DaveSamutP

Exactly. And anyway, much of the commenting re Chinese tourism is simply face giving which the Chinese are sensitive to. Domestically, they love running those "we are the greatest" stories. The Thais of course are masters at telling people what they need to hear ala Noi from the massage shop saying "I don't like Thai man. I like you Farang. Good heart. Big snake. Handsome man."

Always fun to see how easily people trust numbers produced by a government that has it in its interest to lie as often as possible and which has no checks or balances. I guess this government has a track record of being truthful and transparent.

1st, important not to overlook that tourism (s3x tourism) is technically an export. Thais generally are too embarrased to admit how reliant the country is on massage parlors. 2nd, what they should have been doing for the last 20-30 years is moving up the food chain rather then assembling stuff. This is how you avoid the middle income trap that they are firmly in.

Any of the quality Western mattresses. Thais are generally light, so mattresses with less strength suit them just fine. Also, they tend to be younger (than us old guys) and fitter. I've found that losing weight, drinking less and exercising is helpful. I also purchased one of those super heavy American mattress a few years back. Lovely to sleep on. What I don't like at all are thosw super expensive foam mattresses.

The Asians only talk this nonsense when they think they can convince gullible Western countries. You can be guaranteed Prayut won't be in China talking this nonsense.

It's sort of like how people who have no idea complain at Google for Google Translates poor performance without understanding that it is because there are virtually no Thais in roles to train the algorithms. Nothing modern or innovative works in Thailand because most simply don't care. And, establishment Thais who do care, are more than happy to continue to status quo that they control.

It is a rule of nature that Thai initiatives go as bad as possible. Surely, very few are surprised it's a disaster.

Admit to a lesser crime and let some low level guy take the fall... And quietly let him out of jail in a few months. Who would ever know or care?

These people are an absolute circus. Why do they waste time pretending??? I'm CERTAIN this will be a raging success. It just relies on Thai country folk to follow the rules. No chance it will fail.

Probably. Thais love their uniforms and costumes.

Typical Thai (Asian) tactic, not uncommon in the West: discredit the messenger. I encountered this often in Thailand. Upon making a claim, the first thing most Thais will want to know is "who" not "what" or "how". If the "who" holds little power, they will attack the "who" and ignore the rest.

Thais in these positions are (a) expected to know virtually everything about everything and (b) face no checks and balances on their opinions as Thais would never openly criticize each other, esp not people in this socioeconomic group.

Smart looks and hand gestures. Must be smart. I trust him.

Sounds like a fun vacation

Bird on the right looking alluring. Wonder what Russell got up to in Thailand...