richard_smith237

It is so astonishing to anyone with a taste of international life that the penalties for such victimless and innocuous 'crimes' are so significantly out of balance with those penalties for other far more serious violent crimes, bag snatches, accidents while drunk driving (or under the influence), hit and run....  

... Thailands lack of common sense in its approach to the enforcement of its laws and imbalance in penalties is somewhat embarrassing and makes it appear quite immature, petty and juvenile as a nation... this really is a shame for such a lovely country with such wonderful potential. 

11 minutes ago, The manic said:

I would love to meet her - I bet she's a real fire cracker - anyway gun ownership is not illegal in Thailand. 

Gun ownership is only legal with a license. 

You need a reason to obtain a license. As a business owner who 'may' have been periodically taking cash to the bank she has a valid reason to obtain a license. Its not clear from the reports if she has a license. 

I know someone who has a gun license. As I understand it, his license covered him between his Home, business, the bank and the Shooting range (yes vague I know). He had his guns (4 in total) in the boot of his car at 4am when coming home from a club and stopped by the Police in Thonglor. He had no valid reason have guns on his person (in his vehicle) and violated his license. His penalty - 10,000 baht fine, and a monthly 'checkin' at the police station once per month for six months. 

20 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

That said, I have long thought that there is massive commercial scope in Thailand for buildings that prohibit any residents under a certain age (50?) and I would be happy to live in one if they existed. Such places exist widely in the west.

 

It's not relevant but yes, I also think that noisy children on flights should be relegated to some distant part of the aircraft or banned altogether. The same applies to drunks, people with loud phones/devices or anyone generally who makes pointless noise.

They're called retirement homes... or assisted living....   Most able elderly people I know hate the idea of such a place. 

I'm not sure if such homes for the elderly exist in Thailand. 

19 hours ago, DipStick said:

 I have been a Marco Polo club member of Cathay Pacific since 1991, and often fly business class, but I will not accept a young child under ten seated next to me whilst the parents are in a different part of the cabin allowing the cabin crew to "mother" the child next to me. By the way the cabin crew are totally agreeable with me.

I think this is fair enough...  A Child should be seated next to their parents. 

Having flown numerous times with my Son (25 flights before his 1st Birthday and now at more than 50 flights at the age of 3) I do my best to keep him occupied and peaceful - but its not always possible. 

That said, he's made less noise and trouble than drunks on flights I've been on. 

Phones / iPads on silent or with headphones... Definitely... 

And in restaurants - last night my Son was misbehaving, it was a high end restaurant, not the sort of place where I felt comfortable waiting out his tantrum... As soon as he started playing up my Wife took him home. 

He's usually wonderful, polite, social and happy... but last night he was a pain, I felt it unfair to inconvenience others with his poor behavior. 

I think much of the issues people have with noisy kids originates from the parents of those kids in question. It is up to my Wife and I to ensure our child is not a nuisance.... Kids will be kids, they will have fun and make some noise, but there is a line of reason, one which I will not permit my son to cross.... Some adults can be extremely intolerant and unreasonable. 

I think a reasonable balance can be achieved for most 'normally tolerant' people.  Those without tolerance should do their utmost to avoid every day life for it is them who are the odd ones out, not families with kids. 

On 5/7/2017 at 10:50 AM, midas said:

"  I'm not so sure the program went broke "

 

You can use whatever description you choose but I don't know how else you would describe a company closing down because it had a debt burden of more than 1.4 billion baht.

 

I don't see the value of all those perks myself and I would prefer to pay for things like that if I actually need them. Had I not been able to get my retirement visa so easily and inexpensively I still wouldn't have succumbed to that scheme. I am highly suspicious of any organisation that demands their money in a lump-sum upfront because it doesn't give you the confidence that they have plan to be around in the long term. I mean American Express doesn't charge me a lump-sum for my Platinum card.

 

 

 

erm... if the Elite Program had been closed down in June, 2011 what are we discussing in this thread?

17 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

I detest the noise of screaming children and all other pointless noises like barking dogs and tuneless karaoke and wailing monks. As far as I'm concerned a condo building is not a place for children at all: they should be in a house (or a zoo). Condos are places in which people should be quiet and that's it, and anyone with children, or other sources of noise, who voluntarily moves to a condo is not very bright.

 

The OP could make a written complaint to the JPM and the committee. All co-owners have the right to peaceful enjoyment of their property which includes the common areas like the pool. Those who wish to make a noise can simply go to public area like a park or beach and do it. There is no shortage of noisy public places in Thailand, none at all. Unfortunately the complaints will probably have no effect as most Thais dont care about noise and dont care about other people either. So he can thank his stars that he is (apparently) just a tenant and can move at any time and without any major financial loss.

Wow... who's not very Bright ? The families living in 2,3,4 bedroom condo's with Kids or the fool who moves into a Condo and then detests the noise kids make? !!!

KittenKong, this is an extremely depressing post of yours. Do you really hate children this much? You don't find any pleasures in a child's playful laugh?... How do you explain 2,3,4 bedroom condos ? shared only by adults?... How do you explain 'Play areas' in Condo's? what about the kids swimming pools in Condo's?

You seem to be the type of person who believes children should not be allowed on Flights, who believes Children should not be brought into restaurants... You are the type of person the rest of us call 'Grumpy'....  and likely a 'Grumpy Old Man'... this is depressing... surely you'd wish to be remembered for something better than being a miserable old fart, no ?

--------------

For the record, if I open my balcony doors I can hear about 30 Children who are at the ground level having the time of their lives, squealing, screaming, giggling, shouting kids....  Its a lovely sound...  its their time, between 4-7 PM where they all congregate downstairs with each other (parents and / or nanny's supervising)... Its one of specific reasons we moved into this Condo...  Its just great for our son, when choosing another Condo we will look for equal facilities...  

Perhaps you think that is not very bright of me... but then given your post above, you haven't exactly presented yourself in a favorable light when considering intellect. 

This appears to be a tragic accident... 

Its very difficult to see from footage, but what I can see is that the Motorcycle appears to slow for a pickup and then fall off.

The passing lorry has a trailer, it appears that the lady fell under the trailer. I don't think the lorry driver would have noticed. I don't think he can be blamed for continuing on. 

This is simply a pure and tragic accident. It does show just how vulnerable we are on the roads here in Thailand, especially when riding a bicycle or motorcycle. 

RIP.

3 hours ago, Essaybloke said:

Oops, here we go again- time for stupid (negative) generalizations about Thai people!  

I too hate negative generalizations...  BUT... this one was pretty close to the mark...  

....In general, the drivers in Thailand do not plan head, they tend not to look too far ahead and read the road... And, there is very little concept of danger or consequence.... 

....this is not a Thai bash, its a bash against the majority of road users in Thailand and one which is difficult to refute given the road accident and fatality statistics.

2 minutes ago, thhMan said:

A truck speeding towards you and you are already guessing Brake Failure????

 

That excuse has gotten so way out of hand that they should impose MASSIVE fines for just uttering it!

Agreed, naive minds, innocently ignorant and completely indifferent to consequence...     it's a highly volatile mix when combined with vehicles... 

But if it WAS an UBER driver they wouldn't have apologized for their criminal intimidation tactics ?...

....Apology is not sufficient, these guys need to be shown that their behavior is unacceptable. They need to be charged... intimidation and racketeering.

IF driving a taxi is so poorly paid, such that they can't maintain their cars and some posters feel sorry for them etc, why are there so many taxi's on Bangkok's roads ?.... At times, 90% of the traffic around me is taxi's... they are also screwing each other out of business.... 

I took a taxi the other night for the first time in a while without an initial handful of refusals... 

Great, I thought, the driver was polite, switched on the meter straight away... 

...But no seatbelt, I felt quite vulnerable as he screamed up Rama IV road weaving through traffic... He took it easy after I asked him to...  but my thoughts... why? Just why is it so difficult for these guys to provide a simple service without any issues? Do I ask too much ?

What I think are reasonable expectations - which are the norm in many other countries. 

1) Seatbelts

2) Serviced vehicles

3) Safe & Professional driving

4) Uses the meter 

5) No repeated refusals

ALL of the issues with BKK taxis stem from the poor attitudes of the drivers which over time has become the norm, such that a sense of entitlement has slipped into the fray... I'd happily pay a little more for a better reliable service. 

4 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

Morals what are they then. Is it moral for politicians from all countries to defraud there country! Is it moral for one man to hold power over everyone in his country. Everyones idea of morals is diffrent. Personaly my morals are under age sex should be punishable by life in prison men or women. Looking after my family and brothers of which i have many after that morals go out of the window. 

This is a discussion of Age Gap...  not below the age of consent...  

25 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Ive 2 boys in their 20's, Id love nothing more than for them to hook u with and older minted lady.

All other things being equal... would you prefer them to hook up with an older minted lated or a minted lady of similar age ?

.... of course, to avoid answering the question many would answer - as long as they are happy it doesn't matter... and really, it doesn't... BUT... IF you were to have a preference ?... for yourself when you were younger, or your children... 

10 minutes ago, JAFO said:

^ Funny how the reality is painful for some....Eh.....LOL

 

What I do not get is the denial by so many. Why don't they just say it for what it is. If some guy came on here and said I am with a gal 25 or 30 years younger then I am because I want to be and I know its not love but an agreement I would respect them a lot more then the ones that say "She loves me for me". Its delusional in most cases. 

 

But hey, whatever works....

I think the issue is that for many the reality is far from the accusation. 

Many guys have been with their wives for many years. They are in mutually respectful, healthy relationships. Yet some are taring all age gaps with the same 'love for money' brush which quite frankly is offensive and disrespectful to the many respectable, honest and loving wives of many of the posters on this forum.

I think some posters comments need to clearly distinguish who their comments are aimed at... ie. not those who are in mutually respectful relationships, regardless of age gap to those who have simply thrown money at a younger piece of flesh.... 

7 minutes ago, White Tiger said:

I saw the CCTV footage of this accident on Thai tv this morning. To me it looked from that as if the motorcyclist was 100% at fault. It pulled straight into the right hand lane immediately in front of the car, at speed and apparently without looking. From what I saw I thought there was no way the car could have stopped or avoided hitting the motorbike.   I was puzzled as to why such a big fuss was being made and why the celeb driver was apologizing.  I felt a bit sorry for the bloke and thought he was being made into a scapegoat because he was a rich celeb. Having read this thread I now understand why there was a fuss - no licence and no insurance (and maybe failing to stop after the accident?). If he had been on the road legally then on the evidence of the CCTV footage I saw on the news I reckon he would be in the clear as to my mind there was nothing he could have done to avoid hitting the motorbike. But not being street legal (and his apparently failing to stop?) it seems have put the blame firmly at his door.  (Of course his subsequent behaviour, apparently pretending to be a good Samaritan who was not involved with the accident but who witnessed it also helps with the apportionment of blame after the event. Despicable behaviour but perhaps motivated by genuine remorse while wanting to hide the truth?). 

That offers a better explanation of what happened. Although if I'm not mistaken he did stop to render assistance at the scene... this is what he was initially commended for before 'people' (media) discovered he was directly involved with the accident. 

While driving without insurance or a license is illegal, the 'road racers' were also racing illegally and caused the accident. I wonder if the motorcyclists racing had licenses... 

.... This is why I have a Dash-Cam and also why I ensure I am always legal... That said, its easy to let the tax slip... it's happened to me where I was driving for 3 months with out of date road tax. 

Upon arriving at Suvarnabumi after a month in the UK the immigration officers insisted on 'stamping me' in for one day, as my extension of stay (work) expired the next day. I explained that I am no longer working, the job was terminated while I was away in the UK. I wished to be stamped in on my Thai Elite Visa...

The Immigration officer informed me I couldn't do this, that I couldn't choose which Visa I preferred to use. I argued that it was my choice, not his and I definitely wasn't going to accept being stamped in today and have to leave again tomorrow... that was just daft. 

I refused to accept his decision and asked for his supervising officer, who in turn told the junior officer that he was wrong.

Lesson learnt: Don't kowtow... if something doesn't seem right, it usually isn't - there is nothing wrong with firmly but politely questioning things. The amount of people in positions of power who have inadequate training is incredible. 

I'm still not quite sure what happened here... 

Two motorcycles involved in a race, one of which collided with the Lexus. 

The Lexus driver lied about the incident and claimed he had just stopped to assist the injured party. 

I'm curious, how was the Lexus driver driving recklessly?... did he go into the back of the racing motorcycles?

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I am often puzzled why so many people deliberately put their life in danger in search of 'adventure'. Not very considerate if they have family they leave behind to cope with the consequences of failure. I can only guess that they consider life as it is is too boring.

I think it depends on your risk profile...  In New Zealand, both my Wife and I did the 136m Nevis Bungy... We sky dived from 15000 ft above lake Taupo, we took the Shotover Jetboat along a Queenstown river canyon... 

We had a 10 month old child at the time...  We didn't go up in the plane together... Some may say this was too risky, others may agree that its just adults enjoying and getting on with life... I say it was an excellent adventure and an incredible experience...  

I wouldn't try the same in Thailand... In fact when evaluating and balancing out the risks I even avoid using motorcycle taxis here in Thailand (Bangkok).

.... some of these adventures offering a Thrill, when evaluated with an intelligent and balanced approach are often much safer than the risks we expose ourselves too in everyday life (such as crossing the road in Thailand, using motorcycle taxi's, walking next to a boiling vat of oil on the street, walking down a pavement with motorcycles, taking a taxi on the toll way without rear seatbelts etc etc.... getting in Taxi's with emotionally immature and high charged potentially aggressive drivers !!!... the list goes on)... 

4 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Who else was in the plane with him ?

What happened to his credit cards and phone ?

People dont just jump out of aeroplanes for no reason

There is more to this story , I reckon that he was pushed out the aeroplane

When you go sky diving... you don your shoot before entering the plane... 

... If he was pushed - he'd still be able to open his shoot.

... more to the story... agreed... Shoot didn't open, or landed in the water and drowned under the shoot... or... 

What on earth was he doing with a grenade at home ??? !!!

... Who keeps a grenade a home ??... 

... the insane part of this story, well, its all insane, is that someone mentally unstable enough to use a grenade to threaten their own child (or anyone else), can so readily get their hands on a device used to main handfuls of people at one time... 

... Mad !!!

8 minutes ago, midas said:

Plus in today's world we don't know what is going to happen next month or even next week and for me to pay that amount for   future " benefits " it would have to be a fairly sure thing and because it went broke once before it's definitely not that

I'm into my 11th year of Membership... I'm not so sure the program went broke, but at a couple of times the future of the TE program was a little sketchy. 

By the time I am 50 and of retirement age the program will have cost me 152 baht per day. 

From usage (Golf, Massage & Airport Trx) I've pretty much recovered my costs. 

That said: The perks have changed, many have been dropped... the goal posts have moved (i.e. changes in golf courses, many have gone, 7 series BWM dropped to Camry (this doesnt bother me), Massage now limited to Thai or foot massage only (this annoyed me)... 

So.. with all this, I've still been happy with the program and now that I'm married to a Thai and have a child I could sell my membership and apply for the Type O visa... but its just too convenient. 

The greatest convenience - not having to queue at immigration and being whisked straight through to the waiting car...  If you are a frequent flyer this perk alone is worth it. 

Trip, trap, trip, trap went his hooves.  ‘Who’s that trip trapping over my bridge?’ roared the Troll... 

Op: Try much much harder... 

The flight attendant is quoted as saying that the Child cannot occupy a seat as he is under 2 years old. 

This is incorrect: In an *FAA approved car seat a Child is more safe than in the arms of its parent.  The FAA actually recommends securing your child instead of placing the child in your lap.

(*Most stage 0-1 car seats are FFA approved these days). 

FAA Approved Car Seats:

Quote

Quote from FAA Website:

Did you know that the safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap? Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence.

I used to fly this way with my Son all the time (car seat on the plane) The only difference, I never bought the seat as there were always spares. 

The video clearly shows that the guy bought the seat for his child. Delta have made up some rubbish, and for what ?...  their stance makes no sense whatsoever... its as if the world has gone insane. 

With no social welfare system in Thailand, those with criminal records who cannot join the Police force, who are too useless or lazy to find a conventional paying job as a laborer or taxi driver turn to monk-hood... 

I often wonder how many of these monks are criminals who have no other alternative and are ticking time bombs...  It would seem, a lot more than we think. 

18 minutes ago, Mad mick said:

No its thailand they do the same to fly to Australia cost at least $200 + , more from here welcome to amazing thailand u r a farang u pay more .

Thats a rather flawed attempt at a Thai bash: Thai's also have to pay more for their flights originating in Thailand, and the companies with asymmetrical pricing are not Thai... 

With a reasonable amount of planning (at least 6 months for a biannual visit and a flexible ticket), it may actually be worth buying a one way and the return from my home country to bring these prices down. 

Because of this huge cost discrepancy, for my family and I, I recently used Airmiles with Etihad to fly to the UK and return from the UK with Emirates one way... (Perhaps I should have returned with Emirates on a return UK based ticket - which would have worked out cheaper in the long run).