roamer

You are probably right. I find the politicians I voted for often say one thing and do another.

On balance, though I still prefer a politician I  had the chance to vote for to a general that I didn't.

Hype.

Not a lot of difference from turning a garden shed into a non-existent restaurant in London and gaining No.1 status on Trip Advisor, serve people £1 frozen meals from Iceland and watch the fools try to get in. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor

Michelin guides have changed over the years and many of the restaurants gaining the top accolades are worthy of it. However, what has changed is this tendency to include restaurants for the sheer gimmickry. Seen it in London and the thought going through my mind on trying some of these places (on expenses) was " you're having a laugh" What was that place in Bangkok that used to hurl roast chicken into the air to be caught by the spike on the waiter's helmet? Now that was fun and a lot cheaper than this nonsense. 

You know wot I mean 'arry 

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Fair enough. I did some research and I might be wrong in that the phrase can be used without offense in some contexts. But still, it's generally associated with DOGS, and people are not DOGS. Not nearly as friendly!

I don't what research you did Jingthing, but I find it hard to think of anywhere in the UK, outside of a racist community, where you could use that term without causing offence, and getting your head kicked into the bargain in many places. It reeks of Goebbels speak. 

Maybe not a bad thing. It's another turn of the screw and it will take a lot more before the populace decide they have had enough.

My daughter flies London-Australia return via Bangkok at least once a year. On the return journey she always schedules her flights so she can get the airport link into town and then goes clothes shopping for a couple of hours before returning for her connecting flight later that day. It's no problem if your bags are checked through to final destination.

Just happened across this survey claiming London now the most expensive place in the world for a technology start up at £70 psf. Not particularly surprised at that but to find Bangkok more expensive than Paris, Boston, Los Angeles, New York etc was a bit of a surprise. Or another rubbish survey ? 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/28/london-home-worlds-expensive-technology-hub/

On 7/24/2017 at 9:30 AM, transam said:

So who has to pay for a student uni stuff, some folk who may flunk if it were free cos they don't care...Who pays uni salaries etc...?

Some might say that is part of the problem when those salaries are up to 4 times as much as the PM. Not only LOS where the pigs are at the trough.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/08/26/highest-paid-vice-chancellor-country-accused-ofpresiding-cover/

4 hours ago, robblok said:

If she was only a drug user she gets all the sympathy from me there is. However if she was selling it that sympathy is a lot less. I am quite pro drugs and feel that users should not be convicted for usage. If your dealing its an other story then your in it for the profit and should accept the risks. The amounts found with her if hers are too high for personal use, could be that just her bf was the dealer if so I hope she gets a good deal. The whole idea of punishing drug users is a bit crazy.. but I come from a liberal country drugs wise and have used my fair share in the past too. 

I think you know the user/dealer scenario has some very blurred lines. Often it is little more than supporting a habit. Though in this case it is probably more a case of who you hang out with. Of course if you live in a country that arrests "beer pretties" for promoting beer, you can't hope to avoid jail time for being caught with drugs. Totally agree that the idea of punishing drug users is crazy, won't stop those on this forum calling on her to be locked up as drugs are illegal. Of course if alcohol were to be made illegal at the stroke of a pen, and lets face it, you are living in a country where all that is needed is a stroke of a pen, those that condemn her would be out searching for dealers.

On 7/24/2017 at 7:22 PM, VBF said:

Self insurance IS a valid option, but only IF you have sufficient funds available. However, "available" need not mean in a Thai bank  - it could mean a credit or debit card with sufficient credit limit or balance to cover it.

 

Just as a small example, my UK issued Visa credit card gives me £7000 of credit - that's about 308,000 Baht at present rates. However the card supplier is always asking me to increase my limit and that's just one card - I have several plus I have debit cards. Now I'm not a particularly wealthy person but coming from the UK, that sort of credit has become the norm.  So IF I need emergency treatment, I can pay for it, therefore no reason to hold the money in Thailand as long as it's accessible.

 

Now as it happens, i do choose to have (annual) travel insurance but that's my choice for peace of mind and so that I should always get the treatment paid for me rather than need to pay for it myself, or at any rate be able to claim it back.

 

I really don't want the Thai government telling me to take their preferred option when my preferred option is just as good.

You could be very surprised at a credit card companies response to a pre-authorisation request for, lets say £5000 from a Bangkok hospital. Noted what you said, you have travel insurance, wise man. Debit card, sufficient funds, fine. Am Ex, no problem. Credit card major bank, maybe OK. Credit card finance company, see how fast that credit limit changes.

I think the sign in the Aussie embassy in Bangkok has it right, "If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel".

14 hours ago, globin said:

Regulation and continuing pure propaganda to justify the 100% increase in tariff to patients legitimately requiring this medicine.

I'll tell my doctor niece it's pure propaganda and then she won't have to worry about treating all those who make their way into her A&E department to be treated. The problems of the thrill seeking young eh, what can you do ? Except that's not the case in the UK. It's normally old farts who like to swallow a handful with their booze and when recovered react indignantly to being told they have an addiction problem.

1 hour ago, ALFREDO said:

If happening in China, the culprits got shot already, behind the court.    

 

Yingluck gone - no loss! 

Some of us feel the same way about some of you. 

Indifferent to either of 'em. However, remember company trip to Berlin where the booked Chinese restaurant had to be changed because of one person's allergy/intolerance to MSG. No problem, until he came down to breakfast next day with his own tub of Marmite. That's MSG in a pot, forget the BS about it being "naturally occurring MSG", still the same compound. I have no problems with MSG either but let's call a spade a spade.

Not been there for 5 years but no pollution then, very little factories or manufacturing. Spoke to people since who have been there and pollution was never mentioned, as is so often the case with other Chinese cities.

For a "government" that gets repeatedly slammed for lack of advance planning on so many issues, they are showing they know how to do when it counts, to them. The smaller the crowd the better when the verdict gets passed down as far as they are concerned.

Heard a different view on it today on a radio talk show following a survey that many of the EU workers here are actually in the medium to highly skilled bracket. Portugese guy phoned in to say he couldn't care less about Brexit, he figured his job would be safe, even if he had to go the work permit route. However he was thinking of leaving anyway, as had some of his friends and others were doing so. Not Brexit that bothered them but the cost of living. Something I can heartily concur with.

Oh ye of little faith, I mean it's hardly likely they will remove hat and doll makers from the list but add something like say, English teachers to it is it ? On second thoughts.....

2 minutes ago, Jessi said:

There is no justice in Thailand.............Money talks.

In terms of the death penalty money also talks in countries that still retain it and use it,, USA for example. You would have to be seriously blinkered not to realise that the ability to retain a top legal team makes a huge difference in determining whether you are even found guilty in the first place ; OJ Simpson comes to mind though there are many more.

Sure the legal system in Thailand is rotten to the core, good reason for getting rid of the death penalty ?

Then how about Singapore, high, high, up on the list of least corruptible countries etc. Just 4 days ago they hanged a Malaysian for 22 grams of  heroin in  a car he had borrowed, there had to be doubts about his guilt but the political message is clear. 

I've always found it somewhat ironic that those who shout loudest on this forum for the death penalty can also be found complaining on other threads about about how corrupt the Thai system is in so many other aspects.

On 6/27/2017 at 11:29 AM, Dave67 said:

Surely 5 years in jail for not having a work permit is a bit harsh. I can't think of another country where that would be threatened

I can't think of another country where liking the "wrong" sort of facebook post can get you considerably longer.

Can't comment on your experience as not used one for a while. However, Visa/Mastercard rules state that if currency conversion used the customer MUST consent to it.

23 minutes ago, harada said:

Sulak called on Thai society to learn from the past, IMO here lies the main reason for Thailands never ending woes, they won't.  

Not wrong. But different generation, different times, internet, social media and a "government" that is sticking around way too long even for those who thought it might be a solution.

Can we have some fairness here ?

The Prime Minister has obviously been concerned about this practice of the Thai police force for some time. as have many posters on this forum.

The fact that the latest example of this practise, chose and was able to articulate his grievances , should not in any way distract from the sincerity of the PM's desire to reform the current system.

I thought we had democratic elections scheduled, well, loosely scheduled and loosely democratic, and even after that;

" It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting."

I'm sure that election monitors will be happy to take part, they won't be invited of course but that's democracy, Thai style

Totally dispute these poll findings on the grounds that many of those polled may not live long enough to see another election.