Sydebolle

All the while Wanchalearm Satsaksit, apparently a Thailand critic "disappeared" some years ago in broad daylight from the roads of Phnom Penh; a kind of Wild West scenario here and there once Cambodia is involved ........

Against the non-claim proof they gave me straight away 50% and an extra 10% for having a dashboard camera. I bought a new Honda city which I could not find on their list of vehicles (model/year); a phone call to Roojai cleared that query. I - for one - am very happy with their professionalism no frill approach which is possibly the secret behind their considerably more attractive premiums

As long as these "ladies" approach foreigners against the foreigner's will and do not understand, that not every visitor from outside Thailand wants to ham*er a representative of the third gender against money ....... There is a flip side to this whole story - absolutely irrelevant as it is being repeated nightly dozens if not hundreds of times. But yeah, the semi-divine in full swing again ...........

The Sweetie should have worked as a Moh Nuwat (a massage girl) in one of the many soapies all over the land instead. Apart from possibly being properly hammered she would have been paid for her services. On a more sombre note; while it is of course very tragic for the young student she should have known not to mess with something she had not the slightest clue about. The elephant might have been confused, irritated or felt insecure and danger. The average person has no clue, how animals react and the handler might or might not have known but certainly got paid for the services to tourism. Why, do you think, there is no "bathing with elephants" anywhere in Europe and no, it is not the different weather pattern ......... nobody would ever think of starting such business, even if it would be legal.

Unbelievable, many Thais have not realized, that this is no longer Stone Age but 21st century; same with tiger parks, crocodile farms and other wildlife experiences. Only once a few people are being trampled to death they might realize, that it is not a normal thing for an elephant to let anyone underpass the pachyderm's belly which is vulnerable and the elephant can't see, what is going on down there ........

Here's the proof; hard work pays off - it seems - or not? Ask a Thai rice farmer in Buriram, how much money had would have had to declare with 38 years of age .............

Stopped some years ago, when these greedy vendors patched up excellent food with MSG and sugar; today most of the stuff became inedible, if you ask me 😞

a) the bus driver, name unknown and only called "Ouan" fled the scene b) the bus company has no clue, who drove the bus and hence cannot be charged with the damages Again, again and once more again, a matter of law fine tuning and implementation: a) the liability remains with the vehicle OWNER and not the driver, i.e. the owner is responsible for any and all third-party damages b) the vehicle owner needs to stipulate the name of the driver, otherwise the owner is being considered guilty for eventual law enforcements/arrests and court cases But this is Lalala Land and nothing will happen; the SUV driver though might have a full first class insurance and they might knock on the bus owner's door. The driver, if ever identified, should be banned for life on any and all driving licenses; it is such maniacs which make driving in this country sooooooo safe!

Regretfully Mr. Andersen is in Lalala Land with a law enforcement system which can easily be bent by monetary or racial means - simple as that. So Mr. Andersen's justified reference to a lifetime revocation of a driver’s public transport licence does absolutely never happen in the land of the semi-divines. He may remain hopeful that justice will be served but the breaking news is that this will not happen - ever. If Mr. Andersen would not have been in Phuket, the incident would not have happened hence it is Mr. Andersen's fault. Naturally the police are investigating the matter, working to identify and apprehend the suspect - hundreds if not thousands of boys-in-brown are hunting down the culprit. A shortcut would be to read the details on Mr. Andersen's phone giving name of driver and car plate registration, the "popular ride-hailing" application had an break-down of servers or similar while the CCTV (which of course unfortunately was not functioning) renders useless as well. Should, surprise surprise, the culprit be apprehended then a "wai" and a flower basket to the victim will solve the problem while the backhanding of a little bak shish will compensate the law enforcers for their good work (for which they are paid for anyway). Eventual fine will reach its ceiling with 500 Baht. Are all these goons aware of the fact, that the internet and such news can be accessed and read also outside the Land of the Semi-Divines?

Another pristine proof of how education failed completely - and that's in 2025. If a customer is too mentally challenged - to put it mildly - then you might have to educate them, what it actually means to use electronic transfer of money. Scams can be followed; if Grannie transferred the family silver to this ever-so-nice-person, then it is done through electronic means and Grannie has the recipient's bank coordinates (or Grannie's bank). Based on that the police should be able to breathe down the bank's neck (where Grannie has her money); they know exactly, whereto the funds went, carry on with the work and get the beneficiary's full details, which are on file with ID card, house register, passport or whatever legal paperwork. It is really not rocket science. Put these scammers on a face-losing TV programme daily "Today's crooks are ....." with photos, videos and the full details. Everything else is addressing the symptoms (if at all) without releasing the society of all this slime and corrupted law enforcement!

Who is the one to tell this masterpiece of a sunshine boy that law enforcement is all which is needed. Get drunk drivers off the road, fine them with 5-digit fees, impound the vehicle on site and release it a month later against a towing fee of 5,000 Baht. Simultaneously provide a bus service from the check point to the next bus or railway station and get the drunk diver and 24 of his friends and relatives in the back of his pick-up to walk the walk. Simple as that ........ seriously!

See the coppers, offer them a reward of 50% of the 6,000 Euros and Bob's your uncle - trust me!

Well, it carries the "Garuda", a Royal emblem in Thailand. So if the culprit does not kiss backsides all over the place and deals more than generously with the tip box of the boys in brown, he will look at article 112 which allows 15 years of jail for insulting the monarchy. Police here have a more than very, very, very arrogant attitude and a short fused non-Thai easily can lose it completely. There is no way to address a dispute about something concerning the police at a higher level hence the boys in brown really behave like if they can do whatever they want.

So 2 million Thai Baht could not be returned to the family .......... did not know that Thai banks have such high transfer fees given the assumption that the trio of three hardly could have spent all that loose change prior to their arrest?

Thailand needs grassroots education improvement; you cannot build a house by starting with the roof - even in Thailand. It is an absolute disgrace to see the complete utter absence of common sense, logic thinking while the teachers, some of them seriously unqualified, are being treated as semi-divines. But as the saying goes, not my circus, not my monkeys (no pun intended)!

Shoot them down next time - will put the whole genocide by the tadmadaw onto the world map; everything else is Thai-style pussy footing around the uniformed brethren in the West - a disgrace for Thailand indeed 😞

Not unreasonable, common sense and convenient. To avoid money laundering, the banks could put a ceiling of X amount - money laundering is not worthwhile for a few hundred thousand Baht ......

Well, the puzzle is being continued. Yesterday he has been named an advisor to the Malaysian government for their imminent occupying the throne of ASEAN and today this. Who tries to fool who here, honestly? If the NACC has a case, follow it through quietly and discreetly and once the court has dealt with the case, then only go public - everything else is hot air from the la la la land again

Ah, it is Christmas time again; followed by New Year resolutions. What a farce all this is, nobody in his right mind believes a word coming from any of these uniformed "servants to the public"!

....... and it's only halftime December 😉

Nobody understands the noble gesture of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. As Thailand has millions and millions and millions of top quality tourists already, they want to lend a hand to Singapore to promote Singapore as the next best thing after Phuket. Or am I getting this all wrong again?

Happy days are here again. One day in jail and next day advising the neighbour in the South in view of ASEAN's challenges. Now how does this look on a resumé .......

Tell the Scandinavians upon arrival that antlers here are not deer which can be haunted - to avoid hunting excursions which otherwise might be offered by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to skyrocket their statistics even more. One in eight Scandinavians shot down a Thai deer with blinking antlers ......... now that would make the world travel news for sure!

These big spenders splash out more than 6,000-7,000 baht daily, far surpassing the average tourist spend of 4,200 baht per day or 120,000 baht per trip. This exclusive club is largely made up of couples, families, and LGBTQ visitors. TAT’s Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, revealed that this exclusive club, largely made up of couples, families, and LGBTQ visitors, contributed a hefty 40-50% of last year’s 2 trillion baht in tourism revenue. TAT’s Siripakorn Cheawsamoot might be delighted to learn, that there is another segment spending obscene amounts of money, namely the upper crust of retiree residents. Some brainless goons in the Finance Ministry floated the idea of taxing retirees on their entire assets they accrued over 45 years of working - resulting in tens of thousands of the better-off to move on. In my circle of friends some 15% to 20% are ready to move away the minute that taxation dream becomes Thai reality; they correctly state that their savings has nothing to do with Thailand as earned, taxed and saved before moving here. The semi-divine simply forgot, that non-Thais of any walk of life, have moved at least once in their lifetime and, wonder over wonder, are able to do that anytime again. There is sun, fun and nothing to do in many other countries with easier entry conditions such as visa, asset ownership and taxation! Meanwhile Siripakorn, "looking" after Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, will have to live with the fact, that his colleague running South Asia and China is considerably luckier - as far as arrivals are concerned - they come in by the millions and leave a trickling small trail - per capita - compared to the rest of the world. Siripakorn's segment faces two obstacles; one is the immigration under the police under the Ministry of Interior and they - quite obviously - never ever spoke to each other. The thorny way to a long(er) term tourist visa, for instance the entire winter of the Northern hemisphere is a ballistic journey of bureaucracy, photocopies duly signed in only blue ink, photographs of the applicant who may not smile whatsoever on the shots etc. etc. etc. To be ahead of others and remain competitive in the anticipated luxury travel market, Thailand needs to ease some bureaucratic obstacles, upgrade the infrastructure and supply chains - all of which remain persistent weaknesses with no attempt for change in sight. Absolutely unknown remains also, why a tourist cannot open a bank account and get an ATM card. There is zero risk for the bank as the ATM only splurges money as long as there is money on the account. But have it your way and carry on dreaming - or get real and welcome the 21st century of tourism business!

Seriously, I am wondering what kind of excellent weed is smoked by these clowns. The market decides retail pricing which - in many cases - is borderline competitive. The pandemic resulted in a very fast dying retail industry and increasing retail prices is perfect proof of not having the slightest idea of anything. In true Thai fashion dropping revenues (and subsequent profits) is being fought with higher prices; i.e. make the same money with lesser volume and higher prices. Wondering which university is teaching this particular subject of guaranteed back-firing!