Thailand Lounge and Chat area

[Engine Driver]

You might want to factor in the population, and so sales rate per million persons, otherwise it is a nonsense to compare to China. LOL.

Maybe Thailand does have a lot of wealthy people per million. Not like my country where there is a huge percentage of in between people neither very rich not very poor.

The myth promotes absolute numbers, not per capita.

[Syzygies]

There's an urban myth that Thailand has the second highest annual sales rate for Mercedes Benz cars in the world. This myth has been circulating for over 30 years. It's spread to make Thailand look like a rich country. The sales figure for Mercedes cars in Thailand is only a few thousand units a year and they have an assembly plant in the country. The leading countries for Mercedes sales are China, Germany and USA.

Thailand does sell a high number of pickups, second only to the USA.

You might want to factor in the population, and so sales rate per million persons, otherwise it is a nonsense to compare to China. LOL.

Maybe Thailand does have a lot of wealthy people per million. Not like my country where there is a huge percentage of in between people neither very rich not very poor.

[Engine Driver]

There's an urban myth that Thailand has the second highest annual sales rate for Mercedes Benz cars in the world. This myth has been circulating for over 30 years. It's spread to make Thailand look like a rich country. The sales figure for Mercedes cars in Thailand is only a few thousand units a year and they have an assembly plant in the country. The leading countries for Mercedes sales are China, Germany and USA.

Thailand does sell a high number of pickups, second only to the USA.

[Syzygies]

I have an 18 hour layover in Bangkok tomorrow before I go to UAE which is my final destination.

You could have got better answers by asking well in advance. Tomorrow is very last minute.

[Banana Boi]

Facial scanning now required to get a SIM card in Thailand. Coinciding with this, another headline in the news today is "7-Eleven in Thailand to start scanning customer's faces".

BIOMETRIC DATA NOW REQUIRED TO BUY A SIM CARD IN THAILAND

According to reports the governments new laws surrounding the purchase of SIM cards here in the kingdom has now gone into force meaning people wishing to purchase one now need to either have their fingerprints recorded or their face scanned, the new measures have caused quite a stir among privacy advocates.

According to the National Broadcasting Telecommunications Commission head Supakarn Boonjan the biometric measures are the final phase of new SIM card registration which came into effect in February.

Speaking about the new registration procedures a spokesman for the NBTC also said it is the governments wish that everyone who has purchased a SIM card prior to the new measures being in place also submit their data, however a means of carrying this out has yet to be established.

The government claims the new measures are to improve security and stability in the kingdom in the wake of unrest in parts of the kingdom over recent years where SIM cards purchased anonymously have been used to carry out crimes and in extreme cases used to detonate bombs such as the Erawan Shrine bomb in 2015.

Many have stressed concerns over privacy of users as a result of the new regulations with some stating authorities could monitor a user’s movements using GPS from their device, though the government has stressed this is not their intention.

According to Supakarn all Pattaya based vendors of SIM cards are now equipped with devices capable of recording the necessary biometric data of both Thai and foreign customers.

Thai citizens will have their fingerprints checked with those taken for their national identification card or their face scanned and checked against the picture on their ID card.

Foreign citizens will have their face scanned and matched against their passport to prove their identity.

[RN500]

I have an 18 hour layover in Bangkok tomorrow before I go to UAE which is my final destination. This would be my 4th time but my first time alone. So I have booked a hotel near the action, on Soi 7/1 and have planned on hitting the streets as soon as I arrive. I will be arriving in BKK at 10:30 PM.

Any particular places that I should visit?

Obviously Nana Plaza (short walk from where you're staying) plus there are a few good bars on Soi 7/1 that are worth a visit eg. Wood Bar and Dr BJ's. If you're staying in that area you have a huge amount of options within walking distance.

[Shadow Tech]

I have an 18 hour layover in Bangkok tomorrow before I go to UAE which is my final destination. This would be my 4th time but my first time alone. So I have booked a hotel near the action, on Soi 7/1 and have planned on hitting the streets as soon as I arrive. I will be arriving in BKK at 10:30 PM.

Any particular places that I should visit?

[Eszpresszo]

Fact: I love BKK and Patty and have been there a couple of times.

Problem: Supervisor at home that would really question a single guy trip to Patty. I need the best fking excuse in the world to go to BKK for another 5-7 days and then escape to Patty with the bus. A business opportunity, my best friends wedding / funeral or helping an old friend become sober would work. (I have been looking for jobs that require frequent travelling to BKK just for this).

I need your help guys, what excuse could I have to go to BKK, or even to Patty? Give me all your ideas!

Ummm. Why does your boss need to worry where you are going? Are you employed at the Southern Baptist Convention or your local diocese? If you really must tell them where you are going, then tell them you are visiting the nation where your plane stops (not a lot of direct flights to Thailand from the Western world so I imagine you will connect somewhere). EVA airlines via Taipei? JAL via Tokyo? I've seen flights to SE Asia, that required a change of airport and / or an overnight stay in Tokyo. Text your colleagues a photo from your layover in Japan.

Take a trip to Ankorwat in Cambodia. It's a renowned World Heritage Site. But, you will find Siem Reap's airport is connected to a limited number of foreign airports. And two of them happen to be in Bangkok. In fact, most of the flights seem to REP seem to originate in the Big Mango / You don't have to tell anyone your layover in Thailand lasted until you couldn't fuck any more, so you visited a major cultural attraction in Scambodia while you allowed your "chi" to recharge. Nor do you tell them you spent your final layover in Pattaya before you caught your flight back home.

BTW, I got a great deal on Qatar Airways. DFW to KUL for $654. I told my family and colleagues I was going to Malaysia, so I could try that exotic cuisine and check out historic Georgetown. Completely true. That is part of my agenda. What I didn't tell them was I was also going to take the bus up to Dannok to experience the lowest prices for mongering in Thailand or catch a cheap flight to Bali and experience the X-houses of Sanur. Don't forget. What happens in Asia, stays in Asia.

[Banana Boi]

For those in Thailand this week remember there are 3 National holidays on December 5, 10, and 11.

I know some gogo bars are shutting down in LK Metro in Pattaya. Now sure what will be open and closed. I'm assuming Walking Street remains open I didn't ask. I use these National Holidays as a day of rest.

[Eric Swiss]

Fact: I love BKK and Patty and have been there a couple of times.

Problem: Supervisor at home that would really question a single guy trip to Patty. I need the best fking excuse in the world to go to BKK for another 5-7 days and then escape to Patty with the bus. A business opportunity, my best friends wedding / funeral or helping an old friend become sober would work. (I have been looking for jobs that require frequent travelling to BKK just for this).

I need your help guys, what excuse could I have to go to BKK, or even to Patty? Give me all your ideas!

Just say you want to go sailing. There's a Yacht Club in Pattaya and they accept day visitors.

[Rob Jones]

Keep a poker face and say this.

A college time buddy of mine lives in Australia and he is visiting Thailand for work for a week, and he is asking us to join him there for a get together. Some of my other friends are working in the vicinity as well, so to make it easy for them I am traveling there.

It worked for me and hopefully will work for you as well.

I'm assuming the supervisor at home is the wife? My work is in the automotive industry and fortunately for me there are a lot of factories around Pattaya and Bangkok so I have a good reason to go even though my position doesn't need me top go LOL. Unfortunately my wife would not allow me to go if it involved a friend in any circumstances because she knows there will be trouble afoot.

Good luck.

[LoneWolff]

Keep a poker face and say this.

A college time buddy of mine lives in Australia and he is visiting Thailand for work for a week, and he is asking us to join him there for a get together. Some of my other friends are working in the vicinity as well, so to make it easy for them I am traveling there.

It worked for me and hopefully will work for you as well.

Fact: I love BKK and Patty and have been there a couple of times.

Problem: Supervisor at home that would really question a single guy trip to Patty. I need the best fking excuse in the world to go to BKK for another 5-7 days and then escape to Patty with the bus. A business opportunity, my best friends wedding / funeral or helping an old friend become sober would work. (I have been looking for jobs that require frequent travelling to BKK just for this).

I need your help guys, what excuse could I have to go to BKK, or even to Patty? Give me all your ideas!

[RacShack]

Fact: I love BKK and Patty and have been there a couple of times.

Problem: Supervisor at home that would really question a single guy trip to Patty. I need the best fking excuse in the world to go to BKK for another 5-7 days and then escape to Patty with the bus. A business opportunity, my best friends wedding / funeral or helping an old friend become sober would work. (I have been looking for jobs that require frequent travelling to BKK just for this).

I need your help guys, what excuse could I have to go to BKK, or even to Patty? Give me all your ideas!

Wow excellent reports for the couple of times you been their, keep up the hard and good work, be a man and say I'm going to Thailand, or write it 150 times on blackboard and keep being a sixed grader! See problem easily solved!

[Andersson25]

Fact: I love BKK and Patty and have been there a couple of times.

Problem: Supervisor at home that would really question a single guy trip to Patty. I need the best fking excuse in the world to go to BKK for another 5-7 days and then escape to Patty with the bus. A business opportunity, my best friends wedding / funeral or helping an old friend become sober would work. (I have been looking for jobs that require frequent travelling to BKK just for this).

I need your help guys, what excuse could I have to go to BKK, or even to Patty? Give me all your ideas!

[NRock]

Have a weekend free in Asia when going to China, and wondering if it's worth taking the trip to Pattaya just for 2 or 3 days. I know the mongering scene in BKK very well but I've never been in Pattaya.

It is worth it because the vibe is very different from BKK and a cool thing to experience. However, you need to decide whether you want to devote X-hours just on travel (time to the airport in China, flight to BKK, commute to Pattaya, and then back again). If coming from South China then more bearable but flying in from Shanghai or Beijing, you're looking at close to 20 hours all-in just on the travel for a weekend!