richard_smith237

You mean what was he going to do with the 60 Danish Krone ?? Spend it when he's next in Denmark ? When I travel I have various different currencies in my Passport Wallet (along with SIM Cards / Credit and Bank Cards / Different ID's etc from various countries).... I'm overseas now and of the top of my head can guess that I have 9 different currencies in my Passport Wallet. It's not odd at all that this guy had currency from a country other than the one he was visiting.

One wouldn't have to be a member of this forum for a long for it to be of no surprise whatsoever that the people Bob Smith hangs out with face these sorts of questions !!!...

When two kids are killed because of misadventure why is not Tragic ?.. their families will certainly feel the tragic loss. Any avoidable and unnecessary death is tragic... those who don't think so are devoid of empathy. Of course, these deaths were self inflicted... but are these deaths any less Tragic than a racing driving who knew the risks and still raced ??? Was Ayrton Senna's death not tragic ? The difference is perhaps these boys were let down by society - the lack of law enforcement enabled their behavior which if otherwise kept in check with professional and effective law enforcement those boys and many others would be alive today... Tragic is the perfect word to describe this situation.

Yes... and its somewhat self deprecating... But we also don't need to over-react at the term either. I'd obviously react if I heard the term out of context, i.e. someone who knows my name (i.e. company of friends, family or colleagues etc) referring to me as 'The farang'... But when used as a descriptor to describe a Westerner I've no issues with its use. I'm not going to over-react and start drawing parallels between N-word, Jek and Farang etc because that would be to 'shoe-horn offence and outrage' out of something innocuous.

Careful... These vehicles doing their own thing cause problems... Every day we read reports about these trucks, cars and bikes going too fast in the rain, driving into poles etc... with no comment about the human inside !!!

....And there was I thinking it we were in store for a news article about a Taxi driver finding and returning money to a tourist... But, no... a different angle... Taxi drivers are also victims !!... Cynical I am... C

I'd agree that many are... But it also seems that in their 'attempt' to not to be 'door-mats' some are so fearful of being disrespected & treated with inequality that they also react to problems which don't exist. In general Thai's will other Thai's (they don't know) with a general degree of indifference. In general Thai's will treat foreigners (they don't know) with a general degree of indifference. Some foreigners get upset by this and consider it poor treatment, but it's just people being people, thats it.

Who cares.... His video highlights a frustrating issue many of us deal with when attempting to use a taxi. Nothing is done in Thailand without either a) money or b) loss of face. I hope this generates sufficient loss of face for those in positions of decision making power to do something about this irritating issue ( I won't be holding my breath though - this issue exists because those in positions of power simply do not care ).

Theoretically yes... But, just as officers exercise discretion when they 'see you'... They may exercise discretion when you are in a line for 'more important people'.... So, for a 'borderline' entrant using the fast-track lane could influence the immigration officers decision not to press for questions etc. That said, it would never be wise to leave something such as this down to someone else's discretion.

You're over egging the excuses. Taxi drivers provide a service to the public. Their licence is an agreement to use the meter and take all customers to their desitination. They are not allowed to reject customers, they are not allowed to charge a flat rate, they have to use the meter. These are the rules the Taxi drivers agreed to. The issue of course is that 'Thainess' has slipped in to the point of 'entitlement' further enabled by a complete lack of enforcement - this is at the cost to the public. What ever excuses are made by posters who think they are being sympathetic to the plight of taxi drivers is fundamentally flawed - for all intent an purposes this is like a Public Bus driver making up his own charges and rejecting passengers who aren't willing to pay. You may think the 'tik-toker' laid a trap - but if the taxi driver wasn't dishonest, there was no trap to fall into. In certain areas of Bangkok getting a Taxi can be anything from a real pain in the neck to irritating. We were between cars - my Wife picked my Son up at Lunchtime from his School (in Sukhumvit) a number of taxi drivers in a row simply refused the journey... This was a lady with a 3 year old child and the taxi's drivers are still being an ayhole. Try and get a taxi from Sukhumvit at any time of evening in area's from the Lower Sukhimvit Area (Asoke to Nana) and a metered taxi is pretty much an impossibility. Get a taxi from further out and there are fewer issues. These complaints have being going on for decades - it would be extremely easy for the Police to deal with this IF only the gave the tiniest of consideration to the issue. The complete apathy of law enforcement is the roote cause in enabling these chancers to get away with whatever they want. I'm just glad its not as bad in Bangkok as it is in Pattaya, Samui and Phuket.

Scouring the forum to look for an argument with anyone who's drawn an assumption or had an individual thought !!!

Opening a second Bank Account anywhere should not be a problem at all IF you meet the criteria for opening an account. i.e. Regardless of whether or not you hold an account with the same Bank, you will still need to meet the requirements (which obviously vary depending in location, branch and the person you are dealing with but usually its a Work Permit or Yellow House Book etc). My Example: I held an account with a reasonable sum of money in it with SCB. To protect this account I wanted to open a 'user account' which had less money in it which I could use on a regular basis and top up from my 'main account'. Even though I held an account with them with plenty of money in it, SCB would not let me open an second account with them unless I showed them a Work Permit - at that point it was a no-goer. Months later I'd secured a Yellow House Book and used that. All very silly to be told, yes we know you have an account with us but you don't meet the requirements to open an account !!!

Yup... when we have this amount of rainfall in such a short period of time, flooding is inevitable in any city.... ... The only time its not inevitable is when the there is a great deal of elevation relief, in which case the roads simply become fast flowing rivers - just look at the videos from Hong Kong recently.

Agreed.... Well, I wouldn't take an MG through it anyway !!! Seriously, though... Don't all modern vehicles have sealed bearings ? The rain gets so heavy here at times, driving through heavy rain even when the roads are not flooded could be problematic otherwise. Flooding such as this, which is not completely uncommon is just one of the reasons I have an SUV.... I've been in too many situations over years in a regular sedan where I can feel and hear the flood water lapping at the underside of the car... Its not a comfortable feeling and happens less in something slightly higher (even a few cm can make the difference).

I've been here since my early 20's (with work) and now base myself here and work rotationally outside of Thailand. I visit the UK regularly and would also be happy living there. I'd be happy to work for as long as I'm physically capable, I have plenty of time off already. One thing which does concern me if I were to stay long term in Thailand is access to reasonably priced health-care. IF living in the UK and going the ILR route, my Wife can get full NHS care for a fee. I know NHS has its critics and I agree with most of the criticisms, nevertheless, care for 'serious stuff' is there. Conversely, in Thailand, insurance premiums become prohibitive and paying for care outright costly. It's somewhat of a conundrum - of course, securing nationality is one option around that, but not working in Thailand, thats an impossibility.

And is no different from KLIA international terminal (C - Gates). Suvarnabumi airport is excellent... IF I could have one criticism... The general Immigration lines are way too slow... But thats not an AOT issue, its a RTP Immigration division issue, they don't put enough officers on at key periods and they constantly spout BS about how it takes less than 90 seconds per passenger, and more recently belched out the utter BS that they are aiming for 20 seconds per passenger (which is utter tosh).

i believe there is a shuttle 'train' / auto people mover unmanned Don't let 'facts' get in the way of unfounded criticism....

Pay extra than what ?? where have you had Mac-n-cheese in a restaurant in Thailand (or anywhere) before now ?

Don't need a passport. I'm amazed at the number of people who ask me for one for other things than travelling abroad. Why amazed... its a the most common form of government issued ID for any non-Thai in Thailand. And, as you don't look Thai, when ID is required, this is the normal ID you will be asked for. The words Passport and ID are used synonymously in Thailand when foreigners are concerned. I think you are looking to feel offended when people don't automatically know you are Thai.

I very much imagine that personal battle is ongoing !!.... its locked in to ThaiVisa (and now Aseannow) folklore along with the GOM thread !!!

Without wishing to get too deeply into the Farang debate... There are times when I would find it offensive if used... ... i.e. If extended family (InLaws or BiL, Aunties, uncles etc) called me 'the Farang'... that'd be pretty rude when they all know my name... Of course, thats never happend because they are polite and respectful. ... The same when in a group of Thai friends who all know my name. Conversely, I've no issue at all when walking into a shop and overhearing one shop assistant say to the other "go and help that Farang"... But if the Shop assistant said to me "Farang, what can I help you with" I'd find it clumsy... usually they'd just avoid the use of the word 'Farang' when addressing me directly and perhaps use the word "Mister"... Thus - I suspect the word 'Mister' is used as a more polite replacement for the word 'Farang' when someone is addressing you.

What does a Sarcasm emoji look like please. Is 555 not enough? You know, ha ha ha Its an upside down smiley... .????

Sure is You can have all the Thai documentation in the world, You are not Thai. We've been through this before, if he has a Thai Passport and has a Thai ID and all the rights as a Thai Citizen, he's Thai. However, in a country such as Thailand which is exclusively dominated by people a South East Asian race Thai's will judge another's nationality based on appearance / race. IF a person of Chinese or Malay Nationality / race (etc), also holds Thai nationality, that nationality will not be questioned by Thai's, however, if a 'white person' has Thai nationality, a Thai will usually enter 'does not compute' mode. Conversely, IF a person of non-white race carries US or British Nationality, no eyebrows will be raised as those nations are multi-racial / multi-cultural. There may be discussion or even questions as to cultural and national origins and lineage, however, the nationality itself will generally not be questioned.

Now I'm confused... You could care less or couldn't as you keep commenting !!!... The Yiddish origins make sense...

With the British having a reputation for excelling in the art of sarcasm, also considered one of the lowest forms of wit.... it's interesting how the phrase 'I could care less' seems so odd... Perhaps us Brits don't get 'American sarcasm'... I've heard the phrase uttered by US politicians without the slightest intonation of sarcasm which makes it seem more odd.