Sydebolle

But it was Anutin's family enterprise which got - co-incidentially of course - awarded the expansion of Swampy during/after Covid already. Do airports wear off that fast, I mean, we're talking three, four years here?

Newly appointed tourism minister, Sermsak Pongpanich, though lacking specific tourism experience ........ Yet another expert stirring the tourism soup. One day - protect Thailand from over tourism, next day introduce 300 Baht arrival/landing fee, another day cancel TM6 for arrivals/departure by air but not overland, then a year later cancel the TM6 overland as well on a temporary basis. Next you read is expansions of airport to accommodate extra traffic while Korat airport, built for the sake of - most likely very juicy - commissioning, is moving back into the barracks of the Air Force where it had been operated for decades. Betong in the South got a new airport and the tourism experts back in the day did some arm twisting with Nok Air to operate there. After a few weeks of literally empty planes they seized the services without great fanfare. Other experts called tourists "dirty farang" and "alien", the rip-offs by cabbies and jet ski operators are standard here, apart from governmentally endorsed two- if not three-tier pricing for admissions to national parks and historical sites - which are rarely visited by the locals anyway. Instead of letting the locals go completely free and hence avoid the pricing discussion, the non-Thai fees are getting jacked up. So may I conclude, that the appointed Mr Sermsak Pongpanich fits perfectly well into the tourism ministry which has been run by clueless politicians in successive rows while the underlings keep on hammering on the goose which had been laying solid golden and platinum eggs in the past. The writing is definitely on the wall, in big red letters which even gloom at night ......... what a pity!

This might turn out to be better than any soap opera they usually broadcast nightly at 8.30pm - get the popcorn out!

Thailand had one of the best airlines 40 years ago, but yeah ...... that was 40 years ago. I have not flown TG for many years as I had it with delays, HiSo-nose-up staff on the ground and in the air apart from being usually the most expensive carrier out of Bangkok. Domestically any dog <deleted>-carrier is better than TG and internationally there are so much better alternatives on offer, so why bother - really, why bother? They now brushed up the P&L by selling B744 and A380 and will got and buy new toys by whoever offers the biggest kick-backs. Call Rolls-Royce for guidance; they know how to deal with the semi-divine Khon Thais when it comes to selling ........

Good luck with that idea ..... me thinks, that Thailand's Cabinet Reshuffle should fuel the possibility of Government Reform .....

Now you see him, now you don't! How can you run a country like that; it is the name card of the country and should be managed by the best possible candidate, irrespective of political alliance. But there is hope, in 2027 latest the total reshuffling of (old) cards will happen; lets see

Last time round it was the Russian President Putin, this time they are s1ht-scared about the Chinese leadership in Beijing. The US is in itself a failed state for quite some time already and uniting domestic fighters under one umbrella is done easiest by inventing a non-existing foreign enemy. China's farewell protocol of Blinken's recent departure was self-explanatory for the fact, that there was not a single Chinese present, neither foreign minister nor cleaners - get the message, Mr Blinken. In closing, how poor must the American electorate system be to allow any Tom, Dick and Harry to fiddle around in US internal elections?

Ordered some plastic screws from China, THB 94 incl. postage. The following scenario shows the more juicier details of yet another splendid idea on how to finance the three engine-less submarines 😉 7% VAT is THB 6.58 (or THB 7). In order to "earn" THB 7 tax money, the costs in opening, checking, resealing, delivering, collecting and channel the VAT via Thai post (or courier service) to the Ministry of Finance ........ Yet another royal fart by this most entertaining group of governmental goons and showtime by the clowns of Bangkok's bureaucratic circus! And then the Thais are surprised, if the non-Thai crowd has a kind of non-understanding smile on its face 8-)

Sounds like yet another round of chess to me - the Shinawatras are back in full force. The retiree-cum-fugitive-cum-sick-to-death-yet-reborn-oncemore-again pulls the strings, tries to hammer the trade into his incapable daughter while the rest is hanging around like puppets - ready for the puppet master or cooking up their own little soups. This is all OK and certainly a "Thai-only" matter but do not refer to Thailand as a democracy for quite some time to come please.

Yes, it works with commercial banks like those named or even Stonehenge Bangkok Bank. UOB is a different story; had a credit card for 30+ years by Citibank and since UOB took over, literally n nothing works anymore. Well, I had a fraud billing, announced by SMS with a phone number to call in case of fraud. After 17 minutes waiting a lady answered "no sapeak Thai" and cut the line. Went online onto the website; the first pop-up on their webpage are the numbers to call in case of fraud, one for Thai and one for English. 32 minutes into the waiting - phone got answered, card blocked and new card announced for "next month". No online statement viewable for the time being so it is "wait and see"; I for one would want to keep the card as the paperwork involved to get a credit card from another bank reminds me of Einstein's theories with an avalanche of papers, certificates, blue ink signed copies and hours at the bank. But to your question, I am using BKK Bank for a foreign currency deposit account, online through Bualuang Ibanking and it works flawlessly, real time BUT only during office hours of the bank (for whatever reason) .....

Well, even he will learn rather sooner than later, that he cannot eat money nor does power last forever. Yet, absolute power corrupts absolutely - as the saying goes; but we all know that this certainly does not apply to the kind gentleman who took care of watches of his deceased friend as he was not willing to share the details of the widow to avoid more pain over the lost husband. Mysterious are the ways of the East ........

What a lucky surprise - sort of a Songkran gift?

We're all back in business - it seems ..........

Prior Covid = TAT was blowing its own trumpets over 40 million tourists (as if they would have anything to do with this) Post Covid = overcrowded Did, by percentage, more Thais than tourists die? Or is it, that the level of tourist went down even further and now becomes unmanageable as the slice of the zero-tourists (China) and the cheaper segment (Russians in Pattaya) increased compared to Phuket with the richer Russians? Quality is one thing, quantity is another - fact is that Thailand actually cannot handle either due to its own people not being able to welcome, accomodate or handle the business ....

Ensure uninterrupted popcorn supplies 😉

Thai must have retired dozens of B747 all over Thailand; from Nong Khai via Korat, Bangkok etc. They also dumped the 6 Airbus 380; their fleet planning boggles the mind ..........

They seem to know the culture of the envelopes as well ..... Or did the Thais learn it from Khun Amelica?

Organs clean themselves, unless you've massively intervened in unnatural build-up. What you might have is an ear infection hence don't fiddle around with questionable therapies but see and ENT specialist.

It is like Bollywood - the poorer are happy to escape reality for a mental break. Some go to the cinema (like in Mumbai), others get completely drunk (half Isan) and some smoke weed. Latter is also smoked - quite apparently - most likely in various government offices which spring to mind with fantastic statistics, forecasts and assumptions.

Google is your friend 😉

The fight of the titans ..... I would put my money on the police officer but then, this is Thailand .......

Don't get blended by all that confusing stuff on property and zero rights for non-Thais. It is a fact and still some smarties think they can beat the system. Eventually the non-Thais will lose ...... always. What you can secure is the financial interest in property with complicated legal paperwork on financing a loan for the property. But it will take time to force the land title owner to sell the property and pay you back. As a 60+ years old geezer you should seriously consider renting only; an idiot of a neighbour, too close to a temple or a 7/11 or a motorbike repair shop, smells from the fermented-fish-factory or any other inconvenience = pack your stuff and move elsewhere without a financial impact ........ Irrespective what the beauty of night might try to tell you which is - in most cases - only in HER interest. As blood is thicker than water - specially in Thailand - you will get her entire family breathing down your neck on the subject. Avoid that by saying "no have money" and you're sorted.

You want to see the development of tourism in a fast forward mode? Go to Luang Prabang, within less than five years they turned this jewel of an Indochinese Shangri-la into a steamroller of zero-dollar tourists shouting, screaming and misbehaving in such a way you would slap your own child. But Thailand is toasted already so just go ahead and destroy the little you have left of what was once "amazing Thailand". How sad and what a pity ..........

Don't get blended, the photo does not show a congregation of idiots but a congregation of dangerous, self-centered men out for the hunt of whatever money and power they can get. The real script of their "digital wallet" business will surface sooner or later - get ready for a big surprise. The uncles and grannies in Isan have not the slightest clue, where this money comes from but that is irrelevant; the Bangkokian taxpayers might be advised that it is their money going out the window straight into some selected few pockets. Governmentally approved highway robbery? We'll see .......

I did all the calculations; a single house with a 8x4 swimming pool (i.e. a pump running 2 x 1 hour/daily) and comfy air temperatures by state-of-the-art inverter units cannot be fed with solar power to reach a breakeven point. Even if the swimming pool pump works on-grid only (i.e. no sun = no electricity), you still cannot make ends meet and hence it is with the money-greedy government to do its home work on the taxation of solar power equipment imports. All this is of course a big joke considering the fact, that we live in a country with 250+ sunshine days a year while in frozen Europe with not even half the solar power they manage to run the latter with efficiency and profitability of the equipment owner - go back and do your home work!