riverhigh

"Thailand's tourist-friendly destinations, such as Phuket, are also flagged for being prone to scams, notably in fraudulent hotel bookings" I had a problem with a hotel in Bangkok which I booked through Booking.com. Reservation was for two nights. I chose a reasonably priced hotel room close to the BTS. I arrived at the hotel and the front desk clerk told me that a person would come and show me to my room. He put my bags into his pickup and we started driving away form the hotel. Apparently the hotel was fully booked and they wanted me to stay at a hotel miles from nowhere. I told him in Thai to stop the pickup and return to the hotel. It got ugly. We agreed that he would find me hotel close to the BTS and he would pay for the room. The next day I returned to the hotel room which they magically found a vacancy. Surprise, surprise the room was better than the one I had reserved on Booking.com. The morale of the story is that, if possible, always book with a reputable online booking agent. Remember that hotels which rely on online booking agents have a lot more to lose than you do. If a booking agent finds out that a hotel is not honoring the contracts they have signed with them ... that could be it. No more business.

Unlike Russians escaping the war, we have an example of a foreign national, working illegally, who comes from a country that is considered stable. Little sympathy for foreigners working illegally in Thailand when they can get employment from their home country. If he is smart enough to operate a tour company in a foreign country then he is smart enough to get a job in his home country.

In this case, I kind of agree but then again if he is given refugee status then Thailand will be flooded with thousands of Russians (good and bad) wanting refugee status. From the video he looks like a decent person. It appears he did not do his homework when he selected Thailand as his escape route.

"Chuwit Chantaros, the network's secretary, cautioned that increased accessibility to alcohol might lead to higher consumption rates and, consequently, a surge in road accidents and other alcohol-related incidents." I consider Chuwits's assumption extremely weak that selling beer at the the lacal brewary or selected stores will increase accessability. The increased accessability will be miniscule compared to the overall accessability dominated by the major brewaries. This is all about giving the consumer choice and promoting a competitive market.

46 kilograms = 101.43 lbs or in Pattaya human terms that equals one 22 year-old go-go girl dancer. Smuggling drugs the size of a small adult boggles my mind. Just saying.

"his head was bound with a black plastic bag secured by a luggage strap" In our building we had a similar situation where an elderly gentleman diagnosed with cancer had tied a plastic bag around his head. Wrote a note of his suicide , left his safe open, and door unlocked. Till this day it's hard me to imagine how one can commit suicide this way. There has to be better ways.

"These vehicles will also serve as information points and reporting centres, aligning with the ongoing commitment to safe and sustainable tourism, under the motto "Your First Friend"." I vehemently argue against the above statement. If I am pedo or a narcissistic thug on holiday, how can these AI equiped cameras be considered "Your First Friend". Just asking for a friend.

Love the photo of the 29 year old, Ben opening his palms as to say "this is all we have, everything legal, so why the police". Last ditch attempt at feigning innocence. I don't think Ben has a tight grasp of the reality of the situation and the severe consequences,

Now only if these woman could show such enthusiasm and vigor when they get to the client's hotel room. Just saying (smile).

"It's called laziness, they should have just gone and arrested him if they wanted to arrest him.","No need for cloak and dagger operations" ... hmmm? Maybe, just maybe, the Australian was smart enough to go into hiding after doing the crime. Stayed in a friend's house, never leaving the premises until the day he had to do the runner to the airport. The police rather than wasting time in a wild goose chase chose to wait patiently for the prey to come to them. The prey was trapped and no way to run. Good hunting, boys!!

MY utmost sympathy to her family and mother. Imho, they could have not done anymore than they did. Going forward, some tough decisions will have to made that no parent should be forced to make. As to the teenager, I am in no position to comment.

Yes, this is their life. A life of disturbing others with the goal of making a profit at it. There are BTS / MRT rules regarding making a noise and disturbing others which he chooses to ignore to the utmost. Anyone who complains he makes fun of them online and calls them over-reacting. IMHO, Just another narcissistic loser, with no real skills, that found himself washed up on the shores of Thailand. May get his 5 minutes of fame but soon will find out the difficulty of making a living from being a pr%*K as there are hundreds of people with minuscule talent that can do the same or better. In ten years time, the MRT patrons will have the last laugh as this loser will most probably end up broke, no skills, no girlfriend, and contempt from successful contemporaries.

Not to state the obvious but this pair of cretins do not represent your normal tourists. Cretin checklist list for night clubbing: Cash, credit card, swanky clothes, condom, knife for stabbing. The fact that Emilio left the country immediately indicates to me that seeing the tourist attractions and experiencing Thai culture was not a high priority for him (smile).

- he claimed his venture stemmed from his original real estate business. - he claimed his director role of a company in Ratsada, Phuket, where his work permit authorised him as a general manager. He can cliam whatever he wants but like most foreigners sidestepping Thai laws based on perceived loopholes, they come unstuck. There is this "I know of many foreigners sidestepping Thai laaws so why cant I ?"

I was asking the same queastion, but you beat me to it! It appears they consider him to be disposable cannon fodder not worth saving, considering the circumsatances.

I feel sorry for his family, his trevelling companion, and the Thai authorities. I don't give a f&%k whether Jacob was well enough to travel or not. Assuming he can't hold down a job or is on mental disability, he should not be allowed to travel. It's not a right to travel, it's a previlige that is earned through hard work. A message to nanny-state countries:" Stop exporting your mental misfits and expect other coutires to pick up the mess".

Thanks for the post. This cyber crime involving large companies is way above my pay scale. While this crime will not effect the average retiree, its good to know that even large companies with well-funded internal audit departments can get burnt. Normal rule of thumb, don't click on links from emails or provide any information. if its important you can log in to company's website and discuss / transact securely thare.

"Officers found, astonishingly, two lions roaming the lavish two-rai property" I too was astonished on so many levels. For one thing, if you are a criminal and want to live under the radar, how is owning two lions illegally going to help? Might as well have given yourself up to the law enforcement. Stupidity knows no boundaries.

I love these "I'm better than you" comments. Comment nothing to with the validity of the alcohol sales ban more about self-promotion (smile).

Damn!!! There goes my part-time job.

"In a shocking revelation, the Medical Council of Thailand declared that Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto Pheu Thai leader, is not suffering from the critically ill conditions previously reported." Shoking revelation? Not on the AseanNow forum. One of the few articles where noone is doubting his fake illness. Just another day in Thailand.

This is what happens when you allow bars to stay open until 4 am. A lot of drunk diseased-infected cretins slobbeing around spreading their germs at all hours in the morning.

You want to attract quality tourists but you keep the bars open to 4am. Quality tourists don't want to hear blazing music and drunks screaming, shouting and fighting as they return to their hotel rooms early in the mourning. IMHO, keeping bars open to 4 am is violating my right to a healthy night's sleep.

"At approximately 01:10, Mr Keith William Dobie, a 65-year-old Australian national, arrived at Pattaya City Police Station " A little late fro Mr. Dobie wheeling around ... joking aside, if this is his fiirst trip here I can sympathise with his situation. Being old and disabled in Australia, or any other place, doesn't help in the dating game. But as far as robbry stories, it could be a lot worse. He didn't get drugged or beat up.

Agree. I too woud like to know why it's not procedure for customs to trace and find out who are the brains behind the smuggling operation. So you got two mules and some cocaine that can be easity be replaced. Well done you!