richard_smith237

28 minutes ago, fruitman said:

So you would let this girl work on your car?  I only let qualified engineers touch mine since it's already dangerous enough in BKK.

Such a silly comment... do you really believe she is working on the Hydraulic transmission systems or brake systems at a Honda / Toyota / BMW garage ??....  

Its plainly obvious that she is just part-timing in her uncles 'mom+pop' workshop, which, looking at the photo offers little more than a tyre replacement and a change of spark plug... 

Reading ThaiVisa.com sometimes makes me wonder how such a simple, basic and positive story can be spun by some into such a negative. These comments say so much about the negative posters - I hope some of you negative posters are not really this miserable in the real world. 

The issue in Thailand is that when ever outside anywhere, be it a shopping mall, a restaurant, even a kids play area we can't take our eyes off our child for second....   If we do the inquisitiveness of our children could have tragic consequences...  

This is one of the main issues which makes me truly concerned when living here...  

I have a 3 year old Child, the single and only issue I have is for their safety in a country where safety is primarily overlooked.

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Maybe you missed it, but backpackers do not use a laptop for their facebook, they have mobile phones for that. (Nearly) the only people using laptops are those needing it for work.

Its not just lap-tops its any electrical device larger than an iPhone 6 Plus (or 7+)... 

Which means, iPads, Tablets etc are also banned... thats going to be a real headache if you are traveling with a Child.

I hope the reasons for these bans are based on real security concerns and not just a knee-jerk response to someones suspicions or risk. IF it means we are safer, then fair enough. But, really, IF a serious explosive can be placed in a tablet, it can be placed in a phone... Soon we are at risk of being prevented from traveling with any electronics at all... 

This is no longer the 'thin end of the wedge', we are well into the 'wedge'.....

1 hour ago, chowny77 said:

This is totally about the money the country makes from tax from cigs, booze. If they could make a monopoly on e-cigs, drugs and sex it would be totally legal but they cant. The world is now bigger than mere governments and they dont like it. So stomp on the little man.

I know friends who are in and out carrying e-cigs all the time... they are never searched. 

I guess the worst that could happen is that you are searched and fined.... Most likely though, if searched and e-cigs are found and IF they are recognized as e-cigs they may be confiscated... Realistically, the customs guys are looking for more conventional contraband (i.e. too many bottles of booze, the extra box of cigarettes, 10 iPhones etc)... 

On the balance of all probability you will have no issues whatsoever... so long as you are not walking down Sukhuimvit Nana areas openly vaping. 

7 minutes ago, marko kok prong said:

Post a photo of her ,surely you jest sir,who knows what nefarious designs you may have with said picture,guess you will have to take my word for it ,good day to you sir.

haha...  indeed - I wouldn't be posting photos of my Wife for precisely the same reasons !

6 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

That smoking hot girl is most likely on social media apps hooking up with others while farang is busy renovating.

The Op has suggested his girl is 'smoking hot'... but is she really ?... I see many guys hanging around with 'shockers'... 

...we'll have to take the Ops word for this obviously...  We're also taught not to judge a book by its cover, but for most of us who've been here any length of time, it takes less than a second to make a fairly accurate observation...

... one guy's 'smoking hot' is another guys brutal looking hooker...   one guys 'spinner' is another guys 'fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down' !!!.... it seems many guys think smoking hot is a slender body which is why they think most girls are smoking hot, but some look like the missing evolutionary link.... 

Anyway... IF the Op claims his partner is smoking hot - perhaps he should post a photo of her... it may then give others a better idea of why she wanted to stay in the centre of Patpong rather than his choice of hotel. 

1 hour ago, hottrader77 said:

IT WAS HIT AT THE BACK ONLY THATS WHY IT LOOKS LIKE IT DOES !! ITS YOU THAT DOES NOT HAVE A CLUE !! THE LORRY DRIVER TOLD THE PRESS THE REAL STORY , the motorbike driver did not look in his mirror when changing lanes forget what he said on video thats to stop anyone blaming him !! he should admit the truth 

I've watched the video numerous times. I can't see that the bike was hit from behind. 

It most definitely appears to me that the the couple fell off the bike while the lorry was passing.

The lorry driver continued completely unaware.

The incident is simply explained and has been by the motorcycle rider. He had to brake hard, his girlfriend fell to the right, he (the rider) and the bike fell to the left. The articulated trailer rolled over the the lady with tragic consequences. 

I don't see that the motorcycle rider was avoiding any blame, he was simply mentioning his version of the facts as he remembers them. 

I can't see how the lorry driver was even aware of what had happened given it appears that it was the articulated trailer which rolled over the lady and not the front of the lorry which impacted the rear of the bike. 

27 minutes ago, Dieterkr said:

Maybe you don't believe me, but you can get more informed by reading this :  https://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.dk/2017/05/vape-shop-air-sampling-by-california.html

Thats an informative article specifying precisely how little second hand 'vape' could be measured in a small non-ventilated area.... 

The above points the poster 'scorecard' wrote only identify poor reading skills on his part before letting his foot off the clutch a little too early with an out of context response. 

Should have stayed home and choked the chicken... Instead he went out with a bang...

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.