A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

..Apple phone ?

Flattery most undeserved :o. Can't come close to to excellent quality by likes of Jah, Froggy here (with their gizmos).
Testimony by my blurry sneaky immigration Q. Beat-up Iphone 5. No fault of equipment, but hands behind. But at least authentic :p

When's your next foray to LOS?

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Slice of thai mango today ...with woman judge throwing tantrum (not 1st time) in local LTA. :p

Judge throws a tantrum, again

A judge was caught on camera losing her temper and berating people around her when she was issued a ticket for obstructive parking.

The video went viral after it was posted by Facebook user Piyawat Suwanwong, a traffic police volunteer. Mr Piyawat wrote that the incident took place on Monday afternoon at the Department of Land Transport in Mor Chit, Bangkok.

The angry woman in the video was identified as Chidchanok Paensuwan, aged 44. She is a judge working at the Courts of Justice.

The video poster wrote that Ms Chidchanok arrived at the department to sort out a falsification of car registration issue.

When Ms Chidchanok returned to her vehicle, she became upset on finding a ticket attached to the vehicle for obstructive parking. Her car was parked right in front of the office building.

The woman went back into the building, yelled at staff and threw one of the plastic water containers placed at the front door.

She then returned to her car, showed her ID card to the person who recorded the incident and shouted: "Bear in mind that I'm your boss! You don't have to photograph my face!"

As the video spread online, netizens called on authorities to take action against the judge, describing her behaviour as "inappropriate".

On Thursday, Courts of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij told reporters that Ms Chidchanok had been found to suffer from stress and could lose control of herself when under pressure.

He said Ms Chidchanok had been transferred to work at the Courts of Justice, but she is not allowed to arbitrate in court or interact with members of the public.

"Ms Chidchanok is being treated. If she takes her medication, she can work without showing signs of stress. She is under close watch by her superiors and I ask the public to feel for her," Mr Sitthisak said.

Three years ago, Ms Chidchanok was in the headlines for throwing rice and an omelet at former city police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang's car because she was not happy with the way police work.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/834388/judge-throws-a-tantrum-again

 

[tonychat]

Slice of thai mango today ...with woman judge throwing tantrum (not 1st time) in local LTA. :p

Judge throws a tantrum, again

A judge was caught on camera losing her temper and berating people around her when she was issued a ticket for obstructive parking.

The video went viral after it was posted by Facebook user Piyawat Suwanwong, a traffic police volunteer. Mr Piyawat wrote that the incident took place on Monday afternoon at the Department of Land Transport in Mor Chit, Bangkok.

The angry woman in the video was identified as Chidchanok Paensuwan, aged 44. She is a judge working at the Courts of Justice.

The video poster wrote that Ms Chidchanok arrived at the department to sort out a falsification of car registration issue.

When Ms Chidchanok returned to her vehicle, she became upset on finding a ticket attached to the vehicle for obstructive parking. Her car was parked right in front of the office building.

The woman went back into the building, yelled at staff and threw one of the plastic water containers placed at the front door.

She then returned to her car, showed her ID card to the person who recorded the incident and shouted: "Bear in mind that I'm your boss! You don't have to photograph my face!"

As the video spread online, netizens called on authorities to take action against the judge, describing her behaviour as "inappropriate".

On Thursday, Courts of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij told reporters that Ms Chidchanok had been found to suffer from stress and could lose control of herself when under pressure.

He said Ms Chidchanok had been transferred to work at the Courts of Justice, but she is not allowed to arbitrate in court or interact with members of the public.

"Ms Chidchanok is being treated. If she takes her medication, she can work without showing signs of stress. She is under close watch by her superiors and I ask the public to feel for her," Mr Sitthisak said.

Three years ago, Ms Chidchanok was in the headlines for throwing rice and an omelet at former city police chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang's car because she was not happy with the way police work.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/thailand/834388/judge-throws-a-tantrum-again

This is a good example of how a woman behave... Going Mgtow is the best choice and avoid such shit. Peace and quiet.

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Top four banks post lower profits

• Bangkok Post Published: 22/01/2016 at 03:29 AM

The four largest commercial banks posted lower net profits for 2015 due largely to higher impairment expenses to tackle rising bad loans, while smaller banks enjoyed robust earnings.

The 11 SET-listed banks posted a combined net profit of 198 billion baht last year, down by 6.6%.

Kasikornbank (KBank) was the worst performer, posting a 14.5% decline in its unreviewed consolidated earnings to 39.5 billion baht after setting aside higher loan-loss provisions and booking 2.31 billion in impairment costs for its new IT system.

KBank set aside 26.4 billion baht for impairment losses on loans in 2015, up by 85.2% from 2014. Gross non-performing loans jumped to 2.7% of the outstanding total from 2.24% at the end of 2014. Net interest revenue increased by 2.26% to 85 billion baht and net fee and service revenue by 10.6% to 37.5 billion.

State-owned Krungthai Bank (KTB) was the second-worst performer, with a net profit decline of 14.2% to 28.5 billion baht. Its 63.8% increase in loan-loss reserves had a larger effect than a 4.81% increase in net interest revenue and a 14.6% rise in net fee and service revenue.

KTB set aside 30.5 billion baht in provisions last year. Gross bad loans amounted to 76.4 billion baht, jumping 32.8% from 2014, while non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at 3.2%.

The higher NPLs were due to increases in bad SME and retail loans and the 23-billion-baht loan default of Sahaviriya Steel Industries Plc (SSI) and its British subsidiary.

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) also suffered from full provisions to meet Bank of Thailand requirements for SSI and the loan write-down to its subsidiary SSI UK Ltd. Its 2015 net profit slumped 11.5% to 47.2 billion baht.

Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) emerged as the best performer, with a 31.5% jump in net profit to 18.6 billion baht.
BAY put aside 20.2 billion baht in loan-loss reserves last year, up from 18.1 billion in 2014.

 

[johnny333]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

i will never ever take Singapore Airlines....i rather take a boat than to fly in one.

I share your sentiments. They are a money faced company. I would not support any of the Spore GLCs because these companies take advantage of Sporeans

 

[Onitsuka]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

I share your sentiments. They are a money faced company. I would not support any of the Spore GLCs because these companies take advantage of Sporeans

I support AirAsia.

The good thing about budget airlines is you are not penalized for not buying return tickets. With non-budget airlines, it's commonplace that the prices of one-way ticket are also 3/4 of the return tickets. Now with budget airlines and their fair pricing of one-way tickets, I can do island hopping without having to depart from the same airport that I first arrived.

I used to like Scoot because of its big size fleet until they started diverting away from Suvarnabhumi and it's operating from Donmeung. You know how inconvenient Donmeung is without airport link.

Notwithstanding the competitive pricing of AirAsia, I'm still trying to calibrate my travel plans to avoid the Chinese tourists. I will carefully work out which are the airlines that Chinese tourists are less likely to travel, and that will be a factor to consider.

 

[tonychat]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

I share your sentiments. They are a money faced company. I would not support any of the Spore GLCs because these companies take advantage of Sporeans

Exactly.. i have boycotted anything that is GLC-related or i usually called it PAP-related. My fav airline is Cathay Pacific.. you can feel that inside of the plane with full of balls when HK people are working there. it is a nice feeling.

 

[Onitsuka]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Exactly.. i have boycotted anything that is GLC-related or i usually called it PAP-related. My fav airline is Cathay Pacific.. you can feel that inside of the plane with full of balls when HK people are working there. it is a nice feeling.

When I'm in good mood, especially if the journey is more than 4 hours, I will fly Cathay big fleet. The flight attendants are not as pretentious as SQ attendants, and the inflight entertainment is one of the best if you understand Cantonese. If you want to go Korea, Cathay Pacific is the top choice. It's a no brainer.

 

[johnny333]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Notwithstanding the competitive pricing of AirAsia, I'm still trying to calibrate my travel plans to avoid the Chinese tourists. I will carefully work out which are the airlines that Chinese tourists are less likely to travel, and that will be a factor to consider.

When I travel to BKK I use Jetstar because I like the morning schedule to suvarnabhumi.
There are probably PRC passengers but so far they are behaving themselves. Unlike the noisy ones I've encountered on AirAsia.

Maybe it is because the flights I'm taking from Spore are catered for Aussies flying to LOS

 

[Onitsuka]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

When I travel to BKK I use Jetstar because I like the morning schedule to suvarnabhumi.
There are probably PRC passengers but so far they are behaving themselves. Unlike the noisy ones I've encountered on AirAsia.

Maybe it is because the flights I'm taking from Spore are catered for Aussies flying to LOS

To be honest, I prefer Jetstar to AirAsia, but flying out early in the morning is a problem for me :(

The seats are comfortable and stewardesses seem more like old birds seconded from major airlines, not those freshies who took a 3-week course to become a stewardess like Tiger and Scoot.

 

[Froggy]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Started getting cold since yesterday morning but this is like quite extreme for Bangkok

 

[Charlie99]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

15C will be pleasant

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

Government set to link 3 airports
Work on 'super link' is tipped to begin in September

• Bangkok Post Published: 25/01/2016 at 06:29 AM

Almost six years ago, the Airport Rail Link introduced a fast route to Suvarnabhumi airport, offering speedy trains taking travellers right into its terminal.

This year the government is set to offer more convenience to air travellers by starting work on a new rail system under an ambitious plan to link the Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao airports together.

Previous governments had similar ideas to upgrade the Airport Rail Link to a "super-link" that includes Don Mueang airpot in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan and the navy-owned U-Tapao airport in Rayong, but the plan failed to make progress until the current administration.

The Prayut Chan-o-cha government ordered a study on a new rail track from Suvarnabhumi airport to U-Tapao airport in the east of the country. Its findings are expected in March this year. The cabinet will be asked next month to approve construction of the first section of the 31.1-billion baht Phaya Thai-Don Mueang rail route, said Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck.

The line is divided into two sections -- Phaya Thai-Bang Sue, and Bang Sue-Don Mueang airport. A nod from the cabinet will kick-start construction of the 7.8km Phaya Thai-Bang Sue section, a mix of a 4.3km elevated track and a 3.5km underground route, he said.

This section must be constructed first because the government is also pushing ahead with the Light Red Line project connecting Bang Sue and Hua Mak as well as Bang Sue and Hua Lamphong.

"Their construction must happen together," Mr Ormsin said, referring to the Airport Rail Link and the Light Red Line projects.
The Phaya Thai-Bang Sue section will most likely materialise first as the Transport Ministry has scheduled action plans. It set September this year as the start of construction and expects this Airport Rail Link extension will open for commercial service in 2020, according to Mr Ormsin.

Phaya Thai serves as the first station of the original Airport Rail Link, the 28.6km line that links Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi airport.

The station is considered a good junction for travellers as it connects with the BTS skytrain which carries commuters from inner Bangkok and Thon Buri, located on the west side of the Chao Phraya River.
Under the plan, travellers at this station will be offered one more route taking them to Don Mueang airport where most budget airlines are based. However, this will happen only if the Transport Ministry solves the problem regarding a limited construction area in the 14km Bang Sue-Don Mueang section.
There are three other railway projects which, like the Airport Rail Link, put the Bang Sue station on their construction maps. The three are a section of the Red Line project, connecting Bang Sue and Rangsit, and the Thai-Chinese and Thai-Japanese railway development projects.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which oversees the Airport Rail Link, has limited space for rail route construction from Bang Sue to Ban Phachi in Ayutthaya, so it is impossible to funnel all new railway designs into the same area.
There are initially two solutions to the problem, Mr Ormsin said. First, the Airport Rail Link needs to cancel the Bang Sue-Don Mueang section and have its commuters who want to go to Don Mueang airport take the Red Line at the Bang Sue station to their destination.

The other proposal is to share the track with the Thai-Chinese dual track project, linking Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, he said. The SRT is considering them both, but the share track option is more likely, he added.

Officials are also working on the Suvarnabhumi-U-Tapao section where the construction cost is estimated to be at least 100 billion baht, Mr Ormsin said.

This project is not a priority at the moment, but will need to be built in the long term, he said.In addition to the results of the study on this section scheduled for March, SRT governor Wuthichart Kalyanamitra said his agency will also consider another alternative to include the U-Tapao airport station in a planned high-speed rail projection from Bangkok to Pattaya and Rayong.
U-Tapao airport is scheduled to open for commercial service in July this year to help relieve overcrowding at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.

 

[yinyang]

 

[Froggy]

It's almost noon and bangkok's

 

[yinyang]

Re: A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand ? Feasible?

More competitive for local business?

​TRADE

Tariffs on 1,100 items may go

• Bangkok Post Published: 25/01/2016 at 07:35 AM
  
  

Workers load imported onions at a Moei River pier in Tak province. The Customs Department is setting standard prices to ensure that imported goods are taxed fairly. PATTARACHAI PREECHAPANICH

The Finance Ministry is seeking cabinet approval to waive import tariffs on more than 1,000 items, says Customs Department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri.

If approved, 56 categories of imported goods and a total of 1,100 items will be allowed into the country without tariff, Mr Kulit said.
Although the tariff waivers will shrink tax revenue by about 3 billion baht, it will help local manufacturers with their cost of materials, especially intermediate types used in the final production stage of high-value goods.

Under the current import tariff structure, Customs waives import duty for goods that local producers require as raw materials and capital goods. Intermediate materials or those in semi-production are charged at 3% and final products or ready-to-use items incur 7-10%, depending on the category.

The tariff on intermediate products will be abolished because those items are materials for value-added products and government policy is to promote value-added industry to strengthen Thailand's competitiveness, Mr Kulit said.

"Some items will be able to ship in without tax," he said. "Basically, we set the tax rates on import duty for various products. Some local producers still require safeguarding from imported goods."

Customs has set a revenue target for fiscal 2016 ending in September of 124 billion baht. Despite the proposed tariff cuts, the department still hopes to meet the target. In the first three months of fiscal 2016, Customs collected 31 billion baht to surpass its target by 1.8%.

Apart from the new tariff rates, Customs is also trying to improve efficiency in many aspects of trade facilitation. For example, it is applying standard prices to imported goods. Goods prices require officials to survey several markets to ensure that importers are taxed based on fair market prices. Standard prices will be applied as base prices to be used at all eight checkpoints nationwide.

"This year, we aim to finish the standard prices for the first 36 items, mostly soft commodities such as onion and garlic," Mr Kulit said. "These goods are the most heavily imported items."

Standard prices applied across the board will help prevent mistakes of individual judgement.

Customs is also developing a mobile app for use by checkpoint officials as a tool for monitoring import-export volume.
Other changes include a revision to the rule that gives those transiting cargo to other countries unlimited time for storage at the checkpoint depot.
Under the new rule, they can leave their goods before transiting to other countries for no longer than 90 days. If they fail to collect their goods within 90 days, the goods will be seized and become government property.

The move is aimed at cutting Thailand's cost of storage and maintenance, especially for used cars, and the government hopes to make more revenue from the storage space.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

It's almost noon and bangkok's

how i wish sinkie weather would be that cooling.

 

[Charlie99]

I wish that such daily temperature, sunny, high of 26C, low of 15C, is for more than half a year.

 

[Onitsuka]

I wish that such daily temperature, sunny, high of 26C, low of 15C, is for more than half a year.

You know very well your wish is wishful (thinking). Come Songkran LOS will be scorching hot.

 

[Charlie99]

I am talking about Toronto weather, which has such fluctuation.