FarangFB

Relatively yes, it does. Most of the other 3rd world countries are in a more volatile situation, including pretty much every African country.

There are many cons of living here but I can't think anywhere else in the world that would be better for me (and family). Everywhere else has some or many of these problems: - Overregulated - Wild Karens - Imminence of war - Very unstable government - Dangerous crimes, gunpoint robberies etc - Exploding homeless populations taking over entire neighborhoods - Major drug usage issues - Islamic laws - Population with dangerous conflicts about ethnical/religious differences - Super expensive - Unbearable heat (like 10-15 degrees hotter than Thai summer) - Very unwelcoming to foreigners - Can't get by with only English - Severe lack of infrastructure As far as I know, Thailand is the only country that isn't plagued by any of these. There are of course other problems like corruption, stray dogs, road accidents, etc but it's still the number one place I can think of.

That's good to read, what did she study?

Yes I understand, I was just perplexed at the discrepancy between this one and the other post stating 15k/semester.

Ok I'm still a bit lost, so according to these 2 posts just for the university it could cost between 15k and 604k?? (daughter is Thai btw) That's a HUGE difference.

My daughter is almost done with school and will move on to a university, she wants to join a Medical school in Bangkok (or perhaps another nearby area if good) I tried looking their websites for pricing and the numbers there are too vague, does anyone have an idea of how much it would cost me per month/year? Hope they have a dorm on campus too because she'll be staying in Bangkok. Doesn't need to be the best one, just something on the top 10.

This one happened to a friend about 12 years ago in the era of portable digital cameras. He bought a camera and when recording videos at night, there would be some weird vertical light lines in the video. He took it back to the shop, and their solution was "make videos during daytime only sir"

Another one I remembered, but this one happens when booking hotels online: - Room but no breakfast - 2000b - Same room and FREE breakfast - 3000b

Just remembered another one from a high end furniture store: There was a nice display cabinet there for an attractive price (around 4000b), but it had some damage on the side. I asked the seller if that was the one being sold and she said no, that I would get a new one (she checked computer to make sure). I happily paid, and next day she calls and says "sorry mister no have in stock but you can have the one from the shop (damaged)". So far understandable, someone made a stock control mistake. However, I didn't want the damaged one and when I asked for the money back she said it needs to wait 30 business days. At this point I started to boil internally, it was absolutely THEIR mistake. I kept the rage inside and just converted this money in store credit I used to buy something else, but damn.

I won't name the shops here because it could backfire. I don't know if I'm unlucky with but here a few of my experiences in some of the largest brands for shops that sell furniture and home appliances: 1- Tried to by a pillow once. There was big basket there with a huge number 399.- but I noticed the pillow looked a bit too fancy. Anyway, took it to the cashier and it was around 1,500b. I apologized, went back inside and assumed that the 399b pillow was the other one next to it (still in the same basket). A lot less fancy, but still looked like worth it. This time I asked to confirm the price with an employee that was around, and she told me the price was 799b. I asked her to go look at the basket with me and point out which one of the pillows in there was 399b. She said "sorry mister not have 399b finish". 2- Same shop, tried to buy an electric drill. I was going for a Makita or Black & Decker - they were both on display, but I couldn't buy them without potentially resorting to (verbal) violence. The employee next to me was acting like his life depended on selling me a drill from this Chinese brand (I don't recall the name now) which I never heard of. I insisted that I wanted one of those 2 brands and he simply wouldn't let me take it, trying to give me whatever reason he could to convince me that the Chinese brand was better/cheaper. I gave up and bought it elsewhere. 3- Another shop, trying to buy myself a small refrigerator. Looked around, I saw one I liked and asked the lady if they had it on stock. She said "yes have but not this color". I said no problem, let's go to the cashier and I'll take it. Then she said it had to be delivered next day, and I said I could fit it in the car. Turned out they didn't actually have it in stock and the fridge was in another branch about 10min drive from there. She wasn't happy when I said I would go buy at this other branch. Drove there, and unsurprisingly they didn't have it on stock too. 4- This one happened today and drove me to write this post: tried to buy some bedroom furniture. I saw an item that I'd say would be worth 3-4k maximum. The seller said 8900b, then I asked if he had any cheaper ones - he said that was the cheapest one in the shop and he immediately pulled his calculator and typed 7400b - special price for me. I said I'd check around and come back, then as I was walking away he ran after me and came with a different amount: 6200b. Got some really bad eyes from the guy when I refused. Now this is bull****, I understand the inflating and haggling thing if I'm buying a fake watch from a street vendor, but I'm at one of the main department stores in the country, can I PLEASE get a price tag with the correct price for the product? I'm already buying 90% of my furniture/appliances on the internet, and experiences like these are really pushing me towards 100%. I don't know if it's because I'm 40 and transitioning into a grumpy old fart, or are these shops really out of line with their services and inflating prices at will?

I'm almost sure he meant 60-100,000 but forgot the last zero. (see he put a coma like this 100,00)

Try being on your early 20s with only a basic education from some school in the middle of nowhere and no qualification to do almost anything. On top of everything be lazy too and refuse to work more than 2-3h a day. Now go make 60-100k in a month. If this isn't called working smart I don't know what the word is.

Very common, a friend moved to a house here and all the windows and doors have these grills, and all of them simply kept in place by like 6 very common screws.

What many westerns don't realize is that in many cases Thai people have more money than them. Go to high end places in Bangkok and Pattaya. They're very busy, often can't get a seat in a luxury restaurant if you don't book in advance. Look around in the streets and you can see Porsches and Benz (which are already overpriced by over 200% here). Over 95% of these owned by Thai people. Depending on where you go Lambos and Ferraris can be seen too and they can cost around a million USD here. High end supermarkets doing very well, Thais love high end products and some western food. Korean/Japanese strawberries and grapes at over 1000b for a small box, and they get sold. I won't even mention the girls. The time of being seen as a "wealthy" farang with your retirement is behind you. You can still get by but you'll need to be careful with your expenses and avoid certain places. The reality is that perhaps 20% of Thai people are way wealthier than you and this number is increasing.

Is a person with a Thailand Pass (from early Dec) for a Sandbox arriving in Pattaya on the 12th this month ok? All the data I found about the changes only addresses the people on Test and Go that should be good until the 15th. I couldn't find any reference to the people on the Non-Phuket sandbox programme.

Please help me out I’m a bit lost with the rules for previously issued Thailand Pass and Blue Zone. A relative is coming from Brazil on Jan 12 under the blue programme (Brazil is not from the 45 countries on the list for test & go). The Thailandpass was obtained in Mid December just before they changed it. Blue Zone, selected the hotel from the list (Sha Extra+) and from what I understood - test on day 1 and then stay 7 days without leaving the Pattaya area (but not locked up) and finally free to travel the country after a second test. Today I went to the hotel to confirm everything but they seem quite lost, they’re saying they’re a test and go only hotel but not AQ (although we didn’t book for AQ anyway). The manager looked confused between AQ and Blue Zone, that's why I am asking here. I've looked everywhere and I can't find much about Blue Zone arrivals, but it seems those who got the Thailand Pass in time can still stay on the agreed scheme if arriving before Jan 15th. Assuming the Thailand Pass was already approved and issued, and the visitor arrives on Jan 12th, is everything ok? Just one day locked in hotel until the test results, then can go around Pattaya without leaving the area?

Funny, I find none of these the most annoying. To me the most annoying is when I indicate properly like before a turn and the motorbikes proceed to pass me on the side I am going to turn, completely ignoring my signal and positioning themselves right on the blind spot. I never hit any but one day I'm gonna get old and not so nimble.

A few years ago Pattaya police announced a 5k or 10k reward for reporting illegal objects on the street blocking public parking spots - chairs, trash cans, private cones. I really felt tempted to do it, I could find easily 10+ offenders near my house, but my cautious side told me not to. Needless to say, those damn objects continued to block the spots and nothing changed. I wonder if anyone actually reported. One time I actually managed to squeeze my car right between 2 large plastic bottles, one Thai guy wasn't happy about it and started shouting and kicking the bottles.

And Rio was way safer back in the 80s when Rooster had his experience. Brazil might look appealing from afar, but once you're in there you will have to deal with lots of issues that you never had to worry about in Thailand. - Crime. Not just a petty snatch theft, but actual life threating (knife/gun) situations and even kidnapping. Criminals there will study your routine and find the best moment/place to act. - Inefficiency/bureaucracy . Thought some Thai govt offices are slow and difficult? Now imagine them being a lot more slow, unwilling, grumpy and zero English. On top of everything the places are more crowded, harder to park and much longer queues. - Renting a property is a legal nightmare. Brazilian law gives the tenant too many rights (almost impossible to evict someone in the short term) and it forces landlords to demand contracts that have difficult requirements even if you're a Brazilian with a job. They usually require a "fiador" which is a person that will be responsible for paying if you default. - Slow service and unwillingness to sell. Some supermarkets for example, huge lines at the counters and the cashiers working snail-paced. Or going to a clothes shop and the seller talks to you like you're being a nuisance. I took a Thai lady to Brazil and she was amazed in a clothes shop and told me "look like this lady not want to sell to us" - Traffic. Large cities such as Rio and Sao Paulo will have traffic congestions every day of the week, maybe except Sundays. Imagine the Bangkok traffic but with more bitter people, aggressive bikers (don't even dream of hitting one accidentally), beggars and the occasional crime as well if you're not in a bulletproof car. - Society parasites: be hassled and ripped off in every corner. In Sao Paulo for example, be ready to pay the watcher (flanelinha) upfront if you park your car on a PUBLIC street to protect your car from himself. But even paying him doesn't mean he will be responsible for anything if someone else messes up your car. - Large areas of main cities are off-limits. Rio has absolutely massive favelas that can neighbour high end areas, one wrong turn and you're taking serious risks, some favelas are guarded by teenagers with rifles that might shoot anything looking suspicious like a lost car with a gps-induced route mistake. Sao Paulo has less favelas but a large portion of the city center looks like a zombie apocalypse movie, with drug addicted people and armed dealers literally blocking many roads. They wont shoot you on sight because you might be a buyer, but not a pleasant sight (google cracolandia). - some things are crazy expensive. For example electronics, try to buy an iphone and you'll see that it's the most expensive in the world. Brazil has it's plus side also, there are nice places, beautiful beaches, excellent resorts and the food is amazing, nowhere in the world the pizza is as good as in Sao Paulo, and from Sao Paulo you can drive a couple hours to the north and enjoy a weekend with a cool mountain climate or to the south and have a beach. People can be very nice if you're in the right circles. The currency is ruined making it quite cheap for foreigners.

The advertised speed is 1000, I'm getting 200. My tested download speeds: - My house: 150Mbps - Big C Central Pattaya - 150Mbps - Intersection Klang/3rd - 300Mbps - Terminal21 next to the true shop - 40Mbps (!!!) - Intersection North/3rd - 500Mbps 1- Yes they are 2- Iphone 13 Pro 3- Definitely not, but I am paying for 1Gbps and I'm in the mood for complaining.

I understand variations but when my download is under 25% of the advertised speed and upload is 3% then it's a problem regardless of the time. I'd understand half speed but if I'm paying a top 1199b/month plan I should be getting more than the 4G I used to pay 1890b/year.

I just got a truemove 1Gbps 5G to replace the old 4G, and I can barely tell the difference. If anything, it's slower. Speedtest on my 5G gives me 200Mbps download and 30Mbps upload with 25ms ping. My 4G got about 100Mbps download, similar upload but ping was lower at 20ms. 5G also shows losses sometimes on speedtest, and when browing normally I get some unusual delays, I am in a central location of Pattaya, the 5G signal is full. Does anyone here have a good experience? I'm considering going back there and cancelling the plan.

I'd think that too but I'm always amazed by the amount of new Benz's and Porsches in Bangkok and even Pattaya streets. Also I would bet dollars for donuts that this new iPhone 13 will be completely sold out despite costing up to almost 70k.

They should just make one condition: the foreigner needs to live in the land he/she owns and that's the only property (immovable) they would be allowed to own. Just like a marriage extension that you need to prove every year that you're still married with documents and photos, the land owner would have to periodically prove that he/she lives there.