carlf

Amazing. I read at least one article a day about the decline in tourism in Thailand today. Numbers are down, and it seems that many tourists are opting these days for Vietnam or Japan instead of Thailand. And then I read an article like this one where a S'porean tourist is ARRESTED for flying a drone. Ok, I would understand if the police told him to stop because of the particular issue with Cambodia right now, but I find it over zealous, and just ridiculous that they would arrest him for this. I would expect a reasonable degree of tolerence by the Thai police, unless they found him flying the drone in particularly suspicious circumstances, eg. over a Thai military base. Doesn't anyone in the government consider what damage this is doing to the reputation of Thailand as a great place for holiday?

What? I would have thought it would have been easy to find him... didn't he do his 90-day report every 3 months? No?? Or is it possible that the only people who do the 90-day reports are those that never cause a problem... thus they do it for nothing. Sigh....

This is a good thing. Darwin will take care of these inconsiderate jerks.

Something that I've often noticed, and bemoaned, in several years in Thailand is that I rarely see any Thai person reading a book (paper or digital). Almost everyone has their nose constantly in their telephone, with TicToc, FB or Instagram. Rather sad. Coming from France, I see the same thing amongst the youth in particular, but I do still see a reasonable amount of young French reading books. Here in Thailand... virtually never. A shame, and I fear that this is a symptom of this lack of education here.

Good idea. Make those sweets illegal because adults could leave them around. Perhaps also we should make cars illegal also. I read from time to time about parents locking their kids inside by accident, or driving badly. Also, knives should be illegal. Very dangerous if parents leave them around. I could probably think of a few other items. Pfffff.

Agrée that more trash receptacles and toilets would be welcome, but one thing that I discovered years ago as a biker is that wats are always a good place to stop if you need a toilet. And wats are everywhere.

The USA undeniably came to the rescue of Europe during WWII. But if Trump is going to remind France about how grateful they should be for the USA's support 80 years ago, perhaps he should remember and acknowledge the critical support that France provided to the emerging USA in 1778 almost 250 years ago. It goes two ways.

BTS Police should immediately confiscate his speakers for disturbing the peace of others. He clearly has no respect for others.

You should have this next month. Loads of posters now in the BTS advertising Starlux direct flights as of June to severe US West Coast cities, eg LA, SF..

I agree that these short term rentals often really diminish the quality of life for the others in a building. It should be strictly limited if not banished. If the government was truly serious about wanting to control this, they would propose a phone number or website where you could denounce the practice, and better yet, propose a small compensation.

Thanks for pointing to that other article. But this still doesn't really clarify as I read in that article "The position of 10-year Long-Term Residence visa holders and permanent residents is still under review, with officials yet to clarify whether these groups will be subject to the tax."

Worries about abduction might not be the only reason for favouring Japan as a destination over Thailand. I went to Japan for holiday a few times recently and it was such a pleasure breathing fresh, clean air. I could clearly see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo, a few hundred kms away. The Japanese respect laws, don't throw trash everywhere, don't burn fields, and they recycle. I love Thailand, but those are clearly areas for major improvement if Thailand wants to attract quality tourists.

"A recent study highlights that European tourists in Asia typically allocate about $250 (approximately 8,475 baht) per day for food and beverages." Wow! Maybe my friends and I have an unusual lifestyle in Bangkok, but I'm sure that we never spend 8475 THB per day, per person for food and drinks. If they're basing decisions on this number, I fear they will be disappointed by the reality.

This young lady deserves a medal for her strength and willingness to stand up to this guy. Bravo!

I'm sympathetic to your frustration, but just for info, I've sent numerous documents from France (Paris) to Thailand (Bangkok) over the past few years, and they've rarely ever taken more than 5 or 6 business days. Ca peut tomber en marche. 😌