TallGuyJohninBKK

Had the same thought.... Yet I think your post was the first among many in multiple threads here to recall the similar but much more deadly fire at Santika. Lots of apparent similarities between the two cases, years apart. Not surprisingly, just goes to show that all the official puffery about inspections and enforcement is pretty much just for show, and then ends up being ignored thereafter... So the same kinds of things can happen here in Thailand again and again and again.... And ditto with multi-story hotels and condo/apartment buildings where the fire exits are locked and/or obstructed, which likewise keeps occurring with numerous fires.

I took the Red Line to Laksi station about a year ago en route to BKK CW, arriving to Laksi around 8:30 am on a weekday. I went down on the shopping center side near the corner of CW Road... And when I exited that day, the whole area around there was pretty much dead except for the construction. I saw no meter taxis and few motocy taxis there upon arrival, at least at that hour of the morning... Technically, I could have hiked a ways to the corner of CW Road and then crossed over to the opposite side where the traffic is heading toward CW Soi 7... But at least at that time, the whole intersection and walkways there were torn up, and I decided to pass.... instead choosing to walk down CW Road from Laksi to Soi 7... I don't generally take motocy taxis here. I haven't been back there since then to see if things in the general area have improved or not.

Find a listing from the official Samsung store for any phone, then click the "Go to Store" link on the phone's listing page that will take you to the store's homepage on Lazada. If I remember right, they have a categories listing at the top of the main store page that allows you to look only at Samsumg mobiles they sell, as opposed to all the other Samsung products. Once you click the Mobiles tab section, they only have maybe two dozen different models that they're currently offering. And as long as you stay within the Samsung official store's pages and don't do a broader search, it will only show you their models and listings.

Bruno, what was your info source/sources for your post back in December listing the various LTE and 5G bands of the three major mobile providers? I noticed you listed only 5G 700 Mhz as the sole 5G spectrum for both DTAC and AIS... I thought one or both of them also were using some other bands for 5G? https://www.gsma.com/membership/resources/dtac-and-true-merger-talks-point-to-a-need-to-address-unequal-footing-in-thailands-5g/ "In February 2020, NBTC assigned spectrum for 5G use across low (700 MHz), mid (2,600 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands." "AIS launched 5G NSA (non-standalone) in February 2020 using the 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 26 GHz bands, followed by 5G SA in July 2020 in cooperation with Huawei. AIS deployed 5G CA (New Radio Carrier Aggregation) by integrating its mid-band (2600 MHz) and low band (700 MHz) spectrum." "AIS and TrueMove H deployed their initial 5G networks on the 2600 MHz spectrum, while dtac used frequencies in the 26 GHz band."

From the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The opening sentences of the report: "These residential schools were created for the purpose of separating Aboriginal children from their families, in order to minimize and weaken family ties and cultural linkages, and to indoctrinate children into a new culture—the culture of the legally dominant Euro-Christian Canadian society..." Followed by: "Children were abused, physically and sexually, and they died in the schools in numbers that would not have been tolerated in any school system anywhere in the country, or in the world." https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/trc-website/ The above description pretty clearly expresses the "intent" of the school system's creation to engage in cultural genocide, and that's the exact term used in the report, as follows: "The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide."

You're citing a news report quoting one guy about one place. The Reuters report on the government's own official report on the schools system at large specifically cited unmarked graves on school grounds: "...the commission was only able to document about 3,200 of those deaths. Most were buried in unmarked graves on school property."

If you actually read the above cited reports, you'd see that they largely focus on rampant tuberculosis as the cause of many of the deaths.... due to poor living conditions and malnutrition and substandard medical care. The above reports make it very clear that authorities at the time were advised and warned what was occurring, and chose to take no meaningful actions to prevent it. Also, the above cited reference from the Scientific American report doesn't hardly sound like regular community cemeteries: "Residential school survivor testimony has long been filled with stories of students digging graves for their classmates, of unmarked burials on school grounds..." And likewise from the Reuters report: "Sinclair said between 5 percent and 7 percent of students who went to the schools died there, although the commission was only able to document about 3,200 of those deaths. Most were buried in unmarked graves on school property."

Not sure I understand exactly what you were trying to convey in the above post.... But, for myself, I just went today and priced Amazon as the seller shipping me directly a $28 pair of Crocs shoes to Bangkok. Their website doesn't list the weight, but I'm sure it's under 2 lbs for a pair of Crocs... The total price, including $31.85 shipping and $22.44 customs duty, was going to be more than $82 USD (almost triple the purchase price), as follows: If I were going to buy the shoes thru Amazon and then send them thru my U.S. reshipper, I would have paid less than $20 or so in shipping fees and zero in customs duty.

And another interesting read on the subject, from Scientific American: Canada’s Residential Schools Were a Horror Founded to carry out the genocide of Indigenous people, they created conditions that killed thousands of children August 1, 2021 ... Residential school survivor testimony has long been filled with stories of students digging graves for their classmates, of unmarked burials on school grounds, and of children who disappeared in suspicious circumstances. ... Given that more than 1,300 graves have been identified using ground-penetrating radar at only four of the 139 federally run residential schools, the current official number of 4,120 students known to have died in the schools will end up being only a fraction of the actual total. ... (more) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/canadas-residential-schools-were-a-horror/

Canada aboriginal schools were 'cultural genocide': report June 3, 2015 OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian policy of forcibly separating aboriginal children from their families and sending them to residential schools amounted to “cultural genocide,” a six-year investigation into the now-defunct system found on Tuesday. The residential school system attempted to eradicate the aboriginal culture and assimilate children into mainstream Canada, said the long-awaited report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. ... The report documented horrific physical abuse, rape, malnutrition and other atrocities suffered by many of the 150,000 children who attended the schools, typically run by Christian churches on behalf of Ottawa from the 1840s to the 1990s. (more) https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0OI1Z420150603 The report also found, btw: "Sinclair said between 5 percent and 7 percent of students who went to the schools died there, although the commission was only able to document about 3,200 of those deaths. Most were buried in unmarked graves on school property."

As a result of the Asian Financial Crisis, Thailand years ago implemented a government backed deposit protection law similar to the U.S. FDIC deposit insurance. Except....while the per bank, per depositor limit on that started out very high in years past, it's gradually been reduced now to only 1 million baht per depositor, per Thai commercial bank (the law doesn't apply to government owned banks here). Any amount over 1M baht per depositor, per bank is no longer protected/guaranteed by the Thai government. And worth noting, the government deposit insurance only protects against total financial failure of the bank, and NOT against fraud or theft from bank accounts, including by bank employees. https://www.dpa.or.th/en/site/index Foreigners also have to be aware/careful of how the Thai bank classifies their account (as resident or non-resident status) at opening, because of the following language in the law: "Foreigners with Thai baht deposit accounts at member financial institutions in Thailand are also protected under the Deposit Protection Agency Act. However, “Non-Resident Baht Accounts” as defined in the Exchange Control Act B.E. 2485 (1942) are not protected. Remark: A “Non-Resident Baht Account” is a special type of deposit account denominated in Thai baht that is used solely for transactions as specified in the Exchange Control Act. A “Non-Resident” means: ... 4) Natural persons not of Thai nationalities and not having alien identity or residence permits."

The main Immigration office in BKK has never required home photos for retirement extension applications.... But they always have been a standard requirement, among others, for marriage extensions. I can't speak to whatever supporting document requirements Nonthaburi may be enforcing.

The wife and I have had multiple episodes of dealing with the Samsung service centers in Thailand regarding mobile phones. They've been pretty much universally good and helpful.... In that, they'll handle both under warranty service for free and out of warranty service for a fee, such as if your phone's non-removable battery needs replacing years down the road. And they seem to do a pretty good job of continuing to stock replacement parts for their models, even after they're no longer current. As said above, you can take a Thailand purchased Samsung phone to any of the official Samsung service centers here.

From what I've understood lately, the process of apply for a Thai DL is much abbreviated if you're applying with an already valid foreign DL... as opposed to applying without a valid foreign DL. Supposedly, just a couple simple response tests as opposed to the full monty of everything. About car rentals and Thai insurance coverage, that's an interesting and concerning issue. I've heard that might be the case -- that the insurance policies that come with Thai rentals require a Thai DL to be valid... All I know is, in the past, Thai rental car places (I mean the official legit car rental companies) would rent to me solely on the basis of my foreign DL and the rental supposedly included insurance.... Now, what would have happened if I actually was involved in an accident while driving the Thai rental car while possessing only my foreign DL in terms of the insurance policy that came with the rental car, that, fortunately, I never had the misfortune to find out.

The point is... COVID vaccines have saved lives... millions of them around the world during the past year and a half.... And other benefits also thru avoided hospitalizations and associated medical expenses both to people who otherwise would have become ill and the governments paying/helping pay for them. And although Thailand was somewhat slow in getting its COVID vaccines program off the ground, especially for expats, they finally got moving and eventually shifted more toward the higher performing Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.... I've had four shots thus far, two original doses and two boosters as someone over age 60, and I haven't paid a single baht for any of them.

If you choose Amazon's international shipping -- which isn't available for all their products, only some selections -- then they guarantee that you won't have any excess customs/duty fees upon arrival in TH beyond what they themselves charge you on the front end. But their front end handling/tax/customs charges usually are pretty expensive. As a general rule, it's going to be much more economical to have Amazon U.S. purchases sent to/handled by a mail fowarder in the U.S., as you'll get better postage rates and lower/less add-on fees. Plus by using a mail forwarding service (which are very easy to use and can be managed entirely online), you have all of Amazon available to you, not just parts. PS - I don't think Amazon's international shipping arragements are any kind of flat fee based add-ons. I'm pretty sure they're calculated based on the value and probably weight of what's being shipped. But as someone mentioned above, yes, if Amazon overestimates the actual charges for postage/handling, I believe they can/will rebate the excess to you.

Glad you brought that up... Yes, the private couriers here tend to be much more aggressive in adding on various fees -- VAT, custom's duty and even for storage. Probably because they run their own Customs clearance houses. I learned long ago best to avoid them whenever possible. I have a mail forwarder in the U.S. send Amazon and other U.S. stuff to me here in Thailand all the time via international regular mail. I always try to keep the declared values per package below $50 USD, and I almost never pay any of the above fees on anything. And to keep within that framework, I tend to ship more smaller packages instead of fewer larger ones with multiple items consolidated. The international mail service I use is valid for packages up to about 4.5 pounds in weight. If the weight is heavier than that, then I instead will use USPS Express or Priority International Mail. The per kilo rates are a bit higher, and for higher value/heavier things like a PC laptop, they'll tend to charge the 7% VAT here on arrival... but not anything else. Because in all of the above cases, the packages ultimately are delivered here by Thai Post.

When I read this article, I started wondering.... Why in the world would anyone want to leave the lovely U.K. and travel on tourism to France / Europe? Aren't there more than enough entertaining / touristy things / places back home?

The Imperial College of London researcherwho did the estimates of lives saved by COVID vaccines through the end of 2021 have published their research and methodology for all to see, estimating that vaccines saved between 14.4 and 19.8 million lives. "We evaluated the impact of the first year of COVID-19 vaccination, revealing how vaccinations have more than halved the potential global death toll due to COVID-19, with an estimated 19·8 million deaths from COVID-19 averted as a result of vaccination, based on excess mortality estimates of the impact of the pandemic." ... "Under-ascertainment of COVID-19 mortality is a known issue that has hindered our understanding of the pandemic.23 In this analysis, we consequently focused on fitting to all-cause excess mortality, which provides a more complete description of the pandemic.15 However, even when relying on model fits based on reported COVID-19 deaths, we estimated that more than 14 million deaths were averted by COVID-19 vaccination." https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00320-6/fulltext And further explanation of that research: "The scientists estimated that 18.1 million deaths would have occurred during the study period without vaccination. Of those, the model estimated that vaccination prevented 14.4 million deaths, or 79%. When they accounted for under-reporting, however, they found that COVID vaccination prevented an estimated 19.8 million deaths out of a total of 31.4 million potential deaths that would have occurred without vaccination—a reduction of 63%." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/06/covid-19-vaccines-saved-estimated-20-million-lives-1-year

Mixing with the unvaccinated increases COVID-19 risk for the vaccinated, study finds Apr 25, 2022 MONTREAL — While remaining unvaccinated against COVID-19 is often framed as a personal choice, those who spurn the vaccines raise the risk of infection for those around them, a new study suggests. The research published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that vaccinated people who mix with those who are not vaccinated have a significantly greater chance of being infected than those who stick with people who have received the shot. ... Co-author David Fisman, of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana school of public health, said ... “You may like to drive your car 200 kilometres an hour and think that’s fun, but we don’t allow you to do that on a highway partly because you can kill and injure yourself, but also because you’re creating risk for those around you,” (more) https://torontosun.com/health/mixing-with-the-unvaccinated-increases-covid-19-risk-for-the-vaccinated-study-finds

Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple, for a couple different reasons: 1. As scientists have noted, every time there's a new COVID infection in the world, that increases the likelihood of further COVID virus mutations that could change the virus into who-knows-what kind of a threat. The most recent mutations have made the virus both more transmissible and more able to evade the protections from prior vaccinations and even prior COVID infections, all of which creates the prospect for growing numbers of people sick with COVID. The unvaccinated, in particular, contribute to those risks. 2. You may not care about your own COVID risks enough to be vaccinated, but every time an unvaccinated/unboosted person ends up contracting the virus, they're not only a threat to themselves, but also to anyone else they come into close, sustained contact with. So the risk isn't just yours to take on your own, but also the unwitting others around you who may have no idea of the risk you pose to others. From the U.S. CDC on current vaccine effectiveness: " People who were unvaccinated had a greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and a greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than people who were vaccinated overall (see below for the most recent rates). People who were vaccinated with a primary series and two additional or booster doses had lower death rates, followed by people who received one additional or booster dose, compared with those without an additional or booster dose. All vaccinated groups had lower risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with people who were unvaccinated." CDC source link: CDC source link:

School children, because of their age, tend to have among the lower risks for serious COVID illness.... So they often end up spreading the virus to older family members when they bring the virus home...and those adult relatives end up getting sick. But that doesn't mean school age children have no serious risk from COVID:

Some might argue (myself included) that a likely reason President Biden thus far is experiencing only minor COVID symptoms, despite at age 79 being in the absolute highest risk group for serious COVID health problems, is BECAUSE he's been fully vaccinated and boosted as public health authorities have recommended for people of his age. Unfortunately, more than HALF of Thailand's population age 60 and above thus far has not yet received even a third booster shot....and almost 20% haven't received a second vaccine shot -- meaning they're at substantially higher risk for serious health problems should they become infected. And that means a lot of especially vulnerable elderly people out there. Latest Thai MoPH graphic on current vaccination rates among the elderly and youngsters, showing rates for first, second and third shots received: https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106142991004034/608392074112454/?type=3

No, we haven't established that... The vaccine efficacy today in preventing basic infections is partial and declines post-injection to very low levels after several months, but then can be restored again to prior, original levels with subsequent booster shots. Which is the reason public health authorities advise people to stay current/up-to-date with vaccine booster shots. But the protections against serious illness and death remain strong, both immediately post injection and thereafter, including with subsequent booster shots.... though not 100% in any case. Few things in this world are 100% absolute.

*Deleted post edited out* It's more than a bit disingenuous to try to make a "thing" now of Biden's comments on COVID and vaccinations that he made one full year ago... At the time he made those remarks, what he was saying was basically true -- the vaccines at that time provided very strong protection against infection from the earlier COVID variants circulating at that time.... What's changed is what happened in the ensuing YEAR AFTER Biden made those comments -- newly emerged COVID variants that changed the whole environment and made the current vaccines today much less protective against basic infections....but still largely protective against serious illness and death. If Biden had come down with COVID a year ago after being fully vaccinated, you might have had a case to make. But given the dated context of his quoted remarks, you have nothing.