Purdey

All bars and massage parlors should have CCTV with good quality microphones in offices. Record all discussions with police. Avoid defenestration by revealing information anonymously. If you go to a police station to complain, put your mobile phone on the table with recorder on. It might not work but friends and family will know what happened later, at least.

This may appear to be off topic but why are there no female generals in charge of female and child sexual abuse? Isn't it a no brainer? Please, no jokes about police brains.

This is preposterous! (Say this with dripping sarcasm) A member of the EU with its own sovereignty? The EU commission unable to impose its will? Egads. I thought EU members had no sovereignty!

Not really concerned with the cost as the racial discrimination behind it. The French pay the same as the Thais.

Killing a rapist is understandable if the forensics find sperm on her. An open and shut case. Key is as mentioned, how long did she plan the killing. In the UK, using more force than needed can lead to prison. The blood money to the rapist's family is positively third world.

Motorists will start to feel the pinch when they go to renew their road tax or license and the guy at the counter says, "you owe us 20,000 baht in speeding fines and cannot renew your license/tax until you pay." Fines for driving without a license will rise to garner more money. Yes, tea money will rise from 100 baht to 1,000 baht because the alternative is very much more. It will hurt the poor pickup drivers first. Farmers will complain and there will be protests. Then the government will quietly reverse its position because it needs the votes.

Sending captured troops back to Russia to tell their friends and family what is really happening may help to counter propaganda.

In the words of Monty Python, "Well, I never voted for him."

Thanks. I will see who is doing it and how successful it is. And how to buy beehives is quantity!

Last week I visited a poor school in Buriram that cannot grow vegetables for lunch as elephants keep coming and eating the vegetables, and stomping on fish in the pond nearby. There seems to be no confirmed method of keeping them away. Electric fences don’t work after they figure out their tusks don’t conduct electricity. Fences or trees don’t obstruct them. Maybe they can be driven away once but with deforestation, their habitats are being destroyed and they return for food.

In modern times, Thailand has been neutral except where it has been dragged into something. The nonaligned movement was one aspect of its declared neutrality. It does irritate warmongers but it is their kingdom not ours.

Is it possible to use COD, then open the package before handing over the cash? Any issues with wrong model, or breakage can be resolved by not accepting the package. Or not?

This is not an isolated incident in Thailand. The RTP reported 2,535 cases in 2017 with 53% of victims assaulted by family members or friends. When we look at other countries this seems rather excessive, for example 135,666 assaults in the US in the same year. I couldn't believe that in conservative Britain there were 70,330 assaults in 2021. So, while Thailand has a problem, Britain has a pandemic of assaults. This is no laughing matter. Women do need to lock doors but more than that, men need to keep it in their pants.

I don’t draw a line because it is not my body and people have to right to do what they want with their bodies. Tattoos are a tradition in Thailand and no man went into battle without neck to knee tattoos. If women think it looks good then it’s up to them, not me. Would I go out with a colorfully tattooed woman? Yes.

I once stayed in Mustang Blu, near Hualumpong, and as an amateur photographer found it rather unique. Wish there was a list of these places in Bangkok

Disregarding the dual nationality issue for a moment, I have come to doubt that Thailand has ever really understood why tourists come here. The original epitome of a US R&R resort, Thailand has let beaches get dirtier and ripoffs become like a government policy (e.g. dual pricing). Not sure anyone remembers when they tried to stop long-haired hippies entering. The impression Thailand sometimes gives is "we don't have a clue how to ensure foreigners want to come here but we need your money." Shooting themselves in the foot is their speciality. France is a major economy and makes it easy to enjoy their culture with well organized tourist venues. Is there dual pricing on entry to the Eiffel Tower? The Louvre? Better still, tourism is only 8.5% (2019) of France's economy. France doesn't just rely on tourism. I am not sure, but if they want to improve their turnover of tourists perhaps asking for professional advice from successful tourist destination experts is one route. Clean the beaches and roads. Put signs in English as well as Thai in museums outside Bangkok. Charge Thais and foreigners the same entry fees. While you cannot determine the quality of tourists (there are disgusting but rich tourists everywhere) changing the government's attitude will build the image that attracts tourists, things like "clean beaches, honest people, rich cultural attractions" would be a start. The usual excuse is the country is poor. But try saying Thailand is a third world country and government officers are offended and defensive. I can understand Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (just examples, there are more) using this excuse but surely Thailand has more to offer if it could just get its house in order and understand what tourists want?

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Reminds me of that old racist Enoch Powell forecasting "rivers of blood" if blacks were allowed into Britain. Never happened. How do you suppose there are Chinese Thais here? Yes, Chinese came to Thailand in the thousands. For hundreds of years. If people are poor and decide to sell land it's their choice, not yours.

Family is Chinese Thai. How about you?

My goodness. The rampant racism on show here is amazing.

Try cycling on the narrow bicycle lane at the Railway Park at weekends. The number of people cycling with one hand on the bar and one taking selfies or chatting on a video call. I just yell, “Oh my god!” Or something that invokes a shock. They brake and say “Sorry” in English as if that makes everything forgivable. It could be a good place to teach kids road sense but parents don’t think this will make a bad habit that their kids will never unlearn.

On an island, I assume that if you walk downhill in a straight line you will reach a beach.

Was talking with a doctor at the Red Cross several years ago . He said it isn’t that easy to get HIV. Usually it involved cuts where blood was intermingled. Anal sex usually causes small breaks in the membrane. Oral sex with someone who has small cuts in the mouth to pass it on (saliva won’t do it). While free ART would be great in Thailand for foreigners as well as Thais, the cost in the USA is anywhere from 400 to 1,700 dollars a month. Better to stay here.

Not to put a cat among the pigeons but over that last few weeks I have been to Central Bangna and Mega Bangna and they were jam packed. Hard to find parking. It could be Had Yai has too many stores for the population size but different areas are... ah not all reacting the same. Thai just like walking and eating in air-conditioned malls.

My understanding is foreigners can only hold 49% of a Thai business unless the BOI helps but I suspect Chat Taopoon will have big a stake. His casinos have made him rich enough to go legit.