b17

21 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Was with my misses family yesterday (police) they muttered something about Prayut, and I said I thought he was doing a great job and how I enjoyed being here ........... they all laughed.

Not my business, I don't really care who's in charge, he's not worse than the people running my country (UK), or the guy running the USA, or Canada or France or Australia/NZ as far as I can see they're all pretty useless and annoying in different ways while lining their own pockets.

 

My kid just finishing University keeps out of it as well, no money to be made from making waves.

 I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem you see appears to be a nail. 

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

1 Million deaths, world population 8 billion.

If it's only managed to kill 1 million in 8 months, it isn't significant.

Any serious pandemic would have already killed 400 million or more.

(Spanish Flu got 5% of the world population, Black Death got 50% of the world population)

 

As for the 'serious impacts later' you've gotta be really stupid to believe that nonsense.

I guess I am one of those that you claim to be  "really stupid" , as the number of people dying from Covid doesn't reflect the extent of the 'serious impacts later' that are very real. I am utilizing data presented in the well known (for non stupid people, at least) Lancet journal, which has just about the best reputation for accuracy within the world of medical data. 

There are two main problems with your logic: 1. Your claim rejects the law of large numbers, and 2. It assumes that one of two things happen; you die or you're 100% fine. For every one person that dies, 19 more require hospitalization, 18 of those will have heart disease for the rest of their life, 10 will have permanent lung damage, 3 will have strokes, and 2 will have neurological damage. 

Clearly, one wonders how people could be so stupid to believe nonsense, but it seems that many people do. 

I cannot offer definitive info on the true state of affairs regarding Covid19 in Thailand, but I can offer anecdotal evidence as my niece is a nurse and has friends who work in several major hospitals in Chiang Rai. According to her, there has NOT been any upswing in people displaying respiratory or other common Covid symptoms getting admitted to hospitals, and I have asked her at least a couple of times a week since last February. 

If there were in fact many people dying of Covid19, I believe we would know about it quickly as people here are so glued to social media. 

So, I believe that imagining that there are many people sick and dying of Covid19 in Thailand is likely untrue, but with the lack of testing, it is near impossible to have a clear picture of the level of asymptomatic cases floating around. 

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond....

Hi everyone

I hope this is an appropriate forum for this subject. I have about five rai of orchard in the Chiang Rai area, and the ground is fairly uneven in parts. Cutting the grass with the shoulder supported cutters takes me days, so I am thinking about buying a lawn tractor. Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent machine?

In spite of the announcement some time back regarding the waving of the requirement to do a 90 day report, I went to the Chiang Rai immigration office yesterday and they processed the 90 day request. The office was nearly empty, and it took less than a minute to get in and out. 

If the 90 day WASN'T expected or required, one wonders why they processed me yesterday. 

I saw an official Thai government notice that people scheduled to do their 90 day report before April 30, 2020 were NOT required to do it due to the Covid19 lockdown, etc....

Am I in error, or have they rescinded this ruling??

45 minutes ago, khunkeith said:

maybe I can just order 50 from Alibaba and sell the here on Thai Visa   ?

Well, I'd buy one. So only 49 left to unload. Bet you could easily find 49 other people on Thai visa alone who would buy one if the price was reasonable. 

5 minutes ago, connda said:

Magsaysay in Olongapo and Bario Barreta PI.  Did have some really fun times there back in the day.  Filipinas were much more fun than their Thai counterparts imho.  Liked the food and culture better too.

You like Filipino food more than Thai food?  That's something I've NEVER heard before - during my three visits to the Philippines, I found the food ATROCIOUS. 

44 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

The ONLY work permitted on retirement extension is as a volunteer for a  government agency or government sanctioned program and you ARE issued a ID card ← that is the work permit, valid for agency or program work ONLY

Not necessarily true - I know someone who has been working for years with a retirement visa. They also have a valid work permit, but their ability to stay in the Kingdom is based on their retirement visa. Actually, they assumed they would need to leave and re-enter Thailand with a "suitable' visa, but this wasn't required. BTW, this person is working in education and has extensive experience and credentials in this area. 

It would be more accurate to say that there are exceptions to the "rule" regarding employment, and that anyone concerned would be advised to test the waters instead of assuming it is impossible. 

" Do you regret marrying your wife? Why/why not? How long have you been married? 

We've been married for 23 years and I have no regrets, although I should add that the first few years were pretty rocky due to so many cultural differences and misunderstandings. Things settled down nicely after a couple of years, and the next decade or so was very, very pleasant while we both beavered away at jobs in Singapore. She actually expressed concern that we weren't getting into any arguments in those days, so we bought two sets of boxing gloves and sparred frequently to get some exercise. 

A few years back, when I attempted to retire, it was soon completely obvious that we weren't prepared to spend 24/7 together. So, I went back to work, and things are now back to 'normal'. After I stop working the next time, I will spend a few hours away daily so as to allow her some space. Hopefully, that scenario, along with our advancing ages, will allow for domestic tranquility.  If not, I'm not sure what will happen. 

Along the way, I think both of us might have learned a few things, including many things already mentioned in this forum. Suffice to say that the suggestion of "taking your time" is a VERY good one - we spent most of a year just getting to know one another as friends before we took things any further. Additionally, I think it's essential that one of you be "jai yen yen' (cool headed) as seemingly trivial situations can easily escalate in the early stages of getting involved. Finally, make a point of sharing a drink and putting down the bloody phones and talking at least a few evenings a week to 'check in' and check the emotional weather. 

I can't comment on the the question of age difference, but I'm older by about four years, although you'd assume my "much better half" to be at least a decade younger. I don't know how Thai women do it, but there must be a lot of aging paintings hidden away somewhere. 

I also had a retirement visa before being offered a teaching job. Assuming I would have to leave the country and re- enter with a Non-B, I booked a hotel in Laos for a couple of nights. As it turned out, the secretary at the school where I am employed told me there was no need for me to leave, and I have received work permits two years in a row, in spite of the fact I am still living here under a retirement visa. 

As this is 'amazing' Thailand, I can only assume that decision about visas are handled on a case by case basis. But, if I were you, I'd ask my future employer to enquire with the Ministry of Education if you could obtain your work visa without having to leave the Kingdom. 

Good luck

I have many English friends that have married Thai women and brought them to live in the UK. I would say the majority worked out very well, bought homes, had children and settled down nicely to live happily ever after. But there were the disaster cases.

Some once they managed to get permanent residence in Britain then deserted their British husbands, getting legal aid for a divorce claiming half the house and alimony. Other Thai wives wanted it all, a British passport, a house, a child and once archived left UK hubby high and dry having to pay the tab and support for the child or children.

what a loser.

Not only is he a loser...he's also a suspected murderer. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/murder-suspect-appeared-kyle-show-2196525

Consider some money in SGD

Asian currency. Reasonable correlation with THB. More stable than THB. Well managed country and economy with decent regulation. If you're sticking money in Singapore only deposits in SGD are covered by their equivalent of deposit protection up to SGD 50k.

SGD 50k is like THB 350k or so. The OP is talking about a few million baht.

The problem is that every major currency is governed by bad monetary policy - and that means huge volitility. I'd go for gold or platinum myself.

Actually, SGD 50k is ....a lot more than 350k

50,000.00 SGD = 1,303,284.27 THB (on June 30 at 3:29 pm)

Sorry but i disagree with previous posters.

Being a teacher these days would challenge anyone to keep their cool;

Many children goad teachers just to see how far they can go.

Only point i agree on, is he should not have hit her head.

When i was a kid ( many many ) years ago, speak or step out of line and wallop you got it.

End of story, you learned to behave, never went home and told parents, or you got more for disrespecting your teacher.

The problem with this many teachers begin to enjoy it....I've seen it and to be honest,this is old school thinking.

discipline starts at home.....

Agreed but all to often discipline doesn't start at home as far too many parents totally abrogate parental responsibilities.

Remember the proposal to start classes on parenting including how to speak to your children !