TMax

Nice speech by the politicians but odds are they won't do anything - they really do need to get some non corrupted people in there to empty the rotten nest...

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Yes quite a few times but for me they were relatively short flights compared to what most take, flying back to Australia from either the Philippines or Vietnam via Singapore I opted for a few nights stop over rather than connecting flights and spending hours in transit at the airport. Mind you a few hours transit at Changi isn't too bad a thing even way back then but looking at some flight options now that transit is down to under 1 hour which doesn't leave much room if the first flight is late even by a short time.

I am also escaping the water bazooka squirting madness of Pattaya - I leave for Vietnam on 12 April and return after the last squirts and water splashing should have been concluded on 22 April.
Some years back, I participated in the Songkran madness but one of my eyes got an infection from some of the dirty water that is splashed around and it took 1 entire week for the infection to go away - so I want to avoid this year's festivities.  Many of my friends are saying that I should wear googles but I also wear glasses and it is just so inconvenient to do that for 7 continuous days of water madness.....
Already here the stores are selling these GIANT bazooka water pistols - OMG 

you bet and not only me, contrary to what one may think there's quite sizable cabal of members who are fond of Tawan and their boys who , I'm sure survive that hopefully temporarily inconvenience 

Perfect example of the modern catchphrase - "fuck around and find out"

Phuket locals rally against Swiss man
I'm surprised there aren't more headlines like this from around the world. I had a Swiss roommate for awhile plus day to day encounters with Swiss people who have emigrated to Canada. Holy cow they can be nasty and grumpy. I went out for dinner with my roommate once and he told me how he amazed he was by restaurant servers who come by your table during dinner to check on how things are. He said he'd never seen that happen at home. I got a Swiss francs tip from a Swiss tourist last summer. I left it in my wallet and passing through Zurich airport during the winter I tried to use it to buy a coffee and found out those type of bills had been phased out. What kind of asshole would do that.

Well, according to that article, there's a video showing him kicking her, so it's not just alleged battery, it's battery. Time to leave if he can. 

if I was him I'd be trying to get out fast as obviously thing incensed a lot of people and likely rightly so

From The Nation
Around 300 people rallied at the Yamu Beach in Thalang district of Phuket province on Sunday morning against the Swiss owner of an elephant park on the island province after he allegedly kicked a female doctor last month.
The protesters rallied at the beach at 9.30am, bringing their own food and drinks to join the "picnic" after the organisers invited them via Phuket communities’ Facebook pages a few days earlier.
At first, their number was around 100 but it soon trebled in size.
The rally was held under the slogan labelled by the organisers in English as “Get out, David”.
The angry local people organised the rally against Swiss national Urs “David” Fehr, 45, who allegedly kicked Thandao Chandam, a doctor at Dibuk Hospital in Phuket, in the back while she and her friend were sitting on the beachside steps of a villa being rented by Fehr.
continues at
https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40036065
 
 
 
 

I've broken up flights many times just to be able to get a full eight hours of sleep in a hotel. Depending on the city, I might spend two or three days if there are enough things I want to see and do. My recommendation is Definitely yes -- do it! You'll get to have a relaxing evening in Miami.
Flying from California over the oceans, I've stopped over in Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, and Bangkok (Pacific) and in London, Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Paris (Atlantic). Then I arrive at my final destination after one or more days that help me get rid of jetlag. 

during working career I tried to utilize vacations to the max so never broke trip unless forced to but now whenever there's possibility I do it either to have proper rest in bed or more important to do some sightseeing during break Love those " arrive at 7 am and continue at 7 pm to your destination" 

From Pattaya News
On March 3rd, 2024, Mr. Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the Deputy leader of the United Thai Nation, publicly revealed after visiting Phuket last week to inspect and gather information regarding an allegation of foreign mafia gangs in the area.
Phuket is one of the most popular Thai tourist attractions among foreign tourists. However, it was found out that the quantity was greater than the quality in terms of businesses in Phuket, remarked Thanakorn.
Meanwhile, many street vendors and tourism-related workers complained about alleged foreign mafia gangs in the Phuket local, mostly Russian nationals, taking over Thai people’s businesses, stated Thanakorn.
The foreign mafia gangs reportedly were not afraid of laws as they allegedly smuggled illicit substances to their entertainment venues and were wealthy, paying off corrupt officials to avoid legal action, said Thanakorn. He wanted to reflect on the local problems and provide insight to the Thai Prime Minister and Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, for urgent inspection.
Furthermore, it was reported that traffic congestion in Phuket had been an issue for a long time. After acknowledging the issue, the Thai Prime Minister issued an order to Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the Thai Minister of Transport, and relevant agencies to take immediate action and expand new routes to Phuket Airport.
At 12:30, on the same day, Anutin mentioned the issue regarding the alleged foreign mafia gangs in Phuket and he pressed for action on the issue to Phuket government officials. He asserted that having influential foreigners with a bad reputation having authority over Thai locals is unacceptable.
Anutin also added that any sort of influential person with bad influence, Thai national or not, needed to go if they were not following the law and did not have good intentions.

Is this not, in the main, an urban "thing"? In rural areas, Songkran is more traditionally-celebrated. Farmer know the value of water in Isaan and so on and don't waste it.

It's a shame that so much needful water are wasted. The government could limit it to one day water festival and to avoid this stupid waste.

I think an original thread was removed by administrators because unfortunate phrase in the tittle. Not an original poster' s  fault but it could create possible problems for the board IMHO. 
I agree with suspicion quoted above as a reason for closure. Encouraging news is that apparently guys still congregate in vicinity so can be engaged if news is accurate.

Yes it was me. One of the boys working there I’ve know for over 10 yrs txt’d me saying the bar had been shut last Monday by the police. We both felt it was probably some issue over paying bribe or new police chief…

A member reported Tawan bar closed bu police earlier this week. This photo taken at 11:30pm Saturday 

I also hide in my condo in  Pattaya from 12th to 16th, then I flee to Bangkok as the nonsense finishes there on 15th, and then return to Pattaya on 20th as 19th is the most stupid day in Pattaya. I see though that the "government" intends to lengthen Songkran this year but I have not seen any details of those plans as yet. I remember on my first trip to Thailand in 1998 that Songkran even in Pattaya was more civilised in those days, with all the water throwing stopping as the sun went down about 6pm so you could dress decently and go out for dinner with no threat of stupid drunk farang dumping buckets of iced water over your head.  

That is insane. How insecure Russian  regime must feel if threats such people as criminals and imprisons them. 

Putin is holding another US citizen hostage. Any US citizen should know better than to travel to Russia. Her "crime" was donating $50 for the Ukrainian aid. I think it's important that the US government put its foot down and state unequivocally that we won't be trading any Russian spies in order to secure her release. Shame on her. 
https://abc7.com/ksenia-karelina-russian-court-denies-appeal-arrest-for-treason-ukraine-help/14479902/
"A court in Siberia has denied 33-year-old Ksenia Karelina's appeal and she will remain in prison. The court extended her pre-trial detention until at least April 6. Karelina, who has dual Russian and American citizenship and lives in Los Angeles, is accused of treason after allegedly donating about $50 to Ukraine's war effort... If convicted, Karelina faces 20 years behind bars...". 
https://nypost.com/2024/02/29/world-news/russia-rejects-appeal-in-ksenia-karelina-treason-case/
"...A Russian lawyers’ group, Pervy Otdel, said it had information that Karelina had donated just over $50 from her U.S. bank account on Feb. 24, 2022 – the day that Russia launched what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine – to a charity that sends aid to Ukraine...". 
What a threat to Russia's military! 🙄

Very likely, or just gets transferred to a less attractive position—temporarily of course.

Just window dressing. I bet nothing actually happens!

….or didn’t dare to.

because for some reason they did not want to