paul1804

Thailand doesn't see the bigger picture does it, there would have been little or no opposition to 300 baht being added to the price of an airline ticket and the money could have been put to good use. But Thailand would rather procrastinate over silly things like this instead of addressing real issues. The bad publicity and negative down stream effects of introducing tax on foreigners pensions and making all foreign residents complete a tax return will be huge. The cost of implementation and servicing the procedure will be greater than the revenue given Thailands love of reams of paper work and antiquated procedures plus foreigners will reconsider where to settle for retirement.

Yes very true about diet, hey I think you mean Lycopene!!

If you are going to consume "lots" of tomatoes remove the skin first as the skin in particular contains a chemical that will cause inflammation in your body, mainly your joints!

That is a dangerous precedent to set, they need qualified experienced pilots to fill the gap whether full time or on a temporary basis but the Pilots association is to short sighted and biased to realise and admit it makes sense! Mind sets like this are the reasons why Thailand is still a third world nation in many respects!

Yes very true Thailand is playing a dangerous game where as always China will be the beneficiary !!!

I guess Thailands lack of infrastructure in tourist areas doesnt bother the majority of Chinese tourists, I have always believed the Thailand should be looking for tourists with a bigger spending capacity so quality rather than quantity but given the lack of very basic infrastructure in Thailand maybe they are better suited to target a lower spending tourist and leave the higher spenders to the countries that cater for them. Thailand struggles to collect garbage, has very few public toilets and no trash cans, power cuts are too frequent and water shortages need addressing. Tourist areas and beach resorts need decent public toilets with infant changing facilities, garbage bins, proper paved side walks, tourist information centres and some form of law enforcement able to communicate in English, given that English is by far the most widely spoken language. The authorities should actively police waste water disposal that beach side establishment discard directly into the oven where people swim. Currently most beachside resorts and hotels are the ones that pick up garbage on the beaches but that shouldn't be their responsibility. My point is Thailand keeps waffling on about attracting tourists and reaching financial targets yet they dont understand that in order to achieve this they are competing on the world stage so need to lift their game substantially. Thailand is a great place but they are and will continual to slide because its not the cheap destination it once was and they are severely lacking in basic amenities and services. Corruption and double pricing is in your face, taxi gouging probably the worst offender!

Given the law of averages in Thailand I have changed my nationality selection!

I am sure there are decent Thai women out there but Thailand certainly has its fair share of devious women. Their financial "wants" override any form of honesty, integrity and morals so stay sharp fella's, keep your bank details and wallet secured! After 9 years of marriage and believing I had a decent relationship yet my ex wife had company share holding changed in her favour, silly me for being decent & understanding and giving her & family financial security. I am now divorced but much poorer!!!

Apart from Hunters drug use and personal behaviour there's a strong business connection with rather dubious dealings between Hunter & the "Big Man" which gets very conveniently overlooked!

yes quite true!

As Trump stated many times, its a witch hunt! Come on you US citizens, its time to drain the swamp!

Totally agree with Boris's comments, what a bloody disgrace the US legal system has become! It all started back in 1962!

"As this story continues to unfold, updates will be provided to keep the public informed. For now, the focus remains on upholding the standards that travellers have come to expect from one of the world’s busiest airports" Don't bother waiting for the outcome, it will be released that it was a misunderstanding and the officers apologise if they caused any concerns for the travellers!

Tell that to China!

I would say desperate!

The usual repetitious reporting headlines where the 2nd paragraph is the same as the first!!! Also about 2 months ago they put out a news brief to say that they had already decided to implement Vat on items below 1500 baht and yet here they are soon to put to to cabinet meaning it is still to be decided or enforced. Will they ever get it right!

Unbelievable, only in Thailand!!!

So they apologised for what could have been murder but wasn't, just dangerously angry uncontrollable actions, completely unbelievable!

Depending on the accuracy of the reporting some positive changes but they haven't really thought this through to have a real impact. Nothing about the crazy 90 day reporting which has to be the most obsolete rule in Thai immigration, especially for those on work permits. Lots of other changes needed to make a real impact. Nothing wrong with offering free visa's but due to the rise in crimes committed by foreigners they really need to improve their screening process. Also surely over stayers flag in their computer system so why are there people who have overstayed by sometimes several years and discovered by a whistle blower rather than the authorities doing their job!! The mountains of paper work that is required for anything visa, work permit or even a licence is completely nuts, they have the information on file so why add to it with numerous sheets of paper, this is really Third world thinking!

"Tourism Association, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, pointed out that the island’s infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the rising number of tourists. He highlights how Koh Samui lacks a cruise ship pier despite over 40 cruise ships scheduled to visit this year" So the infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the current visitor numbers yet the president wants to build a cruise ship terminal which would likely attract more cruise ships putting and even greater strain on existing infrastructure. These guys just dont see how improved infrastructure will cope better with more tourists, the past revenue from tourism has been squandered by those in higher places and will continue to be the case until there is some accountability and thats not going to happen any time soon! So given the status quo Samui and the Islands needs to a attract a better quality of tourist and not quantity!!! Put a stop to all the frantic construction and fix the basic amenities, electricity, water, garbage and road safety probably being the most pressing! Oh and road safety includes sorting out the Taxi mafia and the lunatic drivers, Thai & Farang!!

And fix the street pavements, install public toilets in tourist areas, get the RTP off their backsides to stop illegal parking causing traffic hazards and so on!

Exactly which we all know is just convenient BS when it suits them!

Deport them in 48 hours, that will stop the BS from reoccurring!

How convenient!

Very sad, may he RIP. Read into that what you may, Thailand doesnt want any more bad publicity so do you think they are going to announce foul play if that is the case, I bet not!