Renaissance commented : Hello! I got married last October, and my (Thai) wife did not have to change her name. The law has changed. I hope that foreigners don't abuse this change as the law will then be changed back. Just tell the officials that the law has changed.

Renaissance commented : You might like to try this before you arrive at the airport Immigration desk: As you hand your passport to the official give him an inspiring quotation in a language s/he understands, and say something like, "I hope this brightens your day." as you smile at the person. The officials have feelings and dreams like the rest of us, and the person you give the quotation will no doubt keep it on the desk all day, and perhaps every day even. It may help him/her to be nicer to ever passing passenger.

Renaissance commented : This is Thailand. The guy comes from a rich family. There will be an appeal. His father will make a "contribution" to the police's "favourite charity". His sentence will be halved because of some "technicality". He'll spend one year at the most in a comfortable cell in a place of detention for the rich. His father will make a payment to the people who suffered in the accident, and they will keep quiet because they know "the rules". When the dust has settled after 6 months, he'll be released as everyone will have forgotten about the case. He will be told to keep his head down for a while, and the status quo will have been restored. I've seen this happen so many times over the last 25 years. With money you buy the kind of "justice" you want.

Renaissance commented : [color=#0000BF:1w0fjtjh]What this thread shows is that people are fed up with the rich having one system of justice for themselves while the rest of the population have an inferior kind. It also shows how people expect rich criminals to get away with their crimes, either completely, or with a small prison sentence until the dust settles and everyone forgets about the crime. Personally, I think that there will be another major incidence of this when Taksin is invited to lead the next government after the next election. In exchange for a few Baht, his crimes will be declared as having been politically motivated and unjust and the sentences will be dismissed; his money will returned to him; all the poor officials who made decisions against him will be exiled to Nakorn Nowhere and to the southern provinces; the 5-year ban of the 101 politicians who were involved in vote-buying will be cancelled as being politically motivated, in exchange for a few Baht; they will all join Taksin's parties and take advantage of the opportunities again; systems will be changed back to serve the rich better; and the traditional status quo will finally be restored. People will complain on the Bangkok Post's Forums about how it is so unfair that the rich have one system of justice for themselves, etc., but nothing will change, and really, I think we all know this. Moo Ham's case is just a reflection of how corruption has eaten through the fabric of the country. Indeed, maybe if his father pays enough, Moo Ham will be made a Minister.[/color:1w0fjtjh]

Renaissance commented : [color=#0040BF:2pjlqn6a]When the new sky train link between Bangkok and the airport starts, it is going to have a noticeable impact on the taxi business at the airport, and the Airports Authority of Thailand officials who organize the Taxi Mafia on the Ground Level will be seriously affected. It therefore remains to be seen whether they will erect a sign outside the Arrivals Hall stating where arriving passengers can catch the train service. I think that they will erect it after the Mafia Taxi Funnel. The Mafia Taxi Funnel was created at a time when a lot of people were using the taxis on the Departures Level (4th Floor) to avoid paying the 50 Baht "service fee" on the Ground Level, which allowed them to queue up and take a taxi whose meter often did not seem to be working at the time. (How very odd!) I mean, a lot of people! It was sometimes difficult to get a taxi on the 4th Floor. The AOT officials were probably in danger of not being able to keep up the payments on their 700 Series BMWs or whatever, so they created a Taxi Funnel to try to force arriving passengers to go out of the door leading to the taxi mafia. For quite a few months after the airport opened you could leave the Arrivals Hall and go almost straight into a lift taking you to the Departures Level, but nowadays, there is a long line of barriers preventing you from getting in a lift for about 80-100 metres. When you eventually get past the barriers, you end up putting your trolley on the escalators as the queue at the lift is probably too long, and at least you are moving upwards. Yes, you can walk back to the lifts at the barriers, but by now you are at the escalators, so people put their trolleys on the escalators. It is at this point that you are likely to be approached by the people who will sell you to a taxi driver on the 4th Floor for an inflated non-meter fee. They are a pest, but you can eventually get rid of them before getting outside. Sometimes they are waiting outside, so if none of them has approached you before you leave the building, you may still be lucky enough to meet one of them outside. The taxi drivers don't need them anyway as they can just pay 20 Baht to the guards to let them park until a passenger comes. The AAOT officials don't like them to park because it creates a competing line of taxis for their Taxi Mafia, but park, they do, because the guards want their continuous stream of 20 Baht. In practice the taxis don't have to wait long because many Thais and local foreigners take the trouble to go up to the 4th Floor to avoid the Taxi Mafia. Many foreigners will think, "It's only US$1.50. Who cares?" This is not the point. If there were a need to charge to have staff issue a queue ticket, 10 Baht would cover all the costs more than adequately. But they charge 5 times this per passenger so you can see that people's pockets are being filled, and this must amount to a small fortune EVERY DAY. It would be nice to think that the money is being used to improve the airport's facilities, but dream on! Have you ever seen an extra toilet being built? It's such a silly and corrupt system, but then the AAOT officials and their Taxi Mafia are more important than the passengers after all. [/color:2pjlqn6a]