richard_smith237

13 minutes ago, RWA said:

That old fart remains me of my Swiss(german) neighbor here in outskirts of Pattaya ... a man at his 80ish, permanently pissed off since the early morning till the night ... cursing aloud all day long, yelling some insults at me over the fence ... very unhappy man ... I have 3 Fila Brasileiros - he likes to throw rocks at them over that fence between us ... they always go ballistic, trying to break through to get on him. Our land is 2,5 rai, his only a half, so I made an enclosed big field for them on the other side. Then he goes on a "walk with the stick" down that little private road, driving them mad and complaining they're barking too laud, he can't have his nap after the lunch ... I mostly ignore him, even he's shooting his airgun once I drive passed his gate down to the village ...

One day I've been fixing something down the land when I heard a door sliding open, from the little road to the dogs enclosure ... dogs ran, so did I and ... saw him there on that little road with the stick and his airgun, pointing at the dogs, yelling "hilfe" (help) ... till today, I have no idea how did I managed to get to him before my dogs did !!! I threw his <deleted>...ing gun far to the tapioca field, grab the stick and to my true surprise and relief managed to send dogs back and kick the door closed behind them ... then I stood there shaking and fighting urge to kill that old moth..<deleted>..ker, whilst he tried to pull his mobile phone of the pocket to call police that my dogs were out to attack him ... what the heck he thought he was doing? Could I've been a bit slower or not around, these dogs will kill, no doubt ... he's just "working" them for far too long ... damned it I almost killed him myself ,,, old bugger, he even looks like this OZ dude's twin

A Nutty Story - there is certainly no accounting for or understanding how peoples frustrations overflow into life and their general behavior... 

While at home in the UK this summer a man whom I've known and respected all of my life has a deplorable breakdown of self control and verbally attacked the neighbor and lady with whom they'd shared mutual respect for decades.

I guess some guys just loose it... it certainly seems so when seeing some of the behavior of people here in Thailand.... I guess the frustrations can overflow and when they do... wham !!...

Good job on holding in your frustrations with the old guy...  he sounds like a right nut job looking for trouble.

43 minutes ago, Get Real said:

You wrap your words very nicely sir. I don´t think you would do that if it would have been the other way around. Now we have to talk as nice as possible, and try to put as much blame away, as humanly possible, from the aussie. I am sorry, can´t do that! I give all the same medicin if they choose to be stupid.

As for me I really think he deserved to get punched. If it was up to me one or two more had been fine. I hope they get rid of <deleted> like this from Thailand. He can take his little knife and temper, to play bushman with the crocdiles in he´s homecontry. Deport the dork!

I agree with you Get Real, it would be extremely difficult to be calm if involved in a similar situation, I most certainly would not be so balanced in my opinions and my language far more vitriolic...

However, I have the luxioury of being a onlooker and not involved and so I can form a more balanced opinion... the Australian behaved despicably and violently, given such behavior I expect him to receive the same penalty as any Thai would.

With that in mind I also expect the Thai to receive a penalty for his despicable and violent behavior. 

Blame lies firmly with both men, I think there is little dispute regarding this, especially in light of the initial video (which many didn't see before commenting). 

I've attempt to apply balance in my viewpoint and armchair judgement - but you have not once commented negatively on the actions of the Thai man, in fact you seem to justify such violent behavior - Why is this ?

I know people always start criticizing arm chair detectives, arm chair CSI or whatever the latest 'buzz phrase' is posted by a handful of smart-asses who fail to understand that this forum is one for discussion.... but, regardless, here is my take... 

How on earth is the primary conclusion as to the case of death of someone with such injures suicide ?

Is this pure and absolute laziness ? Is it a purse and total absence of 'give a flook' ? Is it instructions from above to play down an incident regardless of the blatant and glaringly obvious facts indicating otherwise?

Surely it is far better to just state facts - Bullet wounds to the chest and temple, gun found nearby. Investigation ongoing.... Why would the spokesman have to make such a farcical comment as to suggest suicide?... its plainly idiotic and such commonplace now that we've become so used to the BiB pulling the wool over their own eyes in believing we (the public) may actually buy any of this, or they simply do not care whether we buy it at all... 

3 minutes ago, jimster said:

 

Nah - I've driven hundreds of thousands of km in Thailand (and all neighboring countries) over the years without anything more than minor issues. Your reasoning to not drive is nonsense - how do you expect the guy to pick up his daughter from school every day? By bus? Come on...

 

On the other hand, if the guy has anger management issues then perhaps he shouldn't be out on the roads.

 

I agree with your other sentiments - but maybe the windscreen damage was caused by the guy falling on the Aussie's windscreen? It doesn't exactly appear that way on the video, but is plausible. BTW according to what I first read this whole incident was sparked by a collision, not simply a minor honking of the horn. It happens, but it would be absurd to think that a minor honking of a car horn escalates into such violence - a collision on the other hand, yes.

I have been overtaken by a guy in a Mini-Van on a very narrow one way Soi in Bangkok. 

IMO - the Soi was narrow enough not to risk two car widths... Nevertheless a Minivan was extremely close to the back of my car, driving somewhat aggressively but I had no choice but to ignore him as I to was following the car in front in a line of slow moving traffic. 

The Mini-Van overtook me and barely avoided scratching my car, the wing mirrors didn't touch because they were at different heights... thats the only reason !...

I was pi$$ed off and papped my horn... Not a series of aggressive blasts, but a single Pap... 

This was too much for the Van driver who pulled up next to me, wound down his window and started shouting at me. I felt like getting out and kicking the living crap out of him, instead I ignored him and didn't allow the situation to escalate - these guys can be dangerous, they can have guns, they have anger issues... I'd love to have taught him a lesson, but thats no my job... my Job is not to get involved in incidents so I can get home to my family and enjoy my life... 

With such idiots on the roads its very easy to 'slip up' and allow yourself to become involved...  I'm not suggesting this happened in this incident.... But, it is not unfeasible to 'imagine' or 'hypothesise' that a stupid driving maneuver damaged the Australians car (and his ego) and he decided to take matters in to his own hands and attempt to teach the Thai guy a lesson - Stupid move !!! (if this armchair detective is correct and that is what actually happened !!!)... Just saying (for the purposes of discussion). 

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

"I got the chopper to make him stop and I bashed his car up a bit, in the back too.

 

"I thought he was going to kill me"

Idiotic - He thought the Thai Guy was going to kill him so instead of protecting himself and driving off he got out of his car, grabbed an machete and approached the Thai, threatened him and damaged his car...

This has to be some of the dumbest back-peddaling I've read... the Australian should be in Hospital getting a full check up, he clearly hasn't come to his senses !

There is no dressing up what happened... The Australian guy escalated the situation to Assault - it really is that simple.... He needs to face charges, as does the Thai man for his re-escalation and retaliation after the Police were on the scene. 

13 minutes ago, Get Real said:

See, can´t we have all the stupid people that tried to protect this farang, blane it on the Thai as usual, and the Thai police.
Can´t you just all line up in this thread now, with the aknowledgement that you were wrong in your quick assumpitons again.
Be same quick now! Tell everybody that you were wrong, one side minded and that you will read better and understand better in the future.
Shame on you for letting your view of the people in this country get so one sided. Your totally blinded, and just unable to see clear and objective nomore.

Your comments correctly blame 'some' ThaiVisa posters for jumping to conclusions. But these conclusions were not unreasonable given the initial video evidence and there will always be evidence we can not or do not see, should that prevent us from ever drawing an opinion ? Perhaps so, but discussion forums would be extremely boring places without such discussion and opinions whether correct or not.

That said, I would not go as far and defend the Thai Man and imply the fault is solely with the Australian Pensioner and that the Thai Man was the innocent party... would you agree Get Real ?

For I and many others can see both parties being at fault. 

Firstly the Australian who escalated a previously unknown incident into violence when brandishing a machete and attempting to drive over the Thai Man. 

Secondly the Thai Man for re-escalting the situation to violence in front of the Police, after the Police had theoretically controlled the situation.

I would also place part of the blame at the Police for allowing the Thai Man to re-escalate the situation in to Violence when he is clearly angry - IMO this is a clear failure of the Police to do their job properly and separate the aggrieved parties, the even fail to restrain and handcuff the Thai man after committing Assault under their noses. 

Both are clearly very much in the wrong and the Police acted poorly. 

It can be agreed that many posters let their foot of the clutch too early when solely blaming the Thai Man for his vicious assault - however, it was an incredibly Vicious Assault. The development to the story is that we now have evidence that this Assault was not unprovoked and the Australian is at fault for initially escalating the situation when threatening the Thai with a Deadly Weapon and Assaulting him with a Vehicle. 

1 hour ago, varun said:

Angry old bogan got more than he bargained for - deportation and 10-year ban is the way to go.

 

Seriously ? Judge and Jury ???.... the incident occurred and was escalated by both sides. We are not sure of what happened before the first video, but something triggered the Aussie into his stupid threat. 

The punch was brutal, the Australian surely received his comeuppance...  Ultimately both parties are in the wrong and need to face legal punishment. 

6 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

Having an 8 year old kid at that age is bad enough without trying to act like a youngun . Aussie quality tourists at it again ....

I don't want to judge someone having a child at that age, its a discussion for another thread, but allowing something to act out like that at a School takes things too far IMO.

Something must have happened earlier as people don't fly off the handle and retrieve a knife from their car without a significant level of provocation unless they are mentally unstable in the extreme. However, regardless of what ever happened earlier to anger the Australian Pensioner he escalated the situation to violence taking the threat level as far a 'deadly threat' when brandishing the machete.

With that said, the Punch landed by the Thai Man was brutal and potentially deadly, the situation had calmed down was theoretically under police control before he escalated again with potentially deadly force. 

One Serious Question: After the Thai Man lands the Punch, why is he not restrained and in Handcuffs, especially after approaching the Australian Pensioner again saying "I want to Kill You !" ?

Another Question: What level of retard Carries a Machete around in their Car? Yes, I know many Thai's do, but isn't it better to ignore any confrontation in the first place? Carrying such a weapon just indactes that the Australian was prepared to enter and escalate a situation to violence on a daily basis, surely that is the dumbest thing he could do, especially at his age. 

With Video evidence from both corners I hope both men face serious charges. 

- The Australian - Attempted Assault with a Weapon 

- The Thai - Assault 

Both men were clearly in the wrong and need to face punishment. 

A lesson for all of us - when someone pi$$es us of and for some, when the red mist starts to ascend, pay attention to yourself, wake up and get real... none of this is worth it. Walk away and you won't even remember the incident in a week !

Someone refused to play along with the price fixing ?....

8 minutes ago, Cranky said:

If any government is dumb enough to leave something of value on the street then it's fair play.

... words of a Thief ?

11 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

actually most thais don't throw their shit on the floor and i'm in no way a protectionist. i'm sorry for what happened to your hand.. if it's pissing you off then their are airports. the thais are nice people. sure theirs issues but perhaps a different country might suit you better. good luck

Really ???... the "if you don't like it go home" response... please please please (some) members of ThaiVisa, I deplore you to come up with something which shows you have a least smattering of intelligence....

Kiteboys comments are highly valid - He clearly cares for this country, but it is often the case that many here don't care for their own country or each other, this is clearly evident each and every day which ever area of Thailand you are in... People driving carelessly and aggressively, and back on Topic: if you walk around with your eyes open the rampant littering is plain to see. Take a look at any vacant piece of land, take a look at any Khlong which backs on to housing....   It clearly shows that a lot of Thai's do indeed throw their sh!t on the floor... perhaps not most, but a significantly large enough majority to make such issues readily visible to anyone passing.

8 minutes ago, chingmai331 said:

@getreal  We don't know why this happened but some of the alternatives to abandonment of a live healthy babe at the hospital door are much much worse.  

Like not leaving the baby in the care of a hospital and dumping it in a bin instead....  

At least the little child now has some hope in life, the mother will need serious help.

14 minutes ago, retarius said:

I don't smoke so anything they can do to inconvenience smokers I am in favor of.

If those who smoke are respectful of those around them who don't then I feel its unfair to inconvenience them for the sake of it. 

I see nothing wrong with smoking on a quiet beach, but I would be annoyed if I found myself relaxing on the beach with my 3 year old son and someone a few meters away up wind started smoking. 

This has happened in outdoor restaurants when someone on the next table, 1 meter away starts smoking next to my Son. 

It is for this reason that many bans exist, not because of the many who are respectful of others, but for the handful of self-centered pr!<ks with no consideration for others. (someone twit will now feel duty bound to mention something about kids in restaurants - Don't bother, it would be a dumb response).

I would agree with a stringent littering fine. Fair enough if they have to specifically target beaches at first, enforcement has to start somewhere. But also enforce it at all hours across all Nationalities, not just for the soft targets. 

Yes - this is clearly about money and away of avoiding conflict with the real issues of the overwhelming littering by those who live in Thailand (rather than visit on holiday)/ 

Today my Mother In Law needed to travel to a Government Office. My FIL was too busy to take her. 

My MIL accompanied by the Maid travelled in a Taxi who half way to the destination decided he wanted to go no further and kicked them out on the high way. 

I am furious, my MIL is nearly 70 years old and is in no way sharp enough to start arguing with a taxi or take a photo of the plates etc - there is simply no comeuppance for this terrible behavior from the taxi driver.

One of the excellent aspects of UBER is the accountability - Both Drivers and Passengers are registered resulting in a level of accountability and responsibility which would have prevented my MiL from being kicked out of a the car.

MiL being a typical Mother In Law  listened to neither my advice nor my Wife's instance that they use either UBER or GrabCar. 

15 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

It's not a 'big issue' for me; those that use or support Uber are the ones making a big issue out the service by continually claiming that the service is so much better than metered taxis.   I'm making a comment on an illegal service that so many taxi-bashers think is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

I do not rely on taxi insurance but any sane person given the choice would not choose to ride in an uninsured vehicle.

Regarding insurance: I've been in an accident with a Taxi... No sign of insurance at all. I suspect the majority are without insurance, many are driving without a license although the incidence of this has reduced in the last few years. 

Ultimately, in Thailand we should all have our own medical insurance as we cannot rely on adequate enforcement to ensure these things are put in place for our protection as a customer. 

When you make the choice not to ride in an uninsured vehicle how do you check that the drivers of regular taxi's have insurance? for my experience is that they don't.

16 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

On 10/9/2017 at 12:34 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its incredible isn't it ???... A service which works seamlessly in other countries can at times become corrupted by the lazy and entitled mindset of a few. It is a shame that we have to jump through these extra hoops and 'negotiate' for a standard service !!!...  That said, UBER & GrabCar are still far more reliable, safe and polite than regular taxi's... 

 

To be honest, the only frequent issue I have is a driver accepting the fare who is too far away. the App will suggest they are 7mins away, but knowing Bangkok they are closer to 30 mins away stuck in traffic. 

 

I've used UBER all over and only ever encountered one issue outside of Thailand in London with a  Nigerian driver who got clearly upset after thinking he was taking me to Gatwick Airport only to discover I'd written Gatwick Express and not Gatwick Airport !!!

 

 

Victoria Station was where you were going I guess...

Correct - hen selecting Victoria Station on the UBER App I then had to actually select which 'drop off point' and chose Gatwick Express drop off point.... the UBER driver clearly thought he was on to a winner when he read 'Gatwick'.... ultimately with baggage a Wife and a 2-1/2 year old (at the time) we were dropped off on the wrong side of the station... a little irritating but not a show-stopper.

This is just one example of where an expected service can let you down with poor or lazy operators - something which I'm sure UBER were happy to hear about. 

22 hours ago, shanesox said:

Well today really finished me with Uber in Bkk!Called an Uber X and accepted by a driver 10 mins away but then doesn’t arrive and I get a message from driver asking “ where I’m going” when I tell him he cancels the trip! What a pile of crap this is now! Uber needs to let drivers see where customer destination is and if the driver doesn’t want to go there then don’t accept!

 Grabcar have more promotions and discounts!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

The whole idea is that any driver accepts any trip as UBER is a customer based service. 

Thus, the driver has to accept a ride and then he will learn the destination. Without this we would see the system bastardized into one which drivers are 'Cherry-picking' their rides while other customers are completely ignored because the drivers 'don't like' the area... 

It is this lack of 'Cherry-picking' their rides which makes UBER such an attractive and viable option for many who've become fed up of the tiresome games of regular taxis. 

59 minutes ago, misterphil said:

 

All this in the UK <deleted>. Were not in the UK so dont even mention in the UK this and in the UK that. 

 

In the UK theres fat lazy women but do people rave on about them? 

In your haste to berate me you have made the fundamental flaw of not reading the thread carefully enough and in doing so have made somewhat of a pillock of yourself....

It was either Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln who quoted this excellent line most fitting in such circumstances.... "Its Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."

......The UK comment is direct response to a comment made by ryanhull who implied that in the UK one is innocent until proven guilty, however, this is not the case regarding the avoidance of taking a breathalyzer.

You did make one comment I agree with...  a golden droplet of your genius perhaps, that in the UK there are fat lazy women...  we now know that in Pattaya there are dumb twits - thanks for the evidence 

The same issue was reported in Manchester.... its really is such a shame that a small few often ruin great ideas which could benefit the many... 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/16/manchesters-bike-share-scheme-isnt-working-because-people-dont-know-how-to-share

6 minutes ago, ryanhull said:

 

Well when you get released from a Thai cell it does give you a more positive outlook on the day heh, makes you appreciate things, this was actually in Chang Mai

 

Just so you lot know, I do not in anyway condone drink driving and have lost a very good friend in Phuket to that, however two small Leo`s to me really does not affect me but from now on I am not touching a drop when I am in the motor,

 

Cheers

Lesson learned... but I don't think anyone really begrudges you driving on two small bottles of beer. To be honest I have worse opinions of people who drive with an extreme cold, while not having properly rested or while using a phone....  Lets be honest, its something we've all done at some point in time.

There's a line in the sand and two beers doesn't really cross it...  studies have identified this which is why we have BAC limits and with a degree of certainty two beers over an hour would not exceed such limits. 

I guess there could be an issue for those who after two beers 'get the flavor' and become suggestible and 'go on then, just one more' is not something they consider an issue....  unfortunately I know many such people. 

Examples of pure stupidity, followed by self-centeredness, followed by sickening scumminess... 

... its all there in one very brief clip !!!... 

On 9/30/2017 at 2:35 PM, Jeremy50 said:

Whatever. Pump out some sprogs, and almost immediately boot them off to the most expensive 'pre-nursery' in the land, leaving mummy time to go back to her vacuous life of shopping and frappe latte's. 

A well balanced approach with a  Chip on both shoulders !!!!... 

..... Jealous much ?

2 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

At least you are in good spirits after all this, more than I can say for some of the Thai Bashers on this forum..............I take it you are in Bangkok??

Indeed, thats quite a positive outlook after such an ordeal.

I would now like to see the BiB apply the same level of treatment to each and every driver on the roads (Thai or Foreign) and have regular more police stops checking for Alcohol, not only in Bangkok but up county too.

The amount of drink driving over here is staggering... I'm not referring to a couple of beers and driving but people who habitually drink and party all night and think nothing of driving home and risking the lives of others on the road - it is these people who can, do and have injured, maimed and killed others. 

To place this in perspective: I have a lot of Thai friends here, I've asked the questions and I know of very few who have NOT been had a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. I don't know any foreigners (mostly British) who have been involved in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. 

24 minutes ago, ryanhull said:

I think your spot on, in the UK its innocent until proven guilty, I see here its guilty until proven innocent,

That is incorrect - In the UK if you refuse a breath test and don't have a reasonable excuse you will be arrested. The law is the same here in Thailand. Ultimately you got off lightly for failing a drink driving test  (in that you refused to take it in the first place). 

http://www.drinkdrivinglaw.co.uk/offences/failing_to_co-operate_with_a_preliminary_test.htm

2 minutes ago, Adeeos said:

A good Thai friend told me sometime later, after my illegal stop,,  the BEST thing/things you can carry in a wallet in BKK, are a biz card of a higher up cop, and a biz card of a well known good lawyer in BKK,, Unless you're really screwing up,, he said those 2 items will get you out of most any BS stop and rob by the BIB.... lol

Agreed... a number of years ago I had to call a friend when my Wife was stopped at a road block after drinking 2 glasses of wine. She refused to blow in to the wand making the offer furious... he let us go after speaking with my friend who knew his boss (this was a genuine check point).

My Wife was probably over the limit - she has not DUI since that night 10 years ago.