The week that was in Thailand news: Car washer or motorcycle taxi - jobs for the Work Permit Police!

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Car washer or motorcycle taxi - jobs for the Work Permit Police!

 

 

When taking my now grown up children to school from Pathum Thani to Don Muang we had a game to pass the time as listening to the latest rice quotas on Thailand Radio somehow failed to grab their attention. 

 

After turning off the main expressway we would count the soi dogs and have a little surreptitious family wager on who could predict the exact number we might see in the sois before we got to school. 

 

I balked at the idea that we might count the road kill on the main thoroughfares - the kids were hardened to some of the realities of life in Thailand but they were just kids and I didn't fancy them being mired in Rooster's world of the macabre.

 

There were dozens of mangy mutts everywhere in various states of life and walking dead. At school a woman ran an afternoon activity for the students called "Soi Dog Rescue". I thought she was barking.

 

I imagined recommending another activity to the Head of Extra-Curricular activities - "Soi Dog Cull". In the end I thought better of it as the soi dog lady seemed so popular and I was a tad concerned my hard-earned reputation as  the farang Head of Thai might suffer. 

 

Said lady was in the back of my Honda Civic when we went on a fact-finding recce for a school trip to the Hua Hin area. Two dogs ran out and one was splattered on my front bumper, obviously killed. I stopped a ways down the road and got out to survey the damage. 

 

"Not too bad - just a few thousand baht," I said with a relieved smile. She went green which is quite hard for a Thai of Indonesian extraction. 

 

Thus far in this week's Sunday sermon the reader may detect that I don't care for soi dogs. Or any kind of dogs for that matter. You'd be right - Roosters and canines rarely mix.

 

This week the Bangkok governor General Aswin called time on the soi dogs of Bangkok. It felt like a publican in England in the 1970's saying "Time Gentleman Please" at 3 am rather than 10.30. Talk about overdue!

 

We were told in this week's story that a facility exists in Uthai Thani to house 8,000 strays. I and many other posters on Thaivisa wondered where they were going to put the other million mongrels that wander the city. 

 

Many called for a cull while people claiming to be experts in the field said that euthanizing does nothing. Other dogs just move in and the problem perpetuates. Sterilization, spaying, vaccination and measures to improve the habits of dog owners themselves are what counts, they said. This makes sense to me.

 

In my soi in Ratchayothin I have never seen a stray dog though there are a few scared cats that flee under hedges from the wheels of my Honda. But many people suffer marauding dogs both in the city and up country and the issue of what to do is highly divisive. So it was good to see than the governor was finally taking steps to train his staff in 50 districts to address the problem. 

 

For other people in Bangkok and elsewhere soi dogs were the least of their worries - they were more worried about their human neighbors especially if they were policeman. 

 

In one incident an off duty rozzer unloaded his 9 mm into the back and front of a man working at a pork BBQ shop next door.  He was riding a mate's bike that had a noisy exhaust. I hope the cop finds it suitably noisy in prison where he should stay for a few decades for murder. 

 

In Chiang Mai - now increasingly in the news as local news organizations there put their heads above the press parapet - we saw a video of Olga and her Ruski boyfriend on a motorcycle giving chase back and forth in a soi after a snatch thief stole her bag. 

 

The miscreant was easily caught using the fuzz's main tool of apprehension - all praise CCTV! Whatever did they do before it? I suspect even less than they do now.

 

Several stories vied for top billing this week but Rooster's favorite was the smiling Aussie pensioner washing cars for 6,000 baht a day down in Rayong. The WPP of TV (Work Permit Police of Thaivisa) were swiftly on the case to question whether the seventy something had the right to take up sponge and hose when he should be living a quiet life sponging off ho's. 

 

Posters constantly bang on about work permits on Thaivisa. I think some wait with keyboard at the ready to pounce and make the first comment. You'd think the way they harp on that Big Joke is waiting around every corner to incarcerate people for working on their breathing and stealing Thai air. 

 

The Aussie won't have much to worry about with a Thai wife, kid and employees though the idea that he is making quite a tidy sum from the car wash might attract the interest of jealous competitors. That is true the world over.

 

A good friend of mine was working in Bangkok in the 1980s in a small recruitment firm. He decided to jump ship and desert the Thai woman that ran it and start a business with another English guy doing precisely the same thing. She reported him and he was locked up for a night.

 

However, he got his own back by coming out of the cells and making a great success of the business. He recently sold a five per cent stake and bought himself a fancy house in Southampton and a new Ferrari with some of the proceeds. 

 

Yes, he got himself a work permit and all the licences over the years but there are many people who work in Thailand who have never been anywhere near the labor office. Others have permits of sorts but should check what is written on them in Thai. When I was a Thai teacher at Bangkok Patana school my permit said I taught Mathematics - it seemed the hierarchy were worried I might be taking a job reserved for a Thai!

 

Go figure!

 

In addition, when the Education Minister came for lunch I was quietly told to make myself scarce for a few hours. I was amused by this - less so that they used my beautifully appointed Thai cultural studies classroom for the banquet I wasn't invited to!

 

Work permits, jobs reserved for Thais and the idea that virtually no foreigner makes money in Thailand are all part of the vast stable of staple urban myths on Thaivisa. 

 

Other top news inevitably concerned visas and letters. One story trumpeted that visa changes would make life easier for everyone. I tried to get my head around the "Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Passport Privileges" project but concluded that it was just good news for Mr and Mrs Woo who the Thai authorities are so desperate to woo back after the boat tragedy in Phuket. 

 

Apropos, Big Joke was sure that the festering hull of the Phoenix would soon be raised. It has taken yonks and seems more complex than the raising of the Mary Rose. Whatever happened to BJ getting things moving quickly....

 

Moving speedily this week were the fingers of posters on the most clicked on story; the announcement the Danish Embassy were following other consulates in ceasing to issue letters confirming the value of pensions. The Danes came in for special opprobrium from the irate pensioners of Thaivisa as they seemed to be giving their nationals no time at all to adjust to the new arrangements. 

 

On the one hand I read about all these foreigners in Thailand spending all this retirement money "for the good of the country" and on the other that so many find it hard to scrape together the required funds to show in a bank. I just don't  get it - but after the furor of my "ivory tower" comments the other week I'll leave it at that. 

 

Though as Mrs May teetered on the Brexit brink this week her currency did likewise; it must be galling to compare the buying power of a pension that has slid from 55 baht to nearer 40 to the pound in no time at all. 

 

Those affected by the letters' issue might be interested to know that so far - at least - my repeated efforts to get word on who said what to whom between Thai immigration and the embassies, have largely fallen on deaf ears. 

 

Having contacted Big Joke personally and also the Immigration Bureau website, Rooster is still waiting for answers. I can only imagine that the Maj-Gen is too busy locking up the latest batch of "X-Ray Outlaws" to read his emails. 

 

Gruesome story of the week was the apparent suicide of a Norwegian man in Pattaya who made a very public spectacle of his departure from the kingdom atop a 31 story condominium. It emerged that he had prostate cancer but with many people - including children - viewing the tragic scene one wonders what led him to such a show in death. 

 

I remember as a kid who used the trains to get to secondary school that my mother was very happy that I was sick one day - thus missing a suicidal commuter who had jumped in front of the 8.06 from Beckenham Junction to Victoria.

 

Many posters love their conspiracy theories while others can't get their heads around why people might commit suicide in Thailand. They think the numbers are astronomical too. 

 

For a start Thaivisa dredge through the Thai news sites for stories about foreigners thus skewing the figures. In reality Thailand features well down the list of countries worldwide for suicide. 

 

Strangely enough if Thaivisa reported every foreigner's death in the kingdom the conspiracy theorists would probably burst a blood vessel themselves. Some years ago I applied for a job as a British vice-consul thinking that the embassy might appreciate my expertise in local knowledge and Thai language assisting Britons in distress. 

 

Though I didn't get the job I was led to believe that around 350 British people died in Thailand per year. This figure - definitely due to the number or retirees living here - has risen greatly since.  Thaivisa of course concentrates on the "interesting" deaths in the foreign community - those that are unexplained in particular. 

 

Top story among the Thai community this week was the acid attack on a wife in Bangkok. Debate turned to anger after Rama 2 hospital seemed to have turned her away as her state insurance was registered at another facility. She died in a taxi with her 12 year old daughter by her side.

 

Hospital administrators and an angry lawyer engaged in an unseemly public slanging match across a table surrounded by slathering newshounds. The hospital is facing sanction but the real issue here is hospitals following the law that says they must treat anyone for 72 hours who turns up at ER. This is universally flouted, especially by administrators trained in the Thai art of getting away with it.

 

How I remember back in 1987 when facing the imminent rupturing of my liver from an amoebic abscess brought on by dysentery. I was wheeled not to the ward but to the finance department to prove I had the necessary cash.

 

To this day I always make sure I carry several ATM cards with access to plenty of reddies in case things go pear-shaped. Being a betting man I am not into insurance.....

 

Another debate raged among the Thais after the tragic death of a 13 year old child boxer. I am not completely against boxing for young people but it needs to be strictly regulated with head protection worn - in my view - by anyone under the age of 18. More and more evidence emerges in many sports about the damaged caused by repeated knocks to the head. Thai boxing needs to take a lead. 

 

I have been lucky enough to meet many well-known and charming Thai boxers over the years and their gentle nature - outside the ring at least - and inspiring stories were great for the children I taught. 

 

I met Khaosai Galaxy's twin brother Khaokor for a beer one memorable night in Patpong and years later mock-sparred on a stage with Beijing gold medalist Somjit Jongjohor. Khaokor only came up to my shoulders and Somjit was a flyweight but I wouldn't have lasted one punch if either had had an issue with me! Hard as nails.

 

But the sight of the young boy being beaten senseless as a gambling crowd of baying Thais cheered for more, was sickening. It needs the authorities' urgent attention. 

 

Finally two stories had schadenfreudian posters gloating in delight feeling that the righteous boot was now well and truly on the other foot. The first concerned a Thai couple who were ripped off for 7,500 baht in Euros on a taxi ride in Paris. 

 

The other was a nasty motorcycle taxi guy in Bangkok trying - and succeeding - in relieving a compatriot of 500 baht for a short journey from Ekamai. I cast my mind back to the 80s when a part-time cop used to meet me after every English lesson I did at Japanese people's condos in Sukhumvit to ferry me to the next hour of tutoring. He charged 120 baht for the whole day!

 

And I also reminisced about a few years back when I saw a shop selling bright orange motorcycle taxi jackets in Prakhanong and decided to buy one and wear it on the continuing ride to Nana. I was wearing a helmet so no one paid me any attention. No attention, that is, until I got off the bike in front of a whole group of bar girls in Soi 4, kicked the side stand and removed my headgear to reveal the surprise of an ageing farang underneath. 

 

Comments were varied but not one of them said:

 

I wonder if he has a work permit.

 

Rooster

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-11-17

 

[charlie43]

Rooster - You really nailed it this time.

[nahkit]

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

so many find it hard to scrape together the required funds to show in a bank. I just don't  get it

Surely it's not that hard to understand that someone might be on a monthly pension that satisfies the requirement but doesn't have any spare cash over and above that?

 

I'm lucky enough to have money in the bank so the situation doesn't affect me but I can certainly sympathise with those people on a fixed income.

[milwaukeeboy]

Ramble much?

[Tradewind777]

The poor pensioner washing cars was probably a Brit and his declining pension insufficient to allow him a decent life. That exchange rate sucks. It’s not just a decline in Sterling but a rising Baht too. This will have knock-on effects in the Thai economy for sure: less moolah spent and more hard earned w/o WP from the local economy. Expect the WP cops to get tougher.

[roo860]

The poor pensioner washing cars was probably a Brit and his declining pension insufficient to allow him a decent life. That exchange rate sucks. It’s not just a decline in Sterling but a rising Baht too. This will have knock-on effects in the Thai economy for sure: less moolah spent and more hard earned w/o WP from the local economy. Expect the WP cops to get tougher.

 

I believe he was Australian , if you read the story it says Aussie,

and apparently he isn't that poor.

.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

[Bundooman]

You still can't resist the snide remark about those less fortunate than yourself - spouting your puffed-up importance, can you?

 

The reason 'Big Joke hasn't responded to your self-important post is probably because he got bored sh..l.ss with your prattle.

 

I am fortunate. I have the appropriate funding for my lifestyle and continued living standards in Thailand. I object to you sneering at those who struggle!

[montereyjp]

1 hour ago, nahkit said:

Surely it's not that hard to understand that someone might be on a monthly pension that satisfies the requirement but doesn't have any spare cash over and above that?

 

I'm lucky enough to have money in the bank so the situation doesn't affect me but I can certainly sympathise with those people on a fixed income.

I find it absurd that having 800k baht in the bank doing nothing for 3 months a requirement for a retirement visa.. The only one benefitting is the bank. 

[TMNH]

Thank God I don't live there- you and all of of your wonderful exposes of Thailand. Sorry- with all the "crap" I read, I'll stay where .I am.

[TMNH]

Many better places , although the "pensioners" would disagree....cheap stuff does not always equate to a life that is fraught with BS here and there. You like that- then fine...other countries are better:)

 

[TMNH]

You will be gone soon for different reasons- mainly because Thai authorities question your right to be here. And watch what happens when everyone leaves. Thai economy will be obliterated and then the idiots will wonder what happened. What do you expect? A third world country attempting to get it right.Nope. You'll never get it right.

[TMNH]

Consult others....you are without any semblance as to how to "do" things. And so, I will never visit a country where jet ski bullies are apparent...where Tuk tuk drivers are under the guise of a mafia whatever. Visitors will stay away and I will lend to the reasons why.:)

[kentrot]

Hi Rooster ... I too spent time in a top tier International School and had medical coverage thank goodness.

 

I had an unfortunate episode where I was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and needed immediate surgery. The Hospital quoted my school's insurance a figure of 400,000 Baht. The operation was in mid-session (I was of course sedated and unaware) when the hospital phoned my wife told her that they misquoted the cost of the procedure. It was going to cost 700,000 Baht.

 

Would she agree to pay the difference?

 

As I heard the story next day - when I was conscious - it occurred to me that my dear wife had given the correct answer. I wonder to this day , what would they have done to me if she said NO ? 

 

As it turned out, the school insurance did indeed cover the full amount.

 

TIT - This Is Thailand !

[off road pat]

1 hour ago, kentrot said:

Hi Rooster ... I too spent time in a top tier International School and had medical coverage thank goodness.

 

I had an unfortunate episode where I was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and needed immediate surgery. The Hospital quoted my school's insurance a figure of 400,000 Baht. The operation was in mid-session (I was of course sedated and unaware) when the hospital phoned my wife told her that they misquoted the cost of the procedure. It was going to cost 700,000 Baht.

 

Would she agree to pay the difference?

 

As I heard the story next day - when I was conscious - it occurred to me that my dear wife had given the correct answer. I wonder to this day , what would they have done to me if she said NO ? 

 

As it turned out, the school insurance did indeed cover the full amount.

 

TIT - This Is Thailand !

lucky you !!!

[rosst]

Boy Rooster, I am usually amused and enjoy your comments but apparently not all are amused or entertained, keep up the good work, I live in the Philippines but I love Thailand and if it was not so difficult to stay there I would be tempted. 

[TPI]

19 hours ago, Tradewind777 said:

The poor pensioner washing cars was probably a Brit and his declining pension insufficient to allow him a decent life. That exchange rate sucks. It’s not just a decline in Sterling but a rising Baht too. This will have knock-on effects in the Thai economy for sure: less moolah spent and more hard earned w/o WP from the local economy. Expect the WP cops to get tougher.

No, he is an Ozy!

[Stargeezr]

Another good read Rooster. I have a question, I see a survey if Myanmar should

be forced to take back the Rohingyas. Thailand and Myanmar are both mainly

Buddhist countries, and I understand that the Rohingyas are Muslim.

 My question is why hasn't a Muslim stepped up and welcomed these people

into their country?  Just curious..

Geezer

[thequietman]

A man of too many words!

 

By far!

[roo860]

Thank God I don't live there- you and all of of your wonderful exposes of Thailand. Sorry- with all the "crap" I read, I'll stay where .I am.

Good idea, you stay where you are.
[emoji106]

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