16 hours ago, webfact said:

The page said the process in such cases usually takes around 23 days – from investigation until an indictment decision is made – hence the man’s family had to wait and see what happens. 

The family was undoubtedly nonplussed that he wasn't simply asked to pay a 500 baht fine and sent on his merry way.

20 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

It is because he has lived in Thailand for a long time that he is well aware that this 'bar-stool myth' is just that and likely not to reflect real life experiences outside of a beer-bar. 

I’m a non-drinker who’s never set foot inside a bar in Thailand, so my experiences and perceptions have not been informed by such “myths.”

Nice try, though.

How long before they just require all foreign nationals (except Chinese, of course) to be fitted with ankle bracelets and/or RFID chips?

In the eyes of the RTP, the only real crime here is that their cut was too small.

On 7/19/2019 at 9:32 AM, webfact said:

Andrew - a well known figure in Thailand for several decades - was writing in Thai on Twitter when he said it was hell for tourists.

While I certainly feel your pain, Andrew, how is it that you've lived in Thailand "for decades" and still don't understand the rules, viz., "in any dispute between a Thai and a farang, the farang is always wrong?"

2 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

I have noticed the app has disappeared from the Thai IOS app store.

That was my experience also.

After logging out of the U.S. store and logging into the Thai store, I received an "unavailable in this store" message.

4 hours ago, Flutterby said:

I completed the registration online over a month ago. I included the requested pages of my passport and departure card plus my lease agreement AND a letter from the Juristic Person at my condo. They have still not sent me my login ID and password.

It's been two months for me.

Still "waiting for approval."

What a farce!

21 hours ago, Chazar said:

wonder how  long theyll be keeping this  crap  up for.

For as long as there's an extra satang to be extracted from the farang.

13 hours ago, Mark1066 said:

They’re all made on CNC machines these days and therefore quality is far more consistent than it was in my younger days (you probably know that anyway).

True in some respects, but even if two Fender Stratocaster bodies are made on the same CNC machine, one guitar might end up weighing 7.5 lbs. while the other weighs in at 9.5 - depending on the particular piece of alder or ash used.

That's why I always prefer to try before buying whenever possible. YMMV.

Consider yourself fortunate that even one Thai involved in the incident was willing to concede he was wrong.

On 7/15/2019 at 9:13 AM, webfact said:

Asahna Bucha marks the day of the first sermon after the Lord Buddha's enlightenment celebrating the Four Noble Truths. 

I'm amazed at how many Thais (even those who are apparently devout Buddhists) don't even know this.

For many, it's just a day where you walk around the temple three times, etc.

16 hours ago, darksidedog said:

In the meantime, greed is going to see this sort of thing happen again and again, by those who care nothing for the reputation of the place, but only about their own pockets.

I'll be damned if that doesn't sound just like the current state of my home country.

Greed gone global.

On 7/12/2019 at 8:32 AM, jingjai9 said:

The ladies do not ask many personal questions, and I mean polite, not nosey questions.

Rest assured they're asking plenty of personal questions when you're not in the room.

Especially questions like "what's in your wallet?" (to quote that annoying Capital One Bank commercial.)

Where's the "trying to comply, but having a rough go of it" option?

(Looking at you, FN Hotel website!)

Pretty much sums up my experience in Thailand...

“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts”

― Jim Morrison

Never.

Thai people have never been anything less than polite to me.

The TI douche bags have been the only exception.

Leave us not forget, USD/THB was ~34-35/1 before we put the reality TV pinhead in the White House.

I use my Capital One CC as often as possible. That way, I get the Master Card rate and I'm able to circumvent ATM fees, foreign transaction fees and money transfer fees.

Registered on May 23 and still "waiting for approval."

22 hours ago, Sandy Freckle said:

I have often wondered a similar thing....., why would anyone drag their family around lower Suk late at night..., through all that 'peripheral stuff' that goes on ?

I was wondering the same thing, and when I mentioned this to a friend from Pakistan, he told me lower Suk was like Rodeo Drive compared to the place where he came from.

Registered on May 23 and still "waiting for approval."

18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

True, but they can't even explain how ours happened, so I doubt humans will ever answer that.

IMO, after the start, whenever that was, there is a big bang, universe forms from the gas, universe expands, suns runs out of fuel and universe dies, universe sucked into black holes and becomes gas, big bang occurs again, repeat forever.

I won't take exception to the supposition that there may be some phenomena science might never be able to explain (particularly when you think about what it really means to "explain" something.)

That said, history is also replete with doomed efforts to fill in the gaps in our scientific knowledge with appeals to supernatural agencies, so I don't want to go there either.

Re: the big bang and alternative theories, this guy Paul Steinhardt from Princeton (one of the original proponents of the theory of cosmic inflation) has some really interesting ideas...