Bangkok Barry

The problem with these fools is that someone dreams up an idea and, no matter how unworkable or stupid it is, it is announced without thinking it through. And anyone with half a brain who realises it is unworkable or stupid can't say so as the fool who dreamed up the idea will lose face. And that is exactly how Thailand works. Over and over again, with any number of government policies which usually die a death/are subject to a U-turn. Such as every tourist arrival must use a Thai SIM card so they can be tracked. There are plenty more examples. The country is run by idiots.

I guess, arrivals minus Thai citizens. And which arrivals are expats, which are tourists? The tax is supposed to apply to one and not the other.

And you seem to have misunderstood that the airlines have said they cannot add it to fares as who pays the tax depends on what status the passenger has in Thailand. That is the entire point of the article, which appears to have passed you by.

Yes. I've been planning a stay in Bangkok, and noticed that my proposed hotel has increased the price for the low season (June) from what it is this month.

You are not supposed to ask awkward questions. Any Thai knows that almost from birth. You must just accept whatever you are told, like a Thai. Behave yourself!

Absolutely everyone here seems to need a backup of many when it comes to violence, even a simple shopkeeper. I'm sure she'll say it was all a misunderstanding and a wai will follow. Meanwhile, the Finn will be questioning what he read about Thailand being the Land of Smiles.

Everyday we see the standard of tourist that Thailand attracts. Now, I wonder why that is....

14,177 cases of driving without a driver’s licence In most countries that would be inconceivable. But in Thailand it makes little difference whether they have a license or not. The driving standards are the same.

In the Land of Apathy there is obsoletely no desire to do anything at all about the scams. None. If they were serious, instead of doing a 'crack down' for a few hours once a year outside one shopping centre, they need to pull a load of soldiers out of a barracks where they do who knows what all day long, dress them in civvies and get them to hire taxis. Any who refused to use the meter or do their job by actually taking people where they want to go (often an alien concept here, I know) should immediately have their license withdrawn. No ifs or buts. The word would soon get around. I'm sure that plenty of foreigners could be found who would be only too happy to take on the job too. But in Thailand nobody cares about anything, from taxi scams to kids dying on motorcycles.

that's not a freak accident, that is negligence. And idiocy. But just another example of Thai apathy. They knew there was a problem but did nothing, because doing nothing is easy. And then there was a price to be paid.

Never going to happen, I'm afraid. Humans simply don't like humans. You know, not wanting anyone to sit next to you on a bus or train, kids bullying other kids at school - now, where does that come from other than an inbred dislike of fellow humans. My religion is better than your religion, border lines that only humans recognise drawn in the sand with the threat that if you if you cross into my country I'll kill you. It just goes on and on. Currently we have rival army factions killing each other and civilians in Sudan. Not good, is it.

It's always been there. Even in my lifetime there has been a hatred of blacks, forcing them to use separate schools, use separate entrances to buildings, making them sit in the back of buses. And so on. And so on. The USA has never been a great example of humanity.

Somehow, people in countries other than the USA manage to survive quite well without needing a gun for protection or anything else. If people feel the need to be armed to protect themselves then there is something very rotten at the heart of America. The rest of the world knows that. Only Americans don't get it. As for the right of everyone to be armed being enshrined into a list of rules written 200+ years ago, and which therefore cannot be challenged under any circumstances no matter how many people are gunned down, I wonder if the constitution also upholds the right to buy ammunition. If not, uphold the constitution by allowing gun sales but ban the sale of ammunition and the problem is solved. Simples.

Thailand provides wonderful and unexpected entertainment for visitors to the Land of Smiles. Murders on the beach, fights between taxi drivers, student gangs battles. All in front of amazed tourists. All a bit tame though, compared to where some tourists arrive from. At least 20 injured, multiple dead from shooting at Alabama birthday party

If he wants to surrender all he has to do is walk into the nearest police station. Not too difficult to understand, surely.

A friend of mine recently had the same problem. He spent an hour trying to find the right form to download (he had no idea of the number he should look for) and he eventually came to me for help. As for the mention above about the form needing to be printed on both sides of the paper, it doesn't. Or maybe it does. As with everything else, each office(r) has their own rule. I use Kalasin, and they have forms available in a rack which use a separate sheet for each page.

Why? It's Thailand, and doing anything properly isn't regarded as necessary. It's the way the entire country functions, and why would IOs be any different.

Reminds me of the tale of someone who had a Thai girlfriend and they invited her mother to come and stay. The first day, she offered to go out and get in some food, and she was gone so long they started to worry and went in search of her. They didn't have to go far. She was still waiting by the lift, waiting for it to stop at her floor. She had no idea she had to push the button.

And there you have it. It could have been stopped years earlier. Yes. But she said she loved him. As they say in Yorkshire, now't so queer as folk.

They were just providing an impromptu cabaret for the tourists - who will now be checking their TAT Land of Smiles brochures and wondering if they landed in the right country.

Phuket officials vow to crack down on operators renting bikes to unlicenced tourists Is that for one day, or two?

Well, the soaps show the same thing day after day, so no surprise there.

If you take a four-wheel taxi it's the same fare no matter how many passengers. If you take a motorcycle taxi they think they can charge per person - even though I'm pretty sure they're breaking the law by taking more than one person on the back. And this driver was prepared to injure his passengers in a dispute over less that $3. Money far more important. I'm sure his passengers will let people back home know how exciting Thailand can be.

Presumably this was the hotmail address you'd given them in the past? I've must realised that it wasn't my UK government portal I had a problem with, but my BT one. My memory was jogged when I checked an email I received last week saying that my pension was being increased by 10%. Of course, the government one won't be, despite the fact I paid into to the system for many years and am now no burden on resources. Thank you BT, and a finger to the UK government.

I tend to agree with you. But, really, the people to blame for motorcyclists dying due to not wearing a helmet are those who do not wear a helmet. THAT is the root cause of them dying, not the police being too lazy to enforce the law.