herfiehandbag

Yet the submarine base, headquarters and training centre is at the very top of the Gulf of Thailand.To reach the Andaman sea they would have to pass down the coast of Malaysia, round Singapore and through the Malacca Straits. Areas in which submarine activities are heavily monitored. Now I'm no naval expert (simple infantryman me) but that seems a bit silly. Similarly spending an awful lot of money on two very advanced jet fighters, with no weapon systems fitted, for training and exercises when they are not capable of combat or meaningful training ( no weapons) seems a bit silly.

Frankly I couldn't really care less about your order for corned beef from Shopee - other than perhaps to pun "bully" for you! My point is that the registration process for the Shopee app seems (and this is reflected in other's experience it seems) to be somewhat hit and miss. My attempts to download the app and register, using an Android phone with a Thai (DTAC) sim card results, at least for me, in being told that "the item is not available in your country" - and I went to the trouble of posting a screenshot of just that message. Personally I suspect that their IT system is somewhat ramshackle; so I won't bother to persue it any more. I don't buy food through online shopping anyway, and for what online shopping I do, I can manage quite happily with Lazada.

Obviously...

Android/realme.

Yes, I try to sign up, using a Thai phone, in Thailand. Not available in your country.

Is that nationwide, or just in your patch?

Shopee's site is jolly secure - impenetrable in fact. When I try to register on the app, using a phone with a Thai (DTAC) sim card, it tells me that the service is not available in your country!

For the initial (Sinovac) jab, I was refused, (foreigner), then it was administered July 2021 when I was admitted to the main provincial hospital for an operation. I had my second jab there in November, took two attempts (we have no records so wait and see what is available at the end of the session). They could not provide any paperwork to certify the vaccination because as I understand it the "ad hoc" nature of the initial vaccination meant they had no record. No paperwork no booster. The provincial hospital says it is up to the local hospital, they say that they can not do it without the paperwork. Bureaucratic impasse.

Making AZ vaccine available to Chinese visitors - good plan. Now about the first booster shot I have been waiting 10 months for... "Cannot, foreigner!"

The OP asked a question, part of which was specific to getting a supply of Worcester Sauce. I suggested a possible solution. If it compares to Lea & Perrin's, well that is really up to the OP if he reacts to my suggestion. But thank you for reminding me why I don't usually bother to answer these sort of questions!

Big C have Coleman's mustard and Branston Pickle. (Chiang Rai, but I presume nationwide) Tops often have Lea and Perrin's. This stuff, a local version is in Tops. 1/2 the price for a much bigger bottle.

You saw, we all saw, a relatively small number of "well healed" people, in one particular area of the capital city, "giving roses to soldiers"; in an apparently "spontaneous" demonstration of their thanks. Jolly useful that a film crew was on hand! As ever you completely fail to take into account the very large number of people, throughout Bangkok and the rest of the country who saw the government which they had elected, and were in the process of re-electing, overthrown by the military. At, or after, two subsequent elections, the military did the same thing. This, along with the gerrymandering which established the current regime, has caused a deep festering well of resentment throughout Thai politics, upon which tha upcoming elections will inevitably draw. Incidentally, back to the roses; has anyone ever wondered how those people knew to be out and about, well supplied with roses - a perishable product not generally available in bulk, obtainable in quantity only from the wholesale flower markets, which would have been inaccessible because of the curfew? Somehow it doesn't seem very "spontaneous"! It certainly wasn't "the truth"!

Jolly impressive collection of long words. What does it mean?

Just outside the village I live in there is a busy "T" junction. Once again they have set up a blue tent. In previous years they have set up in the forecourt of a wholesale booze shop, but I notice this year they are on a patch of waste ground opposite. One good move is to set up a long row of cones inside red and white painted tyres along the centre of the roads either side of the junction - since a major cause of accidents is overtaking at the junction this may help. However, it is noticeable that due to the far more "and hoc" nature of the tent this year, no electricity and therefore no internet or coffee, the tent is manned solely by a couple of the local police volunteers - who as far as I know have no real powers.

Chinese tourists (cash) next month or a steady rebuild of the tourist industry? Cash next month of course!

According to reports I have read, he acquired some 700,000 Dollars to fund his campaign, no one is quite sure where from.

I understand he pleads the fifth amendment on that one.

I seem to remember much the same being said about a year ago...

An interesting question. Books seem to only really feature here as study textbooks or instruction manuals. There seems very little in the way of traditions of reading novels and historical accounts for entertainment. Perhaps it is because in western societies near universal literacy has been around for many generations. Certainly in the second half of the last century an increase in leisure led to a demand for reading. The printed book was a significant source of entertainment, demand was fed and satisfied by public libraries and the development of paperback publishers like Penguin. Here universal literacy has really only been established in the last two generations or so. Reading is a central part of education, but during this (more recent) time we have also seen the rapid development of cheap video technology, video CD, DVD and now MP4 and streaming technologies. Perhaps because of this reading for pleasure as opposed to reading for education has never really become established. My take on it anyway!

I get by. Vocab not too bad, accent or more correctly identifying and using tones less so. I can shop in markets, ask directions and keep a class of 12 year olds under some semblance of control. I am a Catholic, and a regular attender at Mass. My liturgical Thai is quite good! I even learnt a smattering of Akka! Many of the children I taught ( Catholic school) were from the hill tribes. I suppose I am lucky, I am quite good at languages - Latin at school and French and German (A level and then used in the army). I took after my father, he fought in Burma, and picked up the very basics of local dialects. His superiors, impressed, sent him to India to learn Japanese ( intensive three month course), made him a sergeant in the Intelligence Corps and posted him to the British occupation forces, in Graz, Austria! But I absolutely realise that for many it is difficult, especially as they age - and therefore understand if they do not. Of course in these days of of Internet and satellite TV it is possible to live life here without the language, especially in the more "farang orientated"areas. If all else fails, there are books - almost totally unknown to most Thais. When I moved here and unpacked my boxes, my wife's comment was "Why do you want all those books - you already have about ten!

We shall miss his jolly presence...

He wouldn't even survive a gentle paddle! He is, anyway living dangerously. Going after the head of the Met Police? The stakes are very high, an enormous amount of money is at stake, enough perhaps to weather the storm if Chuwit is topped? No doubt he thinks he is covered, but is he as bulletproof as he thinks? If he is killed, it will be headlines for sure for a week or so, but is anyone going to be brave (or foolish) enough to point the finger?

I had wondered why coppers were always taking selfies in front of shops! The other day I watched as a pick up pulled up and three of them went around various shops in my local town taking pictures of themselves.

Another ego which couldn't come terms with losing.

Someone benefited; Vaseline have reported a boom in sales over the last few months, as large quantities were purchased in Arizona to smear over camera lenses...