Sydebolle

This sad incident must have a rather juicy flip side of the coin ......... but will fizzle away like anything else these days - how sad 😞 

19 hours ago, farangkinok said:

"never cease" but point taken. 

Running a spellchecker (German French) in the background seem to have created this particular beauty (corrected back from suggested  "beauté") so yes, wonders indeed never cease ....... 

16 hours ago, Aleksey75 said:

Well, Australia participates in Eurovision Song Contest, not being in Europe  - why cannot the Atlantic find themselves here in the Pacific area?

Points taken yet singing a song and talking military issues might not be on a balanced scale. 

On Eurovision I have a slightly distorted view after 2014, when absolutely unknown artists rocked up and Conchita Wurst from Austria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaolVEJEjV4) walked away with gold.

(S)he "confused" all other (embarrassed) contestants (to stay within PC limits) yet nobody dared to speak their mind while this bloke's 15 minutes of fame poured in enough cash for the rest of his (today absolutely irrelevant) life 😉 

So, having Australia participating in the Eurovision is a blessing as the Europeans also lost the plot on that - politically speaking irrelevant - contribution to art and music in the 21st century 

12 minutes ago, Maitdjai said:

If he's sharp minded, or not.

As a monopolist, it's not very difficult, to extend your chain unlimited, and be prosperous.

Every child can do that, by just watching it running, or "invest" money (like Dagobert Duck) in something, where is only a very little risk to fail.

There are more "Enterprises" like this, in Thailand. Where the "MD's", or owners, need no skills  but "connections".

It's just the simple shape of monopolies.

About the PMs, you're right. They come, and go. Some of them using their terms, to create their own monopoly, aka. Cannabis "legalisation" has been thrown out. But quite not well planned (with the "hot needle", like so often).

The money flow is not under control (taxing?), and the revenues are going into too many (small) pockets.

Greediness, wants the monopoly.

That seem to be the real problem.

For example, also "7/11/PT", might would like to have a slice of the Cannabis cake? They don't have (very "unrighteous").

So, they don't support it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You summarized Thai economy and the political power grid quite nicely; as long as 1% of the people control ......... the rest is history 😉 

Absolutely irrelevant, where this bird burns more piles of money which she never earned in the first place. Good riddance, if you ask me, but seriously - absolutely irrelevant. Next please .......... 

Well, let's wait for the evening news. He will blame the "dirty farang" again most likely - after all, without those alien Thailand would be so much more peaceful, clean and well behaved. 
Those arson fires could be stopped overnight but the even sweetheart Anutin would be stepping onto the wrong toes which then would assumingly arrange a booting out of ........ Chiang Mai, if he is lucky! 

46 minutes ago, markus said:

Why do you write in capital letters do you think you are special?

You simply did not get it, right? 

On 3/26/2024 at 3:03 PM, khunjeff said:

 

Entering the country as a tourist at the airport - which is what is under discussion here - does not involve any forms or signatures.

Correct, yet overland crossings are a completely different ball game - the forms and the blue ink are celebrated like nothing else would matter. 

On arriving by air though you need to present your boarding pass; leaving it on the aircraft (as in my case) resulted in a shower of lectured "just to let you know" for 20 minutes after consultation with the supervisor on duty and facial expressions like if they just caught Jack the Ripper! 

On 3/28/2024 at 1:18 PM, jojothai said:

So sure eh?

Thats not what i see on the first HSR project.

So my first hand experience has no relevance.

Its just your opinion.

Well, I have to agree to disagree yet it might come to an utter surprise, that neither your nor my opinion is of any relevance - whatsoever 😉 Enjoy Wednesday all the while ..... 

Pay up and get on with life - it is not the end of humanity and might indoctrinate the old saying that homework is essentially important, specially in this part of the world. And, given the fact, that Americans are not the most popular folks in Indochina, you can assume, that apart from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore you might need a visa in each and every case. 

Does it make sense, does it promote tourism? No, it does not but that is not up to us to evaluate. 

Well, well, what do you know. For once Thailand is not the mother-of-all-hubs as the article refers to "although Thailand did not make the Top Ten". 
Discount all the paid services and the institution of minor wives - which seems to still be very much in fashion. I'm crossing the border regularly into neighbouring countries overland and every second time I'm asked on the number of wives. Not being among the Fidels they shake their heads or grin stupidly if I refer to not bnok around like a hyrno rabbit. 

The problem is certainly the chauvinist structure of the Thai society and those hundred thousands of left-behind women with children parked somewhere with the uncles and grannies upcountry speak a language of its own! 

Once you're done with your xenophobic farang bashing over that Swiss bloke who apparently did wrong you might wonder, how this vapor got through the security screening, how nobody really realized what happened inside the aircraft except the person taking the video. Last not least, the entire eVaping business is illegal and punishable by low - possibly 250 years in the slammer or 50 Baht ...... or both!

While the incident is absolutely irrelevant and actually not even newsworthy it nevertheless shows the intended ignorance by Thais towards their own country, countrymen and the Thai law! Bienvenue en Thaïlande ...... 😉 

Get it from the horse's mouth and check directly with the department of land transport. They are online connected throughout the country and can give you, real time, the actual status. Get a copy of the book and tell them that you've been offered the car.

Possibly you need to properly prepared for stories you simply cannot invent. 

Well, the airport is privately owned by Dr Prasert who, co-incidentially also owns Bangkok Airways, Bangkok Air Catering and the Bangkok Hospital Group all over Thailand. 

So, if anyone is eyeing anything, it would be Dr Prasert who, despite his age, is in excellent state and very sharp minded. Srettha is one of the PMs who came and went while the business icon is still there ........ 

Neutral - my foot. Throw those illegal immigrants into the slammer in Mae Sot, impound the aircraft and treat those brothers-in-arms like any other illegal immigration .........

Naahhhh, this is Thailand, so just forget about what I wrote - I am completely off the page on this subject as well 😉 

Wondering, if this considerably worse incident - compared to the Swiss bloke in Phuket, generates 1% of the World's media attention. The story of the Swiss guy in Phuket resulted meanwhile in a second-to-none collateral damage example, while the local Somchai did what happens here cheaper by the dozen. 

20 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

 

Ubonjoe wrote the above on September 7, 2015. Bit late to tell him he's wrong.☹️

Well, I do not know what "Ubonjoe" might have written 8+ years ago but I can tell you what I am doing on an almost weekly basis - it includes, among other idiotic TM2, TM3 and TM4 also the TM6, each and every trip .......... and have been a PR for the last 36 years 😉 

19 hours ago, khunjeff said:

 

Entering the country as a tourist at the airport - which is what is under discussion here - does not involve any forms or signatures.

Anymore, but forget to present your boarding pass when you started the journey and you'll be in for a hell of a surprise, trust me! 

13 hours ago, jojothai said:

Not much logic in the comment. What marching orders from Beijing?
and FYI the new dates for completion of the first high speed line are now more realistic than most people think. 
It was not long ago that SRT were saying publicly that it would open in 2026, which was not possible.
The Thais are progressing it despite the problems caused by the Chinese lockdown that delayed design of the Rail system.
The Chinese could not progress much for nearly two years  because of their strict covid lockdown and travel rules.
That is something nobody could have planned for.
There are delays on the Thai side as well, so its not justified to blame any one party. 
Most of the reasons for delay after the MOU for about 4 years, were that the Chinese wanted to finance the Project and to build it all themselves.
And the Thais could not accept that.
It took a long time to get the agreement that the Project is Thai funded ( no potential debt trap),
and that Thailand would build the infrastructure themselves without having to give thousands of jobs in Thailand to Chinese or subordinates. 

Like it or not, China calls the shots. Louder in countries like Laos and Cambodia, not as strong in Burma/Myanmar as well as Thailand. All decisions made in this country, irrespective of private industry or government, are ethnic Chinese. Most of them were not here yet 100 years ago. And, trust me, if China says no, then the Thais will bravely agree with "understood". 

The Lao government gave the green light in 2016 for their high-speed train on an uncharted territory as Laos never had a train system before. The Chinese dug hundreds of tunnels and constructed hundreds of bridges in order to open the link from the Lao-Chinese border in Boten to the Lao-Thai border in Vientiane. 2016 they said, it would be running on 2 December 2021 - in line with the Lao National Day. 

Guess what, the train rolled on 2 December 2021 and since then proved a flawless operation. If the former Thai government - self-assigned since 2014 - would have started then as well, the train link would have been finished in 2021 as well and Bangkok would be connected by rail to the rest of the world. This did not happen and lukewarm excuses came, as the self-elected government finally got out in 2023. The Thai terrain is much easier without all those hinderances of tunnels and bridges - but there was no will. 

Now they finally had to give in and listen to the marching orders from Beijing; I guess the train might run by the end of this decade, unless a political bumper is thrown in - for good measure! 

You cannot find Thai staff willing to work - simple as that. I lost a maid in charge of mopping the restaurant floor and three rest rooms clean at a staggering pay cheque of THB 17'500. In addition to this, she got her share of the service charge; never under THB 7'000, a free quality Thai meal, one day off a week and one month paid vacation. 

She left as I had two, three suggestions to improve while facilitating her job like keeping the rest room door open after (daily) mopping and using a floor fan to speed up the drying prior to opening. Apparently she lost face ....   A kitchen helper doing crockery and glassware was asked to help the kitchen staff in helping to wash up pans (every dish is cooked in a clean new pan). She was not busy at the time but said, that she is here for crockery and glassware and not for pans. When I mentioned to her to help her colleagues (exceptionally) she took of her apron. While everyone thought she went to the look - she had left the restaurant and never returned. 

Burmese, Laotians and Cambodians perform much, much better for the same amount of money - problem there is that you hardly get an official permit. The Thai bureaucracy is in full steam and hence quite a few of other restaurant and hospitality operators just hire them illegally as they cannot be a"*ç%*%d with all that paper nonsense. 

You're welcome!