Tropicalevo

So it is really about 'know the rules' and do your duty? Not sure where the safety bit comes in there. The first thing on the list should be a warning to pedestrians from the USA, Europe, China etc "Here you must look right, left, right before crossing the road and keep on looking (and listening) as you cross."

I wonder what the Conrad think about this. Their peace and quiet will be shattered. The convoys of minivans will be bad, but the convoys of safari trucks are much, much worse. Reckless at the best of times.

Hobson's choice or what? A watch thief who hits women v a drug dealer

And there was me thinking that is was so that China could import more cheap, tacky goods more efficiently. I hope that they get the guys out safely.

Disagree. Motorbikes have brakes, lights and indicators. People may not be using them, but they are there.

Envy can be a terrible burden. Look on the bright side - you are living inside their head rent free.

The guy is totally out of order. The responders do a great job, often under very difficult circumstances. Spouting krapp at folk because of your own stupidity - totally out of order.

Thanks Poorsucker. I have had a card/SS number for more than 20 years. Not sure how. As a Director maybe? I now pay the 432 baht by standing order. Retiring is not in my genes. My mother beat into me as a kid 'if you do nothing, you get nothing.' 73 and still working 10 - 12 hours a day, 7 days week. (Mostly desk work and talking to guests. Nothing heavy.) Stay well and keep posting.

Considerate of him to park it away from people and building whilst he destroyed it. It needed to be in a public place to garner the attention of the press.

But very sensible. Buy any other phone, the world is open and it is your oyster. Buy an iPhone and you are a prisoner locked into Apple for the rest of your life. And they steal and sell your data.

Difficult for me to think of that oil slick as a 'massive' oil spill. Yes, I know writers love attention grabbing headlines, but this was a massive oil spill https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39223308

when I first saw the headline, this is what I read "Thailand Emerges as Medical Haven for Somali Pirates"

Great photo. I thought that bandits stopped wearing masks years ago.

Oh dear. Someone woken up. Drug driving (Including cannabis) in many parts of the UK is now more common than drink driving. Google it. No one in Thailand tests for cannabis when there is a problem/accident/death. People assume alcohol. It is an easy (old fashioned?) solution requiring no effort. And we all know how lazy the police here are. I have watched stoned guys, struggling to get dressed when I had to get them out of a villa, and then getting on scooters and wobbling off down the road. Another time, three stoned (out of their heads) middle eastern gentlemen threatened to kill me after accusing me of stealing their very expensive weed. I can assure you that was real, boy.

They stopped the bins because property owners do not pay the council tax. Fix the problem. Pay the tax and bins return. Oh dear. The lads were having a bit of fun. Remember that? I pick up garbage every time that I go for a walk. Put it in a bag and take it home. I have done this everywhere that I have lived. It does not cost anything and it helps the environment. I think that is a better thing to do than to be a keyboard warrior complaining on a web site. I do something to help to keep a small part of Samui clear of garbage. I live on a quiet part of the island. Lots of rental villas but no heavy tourism. Quiet clean beaches and great views. Too many weed shops but hopefully that will stop soon. I love living on Samui (24 years). My wife died here and so will I but until then, I will keep picking up garbage.

This shows the biased legal system in Thailand. Worse even than the Red Bull killer.

It's amazing that when stoned folk do something stupid, the weed affiliates blame alcohol. It is their stock excuse. Do they sell alcohol in weed shops?

Oh dear. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

I wonder which one

Well done to those rescue teams. That looks like a very tricky operation. As Georgealbert says, not much left of the plane.

Sorry to hear about your accident PoorSucker. Hope that you have a speedy and full recovery. No advice from me - sounds you have the bases covered. Stay well young man.

From what I have seen/heard, very few owners pay the garbage tax here on Samui. 'Old school' Thais burn their garbage. Lots of new villas are now owned by foreigners, the majority of them not paying the garbage tax. That is why the local Tessabaan removed all of the public garbage bins from the streets. No one was paying the tax.

Not sure if the Thai garbos would have appreciated that - no going through the rubbish for the recycling. Good on the lads though.

Whether you need to report or not is down to individual Immigration offices. Some say yes, some say no. On Samui, it is a money earner so I always report when I return to the same home for 24 years now. Here, immigration go out and knock on doors now and again and everyone that I know who has applied for a visa extension is always asked to show their TM 30