Jonathan Swift

2 hours ago, JGon said:

Another one... soon the media will keep pushing this narrative and we "farangs" will be stereotype for a few bad apples (if this isn't already happening).

You have a vivid imagination. Are you one of those who whines and complains about imaginary prejudice and racism against poor white farangs? Well chew on this: In my more than 10 years here the only bad behavior by a******s that I’ve ever seen is by foreigners, so if the shoe fits you deseve to wear them. If you keep your nose clean you have nothing to fear from Thailand. They certainly aren’t out to fabricate offenses or persecute westerners. If all this is too much to bear perhaps you should go back where you came from and resume your complaining. Nobody wants to hear from chronic complainers with nothing better to do. Just go away and solve everyone’s problems.

21 hours ago, John207 said:

Hi all, has anyone obtained an IDP in Pattaya of lately? I'm getting conflicting information so I was wondering what are exactly the documents needed and which transport office  to go to if the one in road 7 just outside Pattaya or the one in Chonburi city centre. All comments welcome thanks

I got mine in my home country. Ask your question online and you will find your answers. Double check anything said in this forum. 

3 hours ago, jayboy said:

Some people will never learn.In Thailand it is often possible to structure entities that are nominally legal (there are multiple lawyers who will advise on this though they rarely mention any downside) but are nevertheless in conflict with the spirit /intention of Thai authorities.Nine times out of ten there will be no problem and the entity can operate without significant issues.The problem can come when the entity is stress tested perhaps by an unforeseen event, a hostile local business man or a tightening up of laws to better reflect intent.

 

A wise foreigner looks beyond lawyers advice and tries to ensure his operation reflects Thai policy as well as Thai legal niceties.

 

There are I should say excellent legal firms who give non partisan decent advice - but they are expensive and few in number.The foreign cowboys rarely consult them.

What do you know! A person who sounds like he knows what he's talking about! The next round is on me! Carry on. 

23 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

He could not afford to live independently in England when he had a job but he can afford to live in Thailand, apparently without any means of support, just three years out of his minimum-wage teenage years!?  Suspect the OP hasn't reported the full story.

How do you know what his finances are about and why do you care? Seems some people are just too cynical and nosey for their own good. So what. Nobody owes YOU an explanation. It's his business, not yours. The authors are not your personal private investigators. Obviously he is resourceful and has the necessary resources, and if lacking in immediate resources and plans  he has the confidence that he can make things work. Same as I did ten years ago, not knowing how I would make my finances work but figuring everything out along the way. Tell me, are all you scousers as miserable and judgmental? I guess the Beatles and Gerry Marsden were the exception. Thank God for that. 

6 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Another Swiss, and here on retirement? If there is a crackdown on long-term visas soon, what are the odds that we have to thank those two perpetrators and the highly publicised incidents?

"Another" Swiss? Really? How many acts of violence against Thai women have there been over the last 10 - 20 years? Probably at least 2 of them were Swiss. Whoopee. That means nothing. And how many British. And Russian. And Indian. And Chinese. Are you saying that Switzerland will be seen as a breeding ground for violent offenders just because of two incidents? That distinction clearly belongs to Americans and their 2nd amendment wackos. . Seems like Aussies have a pretty good criminal history here, and the Chinese mafia, but you think just a couple Swiss guys are going to bring immigration to bear against law abiding retirees? And how many offenders were tourists, how many were retirees, how many had marriage visas and beat on their Thai wives? Did you bother to check? Or do you have no need for facts to support your comments?  So, to follow your logic then, you think that immigration will look at a handful of incidents pertaining to retirees, compared to hundreds and hundreds of acts of violence against women that have nothing to do with retirees, and they will conclude that it's necessary to "crack down" on long term visas? Crack down how? Make them fill out a form promising not to beat on Thai ladies? Take a psychological profile test for psychopaths? I don't know how long you've been here but you have a poor grasp of how immigration actually thinks and works. These crimes have been here ever since Thailand became Thailand and not Siam. Thai immigration and law enforcement have a pretty good handle on what's going on and what can be done about it. You can never prevent the crimes, only prosecute them after the fact, same as in every country. So, to answer your rather absurd question, the odds of anything happening because of two Swiss guys is basically 0. Are you from the UK? UK guys love to complain about Thailand even though it's a hundred times better here than where they came from. You know what your problem is? (pretend I'm your psychiatrist) You overdramatize because you enjoy it, you jump to conclusions based on your prejudices and limited observations of very few actual facts, not based on the big picture, then you want to sound smarter than you are, when in fact the opposite happens. It's not hard to actually research topics before you comment.  And it's never too late to go back to school, I hear the schools here are quite good. 

Any man that physically abuses a woman is a coward and a vile human being. 

I think it's a good move politically because it will serve to unite the different factions and enhance the position of the party in control. Just my ignorant opinion.

19 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

This is the second case that the courts have "cleared up" for Yingluck.

 

 

All that remains, I think, is the rice scheme "case".

 

 

 

 

 

My ignorant opinion means nothing of course, but I don't think that was a corrupt move so much as a colossal blunder and colossal ignorance as to world economics. As I recall India moved in to fill the rice deficit and that's why she was stuck with rice she couldn't sell at the price she planned on. 

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

This man, being smug and full of himself, forgot where he is and that he's a guest in this country that

doesn't tolerate such, 'I'm better than you' type of behaviour towards the locals,

Maybe that will teach him a lesson where ever he will thing to go and retire next...

People like that have huge egos and don't learn. He'll continue to do such things wherever he thinks he can get away with it. He demonstrated his character, that's who he is

9 hours ago, Nordic summer said:

The only possible outcome from this unfortunate episode.

Maybe a trial is still an option. It ain't over until it's over. 

On 3/2/2024 at 9:30 PM, Negita43 said:

Thanks and attched your PDFs cleaned up as best I can

Overstay Penalties-1.pdf 57.86 kB · 12 downloads Terms and Conditions for Stay.pdf 86.98 kB · 16 downloads

Here are original PDFs of those forms from the Thai immigration forms website, https://www.immigration.go.th/?page_id=3202

The acknowledgement of terms is called STM - 2, the acknowledgement of penalties does not appear to have a form number. That link looks like it has all necessary forms in original PDF form. Good luck everyone. It's not as hard as it looks, worst that can happen is you might have to come back the next day.

30.Form- Acknowledgement-of-Overstay-Penalties.pdf 29.Form-STM2 Terms and conditions for temporary stay.pdf

10 hours ago, rexpotter said:

Local men are very attracted to their women and their wallets.

Nonsense statement of the month. Congratulations

"Mr. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the Deputy leader of the United Thai Nation, publicly revealed after visiting Phuket last week to inspect and gather information regarding an allegation of foreign mafia gangs in the area." Revealed what? Sentence construction much? 

6 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

British people are the same as people from any other Country and some of them do do wrong things, like people from anywhere else .

   Your claim is incorrect 

Get to a dictionary and look up sarcasm and irony. This page seems to be over your head. 

5 hours ago, cdemundo said:

I have had Bolt drivers say they want cash when I am already paying on my CC through the app.

They were ok when I explained that though.

Another Bolt driver messaged me before pickup that he wanted cash so I canceled as same problem, and I don't want to pay twice.

Has never happened to me with Grab.

There is a thing where if you get stuck in traffic using Bolt they can charge you double or more without telling you. I told a guy I would get out and walk and he tried to turn a 105 baht fare into 300 baht, tried to show me some sort of rules on his phone, but I refused and he took the 105 baht. Good thing he didn't try to drive off with my luggage. Mostly good experiences with Bolt. 

6 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

 

"Viral"?24,500 views. OMG!

 

I understand that Thai officials feel insulted but honestly why make a deal out of this?

 

Just let it die, and be subsumed by tomorrow's viral video.

 

But no, Thai officials think they have to win every argument so give this more life.

 

 

You don't know anything about "face" do you? 

Sex tourism with a twist? Thailand is now reputed to be a major destination for a new breed of tourists: the cum-voyeurs. 

1 hour ago, bristolgeoff said:

Happening alot recently,I also notice that they check every note and old us bills will not be accepted.500 euro note was cancelled i think to stop fraud and money laundrying too.Apart from showing passport  to exchange you will not get away with it in thailand

QR scan payment solves all problems with money and payments. Too bad countries like the US are sticking to the stone age in that regard. 

6 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

Seems like a lot of this happening in Thailand lately.

Don't these dummies read the news???

You ask if dummies read news? Your question answers itself. 

1 hour ago, Skeptic7 said:

Did I miss something???

What's the current price❓

What's the percentage of the increase❓ 

yes, you missed the headline: "Thai Embassy in New Zealand increases visa fee 600%"

You also missed: The current price is $300. And here's the math: Current price ($300) reflects  600%  of the old  price (six times the original amount) so you divide it by 6 and the answer is the original cost of $50. Be careful how you phrase this. The new cost is 600% of the old. But the percent of the increase amount (your third question) which is $550 on top of the old price of $50, there the math gets weird - the increase amount of $550 is 1100% of the original price $50. ($50 being 100%)  And if you say that the increase amount is 600% of the original price, in other words it went up BY 600%, then it's $50 PLUS $300 = $350. This is why there is a difference when you say something is 5 times more than, or five times as much. People mess that up all the time. 

42 minutes ago, IamNoone88 said:

North African French arabs

The Mooninites

54 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

bageeeeezzzzz... who else but ruskies and chinese and indians do they want here?

Funny sidenote - I always that the word "Russkies" was an ethnic slur created by Americans, but in fact that's what Russians call each other!

Here's my contribution art. 

Last time I dealt with a Thai airline they tried to overcharge me for a small suitcase, and then told me I had to buy a seat fot my modestly sized acoustic guitar. Then since they had made a schedule change such that I was entitled to a refund, they refused the refund. I booked through Agoda whose office is near my place in the US, so (yes I’m mad enough) I’ll be taking Agoda to small claims court. No airline with any customer courtesy ever refuses a guitar as carry on to be stored in a closet. It’s even a law in the US that airlines make those accommodations. It’s also the principle of the thing. I dan’t like anyone crookedly trying to take advantage of me.