Tafia

I think the main frustration is that majority of people who post about things that have been asked a million times before fail to use the search function before asking the question. When the typical questions get asked a thousand times over its hard not to lose the enthusiasm and find it annoying.

However I do appreciate the fact that everyone has to learn one way or another and if you don't ask, you don't get (or learn in this case!)

Also, some of the questions are a little bit ridiculous. I am faced every day with scenarios where I get ripped off or whatever but I just use my common sense, follow my instincts and act accordingly.

"Ohnoes I went to a Sunday carvery and they didn't have the meats on that they advertised!" - Surely you would just follow your instincts. You either complain and refuse to pay or whatever or you can pay and just pass it off as a learning curve and never to eat there again. Why do you need to make a post about it on a forum?!

If you think some businesses are overcharging, one obvious solution is not to buy from them

Likewise, if someone is clearly not happy living in Thailand, one obvious solution is to leave Thailand

Some posters like to moan about problems; other posters like to offer solutions

Simple

AverageFarang, on 2012-05-25 15:46:19, said:

To be fair his comment is factually accurate and makes a good point.

It's a great shame that these three children met such an unfortunate end, but let's face it another 100 people the world over have died in road traffic accidents in the time it's taken me to write this post... it's a fact of life.

What manner of FO warning will prevent such accidents from happening?

Western society does it's best to protect us from the realities of life but there are a million ways to die in this world - we can all be sure of one thing and that is we will all die at some point, the likelihood being that we will have little or no control of how or when. The sad irony is that people coming from less Nanny oriented states actually seem to be better prepared to deal with such tragic situations, accepting their loss as part and parcel of life.

The fact is that with a 5 minute google you could read about plenty of such accidents in Thailand and consider yourself forewarned about the dangers of Thai roads. This begs the question that, knowing the dangers, do you then deny your children the opportunity of travelling to Thailand and other such countries because there is an increased chance that they might suffer an accident?

I'd hazard a guess that had the parents been aware of the dangers of Thai roads, and personally I think most people are only too aware that safety standards in developing countries aren't up to Western standards in every aspect not just road safety, the children would still have been allowed to travel to Thailand. You can't live life in a box, scared to do anything because something might happen to you, if you do you're not living.

All a parent can do is prepare their children as best they can for life's unfortunate realities and arm them with the tools to best deal with what faces them in the big, bad world. I'm afraid what actually happens is a gamble as is life, you can only teach your children the game, let them play the cards as best they can and hope for the best.

It's a real shame and my heart goes out to their families but clearly this isn't a healthy path to accepting their loss and starting the grieving process; I'm afraid there is no-one to blame here, no-one is at fault. It's just a sad accident and should be treated as such.

simple1, on 2012-05-25 12:57:29, said:

Stuff happens in life and while it may feel good to blame others or start causes to assuage the pain of personal loss, in the end it will not alter the inevitable outcome of life.  Risk is present in all that we do.

I think its a little misleading to say that they had not researched bus travel in Thailand - implying that if they had, they might have found what? That its used by huge numbers of peopleto travel quite safely all over the country every day... yes bus crashes do from time to time happen, but to imply or attempt to characterise it as inherently unsafe to the extent of issuing an official warning, is going too far.
I know people who use busses to travel in the country on a regular basis, and as long as you use a decent bus line (that should be the main concern), then they are perfectly OK, and no worse than bus lines anywhere in the world.
Motorbike travel IS inherently unsafe on the roads in Asia (in my opinion almost anywhere in fact), so a warning about that mode of transport is certainly fair.

There is nothing dangerous about the roads in Thailand. It's the drivers that couse the accidents.

BuddhistVirus, on 2012-05-24 22:04:16, said:

hopefully not like the one from Udon Thani

I would hazard that offering bank books, leases etc only reaffirms to them that you are not infact a tourist?

robblok, on 2012-05-24 13:48:58, said:

Alcohol is not outlawed. Just the sale of it.    On a handful of days each year.   Is that such a hardship?

robblok, on 2012-05-24 13:48:58, said:

There is no separation between religion and state here, Buddhism is the official state religion and garners as much respect as the monarchy. If they wanted to ban the use of internal combustion engines on holy days they could and while Thais would have the right to complain very few would.

You have the right to drink alcohol on such days, they simply ban its sale in some areas, certainly not in all. I think you will find it doesn't in reality inconvenience you much at all. We who are simply guests here have no right to complain, but many of us still do.

The main point of such threads being there's no point in complaining about it, your complaints would have no effect positive effect, and the negative ones only reflect on you.

Is it just me or is this same thread rolled out every time there is a public holiday in Thailand?

Dunno why people get so animated over duty free prices.  Nobody is forced to buy it; I've never understood the 'must stock up on duty free when I travel' mentality.  It sounds very 1970s beer and fag UK when a trip to the duty free was part of the holiday.

As immigration in Korat said to me 2 years ago...."You are on a retirement visa, why would you want to leave Thailand"  Give me your money please.

Good for the girls..There Not Stealing the Money or extorting cash..Weak men Give it to them Free...

Beetlejuice, on 2012-05-19 22:31:25, said:

You just described a day out of the life of 99.9% of foreigners on their first night in Pattaya.............................and probably of 80% of the regulars.