richard_smith237

Thats an extremely 'wide metric'... because what exactly is 'misbehaving' ??..... not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle ? driving or riding while drunk ???? fighting etc ? Kicking people sat in the steps to your beach house ? If foreigners are 'misbehaving' depending on what they have done, its easy for Immigration just to 'get rid of them' (i.e. deport them) if criminal charges are filed. Conversely, its more difficult to deal with Thai's who have committed similar crimes as they cannot simply be deported, they have to go through the legal system which takes time, effort and money.

Au contraire - its with the acceptance that my comments are in fact based on prejudice and a degree of racism that the accusations and name slinging are avoided...

You are correct - its still quite wrong to have a negative opinion of a whole nation based on Prejudice - unfortunately the prejudice is based on a foundation of experience I find rarely to be contradicted. Nevertheless, I endeavour to treat everyone equally and fairly and try to avoid the confirmation bias - its just that I'm not surprised when my prejudice is confirmed, conversely I am pleasantly surprised when in such circumstances my prejudice is contradicted with a positive experience. In the case of this story, this is just some complete nasty aysewhole... who took to revenge... such actions are are not the sole behavior of Pakistani's... and there are those in many / every nationality are guilty of such offensive revenge porn... ... What I can say, is that at least this wasn't an acid attack instead - but there goes my prejudice / racism.

This one is a difficult one.... because generalisations and stereotypes exist for a reason.... Whenever an explanation needs to be presented at the start of a sentence its usually because something is wrong. In this case I'll have to present the statement that 'I am not a racist' (which implies a racist comment is forthcoming - and that is true). Having worked closely with nationalities from all over the world there are a couple of Nationalities I have found to have few redeeming features. I have found most Pakistani's I have worked with to have unlikable few redeeming characteristics, conversely, I have found that most from the neighbouring country; India, to have likeable and redeeming characteristics. I don't think I am racist, I am just observant of patterns and have established this unfavourable opinion of Pakistanis, I also have the same general opinion of Kuwaits, Qatari's and Egyptians.... Conversely I have very favourable opinions of other nationalities from similar regions having been exposed to their characteristics and general ethics such that generalisations can be made (i.e. Oman's are excellent). I have also pushed numerous 'high quality' Pakistani's forward for promotion, and those hard working individuals deserve their move for the hard work, so I don't judge differently, but I am also conscious that those Pakistani's 'nudged up the chains' for promotion end up bringing in their 'brothers' many of whom are often not of the same standard and this is at the cost of other nationalities - they don't honour the same meritocracy which rewarded them - without oversight I've seen companies (particularly) in the Middle East with 'very one sided' departments operating with clear inexperience and incompetence because of nationalistic nepotism (i.e. Pakistanis only bringing in other Pakistani's) - they then become defensive and nasty to protect their 'network'.... In short, as much as I try not to be, I see very few redeeming features of Pakistanis's and find many negative comments of them to be true with such frequency I have to levy the accusation at myself that I too am quite likely racists against Pakistanis for the above mentioned reasons - its not an opinion I'm proud of, yet the opinion exists no matter how often I 'check' myself.

When you refer to 'They'..... [hate us]... are you stating to ALL Thai's hating ALL foreigners in Thailand, or are you stating ALL Immigration officers hate ALL foreigners ?? And, where did you get this attitude from ???..... The reality is of course very different: Sitting at an immigration counter for hours on end stamping in foreigners is an extremely crappy job.... It seems that some people expect a Smile and a Welcome, where as others (such as myself) expect nothing other than the general indifference of going through the motions. Immigration have a job to do, and when someone enters under circumstances they may consider a stretch of the regulations, depending on their mood they either 'let it go' because they can't be bothered, or they ask questions and deal with it. None of this bears any reflection on the Immigration Officers Personal attitudes towards foreigners, although I would admit that for some a certain degree of familiarity can breed a certain degree of contempt, especially IF recent experiences with a handful of foreigner is a negative one where contempt can surface. But in general... 'they hate us' in a sweeping generalisation without an real basis or intellect.

Good... although the internal penalties seem extremely minor, insignificant almost. In the UK (for example) I think we could expect that the 'internal penalties' by far outweigh any civil penalty. In this case, I would hope the civil penalties involve a serious fine and sufficient ban with enough publicity to prevent others from doing the same, unfortunately the absence of consistent and severe penalties in response to such behavior here in Thailand not only fails to act as a preventative measure, but I suspect 'enables' such behavior as those committing DUI offences have nothing to fear. I have friends in the RTP tell me... Its ok, don't worry about that, if you have an issue at a Check-point, just call me. I have to tell them their attitude is inside-out..... Its not because of any fear of authorities that I don't DUI in Thailand, its because I don't want to be responsible for hurting someone - this attitude seems alien.

The implication in the report is that the results of the Blood Alcohol test 'may' include disciplinary actions such as confinement to barracks or duty suspension... Hardly a hardcore prosecution of a drunk driver who's involved in a multiple collision... I think we'd all be happier reading something similar to the following: "...... Onsite breathalyser gave readings of xxx (xx times the legal limit), result of a Blood Alcohol test were xxx (i.e. not a two week wait) and that the driver is facing xxx charges and will be prosecuted"...

Of course, they have to allow time for the sample to get lost, and then secure a new blood sample that is clear of booze.

I've just logged in with NatWest OLB (UK) using a browser (Brave), without issue.

As pointed out by other.... The rules and regulations that are already in place are already good enough... New rules on top of the old ones will make no difference. ... The issue already the apathy shown towards the enforcement of existing rules in this 'sector'.... With little effort, these issues 'could' be resolved, however, there is an underlying belief amongst those of this socio-educational-economic tier that authorities will always side with the Thai, this hubris often comes with a lesson hard learned, by the Thai who are caught cheating etc... but there is never enough consistent enforcement of those in such positions (Thai Taxi / TukTuk drivers et ) to have any concern for being caught cheating / scamming or just refusing the meter....

Factually correct - but you seem to have slipped back into that binary world of yours where everything is either factually correct if it can be proven, otherwise is incorrect. In this case we have experience of being in Thailand for a while, some of us for many years, many of us with exposure to such circumstances, some of us with multiple examples of exposure to such circumstances - given this experience it is a very fair assumption to suggest that 'nothing ever came from an individual report made against drivers'..... I believe, but cannot prove that this statement is more likely to be correct than it is incorrect, in your binary world you want proof which brings a degree of absurdity when given how complaint are more commonly handled here in Thailand. .... Your suggestion that 'for all he knows every complaint he made resulted in action against the driver' would be more of a stretch of the imagination than 'nothing ever came from individual complaints'... In Thailand, it seems the nothing ever comes from a complaint unless it it is either made through connections (i.e. to the Top and filters down to those responsible), OR, it generates embarrassing media attention... Of course, you can argue that I couldn't possibly know that for all complaints ever made in Thailand, but your counter comment brings absurdity into the mix - we can discuss with a degree of likelihood based on our experiences here.

Slightly different but wife reported a bus driver (caught on our dash cam) of jumping lights & nearly killing us. The response from the DLT complaint line was… “so what, they didn’t hit you do it’s ok”…. I think that’s a fair evaluation of how complaints are dealt with here.

100% agree…. I ignore any driver who shows dishonesty… i.e. those who pull up & open the window, I just know that’s the start of a negotiation rather than the attitude of a driver who’s going to use the meter. That said, depending what on the area & time my resolve usually lasts about 15 mins before I admit defeat & take the non-meter fare because they’re all in on it & I’d never get anywhere otherwise. (I.e from Suk Soi 11 at midnight).

A bit nit-pickey LL and overly defensive of a system everyone knows is broken. IF such complaints were taken seriously & acted upon we’d all see the improvements.

Why do you doubt it? Given the extent and depth of corruption in Thailand 'skimming' off the top seems to be the norm rather than the exception. I too would be cynical about the money getting through to exactly where its needed and am more than cynical that once donated there would be a 'few lunches' about how this money is distributed. So... Why would I (or Thonburi-tales) 'doubt it' ??... the answer is quite obvious I think, cynicism is quite normal in this circumstance. That doesn't take away from anything the running has accomplished, props to him.

I think he meant the Thai Policemen's Retirement / tea Fund ?? (after a certain person in a certain Ferarri killed a certain policeman).

Is it ??.... Its not like he can change his mind?... if he says the sponsorship from xx activity goes to xx charity, surely he is obligated to send it there ??? I'm not suggesting or implying he won't, but I am pointing out that once he's made his 'statement' of where the sponsorship money will go, he is then pretty much obligated to that unless any alternative decision comes with a good explanation. I do get your point though, a lot of posters are 'shoe horning' something negative out of a good deed being done. Well done to the chap, nationality is irrelevant...

It all seems a bit hypocritical when the state sanctions dual charging of non-Thai's.... Sp Police wont need to step out of their AC boxes - no change there then !!! Seal of trust... hmm... How long before these 'badges' are sold by the very officials tasked with stamping out the the tourist scams ? ... erm.. only if it reaches social media and becomes an issue. And then ??... do nothing, because when has anything been done anyway ? (yes, I'm too skeptical) hmm... because all helplines and complaint lines worked in the past, right ??

And yet you make the statement of that failing with some sense of pride or achievement...

With the little experience I have of it, I've found Kratom to be different from coffee and tea... the Kratom I have tried (only once source on my Soi) gives a decent degree of pain relief and a mild 'buzz' like being mildly drunk... Neither coffee nor tea give off the same effect. Wife purchased another bottle today and spoke with the family in the shop who make it. They said they shred up the leaves and boil it down, and then squeeze the pulp too before filtering it into the plastic bottles they sell. They guy in the shop warned my Wife to warn me not to take too much or too often as it can be addictive (Wife had already told them its for pain relief). I can see scope for Kratom Gummies... kind of like Kratom based gummies to eat instead of having to consume the awful bitter mixture. I see that Kratom Gummies are are thing in the US, but surprisingly they are not a thing here in Thailand.

100% agree..... its about attitude and meeting people at face value... That said, I can be quite judgement of people based on their behavior etc... I think many of us can - there are plenty I see and immediately know I'd prefer to avoid them than have any interaction and their signifiant other is usually giving off the same impression. I've met guys who's wives are so very 'ho-ish' its a bit 'cringey'..... But we're not bringing these people into our homes, so there's no reason to be rude or for complete ignorance so if the paths cross, then ignoring or excluding anyone would be impolite.

This is an activity which occurs on beaches in tourist areas all over the world ... while there is of course risk, this is not an activity I'd consider dangerous... Its not like Parachuting, or Paragliding. That said: OK, there was an accident and accidents happen, especially if there was no negligence of the operators to blame. But - the 2 hours wait for an Ambulance due to traffic is horrific and unacceptable. As is having to wait 6 hours be transfered to another hospital because the first didn't have the equipment to deal with a broken leg. Thats an 8 hour delay in receiving emergency treatment which is atrocious. The Operator is reportedly blaming the wind for changing..... In which case, surely the operator is to blame for 'not reading' the weather conditions ???

How 'ready' do you need to be for this activity ? - you are towed behind a boat with a parachute (sail) - any participant is a mere passenger.... So, what 'readiness' did she need ???? - or is your only interest in victim blaming without knowing the activity ?

I kind of get his point that 'some guys' are cut from a certain cloth that others prefer not to mix with, those characters often end up with a less than charming companion. Of course, its very difficult to express that on a forum such as this especially when its a generalisation with many flaws. So, while his initial sentiment may hold some water in some situations... his doubling down on bigotry certainly highlights that he [Fredy42OZ] is not a character worthy interaction.

For Scouse123 it was a simple battle and he won.... retaruius seems to just accept defeat like a door mat.