tlandtday

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

 

The real solution is about encouraging tourists, and ex-pats, from countries that spend real money, to come here and visit. That message seems to have gotten lost, in the fervor to court the Chinese tourists, and Indians, many of whom do not spend much money at all here. So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese. They came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, and will continue to suffer from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism. Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Now, those Western tourists are gone for good, for a dozen good reasons, including the ones you mentioned. 

 

The neighbors are trying too hard, and making too much effort, and investing money. Thailand is not.  

 

It is a real shame, as I find most Thai people to be quite lovely, friendly, warm, helpful and fun to be around. There are many aspects of life here, that I truly enjoy. I am sure many feel the same way. Just wish the country was not moving backwards, (and was instead moving forward under the leadership of progressive minds) due to a system of meritocracy, and a complete lack of forward looking vision. A nice dream indeed.

 

Will Thailand ever improve? I dislike the government with a passion, and the level of ignorance being perpetrated by the fabulously inferior educational system here does not appear to bode well for the future of the place. I also despise the practice of face, and the staggering level of cowardice that accompanies that weak, pathetic quality. 

 

Moving the country forward? I think not. More like "The Thai army moving Thailand backwards at an alarming pace".

 

What is unfortunately likely to happen with many of these countries is that they will effectively become hostage to China.  And by this I mean the dependency will increase and you may well see an opened up visa process here once the westerners are out.  China has given notice in the past that they want to transplant a few million from China into Laos and the same may very well happen in Thailand and Cambodia.  For now Vietnam and the Ph have not been receptive but we shall see what the future holds.  First comes the railway.  Malaysia and Indonesia will look more attractive by the day. 

18 hours ago, stigar said:

Ur rigth.Dont blame IMM3 if ur not a genuine tourist.I been to thailand 63 times.NEVER EVER any problems in the airport or at chong chom.(surin)Many change their names etc and think their smart.

My experience is that the immigration is polite and if they asking me something im allways honest.

I speak thai wery well.Sometimes they ask why im coming,and i use to say "ma ha gig"(come see my mistress)and they as how many "gig"i have..i say 20-30.. then they laughing and telling other counters what im saying.I have nothing to hide.Many complain,but its a reason why IMM3 do as they doing.

report back to us in a couple years and tell us how it is going... you may just be lucky....

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Nah. They are paying half price for the hotels. Nearly all of the tours are booked at wholesale rates, and it helps them to fill rooms that would otherwise be empty, but they are not making much money on the deal. Same with the buffets. Negotiated down to silly prices. And the Chinese eat alot! The whole strategy is a disaster, engineered by very small minds, with no imagination, in order to be able to say the annual numbers are up. Makes no sense on any rational level. It is all about hubris, pride, perceived honor, and arrogance. Nothing to do with practical strategy, or the well being of the Thai people. 

 

 

yeah they are doing a great job of deterring western visitors with the strong baht, crazy visa rules and changing attitudes.  They hope to get the high end Chinese and Indian tourists but they are going to America and Europe and instead they are getting the cheap charlie package tours which is making some Chinese tour operators very wealthy as well as creating a lot of dinner business at the local 711's lol.  

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Another problem with blaming it all on mental illness is that the vast majority of people with mental health problems are not potentially violent at all. This stigmatizes people that are already unfairly stigmatized.

There is some truth to this.  I think the medications some are on must also be studied in more depth as there may be links.  However, this guy does sound like a nut job for sure.

5 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Yamaha has a quoted failure rate of 11%, Honda 12%, so Yamaha is technically more reliable but there's not much in it. My last decade or so in the UK, I only ever bought Yamahas as the first one I bought was totally bullet proof. I had an R6 and an R1 and aside from routine maintenance nothing ever went wrong, and I drove them pretty hard all over the UK. Saying that, I had a Honda that never broke down also, I would say any of the Jap bikes should be reliable, although I'm not sure how big bike reliability related to scooter reliability but I suppose it should be a good indicator of the company's quality control. A lot of Thais seem to only buy Honda Waves, and I can see why, they just seem to keep going forever, even without proper maintenance.

I think Yamaha build quality may exceed Honda in some of their bikes but their current nmax and aerox are designed to undercut Honda's pricing and that has mean undercutting the quality of many components.  I really like both bikes but looking at the quality of body parts ranging from fuel filler caps to panels the quality is not good.  Additionally reported problems with the engines lacking oil have kept me from purchasing until I can see how these bikes hold out. I can say with confidence the honda scooter motors are superior to yamaha.  It will also be interesting to see how long the abs lasts on the yamahas as it will be expensive to replace.  So much of the production is being sent to China by so many companies it is bound to have a negative effect on quality as they penny pinch.

23 hours ago, lust said:

Aerox and Nmax have oil problems. Many come through my friend’s shop in need of new pistons. 

 

I would argue that they have better performance, but less reliability than the pcx.

yes many reports of blown engines under 10k due to lack of oil to the engine... maybe why these aerox and nmax motors sound so rough at low rpm...

7 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

I am just off for my leisurely walk around a local lake here in Thailand, 4.45am I'll start.

Pretty sure I couldn't do that back in my home city in the UK, although not been back for 14 years myself !

watch out for broken bottles and wild dogs... enjoy the air before the burning season...

On 8/9/2019 at 9:37 AM, ezzra said:

I have seen guys riding around with a rickety strapless construction safety hard hat, had the pot was a teflon coated one and had a strap, it would have passed for a helmet for sure... and in a case of an accident, the only item that will be undamaged will be the pot...

I guess you could say the guy had "cooked his brain"

On 8/4/2019 at 8:14 AM, BigC said:

Cant imagine  a the same collisions  surviving  at 90 kmph

 

Loads of  people getting  nickef now

 

Its ridiculous when you have a 12 hour journey  to drive  at 90 kmph

 

 

The roads here and traffic flow is not designed for more.  This is not the autobahn if you wish for that type of highway go to europe.

On 8/2/2019 at 9:09 AM, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

there is truth to this but we have concluded that in thailand there is plenty of idiotic driving so why do we wish to throw in another variable?

the sooner they get rid of this joker the better...

16 hours ago, Pattayabeerbacon said:

Thai food is better than loas, cambodia ,Myanmar and Philippine food.

 

Philipines food was horrid, I went to a party and they served rancid pork and i got sick for weeks, Cambodians are very sweet people and make the thais look cold hearted in comparison, to bad there beer is poison.  

I don't think you can generalize that all PI food is bad because you got sick.  There are thousands of places you could get sick in thailand too but this doesn't mean thailand has bad food lol.

On 8/9/2019 at 10:26 AM, spidermike007 said:

Having been there a few times, and when you look at the forums, it appears obvious that the primary reason men are living there is the women. Without the PI women, the country has absolutely nothing going for it. It is dismal, depressing, and the poverty is grinding. The crime, the assaults, the leader, the horrendous food, the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, all of it is so incredibly unappealing. I could go on and on and on. Add in the fact that they are right on the front line for the incoming typhoons coming off the Pacific, and a serial killing leader, and you have a real mess of a nation.

I would have to disagree with some of your points.  I think the PI has tremendous potential and a lot of natural beauty.  They appear to be developing and in my opinion they will soon have more high end resorts similar to Palawan that the thais can only envy. 

You know they'll be a crappy shoebox when they flog the "meeting rooms", "gym" etc. which the vast majority will never use lol.... who wants to buy a unit where you need to go to a "room" to escape the shoebox...

more ridiculous threats...first manipulate the currency then this...

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Yeah. That is when the hapless, incompetent, race hating army took over. The kind of sucked the joy, and some of the lightheartedness out of the air here. I am waiting for the youth to figure out a way to get rid of them once and for all. They are toxic, they do not serve the nation, and they suck the blood of the people. 

 

Not sure the PI is any better. From my point of view, the only things there that are better, are the women (who are incredible, speak good english, do not have such unreasonable expectations, and are far more open minded and Westernized than most Thai women), the more Westernized attitude, and the comprehension of English. The rest of it is pretty dismal, to me anyway. The entire nation feels like one huge Tijuana. The food is horrendous, the air quality is terrible (with that nasty low grade of fuel they use) and the security situation is not something I would want to have to deal with on a daily basis. But, that's just me. Some guys seem to love it. 

yeah I am curious about visiting PH but funny when I look at many of the photos it does look a lot like TJ in the tropics and that kind of turns my stomach although I did have some good times visiting TJ it is not the kind of place I would want to retire... maybe one must accept the inevitable that the best of times are behind one...

you need to go back to your home country,realize it is just as <deleted> up and boring then return....

nothing you can do except cut your losses and move immediately before you grow bitter or angrier.....

Just now, Joe Mcseismic said:

Not so much "the bosses", but for the shareholders which is the duty of all publicly owned companies. That's capitalism for you.

Unfortunate that thailand has not developed co-operatives....

Just now, Vacuum said:

Yes, that's the whole point. Big boss doesn't wan't them to collect 'fines' by themselves without sharing the money.

yeah for now but it'll change and you might just see the big officers out on lone patrol lol

briliant now they have huge ruts for all to enjoy when things dry... should have been pushing them down the hill for being so stupid lol

1 minute ago, Vacuum said:

I think it's illegal. When they have a 'checkpoint' there should be at least one senior officer present. That's why one normally never get fined by a lonely cop, even if you're driving without head protection.

 

that's a checkpoint I predict lone officers patrolling in the future in the hopes of hitting a dui payday...