hidbehindthesofa

From what I have seen of the ''lifeguards'' at Pattaya, they just sit around playing on their phones - none of them are keeping a watchful eye on persons swimming in the sea. And I have certainly never seen anybody in the ''watch tower'' . . .

Yes - but are those who are obese going to volunteer to be weighed ? (Or are those with a 15kg carry on bag going to place it on the scales voluntarily ?).

Agreed. The copper appears to be on his own.

Most Thai people seem to believe that Thailand has always been Thailand and Thai people have always existed. Any descendance or evolution from monkeys, gorillas, orangutangs or any other species or any transition from other races or countries is hotly denied.

Blimey - what sort of threat are you living under or what sort of items are you protecting if you need bullet proof glass in your home ?

Was the motorcyclist possibly still alive then the lorry ran over him ? Have I missed something in this report ?

I am sure the facebook police will investigate this matter . . .

But after all the salaries and other expenses are met , there is only around £1.4m to be spent on upgrades . . .

Why do you need something like an electronically adjustable seat ? It is a great novelty for the seat to go up and down and backwards and forwards ''on its own'' - but in the real world and on a day-to-day basis, how many times are you going to need to adjust the seat once you have got it into the right position for yourself ? We are all fixated with the looks of a car - but when you are driving it you cannot see what it looks like on the outside. You spend many more hours looking at the dashboard than looking at the radiator grill or the 18'' alloys . (Purely for ride comfort I would rather have 15'' wheels with 5'' of rubber than 18'' wheels with 2'' of rubber). Whilst you have mentioned seats - are you looking at leather or fabric ? I have also found leather to be harder and less comfortable than fabric. And of course the leather is freezing cold in the (English) winter and rather hot if the car is parked in the sun in the summer - and would be more so in Thailand. Good luck with your search.

Careful . . . you may find yourself in trouble with the Wokeraty with your demeaning reference to those with Down's Syndrome . . . I am surprised that the site moderators did not pick up on it.

In my view it is not worth the risk with less than six months in your passport. A couple of years ago I had entered Thailand on a METV, extended it at Immigration, and then came the time for a ''border bounce'' to Laos. At the immigration check point coming back into Thailand I was directed into the office and told I could not re-enter because I had less than six months on my passport. There was then a protracted discussion during which I pointed out that my Thailand visa was still valid and was issued regardless of the fact that its validity exceeded my intended length of stay in Thailand, as did my passport, which went beyond the validity of the visa in any event, and I produced my outward flight details. The senior immigration officer was unmoved. I continued to ''argue my case'' that both my visa and my passport covered my length of stay and that I had a visa that was valid for six months in any event and it was only Thailand rules that required me to ''leave the country'' after 90 days to ''reactivate'' exactly the same visa that I entered with in the first instance. Eventually the Immigration officer relented and stamped me back in . (I did not pay any fine and nor was it suggested). I was lucky that day and learned my lesson to ensure that my passport has a year to run before the start of any planned visits !

Why would a tourist not need a bank account .? Any tourist who visits frequently or extents their stay on a tourist visa would find a bank account beneficial to avoid ATM charges and fees imposed by their home bank.

I once attended one of these ceremonies at a temple. Dozens of tables laid up with food. Stage and PA set up for the group and the DJ. Two trucks arrived laden with cases of whisky - which was then openly decanted Into Coke bottles ! Around 50 tables were set ot for guests and hundreds of chairs all set out with linen covers. Long trail of people doing circuits of the temple - some squabbling about carrying the biggest gifts and pots (even though they brought nothing with them) and others joining the parade whilst swigging whisky from the Coke bottles. I rather naively assumed that the young man having his head shaved was being prepared to dedicate the rest of his life to serve as a monk. However, on speaking with my Thai lady, I was quickly divested of that notion and informed that the young man in question would merely be spending three weeks at the temple ! All this nonsense would have cost the parents hundreds of thousands of baht - and it was all done for show. How sad ! The next time I was invited to a similar event I refused to go as I did not want to participate in such a sham.

I am at a loss to understand how the teacher/driver was thrown out. Surely as an educated man with a university degree and holding a licence which qualifies him to drive a school bus, he would have been wearing a seat belt ?

Indeed - it is 700 or 800 baht for a single trip to or from the airport - so clearly there is money to be made . . .