inwardglee

In a new strategic move, Thai Airways now does its ads by newspaper articles, like the one above. Its message:

We are Thai.

Hospitality is our business.

We satisfy your needs.

We quench your thirst.

We put you to rest.

Hi you all, I stay at large condo in Pattaya, and yesterday all owners of condos here were informed that we need to report foreign guests to immigration who stay at our places within the 24 hours after their arrival, and if we failed doing so, we would be fined 8000 THB. Now, this information is also attached on all entrance doors.

The Juristic Manager told me she had gotten this request from an immigration officer. She did not know of any fines given as yet.

I find this request not convenient. It occurs my daughter is on a short visit, just as example, and I would need the first day to do the tour to immigration to fill in TM30.

Have any of you also recently gotten such a request?

Do Thai people also need to do that? My daughter also visit her Thai relatives near-by, spontaneously and for just a few nights there. I think they would not bother to race her to immigration just on arrival.

I thought the chance to get reported if failing is not too big, so I would probably risk paying the fine.

Of course the request reminds me of some stiff countries, like Russia, where every night must be reported, even before the journey ...

It is hard now to get visas to Thailand for any citizen of an African country, also ED visas. I have taken quite some time to check on this and found that the Elite visa is the only possible way, but that one works as smooth as silk.

I have read through all above statements, and have not understood yet one question: Can this 5-year Elite visa be renewed after five years, or would it then need to be a 15-year visa for 1.5 Mio. THB?

I have myself been attacked by kathoey twice ... once in Bangkok, on Sukhumvit, as he tried to steal money from my pocket, and then when I pushed him away, he attacked me with scissors, going at my throat. I was able to move so he only pierced my arm, before I fled.

Another time walking down Soi 6 Sokaprok. I held a camera, and one kathoey accused me of taking pics, I replied no, and then he attacked me with his heels, another one followed him from the other side, and I just tried to avoid getting blinded as the two trashed their pointed stilettos on my head, and I fled, onlookers just looking, lost my camera and was heavily bleeding, but had been able to keep my eye-sight.

Police did not want to go to the scene as they said there would be no witnesses, and just gave me five phone numbers to try calling them next time ...

Since then I hate kathoey, they are a sick species. Such red light areas attract the scum of the world and I hate all of that like the plague and I avoid being close to the lowlife there, of pimps, kathoeys, proes. Kathoey are especially dangerous, and if you get under attack, they have no mercy, onlookers stand by and find it great to get a scene.

Police will not get active. They are good to report you dead.

That is good news. It means that even Thai people are getting bored of this kiddish festival and don't see a reason to travel for it, but to dig themselves in to not become victim of aggression in disguise.

Thank you for this great article Dusit Thammaraks!

I cannot add more to this. This is one niece piece of journalism! The article is written so simply, and yet so touching. The sadness of the writer comes out, and without becoming an alarmist he addresses that paining concern about that present state of things which looks bad.

I am one of the farangs picking up garbage here in Jomtien beach ...

I am unhappy about the garbage problem of this county, which had been like an innocent, lovely beauty some decades ago, and is now maltreated by a misdirected, "modern" development. It hurts to see it.

But the garbage problem is so a huge like the task of cleaning out the Augean stable. Collecting some garbage looks like fighting against windmills.

Yes, we can do a silent protest like collecting garbage, or going to the market with shopping bags. Yet the locals are sensitive to criticism from "aliens", it is not appreciated.

The green debate about the problem should come from within the society. Only with a nationwide effort the problem could be tackled. The first step would be creating awareness of the problem, and this could be done easily by a mere fingersnip of the significant people in the county. Only, WHO could change THEIR awareness?

australia was the same 50 years ago ...

50 years ago ... things were not packed like today, people would not buy everything in plastic bags ... and in Thailand things were in banana leaves or bamboo crates, there was NO plastic. The problem of packaging EVERYTHING in plastic bag is NOW, it was not there 50 years ago.

I am not from Australia, but from Europe. In my country, 20 years ago shops were not allowed anymore to give away plastic bags for shopping, only paper bags, and they were for sale. That alone changed a lot.

If I go shopping here in Thailand, I take my own shopping bag to not receive things in plastic. And I explain the cashiers the reason of it (Thailand and the sea drowning in plastic). They are now used to me, but I guess they find I am just one more crazy falang in the country.

Meanwhile, foreign visitors to Pattaya vote with their feet. The condo market in fun city, well, or call it the city of vice, better?, is DOWN, and I am sure, this not only for the low Russian ruble:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Half-of-condo-units-in-Chon-Buri-launched-in-early-30258109.html

Bangkok may have it's problems but the streets are normally clean and the trash picked up daily.

Bangkok is rather clean in the city center. But if taking a train into Bangkok and rattling through the vast outskirts, one gets a nauseating sight of a slummish city drowning in garbage.

I live at Wongamat Beach. Once in five or six months I dare to do a walk along the beach, just to find the sight so disgusting yet again to stay away from it for the next few months again. It annoys me to see the city administration spending billions of Thai Baht on enlarging the beach road, to soon later see the beach there washed away by just one downpour of rain, while they could not spend some few dimes to have Wongamat Beach clean. It is only clean if a fine tower borders it, and right afterwards the sight is full of plastic bags and bottles again. The rocks on the cliffs are ownergrown with moss, showing how overfertilized the sea is, by human sewage. The new pipes that have been built just recently have broken apart again, and I get the bizarre sight of tourists wading and bathing in the water next to a pipe that is broken and dispenses a black stinking cocktail of human sewage and all what gets flushed down the sinks of all those fine, towering condos and hotels. In the news I regularly read the blabla of the city admininstration they would turn the town into a family and sports destination. Wongamat Beach would be the finest and nicest beach of Pattaya for a noise and smoke free walk, and the only place where a longer nice walk in that big city could be done, yet the chance is not taken. My daughter who sometimes comes on visits from Europe has just recently written in a message to me: "I hate Pattaya like the plague", and yes, everybody who has eyes and a nose must understand her. So if she is here again, I need to run away from Pattaya, she is okay anywhere, but not here.

It might be so that those getting mad about exposed female nipples do prefer male nipples, which after all are welcome being exposed in LOS, judging by the number I see daily in all streets and sois.

Or is it just so that Thai culture adopted Western values, which after the original sin of Eve, that curious bitch that should not have touched the apple, upon which she became shameful of her nature, and so of nudity.

As much as I see of Thai culture, women were mostly topless in history (except if entering a temple), and they only got the Victorian rules of prudishness after the first Christian missionaries taught them that exposed female tits were indecent.

So should that woman be taught European Victorian values, which was adopted in Thailand gradually from 1870 on? I hope a knowledgable history teacher can be found in the country, so that the lessons will get inspiring for her.

A bit off Nakluea, very near Wong Amat Beach, there is Nova Mirage Condo. Studios are at 15'000 THB, and I find it is a nice place. As it is about ten minutes walking from Nakluea into the Soi, a motorbike would be recommended here.

If found with a joint, or a positive urine test, or a lot of ganja by a trader, really does not determine the price of the ransom to police.

The price of the ransom is flexible: Thais are rarely checked, and if they were found with quite an amount of ganja, they pay approximately 3000.

For aliens there is different pricing: for a tourist, with one joint, it might just be 30'000. For one with residence here, 100'000. For one with property here up to 200'000.

The pricing is flexible and depends on how dependant the alien is on staying here.

I forgot to say something, above:

I once met a very wise, elderly couple. They told me that every woman or man needs to expect that once in a life-time the partner goes astray ...

I know, it is painful to know.

We men however tend to think that our adultery is peanuts.

And when a woman has a love affair outside, it destroys us ...

We have double standards.

We forget that a woman feels samewise about a man having intimacy with other ones.

Being in a partnership is as difficult as being without partnership.

In the partnership, on the one hand, we should just be focused sexually on one, and if there is communion between the two, we really are, and in exchange for that loyalty we get care. Vice versa.

And there, in polygamous flipping around, it is free intercourse to multiple people, and no one finds rest ...

So many suicides happen in that freak way. It leads to severe depression. See the news of Pattaya, as example, the city of no God, but sex is God.

In so far, Thailand with its many ways for short time sex, creates an illusion, and this one will die similarly as McDonalds and Coke are now cutting down their output, fast food leaves people empty and dead in the end ...

The original poster has to read a lot, and a lot of non-sense.

The real pain of being cheated is being humiliated by the other one, in daily actions.

Does the partner belittle you? Finds nothing good in you? Even the greatest meal you cook is still not fine? That is one indication.

Second: Seeking a situation for plain talk, together.

Asking: How do you feel about me? What do you feel towards me?

Third: Observe the eyes when the person answers. Observe the body posture, and the tone in the voice.

Last but not least: A sexual fantasy does not need to materialize. We all have them, in a way we cheat the partner by the fantasy alone, yet ... if we can have open talk to the partner, he or she might be willing to venture into it, and as soon as done, the fantasy gets nullified. It's gone, after seeing it is still not that kick that gave us liberation from the average challenges of life, that the Buddha called "dukkha", suffering, clinging ...

So, go calmly into this. If you can, do not hate your partner for the deviation. Interprete more what has led her to seek happiness outside. We humans are always trapped by intrinsic suffering, and then we promise ourselves relief from a kick of a new love affair ... We like to be cherished, adored, sought ... and any of women or men are the same in this. If we lose affection from the other one, we seek it from someone else.

If you love your wife, seek the problem in your relation. A psychologist said: Couples that express five times a day the appreciation to the other one, and that can be in multiple forms, from a kiss on the cheek to some hug, to wow, you did this great, they have a great chance to keep an ongoing relationship.

If you seek a relationship adviser, there is one great man in Thailand, cheaper then a detective, Frank Vilaasa, in Pai ... the writer of the book: "What is love".

Our dear leader knows about it and will do all for the happiness of Thai people. They will get some bicycle lanes on Rattanakosin island and ride their bicycles there happily and smilingly, so to make Thai people happily driving on Rattanakosin island while having a stop-over eating white rice and there is fish in the fields for all of them too, happy peops! Who would not envy them.

Us under 50s are here to stay. It's still easy to stay here, just looking at a cost of ~60k a year doing border runs instead of ~30k as a student.

60'000 THB doing border runs? They are really only so little if you do them on strict budget travelling, meaning the trips won't be so nice, but tiring.

Which is then 40'000 THB cheaper than the Thai elite card.

Saving 40'000 THB, and paying with a lot of headaches.

What is 40'000 THB, saved per year?

That is 110 THB daily.

If that looks much, 110 THB, stop smoking and drink one beer less, that costs 110 THB daily.

There are so many variables in the cost of living, that 110 THB daily will not be noticeable on your account at the end of the year.

Anyway, we will pick up Thai Elite visa tomorrow, for my girl-friend. Everything goes smooth and comfortable.

No pain.

I've been here for 12 years and I did see amazing foreigners doing all to change Thai peoples' opinion regarding foreigners. And that's something I care about.

I have been here thirty years and I did see amazing Thais doing all to change foreigners' opinion regarding Thai people ... And that's something that saddens me.

Has smoking weed now become such a manhunt?

I know from early reports of travellers to Thailand, from century 16 to 19, that it was the general sedative for people, even part of Thai cuisine. Wheres alcohol was considered Satan, and I find rightly so ...

Then things changed, with industrialisation, when the big brewers and distillers did not want anything home made anymore, and criminalised it, also with the pressure of the US, that want a monopoly of the rich to sell destructive dugs as alcohol.

Now, history of Thailand got forgotten. A friend took a bus from Pattaya to Bangkok, was screened by police at Ekkamai station, was found with three joints, and the guys gave him to options: jail with deportation or getting them 100'000 THB for three joints He opted for the second thing, was accompanied by a police adjoint to the near bank, then to the nearby shit house of a petrol station where he counted the bills into the hand of the police, and after that was led back to Ekkamai station to be given back his passport, with the warning of the officer to shut up about it or bad things would happen to him.

TIT.

I am not sure whether it is a falang thing to declare tourism vital for Thailand, or any country. But we know that a sector, as little as it may seem, can create a chain reaction if it is doing well or not.

I am Swiss, and Switzerland has a multitude of sectors that contribute to its wealth, and I see that everybody always looks carefully at tourism numbers, we take that tiny fraction of the overall economy serious.

In the official numbers of governments, it is always hard to tell what tourists or immigrants contribute as tail wagging the dog. Official statistics are incapable to state why this or that amount of money has flown into a country. Incoming money is booked for export of services. How would anyone be able to see for what service export the incoming money came from.

What is tourism anyway in Thailand? How to define? Are the retirees included who leave back their savings and wealth in LOS? When crossing the countryside of Thailand, especially Isaan, seeing nice houses anyone knows they have sprung up by the inflow of falang money, and wow, Isaan looks quite different by that than thirty years ago ...

Multitudes of Thai women got married to falang, live in the West may be, and when there is a pressure in their home family, they shoot in money. My ex-wife, Thai, now being a Swiss police woman, sends money to her sister for chemotherapy with the hope she survives her cancer. Without that, she would be dead, leaving a son and husband without income. What plight would that cause to overall Thai society? Is the money sent included in the tourism sector? Is there a sector that counts for all falang money flowing in from wives or ex-wives who became emigrants?

I have a friend here who tried his luck here in Thailand when getting retired. I see that three different women got wealthy by him, while he has no money anymore except his pension. Is that included in the tourist numbers?

I believe that Thai authorities are well aware that there is no social system here, and that falangs (seen as tourists) in many cases fill in that gap, providing funds for so many abandoned women with their kids.

German saying: Das Zünglein an der Waage: the little tongue tipping the balance. We heard in theory that a butterfly can make a bridge crumble. In economics that happens more often than anyone expects, then called the "black swan".

All indices are in correction mode since some days, and I expect the correction to take longer, into early next year.

Today's SET dropped by multiple stop loss orders, yet I consider the decisive rebound as strength in the bullish field.

Personally, I believe that we are internationally not at the bottom yet. We can correct another 8 percent before the bulls take over again ... as at the moment the bear is reigning.

,,. it seems more than a bit suspicious as to why he would all of a sudden want an ED visa and less than surprising that he is subsequently denied for less than average Thai skills ...

... I am always annoyed when the occasional Thai ... doesn't want to speak in Thai ... despite their English often ... less than perfect.

To point 1) Not everybody is a linguist. They may have other talents ... and another approach to the country than by small talk ...

To point 2) I guess your Thai friend was as proud of his English performance as you were proud of your skills in Thai ... lol

Let us be mild on people!