jayboy

18 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

The sex industry was here way before the tourists arrived in Thailand.  It just became more pronounced unfortunately.  I have never lived anywhere like Thailand where Thai men have many different mia nois or such, and those that can not find the time to go to karaoke or massage locations.  Once again way before there was ever an industry that is denied. 

That is all true though the younger generation of Thais tend to think of the mia nois as old fashioned and needlessly expensive.In any event, having a discrete mia noi is somewhat different to the long established propensity of male Thais visiting brothels and massage parlours.It was this latter aspect that provided the base for GIs r and r activity, and later mass Western sex tourism.In any case, that is all in the past and Thailand has moved on both in economic prosperity and evolving social mores.The fact remains that the Pattaya sex industry is an anachronism.I don't believe it should be closed down but if it disappears (though it will never entirely vanish) through its own irrelevance and economic pressure, that is to the good. Pattaya could be cleaned up to be a perfectly decent seaside resort.

5 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Regency offer this additional letter.

If it's not too much trouble it would be interesting to know the form of words that Regency provided.

1 hour ago, Zikomat said:

It is not about bars in Pattaya getting busted. What about 100 billion dollar tourist money which will not be injected into Thai economy this year?  Do you think it will go unnoticed?

You answer your own question.The huge Thai Tourist industry does not depend on Pattaya prostitutes.

11 minutes ago, robblok said:

Indeed, i got a good insurance from ACS too with far higher cover then needed for COVID. Probably its not good enough as the authorities would have to check the insurance. Maybe if our insurers could give out a letter stating COVID is included or something like that. 

Yes I was thinking along the same lines. i.e. that our insurance provider could provide an appropriate side letter that would satisfy the Thai authorities.To be honest I'm not that hopeful not because the insurance providers want to be unhelpful but because their internal procedures would require lengthy analysis/legal opinions etc etc.

I have no early plans to travel so hopefully in six months or so it won't be an issue.

I wonder exactly what the Thai authorities at Immigration actually need to see on arrival in respect of COVID-19 Insurance.I note that returning PRs are required to show COVID 19 insurance cover.

I'm sure I'm not alone in having a good health insurance policy from a well known international company which provides full cover for hospitalisation. However I don't know if this by itself would satisfy the Thai authorities since there's no specific reference to COVID 19 (though it would definitely be covered)

Just hypothetical at the moment  but it would be interesting to know.

3 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

There are a steady stream of reports at the moment regarding apparent breaches of government tendering rules and the awarding of high value government contracts to companies that seem wholly unsuited to the contracts which they have received. Further delving into them seems to suggest that, in several circumstance, there are links between the recipients and those in government which would normally require much closer scrutiny. These claims are, however, barely being acknowledged by the government, who are following their thus far successful policy of refusing to comment and insisting that the matter is closed. By creating a new, emotive and somewhat divisive 'national crisis', they can draw attention away from their apparent wrongdoings.

Is this the kind of problem you have in mind?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/firms-given-1bn-of-state-contracts-without-tender-in-covid-19-crisis

I am sure there are other tendering problem areas.However the facts don't seem to support your thesis.The fast track tendering process was introduced because of the national crisis.The national crisis was not dreamed up as some kind of wheeze to allow corrupt procurement.If there have been dodgy practices this was surely in part at least because of the need to move very quickly.The Guardian - no friend of the Tories - explains the position quite well.You also hint at inappropriate links between suppliers and the government but fail to provide any evidence at all.I'm not suggesting you have been unfair.There's a lot of incompetence involved I have no doubt.However as always the truth tends to reveals cock ups rather than corruption.

On 7/11/2020 at 10:35 AM, RuamRudy said:

This is one of these issues that arises regularly in the press where, inevitably a task-force is proposed by the government, push-back received from the supermarkets and eventually things go on as always. It will be interesting to see whether Johnson can do any better than his predecessors, although I am not convinced that this is anything other than a diversionary tactic - let's talk about fat kids and forget about fat cats.  

What fat cats do you have in mind?

On 7/6/2020 at 6:25 PM, dodgybros said:

we have less of an alcohol culture then the UK.

Really?

On 7/4/2020 at 7:27 AM, Tug said:

Not even April fools doesent Boris airhead gf have more important things to think about?you know brexit or covid to name two

If you knew anything about Carrie Symonds, you would not describe her as an airhead.She is formidably intelligent and influential in her own right.

She would certainly know how to put a sentence together correctly.

14 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

I don't know anyone like that. It's a surprise to me that you do. Especially when you call them coloured. 5555555555555

 

For your information, they describe themselves from when their ancestors came. From West Indies or an African country....

 

Only people who don't actually know any "coloured people" would describe them the way that you do.

 

Simply because they would understand that it would be insulting and totally ignorant to lump everyone together because they have a darker skin tone.

 

But you already knew that, knowing so many 'coloured' people....

 

 

But isn't lumping everyone together what some try to do? I would have thought that "Black" in the UK context meant people of African and Caribbean heritage, the heart of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement by virtue of being the cultures primarily affected by the Atlantic slave trade.

Yet some of the BLM supporters talk of grievances of "people of colour" which is confusing since most people of colour in the UK have no connection with the slave trade (people of Indian and Pakistani heritage for example). Then their ground shifts and they say it's not just about toppling statues:it's more about tackling systemic racism affecting all people of colour.I can understand that but would question the wisdom of expanding the BLM definition in this way.

Then it gets even more confusing.It's not just people of colour but the BAME community that feels aggrieved - not just the people of Afro-Caribbean and South Asian heritage but everybody who is not more or less of Caucasian stock i.e. Chinese.Thais.Korean, Samoan, Indonesian, Japanese etc etc - often people it must be said who are infinitely more privileged than the white working class.

So one has to conclude there is something else going on here quite separate from the noble cause of tackling the real damage done by slavery.But what it is I'm not quite sure though I have an idea it won't end prettily.

4 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Indeed. It seems entertainers, mostly well paid rich ones, seem to think it's a good way to keep in the public eye and/or get more fans. Whilst politicians see it as a way of getting more votes.

 

All relatively well off, with nice standards of living. 

To be honest I don't think it's as cynical as that.These people - often highly intelligent and well intentioned - genuinely think they are doing the right thing. The Atlantic slave trade was a curse and it has stunted the social and cultural capital of millions living today. The challenge is to tackle these present day problems full on and avoid histrionics and virtue signalling.As Joseph Conrad said of the protagonist in his novel 'Victory' - "It is by folly alone that the world moves, and so it is a respectable thing upon the whole.And besides, he was what one would call a good man."

Is it known when the better dental clinics/hospital dental clinics in Bangkok will be open for all types of treatment? I am not thinking so much of emergency treatment which is already available but more the kind of intricate areas like implants, root canals, bridgework and the like which have not been possible for several months.All of the latter would normally involve water spray/aerosol generating procedures which are extremely problematic in this pandemic even with greatest care being taken.I have had a quick look at relevant websites but they don't really give very specific information.

We should all take a moment to reflect on our transgressions, acknowledge our white man's privilege and educate ourselves on systemic racism - and of course bow the knee.The latter is optional if you want to stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning the next general election.Ooops too late!

23 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Why does any man do anything? P....Women.

 

I was in Thailand mainly because it was fun, relatively inexpensive, good quality lifestyle if you have money. It was basically a perpetual vacation and I could go out (almost) every night and get laid whenever I wanted to.

 

I did however decide to move on this year. Too many immigration headaches, and Bangkok is severely overpriced when it comes down to nightlife. I could spend half as much for just the same somewhere else in Asia. The plan forward is to go back to my home country, get a good IT job, and visit SEA (not necessarily Thailand) occasionally. Congratulations immigration - your "come too mutt" policies worked - I won't come as much anymore. Idiots.

You sound pretty much like the kind of "nightlife" visitor that nobody in Thailand wants, so win-win.

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

I get what you are saying, and yes he did what you are saying, but he took ex soldiers and ex prisoners and sent them to Ireland where the burned men, women, and children out of their homes, that was the Black and Tans, look at the genocide he was responsible for in India and other countries under the British Empire.

Why do you think he lost the first general election after the war?

He lost the general election (actually before the war ended) because the British people believed that Clem Attlee was more likely to give them a better society after the harsh war years.They were right to do so.It had nothing to do with the Black and Tans or the Bengal Famine.Churchill also fought a complacent and flawed campaign suggesting that Labour's plans had elements of the Gestapo.Churchill was a great war leader but not a great peace PM.

"Greece, you’ll notice, has largely escaped Covid-19. Have you ever tasted retsina? It’s wine with a hint of Dettol. So Donald Trump was right. Drink disinfectant".

8 minutes ago, colinneil said:

First i do not fall into any of your categories, i am me, an individual.

Second, everything i have in Thailand, bank accounts, vehicles in fact everything goes to my wife.

Third i would trust low level officials, as you call them , before i would trust any damned lawyer.

Looks as though you fall very neatly into the category I referred to.Good luck to you.