BernieOnTour

12 hours ago, bangrak said:

but 40+ years in service, ...in Thailand

 military aircrafts are crashing not only in Thailand:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(2010–present)

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Some of that is also because ( foreign ) people that buy property in my country only to make money off of it 

The court decision was about Huahin ...I was for 2 months in Huahin not long ago: 

From my mother experience, the majority of condos are not owned by foreigners, but by Thai from Bangkok.

And the condos are mostly new developments, therefore the effect on local rents is negligible... However, the effects on formerly nice, quiet, pittoresque areas is terrible.

1 hour ago, waders123 said:

Singapore’s Innovative Waste-Disposal System operates a power generation and recycles 98% of the city-state’s solid waste; this is all done at a PROFIT.  Now the City of Singapore is without trash problems and is making a profit on the electrical power they produce and increasing their land mass, (profit there too by selling the land), with inert materials after incineration that is environmentally green. 

Maybe Pattaya could create a similar model to fit Pattaya's population size and needs.   In the future, Pattaya could expand into phase II and began, contracting for profit, solid waste from other cities nearby to make more revenue and with the increased waste, produce more power to sell.  It could be a win-win situation.  But it will take some high power people to start the ball rolling.  

Theoretically: Yes, good idea.

Practically: No - in Pattaya, a win-win situation is defined as: how much do I "earn" from that project.

17 hours ago, MaxLee said:

No, Thailand - 0.04 

However ... the Thai are not alone

also:

Santa Monica 0.4

New York City 0.4

New Orleans 0.4

Paris 0.4

Berlin 0.4

With regard to UBER and GRAB:

I admit, I use also sometimes Grab, not at least because of the convenience of their platform...

However, the side effects are also clearly visible in Chiang Mai: TukTuk drivers, who earned an acceptable outcome for their families before, are now hanging around for hours at the hotspots for younger tourists, when at the same time dozens of private cars drop and pick up Grab passengers.

The result of that is - in former times I seldom paid more than the local price, 60 baht, now they (have to) charge 100 or more to compensate their loss of business

- driving even more into the arms of Alibaba/Jack Ma.

In the end, I assume, platforms as or similar to AirBnB and Grab will survive in Thailand, as history shows:

Motorbike taxis came up first in Bangkok and at that time, "the powers" tried to suppress them also. However, the demand pressure for that service finally forced them to accept motorbike taxis and they are now also in many other cities.

3 hours ago, thairookie said:

The standard condo security system will have at least one guard looking at all the security camera and monitors.

... more likely, the guard will be looking on his smartphone (or taking a nap , neuei maak).

And even if he would be looking on his security system... the standard installation is:

1 cam for the motorbike parking lot

1 cam at each lift area - who would be so crazy to take the stairs?

Most likely, emergency exit doors open -because: rorn maak maak- and no cams at those doors.

In case of a cam outside and one cam suddenly not working (after cutting the wire): mai bpen lai !

Interesting that he doesn't crack down on all the Filipinos in certain language schools in some tourist places.

But: stop! That might affect those businesses, those guys are working for without work permits. 

6 hours ago, Thechook said:

He has just as many medals as the Thai guy and gained his wings.  Must be more than just a snitch.  He is described as an agent, does he parachute into the bars then covertly move around gathering intelligence?

no epaulettes = no rank

14 hours ago, nausea said:

Well, I would have to agree that ER is not for ear infections, that's what outpatients is for; and whether the doctor was a ladyboy or not is irrelevant, IMHO. Still, could have been a little more tactful; maybe he/she'd just come off some real emergency, when seeing some guy with a relatively petty problem could cause you to snap, I suppose.

I would assume, it's not about being tactful or not, it's all about language problems...

Not unlikely , the Iranian kaek and his alleged "madame" from Isaan felt mistreated, when having to wait an hour and complained about this ... Add in to that the typical islamic attitude against kathoeys...

The "come back, when you're dieing" was just the essence (due to some language shortcomings) of that what others have stated here also: The ER is first of all for emergencies -people dieing or in serious condition- for everything else you have either to wait or to go to a clinic next day.

- So the doc hit the bull's eye with his statement.

Well ... that self-proclaimed "super model" is 39 years old - and looks like that.

I would bet, she has not to be too afraid of harassment anyway, no matter how she is dressing. 

Were these the policemen, they transferred after the unsuccessful raid of Wat Phra Dhammakaya ?

On 3/17/2018 at 2:49 AM, scorecard said:

Compare to Singapore, the best brains in Singapore all capable of big picture innovation and higher level management and leadership are the people leading the government ministries. The difference in results is as obvious as a broken leg.

Well... in that comparison quite a number of western governments also do not look as well.

eg.

Germany

and the EU (a.k.a of last retreat for failed national politicians) come to mind.

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I think it's common knowledge there are expat retirees living here on considerably less - it's just the declaration obtained from their embassies which say they have more income.

So the western embassies also accept "inducements"? 

Well...

maybe, I would have tried the same as the black pickup.

- On first sight, that looked all more like attempted robbery than a police check....

The biggest problem with government officials is not,

if they just idle and burn tax payers' money doing nothing,

but if they wake up to a "mission" and get active ...

(holds true in LoS and even more in western nanny-states)

14 hours ago, theoldgit said:

you could call and get the new account details, which I did and they also registered my Internet bankin

... if it was so easy, as it sounds,

some people should hurry up to check the balance on their bank accounts

- there seems to be a lot of room for serious fraud.

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Huh ? Money taken out in March 2017 (a year ago) and he only noticed when he came here ? Call my cynical but, I tend to check my money accounts more than once a year. 

IMHO more than understandable, if he didn't:

1) 100000 baht are just 2500€

2) Neither depositing nor withdrawing money and no standing orders, so no real movement on the account... for what? - the ridiculously low interest?

On 2/26/2018 at 9:27 AM, FritsSikkink said:

What about the Gambian guys messing with tourist women 2 x their age?

That's true love! 

... or, as they call it in North Africa: "beznes" 

Only western men are promoting prostitution, as also every Jamaican beach boy could tell you . "Ladies" don't do such awful things ...

You might wish to reduce the uncertainty of immigration processing times ...

I assume, you are flying eco and not business (which would allow you to take the Fast Track Immigration / VIP channel ).

In former times, I sometimes used BFS to go through the "VIP" channel to reduce waiting times at Immigration.

Link here:  https://www.bangkokflightservices.com/home/bfs-services/premium-airport-services/

On 2/2/2018 at 3:48 PM, Russell17au said:

My Thai wife was never taught English at school and her 14 year old daughter is not being taught English at school, it appears that there are only a few schools actually teaching English and from what I can gather they are only high schools which to me is stupid because they already have the Thai language instilled into their brains, they should be teaching it in primary schools where it will instill into the young brain easier

Really???

I remember visiting a public school in the deepest Isaan, on the countryside in Buriram province: 8-10 years old coming to me and trying to test their English skills - "where are you from", "how are you", "what are you doing here". A little bit shy and laughing, but at least, they were trying.

Our 5 year old Thai niece is already learning English in pre-school - I am asking myself, how many British kids are learning a foreign language in that age? ... 

However, maybe, after several years dealing with Chinese, Japanese, Singaporeans, Thais in business and not being an English native speaker myself, I am spoilt and easy going, using "Globlish" too much and just appreciate their efforts fighting with a non-tonal language with such a terrible, inconsistent script language 555

On 2/2/2018 at 10:58 AM, jak2002003 said:

Because they are working for tourists and internationals, and the common languages used to communicate between them is usually English.  

 

Most other Europeans and Americans can communicate at least at a basic level in English.  They are far more likely to be able to understand a few words of English than Thai, Spanish or otherwise.

 

I don't know what nationality you are, but the above countries you mention, most of them can speak English.  Most of them can't speak Thai!!!  

What about Mandarin? Behasa Melayu? Russian? 

... UK and USA are ranking 9th / 10 th in the ranking list of Thai tourists.

25 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

Was the corruption reported to him personally and then ignored?

 

Was the PM personally in charge of the project and never went to any of the meetings?

 

If so then he is probably liable, but if no corruption was reported to him and he had no direct contact or responsibility for the project then how would he be liable?

 

The term "government" is very broad.

 

Do you mean national, provincial, or local government? Does it come under one or more ministries?

 

Is it across every province or just Kalasin?

And ...        

What's your best guess ?

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Number One ranking of the list of Best Countries to Start a Business

Yes, sure !

Seems to be a Thai lady with a very traditional mindset... 2 water buffaloes for the dowry. 

I thought, since long those water buffaloes were replaced with a brand new Isuzu pickup ? 

 ... I was at first somewhat irritated,

thinking the video was about some Maori warriors.

However, yes, looking a second and a third time, they seem to be Farang.

11 minutes ago, swissbie said:

Affirmation of residence letter from my embassy, as they didn't accept one from the immigration, and yes, it's only one of them.

In my case, -and yes, the Blue Book is in my name- it worked with:

1) Copy of passport with visa

2) Certificate of Residence from Immigration

3) Copy of my Thai driving license ( I don't understand why, because the ownership has nothing to do with who is driving, but TiT )