bkkcanuck8

10 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Honestly now, does this kind of stuff happen in other countries? This is like a bad South Park episode.

Ever heard of the term 'Florida Man'... yep, things like this do happen in other countries... 

13 hours ago, GanDoonToonPet said:

 

How is spending 6 months or less in a country not being a 'genuine' tourist?

 

If I want to spend 6 months in Thailand one year and 5 months the next, why should I be grilled by immigration when I enter, again when I return from a short side-trip to a neighbouring country, and worry about being refused entry?

 

I'm quite happy to prove that I have enough, in fact over and above, the necessary funds for my stay.

 

Also, there is no such thing as 'the appropriate visa'. The correct visa, or visa exempt stamp, is the one that is appropriate for me. I will choose the legal method that best suits me because I am the paying customer.

 

Look at the visa options available for Thai tourists in the UK, my home country. Are they not 'genuine' tourists if they avail themselves of these options?

 

 

Canada's Visa Waiver gives you up to 6 months.  I had a friend from Japan stay for 18 months on a 6 month visa waiver plus two extensions... which was not a problem since she could easily prove she could stay without employment or support -- so it was a non-issue.    Thai Retirement Visas are glorified tourist/visitor visas that last up to 12 months (non-permanent - same rights as a tourist just longer).

On 5/30/2025 at 6:55 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   He wanted to take Muy Thai classes and so he needed to get the correct visa for that 

That is like saying someone taking a couple of cooking courses now needs a visa... It really depends on length of the courses... 

18 hours ago, dinsdale said:

So numerous Vietnamese women with many ending up on the game somehow equates to outnumbering Thais on the game in BKK. Total BS.

There was no prostitution in Thailand until the Vietnamese arrived recently... 🤣

10 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

 

I once came to Thailand for the girls, YEARS ago. But now I just want to go and relax, live well and participate in humanitarian charity work for the poor and under privileged.

 

Thailand and Pattaya have a world wide reputation now. As soon as I say to folks in my country that I've lived in Thailand many immediately think I"m some kind of sex pervert or worse. So, yea I agree with you. Pattaya as well as Thailand in general seems to have quite a reputation. Mostly due to it being a well known prostitution destination.

 

Does not mean you have to can't work to change it more to ... let's say Bangkok... where it is accepted, but in specific areas that are not the main areas.    Pattaya and the entire metropolitan area have and are growing fairly rapidly in size and it is becoming more diverse... it might be time to take two or three designated entertainment districts that are not along the beach or close to it and concentrate out of the way.  It would be a long term project, but if places like Cabrini-Green area of Chicago can change - anything can.   I do agree that there needs to be more investment in helping people that might feel no choice but to work there - before they end up there. 

If they were serious, they would change the law to stop all statute of limitations from tolling while someone is avoiding court by fleeing/residing in a foreign country.

16 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

So you are a mystic !!! what are the lottery numbers !!

No, you just have to put yourself in their position and figure what they would or would not do - given the negotiating position they landed in.  They wanted some control over the government, and they basically negotiated with Thaksin's minions to retain some control... then figure out what Thaksin would accept or risk - given he was out of the country with significant amounts of money.  Would you accept coming back and just going to prison for 8 years, or even 1 year ( a Thai prison)... no... of course not... not if you had the money to live a comfortable life in exile... The military backed government did not want to be seen just caving, but they were willing to rig it... come back for prison, and pretend you are going there... and then you will get a pardon... and then we will figure out how to have you serve the rest in comfort somewhere if it is home confinement or special accommodations... does not take much to figure out how it would go down...   You would have to be an idiot to think he would come back to Thailand and risk serving a long sentence in general population in a Thai prison... 

On 1/17/2025 at 9:40 AM, MikeandDow said:

This is what is called Assumption  !! No facts

No, but when there was a wiff of talk about Thaksin coming back to Thailand... I basically walked through the entire process of what would happen when he came back and told it to my Thai friend and she was going - no that won't happen... but this was exactly how it went... so my theory panned out.  Thaksin would not have come back to Thailand until he had guarantees in place... and every detail agreed to... There is no way he would risk going to prison in general population for a long time or any real length of time (unless of course he funded the prison and he was the first and only prisoner during the period of incarceration).  He also made sure to return before the Pheu Thai were holding the reins of power because doing it after would have only resulted in the fall of the party and putting him at risk.  Doing it while other powerful military linked people were responsible for the government - mitigated it.

On 1/16/2025 at 7:29 AM, MikeandDow said:

Hopefully this might shut him up now, would love to see his face if he has to back to prison !!

Not likely, this whole deal was arranged under the agreement with the former military influenced regime - a deal that was put into place to keep influence over the current government.... too many secrets that may be unravelled if the deal is unravelled will leave powerful people potentially exposed.

Losing face is almost like being murdered.... that gives her a good argument for self-defence... 

9 minutes ago, Sighto said:

Really? Passengers were in shock? Did they need mental health support upon landing? 

As someone who has been on a plane that had to divert because some passengers were being unruly (and then could not take off again because at that point the pilots were over the limit on hours before takeoff)...  causing me to miss an important meeting... I would prefer there was just a hatch on board that they could dispose of passengers mid-flight and let them worry about the consequences. Thai's are too nice, they should have at least got out the duct tape and just taped them nice and firmly and be 'forced' to respect others rights as well... 🤣

21 minutes ago, madone said:

 

again, in case you missed it. This is Thailand.

In case you missed it it was in response to a chain of messages starting with someone asking what the punishment equivalent would be "in the states" (aka United States of America), to which I was replying to someone saying it was 'federal' and only a fine. (also in case you missed it -- Thailand is not a federation.  However, Earlier I also pointed out earlier what the possible charges were in Thailand and they would have more charges to apply and potentially more serious if they wanted to go that route. 

57 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

It's a federal offense, but you get a fine for it.  No jail time.  It's not a felony.

If the offence ONLY include smoking/vaping on the plane -- however it sounds like they also did not comply with the air crews admonishment and refused to comply with instructions. As such, I believe that the US federal law of "Interfering with a flight crews duties" which includes everything from physical interference, verbal interference, and refusing to comply with instructions (including fastening seat belts, stowing luggage, turning off electronic devices, and observing no-smoking rules) or other disruptive behavior... (49 U.S.C. § 46504).   For these the civil penalties are up to $37,000 per violation (multiple incidents can come from a single incident), and also criminal penalties (up to 20 years).  This is of course a lay opinion from the plain reading of the law. 

5 minutes ago, advancebooking said:

In the states would one get prison time for that or just a warning?

Depends, in this case the pluses would be (assumption) they did not tamper with smoke detectors

Negative would be that it sounds like they interfered with the duties of the flight attendant... 

If this was the first offence and you obeyed the flight attendant and did not tamper with a smoke detector - you likely would have received a fine of less than $4,000USD. 

However, if you did not obey the flight attendant -- you likely would get some prison time in addition to the fine.  (can be up to 20 years depending on many factors - but my guess is the end with 20 years would be reserved for those that tampered with smoke detectors - and had a less than stellar record before this).   (I am not a lawyer so take it as a grain of salt). 

If the flight had to divert due to being unruly -- you could be on the hook for any extra costs the airline incurred (that can range from $10,000USD to 200,000USD).

13 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

No such thing as English passport. 

 

A Thai with a British passport? 

Said a Thai-English National, given the UK is made up of nation states including England - it is quite possible the terminology is correct...  A person from England within the United Kingdom can be referred to as an English National or British National depending on context.

13 hours ago, Denim said:

Not a great beer country if you don't like lager. Whenever they announce a new beer it is just another lager.

They should try making some variety, maybe a nut brown, amber, stout, etc.

4 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

um, what about bribing officials

This 'bribing' would be a grand deal that was made with the former (outgoing) administration including that Prime Minister and others with links to the conservatives to arrange the entire process to make it seem legit.  This plan would have been in place before Thaksin stepped one foot in Thailand (and likely would not have needed a money component).  After that, the rest was done according to the deal made...  In other words, the deal is too big to fail (too many powerful conservative elements with other links)....  If they want to go after Thaksin -- it would have to be something else or the prisons will be full of powerful people.

On 12/9/2024 at 5:47 PM, Foxx said:

Some real statistics and a link to the original report would be nice.

 

"an alarming 81% decrease" might mean that Thai women were having 100 children per year each, but are now only having 19.

When I was younger, one of my friends had 16 brothers and sisters.... if they followed the same trend as mentioned in this report he would only have 2.3 brothers and sisters (for a family with 3 children)... 🤣

6 hours ago, steven100 said:

it's always an electrical fault in the AC or switchbox or a short circuit somewhere,  it's never a drunken bum who fell asleep while smoking or someone left the pot on the gas stove too long.  

 

Amazing,  the electrics here are all waiting to short out .... 

Given the house I live in now has 32 Amp circuit breakers (total house service is 45 ams, with 4 circuit breakers), and 15 Amp wiring... it does not surprise me that there are electrical faults that cause fires.  Every wall socket on one breaker along with an Air Conditioner, every light (which is all LED - low power) on another, the 3rd is probably the 1st Air Conditioner installed, and the 4th breaker... I think that is the water heater and I am not sure if there is anything else... so pretty much all the high power items are on one 32 Amp circuit breaker (except for 1 Air Conditioner).

16 hours ago, Ned said:

Email today from YT saying I must use a Thai card for payment. Problem is my two banks here won't allow it. ....ie Bangkok and Krung Thai.

Anyone out there using another Thai bank card?

Cheers

I have a Thai Credit card and it works fine (Bangkok Bank) as of now... however, I have had issues from time to time where something gets rejected and I have to call up and ask them to allow charges from a specific site (I had to do that with Amazon Japan) - especially those that don't use the 6 digit verification code on ordering.

On 11/19/2024 at 9:00 AM, Tropicalevo said:

What business is this that the Election Commission has to make a ruling on?

The dinosaur's must be very frightened and desperate in their continued attempts to remove the Thaksins from any form of power.

Not to mention if drug smuggling conviction in a foreign country is not considered a criminal offence/record for serving in the Thai parliament, it would be ripe if they turned around and said anything about Thaksin violating foreign laws..