richard_smith237

A grotesque, not a gargoyle. Gargoyles have waterspouts Erm... so does this one... You've just been doing it wrong !!!!

Nor did anyone say it is. Exaggerating to trivialize won't help. It was sufficiently offensive. Valid point - although I'd argue 'offensive' is over egging it... sufficiently culturally insensitive to trigger someones sensitivities is perhaps more apt.... Looks like a thong in the latest pic. Different females, different city... The 'thong photo' you mention is taken at the massive field between Khao Sarn road and the Grand Palace... ppl play football there too... It does beg the question though, is this attire appropriate in the city ?.... would it be appropriate in Hyde Park or Central Park ? Certainly there is no issues with a Tank-Top and shorts in Hyde Park or Central Park, but a Thong ??? Thus... it is the 'showing leg and shoulders' within temple grounds that has the Thai Karens getting somewhat upset - culturally insensitive yes.... But then we are in a country of far greater extremes than this - in a country with 'ping pong shows' there is a strong degree of irony at the puritanical response to showing a little shoulder and leg...

Did she have lisp ???

Is that a euphemism ????

Yes. Loving to argue about a load of rubbish to start with, and already 3 pages after 6 hours. Wait till your suggested 10 pages in about the usual 3 days and will all be forgotten and nothing achieved. How many of those 10 pages will be filled up with people having arguments and discussions about something they feel doesn't need arguing about and discussing.. ??... Yet you considered the thread interesting enough to feel the compulsion to express your opinion.... Excellent stuff !!!!...

Change it to 'Bobby Smith'.... its bound to make you popular right off the bat....

No, it was a reasonable judgement with which the monk agreed. Residents in the vicinity hold the site in high regard, making sunbathing there culturally inappropriate. The concerned witness brought the matter to the attention of a monk, who assured that the message would be relayed to the tour guide responsible for bringing the foreign women to the temple. The reverse, then: the girls lacked common sense about what conduct might be culturally inappropriate. Not uncommon among tourists. I agree - the girls lacked some cultural sensitivity... But you, clipped my comment to suit your rhetoric... The complaint such that this has reached the media is out of balance with the innocent and naievely ignorant faux-pas. The girls were in shorts and a top... (tank top), had kicked off their shoes and were relaxing on a grassed area outside of the Wat (temple) but within the grounds.... its hardly a grossly inappropriate offence to Thailand's cultural sensitivities - I wonder if the same complaint would be drawn if it were Thai's behaving the same way (not that we'd see Thai's sitting in the sun). ------------ When I first came here I recall a Thai colleague going berserk at me for pointing at something with my foot - his response was far more offensive and impolite than my naively ignorant faux-pas - Some people (of all nationalities) are constantly on the search to be outraged and offended by something... ------------ This is hardly the newsworthy offence to Thailands pristine culture.... what, women with bare shoulders at a temple ????? Say it isn't true...

That should give you plenty of time.... As others have written, Thai passports can be issues very quickly (on the same day). There is an online booking system that will get you ahead of the physical queues, but I'm not sure if that will give you the dates / times you need - you can turn up at any of the Passport Offices (i.e. Khlong Toey BTS probably the most convenient if visiting central BKK) They also have passport offices in various provinces around Thailand - so check the below link, there may be one near you. The link also has numbers, so it may be possible for your Wife to call up, book an appointment etc and confirm that said office can do what you need in the time frame you need it. https://miceoss.tceb.or.th/en/e-passport-application-where-in-thailand/

I could be an operam quaesitor taediosus histrionic disorder.... ... best to get it checked...

+1 Completely agree.... I recall getting my Driving licence and wearing shorts - the lady told me I couldn't do the 'in room' tests because I was wearing shorts. No problem, I have trousers in my car that I'll go and put on... but what about those three Thai guys in Shorts ???? ok ok, no need to change. I went and changed anyway and came back with a big smile on my face, she really didn't like me after that !!!... While I agree that there is a degree of cultural insensitivity and all tourists (Western, Thai or otherwise) should be considerate and respectful of their surroundings wherever they are there is also the over-reaction and outrage that some seem to perpetually seek. In this case, the photo shows them in the grounds of the temple relaxing (and yes, sunbathing), its not exactly showing them stripping off in their undies or bikini and entering the temple itself.... There is common sense balance and this lady clearly lacks that judgement.

Look down... is your leg still there ??... Monocytes can be elevated after amputation... If your leg is still there, check yer nether regions - given posting history, you could have lost your manhood...

I have 32 pages of orders going back to Jan 2019.... (that easily accounts for 100's of items).... easily done.

You are on this forum so time doesn't seem to be that big of an issue... FYI Lazada is based in Singapore and each country has their own headquarters... Either through being deliberately obtuse or lack of smarts you've misunderstood 'time' in this context. In this context - time is not referred to as 'how much time in the day I have to post on this forum'... In this context - time is referred to as 'placing an order 3 weeks before Christmas and receiving it in time'... I hope that clears up an overwhelmingly simple misunderstanding for you... Except when items ordered are only available from China.... I hope that clears up your flawed oversimplification.

Didn’t they stop taking licences years ago? I think it was from Sept 2019 when the BiB were no longer 'permitted' to confiscate your licence (and use it as collateral forcing you to pay an on the spot bribe fine).... I've not been stopped by the BiB since then, so can't truly tell what their behavior is these days... But, given past experience, what I do know is that the police follow their own rules and methods passed down to them from seniors and peers rather than following any documented legislation etc. Thus, I wouldn't be so sure that anything has changed at all regarding the 'non confiscation' of licenses. There's a DLT App which is also a 'legal' option of presenting our license to the BiB when asked, but I'd rather they hold my licence than my phone !!!!... Which leads to... What to do now if we are stopped ??... Open the window a few inches and when asked for our licence hold it up so they can see it, but refuse to hand it over ??... I wonder how that would go down.

Lets cherry pick the extremes of the spectrum to fit our rhetoric (both ends of the spectrum). The reality is neither Lithium mining or the Oil Industry is particularly environmental friendly.... Both are necessary and we cannot do without either... One maybe is less environmentally friendly than the other - but I'm not yet convinced which and there are a lot of studies on this, the issue is the bias and politicisation behind such studies. We should instead be concentrating on how to 'clean up' the things we need instead of attempting to eradicate critical sources of energy and raw materials for our storage - we desperately need both hydrocarbon energy sources and batteries. The dichotomisation of the argument with the loudest most extreme voices weakens the discussion of the true solutions such as a need for carbon recapture technology.

I have both because the bike is often more convenient (in the day time) or the Wife is using the car. We did have two cars and I did 1000 km in a year and realised there was no need for my car at all, so I have the bike for when needed. BUT... as you mentioned about keeping ourselves safe... (or as safe as practical)... I don't ride at night, wear a full face helmet etc - of course, there are no absolutes and nothing is 100% safe - but avoiding the roads at night time removes a lot of the risk. Odds would also be improved for all of us (all road users and pedestrians) - if the Police did there jobs and started dishing out severe penalties for people who break the law in such an extreme manner... IMO, this woman deserves 6 months in prison, but that is only valuable if EVERYONE faces the same severe penalties such that it serves as a strong deterent to behave in such an antisocial manner.

We're all 'oldskool' now... My son saw one of these (below) and had absolutely no idea what it was... At 10 years old he had his first phone for Christmas and is already running chat GPT and types way faster than I can on a phone... I explained about 'dial up'... nope... completely lost... cables ? I can touch type on a regular keyboard very quickly, he types just as quickly on an iPad and Phone. I'm oldskool in the manner in which I hate using Apps and always prefer to refer to my LapTop to do anything online (except when out and about)...

Its been an interesting debate... Dunning Kruger effect... Also, when surveyed 50% of men believed they could land an Aircraft !!!... Statistically, half of the drivers are better than the other half !!... Realistically, though I agree with you, especially in Thailand where the concept of consequence is somewhat absent. I do believe that in Thailand the skill of being able to predict the unpredictability of what could unfold in front of us aids us in avoiding the majority of accidents... Truly understanding at an instinctual level the utter flukwittery that can happen at any second keeps us watching out - as you point out, that instinct matters more than the safety of a vehicle (although I place very high priority on the safety of a vehicle too). The young Thai lads on Motorcycles can handle their machines very well and are much more skilled riders than many Westerners, however, their flaw is described above... their propensity for utter flukwittery, the same goes for many drivers, particularly those guys driving 'works pickups' (delivery pickups etc and of course van drivers).

& the Ginger Jonny down the road calls himself 'strawberry blond' but still stinks of pee !! I think you're point below highlights the flaw in the comment above. I agree... lets put our loved ones and those around us at greater risk because we believe we're better drivers than we actually are !!! Yep... all you... nothing to do with blind luck that others have missed you... I've driven here for over 20 years... 3 accidents - of course, none my fault (two of them were in a car park and I was stationary !). On this we agree.... Does your Banana plant spew out gunk ?

Nonsense, provided you met the entry requirements for Covid, vaccinated, PCR test, insurance, you could enter VE, TV or a re-entry permit. The Sandbox was an example. There was a small window where regardless of the type of visa or your Immigration status, you couldn't enter and that was due to the fact all International flights into Thailand were barred. You're calling me a lair.... I lived it... ... In July 2020 - entry to Foreigners was only permitted under very specific conditions... the sandbox you mentioned (something I also did a year later) was something that occurred much later when conditions were significantly relaxed,

How much spoon feeding do you need ?? Literally, the very first hit I had when I googled... 5TB external hard drive Thailand..... https://www.invadeit.co.th/category/portable-hard-drives/5tb/

Well, to be fair, there is also a lot of inaccurate information on the Thai Embassy Webpage too, this has been pointed out many times in previous threads. Back in Covid time, the Thai Embassy in London provided me with a Certificate of Entry, however, at the last minute I discovered that I would not be able to enter Thailand while it was still under Emergency Decree unless I had a non-Immigrant Visa (and that some people who'd tried to enter with a Thai Elite Visa and CoR had already been turned away). The Thai Embassy very quickly rectified the issue and provided me with a Non-Imm O based on Marriage (which I was very thankful for), but - suggesting all info on the Thai Embassy Website is impeccable is flawed - the final authority on entering Thailand is The Immigration Division of the Royal Thai Police Force.

Sandisk 4 TB for US$225

Valid point... I'm sure there are very genuine examples of this out there... However, when a poster has difficulty at immigration its becoming apparent that quite often then are less than forthcoming with the full facts and when pressed they become defensive. The tale of the Op is certainly believable, although I believe he is mistaken in his belief that if he were visa exempt he'd have had less hassle... I suspect the opposite and it was the visa that tipped the balance in securing his entry.

I know... some people every buy gold cars !!!...