Misterwhisper

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Was the overstating Cameron national playing soccer or was he a English teacher.  

Maybe he was the daughter of a late Nigerian tribal chief who wanted you to help "her" retrieve a $200 million fortune in gold bullion "her" dad had stashed away.

Or maybe he was a wealthy industrialist who was desperately looking for a Thai wife with whom he could share his good fortune and whom he would send expensive gifts as a token of his sincerity -- if only the lucky lady would agree to pay the substantial "duties and import taxes" levied on the consignment.

Or perhaps he was a terminally ill millionaire who for some unfathomable reason selected YOU (yes, you, a complete stranger!) to be his sole heir. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Prayuth Chan-o-cha recently announced a 20 year plan to tackle corruption

Does that mean he's intent on....??? Oh, nooooo!!!

By the way: What happened to the first plan to stamp out corruption, which was one of the justifications for Prayuth's coup? Didn't bear any fruit in SEVEN years, did it?

Besides, when I read a headline like "Thai government reiterates commitment to tackling corruption" I cannot help myself but conjuring up other wildly fictional headlines such as...

"Thieves Guild battles on to stamp out burglaries"

"Pedophile ring speaks out against child abuse"

"Mafia organization vows to expand welfare initiatives"

26 minutes ago, RR2020 said:

Vaccinated  tourists have to stay on Phuket island for at least 14 nights & undergo three swab tests, one on the day of arrival, then the sixth day and finally their twelfth day, before they can depart for other destinations in Thailand.

 

And if on any of those tests you test positive.........you will be forced to go to hospital and pay for 14 days lock up in the hospital before you are allowed to then leave..............

 

Sounds like fun...........how many billion people are coming in July ??????????  ????????????????????????????????????

You forgot to mention that by the 12th day the exotic vacation is usually almost over for the vast, vast, vast majority of European and North American visitors. The bulk of them stay for 2 weeks, a smaller proportion plan for 3 weeks, and only a tiny minority can stay for 4 weeks or longer.

Asian tourists' vacation period generally is even shorter. Ten days is already stretching it in most cases. The typical stay of Chinese package tourists at the height of the boom in 2019 was only 6 - 7 days. If that pattern persists, they won't be here anymore when it becomes time for their third swab.  

Please, please stop! I can't take it anymore... this coughing up of seemingly random arrival numbers every few days by various ministries, the TAT, "experts", "analysts" and what not.

Today it's 3 million tourist arrivals.

About 10 days ago it was 8 million.

And then there has been anything in between over the past few months, from 3.5 million to 12 million, and then 15 million and 4 million. And, and, and...

It's like there is a big hat somewhere, filled with hundreds of little paper scraps on which random figures are scribbled; and every ministry and financial research institute is permitted to draw one scrap per week before talking to the press or issuing a statement.

There should be a system in place where people who announce these figures are actually held accountable and punished if their "prognoses" don't materialize.

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

And less than one percent want a Sinovac jab.

No wonder I received an email from a government ministry yesterday, asking me if I were willing to be inoculated with Sinovac "in the very near future". I declined with thanks.

Since Thais don't want it, are they pushing it on foreigners now?

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand has been used as a transit point for drug trafficking because it stands adjacent to the Golden Triangle and has convenient transport networks, said Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Monday.

No, Mr. Somsak.

The reason why Thailand is a major transit point for illegal drugs is because there're a lot of willing people in this country who earn a pretty buck from that trade. And as time has shown again and again, that also includes government officials, as well as police and military.

And you know it!

Okaaaaay... I need to digest that one first. Let's take a look at where I am currently standing, a working foreigner with all the necessary paperwork:

- My income is presently taxed at 25%, applied on my total income and REGARDLESS whether it was generated within Thailand or abroad;

- Every freakin' year I must extend my visa, submitting an ever-growing stack of documents together with my application;

- Also every freakin' year I must extend my work permit, in which the type of work and even the exact place of work is meticulously prescribed. If I work anywhere else or do something else than what is noted in that document, I am committing a crime.

- Every 90 days I have to report my whereabouts like I were a convict out on parole;

- I may not own a single square inch of sacred Thai soil in my own name (and no, I don't like condos).

Now... a "digital nomad" doesn't need a visa, doesn't need a work permit, can purchase a certain amount of land, and pays just 17% tax on income generated WITHIN THAILAND.

You know what? Once that fabulous scheme is put into effect, I'll just declare myself a "digital nomad".

I meet all the preconditions described in the article, save 8% in income tax (or actually much, much more because I hardly earn any income IN Thailand at all; a few thousand baht a year at most). I won't need to bother collating reams of documents to extend my WP and visa (AND in the process save about 10,000 baht in renewal fees). I can come and go as I please and - most importantly - can finally buy a little land plot in my OWN name.

It's win - win - win - win - win all the way through as far as I am concerned. Can't wait for this scheme to kick off!  

1 hour ago, webfact said:

minimum personal income (salary, investment income, etc.) of at least $80,000 per year for the past 2 years or $40,000 per year with a master’s degree or abov

Quite interesting logic. So...

WITHOUT a master's degree one has to earn at least THB80,000.

But WITH a master's degree one only is required to earn THB40,000.

What if one has TWO master degrees? Is that going to half the income requirement again, to only THB20,000 per month?

Now let me guess:

The engineer will be sentenced to 649 years imprisonment -- mostly because he is the most expendable individual of the entire illustrious lot.

The "chief whip" and his endearing wife will go scot-free due to a technicality so they can continue enjoying the fruits of their hard labors.

And as per the other 81 indicted... well, only a handful of the low-level "aides" are going to receive punishment, willingly taking the fall for their respective bosses. 

I annually spend well over 1 million baht here in this country. And have done so for the past 30 years.

But...

I am neither a millionaire, nor

close to retiring, nor

am I a "retired millionaire" (whatever that is), nor

am I involved in stock trading as a digital nomad, nor

am I a university lecturer or professor, nor

do I have a highly sought-after skill set in the industrial sector, nor

do I have $1 million in assets

In other words: I'm screwed again, right?

Another fine example of this illustrious, elitist club that only has the dignity, security and well-being of the nation at its heart, and at great personal sacrifice. What a terrible loss!!! I cannot even express my sadness over the departure of this shining beacon of boundless charity and unending compassion for humankind.