richard_smith237

My experience of 'unmanned-check-in' heading towards Thailand always requires a 'passport check' by a member of staff. Whenever I have used unmanned-check-in (at the airport) flying to Thailand its usually when utilising the return leg of the ticket. The unmanned-check-in (at the airport) always flags up that I need to 'document check' which involves one of the Roaming check-in agents to check my visa before scanning their ID so that I may proceed with the check-in formalities. I've had this in Doha,, Dubai and Tokyo (Narita), although the Narita has removed the unmanned-check-in desks for the Thai Airways flights (I suspect they caused to much issue and it was simpler to go old-school).

The issue with IKEA is that they would charge about 2000 baht to deliver to his area. Thus: HomePro is probably his best bet, he [the Op] can visit the store and physically see the size, height etc, and quality before ordering.

Have a mate who's just returned from a fairly expensive holiday... All inclusive, free flow booze throughout the day and evening etc. One point he made.... no one was getting hammered, overdoing it and and acting like a t!t.... Cost is a great filter of undesirables - its been said that Singapore has a better 'quality' of expat than Thailand, and here it is (in this thread) being said that Thailand has a better quality of expat than places such as Cambodia which speaks volumes...

Props to this Lemmens chappy - Everyone needs a friend like this, someone prepared to step up like this man has is excellent. The German needs to be taken off the street ASAP - he is clearly a danger to society, it seems he has attacked twice recently. This looks like it could be a long and expensive recovery, I hope the Belgian has good insurance, otherwise I hope German is caught and forced to pay all the medical bills - this should never cost the innocent Belgian a single baht, and then compensation and then some !!...

She was probably quite thankful he wasn't in the market for a new toilet....

Blacklisting has nothing to do with no fly list. The fact that someone is not allowed to enter Thailand doesn't ban then from flying. That would also be my 'guess'.... I don't think Immigration alert anyone at all, they simply log the 'entry ban' into their system and thats it. I could be mistaken, but I doubt they [Immigration] go to the bother of alerting international bodies of an individuals ban. I'm surprised by ChaiyaTH's story, but wonder if his friend used a passport which contained a big 'BLACK LISTED' stamp ??? and it was for this reason he was questioned upon checking in for his flight as the Airline are ultimately responsible to return someone denied entry.

what symptoms did you have with a complex tear? Clicking - and the knee kind of jamming... This was with an initial simple tear that the physician at BASEM (BKK Hospital) identified after and MRI and said an Op was not necessary. A few months later I could hardly walk (after playing football)... Another MRI at Bumrungrad highlighted a complex tear which needed 'trimming' back to prevent further propagation.

OP: Simple enough... Renew your French Passport as you normally would. Your stay in Thailand with your Swiss Passport has no impact on this.

Yeah... I kind of agree with you... Shirtless and riding through an area of 'water players' is a recipe for a soaking.... this seems like an angry man looking for an excuse for an altercation.... Regardless - there are still too many tools who don't get the 'unwritten rules of Songkran engagement' and consider anyone and everyone fair game, which IMO is quite wrong.

Exactly this.... A few years back we were at a friends house and positioned ourselves on the side of the street.... A 'dry' uniformed office worker passed on her motorcycle and my friend threw water at her.... I asked him why he did that... his answer "Its Songkran".... Too many idiots just don't get it... this was not in a centre of 'water play' (or whatever its called) it was on the outskirts where people who want to get involved are obvious.... usually the 'Songkran shirt' is a dead giveaway that they are 'ready for a soaking' and the motorcyclists will slow to engage.... Formal / smart dress on the other hand is also a giveaway that the person does not want to get involved and that is commonly honoured by all but a few idiots. There are those who state... "don't want to get wet, don't go out on Songkran" but thats impossible for a lot of people due to work commitments. A few years back we went to Soi 11 (Bangkok) with Wife, Son and friends... All was good fun until a 'witching hour' of around 6pm where the water spraying took on a somewhat of a more aggressive engagement.... we left before things would get a little too hardcore for a 7 year old...

Food... Kai - (as already mentioned) is excellent, as is the Buffet at the Marriott (Goji - one of the best in BKK). Other recommendations: Cocotte - https://www.cocotte-bangkok.com/ Helena - https://helenabangkok.com/ El Mercado - https://elmercadobangkok.com/ (main branch) Top Indian Restaurants: Indus - https://www.indusbangkok.com/ Rang Mahal - https://www.indusbangkok.com/ Gaggan - https://gaggan.com/about/

Which is better than an ICE and indicates that my concern of the 'price cliff' is possibly unwarranted.

I'm not so sure the car driver showed an immediate willingness to actually come to a stop.... he was driving carefully but it also looks like he expected the pedestrians to stop and when they didn't, he did.... ... Nothing wrong with that IMO.... it wasn't at a crossing etc... and the Foreigner massively over reacted...

As the saying goes here... "Always look both ways when crossing a one way road !!!!" Yes... but you could find yourself "dead right".... and that is the sad reality of crossing a road in Thailand at a Pedestrian crossing. ------- Most drivers behave like ayholes when it comes to pedestrians.... But some of us Westerners behave with a sense of 'entitlement' that believes the pedestrian has right of way (at a crossing) which is legally true, but also a dangerous state of mind. I do it too..... On some occasions we'd never cross a road... its like trying to pull out of a junction when driving... . We have to push, we are left with little other option if we want to get anywhere... So... we have to be a little assertive and 'encourage' the drivers to stop for us... show clear intent etc... In such situation many drivers do stop... but we also get the complete ayholes who, even though we are on a crossing, will get angry, blast their horn or just outright refuse to stop and show that they don't care if they hit us or not..... I see both sides of the argument, being careful, but also some drivers are just downright ayhole drivers. Its not a perfect world - and often we have to take these individual situations (when crossing) on their individual merits. In this case - the driver perhaps showed that he didn't want to stop when he could easily have, to be polite and allow the pedestrians to cross. The tourist on the other hand 'snapped' way too quickly and was clearly and unhinged edgy ayhole looking for a problem. I'm not sure if this is a joke or not - but how could this improve pedestrian safety in Thailand ?????

Fruitpudding very clearly stated the moron in the video was also in the wrong.... But also pointed out that the driver initially showed no willingness to stop... that is also very common here... Stopping is a last resort. Equally, so, the pedestrians should have stopped to allow the car to pass - the pedestrians were arrogant and the morons escalation completely wrong. The only correct response is 'hand up, sorry man - my mistake and then hurrying across so as not to inconvenience the driver'.... that would be the polite thing to do IMO. FruitPudding then also pointed out how terrible it is crossing the road here - a valid comment. I don't have 'incidents daily'... however, the amount of 'near misses' I see daily, and the amount of completely unnecessary near misses I have had in the past contradicts your experience. I don't cross a road multiple times a day here - that is perhaps the only reason I do not have a daily near miss.... or encounter a daily degree of frustration when trying to cross the road and vehicle after vehicle refuse to stop for a pedestrian at a crossing. Even at times when a vehicle does stop... there are motorcycles who still 'burn through'.... When being as careful as possible... I've nearly been hit a couple of times as the approaching vehicle shows no signs of slowing to allow time for you to cross. That 'single layer statistic' showed that per 100,000 people there were more road fatalities in the US than Thailand, but that stat does not cover distance travelled etc... That stat also covered road deaths only... not pedestrian crossings, so while I applied balance in a previous thread, that information in no manner or form offers support or justification for the manner in which Thai's (in general) approach pedestrian crossings and pedestrian safety in general. Agreed.... its terrible there too - 3rd World Nations - Thailand is trying very hard to propel itself towards greater development. Much of Africa, India, China and even HK now are terrible places to try and cross the road safely - None of this offers any support or justiifcation for Thailand general lack of regard for pedestrians... ... The .... "but, but, he also did it......" argument is flawed at a very fundamental level. The moron (completely agree with your wording) was 100% in the wrong, crossing in the the wrong place then getting angry at the driver of the car who it appears didn't do much wrong at all, other than drive into the shopping mall and was then forced to stop when a guy crossed the road in front of him 'not at a crossing'.... ... The driver could have stopped, perhaps even should have stopped, but as this is Thailand we all know normal driver behavior means 'stopping in such situations' is a last resort for a driver.

This all goes back to Einstein's quote: Albert Einstein — 'I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.' Disagree - a degree of readiness and early warning systems would mean Israel has the capacity to offload their response before they are impacted by missiles - this is the very principle of deterrent by detent in the manner of mutually assured destruction....

Good points.... Although, range anxiety is something I consider more akin to paranoia of the unknown rather than a geunie concern based in fact.... How many of us regularly folk really drive any further than 200km per day? - so range anxiety should never really come into it at all for the average person doing an average commute. The primary concern I have always held for EV ownership is the 'price cliff' potential whereby any 'cost savings' of owning an EV are contradicted by the potentail loss of value of the vehicle after 6 or 7 years. How much is a 6 year old Tesla these days ?

Thai bashing [taɪ ˈbæʃɪŋ] Noun phrase The act of saying something factual but negative about any element of Thailand or Thai people which the user of the phrase finds unpleasant to hear due to their self-esteem being attached to their perceived image of Thailand. Used primarily to deflect genuine criticism of Thailand or Thai culture, so the user does not have to face reality. "What do you mean the roads in Thailand are dangerous? That's just Thai bashing!" See also: cognitive dissonance, logical fallacy, thought terminating cliché Agreed.... There are the justified negative comments that some / many of us make about events and issues in Thailand which are wholly justified, those comments are more often than not matched by our Thai friends, neighbours and peers. Then there are unwarranted, bias, bigoted, and racist negative comments which some forum members make which is 'Thai Bashing' at its worst. The two are very different - factual criticism and over opinionated bigotry. The issue is that some posters such as Georgealbert struggles to differentiate the two, while other posters (the usual suspects we see on this forum) refuse to differentiate and just take any opportunity to bash at anything, justifiable or not.

Thailand wants to attract more tourists, it wants to attract major international events (from Pop Starts, to Formula E etc).... Thailand is actively attempting to modernise and develop which is a great thing.... To do so, its general attitudes towards safety also need to improve. Having fools such as yourself suggesting 'look both ways' [Maybe that large chip on your shoulder prevents you moving your head enough to look both ways] - is idiotic and completely ignores the issue. We've seen video after video of people getting killed on crossings because car drivers (and motorcycle) riders refuse to stop. Crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing here is unsafe.... the reality is road safety for pedestrians in Thailand is an afterthought for authorities until something major occurs... there is no way you can polish turd, roll it in glitter and make it smell better - Its a huge black mark against Thailand and one than could easily be removed with effective policing.

Crossing the road at a Pedestrian crossing is notoriously hazardous in Thailand. Not that this is the issue in the example of the Op, the foreigner was clearly an complete cretin. However, you, Georgealbert, have gone on the defensive for Thai's.... when clearly this is an 'area' of Thai bashing which is wholly justified. Thai's in general drive in a manner with very little regard for the pedestrian - my Wife, who drives very well and courteously, seems to ignore pedestrians, as if she doesn't see them.... I just don't get it - they're there, but its as if they don't register. I think that is the same for many Thai's - they see someoene trying to cross a road, but don't want to stop until they are forced to making it a very dangerous endeavour for anyone attempting to cross. So @Georgealbert - No one is trying to defend the 'fool' in the video who got angry and aggressive.... but the discussion has also migrated to the issue of trying to safely cross a road in Thailand and unfortunately, that is very worthy of a 'Thai-Bash'..... I don't think there are many of us who have tried to cross a road hear, at a pedestrian crossing or a crossing with a red-traffic lights and not been 'nearly' hit by a careless / dangerous driver. I've nearly been hit numerous times... and it seems the last thing any driver in Thailand wants to do is slow down and hit the breaks - its as if braking is a loss of face, a last resort.... many driver here will do anything do avoid hitting the brakes and that makes something that is a perfectly safe endeavour in most of our home nations a lethal one here. Thailand repeatedly attempts to deal with this issue and repeatedly fails because the masses refuse to be educated because the police are apathetic and ineffective.... and the people just do not care about the value of life of others outside of their own circles. Yes - thats Thai-Bash... but it is one which is justified, and its one which my Thai friends would agree with for they hold the same opinions when we discuss such issues.

'Roids' would be my guess on that one.... Whatever it was that 'triggered him' - the reaction is a complete over-reaction. This is an angry-tool who's walking around looking for a confrontation.... Perhaps he's already had a lot of 'near misses' here in Thailand with drivers not stopping or nearly hitting them on a crossing etc and this is the straw that broke the camels back. BUT... its 'hardly a straw' - the cam-car driver appears to have been extremely courteous... he was driving slowly, stopped with plenty of space (seemingly).

Agreed... I think this AI means automated camera's that generated automated fines for those riding on pavements and parking illegally. I wonder if the 'automation' will automatically 'ignore' the Police who themselves are also offenders.

When all they really needed to do was get the Police to actually do their jobs !!.... ... But, when the Police are also some of the main offenders, what can we do ???... Camera's in areas of high population density are a great idea.... But they should not replace effective policing... Firstly, Thailand needs to actually have 'effective' police who are capable of dealing with illegal use of sidewalks, poor parking, the 'hazard light stop' (i.e. those who pop into 7-11 and think its because they put their hazard lights on etc).... Effective Police Patrols and fining is still the way forwards - not just BMA fining vaping tourists.

Agree with the 'no need for a keyboard tray comment'. LAZADA also an option - but quality will be hit'n'miss. HomePro is also a good option and you should be able to find a HomePro store in Sakhon Nakhon that will have plenty to choose from. https://www.homepro.co.th/search?q=Desks IKEA is also one of the obvious answers.... there's plenty to chose from and they will also deliver to your area, so that issue is taken care of (although you'll be charged extra for that and it could be 2000 baht delivery - given your area). From higher end desks that raise electronically but are expensive and waste of money IMO. To something a lot more practical and may fit the aesthetics of the room in which you place the desk. I have this desk below and have been happy with it - with a dual screen work station setup for when I need to 'crack-on' with something and need larger 'screen area' than my laptop screen... One issue: I went for a desktop which was 'too long' i.e. the length of the desk is about 200cm... and it has started to bow slightly in the middle - its not something I noticed until the wife highlighted it, but that may bother some (and it does me now slightly (easily rectified with some bracing underneath the table, but we shouldn't need to do that). Shorter desks as below shouldn't have this issue at all.... https://www.ikea.com/th/en/p/malskytt-mittback-desk-birch-s29417791/

Loads of fun in my 20’s…. Since then, it was fun in a ‘family’ way with my Son & other friends & families… In recent years the Songkran festivities involve BBQ’s a friends houses… Currently on day two & already have the meat sweats !!! It’s a great time of year - I just hope the we don’t end up wiping out one of those nutty (helmetless) motorcyclists jumping lights while we’re on the way home this evening….