Expat Tom

I am not Thai. The country, presumably, belongs to the Thai people. I am just a guest here and don't have a horse in this race or any axe to grind. But, as a casual observer, it seems to me the the Taskin family and their minions have near absolute control. There will be some eye candy accompanying Khun Yingluck's return just as with her father. He will be given a luxury suite somewhere under police supervision while the family patriarch dispenses money and political favors to smooth her transition back into the power circles of Bangkok. As for me, I could care less. Who holds the reins of political power in BBK has no affect on my life. I hope for the best for Thailand and my man Thai friends.

Taksin completed a successful silent coup and seized control of the country he was exiled from. Maybe its a good thing and maybe not but the fact remains that the Taksin family and their minions run Thailand. Anyone who actually believes that his daughter does ANYTHING with out his council and direction is just naive. As an grateful and happy expat living in this fascinating "land off Smiles", I don't have a horse in the Thai political race. I am just an bemused observer and hope for the best for all. Obviously, Thailand belongs to the Thai people and any farang living here is a guest. I am sure that 99% of the farang living here arrived by airplane and if Thailand no longer suits their needs the planes fly in both directions.

Every time I read crap like this or a story about some other foreigner behaving like like a jerk I say a small prayer that he/she/it isn't an American.

REALLY!!!! Wow! I have live here for 15 years , I thought that it was always legal! Can I ask for a refund for 15 years of bar fines and money given to ladies because of their sick buffalo in Isan?

This country is run by inept stupid people. I have live here a long time it is nearing my time to go. I am 90% sure that I will be here for New Years 2025 and 99% sure that will be my last New Years in Thailand.

If there is ever a war I would not want Thailand as an ally. They would either accidently shoot themselves in the foot an become a liability or even worse, shoot you accidently in the back. I have owned two condos there in the past. I would never buy property here again. The country is inherently too unstable and run by a cabal of people in BBK with questionable intelligence.

I'm done with Thailand. I have been here for 15 years. According to "transparency.org" Thailand ranks 101 on the world corruption index. This country has millions of wonder people but it is run by idiots. It is s kleptocracy. This stupid move will bite the Bangkok Buffoons in the butt. If the leaders here fail to realize that the are competing for expat dollars and that there are MANY MANY other options around the world then they are truly naive. How to they propose that they discover my overseas income...???? Truly ignorant.

As a former corporate recruiter (head headhunter) we had develop RIL (Reason For Leaving, other than money, to entice a candidate to leave a job to work for our client. I have lived in Thailand for a long time and love my time here but my "RFL" list grown daily. Thailand is truly a wonderful country run by idiots. I high speed railway to China? Just what Thailand needs, a quicker way for hoards from the North in invade and bring gifts with them like Covid-20. It is not a conspiracy theory. It is a FACT that the first case of Covid 19 outside of China reported outside of China was a Thai taxi driver that carried some Chinese guests from the airport to their hotel in Bangkok. Thailand doesn't need a high speed rail link to China. Thailand need to build a wall on its Northern boarder. My "RFL" list grows as I work on my exit plan.

Obama runs America and Taskin runs Thailand. There is no democracy in either country.

HAHAHAHAHA! What a joke! Who is actually running the country. How naive do the power brokers in BBK think the Thai people are?

With the pathetic English skills of Thailand as a whole, this is laughable at best! The Former PM, the ignorant General who led a coup against the government, made a speech in which he said that one day the Thai language would become one of the most spoken languages in the world. The reason the English IS the world's language was because of English colonization. Will Thailand colonize the world? Ignorance abounds. I am a retired ESL teacher and was the head of the ESL program in one of Thailand's major universities with 12 NATIVE ENGLISH speakers working under me. I could write a book on the subject of Thai education in general and English in particular but please draw your own conclusions.

You will reap what you sow. The first case of Covid 19 reported outside of China was a Thai Taxi driver who took a Chinese tourist from the airport to their Bangkok hotel....FACT NOT A Conspiracy theory. Why was it call Covid 19? Because there were 18 Covid infections before Covid 19 ...DUH! Where did these Covid infections originate? Do your own research. What other presents will Chinese tourists visit upon the Thai population. The Big Wig Bangkok Fat Cats will make money and that is ALL they care about.

This seems totally unbelievable! I was under the impression that Thailand was a client state of the CCP? The "Big Money" crooks in Bangkok are bought and paid for by Chinese. Why else would they allow "Zero Dollar" Chinese tourists to pay for their entire Thai holiday in China. Follow the money!!!! Thailand is a great country with wonderful people but the leaders do the country a disservice daily.

Thailand is NOT a democracy....period. It is run by a cabal. By having such a pathetic educational system they keep that masses ignorant. Thailand will never be a modern country until it has major reforms. But, as an expat, it is not my concern. I came here by airplane many years ago and, as each day passes, I get closer to boarding the plane again. I am completely free but the average Thai is trapped. No sweat for me. I feel for the Thai people

Having been a teacher in Thailand with time spent working in a major Thai University, I can attest that poor education is among the reasons for the huge disparity between the upper tier Asian nations; Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore and the bottom tier, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The Bangkok elites fear the masses might become too educated.

Are you serious???? Tourists are fleeced by other farang and the Thai's as well. Don't be naive.

Exactly what do you expect when you build your tourism industry on three of the most corrupt countries on the planet. Russia, China and India. It is just this simple, "when you sleep with dogs you will get fleas". Why would you openly court visitors from lawless countries. OBVIOULY troublemakers and bad actors come from all countries....even European and North American. I'm talking about countries known to be rife with criminality and corruption. World Corruption Index of 180 countries( transparency.org): China #89 India #93 Russia 141 Surely the "Bangkok Brain Trust" has computers connected to the internet. One would think that someone would do some due diligence before setting policies. Thailand, like many other countries, suffers from bad leadership. By the way, where does Thailand rank on the World Corruption Index? Would you believe 108th!!!!!!

If you are a man it is not a problem. Just go outside to the rear of the store or a quiet soi and pee. That is what most Thai men do. I live is an up scale condo and the smell of stale urine is obvious as soon as I leave my condo complex. As to the statement in the article that "Thailand offers numerous free public restrooms." ; laughable at best.

If there were ever a war I would not want Thailand as an ally. They would either accidently shoot themselves on the foot and become a liability or accidently shoot you in the back. For a while, I was a corporate recruiter , aka "headhunter". Other than an increase in pay, it is necessary to build a RFL file (Reason For Leaving) to persuade the candidate to relocate. My RFL fille just grew after this taxation joke. Thailand is a wonderful place to live. I have been here for longer than 15 years. Most people have some loyalty to their native country but many Thai's believe that Thailand is the center of the universe.....it is not.. I am not wealthy but have the funds to live where I chose, within reason. I will not pay tax in Thailand. I dump a fair amount of money into this country every money. I will dump that money into another country for 180 days a year. I am not to only one who feels the same. Easy day for me but the Thai brain(less) trust in BKK might like to rethink it latest stupidity.

Any change would be good for Thailand. I know that it is a novel idea but shouldn't the person who gets the most votes be the elected leader? I guest that is something that the USA and Thailand have in common. Visit 'Transparency.org' to see where Thailand and your country ranks on the World Corruption Index.

THE RUSSIAN ARE COMING< THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING> THE RUSSINS ARE COMING! When you sleep with dogs you will get fleas. Russia in one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. According to 'Transparencty.org' Russian ranks 141st on the world corruption index. Please! Don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. One who possesses any critical thinking skills might have concluded that when you open the doors wide for people from an internationally acknowledged corrupt country you might get more than a few criminals is the process. However, this is nothing new. Walking Street in Pattaya has quite a few bars/ clubs that advertise in glowing neon lights, Russian Girls! Russian Dancers! ! Long legged blond Russian "ladies" stand in the street and beckon folks inside. Exactly what sort of Visa or Working permit to these Russian "ladies of the night" have that allows them to work in Thailand in jobs that Thai nationals are qualified to do. How many brown envelopes are passed out to allow these businesses to operate? The last time I wrote a post about this I was threatened in the comments, presumably by Russian criminals or by Thai officials who receive the monthly brown envelops. THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING> THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING> BTW, do you know why the Russians are in Thailand? BECAUSE THAILAND IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW COUNTRIES WHO ALLOW ....EVEN ENCOURAGE....THEM TO COME. Every crime that is committed in Thailand by a Russian can be laid at the feet of the monied people in Bangkok who make these stupid decisions. Don't blame the criminal when you leave your doors unlocked.

Crime without victims. Pot has been used in Thailand for centuries by much wiser men than those currently holding the reigns of power in BKK. Don't worry. If you want to enjoy pot, post re-criminalization, just take a weekend trip to Isan.

Transparency.org. Where does Thailand rank on the World Corruption Index? Where does your country rank on this index? Do you think that "transparency.org" and like research groups have any validity? Where does Russia, India, China, South AFRICA and Brazil rank (BRICS Nations) rank? I AM NOT claiming that there is corruption in Thailand. I am simply pointing that there are matrixes out there easily found online that purport to measure such things, right or wrong.

There is good reason that the USA is not a member of the ICC. There are many good reasons why the US should pull out of the UN. Clearly, that won't happen but many Americans would like like to see the USA to pay no more than its fair share of the funding of the UN based on its GDP.

Clever, Since I order my vitamins from the states I will be forced to pay 3 times as much here because the mechanism for paying the VAT will be a nightmare and delivery times protracted. . This is just one more item to put in my RFL (Reason For Leaving) file. Soon the Bangkok Brain Trust will completely kill the goose that lays the golden egg. There are estimated to be over 80,000 farang living in Thailand. How many will leave before the Clown Show in BBK feels the pain. Let's harass the farang, tax them, charge them more to enter public parks and go to the hospital and make the visa process stupid. There are 9 other countries on the International Living list of best places for Expats to live abroad and two of them are other ASEAN countries; the PI and Vietnam. No place is perfect but the shin is wearing off Thailand for me.