Sig

Elevators and moving walks in Thailand are incredibly poorly maintained (surprise of all surprises....). My brother works in a niche industry of elevator/escalator insurance. Over the years, I've learned a few things to pay attention to in order to realize unsafe situations in/on them. There's no reason for it, other than unadulterated lack of care and negligence. That airport should be sued to high heaven. Not that it will do any good there... but should do it anyway. The condition of those combplates is inexcusable! That moving walk should not have been in operation until they were replaced. One missing tooth in a plate requires swift attention to get it replaced right away. Two teeth adjacent and it must be shut down. In the photos where you could see the combplates, numerous teeth were missing! Somebody should be fired! And the airport should be paying out a VERY hefty fine! Thank God she didn't bleed out and die. Best practices for riding an escalator or moving walk is to stay away from the edges and step OVER the combplates.

To the contrary, The original comment that I was responding to was stretching things. The original issue I had with it was the attaching a nationality to the perpetrators, which we can't know from the article. I don't really care if they were laborers or not, that was a side issue. But that is also not clear. Not sure why it would matter if a Burmese person or a Thai Yai person was ever in a position of authority in your experience. And whether or not they were skilled or unskilled is only a point I made because the commenter I was responding to was saying something different than what the article said. The point is that we don't even know if they were construction workers at all. Just because they were caught at a place where construction workers live does not equate to them being construction workers, skilled or otherwise. And we don't know their nationality because the article also did not state that either. It only stated their ethnicity and from where the writer erroneously thought ethnic group originated. It has nothing to do with political correctness, it has to do with fact. I couldn't care less what may be politically correct. You'd be better served to not read motives into people you know nothing about.

20 year-old... Mercedes Benz... There's enough money behind him to make this go away, no big deal. He negotiated with the victim down to 50,000. Hell if I'd negotiate down after he fled the scene! Although I could understand his fear of being surrounded by a bunch of "win" guys, he obviously wasn't on the way to report to the police. He should get slam dunked by the justice system, but obviously that's not going to happen after he was allowed to negotiate down to half! of what is in line with the law's max penalty. I'm curious if anyone here knows what really happens in cases like these. Articles often mention penalties that the law calls for, but I rarely ever read if they actually get charged and convicted or if the settlement that they make with the victim alone concludes the matter?

You could always pass it on to me and I can get it to her. Honest. Really????

O.H. M.Y. G.O.D.!!! He touched a fish!!! This is definitely an offense worthy of red-faced, explosive anger and indignation that he would dare commit such an affront against Thai law!! No wonder at all that "many Thai nationals are outraged"! I sure would like to know what their definition of "many" is. I can barely fathom more than 10 (who are probably worthy of being institutionalized in a nuthouse or maybe of becoming a politician) being outraged over this act, unless of course they knew it was a foreigner who committed such an atrocity, showing his disrespect for Thailand, then perhaps that number of outraged righteous citizenry could be exponentially larger. The guy must be quite the dodgy character though, since they confiscated his passport and deemed him a flight risk! Certifiably insane. Yep... sounds like a news story expressly written by those who are clamoring for the tourist industry to get back on its feet. Good luck with that one... I almost never recommend anyone come to visit me anymore, let alone come for tourism. Why?

Agreed on a harsh punishment (personally, I'm a fan of corporal punishment in a public place), but why punish his family? For all we know, they disowned him years ago because he perhaps has refused to exercise self-control and has maybe even assaulted members of his own family.

Meanwhile the two women are wearing helmets that are not full-face helmets and one of them is grey colored! Perfect for nighttime or dusk riding! Not to mention that the strap on the helmet of the "Lt-Col (lady) Dr" is quite loose....

You got a good laugh out of me with that response! One has to wonder how large a sampling size he had to have taken in order to draw that conclusion about an entire ethnic group! But with the drugs he was professing to be on at the time... maybe it was just kept in the family... and apparently the family he stayed with made quite the impression! ???? In all likelihood, it was probably a really nice family just getting by and struggling to survive, as has been the case for many I've met over the years who subjected themselves to working in the depravities of the illicit opiate trade. Having a bit more income from a drug-loving foreigner must have been nice for them.

Yes, I read that too, of course. It doesn't say what you say it says. It states their ethnicity, not their nationality. It erroneously states an origin of the ethnic group, which although there are a large number of Tai Yai in Burma, from every paper I've ever read re this ethnic group, its roots are from Yunnan, China, but this has nothing to do with the individuals in question re their nationality. Their nationality is not stated. It also does not state that they were laborers. You seem to think that simply because of the location of the arrests that they were laborers. Location and occupation do not necessarily equate. They could have been visiting friends. They could be skilled workers rather than laborers. There are a variety of other reasons why they may have been at a construction workers camp and not laborers or even part of the work force there. You may be right. They may be Burmese laborers, but that is far from clear with only this article for reference.

Perhaps you missed what I wrote... I did read the linked/original article, as I said, "I couldn't find that anywhere in either the synopsis or the original article." Since you seem to have missed what I wrote, could it be a sort of pattern and sort of like missing something, maybe you read between the lines and add information that seems logical to yourself, even though it is not in what you are reading? I did go back and read it again, just to be sure I wasn't missing something. It does not say they are Burmese or laborers anywhere that I could find.

Curious where you got the idea that the thugs were Burmese. I couldn't find that anywhere in either the synopsis or the original article. It did mention that they were of Thai Yai ethnicity, of which there are MANY in northern Thailand and who are born in Thailand and who are educated in Thai public schools. I also didn't see where you got the idea that they were laborers. Just wondering if you have some kind of information from another source?

I couldn't say anything about AQI numbers, I just remember my experience in those years and it seemed pretty much the same in the past recent years as it was then. This season, I'm thankfully out of town and have no idea, other than what friends tell me. One thing that always amazes me is how, both then and now, I can be driving along the back-country roads for kilometer after kilometer of fires and it would seem like the fires never go out! The same places burn for days! Agriculture in Thailand, as a percentage of the GDP may have decreased over time, as you mentioned, but in the area I'm talking about it has increased dramatically. As the roads out into the countryside improved and electricity has been brought in, more and more land was and continues to be cleared for agriculture in those areas that previously were all forested. Interestingly enough, it seems like the tourism sector has dropped if anything. Of course, it's only anecdotal, but I see a lot fewer tourists now (in the areas I'm relating to) than I did in the past. But then again, in other areas of Maehongson, tourism has exploded (as has agriculture in those same areas). Any transfer of burning from upcountry Thailand to neighboring countries must be coming from a different upcountry part of Thailand than where I'm familiar with. Kayah and Shan States may be burning more, I don't know, but I don't think there has been much of a transfer. I honestly can't say that I've noticed anything get better at all in the past 20 years in terms of burning in the areas I'm familiar with in Maehongson. And I would not be surprised in the least if it is actually worse, being that I've seen a lot more land converted to agricultural use over the years.

I can't speak for Chiangmai much, but in Maehongson, it is not far greater today at all, it's just as bad as two decades ago. The only thing that has been likely to have changed is the amount of money in some particular persons' pockets who formed some sort of "Stop the Smoke!" campaign every year. I remember, I believe it was 2003, being amazed at how you could probably sit there and stare at the sun, or the direction it appeared to be in but was maybe not able to be pinpointed exactly, for an hour and it probably wouldn't bother you in the least. The smoke was so thick, it stunned me how people could live in it... then I proceeded to do just that! hahaha I've often wondered what the lifespan of the villagers is like in areas like this compared to other areas of Thailand. There is no getting away from it in Maehongson, at least for the people I work with, since many of them live in homes that are not even remotely able to be sealed... with gaps in the wood or made from bamboo and no glass in the windows and gaps between the top of the walls and the roof with no sealed-off ceiling. I'd be willing to bet that there is a statistically significant difference in life expectancy in areas like this and a MUCH higher rate of respiratory diseases/illnesses.

He made a proper fool out of himself. With only what was explained in the article - one single example, how on earth does the reason for the treatment suddenly become a point of foreign/Thai!? There are likely a thousand other things it could be! It's even possible that IF extra attention was indeed being given to that passenger, maybe there was a VERY good reason and it's possible that such reason couldn't be shared in order to protect the privacy or even dignity of that passenger. There are so many possibilities outside of the idea that it is because the person was a foreigner, it is absurd. It looks like what I seem to come across so often... a racist, socially projecting on others. If one is racist and terribly insecure, projecting that onto others will make one's conscience feel justified. Not sure what it would take to convince me that this guy is not an arrogant, insecure racist. Of course, I wouldn't say that he is such, I don't know him, but boy oh boy, he sure is begging the question!

Even if it were 20 or 30 baht per tourist per year... I have a very difficult time believing that isn't recovered from visa fees. If it isn't already accounted for as a part of visa fees, it should be. And with the cost of the tourist visa, for Americans, being 200 USD for a multiple entry tourist visa and 40 USD for a single entry... and 1,900 THB for an extension... and 500 THB per day penalty for overstays, it is VERY difficult to believe medical expenses foreigners may incur to the Thai government would possibly not be covered quite easily. And I also doubt that very much of those expenses are caused by tourists, who most likely have the money or insurance to pay for the vast majority of any medical expenses that might come up. I'd bet that those expenses caused by "foreigners" are more from foreigners from countries just across the border (documented and undocumented migrant workers, approx. 4,000,000 in number as well as another 500,000 or so stateless persons). Being at public hospitals... I don't even think a foreigner on a tourist visa would be very likely brought to a public hospital. I think the odds are that they'd end up at a private hospital. Documented and Undocumented workers from Laos, Cambodia, Burma, etc. and Stateless people who need medical care on the other hand are highly likely not to be brought to a private hospital and VERY likely to only go to public hospitals. That minister bringing a statistic like this up, is just pulling something out of his you-know-where just to try sounding sensational, when he should already know that these kinds of expenses are accounted for ahead of time and are a non-issue.

I may have missed something. I didn't get the impression that she went to the media. Although, I did get the impression that she hoped others would take her case as an example of why they should be certain to take out insurance and ride safely (she mentioned to be sure to wear a helmet). If she indeed did go to the media, and not they to her, I think that is legitimate enough and hopefully it'll be seen by some who otherwise thought to forgo insurance and the scars on her face might even make some of them think twice about renting a scooter/motorcycle. I agree with you wholeheartedly about how the media so often leaves out so much of a story that one feels like they know less about what happened than what really happened!

I was thinking the same thing on all counts! But to be fair, it was only 56% of his post ????

She doesn't have ANY explaining to do. It's nobody's business but her's and I suppose the involved parties (house owner, insurance company, police...). I can't begin to fathom how or why you'd think she has a lot of explaining to do....

FYI, she had insurance. The article excerpt posted here was not clear at all on that one. You'd have to read the whole article that they linked to in order to know.

Her insurance may not have been like yours, but £200 for travel insurance sounds like it should have been pretty decent. Not sure how it is so obvious to you, since it doesn't appear that you read the article to even know that she had insurance at all. She said, "It only cost £200 to take the policy out, and it saved me over £20,000 in medical bills," and, "If you're going to be riding mopeds in Thailand - make sure you're covered. Always wear a helmet..." Yeah, VERY likely not a full face helmet. I haven't rented a bike in a couple of decades... but I don't think I've ever seen a rental place with full face helmets available with the bike rental.

Agreed. I spent a good amount on a helmet that had the highest safety marks passing through the ECE 22.06 tests. Many of my friends thought I was nuts spending so much on my helmet when so many much cheaper, yet good quality helmets were available. I figured that my head was worth the investment. In the end, it saved my life. That said, as you mentioned, it really is amazing how vulnerable our bodies can be even if well protected. When your time is up, it's up. Heck, my friend's father died from slipping and falling in the shower!

Wow... just read a bit about the guy. A VERY troubled individual, to say the least.... History of domestic violence, heavy drinking, drugs, seriously racist, misogynist (although, he was apparently Arab, so maybe, giving the benefit of the doubt, some of that can be chalked up to a VERY different worldview), and his wife took out a restraining order against him last year. Some referred to him, with seemingly good reason, as a narcissistic sociopath. Anyway... he ends up in Pattaya....? Hmmmmm Who knows, but it wouldn't seem like the place one would go if they were trying to reform their life. Regardless of what kind of an individual he may have been, death is still not something I'd be glad came about at his young age. A reformed life, on the other hand, would have been, obviously, a more beneficial and fulfilling thing for him and everyone else.

Only 34 years old.... no matter how he died, when I read his age... it's always so sad to hear of people dying so young! ???? R.I.P.

Statistics can be a funny thing, showing things that reflect differently than one might think. I don't know well enough to know how it all works out, but I have a feeling that even though the vehicle deaths per 100k population apparently show higher in the USA than Thailand (when limited for only automobiles), if statistics were calculated with different parameters, it may reveal why Thailand regularly is counted among the top 10 most dangerous places in the world to be on the roads. The USA isn't in the top 10 safest, as far as I know, but I highly doubt it is very near being in the top 10 most dangerous, even though from what you showed, it would appear that it should be (Although limiting the stat to only automobiles throws a curve into things. I guess you could also throw into the mix comparing fatalities on city streets and rural highways. Rural highways are where over 50% of fatal accidents occur in the USA.). And among the different States, the statistics vary dramatically. With similar numbers of millions of miles driven compared between States, some States have anywhere from double to quadruple! the number of fatalities per 100k people than other States. On the other hand, from what I understand, Scandinavian countries and the UK are comparatively very safe places to drive. I don't know how all of that would work out statistically or what place one would have a higher probability of being in a fatal accident with all variants taken into account (which is pretty much impossible as far as I can tell), but from my subjective viewpoint, it seems quite clearly more dangerous on the roads in Thailand than the USA or European countries. I so very frequently feel like I've dodged a bullet on Thai streets, but have rarely felt that in most other countries I've driven in.

Being that the topic is what it is... I would guess by the context that he meant that the people who put the coins in their ears are the dimwits. Not sure how or why you might read between the lines to come to such possible conclusions as you did, otherwise unless you have such a low view of Thai people...?