connda

The Number 1 in Road Deaths per year and The Number 1 Worst Air In The World are always good fall-backs.

How are they "lifesavers." In the middle of a major earthquake there is too much movement in the building to evacuate. "We need seismographs to tell us that an earthquake is happening." Any conscientious human can tell that an earthquake is happening. My guess is that this is a money-maker for someone connected to the government.

The funny thing about this, and not funny in a humorous manner, is that the US tariffs are in response to tariffs, some extremely high like Thailand's, that are imposed on US goods by other nations. If you listen only to the media or Trump detractors you'd think that Trump woke up one morning and decided to impose tariffs on the world. The reality is that many, many countries in the world have imposed ridiculously high tariffs on the US for no other reason than they can and have gotten away with doing so forever. Now the media and Trump detractors scream bloody murder because the Trump plan imposed tariffs on countries imposing tariffs on the US at a rate of 50% of the target country's tariff's on the US. So Thailand imposes an average tariff of 72% on the US, so now the US imposes 1/2 of that on Thailand or 36% - and Thailand, the media, and Trump detractors scream to high heaven. "Unfair! Unfair!" Yeah I agree. That 72% tariff Thailand imposes on the US is "Unfair!" In my own humble opinion, "Fair" would be reciprocal tariffs of the same amount as other tariffs that countries around the globe impose on the US. The US should have imposed a 72% tariff on Thailand, 90% on Vietnam, 97% on Cambodia...you get the picture. I have no sympathy for Thailand at all. The US should hammer them until they drop their tariffs. Those of us living here, Thai and expats alike, benefit from the reciprocal tariffs which hopefully will cause the Thai government to drop their tariff scheme and allow those living in Thailand to buy US goods without being hammered by ridiculously high tariffs as we have in the past.

I had a motorcycle endorsement, motorcycle training, and a couple of years of driving experience before ever getting to Thailand, and still managed to get into a couple of accidents the first year I drove here. The roads here are DANGEROUS and no freaking joke to drive on. You have to be switched on defensively 100% of the time. Managed to stay out of accidents for the next 14 years and finally hung up the helmet around 70 years old as I just don't feel comfortable driving without metal around me anymore. I prefer a car. I enjoyed my motorcycle driving immensely, but I always understood the risks. Tourist come here - without training, without any experience, without a license, and put themselves in harm's way on Thai roads - and then get creamed. I don't feel much of anything for these people because what they are doing is highly irresponsible. They get hurt and then b*tch and complain about Thailand. I will admit that Thailand supplies the stupidest people on the planet with all the tools that they need to seriously injure of kill themselves. But that is not Thailand's fault. It's the fault of those who come here all starry-eyed and think that the rules back in their home country don't apply to them here in Thailand. That's just stupid.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.....just like you can coax a tourist to Thailand, but you can't make them responsible (fails to obtain travel insurance prior to arrival, drives a motorcycle without training, drives a motorcycle without a license, drives a motorcycle on "The Most Dangerous Roads In The World" when your policy doesn't cover the accident that you have a high probability of encountering due to your lack of training and skill on the motorcycle you are driving illegally and without proper protection, doesn't wear adequate protection gear for driving a motorcycle - I could go on, but why bother - it happens over and over and over and over and over.....). I'm not saying that's her case, but I'm making assumptions base on her story and assuming that the horse-shoe fits the stead.

Nope.

What are they going to do. Rise their own tariffs from 72% and take them even higher to "Show Trump A Thing Or Two!" I guess the days of screwing the US with tariffs are over, and heck, he only hit them with 1/2 of the tariffs that they impose on the US. Imagine if Trump raised tariffs on Thailand to match Thailand's average of 72% on US goods?

Good to know. Small tremors relieve pressure. Big tremors less likely.

Where's the list?

Full-face helmets are your friend. Now - slam Thailand's medical facilities and care. Then indicate that you either weren't responsible enough to take out a medical insurance policy for the trip, or, the policy didn't cover riding a motorcycle (many don't). Let's not even talk about wearing proper protective gear for driving a motorcycle. Now slam Thailand's medical facilities and care some more. Then start a GoFundMe page. And blame Thailand. People! Don't travel to third-world and developing countries without being prepared. Was she driving the "moped" (which is a motorcycle) or a passenger. Got a full-face helmet? Had she ever driven a motorcycle in the US. Was she licensed in the US to drive one. I'm always amazed that people who never have driven a motorcycle in their home country think it's OK to come to Thailand and hop on one without any training - or a license. See it all the time. I wish these people would just stay home. She'll no doubt be slamming Thailand's medical services for the rest of her life. Dear sweat child - don't come back. Stay in the US.

Will the Trump Tarriff Attack on Thailand be met with backlash against American expats here? Absolutely. No doubt they will start with you. Probably time to leave.

Me too.

Construction standards are only as good as the corruption which bypasses the standards.

The main-stream media and "experts" will milk this for Maximum Fear. "Expert say that if you wear a mask 24/7 you are 23.3845% less likely to experience an earthquake." 🙄

That is about the stupidest statement I have ever heard. "Expert?" The essence of earthquakes IS their unpredictability. "Earthquakes are unpredictable. I'm an expert. I know!" 🙅‍♂️ "I'm a 4 year old and mummy has told me the earthquakes are unpredictable." I'm Captain Obvious and I'm here to tell you that Earthquakes Are Unpredictable! See - I'm an "expert" too! "Experts." <gag>

Donny boy. 🐂💩 I really hate the word "never" as it is often inaccurate. Thais will stop, however, doing so in a crossing without a light is a recipe to get rear-ended. In many cases, stopping is more dangerous for the driver than simply watching the people on the side of the road, and proceeding carefully. They can cross when the traffic clears or when enough of the traffic does stop. And I've seen traffic stop to allow people to cross even with no crosswalks in places like Chiang Mai.

I know people in the US, especially the Blue States and cities, are conditioned to believe that all traffic will stop immediately when someone steps into a crosswalk. I remember watching a lady cop on the Seattle evening news stepping out in front of oncoming cars and then ticketing them for failure to yield the right of way to a person in a crosswalk. Literally, the way she was doing it the cars didn't have a chance to stop. It was ludicrous. Great way for the city to make money. So these type of tourists are conditioned to think that traffic will stop for them globally. It's a good way to get killed. Just ask the French guy.

Like I said, a dead pedestrian who "is in the right" is still a dead pedestrian. However, in the US, the pedestrian's estate may be able to milk the defendant in a civil case for millions of dollars and bankrupt them. There's the US and the West for ya. Not here in the Land of Smiles. Unless it's a Thai attempting to milk a farang, the estate and family of the decease is pretty much out of luck with the cap on the insurance policy being the upper end of what the court will order the defendant to pay out, and in most cases for most Thais, that will be the upper limit of their compulsory insurance. And if the driver is uninsured, well - TIT - the court may just say, "So sad, too bad. Sucks to be you." For a fully insured driver with 1st class or 3rd class insurance - upper end is around $30 USD to $60k USD.

On the road. Sidewalks are for signs, trees, car and motorcycle parking, utility poles, utility boxes, more signs, more trees, planters, chains and ropes marking off parking from the door to the street in front of businesses. tables and chairs, more signs, food carts, sidewalk sales displays, sidewalk restaurants, and for driving motorcycles and sometimes cars. Pedestrians are suppose to walk on the road. Well, at least in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

What I learned in kindergarten: "Look left, look right, look left and right again, then cautiously cross." Here in Thailand I keep my head on a swivel. And I always anticipate a vehicle coming from the "wrong" direction. Always! A dead pedestrian may be "in the right," but they are still a dead pedestrian.

I'm going to be Captain Obvious here. Look at the road. Almost no traffic. So the guy decided to step out in front of one of the few cars on the road at night? Why not wait until the road is clear? Captain Obvious says, that's called self-preservation. If the French guy is the type who thinks that pedestrians have "the right of way" in cross-walks in Thailand, and for that matter globally, technically he's probably correct. Realistically, he's in the hospital fighting for his life. Sometimes it's better to be "safe" and give up the right-of-way to the 2000 lb vehicle and cross when the vehicles have passed. I don't have a lot of sympathy. Personally I yield to vehicles. I've lived here too long and know better. I'll walk across the road after they pass by. Then everyone is safe.

You didn't back your system up. You should have done a disk image. If you didn't. Wow. Want someone to blame? Look in the mirror. I suggest that you by a cheap license off of Lazada, download a copy of Win11, burn the installation to a USB, and reinstalled your operating system. God only knows what they loaded on your computer.

Well, yeahhhhh. Thailand is hitting the US with 72%. Really, 36% isn't even reciprocity.

Really, when a box of Cheeze-Its cost the equivalent of $15+ bucks and a box of Cream of Wheat costs close to $18+ bucks, you know the US is being taken advantage of by Thailand. I go to Rimping and just shake my head at the price of US food items that I know have been marked up by 2-times, 3-times, or more than what they cost in the US. Needless to say I don't buy much in the way of farang food. Items like Olive Oil which is a staple in my cooking I buy and simply ignore the price. But discretionary items like snack foods I simply ignore. Of course with that said, I tend to eat healthier. Lots of inexpensive fruits and vegetables for the local market, and meats like pork, chicken, and items like eggs which cost significantly less here in Thailand. So yeah - I'd like to see Thailand smacked along side the head with the US tariff stick. Like you said, maybe those items from home might become more affordable.

And if Thailand doesn't follow suit, it will definitely lose market share to Vietnam.