Enigmatist

So many flaws with this article. Who actually thinks the RTP would make a payout, when they only impose a fine "not exceeding 5000 baht"? That's a lot of tea money gone. Further, if they never made a payout, who would know? One way to demonstrate the integrity of the proposal would be to post proud photos of the monthly prizewinners, and we can all surmise some of the negative outcomes of that scenario. Additionally they'll never get 5000 baht from Thai locals, the delivery drivers et al are geting peanuts as it is. So, although it is not stated, this would be essentially perpetuate the Thai v Foreigner paradigm (can't envisage too many foreigners camping the roadside videoing offenders, more likely the starving citizens with no social security). Great for tourism ...'Catch the tourist that just rented a motorbike for the first time ever and has no idea of local rules, seeing hundreds of Thais using the sidewalk, following suit, and then being hit with a fine' routine. As stated earlier, invest in CCTV at locations where this commonly occurs and just let the fines pay off the investment. Also, remove "Scrolls Wheels" from the signs (Any wheeled vehicle?? = kiddy trikes/bikes? Segways? motrcycle trikes? Quad-bike ATVs?), totally lost in translation.... especially since only motorbikes and cars are pictured.

There's no doubt that many parts of the World, if not most have probably experienced a drop in their happiness index inrecent times. If all had suffered equally, the previous rankings would remain unchanged, just all at a lower happiness level than before. What IS a little interesting is that Thailand has dropped a further 4 placings in relation to those other nations, which would indicate a greater drop in happiness in comparison, possibly related to the severity of the impact of Covid on the poorer elements of society: Little or no work due to sustained lockdown measures, very little food or state support, increasing suicide numbers, false promises by the government, delayed rollout of vaccines, suppression of free speech, heavy-handed treatment of protesters, increasing corruption and dubious election results, just to name a few. Arguably, the Thais have had to suffer more than most nations and thereby dropping down the rankings may be seen as inevitable. TBH the Thai people have shown great resilience and a little surprised that they didn't drop further down the list.

The entire OP can be almost be transcribed word-for-word for the Thai dating manual.

Has noone else lived in Samkong? I spent my first year in Phuket there, before moving to another location. It's a perfect little piece middle-class Thai suburbia. Affordable housing, it's own entertainment district around Boat Plaza with a lovely lagoon that includes 4-5 bars, including traditional Thai and also Western-style themed. Go west to Bypass road for easy access to Airport and Patong, 5 minutes from the HUGE Tesco store at the main Crossroads for shopping, minutes from one of the 2 major bus terminals in Phuket at the end of Pratchasamakhi road (and maybe a kilometre or so further north up Thepkrasatri Road. 10 minutes from the heart of Phuket Town. Super-chilled friendly Thai community. Ubiquitous 7/11s and street markets and food all self-enclosed within a low traffic environment. I loved it, but the call of the beach encouraged me to move to the perimeter of the island :P Even though it did not have a beach of its own per se, I was able to go to any beach or any other place on the island in any direction in about 30 minutes or so, it was the perfect location for exploring Phuket for the first year, and thereby assist in deciding where to move next if one so desired.