Trip Hop

The ones you refer to for lawyers/bankers are most probably rider clubs which are nothing more than a bunch of like minded people who just enjoy riding together. If you were a member and needed any kind of serious help, you would soon find that your new found friends are nowhere to be seen. Any club that wears a 3 piece backpatch is a MC and technically 1% whether they wear the 1% patch or not. As such they expect to be tested by other clubs at some point and will stand their ground to protect the club and patch. Whilst all MC's follow the exact same protocol and rules, the larger more well known ones are referred to as "outlaw" clubs. This is just a term used by the police and media for their own gains and whilst its origins does date back to an incident in Hollister not long after the second world war, this definition is extremely outdated in today's world.

Statistics are wonderful things in that you can manipulate different outcomes just by adjusting the criteria/weighting. My point was that there is good and bad everywhere and in everyone, whether it be race. religion et all. To tar everyone as the same just because of their associations is very narrow minded indeed. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of MC club members that are engaged in criminal activity. However, excluding the occasional fight or similar, the majority are not and are actually quite normal people outside of "club" with a lot of them being legitimate businessmen. Personally I know a MC member that is covered in tattoos from the neck down/wrist up but is also a medical professional. Are you saying that he is not fit to treat someone just because of his club ties or to put it another way, would you refuse his treatment if you or a member of your close family was dying? Another is very high up in local education and both his pupils and their parents rave about how good he is? He has been "club" for the best part of 35 years. As for myself, yes I am "club" and proud of it. I'm also a consulting engineer that generates a legitimate income in the top 5% back home in Blighty. As the old adage goes, you should never judge a book by its cover? The thing is that everyone including the BIB automatically assumes that this incident is club related? Personally I don't at present but will stand to be corrected should more information at a later date confirm this to be the case?

A newbie to Thailand are you or just naive to what goes on outside your little bubble? It's one or the other, otherwise you'd have to agree with me?

Very true.

The simple fact that you refer to them as gangs and not clubs just goes to show the extent of your naivety on this subject. There are far more falangs in Thailand that commit criminal activity that are not part of an MC club. By your rhetoric does this mean that they should kick all falangs out too?

I met him a few times briefly a few years ago before he relocated to Cambodia just before Covid. He used to come to eat and have a few beers at the g/f's restaurant because he was sweet on a girl that was renting a room from her. He wasn't the most talkative guy but those in the MC world rarely are to outsiders until they get to know them. On the other hand, he didn't immediately come across as an obvious bad person.

I've purchased 1 LHR-BKK return and 1 BKK-LHR return tickets in the last 2 months and whilst not as cheap as EVA, a direct flight with Thai is actually decent value compared to what the other operators are offering for 1 stop tickets. In fact they've been cheaper than quite a few of these 1 stops with decent transit times. I flew Singapore Airlines 15 months ago and whilst they were reasonably priced, I didn't find the service anything to write home about and they didn't even come up near the top of the list in the searches for the last 2 tickets?

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate used to be a favourite of mine back in my younger days when I used to smoke the stuff regularly. ???? For those that obviously don’t understand I’ve got mates in their 50s/60s who still smoke everyday and they are some of the most passive people that you will ever come across. Even my ex would prefer me to stay in and have a spliff instead of going down the pub and having 6-8 pints of Strongbow!

Not long arrived back in Blighty, read this and immediately checked TT’s rate in Pattaya as I distinctly remembered it being @ 41.95/£ on Saturday? According to their website they’re currently offering 42.23/£ which equates to a 0.67% swing the other way unless Thai maths is different to the rest the world? ????

My Mrs has been saying for a long time that’s what the new sub is for! ????

He hasn't been in jail for 10 months. He got bailed when he was first arrested and recently surrendered to court whereby he was sentenced and spent a few nights in Patong nick whilst he awaits transfer to IDC. As said previously, I met an Irish guy in Soi 9 nick who had done 18 months in the Hilton. Whilst he said that he wouldn't recommend it, he didn't complain too much, In fact he complained more about Soi 9 BIB only feeding him twice a day whereby in the Hilton it was 3?

You have to understand that embassies & consulates around the globe are there to help with serious issues not just minor ones where someone has been stupid enough to get caught with some drugs in a foreign country with well publicised low tolerance for the same as well as not the most hospitable cells/jails? Taking this into consideration, it's easy to understand that their attitude might be that you deserve what you get? On a stag weekend trip to Prague once our apartment got broken into and one of my friend's passport were stolen. Upon speaking to the embassy on Saturday, we were told that it would have to wait until Monday as weekends were emergencies only. When we asked as to what exactly constituted an emergency as we had a plane to catch home the following day, we were told, "life or death". Additionally you should know by now that Thailand thinks very little of what other countries think about it? Therefore the embassy might have the attitude that they do not wish to upset the apple cart too much, in case it hinders the future assistance t may want to give to more genuine needs?

No-one can say for definite but the guy does seem a bit of a d1ck and drama queen who wants everyone to feel sorry for him? After after all he did choose to break the law in a country where it is well publicised the world over to not have the most hospitable cells/prisons? I'm no angel myself but live by the rule that if you're not prepared to do the time, don't do the crime? He's lucky that when he first got arrested, he didn't get put straight in front of a kangaroo court the following morning with no access to a lawyer and sent straight to the Hilton for 18 months, as happened to a guy who got caught with a minute amount of meth that I met whilst overnight in Soi 9 not so long ago? Standard procedure to keep him in a police cell before they are ready to move him to IDC as they were doing to the guy that I met. I've never been blessed with a visit to Patong nick but I assume that they are all basically the same? Soi 9 wasn't as bad as I feared, they took your cigarettes but let you keep your wallet so that you can buy cigarettes from the police at over inflated prices. They fed you rice and gave you water as well. The thais in there were also very friendly and shared their drinks with me. You could also order something from the 7-11 if you didn't like the cuisine and charities called in the morning to check that you were ok and gave you water and some bread. They also allow you to move around within the whole cell area unless you're being a pain, whereby they will lock you up alone in a single cell, Sleeping on a concrete floor is not that bad either due to it not being cold. As said, no-one really knows the truth except him? From the way that he has publicised this though , I do get the feeling that he sees himself as a bit of a rebel until things don't go his way and he cries like a baby? I also get the funny feeling that he was expecting to be deported and possibly blew all his money on one last binge before he went to court expecting to go straight to IDC and onto a flight? When this didn't happen, he got upset and kicked off a bit, in the process upsetting the police and all around him who normally would have helped? I may be wrong though?

This is just breaking in UK press where the headline will grab a lot of attention despite the boy being basically Thai? RIP to the young fella and hope that his girlfriend is found safe?

I'm in two minds as to whether this will ever materialise? However, I kind of think it may be based on the following? Thai government/revenue make assumptions and may have even structured the economy with possible borrowing based on TAT's over inflated tourist projections? The projected tourists don't arrive, leaving a shortfall and the government/revenue is left thinking how else are we going to raise the money without losing face and possibly devaluing the baht, which means that they will have to pay even more for their toy submarines and overseas property? So instead of discounting or having a promotion (as most other countries or businesses would have) to encourage more tourists, the wise buffoons at the top think nah, we'll just tax the ones that are coming even more? Typical thai logic which I still struggle to understand even after many years? Forget the smokescreen of stopping thais going and spending their money abroad as it won't touch the pockets of those that can afford to do that. It will however have more of an effect on long stay tourists already in Thailand, who might prefer to get a cheap flight to visit a neighbouring country for a week and spending their money there instead of spending a day at immigration? The additional downside being as previously stated, whereby those from neighbouring countries may no longer see Thailand as a cheap place to visit for a couple of days, especially if bringing the family? It also means that there is a good chance that it will reduce the amount of money going across the border to legal casinos which will most probably result in this money being spent in the illegal ones within Thailand, which in the majority are all controlled by you know who?

The Netherlands and Amsterdam had the best solution to this in the mid to late 90s when the ecstacy boom started. The MDMA in its pure form wasn't the biggest danger, it was the other chemicals and drugs such as ketamine that was being mixed into the pills by some to reduce production costs and maximize profit. Something that I wouldn't be surprised to have some bearing on the case here? Because they knew that they could never stop the trade and recreational use of the drug, they allowed charities to set up testing stations inside many of the clubs and raves, whereby you could take your pill, they'd scratch off a little amount to test and let you know as to whether there were any nasties in it. No doubt it saved countless lives over the years and to the best of my knowledge there are certain places still in the Dam that offer this service for a small donation of a couple of euros?

A close relative died back home about 4 days ago and the GF is amazed that I haven’t cut my holiday short and already flown back to the UK on the first available flight? I’m trying to explain to her that despite the person having advanced Alzheimer’s and dying in a hospital, a separate doctor still has to sign off that the death was from natural causes before the body can even be released and funeral planning can start? She’s looking at me as if I have 2 heads and stating that in Thailand they’d wrap you up and bundle you out the door to the temple the very same day!

There are quite a few that fall into this category but don’t tar everyone with the same brush. Most policies along with flights and holidays are bought online these days so not really over the counter. With the insurers that I use, everything is straight forward. Simple table of the 4 levels of cover available containing a summary of the differences between them. Click one button to see the full policy schedule for each which is straight forward to read and doesn’t contain any real small print as such. And before you ask, yes they do pay out!

Basic rule of supply and demand. They’ll continue to sell at as much as possible until people are no longer willing to pay it and won’t come. The problem is that the post Covid surge is there but most of the airlines are yet to reinstate their pre-Covid timetables.

You can argue any situation in the way that you have but you’re just being pedantic and missing the point. It’s all about convenience and if the 45 day option is there, plenty of people will use it. End of!

In addition to my other shorter trips at other times of the year, I normally visit for Xmas/New Year and stay the full 30 days. This time I decided to stay the whole 45 days just because the hassle free option was there. Many of my friends that I meet up with out there do the same and made the same decision to extend our stays for exactly the same reason. We all budgeted about B400k for the 6 weeks and we are tourists. However, if it stays at 30 days come this December, that’s what we’ll be coming for as we just can’t be arsed applying for 60 day visas in advance or losing a day at immigration for an extension?

Being 1% myself for many years, I can 100% tell you that neither do you! If you really are Thai as you insinuate, you should look closer to home? Various eastern block mafias, the BiB and a lot of your own countrymen/women to start? Also, if you want to ban 1% clubs in Thailand full stop, you should start with the Thai MCs? They really have the power in the MC world here. I can tell you that the big farang clubs are only allowed a presence out of courtesy and could be shut down by them at any time they so wished?

???? I’m not defending this guy but I can tell you now that I know 10x the amount of criminals that are not 1%, than those who are! So going by your rhetoric, shouldn’t you be kicking yourself of the country?

You have to be a total loon to invest 40 million baht on anything in Thailand. You could invest that sum somewhere far safer and easily see 7% plus pa and you’d get a pretty nice pool villa rental with sea views in Phuket with that?