richard_smith237

In an area such as Thailand with Dengue being a serious risk it has always struck me as particularly careless that we see so much of these 'water Lilly / lotus flower pots' around Thailand... in schools, temples, houses, restaurants... ... Its as if a creating additional breeding grounds for these Mosquito's is deliberate.

"Should they even have to say that to supposed adults? Should they have to say what?" There was no mention of alcohol or drinking anywhere in the article. ... In an ideal world, of course, not, however, I think yes, they "Should have to say that to supposed adults"..... as its clear from so many of the comments that so many "supposed adults" have such a low reading age they clearly need reminding like children....

But its perfect for grabbing the attention of some dumb Brit-bashers who are too stupid to read beyond a headline and thus trigger the 'brit-bashing' debate with their uneducated comments.

100% agree.... This incident is of course the fault of those riding the wrong way into oncoming traffic. But, also complicity is the complete ineffectiveness of authorities and law enforcement to do anything about this issue (and many others)... ---------- I too will one day 'wipe out' a motorcyclist who has either pulled out of a side street without looking, or simply rides straight into me expecting me to dodge them while at the same time I can't because there is traffic on the correct side of the road I don't want a 'head on collision with'... Then there is the issue of motorcyclists riding the wrong way down a 'frontage' lane (some call it the motorcyclist lane), and while I'm pulling out into traffic, looking right, a motorcyclists illegally riding down this 'shoulder strip' in the wrong direction hits me... I have dash-cams for these eventualities (on both my motorcycle and car) - but its no good to me if I am the one injured and they are kids who'll get off scot-free because the Police feel sorry for them because they are kids.

To place this issue of riding 'into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road' into perspective... ... there are some days when I do not witness the occurrence of a motorcyclist riding directing towards oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road... ... Those are days I'm either not in Thailand, or have not left the house !!!

And return on further transport tomorrow after the 'price' has been renegotiated. Thailand cannot do without its migrant labour force - what we see here is a repeated cycle of cat and mouse where operations exists in a 'grey area' of vagueness between what is permitted, what isn't permitted, what is tolerated, what is needed and what any individual or group can get away with at any given time within a fluid political landscape. Migrant laborer are bussed in... Some are caught and sent back - this looks good for the police. - xx illegal Immigrants caught this month (picture the PCV poster and lots of pointing).... - Meanwhile xx bus loads of Migrant Labourers are bussed to various centres, for factories, construction sites etc and get to work (cheap labor). - Sometimes these factories are raided and have to pay a fine, or through someone 'connected' pay a reduced fine for the BiB to look the other way... - OR, the ilegal Immigrants (Migrant Labourers) are bussed back across the border... only to return again days or weeks later to re-secure work. - Maybe they'll get stopped again (as this bus was) or they'll travel through the numerous border check-points without issue... The game of cat-n-mouse, agreements & re-negotiation continues... everyone profits except the migrant laborer's who have to pay for their transport and fines.... in a vicious cycle that keeps 'wages low', profits for the bigger businesses high and the police purse-strings nicely flexing....

Nope... You can do your own leg work.... There are plenty of articles on this very forum of non-Thai's misbehaving and getting themselves into legal difficulties, and some of them have been Swiss... in fact, very recently two of the most famous stories were of Swiss nationals misbehaving... but you still miss the point that this news, is of a warning to remain within visa regulations. It also seems you are unable to find information on any Governments webpage advising its citizens to remain within the legal bounds of their entry permissions when travelling overseas, you are too stupid to entertain any further discussion with... Time for a quote I think: Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.' You can waste your own time a look for your own links.

Got a link to all these Swiss troublemakers last month? Any murders? Ripping off sex workers? Human trafficking? Drug smuggling? Punching elderly Thais in the face? Working without visas? You're incapable of reading more than one thread at a time I see.. Plenty of recent history of various different nationalities reaching the local headlines after getting themselves in to trouble locally.... .... and none of them are a generalised example of or characterise the nature of people from those countries - only idiots would think otherwise.....

Which is unfortunately the reason for this warning. pretty bad it has got to this. Did you even read the opening post ??.... .... it had a couple of big words... were you able to understand it, ??.... Its about Visa's !!!! and a warning to British Nationals not to exceed their visa permissions.

Then you should educate yourself on the difference between the two. I'm part of the problem ???? .... the problem of idiots misunderstanding a thread about the Foreign office advising its nationals of visa regulations and bigots going off on a Brit bash !!!.... ??? hmm... This is the problem with these fora... they are full of idiots who suck out the oxygen and replace it with with their hypoxic stupidity. Once you take your head out of your backside and are able to re-oxygenate those brain cells... what problem are you imagining and what solution could 'I be part of' ??? - seriously, your comment itself is so ridiculously unintelligent !!!

That sort of stuff. As I said. Your eyes painted on? OK... so you've made up a load of stuff to conform to your negative bias... The stuff of idiots... Been here long enough to know your comments are complete rubbish - bad eggs from every nation and plenty of bad British eggs too.... but your exaggeration is simply that of a fool - no basis in fact or intelligence, its just bigotry.

It simply means that more gullible individuals, such as yourself, are prone to believe anything they read, provided it aligns with their preconceived notions. The British frequently make headlines because there is a significant number of them here. Similarly, the Swiss have also been in the news quite often recently. Are we to irrationally assume that all Swiss individuals are troublemakers? Or should we utilize our remaining cognitive faculties to understand that those who make the headlines are a minority and do not represent the entirety of their population? Moreover, there is the 'contagion effect,' where news on a particular subject tends to attract more attention than other topics. Consequently, the websites we frequent naturally gravitate towards such news, actively seek it out, and repeat it. One story triggers the recognition that similar stories secure more interaction; thus, we see more of the same. We witness such phenomenon repeatedly on these fora. For example, a story about a 'Big Bike Rider' doing something will result in a lengthy thread about bike licensing and big bikes etc... The core issue is that many people lack critical thinking skills, readily accepting whatever is presented to them without scrutiny, and then join the bandwagon, reinforcing their biases within their echo chamber. To further reinforce this notion, consider this ongoing thread about visa durations and the British Foreign Office advising its nationals to adhere to the legal terms of Thailands visas. Those with limited reading comprehension often deviate off-topic and interject their Brit-bashing sentiments which only greater serves to highlight the flawed intellect of such individuals. That may be too difficult for the halfwits to read - so here it is in simple wording: This thread is to remind British nationals about visa rules due to recent announcements that aren't enforced yet. It's not about the bad behavior of a few British people.

I agree with the 'wines' comment - I have not had a decent home grown wine in Thailand yet... However, beer on the other hand is quite different, some of the 'craft houses' make excellent beer.... Phuket Brew works sell some of their beers in some 7-11's... at 88 baht a 500ml can - very well priced and very tasty beer, I hope to see more development in this area throughout the year. Meanwhile, the article itself seems to me more about pairing Thai food with imported Wines and how the zero import tax and reduction in alcohol tax from 10% to 5% will stimulate growth in these markets - as most others have pointed out, we are yet to see this tax reduction and many of us are cynical that that we'll see it at all and profits will not be syphoned off by the cartel of importers.

I think you are the one with your head in the sand. This is an issue that the school admin needs to fix immediately. Teachers if they ignored it need to fired or punished appropriately too. A lawyer should set the stage for the school admin - press would be if nothing is done. Completely agree... I'd go so far and question Robert Paulsons grasp on reality and even if he has ever had children. The educators at my son's institution are a diverse cohort, encompassing graduates in Physics, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, English Literature, Geography, History, Art, French, Spanish, and other languages. Many hold Masters degrees, while some have obtained Doctorates, all complemented by either a Bachelor's in Education or a Postgraduate PGCE. Additionally, there are specialised sports coaches, each bringing their own expertise to the table. It would take decades of additional time invested to accumulate such an array of qualifications. For many of us, the prudent allocation of our time lies in leveraging our respective areas of expertise, thereby ensuring that our children benefit from the exceptional opportunities presented by these esteemed educational institutions. It is reassuring to know that our children are being exposed to a wealth of expertise and knowledge, which they may not yet fully comprehend, much like myself. Conversely, individuals such as Robert Paulson seem to be oblivious to the vast expanse of information and expertise that exists beyond their awareness and instead post with a degree of ignorance that not only betrays their intelligence, but highlights their ignorance.

Lucky lad.... I've seen loads of these videos... in such conditions the roads are slick because of the extremely poor quality of aggregate used and subsequent years of 'polishing' by passing traffic (and no resurfacing). Props to the Thai fella for getting out and helping... In a country where rendering assistance is often considered something that is never done, its positive to see that in truth there are plenty who do stop and help. The questions will naturally be raised as to the foreigners licensing and his riding experience, but sometimes, these roads are just too slippery and hazardous.

I thought everyone was rattling on about sea-level rise.... ... So its see level drop which is now the concern... The only part I did understand is the 'risk to tourists' who when snorkeling over corals and the sea level is too low face greater risk of getting 'scratched / cut' by the corals over which the now swim in closer proximity too... I have no idea how 'tourism' could impact coral bleaching... extreme low tides can, an increase in water temperature can, pollutants from the fishing and shipping industry as well as polluting run-off from the land can all cause damage.... IMO - its time the 'anti-tourist' puritans in this area concentrate on the genuine issues - i.e. pollutants and run-off in areas of pronounced fertiliser usage and enhanced nitrogen fixation due to elevated phosphate influxes etc... the pollutants from the fishing industry.... (instead of going apoplectic when one tourist is seen spear fishing a non-protected species in the area)

Not covered in the article was the astonishing advancements in the Thai Veterinary and Medical industry and how dinosaurs such as the brontosaurus have been rehabilitated back into the wilds of Kalasin....

"Stupid warnings" (about saving your life... hmmmm)... you gave away the measure of your intellect so early on in your comment. Wow... you have noticed and witnessed all this and it is just the Brits.... As the saying goes... “If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas” ... So if the above is what you are noticing, it highlights more about the area's and those you hangout with than any of broken and bias observations you have made... As far as any 'warnings go'... All foreign offices publicise warnings to their citizens bout how to behave in a foreign culture, they are also warned about scam etc too.... the only reason this topic is reaching these pages is because any sniff of anything potentially 'anti-brit' manages to drum up a lot of attention of suckers such as yourself who completely buy into the bias.... Whats discusting exactly?... every single british person coming to Thailand and behaving poorly ? I haven't met any British to generalise and bash all Russians with the same negative brush in the same way you have bashed the brits - so, disgusting you say... I'd accuse you of being a complete hypocrite... As mentioned earlier, if you hare hanging around in a shyat-hole, you'll only be exposed to other like minded individials hanging around in the same shyat-hole... its hardly surprising your generalisations are so fillwed with broken bias.

I have 3 of these... 1) SCB Platinum (linked to my Thai SCB account) - I load it up with 100,000 JPY - then travel to Japan and use it as I would a local debit card in shops etc... there are no transaction fees or exchange rate variation because you are spending JPY from a JPY account. The only exchange rate variability is at the time of the initial purchase of the JPY. This works for numerous currencies (whichever currencies they work with). 2) Wise UK - I load it up with Currency of a nation I'm travelling to, in much the same way. 3) HSBC Global Money account - I load it up with the currency of whichever nation I'm travelling to. The Wise and HSBC Global money accounts can also be used easily with Apple Pay (Thai accounts wont work with Apple Pay but may with Google Wallet). Thus, the whole premise of these cards is to use as a pseudo local debit card where you have loaded the account with a predetermined amount and paid what ever exchange rates you did at that time - there are no more 'exchange rate' surprises and no additional charge at POS (Point of Sale) when using the card. There may still be cash withdrawal charges though.

A sprouting business again? Strong winds projected on this route.....

Before we met, Wife put in a couple of Million Baht for an 'off-plan' unit in a shopping mall that was planned to be built next to Chatuchak... A few years later the mall had never been built and the developer was ignoring all calls and communications. Wife went to the consumer board, it was discovered that there were numerous complaints / victims. The consumer board took on the case and sued the developer who was forced to pay out. The result, an agreement to refund about 80% of the money. So, a developer who had taken perhaps 80 Million Baht from potential clients still profited a significant sum. I question whether the developer ever had any plan to build the mall at all or if this was the game (scam) all along.

Its a 'sucker punch'... regardless of what led up to it, its not acceptable behavior in any civilised society. That said, you may have a point regarding possible 'lead-up' - we have only seen a 15 second clip, non of the build up or an indication of what may have triggered the assault. Of course, this would not exonerate the violent actions of the Brit, but it may lend to an explanation and soften the resolve of 'hang-him-high-deport-him' responses. I recall living in a condo in Bangkok and the management committee and security guards were awful, they were rude and at almost every opportunity managed to 'trigger me' into getting annoyed with them. We moved out as soon as our lease was up, the whole condo management committee and security team were ultimately changed out after so many complaints - it was quite a toxic, I never understand how other residents let it get that far. A few examples below: - Parcel delivery, reception takes the delivery and the parcel goes straight into the juristic office for storage. I go down to collect parcel - they want passport ID, I have Thai DL in my wallet, not good enough. I can see my parcel with my name on it, so I just walk past the counter and take it - (already reached too many situations with these people to accommodate their excessive requests). - Son (2 years old) playing with a sponge ball in the play area - security comes over and tells us, ball games are banned. I told them to call the police (the play area was a lovely social area for parents to talk while toddlers played). - Son (2 yrs old) on a balance bike - security comes over and tells us bicycles are not permitted, again, I ignore them. - Friend arrives, to drop something off for my Wife... she has a small puppy, steps out of the car with puppy in hand, wife is told we will receive a fine as the Condo has a ban on all pets (the puppy never left her arms). - Friend visiting, we go to the pool with a couple of beers and are quite rudely told to leave the area as no alcohol is allowed (I'm annoyed at the rude manner in which we were told). - Another resident (a Military officer) pulls up in his car, wants to nip out and get something from reception, as he does so, security marches over and shouts at him to move his car - Military officer knocks out the security guard. - A child threw a paper airplane out of the window of one of the higher floors, this was caught on one of the security cameras - the family were 'fined' for littering (it was about 20,000 baht or something ridiculous, I don't know if they ever paid it). My point with all of these seemingly insignificant but irritating examples is the manner in which they build up, the underlying tone in which residents were dealt with and spoken 'at'... sometimes I felt like punching a security guard or one of the management committee when they spoke with me so rudely, of course, I didn't because that would be assault, BUT, it another resident punched a security guard or one of the management committee I'd have been somewhat understanding that there was very likely far more to the story than a 15 second clip might show.

Based on the original post, there seems to be a significant difference between merely flicking a bra-strap and what actually occurred. Nevertheless, feel free to defend those who would commit such a reprehensible act as sexually assaulting a girl. Perhaps this aligns with your behavior and values.... ???

Are you a fat, bald teacher with gobs of experience in sh!tty schools who got rejected by an International School by any chance, Robert ???..... The sheer volume of nonsense you produce suggests not only a profound lack of experience but also an overwhelming eagerness to write anything, regardless of its accuracy or coherence. It's nothing but utter drivel. The international school teachers at my son's school, along with many others I know in different circles, are steadfast professionals operating at the pinnacle of their field. I believe most people would find it challenging to sustain such high levels of effort and performance consistently throughout the year, year after year.

I notice you don't have an avatar photo.. Here is one perfectly suited for you...