connda

Whoever wrote the op-ed obviously was educated outside of Thailand.

KIA -- Karma in Action.

As an Australian I am deeply ashamed to read some of the above posts from my countrymen.

Australia is incredibly lucky to have so few refugees compared to European countries.

The numbers arriving are a tiny, tiny percentage of our population.

Unfortunately the gutter-press, radio shock-jocks and conservative politicians have used this issue to whip up hate and discontent in the community.

Most of the wild claims about favorable treatment of refuges are cruel lies and can be easily refuted with a little research.

The lying politicians rely on their followers being so dumb that they believe everything they hear in the MSM.

Question: If I jump in a dingy and row to Australia, will I get to stay if I ask for asylum?

Answer: No.

Has living as a foreigner in Thailand changed your opinion about foreigners living in your own country ?

Nope. Individuals who enter my home country illegally are breaking the law and need to be deported. It would be absurd to expect Thailand to grant foreigners citizenship simply because they have overstayed their visas and are living in the country illegally. But that's exactly what is happening in the West.

Hey! Let's all throw our passports away and march en-mass on Thai immigration and demand citizenship!!! I wonder where that will get us. LMAO

Progress of sorts and the new court is a very welcome prop for tourists.

But let's put the derisory fine of B1,000 into perspective. It should have been B100,000.

For a poor Thai B1,000 it is a chunk of money....for a Jet ski operator it is a pittance when you scam and cheat the renter out of up to B50,000 per rental.

At that rate it will take 50 court appearances to drop the proceeds of just a single scam.

How did you arrive at B100,000? Why not 50,000 or 200,000? "Should" is an often used word that has blurred meanings at times. Fines and bail amounts are usually computed taking into consideration numerous factors, most of which are unknown to any or us. We are foreigners and our values are influenced by our experiences back home which may not be valid here in the LOS.

Yes...20, 50kk...whatever.

I am influenced by the amount these cheats rob and thieve from innocent tourists and also that the penalty should reflect the crime.

What is primarily taken into consideration in this disgustingly corrupt country, is the fact they are Thai and the victims are not. This fact is all too clearly demonstrated here on TV on a daily basis.

I would "compute and take into consideration" the fact of what they steal from tourists. The figure often quoted from those that have been mugged by jet ski renters is 50,000 Baht....per incident.

What is your point anyway? You think that 1,000 baht is a reasonable fine and penalty?

I'm in 100% agreement. But...TIT. Frustrating, isn't it? I always hate seeing bad guys get a slap and the wrist. 1000 bath when these guys extort hundreds of thousands baht each year.

Gold is one of the sexyist investments available: Up and down, up and down, up and down. Whew! Would that make JP Morgan analogous to the Manhattan Madame?

"...but who also get behind the wheel of a vehicle without having the correct documentation, such as an international driving license."

Rental cars do not require international driving licenses ... does anyone know if Thai law does?

From my understanding you do require an international licence that is translated into Thai and if you are in the country for 3 months or more then you require a Thai driver licence. Australia has the same laws. I have also heard that if you are involved in a collision then the Thai insurance companies will only accept a Thai driver licence but I will stand corrected.

International licenses are seldom if ever checked. I drove in Thailand two years and never was asked for one even though I had one. My valid, foreign drivers license was always accepted by the BIB.

I live here in CM. I read in one of the local papers that the plan was to simply require car and motorcycle rental shops to validate that the 'foreign' renter had a valid driver's license. Obviously, that is a step in the right direction. Traffic here is dangerous, but there is a sort of organization to the chaotic driving habits of the locals. A seasoned, licensed driver who drives defensively is probably as safe as anyone else on the road. But I have seen foreigners on motorcycles who probably had never driven one before, and probably were not licensed to drive a motorcycle in their own country, doing really, really stupid things on the road. So requiring a license check isn't a bad idea. But in reality is it enforceable? I have my doubts.

In the larger scope of things though, the bad driving foreigners are no more of a danger than 50% of the local native drivers. Until Thailand puts mobile police units on the road and start enforcing Moving Traffic Violations as they do in Western countries, the roads will never be any safer.

My rear shocks on my Lifan 250-B cruiser need to be replaced. The housings for the rear shocks are adjustable, but I'm already at the 'stiffest' setting and I occasionally 'bottom out' on bumps and depressions in the road that are not that deep. I'm average weight for a Westerner (about 85 kilos).

I will not go to my local Lifan dealer (been there, done that, and not happy with the service, and don't want to go back again if I can help it), so putting OEM replacements on the bike is at the bottom of my 'want to do' list. So I need recommendations for make/model of shocks that would fit my bike. I have a Thai mechanic who has been working on my bike and has fix the problems I was having, however when I asked him to replace the shocks he wanted me to go with him to select a shock from a shop that deals in motorcycle parts. I figured that was a like asking a blind man to go to the paint store to pick out the color of paint for his house. I wouldn't have a clue what to buy. Any recommendations?

Also, the valve stem on the rear tire is extremely difficult to access. It's sandwiched between the spokes and sometimes I find it impossible to get a air hose connected to the valve. I've been putting off buying a portable pump (which I really need for on-road tire repair) because most of the pumps I found have valve connectors that are larger that will probably fit securely. There's nothing like deflating your tire while trying, unsuccessfully, to get the pump connected to the tire's valve stem (I don't want the happening in the middle of nowhere). Any suggestion on what to do in this instance.

Thanks!

Dear Thailand,

Welcome to the "Nanny State".

And they have been eating bugs in Thailand for how long? And there have been how many confirmed deaths?

This isn't Ripley's amazing world of facts website is it?

I see dead people. They're everywhere. They don't know they're dead.

Cheek.

Then again I suppose it must be difficult for Americans and Europeans to get used to driving on the correct side of the road, I could see many of them getting into trouble, unlike we Brits who are naturally superior drivers due to our advanced testing, and knowledge of how to drive on the right.

I don't know why you guys couldn't just follow our lead. We tell you not to form your own government but nope, and look at you now, government is shut down. We tell you not to start the Euro but nope, you had to go ahead and cause a financial crisis, and now your over here annoying the Thais with your bad driving habits.

Strewth. Maybe we should restart the Empire and sort you lot out.

it must be difficult for Americans and Europeans here in Chiang Mai because they come from a driving environment where there are more rules enforced on the road. At home these folks drive in a more predicable and ultimately a more safer manner.

Than they get here and it's like driving in a zoo. Anticipating other drivers goes out the window -- drivers pull out from side streets without looking, cars and trucks will pull out in front of motorcycles without a care, It takes a defensive skill set to handle driving Thai roads and patiences. What blows me away is when I see a group of guys head out on bikes and start driving like idiots because they know there is no real enforcement of 'moving violations'. Bad local drivers vs stupid foreign drivers - both on testosterone while there actions are governed by ignorance and sheer stupidity.

Yeah -- not safe.

It's the phitsunulok immigration. When u apply the so called marriage visa, they will visit your house to do a checking whether is it genuine. After the visit,they will process and approve the visa. I pay once and I already have doubts on this 500bht as there is nothing stated in the immigration regulations and no official receipt. But because they are the one handling my visa,I do not want quarrel with them for this 500bht and later make my visa difficult to get. But I'm thinking if the next time I renew my visa again,what can I do to avoid this 500bht if they ask again?

The first year on a marriage extension they will visit, talk to neighbors, check you out to see if you gaming the system by saying you're marriage to some Thai gal in order to qualify for the 'marriage extension'. The guy asked for 500 baht -- Oh well. Your visa extension will probably be processed efficiently instead of 'getting lost'.

In the following years they should pretty well just "rubber stamp" your visa extension. The first year they investigate, after that you should be good to go. If they show up next year, just say no.

Now, there's a great plan to keep the poorer segment of society off the street.

Save the tax payers some money and shut that absurd "court" down. It's a joke, and a poor one at that.

Thai justice? Noooo...just another form of Thai corruption. Pathetic!

Danaichet Yomjinda, 25, who pled guilty to charges of assaulting the two men on Friday with a “No Swimming” flagpole, was issued a 1,000-baht fine...

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ....... ROTFLMAO

There is simply no end to this problem. There are solutions, but they will never me implemented in the LOS (Land of Scams).

The test, is at the best, and educated guess by a linguist major with too much time on their hands. Too many factor involved to be the least bit accurate. So, I'll just call is so much B.S and leave it at that. Not worth wasting the time.

Maybe they need the same Public Relation folks that TEPCO uses at Fukishima: That can rework the "Smile and Radiation won't kill you" campaign to "Smile and the floods will go away."

Just because they have a ticket dispensing machine doesn't mean they will use it. The one in Chiang Mai get use for about 1 hour in the morning after which it's turned off and placed in the corner to gather dust.

He said boats were now positioned at strategic locations along the Lad Phrao Canal, as their engine propellers could be used to facilitate the flow of water into the sea.

Once again words fail me.

The should give each of the MPs in the effected provinces 100K baht as part of their "Merit Making" budgets in order to coax the various higher entities to spare their provinces from floods. The MP can spend the Merit Making budget at their own discretion.

The biter bit.

unfortunately the scammed Thai women are not the same girls as the low life thai women that are scamming foreigners.

surprisingly there are more nice normal Thai women out there who are also lonely and wish to find their prince who become easy victims. I doubt these Nigerians are targeting bar girls and the like who would only be interested in seeing money flow one way, inwards.

I've seen this many times . its not isolated to any nationality. I've had attractive girls catch me on the internet through one site or another chat a bit , a few mails start talking sex then ask if they can visit, next thing you know they are asking to be sent air fares to be wired to them. or excess tax for packages sent in advace bla bla bla.

I wonder if we can get the low-life Thai B girls to target the low-life Nigerians running their scams and vice versa. That would be a hoot!!!

According to that last article about the hundreds of destitute farangs who have been taken to the cleaner by their Thai G/F and then tossed onto the local soi penniless, I'd figure the DSI should be warning newly arrived farangs about the dangers of hooking up with those beautiful, charming Thai lady-leaches.

I have a solution for this: Sex change. Right now Mr Chumpon probably has his wish of a bigger penis considering the infection and swelling. However, if the infection leads to amputation, no problem! Transgender surgery (male to female) is state-of-the-art here in Thailand. Mr. Chumpon, with the aid of a little more estrogen in his diet, could become Ms. Chumpon.

Just remember: Be careful what you wish for, especially when drinking Thai whiskey with your fishing buddies. Best of luck Khun Chumpon.

I've thought long and hard about this. Here's your solution: Personal Jet Suit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CfGCTnXwkLw#t=15

Guaranteed to get you to Pantip in a jiffy.