PingRoundTheWorld

You really think he's been making these moves without authorization from the very top? It's all politics and power moves, and he's just the media face to it. If it has the added benefit of reducing corruption - then great.

Reminds me of the times my gf would go out of her way to give the security guards at our condo little things like coffee of pepsi etc. I guess it's ingrained in society that they need to help those that protect them. Having said that- buying an officer coffee or even giving them a few hundred baht voluntarily is quite different from being extorted for 30,000 under the threat of arrest. I think none of these cases would've made it to the spotlight if the officers weren't greedy and asked for smaller amounts. Sadly I don't think the pay system will change anytime soon, so as the lesser of two evils I hope amounts requested are at least reduced to reasonable rather than extortionate.

That's very common. Likely the entire 7500 baht goes to her mom for her time and effort raising the kid. It's basically a full time job (and more), so 7500 is not that much. It's actually a great deal because raising the kid on your own would cost you a lot more than that. And if you're wondering - she gives her mom money too - a lot of it - they all do. Since this is a kid you're actually in contact with and get to see, and want to keep it that way, I'd offer her a modest increase to 8500/mo and tell her you will consider increasing it a little more when your job situation improves in the future. The other alternative is to cut her off - but that means you won't be able to see your son or be involved in his life for an indefinite amount of time, if ever.

A few encounters with bar girls/staff or freelancers, and you'll quickly lose any disillusion that they don't just want your money. Don't need government officials to learn that. Can still have great fun (in bars, and Thailand in general) but one does have to watch the bill here...

Exactly. One would think that given so much publicity over the last week these *****s would lay low for a while - but nope! Straight into another scandal.

And likely the only action that will not be taken.

Common misconception that vapes are less harmful - they are not - they are far more toxic than normal cigarettes, and to make matters worse people think they are candy sucking on them all night long - far more than they'd do with a cigarette. There should be a better effort to educate people on the dangers of vaping, as well as better enforcement to disallow vaping around other people as the toxic fumes are even worse than cigarette second hand smoke. Ever since these cancer vaporizers became more popular I routinely suffer respiratory complications whenever some ***** blows it in my face. I've tried telling people not to so many times but since they don't think of it as cigarettes they keep forgetting every time. I guess the solution is to avoid people who vape completely - no big loss.

I was going to comment that apparently his health and fitness advice don't work - but seems like his longevity was more affected by staying in Pattaya and likely either drugs or questionable dating choices. RIP.

So either a wannaba hiso (posts a lot of <deleted> on instagram but in reality broke), a gold digger, or a working girl. Or some combination of the three. Either way buyer beware. ????

Sounds like she just likes foreigners. Working a respectable job and having no visible tattoos are actually good flags. Beyond that it really depends on what she posts - the real red flags would be constant selfies, bikini pics, party pics, and other attention seeking behavior. Anyway just talk to her and meet and find out.

In any other country this would be normal and legal. It's a mystery why in Thailand being married to a Thai does not automatically grant you the right to work. It's an even bigger mystery why some stickler farangs get offended by such behavior. It's usually not Thais who care - it's farang. Live and let live.

You must be fun at parties.

Confidence level: the elections were fair. They should've however arrest and fine her for vaping - this has quickly become a menace to the rest of society who doesn't like sucking on embalming fluid. Literally it contains embalming fluid, paint solvent, and various other toxic gasses. And the worst part is *****s think it's harmless candy and will blow it right in your face without even realizing it's poison.

Exactly. Also zero sympathy to any coward who hits someone with a bottle over the head. Bottom of the barrel - all parties involved.

If they made it easier to hire foreigners legally then this wouldn't be an issue. Businesses are reluctant to hire legally because of all the bureaucracy, time, labor, and money involved. Not to mention the process takes too long.

Imagine being a Pattaya citizen, concerned about prostitution. Mind blown.

For expats who ride motorbike, yes, it's just a matter of time. In the islands it's ridiculous - every night you can see foreigners driving bikes drunk, too fast, and of course most of them don't have a license or insurance. I remember riding with a friend one time, and it was the last time I get on a bike with a foreigner - just a 5 minute ride but it scared the <deleted> out of me - driving fast, taking corners too sharp, and apparently drunk (I didn't realize he was drunk until he started taking those corners). It's really just a matter of when, not if.

France never extradites it's own citizens. They may put them on trial in France, but not extradite. In this case the statue of limitations has long passed so no chance of that happening either, unfortunately. It sounds like he's not planning on staying in France though. Dubai? South Africa? yikes.. at least he's not likely coming back to Thailand, lol...

Complete nonsense - Bangkok is severely lacking tourists - nightlife venues are half-empty and nowhere near what they used to be in high season pre-Covid. The 2am curfew has decimated Bangkok nightlife tourism and it will never be back to what it used to be unless they relax this ridiculous curfew.

Also true- taxes on imported alcohol are around 400% in Thailand. Huge cost difference for imports. Either Thai rice farms will simply close, or they will have to increase their prices to a point it will no longer be competitive vs Vietnamese/Cambodian rice which will cost much less. Of course the government can "fix" this with tariffs on imported rice, but that effectively means inflation/higher cost of living AND rice exports will suffer anyway because other countries will choose cheaper alternatives.

OK - and how much do hard drinks/cocktails and bottles cost? that's what matters for nightlife establishments. If you're comparing a Thai beer bar to a UK bar/restaurant, how much extra does the UK bar make on food that the Thai beer bar isn't? (not to mention many of the beer bar workers rely on lady drinks and other "alternative" sources of revenue which evens things out too) Yes, but now her choice would be ONLY slinglin' hoi, because there won't be any available factory/farming jobs, because there'll be fewer factory/farm jobs overall. Since you don't seem to get it, here's a list of why there will be fewer jobs open: 1. Many businesses will simply close - if a business now spends 30k a day employing 100 employees and makes 50k a day in revenue, doubling it's labor cost to 60k means the business will shut down, period. 2. More employers will choose to hire under the table and/or hire illegal workers below minimum wage. 3. Some employers will invest in automation, robotics, machinery, and other means that reduce employee count. If it costs 30k a day to employ 100 people and 50k a day to finance a machine that'll do the same job - if you increase labor cost to 60k a day they'll choose the machine. It's really economics 101 - supply and demand and equilibrium - when you mess with the labor market on the scale of doubling the lower end of salaries the direct and immediate result will always be massive job shortage and unemployment. We're not talking a moderate 10-20% increase here (which is warranted and should be fine) - we are talking a 100% increase from today to tomorrow which is guaranteed to whack some businesses and jobs out of existence. That really is the stupid thing with all social justice warriers who demand minimum wage increases - instead of going for a moderate approach like 10% per year increase for X years, they want the whole cake upfront 50-100% immediate increase - that's not something the market is prepared for or able to deal with. Hello unemployment.

End result: massive unemployment. Unless absolutely necessary, businesses will not hire anyone. Sure- they still need to run the business, but they'll just make 50 people do the same work done today by 100. Don't like it? good luck trying to find another job elsewhere as there'll be a tsunami of job seekers due to massive layoffs. Essentially they'll keep only very productive employees and lay off everyone else. I'm actually not sure about inflation - on one hand it will cost more to produce the same products - and that *always* gets rolled over to consumers - but on the other hand there'll be so many people unemployed and in poverty that purchasing power overall will probably go down, limiting the ability to increase prices. Bottom line: economic disaster. Another consuqeuence: things like prostitution and other under-the-table professions will flourish because if now her choice is factory/farm or sell herself - now it won't be a choice at all.

I don't know about you, but last I've been to a bar in my home country a vodka & coke was the equivalent of 730 baht, and you're expected to tip at least 10-15%. In Thailand a cheap vodka bottle (Smirnoff) at an upscale nightclub is 3000 baht everything included, in my home country I was quoted 9600 baht - not including mixers or service charge (15%). I also remember in Japan when we got a table at a nightclub it was 60,000 yen for 2 hours with 2 bottles, plus mixers and service charge 75,000 yen (19,000 baht) - and they literally kicked us off the table after 2 hours! Pricing for nightlife in developed countries is extremely expensive to the point it's funny that you think it's comparable to Thailand. 150 baht beer drinkers are the smallest revenue source for a nightclub - it's heavier drinkers and bottles that actually keep the lights on and what you need to compare.

Yes, because so many tourists - especially on Khao San road - actually drive. Right. This has nothing to do with drunk driving, probably more to do with the fact raising the time limit will make brown envelopes thinner. 99% of tourists don't drive, and for those who do it's quite easy to set up roadblocks right outside tourist areas and prevent them from driving drunk.

Pretty sure that a large percentage of young Thais drink because of this government....