Tropicalevo

Go for it BJ. They tried to take you out before - and failed. Keep up the good work and if they sacrifice you, tell all. Shame that Kh Chuwit is having palliative care - he could really spill the beans. (Has anyone heard how he is lately?)

As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Decriminalising weed and then pretending that recreational weed is legal was a huge mistake Thailand. Just enforce the laws. Dope-head Anutin strikes again.

It is nothing to do with being tourist unfriendly. Tourists do not need work permits. The WP process is a form of protectionism though. They do not want foreigners taking 'Thai' jobs. Thailand never wants to be seen as needing outside help in any way, kind or form. I ran a charity some years ago, we were helping to educate Khmer kids in the poorer provinces of Cambodia, but as I am based in Thailand, I wanted to set up the charity here. Forget it said the lawyer. Thailand does not need help from outside charities and you will not be able to register it here. But we are working in Cambodia was my response. Not in Thailand. That is not how the Thais will see it said the lawyer.

Hmm. Slightly different accounts of events there. I wonder which one is correct?

I think that this is the second or third person who has died like this recently. Will people never learn. Fire is dangerous.

I just do not see how allowing alcohol will boost tourism. People do not sit at home and think 'Oh I can drink on trains, I think that we should go to Thailand'. Tourists who catch trains are usually already here.

And this will be enforced just like the other rules/laws? Helmets on scooters, seat belts in cars, bars cloisng at midnight? Thailand, you are a joke.

Not a problem surely. Just put him on the Interpol 'red' list like 'Boss'. Oh, wait a minute though.......

Poor python. I hope that it recovers OK.

In Thailand, that is more commonly known as threats and bullying.

These days, Thai Airways were lucky to have a spare plane sitting around doing nowt.

So, these folk have no proper jobs to apply for.

The smog is finally clearing up here on Samui. One of the reasons that I moved here many years ago. 20 AQI at the moment rising to about 50 AQI by midnight.

Someone tried this scam on me. Said that they were from the PEA and were going to change the meter to a digital one. It did not get very far - I am not a PEA customer. The meter is owned by the developer that distributes the electricity around the estate.

Lovely story thank you.

There is another issue. The government and 'concerned citizen groups' always focus on Bangkok. Here on Samui, it is the wild west on crossings. Most are so badly faded, that with the poor or non existent street lights, one cannot see them. In the busy areas eg markets, the traders and customers park their trucks on them so that you cannot see the non-faded sections. Pedestrians can't walk through the trucks anyway. At one market there are two 'faded' crossing less than 10 metres apart. Then we have 'rogue' crossings. This is where hotels paint a crossing for their guests to cross from the hotel to the beach access. They then put an aggressive flag-waver in a uniform by them - to stop the traffic when the VIP guests want to cross the road. I am tempted at times to take said flag-waver out. I check my mirrors and see an empty road behind me but this dumb cluck is trying to stop me with his 'power' flag. I do not stop.

It is the innocent victims that I always feel sorry for. Phichat's worries are all over and he is at peace. The kids problems have just started.

Thailand (and the others) should respond with a 'high-risk travel destination warning' for Taiwan. It can't be long before it is invaded and they all become Chinese citizens.

The only rechargeable batteries that I have are in my phones so I should be OK.

Why? Nothing has changed (yet). Just people panicking as usual. So, it is the agents that are causing the panic. They are withdrawing their (sometimes) illegal services.

The visa-free entry thing is a red herring. A career criminal will come in on any visa, go straight to Burma and then he/she is not an overstay. It's being able to do a background check that is important, and I do not believe that Thailand did that on the normal tourist visas pre visa-free. 12 million Chinese tourists in 2019. All on visas https://www.statista.com/statistics/1048386/thailand-tourist-arrivals-from-china/

So where's his mum? Hope that Mrs leopard cat is ok.

So we can only assume that the poor lad was still alive and communicative at this point?

What you are suggesting is usually not as easy as just sitting on her butt whilst her staff sell the illegal products.

To the OP. It is not clear if your money is with the 'broker' or in your bank. If it is frozen in your bank account, the solution is simple if it is clean money. You just have to prove to the bank where the money came from. This happened to me many years ago with my account in Jersey. Showed the documents and the money was released. It took about six months. It was a tad embarrassing as I was living overseas and had to borrow money until the bank cleared it. If the money is with the 'broker' then your troubles may be larger. Is he legit?