Lord Toad

I have already decided to upsticks and move: partly because of the value of the £££, partly because I am fed up with visa issues as well as I am not sure what is really going to happen here. I fear certain events could really make LOS unlivable.

I am moving to the Philippines which is much cheaper as Peso 70 to 1£ as well as prices generally lower.

Retirement visa is a one off hoop jumping affair managed by an official agent (in my case a Scot). It means I get a Philippine's ID card and various privileges. The one off cost is $1400, and requires a deposit of $10,000: which is fully refundable upon departure and earns interest.

I know several other Brits are looking at that option.

I am told Malaysia is welcoming as well.

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This was bound to happen in Samui. The Indigenous Thais are greedy and not very bright. They sell land for say 1 million Baht and then 2 years later it is worth 2 million.

Original landowner says “Farang cheat me he not pay enough. I should get my land back, or farang must give me more.”

So the original buyer, farang says words to the effect of sex and travel. So next thing there are all kind of moves against the farang.

Anybody who has lived in Samui with a brain saw this coming 5 years ago

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To clarify what a boycott will do. If under 20% of the electorate, in a single constituency, vote then that result is void. It needs 500 seats out of 500 to vote in a government. So if say 30/50 seats are not filled the whole parliament will be invalid and unable to govern. Nobody quite knows what happens after that!!!!!

But that is the point of the boycott!

Bluntly it could not happen to a better bunch of a...hole

It would serve the Thai's on Samui right if nobody ever went there again!!!!!

I used to live there!

The whole problem in this country is that tax is not relevant to ABV. Chang beer is as much a disgrace as a disaster. It is far too strong and also the cheapest beer. The same can be said of Thai Whiskey and illegal drinks such as home brews should never be allowed on the streets. Just addressing these problems would go a long way to helping the problem: certainly a long way further than these crackpot ideas. If the cheapest beer was at 3.2 ABV it would be drunk and beer at high ABV, especially over 5.5,of should be heavily taxed to discourage sales of that beer. Only then will Thailand have an alcohol policy that makes ant sense in the real world.

More than 13 million vehicles were inspected during the seven-day period--before and after the New Year--which showed that officials and volunteers worked effectively, he said.

That equates to over 77,000 vehicle an hour every your of the 7 days.

Does nobody think about these stories before they say them!!!!

Let that be a lesson to other reporters in thailand to not talk out about police acivities or anything that may effect the businesses of polititians, etc. 

This is not the west.  He did not commit suicide from a high floor for a reason.  It's a warning to other reporters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No it is the wild west.

What you are saying is the country is not safe for people who write stories about what treally goes on. And does anybody in authority care?

No because they like it that way!

/Edit RDN: Quote corrected. Be careful how you cut and paste, Silk123.

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Most replies seem to suggest the Farang does not have a chance but recently I have had 2 friends have rows with Thai wives/girlfriends and the advise to both was not so simple. If he can prove that it is his money and she has put very little or nothing into the property then he has a strong case to either get his money or the house back. Do not write it off go and see a decent lawyer.

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A Samui owner I know had sewage regularly pumped onto the beach by his next door neighbour. The authorities turned up one day and accused my friend of doing it. However after they investigated a little they realised it was his neighbour. But said they could do nothing because he was a Thai from Samui!

The people who come from Samui tend to be sacrosanct as far as most officialdom is concerned. They are not very clever and think of only one thing: money. I know many ludicrous stories of perceived self interest taking the high road against co-operation or giving up an inch of land for services etc. Frankly I hope that there is a small ecological problem of some form on Samui to teach the greedy bastards that money is not every thing and you must look after your enviroment, and indeed your customers!

Oh and my friends sewage problem. He got so enraged one day he went round and grabbed the Thai owner by the throat and told him he would shoot if he did it again. That seemed to work! Although generally that is more likely to get you (a non Samui person) shot on Samui!

looks like it's one time the 'don't have ice in your drink in Asia' advice could be worth something...

I remember when I was in Turkey many years ago I was warned of ice. As a result I never used it unless I was somewhere I knew. I never had all the stomach problems many tourists had: especially soon after they arrived! Ice is a common source of problems and a good sales aid to Imodium!

It is simple this was an accident waiting to happen.

As with everything else ein Samui the locals do what they want and woe betind anyone who tries to stop them.

The police do not enforce the crash helment law and hundreds if not thousands die because of it.

The main concern of the boat woners will now be to stop anybody enforcing capacity regualtions and safty equipment requirements which will be called for.

A few tourists dead does not matter as long as their margins are not affected!

Bluntly you will lose your money. I do not think one person who has replied thinks anything else!

My advice would be to get an apartment and live modestly for a year and look and learn. Watch what is going on!

Certainly keep your powder dry for at least 6 months: what ever the temptation!

Then when you have worked out who is honest and who is not (most) you might be able to feel your way into the market.

What makes you think (logically) that a 2 million Baht investment is going to return 50% per annum! Dream on.

If you know nothing about bars (Is suspect you do not) then it will be an expenisive entry fee. I have 20+ years experience running bars and restaurants in the UK and Europe and I would not touch a Pattaya beer bar with a barge pole!

A couple of points I would like to add.

Firstly backpackers are the top level tourist of tomorrow. Most back packers are university students or similar on a gap year. Give them a good time and they will come back next time as a high earner. Also backpackers save for their trips and are therefore properly funded and will move on when they should.

There are quite a few people who come here to avoid the winter in Europe/US. They are 6 month tourists.

In any event as you can not get citizenship in Thailand (without excessive hoop jumping) we are all a kind of tourist because we are citizens of another country.

I know people who live in Thailand on the UK pension. That is about 30,000 Baht a month. Well below the threshold. But they do no harm and their money is welcome. Many have lived here for years.

Having said that I understand the problems of idiots who come hear with no money and expect to duck and dive to live. Also the problem of the guys who buy a beer bar and live off it with no work permit etc. The silly thing is the Thais know who those people are and do nothing. Instead they hassle the good guys who want to come hang out and enjoy the country doing no harm.

Ideally I would live here 9/10 months a year and spend the rest of my time in Europe or traveling in this region. I now have a retirement visa for convenience but in the past used non im multi entry. As I do a little work (as a writer) I always felt happier on a B visa but can not get one now. I earn no income in Thailand. The work I do is more of a hobby than for remuneration. As to income I have very little: but I do have enough money to live for the rest of my life at a rate I call comfortable! However the point is I seem to be violating the strict interpretation of the Thai immigration law. Although I spend on average 2 million Baht a year in Thailand! If I got hassled I would simply pack up and go live else where. I can: others can not!

And that is the point. The guys with money can walk. Start getting too stupid and restrictive the only ones that with play the game to stay is those that have to: those with out the money!

There is a interesting report from an NGO who has just returned from Phagna

i have just returned after spending nearly 4 days in phangna province.

there are only a few things i am able to say right here now:

the death toll is beyond believe, we estimate somewhere around between 10 000 and 20 000 dead at least, but honestly, it is nearly impossible to put any number to it.

iutrede, with who i was in regular phone contact, has more information on the relatively few survivors. basically, very few seriously injured people, mostly lightly injured, the rest is dead.

the important thing though, for people who are looking for relatives or friends:

i am very sorry, unblelievably sorry, but i have to say it directly. i had to do that countless times in the morgue i have stayed the last four days, and it ain't get easier. if you have not yet heard from your missing poeple, chances are that they are dead. chances are that they will never be found, and never be identified.

a small minority of the corpses were gen swapped, in the morgue dr. pornthip worked. if your dead relatives were brought to wat yan yao in takuapa town, there might be a chance that they can be identified. but they are the minority of the thousands of dead and missing foreigners.

don't go to identify them either now in person, as it is not possible anymore. wait until later, when it is announced if, and where you could submit a gensample.

the basic problem was that during the three most crucial days nobody was there to work except a few hundred rescue volonteers, dr. pornthip, and locals. all these people did an inhuman effort, but of course it was not enough.

nobody else was there - no soldiers, no foreign aid organisations, no equipment other than pure manpower. and nobody who had the capacity to take over the organisation.

one personal request please:

don't ask me any questions, i am not in the physical and mental condition to answer any. i don't know who long it will take until i can digest what i had to witness there.

please spread that post wherever you can.

i am very sorry.

/edit

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Should not be a problem. Just make certain that property you get has a telephone line in place BEFORE you sign or move in. Promises can end up in a misunderstanding..............if you get the gist!

These days not many electricity failiured in most places and internet connection a little slow but normally okay. ISDN is available.

One problem is that hard discs do not last that long 18 months is the max you can rely on. High humidity, heat, dust do not go well with an HD. So make certain you have easy and good back up solution.

I have a somewhat jaundiced view of Samui hospitals although I believed the new Bangkok Hospital is good.

Bandon has long been known as pretty useless went there for a check up and that persuaded me the rumours where true. I think I got a first year med student! They only get patient because sontow drivers etc. are paid to bring in accident victims.

Have been in Samui international twice as an inpatient and many times as an out patient> I though quite okay, but all my out patients visits failed to tell me that I need urgent treatment on my foot. All my friends know that I was in and out 2/3 times a week. When things did not get better went to Bumungrad. They solved the problem: I now have no foot: thanks to Samui International.

So be very careful who and where you go: as until very recently there were not many options. The big problem has been heart attacks: there were no facilities on the island and I know at least one person who died because of that, and the refusal of Bangkok air to let in a medevac aircraft until after regular flying had finished!