richard_smith237

Thailand - the Hub of industrious but fundamentally flawed ideas.

Just fix the road layout and design, enforce the existing traffic laws and punish antisocial driving - this will solve the majority of Thailands traffic woes. 

Dealing with individual issues individually will not fix a thing - work on the bigger picture.

Oh wow - the stupidity of this idea...  

It counts on the General Public being able to stop in the right stop - its going to cause significantly greater jams as people try to U-Turn around the 'turn table' which has a vehicle stuck on it. 

A receipt of payment wouldn't go amiss - with your name on it of course. 

To register the vehicle in your name you would need to prove your address (i.e. Affirmation of Residence from your Embassy or Immigration, House book (with your name in it) or Work Permit).

Ultimately if the Blue Book (Registration Document) is in your name you are the owner.  

I'm not sure why your Thai partner signed any documents... the purchase of your car has little to do with her other than she may have been there to help you translate. 

Thailand is brutally naive to race issues....  That said common sense is all too often knee-capped by political correctness.

In this Ad I see blundering error where professionals should have known better, not because their advertisement is wrong, but because it provides fuel to those on the fringes of logic who's political correctness cannot be publicly debated for fear of aggravating the genuine issues at hand. 

More recently we have observed H&M (clothing) lambasted by public in South Africa after their 'coolest monkey' hoodie ('coolest monkey in the jungle) - where stores were trashed by offended hooligans members of the public, because of their outrage at a seeming racist item of clothing, yet those same folk are like to be fine with calling their child a 'cheeky little monkey'....

PC gone mad - its the world we live in, but sometimes I feel the pendulum has swung too far beyond balance and the voice of common sense has been silenced by a handful of politically correct extremists with a chip on their shoulder. 

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There really is not a great deal wrong with this Advert - Would Caucasian people (or pale skinned Thai's) be upset if the same Advertisement appeared with 'Sexy White party' ???? or would be we likely to see the very same Politically Correct activists also upset at this claiming racism?

Racism is an issue in many areas of the world, but I hate to see the real argument and fight against racism watered down with such stupidity. 

11 minutes ago, mike324 said:

There is a sign for bus stops only, it is not a dedicated bus lane, all cars can use the lane. Buses in Bangkok are known to be aggressive at cutting through traffic. The bus driver is clearly at fault, taxi was already beside the bus (middle part of the bus) when the bus veered left. Bus driver hit his turn signal when the taxi was already beside the bus. Those who thinks the taxi driver was over taking when cars are clearly going only 20-30km/hr with traffic is silly.

 

The last part when the bus intentionally hit the taxi again goes to show the driver is an a hole and has anger issues.

+1 - thats pretty much the way I saw the incident too...  

... That bus driver really shouldn't be driving any vehicle on the roads least of all a public bus which has obviously beefed up his sense of entitlement on the roads. 

The tablets (iPads etc) are getting a hammering in some of the comments... but I'd like to make a different observation. 

At 4 years old my Son is allowed some quiet tablet time.... some of the applications are extremely clever in the way the distribute information and educate a child. 

The tablets are extremely useful on long journeys, flights and when out in a restaurant. Some may not like this, however, as a parent its healthy that we go out as a family with friends but it would be too much to expect our child to sit there happily for 3 hours. Equally so its unfair to have our child sit at home all day on his iPad, hence the limited 'screen' time he is permitted. 

We have had occasions where our son has 'demanded' the iPad, in which case we remove it completely for a few days. 

I write all this because I believe there is too much negativity against these useful tools - I would not remove books, lego, paints, playdoh, the bicycle, scooter etc... so I won't remove his iPad (completely) but I also recognize how it 'can' become quite addictive and lead to attention deficit. 

Moderation and balance leads to a healthier child IMO. 

3 hours ago, Old Croc said:

At one stage in that looped tape I thought he briefly pulled something from his pocket before putting it back. A gun?

 

Judging by his ride and the way he was pushing (and pulling) people around, I'm guessing senior cop.

I thought the same - Police or Army.... 

Based on the hair-cuts, the over-confident aggressive behavior, clothes, lack of taste having the roof down at night and possible 'show boating' in front of a junior....

Certainly not 'hi-so' but perhaps moderately well connected for such brutish and openly careless behavior... 

I couldn't find 'decent' Fake Handbags or Fake Football shirts in MBK before Christmas..... 

I've no idea if this was temporary or not...  but by no means has the industry been diminished - just perhaps cleaned up a little in the most public of areas. 

All the fakes can be found on Instagram sites. 

1 minute ago, petedk said:

As far as I know there are no bus lanes in Bangkok except for the BRT system. They gave up years ago as the only ones who didn't use the bus lanes were buses.

44 seconds into the video there is a white sign - Busses, bikes, tuk-tuks, samlors (and a couple of others keep left)... 

You may be correct that this is not a bus lane and there are no signs which indicate cars cannot enter this lane. 

However, the road markings *(short dashed lines) indicate a bus lane if this is consistent with other areas of Bangkok. 

For example, the bus lane which runs along Ratchaprarob Rd towards central world (to Petchaburi rd) and in front of Central World. There are also 'time dependent' bus lanes which run down area's of Petchaburi Rd....  (I've been stopped by the BiB on both of them while driving a car years ago). 

They are not marked very clearly and as with most of BKK roads you have to know where you can and cannot drive as signage is poor. Learning to drive Bangkok's roads was a baptism of fire !

Luckily no one was killed - this is an accident of medical origins and could have and does happen anywhere with similar or often worse consequences (Glasgow Bin Lorry Crash)..

Not much could have been done to avoid this unless the Driver had a known medical condition which should have prevented him from driving. 

The Bus drivers are a law unto themselves...

On Sukhumvit road I commonly see busses in the 3rd (right most lane), then cutting across the 2nd into the 1st lane to pick up or drop off passengers, in doing so they careless have blocked 2 lanes and created gridlock in the 3rd as vehicles try and get around them.... the busses then pull out back into the 2nd or 3rd lane.

In short - a number of times some poorly trained and careless bus drivers take up 3 lanes of traffic.

The real reason this happens: there are no proper bus-stop, everyone else also stops on the inside (1st) lane and the busses have to get past them. 

It's Chaos, its lawless, no one cares - the traffic issues in Bangkok are caused by a multitude of reasons, the primary one being that one one pays any attention to the laws, common decency or even remotely considers the inconvenience to others when doing what they want. 

In this case: The taxi (which should not have been in the bus lane) continues moving forwards in queueing traffic, while the bus driver wanted to pull over and stop. But, the bus was in the 2nd & 3rd lane, splitting the lanes and blocking 2 lanes of traffic, before abruptly and somewhat aggressively cutting across traffic to the bus stop. 

IMO: Bus 100% at fault for the cause of the accident. The taxi driver perhaps complicit for being in the wrong place, but that doesn't clear the bus driver for casing an impact (deliberately ?)

Cracked ? or it has parted ?

IF it has just cracked (or split) it could part. An MRI should be able to see this. 

IF it has parted fully, you will know about this by running your finger up the tendon and feeling the gap (about 1cm) where there is no tendon. It may not be painful BTW. 

Regardless - there are significant implications for your movement should you not receive treatment, which depending on your age would involve either: 

a ) Surgery if you are younger and wish to remain quite active. 

b ) Splint / brace holding your foot down while the tendon naturally heals, if you are older and no longer so active (sports). 

In short: Go to the best hospital you can find - incorrect assessment could significantly impact your mobility.

The In-laws have just rocked up with some food, as they usually do 2 or 3 times a week... 

This time some fish tasted slightly funky....  if I don't post anything over the next few days I've been poisoned !!!!

There is no context in this story at all... I wonder what she got 'kicked out' of the taxi for ?

I too have been asked to 'get out' of taxi's for no apparent reason. Its as if the driver has had a change of mind and decided he no longer wishes to take me to my destination.... One driver waived down another taxi for me, another simply left my Wife and I on the side of the road in an unlit area (at night) where we had difficulty getting another taxi... 

Its very annoying... 

I've spent in excess of 700 baht today for our Nanny to use UBER and Grab (to collect her work Permit renewal) because we just don't trust Taxi's get her to her destination and back safely. 

The best advertisement for UBER and GRAB in Bangkok is the Taxi service !!! that said, we in Bangkok are spoiled compared to other cities in Thailand - that I am thankful for and in the interests of balance, not all Taxi's are bad, in fact most aren't - I had a lovely chat with a Taxi driver a couple of nights ago... however, its the probability of an unpleasant experience which encourages the use of far more reliable alternatives... 

7 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Haven't these "natives" ever heard of electric fan heaters? Hard to buy here maybe, but delivered to your door (or grass shack!) by the usual mail order shopping outlets.

How many grass-shacks do you know with a 220v power supply ? 

How many 'natives' or poorer areas would have credit cards or are able to order something online ?

Its just a dash easier to have a fire for the day or two it gets too cold.... 

21 hours ago, ELVIS123456 said:

Up to you - but be warned - I am the type that if you have put your handbrake on and blocked me in I will smash your window to move your car.  The wife prefers we wait, but if we are in a hurry the nearest brick/rock does the job.  Unless there is a guard with a trolley to jack your car up and move it out of the way - but even then I will usually leave a 'reminder' not to do it again. It is the way Thais do things here - get over it and get with the program.

 

This is Keyboard Warrior stuff of legends... 

Ego before brains I suspect - before this 'hound-dog' gets 'all shook up' he should perhaps check for CCTV before smashing car windows and he ends up singing 'Jail house rock'.

6 minutes ago, SupermarineS6B said:

I can remember a few years ago when a young English lad tried to warn a Thai soldier from making advances to his wife, the soldier shot the young lad, then ran the wife down with a pick up........ Look it up..... Kanchanaburi...... i believe he's roaming wild and free at this very moment..... morals and righteousness can get you killed ..........

Morals and righteousness got Millions Killed in WW2...  we live on in freedom through their sacrifice.

I'm not suggesting we should be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for another, but that this woman screams were heard and ignored is disappointingly telling of modern society and attitudes. 

As we age, modernise we all become a little tainted by the lowest common denominator and lose a little of our humanity along the way. 

7 hours ago, dfdgfdfdgs said:

Most farang with Thai girls fit the stereotype (big age gap/ex-bar girl/tattoos, dark skin/single mum who can't get a thai bf etc).  I'd wager that (especially in high season) those type of guys outnumber the professionals about 10 to 1.

 

Looking around it's rare to see a farang guy in a suit alongside a well-dressed Thai lady that doesn't look like she's being paid to be there (I know it's wrong to judge but 95% of the time you're right).  You can spot a golddigger a mile off.

 

But maybe I spend too much time around Onnut and not enough around Ploen Chit and Thong Lor.

 

I'm sure professional guys in Thailand long-term are meeting and marrying their equivalent in the opposite gender, but in much smaller numbers.

Thats probably the crux of it - The 'mutually equal' relationships are out there.... 

You will see it today in the Malls of Bangkok, Emporium, EmQuartier, Paragon etc - family / Children's day... amongst the Thai families you will see mixed couples, where the lady (mum) looks 'well to do' the husband likely to be dressed quite casually in shorts & T-shirt on his day off...  You will also see the "big age gap/ex-bar girl/tattoos, dark skin/single mum who can't get a thai bf etc" dragging her offspring and Beer-Bellied Western BF / Spouse around in rubber shoes (crocks) and a football shirt... (apologies - harsh generalization from the post above, but its not untrue !!)... 

Perhaps the estimated statistic of 1:10 (quoted above) is fair...  In Bangkok I think its a fair estimate that 1:10 Western Guys are now in socio-economic-educationally balanced relationships and contrary to an earlier comment the lady in question is usually very attractive; unless the tattooed, gold-laden, ripped jeans, strapless heels bargirl look is your thing... 

That the authorities are giving this any attention at all comes across as hypocritical, sanctimonious and ultimately juvenile.

It must be time that the authorities here in Thailand back off these pathetic little issues and concentrate on many of the far larger and significant issues at hand. 

The unfortunate issue exists that handling the far larger and significant issues would rock the boat too much and its far easier for someone is a position of power to apply their knee-jerk reaction from their armchair in response to these innocuous issues which ultimately neither impact nor offend anyone but a pathetic ruling exists to hid behind.

9 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

I disagree. Having driven and ridden here for 4 years now, I find that most Thai drivers are sensible, patient and reasonably competent at driving. And that despite the lack of formal training.

 

All countries have their share of idiot drivers and Thailand is no exception to that, but it is grossly unfair to 'tar brush' them all, for the behaviour of the few.

I agree with the sentiment posted, however, Thailands road fatality statistics also paint a damning picture - While there are 'hoons' in any country the general level of competence remains wanting and results directly in accidents and fatalities.

Patience, which seems impressively high given the oppressive road conditions appears to hang by a thread and is perhaps something else entirely such as the avoidance of confrontation for fear of the consequences (violence). 

I agree that the generalization is unfair - but the average is brought down significantly by the scores of the untrained, the idiotic and the moronic... and then we have the hoons !

Ideally you will secure a Parental Consent Letter - Notarized by your local Amphur office.

This letter outlines that the Mother has given her permission for the Children to travel with their father, as witnessed by an official at your local Amphur office.

In 2017 I travelled twice with my Son (who is now 4 yrs old) - I had the letter signed by my Wife (just in case) but never managed to get to the Amphur office to sign the letter. My Wife waited at the airport just incase any questions were raised. 

At Immigration  I was not questioned, we were simply stamped out of Thailand, my Son on his Thai Passport (we have the same Surname). 

Thus: It is quite possible that you will not face any issues, however, it would be advised to have your ducks in a row and obtain this Parental Consent Form if you can. 

A letter showing you have full custody may also do the trick if questioned - however, I am unable to comment on this with any degree of confidence.

1 minute ago, TunnelRat69 said:

.......mabe because the eye witness said "the farang was waiting to cross the street when the car hit him"

 

dunno, but appears obvious to me - hopefully there is some CTV footage of the incident that shows it either way.

Eye witnesses have been proven to be unreliable time and time again... 

Equally so, the Eye Witness did not say that "the farang was waiting on the pavement (sidewalk) when the car hit him"...

It certainly appears that he was not at the side of the street and quite probable that he was already crossing without looking in both directions. 

My Wife learned to drive at 15 - driving herself to school with her Mum sat in the car... 

She's never take a test but has held a licence for over 20 years. 

There is something very wrong with this picture. 

She (my Wife) is not actually a bad driver, most people in Thailand are not bad drivers - they have just not been taught to drive well, to predict the movement of others or to drive with consideration of others. 

The subject of this thread is simply catastrophic stupidity - We see it all the time with Foreigners coming to Thailand renting motorbikes.