JonnyF

Thailand has much more in common with China than with the USA. Many of Thailand's leaders have Chinese ancestry, they both have little concern for human rights, they share business practices such as widespread corruption on g2g deals, they both love ruling by force and rolling out the tanks on the populace when required. The US has no chance - especially with the current government/President. Too busy preaching about pronouns, micro aggressions and Ultra Wokeness to actually achieve anything of note on the international scene (apart from sending Iraq into chaos by withdrawing troops overnight of course). **edited for typo not content

Unless the snake is a Malayan Pit Viper of course. Well known for not moving even if you walk towards it. They are also very difficult to see on the ground, strike incredibly fast and are VERY venomous. Apart from that, they're fine.

Very cute. Similar colour and markings to mine. Ours is super friendly but I still make sure he's on the lead until strangers have been properly introduced and he knows they're 'with us'. After that, he just wants to play with them but of course you have to be responsible with any breed, especially large or strong ones. We had a few issues with a couple of local teenage boys creeping around our farm at night when I was away working in Bangkok so I feel a lot safer now they know he's inside the house and very protective of my girlfriend. They're not too keen on him so his presence has proved to be enough. He's also good for catching pigeons, mice, snakes, Tookaes, JinJok's etc.

Well we don't know each other but if we did I would let you know why some us like owning and don't regret it at all. I can't think of a better place to have a base in SE Asia than Bangkok. Even if I leave Thailand for another country it would probably be for another SE Asian country so I can rent my place or just leave it empty for my occasional returns/holidays. It's value is not really significant to me. It's a base in a region I love. Same as when I left the UK I didn't sell up, I rented it and the rent in 16 years has pretty much covered the purchase price but that's not the point. I know that if the sheet hits the fan I have somewhere easy to go. It's a much nicer feeling than wondering about the next inspection/rent increase/forced relocation. Also, it's nice to have some money in bricks and mortar. Eggs and baskets and all that...

Given the international coverage of this incident, it would be very wise if his hospital bills disappeared. The last thing Thailand needs is another Daily Mail story about "Brit ripped off by hospital after slashing murder in Thailand" headline. However, they're all in the bubble so expect lots of arguing over a few grand.

Me too. I get it all the time on the elevated Chalong Rat highway from BKK to ChonBuri. They overtake me doing about 160 on the straight and then as soon as the highway curves a bit, they slow right down to about 60 and I cruise past at the same speed I was doing on the straight. As soon as the curve ends they blast past me again. It's scary that someone with so little ability to drive round a mild curve is driving at such high speed on other sections. Don't get me started on slowing down to a virtual standstill before turning off a main road into a sub soi. It's like they're begging to get hit from behind.

I rented for 10 years and finally bought a condo about 5 years ago. No regrets buying and wish I'd done it sooner. I like the stability of having a permanent base here and so far I've recouped over 30% of the price I paid for the condo in rent that I didn't have to pay. I'll be here at least another 5 years so by that time I'll have recouped about 70% of the price I paid. In fact, in all likelihood I'll still be here in 10 years by which time I could give the condo away and still be up. In reality it will still be worth around what I paid so I could sell it and I'll have lived rent free for 15 years. I also brought the money over at 55 to the pound so theoretically I've made 20% on that as well but obviously it depends on the rate if and when I sell it. I doubt I'll ever sell it as I like having a base in Bangkok as I love the city. However for me it wasn't purely a financial decision and I do see some benefits in renting but personally I hated moving condos and I didn't like having a landlord. I like being able to decorate/renovate as I choose, I like not having inspections, worrying that the landlord will kick me out to let a friend move in, hike up the rent, invent damage, not return deposits etc. Fortunately my place is well managed and quiet but I can see the risk of buying somewhere that turns out to be a AirBnb for Chinese hordes or similar.

Carpet burns.

He should have gone with Cherry.

Exactly. Forced to take a ripoff ATK test and risk being quarantined for a week at your own expense for the privilige of sitting on a beach covered in crude oil. They certainly know how to tempt us.

My god they're all trying to jump on the bandwagon. Typical knee jerk reactions all round to try and appear virtuous. "Quick, say something for god's sake. It doesn't matter if it's ridiculous - just look like we're doing something until this awkward incident blows over". And all because of the status and attractiveness of the victim. As I said on another thread, if this had been some poor, dark skinned, "ugly" cleaner from the same hospital we'd never have even heard of it. It's not like traffic fatalities are rare in Thailand, there have probably been a dozen already today and it's only 10:30am. This is the Thai equivalent of missing white woman syndrome.

I'd say it starts with education, and ends with strict enforcement of laws (irrespective of wealth, connections and social status). Somewhere in the middle you have the issue of over-confidence, arrogance, impatience, selfishness etc. Good luck fixing all that.

I saw a passenger van today with a huge sticker covering the back door/window reminding people of safety and to stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings. I guess it was a recent addition following this 'hot topic' with the pretty young Doctor. I noticed after he aggressively moved into my lane, forcing me to either brake suddenly or swerve to collide with oncoming traffic.

Fortunately for my health I ignored the law on this and switched to e-cigarettes about 5 years ago. I was then able to wean myself off them gradually and haven't smoked at all for about 4 years. They are a great tool for quitting. Which is probably why they will remain illegal in Thailand since the government collects the tax and then gives very little back to help the people who suffer health problems as a result of smoking.

They should probably go after the Grab riders weaving through traffic one handed while checking their phones before they worry about people who are stationary and waiting at a red light.

You have to allow Democracy to mature. After the people have voted for corrupt leaders a few times, sooner or later they will see the error of their ways, new candidates will emerge that are less corrupt and people will vote for them. This is the way that things improve, although it takes many decades. Things will never be perfect, even our own countries have corruption. But by resetting the clock with the illegal theft of power every time people like you disagree with the democratic choice of the electorate, we end up with the current regime, taking down their political opponents and generally ruining the country for their own ends. It certainly doesn't make me happy. I'm just pointing out the irony of your criticism of the regime when you supported them stealing power. I know you'd rather not be reminded of your support of the illegal power grab now that you've finally seen what was blindingly obvious to most of us in 2014, but that's life I'm afraid.

That's why it's good to be able to vote them out. That's also why it's so baffling when people like you support military coups. These coups simply replace corrupt politicians that can be voted out, with corrupt politicians that cannot be voted out.

Buying online is no problem. It makes sense to have a guy on a little scooter deliver it alongside 5-6 other deliveries for people at my condo than for 5-6 of us to sit in our cars individually going to the store. The other benefit is that I pay the correct price. Unlike Mom and Pop style hardware stores, markets, local furniture shops etc. where everything is unmarked so they can pluck a price out of their head, often based on your race.

Prawit is just appearing to do the right thing because the victim was of relatively high status and very attractive. Let's be honest, had this been a poor, dark skinned cleaner from the hospital none of us would have even heard of the incident. That's how Thailand works. As others have said, stopping on a busy road often endangers the pedestrian because cars on either side of you fail to stop. They end up 'trapped' in front of your car, peering around to cross the lane next to you as cars and motorbikes speed past.

Why choose between the 2? They actually compliment each other quite well (in moderation of course). This is great news if it happens, I'll definitely have a small allotment on the farm for some.

I wish this guy a speedy recovery. Let's hope he doesn't get charged 2-3 times the standard price for his treatment due to his race, as recently endorsed by the courts because it is "good for Thailand".

Great news. So it's legal to grow it and the only stipulation is if you make the extract, which I won't. I'm in like Flynn.

Make up your mind guys. I've got a few nice spots on the farm earmarked for the devil's lettuce. Just waiting for the green light...

Great news if true. Always nice to have options ????.

I'll let you into a secret. When company A acquires company B, company A doesn't typically lay off the key employees that made company B such a success in the first place ????. Really, some people are best off just collecting their old age pension and keeping quiet on things they know nothing about...