realfunster

"Standing on the shoulders of giants" Nothing better for a Thai government agency to grab some budget than throwing around some global buzzwords. None of which resonate with their main tourist target group, the Chinese, but it does impress the locals, who are convinced this lot must be so much more educated than them. Of course, the relevance of these concepts in normal day-to-day existence in Thailand is extremely limited and it creates a strategic mess for the tourism industry, but it presents well enough to get the budget and the guys get their spend. Build up solid foundations on education, social mobility, patriotism (in a meaningful way...) and anti-corruption, and then you might see some progress.

So about USD 2bn for the full year. Well done Thailand for exploring and expanding this market. Compares favourably to US exports to Saudi in 2021 of USD 11bn. No idea what the trade balance is, hope it is not as skewed as with China. Would be nice if they could get themselves together on various levels and engage in more trade with the "developed world", who I am sure are keen to diversify their supply chain. Unfortunately, that comes with a pesky restrictions on brown envelopes....

Oh God help us...words of wisdom indeed.

Is it just me or are "stationary trucks" involved in a disproportionate amount of accidents ? Issues with road lighting, truck lighting, stopping position and drunk drivers ? Update : I think these guys on the right need some PR training, similar to the Police Media Officer involved in the mass shooting.....

I don't recall ever needing a residence certificate for any of my vehicle purchases or sales but having said that, I have always been here as a worker. Think I had to give an employment letter from my company and copy of work permit/visa etc. Obviously a 'tourist' couldn't provide these, which might be why the residence certificate is being requested in this case ? Or it might just be Thai officialdom at work again...

Yep - certainly had some character and charm, unlike many identikit places today !

Forgot to mention, if you are looking for something similar in the area, go down 50 metres on Suk 50, on the right side there is a square with restaurants and bars. Google Cheap Charlies bar.

Been gone a few years now as I recall, I think well before COVID. It's expensive land on a major road and near a BTS station, odds are it will get used something more profitable at some stage or when the owner gets the right offer. The nice outdoor Thai restaurant/bar on the corner of Ekkamai suffered a similar fate...

She was right..

Well done for cutting and pasting from a random internet site. I have seen this exact same quote previously, and it is still wrong. A moment spent considering this proposed amount and cross-checking would have been time well spent. Do you really think half of all Thais are earning >USD 3k per month ? If you are still not sure.. Median salaries by country UK USD 2k USA USD 4k Australia USD 3k South Korea USD 2.5k Germany USD 2.5k

There are many here who obsessively bash Thai-bashers as they are not happy with Thai bashing, due to lack of critical thinking, and being unable to rationally consider any objective assessment of Thailand. Rather than do that, the prefer to try to belittle those offering observations or criticisms of Thailand regarding police, politics, judiciary, health & safety etc to feel superior in themselves and re-assure them that they have made the right life decision in coming to Thailand. They are also usually at pains to highlight how marvelously they personally have integrated, as opposed to the less culturally adaptable Thai-bashers. These observations by the group of Thai-bashers-bashers are usually presented in combination with the Thai-bashers-bashers rallying call, which typically includes a suggestion that a prompt geographical relocation would be the best solution for the Thai-basher and all concerned. It's rather sad as they have made many decent posters leave the forum and left others wary of offering objective thoughts on life and news events in Thailand for fear of being attacked, negatively labelled and pigeonholed as a Thai basher. The forum is a shadow of what is was 10/15 years ago, before these obsessive Thai-basher-bashers developed the clearly generic and over-simplified Thai-bashing nomenclature, created to shame and shut-down commentary from the inaccurately named Thai-basher group.

That sounds concerning, given the propaganda style 'news' often seen in Russia. I guess this is Putin's brave new world for Russia, a pivot to countries that were viewed as inconsequential a year ago and before he burned his bridges.......no pun intended in respect of the recent Crimean bridge "incident"

Typical, knee-jerk nonsense. Hang ‘em, castrate ‘em, if I ever got my hands on ‘em.. etc, etc bla bla bla. Reflects very poorly on you and those who liked your post, which was completely meaningless. Two thirds of countries globally have banned capital punishment entirely and most of those that do retain it only use it for crimes deserving of the punishment, such as murder. No civilized country employs such a model for drugs offenses…but great, you sounded off and got a few likes from the brain dead crowd. Here is the group of countries you are joining in executing people …hope you feel a warm sense of pride…

The vaccines were purchased free of will by the Thai government, who should be the subject of your comments. The vaccines are also clearly identified as voluntary.

I do worry that Thailand is actually slowing drifting towards becoming an economic basket case. For the last 30 years, the main drivers of growth have been FDI and tourism. The FDI, owing to restrictions in the Foreign Business Act, is typically limited in certain sectors. During this time, to my knowledge, no major Thai companies have sprung up in these industries. The only area where Thai companies have done well is quasi-state monopolies or sectors where FDI has largely been excluded. Think financials, telecoms, resources, real estate and retail sectors. All of these piggy backing off the wider GDP growth generated by FDI. No major competition or innovation required, just milking a captive market with limited choices. It's hard to see what stimulus and opportunities there are for sustained future growth in Thailand, unless they liberalise the service sectors but that would be stepping on some pretty big toes.

I live not far from the ChalermRat expressway, which feeds directly into this elevated expressway to Chonburi. For years, I have heard high powered vehicles tanking it along the expressway in groups. 5-6am on the weekends seems a popular time. Surprised there hasn't been more incidents like this. Police nowhere to be seen, as usual...

Yes, unfortunately it is the way of many today. A trivial incident becomes worthy of sharing with the world...

Hmm, not sure what basis he is making this assessment around a year-end return to pre- COVID levels. From published figures on Thai GDP: 2020: - 6.2% 2021: + 1.6% (one of the weakest ‘rebounds’ globally) 2022 forecast average : + 3.0% My calculation makes that 98.2% of 2019 GDP by year-end, so a way to go yet…

Marvelous news ! Hopefully, we can soon start working on reducing the the trade deficit with China, obviously we just needed a new train line to sort this problem out !

Indeed, like many things here, the application of defamation laws are variable on circumstances and relative perceived authority of those involved. Foreign individuals/companies appear to be seen as fairer game for identification in general, and when the Thai government is involved, they can name pretty much whoever they like without fear of legal issues…. Another example of one rule for one..

A warm "good evening" to the Islington brigade, who appear to be out in force using this issue as a stick with which to beat the current Tory government. Whatever you think of the Tories, Labour haven't had a serious chance of winning a general election since Blair went...it's simply easier to be a virtuous sideline whinger and not have to deal with the realities and practicalities of government. It's a shame Blair, as the most successful Labour leader of the last 50 years, ultimately left a tarnished legacy of himself and his party for the longer-term, which ironically, in cannibalistic fashion, was gleefully supported, rather than rebutted, by certain elements of the Labour Party. After Milliband and Corbyn, Starmer is a step in the right direction to potentially make Labour electable, but a lot of work still to be done to get in power. As Blair realised 25 years ago, UK is now firmly an aspirational and "middle class" country, as reflected by an 8:3 election count in the Tories favour since 1979. All 3 Labour wins being under Blair. You simply must appeal to this middle-class group, whom in particular, were alienated by Corbyn. The old "class war" politics from the 70s/80s and currently employed in the US, simply don't work with the modern UK electorate. Until Labour can present a serious, credible and electable alternative government, gripes about the Tories are just background noise...

I take it you have never paid with PromptPay or via QR code on your mobile device then! Using your mobile device and banking application, you scan the restaurant QR code via and then enter the payment amount on your own. Typically, you will then show the confirmation of payment screen to the employee, or sometimes they take a picture.

Indeed. The same applies to many of the entrepreneurial/business “geniuses” in Thailand, who are in fact just part of the oligarchy machinery. Pretty sure my dog could make a fortune running a monopoly (King Power) or a favorable government concession (AIS). There are numerous other examples… It’s just a method to give a thin veneer of respectability and legitimacy to the oligarchy’s ongoing cash grab from the Thai populace.

I see fare gouging and “unpleasantness” around that, as a bigger issue. There was a great example in the last couple of weeks of a tuk tuk driver attempting to con some Singaporean tourists and then embarking on an impressive expletive ridden rant in English when challenged…

I doubt as a provincial school director he is that “rich” but he is clearly showing signs of power and authority going to his head and feeling immune from any governance and oversight, it’s good he is brought into line. Not sure how a zealot heathen applies in this case ? Don’t really wish him to suffer, hopefully lesson learned and he will wind his neck in. Maybe, like the school director, you should keep it grounded and chill out on the bombast…