Sydebolle

As long as doctors are treated semi-divine (together with teachers and government officers), you will always have the imposters pretending to be more than they are as even those "who are" sometimes do not admit, not having the slightest clue of what they are doing. Well, not one but two certified doctors working part-time at two independent private top hospitals at the Eastern seaboard attested a cataract in my eye. Replacement of the lens was quoted with THB 550'000 (multi-focal) and, getting a second opinion, THB 70'000 (mono-focal). Unhappy with the situation I went for a third opinion to see Rutnin Eye Hospital in Bangkok whose expert attested AMG (macula degeneration) with is a retina issue and had absolutely nothing to do with a lens-related problem. Without the third opinion I would have fantastic sight except that I would suffer from an irrevocable tunnel blindness, i.e. the focal point of my view would be ........ black and could no longer watch a movie, lest driving a car or anything else where a fairly good eyesight is necessary.

Well, that is nothing new. I remember back in the 80s flying to Mae Hong Son from Chiang Mai on a Short 330-200. Every passenger had to get on a scale and was seated accordingly - was it for trimming the plane reasons or anything else, I never found out.

The Royal Thai Embassy in the United States has, for sure, never done any business in Thailand - in that case. Sitting snugly in Washington DC with diplomatic status is one thing - but certainly not the reality! The endless avalanche of photocopies (all one-sided only, never copy anything on the backside), duly rubber-stamped with company seal and signed with blue ink for anything, together with company affidavits not older than one to three months spring to mind. They never applied for a work permit whereby the CEO has to confirm, that he decided to employ himself; all this again with blue ink, company affidavits, copies of passport, education certificates etc. Of course there has to be a board meeting with himself acting as CEO, secretary and witness - three in one. In case of a renewal, the yellow income tax payment receipts have to be presented in original and - yes - copies duly stamped and signed with blue ink. A full set of photographs showing the applicant seated behind a desk, again copied and blue inked. Organization chart, staff list etc. again - stamped and blue inked. Ah, and yes, not even half the people filing nails or enjoying a bowl of noodle soup at 10am behind the desk would speak a word of English despite doing nothing but paperwork for alien from outer space or, as so befittingly worded by a minister "the dirty farang"! Depending on what business (i.e. hospitality) the powers-to-be issue licenses for imported and local tobacco, imported and local alcohol and spirits, license for processing food and two licenses for playing music in public places, one for international tunes and one for local squeaks. Of course they are not in the same building, Soi or road and sometimes even in another municipality of the province. The labour department is next with their most antiquated system of social security welfare processing and payment; opening bank accounts - without any credit facility - adds to the bureaucratic fun. They certainly never tried to get a credit card swiper as that again requires copies of affidavits (not older than one month), work permit, passport and bank account books, all rubber stamped with seals and blue ink signatures. To get the affidavits, you are welcome to see the next "Department of Business Development" or DBD with 30 times more seats for customers waiting than officers behind the desks; latter usually manned only by 60% - 80%. You need to present rubber stamped and blue inked copies of your ID (i.e. passport with front page and all pages with a stamp in it) to APPLY to get the DBD affidavit, wait anything between 45 - 90 minutes, pay a ridiculously small fee and you're on your way again. So, whatever that Embassy may say - they have not the slightest clue what they are talking about. The entry into Thailand is tedious, a permanent uphill battle with authorities, government officials and other brakemen in full force; combined with a complete absence of common sense but yeah, once you get there and know your way around it is a walk in the park. This is my conclusion after almost four decades in the Land of interesting moments ????

I remember flying nonstop to New York on TG, one of the worst flights ever - apart from being veeerrrrryyyy long. The army boys some years back participated in a military show of some sort in Honolulu/Hawaii and they flew on a B747; the catering featured French champagne and the works in the tens of thousands of dollars and the official number of participants was more than doubled by shown only on the outbound passenger list, mostly females and ha generation to two younger. The public queried the matter ...... to no outcome, of course, as usual. Some years ago I read an article, that the Swiss president (which is higher than a prime minister) attended an ASEM meeting in Ulanbataar; the capital of Mongolia and travelled on a normal business class seat on Turkish Airlines via Istanbul - interesting how some countries keep public spending of their "officers" in check!

Except Thai Lion all other carriers owe me money which is ........ under process ????

That came in faster than expected but his background with Newin and Saksayam as well as the reputation of his father Chai might come in handy in times of need ..........

Well, he is roaming the North with Anutin who introduced the legalization - so they might have something to talk about tonight instead of hanging around in a sleazy karaoke bar ..........

Presently 13 flights weekly from Bangkok ......... but yes, get the runway extended to 10'000 meters as the forecast of the Tourism Authority of Thailand might earmark A380 flight, every hour to the hour from each of those 21 Chinese cities with more than 5 million inhabitants - and on weekends double. What a joke; Nan is a nice place but the Chinese have equally nice places more than similar to Nan - me thinks!

Jack it up .......

Given the totally overburdened farmers with debts left, right and centre ........

Pipat and his present as well as past cronies simply don't get it. Those increases, without any impact on productivity , are exclusively borne by the private industry, i.e. the corporate juristic tax payers. If salaries go up unjustified, the inflation is curbed - explain that to Khon Thai. His salary increase from 200 to 300 Baht (Yingluck's government) meant 50% from bottom or 33% from top which might account for the fact, that the noodle soup increased from 30 to 35-38 Baht. Latter though was not understood as the electorate is too uneducated to understand, that noodles and the soups need to be made prior to consumption and if the making increases - it might affect the costs 8-). But, and that's where the corporate tax payers come in. If unjustified rulings come from higher up, the work is relocated and Cambodia was a big winner already in the past. Just keep indirect vote buying with promises IF elected and you will run out of those who pay for your populistic election promises. Considering the vote outcome in May this year it is quite apparent, in which direction all this is heading .... but someone has to explain that in slow, clear spoken spellings to people like Pipat ????

That went faster than expected; the first strange news appear ????

So the boys are on an outing again; interesting are the traveling partners Anutin Charnvirakul, Patcharawat Wongsuwan and sweetheart Thammarat Prompao. What a team of experts roaming the land - how lucky Thailand is ????

Given the fact, that most kids are glued to all sorts of phones and tablets already - it would not make a difference to them. The stuff they learn at school here is provenly substandard - to be polite - irrespective if administered in printed or electronic form. For argument's sake, uploading respective school applications would suffice and well, if not enough space, then throw out some of those useless game apps with which those children are wasting their playtime outside. But the money might not be in the apps but rather in the hardware and, surprise, surprise, the name Chidchob pops up. The sitting Education Minister Police General Permpoon Chidchob is lesser known than his father - the "Padrino" of Buriram Khun Chai Chidchob. His brothers are the uncrowned chief of Buriram, Bhumjaithai Party patriarch Newin Chidchob, the ruler of Buriram and Saksayam Chidchob, former Transport Minister. All of them interesting characters on the political chessboard of Thailand. This tablet business taps interesting tax payers resources while the problem is not the media but rather the content - me thinks!

All OK, all good - everyone is the same in the eye of the Thai law. Some are just more equal than others and I had this idiotic imagination, that it might be related to some mail, envelopes or statements - but, as said, imagination only ????

Pattaya might have the most bakeries of all Thailand - spoilt for choice

a) it corresponds to the present Labour Law of Thailand b) many Thais have always had an issue in managing their own money (a different thing though is when they manage the money of an alien ???? ) c) it will create another few thousand jobs to manage this monetary horn of plenty being depleted twice and not only once a month d) the World Bank lists 38 million Thais as labour force which means, that one in twelve work for the government - hence the latter is the lands biggest employer and might have figured out by now, how to pay this bureaucratic monster in (mostly) uniforms. The other top employer does not really work according to a), certainly can be found in the second half of b), has no inpact on c) and, as it officially does not exist, the conclusion to d) is obsolete .....

Well, I looked up the air links between Kazakhstan and Thailand ........... and, boy, it certainly will fan in a lot of new tourism dollars from Kazakhstan without the headache of a visa .......

Why not change Baht into US, three trillion USD sounds even more ????

Puzzled, to say the least. So, with the write-off/loss of the bail of one million Thai Baht this case is closed and the sweetheart of Bangkok's finest just keeps on walking elsewhere now? What have the guardians of the law undertaken to bring this gentleman back to the "Old Bailey" of Bangkok to get the news shared?

Nice to share a picture of a trusty representative of an urban sub-district of Naphon Pathom. I just hope that the voters will remember a lesson of how a huge boar is feeding sheer endlessly at the troughs so nicely kept filled by the tax payers. Even for a complete idiot like me it is simply not possible to understand, how anyone can legally earn such a fortune. But then again, every country gets the government it deserves. Good riddance, most likely, yet I would not have wished him to take the one-way ticket to Hades .........

Paedophiles, rapists and drug dealers should all meet their masters without further delay. Hand down the death sentence to rid society while ensuring, that this particular piece of manure will never ever pop up anywhere. See what happens in the West with their pussyfooting around such issues. If the case is crystal clear, then ensure the safety and interest of the 99%+ majority of the society.

Mathematical average would be 22'500 tourists a day (given traveller counted twice, once arriving and once departing), which is wishful thinking as CNX is as seasonal as the rest of Thailand. Where does Srettha Thavisin want to accommodate this interesting number, capillary infrastructure (transfer to/from airport) etc. etc. etc. I think, the message lies in the airport’s director, Wijit Kaewsaitiam, statement that "the Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) is to spearhead the construction". I was not aware of any government following the cement boys' intention but yes, every day is school day! It is an open secret that construction was always one of the smoke screens for tremendous non-receiptable outlays. The runway extension in Mae Hong Son springs to mind and Supanburi is also known as "Banharn-buri", named after a (meanwhile deceased) Minister of all trades incl. prime minister some 25 years ago. Banharn made zillions with construction mandates yet his electorate loved him for putting scary unnecessary infrastructure into his hometown. As the submarine deal might fall through - since the Germans will not supply the engines because of China and not because of Thailand - it means, no submarine deep sea port to be built. Well, if underwater infrastructure work does not work, maybe look at what kind of airport project they can come up with ........... Improve the product and go for quality tourism; the avalanches from China, India, Kazakhstan is not the answer to Thailand's problem with its rotten tourism industry ????

Go for the mineral water on sale, not RO, not carbonated but simple mineral water from Aura; a sure winner all the way!