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I worked in law enforcement in Sydney Australia and suicides were very frequent. Very rarely they made it into the media due to copycat fears. I even experienced one man jump and just a couple of seconds from landing on me. Fortunately, most roof/balcony/window falls were properly forensically examined, with usually good crime scene management and decent canvassing for other evidence, ensured suspicious cases would be identified. That is not to say that a carefully planned murder may have gone undetected and reported as suicide/accidental. Some reviewed cases have detected some of these.

Never - EVER take out life insurance and make a Thai partner a beneficiary. If you do and they are aware of the insurance, then you become a potential target. I already have been told of one Thai lady who several years ago made a healthy life insurance claim after a boyfriend who wanted to leave her over her flirting and going out, died in a very suspicious overdose event (she apparently claimed he tried to kill her too by lacing her food as well). The police report seems it must have reported it as an accidental overdose (I believe suicides void claims). She callously met her next partner on a flight back from seeing the dead man's parents in Europe! Motive, Opportunity and Ability - basic markers of a murder investigation, all appear evident IMO. If he had managed to leave her and change the policy's beneficiary in time then she would not have been able to get any money if he died. She still walks free (now swindling/scamming) hunting men with money. Yes suicides and accidental falls occur, but in this mix of balcony falls I suspect are murder/manslaughter.

Dictionary.com definition of 'endemic' in the context of disease: "(of a disease) persisting in a population or region, generally having settled to a relatively constant rate of occurrence." In other words, when comparing COVID to others: make it on par with the flu, common cold and other commonly acquired viruses. Halving quarantine is not treating COVID like an endemic virus. Quarantine is for pandemics. A 7-day mandatory quarantine just becomes a useless exercise in bureaucracy. If it is an endemic virus, then treat it like the flu, i.e. zero quarantine, just a recommendation to stay home, like is recommended with the flu.

53,000 per month is only 636,000 per year. You need to add a zero. You would need to make 530,000 per month to make back 6.36 Million baht in a year!! Not so doable unless you are in a high paying CEO position perhaps.

Most digital nomads keep it on the quiet what they do as there is always the fear of authorities making an issue of their working without a proper visa and tax.

One thing that makes it a nightmare traveling 'freely' and frequently about Thailand is the TM30 requirement. Reporting to immigration within 24 hours if you do not stay in a guest house/hotel where they are required to report for you. Coming back to your usual abode in Thailand definitely you need to lodge the TM30. I recently returned from a trip to Phuket to then having to wait in a horrendous queue for near 2 hours in Jomtien immigration to lodge the form. It really turns me off wanting to travel anywhere, when each time I have to go through this really stressful c**p. Exhausted, sweating, severe aching back and really annoyed. I tried getting there early but the queue was even worse leading outside the immigration office. Afternoon, people after me were finally sent away as too many people. And if you are more than 24 hours late its 1900 baht fine. Agents can't do it for you. The online reporting doesn't work and not guaranteed anyway. A real deterrent to going away, especially short trips.

Exactly. The possibility of acquiring COVID locally after day one is high. Then at day five, if testing positive, you are going to be forced into a Hospital/Hospitel at your own cost as insurance won't cover you for asymptomatic, or very mild symptoms not requiring hospitalization. Then the stats accumulated by the relevant authorities for positive cases on day five - will they attribute the positive results as a result of the foreigner bringing it into the country, or will they concede that the source may also have been acquired locally? Why can't foreigners who have their own accommodation here, who have returned from abroad, to self isolate at home? Other countries are already doing this.

Thai women seem to have a greater propensity towards violent outbursts than other cultures. It seems to be a general numbness to violence as a way to resolve differences/gripes. I know of one who I recently broke away from whom I later learnt had previously attacked her boyfriend with a knife, when angry at him had asked a bikie to get rid of him and possibly drugged her other ex to death for his life insurance money. A black widow (I give a sigh of relief and wipe my forehead). Nobody seems to bat an eyelid at the shocking stuff that goes on here. Where I am from, these women would be serving prison sentences. I know Thai men don't take s*** off Thai women, unlike what a huge majority of farangs do accept. They are not saints and can be very violent too, often going too far. One thing I have realized is we cannot try to compare treatment of women in the west to that of places like here. Don't even try to compare. Very very different on so many levels. Definitely more violent.

Russian crime syndicates and other Russian criminals here in Thailand won't be happy!!!! Safe haven no longer. All those bars, clubs, businesses and condos where moneys has been laundered. Where to go now for them??

Pure evil, yet again certain Thai women showing their true despicable, evil, heartless ways. And a nurse in a position of trust and with a duty of care. It isn't just the bar girls where stealing, frauds like romance scams and other scams and crimes flourish. It feels like an international sport on fleecing foreigners and in this report, even when on your deathbed you are not safe.

I prefer that natural look. And it is a pity that the mixed breed Thais are seemingly revered more than the pure native Thai people. Westernisation has crept into Thai culture, norms and expectations. Look at how many Thai women now get silicon breast implants, some look ridiculous IMO, way out of proportion to their bodies, poking out like a pair of papayas with stretched areolas. And plenty of average looking Thai women too, just like anywhere. These competitions are a false representation IMO

Well ..... other than the Sino-Thais, the rest of us couldn't give a damn about anything to do with China or related to it. The whole damned virus catastrophe started in China and has killed millions, ruined livelihoods and that country just snubs its nose in contempt.

I am speculating, but is it possible (considering the well known MO for certain BIB) that the owner was of the belief certain tea money had given him/her the green light to operate with indemnity from prosecution??? I know if BIB come in for raids from Bangkok, Pattaya BIB have little control over the outcome. Was this a Gentleman's club? Wonder what each customer had to pay? I have heard anything from 5,000 baht each up to 20,000 baht. For me, boring old me, I think I will stay at home and twiddle my thumbs tut tutting instead.

Hopefully she has had all options made available. If the hand was at all salvageable by a microsurgeon then it would be a travesty to just amputate because she is poor and cannot get best treatment.

Sad but true. Unless the police force modernized, had stricter laws, far better enforcement and was able to conduct roadside drug testing alongside breath testing, then fully legalizing cannabis will only cause more deaths and carnage from irresponsible people. Drug driving is a big issue already.

Same in Pattaya, when the Bangkok police come into town, the local BIB have no control of protected establishments. That's often when there's a bust on places that's been getting away with it all during COVID. But it usually resumes back to normal afterwards. Must feel good to other bar owners to see brief justice, who cannot afford protection themselves and normally observe the wealthy elite bar owners able to still profiteer over the last 2 years.

I hope the culling is humane. Pigs really get treated badly from birth to death in factory farms. Very little to no animal welfare in developing countries. I've seen footage of mass culling of pigs scooped up by excavators, dumped in pits, gasoline sprayed over them and set on fire alive (cannot recall the country - possibly China?). The screams were horrific. I truly hope the culling is humane and not done like this or some other efficient torturous death, but I have doubts.

I tested positive last year and isolated at home after the hospital agreed I was not ill enough to be hospitalized. Just sent temp and blood oxygen results twice a day in LINE app as directed. They already have self isolation in place as an option. I suppose those who co-habitate in households unsuitable for isolation with non-infected may be told to go to a field hospital, hospital, hospitel. There are hospitals trying to profiteer of course and bluff you into being admitted. That has been noted as a problem here in Thailand.

Every single person on this planet will contract COVID, unless they are isolated in the wilderness or die in the near future. Omicron may be the best 'gift' that started since COVID emerged all that time ago in Wuhan (Thanks China). It may not get any better than this when it comes to having a much milder variant. Let it rip. And I would love to stop hearing all the conspiracy wack jobs going on about this as well. Delta variant was not fun (had that one). Omicron is the one you want to be infected by if you had to choose one. And vaccinated will have even less symptoms (as being reported). Get it over and done with.

Statistically it has been revealed from contact tracing data, that COVID outbreaks have been high in areas where alcohol is served - high concentrations of people. Social settings. Not the alcohol itself. The ban of alcohol acts as a deterrent for people to frequent those areas as most won't go if they cannot enjoy a drink and socialize (go hand-in-hand). Of course there are other settings of people congregating closely (immigration offices LOL, factories, migrant worker camps etc). I am not a proponent of lockdowns anymore. Omicron is the golden opportunity for mass herd immunity to burn out COVID. The more infected people over a short period could see COVID dying out faster.

It is true letting this Omicron virus rip through will cause disruptions - supply chains because of employees going off work sick, or close contact forced isolation. Health workers in hospitals the same - causing pressure on ability to admit and care for patients Public and private offices the same. Retail outlets, factories, etc etc. Eg. Australia is seeing empty supermarket shelves as people supplying are unable to work. BUT .... the alternative is the stop-start method of lockdowns and restrictions, then opening partially, then locking down, opening, etc, for months or years and allowing this virus to infect non-COVID hosts and mutate more. I think it may be best to endure a period of inconvenience by letting this Omicron strain of COVD virus propagate, with most people off sick for about 2-3 weeks recovery. Have open field hospitals ready with adequate ventilators for the surge in ICU patients (yes mostly just a 'cold-like' symptom for most, but massive case numbers will cause a big upsurge in vulnerable needing medical intervention that will put pressure on hospitals - is happening in other countries now). Don't force people not unwell enough to be hospitalized and instead ask them to isolate at their home. Inevitably, everyone will get COVID with lucky people being asymptomatic. I've had it during the Delta-dominant period. Was not pleasant. But Omicron has demonstrated to be much milder. This is an opportunity to mass infect as opposed to delaying inevitable infections. Deaths as a % from Omicron are extremely low.

Yes, quite ridiculous. Alao, I can personally comment from personal experience at the extremely overcrowded immigration offices - such as Chonburi which gets insanely packed that would most definitely be infecting people with Omicron as well. Ah the insanity of all of this LOL

Have hospitalizations spiked dramatically since the Omicron wave? And are hospitalizations always necessary here? Particularly with this milder variant? I don't believe so. It seems that often people infected are coerced to be hospitalized when they would not be considered ill enough in other countries. And therefore causing the system to be overwhelmed unnecessarily IMO. These reimposed restrictions on alcohol/shutting down bars again are an attempt to reduce the pace of infections and give hospitals the ability to cope. We get that. But, like what other countries are doing now, they have majority of population vaccinated and Omicron overwhelmingly is a much milder variant with cold-like symptoms. They are letting it spread. This is a prime opportunity globally to let this virus saturate the population and hopefully burn out this damned COVID. The longer this virus is allowed to fester and have new hosts to infect, the more chance for mutations and maybe another variant like Delta or worse to emerge. Omicron is a golden opportunity to end this. Or do we sit on the merry-go-round of lockdowns, boosters, isolation, reopening, lockdowns ... etc for the next ten years?

Sounds like you got the Omicron variety. I had two Pfizer jabs and soon after got COVID last year. Lungs got hit hard, lost hearing (some permanent), dizziness, severe exhaustion, taste & smell gone. Lost 7kg. Was worst/on par with when I got glandular fever as a kid. Think I had Delta strain. I can see how Delta would fill up ICU and other hospital beds and overwhelm the Healthcare system - as it has done. But Omicron data is increasingly demonstrating much milder symptoms, particularly if vaccinated like you have described. It's time to let this milder variant rip through and infect as many of us as possible. It's the only way to get through this. Inevitably we will all be infected/re-infected. Time to live with this 'lovely' virus and open everything up.

A friend recently got COVID and despite not being that ill was being told by the hospital he needed to be hospitalized and unnecessary x-rays taken, when no breathing or lung complaints. They demanded he stay for 8-10 days for 120,000 baht +. When asked where the legislation was that required him to stay, the hospital backed down and told him he could quarantine at home. Surprise surprise!!! They were bluffing. Thailand hospitals seem to using COVID as a cash-cow (rort) as premiums can be charged against insurance companies at the triple-tiered farang patient hospital rate - if the policies cover the hospital admission. And many (if not all) insurance policies won't cover for asymptomatic or even symptomatic hospitel admissions too, meaning if you are not sick enough with COVID to be hospitalized you can be worse off financially. What a crazy time we live in!!