connda

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I submitted my 90 Day Report Online on April 11. I received the approval today dated May 16th!!! One full month AFTER the due date. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Needless to say I had already taken a trip to Immigration on the last possible Friday before I would have incurred a 2000 THB fine to have it stamped manually at Immigration. And no doubt they would have fined me 2000 THB. Online? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

They can't - that's the trick. People take the money then vote however they want.

Talk about having your head in the sand. Vote buying is wide open and prevalent throughout Thailand - it's the norm, not the exception.

I asked AN ChatGPT how many successful and unsuccessful coup attempts there have been in Thailand since 1930. (caveat - AN ChatGPT will not give consistent answers on this subject, but you can get a ballpark feel) "There have been about 20 unsuccessful coup attempts in Thailand since 1930. There have been approximately 12 successful coup attempts in Thailand since 1932, but the actual number is debated among sources." So about one every three years on average. So much for taking the word "coup" out of the dictionary. When all else fails, turn the apple-cart upside down.

Mexico.

A 3 ton truck governed at 90 is plenty of speed. It's not a bad idea for all Thai drivers imho. Most Thais simply do not have the driving skills to handle higher speeds. And governors would end the aggressive driving especially if set to limit top end speeds. Well, as the old saying goes, if put wishes in one hand and s**t in the other, guess which one fills up first.

That was a truck? Looks like the aftermath of a vehicle being put through a car-crusher.

Thai banks continue to lend at usurious rates, pay their depositors nothing, and then levy more charges.

They should let the fathers have a hour together with the murderer.

You can't find Ivermetic on Lazada anymore. Use to be able to buy 100 for under 400 THB. Can't even find it anymore. <Poof> and it's gone Works for ticks, fleas, worms, and heartworms as was dirt cheap. Was!

Nothing changes. You can't police moving violation at a road block, and it's the moving violations which are consistance and dangerous, but considering there is no such thing as a highway patrol who stops and cites drivers for moving violations - nothing changes. Oh, yeah. I know. They have cars with Highway Patrol written on them but they are pretty much strictly VIP escort. They aren't used for policing. Then driver education - who is going to teach Thais to drive. They are already taught the wrong way to drive and if you have ever looked at the video you are required to watch to get your license - well, it's a joke at best. Thai have no idea how to do the most basic of driving skills like, merging into traffic, yielding and stopping at marked intersection, or basically given a s**t. Sorry, but the idiocy is self-perpetuating. Thais don't have the typical driver education you get in the West, and even if they did, they ignore the rules. What makes it worse is the lack of uniform police enforcement. Some moron could hit your car head on coming the wrong way down the street or running a stop sign at an intersection, and yet the police and insurance companies will want you to pay because Somchai broke the law and got himself/herself injured - but you get the blame and expense - and who fixes your vehicle? You do. Nothing will ever change. Thais love being Number 1, so they can keep that Number 1 in world traffic fatalities year-over-year and claim bragging rights. This is a social problem, and Thai society doesn't have the will to change how they drive. Hell, even the cops don't know how to drive. It will never change. Ever.

MDA, MDMA, and MDMA analogs. It was not even illegal at first. Then they'd make it illegal and some chemist would make an analog that was slightly different and voila! Legal again. Better living through chemistry back in the day. It was definitely a thing further back than you realize.

Ah-hah! Yeah, I didn't notice that. Thx! Cool!

Change from Marriage to Retirement? Easy. Changing back? Not so easy. Give it some thought.

I wasn't exactly an angel in my youth, especially back in the late 60s and early 70s were drugs like ecstasy were easy to obtain - but this? ???? Happy Water ???? This is simply stupid.

The media simply understand Thai history. Considering that last coup was in 2014, and Thailand's military's perchance at using military power to removed civilian governments in the past? ???? These are not unreasonable questions by the media.

I had a doctor appointment at a private hospital in CM. 99% masking except for odd-balls like me although I had one in my pocket. I entered the doctor's office and he was wearing a mask. I offered to put one on and he said no. The nurse closed the door - and - his mask came off. Go figure. ???? My guess is that it's hospital policy for their staff. Everyone else? Fear in many cases (like my wife), social compliance in many others (like my wife). Thais are loathe not to conform as conformity is baked into society starting at a very young age. If enough people wear masks, others will wear them in order not to stand out.

Hopefully this is a sign of the start of the monsoons. It has been really dry in our neck of Northern Thailand and we can use the water even if it comes in deluges. Gotta refill the reservoirs before rice planting. They are going to be putting rice in late this year.

So this is just another China-bashing thread at the end of the day. Mathew 7:3 Btw - those "crabs." All shell and very little meat. Not quite like Alaskan King Crabs.

Interesting. People who would rather eat salad than steak are now low-lifes? That's a pretty broad brush as in your humble opinion all vegetarians and vegans would qualify as "low-lifes." Hummm ???? So those attending the annual Thai vegetarian festivals must all be "low-lifes." In some snooty circles where Michelin restaurants are their only choice of dining, the HiSos would consider everyone at a Sizzler to be "low-lifes." Something to ponder. Class and status are quite relative.

I eat until I'm pleasantly full. I don't eat until I'm gorged. And I tend to eat my fill of salad if they have a good salad bar - pleasantly full. Best value? What people looking to gorge in order to get the "their money's worth" are doing is strengthening their own internal greed. Gorging is a very animalistic, pig-like characteristic. I don't go to buffets to over-eat in order to get "value." I go to buffets to get a wide selection of foods that are otherwise not on my menu. For me it's about enjoying the diversity of foods, it's about enjoying the experience - not gluttony to get your "money's worth". However, I stopped going to dinner buffets in Thailand. Why? When the pigs belly-up to the feeding trough, the pleasant experience goes right out the window. The last Western dinner buffet I went to at a hotel in Chiang Mai was my last. I'm willing to stand in line cordially and politely and wait my turn. But it seems that the other 90% of the diners fall into the porcine category, literally shoving and elbowing to get to the front of the line. And no - it wasn't The Chinese. It was a very representative cross-section of ethnicities - farang, Thai, and others. I don't do Western style dinner buffets anymore. I will go to Thai dinner buffets as there is usually a wider selection of foods and a much more civil and polite atmosphere. People aren't clubbing each other to get to the roast beef because? There isn't any roast beef. I have made one exception for the Chiang Mai Expat Club breakfast at the old Riverside. People were generally polite probably because most people there were acquaintances and friends. That was always a pleasant experience.

To be honest, go to the ER in Maharaj and use the Thai government hospital facilities. Much cheaper than Sriphat and the care is top notch regardless of the BS that some private stakeholder will spew about government hospital services. I had a hernia repaired a Maharaj. It wasn't like the boutique hospital experience I had at Bangkok Hospital when I had Dengue, but it was as good if not better than any experience I've had in US hospitals. And it's all the same doctors. So my advice if you have a Thai-speaking partner and you have an emergency? Just stay with Maharaj.

Before that, take a Thai speaker with you and have them explain why they can't reissue a license plate that can be service at the Nong Hoi branch. Honestly, we have Chiang Mai plates on our car and we did all of our licensing at the Lamphun office when we changed from a Red Plate to normal plates. I haven't been to the Nong Hoi branch in a decade. I did change our motorcycle license from Chiang Mai to Lamphun when we moved here almost a decade ago. We were never required to go to Chiang Mai to make that change. I think they are just giving you the run-around 'farang.' A decade ago I would have recommended hiring my very assertive, non-Thai-like, Thai wife to run your problem by the Thai bureaucrats. She has a way of getting her way.

Go to any of the car rental agencies in Chiang Mai and request to rent a car with a driver. They will oblige. The driver shouldn't cost more that about 500 THB or a day's wage. I've done it before...very easy and convenient.

Korea.