abrahamzvi

16 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Its an interesting question. I am moving to LOS to retire in the next 3 weeks, at the age of 69. It has been in my thoughts certainly. I will no doubt grow older and probably die in Thailand, but I refuse point blank to worry about it, allow it to impact my thought in my new life, or make me pay the stupid insurance rates on offer for health cover. I am fit, probably very fit for my age, I look after myself and I will continue to do that as my part in the game of life. I do have sufficient funds for major health issues, but whether I use them or not is an issue for me. I guess I accepted that living in Thailand just means I never will have the medical cover that I had/have in the UK and I guess that's fine for me. Better that than live in a cold inhospitable climate with miserable people around me, just on the off chance that I will need the NHS sometime. 

Only one correction from an expatriate who has been happily living here for over 15 years. The medical service and quality is by far better than the one offered by the NHS,  The international private hospitals offer a quality equal at least to the one offered in Harley Street clinics, as a matter of fact some of the physicians in such hospitals were trained by and/or worked for Harley Street hospitals. Others have been trained in the US and Germany by top hospitals and universities, I am over 70 and have had some bad health problems. I am just recovering now from a complicated hip operation, and I am happy to say that I very much doubt that I would get the same medical service and attention, which I have been receiving from the Bangkok Hospitals in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. If one has the financial means - insurance or own funds - one can rely here on a first class medical service, alebeit not cheap, although very reasonable compared to medical charges in most western countries

3 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

No it doesn't bother me on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis. Fortunately I've got it covered, but in a general way I do feel concern for the number of older expats here who are in denial about what could happen to them. And actually that concern extends to many younger expats and tourists who seem to think they are invulnerable to sudden illness or accident.

 

The best strategy is to have insurance or set aside some money in an account that you don't touch as a form of self-insurance. If neither is possible, you may have to reconsider whether your continued stay here is a good idea, especially if you would have insurance coverage in your home country. As painful as it may seem to do something now when you are reasonably healthy and have choices, it will be far worse to wait until you're left with no realistic options.

 

It's an unfortunate reality that once you get into your 60's or older, you will almost certainly have increased medical expenses even if you don't have some major event to deal with. Worrying about it or keeping your fingers crossed isn't a useful strategy. 

A very good advice and warning!!!

2 hours ago, yankee99 said:

"She said that 10,000 are expected in town for the marathon on July 16th and 300-400 of those would be those quality Chinese she spoke of."

 

.4% are quality and 99.6% are zero dollar.

 

It is really easy to twist words and misconstrue whole sentences!

14 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Or plain old propping up of the currency, Australian dollar is way down as well.

I am cynical enough to think a big import or export is happening this month.

What you are saying is all correct. However, the exchange rates are greatly influenced by the factor psychology, which at times overshadows all,other material factors.

On 5/27/2017 at 8:50 PM, vogie said:

You are spot on Clive, if Labour get in I estimate 1baht to 1 pound.

The mad communist Corbyn 

On 5/27/2017 at 8:50 PM, vogie said:

You are spot on Clive, if Labour get in I estimate 1baht to 1 pound.

The mad communist Corbyn will never win the elections. Labour will be Lucky if it gets 100 seats in Westminster.

As far as the value of the Pound is concerned, the markets are worried about a hard Brexit and are selling Sterling. In addition the Thai Baht has recently gained in value against the $, € and other currencies.

As far as the future is concerned I personally am quite pessimistic regarding the Pound, but I may be wrong, hopefully....

Mobi, I am afraid I have not followed TV for that long and therefore haven't come across your blogs and articles. However, your story seems to be very interesting indeed and I have therefore turned to Amazon to look for your book "A Lust for Life". Fortunately or unfortunately, there are quite a number of books by that name at Amazon, written by authors whose names are unknown to me. Can you tell us which "Lust for life" and written by whom (author's - your name, or..) you mean. Many thanks and 

Best of Luck in the next stage of your life, which undoubtedly will be as interesting as the previous ones...

56 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Samsung customer service is not good. They say you have to take the phone to a service centre. Thats a 3 hr drive in this case. Only after insistance and strong complaint to a Manager, they agreed to accept it by post.

They have to inspect it, make a report, send that to Bangkok, await paperwork decision back from Bangkok and then if authorised supply a new phone. Expected time-scale 3-4 weeks !!! Amazing Thailand.

I agree regarding Samsung, but please don't blame Thailand. There are others in Thailand whose service is absolutely excellent. One of them is Apple with whom the experience I have been having for the last few years, is fast, efficient and all are most curteous! Acer and Asus are also not bad.

7 hours ago, humqdpf said:

Orban knows that he can make a lot of noise if he wants but that the EU countries that are in good economic shape and a main source of funds (located mainly in Western Europe) would be quite happy to shed the burden of having to carry some of those Eastern European states, some of whose governments are an embarrassment to the EU.

 

It is also noticeable that the EU managed to get all 26 EU states to agree the Brexit strategy in advance without a single hint of a leak to the press. Now that is quite an achievement for those who like to take a swipe at the EU.

 

I an unabashedly a pro-EU even though I am not in favour of the democratic deficit with respect to the EU Commission - but remember, it is each EU government, mine and yours (if you are from an EU state) who engineered it that way so as to keep their own sovereign rights and be able to directly appoint commissioners.

 

No wars between EU countries in 60 years - that is a first in over a 1,000 years! Fantastic trade leverage providing great wealth generation. Yes, there is very uneven economic growth but this is because individual states have kept to themselves certain powers over the running of their own economies.

 

And there is an alternative that our British chums are about to experience. Good luck with that experiment - when you see just about every British person who can acquiring an Irish passport (including recently the former British Ambassador to Ireland!), you have to wonder whether they know something that you as a Brexiteer don't know.

How right you are! And may I add that our great hope is a Untied States of Europe. All of us, whilst keeping and adhering to our cultures will be part of a great state with a great economy and political power. Even the "Brexiters" my wish to rejoin...

13 hours ago, Hal65 said:

I haven't. What countries because those in the EU are strugging?

 

Thinking about this as I write, I think this is a non-influential factor since the Thai tourism numbers are climbing. So the presupposition that weak global economy = less tourism in Thailand is incorrect.

It is not the number of tourists that has been reducing, on the contrary, it has been on the increase. It is the nature of tourists that has changed. It is the less affluent, that travel more and naturally spend less. And there are other factors, like traveling as singles, in groups, couples etc. All such factors play a pivotal role in the tourism industry.

14 hours ago, the guest said:

If the government was smart, it would make it compulsory for all foreigners to have full insurance before a visa would be granted. It solves a lot of problems.

Why can't Thailand adopt the same procedure like the EU countries and many other countries in the world, insisting on tourists proving having medical insurance before being allowed in. This would be in the interest of Thailand as well as that of the tourists. They would know that in case of accident or illness they would enjoy one of the best medical treatment available worldwide.

On 4/16/2017 at 2:05 PM, PomPolo said:

 

Completely fair - and I am changing my attitude a lot, but I do love the country and don't want to become cynical, bitter and twisted towards any future relationship, I love the country and the people and am trying my best not to let my relationship experiences reflect on my opinion of what is my favourite country in the world.

There are many reasons to love Thailand. I most certainly do. You have been very unlucky and to a certain degree too gullible. But, believe me that there are many very decent , nice and honest Thai ladies. I have been happily married to one for nearly 30 years and I do know quite a few mixed couples living happily together in Thailand and other countries. Don't stop seeing Thai ladies as you may think that all are like the 3 you have experienced. Just be more careful and patient.

3 hours ago, irwinfc said:

says the guy who did absolutely nothing to improve the political landscape during his tenure. politicians are indeed hypocrites to the bone!

Quite frankly, I don't think you know what you are talking about. This honest politician did do his best, but was unsuccessful against an evil and very powerful "Red Movement" . He is by no means perfect, but he is one of the better ones and he did try!

5 hours ago, Kabula said:

What is the name of the bank?

I bank with USB in NY, but what Bill Miller says above makes me think that even the $25per transfer is excessive. 

2 hours ago, Kabula said:

I call my bank in the U.S. as soon as it opens to confirm the online, wire order I submitted with a copy of my passport and the funds are received in my Thai bank the next day between 10 am and noon.

 

I've been doing it for many years.

 

The charge is $50.  I send U.S. Dollars to Thailand and let them exchange the funds as it is cheaper.

The charge of $50 is excessive. I pay in he US $25 irrespective of the amount involved.

I can't speak for all banks, either in Thailand or overseas, but far as my experience with the Bangkok Bank is concerned, it very rarely takes more than 24 hours for moneys from overseas (US and EU) to be credited to my account.

10 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

He would be dead without me thinking twice

I seem to be the only one against the death penalty. Of course, I would tend to kill the bastard if the victim was my mother, wife, or daughter, sister. However, I think I would still restrain myself. The only instance where killing another person can be justified is in self defence, or trying to defend another person and there is no other way. Let me ask you all a simple question: doesn't stealing from a thief make you a thief? Isn't lynching a criminal offense? So why should a state be allowed to take a person's life,  even if he/she is an awful criminal? Only God who has given us life can take it from us. This my deepest belief and conviction!

6 minutes ago, KKr said:

sicko, anyone against death penalty here ?
1, 2, 3, gone.

Yes, I am against Death Penalty under ANY circumstances. Capital punishment is a legal murder.

I fully agree hat this is an awful and most disgusting crime, for which the perpetrator should be severely punished to protect the society from him. He should spend the rest of his life in a closed institute (prison or a mental refuge) and preferably with hard labour. Anything to punish this psycho and protect the society, but NOT, repeat NOT, legal murder.

4 hours ago, Happyman58 said:

 

Maybe she been watching Thais do it that so she thought " what is good for the goose is good for the gander" Lol

What an arrogant and ignorant response!

17 hours ago, Berkshire said:

[“We asked Ms Grunewald to step out of the vehicle but she wouldn’t and continued to talk on the phone,” he said.

“After 15 minutes she finally came out of the car...]

 

These cops were pretty darn patient.  If this had happened in the USA, things would have gotten extremely unpleasant for Ms. Grunewald. 
 

Things would have gotten extremely unpleasant for the lady even in her own country, Germany

On 3/20/2017 at 2:27 PM, SiamBeast said:

I'm planning on taking my Thai wife to vacation in Europe for 2 weeks at the end of April.

 

She doesn't have a Shengen visa, but last year, I did the citizenship by investment programs in Antigua & Barbuda and in Grenada, granting her 2 additional passports as "spouse of principal applicant" - so she has now 3 passports, and may now travel to Canada / Europe / China at will without needing a visa anymore.

 

I know that Thai immigration is not particularly keen on Thais having 2 nationalities, let alone 3.  I found several threads on Thaivisa with people contradicting each other regarding this.

 

We plan on showing her Antiguan passport to the airline check-in staff to be allowed boarding, then using her Thai passport to exit the country, using Antiguan passport to enter & exit Spain, and Thai passport to re-enter Thailand. Therefore, she will only show her Thai passport to Thai immigration staff.

 

Is this likely to cause any issues at all?

Can you kindly let me know by message what getting the citizenships mentioned by you involves. I would be very interested in getting it for my Thai wife. It could make traveling easier. Many thanks indeed.

2 hours ago, Crocbait said:

I think that you will find that it is International. Have immigration counter to the left after you walk through x-ray.

Book bags to destination...but only if you are using the same airline i.e AirAsia

The same applies to immigration and luggage if you fly other airlines than AirAsia. I suppose it is a special arrangement for air Asia.

It would be of great improvement if Khon Kaen airport could be advanced to an International one, like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and others. Presently if one wants to fly to Khon Kaen from outside Thailand, one has to collect ones luggage in Bangkok and recheck in to Khon Kaen, which makes the procedure rather inconvenient.

2 hours ago, biplanebluey said:

I've been here 10 yrs too and when I mention coming back to NZ (KatiKati) to my mates over there they put me off with rising prices----cars houses food---- so I think I stay where I am,and I am happy

Let's face it, the whole world has changed in the last 10-20 years. It doesn't matter where you are or where you go to, it's different world. People, particularly younger ones, but also middle aged, behave differently, dress differently and with the new means of communication, the world is changing rapidly. Look around, wherever you go and at times , I am sure, you will feel you live in a different, better or worse, world. I am not young and at times I wish I were 10-15 years younger, but then when I look around, I say to myself, thanks God I'm my age, as this is really not a world I could or would want to be younger in.

People can and should exercise their religions at home and should not exhibit these in public. I have no objection to people wearing crosses, Stars of David or other insignia  indicating a religious belief, but I feel that otherwise nothing further should be demonstrated in public. This applies to all religions with the exception, of course, of people exercising duties in their religions, i.e. Monks, priests, Rabbis Imams etc.

1 hour ago, themerg said:

Hey !!!! Yes, rains and hails is incorrect, BUT, the languages in this country is Thai, not English.

Thai people do not have to speak English properly. They are doing it as A Respectful Favor to Us Farangs.

There is nothing wrong, as a matter of fact it is right, to point out incorrect usage of words or sentences in a foreign language. Nobody is doing a favour to anybody by learning a second, foreign language properly, in particular a language universally used as a second language, such as English.