Shocked farang

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

The mayor needs to go for a swim to fully restore public confidence that it's safe.

If Big Joke shows up in swimming trunks everything will be Ok again...

Hepatitis is the prize to those courageous swimmers! 

3 hours ago, Eligius said:

Many of us on these threads warned - months, if not years, ago - not to legitimise a fake 'election'. But the people did not listen (including the politicians).

The whole sorry and blatantly obvious pretence of a restoration of democracy should have been opposed and voiced down, over and over again, by the mass of the Thai people.

Instead - they let all of it happen - and are still letting it happen. They stood by, watched the plotters plotting the people's undoing - and then hurried off to support that wicked scheme in their millions - instead of saying 'NO TO LIES AND DECEPTION' in their MILLIONS.

 

Well, when you make your own bed - you then have little choice but to lie on it ...

There´s no legal way to be opposition in Thailand at the moment. Anyone who protests against the junta will be arrested and then who knows what might happen to the person. Thailand is now a full fledged dictatorship and protest (at least in the meantime) will not bring any change.

15 hours ago, RobMuir said:

 

Thailands version of Julian Assange.

Except that the only "leak" was when he went to the bathroom to take a leak.

15 hours ago, RobMuir said:

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, sfokevin said:

I have lived here for 10+ years...

That is not a Thai Smile... 

 

Totally true. Many good tourists and travelers have been harassed by this guy´s ideas about foreigners and their role in Thai society. Thais should never forget that Thailand would never have reached this level of development without the tourists and their money. 

This guy became an instant PR success partly because of his nickname. Most people who post here

will never understand why he was transferred, they don´t speak Thai and they don´t understand internal

Thai politics. In my  humble opinion his media success made many others jealous and uncomfortable.

On 6/18/2018 at 12:46 PM, BobbyL said:

More than 3,600 foreigners with criminal records have been arrested at or turned away from five major airports in the first six months of the year, immigration police said Sunday.

 

If so, then well done to them.

 

However, my question would be how does the IO office know if someone has a criminal record from outside of Thailand or is wanted in another country. Unless a country has informed Thailand that they may be travelling there and could be a danger, surely their computer at the airport can't access this information. 

 

If I am wrong then please correct me. 

The is Interpol that maintains a database with records of internationally wanted criminal. The immigration officer can check the name on the passport against this database. https://www.interpol.int/en

On 3/18/2019 at 2:45 PM, Don Chance said:

Once it hits the media they have to process the cases. There is no on the spot fine they get charged, get bail, wait for court then maybe a fine. Then deported which means a couple of uncomfortable nights.

 

People should know by now the countless stories that using drugs in Thailand is simply not worth it. Fine by me, pot heads are annoying, meth heads are disgusting. Drunks are the worst!

Drunks are the worst. Alcohol really makes people the worst possible version of themselves. I have no problems with pot smokers, usually they are quiet people.

The way things are in Thailand:

1) The police profits from the drug dealing, yes they are in cahoots with the dealers and no dealer will operate unless the police collaborates.

2) When they arrest the users (many have been tipped off by their own dealers) the goal is to EXTRACT AS MUCH MONEY FROM THEM AS POSSIBLE (this is easy as people in this situation will do anything to just go, everyone is aware of the terrible conditions of Thai prisons and want to avoid them at all costs)

I need to mention the wonderful job that a group of people are doing on Koh Lanta.

Needless to say that many beaches that used to be so pretty on that island are now covered with

trash or worst plastic. I did participate in a Sunday clean up last year and it was a nice experience

you feel very good after the hard work of collecting bags and bags of trash, mostly plastic.

Most of the plastic I believe is brought by the ocean and it has really ruined that once pristine sands

of the beaches.

On 2/16/2019 at 1:49 PM, farangx said:

I am working towards reducing my time in Thailand to less than 5 months in a year that will allow me to avoid extensions and 90 days reporting altogether.

 

That´s really the best. There are many other fantastic places to spend time and it´s terrible to have to show up every 90 days, having to figure out Visa extensions or having 800 thousand Baht in a bank account, it´s better to be just a tourist and when time is up just leave. That´s what airports are for. Congrats.

21 minutes ago, Christophers200 said:

Try a bank ???? ..  Or Bitcoin Co. Ltd. 

Bitcoin Co. is very good! Thank you. About banks I think you were joking... right?

Does anyone knows of an exchange where I can exchange Bitcoins for Thai Bath? Thanks.

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

Rent scams are common enough all over Thailand. This guy should have been given a receipt, and that's all there is to it.

But apparently the Phuket authorities prefer to side with the Thai landlord rather than protect the interests of tourists. There's a surprise.

As someone who has rented budget condos in Thailand I think that what he demanding is a receipt that shows the "breakdown" of the total of 8000 Baht. The rent is probably 5000 Baht, let´s say and he is being ripped off in the electricity, that´s the usual way that greedy landlords find to rip off clueless farangs. Probably he wasn´t so clueless and was saving in electricity consumption, trying not to use the air conditioning and when this 8000 Baht bill came out of the blue he just freaked out, lost his mind thinking that he would go bankrupt. If I were in Phuket I would go to his window and scream that I will pay his bill myself. That would end this ridiculous situation. 

2 hours ago, thequietman said:

U tink too mutt. ????

These receptionists at the lobby are completely brainless, they see someone who is nicely dressed

and they figure he is a guest at the condominium.

The key word here is SWISS.

Swiss people according to Thais, must be honest, reliable, trustful and should never, ever overstay their Visa.

Shame on you Switzerland for having produced such a scumbag!

5 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Good luck in Canada but reality will set in soon.  The family probably has cut off her credit cards and access to money in the bank.  Asylum doe not mean a luxurious lifestyle.  She might have to get a job.  At 18 I wonder what skills she can offer?  Will she live in public housing with other refugees in Canada?  Freedom is Not Free(literally).  

Who cares for credit cards when your life is at risk? People tend to take this issue lightly because they are not familiar with the mentality of many Muslims. When I lived in Germany, I have heard of young women who were killed by the family because of lost virginity. The family sees this killing as a way to clean the shame on the family. Yes, it's very sad but true. 

Quoting the article: "Thai-Saudi relations have been strained ever since a major ruction over a Thai migrant worker’s theft of a diamond from the Saudi royal palace and the assassinations of Saudi diplomats in Bangkok in 1989-1990. Several attempts have since been made to normalize relations, none successful. "

There´s a book (banned in Thailand) written by an Aussie that says that the diamond that was stolen from the Saudi Royal palace (by a Thai worker) ended up on the necks of the Thai Royal family. Since then Thailand never really managed to normalize relations with the Saudis. I think this incident was a try in this direction, the Thai authorities were contacted after she boarded the plane and they gave free entrance to the Saudis from the Embassy in Bangkok to the transit area of the airport. Her passport was confiscated so the Thai authorities claiming that was had no travel document were free to deport her back to Kwait.

What they didn´t expect was the International coverage that the story got after she barricaded herself in the hotel. Then seeing the international outcry for the well being of the poor girl, they came up with the bullshit; "we are the Land of Smiles and would never deport her to her death..." This incident should be a wake up call to anyone who expects Thailand to be more than a banana republic.

This girl qualifies as a refugee. The United Nations should be contacted and they will deal with her case.

As she does not have a passport anymore and no other country will issue her one, the only solution is to apply as a refugee at the UN.

If you guys think that Thai riders or Thai roads are bad, you must pay a visit to Cambodia

as soon as possible.

On 12/10/2018 at 1:58 PM, gk10002000 said:

In the past when I was walking in Naklua along the ocean, some nice walkways there, and some villas. But there also were some wooded areas where some people were skulking about, trying to entice people in for some "servicing", or whatever.  The point is there are people lurking about that you don't see and they are just waiting to pounce or take anything that is un attended

"servicing" is very kind to the quality of "services" they provide... 

On 11/4/2018 at 2:00 PM, simoh1490 said:

You have misunderstood....the DPA has insured bank accounts at a very high level for a very long time, they have tried unsuccessfully to lower those limits on many occasions over the years but have always been persuaded to leave them at the higher level. So this is not about the banking system being shaky, it's an attempt, again, to normalise the levels.

 

As for what you wrote about the government seizing bank assets, a nice lay down in a cool space may help your thought processes normalise!

Sorry to say this but the present government keeps on changing the rules everyday for everything, just keep in mind that they were never elected for the mandate, sorry to disturb you but you're dealing with a dictatorship. 

5 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Not for a UK O2 account you can't.   

Just give me a break. You should have bought a local SIMM card long ago. 

On 11/1/2018 at 10:01 PM, macahoom said:

I believe you have a couple of incorrect facts in your post:

 

1. The guarantee amount in Singapore is currently SGD 50,000, not SGD 250,000.

2. The amount in Singapore is not guaranteed by the government. It is guaranteed by a company: Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC).

 

In Thailand, the amount guaranteed currently is 10 million baht. That is due to drop to 5 million in August 2019, and then to 1 million baht in August 2020.

 

If the guarantee was lowered that shows how shaky their bank system actually is. I would never keep large amounts of money in Thai banks, above all there's nothing to stop the present government to seize assets from foreigners living in the Kingdom. Welcome to the land of smiles!