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Call it buying vote if you want. Every party in every country promise some kind of kick back if they are elected. Tax cut, jobs, underground train, new airport, fuel subsidy, free money, etc. I see nothing wrong with that. In Malaysia this year, government hand out 600 MYR (about 6,000 Baht) to EVERY CAR OWER to help on counter fuel hike (and Malaysia fuel price is lower than Thailand). Bribing voters? It can be view that way by the opposition.

There is nothing stopping other parties promising to give 100 Million Baht to every village (or even every citizen) as a developement fund (or call it anything legal you like). It is the action that counts. TRT delivers their promise (1 million for every village), which keep the poor voters very happy as they use it to buy, amoung other things, mobile phone and pickup trucks. The voters keep voting for him (and his proxy) is expecting to get more and more indirect kick-backs. Any government who promise and don't deliver (cash, project, whatever), might not get voter the next time. People do remember.

Yes. Stated policies that allow people to decide how they vote. Now that Issan has woken up to their power, I'm sure every political party will need to distribute some of that wealth if they want a hope of winning. I guess this is why PAD are trying for less elected representation - even if PPP and associates are all tossed in jail the cat is out of the bag and the money will keep flowing to rural areas. Its taken a while for Thailand to catch up to Aristotle, but they have caught up. "... in democracies the poor are more powerful than the rich, because there are more of them and whatever is decided by the majority is sovereign."

This is very different to under the table cash handouts to locals in positions of authority to ensure victory, and the tactics used by these locals to ensure the result. This is just corruption, causing cash to go into the pockets of the overlords rather than towards the needs of the people.

I am completely surprised that so many seem to favor a coup!!!

It should not require a coup for the police and army to do their job and maintain the peace. Their job is to maintain the peace, not take out the government. There has even been a court order for PAD to leave the airport, just go and enforce it.

People should also start suing the PAD leaders for damages caused for the disruptions to businesses, the estimated quote I heard on the radio was around 1 billion baht a day. I wonder if they would be willing to foot that bill.

This is just getting ridiculous...

I think more and more people are looking for a savior. Even those who previously supported one side or the other are coming to the conclusion that both sides are rotten and neither should win.

A coup seems the best option as that savior to many people. Last time they were honest enough to state their intentions and pretty much stick to it. This time it might work too - they have more experience at governing now and rationale to take a harder line and toss everyone in jail this time. Maybe all the criminals will be tossed in jail, leaving nobody to run for PM except for a 68 year old monk with vow of silence and a precocious 8 year old, but many people would consider this a better leadership than what the current options are.

If there will be a new election the PPP will win again,simply because they represent the majority of the Thais !!!

The majority of votes come from the people which are easy to buy. Please do not misunderstand. I sympathize with the rural and poor population and am of the opinion, that they were neglected by the elite much too long. But the people in power are ruthless. The play with the poor, win their votes by handing out peanuts to continue their high scale corruption.

Unfortunately the rural population does not understand this and after all they are not interested in the stuff, because they struggle with their own daily life and are more than happy to accept every single Baht.

If a new elections come, it should be very closely monitored.

please, explain this to me; I take 500 baht from 1 party, take 500 baht from second party and vote for third party ... how is party 1 and 2 going to know this?? it's a fundamental problem in this whole vote-buying debate ... it doesn't work !!

people don't sell their vote; they need the money to pay for transport and food to be able to vote; in other words; this whole vote buying is actually boosting democracy !

back to you ...

Your personal vote doesn't count. The result of the electorate is what counts. If enough people do what you suggest, then the wrong party wins and nobody gets the promised rewards or someone gets made an example of in a very nasty way. Next time, people do what they are supposed to. Also, many people consider that behavior dishonest. Vote buying works well in many places, not just rural Thailand. This is why the world over there are electoral watchdogs looking for it and hopefully punishing it when it is discovered.

this whole buying vote argument is so childish; explain this to me;

I take 1000 baht from 1 party, take 1000 baht from the second party, but actually vote for a third party ... how do you know, how do you stop it?

You give a big wad of cash to the biggest chief in the electorate and a bigger wad of cash if you win the electorate. You then just let him work out the details. Sure, locals don't have to vote for who they are told too but would they rather have a genuine vote and a pissed off village head or whatever tangible the local chief promised?

For laptops, decide on a model in the less stressful environment of Fortune IT. Prices are pretty good there too.

Then if you can be bothered, go to pantip to try and save a couple of hundred baht or extort a free mousepad from one of the hundreds of shops selling the same stuff.

Building desktops, pantip.

Whether public or private, it depends on the school and its reputation and contacts.

It also depends on who you are teaching. If the school is not teaching Thais they can get out of most of the requirements.

Melatonin works well for me - anyone know a place in Bangkok where I can get it cheaply. I have been getting it for 100 baht a 5 mg tablet. I am sure I am paying too much ! ?

The stuff makes me sleep well and have vivid dreams !

We get it from a tiny pharmacy in Sukhumvit soi 11, the first shop in the arcade that leads directly to the Ambassador's front door and is clearly visible from the street (when it is not obscured by Singha umbrellas). 20baht per 5mg or you can buy a big bottle of 60 (not sure how much). There are plenty of other chemists in lower suk too, and I'm sure a reasonable number stock it too.

So there is nothing yet except a bunch of emails received by airlines. Emails are trivially forged, which is why they are not used for important communications by banks and such.

We might never know if this was a hoax or not. It would be rather embarrassing if Thaksin was allowed back into the UK - the UK would have to state why a person convicted of crimes in Thailand has not has his visa revoked. I guess we will find out on Monday. If it is a hoax, full points for not leaking directly to news agencies but rather relying on airlines to do the leaking, and doing it on a weekend where you will get a couple of days press coverage before a denial can be issued (and a couple of days for the UK to decide if it is better to go along with it).

Anyways, I wonder how they can have net profit from their service, as their prices are the same as restaurant prices? They must need more than 60bt per order to sustain their service, right? Where does it come from?

I compared Sunrise Tacos menu from their website (http://www.sunrisetacos.com/) and with the one at ChefsXp. In general, ChefsXp charged about 10 baht more per item. I am not complaining. I regularly use ChefsXp to get Sunrise Tacos food. I am willing to pay a small mark-up. However, a mark-up there is.

Sunrise Tacos are one of those annoying restaurants who don't put the real prices on their menus - you need to add in the 7% VAT to work out what you actually pay and I suspect you will find this prices matches the ChefsXP one. I guess they feel they make enough extra money to counter the customer irritation and loss of loyalty.

I'm pretty impressed with Witches pies from Villa if they are fresh, or from there shop in Thonglor if Villa are pulling their usual keep-things-on-the-shelf-way-too-long trick.

No hassles at all. I severely doubt the nay sayers.

If you want hassles, go condoms. Don't inflict the pill on someone long term unless the side effects are beneficial (mood changes, feeling dumb, that sort of stuff is common and many women don't even know or don't link the side effects to the treatment).

Well house owners in my neighbourhood have finally stopped flogging their dead horse and have begun to take their 'for sale' signs down (no, they haven't sold).

In lower Sukhumvit, it wasn't the real estate agents taking the signs down; it was some sort of uniformed official with a pickup truck.

Did anyone every pay those ridiculous prices, or for that matter, the prices in any English print media?

Yes, and its time to look at making some arrest of some so called PAD leaders. Sondhi and KFC man, Colonel Sanders have had arrest warrants out now for a couple weeks, but strange that they are some how untouchable.... hmmm makes me wonder.....

With luck this desire to actually enforce the law will spread from the courts, who seem to be doing the right thing, to the police who are the people empowered with acting on the warrants.

Foreign arrivals drop sharply due to political turmoil

He said the number of foreign tourists had so far fallen by 70 per cent and that of local tourists by 60 per cent with the hotel room occupancy dropping by 30-40 per cent.

uh???? does anybody check these figures nefore putting them in writing? they just don't make any sence at all

He said the number of foreign tourists had so far fallen by 70 per cent and that of local tourists by 60 per cent with the hotel room occupancy dropping by 30-40 per cent

He projected the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand would drop by 300,000 in the fourth quarter of the year

I think this means that short term tourists (eg. Thais going away for the weekend or people laying over in Bangkok for a day or two on the way somewhere else) are staying home or going elsewhere. I'm sure the longer term tourists have dropped too, but you can't really tell by what proportion without further figures.

There is the letter of the law and the spirit behind the law.

So, according to the letter of the law, he was guilty.

However, can one truly justify terminating a PM over cooking on a TV show, according to the spirit of the law?

Of course. If this is excusable, it is a stepping stone to something worse being excusable. Don't break the law becomes don't break the law too much. Indeed, this could have worked out pretty sweetly for the PPP if the PAD hadn't been protesting recently. In quieter times, Samak would have gotten away with it by painting either the conviction as ridiculous or the need to quit parliament as rediculous, leaving the PPP with public support to either change the constituion, rig the courts, emasculate the courts, or probably all three. Thankfully with the tensions raised by the PAD I expect this tactic won't work.

Two places I have good luck with that haven't been mentioned in this thread...

Bradman's Sports Bistro, formerly the Downunder Sports Bistro on Suk soi 23. They have a great Aussie Burger, and there is an American Burger on the menu too which I haven't tried (more meat and without the beetroot etc). Your choice of french fries, wedges, aussie/english chips or a parmasan potato bake. Decent selection of sauces and mustard at your table.

And for a good American style Burger, The Tavern on soi 4 (small bar near Jools and the new Big Mango). If you are picky about how it is made and the ingredients, the 'kitchen' is actually the corner of the bar so you can supervise. 140 Baht for the basic burger but up to just under 200 for egg, bacon & decent cheese. Order fries seperate, available with cheese and/or chilli if you are into that. I'm not thrilled with their chilli though. When the burger is cooked, you put your own lettace, tomato etc. from a limited but functional selection and a wide range of sauces.

Best burger was certainly at the Belgian Dog, now closed (probably because the owner was almost certainly selling burgers at a loss and not enough beer to make up for the loss leader). Great charcol grilled meat on a custom baked bun with toppings of your choice from a huge selection (and if he didn't have it, he would get it).

I like the burgers at the Dubliner too but find them pricey.

so this is new building is very close to an area of farang bars... won't it be kind of weird?

Why would it be weird? Bars are open during the evening, office building in use during the day. There are already office buildings in the immediate area so one more won't make a change.

One bar on the corner of cowboy/soi 23 seems to be doing a great lunch trade, and the menus are all in Thai so things can coexist quite happily. Another bar/bistro in soi 23 is doing well and gets as many Thais as farangs in for lunch - sports are pretty universal and they have the best coverage and tv setup.

Your "work" is carried out where you are physically present. It has nothing to do with where the money is derived.

I don't understand how someone can argue that sitting at a desk, in Thailand, is not "working", even if it is for a foreign company.

In the case of taxation, it has nothing to do with where you are physically present and everything to do with which governments think you are resident for tax purposes. Oil workers, armed forces, transportation, astronauts - people with payed employment in foreign jurisdictions all pay tax in the countries they are resident in for tax purposes - possibly nowhere, possibly their home country, possibly several countries at the same time.

In the case of immigration and work permits, it has everything to do with what definition of work is being used. Even in an English dictionary there are several definitions of work starting with 'transference of energy', and none of them matter one whit because the law and legal interpretations are Thai. In particular, the definition of what you can and cannot do in a country without a work permit has to make various common sense exceptions to allow basic trade to occur (attending meetings, making purchases etc.). I often end up in the US for business but I don't "work" there, even when I'm working from there.

For a telecommuter how many hours or days do you need to work from here before you need a work permit? Nobody is arguing that you need a work permit to answer a work related email in Thailand. But how about 2? What if you answer 200 but stay here just one day? What if you answer 1 but stay here for 3 months? What if I stay for 3 x 3 month periods in a 12 month period and answer emails every day? Is there a cutoff, and if so what is it? Explain the situation of a telecommuter to someone capable of granting visas and you get an Type-O Other Visa - what you want to do is perfectly reasonable, but there is no legal way for you to get a work permit, so you need this catch-all visa instead. Tax is probably more clearcut if indeed you can pay tax on foreign income here without a B Visa or Work Permit and not get yourself deported in the process.

It is also a grey area because 'work' is so ambiguous a term, at least in English. I don't know if I'm working here or not and I highly doubt the law here has been updated to cope with people employed full time by offshore entities who have no business relationship with Thailand whatsoever. Am I working here?

Well, if you're not working...how do you make any money? Tooth fairy?

RAZZ

I don't work in Thailand. I work overseas. How can I be working in Thailand? My employer is offshore, my office is offshore, I'm paid in a foreign currency, everything I produce is produced offshore, there are no business dealings with Thailand whatsoever.

The definitions and the scope of the definitions are very important. In my home country for instance I am both resident and non-resident at the same time. Schrodinger's Expat if you like. My residency status is different depending on what section of law you are looking at and what branch of government deals with it.

Some people here seem to think the definition of work is deriving income, which might be the definition used by the tax department. It is not the definition used for work permits however, as volunteers need work permits too (Thailand looked rather silly as it was scrambling to get work permits for all those unpaid and unemployed Tsumami volunteers who where still apparently working, or was that a myth?). I think generally it has something to do with performing an activity that could be done by a Thai national on Thai soil, no matter if paid or not (so no importing waiters or musicians from the Phillipeans because they are stealing jobs from Thais). But what I think it is is unimportant - if it isn't unambiguously written in the law then the only definition that matters is the one the government official is using, which is usually different to the definition the next government official is using. Better to just work overseas than work in Thailand. It makes like easier for everyone.

What's the best visa option for someone telecommuting without a work permit, assuming the Thai authorities truly can't be bothered to make it legal or illegal.

The best option for someone telecommuting here without a work permit is a 1 year Type-O Other visa. Talk to your local Royal Consulate (not your local Embassy) - if you explain your situation to them this is likely what they will offer you.

Why does everyone say that telecommuting from Thailand is a grey area? It is not. Telecommuting from Thailand and not having a work permit is Illegal. The law is very clear and simple to understand.

[ trimmed stuff relating to paying tax, not work permits ]

Its a grey area because its a catch-22. You can't work here without a work permit, but it is impossible to get a work permit because your work for an offshore entity (or self employed in many cases). It is also a grey area because 'work' is so ambiguous a term, at least in English. I don't know if I'm working here or not and I highly doubt the law here has been updated to cope with people employed full time by offshore entities who have no business relationship with Thailand whatsoever. Am I working here? I've had mixed responses from people who should know. If the answer is 'yes', then it is impossible for me to legally do my job from here - the laws just don't allow it. Others say no though because my employer is offshore with no business dealings with Thailand whatsoever, all my income is offshore, everything I produce is offshore, I don't have an office, I don't have a company, I don't have employees. To them, I'm not working in Thailand.

I believe you when it comes to paying taxes though, and it is interesting that you can pay taxes without a work permit. I wasn't aware you could pay tax on income earned offshore into offshore bank accounts. I thought you could only pay tax on money earned in Thailand, requiring a Thai employer and work permit. Does the same go for other offshore income such as rental income, bank interest, investment dividents, lottery winnings etc.?

It all depends on the definition of 'work' being used by the judge, which is certainly not the same as the definition the bush lawyers here have or the definition of people who have a vested interest in getting you to set up some sort of legal structure in Thailand. Telecommuting without a work permit is no more illegal than someone without a work permit calling their stock broker or turning up at a trade show or selling a watch on ebay. How illegal that is, nobody knows (but there are plenty of opinions). And it doesn't help that the law is in Thai but we are trying to interpret it in English.

You are not going to get a clear official answer because nobody cares. When I came here in the same situation, the consulate gave me a Type-O Other after explaining the concept of telecommuting to them. A friend here in Thailand started working with me. He wanted to keep his B visa and work permit and pay taxes (trying for permanent residency at the time). He gave up after several months of running around and moved to a Type-O too. It has not been worth anyones while to sort the laws out, and the gov officials would rather you stop bothering them. Same in many countries.

It is possible to start up a company and all the hoops that one needs to jump through and waste a lot of money, with the end result being that you are more likely to end up in legal trouble because of all the forms and paperwork and restrictions etc. Don't go shouting and waving red flags. Don't make waves and everyone is happy. Except the lawyers.

World Nomads is a web based travel insurance reseller that is cheap and specializes for more adventurous travellers. So less of the crap you don't need and coverage for 'dangerous' sports like scuba, white water rafting etc. that almost every other insurance policy does not cover for no real good reason. No stuffing around requesting quotes etc. - just fill in the details on the web and get told exactly how much right there, and purchase then and there with a credit card. They are a good option too even if you don't need sport coverage. Prices vary depending on your country of residence (defined as where they need to send you back too if you need evac). No link here due to forum rules but it is the obvious one. I'm just a happy customer.

Why are they deemed barren and boring?

As for the pricing, it is morally and economically justified. We're talking about 8 euro, 12USD, 1300 yen, etc. This is hardly predatory pricing or a hardship.

If a typical local resident makes do on 250 baht a day or less, then that 40 baht represents a significant chunk of the local's disposible income. The amount charged to a foreigner represents a very small percentage of the foreigner's disposable income.

A lower price for the locals enables the locals to be able to see their own national treasures. If the locals were wealthy and had the means to pay, one could sympathize with your complaint, but really now, we all know the locals are impoverished and don't have the money the tourists have. It may not be fair in your eyes, but as a means of ensuring equitable access, it is reasonable.

Here here! I recall talking to a stone carver in Luxor whose livelyhood was carving figurines for tourists. He worked from photographs in a book, as he had never been able to afford the entrance fee to the museum a few blocks away that housed some of the originals. If you are going to have unaffordable pricing for whatever reason, at least give the locals an opportunity to visit with local prices or offseason prices or similar - its not like it will cost you any business and has social benefits.

What does a legal copy actually cost?

In the shop, the prices I quoted are for genuine OEM copies. Selling these without a new computer may or may not be illegal in Thailand (ask a Thai lawyer, not Microsoft. It is against the licencing agreement, but those things are often unenforable in many regions). So 1800 baht for Vista Starter though 3500 for entry level XP through to I think 10000 baht for vista premium (not sure about the high end). There are non OEM copies too, which is what Microsoft wants you to buy if you are not purchasing with a new computer. From your and my perspective, the difference is that OEM versions are locked to a particular computer when activated, but non-OEM versions can be transferred to different computers.

I have no idea about the price going through the 'genuine windows program' method someone mentioned earlier.