khunPer

20 hours ago, Madgee said:

You hope!

Exactly, only time will show...

On 3/24/2026 at 5:22 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Why ..please tell , why are the ladyboy bars in straight bar areas and not in the gay precincts?

Would they not do good business in the "gay precinct" areas of Pattaya ?

I presume: To make a boring straight sexlife a tiny bit more exciting...

Time has changed. I ended up being the only person standin up for the royal hymn in cinema – me, as the stupid farang – the last two times I've been to cinema I've also kept been sitting, nobody stands up; yesterday was the last. Under Rama IX everybody raised, and should there be an ignorant farang still sitting, others would politely ask that person to stand up.

However, last time – back in July last year – I attended a Muay Thai arrangement, everybody still stod up.

About two anthems, a national and a royal: I'm from Denmark and we also have two songs, both of them with lyrics. There is no law about standing up, but I've never seen people remain seated. New Year's Eve at midnight – when the new year begins – Danish radio- and TV-stations will play the royal hymn, followed by the national hymn and then a psalm. It's common that everybody raise in respekt – even in private homes – and sings along.

On 3/23/2026 at 6:30 PM, connda said:

Soooo, now what? Has anyone here made a Non-Delivery complaint with Lazada before. What did you do and how did it work out.

The delivery person will often snap a photo of the parcel in front of where it is delivered, if it's not delivered by hand.

I once got a messager that a package was delivered, but I hadn't received it. The phote showed the parcel in front of someone elses house, however with same house number, but in a different district/village. I just snapped a photo of my house and house number as proof. Two days later I got my delivery.

I'm not into the tradiotional values life style with a house wife – I've never been married – but a (much) younger than me girlfriend is cool...😎

I found one and when we got a daughter, we had a live in maid and nanny to take care of the house work; another benefit you can hardly afford in a high taxed western country. I moved to Southern Thailand mainly for enjoying all year summer. I decided for an early retirement at 56 and wished to fully enjoy my life, including all the partying I might have missed before...🥳

And I don't mind to cook my own dinner and clear the dishes – I even have a machine for that, but I never use it – it's actually an easy peasy job, I don't need to be married for having that done. And if I wish help for house cleaning, someone coming doing it, might be many fold cheaper than keeping a wife for that purpose. I however still keep my girlfriend – for 22 years and counting – even she don't do traditional house wife jobs, and she don't need to, because that's not the purpose, Our deal is simple: I takes care of her now, and in return she takes care of me when I once get old....👍😉

From PEA (Google translate from Thai):

📣 Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Provincial Electricity Authority, Koh Samui Branch 🏝️
❌ will temporarily interrupt the power supply ❌
💡 for the purpose of upgrading the distribution system ❌⚡️
🗓️ Date: March 27, 2026
🕘 Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
📍 Area: DDE06/71 in front of JD Pools to KMB06WS-112 opposite Yang Nam Furniture
📍 Affected areas: See the link below
[See map below]
🚨🚨 Please note that if the work is completed before the scheduled time, the power will be restored earlier. Therefore, please refrain from working on high-voltage transmission lines. 🚨🚨
🚗🚗 We request the cooperation of motorists to please avoid parking in the work area to ensure smooth, efficient, and safe operation. 🚗🚗
🙏🙏 We apologize for any inconvenience. 🙏🙏

On 3/21/2026 at 3:43 AM, The Cobra said:

Have you found your views on relationships changed since living in Thailand?

Not really. From the beginning I was prepared for that the man – or the masculine part, if it's a more rainbow colored relationship – is the provider; just like it once also was in many, if not all, of our Western home countries.

So, I looked at realtionship with a Thai as kind of mutual win-win "business arangement": I provide, and in return she – for me it's a she – takes care of me in return. With an age difference – I prefers younger women – it might be more like: I take care of you now, and you takes care of me, when I get old.

Only "aber dabei" for me seems to be that my lovely girlfriend, who has managed to stay together with this grumpy old man for 22 years – begins to say that she might get old before me...

Life is too short to get annoyed about dual price – in my biew it's only fair that the nation's population can get in cheap or free, while we foreiogners pays – recalculate to your own Western home country's money, often you wouldn't care about the equivalent to a few hundred baht in foreigner's entrance fee...

On 3/20/2026 at 10:16 PM, Kyoto Kyle said:

If you’re going to fly from Bangkok to Europe in cattle class, and at least one of your flights will be 10-12 hours long, what kind of things do you try to do to make your flight experience more tolerable?

Do you bring a neck pillow or a seat cushion? Your own extra food? Wet wipes in case you want to take a dump on the plane? Your own hoodie to avoid freezing? Your own bottle so that you can fill it up when needed and have plenty of drinking water? Or do you survive on coffee and wine and go the full dehydration route?

I see some people who do absolutely nothing except take a bag of pills after the fasten seatbelt sign goes off, snore nonstop, and then wake up 12 hours later with their head buried on the shoulder of the bloke next to them.

One thing I try to do is stop myself from the temptation of watching too many terrible movies on the flight, ones that I would never watch if I were not stranded in the air for 12 hours. Actually, I bring my laptop so that I can watch a movie or two of my own choosing.

And nothing beats the bliss of great ANC from a pair of high quality blu tooth earbuds to drown out the engine noise. I travel with two pairs so that when the battery dies in the first pair, I can switch to the other while the first one recharges.

I prefers a (non stop) night flight, leaving BKK some time around midnight, preferably THAI. Get a meal meal, perhaps watch a film/perhaps not, sleeps – I bring an inflatable neck suppurt pillow – being waked up for breakfast and lands on destination early morning...👍

On return – i.e., Europe to BKK – I'll take an afternoon flight and same procedure, apart from I normally can keep awake during the whole film...😄

5 hours ago, JimGant said:

I doubt it. They're only interested in foreign ASSESSABLE income remitted to Thailand. And, yes, there is a space for that to be entered. And, I guess, the newer eFiling forms have a space for foreign taxes paid, as a credit, on said income. But including non ASSESSABLE remitted income on an eFile form -- is not doable with the existing forms. Yeah, maybe down the road, the RD may want to see all your foreign income, at least the amounts remitted to Thailand -- with an explanation of why or why not such income is assessable. But we're not there yet.

And the beauty of eFiling is -- no personal contact with Thai RD folks (unless, horrors -- such filers are now getting requests for more information about their remittances).

You only quoted half, you forgot this part:

"Others have mentioned that it depends on the DTA. For example, if a retirement pension can only be taxed in one's home country, you shall not file a tax return, if you have no other taxable income; they are referring to the detailed regulations/law. I cannot say which is the right way to do it."

5 hours ago, JimGant said:

What revenue office is that? With my LTR visa, latest guidance says no tax filing required. And even without an LTR visa -- my remittances are mostly DTA exempt income, and not enough to meet taxable requirements.

Surat Thani Province, Samui Branch – your DTA might give you special tax-benefits.

Info from PEA:

📣Due to the regional electrification of Koh Samui branch🏝️
❌There is a need to temporarily ban electricity❌
💡To improve the sales system ❌⚡️
🗓️On 25 March 2569
เวลาTime 08.30 AM - 17.00 p.m.
📍 Area of Samui 2 station, river-in front of Phra Lan (sea side)
📍Areas affected by power outage. Follow the link.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit...
🚨🚨Steam. If the work is completed before the schedule, I will pay for the electricity current first. So please don't operate on high voltage transmitter. 🚨🚨
🚗🚗Cooperation, car users. Please avoid parking near the work area for faster and safe operation 🚗🚗
🙏🙏 Sorry for any inconvenient matter 🙏🙏

📣เนื่องด้วยการไฟฟ้าส่วนภูมิภาคสาขาเกาะสมุย🏝️
❌มีความจำเป็นต้องงดจ่ายกระแสไฟฟ้าชั่วคราว❌
💡เพื่อปรับปรุงระบบจำหน่าย ❌⚡️
🗓️วันที่ 25 มีนาคม 2569
🕘เวลา 08.30 น. - 17.00 น.
📍 บริเวณ สถานีสมุย2 แม่น้ำ-หน้าพระลาน (ฝั่งทะเล)
📍พื้นที่ได้รับผลกระทบจากการงดจ่ายไฟ ตามลิงก์
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit...
🚨🚨อนึ่ง หากการปฏิบัติงานแล้วเสร็จก่อนกำหนด ก็จะจ่ายกระแสไฟฟ้าให้ก่อน จึงขออย่าได้ปฏิบัติงานเกี่ยวกับสายส่งไฟฟ้าแรงสูงเป็นอันขาด 🚨🚨
🚗🚗ขอความร่วมมือผู้ใช้รถ โปรดหลีกเลี่ยงการจอดรถบริเวณ พื้นที่ปฏิบัติงานเพื่อการปฏิบัติงานได้อย่างสะดวกรวดเร็วและปลอดภัย🚗🚗
🙏🙏 ขออภัยในความไม่สะดวก🙏🙏

Samui: Only the first day people were hoarding fuel, since then "no problems", fuel enough and no queue-lines. Don't panic, the government says there is enough for about 3 months, and they begin to fins supplies from other sources than the Middle East.

Fairly easy for me. The password not allowed copy/paste thing is a protection for misuse. I write my password in my password file first – then it's visible for me at all time, using the requested capital letter, number and special sign – and then rewrite it in whatever system I'm creating an account with. I use Google-Chrome for eFiling and set first page to translate to English; all following pages then appeared in English language. Only thing not working as English is the roll down menues. Not that big a problem: I roll it down, take a screen print of the Thai text in the menu only and paste it in Google image-translate – vupti, I get the roll down menu in whatever language I've chose...

21 hours ago, MonoXimian said:

Hi

Im about to buy a home in Hua Hin for my long term gf and myself but I want to have a usufruct so that I am relatively protected. I read somewhere that its best to have this additional information printed out and added to the chanote on the day we buy. Estate Agent suggests it might be difficult due to the crackdown on nominees. He suggests I buy the house and come back another day to do the usufruct (without him). This doesnt sound beneficial to me.

Does anyone have any advice or experience to offer as to what would be the best way forward

Thank you

Mono

Sometimes it can be difficult to obtain an usufruct on a property that is mainly a house as home – usufruct is ment as a right to harvets the fruits on the land – nother similar, but rarely mentioned option, is a "habitation right":

«The grantee of the right of habitation does not pay rent to the grantor. If there is rental payment made, the matter becomes a tenancy. A right of habitation may be created for either a specific period of time or for the lifetime of the grantee. In case the rights are granted for a specific time period, the law states that such a period may not exceed 30 years; if a longer period is fixed, it shall be enforceable for only 30 years. The grant may be renewed for a period not exceeding 30 years from the time of renewal. Lastly, the right of habitation is not transferable by way of inheritance.»

Read more here:

https://www.samuiforsale.com/real-rights/habitation-property-rights.html

On 3/11/2026 at 2:34 PM, SoCal1990 said:

What I find humorous is how often you see them lying around, left behind in random places. On a table in a cafe. On a bench somewhere. At the gym next to a treadmill. By a sink in a public bathroom. It often looks like someone absent mindedly set it down after a quick nasal tune up and buggered off.

Not "absent mindedly", but might rather be polite sharing with someone – I presume you never been kindly offered a sniff from someone else's inhaler...

On 3/11/2026 at 6:44 PM, GammaGlobulin said:

Have you ever wondered why grid-related power outages are extremely rare during evening hours, while PEA workers are asleep?

It does, more often than during daytime where I live – can I from OP conclude that PEA workers sleep at day in my area...

On 3/12/2026 at 5:28 AM, mania said:

I pretty much have my mind made up but wanted to ask what most think

We use to live in Thailand for 5 years on marriage visa extension 2012 -2017

We moved back to USA & are moving back to Thailand in May permanently

I can go either way but am thinking it is infinitely easier to use Retirement rather than the 50% cheaper marriage visa paper work wise

I also think although I will lose interest at this time by keeping 800k in Thailand it serves a dual purpose even for emergencies. (I of course will have more but )

Since I have only ever done the somewhat complicated marriage extension I wanted to hear form retirement extension guys that it is way easier right?

Thanks!

Yes, easier paperwork and immikgration control. If you keep the 800k baht in a fixed account – for example 12-months – you get best bank interest, which you can withdraw once a year, so you always have a clean 800k baht balance. Interest rate can be around 1.5% p.a. minus 15% withheld tax.

I've been using retirement extension for m18 years. I've been writing off my 800k baht as price for my prolonged stay in Land-of-Smiles, and deposit the paid interest in a separate "rainy day account", so I have extra access to fund, should something unexpected happen. In time the funds can – with help from interest's interest – grow to an useable amount for unforseen iuncidents.

March 14th, Saturday, Lamai Beach: Carabao concert...

MUSIC ON THE BEACH 4

charity concert

Lamai Beach, Phor Ta Suk Pavilion.

14 March 2026

Tickets at the door cost 300 baht.

On 3/8/2026 at 10:38 PM, american_boy said:

Are most girls in pattaya freelancers?

Probably...

On 3/9/2026 at 9:23 PM, FriscoKid said:

I have been thinking about this because I know a few guys whose situations all look a bit similar. When they first got married their wives were working and life seemed pretty good. Two incomes and a future that appeared reasonably comfortable. But over the years things changed a bit. The wives lost their jobs for one reason or another and never really went back to work. Became housewives, for lack of a better word. Now the household income has simply become a single income, and in all the cases I've seen the husband is not exactly rolling in money.

None of these guys are broke, but they are definitely not in the position they expected to be in either. Now they are the sole earners, taking on the entire financial load of two people with a future where retirement might come much later than they once expected. On top of that, the marriages themselves do not exactly look full of energy or connection anymore. They have been together for quite a long time. There are no kids involved, and from the outside it rather looks like the relationship has slowly shifted into something more like convenience and familiarity rather than a strong and caring partnership.

So it raises a serious question. If a guy ends up in a situation where he is doing all the earning, the marriage has lost much of its spark, and there are no children holding the situation together, what is the practical reason for the man to stay in that situation? I wonder if they would actually be better off their own, both financially and personally.

Everyone is different and people have their own reasons for the choices they make, but when you see the same pattern repeating itself a few times, you start to wonder why nobody ever seems willing to question whether the situation they are in still makes sense.

I presume you talk about the West. In Thailand a woman's mind is more like: "If a man cannot provide, why do I need him?" And yes, Ido hear Thai ladies say that. So, it also was in old time in the West – and in some cases it still is. It seems like a Western man's saying today should be: "If a woman cannot help financially to provide to the household, and our children has grown up, why do I need her?"

A number of men moves to Thailand – some after divorcing a Western spouse, who might even have got half of the estate before she left – and find a local lady, get her to stop working and move in, and then provides for her.

In both cases, isn't it a question of care and shared compagnenship? Isn't a marriage based on more than two incomes to provide for a family? Shouldn't it rather taking care of each other? And when a man ends up in Thailand – often with a bit young, or very younger, spouse or girlfriend – isn't that based on mutually care, which could be an agreement like: I take care of you financially now, and when I get old, then you takes care of me.

In the old-time way of thinking a marriage was a kind of mutual protection – the man as provider, the wife as caretaker of children, when small, and home – which could be viewed as a financial agreement. In my home country they talked about "marriage of convenience" – and if a man is a good provider, then love follows – seems like it still is like that in Thailand.

In a way I also understand well, why more nad more prople wish to be singles – it works fine in Western countries where there is a poublich health care and ditto for old people – but when a Western man (or woman) is migrating to Thailand, where you are on your own, you mighht however need a live-in younger partner to take care of you; even if you have to pay for it. Some can however manage it with a housekeeper, and keep their freedom – which might even be cheaper than having a spouse...

On 3/9/2026 at 12:24 AM, SoCal1990 said:

Most of the soapy diehards are older guys who have quietly run out of enjoyable things to do.

Luckily, "grumpy old man" is an excellent solution, when you reach this point on your life-line...

@PoorSucker , do you have any experience you can share?

7 hours ago, CallumWK said:

I may be mistaken here, but I thought to have read in the past that if you get your O-A visa in an embassy abroad, you can use money in the bank in your home country.
Does that change when you extend that visa?

Yes, when you extend your stay it is almost same conditions as when you have a normal non-immigrant O-type visa – "almost", the difference is a that you also needs a proven health insurance when extending an O-A stay, just like when you obtained the original visa – financial requirements are however the same as nor non-O.

The benefit with an O-A visa is when you are not planning a very long stay in Thailand and wish to keep fund in your home country – you might be snowbird, as some of my friends that use an O-A to around half a year's stay – and if not extending the stay the visa expires one year after issue. You can obtain a new O-A and continue that way, but you need to leave Thailand, apply for a new visa and re-enter.