Spock

Vomit-worthy stuff. Thai politics is a joke best ignored by anyone who wants to live in this country. The rich and famous escape punishment and scrutiny every time, aided by the very bodies and systems that should be investigating and punishing them. The Red Bull killer is still free to wander the world, as is Prawit to own $22m in watches and become the next PM. Meanwhile, the only guy who presents as a leader of substance is excluded over B42,000 of useless shares. This country has a long way to go before it has any chance to be a true and fair democracy. In fact, I think achieving this target is impossible.

You're not a Trump supporter by any chance!????

Yet Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai were spotless when I was there last month. Whatever is being done there to keep those cities clean needs to be applied elsewhere in Thailand.

I have never thought of badminton as a child's game.

The article clearly states that the father slap occurred AFTER his son was beaten, but just about everyone here has stated that was the act that incited the beating shown in the video. I also struggle to understand how anyone can defend the group beating and kicking by a security team who should be employed to defuse rather than inflame situations. Sure dad and his son may have acted obnoxiously to be kicked out, but that does not excuse the out of control and cowardly actions of the bouncers. Anyone who considers this kind of violence acceptable in the context needs to re-examine their own moral values. Thai bar and security staff thrive on using violence on foreigners when they are given an opening through circumstances. These guys should be charged by police for abusing the role for which they are paid.

Any friend of Hun Sen is no friend of mine.

Sometimes I appreciate confrontation in Thai politics rather than merely shifting pieces around on a chessboard or pussying around forming coalitions with the other loser mates. Say it as it is and if they don't like it, stuff'em.

I have stayed in 3 Bangkok hotel/apartments at this price in the last month.

Yes there is, but I am not so sure that Thaksin would see the difference that we see between the two substances.

One big problem I had with Thaksin was his Duterte like 'shoot a drug dealer/user' campaign which failed to discriminate between real criminals and small time users and dealers. You would not think Thaksin would be tolerant of legalised marijuana if he was again in a position of power.

Are banks closed throughout this period too? I need to send money to a Thai friend's account but it appears he will have to wait.

Which two days? I need to stock up.

Don't know how the average expat can afford cheese. It's so expensive here compared to back home.

Perhaps just change 'always' to 'always too often'.

Cambodia doesn't really even have an opposition anymore, let alone a credible alternative party. For that you have Hun Sen and China to thank. The country doesn't even make any real pretence of being a democracy now that it's clutched to the bosom of Mainland China. Thailand does offer a selection of parties, but the military and the overruling parliamentary structure ensure that only the old guard can win in the end.

Whatever. From personal experience I say 6 months for one joint is impossible. There has to be something else involved. Posters here are querying how this guy got months for 2 ecstasy pills, a crime much more serious than marijuana.

I don't think that could possibly be true. When I lived in Thailand, the penalty for small amounts of marijuana was 48 days jail. Most farangs would have paid their way out. 6 months for a joint was not going to happen.

You're just making it up as you go with your assumptions of what MIGHT have happened and convinced yourself that your embellishments represent the truth.

I doubt that anyone buying a couple of ecstasy pills does so believing they will be caught by police. Drug takers generally take the odd risk in life, and 99% of the time don't pay a consequence. You are obviously not of his ilk. But the point of the article is the humiliating way in which he was treated. Having been in a similar but less serious situation 30 years ago, I am inclined to believe his story. At least Thailand has legalised marijuana. I for one have avoided coming here because I don't wish to visit somewhere more strict than my own country. I'm back now.

I am currently staying at the Asia Airport Hotel near Don Meuang airport for 4 days to be near Thai friends and have 5 other bookings in the north and elsewhere in Bangkok in the north and elsewhere in Bangkok. This hotel didn't get many great reviews on booking.com, but I really appreciated the variety of information and opinions in them, enabling me to decide whether I would be likely to be satisfied with the hotel, which in this case I am. I will leave this place a decent review when I leave. I think reviews are really valuable tools, particularly verified ones rather than those that anyone can do on TA etc. It's important to consider the impact of a review on a hotel etc, particularly if your opinion is vastly different from others.

Do you have any advice on brands? My HP battery also dropped by half in a year. Get 5 hours out of it now.

Are there computer places in Zeer that can replace the battery too? Also have HP Envy with a battery running out of steam, and will be staying at the Asia Airport in the Zeer complex next week.

You say the value 'is the only difference', but it's a very compelling difference.

It's not because she's Chinese or a woman, it's because she carelessly carries the bag around and allows it opportunities to be snatched from under her nose. It's having so much money that you can spend $US65,000+ on a basic necessity luxuriously made and targeted at the super rich and be so oblivious to its uniqueness. A collector would store the bag, not swan around with it on her arm and forget it on her way to or from a flight. To the average person, it's all a bit obscene.

Anything would be considered an inconvenience by Phuket cops. It's the Thai province in which money talks. They'd be easily interchangeable with Pattaya police.