mstevens

8 hours ago, Perhaps2more said:

It is sad that people worry about 20 bahts (50 pence at the present exchange rates). Is that enough a reason for anyone to find Thailand terrible? It is not worth mentioning even in Thai bahts with Thai people. In Singapore, Japan or Hong Kong, people wouldn't pick it up if they see one on the ground.

I don't think the point made was necessarily about being 20 baht out of pocket. I think the point was more that it's easy to get the feeling that many people you deal with are not entirely honest and upfront with you - and when that happens frequently you may feel like you have to have your guard up which wears you down and generally makes life less enjoyable than it otherwise would / should be.

8 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

maybe was until the strength of the Baht priced it out of the market, a major major Thai export.

Just wondering where you get this idea from? Even here some 10,000 miles from Thailand you can buy large sacks of Thai jasmine rice very cheap. Rice could double in price and it would still be cheap. Ditto pasta. No-one likes price increases but these staples are so cheap already that a major price increase won't change a consumer's behaviour. The percentage of the cost of a meal that rice makes up is negligible. It's not like prime beef or steak doubled in price which would, by comparison, markedly increase the cost of a meal.

12 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Well, here's an interesting task for those that like puzzles: Count the number of caucasians and others in the photo. That some kind of concert day? I've been to KSR quite a few times and it's never been this crowded. 

It's easy to post one photo of one particular event and say that it is representative of that place. Using that photo to suggest Khao San Road is busy all the time is ridiculous. It isn't busy at all and the vibe has changed massively. The Khao San Road area (whether one likes it or not and I don't particularly) does not have the vibe, nor crucially the lure, that it used to.

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

How in hell would we know if there is CCTV footage of you ?

 

There are CCTV cameras quite clearly to seen on Soi Cowboy, been there for several years and operated by the Bangkok Municipality (like the cameras on streets / ay intersections etc). So, yes, there would be footage of the OP if the bar decided to pursue it.

17 hours ago, thaiboss said:

Menu price at Landmark hotel sukhumvit I eat a caesar salad with a coffee americano + 1 normal small water bottle total damage with 7% tax and 10% service 820 thai baht .....

820 thai baht for a salad +water a  1 coffee !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so much more expensive than home. People look at me like I am going crazy these days when I say I have changed my holiday destination away from Thailand because it's become expensive. 820 baht (27 USD !!!) for a salad and a coffee and water is crazy.

Drunk driving and paying off cops so you can continue to drive drunk? I wish they'd switch their focus from cracking down on overstayers to cracking down on foreigners who drive drunk (and the cops who allow them to do it).

3 hours ago, clarky cat said:

This is from yesterday (Thursday 27th June), arrived at 9:20, left at 14:10 with ticket number 250, horrendous

 

Posts like this with both details of the time you had to wait as well as a photo showing the queue are very useful, thanks for posting.

Don't want to repeat what others have said but will do so for the purpose of emphasis - DO use a financial advisor in your own country and absolutely DO NOT use one in Thailand. Many of the so-called financial advisors operating in Thailand put their own interests first, and not yours / the client!

A couple of times I have been issued with a tourist visa and the dates hand-written in pen. Absolutely no problem at all when entering the country.

10 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

"has been home for years"

How is that possible using TOURIST visas.

OP has been remarkably lucky

Of course if one's base / home / call it what you will is Thailand then a long-term visa is a better solution, but certainly many consider Thailand their home despite coming and going on tourist visas. Questionable to do that, of course, but I still maintain it's very harsh on someone who had considered Thailand home and may for all we know be an honourable person in every way, taking care of a Thai lady, extended family etc.

3 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Sadly I've seen this guy a few times on Walking Street at night!

So he's probably seen you on Walking Street at night a few times too!

Yes, that's what the script in Thai says - you can come, but only for 24 hours. Never heard of this before, it's almost like a minimal grace period so one can collect belongings / tidy affairs etc. Harsh, if Thailand has been your home for years.

Assuming this guy is yet to be caught / has not yet been identified, he really ought to seize the moment and surrender himself. Odds are he is a Pattaya local and odds are he will be identified.

Probably the best thing he could do would be to go to the police station, surrender himself, say that it was a big mistake and that he is terribly sorry, wishes to return the money to the lady and ask for forgiveness. If he does that before he is identified and the cops come looking for him then there's a good chance he will be able to work it out. Thais are forgiving in situations like this if they believe the perpetrator is genuinely contrite.

Some of us commented at the time that his whole business model was not what it seemed. It was not a language school, but a visa agency masquerading as a language school. Essentially, you got a long-term visa and "free" Thai language lessons, with the free part of dubious quality. I wrote this at the time and nasty emails and threats of defamation proceedings followed.

21 hours ago, madmen said:

Not true. Go to the big malls in Bangkok and they are crawling with chinese most carrying shopping bags and many hi so labelled. They are big spenders and most welcome by store owners. There are so many chinese in T21 screaming , yelling lol I stopped going

Agreed. And a lot of restaurants along the busy part of tourist Sukhumvit that used to be full of farangs today welcome many Chinese. Expect trilingual restaurants coming soon as smart operators do everything they can to attract Chinese customers.