MangoKorat

I intend starting a business in Thailand later this year and of course, will need to have a website. I have no idea how to go about that but I am aware that it is possible to build your own. I approached a couple of UK companies a while back and they started getting all excited and launched into full on marketing mode which put me right off. I don't want anything fancy but I do want something that looks professional. At this stage I am not looking at how that website will be found as my probable marketing strategy will be employed elswhere and potential customers simply directed to the website. That could change though. Some people have suggested that I should just have a Facebook page - I have no idea what to do. So, can someone please advise a complete novice on how to go about making my business details available on the internet?

And when this happens: Nothing!!!

That's precisely what I mean, he did wrong but Social Media is magnifying it x 100. How many Thai guys beat up their wives when they are off their heads of Lao Khao and are just told to apologise and pay a small fine? I also think that Social Media is bringing out and giving voice to xenophobic sentiment.

The order is yet to be issued. If he has any form of connections he'll be told to go home for a short holiday and return to a different province. The baying Social Media crowd won't accept him being allowed to stay on Phuket.

Yes, maybe he should but I just wonder if this case would appear so bad without the Social Media attention? My Thai friends tell me its all over all the SS platforms constantly. People act on the spur of the moment and often regret their actions later. There are foreigners living all over Thailand that I have no doubt have done far worse than he has. You are not even supposed to be allowed to enter Thailand if you've committed anything more than a minor crime. That's the law but no checks are ever done or asked for - except for some visa types. The chances are that much more viscious types, even murderers, are living in the country. I realise that a guest should act in an especially decent way but in a country where a policemen can escape jail when he killed someone through drunk driving, it seems a little strong to deport someone over a kick.

I can't help thinking that although Goat may have written this post with his tongue in his cheek, it actually does illustrate his attitute towards women. 'You are with a cute little exotic Thai but you get a better offer.' If you simply think of women as a commodity, why be in a relationship at all? Its pretty easy to have a different girl every night in Thailand - where both people know the score.

This all seems to be getting out of hand. The man has done wrong and should be punished but losing his home and his life on Phuket seems over the top. I'm told the ill feeling towards him is all over Social Media - could this be a case of 'Trial by Social Media'? I believe he has a business, what about the staff? What about his wife?

The speed the Thai police work at is amazing - just 5 months to discover that he left his room at 8pm each day - quite an achievment. Take note all you drug dealers, change your routine every 4 months if you want to retain your liberty.

Oh good, the 'pointing' photos are back - saves any confusion as to what the subject is. Thanks BIB. Do you get time off your sentence for pointing?

'Thanakorn then left for Bangkok clutching a large brown envelope emblazoned with a hammer, sickle & skull logo and addressed to Mr Anutin Charnvirakul'

Your lawyer can push the case - even if the police have buried it.

You may be a 'Superstar' but consider this: I presume the women you are talking about are younger as you talk about them being the prettiest on earth and Thai women in general don't seem to age well. So lets be generous and presume you are talking about 35 year olds giving you 'the look'. Just think back a few years, well 32 years to be precise............how many 67 year old women did you give 'the look' to? I think we all try to kid ourselves that young Thai women find us attractive - even when we are aging. The only thing they are attracted to is your wallet. There are some that are in it for the long term payout and are prepared to stay with you until that comes but I doubt many, if any at all, 35 or even 40 year old Thai women would actually choose to be with a 60-70 year old foreigner unless there was a financial benefit in doing so. You might possibly not believe how many Thai women that are with an older foreigner also have other, younger Thai 'boyfriends' or even husbands. I know of several in my neighbourhood including one that has 2 foreigners that both think they are her husband. When neither of her 'husbands' are in country, her Thai 'ex husband' moves in and she also has at least one young Thai 'boyfriend'. I could get angry when I see her drive past in the Mercedes that her German husband bought but I just laugh and think 'more fool him' That's just one and its rife - the 'brother' or 'cousin' scam is another widespread phenomenom. As for me, I couldn't care less, I've had a few try to 'bite' me but their bite has not pierced deep and I got shut before they had the chance to get much. One who by the way, convinced all my Thai friends that she was genuine, did manage to rip me for a short time but a court summons sorted that out and the assets I bought were returned. I am now single, enjoying it and staying that way. I play them at their own game, take whatever fruit is on offer then move on. I have one regular who is a really nice girl, possibly genuine but I'm not prepared to go down that path again because history has taught me the chances are that she's not. I'm younger than you and she's 35, there is no way I'm going to kid myself she's after me for my boyish good looks. I could be wrong and you may be very attractive to young Thai women but as I say, think back to your younger days, I doubt you were giving 'the look' to many 67 year olds.

Others comment because people die. I don't expect you to understand this but citizens of other countries care about who lives and who dies - we do 'give a damn'.

Its hardly surprising that there are so many mass shootings and other killings by guns with an attitude like that. Its not anti Yank sentiment, its anti stupidity. The world looks in on the things that happen in the US and simply can't understand what goes on. Each time there's a new mass shooting we all think 'surely they'll ban guns now' - they don't. The evidence is quite clear - when there are guns legally available in society, there are far more shootings but Yanks of course 'need them for protection' - rubbish! I know I'm arguing a lost cause but next time you think people are Yank bashing - try to understand why? Most people in other countries just cannot understand what goes on in the USA. Millions Americans voted for a man (and I use that term very loosely) who is clearly unbalanced and refused to accept that he lost an election. Millions of Americans absolutely believe they need to own a gun - despite the killings. Sorry, maybe some are anti yank but I believe for most, its just pure amazement at what goes on amongst a supposedly intelligent people. A people who on many occasions like to think they are better than the rest of us, that the USA is No.1. the leader of the free world etc. etc. The evidence provided by the behaviour of a lot of US citizens would seem to point otherwise. The US appears to be a highly religious society - far more than the UK for example. Quite how they square that with shooting a burglar in the back (as has happened many times), I fail to understand. Shooting someone that is running away from your property is not 'protection' its summary punishment! What has the above paragraph got to do with this discussion? It illustrates the difference in thinking between a great many US citizens and the rest of us. I don't expect you to understand that. I'm not anti yank, I'm anti killing.

I agree that Pirelli's are often a good choice for big bikes - I use Pirelli Angel GT2's but is changing the tyre brand really a mod? Damned expensive mind!

What do I seem to be missing? How about Ethan Crumbley for starters? Killed 4 students with a gun bought for him by his parents. Seung-Hui Cho? Killed 32 people, both his guns were bought legally. Adam Lanza, killed 27 people including his mother with a legally owned gun. The list goes on. Contrary to what you state above, 'the vast majority of guns used in 19 recent mass shootings were bought legally and with a federal background check.' https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/03/us/how-mass-shooters-got-their-guns.html Then consider just how many of the illegal guns you mention, that are now in the hands of the gangs and criminals, started out as legal guns? How they found there way into the wrong hands is not as important as the fact that they existed legally in the first place. You more or less accept that - your post is self contradictory. In 2023 there were 101 Mass Shootings in the US, a country where guns are legal - even assault rifles! Russia came in second but at 21 shootings, far lower. Gun ownership is generally not allowed in Russia but the country is awash with them as is much of Eastern Europe due to previous wars and I'd guess the comparably high mafia/criminal make-up of Russian society. My ex Thai wife who now lives in the US carries a gun, when I asked her why, she said 'for protection'. She never felt she needed such protection when she lived in the UK. In my opinion, people only think they need a gun for protection simply because they are allowed to buy one. As evidenced by herfiehandbag above, its an attitude problem - in the UK it took just two mass shootings to change public attitudes to gun ownership and for the government to ban the licencing of handguns and bring about much stricter control of rifles and shotguns. in the US the attitude towards gun ownership comes from the country's very constitution! (US Constitution - Second Amendment, 'the right to keep and bear arms') Sorry but you'll never convince me - US citizens have a love affair with their guns then wonder why there are so many deaths and mass shootings. Liberal gun laws = more shootings.

Best and most simple mod on my ER6N was to swap the standard bars for the wider Versys bars. This was actually carried out by the previous owner - I changed it back and very quickly changed back to the Versys bars again. The Versys bars give a much more comfortable riding position - they also give more leverage which is very useful on poor road surfaces. Luckily, the standard ER6 cables are long enough so no further mods are needed. I also think it looks much better.

I'm a member of a gun club in Thailand and I use either their guns or those of a Thai friend who has a licence. I enjoy shooting at the club but that's as far as it goes. I had a shotgun licence in the UK at one time as protection against predators on livestock but later I had no real use for it so didn't renew it. I really can't see any justification for holding a gun - in any country. It seems to me that countries where the public are allowed to have a gun, are also those with high amounts of gun crime - the US being a prime example. Frightenting numbers: As of 15 February 2024, 4994 people have died through gun violence in the US with 3351 injured - almost 5000 dead in 6 weeks!!!! During 2023 the total deaths by gun violence in the US was 43,065 with more than 36,000 injured! https://abcnews.go.com/US/gun-violence-claimed-lives-5000-people-2024/story?id=107262776 I don't think anything further needs to be added to the above numbers, they speak for themselves - gun ownership = gun crime. I will never understand the crazy relationship between US citizens and their guns when there have been so many Mass Shootings - especially when those shootings take place at schools. I remember the Friday night brawls that often took place between drunken, testosterone fueled youths in my home town in the UK - I wonder what the outcome of those fights would have been if those youths were carrying guns? So many stories about shootings in Thailand seem to arise whilst people are out at some function or event. Its not the way to settle an argument, even if you're drunk but it seems to be happening more and more. Most criminals that use their guns in public, or those that have a licence for one but use it illegally, seem to end up dead. Where's the protection in dead?

Sorry to be pedantic but ukrules asked: 'I guess what I'm asking is do they open 'offshore' accounts for people living in Thailand?'. Your reply was: Yes, they do but if you're British they'll ask for a post code (and no other address details unless you want a physical card) before approving your account. I provided one that I have had no connection with since 1977 and was instantly approved with a virtual card. As far as I can see that is neither an offshore account and nor is it one that is available to someone living in Thailand. What it seems to be is someone claiming to live in the UK and giving postcode for an area where they don't actually live in order to open an account.

So that's not actually an offshore account is it?

I use Wise and my tranfers usually take seconds - 6 or 7 seconds to be precise. Once one took about 12 hours and as someone mentioned previously, I think that was because I chose a different 'reason for transfer' to that which I usually give. One thing I also noticed about Wise since a recent update: When choosing the method of payment into the account, the default, at least on my account, is set to 'Debit Card'. As it happens they don't have my Debit Card details so I can't make a mistake unless I enter them. Before the update, the default setting for payments in to my account was 'Online Banking'. However, I noticed that when I changed the selection to my 'Online Banking' the exchange rate actually went up slightly. So, the possibility is that if Wise have your Debit Card details or that is how you normally pay money into your Wise account, you might not be getting their best exchange rate.

I couldn't be bothered at the time but I did Google it and found that Nat West had closed lots of accounts in the same way.

Which part of 'leave this discussion' do you need explaining? I warn you though, an explanation might take more that a few lines.

And you claim you're intelligent? Enough said, I think its time to leave this discussion.

I have respect for those of all levels of intelligence. A friend of mine was pretty poorly educated but is an extremely gifted carpenter. I wouldn't pay much attention to his views on certain (not all) matters but I wouldn't try to criticise his skills with wood. The difference between him and some others is that he knows when he's qualified to comment or not, just as I do when the subject is something I know little or nothing about.