The week that was in Thailand news: When it rains it pours! Thailand facing its own "Annus Horribilis"

[WhatupThailand]

Really enjoyed the straight forward honesty of this article, Much Thanks and Appreciation for it.

As for the reason Thailand is having so many problems, I think Karma fits as good as any.

 

Plus I think there is a sign in the Stars over Thailand that points to the near future.

Uranus Rising

 

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, WhatupThailand said:

Really enjoyed the straight forward honesty of this article, Much Thanks and Appreciation for it.

As for the reason Thailand is having so many problems, I think Karma fits as good as any.

 

Plus I think there is a sign in the Stars over Thailand that points to the near future.

Uranus Rising

 

Thanks for that and thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[Jane Dough]

2 hours ago, GarryP said:

Thoroughly enjoyed this week's article - from start to finish

Cheers, Mr P.

 

Rooster

[Benmart]

11 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

Immigration officers all over the world can appear a but gruff. I find if you smile and give them a cheery greeting you often get one in return. Don't overdo it though.....they might think you have something to hide...

 

Rooster

Well said. With IOs worldwide, I am polite, smile modestly and don't dress like I'm heading to the beach, rav or bedroom. No problems so far.

[StevieAus]

21 hours ago, madmitch said:

Never seen you this negative about your adopted country, Rooster.

 

Maybe you need to get back to the streets of Sarf London.????????????

Which is where you will see regular gun crime and gun attacks by home grown terrorists.

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Benmart said:

Well said. With IOs worldwide, I am polite, smile modestly and don't dress like I'm heading to the beach, rav or bedroom. No problems so far.

I think it's also got a bit to do with uniforms and especially uniform caps.

I can remember a sketch from 'on the buses' where they were all sitting around the table having a laugh about something, including 'Inspector Cyril' enjoying the laugh. The character played by Reg' Varney? said to Cyril 'put your cap on'. He did and instantly the sour faced and bad tempered Inpector appeared.

See, said Reg? told you it was the uniform and cap that does it.

[madmitch]

20 minutes ago, overherebc said:

I think it's also got a bit to do with uniforms and especially uniform caps.

I can remember a sketch from 'on the buses' where they were all sitting around the table having a laugh about something, including 'Inspector Cyril' enjoying the laugh. The character played by Reg' Varney? said to Cyril 'put your cap on'. He did and instantly the sour faced and bad tempered Inpector appeared.

See, said Reg? told you it was the uniform and cap that does it.

Get that bus out Butler!

[overherebc]

41 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Get that bus out Butler!

In a minte, in a minute, finish me smoke first.

[pennine]

Just as well that you understand Thai if you shop in Tesco. You will be able to read the aisle signs with 4 inch high Thai letters and half an inch English letters.

[Stargeezr]

Thanks for the real news and not the Fantasy stuff that TAT, or others want us to believe.

Geezer

[rohitsuk]

Well done Rooster.  I so much agree with all you have written that I might well have written it myself, were I not bone idle and way past caring and I am from Norf Yorkshire, where we are even meaner than Sarf London.

Just one example to illustrate the lunacy that drives the retail trade here and fuels the price rising issue. Big C Chiang Mai have just spent billions mega-sizing the smallest of their five or so branches here so we now have, Big Cs, Bigger Cs and Biggest C that being the Don Chan branch.  In the microcosm we have an infinite number of Mini Big Cs. putting the traditional Ma and Pa shops out of business to the extent that they are now listed as endangered species.  

On a recent visit to Biggest C, musing over the not unusual staff to customers ratio of 10:1 at that time of day, I noticed a head of celery priced B79 the very same that I had bought earlier in the day a well-placed Talad Nat for B25.  I long ago gave up the Thai / UK price comparison or I would buy almost nothing here but you can buy a head of celery anywhere in the UK for £1 = B40.  Sorry Big C but your ego is bigger than your customer base - check out the Talad Nats.

I go to the UK each year for the four summer (ha, ha) months but this year I shall extend my stay to seven months to dispense with my retirement visa and use instead the five months Visit Thai family Visa, cost £60 + £50 extension.  My Thai friends laugh when Grandpa tells them that I can save the cost of my airfare during my four month stay, on the cheaper cost of living in the UK.  Well, I guess this year staying seven months I shall be able to afford to fly Business Class.

A new sign planned for airport arrivals: Welcome Millionaire Visitors only to the Land of Costa Plenty. It is an old one but ever true.  How to end up with a small fortune in Thailand – start out with a very large one.

‘Evenin all.

 

 

 

[garyk]

 

Hummm, why after last weeks article am I not surprised with this post.

 

 

 

[Jane Dough]

On 2/17/2020 at 7:57 PM, garyk said:

 

Hummm, why after last weeks article am I not surprised with this post.

 

 

 

Pray tell. Why?

 

Rooster

[kingdong]

On 2/17/2020 at 6:59 AM, StevieAus said:

Which is where you will see regular gun crime and gun attacks by home grown terrorists.

And who exactly are these"home grown terrorists "responsible for all the gun attacks and gun crime?

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Nothing that has happened was unforseeable, except the Chinese invasion, for the past 20 years. That's about the time the beaches were concreted and the cheap accommodation started to vanish. Since then it's been a downward spiral for any that thought to look. Thailand did cheap and cheerful well, it does not do high end tourism well, except in small segments. One only has to look at the never ending disaster in Pattaya over that time to understand that. Western tourists have been abandoning Thailand for elsewhere, but the gap was filled by suddenly affluent Chinese. If there has been a overdependence on one country, they should have learned from the arrival, and departure of the Russians.

During my year in Chiang Mai I took the opportunity to hit the tourist trail, and what i found was disgraceful. IMO Thailand had it too easy for too long, and stopped caring about the filthy cities, and lack of maintenance.

Even when something new was built it was not well designed and usually an excuse to line pockets. The airport train is a prime example- constructed years too late, they apparently did not consider that tourists usually have bags with them, and built the major station in the wrong place. They didn't even connect to Don Muang.

As for Swampy- thaksin's money tree- they had the opportunity to build something to rival Changi, but built something as bad as old Athens airport.

Anyway, any problems Thailand is experiencing could and should have been forseen, but as expected were not.

 

This could be seen as an opportunity to sort their mistakes out, but sadly I doubt it.