khunjeff

Those places all implemented congestion charges after a good public transportation system was already in place, so that people had a good alternative to private cars - Bangkok seems to be doing things backwards.

In the great majority of cases, those hotels are owned by Thais and managed by the international chain under contract.

Even after reading the article, I have no idea what this actually means 🤔

Oh yes, urine tests - the Thai police answer to every problem.

It sounds likely that these were trafficked persons, not "illegal migrants" in the sense that the police are implying.

Why do Chinese need to be smuggled across borders, when they can enter Thailand visa-free? Or the scammers just don't want any record of their entries and exits?

They're talking about Chinese products that don't have Thai-language labels attached. And as far as I know, that lack of a Thai label in no way makes the products "unsafe". (By the way, if you've ever read those Thai labels that are affixed to imported products, you'll note that: they're virtually unreadable, due to tiny, poor quality printing; are inaccurate, in that the information on them is different than what was on the original label; and they cover up useful information - like preparation instructions - that was on the original label.)

And the rest of us know that that is false, because we've been shopping at multiple Makro branches for years without a membership. As others have stated multiple times in this thread, the cashier does indeed always ask if you're a member. If you say no, she simply proceeds to check you out, and then issues a small-format cash register receipt. No questions about phone numbers, and no scanning of mystery cards. If you say yes, she scans the card and issues a large-format red and white fanfold VAT receipt with your name and address at the top.

I can only speak for Big C, where I used to shop a lot. The points that you collect are worth a bit, but not much. They send an SMS when the points are going to expire, and a year's worth of points would usually get me a discount of 100 baht or so. The real value of the membership was that nearly every week there would be a promotion for members where you got a set discount for spending a certain amount on one receipt on certain days (usually Friday-Sunday) - often 120 baht off when buying 2000 baht of goods, for example. I easily got over 1000 baht in discounts each year by doing my shopping on the assigned days.

Because the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration only has jurisdiction over the city of Bangkok?

They've been installed, but it will be up to each airline as to whether to use them, since the system may or may not mesh with their systems and procedures. I've actually seen FR readers at gates at many airports around the world for several years now, but only used them for boarding once. But you're quite correct that in theory FR could be used for immigration and boarding as well as security - those functions just aren't under the full control of AoT.

This is how Grab Taxi works as well. They provide a fare estimate at the beginning, but what you eventually pay is the metered fare plus the Grab service charge. If you use cars rather than taxis on either app, there's a set fare. You're paying Bolt to send a taxi to your door to pick you up, so that you don't have to go out on the street and find a cab (and possibly argue about the destination).

Because it isn't a terminal, it's a midfield satellite concourse. Its purpose is to add more gates, not to function as a new terminal. The actual new terminals at BKK - which will have the facilities you mention - are still in the planning and arguing stage, and won't be built for years. That was also my experience. SAT-1 itself is much nicer and more comfortable than the legacy concourses, and any extra time to get to and from the gates there is negligible.

It's absurd enough that the police waste their time with this stupidity, but absolutely ridiculous that they brag to the press about it and send high ranking officers to make the arrests.

The civil engineering for this section is essentially completely finished, and yet the utterly shambolic contracting process has left the tunnels and stations empty for another three years. A really grotesque dereliction of duty to the local people who tolerated years of very disruptive construction and are still waiting for train service.

I'm glad they're taking this action, but it's striking how different their attitude is when the trafficking victims are in another country versus in Thailand (where they end up being arrested as illegal aliens rather than given aid or assistance).

Nice idea, but since Thailand can't even properly control its own crop burning, trying to control what happens in neighboring countries seems a bit...aspirational?

Please...there was no "panic", no "imminent disaster", no one "fearing for their lives", and no "chaotic landing". The plane circled and then landed, as planes often do.

The headline is grossly misleading, very possibly because this is yet another ego-fest from Khun Kirati, who is always happiest when holding grand press conferences and making fanciful claims. (And who is actually the head of AoT, not "Director of the Airports Authority of Thailand" as the article claims.) The reality is that you will still get a boarding pass and will still show it at immigration (if flying internationally) and at the gate. This facial recognition system will only be used to pass through the security checkpoint, so they won't need to have someone standing there to spend two minutes comparing your boarding pass to your passport.

If they literally have the word "copy" printed on them, they're not "counterfeit" at all - they're novelty or replica notes.

The dish that the restaurant calls Dragon Balls is larb tord (ลาบทอด), which even in Thailand can be quite spicy or not spicy at all depending on the individual cook. Those roasted chilis are an accompaniment to eat with the dish, not one of the ingredients.

So one former politician with no official position disagrees with a proposal from another former politician with no official position? Glad to see that public policy is being made by the people's representatives and not by random strongmen... 🙄

Yeah, I don't know why they keep reporting on this clown's antics.

They didn't - they died. Millions and millions of them died of diseases that are now easily prevented.

He wasn't a police officer, he was an accountant or bookkeeper for the Corrections Department. Still surprised that he was arrested, but it's a very different scenario from busting a corrupt cop.