richard_smith237

Thats fine GottFrid... you can continue on with your judgemental sanctimony at those less fortunate... ... Meanwhile, they day you stuff up and get injured for doing something dumb or silly, I'll be there casting judgement on those suggesting you 'deserved it'... You see, it is not the comments about stupidity I object to... it is the nastiness from those who suggest someone 'deserves' an incident such as this... YOU are one of those people who have suggested this lady 'deserved to lose her hands' - I find that comment inhumane, nasty and that of someone horribly lacking in redeemable character... Its not surprising to me that you find pleasure in the fact that others support your nastiness - birds of a feather and all that... A nasty little bunch some of you are and its fortunate you are in a minority. I'd like to meet people like you in person - not for any other reason that to see if your comments are keyboard 'bravado' or if you are naturally such a piece of work...

Thanks... another facet to add... Whether Fast Track or Standard lanes..... When I used the re-entry permit (during covid) I was using a fast track lane... Thus had to tell the Immigration officer I needed a re-entry permit, then they took me to the area which you describe above (in the left corner). I guess the golden rule (at the airport) is IF you need a re-entry permit, look for it before you pass the immigration counter and if you can't find it, ask the immigration officer before they 'do any exit stamping' of your passport....

My Brother In Law has a Pick-up... In the last 5 years we've used it once, because I was too lazy to put our bike rack on and it was easier just to borrow his car and throw the bicycles in the back of his flat bed... Realistically, the pickup was not needed and I may as well have just put the bike rack on as I have many other times. I've never felt the need for a pick-up in Bangkok.... when moving house we have too much stuff for a pickup and use a moving service etc... I just can't think of any reason 'in Bangkok or outside of it where a pickup comes in handier than a regular car or SUV... unless transporting farm kit and goods etc... I know its kind of off-topic - but also consider the Pick-ups are popular for a couple of reasons. - They are relatively cheap - The whole family can be transported in the flat bed - Contagion effect - everyone has one, so others copy Genuine question: When was the last time you (Khun LA) 'needed' your pick-up... also, how often per year would you say you needed it ? i.e. we bought a large TV, not easy to fit in the car, was with the son, couldn't put the seats down, so just had it delivered the next day, although I wouldn't have wanted to put it the flatbed of a pickup either.... not if going on the expressway or if it looks like it might rain...

They always come in handy I just figured his missus had put on a bit of timber.... ... but in all seriousness.. he mentioned 'he sometimes uses a taxi because he wants to transport something heavy'.... I'm assuming cases of beer etc, rather than a sofa !

What are the 'annoyances' of owning a car ?? I can't think of any.... other than having to clean it now and again... and of course, being 'stuck with it' if I'm out and feel as though I wanted a few beers....

@OneMoreFarang - take a look at one2car.com..... this site will give you plenty of choices.... Forget the smaller EV's such as NETA... dangerous tin buckets IMO... Something larger may be more suitable... I'm sure KhunLA will recommend an MG at some point. Nothing wrong with a solid small EV though.... but distance for road trips may give pause for thought. If looking for a simple small reliable run around... - Honda Jazz - Toyota Yaris I live in Bangkok (quite central but not on a BTS line) and use the car far more than my motorcycle.... its often too hot to be comfortable on the motorcycle, so the car and AC it is.... also with family - there's no way they are going on the back of my motorcycle... so thats another reason I'd always use the car with them.... I think you'll get the best advice from those in your situation who have 'both options' and see if they say... 'nah, no need for a car'.... For everyone I know who has a car, admits it makes life much better. Traffic outside of peak times is not bad... but if you want to go somewhere at 5pm on a Friday, then you still have your bike (but you'll get caught in traffic then too !!).

He's not a farmer and lives in Bangkok !!!...

C'mon.... there are so many temples to see... Seriously though... dig deeper.... plenty to do and see in Thailand.... There are also far more similarities here than differences... people are often more friendly. Of course, there are also plenty of negatives here, but Thailand is most definitely a net-positive place to be.

Question: Is the location of the 're-entry' desk not different for Don Muang vs Suvarnabumi... ? (*i.e. at DMK the 'desk' is before immigration and at BKK (Suv) the desk is after Immigration - so the departing passenger should inform immigration of their need for a re-entry permit).... This may have all changed and there is now some consistency - but I thought I'd mention the differences that I'm aware of. Also note: the departing Auto-gates... (at Suvarnabumi anyway)... it would be easy to exit those before getting a re-entry permit and maybe getting caught out in some awkward 'cannot, you've no exited' type scenario... (and yes - the auto-gates on departure do work for foreigners).

If its the same crash.... I watched this with my Son on TikTok... a regular driver with a dash cam had captured all these cars passing at speed driving incredibly close together... Utter idiots - the stupidity was clear to see.... Though I'm sure 'someone' will be along to suggest using the term stupidity does not explain the reason they crashed, it has more to do with road engineering etc and other factors we do not understand... blaming ineffective policing here and poor attitudes towards road safety is racist etc... ... 5000 word copy and past from a dated text-book will surely then follow as we are all told we do not know what we are talking about.... ... But we do... these guys are idiots and kill each other an innocent victims.... the police do nothing. Luckily they didn't kill anyone this time. --------- I've just been driving in treacherous conditions overseas.... (worst conditions I've seen for a long time)... I didn't see one driver do anything daft or stupid.... ... We were fortunate to have an excellent and safe driver for the time it took to get from the Airport to home, but in that time I saw numerous manoeuvres which I'd classify as outwardly reckless, to stupid, to idiotic, dumb, to ignorantly and naively dangerous... (i.e. I saw more silly, stupid and dumb road use in 30mins here than I did in two weeks in another well developed nation).

When the bill of an Op is north of half a mil (baht) thats some nice points on the card !!!... (towards flights etc).... Just so long as we can be confident the insurer will pay out (like Cigna).... But... an earlier encounter (with a company named after the 4th month) means that can be hit and miss... with pre-authorisation, I took treatment at Bumrungrad, then after their refusal to pay, I started recieving warning letters from Bumrungrad had to pay out myself.... I would have otherwise opted a cheaper hospital for the treatment if being forced to pay out of pocket... ... so I was 'doubly shafted' - first by getting pre-approval at a top hospital (for relatively simple treatment), then finding out its going to cost me a lot out of pocket when I'm sure I could have received treatment at half the price at a lesser known hospital with uglier nurses !!!

Given the defamation laws in Thailand I would suggest that you DO NOT post the name! In the interests of improving things for the forum community - Name the company.... This is not about defamation, its about who provides the best experience and who has had a negative encounter..... this is important information for us all. Its one of the reasons I have not chosen Pacific Cross as my health Insurance provider - based on comments here, where it has been repeatedly shown that they are more likely to dig for some reason and shoehorn out wiggle room not to pay out....

Pre-Authorisation is often a right proper annoyance.... especially for something serious (but not life threatening in which case its obvious treatment can be sought right away). My previous insurance (Cigna Int'l) though my company (full cover, no exclusions etc).... I wouldn't bother with pre-authorisation. - After injuries (plural / though sports) I'd visit the hospital... the operations were obviously needed anyway, so with or without approval I'd need the treatment (operation) regardless... .... And... sometimes the 'pre-authorisation' can take day days of waiting which I was not willing to go through (in pain). ... Dr's were excellent and I just get the Op booked immediately (often the following day), pay up, and then make the full claim.... (paid back into my account in less than a couple of weeks).... Much better than waiting for the Pre-authorisation hassle then having them delay, missing an Op booking time because the underwriter is slow 'authorising' the treatment etc. (and... even with Pre-authorisation, for a much earlier issue a while back now insurer (named after 4th month) Thailand still ended up refusing to pay after digging something out of some doctors notes from a past medical check up).

So.... thats 1000 'paying members' they can track-down for using child pornography.... They've caught the parents... they'll be locked up of course won't they?... erm.. won't they ? The child will go into protective services, won't he ?...erm... will he ??? Are relatives safe ?... if the parents are like this, what was their family background, were the relatives aware ??? A truly horrible situation, but with active policing this is an excellent opportunity to catch a lot of offenders.... for those who received these images are likely to have images of other children and the abhorrent characters who distributed them can be tracked down an caught ? ..... its certainly workable for the Police, though I wonder, in fact, I'm incredibly sceptical that more would be done... Sadly I have little faith in the Thai police to value the wellbeing of children and lives in general sufficiently for them to take great steps and make great efforts to eradicate or at least reduce such activities.... I hope I am wrong.

This discussion took place last year... One poster claiming the stress of flying is too much and he worried that he'd forget to get the re-entry permit... (and also likes to get to the airport hours earlier) If this is your situation, then I can understand that getting the re-entry permit ahead of time may be a favourable choice... BUT... IF you are someone who is more relaxed about this stuff and simply wants to know the details while being able to take the process in a relaxed stride - then obtaining the re-entry permit at the airport is the most convenient solution.

To be fair... how many 'catastrophic' journeys have you had to the airport that heavily delayed you? I'm travelling out about 8 times per year - and have not once had any major delay on the way to the airport.... But, if thinking along those lines, then its possible the car has an accident... and I need medical attention etc... then is it best to get to the airport the day before... Yes, extreme case, but where is that line? how paranoid do we need to be ????.... chances of a major delay are extremely slim. Then there is the risk of a long queue for a re-entry permit, someone mentioned a big queue of 30mins... but again, thats a rarity.... As far as a long check-in queue is concerned... thats always a risk and that needs to be planned for with any flight. So really, is it worth all the worry ????.... Just get the re-entry permit at the airport - its somewhat of a no-brainer.... allow yourself an extra 30 mins if you have to. OR... IF you are a worrier and have plenty of time, just add the re-entry permit once you have your extension of stay in hand. ------ On this matter.... there was a discussion a few weeks ago and some posters stating they'd like to get to the airport 5 hours early !!!... which IMO is nuts, they'd just be waiting for 2 hours for the check-in desk to open, unless flying Thai Airways.

Agreed.... I was snorkling in PhiPhi a long time ago.... 1m deep water... I looked down and a Moray Eel was poking out its head (about 1m from my nutsack)... A bite would not have been nice !!! Posters on here would be stating any bite is deserved... I shouldn't be messing with nature !!! .... at the same time I saw black-tip and white-tip sharks.... also sea snakes.... and yes, I wanted to take photos of them.... ---------- In this situation... Bull sharks can be so aggressive, it could have been kids playing in the water nearby... Posters on here would be blaming the parents for letting their kids go for a swim etc.... .... Posters on here just want to 'blame people'... completely oblivious to their own stupid comments and perhaps conveniently forgetting a load of 'extremely dumb shyte' they've done in their own lives.... Again.. the point is... 'no one deserves' this because they were curious and wanted a photo....

I had a minor Arthorscopic knee surgery 6 months ago... (trimmed back part of a damaged meniscus)... 15 mins was all it took.... stayed over night, no pain meds needed the next day etc... Felt perfect again... But now its a pre-existing condition... Upon discharge there was a form that asked for approval to 'share information' - I refused to sign it. I was told I had to sign it.... I refused to sign it.... I told them information privacy is important to me and they are not to share this information with any other service provider. Realistically - I don't think they will care - its just paperwork and if an insurer wants my medical notes I don't think the hospital staff will be looking for the 'signature' that allows sharing of medical information, thats too much work... they'll just 'do what they always do' and conform and share the information.

Another point I want to make separately. I've recently need to secure my 'own' insurance over again (rather than a good cover through work). Over the past 3 years I've had a couple of Knee Ops - menicus repair, and ankle tendon repair... all injuries encountered through sports injuries. Its taken 6 weeks of back and forth with insurance companies who agree full cover, then after time wasted inform me their underwriter will not cover anything to do with my knees or ankle. ... So it seems if I'm in a car accident and manage to damage my knee, they will not cover the injury - or they refuse to get nailed down to such specifics and just apply general exclusions. If I have a motorcycle accident and twist my ankle, I don't think its covered... BUT... the language used is 'exclusion for Knee and right ankle diseases' - which seems specific - but really, gives them wiggle room.... I just have to hope nothing happens. ------------- Next renewal... I'll just use a completely new insurance company and lie.... then use a completely different hospital and check they are not using the same underwrites as my previous hospitals. Is that 'cheating the system' ???... maybe.... but, if a car hits me and damages my knees, is not because 3 years ago I had a meniscus repair !!!... and don't believe if fair that insurance uses this to 'wiggle out'.... But... in the same context, if I have knee pain after running regularly, then its my own fault as I know have had meniscus damage... so it would be fair for insurance to reject any such claim. The issue of course as mentioned is they take the 'slightest of comments' in any medical notes and use that to avoid any cover, which IMO is unfair.... Change insurers ??... after being honest with many, I will have to do that, but I'll need more time to do better research to find companies that are not over lapping or information sharing...

I had a small kidney stone a number of years ago... Found on a routine medical checkup and that info was placed in my medical notes. Approximately 5 years later, I had another medical check-up, and no kidney stone was found. Information was placed in my notes that 'a previously observed small kidney stone was no longer present'.... (i.e. the absence of a kidney stone was noted). Fast forward about 4.5 years and I had Kidney pain... insurance pre-approved a proceedure (to have it blasted - lithotripsy)... so I had the procedure at Bumrungrad (cost 130,000 baht). Insurance, later refused to pay under the clause that 'Renal issues' were noted in my medical notes within the last 5 years (there was a 5 year cut off)... I argued that the comment in my notes was refering to the absense of a stone, rather than the presence, thus the medical check up was a confirmation of the 'absense of renal issues' rather than the presence of a pre-existing condition I should have notified them of (again - the moratorium on this was 5 years). I ended up paying out of pocket.... I've since been told that I had a case to 'contest' this with the Insurer (April Thailand), however, I travel a lot and did not want to run the risk of a powerful hospitial such as Bumrungrad placing a block on my passport because I owed them money (I'm not sure if they could do this, but due to my work I was not prepared to take any risk with hassles or delayed travel). Short answer: Insurance companies will use 'any' amount of wiggle room, no matter how slim to work their way out of paying.

Have you ever been diving ?... Have you ever been on a safari ?... Have you ever been trekking through the mountains ?... ( overseas or Thailand ). Been skiing in steep terrain ?... Camping in wild areas ?... Air-pressure issues, attacks by wildlife, snake bites, slips on rocks near waterfalls, wild elephants, avalanche, bear attacks etc etc... There are risks everywhere, even crossing the road.... Calling this woman an idiot is perhaps a fair comment, she did something rather silly and paid a horrible price for her mistake. She may not have been unaware of the risks, she may not even have been able to identify the shark as a Bull-shark and of course, she should have taken greater caution... going up to the shark was of course wildly naive... not very bright... But, my reaction is not to those calling her an idiot... its to those who's abhorrent and un-human attitude is that this woman somehow deserved to lose her hands because she was naive and perhaps stupid enough to want to take a photo so closely. I doubt half of the posters passing such venomous judgement travel far beyond a bar-stool... and do many more activities than lifting a beer.... ... They need to be careful they don't fall off their stool, or trip over while drink and bang their head... Some asshat on here will accuse them of being stupid for not knowing bar-stools can be wobbly !!!... ... I'd bet that many of the posters passing such judgement would be drinking beers at some point this week and riding a scooter / motorcycle home, some even without a helmet... now thats stupid - but I wouldn't levy the accusation that they 'deserved' brain damage when smashing their head after having a close encounter with the road or some immovable object.... .... And, thats the point I want to make - this woman did not 'deserve this' contrary to the commentary of the regular judgemental sanctimonious and commonly 'nasty' posters.

Very true.... But, the reason I purchased my car was not because it was an EV... It was because I liked the actual car (if it were an ICE I would have purchased it). I'm also not pro-EV.... But I do see many many flaws in the anti-EV arguments, many of them based on emotion rather than facts. Equally so, I see many flaws in the anti-ICE arguments, or many 'convenient' miss-truths in the pro-EV arguments when comparisons are not make on 'true like for like' factors. Both EV's and ICE's have their own Pro's and Con's... as a recent ICE owner, the car was excellent. As a 'now' EV owner for a few months, the car is excellent.... the reality is... within their own 'class range' all modern cars are pretty great. So... its not about revolution - because, IF everyone gets an EV tomorrow, it could be pretty disastrous..... Kind of like boasting about your favourite tourist spot then complaining when it gets too busy. As of now, there are no brownouts, no grid failures due to over usage at peak-charging times. No massive queues at public EV charging stations etc... But... at some point, the shift in critical mass will cause issues... One of them will be 'tax' on electricity... I'm sure that our 'cheap home charging' will become more expensive as the governments start missing out on Tax.... maybe Road Tax on EV's themselves will become higher. (they are heavier and cause more damage to road infrastructure etc)... ... So, even with your home grid (Khun LA) you may still see higher costs in future (thats a complete unknown of course) but the governments will want their missing tax money from somewhere !!! EV's are good, ICE's are also good - one is not better than the other, not for all of us.... We 'need' both options... (and ICE's can also be clean, particularly the modern ones - the pollution comes from all other older trucks etc)... .... a revolutionary shift from ICEs to all EV's on the roads could be quite problematic IMO... Then... there a future environmental disaster approaching - recycling EV batteries could be even more problematic.... Will EV owners be charged to actually 'get rid of their vehicle' due to recycling difficulties of their batteries ?... I've no idea, but all food for thought..... No... I don't see a revolutionary change as a good thing where EV's are concerned.... quite the opposite... a balance of each based on individual needs will be beneficial.

I'm not sure about that.... The 'better class of tourist' doesn't want what they have 'on offer'... ... These area's covet such tourist as they arrive en-masse, spend money en-masse... This 'better classes of tourist' that Thailand repeatedly announces that its trying to attract either goes elsewhere, or it goes to 'quieter' area's of Thailand already... BUT... the truth is Thailand authorities and local businesses don't care about the 'class of Tourist'.... They just want the money.... once the money is flowing in, then familiarity breeds contempt and the complaints also start flowing... Tourism is a double edges sword, the positive does not exist without he negative - or it doesn't without very careful planning and that is not a Thailand strong suit. Thailand is a great tourist destination - it does what is says on the tin... it already has the recipe right, it self markets and it makes a lot of money from tourists... it should stop complaining and grow up - when such numbers are visiting they can't suddenly complain that this is not what they wanted.

100%... This is exactly what Thailand wants... its covets these tourists, advertises for them, sets up such activities for them... This is part of the back-packer / gap-year trail... The come here, they spend loads of money and have a great time... they video their experiences (instagram, youtube, tiktok) and more come... Then what ?? some people complain that the tranquility is lost ? Thailand wants this, the locals want this because of the revenue - its a lottery win... But, the complaints are naive - you can't have mass tourism without the 'negatives' that come with it..... Thailand likes to try and kill off the golden goose... ... Yes, tourists can be disrespectful... but the locals who covet such numbers seem to want only the money and that greed also makes them hypocritical when they complain their culture is being impacted.

Fair enough I'd say... The 'V-loggers, YouTubers and TikTokers' don't bother me, they're making content and some do better than others.... some of it interesting, some of it tosh... But... I draw the line at invading peoples privacy.... AND... when someone is out, even though their are in a public place it does not mean their rights to privacy have been removed..... I think the invasive 'video-loggers' need to be dealt with - they don't care about their subjects, they just care about their 'views'... Some do a much better job of providing fun content - some want to try and embarrass people. If I were out and and about having dinner with my family and some tool started videoing me, I might well feel a reaction is necessary too.... I've seen folk walking down Soi Cowboy with these camera's - and IMO this is a stronger invasion of privacy... area's such as this are a no-no for filming IMO. Worse still of the amendment rights v-loggers who deliberately trigger the police or public servants into 'confrontational situations'... they are scum. I have 'young family' over in Thailand at the moment - its seems the only thing they want to do is 're-live' all the 'tiktok' and 'instagram' experiences they have viewed... which means living on 7-11 toasties and going to specific rooftop party bars, or going to certain restaurants... Eyes on the ground does not matter, local knowledge irrelevant - the video of a two week tiktoker with 500k likes must be correct !!!... In your shoes PomPolo, I'd be tempted to take the camera and smash it... it would serve him right. I also think there are laws in Thailand whereby videoing someone else is illegal without their permission, but I think there are some complexities... i.e. if the video shows a negative light etc.