancy mouse and some other stuff I probably didn't need. Seems out of whack really.

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A second test to compare with what. That is the key thing. No-one is doubting the tests. Everyone is doubting the samples which they were compared with. Where did these samples come from?

And where / who will conduct the second gathering of saliva or whatever from the two Myanmar boys, who will be present, will the media be present.

And who will be there to guarantee that it's not swapped or whatever in the laboratory?

For credibility it would be better if the officers from UK were present at every step. Will it happen? Will the UK police or the UK Gov't speak up and insist on being present? It's also an opportunity for them to try to get a clearer picture / get some (not all) answers.

Where's Khunying Porntip?

According to an article in the Bangkok Post around two weeks ago, Khunying Porntip has said the crime scene has been damaged beyond repair, they did not go into details but seems like there is nothing she can do now.

It would not be unheard of for the cops in a small town and some of the locals to be in cohorts, doing a little small time crime, protection rackets, drugs, scamming tourists etc, then one or two of the bosses kids commits a terrible crime and they all go out of their way to protect them. I doubt they will get any cooperation from the locals, the crime scene has already been botched beyond repair. The British police should prepare for the worst just in case, beware of two guys on a motorbike following them, careful what you eat, keep a guard at night, sleep with one eye open.

Then again maybe I have been watching too much, "Sons of Anarchy"

Terrible tale of Island Turtle.

A brutal murder on a Turtle Island shore

Hannah and David’s potential and promise silenced for ever more

Village Headman Son has fled the scene,

Though hundreds DNA tested his DNA test, will never be seen.

Dr. P. throws her hands in the air,

This crime scene is mangled, mangled beyond repair.

Dead men do tell tales, this I swear,

But by accident or design, on this shore there is nothing to hear.

No local is capable of such a deed,

Round up that Farang it must be his seed.

And to boot I know he is gay.

That clinches it, go on make my day.

Guaranteed a fat promotion will soon be coming my way.

What is that you sayin.?

The DNA belongs to an Asian,

Must be those Myanmar’s.

You know, those on the rock playing their guitars,

Smoking cigarettes, drinking wine and staring at the stars

But those Dudes normally keep their heads down and don’t say boo to a mouse.

And when their friend got home at 5 am they were sleeping like babies in the house.

Furthermore they don’t look strong enough to pick up a hoe.

David was a big man and those wounds required a terribly strong blow.

Did those baby-face dudes do it? I just don’t think so.

Never mind! Round them up! A few days in the clink will be the first session,

With a little rough treatment to keep em guessin.

Believe you me we will soon get a confession.

I am sure they will regret their heinous deeds and commit suicide

The perfect investigation will be closed and then we will really have nothing to hide.

If they make it to trial we will give them an option,

Admit your guilt and sign a confession,

Then instead of death, you will live to spend your life in prison.

If they make it to trial that’s what we will do.

We will leave it to them, as we say, “Up to you!”

The police will never use scapegoats on such a high profile crime the General does roar.

But General we whisper, cowering below, they have done it before

What about Akeyuth, Santipharp, Somchai and Mohammed need I say more.

Of victims I now count four,

The victims loved ones, families and the truth, will add up the score.

cleaning all the evidence and paving the way for the BIB to save face Disgraceful

Oh Yes, a trial is the last thing that's needed.

+100

You could stick a suit and tie on a soi dog and he will walk into court and destroy this 'evidence' that the police case is based on.

Not even a Thai court can convict these two on this flimsy, hole riddled prosecution.

These two pretty much have to disappear before any trial. If it can even get to court in the first place which is looking increasingly fragile.

When the public prosecutor can't accept 'incomplete' police reports, what he is saying is that hardly any of the evidence has substantial merit. Send it back with evidence 'backed up with facts'.

We all know all the evidence is shaky at best. There is not a single element in their evidence that can stand on its own two feet.

So even in the absence of any court case yet..... how can the police put them in court for a pre-trial hearing? There is NO TRIAL.

I think a Soi dog has a better chance than these poor souls now, it will be a perfect police investigation, I doubt you can get DNA from cremated remains but the remains will probably be lost just to be on the safe side.

The police have interrogated...

This news report just come in from the Daily M.

Quote

"Thai police investigating the murder of two British backpackers tried to bribe a taxi driver to give false evidence against a football team then beat him up when he refused, it was claimed today.

Pornprasit Sukdam claims he was offered 700,000 baht (£13,300) if he agreed to be a fake witness to events leading up to the deaths of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge in Koh Tao.

But when he turned down the offer, he claims the officers became angry and attacked him before releasing him on Monday evening".

A Sickening read! He is one of the alleged players from the football team.

Sick indeed. It is better to (deliberately) not catch anyone than to knowingly catch the wrong person. Firstly, an innocent person would be made to suffer and secondly, the real killer would still be at large. I hope that the cops who did this will be punished.

This also shows what we can expect from this investigation: nothing even approaching a real intention to honestly solve the crime.

Probably need the three days to torture, interrogate, sorry persuade another taxi driver into being a false witness.

If anyone thinks the police are inept, or that this is a farce, please be assured that nothing could be further than the truth.

The police know very well what they are doing and every seemingly confusing statement is meant to be just that...confusing. The intent being to simply to have everyone going round in circles and getting nowhere.

It's actually interesting, in a macabre sort of way, to see an organization swing into action and achieve what they want so efficiently.

I agree after giving the police the benefit of the doubt, thinking they were just country bumpkins not used to these brutal murders, and high profile cases. Thinking perhaps they lack the drive to get the bad guys. I now think the same they know who the murders are and are deliberate sowing confusion. There was probably too much outside pressure to frame convenient patsies, their usual MO.

I recognize him, he is the guy who posed for the cover of the best selling book, "Hello Sexy Man" He has lost the beer gut since then must have been working out.

The police catch guys like him quick enough, and get confessions, no connections and not enough money?

Must be something wrong in the news report, a Pol Lt Col and a forensic team would not come to the conclusion it must be suicide with seven stab wounds to the chest, surely not, and the police look like such nice looking chaps.

I use CAT phone card to call USA - one baht per minute - thats abt 3 cents per minute. - though I more often use skype.

I use the CAT phone card as well (PHONENET). 1 baht per minute to the US, whether I call from my mobile, someone else's mobile, or from my home phone. When you use phonenet, there are no mobile charges included.....as you dial 1544 which is a toll-free number, even on mobile phones.

Calls are always crystal clear.

One tip to using CAT phone cards on your mobile phone, make a new contact e.g "CATPhone Jack" then 1554 then pause usually a comma then 2 for English a another three commas then the CAT phone card number followed by # more commas then the 009 country code, phone number followed by #. Example 1544,,2,,,3362676536263276#,,,0092737555555#. It is a schlep the first time but it will save you keying in 26 plus number every time you make a call. Simple hey?!

 

 

Why is everyone so quick to condemn every Nigerian ?
 
Nigeria has good and bad people, just like everywhere in the world.  I have known some great Nigerians who were very honest and kind, it's so unfair that so many people are only interested in negative stories.

 
 
the problem is Nigerians seem to be disproportionately criminal in their dealings with other nations, such as housing benefit fraud in London

Shhh! You'll upset the pc brigade if you post facts they disagree with.

 

I met a very friendly Nigerian in Pantip Plaza once, said he was student, he hung around while I was buying a cheap laptop, in a moment of weakness, I gave him my phone number, very friendly he phoned me every day for a week, trying to arrange a meeting in Bangkok. Eventually, I stopped answering the phone, nothing serious, I just don't really like to be called "Papa". 

I hate to be the serious one but according to the book "Culture shock Thailand" which I recently read though I have been here for donkey years. The parents of the bride expect her to marry someone who has some social standing in Thailand. Foreigners have no social standing and therefore have to pay more of a dowry. It made some sense to me when I read it but the book would have said it better, I don't have a copy here to refer to.

 

If you have a work permit the resident's certificate is not necessary.

Does it mean they use your employers address in the cars reg book (since your residential address isn't in the work permit book) or will they accept any address you give them ?

Also, how easy a process is it to change your registered address in the cars reg book ?

Thanks.

 

You most likely have the answer already but in my case they asked if my mail would get to my employers address the address in the work permit, I said yes and didn't change it but as they asked it seems to fairly easy to change it is probably best to do so when you sign all the documents.  

It looks to me like these guys are trying to provide a great time-saving service. They are failing to sell the sizzle. If they promoted it as an official new service for 40 baht which saves you time you might have been delighted to pay that 40 baht.

You were happy years ago to pay for a copy service, but this time really offended to be asked for an offer you felt was shady.

I would be really very happy to pay a 40 baht fee to do a 90 day report without making copies or fill out paperwork. Still, I do know how you felt today.

Although I'm not quite clear exactly how much service the provided for the 40 baht fee.

Perhaps I did not make myself clear. In the past copies of your passport were required. If I did not bring those copies then I was wrong and I should go find and pay for copies. If the immigration officer offered that service for a fee then fine by me.

The new reporting system does not require copies. It requires immigration to scan the bar code on my old form and print. This is a free service. End of story.

I am astonished that these officers think they can scam a long stay resident. Might get away with it with a casual tourist. I still cannot believe the brazen charge, and just for 40 baht. In 15+ years of reporting there has never been a hint of a charge.

Yes 15 + years that's how long we have been doing this 90 day reporting, amazing. Started when they tried to keep tabs on the riff raff in Pattaya chap called Ulrich was involved in something shady as I recall.