Jonathan Swift

Maybe Thailand should revoke its welcome to those who can't pass an intelligence test. You see, your money is actually worth MORE now: the exchange rate has been 34.4 baht to the US dollar for about the last year, the highest its been in several years. I am saving about $300 a month in monthly income exchange rates for every $2000 US compared to when it was 29 baht / dollar 3 - 4 years ago. Inflation? That's not the sole problem of Thailand and nowhere else. In fact, inflation right now in the US and other countries dwarfs Thailand's problems. Thailand's inflation rate post Covid is 4.65%. The US inflation rate is 8.3%. In the UK it's 9%. And did you think you were going to go through your entire life in some kind of inflation free economic Shangri-La? But then again, math isn't your strongest subject is it? I've been here 9 years and you will NEVER hear me complain. Methinks your unhappiness has nothing to do with Thailand, you are projecting your own dissatisfaction with yourself. There there, if I were you I wouldn't like me either.

I have been doing the non O retirement visa for four years. I go back to the (ugh!) US for four months June-Sept every year. You can get insurance, it just won't be as cheap as a younger person. You can get a 30 day policy, they do not check the expiration. My 6 month policy expired in April, and I'm still here. But even full term, a $10,000 policy is not expensive. You are not a "visitor", you are a non immigrant resident with a permanent address. The rules specify "travelers", not visiors or tourists. The Thailand pass is universal for all who enter Thailand regardless of status. It superseded previous rules, which were in effect when I arrived last October. If you need up to date info on entry rules you can contact any airline, or go to their website, and they will spell out the rules, because they of all people HAVE to be aware of entry rules wherever they do business. They are required to check all of your documents prior to boarding. Good luck, chok dee. I have not yet used Thailand Pass, but my interpretation of it is that it replaces the need for a Certificate of Entry.

And it's always the other guys who are the idiots and fools... Let me guess, you don't believe Covid is real, it was a conspiracy, and was faked, right? All the people who died of it, well that was just nonsense, right? It was a golden ticket Willy Wonka hoax. So last question, why are you even here? So that you can whine and complain about it while reaping all the advantages it gives you?

With all due respect - Unless you have a crystal ball into the future you are simply speculating according to your own preferences and biases. In my 50 years in the bar and entertainment business as a musical entertainer and designer one of the most common fatal mistakes is when someone buys a place and tries to reinvent it in a way that ignores the preexisting patronage and history, and simply goes against the grain of traditional business models. ESPECIALLY if they expect to change something from a regular neighborhood bar or venue into an upscale attraction. Overall economic recovery from Covid will take time. Right now is not a good time for anyone to invest in anything, save new smaller venues taking advantage of lower rents in the abandoned former businesses. In the US I've seen as many as a half dozen "rehabilitated" venues in a given year fail in 1 to six months. It got to where I could predict it. It was a tough and unforgiving economy where I lived. The idea that you can take a place like Walking St., established over decades as a particular kind of attraction with its own identity, raze it, put millions into it, completely change its identity and overcome its past reputation, turn it into something it has never been, and then take an "if you build it they will come" position HOPING the people with money will show up is extremely risky - as there is no track record, business model, or template for the success such a thing in that type of situation (Thailand entertainement districts of that type), except those that ended up in failures. How are you going to lure investors? If I was an investor I wouldn't touch it. Is the government going to be willing to gamble with huge amounts of money? It looks like a big fat no. The sure, practical, and sensible thing which doesn't gamble with existing livelihoods as well a huge amount of capital is to let it come back the way it was. There is ample evidence to think that will work. There are enough places still open there to indicate the small businesses would be happy to come back. It will follow the course of Covid restrictions and tourism. As to the well off potential tourists they will come as well and spend their money. Bangla Rd in Patong for example has come back about 80%, and I had a great time there in April. Soi Buakao is thriving, as far as viable business models go, proving that there is a potential clientele which would likely return to Walking St. So, the difference between me and you is I am speaking from direct experience and my intuitive business sense, as well as reliable examples of business models. You are just guessing with wishful thinking and obviously little or no actual experience in that kind of business, no disrespect intended. Cheers.

So why are you still here? Did you get covid? Sounds like you're still very much alive. Meanwhile 1,000,000 dead in the US. But don't let me spoil your fun, complain away.

"These people". Dog whistle term used by racists, xenophobes, and bigots. This isn't a scam the natives "cooked up". It follows standard successful Western textbook examples of scams, all anyone has to do is read about enough of them in the news and you can put one together. Convince a bunch of investors to cough up money with an effective sales pitch and bait, take the money and run. Ponzi scheme. Bernie Madoff. There are always going to be people tempted by the smell of money, regardless of nationality. Meanwhile as to your accusation about Thai people messing up regular work duties, I have found Thai people to be almost universally conscientious and responsible - don't know where your unfounded prejudices and bigotry toward Thais comes from, but very likely you create your own bad experiences with your own attitude and then scapegoat/gaslight others. If a Thai person doesn't like you for good reason, what should you expect but to have your bad attitude reflected back?

Authenticity becomes part of the status and bragging rights. To such people the money is not wasted, since they have plenty of it to waste. No doubt some of these items were intended for discerning Thai people willing to pay. And no doubt they knew the risks of this happening beforehand. So they gambled and lost, and now are whining about it.

Lieland. Seriously? Did you make that up without any help? Razor sharp wit.

I applied and got my non O from a tourist visa in Bangkok about 4 years ago. They converted from tourist to another type of non immigrant, then to non O retirement. It was not well known that you could do this, and there was a lot of contradictory "advice" about it, but I did it.

I agree, close it down, investigate, and then investigate other ranges for safety. Some people enter into businesses who are simply not responsible enough or qualified. Happens in all professions, some deadly and some not.

I think it's more likely that she meant blanks, not knowing what a blank really looks like, somehow the terminology got mixed up in translation.

Something similar to involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide. She's 50 years old, understands right from wrong, knows that guns kill, culpable negligence. But we don't know what Thai law does with such things. A substantial payment to the family?

"Treat every gun as if it is loaded, never put your finger on the trigger until ready to fire" etc. Maybe she missed the first day of instruction, maybe she wasn't even taking the course and was just there for fun, who knows?

People see guns in movies and video games and think they are toys until taught otherwise

Not funny. How old are you? The autopsy will answer such questions as why a shoulder wound which one would not consider typically deadly would have killed her. It would determine whether an artery was severed and he bled out too quickly, or it might raise valid questions as to the emergency care. If a subclavian artery was hit the bleeding would be unstoppable short of surgery or military level intervention. It would definitively rule on the bullet trajectory, indicating how the shooter was positioned, it could figure in whether the shooter was culpable, and specifically state the cause of death such as shock and repiratory/heart failure from rapid blood loss. Autopsies are also a tool for the education of medical professionals. Now, do you feel just a LITTLE bit smarter and less inclined to joke about human tragedies?

Whatever the reason, the shooter was obviously untrained and unschooled in the most basic handling of firearms, including some basic schooling on ammunition. Like, "you see this lead projectile on the end here? That's what comes out the barrel and can kill you". And like you said, NEVER point the gun ANYWHERE but at a target; NEVER put your finger on the trigger until time to shoot, treat EVERY gun as though it were loaded with a LIVE ROUND. Sadly, as long as people have guns, or even just use them at firing ranges for fun, these tragedies will happen. Some people will just never grasp that these are not just toys.

A Glock 19. An American movie staple and icon. Widely used by citizens, police, and criminals in the US, I don't know about other countries. One can only guess where and to what extent universal gun safety protocols were not followed. Where she got the idea that "dummy rounds" would be present at a gun range, or why she would know and use the term, can only be from media, perhaps from the Alec Baldwin case, and if so much of that story was not understood (language barrier?). Perhaps what she meant was blanks, the press might have mistranslated from Thai. Either way, neither would, or should, be present at a gun range. The American version of this thing is when an instructor handed a full auto machine gun to an 8 year old who could not control it and killed HIS instructor. Yup, Americans can go to gun ranges and shoot machine guns. even 8 year olds. I'm not anti-gun per se, but there are too many careless idiots in the world for there not to be a price paid for gun freedoms.

Yeah, hard to fathom. We've had quite the prime time news education about "dummy rounds" being exclusive to Hollywood/Production propmasters as the only reason for them to exist, per the Alec Baldwin tragedy. As I may say elsewhere, one wonders at what kind of bad luck would cause a shoulder injury to be fatal. My guess would be a severed subclavian artery which is almost directly from the heart and arches across each shoulder. That would bleed out fast. Imagine now how the shooter has to live with this. But as you insinuate, the safety protocols you and I know were likely not the standard here.