richard_smith237

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...

Completely agree.... While I do not endorse all of Tommy Robinson's views or his often deliberately provocative manner of speaking, I find that much of what he says is difficult to dispute. The challenge lies in his public persona, which tends to come across as thuggish. This perception ensures that he will always be seen in a negative light by those in power and much of the middle and upper classes. There is a significant degree of negative bias in the official reporting on him, which distorts the opinions of those who are undecided on many contentious issues. His position is a challenging one, as he speaks out against a mainstream wokeness that, in his view, is undermining the safety and harmony of British society, particularly in inner cities. In contrast, Douglas Murray is another prolific and outspoken figure who articulates his opinions with a clarity and finesse that cannot be ignored.

Avoiding the obvious 'China bash' which is all too easy... ... Were there any public toilets around ???.... Anyone with children knows, when they've gotta-go, they've gotta-go.... would the child have been able to 'hold it' and get to a nearby toilet ? Is the outrage because its 'near a temple' ??... 'cos I see Thai men peeing up the wall in plenty of area's.

No excuses possible.... This guys a 'scum on a short fuse'.... I'm not part of the 'anti-brit' brigade, but I am most certainly part of the 'anti-ayhole' and would happily see such characters charged with assault, serving a penalty for assault before being deported... ... When people say "Thailand doesn't need people like this", I fully agree... his home country can deal with him after he's served whatever penalties he's given here in Thailand.

Cheap-shot... Op has already explained why... that 'special influence' remains an option if the school do not respond to this issue appropriately, which IMO is nothing less than expulsion from the school for the Boy(s) involved in this sexual assault. Op needs to have legal charges against the school prepared and ready to present in case the school tries to take a soft approach - Op needs to make it very clear, nothing other than an expulsion will be acceptable in such a case.

I went to very good schools and am considered quite smart. There is no way I could teach maths, physics, chemistry, geography, French, Spanish, Latin, economics or the woodworking, metalworking etc that I was taught at school. I still know a bit about all the things I was taught but nowhere near enough to teach a kid to the level required to pass O or A level exams. Also I had 9 different teachers at school, one for each subject. The concept of homeschooling typically falls into two categories: those who are unaware of their own ignorance and those for whom no better option exists due to isolation, illness, or similar circumstances. Just as we rely on our expertise in our respective fields, we trust teachers, as educated professionals, to impart their knowledge and skills to our children in a structured and organised manner. Moreover, it is ironic that individuals whose intellect often betrays them with flawed attitudes and questionable comments on this forum are the ones who support the idea of homeschooling.

You nearly got there..... in many cases its a prestigious International education that in International Schools that opens to the door to the the Top Universities in the world.. its not a 'Thai education'...

No... International Schools means schools that are not administered by the Thai Education authority. Standards obviously vary, as does the price. This sort of behavior is dealt with extremely swiftly at the 'upper tier' international schools where reputation matters.

Path of least resistance - they are lazy & do as little as possible until they realise they can't. In short, ensure that you (use, we, the Op) do not become the path of least resistance in such situations (and many others).

If you don't mind - which school is this ?... In Bangkok - if you're not willing to outwardly name the school, drop a hint ?.. The reasonI ask... something a little similar happened before at St.Andrews (Sukhuvit 71 - Bangkok)... Some boys took a photo of a nude girl off the net and edited the photo adding two the the school girls photos - the edits were apparently convincing. Two boys were expelled. IMO - this is assault, bit as the 'boy' are not adults I'm not sure what legal penalties there could be. But, expulsion is the option here - there is no way the should should accept any excuse or allow these boys to remain in the schools whereby the same could happen again to other students. Demand meetings with the head - take a lawyer, threaten legal action and damages against the school - make this huge, so that the School has no choice but to respond firmly. The better the reputation of the school, the more likely they are to respond to the risk of potential negative publicity.

Again you show your inability to take your mind beyond the literal wording in a pedantic manner. With this behaviour of those in power, any foreign business will surely be considering their status in Thailand & how the corrupt & flawed flagella system could impact them. Some may consider doing business not worth while - I know of two CEO’s who moved their business out of Thailand due to cronyism & such issues… Then ask yourself - where are UBER, Tesco, Carrefour…. (& no, I’m not going to send links - if you can’t see how such behaviour impacts the potential decisions of foreign business to enter the Thai market, then you never will for you lack the ability to see anything unless it’s there, solid, in front of your eyes with a big label on it or a coconuts report for you to raise as fact)

The mind boggles... Any civilised country looks at this and thinks 'banana republic'.... Overseas businesses must be questioning if this is truly the legal system of a country in which they want to invest. I wonder how much Thailand's development is hindered by such cronyism. Neighboring countries demonstrate even more severe cronyism and corruption, leading to their lesser development. News like this reveals to the international market the realities of how things operate in Thailand. This behavior is an embarrassment for Thai citizens and a tragic burden on society.

The irony of you accusing others of racism while embodying bigotry yourself seems to elude you entirely...

Yawn.. We have another winner of the sweeping generalisation bigot award...

Which is surprising given the force of that kick... I hope he was able to go to hospital... the consequences of an impact such as that are regularly fatal. IMO - the security guard should be charged with attempted Manslaughter at the very least, there is no way he 'wasn't' trying to kill the guy with a kick to the head like that. The violence exampled here is far more significant than a Swiss-man kicking a doctor... I'm not condoning that, or the actions of the Brits which led up to this fight - but IF that security guard is not charged with a serious crime such, at the very least asault, GBH etc.... then Thailands legal system is disgusting - (which we know it is), and the double standards on display, outrageous.