besth

Drugs?

Could it be bomb making???

out of sugar?

A calorie bomb?

Corruption runs much deeper than a few bad MPs

This is News???

you are getting ripped off for 124, there are vans who run for 97 baht

Yes, and if you walk, even cheaper

I don't know who the article's writer is, but he isn't very clever for sure.

Bad luck being having his bag stolen. Stupid to carry everything inside. Extremely badly worked out after that. Unfortunately there are plenty of people who are robbed in Thailand and most of them manage to sort things out a lot better. It still leaves a very bitter taste but it doesn't have to be a drama.

One piece of information someone gave to me a few years ago is that, in any country, if you lose your passport (stolen or lost), take a picture to the police station and ask them to staple and stamp it to the report. It may not be easy to convince them and it has no legal value, but it apparently can work in circumstances like the flight the writer of the article was not allowed to board.

Another point I would question is that the writer of the article got a new passport on arrival to Bangkok. Maybe the Australian Embassy does it, but most other countries would not issue a passport in this case, just a temporary travel document authorizing the bearer to travel back to his/her country. This would never be questioned by Thai customs. Even if it was a new passport, the police report is self explanatory and although I do not have a lot of faith in the Immigration Officers competence to deal with many things, this is something they all must see quite a few times a week, I don't believe they would give the writer a hard time over that.

IMO the article is a lot of BS, made up for whatever reason, be it insurance claim, 15 minutes of fame or anything else.

Unfortunately it is as the OP says and the story about the shoeless guy in NY confirms. Some people choose that lifestyle, be it by real choice or mental illness.

There are also many of the "I'm hungry" "I'll give you food" "no, I want cash" type as well.

As they say, no good deed goes unpunished but that doesn't need to make people stop trying to make things better for others when possible.

They have piss boys in the West too. They hand you a towel or offer cologne it the strip clubs sometimes condoms. Good restaurants have them to keep the urinals filled with ice and flowers or some such sent stuff. Women's bathrooms also have them and the man is expected to give his date $50 to tip the piss girl in the ladies room. No massage in the West though.

50 $ tip???

It has been a while since I did it but for transfers out up to the equivalent of US$ 5.000 there used to be no questions asked and up to US$ 20.000 "personal expenses" used to be accepted as a good enough concept. I understand that maybe regulations have changed and different banks or even branches of the same bank might have applied them differently in the past (nowadays I think it is a lot more controlled).

Legal heirs, even from your friend's home country, could initiate a process to claim his estate in Thailand. If that isn't contested, it could be more or less costly/long but they should succeed ("should" as nothing is ever 100% sure here).

They should know what they are going after. A list of bank accounts. Any properties, valuables, etc. If they just went for a probe to try to find out what your friend had it is very unlikely that they would be able to do it (or that it would be worth it for them at the end of the process).

As Beetlejuice said above, if no heirs at all, the Thai State will eventually own everything. Not a question that OP has asked and from the message it seems clear it is in your mind already but, wouldn't your friend rather make a will in favor of some charity (or a random person) rather than that?

Facebook is where it all troubles begin.

Yes, of course. Politicians, business interests, natural disasters and so on have nothing to do with world troubles

podiatrist ? i never heard of this before and thougt it was a collector of iphones or the like ..........doh!

So you learnt something today, good for you!

As so many have already said, it would be good to know if it was crossing a road or on the pavement. Not that it will make any difference to the deceased or his family. RIP.

Went through one check point today, didn't even have to stop, just slow down. Probably added 2 or 3 minutes to my trip. They were definitely not looking for excuses for tea money. If that is as bad as it gets, can live with it.

When I was still considering the option of buying a condo, I did ask directly one agent I got to kind of "trust" (as in not counting my fingers after shaking his hand, not beyond that) how much commission did he get if I were to buy a property.

Clear answer was 5%. I said I thought it was high and he made a point that I didn't quite agree with but wasn't completely unreasonable. It is a matter of setting a price and if you are happy buying, where the money goes is not really so important.

As one of the "prefer to throw money away in rentals than buying in Thailand" group members, my opinion doesn't count for so much on this, but the bit about the final price deal seems to make sense.

Probably time to invest in a decent helmet of your own....and your own bike to go with it. Stay safe.

I wouldn't dare drive in Bangkok! My death wish isn't that bad... I already do enough getting on the back of a motorbike taxi. I am thinking about investing in a helmet though, especially to and from work.

Even if you say you feel scared to drive in Bangkok, if your workplace and home are not too far it would not be a bad idea. You can drive slowly and safely and the cost of a basic moped isn't that much.

Glad that your accident wasn't so bad.

There is one bit where your fence purpose will not be met: bamboo as animal barrier doesn't work.

Other than that, it looks great, it grows relatively fast as you say, but because of that it will also require maintenance. Replacing, repositioning and reorganizing the fence as it grows.

Not expensive at all and can be a good project to enjoy without having to dedicate too much time nor money to it. Enjoy it if you decide to go for it.

A 2 week, 1 million Baht party.

Sent back home.

Trial for faking his kidnapping/extorting his family (bet they will forgive him?). A deal with a suspended sentence and/or some community work at most.

The holiday of a lifetime! Some idiots can get away with this kind of thing

50mg of alcohol per 100ml blood........

This one would make a hell of a cocktail!

No wonder there are so many accidents

Don't understand your reasoning as this is just over half that allowable in England or 1 pint of beer or less!!!

Sorry SICHONSTEVE, laughing hopefully not at you but with you, when you realize that 50 mg alcohol per 100 ml blood would actually mean that your alcohol level would be 50%!!!

"A bit" more than the 0,5 it should be and the 0,8 of the UK

I'd suggest to the OP that if he's not banned yet to use his 10th post to trade for a brand new Mongolian GF. Not necessarily beautiful, but unusual, so you can make up posts more imaginative (a very rich father owning thousands of horses should be a must)

It seems more than reasonable that you could ask a series of questions

There is the catch why it wouldn't work!

Went to my wifes best freinds house in Grimsby (England) and she noted that Aye was still very dark skinned even though she had been in Blighty for a year.

My wife returned from the bathroom holding a jar of makeup cream and said to her mate "not all makeup same as Thialand, this one for tanning not whitening"

My ex wanted to go to a beauty salon and I suggested there was one just across the road.

It was a tanning salon. "Farang woman pay to get tan???" "and some men too" I laughed at her expressions of disbelief.

She knew that foreigners often liked to get sun tans at the beach or swimming pools but for here there was no way that there were machines for that and that people actually paid for the service.

We had to go there and get her to see the machines. The very kind lady in charge confirmed what I was saying (and had a good laugh about it too)

This picture is from Koh Samui.

I wonder why it didn't work.

No wonder that it was "No Appointment Necessary"

Went to my wifes best freinds house in Grimsby (England) and she noted that Aye was still very dark skinned even though she had been in Blighty for a year.

My wife returned from the bathroom holding a jar of makeup cream and said to her mate "not all makeup same as Thialand, this one for tanning not whitening"

My ex wanted to go to a beauty salon and I suggested there was one just across the road.

It was a tanning salon. "Farang woman pay to get tan???" "and some men too" I laughed at her expressions of disbelief.

She knew that foreigners often liked to get sun tans at the beach or swimming pools but for here there was no way that there were machines for that and that people actually paid for the service.

We had to go there and get her to see the machines. The very kind lady in charge confirmed what I was saying (and had a good laugh about it too)

I can understand some people with a certain lifestyle decided to go for the 1M Baht first launch of the Elite card. The "credibility" given to it by the government officers etc. probably was only good for either people with a lot of money or some with enough money and a naive spirit.

What I do not understand at all is that after that first fiasco, anyone with a brain would fall for it at 2 M Baht.

Also, meeting a high ranking official, for a foreigner with money, might have a lot more negative that positive effects.

I agree with MarkCyr that a list of the members would have a high value for entrepreneurial individuals with "wonderful" business proposals.

Go to the official taxi-meter stand, pay the extra 50 Baht. Make sure he sets up the meter as soon as you start moving (most do without the need to ask them).

I would use the expressway, you pay for the tolls. A bit more expensive but not only faster, also safer.

Have a good stay in BKK.

2.Uni girl IMO much more to worry about.can be much more smarter and cunning and exploit law that BG would not even know to do

I wouldn't be so sure about this one. Uni girl can be as honest or dishonest as a BG. Uni girl will have more theoretical knowledge or the education to find it. BG will have the experience of friends who have been through the motions before and you'd be amazed at how good they can become at it (or maybe you wouldn't be amazed, but many of them are very good if they make the effort).

As I said, there are good and bad everywhere, as it happens in any country. The difference is that the legal system in Thailand doesn't give enough guarantees for the foreigners, even if they follow the rules.

Issues with temperatures seem to be common.

First time I took my ex to Hong Kong it was winter, not particularly cold, 16 degrees C. Her comment was "the whole city has aircon?"

First time in Europe it was about to snow as we got out of the airport terminal and immediately she started to panic "it hurts, I can't breath" I was telling her it was normal just cold, but it took her a couple of minutes to see that there was nothing wrong with her.

Great thread!