MangoKorat

Then you know very little about what's been going on in these 'courts' - the punishments that have been handed out. I suggest you check out some of the mainstream reports and documentaries - not made by 'political activists' but investagative journalists. You'll be telling us they don't stone women or throw gays off the top of high buildings in some countries next. Are they civil matters? It really doesn't matter if they are used for civil matters on a voluntary basis. The UK has its own legal system and that should be adhered to.

Let me in to the Alfursan lounge? I read that somewhere online but the official website says nothing about it. Do you know the cost?

Firstly, whilst there is growing evidence that these 'Sharia Courts' exist, they remain illegal in the UK and the authorities claim they are cracking down on them. However, is it surprising that they exist? Islamic culture is totally incompatible with British culture - the two cannot co-exist, not if a Muslim is to remain faithful to his/her faith. Whilst Brtish society cannot in reality claim to be Christian anymore, our laws and values are based on Christian values. The Church has very little say in today's lawmaking and very few Britons openly practice Christianity. Muslims, to be true, must live their life according to Islam. Islamic laws, in reality, take precedence over the laws of the country they live in. Praying 5 times a day, shunning alcohol etc. etc. - and those are just the mild characteristics. Yet who is to blame for the state of how things are? British law for example, provides for the humane slaughter of animals for human consumption. Except that is, for Muslims and Jews who are allowed to bypass those laws to comply with their own - Halal and Kosher slaughter. Muslim kids are routinely educated at underground Islamic schools with the intention of preventing them from being immeresed in British culture. Again, the authorities claim to be clamping down on those schools yet there are literally hundreds of them - there was a TV documentary on the very subject a few years ago. They are known to practice forced segregation between girls and boys and there have been reports of homophobic and misogynistic sermons being preached. There have been some prosecutions and fines but nowhere near enough and the schools carry on. When I was a kid, a lad came down from Scotland to live in England - I believe his father's work was the reason for the move. He became a good mate but when he arrived in Yorkshire aged 11, he had a very strong Scots accent. By the time he was around 14, he had totally lost it and spoke with a strong Yorkshire 'twang' - just as I do. How many Brits here know or have heard a 3rd or 4th generation immigrant Pakistani youth speak? They all speak with an Asian accent. Why is that? Its because they are in the main, kept away from mainstream British kids and culture. We had Pakistani families living in my area for many years - whereas my Scottish mate regularly attended a Youth Club with me and later 'went down the pub', I can't remember a single Pakistani kid doing the same. When I was an apprentice, a Pakistani lad started at the same time as me - he was allowed 10 minutes to pray twice a day, in fact by law, the boss had to provide a private space to allow that. I couldn't have a 5 minute break for a smoke. Why are many Brits resentful towards Muslims? I'm not talking about the racists, I have no time for them, I am talking about 'normal' British people who are increasingly appalled that there seems to be one law for them and another for us - that is, when they are allowed to learn of what goes on. How do they they get away with their behaviour? Because we let them, that's why - we accommodate their beliefs and culture . Imagine demanding English speaking teachers in Thailand? Would the Thai government make a grant towards the building of a Christian church in Thailand? Yet in Bradford a few years back, parents demanded Urdu speaking teachers and a £100,000 grant was given towards the building of a new mosque. I'm pretty sure the Thai authorities and the people would point us in the direction of the border - to put it politely. There is, as far as I can see, no way that a Muslim can live in the UK whilst accepting our customs and traditions. There is even less of a chance that they can stay faithful to Islamic laws whilst practicing those of their host country. Islam runs their entire lives and to be true to it, they must live according to it. I have several friends from Jamaica, their culture is a little different to ours but it doesn't confict with ours and they have little difficulty in integrating into British society. They are of course, discriminated against in terms of employment and housing etc. but that's a totally different matter. I really cannot see a way in which Islamic and British cultures can co-exist. There may not appear to be much of a problem to many people - but if the practises I have mentioned above are seriously clamped down on, let's see what happens then. At the moment we more or less, let them 'get away with it'. Moreso, and I think this is the crux of matters (it also plays right into the hands of racist right wing groups) - we have changed and adapted British laws and customs in order to accommodate Muslims. For me its quite simple. If Britain is to avoid further, much bigger and more widespread roiting as took place in the UK this summer, it needs to revert to type. Adaptations of British culture and laws, made to accommodate Islam need to be reversed. Nobody asked the British people if they wanted the 'Multi Cultural Society' our politicians and lawmakers seem to be so proud of. When they talk of that they seem to refer to things like Chicken Tikka Masala being the most popular Sunday lunch now. I don't have a problem with that but its lightweight, romantic idiocy that totally ignores the root of matters. I do however, have a serious problem with forced marriages, the subjugation of women and 'honour killings', for example.

Mods, feel free to move this if its in the wrong place. Flights being expensive I booked a split flight for my forthcoming visit - thinking I was saving a substantial amount. The split was using Saudia Airlines outbound from the UK and Qatar on the way back. Not using Qatar both ways means foregoing my usual gold card entitlements on the outbound. I'm not being snobby - when you've had those entitlements for many years, having lounge access and not having to queue with 300 other people at check in really makes a difference but OK, I'll live with that this one time. The stopover in Riyadh is quite a long one and a quick check revealed that I could get 3 hours of lounge access for £27 through Expedia - not too bad, or so I thought (its now gone up to £35). My Saudia flight arrives at terminal 4 in Riyadh and departs from the same terminal. The only lounge in that terminal is the Alfursan lounge which is for Saudia's first, business and gold members only. When attempting to book the lounge access with Expedia, I noticed the Plaza Premium Lounge they are selling access to is located at terminal 2. So before booking I checked with the airline as to whether I could travel between terminal 4 and 2. Not without a visa or an electronic visa waiver I can't and the cost of that is £45. Before calling the airline I searched for an answer online but only came up with a lot of discusssion from people who had been told they could not go between the terminals without a visa and others who claimed they had done just that. However, as a result of that search I came across some Trustpilot reviews on the airline itself - they did not make good reading. To add to that there is no alcohol allowed on the flight and none in the lounges if I was prepared to fork out for one or could even use one. So Saudia land you at a terminal where you cannot gain access to a lounge. You can't even use a paid lounge unless you are also prepared to pay for the visa waiver - seems very wrong to me. That's my experience pre-flight, I'm hoping is doesn't go downhill from here - I'll just have to suck it up this time. The imposing of Islamic laws on international travellers had already made my mind up that this would be my first and last flight with Saudia but this latest thing over lounge access has sealed that decision. There will no doubt be those amongst you who may have had a pleasant experience with this airline but I'm not expecting good things. I've only travelled with either Etihad or Qatar for many years and this has confirmed why. It just goes to show, check out an airline before you travel - 12 - 14 hours + stopovers is a long time, just be sure you are aware of any pitfalls before you choose an airline you're not familiar with. I normally review check any large purchase I make, god knows why I didn't on this occasion.

Are you sure about that? I think it depends if she is staying airside. I had some aftershave confiscated on a similar journey. As I say, I believe it will depend on her staying airside and that is doubtful.

Her tickets are separate yes? So she will collect her bags at Bangkok and check them in for the flight to Phuket? As far as I know, provided she puts it in her suitcase in Bangkok and that is checked in as hold luggage, I can't see the problem. She definitely won't be allowed to hand carry that amount of liquid.

I still find this one, that I believe was originally posted on here, very funny:

Horses mouth on this one. I went into Santander yesterday and asked the question. The official line is that provided you obtain a TIN from the country in which you are now resident, you can keep your Santander account and use it through online banking from abroad. You cannot open a new account though. Without reading the entire thread, I believe others may have given the same answer - in which case, this is confirmation.

I'm not in anyway supporting this guy - he was far from a good pick as Attorney General. But let's just get one point into perspective here - the 'underage' girl was 17. Unless things have gone backwards since I was 17 - most people have had sexual experience by then. Apparently this guy used hookers quite a lot, I haven't followed the story closely but this girl could quite easily have been a hooker. In this case, the girl is only classed as 'underage' because the state's age of consent is 18. Cross a state line and all's well - that's how 'illegal' his actions were. He's far from an angel in many other ways though - speaks volumes about Trump's mindset.

555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555 ROTFL

Purely by chance, despite travelling through Suvarnabhumi since it opened, I have just dsicovered there was a duty free shop aimed at arrivals. I say 'was' because according to the article I read, the authorities stated it was to close. That was in July and at that time, the actual closure date wasn't known. Anybody know if its still open? On the subject of Duty Free shops - anyone passed through Riyadh airport recently. What's the duty free like there? I'm told they don't sell alcohol? Rolling tobacco? Just discovered there's no alcohol available on the flight (Saudia) or in the lounge at Riyadh - totally dry country apparently. This is my first flight with Saudia and it will be my last - I like to have a couple of glasses of wine on the flight, it sends me off to sleep.

And if they are foreigners, they are breaking the law. Such activity would be classed as an agency and is a restricted to Thai Nationals only. List 1: Occupations Strictly Prohibited for Foreigners in Thailand https://www.businessblog.asia/en/restricted-jobs-for-foreigners-in-thailand-a-comprehensive-guide/

Have you not been around too long?

How much more time and money are they going to spend on this. The Thai public have been conned, a deal was done, its wrong but nothing will change and that's that. Why not spend that time and money on sorting out some of the country's real problems?

Hmmm, yes and no. My childhood was horrific - a drunken father who beat up my mother regulary. We never had any money because it was all spent in the pub........bla bla bla. I also grew up in an environment where you either had to fight or get beaten up - sometimes both and bullying was rife. Quite a lot of the lads I grew up with ended up in jail. But, like many other events in my past, I see no value in dwelling on it. Yesterday is gone, you can't change it. Its there but its gone - I'm living in today, not yesterday. You can however, affect what happens in your life today and in the future. Sure, coming from a troubled/poor background can make things more difficult but very little is impossible - I went to University and obtained a first class honours degree at 40 years old for example. I'm not rich and neither have I any desire to be. I think I've done pretty well in my life but I don't think that's been a reaction to my past or any determination to do better because of it - as I say its gone and I don't see any point in dwelling on something I can do nothing about. I could have done far better but it depends on what that actually means - to have achieved more I would have had to sacrifice a lot of the fun I've had along the way. I'm quite happy with what I've achieved and it suits me to be where I am. Too many people sit with their head in their hands blaming the past for their woes - far better to just get on with life and use what you have to achieve the goals you want. I don't understand your problems with alcohol or anxiety - just deal with them. A simplistic statement maybe but when you break it down, its actually not. Many years ago, following a very hurtful divorce I was in a very dark place. Following a lot of persuasion from friends and famlily, I reluctantly visited a doctor who told me I was severely 'depressed' and wrote out a prescription for some 'happy pills'. I'd been sat at home with my head in my hands, doing nothing for months. The bills were coming through the letterbox and remaining unopened - I was on self destruct. Looking at the bottle of 'happy pills' my doctor had prescribed I thought.......sod this, I'm in control here, its my life I'm wasting, I can either sit here and go further downhill or I can do something about it, I don't need pills to sort myself out. I dealt with it! Like a lot of middle aged guys who find themselves divorced when they least expected it, I was suffering from a huge lack of self confidence and thought my life was finished. Cutting to the chase, Thailand solved that problem - yes it was pay for play at first but so what? I haven't looked back since. You mention continuing alcohol problems but not constant. Constant would suggest addiction which is an entirely different matter - your problem sounds more like a crutch that you reach for. Leave it be, the sun will still rise tomorrow and you'll still have a life. Past problems are just that - past. Today's problems? Deal with them, make changes if necessary. Life will always throw curves at you. Just remember, yesterday is gone, there is only tomorrow. That's my motto and its served me very well since I employed it.

Not cracking down on police corruption then?

New Thai Police Chief Sets Bold Crime-Fighting Agenda Sure I've heard this before somewhere.........🤔

But that would involve actual 'work'. Talking about it is far easier.

Rarely have I read such absolute rubbish as is contained within this thread. Attempts to blame the victim because he must have provoked the youths etc. There is far too little information provided in the report to come to that conclusion. But let's say there was some provocation, most likely something along the lines of asking the kids to move so he could get to his car or to cease sitting on his car, if that's what they were doing? Seeking to justify the actions of the youths or suggesting the victim should have known better are just ridiculous. How many of you, if you returned to your car and found a group of youths sitting on it etc. would walk on by and say nothing? It is again, pure conjecture but its doubtful the kids were doing nothing - if they were, the victim would have just got in his car and driven off. So many of you would do nothing right? Well I for one would not stand by and simply watch such behaviour - even if it meant getting a kicking. Its because we turn a blind eye and more or less accept anti social behaviour in all its forms that we find ourselves plagued by it. When I was a kid we could be awkward or cheeky to older people but an inbuilt form of respect would not allow us to attack them. There is no justification for this attack and neither can there be - coming down hard on today's youth everywhere might bring back the respect that we had way back.

Whilst I'm all for regional economic autonomy, especially regarding projects that could have major local economic prospects, such projects rely on regional and national transport infrastructure. To facilitate expanded use of an airport, surely that infrastructure needs to be in place first? You don't build a major retail park (for example) before you build the road to it, do you? I doubt this project is aimed at simply increasing tourism to Hua Hin and its immediate surroundings so in that respect, it must surely rely on some of the other major regional and national transport projects actually being completed? They are though, well overdue. The M6 for example, will form part of a network that should allow fairly trouble free travel, not only to Bangkok but also to the West and South of the country without needing to go anywhere near the capital. It is however, over 5 years late already. Locally, its not an area that I know well. I rarely travel West of Bangkok but when I have, the highways leading from the North, East and Bangkok to Hua Hin seem to have been undergoing major construction for over 20 years. Each time I have travelled to or through Hua Hin, the traffic delays have been massive. Thai's joke about those roads never being without roadworks. How about the road/rail network South and West of Hua Hin? Has that been improved and will it support this planned expansion?

Probably because you'd never 'score' her.

Yes, you are missing something. I think you need to visit Top Charoen for an eyesight test. You clearly haven't been for many years.

Whilst I understand that some of these scams are very sophisticated - didn't your friend think it at all strange that there was no actual physical contact from the authorities?

Hardly surprising is it? When you fail to remove the licences of those who are caught drink driving, when you fail to check if someone actually has a licence, what do you expect? Even under the new points system (what happened to that by the way?), drink drivers are not banned from driving until, I believe, they are caught for a third time! Even that, would depend upon any previous offences actually being recorded. Let's pretend for a moment that those caught under the influence DO have their licences removed for a period. If they are stopped whilst under such a ban, all they have to do is claim they left their licence at home (as the thousands that have never held a licence do). The 'punishment' for such 'forgetfulness' is usually around 200 baht, none of which goes any further than the roadside and there is no requirement to produce a licence at a police station later. Yet again, another seasonal load of 'talk' by the great and the good, ostensibly aimed at making the country's roads safer but as usual, the carnage will go ahead over the holiday period as it does every year without fail. People who are incapable of even walking will get behind the wheels of their cars or climb aboard their motorbikes and drive. Innocent people will be killed and maimed but by February, it will all be forgotten, the killing will return to its usual, more 'acceptable' level and the 'talk' will end only to be resurrected in December 2025. There will of course be the usual late night checkpoints - the ones that everybody knows the location of and therefore avoids. A few forgetful drivers and non locals will be caught and the RTP will declare their operations to be a success. The hospital and mortuary figures will tell a different story. You can write next year's posts on the matter right now, just copy and paste - it will be much the same as this one. I've been reading this rubbish for 22 years.

The Brit Bashing that seems to be going on on Asean Now is, in my opinion, potentially verging on racism. People of all nationalities, yes, including Brits, get involved in crime and other types of bad behaviour - yet I can't help but notice that when a Brit is involved, Asean Now seems to be straight on it. I could be wrong but to cite just one example: On Tuesday 10 December Asean Now's news feed into my e-mail contained a headline of 'British man among foreigners arrested in porn production crackdown'. Clicking on the link revealed that the actual headline of the post was 'Thailand police crackdown on pornographic content production'. The list of those arrested included a Brit, a Russian, a German, a Serbian and 3 Thais. Is this as I suggest, verging on racism or is it some form of algorithm that alters the title in my e-mail because I'm British? I've seen quite a few similar examples over the last few months. Why the focus on Brits?