Oberkommando

Thailand is one of the most political, backstabbing, machievellian of societies . Or haven't you noticed the political events of the past couple of years?

It's because they have no honour or sense of duty to their own people.

It's all about money and furthering their own ambitions.

In Thailand violent aggression is just not tolerated. Of course it happens, but whoever becomes involved in a violent dispute and someone gets seriously hurt or killed, than be prepared to suffer the consequences, either by injury, death or a long prison sentence.

Erm, war on drugs, Tak Bai massacre, shootings of foreigners by off duty cops, Politician's son killing off-duty Policemen in nightclubs etc, etc.

It's certainly tolerated in many cases.

and connom folks winning a fortune,

That's a joke, isn't it..?

Those who win are ALWAYS those who already have everything. Since my BF watches that crap all the time i am forced to see some of it too, they come to visit some stinky rich celebrity's house and talk about the usual gossip, go through the clothes cabinet and show the 80 inch Plasma in the bathroom (people need that!) and in the end they get a present basket from the sponsor of the "show" and a couple of bicycles for the kids. Who already have bicycles and are previously seen riding them. Those people do NOT need gifts!

Or why is the "lucky winner" of a Honda Jazz almost always someone who already owns at least two cars, one of which is a Benz?

I have yet to see a "common person" to win something. Key to get on those "shows" is to be rich to begin with. People (as in television audience) don't want to see "common folks", they want to see celebrities and rich people, because those are taken as role models (money, money, money and more money).

Regards....

Thanh

Well spotted that man!

Cronyism, nepotism and favouritism has no limits in Thailand.

I was watching the other night and the host of one show was a contestant on the next and he 'won' 30,000thb.

They don't even bother to disguise it on TV because the majority are too uneducated to work it all out.

This makes me wonder what they do to the poor guys in the South--whom they really don't like.

Or the Rohigyna, or the Burmese slave labourers, or the Malays, or the Khmer or the...

Is there anyone they actually like?

Why buy in such a xenophobic country that has laws specifically preventing you from doing so?

Rent, or move to a place where you are legally allowed to own land if it bothers you so much.

It's quite clear they don't want us here permanently nor owning land and property so why the fuss? Comply with their wishes and invest or live elsewhere if you really have to own and live in your own home.

You'd have to be quite mad to buy here anyway with all the pitfalls and horror stories IMO.

The worst is yet to come here, mark my words.

Besides the appalling British OAP, the appalling bias report, what else i found appalling was that this trash newspaper can't even spell

So? Neither can the two leading English language daily papers here.

The Thai Justice system is a complete farce, so this guy needs all the help he can get, guilty or not.

It's amazing the amount of foreigners that come onto Thaivisa and denigrate their own kind.

You'd never get the Thais doing it.

I guess there's a little irony in that.

No, it's a scam to pressure people in to buying something they don't really want. I'm not leaving spoilable dairy products on my doorknob for several days while I wait for them to return and collect the bottles. Any Yakult on my doorknob is going in to the trash.

100% correct.

Well Thailand is ok then is it? What pathetic childish posts...........you cannot justify any failure to address particular problem by pointing out that there is somewhere worse!!!!

Well said.

When I fly to the US, Australia or the UK the first thing I notice, having lived in Thailand, is how visibly clean they all are in comparison.

The OP is entirely correct and it is one of the most frustrating things about living in this country.

The only market I beleive which doesn't, are the younger backpackers, who in the main, see Thailand as an essential part of their tourist trail through Asia. For them, wild parties at full moon and excellent beaches the main attractions.

Which Thailand has been doing its best to alienate in recent years, with limits on visa exempt stamps and the announcement they were looking for a better class of tourist.

I visit Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos frequently and most of the backpackers I speak to have had enough of Thailand and are seeking more adventurous and untrodden territory.

Thailand, and in particular bangkok, needs a media loving, larger than life Governor who for the first 4 years of his/her term spends their entire time in front of international media pulling down farang orientated bars, brothels, arresting both the prositutes and the punters, basically scaring off anyone who is even vauguely interested in travelling here to visit that aspect of Bangkok.

Bangkok doesn't have much of substance to offer other than the sex industry and closing it down would kill the few tourists that it still attracts.

Might make a few bitter, conservative, holier-than-though, moralising Thais feel better about themselves though.

hey guys im new here.. so i am not sure if i am posting this in the right place (please forgive me if i am)..

anyway- i will be staying in bangkok from the 1st of july to the 10th. The iphone 3GS is due to be released on the 19th, i was wondering how long the phones take to be shipped to the grey markets in bangkok (aka: mbk/pantip), as i would like to purchase one during my stay. I am not too concerned about an unlock, so if i can get the device itself over there, i can wait for the iphone development team to unlock it. I have also heard about carrier unlocked phones, will these be available there? and what is their price range?

thanks in advance!

rubiks

I wouldn't bother, any new technology will be more expensive in Thailand than elsewhere as usual.

What 6 month success ?

New Merc 600SEL's all round.

Prime Time Thai TV is on a Par with Kids TV in the UK, in my opinion..

Except UK children's TV is better made and more educational.

What's wrong with this picture?

Australian passport holders do not require a visa for stays of 90-days or less, in accordance with US State Dept requirements for Visa Waiver Program.

Why would someone be applying for a non-immigrant visa for a trip to Disneyland when one isn't required?

There would seem to be something else going on that isn't being publicized.

+1

I think it says "By following Buddhism, you will be free of bad karma, and a better driver". All rather clear, really.

It doesn't seem to be working judging by the standard of driving in Thailand.

Many of us love the Thai people and culture, but hate how inadequate and inept the government, the police, the monopolies, and many of the ministries are.

while I understand where you are coming from, the people, and dare I say it, the 'culture' are in many ways the reason for the way the government, the police, the monopolies and many other things in Thailand work or don't, as the case may be.

Once the Thai people stop blaming others and accept some responsibility for their own ineptitudes as a nation and as a people perhaps they can move on from a Third-World mentality and deal with their problems in a reasonable adult manner.

I wouldn't hold my breath though, as the recent coup and political turmoil shows Thailand isn't anywhere near ready to start accepting responsibility.

A great shame, that a nation with so much promise has been undone in a matter of months by a outdated and increasingly irrelevant institution and by its cronies in the military.

However, in many ways the National Carrier is a microcosm of the entire country; badly mismanaged, unable to move into the modern era, encourages favouritism and cronyism, is inherently racist in favour of the Thai and is bailed out to the tune of billions of taxpayer money while the fatcats that control it use it to feather their nests and boost their egos.

Before encouraging visitors to drive they should be attempting to reduce the huge death toll on Thai roads, making them a lot safer and punishing drunk drivers and speeders properly by reducing corruption in the Police.

It's a tall order, but visitors should be informed that Thai roads are extremely dangerous.

13,500 Baht a month for a house like that in Isaan is a load of ballony I think.

I haven't watched the one from Bangkok, but I read this:

"They then discover an even more shocking, darker side to the city, meeting women who work in Bangkok's sex industry."

What I want to know is, what the hel_l has that got to do with the premise of the show - working in food production.

Why didn't they do that in Indonesia?

Probably because Indonesia doesn't have as recognised a sex-industry as Thailand nor is it the World's most popular sex-tourism destination, nor indeed does Indo have the World's highest amount of sex workers per capita as Thailand does.

Malaysia gets approx. 21 million visitors a year. Thailand only around 15 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_Rankings

Malaysia gets more visitors than Thailand or Singapore even though Bangkok and Singapore get more visitors than KL? More proof that one just can not trust wikipedia!

Indeed, but the statistics are not from Wikipedia they are from the U.N. World Tourism Barometer.

Malaysia had around 6 million more tourist arrivals than Thailand in 2007.

As to your preposterous comment about Thai morals I refer you to the example of the Thai sex-industry which is the World's largest and most prevalent in all the World.

So what? In Thailand most sex workers have chosen this type of work because they can make a lot of money and they are treated fairly well. In Camboda most of the girls are sex slaves shipped in from Vietnam and they are frequently beaten and tortured and the Cambodians could care less.

Cambodia is no Shangri-la.

By the way, there is no way that Malaysia gets more visitors than Thailand and you are probably "mistaken" about the other places as well.

Malaysia gets approx. 21 million visitors a year. Thailand only around 15 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_Rankings

Always helps to be informed of the facts.

Westerners to Thailand forget to realize the amount of Asian tourists Thailand now gets - number one destination in Asia.

Hong Kong, China and Malaysia all get more visitors than Thailand. So not even number one in the region.

I've been stopped by Thong Lor Police several times in their precinct. Usually by two guys, a sergeant and another guy riding pillion on a motorbike. I am 53, always smartly dressed and clean shaven.

Once I had 5/6 DVDs I had bought from Panthip earlier in the day and they attempted to arrest me and took me to the station. I paid a bribe and they let me go after some negotiation over the amount. They were adamant they were going to charge me and probably would have if I had not paid the tea-money. Either way I wasn't going to press the issue.

Another occasion was outside in front of the Emporium in the early afternoon when I was waiting for a client to turn up and go for a spot of lunch. Highly embarrassing being treated like a common criminal and the client saw what had happened and I had to apologise profusely.

I been livning in Thailand for 6years,went to Cambodia for almost a year.a shitplace with nothing,no hospital,bad food and not realy friendly people,only one thing was good,u buy 1year visa for around 280dollars but rest like food and infrastructior sucks.The latest year I been in Philippines,wow corruption get a champion,this is the land of no smiles,rip u of every place,shops rental,police,food is shit and everybody is out for your money,much more then Cambodia and Thailand.visa rules ok but immigrations rip u of with all made up fees.I just had to pay exitvisa??500peso and extra tax because I was here more than I year another 33dollars.Thailand is not a perfect place but after being around I want to say Thailand have moral,cultur,great food and the people is not bad,as good as any one else.Next week Im back to Thailand and I will kiss the ground,wow civilsation.

I find the Cambodians much more friendly than the Thais for the most part and the food in Phnom Penh is excellent. Wine is abundant and reasonably priced, you can get really good Western food for cheap and they of course have the French influence for breads and pastries amongst other things.

Another thing I like is that you can apply for a Cambodian visa online now so takes the hassle out of doing it on arrival.

For a country absolutely destroyed and almost a third of its population wiped out you have to admire the will of the people to put that behind them and rebuild.

It's ironic you should mention Thai 'culture' as most of it was directly stolen from the Khmer; language, sport, dancing, dress, music and the list goes on.

As to your preposterous comment about Thai morals I refer you to the example of the Thai sex-industry which is the World's largest and most prevalent in all the World.

Will the Indians, Arabs and Chinese (IAC) start retiring here in large numbers? Will the IACs buy houses and populate East Pattaya? Or will they just visit but not become resident expats? Will they spend more or less than the western expats and tourists? If the IACs do settle here, how will they integrate with the Thais? Interesting changes ahead for sure...

Don't know about the Arabs, but the Chinese and Indians have been here long before palefaces argued their first barfine. And they will be here long after we have left (read "kicked out" as in the other thread).

They own the country now, kicking them out won't be so easy.

So much for 'Thailand has never been colonised'. They have been colonised and controlled by stealth.

Chok dee khrap!

My two daughters have blond hair and blue eyes, and if you dropped them into Sweden or Denmark, they wouldn't look any different to the natives. Oh, and they are Thai citizens, and enjoy the full rights accorded to Thai citizens.

"Enjoy the full rights."

You make it sound as if Thailand is a country that actually values freedom of speech and free, critical thinking.

There are poor people in Thailand for sure, but it really depends what you call poverty. Nobody starves in Thailand, very few freeze to death.

When there's a slight chill up North in Thailand loads of people kick the bucket.

You see them handing out blankets every year, and every year thousands still die.

Where I'm from those are summer temperatures too.

I'm sure prison inmates, refugees and the country's thousands of homeless and destitute would disagree about nobody starving to death either.

Just another Thai myth I'm afraid.