StayinThailand2much

Many will probably blow the 10,000 baht in a week...

I went to a SCB branch to pay a bill with cash. No-one spoke English, and no-one knew what form to use. They called in the security guard who spoke and understood some English (as, perhaps, he was from Myanmar, or Laos?)... Okay, they figured out what form to use. I filled it out, the branch manager even took my form and cash, and went to another counter. Staff stamped the receipt, counted the change, then branch manager counted the change, staff counted the change again, and the branch manager counted it again, gave me receipt and change with a smile... I counted the change (small amount, less than 40 baht), and it was wrong! Another time I paid a bill at K-Bank, filled out a green form, and got the stamped receipt... A month later I went to another branch, already knowing that I had to fill out the green form. Guess, what? Staff looked at my green form, grabbed a blue form and copied everything onto the blue form! Do bank employees get any job training in Thailand?

I know (from someone who worked at a government office) that bureaucrats here can come up with whatever silly idea they like. Thanks to the 'should not lose face' culture, such ideas and plans may be implemented nonetheless. Perhaps one TAT department boss dreamed of 30 million foreign tourists... Who knows, maybe we will read next week about 40 or 50 million foreign tourists expected in 2023.

They probably thought that a rich foreigner would take the money out of Thailand... Some people never think that we spend it right away in the Thai economy.

Not all bank employees here are competent. I'd have them talk to the head office to clarify things. Otherwise, as others have suggested, I'd just go the government lottery office.

Maybe it's the talked about spaceport...

Many Thais will probably keep wearing masks forever...

The typical made-up reasons. With even domestic tourism below expectations, thanks to a stagnating economy and record household debt, how can the average Thai afford spending even more for holidays abroad? - Probably less about increased costs at destinations, and, most likely, not about tropical storms, as they don't tend to last for entire tourism seasons.

I went to four the past year, and learnt a lot about myself (and other stuff too)...

If you connect your phone via USB to the PC, then delete the files via the PC, they will be gone.

"'Main customers’: Russians fleeing Putin’s war find a home in Phuket" 'Finding a home in Phuket' meaning what? Where they offered permanent resident status?

Do you know the difference? Oh, yes, they speak Russian, and the others don't...

LOL. So, they admit that there are other destinations that might be as, or even more attractive than Thailand...

I'm an optimist, so I still like to think 5%...

This has been going on there for 20 years or so, i.e. the transgenders trying to feel you up when you walk there (even across the road from the police station!), and stealing whatever is in your pockets. Nothing new, as is that police is not doing much about it...

There were tough times and events in my life, but even though I worked very long hours years ago, I would never say I had 'a hard life because of work'... Work you can always stop, but other things happening to you perhaps not.

I could write a book. But many would call my autobiography (if I ever were to write it) a work of fiction.

Well, Pheu Thai wants to win power at any price. The rest is just talk.

Mathematics in Thailand... Nuff said! Perhaps they should borrow a TAT calculator to boost their chances. LOL

If I learnt something in life, it's that things not only can always get worse, but often will. Just give it enough time. Me, too! LOL

Me, too! LOL

Another story of a moron who "temporarily" transferred all his money to another bank account cause 'someone online (or on the phone) asked him to'? Strange, the only online scams I ever encounter are the occasional emails from friendly folk from Africa (mostly) offering me billions of 'lost funds'... And yes, there are the numerous 'offline' scams one has to be aware of in Thailand every day...

Funny, just read yesterday that there would be less trips over this long weekend... Which one is it? Also, how do they come up with the number of 2.6 million domestic trips? "Meanwhile, TAT reported (...) for the long holiday weekend of July 28-August 2 (...) over 600,000 trips (for Bangkok) totaling 3.13 billion baht in tourism revenue. The eastern region was the second most visited, with 367,190 trips and 1.34 billion baht in tourism earnings. The northernprovinces came in third, with 290,350 visits and a revenue of 1.11 billion baht." 2.6 million trips - 0.6 million (to Bangkok) - 0.367 million (Eastern) - 0.29 million (to Northeast) = 1.343 million. Reportedly, these were 'the most visited regions'... Do they expect people weekend trips to almost double? Same for the revenue (5.58 billion baht for the most-visited regions over the 5-day weekend); no explanation why revenue over a 3-day weekend should rise to 8.76 billion. But, perhaps they expect people in the Northeast and South to spend 5 million baht each/day to achieve this lofty goal...

Can't! The upper class will complain, as villas and holidays in Switzerland would become more costly...

Time to export whatever rice and coconut reserves they have (see recent news items), and to really put all eggs into one big basket (China)*... *Beware: sarcasm!