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 . . .

My thoughts entirely. How was something as small as the end of my little finger secured to the back of a lorry in the first instance ? Clearly it wasn't ! Curiouser and curiouser . . .

Yes - there do seem to be certain elements who like to order or cook large quantities of food - which of course they then cannot eat. I believe this is usually done to show off how much money they have. I have seen it at Thai restaurants as well as the likes of KFC and Pizza Co. I have also seen same at Thai houses where there is a spread fit for a king. It annoys me immensely when there are others in Thailand who can barely afford enough rice or noodles to feed the family. I am fortunate that I have a ''no waste'' policy. If you order it - you eat it (or it goes home in a bag or box for tomorrow). If it is home cooked food it goes in the fridge for later or tomorrow. My lady eats the prawn heads, fish bones, meat cartilage, etc. so not much gets wasted. (and it is certainly not because I am stingy - she prefers pork and chicken with bones which actually costs more than the fillets that I have !). It seems the OP may be in the minority. But it is very difficult to change these habits - more especially if it results in folks losing face. Have you actually sat down with those responsible and explained face-to-face that it is no longer acceptable ? You need to highlight the waste, the effect on the environment (not that that counts for much) - but perhaps your clincher could be that have heard that other people in the village have commented about good food being wasted when they are going hungry. You may need to put your foot down and perhaps be less generous with the housekeeping money.

I use a little shop in Paniad Chang (down the side of Big C on Pattaya Klang). I cannot recall the name but from Big C it is on the right just before the junction with the 7-Eleven on the corner (not to be confused with a couple of others you pass first). It is operated by a mother and son. The boy is only 16 but can give you a proper haircut using scissors and just tidy the edges with the electric trimmer. Price is 120 baht. Far better than some of the nonsense I have sat through elsewhere, whereby my head is progressively shaved around the sides and back using diminishing grades of comb on the trimmer. Because I am a grumpy old git, I refused to undergo the fourth round of torture, paid 100 baht and walked out ! My Thai lady had already given instructions as to what I wanted but the trimmer operator obviously only possessed the one, standard method !

Surely by awarding 12 points to every licence holder to start the process is the equivalent of several ''Get out of Jail Free'' cards ? It merely allows miscreants to rack up a number of offences before facing any consequences - thus actually encouraging bad drivers to break the law with impunity.

No. The points deduction did not start until the following week. So despite being ''on probation'' (whatever that actually means) - those who actually have licences can get caught a further three times before their licence is suspended for three months. Those without licences can carry on drinking with impunity because they have nothing to lose . . .

So as I understand the article, there were so many premises still open at 03.30 that reinforcements had to be drafted in to deal with them ? I have no real objection to places staying open all night, provided they keep the noise down. There is somewhere about half a mile away from me (in Pattaya) that is banging out drum and bass until 03.00 most mornings. Most bars turn it down at midnight but this one just keeps it going.

Yes - their table manners are appalling. I saw a Chinese family thrown out of a Thai restaurant for putting whole prawns in their mouth and then spitting the heads and tails of their prawns directly onto the table ! I assume they do so in China so thought it perfectly acceptable in Thailand.

No, no, no. As I understand it, under the new rules DUI only loses four points off your licence so you have to get caught three times before there is any loss of licence. I stand to be corrected if I have got this wrong.

I am glad I am not the only one who does this ! (My Thai lady gets very embarrassed and just tells me that Thai people will take no notice).