hansnl

I've never really understood or liked the role Ambassadors play. I believe they should be there to protect their citizens when something out of the ordinary happens, but having a say in how a place is or should change to be, is something I believe they should have no right to meddle in.

I can't see logically why it should be any bodies business but that of the Thai people. It is our choice if we want to travel to Phuket the way it is, and it should be the choice of Thai people if they want it changed.

What about indeed protecting Dutch nationals, before or after the facts?

What about a reaction to complaints made by Dutch nationals to their ministry of foreign affairs?

Would that be reason enough for the Ambassador to talk to the Governor?

Or maybe, just maybe, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs guided the Ambassador to the Governor?

Your honours,

If a foreigner, or for that matter, a Thai person, is arrested for the alleged committing of a crime, it is often said, that if he will confess to the alleged crime, his punishment will be less severe, or even halved.

If this is the case, might this not lead to the investigating officers of police to pay less attention to find the truth.

Or even worse, bending the results of the investigation around the confession?

Is it not so that even if there is a confession, the investigation need to go on to obtain, beyond a reasonable doubt, the truth?

This bending is not something that is typically Thai, far from it, it happens in all countries of the world.

But, coupled to the lessening of the punishment is there not a big chance the arrested person is "pushed" into confessing?

And after that the investigating officers not really making much more work to find out the real truth?

I know of several cases in the Netherlands where the police stopped looking any further after a confession, even stopped the investigation.

The Public Prosecutor went with the reports of the police, and as a result the courts made juidicial errors, because their findings were based on what they had on paper and the accused only able to say what he had to say.

Withdrawing his confession during the hearing of the case mostly did not help at all, because of the (bent) proof based on his confession.

If, by what means, the punishment was found out to be unjust, or the convicted was found not guilty at all, the resulting upheavel of the public opinion about the juidicial processes, the enormous costs for the state to repair the damage to the image of the courts and the very high cost of supplying the unjustly locked up with compensation plus the loss of faith in the police,were enormous.

I submit the thought that this might also happen in Thailand.

To a Thai person or a foreigner alike.

What are the thoughts of the combined judges on this matter.

Yours,

Hans Slobbe

Khon Kaen

Don't ever think that a case like this will only happen to a farang.

Thai people can, and have, the same problems.

The key point is that Thai prostitution is by Thai for Thai. While tourists will frequent sex spots the tourism traffic alone would never support the industry. So, how are they going to change the cultural norm of prostitution and infidelity with kept mistresses among Thais?

Agree with that. The same everywhere in the world.

What people don't understand is there is big shift in tourism in Thailand, from tourists from the west to tourist from the east, a lot from China. .

The traditional form of Thai "prostitution" (mia noi business) that is so exotic to western tourists, is very common to Asian people. They won't come to Thailand for that.

And in the future, they are are going to be the main source for tourism.

The problem is western tourists don't realize they don't represent the future of tourism for Thailand

You might have a point to consider.

However, the western tourists stay longer and spend more per day.

Big part of that spending flows into the purses of hardworking people.

The tourists from Asian country, in general come with a package tour.

Everything is paid before departure, most money flows into the lined pockets of travel agents, big hotels, restaurants.......

Now, most western tourists see this very clearly.

But do the local authorities see this.

Or is it exactly what they are gunning for?

It all depends on the customs agent handling the clearance.

I was told, don't know it it is true, that the agent gets a percentage of the duties and taxes collected by the Customs.

The agent, in that case, will try to get as much out of it as possible.

Which means that the value of your stuff will be higher as it should, or could be.

There seems to be a bottomline for the value, if this is true, don't know.

However, when I imported my stuff, the agent first values my goods so high that I had to pay nearly half a million bath.

Thanks to some help from a family member, the agent was sent by the customs away to make a new set of paperwork.

The handling customs man told my wife that we would have to pay the minimum tax & duties of around 10,000 baht.

Indeed, 4 hours later my container was released after payment of 10244 baht.

It all boils down to the value made up by the customs agent.

However, I heard from someone else he protested to the valuation of the agent with the customs, talked nice to the customs officer, and brought down the value nearly 50%.

Good luck

I wonder what will happen to the Domestic Terminal now. Nothing, I guess. Don Muang should have become Bangkok's domestic airport, same as Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The reason why it hasn't become so is because the powers-to-be "forgot" to build a connecting skytrain between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi. Amazing Thailand.

Oh, they did not forget at all.

Well, not really a skytrain.

The Government of the day, i'd say about three years ago, ordered the SRT to design a connection between Don Mueang and Suvarnibhumi.

The idea was to upgrade the existing Station of Don Mueang, upgrade the line including the junction with the eastern line, and the eastern line up to the point where a spur to Suvarnibhumi could be built.

The whole idea could be brought to reality within1,5-2 years.

The other idea was to build a another line from Makkasan to Don Mueang.

Not so handy, becasue it would have meant a trip from Don Muang to Makkasan, change trains or turn the train around, and the off to Suvarnibhumi.

However.............silence followed.

What are Russians if not farang?

There are farangs and there are farangs.

And there are also Russkies.

Very different species.

Don't use deodorant.

as we have the tuk-tuk 'club' gathered here . . .

curious as to how many places still have the three-wheel tuk-tuks (as in the pic)

Chiang Mai does (or did when we were there); we were in Chachoengsao last month and they have them, though on their 'last legs' I had to help push-start the one we used, both times.

At our last home in Sa Kaeo there is a fleet of the three-wheelers held together by string and bungee cords that should have been retired years ago.

Phuket has small (are they Daihatsu or Suzuki?) purpose-built vans; now we are in Chanthaburi and here it's all pickups, mainly Mazdas from what I've seen. Didn't see any three-wheelers in Rayong, or maybe just didn't notice.

My partner says there are still of the old ones in Bangkok, but can't say I've seen any.

Are they becoming extinct?

The Thai Government wants to get rid of Tuktuks, skylabs and any other 3-wheeled "public" transport.

Asked B.I.L. (brother in law, being a PP (public prosecutor), he should know....I guess.

Looked it up in the law books, the virtual kind that is.

Just means that the marriage must be registered, (KOR ROR 2 and KOR ROR 3), in an Amphur or Ket, must have been consumated, and the couple must live together.

Although living together should be read "as much as possible", because it might be possible that one or both partners have to work somewhere else and are obliged to stay near or even in the workplace.

Dear Renoir,

Most farang living in Khon Kaen prefer this town as it is.

Please go to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani. Korat, Pattaya, Bangkok, wherever.

But please leave KK as unspoiled, underpriced, Thai!

Thank you

Personally, I think Chuwit is a pimp and, as such, he cannot be held up as a suitable public figure, much less a politician. In any other country he would have been ripped apart due to his business history.

However, his voice over the last month has been one of piety. I like it.

I agree, but how many countries have a criminal fugitive defacto Prime Minister?

And how many countries have army and invisible hands repeatedly overthrowing elected civilian governments??

Oh dear, you would be surprised how many countries are governed by people and companies not really elected but having the real power anyway.

A foreigner, even officially living in Lao, cannot buy a house, like in Thailand, but also can not buy a condo, a car, a motorbike.

Does this enter your question.

If you enter Thailand with a car you will import the car on a temp basis, mostly same time as your visum, consequently you export same car from Lao on the same basis.

There is also the steering wheel, in Lao on the left, in Thailand on the right.

The import duties, taxes & all can amount to 2x the real worth of the car.

Don't ever think about it.

If you go abroad with your car, if it is owned by you, need the following:

Car registration (blue book)

International Transport Permit (from the LTO (Land Transport Office), purple book, translation of the blue book)

Valid insurance for returning into Thailand.

Your passport and passport/ID-cards for all passengers.

At the Thai side of the border you get a whole load of paper for exporting the car temporarily out of the country.

At the other side of the border it depends on the country what paperwork you will get, however, you need to buy temp insurance.

There is no need for another blue book, or translated numberplates for the countries neighbouring on Thailand.

Of course, there are some LTO's who like you to get all those things like a letter, blue book, numberplate, whatever.

At a price.

The letter is stupid, if the car is in your name, why would you need a letter explaining the car is indeed yours.

If I enter Thailand with, for example, a car from Europe, do I need to translate my numberplate in Thai?

However, the purple book cost you 75 baht, is valid for one year.

Renewal is 50 baht.

And is valid for all countries bordering on Thailand AND the rest of the world.

So one book for all.

And the first time you will get TWO T-stickers, one for on the steel or plastic on the arse of your car, one for sticking on the inside of your backside window.

The LTO in my home town states that the translated numberplates and the blue book (still in Thai so you will need the purple book anyway) are only obligatory for trucks, buses and private cars entering the neighbouring countries on a regular basis.

For tourists, not really necessary, can do, but not obligatory.

The truly sad part is that the red shirts / poor people have legitimate issues, when 60 families own 75 % of the country. Instead of having real red shirt leaders to address these concerns and bring about equality, Thaksin comes in with his own agenda, which is to get back in power by hiding behind the red shirt movement. The red shirts were simply used as cannon fodder to get him back in office, which they are probably realizing about now. I also suspect their 500 baht is long gone as well..... I actually feel sad for Thailand, and its people. For the farangs, we can just pack out bags , jump on a jet and leave. Whatever happens in the future, the Thai people will be stuck with it.......

Hear hear

However, what about the farangs that are obliged to stay?

What do you expect from a party that has been dissolved twice for electoral fraud, scores of politicians banned for cheating, a leader who's on the run from corruption and power-abuse charges and sons who murder in broad daylight?

Get what they deserve!

What can you expect from a party with leaders like that, and what can you expect from voters who believe the promises made by that party.

A people will get the government they deserve.

So sorry.

Of course all the airlines will do the same.

But....there are no agreements between the companies.

If the bonnet is closed the ventilator will push the air out from under the bonnet to the underside of the car.

Driving around with an open bonnet might work, however, there are some issues of safety.

Standing still with your bonnett open and leaving the car alone is quite handy for the thieving guild.

But indeed, the temperature might go down because of the hot air able to escape.

The best way to minimise the temperature under the bonnet is to install a ventilator in the bonnet.

I have seen those ventilators installed on bonnets and on the roof of cars.

Yep now the offer from Thaksins buddies will likely come in

to buy enough shares to make them legal again.

Likely at firesale rates of course.

Powerplay in the works for sure.

So you nasty Norwegians,

here's an offer you can't refuse.

Makes me think back to Monson,

Thaksin partnered with him to install technology,

but it came time to take profits and

he had Monson thrown in jail...

What a nonsense.. Is there any post where you do not mention Thaksin? Wonder what this man has done to you.

It's raining.... blame Thaksin!

Anyway do you know the democrates (your friends) are still in power? And that under their government this whole DTAC thing is initiated?

Please wake up

Good, looking forward to the new government making some progress here too. Maybe that would finally convince the remaining loud-mouths who still think PTP/TRT is/was any foreign.

(You will recall the most grotesque nationalistic and anit-foreigner statements came from PAD. And that the Democrat party did NOTHING to improve the situation for foreigners or foreign owned businesses while they were in charge.)

You think PTP will do anything to make things easier for us bad foreigners?

Most Thais usually ignore us as irrelevant or despise us... It is a cultural aspect. Westerners are just a nuisance to them.

Does not matter what party is in charge. Correct me if I am wrong, but ALL Thai political parties are nationalistic and consequently anti-foreigner (Chinese excluded, of course).

And keep forgetting that around 150,000 expats spend an average of 52,000 baht a month.

A quite considerable 93,600,000,000 baht a year.

The farang tourists bring in another load, even bigger.

Working out in a cool 2500 baht per Thai.

And of course you might ask yourself, who is making policies about "barbarians"

I wouldn't trust my passport to be send to the immigration office by mail.

Too many things which can go wrong.

You do not send your passport for 90 day reporting, only a copy.

Newsflash:

In Khon Kaen Immigration the 90-day reporting can be waived against payment of 1000 baht.

On an official receipt.

Unbelievable that the elected party don't really have any policies ready to implement. That video link to Dubai must be down at the moment.

They have a policy, one only: Mr T back.

The police assumes.........

Really?

What are the Isan reps visiting Dubai for?

She has to say this to take the sting out of the complaint made to the EC .

Then the reps from Isan go to visit Mr Thaksin.

Rather stupid.

Perhaps the researchers can explain why those with the lowest IQ all live in my ex-wife's village???

Simon

Including???????

I thought the people have chosen already ? In all "Democracy" voice of people is usually legitimate . I understand they might be disappointed but I don think it will help to reunited Thais.

The people have chosen, oh yes.