joekicker

What I figured. Always great to get it directly from the most recent experience. Merci very much.

Oh, my. Talk about the ultimate straw man. The point, sir, is not why Singaporeans don't have cars, although I suggest you bring your figures up to date on that in case someone wants to discuss that with you. Suffice it to say that the Certificate of Entitlement is an auction, not a fee. As of this month, a new Honda Civic will cost (very roughly) about 1.3 million baht. That's a lot more than Thailand, but it's about $37,700 US, nothing like your $30,000 add-on, and it's a one-time payment, not a yearly fee - which is high but nothing like what you say. Now. The point is - why do Thais have them and how can they afford them? Some people claim "most" working Thais earn at or below the minimum wage of about 5,500 baht a month? But anyone who walks (heh) down the street can see that claim exploded. The minimum payment on those cars/pickups you see is about 12,000 baht a month. And the people driving them, and their familes, eat, live, send their kids to school. Now. Your mission if you choose to accept it is to explain how people making 191 baht a day or less pay for those cars/pickups in four years. This topic will not explode, thanks to the good archiving properties of Pattayatalk.com I could have provided many other obvious examples of how "most" Thais do not make 191 baht or less, because they can't and still eat. But I thought vehicles was a good place to start since even a blind man knows there are so many of them, all over Thailand. As I said, about 40 per cent of working Thais have one or more.

I appreciate your toning it down. No sarcasm in that. I'm sincere. But yes, I was being sarcastic originally. You seemed to be trying or claiming to extrapolate two factories into the national norm. To be clear: I do not FOR ONE INSTANT doubt your statements or your expertise which you state. But I doubt that the two factories you present are automatically what happens in Thailand just because you were there. As I said, there are extremes among Thai factories - slave labour and all the way up to state of the art Volvo assembly and IC-making. In no way do I, or will I accept that any two factories at any of the stages at or between the extremes - represent some "average" or median or whatever.

??? WTF? I absolutely agree. It's what I said in my first post. I even brought up the WORST cases of the factories with slaves. I think you directed this at the wrong person. I'm the one who INSISTED you have to consider them all. It was some other guy who said that two factories made a case. And since I'm at it, don't get personal with me. I've lived here longer than most Thais have lived here. (Yes.) I've been in every province many times and pretty well every district of the country.

Well, I guess that is a majority, for sure.

I have no idea what you mean by this. How do you think people in Singapore are to move from their home to their employment, and then to their entertainment and home? Singapore is the size of Guam. Singapore has roads and stuff. It's really neat if you want to go where the subway goes, but the subway goes to about 0.03% of Singapore. It's really nice if you live on a street with a bus line, but 99.85% of Singaporeans can't afford to live on such a street. If you manage to hike out to the main drags and get a taxi when you want one, you pay more in one month than a normal car payment.

191 baht But I have to challenge that statement. Most factories don't pay the minimum wage. Plus, most Thais don't work in factories. Some factories, particularly garment-type factories in the more remote provinces, employ what are basically indentured, illegal-immigrant workers and they pay the minimum wage or less. But "most factories" includes Ford and Seagate and Toyota and Nike and Arrow and BMW. They include Charoen Phokphand and UFC and Unif and Bumblebee tuna. And they don't pay anything close to 191 baht. Most workers work for factories like that. And offices don't pay anything close to minimum wage, they pay way more. Minimum-wage is as lousy an indicator of what people earn in Thailand as in any Western country. There are much better figures available, and anecdotes like your own household are a hell of a lot better indicator than minimum wage. Oh, and actually at more than 40%, the four-wheel vehicle ownership in Thailand is higher than in any other Asian country bar Japan and Korea. Singapore, rated a first-world country, has 20% vehicle ownership. There's not a Thai house without a TV and "cable" is becoming quite common.

You're a pretty hard marker. All Internet sites go down from time to time. Kind of like the Soi 6 girls. Try it again in a few hours, then kvetch. Right now it's up and speedy.

Wow by the time I got finished looking at all those pictures the girls were starting to look really good. Just kidding. thanks for the report and for proof that a good time was had by all.

Actually Phahonyothin Road would probably be the longest. It starts in Bangkok and goes North through Chiang Mai and on. Out of town, like Sukhumvit, it's called the Phahonyothin Highway. Lots of varied spellings on this one of course. The closest for English pronunciation is probably Pahone Yohtin

Okay, but near as I can tell, they really have nothing to say except "it be fik soon" anyhow. I've seen TOT wireless go out for, oh, maybe three or four hours, but usually it's less than half an hour. It's sure aggravating but if you got through I'm sure the result would not pacify you.

Do let us know. This is getting to what I've always seen as the outer limit, although still workable.

Generally it would be the other way around. A single cop would live away from the station house. A married one (a) probably couldn't afford it and ( his wife would often rather be with the other wives. They often get a co-op of sort going. After all, they already have free protection!. No kidding. Actually, in most places it's not the sex that's expensive, it's the going out to get it. Transport, drinks, LDs, bar fines, snacks before going home, etc etc ... not hard to get a LOT more than just the pussy.

This is crazy. I don't even believe one of these wages is in the ball park. Well, maybe the paramilitary one. Right down to the baht? Give me a break. Show me the hunter hired by the month. "Hotels and restaurant" is a silly description, with a HUGE wage fluctuation and the figure given is nowhere near the average I've seen. Real estate, renting and business activities 9,571 baht In 1988, maybe. Up-country. Ask the guy who provides these figures how business workers are paying for their Toyotas. All civil servants get a low monthly wage, offset by annual bonuses of many months - four or five is not unusual - cost of living, plus the job security many crave. Cops get a place to live - it's a dump generally, but it's free. There are other cash perks if you get my drift, believe it or not there IS a prestige to this job. At the end of the day, the cop is still low-paid, but it's not as bad as the monthly wage indicates all by itself.

First, bear in mind the wonderful advice above that what actually happens will vary from one office to another. If you get the clerk with PMS, all bets are off. That said, you shouldn't have any problem. After a while, they'll make you start all over, but you should be well within the limit. Make up some general excuse like "the traffic was bad and my buffalo was sick but I rushed here as fast as I could" and you probably will get your renewal fine.

... airport, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, New Delhi (be sure you have the correct visas), London (one train fare not included).... ... and according to Google Maps, New York.

It's kind of like being married, including getting screwed. I agree with your interpretation of the new rules. They haven't been signed off yet, but it seems unlikely they will be amended.

I think the correct plural for that word is "WE"?

No sir, with all respect your point was that you know what jokes should NOT be in the funnies section and all of us should share precisely your joke threshhold and sensitivity. And my point is that banning jokes is pointless, silly and if you want to press political correctness, please at least START in the political sections, not the humour one. Also, if you are going to post political stuff, can you at least add a joke? Speaking of nonsense ... I was at the airport, checking in at the United gate when a so-called "security" guy asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge? I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."

Can we have the PC police transferred to another section? If "that is not funny" then you should not laugh at it. Like, for example, the tasteless jokes you just posted above - I didn't think they were funny so I didn't laugh, my normal reaction to something that isn't amusing. Seemed to work out okay. You got to tell your joke, I got to judge it. Some jokes are gonna bomb, so what? What's the problem?

Ah. That brings to mind another rule. There are (basically) four prices in Thailand: Cheapest: Thai Just about as cheap or cheaper: Farang who speak Thai Bearable: Farang who don't speak Thai Most expensive: Thai + Farang It always annoys my old la... my lovely wife when I come home and tell her I got the cop for cheaper than she did. Which I have done. But if we're together and she insists on doing the talking, the cost of the ticket to the policeman's ball goes up. And up.

This is the most useful post on this thread. There are rules, but every single Thai government rule ends with a "... unless in the opinion of the examining officer.... " clause. Which means there are no rules. The only rule that never changes is: If you are seen to be acting like an asshole, you are phuocked. Otherwise, it'll be sorted out eventually.

Mine didn't. Is that a sign of intense intelligence or just far, far superior?

This is true, they are unlikely to chase you. But. But 1. They may have a second ambush just up the road, and if so, the second boys will definitely be ready for you. But 2. They may remember you. If so, you will be their guest for a hell of a lot longer, and a hell of a lot more expensively than if you coughed up the 100 or 200 baht at the first go. Running from a minor traffic stop is a silly thing to do.

The visa can be used any time in one year - "used" meaning you can present it to Thai immigration at the border any time during the one year validity. After that one year, if you do not use it, you no longer have a valid visa. When you use it (including on Day 364 if you wish), THEN the visa will be stamped to allow you to stay in Thailand for 60 days. It can be extended for 30 more days easily. It MAY be extendable again although probably not. You may (or may not) have a multiple-entry visa, which means you can go in and out two or more times and restart a 60-day stay -- but again, within the one year of visa validity. Don't confuse these two parts of the process. There is now a huge advantage to having a visa over not having a visa. I really recommend everyone follow your example.