khunjeff

48 minutes ago, SanSaiExPat said:

The professor knows damn well that any agreements that must meet with public approval will never be made in time to meet the August deadline.  These types of agreements, have always been carried out by each country's diplomatic corps and trade bureaucrats.

What I read from his comments (and I may be misinterpreting) is that he wants any deal to be presented openly and honestly to the people, regardless of whether they approve of it. All too often, Thailand negotiates agreements with other countries and then totally misrepresents them in public presentations, so as to make them sound better and to portray Thailand as a big winner, even when it isn't. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

In a dramatic development

I'm not sure how one academic's opinion piece is either "dramatic" or a "development"...

7 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Has anyone’s wife managed to register recently.

My wife managed to register before they started the upgrades, but has been underwhelmed by the selection and prices of the participating hotels - we'll probably just use Agoda for our upcoming road trip.

2 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

He's head of a state for another nation, covered under diplomatic immunity.

Literally watching Children (Thais)

King Norodom Sihamoni is the head of state of Cambodia. Hun Sen was previously head of government when he served as Prime Minister, but his official role now is President of the Senate (though unofficially he is of course still running things). This is still an utterly ludicrous case, though.

On 7/9/2025 at 5:35 AM, thesetat said:

i wonder how police it took to block the motorcycles that would be using this walkway for the photo OP.

In fact, there are virtually never any motorbikes on that side of the canal, though there are some on the other side, mostly in the area near the mosque. The riders are local people, not motorcycle taxis, since the canal path would make a very poor shortcut for anyone trying to get to destinations away from the canal.

On 7/9/2025 at 5:41 AM, Jim Blue said:

Looks lovely ........!

It's actually very pleasant - I walk there regularly. Much of the path existed previously, but was torn down because it was falling apart. The rebuilding project went extremely slowly until Chadchart became governor, at which point it zoomed ahead.

54 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

They already do use it. I was nearly bowled over by one a few months ago walking from Thetsaban Songkhro road to Wat Samian Nari. 

Everyone on two wheels with an engine uses it.

The area you're talking about is more than 10km away from the path described in the OP.

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

EZY Airlines has also entered the scene with a unique route between Hat Yai and Betong

Yes, I can see how this flight will help Pattaya tourism "skyrocket", given that those two cities are a mere 1000+km from the Pearl of the Eastern Seaboard 🙄

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand's tourism sector is experiencing divergent trends between short-haul and long-haul markets

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

short-haul bookings from June to December have dropped significantly

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Conversely, long-haul markets show promising momentum

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

To combat these challenges, TAT plans a 750-million-baht subsidy scheme

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Lufthansa Group is also considering the TAT proposal.

So the intent is to boost short haul flights, but TAT might subsidize Lufthansa, which only operates long haul flights to Thailand? What am I missing? 🤔

On 7/9/2025 at 10:17 AM, webfact said:

The ongoing uncertainty regarding the casino policy has reportedly led to a 90% drop in Chinese tourist numbers

Sure, that makes total sense - I know I personally always base my travel decisions on which bills are being debated in the legislatures of potential destinations. Doesn't everyone? 🙄

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The new policy applies to Bangkok’s extensive electric train network, spanning 13 routes

I have no idea where they keep getting these fantasy numbers from. There are currently ten lines, or 11 if you count the Pink Line stub to Muang Thong as a separate line. 

Narcissist man-child says what? 🤔

If you can't figure out how to make it land, just declare it a "kamikaze" and you're off the hook.

4 hours ago, JAS21 said:

The last scheme during Covid 1.0 worked very well for us, we had some cheap deals at some nice hotels. This time my wife has tried many times to register … failed every time so far.

The program during Covid was indeed great for the travelers who used it, but it turned out that there was massive fraud by properties that billed the government for non-existent stays. This is the problem they're trying to eliminate during the current iteration, but unfortunately their efforts have ended up causing big headaches for users like your wife.

On 6/29/2025 at 6:21 AM, Jingthing said:

I don't approve of soaking those workers or that big ugly bill in general but if this report is true, that is very good news for the typical American expat in Thailand who does remittances.

The remittance tax at any level is stupid and pointless, but American citizen senders were exempted in all versions of the bill so far.

"There is an exception to the excise tax if the sender is a U.S. citizen or national who uses a qualified remittance transfer provider (QRTP). A QRTP is an RTP that enters into a written agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and agrees to verify that the sender is a U.S. citizen or national."

Another Surprise in the One Big Beautiful Bill: Excise Tax on Remittances | Insights | Holland & Knight https://share.google/UpiRI4T2qy1A85m7S

On 6/26/2025 at 9:11 AM, webfact said:

the government intends to offer clearer communication about the bill's true focus on economic benefits through exhibitions and events

Ah, yes, the "true focus". So then they can just cut the casino part out from the bill, and concentrate on the all-important "exhibitions and events", right? Right...?? Yeah, I didn't think so.

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The conversation contained derogatory remarks about the commander of the 2nd Army Region and appeared to show a compliant stance towards Hun Sen, with Ms Paetongtarn allegedly expressing readiness to meet his demands.

That may reflect poor or incompetent leadership, but I'm not seeing how it qualifies as "corruption".

On 6/25/2025 at 12:06 AM, Kinnock said:

Why the ageist theme in the OP?

 

There seem to be younger members who fit the spec too.

 

Yes, I suspect that most of the older members who behave like that have been that way their entire lives...it's just who they are.

17 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

Been using them several years, its normal for me to get transfers in seconds each and every time.

Same for me, sending from my US credit union to Kasikorn. And when I used Wise this week to send Vietnam Dong to a friend's VN bank account for the first time, that also took less than ten seconds. There's no obvious pattern, but people sending funds to Bangkok Bank seem to experience more delays than those remitting to Kasikorn.

11 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

More often than not, some doner get rich on the sale, and some doner gets rich renting the new location. 

These sales are all to large Thai corporations or developers. No "doners" are involved.

It's unfortunate, but it wouldn't be the first such sale, and won't be the last. Governments see how much they can make by selling their land in city centers and moving to office buildings, and they never really consider the intangible benefits of keeping a visible presence in the middle of town.

If I recall, didn't the Dutch previously sell part of their land on Wireless in the late 80s? And the Spanish sold their property just up the road in the early 90s, and of course the UK sold the front of its embassy, and then the rest. Sad.

It would be nice if they could tell us exactly what this scam was.

15 hours ago, webfact said:

addressing long-standing fairness concerns compared to traditional taxis

The only "concerns" are from taxi drivers who are offended that their long-standing free rein to cheat passengers has been infringed upon.

15 hours ago, webfact said:

The Ministry is engaging ride-hailing companies in discussions to align on legal compliance

How about "engaging" the traditional taxis to comply with the laws about using the meter and not refusing fares? 

15 hours ago, webfact said:

platforms will need to establish systems to manage driver misconduct

...which traditional taxis do not do. Is that "fair"?