BadSpottedDog

From an outsider (farang) looking in, it is painfully obvious what is going on here. Yes. The word begins with a C. The PM that was elected by the people in a landslide, was thwarted over a non issue that was spun into an actual problem, and afterwards, the whole party was to be deported (not sure if that actually happened). Suspiciously, this occurred in the same year that Thaksin returned from exile in 2023. Then someone who was NOT chosen by the people just steps in and takes over, and to make it worse, "they" oust that guy and install yet a second person who is conveniently Thaksin's daughter! The elections and subsequent "selections" are super hinky. Even to someone like me who is not that knowledgeable about Thai politics. Nah ... nothing to see here folks.

100% correct! I commented similar on another post like this. You can make any law(s) you want, but they are worthless unless enforced. If this (and other accidents) had been in a western country, all who were involved would be going to jail immediately. So, in addition to consistent enforcement, the court system needs to be overhauled as well. There are minimal consequences for offenders, and everyone knows it. The justice system here is lengthy and complicated. The whole system needs to be trashed and started over. But sadly, that might never happen.

There are SO many things to be changed to prevent child road deaths! But I will say that no matter how many rules and regulations you put forth, NONE of it will matter unless the police actively enforce the laws and policies! During the entire decade I've lived here, I have not once seen an officer pull someone over (unless at a checkpoint). I have heard that a few people have seen them pull people over in Pattaya and Phuket, but never seen it myself. We all see the families on a motorbike with kids, and talking on cell phones at the same time. Or the kids riding motorbikes that can't be older than 10. They can even drive right past police, and the cops do nothing. We see people driving lorries or other vehicles at top speed passing every car. We've also seen vehicles pull out into traffic without even looking. We've also seen vehicles overtaking on blind curves or hills. And let's not forget that (to my knowledge), there is only one training video required to get a license, and the people who are supposed to be watching it are sleeping or on their cell phones. So, no proper training and no active enforcement spells disaster.

The bus driver ran!?? What a cowardly thing to do! This is so tragic and could have been avoided. RIP little ones.

Not surprising at all. We have tried 2 avenues to open a business here. We applied for, and finally were approved for a legit BOI company, which was unbelievably hard and took almost a year to do! However, when we tried to add employees, it was impossible. Long story, but a new hire would leave the country to get a temporary non B, and when they came back, BOI office kept sending the employee addition request back with more and more questions (sometimes the same questions multiple times). This process took months, and the employee would run out of time on the temp Non B. We abandoned ship with that effort, and went with a traditional business. This was also more work than it was worth. Requiring ridiculous amounts of senseless paperwork, and protocol, that showed us again just how difficult this would be going forward. Again. Not worth it. The system is archaic, clunky, and the people making decisions have zero clues about various industries that are applying. I have so many "face palm" stories about our dead end journey, it's mind numbing.

I agree with you (except for the mass culling part) I've dealt with quite a few vicious dogs who were obviously not even close to a "bully" breed. Dogs will be aggressive when they're in pain or sick, or if they've been mistreated (which most have). Even nice dogs can become vicious if in a pack (pack mentality). All strays should be rounded up and as many adopted out as possible. I'm also in favor of BE (behavior euthanasia), but the biggest factor to add would be mass sterilizations! There are many groups, including Soi Dog, that provide this service for FREE! I've helped with these efforts, and it is surprising to see how many locals AND foreigners were anti sterilization! WHAT? Some thought it would kill the dog, and some just didn't believe in it for some weird, vague reasoning. It would be nice if the govt could form groups in every province to do this, and provide education to locals on how to properly care for a dog. Many Thais still see pets as livestock, while they should be treated like family members. Sterilization and education is the only way.

Just curious. Are you American? Do you have family living in the US?

I disagree with you.

The winner of a debate never feels the need or desire to have another. The loser of a debate always wants a second try.

Dealing with BOI as a business owner absolutely stressed me out so much that I abandoned the entire plan, even though the company was approved by BOI already. Here's a real life example that I got back from the BOI in trying to onboard an employee. On the referral letter from the employee's previous job, one of the skills the employee had was listed as "... development of software", so of course I was hiring him as a "software developer", which I listed on the document required by BOI. Well, they denied it saying that the 2 weren't the same! Long story short, he was on a temporary Non B visa until he got a work permit that never happened, so he had to leave the country again and start over. Just over the top ridiculous!

OMG ,,, they must be joking! In coming from the advanced tech world, Thailand is not even in the ballpark to compete in this space. Basically, they have taken their antiquated and nonsensical paperwork model, and tried to cram it into web and software. If they want to compete, they'd better catch up! Additionally, the visa options for talented tech gurus is simply impossible for most of them. The financial and paperwork requirements are a huge turn off for anyone wanting to work here. As for Thai citizens, the education system here has minimalized their chances to compete as well, creating graduates that are very linear thinking. Take for example the "degree" qualification. A degree does NOT make a person a talented problem solver or creator. Back when I was in charge of hiring, there is no way I would consider an applicant with a degree, but no portfolio. I couldn't care less about the degree and never even asked for one. What was most important was to see what kind of work the applicant had produced. No kick butt portfolio? No job.

I've seen Thai police vaping at the immigration office. HAHA. No joke.

What? I feel pretty darn safe when I travel there. I was thinking "what hogwash" this is, but if you read the fine print, they've factored in health concerns and that makes more sense considering the air quality there.

Why in the heck does Thailand want to keep pushing for more Chinese tourists and business here? Every other article I see involving Chinese is related to criminal activity, and the general Chinese tourists use tour companies that do NOT bring profit to Thailand. Mind boggling.

Good decision. We lived on Samui for 2 years. Almost got hit head on more than once by those crazy white tourist vans overtaking on a blind hill or curve. They are paid by the load, so they go as fast as they can, and are a huge problem. We moved to the mainland as a result of this. Start enforcing traffic laws with police that will actually pull over moving violators! Traffic stops for inspection to check license and registration do absolutely NOTHING to improve the safety of the roads! Maybe consider actually pulling people over who are being dangerous and breaking traffic laws? We've never seen this happen anywhere in Thailand. This is our 9th year here and haven't seen any improvement with all of the suggestions mentioned in the comments.

Pronouns: Giddyup / Nayself How disgusting.

Well, this was back in December, so I think we all know the end result.

A 30 year old Thai lady in our town just died from a heart attack. She ran a coffee and drink stand, and was seriously obese. So sad! This is going to be a challenge for Thailand to change.

I read the fundraiser link posted on The Thaiger. It says that he had valid travel insurance. However, it seems that his partner was wearing a helmet, and walked away unscathed, and seems to indicate that this guy was NOT wearing a helmet. The fundraiser states that the insurance is not paying. I would guess that it won't pay because either he didn't have a legal driving license, OR the fact that he wasn't wearing a helmet. So many people think they're covered no matter what. They should read the fine print. This is really sad.

They can put whatever law they want to in the books, but until they start pulling drivers over for breaking the laws, it's pointless.

I saw the road blocks checking cars and motorbikes for several days. But obvious check points are NOT going to catch a majority of drunk drivers. The cops should be on the road like they are in other countries, pulling people over for moving violations. If this doesn't happen, it will never get better!

He had nothing to lose, believing that 72 virgins were waiting for him. But he most likely failed to consider that there was no guarantee that the virgins are female.

"Politically ill". HAHA! Good one ... touché!

Yes. It is WAY more abusive. Look up the videos of "elephant crush" on youtube. It will make you sick what they do to baby elephants to "crush their spirits" in order to "tame" them. Completely different than training a horse. Not same same at all.

Karma. Who doesn't do research before participating in activities!? Just a few simple google searches would have revealed that it's not only dangerous for people to ride elephants, it's extreme cruelty to the elephant. Remember the tourist that was gored to death in front of his daughter, on Samui several years back? And let's not even talk about the extreme cruelty elephants endure during the "elephant crush" done when they're younger, to break their spirits. It's horrible. No wonder the elephant reacted badly to a whip!