Theyreallrubbish

I smoke and drink a lot of diet cola so I use Crest Whitestrips. I order from dentist dot net in the US and they arrive in 5 days at a total cost for two kits including shipping of around $80. Two kits is enough to keep my teeth clean looking for a year.

I can attest that they really do work well.

Although I've met more farang ex special forces than I believe have ever been recruited to all the special forces in all the armies in the world, there was one guy who stood out.

He was an Australian who I used to meet in Bangkok and sometimes Chiang Mai back in the early 90s. Said he was special forces seconded to the CIA and DEA and working in Burma, Cambodia and Laos.

What made him unusual was that he'd disappear for a while and then whenever he came back he'd show all these photos of naked Asian women in hotel rooms he'd claimed he'd slept with. Nothing remarkable out that, except, all the girls would be photoed holding heavy firearms, and not the same guns with each woman, but different weapons in each set of photos.

I know nothing about guns but even I could tell there were several varieties of automatic rifles and pistols.

So for some reason he had easy access to powerful firearms and a fetish for showing people he barely knew pictures of naked women holding them

If you need to go to the Shangri La at lunchtime for some reason and would like to try the "buffet", go ahead.

You won't feel like you wasted your money, but you also won't feel like you have been to a real buffet or eaten anything special either.

There are only a few items available and the quality is OK, but nothing to go out of your way for.

I had a salad, soup, a few rolls and a mini pizza for 234 baht. Oh, I forgot about the deserts that are guarded by a guard from Brinks. They are literally locked in a bulletproof glass case.

You get about a thimblefull which you have to ask for and I think that they are really good, but I got the feeling that they were not happy when I asked for a 2nd thimbleful, so I am not sure about the others that I did not try.

The lunchtime buffet at the Shangi La is nothing to go out of your way for!

I'll just add that my experience exactly mirrored this.

I ate at the Holiday Inn once a la carte and as I was the only customer in the dining room a Thai manager came along to talk to me. Gave a big pitch about the evening buffet and all the different foods it would have, but when I asked the price and he told me it was over 700 Baht per person I had to tell him I wouldn't be coming.

I'm not a fan of buffets anyway, being a subscriber to the belief that buffet is French for "leftovers"

What I've heard, and its only something reported to me so take that for what its worth, is that if she takes you to court she'll get a maximum of 4k a month awarded by a judge and custody might not go in her favour.

Don't let her bully you. This isn't the West. The courts aren't totally biased against the father here

If the old guy were to walk down a street in Britain or Ireland with his drag queen, both would be beaten up within the first hour.

Could you imagine them walking hand in hand outside a pub after the animal chucking out time. How long do you think they would last?

Sick.

They would probably get similar treatment in Australia, some macho types would take it upon themselves to sort them out. What's sick is that folks can't live and let live.

If it doesn't affect you and your lifestyle then where's the problem.

If the couple are happy, well good on em I say.

Anyone seen "Prisilla Queen of the desert"? ( Movie )

Thai tolerance of private matters is one of the best qualities of Thai culture. The my pen rai attitude is often frustrating in many circumstances but it affords a degree of freedom for individuals that is rare in the world.

And the general Thai good manners not to intrude in the private matters of others allows freedom to be who you want to be to an extraordinary degree.

The thuggish elements that many correctly suppose would inflict violence on them in many of our countries is not a laughing matter, but should be a matter of shame. I'm ashamed that I come from a culture that physically attacks any it sees as different from the social norm regardless of whether the other people impinge on their lives in any way at all.

Seeing katoey with regular jobs in banks and shops is a terrific testament to a commendable facet of Thai culture.

So this guy is not just celebrating his love, but celebrating a freedom that many of us who live here take for granted and forget how special it is when we grumble about all the negatives.

And of course I'm aware that freedom is theoretical for most Thais with peer pressure, economic restrictions, family pressure, the hierarchical social system etc., but the opportunity to be free is there and that's something worth celebrating

I'm no CSI expert but after handling something like this, plus all the other articles in the shop, wouldn't there be a decent finger print to take?

This may well be more a case of the authorities and the people involved seeing that they could profit a hel_l of a lot more from getting them to pay their way out, than actually prosecuting real wrongdoing.

The woman on the video looks younger and he looks similarish. But then again, how many other middle aged blokes were travelling with their wives in the terminal that night?

With no other evidence than that, I am not surprised they got out of the charge.

They're not denying they were in the shop and not denying they handled the item, so it doesn't really add anything.

All they're denying is they stole it.

Maybe Kingpower can release a longer version of the tape and see who else was around that area before and after the theft.

Unless there's footage of a staff member picking up the wallet and handing it to a security guard immediately after the couple leave!

I doubt that KP wants to submit this video as evidence. No date nor time stamp, published as pure propaganda and with intend to smear the couple.

Its blurred, but you can see the date and time along the bottom of the video

Yes, I can see it. It looks more like a file name '/22.05' is all I can read. Did this happen on the 22 May?

The evening of April 25th according to the story on the first page, which you can see in the stamp as 25/4/"indeciferable" (presumably the year).

The final numbers seem to be the time 22:25 or so with seconds as the final 2 numbers, which also corresponds to the story talking about them flying out in the night

I doubt that KP wants to submit this video as evidence. No date nor time stamp, published as pure propaganda and with intend to smear the couple.

Its blurred, but you can see the date and time along the bottom of the video

There is little doubt that she is stealing a wallet, and we all may have egg on our faces.

However, the question is, is it the couple in question?

I'm sure some of our more technical brethren can blow up the video and pics of the couple to establish this fact, one way or another.

If you go back and take a look at the photograph of the couple on page 1 post #1 you can see clearly that this is the couple in the video.

Well, I can't see anything clear here, you sure you can? Doesn't she look quite a bit younger?

He has what appears to be a similar level of male pattern baldness, the height ratio between the two seems to be correct and, to my eyes, the shape of her face is the same.

They have done a good job on the lookalikes if it is faked.

Also, if it was faked, why would they make the depositing in the bag so hard to see?

I've never been a fan of Owen but looking at his record he gets a goal about every other game regardless of where he plays or in what team.

That's pretty impressive.

He's obviously not going to lead the Man Utd attack but having a poacher adds another tactical string to Fergie's bow. In the Barcelona game Man Utd lost the midfield battle but couldn't just shut it down as their attacking style requires building from the midfield. With an Owen up front they could make the midfield much more defensive and do the traditional English long ball game when required.

Good luck to them. Hope they're happy for ever.

I would agree that this is likely to raise the bar on the expectations of other Thai families for a while, but there have been endless debates already about over-tippers (not a pun) ruining things for everyone else

What a stunning development!

We all owe Kingpower an apology then.

Seems odd though they would kick up a fuss when they knew they did it and there was CCTV footage of them doing it. Did they think the footage would never be used as a defense by those they accused?

Its also odd that a middle class couple would steal relatively cheap items in highly secure environments in less developed countries. Maybe they do if for the thrill, but they must be smart enough to know that an airport, with all its security and cameras, is absolutely the worst place to engage in a crime of any sort.

I guess I'm still in a kind of denial that they did it and I'm hoping the footage is fake, but that's not fair to Kingpower and the burden of proof must surely be on the couple now.

Although the behaviour of the police was still incorrect, it has to be viewed in a different context now as its no longer extortion from a couple of innocent travelers, but merely accepting bribes from a couple of criminals to get off the charges. Still bad, but not quite as reprehensible and not a cause of fear for other travelers.

And what implications does this have on all the other "victims" of this "scam" such as the Irish lady and the eyeliner?

If you have a car with book (not financed), you can get cash in a couple of hours from Tanachart, Tisco or carforcash. Less than 0,9 % a month.

Good luck

As a foreigner he needs a guarantor and the guarantor must have 6 month bank statements showing good enough income.

I am curious about these services. Anybody have any experience with them? They're quoting an interest rate of 5.5% which seems cheap

There are lots of money lenders out there. They charge 2/3 Baht per month and will want collateral. (chanote, gold, jewelry etc)

Regards.

2-3% a month sounds kind of low.

I've heard the standard rate is about 10% a month

I would throw out something that the American author William Faulkner said, that has always stuck with me. Faulkner, who wrote about the American South, was asked how he could have such a love for the region after the history of slavery, and segregation. His response is the you do not love because; you love despite. Meaning you do not love a person, or a place, because of any one particular attribute. You love the whole completely, despite the flaws. Thailand is not perfect, and I know this. But I love her. And I will continue to love her regardless of her flaws.

As I sit in the United States, I read how much everyone bitches and moans about Thailand. And all it does is make me wish I was there. I am not in Thailand right now because I can make more money elsewhere. But one day I will go, and I will not leave.

To all those who complain, and yet remain in the country, I would throw out two points you should consider. The first is, the Thais really don't care what you think. I see so many complaints that the Thais are backward, this country would be so much better if they'd only do such and such this way, and the Thais are really stupid because they are throwing away an opportunity to gain your valuable tourist money. The fact is the Thais are not stupid. They know exactly what they are doing. They just don't care.

You complaint that it's hard to stay in Thailand and they make you do your visa runs? It's because they don't want you to stay in the country, knucklehead. Thailand would love it if you came to visit, spent your money, and left. It's like your old college buddy that comes to stay at your place. For the first couple of days its cool. When he wants to start rearranging the furniture, it's time to go. The fact that he has got lots and lots of money really doesn't matter. Broke or not, you want to have your own space and you want to have things the way you want them and the fact that he will occasionally pay for dinner isn't really change that.

So many come to Thailand, and want to turn it into Falangland. Well, falangs already have falangland. It's called the USA, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, etc. The Thais are perfectly happy with the way they do things, and they will not change everything to make a small group of foreigners happy. If you don't like it, then you are perfectly able to return to the West and do things the Western way. But do not expect the Thai people to try and accommodate you. Don't complain about it either. Imagine a Thai coming to the States. The US doesn't want the Thais coming over. (If you complain about the visa runs, think about the Thai trying to get a U.S. visa.) And if the Thai person says 'geez the USA would be great if everybody just did things the Thai way', what do you think the opinion would be in the United States? This is THAIland, not FALANGland, and you will have to adjust to the Thai way, because the Thais ain't going to change their culture for you.

Sorry folks, but that's reality and that's how the rest of the world works too. If you want to immigrate to Germany, they will make you take a German language test. If you want to become a U.S. citizen, they're gonna test you on American history. If you want Thai citizenship, you best memorize the Thai national anthem. For anyone willing to jump through the hoops, you can go to any of these countries. But you must demonstrate a level of commitment. Obviously enough of you have jumped through the hoops that you are still in Thailand. Also keep in mind that if Thailand really wanted to, they could go 'North Korea' on you and make sure that nobody can stay.

The second thing I would point out to the complainers out there is that all the things you complain about are a direct consequence of the things that you like about the country. You want to complain about being asked for tea money by the BIB. Well in the U.S. it's $468 for running a red traffic light, on top of traffic school. How I wish I could just pay 200 baht in the U.S. and be on my way.

You want to complain that there are no standards for housing? That Thai electrician put your wiring together with duct tape? Well, have you ever tried to get a building permit from a city in the U.S.? You say you want Thailand to enforce the rule of law just like in your home country? Well then you better think that alot of your 'companions' aren't going to be around anymore. If you want 'enforcement of the law' better be expecting the 'vice squad' patrolling the streets and if your caught, your car gets impounded and sold at auction. (Really, they do that in San Bernardino California.)

If you want to use Thaivisa as your 'vent' to complain about Thailand, go ahead. It's really not going to change a thing. And besides, you love the place. Admit it.

I understand your sentiment and agree with part of it, but frankly this total rolling over in favor of Thais is not doing you any favors.

It used to be that foreigners were avoided by the police in running their scams for the most part because it was known that we were much more likely to stick to our principles and kick up an enormous fuss, but with the rise in the number of apologists who want to bend over and do everything the Thai way, we are now treated exactly like the Thais and have to suffer the corruption that they do. Hardly a positive response.

Like the total idiots posting in the King Power thread that they should be glad they could pay to get out of the situation, completely avoiding the issue that it was a scam and if foreigners kicked up more of a fuss and didn't accommodate Thai corruption then we wouldn't be targeted in the first place!

There are many things about the west that ARE better (and many things worse of course) but this fawning desire to do everything the Thai way is supine and pathetic.

And to compare Thai visa conditions with those from developed countries with government welfare systems is simply amazing. Can you not see that there is a fundamental difference between a Brit coming to Thailand and leaving a country with cradle to grave welfare and health care and a Thai leaving a country with minimal welfare and going to the UK? Which direction of travel is more likely to lead to a drain on the accepting countries taxpayers? Its a simple fact that the more generous the welfare state the more restrictive visa regulations need to be.

Intersting sentiments and incrediably well written for someone for whom English is a second lanquage.

I thought that initially too. On further reflection, there must be a fair number of Thais who grew up in multi-lingual households, therefore they could be considered native-English speakers of both Thai and English.

I agreed with most of the OP, but I am 99.9 sure that it was written by a farang, rather than a Thai.

I have many Thai friends who were sent to England or America at the age of 7 or even younger and only came back when they were 25 and had finished a Masters degree. For them English is their first language and they write Thai at little more than a school child's level.

So I can believe this was written by a Thai

It used to be said there was a time cycle of a foreigner's relationship with Thailand with the first year or two them loving Thailand, then from the second year onwards they hate it and think Thai's are stupid (yet paradoxically simultaneously smart enough to rip off foreigners) then in years 3-5 onwards a more balanced view takes root seeing the positives in perspective with the negatives

The number of people with negative views of Thailand does certainly seem to have increased recently. I wonder if its due to a wave of foreigners arriving a few years ago as many people cashed out of Western housing markets with sufficient cash to stay long term in Thailand and that "bump" of arrivals is hitting the "hate Thailand" phase.

Although I also see here, people who have been here for decades who are changing their view of Thailand to become more negative and I wonder if its related to changes in Thailand itself and the behaviour of the Thai government and Thai people.

I certainly feel that the Thai people have lost something in the last ten years and they seem much more stressed and unhappy than they used to be, despite being materially better off.

And the actions of certain political parties in stoking Thai nationalism for political purposes hasn't helped.

Plus, the internet means that scams, ripoffs and mistreatment of foreigners is instantly communicated worldwide, whereas before only a tiny fraction of the incidents would have been known by anyone outside the immediate circle of participants.

I have to admit, I feel more paranoid and less comfortable in Thailand now than I used to and am more suspicious and defensive towards Thai people than I used to be. Perhaps its not paranoia though as I've been stolen from three times in the last year compared to zero times in the 15 years before that so maybe something real has changed and the forums are expressing (albeit bluntly) foreigner's reaction to these changes

no, we just don't give a rats ar.se about the OP....

Obviously enough to comment, either your ashamed of how Thais treat farangs or you need to defend your fellow countrymen. I dont know why but there are genuine grounds here for complaints.

I would not defend my fellow countrymen or feel ashamed for them id comment on them if i see them do something bad.

Who said I'm defending them? More just having a sarcastic shot at people who lump all Thai's together, like we are some homogenous bunch of scam artists and simpelton idiots....

Bit like calling all expat farangs loser sex tourists who can't make it in their own country. That comment goes down real nicely on a forum like Thai visa, cause it isn't true. Only 90% of them are

If you re-read my original post you'll see that I was reporting on what a Thai person said. I reported it as it was interesting to me to hear this perspective and thought it might be interesting to others

"after a frightening ordeal in which they said they were threatened and held against their will at a cheap motel on the airport perimeter until they had handed over the money."

Enough with the bullshit that they were not kidnapped.

How many years do you think Bernie Madoff is going to be kidnapped for later today?

The law in most countries, I presume Thailand too, is very clear what constitutes lawful and unlawful imprisonment. The police have very defined amounts of time that they can hold someone in custody before charges are placed before a court, at which point the court decides on the matter and length of imprisonment based on laws and legal guidelines prior to the trial and, obviously the same again if the person is found guilty at trial.

Madoff will be imprisoned legally, since he's already pled guilty.

This couple, if they were detained, or felt sufficiently threatened that they were effectively detained against their will, would constitute unlawful imprisonment. Otherwise known as kidnapping.

Just because there wasn't a guard on them 24 hours doesn't stop it being kidnapping. Many people have been kidnapped and not guarded by being told that if they leave the kidnapper will go to kill their parents or spouse. If they were told that if they leave the motel they'll go back to a prison cell, possibly for years, then that constitutes kidnapping regardless of whether an armed guard was actually at the their motel door and windows 24 hours a day.

Leaving aside for one moment the ludicrous suggestion that "unlawful imprisonment" (more usually referred to as "false imprisonment") is synonymous with "kidnapping", what criteria do you use to determine in any particular case whether an arrest and (brief) detention by the Thai police is unlawful? Would you apply exactly the same criteria and terminology in the case of persons accused (even if falsely accused) of shoplifting in UK? If not, why not? Do you think that Thai visitors to UK if arrested on an allegation of shoplifting are better off or worse off by reason of the fact that they cannot buy themselves out of trouble and ensure an early return home? How much bail do you think that they might have to put up in order to secure a release from custody and the return of their passports? [Hint: it is highly likely that they would be held in custody until their case was disposed of if, as in this case,they were detained on the point of leaving the country]

Please be clear: I am not seeking to condone what is obviously a scam. I am merely suggesting that it is unhelpful to attach to the scam labels which are obviously inappropriate.

Someone detained by the police in the UK could be held lawfully for the period of time prescribed by the law. If a magistrate or judge rules that they be held longer, that would also be lawful imprisonment.

If the UK police moved the shoplifters to a hotel and told them that if they leave the hotel without paying them money they would throw them back in jail for a long time, I would consider that unlawful imprisonment.

What would you call it?

I wonder how many other Thais look at what is happening with worries for the future as opposed to the very short term view that many take

Not many....The average Thai doesnt give a rats ar*e about the future, or issues which affect Farangs....

Just bear in mind as the economy continues to falter and things become tighter and tighter, expect even more draconian measures to be taken, always remember in Thailand blame has to be put on someone, so Farangs are the easy target...

It would be nice to get a viewpoint from an educated Thai with an open mind.........I wonder what they are thinking........probably only what they are taught to think by those that want to control them.

I agree that the worse things get, the greater the probability that "farangs" will be the scapegoats for everything bad in Thailand.

Now they can focus the public attention on those dreaded Cambodians........but that can only last so long.

Thailand-Titanic is going down.............hope they don't take us with them

There's been a huge change in Thai attitudes to foreigners since I first came here about 16 years ago. The Thai's used to be appreciative of foreign investment and aware that it was a competitive world and they had to provide attractive investment incentives. They were also eager to learn Western practices and techniques.

They seem to have become much more arrogant and take it for granted that foreigners and their money will come here no matter what they do and feel now that Thailand has nothing to learn that could improve Thailand and that foreigners have to do everything the Thai way or leave.

In my own personal view, that arrogance is a recipe for disaster in what is still a poor and backward country with most of its population poorly educated and very few businesses actually globally competitive. Particularly with the rise of China and other competitors, such as Vietnam, for the lower mid tier of the global supply chain

The global recession may make them realise that they have to compete to attract foreign money (whether through investment or through tourism) or it may reinforce the attitudes that began after 1997, when they had followed Western economic advice and it led to the crisis and the IMF advice worsened the crisis, and turn even more anti-Western.

My faith that the Thais will do the right thing comes down to them being a very pragmatic and not very ideological people at the end of the day, but blaming foreigners has been a route that has worked for politicians recently and the danger is they'll use it again to avoid the hard work needed to improve Thailand's competitiveness

"I think we deserve to suffer to show us what we've done"

Was discussing the changes in Land Department policies on Thai wife's owning land and company structures owning land basically making it much harder.

Also discussing the increasing number of scams such as the King Power one discussed here.

This is a woman in her fifties who does not think that making it less attractive and more difficult for foreigners to invest and live in Thailand is a good thing.

I wonder how many other Thais look at what is happening with worries for the future as opposed to the very short term view that many take

Is the same David West that used to have Dominos by the Tha Pae gate?

Didn't Thai visa launch exactly this service about a year ago?

Didn't seem to last long. What happened?

Shocking how the British Embassy offered them jack sh*t in the way of help ?????

From the article:

"The Foreign Office said consular officials had offered to raise the case with the Thai authorities at the time but had been asked by the couple not to intervene."

That's plausible.

Sneak out of the hotel and travel to the British Embassy to ask to see someone in order to ask them not to do anything

I have an unlocked UK  G1. I could not send but could receive sms via 12call. So I got a DTAC sim instead. No problems, but I cannot enable gprs to check email. If on a wifi, no problem getting emails.

Anyone have a G1 with suggestions?

Thanks

Have you taken it to a service center? The technicians set it all up for free. Takes about half an hour. I checked my phone after and they had put in lots of different settings and servers for every function. If you don't have the right setting in for the function it won't work, which would explain why it works over wifi, but not over the network