BangkokHank

This is not to excuse the behavior of Thai cops, but have a look at what they do in America these days:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/

The point is why should long term residents in Thailand pay tourist prices, when they are paying tax, same as Thai citizens?

I think you meant to say, ". . . when they are paying tax, UNLIKE Thai citizens". Ha.

From my home state (Texas). Hunting license fees

Resident Hunting $25.00

Senior Resident Hunting $7.00

General Non-Resident Hunting $315.00

For those who claim there is no price discrimination in other places... It's all over, not just in Thailand. Look back over the dozens of dual pricing threads and you'll find hundreds of examples posted.

source: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/licenses/public/recreational/

This is not an apples to apples comparison. In this case a distinction is made between Texas residents - and non-residents. Presumably a Thai could become a resident of Texas and thereby qualify for the resident rate. I have been living in Thailand for 19 years, most of that time as a tax-paying employee, yet I still don't qualify for the local prices. I will always be an (overcharged) alien in Thailand - no matter how long I live here.

A related anecdote: In my early days in Thailand, I once took a trip to Lopburi with my then Thai teacher and a group of six of her friends. At our destination, our group wished to enter a temple, for which the entrance fee was 10 baht for Thais and 30 baht for foreigners. My first thought was that the Thais who were traveling with me would feel so ashamed of this discriminatory policy that they would huddle together and agree to pay the entrance fee for me - especially considering that I had just bought lunch for the lot of them. Instead, they all entered the temple - and laughed at the idiot farang standing outside of the temple all by himself - stupid enough to think that he should pay the same price as Thais. It was at this point that I learned that Thais don't share our western logic or principles.

Incidentally, for that same trip, we had rented a van with ten seats, but three of the seats were unable to be filled. My Thai teacher asked me if i would pay for the empty seats (so that each Thai would pay 1/10th of the total, but I would pay 4/10ths.), rather than dividing the total cost among the seven people present. Such expectations shed a lot of light on the mentality of Thais, and suggest to me that nothing is going to be done about this practice of dual pricing. Thais simply don't see overcharging farangs to be a problem.

Okay. Thanks.

A photography shop near my home is selling a camera that had been on display for some time ("tua show" as they call it in Thai) at a significant discount. The only problem that I can see with the camera is that it is missing its lens cover. So I was wondering: Is a lens cover for a camera something that I am going to be able to buy - either in a shop or online? If so, does anyone have any idea where lens covers might be sold in Bangkok? In all of my years of shopping for and buying cameras, I don't think that I have ever seen lens covers being sold separately. But then again I have never looked for one either - until now. Is this going to be a deal killer?

Although they have already been mentioned already, I want to second a couple of places: Luang Prabang, Laos, is my favorite place in Southeast Asia. Bagan in Burma is pretty cool too. And while it's not in Southeast Asia, India is an amazing place and is easy and cheap to get to from Bangkok with AirAsia. My favorite place in India is the small town of Bundi in Rajasthan. Udaipur and Jaisalmer are great as well.

I always chuckle about the 'never been colonized'. Might as well have been considering how addicted Thailand, like most countries, is to Western things.

 

And, of course, it totally ignores things like Thailand turning its country over to Japanese during WWII and allowing them to commit crimes against humanity.

 

BTW - I like Thailand and Thai people. These are merely observations, not criticisms.  

You forgot to mention that Thailand is currently run by Chinese colonizers - who have been allowed to take Thai citizenship - by fellow Thai Chinese - who run the country for the benefit of their fellow Thai Chinese.
 

 

Lesson learned.

 

Many have lost a lot more when dealing with Thais.

True, although I feel there might be something I could do. It's not so much the 12,000 baht that annoys me but the 50,000 deposit on a great piece of land that's going cheap. 

 

Kinda like speeding and giving the cop 200 baht then he turns round and gives you a ticket. 

 

You have tipped this banker off on a great piece of land that's going for cheap.  Do you think he wants to let a farang buy it?  He's going to buy it for himself - using the tea money you (and others) gave him as his deposit.
 

Commercial surrogacy is supposedly illegal in Thailand. 

So is prostitution, which I guess explains why it doesn't exist.

"any individuals found guilty committing these offenses will be persecuted"

Persecuted? That's a bit extreme.

They obviously meant to say "prostituted".

I really don't understand how these high speed rail projects can pay their own way. 1000 baht in today's dollars is not far off what low cost carriers do to Chiang Mai. How can this pay for itself?

You're missing the point. It's not supposed to pay for ITSELF. It's supposed to pay for the corrupt politicians / generals who are going to be able to set up Shinawatra-style family dynasties with the money they're going to be able to divert from the project into their pockets.

One has to remember that Thailand is a male dominated society, in which the woman is considered second, and if the male makes a request she should obey (as are many South East Asian countries).

Until such a ridiculous attitude catches up with 1st world standards, then such actions will be in the news daily, and not weekly, which they are, unfortunately

I in no way condone this man's actions, but one has to remember what suppositioned comparative century people live in Esan areas, and what they have been in-bred with as seen fitting treatment of women.

Of course, the wife in no way deserved this severe punishment, but many Thai men believe they have such a right to dish out such obscene actions, because of the division between areas of this country, and again - LACK OF EDUCATION in what are right and wrong ways to treat fellow human beings.

He wanted what he wanted... he is the male dominant one... thus, in Thailand, the woman MUST do what he says, or get punished.

This really is an example of certain people not actually reaching out to the provinces, but appearing to do so, and being deeply loved for the apparent pictures of help and development!! A camera can create all sorts of ideas within the real needy.

Edit: Unfortunately, most of what I write above I believe to be fairly accurate. Any disagreements.... let's discuss, in a coherent manner.

Which part of what you wrote do you believe to be inaccurate then? Having that information will make it easier for me to know what to disagree with.

I acquired my pepper spray at MBK, and the one time I used it, against a ladyboy with a knife, was a disaster. It gave me a false sense of confidence and I ended up getting cut badly. If i hadn't had the pepper spray I would have run away, which in hindsight is what I should have done - and what I'll do next time should such a situation arise again.

Selling beer to passengers has always been one of the main sidelines of the railway employees on those overnight trains. In fact, if you don't buy a beer from them, you can forget about getting any other service out of them. They have refused to set up the dining table at my seat when I declined their offer to buy a beer. I'm sure beer sales make up a large part of their income so they won't be happy about not being able to continue this practice. I wonder what will win out in the end: passenger safety - or railway employee income?

"The opinion survey was conducted during July 1-5. A total of 2,091 people of both sexes were polled."

Sorry, but this poll wasn't representative. If they only polled two genders, they left out a third of the Thai population.

Gambling is immoral - unless the state is getting a cut.

If you can't afford the 500k for the 5y visa, how the hell are you going to live that 5y without working ? Just sayin'.

You don't get it, do you? HAVING the cash, and wanting to just bury it in Thailand, are two entirely different things. If we were that stupid, we probably wouldn't HAVE the cash in the 1st place.

If you are below 50 and don't like to spend cash, work or study. There is no long stay visa for you. It's very simple.

And why should there be. It doesn't make any sense to have freeloaders come in.

How exactly does one freeload in Thailand? Thailand doesn't even provide social welfare benefits for its own citizens. Do you think they would support foreigners? It's only in the west that we're stupid enough to do that.

"Instead, despite its own political mess at home, the US has got on its high horse and preached to us. It calls to mind the words of the late Andy Gibb of the Bee Gees:

"I started a joke

Which started the whole world crying

But I didn't see

That the joke was on me, oh no…" "

Actually "I Started a Joke" was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in 1968. At that time Andy was just ten years old.

So, do I understand it correctly that having a family that depends on the proceeds of your crimes is grounds for avoiding jail in Thailand?

I believe it's toll-free. I have a number with 001 800 to my company in the US. No fees!

Thanks, Joealx, but can I ask you: Do you call that number from a land line, or from a mobile phone? I believe that can make a difference.

I call the US sometimes on my mobile via the local AT&T number in Thailand and, no matter how long I am on the phone, 1-2-Call charges me nothing. The business I call pays AT&T and, I assume, AT&T pays AIS something, but not out of my pocket.

Thanks very much. That sounds promising.

I believe it's toll-free. I have a number with 001 800 to my company in the US. No fees!

Thanks, Joealx, but can I ask you: Do you call that number from a land line, or from a mobile phone? I believe that can make a difference.

I think I might have found the answer to my own question on this website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_Thailand

It seems that these toll-free numbers only work with land lines, which I don't have.

Still, if anyone can confirm this from their own experience, I would appreciate it.