jaywalker

local people could still make their living by renting beach umbrellas to tourists at the rate of Bt200 each,

200 baht for an umbrella?

The last time I went to Phuket you could rent a beach bed that already had an umbrella for 20 baht!

But that was than long before the turn of the millennium, decades, lol,

that you have been on the expensive island of Phuket, the Monaco of South East Asia.

I moved to BKK in March 2001. I then moved to Pattaya in 2002.

Back then Google & ThaiVisa.com were still wearing diapers & the info age had just kicked off.

There used to be a rickety wooden pier in Pattaya just north of Walking Street.

A whopping two or three ferries went from it to Koh Larn every day.

Russians were unheard of. I really don't mind Ruskies, just saying they weren't around in droves back then.

A beach chair was 20 baht.

Only folks on the island were squatters. Super nice folks really.

Around 2005 it got developed... The GOVERNMENT came in to HELP.

They completely ruined the place.

He said there were several farang who earned their living from tourism businesses on Phuket beaches and several of them have Thai girlfriends.

Does he mean foreigners?

What a nasty word.

Twilight Zone.

Imagine, if you will.....................

A USA, Australian, UK, German, French government official saying there are several chinks who earn their living with their local girlfriends as fronts.

I'm sorry, but if this isn't entertaining, I don't know what is.

I'm curious as to what Liberal TV show, shows ignorance of the general populace like this?

Filmed in 2014. USA debt was $16 Trillion.....It's now $18 Trillion.....Yeah, government is the answer to all.......Right.

AND......I hear crickets chirping.

Still waiting on a Liberal news/entertainment show that can buffoon conservatives the way Watters does when he visits bastions of liberals.

Allow me to help out. Here's my man Sasha B Cohen to the rescue (again)....

I'm sorry, but if this isn't entertaining, I don't know what is.

I'm curious as to what Liberal TV show, shows ignorance of the general populace like this?

Filmed in 2014. USA debt was $16 Trillion.....It's now $18 Trillion.....Yeah, government is the answer to all.......Right.

my thoughts also

how can you not see a cement truck?????

I recall reading a few years back about a motorcycle mechanic that was test-driving a bike "at a high rate of speed" in Pattaya that ran into a cement truck head-on. He died at the scene.

Article went on to say that he was driving against the traffic flow, with no helmet, looking at the gear shifter near his foot when it happened.

Cement truck driver fled the scene.

That's one way I've read about on how to "not see a cement truck".

Only in Thailand........

He should have an election next week then and he'd obviously win it

http://youtu.be/CgbhyjuhbX8?t=1m13s

Can you quote the law that says that for any riding you need an Intl DL?

I have one, but in 4 stops (just minor stop/check everyone type checkpoints) I've never been asked for it. Only my home country DL. I was under the impression that there is a 30 day grace period under which you are allowed to ride a motorbike with only your DL from home. If you stay longer, you're then expected to either have an Intl DL or get a Thai one. I'm speaking in reference to the Thai laws, not insurance rules... they may be 2 very different things.

I do fully agree that there are far too many people coming here that get way too comfortable with flaunting the rules and/or their own limits... and end up paying for it. It's not always their fault, but it often is. The vast majority of accidents I've seen foreigners involved with here did also involve someone who was consuming alcohol. And that person may or may not have been wearing a helmet. Lack of familiarity with Thai driving styles + no safety gear worn + alcohol is a bad recipe.

Gear up, ride sober, be very aware and ride defensively... it wont 100% guarantee you wont have an accident, but it will greatly reduce the chances.

It's all fun & games till somebody loses an eye - then it's hilarious!

No, seriously, cops & rental agencies could care less till you get in an accident.

Then it's "What boxes did he NOT have ticked? How can we weasel our way out of paying any money?".....and insurance companies are at the top of those trying to figure out all the above.

=======================

I drove my 82 year old Aunt to the doctor the other day & she complimented me on my driving skills - in RURAL Georgia, USA.... There were a whopping 3 cars around us & we hadn't seen a motorcycle in MONTHS!

She'd have a heart attack on-the-spot if she ever tried to drive in Thailand.

I just told her it was pretty easy to drive like I had half a brain over here, as compared to driving in Thailand.

I always loved the guy. Sad to hear of his departure.

Just glad he went at 83 & not before, like that episode where those flying things stuck to his back & started feeding on him.

That CREEPED ME OUT as a kid.

RIP Leonard. You were a true icon that will never be forgotten.

Please give me the number of the gang if you have it as there is a pathetic yapping thing opposite me that could do with being kidnapped. I would pay good money to have it misplaced.

My neighbor had a poodle that annoyed the life out of me.

If I could have ever got ahold of it, it would have gone the way of the Lindberg baby.

810 days = 2.21 YEARS!

They could have done an overpass in 6 months or less & I've yet to see an overpass flood.

It seems that every day now, some farang is found dead. Makes me wonder.

Just don't wonder into the sea.

"It is believed that the man had had a lot to drink the night before and had wondered into the sea."

I'm just surprised the Bungling Boys In Brown didn't call it a suicide.

great can they only send 4 or can they do 1.4 billion?

I knew somebody would beat me to it.

I was going to suggest it'd be a great idea if they could send them all.

So, is it arriving by road or train? Clearly, not by air or it would have to pass over a few other provinces first.

Just twigged. Probably referring to Surin in Pattaya.....

Or maybe to the Surin Island(s?) in the Andaman Sea???

Excellence in journalism at its best here.

I've been out to the Sattahip port next to it. It's not very big.

It also has one of those ancient style ramps pointing about 45 degrees upwards at the end.

It, (very appropriately) flies a flag with a white elephant on it.

Some ancient, long-gone general wound up as PM somehow years ago and, in his exhaustive studies of farang culture saw this movie, and THAT my friends is why BB guns are illegal in Thailand.

Sorry but if you get bite by a dog you do not get left with a bruise. You get teeth marks and very likely some blood will be spilt.

So maybe this mans 6 yr old son wasn't telling the truth.

<snip>

I love my dog. I don't hate dogs.

My dog is cool and doesn't bite people...However, if it's dog vs human, it's a no-brainer. The dog has to go.

If my dog started getting viscous and aggressive, I'd shoot her. I wouldn't enjoy it, but I would.

Now, back to the bruise vs bite argument.

How did the stray dog bruise the kid? Wagging its tail, or with its teeth?

I'd have done the same thing this father did, except I'd have made sure the dog was dead prior to tossing it down a garbage chute.

So you are saying if it was your dog you would destroy it humanly. But because it was somebody else's dog you'd be more than happy to smash its head in with a bit of pipe.

You certainly sound like a dog lover, as long as the dog is your own.

You should turn the argument around. Say your dog got out and you went to look for it, and you saw some guy smashing the granny out of it, but he says "your dog took a bite at my boy" would you join him in finishing off your dog ?

Yep.

Following a tip-off from community residents, Roger Lohanan, president of Thai Animal Guardians Association (Thai AGA), filed a police complaint about alleged animal cruelty.

Yet another do gooder from one would suspect the west who is doing no favours to anyone by his actions.perhaps if he and his kind rounded up the strays and had them neutered, plus housed and fed them these sad incidents would not happen them.

Wonder if the do gooder concerned has forgotten that rabies is still prevalent in Thailand. No doubt the view from his ivory tower is pristine.

I wonder how many hospital bills & rabies shots Roger Lohanan has footed the bill for?

<deleted>-ing busy-body piece of <deleted> (defecation).

Sorry but if you get bite by a dog you do not get left with a bruise. You get teeth marks and very likely some blood will be spilt.

So maybe this mans 6 yr old son wasn't telling the truth.

<snip>

I love my dog. I don't hate dogs.

My dog is cool and doesn't bite people...However, if it's dog vs human, it's a no-brainer. The dog has to go.

If my dog started getting viscous and aggressive, I'd shoot her. I wouldn't enjoy it, but I would.

Now, back to the bruise vs bite argument.

How did the stray dog bruise the kid? Wagging its tail, or with its teeth?

I'd have done the same thing this father did, except I'd have made sure the dog was dead prior to tossing it down a garbage chute.

"However, each country has its own unique rules and customs, some of which seem alien to foreigners."

The problem with Thailand is that the rules:

-1- Are not enforced, maybe enforced, sometimes only enforced during a "Crackdown".

-2- The rules change more often than most folks change their underwear.

I'd say lack of any consistency of the rules is what is alien to foreigners who come from countries that don't require a coup every half a decade or so.

Im in Nakhon Phanom 'City' and nothing yesterday. Light rain overnight though. So Its pot luck if u catch one of these or not.

Can storms be anything other than 'tropical' here?

Sounds like tornadoes to me.

At least they didn't call them arctic blizzards.

"“Today, I’ve sent all three Vice Governors to hotels to ask for cooperation to inform their guests about the rules.”"

Are Vice Governors, err... Governors of vice?

… police towed the vehicle with the driver inside to (the) Police Station. The next morning, (she) stepped out of the vehicle under her own accord ….

I thought the same thing.

But, hey, at least they didn't tie her to the back bumper & make her run along behind them.

Nanny state, how ridiculous.

Attack the symptom & not the cause.