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I thought that would be evident from my comment... although I suppose I didn't explicitly say so... Yes.

You've been here for 40 years and you are surprised that a Thai person would take a taxi for 1 km?? Seriously? Apart from the possibility of rain or extreme heat, I only know a couple of my Thai friends who would walk a kilometer! lol I've heard Thais say so many times, something like "Farang sure do like to walk a lot!" Just because we will walk 1 or 2 km rather than taking a motorcycle, bus, or taxi. Being here for 40 years and that surprising you makes me wonder if you know any Thai people. Or are they all very poor? Nothing wrong with that... just wondering how you could possibly be surprised at that.

What does that have to do with the price of bread on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Mongolia???

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule/generalization. I also remember the 70's when hitchhiking was the way to get anywhere and backpackers that I knew or bumped into along the way were hitchhiking to find the next group or place somewhere over yonder that they heard about that some good weed or speed and/or a cool scene with peaceful vibes to vege at or a welcoming commune to crash in or some other cool cat's pad to hang loose for a while. It was outta sight man! lol

Not sure what "it" is referring to. In some of the things, I would agree that they weren't as bad, but others, in my personal experience, things were DEFINITELY worse. Of course, that is only limited to my personal experience and may be very different from others'. There were absolutely worse years in places that I was in for pollution, both smoke and industrial/vehicle. I remember police wearing masks ALL the time because the pollution was so bad and tests revealed that the average street cop in BKK had something like 9 or 10 times the amount of lead or some other crap in their blood than is safe. I remember feeling nauseous because the air was so horrid. Haven't felt that for many years now. Crime was hit and miss although I definitely experienced more problems with break-ins back in the 90s and early 2000s. Seems much safer these days. Double pricing and signs forbidding foreigners from some establishments were also much more common from what I've experienced in the past 10 years. The Chinese boom of tourism is a relatively recent thing, although there are many factors, it seems that since 2012 with the "Lost in Thailand" movie, Chinese started arriving in droves, much like how tourism boomed after the movie "The Beach" in 2000, but the Chinese just keep coming... although perhaps not in as huge numbers, just like how the boom after the popularity of The Beach waned with time. People are fickle and also Thailand has changed, developed a lot since those days and it is nowhere near as cheap as it once was. And I have a feeling that with its development, many people don't feel the cultural "charm" as much as they once did. Of course, it is a very complex thing and there are a massive number of factors that all add up into one big pile of "Thainess" from which the putrid odor emanates strongly enough to make me not as interested as I once was, but I have become attached in different ways that are not detachable now 😅 But don't get me wrong. It's not all bad. There are plenty of things to enjoy and don't need to let the smell get to you, that's what respirators or good masks are for after all!😂

Yes, it definitely depends on what part of the world one is coming from and what one would like to do. But, if I'm not mistaken, the biggest bulk of tourism in Thailand is focused more on the months I mentioned because those are the months that suit a much larger portion of visitors. But, of course the "off" months should absolutely not be ignored and I can't imagine a reason why they would not include Australians in that 90 day deal. The only thing I can think of is if there might be a less than desirable visa policy in Australia toward Thais and so Thailand would maybe want some sort of concession on the Australian end to help Thais get to Australia more easily before they give the 90 day visa to Australians? Just a wild guess... I have no idea. I would think that Australians would be included....

Not sure if I understand your response. The months you mention fit right in with what I said. I said about Nov - Feb, "about" giving leeway to spill into Oct & March, and as I mentioned that year to year it varies as well, depending on seasonal weather changes that never come with the exact same timing and patterns. I'm not sure what difference you are thinking we have in our ideas. As for Northern Norway, no, I'm not from there. I don't think the demographic of tourists from that part of the world are particularly large as to affect the tourism of Thailand to any noticeable degree in this context, so I'm not sure to what effect it would matter. I was only speaking as a generalization. So, of course, there will always be differences on the fringe areas of a generalization.

These days? Has it ever been any different?

Air pollution, political unrest, strange selectively enforced laws, double pricing, alcohol limitations, and being targets of opportunity for theft and robbery have all been problems for DECADES in Thailand. No change with any of that at all. It may or may not have much of an impact on tourism, but not for any of those reasons, at least not any more than in the past. I can imagine that it may have some sort of an impact on lower budget, younger people's extended travels, but I doubt on much more than that.

If I were on a tourist visa, I don't think I'd want to stay much more than 4 months or so anyway. The weather is only enjoyable from maybe somewhere around November-February (depending on the year and the smoke....). Tolerable at other times, but if touring, why go somewhere to tolerate it rather than enjoy it?

Apparently the "Rapid Response Centre for Accelerating Public Welfare Management of SDHS" (Social Development and Human Security) didn't accelerate rapidly enough in order to manage securing him....

Conviction of sexual assault on kids should result in an automatic death penalty, no discretion by the judge or jury - mandated by law, automatic. I can't fathom why anyone should live in society, even in a jail, after committing such acts.

"Influencer" So, I'm guessing he was a tourist? Not sure if being an "influencer" can get you a work visa these days, but who knows, as long as you keep your 90 days going properly! But I'm guessing he was yet another example of a quality tourist. Very sad for his family though... :(

Now that's a group of real bona fide geniuses there! True quality tourists.

I think it'd be better if it were done in public. Maybe on the school grounds with mandatory attendance of all teachers in that school district. Public corporal punishment, streamed live, would be a very good solution IMO. Of course, blacklisting them nationwide afterward too.

Not only have I not heard of that actually happening, I've heard the opposite, where the teacher's colleagues come out in their defense, even in sexual abuse type stuff! I can't even fathom how this kind of thing continues to happen without some serious violence being done by a parent! Violence is so pervasive here as a method of solving conflict, but when it comes to harm to children, it seems to just get a pass. COMPLETELY mind-boggling! I would think it would be the opposite. Even criminals often mete out justice to child molesters in prisons, but here, "professional" colleagues come out in the deviants' defense or sometimes parents or "guardians" are heard making excuses for the perp. Beyond my ability to grasp....

Are you French? :p

I'd say both. She let him have access to the cat (an assumption, but probable) and may have let him take it out in the car too. She likely also knew the cat was not where she was licensed to have the animal or transported it herself. Whether it is intelligent to keep such an animal is a debatable issue. But the stupidity and insecurity shouts loud and clear on MANY levels.

Talk about wearing your insecurity on your sleeve.... so utterly stupid, whether legal or not.

Which has incessantly being begged for over the past 20 years.... It would truly be amazing if they succeed. But I have a feeling it'll be more akin to smoke/2.5 reduction schemes :/

Not that I disagree with your comparison, but I highly doubt the court that made this order is made up of culturally Lanna people. That culture has been largely wiped out by the Thai and is only existing as a remnant, although there is clearly still a difference, generally, in the population of the northern provinces, I don't think it can truly be called Lanna anymore. Over 100 years of subjugation has made vast changes. Heck, there are hardly any people who are even literate in Lanna (Kam Mueang). But, in another sense, you can hardly be said to be wrong at all, since culture changes, whether due to subjugation by a larger force or not. I just wonder which may be more accurate, that there is a Lanna culture or that there is a Thai culture with Lanna influence.

My statement was not regarding modern medical science. I know the medical sciences use data gained from plants for medicine, whether gained by traditional medicine or not. It was regarding people who discount traditional medicine and usage of plants as medicine/healing or for support of health out of absolute ignorance. If you haven't noticed already... the scientific method has been severely co-opted by other financial interests and many studies are nowhere near as reliable as the average person thinks. Of course, going solely by anecdotal evidence in order to make absolute claims is not a good thing, just as even in science, absolute claims are generally not made from simply one study. That said, it is utter foolishness to cast aside millennia of anecdotal data, observational data, and statistics solely because there is no study or very limited studies done by the touted scientific method of the day. Said method is also evolving, as to what is acceptable and what is not, over time and will continue to do so. And regarding studies with the modern day scientific method, there are thousands upon thousands of such studies done on a vast number of medicinal plants. They are not widely broadcast and known to Joe Public, largely because they are not the ones that are money-makers, but there is a plethora of them and sadly ignored by most people, who largely trust and depend on established markets or medical establishments to take care of them. To some degree that is understandable. Everyone is busy and not everyone has the time, the ability, or the access to make heads or tails of scientific studies. But to disregard what is widely known, that is, the effectiveness of plants for support of health and healing, just because multi-billion dollar corporations aren't promoting them or says something negative against what isn't bringing them profit, is abstruse in the highest degree.

Whew! I can breathe easy now, knowing the urgency with which they will plan! Within 90 days! I'll bet once they get their plan together, by mid-April, they'll get the air cleaned up in just weeks!

It's hardly even worth responding, but I'll just say that since it is VERY apparent that you've made zero effort to research anything, how is one to take seriously your statement that you'd "like to see some credible scientific research...." If you'd like to see it, there's this interesting tool that perhaps you're not aware of still. It's called "Google". It's really amazing. It can show you wonders that you've never imagined. And it can quickly show you amazing scientific research on many things that you may like to see. "IMHO...." I know that wasn't intended to be humorous, but it made me laugh. It's not so humble to make such audacious statements in the face of thousands of medical publications on turmeric alone! Whether in vitro, animal studies, or human studies, there are scientific studies galore for you to peruse and edify your scientific prowess. There is MUCH MUCH more on thousands of plants used for medicine than apparently you have the slightest hint of a clue about. I can't blame you too much though, I know the pharmaceutical political lobby is very active and works hard to keep people in ignorance, at the same time that they utilize these plant's amazing properties in attempts to improve on the natural order and their patented medicines, at the same time as they improve the size of their pocketbooks and political power. The folly of ignoring or worse, discounting, thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom only to solely embrace modern medicine and the limited numbers of what compromised and corrupted individuals and organizations will deem as qualified studies, barely around for a hundred years or so, is truly stunning.

These girls weren't in swimwear and they weren't inside the temple proper. They were on temple grounds, so in the strictest sense, perhaps they should have had more moderate clothing on, but MANY Thai men and women do just the same until entering the temple proper. It is not a major issue, as seen by Thai people's behavior. But if the temple thought things had gone too far, they could very easily go to the person/people and nicely inform them what they'd prefer of their guests while visiting. VERY likely, the person/people would be apologetic and quickly respond in like form. It's only an issue for people looking to make much ado about nothing, self-righteous judgemental people of no account who have nothing better to do than stir up division among society, making themselves feel so much better than everyone else. Meanwhile, blinded by their pride, they don't even realize that everyone around them has nothing but contempt for them.