dcnx

Tried today first time, Could not get rhough the bollards in many places, too close together. Asd well, no speed can be maintained, all, stops and more stops and no go's Waste!

Dang. Well, at least they tried.

Jogging path, anyone?

Great idea. Anything to help with they safety of riders. The roads are freaking dangerous.

Never understood the medical check requirement, as if THAT is going to make the roads safer.

I brace for impact and drive through them while beeping and yelling. Worked well so far.

I enjoy CM. It's not perfect, no place is, but it's safe, fairly clean, cheap, easy to get around, and so on. It could be improved, but I'm happy with her just the way she is, warts and all.

Thailand is so absurd that anything said as a joke on April 1 could actually be true, no matter how outlandish.

Is BKK still going to be under water in a few years?

One should not make the news for not being a criminal.

Just take off your plate like so many Thais already so. ;-)

Poor fellas. Perhaps they should be doing their job and not making Facebook updates.

Yea, sure.

To be fair, most of us were raised without a car seat and lived to tell about it.

Everything I see Thais do with kids today, was done to many of us when we were kids.

They evolve much, much, much, slower than the Western world. They will catch up in about 30 - 40 years or so.

Honestly, have any of you ever been THAT drunk?

Didn't think so.

When I stayed in Pattaya, I saw more than once a fighting couple turn on a farang who stepped in to help the woman.

The only thing Thais hate more than each other, is us.

These days I don't stop for accidents or domestic abuse. Just not worth the potential backfire of getting involved. They tell us to act according in "their" country, so I follow their lead.

UOB opened an account for her with no problem or additional papers/forms needed. I haven't had the time to try BKB again.

These stories always follow bad ones. All part of the spin.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to land at Bangkok International Airport please turn your watches back to a junta approved time.

And please check any logic and common sense you may have at the Logic Counter. Don't worry, it will be there when you return for it, as we have no use for it here.

Such a conservative and hypocritical society. How about girls who work in bars and such places all over Thailand? You could make a long list of places where pretties dress proactively.

I'd wager that if asked during a press conference about such girls and zones, or the activities of a certain "extreme" city, he would either play dumb or flat out say such things don't exist in Thailand, be it out of privileged ignorance or just a bold face lie because those in charge of such zones are untouchable.

In regards to privilege, ever see royalty drive past any red light zones or karaoke bars? I have, more than once. They not only close the bars and shut off the lights until they pass, but they also remove all the workers from outside the establishments. Those who pass by would never know the nature of such a place unless they asked what it is as they drove by, and I'm sure they are lied to if they do.

As always, it's just one big show.

RIP, and a full recovery for each injured victim.

On the bright side, the PM is protecting citizens from car show pretties.

"Shortly after the coup in 2014, the military government promised to end violence in the South within one year."

Yes, but car show pretties make Thailand look bad.

I wonder if he travels with Thai food or eats the local cuisine.

Thailand is a violent and bully society. Such behavior is glorified daily on their TV shows.

That's just how it is and they apparently like it.

Standard Thai Visa responses out in force I see.

We've had Hitler mentioned and comments about how scary it is getting but we are still missing a "so it begins".

I think it's a bit early for you all to start wetting your panties over this.

How long have you guys been predicting the end of freedom here?

Has life changed fundamentally since the coup? Nope. Are you able to still comment about the government here? Absolutely yes

Take a chill pill.

Boiling frogs, and all that stuff.

This is going to get out of hand.

OK, today I went to the Kad Suan Kaew branch of Bangkok Bank. To review, the OP claims he was told -- at that branch -- that there is now a new rule that every foreigner, regardless of visa status, must "go to either Thai immigration or my home country embassy and have them confirm the validity of my passport and address. This applies to existing customers opening new accounts as well as new customers."

I have two fixed deposit accounts with terms that expired last week, so I told them I wanted to close those accounts and roll the money into new accounts at their latest promotional rate. Note -- I requested to open two new accounts. I'm an existing customer. So, I nestled in for a half-hour of the usual form-signing, including the form for the U.S. gov't disclosing my U.S. address for tax purposes and my SSN. No surprises here. The customer service gal looked at her computer screen and asked if we still lived at Room XXX in XYZ Condo. I said "No, we haven't lived in that room for over five years. I came here to notify you when we moved to Room ZZZ" Ok, she input the correct room number. Then, I watched in wonderment as the she efficiently made copies, filed in forms, input data, printed documents and stamped, stamped, stamped and stamped. Eventually she was done and I was presented with the old passbooks for the two expired accounts and the two new passbooks with a nice little wai.

"What, don't I have to go to Immigration to confirm my address or to my Consulate to confirm the validity of my passport?" She looked very puzzled. "Khun Nancy, we know who you are and you just told us where you live."

So, I hunted up the short-haired customer service rep who normally sits at Desk 8, the one the OP says he talked with and showed her this thread. "Oh", she said with that nervous little Thai laugh. "Here is what he must have meant". She showed me a sign she has encased in plastic behind her desk, like she must have it handy to bring forward when she wants to brush off someone. It's simply a distillation of the policy stated on the Bangkok Bank website of the documents needed for a foreigner to open a bank account. Here is what her little sign says:

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OPENING ACCOUNT;

** Valid Passport and one of the following:

- Letter of recommendation from a person or organization acceptable to Bangkok Bank or;

- Letter from Thai Immigration confirming your residential address in Thailand or;

- Letter from embassy confirming your valid passport or;

- Property Ownership or;

- Property Purchase Agreement

- Work Permit

This isn't a new requirement! Nothing has changed! They don't require this of existing customers who are opening new accounts.

She said what is different is that now they want a written personal reference for the customer's file, not just someone coming in person to serve as a reference at the time the account is opened.

They do have an example letter that can be taken to Immigration to confirm residential address, but it would seem to me that most people would be able to come up with one of the other options for establishing credibility with Bangkok Bank.

Incredible.

Back we go tomorrow, if time permits. She specifically said I needed that, a letter from the embassy or immigration, or my new account as well as my girlfriend for her new account. I have two current accounts with BKB in two cities, been with them for almost ten years, yet, this is what I was told.

Perhaps you just have a lot more money in your account than I do. :-) It is also possible she just didn't feel like opening any more accounts that day, as it was fairly late. She was very strict about what we needed.

Well, it's good to know the luxury tourists will now be safe.