Enzian

I always keep small valuables in inside zipped pockets in my travel vest worn on my person for the duration, or at worst ball the vest into a black ball and put it on the floor under my seat behind my feet. And wear it to the toilet.

All those 10 story buildings full of fishbowls and rooms up on Ratchada Road will have to close their doors? Well, they seem to be going out of style anyway.

It's my impression that Bangkok got better for a few years but is now getting worse again. Isn't this the worst time of year, since there isn't the rain to clear the air? BTW, I've been spending more time in Chiang Mai, but haven't yet experienced its notorious bad days; the time will come I suppose, and the fact that I'm actually in Hang Dong probably won't help much.

Hey, can anyone tell me what happened to that string of parlors off soi 11 and soi 13?, most of them in walkways by the Villa supermarket and the Ambassador Hotel. I leave town and come back and maybe 20 of them are gone.

I had severe food poisoning recently. My friends asked if my g/f might have set it up. I said unlikely, since I've refused to marry her and she know she is not in my will.

I just found out from Thais I know that a monk I know by sight is doing a certain sort of business management and speculation. I'm sure it is true because I'm close to the situation. I mentioned it to a farang monk I know and he said leave it alone. People have told me the newspapers won't care. Strange situation.

Are they saying they think use is widespread because they found this stash, or because they already well knew it is widespread? And are they talking about Thai users, or visitors, or both? I'm in CM but rather new to the area, but haven't seen any signs of such; however, more than most drugs, I know it can hide in plain sight. I'd like to know if it is really here, because it always leads to the same kinds of drama, and crimes, and no one needs that.

My son is coming to Thailand for the first time. He is still young (28). He likes to take exploratory road trips, himself driving. He's never driven on the left. No problem he says. I say: until you've seen it you cannot comprehend the degree of stupidity; you don't know what the lack of law enforcement means; you don't realize that if you are in an accident and the other party is Thai, you will be in the wrong no matter what happened...  He says: that's pretty strange...

But none of this is like having a Thai girlfriend.

My girlfriend has a nasty scar on her leg from a dog bite outside a store not far from our condo, happened before I met her. That dog is still out there nearly every day. I get tired of telling her on so many topics "in America we would not let this happen, or go on".

So someday I'm hit by a car stepping into the street to get around a restaurant set up on the sidewalk, all I can say is I'm glad I was helping someone make a living?

"Since 2016"? What does that mean? What calendar period are we talking about? From Jan. 1 '17 to the present? or all of 2016 to the present? or what?

Not clear what the crime is. Bigamy I suppose, but beyond that?

Sounds like he's discovered French wine; a lot of it.

I hate to say this, but I agree with those who say that those below a certain line in the system of hierarchy are effectively disposable. I don't disapprove of prostitution, but I disapprove of a national attitude toward the unnecessary of quality education and the uneven distribution of opportunity that leaves many with very few options. A woman should not be left so desperate as I see many. A few simple social policies, like a system forcing men, even on threat of jail, to contribute to the upbringing of the children they procreate, would make a big difference.

Amazing how people will do this and think they'll get away with it. The most notable example in recent years was Shepard Fairey's attempt to obscure the evidence that he had lifted the image at the basis of his famous Hope poster from the AP. A lot of people think that the two year suspended sentence and the $25,000 fine were not nearly enough. 

Another story a while back pointed out that Thailand is the 4th most expensive place in the world to buy wine. A 6 Euro bottle of Prosecco in Italy can cost 800 baht here.

Must relatively lower income Thai citizens pay a federal income tax on their earnings? Or: as a practical matter, do owners of small shops, cafes, and the like actually pay annual income taxes to the central government, or do they consider themselves exempt and not file? I've read that Thais must pay 5% on income over 150,000 baht a year, but do any of them that make just somewhat over that amount ever really do it?

Speaking of Quality, I bought some Gillette Fusion 5-element razor modules at Villa, and I swear they were not as good as the same brand I buy from Costco in the states.

Europe needs to take a clue from Australia, which as I understand it has succeeded in just not letting in the ones in its neighborhood. I spend a lot of time in Italy and what this situation is doing to a beautiful country is not pretty.

1. Have then clean up the environment and all the litter--and fix the sidewalks while they are at it so I don't fall in a hole.  2. Have them all take teacher's training even if they are imbeciles; some day it will pay off.

Thai girls are raised to be dumb; they get preggers in their teens, then without skills have to make a living and send money home to mom who's raising the kid. True education for all would be a start.

I've gone thru the Thai side arriving a year ago with my Thai gf in front of me but without telling them directly we were together. IO stamped me thru but gave me a very hard time about arriving without a visa and expecting yet another exemption on arrival. That's when I resolved to finally get my retirement visa which I now have.

When I left on Feb. 2 the stamp out line to the gates was so bad that people were cutting in and fights almost starting. As per this thread, it must be getting worse, so we must give ourselves plenty of time.

I suspect you are all correct that the arrival line for Thais is now automated and effectively closed to foreigners.

For the second time around I'm getting a visa to Italy for my Thai girlfriend. (I'm American, love Italy.) Italy is not easy in this regard and is getting tougher. Schengen countries are supposed to be all the same in their visa requirements, but that is not the case in practice. There are other European countries I would like to take her to though, and she could start in one country, like Spain, and easily go to France, for example.

I'm looking for anecdotal stories about European countries for which it is relatively easy for a Thai visa application to succeed. Anyone? Thanks in advance.

Anyone in her position should have assumed that, this being Thailand, underlings would move the rice into warehouses and then take random lots of it out the back door at night and hope nobody noticed for months. Part of her job would be to avoid that, and it appears she paid no attention. There were other variations too of course. But she's playing like there are no facts, just politics. It may be too late for that approach.