farangmal

If true then this is going to cause difficulties for many ex-pats who rely upon pension income and perhaps a small 'top-up' in the bank, especially as quite a few currencies have depreciated significantly against the Baht.

B800,000 = approx. US$ 25,000.

If someone doesn't have a pension income that meets the requirements and they don't have 25k to put in a local bank, then they shouldn't be living overseas in the first place.

I might suggest the Philippines for them, the pension or bank deposit minimums are only around 2/3rds of Thailand's.

Good idea. The Ladies are beautiful and the people more genuine.

Yet another attempt by the Thai authorities to make themselves look like nincompoops to the rest of the world.

never mind about the alleged crimes - lets go off on a red herring legal technicality.

they don't look like nincompoops, they are.

a very reactionary govt with no foresight and no intuition into what's better for the people, what the right thing to do is, etc.

In a country where cash is paid directly to any government official from the bottom police all the way up, one can never expect any real legitimacy or sound decision making capacity anywhere. Expect to see like insane decisions that make no sense to us but make sense to someone's pocket. Personal gain is the game...screw everyone else!

Yes but the actions super hot down Soi 6 these days. What's a scam or two lads.

The jetski scam is alive and flourishing in pattaya too. I watched it happen three times in three weeks. Ruining the tourist's vacation. I intervened once and was threatened with violent retribution for calling the tourist police. The gang increased from three to eight in seconds. They demanded that they call their own "police man". Two of the gang followed me back to my car.

Rule 1 when renting a jetski, demand that they pull it out of the water onto the beach and you take fotos of the complete underside of the hull with your phone or camera before you take it out.

Rule 2. Don't let them call their own policeman. Keep that tourist police number in your phone. In this case the tourist police arrived and took them all down to the station to negotiate the settlement. In this case it was 15,000 bath for some scratches under the gunnel rail which is impossible to scratch in open water. I used to race jetskis. I know this. I also watched the renters for 30 minutes as i was about to rent same. They did not hit a thing.

Rule 3, don't rent a jetski.

Retrospectively, the threat of jailing the producers is probably a lame attempt at intimidating them into not airing the remaining episodes back in the UK.

If so, what the authorities don't realise is by now it's probably out of their control, and even requesting the show be stopped will create more problems in the eyes of the international media than it solves.

As much as they clearly don't like it, Thailand is just going to have to grin and bear this one. Scams aside, in all honesty the country doesn't come off too badly in it.

What are you smoking?

wow, and do they think it will do them more good for tourism than harm by sending the production company to jail? How about using that energy and the courts to I don't know maybe arrest the scammers, put a stop to the tuk-tuk crap, arrest any cop on the take....

WOW is all I can really say.

Why is ANYBODY surprised?

Thailand's a Military controlled corrupt mess that puts a smile on to cover up the dung.

Same as Burma but with a smile.

JJ will be back scamming, just don't rent anything in Thailand, unless it's got a pulse.

My question is this, How does the person who wrote this article and the Thai Government suppose Farangs are to care for their wives, children and extended families, if we are unable to buy homes and land to provide for them? Thailand is good about advertising to the Farang about how nice it is to retire there with a Thai wife, but don't stay or buy land, just bring or send money and spend it here. Thai women like living in Thailand and do nt want to move, but I for one will quickly divorce if these two things happen. 1.) not allowed to provide home and land for my family, 2.) my wife does not get a visa to join me in my home country. I will not be one to send money freely and only get to be with my wife 15 - 30 days a year.

The first step anybody should make is get a Visa for their Wife. Nobody knows what the future holds for Foreigners in LOS but I don't see a sunny outlook.

Get your Wife a visa, sell up and move somewhere where both of you have equal opportunities.

Is this kind of protectionism really good for Thailand?

If foreign companies buy up land or rent land , doesnt that put the prices up for land and houses and make the country and the baht worth more? Why are they still using Buffalos, why dont they join the high-tech farming like the western world and make 5 times the amount of crops.. using modern equipment and chemicals. I understand then there wouldnt be so many jobs for farmers, but couldnt they find something better and more interesting to do? I am assuming it is the poor who actually own most of the country (arable areas) so wouldnt it benefit them if the land prices went up? They could just rent their land to people who use combine harvesters to do the work and sit back drink as much lao kao as they like!

It reminds me of when they closed the coal mines in Wales all the miners up in arms... but who wants to work in a bloody coal mine. People had to retrain for something better.

How can Thailand go from a third world country to be like Malaysia or other countries like Singapore?

Surely this is the way forward isnt it? If they really feel their way is superior to ours.. then why are they "scared" of us?

I cant get my head around it!

35 Billion reasons...

So...foreigners can't do that but Bahrainis can? If you come from Bahrain you're not a foreigner?

Maybe it should be Bahtrain.

BAHRAIN

A dagger pointing to the very heart of QATAR

My wifes family has around 35 acres of Rubber plantations, they make around 20,000 baht nett per month, and work extremely hard to get that much. I really cant see many farangs bustin a gut to get into farming for £50 per week, even as owners using Thai labour its just not worth the hassle. Thats probably why they didnt find any farangs involved in farming!

What happened if your Wife dies...would you be the Farmer?

we are guests here

pure and simple

we will never be anything more than that

You missed the important bit...Guests with 0 RIGHTS.

I think every prisoner in a Thai jail should be released. The Police are the biggest gangsters in Thailand have no moral authority to be throwing people in the slammer.

They have a good teacher but we're not allowed to discuss that

Don't do drugs in Thailand. Never ceases to amaze me how stupid the Human Race can be.

Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the 34-year-old Australian who was with Hood at the time he was arrested, but who escaped.

-- abc.net.au 2009-08-05

Escaped? How does someone who has checked in for a flight at an international airport escape from the police?

It's called a Bribe.

So the same army that couldn't act to stop the airport debacle can suddenly deploy people to explain how signing a paper is wrong.

Quite amusing actually.

The Army could stop it...they weren't allowed

and what do they want to achieve with 5.6 million (of course all verified as genuine) signatures?

To compromise Thailand's most revered institution?

the Red's should be ashamed!

The reds are uneducated freedom fighters it's the other mobs who should be ashamed if they can stop counting the money for a while.

Hi BKK folks,

Myself and my wife love Thailand, and are looking to move to Bangkok, however the cost of schooling for one child, moving our two dogs, us, and moving some of our "stuff" means that we can't do it for about another 6/8 months.

Are there any (reasonably priced) personal primary teachers around? Good clean accommodation (non-condo)?

We just want to make this happen, but the expected costs are a bit scary.

Many thanks,

Sandy and Shirley

I would say put your dreams on hold and move there once your child finishes school in Scotland.

Firstly, what visas do you plan to live on there? The three of you would need to do constant visa runs.

Taking dogs from Scotland to the heat and humidity of Bangkok I think is a no no.

Think about it before you 'just want to make it happen'

you can still eat her for 25 baht.

Now...that is a bargain

I personally don't think there are enough Taksin stories. Could we please be updated every time he goes to the toilet? Posters here will have a ball of a time getting to roll out their toilet jokes involving....Taksin. It will be a hoot.

Be careful. You're talking about the future President of Thailand here.

I thought only the driver on a motorbike was required to wear a helmet

True in Cambodia but not here. At least I don't think so, but then it's up to them anyway.

When I was stopped (wearing cap) with Thai GF on the back with no cap, she got the ticket and not me. He wouldn't accept 200 and it cost her 400 in the station (same as farang) so, yes, why did the driver get a ticket - for what?

Always been the rule elsewhere that the driver wears a helmet. Has someone changed the rules? Or is it all part of the scam?

Disgusting scam by the way.

Makes you wonder what will be next?

Why does this surprise some people! It's a Military controlled Country going quickly down the urinal because of the World recession and their little old power struggle to come.

After spending a Month there the beaches are filthy, near empty and Beach road is TEEMING with prostitutes everywhere.

No surprise the Police are doing this. What's next Land repo for 'dodgy' Thai companies and harder visas...where's my crystal ball gone.

if you bother to spend a couple of hours in the DVL office to get a legit licence.

Ahem. I will be bothering. But with only a Tourist Visa and a 5 yr old expired licence from home it's out of my hands.

But reading the first sentence of the OP might be too much for you.

and you have a 5 year expired licence from home, because?

One reason why we shouldn't drive in Thailand...Even the farangs can't drive or are no good!

You need a qualified person to check that the water heaters are grounded properly and the house breaker panel is grounded properly and protected with some sort of ground fault protection. RCBO breaker or ELCB on the heaters.

Also the person that wired the heaters may have made a mistake in the hot and neutral may be reversed in the heater terminal connections or at the panel.

What ever the case a qualified person needs to check this out and correct the problem.

I think I would be switching off the heaters until it's fixed.

A cool shower is safer than getting knocked on your arse.

They are not earthed properly. Sounds like there's a difference of potential (Different voltages on the neutral return) between the neutral on the outside of the house and the neutral on the inside. Everytime you touch I presume a metal part you are getting a slight belt.

The only true 0 volt earth is the big rod in the ground that the current returns to at the power station.

Get an electrician and meantime DO NOT touch metal parts.

When are we going to learn ? We are still and always will get RIPPEDOFF

We will learn when we start thinking and that aint going to happen as long as an 18 year old can sit at the back of Her fat old Husbands motorbike and tell Tirac how much She loves Him.

.'hi-so' certainly don't want foreigners living in their midst. I know I don't!

I think all 'middle class' people of different cultures have the same aims and interests. I mean middle class people are sort of intellectual, like to read books, have interests outside of soap operas, mentor their kids with education, have interests like golf, etc. I does not matter if you are farang or Thai; the personal aims are the same. This is just more Thai xenopobia, having a very narrow minded view of the world and looking down on others as inferior. We don't want you here even though there are loads of 'hi-so' Thais in my home country and we accept them as equals. Why are Thais like this? Why don't they like us? Only the poor ones like us for our money?

It's a 12 letter word...starts with b and ends with g. When your head gets washed inside...Got it!

TV is trash!

...Trashy shows and too many advertisements are dragging down the quality of free TV channels, according to a survey by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation...

Keep the people dumb and give them bread and games. Already known in ancient Rome. The best way to gain power and control.

They did the same thing with the French...long long ago. Then look what happened!

Just back from Pattaya and it's very busy. Plenty of yobs, begging kids and ladyboys. And Russians of course.

Interesting report from the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7830710.stm

Well lets hope the debt is sold to a thai credit recovery agent and the lad is banged up for theft, then deported.

Its not theft its a bad debt you might have strong opinions on paying back what you owe and I totally understand that, but its just not theft or any other criminal offence for that matter its just bad debt!!

So it's ok to take say £10K from a bank but not pay it back but not ok to rob the said establishment. Theft is THEFT. Full stop.