law ling

... and be careful of the traffic AND the soi dogs.

OK. So who would be the next PM (at least until we get the next election)?

1. Well, go ahead ... but it'll probably be mostly empty planes. 2. I believe Xi is up for re-election later this year ... so I suspect there will be no changes until after that.

1. I do pity medical staff on late night duty having to patch up all the accidents and ODs (and of late, burns) that must flood in in the wee hours (when they're probably just lightly staffed). 2. If you've seen one local temple, you've pretty much seen them all - I don't find the buildings attractive, and as it's not my religion, there's no spiritual element. 3. I do like Issan music ... but it's not readily available here (in Pattaya) ... the bands here seem to prefer the likes of "Hotel California" or "Tie a Yellow Ribbon ..." (which is from another culture).

Rabies shots needed?

Well said Sir. Indeed for comparison the Vietnamese girl's medical bills to date have been reported as B600,000 (and are continuing).

Cultural Note: It's good to remember that Thais are not conditioned to say "thank you" for every little thing - unlike us from the west, who are taught to say "please" and "thank you" for every damn thing. As my Thai language teacher explained: "Thank you" is something Thais will say if they're given a car for their birthday - and is not something they say when the barman serves you your beer.

Perhaps having gone from "life" to a set term, she'll now be able to get the usual reductions, pardons, etc. and give her some light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, I wouldn't sign for it. Knowing this girl's story, and there being even a scintilla of risk of a heafty jail term, I'd step back - and claim I had an urgent errand to attend to.

Yes, it was an uncomfortable case: "just signing for a delivery" ending in life, or 33 years (or worse). Take away: don't sign for other peoples' deliveries.

Generalizations are not always useful, but there's a lot of truth in what you say Sir.

1. From linked article: a desert fox, a raccoon, eight marmoset monkeys, two green skinks, three monitor lizards, and two albino pythons. ... some of those, like the marmosets are not even native here. 2. Good to see that checked-in luggage (assuming that's what it was) is x-rayed here.

"The victim suffered burns over her entire body" - the whole thing has been very shocking.

The OP boasts: Thailand has strong fire-safety laws .. well, maybe that's not true. Let's see the laws, and we'll tell you if they are strong (enough). ... because they are NOT strong enough if exits are locked, soundproofing can be flammable, etc.

Laws can mostly be ignored here (because they are unenforced or a tip can he paid to turn a blind eye). No culture of care for others seems to exist here (e.g. locked exits). If the dirt hits the fan, then many seem to just lie to get away with it (the owner, his wife and manageress have all said the exits were not locked or blocked ... the band singer said they were). Here's an idea: instantly sack ALL local police and ALL relevant regulatory government departments without benefits or pensions - that'll shake the country up.

Som, the vendor in the OP: 1. is being a bit cagey in not telling us what she pays for the tickets (that she sells for B100), and 2. is not being frank if she infers she gets stuck with paying for the unsold tickets. I believe the street vendors buy from middlemen who add their slice of profit. Also, the government is doing better now - they used to sell tickets to vendors (or middlemen) for something like B72 ... but now they're selling them (online) for B80.

Too smart a fugitive for the local police ... sounds like a job for Big Joke ... or the smart BMW.

Dumb despots, once they've plundered their country's economy, don't know when to quit before it's too late, and rarely seem to have an exit plan. If he had commonsence and forward planning, he should, with all his ill-gotten wealth, be leading the good life now in say Dubai or Paris, not wandering around Asia on short visas.

1. Possibly the case is that whether this guy is jailed for a year, or for life, will hinge on such details, such as the doors. 2. RIP the deceased. I believe some are in a coma, but if not, how horrible that your last week was spent in agony, chaos and bewilderment.

I'd asked my teacher in Thai class to give me a Thai name - and she nominated me as "sua" = tiger - but it never stuck. For these pages, I've adopted "ling" = monkey. Mostly here I'm not called anything, other than "pee" = elder brother.

Looking at a long jail term (or worse), he is (as anyone would) putting the best spin on it he can.

No harm in giving initial payments ...but final compensation should he assessed by the courts. With so many deaths, and many still in intensive care - and no doubt looking ahead to years of reconstructive surgery if they make it - any total, proper compensation would be massive. Seems like the young owner is looking at the double-whammy of death penalty and bankruptcy.

They need a large, visible dog population to keep their donations coming in.

Well, credit where it's due: they've done well in what they set out to do. But I don't see the point of returning dogs (albeit desexed) back onto to streets to lead an uncared for life for the next 15 years.

Decathalon sometimes have a few of their items in larger sizes.