Tatsujin

Does anyone have actual statistics of balcony 'mishaps' in Thailand. That would be hugely interesting. Or is this just another 'hub'. Way too many to be a co-incidence. Remind me never to live above the ground floor if with a Thai girlfriend.

I was going to ask the same thing . . . is it just that these incidents seem to make the headlines, or is Pattaya way over what (might) be considered normal on balcony "falls"?

What an idiot. I hope he gets his comeuppance.

Thanks to social media (the 'real' media don't seem to do much), we are seeing more and more outrage. Instead of lonely islands, Thais who have had enough are discovering they can come together with a unified voice. I pray that this trend continues so that we can see some real change.

. . . right up to the point when they start blocking/censoring Facebook et al . . .

It's a 1 year extension of stay for business. Not a "visa" and the WP is entirely separate from this. The multiple entry part is done at Bkk at the same time in the same building. The tea money is paid in BKK.

Seems that we are only talking traffic violations regarding 'tea-money'.

If this included the 'tea-money' paid at immigration offices then the site could well go into meltdown.

Don't understand why we call it 'Tea Money'. Most Thai's do not drink tea.

Should maybe change to 'Beer Money'

Don't see what you would be giving money to Immigration for, you either qualify for an extension or you don't. Same goes for a multi entry, you either have a wife and or kids or you don't. Jim

I don;t have a wife or kids yet have a multi entry extension, how is that possible ?

No wife or kids either and I also have multiple entry 1 year extension. Company paperwork 100% correct and legit, but they wanted to give me only 3 month extension, not 1 year. That took tea money to sort out even though I am entitled to a 1 year. Same every year, different faces in some cases but tea money expected all the same.

Tea money, 90% urban myth, 10% fact, location and the individual concerned are variables, in my case in Chiang Mai it's 100% and 0%..

Bangkok is very different then lol . . . and in my experiences here it's made no difference whether it's been a Thai or a foreigner dealing with things, the result is the same.

Seems that we are only talking traffic violations regarding 'tea-money'.

If this included the 'tea-money' paid at immigration offices then the site could well go into meltdown.

Don't understand why we call it 'Tea Money'. Most Thai's do not drink tea.

Should maybe change to 'Beer Money'

Don't see what you would be giving money to Immigration for, you either qualify for an extension or you don't. Same goes for a multi entry, you either have a wife and or kids or you don't. Jim

If only life was that simple . . .

"Tea money" is paid to speed processes along and to mitigate any potential problems or issues that might (unexpectedly) crop up during any of these processes or applications. Stand in line for 4 hours to get something done, or pay a little tea money and jump to the front of the queue and get things dealt with more quickly.

Not where I live you don't, you just put the paper work in and it's done. Makes no difference if it's done fast or slow, not going anywhere. Jim

If you've never experienced this, then you are one of the very lucky ones.

In my experiences here, both business and personal, your paperwork for anything could be 100% correct, but they will often find something "wrong" with it, or ask for additional unnecessary paperwork, all with the intention of you suggesting that perhaps things could be speeded along with a small payment.

Seems that we are only talking traffic violations regarding 'tea-money'.

If this included the 'tea-money' paid at immigration offices then the site could well go into meltdown.

Don't understand why we call it 'Tea Money'. Most Thai's do not drink tea.

Should maybe change to 'Beer Money'

Don't see what you would be giving money to Immigration for, you either qualify for an extension or you don't. Same goes for a multi entry, you either have a wife and or kids or you don't. Jim

If only life was that simple . . .

"Tea money" is paid to speed processes along and to mitigate any potential problems or issues that might (unexpectedly) crop up during any of these processes or applications. Stand in line for 4 hours to get something done, or pay a little tea money and jump to the front of the queue and get things dealt with more quickly.

I believe it was called "tea money" originally because in the UK in the past, workers (at factories for example) used to buy their own "tea" and any "extra" money was put into the kitty for buying that tea. It was shared amongst all and used to buy the tea.

An interesting article here about "tea money":

http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/print.php?id=3252

This is hilarious. Thailand is just a great big cash cow managed by a few immoral families/institutions that have zero interest in anything (international opinion, Thais) other than lining their own pockets and will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve it simply because they can.

Nice to see someone who sees things as they really are here

This is the real reason why the Thais are disputing the border at the temple.

Well why dress it up in semantics about some scrub land.

Was that a rhetorical question?

Well, trying to produce a unified national response over 4sq km brush has to be harder than illustrating that the country stands to lose billions of usd of gas, doesn't it?

Sure, but saying it's all about "money" ( and potentially what they can skim off the top) doesn't sound so good does it lol . . . you know the way Thai's do things, never straight about these kinds of things, you have to read between the lines.

Thanks muttley, but I really don't need any explanation in the use of the English language. My education is more than sufficient to understand what context is.

As to the actual quote, don't take that in isolation, but rather join it with all the other information we know such as "Thaksin thinks, PT acts" and you'll get a better idea of how big brother thinks. Another interesting piece is the Forbes Q&A. Unmitigated arrogance.

I don't know, you still seem to be having difficulty.

You cannot join the actual quote at the time with a quote made much after the event to "get a better idea of how big brother thinks" because those two statements are necessarily in isolation of each other due to the very nature of time.

LMAO, what a load of crap you talk

To "understand" someone or something, you take into account "all" information available, not just one isolated piece. It all interconnects to create a "whole".

This is the real reason why the Thais are disputing the border at the temple.

Well why dress it up in semantics about some scrub land.

Was that a rhetorical question?

Infamous declaration? What is infamous about it? Some peoples imagination.........

No, I am quite aware of the quote, it's how it is interpreted by most posters on here that I have a problem with. A clone generally is regarded as being cells that are identical. OK take the cell bit with a pinch of salt as Thaksin clearly didn't mean that, but he did mean (and said) that he and his sister were very close and that he was responsible for her upbringing, from your link;

Yingluck: “We are a very close family.”

Thaksin described Yingluck as “not my nominee but my clone"

Thaksin: “I raised her like my eldest daughter because mom passed away when she was young,”

The quote has been distorted on numerous occasions on here as implying that Thaksin is using Yingluck as a proxy. There a world of difference between someone describing someone else as their clone (being the same as) and proxy (acting on behalf of) but I guess you and all the other posters knew that already.

And I'll be another one that obviously interprets things incorrectly according to you.

I believe a "clone" is an "exact" copy . . . therefore, to me, when he talks about his sister being a "clone", I interpret that as his sister (perhaps not looking exactly like him) but doing and thinking exactly as he does, i.e. she is doing exactly what big brother himself would do.

If you interpret it slightly differently (by assuming perhaps that his English language skills are not 100%) then I also think he did mean as a "proxy" . . . she is doing what she is told to do, no independent thoughts or actions on her part, just what big brother tells her to do.

Will you accept that words in english can have a different intepretation depending upon how they are used in a sentence and the sentences that precede and come after the statement of those words can change the meaning as well - it's called context. It's no good just quoting a definition from a dictionary, and then say that is what was meant.

That is why context is important - look at the group of sentences around which the statement is made - CONTEXT.

Thanks muttley, but I really don't need any explanation in the use of the English language. My education is more than sufficient to understand what context is.

As to the actual quote, don't take that in isolation, but rather join it with all the other information we know such as "Thaksin thinks, PT acts" and you'll get a better idea of how big brother thinks. Another interesting piece is the Forbes Q&A. Unmitigated arrogance.

Was this the same incident that they were refused a SoE by the Courts at the time?

Sure, it would be "nice".

Lots of things would be "nice".

The taxi situation is not one of the first things I'd wish to be improved, though, because the degree of hardship it inflicts is just so nominal that it hardly justifies even complaining about as far as many people are concerned.

Yes, I agree it's a minimal hardship in the big scheme of things, but is it too much expecting someone to actually do their job?

Nisa, I'd like to know where the plethora of metred taxis actually hang out. Scarce as hens teeth for me.

Not sure where you are but Bangkok has got to have one of the highest number of taxis of most major city. Don't quote me but I believe NY City has about 15,000 where Bangkok has over 100,000 ... if I am remember correctly I have read in the past.

Maybe, but it's a pain to get them to use the metre. I don't see how it is ok to have to try and find one to work legally

There is no doubt that there is a small percentage of taxis that don't want to use their meter but I have just not fount this to be a pain at all since I have discovered how to easily spot them. Having drivers not want to take you to a specified location is a heck of a lot more common but this too is often easily avoided but not always. Example; there are always taxis waiting outside my condo, the malls and supermarket type places -- typically those are not the drivers who want to do longer term trips. Just about any taxi parked outside clubs should just be avoided and walk a few meters up the street to hail a taxi driving by. If you are going far then the best bet is not to expect a taxi on the local Soi (though many will) to do a Pattaya run but rather walk up to the main street. The only time I now get taxis not want to use the meter is hailing a taxi around Sukimvit in the middle of the night and that is not even that often and there is usually another taxi right behind waiting to see if I get in the first cab.

But no matter what the case it is almost always a short walk or wait to get a taxi willing to take you with the meter on. If I am out in the middle of nowhere at some off hours then I guess some taxis will try to take advantage and charge more and although I can;t recall the last time that this has happened. I'd probably be happy to pay a couple extra bucks rather than wait and hope for another taxi. Bottom line is what I am saying is I have never found it a pain to find a cheap way to get around Bangkok (beyond traffic congestion) ... lots of things I can complain about but getting around quickly and easily without hassles is not one of them. Yes, it would be great if there was a taxi waiting for me at every location I was at and charging the extremely low meter rate but it would also be nice if there was never a line when I went to the store and that every person in every position was wealthy and never tried to make an extra buck of somebody but I live in the real world and don't have a problem walking a little bit or waiting a few minutes for a taxi or absolutely worst case, calling and paying 20 baht for a taxi to pick me up. Life is not perfect and neither is the taxi system anywhere but in Bangkok, I see it as an incredible convenience when it comes to getting around cheaply. If my priorities were the best cars, service and most honest drivers in the world then I would not think things were so great but I also would expect to pay a lot more ... I just don't see complaining about something that in my opinion is an incredibly great value and very plentiful.

Whilst I agree to a point that it's not always hard to eventually find a taxi to take you where you want to go to, the real point is that it is just "wrong" that they refuse to take you where you ask or charge more than they should.

Yes, we all know how to get around these problems, and most of us don't let it bother us too much, but wouldn't it be nice if they actually did their job for once WITHOUT all the games and scams?

I've said it before, but Thailand is not the same as it was even 3 years ago. These "problems" or "issues" are getting worse every day and it affects Thai's and foreigners alike now. Can I change it? No. Does it bother me? Not normally. Do I "stew" over these things? No. You moan a little and move on.

Nisa, I'd like to know where the plethora of metred taxis actually hang out. Scarce as hens teeth for me.

Not sure where you are but Bangkok has got to have one of the highest number of taxis of most major city. Don't quote me but I believe NY City has about 15,000 where Bangkok has over 100,000 ... if I am remember correctly I have read in the past.

I found varying figures on the amount of "licensed" metered taxis, ranging from 70,000 to 200,00+ in Bangkok.

These make interesting reading:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Warnings_or_Dangers-Bangkok-Taxi_scams-BR-1.html

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Tourist_Traps-Bangkok-Taxi_scams-BR-1.html

On the other hand, I've lived here full time for the past ten years and have driven many many miles, I've driven Chaing Mai/Phuket round trip five times and lots more besides. I've been stopped three times in those ten years and on each occaision I paid the fine rather than anything else, twice at the police station and once at a motorway road side speed trap collection point (fines entered into the book, license details recorded) - in all three examples I had no choice but to pay the fines although I suppose I could have solicited to pay slightly less to the officer but I didn't. So no, tea money as it relates to the traffic offenses is not that common as this thread might have you believe.

In those instances I simply say to the cop that I don't have time to go to the police station (as they usually state one that is FAR from where you are stopped). Once I've opened the door, then they can suggest to me that I pay the fine on the spot, they tell me the "price", I say it's too high, we haggle a little, I pay, job done, I'm on my merry way. All done in English, and always with a big, friendly smile on my face.

For me, it's just not worth the time and hassle to do it "properly", I'd rather pay "on the spot" and get it over and done with.

I got pulled over a few weeks ago, policeman (in very good english) asked

Him - Licence Sir.

Me - <Hand over licence>

Him - Do you know what the speed limit is.

Me - 100km/h.

Him - 90km/h.

Me - Bugger my bad.

Him - you were doing 130km/h.

Me - whoops, how much is the fine officer.

Him - Ticket is 400b (and a trip to the police station to retrieve licence and pay fine), alternatively my fellow police officers would like a coffee, you buy us all one for 200b.

Me - Ok.

Service with a smile, I love it.

Exactly how it works here . . . much better than losing your licence or getting points or a huge fine.

Wow, I thought this thread would have got shut down by now . . . talking about bribery and corruption I thought was a no-no ..

Maybe someone slipped the mods a few red notes?

Could be . . . but we can't discuss it as it's against the rules

Wow, I thought this thread would have got shut down by now . . . talking about bribery and corruption I thought was a no-no

My 2 pennies . . . used to ride a sportsbike around BKK regularly . . . racing exhaust, very noisy, very quick . . . stopped at least once nearly every day by the BiB . . . big smile by me, helmet off, never tried to speak Thai with them, show the licence, never fined . . . though I did let the BiB occasionally take the bike for a spin up the road when they asked nicely

Popularity has nothing to do with being fit enough to run a country. It's not difficult in a developing country with a small middle class to propose populist policies such as the debt laden rice mortgage scheme and 100,00 baht tax rebate scheme for first time cars, currently clogging up the roads.

It's about being held accountable under laws, something Thaksin has always shown contempt for.

He's a despot,masquerading as a democrat, 'democracy is not my goal'.

Actually the full quote is

Democracy is not the goal, the nation’s development is more important. Development could happen with any form of government, democracy is not the only form through which progress occurs. The goal here is sufficient economics and the ability to take care of each other instead of widening degrees of income.”

which doesn't quite fit in with the way you would like to use it.

The above sounds pretty democratic to me . How many despots do you know were pushing for "sufficient economics and the ability to take care of each other instead of widening degrees of income” ?

Interesting quote and someone else made an even more interesting comment about this in 2006 (http://pcij.org/blog/2006/09/21/media-free-expression-under-threat-in-wake-of-coup-%E2%80%94-seapa), I quote from their posting:

Thaksin was saying some years ago, and which the copycat in Malacañang has probably adopted as her own mission statement, “Democracy is not the goal, the nation’s development is more important. Development could happen with any form of government, democracy is not the only form through which progress occurs. The goal here is sufficient economics and the ability to take care of each other instead of widening degrees of income.”

That’s Thaksin, so after he implements high-impact programs that he made sure were visible to the poor, and that these benefitted them. He was riding on his popular mandate when the greedy side of Thaksin began to show. His mishandling of the insurgency got him in a direct collision course with the Generals. He tried to weaken them by replacing the hardliners who had the potential of throwing him out. He gave the impression that he was staying on to power and wanted that power to be absolute even after he has been demoted to a transition PM. His arrogance was probably the proverbial last straw. (Dito sa atin yung Arroyo-gance di lang isang straw, isang tonelada na yata) He publicly lambasted the monarchy in the weeks leading to the coup.

This is the view coming from my Thai friends and some Pinoys who are doing business in Bangkok. There seems to be some agreement as to the need to remove Thaksin, they couldn’t allow the election to happen because it might legitimize Thaksin more than it would be replacing him.

They say he has divided Thailand right through the middle (sounds familiar?) and counted on the popular support of the masses to bail him out. They also say that we have not seen the end of Thaksin. Another Pinoy from Bangkok says knowing Thaksin, he would not give up the fight that easily that they expect him to be planning his next moves by now.

I thought most posters were knowledgeable of the infamous declaration, but it was graciously provided again earlier in the thread for those apparently unaware.

Thaksin described Yingluck as not my nominee but my clone, in an interview published May 20 in the Bangkok-based Matichon newspaper.

http://www.bloomberg...-investors.html

Infamous declaration? What is infamous about it? Some peoples imagination.........

No, I am quite aware of the quote, it's how it is interpreted by most posters on here that I have a problem with. A clone generally is regarded as being cells that are identical. OK take the cell bit with a pinch of salt as Thaksin clearly didn't mean that, but he did mean (and said) that he and his sister were very close and that he was responsible for her upbringing, from your link;

Yingluck: “We are a very close family.”

Thaksin described Yingluck as “not my nominee but my clone"

Thaksin: “I raised her like my eldest daughter because mom passed away when she was young,”

The quote has been distorted on numerous occasions on here as implying that Thaksin is using Yingluck as a proxy. There a world of difference between someone describing someone else as their clone (being the same as) and proxy (acting on behalf of) but I guess you and all the other posters knew that already.

And I'll be another one that obviously interprets things incorrectly according to you.

I believe a "clone" is an "exact" copy . . . therefore, to me, when he talks about his sister being a "clone", I interpret that as his sister (perhaps not looking exactly like him) but doing and thinking exactly as he does, i.e. she is doing exactly what big brother himself would do.

If you interpret it slightly differently (by assuming perhaps that his English language skills are not 100%) then I also think he did mean as a "proxy" . . . she is doing what she is told to do, no independent thoughts or actions on her part, just what big brother tells her to do.

There was and never has been any political interference with the stupid soap opera.

Channel 3 self censored the series as they said it was too violent.

So they say . . . I kind of think that the contents of the show so far and the ending of the show showing an assassination of the PM was a little too close to the bone with some of those in power and pressure was brought to bear.

What do you need Channel 3 to do now, write to you personally so that you'd accept the reality? Or still looking for a conspiracy?

I don't "need" anything . . . just expressing my opinion if that's OK with you.

The fact that (originally) it was stated that the Govt had banned it and then it got backtracked to say Channel 3 chose to do it themselves leads me to think that C3 are covering up for the Govt actions.