garyinhuahin

I think you need to qualify what you mean by 'valid'.

You, me and the rest of us here may find various reasons/excuses to be 'valid'. That doesn't mean that Thai authorities would, could, or should accept any of them to forgive penalties.

I do know one guy who died his way out of it. As far as I know, he was not fined....

Find some non-drinking friends. You'll have something in common. Take a look at AA. Many swear by it. http://www.aa.org/

Some nice (and entertaining) videos at https://youtu.be/ywtjh2hNmhw and https://youtu.be/8TjIrgfasZg

There's a 'club' for people, farang and Thai, who want to contribute to making the country trash free.

It's called 'Trash Hero', started on Koh Lipe in 2013 and how has 8 chapters in Thailand (including Hua Hin) and 3 in

Indonesia. http://www.trashhero.org. Hua Hin Trash Hero on Facebook. Meeting on Khao Takiab Bay every Thursday around 3pm

Tell the landlord it is you or them. Probably 10,000 other places in CM Province alone that would be what you describe. You didn't do your diligence before moving in.

I definitely wouldn't recommend that. If they've been using this land for a number of years, they may very well have more rights to it than he does. Thai property law is not the same as Western

You are talking about "squatter's rights," and they are addressed in the East and West. My brother loves to hunt. They were always looking for new places to obtain the required written permission to hunt. Inevitably, someone would leave garbage, bring other friends, or blatantly violate Fish and Game regulations. Then, everyone would lose their privileges. After about five iterations of this, he shelled out 8 million THB and bought 320 rai. It took him about a year to get things sorted, but he was amazed at how many people assumed they had a right to walk his property with a 30 x 30 and hunt deer, at their leisure. He would approach people and tell them he was the new owner, and the response was "well, we've been hunting here for years," or "Mr. Johnson always let us hunt here." It's just part of the renter/trailer park mentality to disrespect property rights. He took a few photos of their vehicles, gave them notice that they had been recorded, and put up a few signs....no problems in 10 years. At times, you got to be the "bad guy," but that's the way it is. And the give an inch saying is still alive and well.

Sometimes a simple reminder of what their new neighbors will look like gets them in line. But, you won't have that option, as a renter.newneighbors.jpg

My understanding is that in Thai law, if people have been making use of land for several years and the owner has not objected, then their rights of use do become legally entrenched.

Tell the landlord it is you or them. Probably 10,000 other places in CM Province alone that would be what you describe. You didn't do your diligence before moving in.

I definitely wouldn't recommend that. If they've been using this land for a number of years, they may very well have more rights to it than he does. Thai property law is not the same as Western

More people come in late November - February exactly because the weather is nicest then. Take your pick. Sometimes the rains are heavey in Sept, Oct, and early November. Sometimes not.

Hmmm. Things have changed. When I came the first time in 1995, the warefhouse and factory operation I was calling on was staffed by teenagers. Thousands of them. I was told that 15 was the normal age to finish school and start a working life.

Seriously hard up for news, aren't we...?

To start with, don't do Pimsleur for Thai. It is full of mistakes. Blatant ones. I'm serious. It won't just waste your time, it will set you back!

The books, CDs, and software of Paiboon publishing are to be recommended.

For me, I found it much easier to learn to read than to speak and comprehend. The words sit there on the page and I can take all the time I want to work it out. Knowing the writing system will also clarify and lot of distinctions of words that sound the same (to us) but are actually quite different. For example, there are something like 32 different words, with very different meanings, that could all be romanized as 'sai'.

Good advice, OP. Ignore the wiseacres. Although looking both ways is pretty much mandatory

I compromised by attaching a Thai-style sidecar (a 'saling') to my Honda Click. I'm not better protected than a 2-wheeler (well, maybe on the saling side), but I can't do the kind of weaving in and out that gets motorcycle drivers in trouble. And it's very hard (not impossible, but hard) to flip.

Most importantly, other drivers on the road tend to give me a berth since they assume it's unsafe to be near me.

Centara Hotel for impressive view/ambience. I can't speak for the food (can't afford it), but probably good.

I love Samba Brazilian Grill at Market Village. Very nice decor, but maybe not what you're looking for on this occasion

Do remember that dispute resolution mechanisms in Thailand extend to having you shot or your head stove in with a blunt instrument. It does happen.

Proceed apace, keep a calm demeanor (this counts hugely in Thailand), follow through until the promised delivery and judge what's appropriate if you don't have satisfaction then.

Best wishes.

There was quite a tussle with the French over the Laos border. Basically, the Thais were colonizing Issan and northern Laos at the same time the French were moving in from the other direction. It ended up with French gunboats poised to level Bangkok if the treaty was not signed.

It was, of course, and it divided the Laos people between two countries. Still today more Lao speakers in Thailand than in Laos'.

Here's a good book on the subject. http://goo.gl/Afniuz

Myanmar is another long story, with parts of the peninsula changing hand repeatedly. Final border negotiated with the British.

You didn't ask about Cambodia. Another long tale, which was only resolved in the aftermath of WWII

If you show a Thai a map of the country, with the surrounding territories, good chance they will point to this and that bit and say "This should be Thailand". This is what they're taught in school, that Thailand is an aggrieved nation that had it's lands stolen by the colonial powers.

It's a lark for couples, and some of the women are gay.

Seems to be picking up.

Need to clarify the geography. Is it happening only in Thonglor jurisdiction? Or elsewhere also.

Agree that the way to get this dealt with is to promote on social media and try to get some major news outlets (already was mentioned in passing in Wall Street Journal) to run it. Thai state hates bad publicity

I've toured for up to 3 weeks on a Honda Click (110 cc) and a Thai-style sidecar. I went from Hua Hin as far as Krabi and Phuket. Great fun, but don't try to do too many miles in a day.

I only got stopped once, because I didn't have my helmet on. When the police men asked where I had driven from they were totally impressed and let me go without paying.

If you do get stopped, your license is invalid and you're subject to 2-300 baht tea money.

When you come back in, be sure the officer sees your visa and stamps it. I've had them slip up and blindly stamp me a 15-day visa-exempt. In one case, I caught it before leaving. In another I didn't and it required another visa run to set straight!

In the 11 years I've been here, several air services to Bangkok and other destinations have started up. All have failed to get enough business to survive. If it weren't for the flight school, the airport probably would have been closed by now.

Offices are often lax about fines for reporting late. Explain that you've been on monastic retreat.

Anyway, in worst case, it's just a few thousand thb and a finger wagging.

That's really not much, especially considering that much of the plan is a preparedness exercise.