ozzieovaseas

C'mon you know the Thai's will eat and eat and eat,we all can never understand where they put it.

You got that right! Where DO they put it...!? I'm probably not the only one with a TW who's had sleepless nights trying to figure that one out ...I just don't have a clue.

I reckon those guys starve themselves for days, if not weeks beforehand.

Your average Johnny farang can load up again every 4 or 5 hours, so a little hard to diguise when your carrying XX years worth around with you.

I suppose we should give these latest tuk tuk guys some credit.

At least they told the tourists who were watching to "<deleted> off" out of the way, instead of beating them up as well

I heard this thread was about whether or not the MoFoA has issued a new stricter policy on issuing tourist visas....

Still not much conclusive evidence on that point, now 15 pages in... But a lot of different reports to choose from, one way or the other...

Yes, the conversation has gone a little off the tracks in certain places

IMO, I havent seen anything solid that would suggest anything will change, just a whole lot of speculation about clauses that were already written, but rarely (if ever) enforced.

In any case, there are as many individual officers as there are locations, so i don't think any of them will be breaking their backs to create more work for themselves. Especially if there is not any great pressure to pass on all this "evidence" to the official Immigration in Thailand..and then have to have it all officially recorded.

Can you imagine any staff at Immigration centres wanting to sort through more hoardes of useless paperwork?? Many of them seem pretty busy as it is, so i cannot imagine it.

I wonder how many readers are aware of how difficult it is for Thais to get visas to many countries. They often have to jump through a lot of hoops. The visa red tape of some European countries far surpasses that of any country in Southeast Asia or East Asia that I have any firsthand experience with.

A moot argument really..but i am sure others will pitch in using your post as target practice..Still if you are going to talk about jumping through hoops and pros and cons regarding expats it should be noted that...

Foriegn nationals that DO become citizens in our countries (No, it isnt made virtually impossible) CAN own businesses, CAN own land, CAN have spouses without constant reporting, CAN draw on our welfare systems (both finacial AND health) and DO not have to give up their citizenship..

Actually a lot of them (Thais) have become very rich running Thai restaurants and don't have the pleasure of being constantly harrassed!!!

So how are the comparisons looking now

PS. Forgot to add..and they very rarely fall off balconies either

Good news. The tuk tuk drivers that beat him are probably breathing a sigh of relief too.

wouldnt hold my breath.... you have to have a heart and soul to think like that.... and as they appear to not have one i doubt it, but then again proably less money to pay to not get caught

Have to agree there...no mistakes about what Scuba buddha meant in saying the tuk tuk drivers were breathing a sigh of relief.

I would bet my left one that it was due to the Germans wife stating that she could'nt identify the villians and suspects they will never be caught.

Don't think they are worried much about the welfare of the poor guy

Maybe its time for a new career....

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me...

She showed me her room, i thought it was good, but i think Thai lady no good

She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,

So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair.

I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine

We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed"

She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.

I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown

So I lit a fire, now i did know she was no good, Thai lady no good

EDIT: SATIRE

This must be part of the new "miracle" Thailand brand.

But yes, it is a miracle that they can keep finding things to crack down on

I guess we must give a thought to the long suffering, underpaid and overworked BiB who will now have to find the extra time out of their day to go about fining the punters who break this law

"Bangkok will have alcohol free zones across the city with the move determined to curb violence that often stems from binge drinking....

...to enforce an alcohol free zone on every public park, government building and police station."

Does that mean there is binge drinking going on in government buildings and police stations???

No, but there will be when the BiB seizes all those nice bottles of whisky the farangs are carrying around

Fair enough to you too, "mate". Selective quotes are so amusing.

For myself, I avoid Thai Issan males.

If anyone here thinks TV is anything more than a way to make money for the "businessmen" who run it, you are mistaken. Same with that lame Stickman in Bangkok, and the other English language news media here. Why not a secure proxy off to a country that doesn't mind if you name and shame all the bad actors, foreign and domestic, here?

You will not overcome the corruption in places like Phuket. There are way too many ricebowls involved. Say you brought in a bunch of metered taxis. What do you imagine will happen to the metered taxis? And the drivers? These are criminal gangs. The only real solution is to put them all away, with the possibility of going back to Issan to do something socially useful (like planting and harvesting rice).

They had a couple of polls within the last yearin Thailand where close to 70% of the respondents thought that corruption was just fine.

But I do love it here. Oh yes.

That is a telling statistic...so could one assume that a good percentage of the 70% are on the take, or at least benefitting from corruption in some way ??

Man it would suck to be one of the 30%

Amazing!

More than 1600 views and 82 replies for my wet towel adventure

Yes...i would go as far as to say extraORdinary

But the 20baht threads are always the best, so a 15baht thread's gotta be even better.

Now only if i could get a 20 baht discount for all that ice they put in my drink at the Central cinema

Are you talking about an official officer? or was it one of those little buttwipes in the fake uniforms lurking around outside, waiting to scam people as

they get off the bus?

If you are married to a Thai Citizen you can get a Non-O visa.

But only if you can come up with 400,000 baht sitting on your Thai bank account for at least three months. Guess not all can do that...:jap:

dam_n straight!!! From what i read on TV you cant keep 20 baht in the bank for 20 minutes when married to a Thai citizen

one has to wonder what the official thought he/she was truing to achieve by these measures - apart from making a fool of themselves.

It is only for double entry tourist visas. I suspect it is to target to people who are now refused Non-Imm O visas, as they cannot justify under the new regs.

I know 3 people who have returned on double entry tourist visas, as they were refused to renewal of their one your Non-Imm "O" visa. 2 of those are over 50, but do not have enough static savings for the 800,000 baht required.

So, do you think these guys are getting knocked back because Thai immigration frowns on those with a history of Non-imm "O"'s, who then try to revert back to the tourist visa route as a cheaper option?

So if these guys havent got the immediate cash flow to show for the other visa classes, its like..out you go johnny farang...doesnt matter if your married, got kids or not?

I guess it does make it look kinda obvious they are living in Thailand, especially if they are all back to back entries.

In that regard they are not really toursists, so I guess with that comes the suspicion that they are working..since they havent got the funds to show for the other visa, immigration might assume they are working and earning money to live on within the country.

Strange how the rules and knockbacks arent strictly enforced on everyone tho. Maybe they create these rules so immigration can use them at disgression, for when they have whatever reason to shaft someone, but dont have any proof or want to explain why ?

The link provided for the story seems a little confusing. The article on the link is headed "tourist visa", yet the paragraph below goes on to stipulate requirements regarding business people, investors and students.

Why would other requirements for all sorts of other visa classifications appear under the tourist visa heading??

It does not clearly differenciate between what requirements go with what visas, so to me this looks like a erroneous page that contains jumbled up basic info, rather than tourist visa specific.

Whats more, the news and daily press release tabs on the same immigration site makes no mention of the changes on its daily updates.

A poster has already demonstrated that the UK website states nothing has changed for people who travel on a pre arranged visa.

And this, taken off from a Thai consulate in Australia.

Persons without confirmed outbound airline ticket must have a visa. Please note that these exemptions do not apply to visitors from any countries entering Thailand by land, rail, sea or private aircraft, or who visit for business, professional or other non-tourism purposes.

These are the same words i noticed last month and theres been no changes to the site as far as requirements for a pre-arranged visas go.

To me these are not changes at all, but existing requirements that have never, or rarely been enforced on tourists who obtain visa ON ARRIVAL.

Oh well, good for a 30 page thread of arguments full of richard-heads and "see-khao" wannabe thai farangs telling every longer staying tourist to get out of HIS Thailand.

If this is the same accident i am thinking of the kid had indeed been drinking all afternoon at some sort of party or function. The car was a complete mess as he lost control and ran smack bang into a tree at high speed. Being later in the evening i guess it was lucky no other motorists were involved.

One can only imagine how these parents must feel, and if the guilt incurred from "loosening the reigns" on kids might rub off on other Thai parents.

Very sad.

edit: Just to add....A Thai friend who was in the area at the time heard the 17y.o was a passenger in the vehicle, and not the driver. Driver was 19 according to her.

excellent, so bored of people bashing the Thai 2 price system, while most countries have several pricing systems

^^ The only differance being that the different pricing teirs in Aus are based on location factors, NOT the nationality of the punter.

Still, cant compare Thailand with Aus in that regard. Australians have to bear higher taxes to keep their higher standard of living...healthcare system, police, government services, not to mention welfare payments to people of other nationalities...who ARE allowed to work and become Aussie citizens

I believe some of these visitors you mention have a burning need to let all and sundry know how exotic are their life struggles, and what terrible plights they must suffer when in LOS.

I guess you could put it down to some sort of "Indianna Jones" syndrome......

risking life and limb at every turn, constantly at the mercy of the locals..whose very own lives revolve around causing as much grief and hinderance to the farang as possible.

Expat drama queens are still drama queens by nature..just they have got to find something different to carry on about.

And others who live boring, sedate lives pain for drama. They come to these forums and just make stuff up.

T

I pine for mundane tedium, which is why I make stuff up. My real life as a Special Forces member going commando under cover is top secret and I'm not allowed to mention it on here.

SC

I am happy for you guys to make stuff up. These pages would be quite boring if it was'nt for the likes of you.

I can remember a certain poster on here some time ago, a bit 007-ish in character. The various stories of his love life and other antics were pretty sensational, for want of a better word.

Also there was an older guy who had worked in every station known to man, whos escapades would have left Errol Flynn looking like a qoir boy. Funnilly enough his best material seemed to come out when everyone was attacking him...all that army experience no doubt!!

Don't see him much anymore, although i have my suspicions his avatar might have experienced rebirth.

You just can't read stories like that anymore... and certainly todays Television programming leaves a lot to be desired.

No doubt i could be accused of having a pretty boring life..but still, i just wish i had the imagination that some posters do

So,Am i reading this right??..

The poor, (those who put food on the table and contribute to Thai exports, helping those that are rich stay rich)

AND those who do menial jobs (such as the construction of investment buildings FOR the rich, at very poor pay, helping the rich stay rich)

It is these people who are stupid and corrupt and holding the country back !!??

Dear oh dear who writes this ****?

You have got to question why so many of them choose to or are forced to live in another country/culture from their own.

Many I have come across are social misfits, including ME!!!

Maybe we have met??

I think there must be a few that have worked a large chunk of their lives in the west and have eventually had enough of the BS.

When i visit back home the biggest reverse culture shock i find is how self obsessed folks can be. I would rather be a social misfit than boring every poor sod to tears by going on about every last detail of my life.

As for why expats in LOS can be so bitter at times..its beyond me. Maybe they have been done over bad by a woman or investment failures.??

Of all the expats i have met in LOS, ive noticed the unmarried and those who DONT get to involved with the ladies are usually the most happiest in life. I do find it a little funny and ironic how some of the "other" type of posters do in fact brand THEM loosers

You should have insisted on a meter from the outset as your bill is now guess work. Condo developments usually have a main meter then the freeholder fits a secondary meter to each condo which he sets his own tariff to make some cash on the side.

It sounds like the managers have recieved one very big power bill for the total running costs of the plant, and have then averaged that bill out amongst the tennants occupying the building.

Maybe get together with the other tennants and see if they have also had the same treatment. If so, then maybe you could approach the managers and point out that the tennants should only have to pay for the power into their own premises..not the whole building

Yikes..thats nearly 3k per month

Theres no way you could possibly rack up that sort of bill, with a meter or otherwise. You would have to run the air con 24/7 and have hot showers and be cooking every 4 hours.

I have never paid over 1,500 per month for power, and thats with 2 people not bothering to economise.

Maybe you should tell them this much usage is just simply not possible and see what is the response.

I believe some of these visitors you mention have a burning need to let all and sundry know how exotic are their life struggles, and what terrible plights they must suffer when in LOS.

I guess you could put it down to some sort of "Indianna Jones" syndrome......

risking life and limb at every turn, constantly at the mercy of the locals..whose very own lives revolve around causing as much grief and hinderance to the farang as possible.

Expat drama queens are still drama queens by nature..just they have got to find something different to carry on about.

Don't carry large sums of money around. Only take the money you need for the day with you. Keep your valuables locked up in the hotel safe. Don't bring expensive, expensive looking jewelry, or watches with you. If you have these items leave them at home. Be a little bit more aware of drunken Russians. Alcohol brings out the worst in them. Especially when they are in groups. You will see that the Russians are often drunk. Very large numbers of Russians in Pattaya these days. There are a lot of pick pokets around. Don't get too drunk. This is asking for trouble. Especially if you are alone. It is best to pick up friends in establsihed Bars and Clubs. Do not make friends of the street. Don't ever rent water recreation craft. If you do you will likely be riped off. You have been warned. Avoid dark unlit lonely streets late at night. I recommend that you stay at The Markland Hotel. This is a good place to stay for a newbie. It is safe and convenient to all the entertainment. DON'T DO DRUGS IN THAILAND and of course don't buy any. If some one bumps into you. Rapidly and protectively slap your hand over your wallet. Don't wear your phone on your belt. Never keep your wallet in your back poket. Be aware that their are many transvestites in Thailand. Many of them look like attractive women. Go on line to try and discover ways to help you identify tranvsetites. Soi 6 is almost all tranvestites. So it may be best to avoid Soi 6. If an unknown Thai male approaches you on the street. Keep walking. Don't talk to them. Some people will say thank very much and keep repeating that while walking away. But do keep walking away and say nothing else. Don't stop and engage them. Don't promise the women anything. If you do you will have a big hassle. Pay your bills. Pay what you agree to pay. Don't pay over the top for services provided. If you do you will likely be seen as a foolish sucker. You won't be respected for this behavior. Don't fall in love with any one. Remember their is a difference between love, lust, and simply trying to make a living. Enjoy but be alert and keep your eyes wide open and your brain working.

:o

not much one can add to all that

im suprised you didnt tell him if he's in a traffic accident with a motorbike either speed off or back up and finish the job

Refraining from telling the OP that he needs to get out more, i can think of two good reasons why this issue might exist in LOS:

A. Coffee in comparison to other products does seem to be a little more expensive in Thailand, hence to give it away would probably send them broke rather quickly.

B. If there were free refills, it would not be long before every Somchai coffee seller was smuggling 10 litres of the stuff out of poor Ronalds establishments so they could sell it in their own street stalls..sending poor Ronald to ruin even quicker.

One of the best guys to get inspiration from here (Tod Daniels) still seems to be absent from the forums nowadays, so i hope he will not mind me passing the ball and pasteing the table below that he came up with in an earlier thread. ( at least i think it was from Todd)

I find stuff like this handy anyway as it seems the more many and varied sources you can learn different things from the better

the 21 different consonants:

6x T ; ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ท, ธ, ถ

5x K ; ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆ

4x S ; ซ, ศ, ษ, ส

3x P ; ผ, พ, ภ

3x Ch ; ฉ, ช, ฌ

2x D ; ฎ ด

2x Y ; ญ ย

2x N ; ฌ น

2x H ; ห ฮ

2x L ; ล ฬ

2x F ; ฟ ฝ

2x dt ; ต ฏ

1x G ; ก

1x ng ; ง

1x J ; จ

1x B ; บ

1x bp ป

1x M ; ม

1x R ; ร

1x W ; ว

1x Silent ; อ

There are only 9 middle consonants; ก จ ด ฎ ต ฏ บ ป อ These are very easy to remember as it's all of the G's, J's, D's, dt's, B's and P's, plus the silent consonant. I already had the relationships between the G and J, the D's and dt's, the B's and P's in my head so I only had to remember 4 important points to learn all 9 middle consonants.

High consonants are these 11; ข ฃ ฉ ฐ ถ ผ ฝ ส ษ ศ ห These are much trickier to learn but once you have done then by deduction you already know that whatever is left after this are the 24 low consonants.