Surprise, bribes in Thailand. 😂😂😂😇

7 hours ago, phil2803 said:

the way things stand it looks like you could be kicked out of Florida too and end up in that supermax that your beloved leader is supporting and wants to build 5 more of.  I am from Australia fortunately but I think if you have been married for an extended time, have step children and or children of your own then its time for Thailand to embrace you as a permanent citizen.  I am the same as you.  Married 38 years, 4 children.  Great to visit and see her family but I don't like feeling the eternal outsider.

 

 

you can get Thai parament residency and even Thai citizenship. It's not that hard. It takes time and costs a good amount, being married to Thai does make it easier. 

 

 

8 hours ago, kuzmabruk said:

Jail time for any officials caught taking a bribe. 1 day per 1 baht in bribe paid.  10,000 baht = ~30 years.   That will stop it in its tracks.   Penalties need to be severe.  No helmet, no more motorcycle.  

And then you woke up.

In most Western countries there is no need for the "pourboire" as nobody would arrest a Thai guide accompanying a group of Thai citizen. Nobody speaks Thai better than a Thai, nobody knows the Thais "dos and donts" as well as a Thai. 

A professional guide (that does not mean those commission-hunting crooks around the Grand Palace) is an asset to the group and the host country. 

I still have to meet the Mongolian, Bhutanese or Suaheli-speaking Thai guide who knows the "dos and donts" of the visitor and can act as a valuable "go between". 

But in the land of the semi-divine it is, of course, a completely different thing (see "commission") 

Most of these are blatantly advertising this online. I'm shocked at how open it is. 

 

There needs to be an immediate return to 30 day visa, to reduce the volume of long stayers exploiting the system. 

2 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Most of these are blatantly advertising this online. I'm shocked at how open it is. 

 

There needs to be an immediate return to 30 day visa, to reduce the volume of long stayers exploiting the system. 

Why?

What harm are they doing to you?

many years ago for tours we had a Thai guide and a T/L managing the usual group of 25 farangs travelling thru the Kingdom!  Thai guide usually spoke to the group outside and me as T/L inside the bus: no problem and at the end we shared what we had made...

the usual 'baksheesh' here & there the Thai guide arranged.

i see these 'guides' operate alone, that's a lot different and more greedy!

must be ready to share!

10 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Most of these are blatantly advertising this online. I'm shocked at how open it is. 

Imm. has special task force of "online watchers" - but there are higher priority crimes happening online than TG guides adv. 

And they cannot order small AI driven box (say from IS) to do that dumb task of browsing and analyzing. 

 

How can foreign guides possibly know all of the real history that the Thai guides know? It's not in any books, and only exists in the Thai mind. How could they possibly know that Thailand is the seat of all civilisation, the greatest country in the World and has never been colonised?

 

How would visitors ever understand that 'Thai lady number one' or know if, 'you like ladyboy?'

9 hours ago, rough diamond said:

Why?

What harm are they doing to you?

 

 

Thailand is a developing country ... it's not a major superpower. Nearly every developing nation in the world reserves jobs for it's own population (eg India, China, etc). The minium wage for many Thai's is 400 Baht a day (of course many earn more). What jobs there are they must be protected for Thai's, so they can earn, and hopefully in time see an increase in their wages. 

 

If you simply allow foreigners to come and and steal their jobs, buy property on mass, push up rents, then the fragile eco system of a developing nation begins to crumble. 

 

These jobs must be protected.

 

These tour guides are offering a load of nonsense, that most Thai's do daily, but they are clever at marketting it and charging massive inflated fees (and then not paying any tax on that income) - leaving Thailand the loser. 

 

No doubt there are back handers here involved as these guides are so blatant despite the warnings. The British, Russians, Isrealis are all at it. One female American on instagram is so blatant about it and says she is not worrried about any reporting. 

On 4/17/2025 at 10:33 AM, connda said:

Ya don't say?  Have ya ever thought that the officials being bribed might get their bribers the necessary visas for a price? 

Why not pay foreign nationals to pose as tourist guides and then sack and jail any police officer asking for or accepting a bribe? Should deal with a few of them. 

In the past I have been on tours of Thailand and the guides would in many cases tell you they don't know English very well. It wasn't a problem for me as I had decent understanding of the Thai language. However, anyone coming just for a holiday and getting a guide that speaks very little of the tourists language would certainly decrease the pleasure of the tour.

 Thailand needs tour guides to have a good command of the language that the tourists they are with use. Not a lot of good for a guide to speak Malay if the group is Japanese for exxample.