spidermike007

Such nonsense. There are so many variables, that predicting something like this is akin to saying you know exactly where the DOW will be in December of 2024. That tourism is diminishing. No doubt about that. Ask anyone in the industry. And the average spend of a tourist here has dropped significantly. Mostly lower to middle income Indians, Russians, Malaysians, Arabs and Chinese. Not much else these days.

Yes, you will be able to live like a duke here. That is a very nice monthly income.

I give thanks every single day of my life that I chose not to go the route of parenthood. When I read something like this, it makes me extra thankful. Such nonsense. Cannot even imagine having to dish out that kind of money here. That is London, or Chicago money.

I try to use only ATMs in front of a bank. That way you can retrieve your card later, if there is ever a problem where your card gets "eaten".

The Islamist party - suppressors of fun, games, dancing, singing, the enjoyment of life and fulfillment. yikes.

Hard to even imagine the ramifications of sexy dancing on temple grounds, or near a temple. The very fabric of society could unravel, leaving nothing but moral depravity in it's place. We must guard against this kind of thing! Sodom and Gomorrah all over again!

Although Lisa and Frederic were not seated together, their presence at the same event has reignited rumours about their relationship status. Oh my God. Such big and important news! Wow. I am besides myself with the speculation of what this means. Perhaps a cure for all disease? Or a way to discover the secrets of nuclear fusion?

The government should offer incentives, for the farmers to switch crops. This is 2023. Rice and sugar worked in previous centuries. Now, they do not make any sense. Too labor intensive, too much degradation of the land, water, air, and resources. Let's get with the times. Let us move forward. Likely far more than that amount of people that are suffering right now. And the authorities do not seem to care, one iota. If they did, something would be done. Instead, only hollow promises. We will enforce the ban on burning. And it never gets enforced. No penalties, no nothing. We will do something about poorly maintained diesel vehicles. And nothing is ever done, because the cops are too lazy, and the highway patrol refuses to patrol the highway, and the special hotlines you set up, do not know anything about the program, or the laws. We care about the environment. Yeah right. Another bald faced lie. You care not, you see the air, you talk about the air, and you do nothing about the air. More empty words from the "do nothing men". I know I am dreaming. It takes a progressive administration to do these kinds of things, and Sretta and his gang are as regressive as they come. The youth must prevail. The youth must figure out a way to lead this nation forward. Otherwise, it is nothing but darkness, that will prevail. They shut down the economy due to covid. But, burning cane is ok. Can't they see the effect it is having on the air? Do they care one iota? Don't the leaders live here too? Why are they MIA? Why don't the "do nothing guys" do something for a change? When the crop burning starts to kill the population, and lowers the quality of life for those of us who don't die, isn't it time to take action? We just don't need the sugar. Shut down this toxic, heinous industry. Lock up the farmers. Sieze their land. Do whatever it takes. The problem is not only the politicians, but also the people, a large part of the population, which does not care: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/12/how-chiang-mai-became-the-worlds-most-polluted-city Great article. At least they state the truth. It is field burning and predatory agricultural practices, more than wildfires, that is to blame. And the army won't touch the giant growers. Perhaps a more creative and far more drastic approach would work?

On many occasions I have had on my person a significant amount of cash. Whenever I'm carrying thousands of dollars I'm always taking extra precautions to make sure that the cash is safe. To put your backpack in an overhead rack on a bus with significant amounts of cash in it, is a demonstration of his complete lack of survival skills. Therefore very little sympathy is warranted in a situation like this. At a very minimum he could have put an $8 luggage lock on the backpack, which would have at least been an impediment. The guy was obviously a moron. No real survival skills.

Well the same applies to a lot of Muslims who subscribe to a very fake form of purity, and an exterior appearance of cleanliness, which does not necessarily include their hearts and minds.

Yes I'm aware of all that and it's largely due to the real estate collapse which was an enormous bubble waiting to happen. We're going to see something very similar in the US in the next few years. My point was that Trump really ended up shafting the American farmers and a lot of consumers with his completely ridiculous trade war, which accomplished absolutely nothing but inflate his already enormously over inflated ego.

the very things people were coming here to enjoy, have been diminished. Less nightlife, less color (due to the pasteurization and homogenization of the place), fewer resorts and restaurants, and alot of visible decimation of the economy. Whatever happens, the numbers will be lower than before. Thailand's days as a tourist mecca are behind it now. They will have to live on scraps. None of the myriad of issues that existed long before Covid have been addressed, and the quality of tourist Thailand attracts has been declining for years. Nearly anyone in the industry will attest to that. Few tourists will be interested in visiting a Quaker state, built on a foundation of fake purity, stripped of its character, by fools who know nothing about anything. The recession that is likely coming next year will not help. But, a lot of Thailand's current economic woes are largely self inflicted. This exceedingly reckless administration engaged in multiple, highly selective economic shutdowns, that favored their cronies, and punished the masses. They also kept the nation closed off for far too long, and decimated tourism. Then they partially re-opened, with draconian restrictions. So, if you want to put the blame in the place it belongs, blame Prayuth and Prawit. They are the architects of the downfall of Thailand, the increased suicides, homelessness, crime, unemployment, and unhappiness of the people. There are countless issues here, which prevent wealthy people from visiting, much less living here. There are a few wealthy ex-pats living here. Maybe 50. Likely, most of them are single. I doubt if any of those issues are being addressed. In order for a problem to be solved, it requires smart people, with open minds, and some humility, who are willing to admit the problem exists to begin with. The current crop are dull, completely lack creativity and initiative, and their level of hubris makes improvement nearly impossible. They are only capable of moving backwards, hence the generally backward movement of the nation.

Such silliness. Alot of this fake purity likely originates from the government. The goons in charge are focusing their efforts in all the wrong areas. They are trying to make Thailand a Quaker State. A land of purity. Total BS. Nonsense. Misplaced priorities, and wasted efforts. And likely completely fake and hypocritical. No doubt these terribly misguided fools are trying to rid Thailand of one of its most popular attractions. The nightlife. People love sexy. You cannot deny that. Making a big deal over something like this is just churlish and silly.

Xi won Trump's insane trade war, hands down. Trump was knocked out cold, 2 minutes into the first round. He simply does not know how to negotiate his way out of a paper bag. And he was likely outclassed by 60 or 70 IQ points. Which is not hard. 1 The US is in a state of decline. Trump simply precipitated the inevitable decline. Whether or not the CCP remains in charge is irrelevant to China's growth and dominance. I don't like it. But, it is what it is. I predict in 50 years or so, the US will only be the 4th or 5th biggest world power. Every enemy of the US outclassed Trump by a long shot. Putin, Xi, Kim, and MBS outsmarted him every time. It was like adults negotiating with a spoiled bratty child.

True. They also need to address the multitude of problems plaguing the nation long before covid come along. Will they? Likely not, as introspection, and taking responsibility is not their strong suit.

Fascinating that the man who is most responsible for pollution of the environment is pretending to care. He is a major polluter with his business and lifestyle, and comes from a family which is part of the problem. These guys just don't care.

Now, he gets his just reward, for his obedience and fealty.

Fascinating that the man who is most responsible for pollution of the environment is pretending to care. He is a major polluter with his business and lifestyle, and comes from a family which is part of the problem. These guys just don't care.

I seriously doubt that she was tricked into having sex with him twice. It certainly does not sound like rape to me. And how did on earth did she lose 14 million baht? There are a lot of scammers out there, and one has to have wits and discrimination to avoid letting them to prey upon you. She sounds like she is very ill-equipped to survive and thrive in this world. My sympathy for her is very limited.

I don't believe I've ever heard of a gas station offering terms and payment plans to customers who buy fuel. The margins are so low to begin with, why on earth would anyone do this? To a large extent business survival is Darwinian. It's survival of the fittest, and this woman does not seem very fit.

And all of that seemed to go out the window with Israel's invasion of Gaza, and Biden's bowing down to Netanyahu.

Kushner has always been about the money, and always will be about the money, the benefit that can be imparted to mankind means nothing, and the same applies to his master.

I think the headmen of many villages, the mayors of many cities, and the governors of many provinces tend to become like Hoover vacuums once they get elected, sucking in everything they possibly can from within as great a periphery as possible, thereby leaving very little to spend on infrastructure and improvements.

He would not be capable of handling the Israeli War. Does anybody remember his foreign policy from his last term, it was the Kushner policy! He sent a numskull to the Middle East to try to negotiate with some of the toughest negotiators in the world, and the guy came back empty-handed. Trump was dismal when it came to foreign policy, everything he touched turned to crap.

"With the shooting incident at Siam Paragon in early October, we believe it is unlikely for Thailand to see a sharp rise in the number of Chinese tourists in the fourth quarter,” remarked Kasem, following a meeting with TAT Deputy Governor Nithee Seeprae. Always an excuse, never a willingness to take responsibility and admit that perhaps Thailand's doing something wrong, perhaps there's policy that can be improved, perhaps a reduction in luxury taxes might attract more wealthy tourists. Always deflection, always denial, always blame, on something outside of us. This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways.