retarius

I'm thinking about committing an horrendous crime to get sent to jail so I can be well again like my hero Thaksin, just kidding'. I never do anything illegal, I am honest as the driven snow, you can trust me with your money and your life. Hand on heart I would never do and evil deed. Vote for me.

Utter nonsense. If a Thai Child is travelling with a Thai adult, how would anyone know whether the child is the daughter of the adult or not. Thai's don't have to show a passport to board a plane. I've never been on a bus here, so I don't know what the regulations are. People tend to know only the laws (roughly) about the things/situation that have impacted them directly in. the past.

I used to 15 years ago, I couldn't believe it, almost every shop. Now I am old and fat it happens less often, and with a different group. Wives/widows of expats tell me "Oh you look handsome" or when with their husbands they say "Oh you are looking so well."

Who cares about image? The people have no say in whether they become a vassal of the US or not. Their governments are bribed. The US are like cockroaches, once yo have them. you can never be rid of them. US bases all over Britain for what? There was no danger from Russia. And now they have stationed nukes there. For what, for Britain to be a target in the upcoming nuclear war? Should people have a say?

Why would a Thai mother know what are the requirements for a farang accompanying a Thai child is?

We are 6 months into the new year. You prediction for growth is baseless, as all predictions are. The growth you are forecasting is unknowable because it hasn't happened yet. Whatever, the UK economy is appalling and worst in the G7 and after 14 years of Tory misrule. I do so hope they get kicked out at the next election....but the fools who vote for them are stupid, so they might not. On the bright side the lower the economy goes, the bigger the growth potential. Is UK, the Thailand oil Europe?

I'm going the other way, buying it here for a trip to the US. I haven't got any motorcycle coverage.

I guess I am a believer in 'you reap what you sow'. Over the period from the six day war in 1967 to today I have had a journey from in 1967 following my father's political thoughts I was staunchly pro-Israeli; to sometime are 1990 visiting Israel when I started to doubt the western propaganda having seen things with my own eyes; to today when I see that repression, bullying, oppression and mass murdering of innocent people, cannot and will not bring peace, and I have become Pro-Palestine. I'm now watching the fruits of the wars which Israel has sown. Be careful what you wish for.....some one likely killed Yasser Arafat likely with polonium, maybe is was Mossad? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Yasser_Arafat If killed by polonium it is very likely a state actor. But what came initially alongside and as a competitor to Arafat, and then his replacement. and now reaping what you sow, you end up with Hamas as your enemy. Maybe the enemy you know and can handle rather than open who is worse. Now in trying to eradicate Hamas (as they say they are trying to do) by murdering innocent Palestinian women and children, you risk ending up with leaders much worse than the current Hamas leaders, people more violent and more brutal. People who will make Israel less safe. The very policy is as insane as it is murderous, bullying, brutal and illegal. When you steal land the original owners descendants will never ever forget, because the land is always there to be seen and the grievance is nursed continually. The only way forward is for Israel to say, OK Palestinians we have given you a rotten deal, we will now offer a two state solution, we'll negotiate the details but you will have your own land and we'll have ours. We'll kick the zionists out of the West Bank and Gaza and return that land to you. Then you will be masters of your own fate. Bibi is the word person to say this because his actions betray him as an evil thug, at best. But Israel, you have got to vote in better leaders, young Israelis, you have got to get inviolved and banish the Bibi and their Zionist ilk from politics. Make zionism a crime for Jesus' sake.

Absolutely spot on.

I don't really understand tourists reluctance to have travel insurance. This scheme goes some way to covering this. But what about riding a motorcycle with no driving license or not wearing a helmet....is that excluded, as are visa exempt tourists excluded? I took out travel insurance yesterday for a 3 week trip to the US (where healthcare is madly expensive.....total cost less than $100). Why on earth don't these creeps buy it or stay away?

Yes, I'm shocked as I never carry over the limit as if you declare it you need reams of bank back up to justify it. Anyway, he has his pension paid into a UK bank and hasn't told them he is living here, so he gets the cost of living each year that expats don't get.....he goes home every year, takes the money out of the bank as cash and brings it over...he gets about 1400 pounds a month pension (government plus private) which equates to about USD $25000. As I say an accident waiting to happen....I'm not sure about cash sniffing dogs, because I've definitely never had my luggage sniffed by a dog at Suvarnabhumi. As I think about it, I'm not even sure I've seen a sniffer dog in the luggage area of the airport. I think he's more likely to be stopped at the security check point where they X ray your carry on. I carried out a three large bundles of Thai baht and was stopped at Japanese customs last year who for some reason decided I was some kind of big time drugs dealer. I was detained for 2 hours while they searched and X-rayed my bags for drugs. The cash hadn't trigger any questions at X-ray at screening prior to boarding. The agent found the the wads of money, and asked about them. I simply told them it was 300,000 baht or $9000 and under the limit, they accepted that and didn't even count it.

I agree with the OP. Pretty much every expat I've met was either an astronaut, starred in a movie with Tom Cruise, was a star footballer with Millwall, was a successful entrepreneur and business man controlling the lives of thousands of employees, was almost was recruited into the Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1960, or won a solo around the world rowing race in 1967, or was in some other way totally wonderful before he came here where he turned into a drunken fat slob.

I have a good mate here who regularly goes back home and comes back with the equivalent of over about USD25000. He doesn't declare it, and it seems to me that he is like an accident waiting to happen, and is sure to get stopped....he has been doing this since I've known him (about 15years). Needless to say he doesn't;t keep the 800K in the bank here and uses an agent instead. Unnecessary risk, I call it.

Tragic. 5000 baht compensation for the life of one's child. An insult.

I really hope it costs and arm and a leg to get fixed.

On another issue, when Mossad agent pose as people to go and shoot up a hospital in Gaza, they are lauded as heroes. What then is the difference if the enemy dress up as journalists, or women or gazelles to get their job done?

If the information comes from Israel it is lies. They want to kick foreign journeys out because the have lost control of the information war and people are starting to hate the State of Israel and its leaders who are responsible for the daily massacres off Palestinians. Only a matter of time before BDS sees its wishes come true and apartheid Israel is shunned by decent humans, all over the planet.

I read today that the new CiC of the armed forces has a new strategy. That instead of trying to push Russia out of the land it occupies, he is going to instruct that they "hold the line" ie do not lose any more territory but will lose many fewer men. hehehehe root as in rooting for, not root as in having sex with....root isn't English, whop prefer 'shag'...it's Aussie and Kiwis use the word 'root' Reminds me of a song....Come all around the world, are ya ready for a beard new dance? We'll be rooting in the streets.

I didn't know they made a Click 125 anymore.....our dealer had a Honda Lead at 140cc and an Honda Click at 160cc. I assumed, apparently incorrectly that Honda had phased out the 125 models. I bought the Honda 160, and have regretted it ever since. I had one one key. I also bought a Ford Fiesta about 10 years ago and it came with only one key (tight b@@@@@s).

I tried to open an account with them years back....but they wanted me to have work permit instead of a Non O based on retirement, and refused to open one. I did tell them that it was mandatory for me to have a bank account and to be able to show 800K in the bank for 3 months (at the time). It cut no ice, they told me that any bank opening an account for me would be breaking the law. I asked why the regulations for immigration would ask for an illegal bank account, but they basically threw me out....ion the nicest possible way 🙂 I bank with Kasikorn. They are ok and gave me a 'Wisdom' credit card which is useful (you can sometimes get seen sooner quicker and can get a parking space), but they never had an English speaker in the branch which makes things awkward sometimes.

I am all in favour of people having sex on the beach.....that is if I am allowed to watch and film you. If you don't want me to watch then do it in your bedroom.

As a disclaimer, I'm not any sort of economist or, indeed, knowledgeable about currencies but it seem to me that currencies that are in high demand tend to appreciate. So when Japan had very strong exports it also had a very strong currency. Today it's exports have crashed and its currency as measured against the $ is in the pan. The I left Japan in 2008 it $/Yen was about low 80s, last year when I went it was 146, making Japan very cheap to live and markedly cheaper than Thailand (in supermarkets). In Thailand I missed the halcyon days when the baht crashed and expats were all like millionaires. My brother told me the baht was 72 to the pound in 2003/4 when he built his house, in the aftermath of the 1997 crisis and Thai economic crisis, but since I have been here the baht has generally appreciated from around 40 to the USD in 2005 to low thirties and even very high twenties, a few years back. We are now mid thirties for the dollar, having seen a few years of weakening (my impression, anyway, of bringing money over). Exports from the manufacturing sector seem to be weakening, so the demand for Thai baht is also weakening, add that to an indifferent interest rate on bonds etc. My expectation is that the baht will be listless until either interest rates 'improve' significantly for investors, or the export and tourism industries that generate demand for the baht improve markedly. For now I am not betting against the dollar.

One of the really great thing about have an economic collapse a la COVID is that your growth numbers for the next few years look great, because you are growing from a low base. More relevant is the question how do today's numbers compare to pre-COVID numbers ie to 2019. If we have 13.3% growth from those numbers that would be great, but if as I suspect, there is minimal, zero, or negative growth since 2019, that Thailand is not doing any sort of good job economically as, it seems, almost everywhere else in the world has already recovered their tourists. Thank you to the junta for its dismal and incompetent performance

I agree, I do no mobile banking on phones.

I just bought some air purifiers that have an indicator fro PM 2.5 particles. What is very interesting is that, in this glorious weather I leave the bedroom windows open in the day to freshen the room. The indicators go bonkers, but after one or two hours with the windows closed and the fans on high......the PM readout drops to zero. It's pretty impressive.