BadSpottedDog

Thank you! I will keep this in mind!

LONG RANT WARNING: This data is complete nonsense. Thailand is one of the most inhospitable countries for people who work in the digital space. I'm NOT talking about tourists who are selfie/youtube addicts traveling and making money off their channels either. All this hash tagged & social content are mostly NOT people living long term in Thailand. The metrics used to come up with this data are majorly flawed. I'm talking about legitimate work being done remotely. In attempting to do authentic, but remote work on a project that would benefit Thailand, we've been down this path already. Our company was approved, but we were unable to add legitimate employees. It was TWO stressful years, 3 lawyers, and a lot of expense! All the legalities, paperwork, expense, and headaches from the BOI office, (& then looking at starting a standard Thai company) were either insurmountable or didn't work for us. The standard Thai company model in no way makes sense for the company model we needed. We expected to pay tax here, and didn't mind that, but the requests and info required were ever changing and nonsensical, depending on who you were talking to, and largely misunderstood by the officers. Real Life Example: A future employee went out of country to get a non B visa in order to get a work permit for our company. While trying to get him approved by BOI, they kept sending more questions back about him. Most of the time the requests were the SAME as the previous requests (even though we had provided requested info already). Another issue was that one of his past work contracts stated his duties included "software development", but on another contract, it said he is a "software developer". We were literally told by BOI that those two things are NOT the same. So I guess "picker of coconuts" is not the same as a "coconut picker"? ???? Anyway, his non B went unused, and we lost out as well. This is what you get when you have people that are not trained in a specific industry they are making decisions for (mostly digital), then taking an antiquated, paperwork methodology and trying to force it into a digital system. The process was so impossible, and antiquated that we just said, "screw it". Not worth it. Thankfully, we have the option of just staying on a retirement visa and NOT building software that would have benefitted this country, but many don't. Thailand only wants wealthy retirees and large companies. They have no clue how much Thailand could prosper from younger remote workers earning good money. Thailand did "attempt" this with the Long Term Residency program (also through BOI office), but if you're employed with a foreign company, you must provide the company financial records showing they earn at least 3 million USD per year, or the company must be publicly traded. Again, Thailand has missed the boat as the LTR program is only geared towards large entities as well. C'mon Thailand! Catch up! Rant over!

They needed to read studies to know that Thais (and foreigners) get drunk during the day at Songkran? Or any other day for that matter?

The "good enough" mentality. If it's not completely broke, then don't fix it. Good enough. Anyone who has had car repairs here are most likely familiar with this.

I'll just leave this right here.

So, does that mean the foreigners who never break the law, have a valid driving license, ALWAYS wear helmets, follow good driving practices, and help others when needed, will get a "green card" that comes with extra privileges? Maybe like a "nice economic contributor" visa? LOL. Sure. Punish the criminals, but reward upstanding residents!

If you read the full article link, you'll see she has been arrested in Thailand, and will be extradited to the US to face charges. The victim's father (who's a doctor) has stated that while it WAS an accident, if she had stopped and tried to help and/or take him to a hospital, he might still alive. Things are not going to go well for her.

Why is Xi even there? He has all of China locked down with the "covid zero" policies. It's awful. I guess it's the typical "Rules for thee, but not for me" game.

???? ???? ????

What a tragedy. In following the story, we know the shooter had a shot gun, hand gun, and a knife. So how did 3 of the kids & an adult get blood clots in the brain? I'm confused.

It literally says it in the title of the article. The original article also states that they were not allowed to be journalists without a press pass (which they didn't have). Only a tourist visa. Surely they knew this, and didn't care.

It is bizarre. This is just speculation, but it seems that many Thai people feel important while wearing a uniform. Possibly to give them a feeling of importance? Or more respected? Maybe the mask wearing is a similar phenomenon? I remember pre covid, where a lot of Asian people were already wearing masks, while the rest of the world wasn't.

I know, right? Covid is so "yesterday"! ????

Odd that the Philippines is having issues. They still have some of the most strict policies. No unvaccinated allowed (even with quarantine), masks AND face shields too. Maybe the strict policies just aren't working?

Officials keep talking about the roof tiles, and other issues. All I need to know is what I've experienced with 99% of Thai wiring. No trip switches. No ground. Cheap outlets that catch fire. it's everywhere! Why aren't they looking at the root of the problem?

While these panels did cause the fire to spread, it almost surely started due to Thai electrical. This is something we have battled the entire time we've lived here. With outlets exploding, no ground, and so many other issues.

Translated means "It won't work".

This would be an improvement IF police actually pulled people/dangerous drivers over and ticketed them. I've NEVER seen a reckless driver get pulled over in over 6 years of living in Thailand. I only see traffic roadblock checks. I really do hope that they enforce this, but it's going to take a lot of changes.

I've discovered (through a friend), that Thai govt offices DO recycle! ???? She went into immigration to renew visa. They printed a form for her to fill out, and low and behold, on the other side, was a copy of someone else's passport!! They were using the backside of previous copies people had provided, containing their personal info! What could possibly go wrong? Aside from that, yes. The amount of paperwork is ridiculous. Every. Single. Time. Can they get everything online? Let's refer back to Thai govt websites and the functionality or lack thereof. What do you think?

So many tourists are turned off by the complexities of coming into and staying in Thailand. Make it easy and tourists will come.

Thailand's niche is to see a beautiful country without the exorbitant price tag. The super rich don't normally come here because many (not all) of the "resorts" are not up to Western standards. Those people have the money to go anywhere on the planet, so why not choose Fiji or the Maldives over Thailand? Thailand is shooting itself in the foot yet again with this plan.

I don't understand anyone wanting a pure bred dog. The breeding process these days does not introduce outside genetics, and a breed too "pure" will be rife with health and behavior issues. I would never in a million years buy a dog from a breeder, as it promotes that industry. However, most Rottweilers that I've met have been big babies. I've met more street dogs who were aggressive. Bad owners. Not bad dogs.

You can't legislate out stupidity and irresponsibility. Any large dog who has not been trained and/or abused can be dangerous. Especially to a 2 year old child! I've heard about and seen many instances ending in serious injuries from Thai dogs. Especially when they form packs. We've personally saved and rehabbed 21 Thai street dogs, and rehomed all but 2 of them. There are some we come across that are, and will always be aggressive. Nothing you can do. Most vets here won't euthanize either, even under dire circumstances. Laws need to be directed towards the people who "own" dogs, and education of animal ownership should start at a young age. But the other problem is making sure those laws are enforced, and we all know how that goes. Thais think that letting dogs roam free and feeding them occasionally with no regard to vetting and sterilization, is acceptable. (Unless it's a small, fluffy dog of course). This guy should receive a stiff penalty and I agree with euthanizing the dog. Not because of the breed, but because of the behavior he's learned. I highly doubt either will happen though.

I'm so sorry about your cats. Yes, cats have gotten coronavirus for years. But the coronavirus that infects them is not covid-19. It's different. Do some searches for coronavirus in cats.

I wouldn't say that this one case is proof of anything. It's not like you can do a peer reviewed study of one person who happened to be sneezed on by a cat, while ignoring the fact that the vet most likely came in contact with many people leading up to his infection. Cats have had coronaviruses for a very long time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_coronavirus I've dealt with many cats through the years who were positive for various kinds of coronavirus, and it was never transmitted to a person. The reporting on this case is merely click bait and fear mongering. It's not based on legitimate science.