JonnyF

So it took a month to work out that the muscular bald foreigner that's been missing in Pattaya since May 14th, is the same muscular bald foreigner that they took to the morgue in Pattaya on May 15th?

It must have come as quite a shock to the BIB to find out that these 2 were connected . Who'd have thought it?

^ TomTom is right, and even when inside the cab you can refuse. I had one guy try to negotiate a fixed price at the airport instead of turning on the meter (before we started moving). I asked him once to put on the meter and then as he continued to negotiate a price I didn't reply, just grabbed my bag and opened the door to get out of the cab and he immediately agreed to use the meter. I assume it does actually cause the driver trouble if a customer returns to the desk to inform them that the taxi they provided refused to use the meter.

Same if I flag one down on the street and state a destination and they start quoting a price, I just close the door without replying and look for another one. No need to slam it or waste your breath complaining, just close it normally and walk away. I wouldn't waste my time with a Bangkok taxi driver any more than I would try and debate with a soi dog.

Bangkok taxis are at the point that they're only to be used in emergency situations IMO. Even if they accept the destination and use the meter they usually don't have seatbelts, drive poorly/dangerously, have crackly Thai radio blasting out (which they refuse to turn down), smell like a moldy jock strap and I end up sticking to the seats because the driver doesn't want to waste his money on a bit of air con. Any event that I know of in advance I take the car, otherwise I get out feeling like I need a paracetamol and a shower.

It was only yesterday I was using taxis to get around bkk for my private affairs. It took me a total of 4 taxis before one would take me to the translation station. Then earlier, a motorcycle taxi drove me about 2 kilometers and when I got off he demanded 200 baht. I laughed at him and slapped 60 baht in his hand and ignored his yelling at me as I walked away. My previous trip a week before was even worse and attempt more demanding by them. Of course, I could have reported them all. But the hotlines they offer don't understand English. So what's the point. The way I see it, nothing has changed from 7 years ago when I first lived in bkk.

Things have changed. It's worse now.

Agree, I used to get taxis a lot but we always take the car now. Having to get refused 5 times before getting in, then finally I'm "accepted" and get the privilege of sitting in a dirty taxi where the driver is too tight to put on the air con, listening to a crackly radio at 100db with no seatbelts being driven by a (armed) maniac got old pretty quick.

There's some good ones of course. But in my experience around 50% are dickheads.

Taxi driver robs tourists. Next story is a nice taxi driver returning 1,000,000 baht cash to a Tourist.

British grandmother kicked unconcious in Hua Hin for standing up for her son. Next story is a Brit tourist clearly being a <deleted> and deserving his kicking.

Seems like Will is a <deleted>, as clarified multiple times by the article. But why is this news?

Paddock is OK for helmets. Easy as well, next to Huai Kwang MRT.

If you can get to Ladprao/Kaset Nawamin area there is Honda BigWing, Dainese (plus 2 other bike shops next door), Panda Rider, Dr. Bike, U Turn etc.

This is great! Will check them out today. If I tell the taxi to just go to Honda big wing, would I be able to walk to the other shops, or should I have the taxi on standby?

You can walk from BigWing to Dainese, there's 2 shops next door as well which sells kit and helmets. Panda Rider is 5 minutes away by cab, as is U Turn. Panda Rider is good for kit but a bit pricey. U Turn has a few parts like mirrors, rearsets, exhausts etc. but I'm not sure if they have CB500 stuff.

Dr Bike is better for spares (batteries, oil etc) and doesn't have much kit.

If you want loads of cheap stuff (some of which is fake) then try 320sp. Opposite side of town, but they'll have bolt on parts for a CB500 for sure. Also helmets, boots, jackets etc.

Paddock is OK for helmets. Easy as well, next to Huai Kwang MRT.

If you can get to Ladprao/Kaset Nawamin area there is Honda BigWing, Dainese (plus 2 other bike shops next door), Panda Rider, Dr. Bike, U Turn etc.

No chance this was simply a robbery. Why choose a healthy male on a cheap bike, and fatally stab him in the chest in public with no huge effort to get the crappy bike?

Plenty of softer targets for more reward (women on Vespas etc). Much more to this story I reckon, most likely related to a girl.

"He told us that he had received 200 Ya Ba pills to sell from a man called Khlong. He said he had decided to try them and ended up taking them all between midnight and midday."

That might be a decision he regrets a lot more than driving round a kfc.

Next time he sees Khlong he might end up at the bottom of the Khlong.

Seriously though, great video to show to kids about the dangers of YaaBaa, he looks like his skin is crawling.

No need for a plane. Just find a steel framed building a similar size to building 7. Set it on fire using falling debris and wait a few hours. See if it collapses into it's own footprint at free fall speeds.

I want to be sure that I understand this correctly. These 6 cockroaches went out and got likkered up. Then they armed themselves with machetes and samurai swords. Then, spoiling for a fight, they got on their scooters and went out looking for trouble. Then, they hacked to death a lone, unarmed, handicapped man. Is this the scenario? Looking at their faces, I can't detect any trace of remorse or regret. They just look pissed off at having to be on public display.

From the video I saw inside the shop, the disabled man (he had a pretty bad limp but was by no means a "cripple") ran into the shop to get a sword/machete and then ran back out onto the street with the weapon after someone else (I assume a family member ?) had shooed the gang out of the shop as they tried to follow the disabled man in. I don't know what happened prior to that or if he was already injured at that point but I couldn't see any obvious injury on the video. The disabled man arming himself with a machete before going back out onto the street also provides a possible explanation as to why one of the gang had a badly cut arm, unless the gang started turning on themselves or were extremely clumsy during the attack.

So I'm not sure the scenario was exactly how you described it.

Disclaimer; I am in no way blaming the victim nor am I defending this disgusting and vicious attack, I'm just describing what I saw on the video for those who haven't seen it. FWIW I live a couple of kms from where this attack took place and have found it extremely disturbing on many levels.

I find motorcycles on bridges annoying especially in peak hour traffic, you have to be careful you don't push them into the rail. Two months ago we had a motorcycle bounce off our left side mirror on a bridge and now is damaged, he gave me a dirty look and drove off without stopping,. They don't give a damn about laws of the roads.

And yet all car drivers are kind, considerate, law abiding, benevolent souls helping to take care of one another.

Great points you made there. Especially about your mirror.

So what if they don't normally use them. They should be able to. It's a ridiculous law.

My bike is modern, clean, fuel efficient and capable of well over 200 kph (so no excuses about being in the way of fast cars). I also paid a lot of tax to the Thai government when I purchased it. It helps ease congestion if I ride it instead of taking the car. I pay my road tax and insurance.

So remind me again why can't I ride it over a bridge or through a tunnel?

Why bother with warning shots?

Yes, why give them a chance to surrender? Much better to simply execute all the suspects immediately. Who cares if there are people there against their will, forced labor, child labor etc. Kill 'em all

Tragic, RIP.

When I was a similar age I went missing at a funeral and was found several hours later as I'd fallen into a partially dug grave and couldn't climb out. Only takes a second for a kid to disappear.

Good to see the really important issues being addressed with such determination. After the deckchair and lottery ticket issues, it's so reassuring to see this is next on the General's agenda. Armed with article 44 and his legendary indefatigability, I have every faith that the General will be able to resolve this in time for next years show.

Looks good, I didn't think the Gladius was that bad in real life. Saw one the other day (the 2 tone grey model) and thought it was a Street Triple from a distance (albeit quite a long distance).

I'd probably get an MT07 ahead of this though.

ER6N's can make a decent cafe racer. Bit bigger than you wanted, but easy to ride and spares are cheap and plentiful. ABS would be a good idea as well.

Stallion 400 would be a good base as well. Just depends if you want to risk buying a Chinese bike. At the price they are selling them for (and the fact you're just pottering around locally) I think it's worth the risk personally, especially if you're going to chop it up a bit anyway.

What's with all the sanctimonious drivel here? One of the reasons I like this country is that if you have enough money, you can buy your way out of any sort of trouble.

So I guess you're OK if a rich Thai brat kills you or a family member, and then just pays their way out? You wouldn't demand justice for your loved ones and would just be glad taking a bit of petty cash to keep quiet? Nice...

He declined to be tested for alcohol WHAT!!

How can the police justify that?

Oh sorry he was driving a Merc. He has plenty of brown envelopes at his office.

Maybe that is what they thought.

That's bullshit. On being admitted to hospital after an auto accident one is automatically blood tested for alcohol content. And bearing in mind this POS was admitted to Intensive Care (for a knee injury ), he would not have been able to refuse it. This place ..

Without doubt a slip up by the police. They could have used a positive test to demand an increase in the weight of the brown envelope. Amateurs.

I wonder what is the real point of this theatre? Other than placating the "netizens" of course.

Even if he gets convicted, he'll be out on bail appealing sentence for years and years until it all disappears. He's way too rich to see the inside of a cell so they may as well spare everyone the pretense of a real justice system and speed up to the bit where he gets to be a monk for the weekend (after paying off the victims families and the cops of course).

Better get moving then as there is only 10 weeks left

That's only 10 billion a week. A billion here, a billion there, it soon goes. Things aren't cheap these days you know...

Hope her licence is revoked immediately and she can get some medical help. Whilst I have genuine sympathy for her condition, I can't help thinking that the taxi could have a been a young kid being driven to school on the back of her parents scooter. Then we'd have a lot more to worry about than the carpet not matching the curtains.

Eureka! Thailand just discovered this hidden gem that is over four decades old.

55 Yeah that made me smile. "The world should know".

It's not that bad. Ladprao Road can be a bit dangerous with the "keep left" law and all the buses and taxis constantly cutting into that lane, but overall it's no worse than other parts of Bangkok.

There's nothing new about 2 year work permits.

Exactly, my last 2 work permit renewals have been for a period of 2 years. That's why I was quite surprised by this headline.