richard_smith237

26 minutes ago, chrissables said:

I am sorry if you lack the ability to comprehend, by Thai law motorbikes must keep in the nearside lane at all times unless turning right. I don't actually agree with this, but it's the law. 

 

In fact i have been  stopped by the police for not being in the correct lane. 

 

I would assume the Thai driver would know this, and look before standing in the road.

 

I agree the bike rider must take some of the blame, but had the car driver looked and not opened the door into the bike lane, nothing would have happened.

Thats as daft as suggesting that if the bike hadn't been there nothing would have happened. 

The driver opened his car door approximately 6 seconds before the motorcycle hit him. 

There was plenty of time for the motorcyclist to avoid the car door. 

The motorcyclists hit a stationary object. 

The motorcyclist could easily remain on the inside (left) land and still avoid the door. 

The motorcyclist simply was not looking where he was going, it appears he was also speeding. 

The driver of the car was careless and placed himself in a dangerous position - but it was not his fault that the motorcyclist drove into him - The timing clearly indicates this - 6 Seconds - Thats a lot of time to continue towards an object and not notice it.

4 hours ago, Blue Muton said:

Good job.

 

She'll probably be hit with a charge for working as a life guard without a work permit next.

I'm not sure whats worse... that you can find some negative spin on a positive story or that there are 5 other people (to date) who enjoyed rescind your bitterness and selected 'like this'...  

Its sad for ThaiVisa.com and the aggregated reputation of its posters that even from such a positive story someone can still strain hard enough to crap out some negative comments... 

There is only positive in this story, a good story, with a good outcome and positive impression left on some locals by a visitor. 

yadda yadda yadda.... 

I saw two large trucks going on the express way, the BiB waved them to the side. They didn't even stop, just slowed down enough to hand 'something' over.

I see so many open pickups carrying items which would be missiles should they fall off the back. Today I saw a gas large gas canister with no collar protection (looked like a large tank for welding), secured by a shoddy looking rope. One bump and the weight alone creates lethal hazard, pressurized its a deadly and explosive missile. 

No one cares, no one does anything. There will be a large incident and someone announces 'crack-down'...  things improve slightly for 2 weeks. Wash, rinse and repeat... 

The repetitively carelessness and inaction is highly tiresome unless we ourselves learn to dumb down and not give to$$ which is fine, but its so difficult not to see the abundance of blind stupidity and carelessness in the face of absolute danger all around us with one doing anything about it. 

This Video is a short movie made by Chakorn Chaipreecha (Director) and perpetuates a common fear amongst the easily frightened and timid. 

Link to the Original with Credits (in Thai at the end).

OK.. So on to the Topic of 'Dont stop in an accent'...

DON'T FORGET YOUR HUMANITY !!! .... those who do become part of what is bad in the world today... 

....ALWAYS assist those in need when safe to do so... 

In Thailand it may mean that we need to be more careful of when its safe to do so, don't put family or yourself in danger, but in most cases, the benefits of rendering assistance by far outweigh the limited and paranoid risks. 

IF alone at night on a dark road, of course think twice. 

IF there is a threatening group of people, of course think twice. 

IF you have a dash-cam you can prove you are not involved. 

I witnessed an accident a few years ago. 

I saw a drunk motorcyclist riding at speed hit a sign on the central reservation and spun around in the air like a rag doll. 

We stopped, I rendered assistance. A handful of Thai's came to the scene, I asked them to turn the lights on on their phones and go back down the road to warn on coming traffic (about 5 people). I asked another to call an ambulance. 

The injured party was unconscious and breathing, the back of his head scalped. I didn't want to get blood on me, he wasn't bleeding excessively, I didn't move him and instructed others not to touch or move him. 

The ambulance & medics arrived, I got back in the car and left.

Its pretty obvious that the motorcyclist is at fault, he's clearly going extremely quickly, he's traveling way too close to parked vehicles and he clearly wasn't paying full attention to the road ahead of him. 

The driver exited the car approximately 6 seconds before the impact - this is plenty of time and space for a motorcycle to avoid him (at 80 kmh = 130 meters).

That said - the driver was extremely cavalier in the manner in which he exited the car, then stood in an position highly exposed with his back to passing traffic. 

Had the driver been even remotely considerate of the danger he was placing himself in when exiting the car he may have been more observant more responsive and avoided serious injury. 

As for the motorcyclist, well, he's clearly the average tool we see speeding around. 

The idea is idiotic, short sighted and xenophobic.... Its as disagreeable as the double pricing in national parks and potentially causes more PR damage than the financial reward offsets. 

Foreigners driving into Thailand spend money here which goes back into the economy.

Just so long as the vehicles are road worthy, insured and driven safely there is no detrimental effect to receiving foreign visitors on the roads in Thailand, quite the contrary. 

Thailand appears to be losing its charm in the way it once welcomed visitors with open arms.

I know only a handful of people without a FB account.. One of them is my father!... 

Its a handy communication tool, it nice to see photos of friends and their growing families back home. 

There's some fun stuff on there, but it does seem a little too addictive for some and tends to bring out the narcissistic tendencies...  

This thread reminds me of an accident I witnessed a number of years ago. 

Lady reversing a pickup onto the street. Another lady in a Merc driving slowly past. 

The pickup continues reversing into the road and into the slowly moving passing car on the street. 

The lady in the Merc asks the pick up driver - "why didn't you stop ?"

The lady in the Pickup replies - "why didn't you hit your horn and stop me ?" 

----------

Another one...

I was stationary in a Car Park, queueing to exit. A taxi reverses straight back into my car.

The Taxi driver claimed he didn't see me. I was in a Range Rover, the only thing larger is a bus !

30 minutes ago, the guest said:

Thailand isn't the place to work as a foreigner, that is for sure, they are aways trying to catch you out, and could at any time arrest you, fine you, and then deport you. It isn't a place to live either, continually having to do nothing, in fear of being arrested for not having a work permit for say gardening or even painting the house or indeed any activity that could be regarded as work in the eye of the authorities. 

 

 

 

 

Lets keep this in perspective...  Thailands laws are often daft and somewhat draconian especially when taken directly at face value. However, has anyone really been arrested for gardening or painting the house and then deported? or is this another one of those barstool myths ?

You are going to get a lot of varying replies... 

Raja Fashions and Narry Tailors both in the Nana area both seem to be the popular Tailors when this thread pops up (as it frequently does). 

Price wise: I seem to remember paying about THB 14,000 for a Suit from Raja's. Price depends on fabric. 

That said: IMO if your body shape is 'normal' you can find a quality suit off the Rack in most department stores and have slight adjustments made. 

6 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

There is a taxi radio channel that deals with complains and stuff all day long. The people that call in to complain are all Thais.

 

I don't know how so many of the posters here have problems with Bangkok taxis, whenever I use them I never have a bother. 

 

Must be something to do with the way you guys are interacting or dealing with them. 

 

Don't get them outside major tourist areas.

Don't use the ones parked on the street.

Flag down a moving taxi with the red light in the window.

Ask destination and don't get arsey if they say no. They might be on shift change or not know where they are going. Flag down another.

If they roll down the window wave them on.

If they ask a flat fare wave them on.

If they agree get in and remain quiet. The driver will run the meter.

Now is the time to ask for special instructions like using the expressway or stopping at 7/11 etc.

 

Really, it's pretty simple stuff. 

You say getting a taxi is simple stuff, but you then list 9 lines of things to do to avoid trouble... 

When in fact the only thing to do in a taxi is a list of 1....  'get in a give your destination'...  the rest should be automatic for the driver - this is the issue. 

"Its not Gay if you Don't look down" !!!... 

Some very pretty faces there... definitely beautiful enough to 'fool' the most experienced of male cynics. 

I very much doubt you see any of these 'prettys' pickpocketing and robbing tourists on Pattaya Beach Road !... 

1 minute ago, tryasimight said:

Based on my observations of my 3 year old nephew being brought up/raised by a Philipino maid in Hong Kong when my brother and his wife were simply too busy and important to be bothered by trivial items like that. 

There's nothing like projection your own experiences on others... 

Your nephew is 3, his language skills are still developing its a bit early and unfair to judge him. 

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

If that is true, then I am glad to hear it, but as usual it will probably be a 24 hour crackdown.

I too have seen images of hoards of Labourer's rounded up like cattle... 

It is quite shocking the level of disregard people here have for their neighbors whom they seem to believe are sub-human. 

When looking at these fines and drawing a comparison with the penalties for violent crime there seems to be a huge discrepancy.

Thailand 'could' make the labour laws for people from ASEAN countries much much easier if it wishes to or cares enough to do something about this issue other than provide increased fines and staggering levels of bureaucracy. 

1 hour ago, tryasimight said:

Another solution......look after your own kid!!

At least he/she will be able to talk your native language eventually.

First world problems......

My son won't be able to speak English because he has a Nanny ???....   erm... how did you jump to that conclusion ?

9 minutes ago, saakura said:

My advise : as a foreigner, it is always prudent to keep on the right side of the law. Even if it is cumbersome. Like getting a quota and registering the foreign maid at the correct address.

I agree... But in this case registering a Burmese Nanny at our rented address becomes a near impossibility, the law in this case is not just cumbersome, it is unworkable. It is also something which cannot be done until the labour department opens up applications for foreign labourers, at the moment there is no sign of when they may do this (usually its just for a couple of weeks per year).

The only real solution is to let the Nanny go and employ a Thai lady.

5 hours ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

1. If a person deceives that he/she can bring a foreigner to work with a domestic employer without a work permit, he/she is imprisoned 3-10 years, fined 600,000-1,000,000 Baht, or both.

Any person operating as a foreigner job agency without a license, he/she is imprisoned for 1-3 years, fined 200,000-600,000 Baht, or both.

 

Look like its more the risk of the agency.

We have a cleaner come every week from an agency.

Its not everytime the same person , so should we ask to see their work permit even when we are not home ?

 

 

Our Son's Nanny (Burmese) lives with us. We can't find a decent Thai lady to do the job, they want to charge the earth and are unreliable. This Burmese lady is fantastic, works hard, we treat her well, she is part of the family. BUT, she is from an agency who is registered in a different municipality. 

Both she and the agents are breaking the law, we know this, but there is no way around this. We would have to get her placed on the House Book (a Condo we are moving out of in 2 months) and then move her into our new accommodation (rented) and attempt to place her on the house book. We would then have to go through the process of registering her at that Address, but that only works if the Address is allocated a quota (i.e. having a child or person older than 70) if registering a nanny. The process is extremely long winded and prohibitive. 

The only real solution - Take a chance with Thai Nanny's again, or take a chance in our nanny not getting caught. 

UBER have announced UBER Flash - which offers the closest options - UBER Black (Camry etc), UBER X (smaller car, Mazda-2, Vios etc) or a Regular Taxi which has also joined UBER.

The rates are the same as UBER X (starting fare (฿10), distance (฿4/KM), travel time (฿3.5/minute))

It would appear that this an attempt by UBER to appease the regular Taxi drivers and DLT in including Taxi's.

If this removes the 'service issues' and other woes encountered when flagging down a regular Taxi then this could be a decent move, especially with the dual *accountability the app provides.

*Dual accountability: Both passenger and driver are registered, any poor behavior can be reported and acted upon.

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Nope - That makes it 2:35 pm here... 

Indeed... You'd have enjoyed the replay, but lost the bet !

Those using foreign Maids & Nanny's from agencies now face some risk. 

The Maids and Nanny's are usually resisted and work permitted through an agency but in a different area from the home they work in and commonly under a different profession such as factory worker. This opens up a large can of worms for many who rely on such agencies. 

Find it on google maps on your phone... then search the Map on your Sat Nav and select the same spot.

Our son had one on his wrist... 

The Doctor (at Samitivej BKK) recommended that as he was so young not to do anything about it and that it would likely disappear (1.5 years later it has disappeared). 

The Doctor also recommend not to do surgery as he was so young, small hands, more intricate operation, higher risk of a mistake. 

Additionally, the Doctor also commented as that as we are dealing with a small child a General Anaesthetic would be required rather than local for the sole purpose of ensure our child remained still.

We also took advice on aspirating the cyst, but the Doctor advised against that, pointing out that as there is no pain and no associated risk with leaving it there really was no point in doing anything, also pointing out that Aspiration is often only a temporary measure and the cysts returns. 

Based on all of this my question would be: IF it is confirmed without doubt that this is a (benign) cyst causes no pain or discomfort, its out of sight under the toes, why do anything at all?

That said: As cancers can form from cysts, if you cannot be 100% sure that the cyst is benign I'd suggest approaching a public hospital as a minor operation under a local anesthetic is relatively risk free for an adult. 

Its often difficult to tell... 

Ultimately you have to place your trust in reputable vendors who will accept responsibility if you do find something fake or potentially damaging. Of course, this in itself becomes challenging in Thailand. 

Social Media allows for some form or public protest, but is significantly limited by Thailands Deformation laws. 

Once you open a bottle of 'something' there is no way to prove you haven't tampered with it yourself, this presents an accountability / responsibility issue, thus, if you find a place which sells genuine products keep shopping there. 

Sometimes common sense may be helpful - some products are more expensive to counterfeit that others, some (many) have sealed packaging which is extremely difficult to tamper with and use to re-sell.

For some reason I initially thought this thread was about a supermarket in Chiang Mai - I was kind of shocked to read of such an issue up there, extremely shocked to hear of the abundant disregard for someone else and the readiness of the security guards to use violence. I then noticed that this thread was in fact Pattaya based which immediately made sense...

It seems to me that these events and similar are not infrequent in areas such as Pattaya, Patong and Samui where in contrast to other areas of Thailand in general the locals seems to hold an elevated level of disregard toward foreigners when compared to other areas. 

OP: What can you do? Firstly, complain to the Store Manager. If he promises no action, don't shop there again... and, of course, use the correct exits !

3 minutes ago, aslimversgwm said:

Good sense prevails - properly licensed Uber and Grab  - this will be a great boon to Thailand and help sideline those awful songthaews and tuk tuks, let alone the current 'metered' taxis which refuse to turn on their meters.

This is the way the world is going and in the next decade or so we will have driverless cars, which will turn the whole car industry upside down and present governments with even greater challenges.

But who issues private vehicles with a license to carry fare paying passengers ???

.... The DLT does, the same DLT who will protect the Taxi's (under pressure from the wealthy owners of the Taxi consortiums).

This is simply a transparent and somewhat juvenile game. Next will be the announcement that unregistered UBER's are illegal and there will be a clampdown. 

For the record: UBER Black with the 'White on Green' number plates are register as Limo's and thus legal. The rest with conventional 'Black on White' number plates are not licensed to carry 'fare paying passengers', I also believe that insurance is also questionable when it comes to 'fare paying passengers'.

That said: How many Taxi's are insured ? How many are Safe ? How many are as Clean as every UBER we've ever sat in ?.... UBER remain a far superior service even with a one or two occasional poor levels of service (I had a negative UBER experience last week with an ill tempered driver).