gk10012001

Some Thai interrogation techniques or threats of long jail time before even seeing a judge or a court, or the Thais probably had some info and knew they had large amounts somewhere. Telling no doubt was said to reduce their sentence or punishment. So crazy to try drug dealing selling trafficking in an eastern country. Jail time there is not fun. No doubt they think they will be extradited to their home countries and get off easy. A follow up would be interesting

My first trip to the LOS was in 2004 when I was 47. On the flight home I was outlining my investment strategy and my future plans as I steered my investments to earning the about $2000 USD a month income needed for the retirement visa extensions, etc. when I got t 50 years old. I was so enamored with the country. I since have visited 15 times. Each year retiring there options got stranger and required more hoops to jump through. Initially the Retirement income Affidavit from the USA embassy was available. Then the USA embassy stopped that. The Elite Visa for convenience was looking good as I could easily afford that but then recently they raised that price and cut back the number of years the basic one was good for. Now this tax thing.. which nobody knows for sure how that will work or what must be filed, or how disputes will be handled, what documents the Thais may want, IRS tax records, USA tax records and complete 1040 filing packages, how slot jackpots in the USA that were written off by losses , and how stock gains offset by losses will be handled, etc. It all seems too complex country by country for the Thais to understand and process properly. So in short now that I am semi retired, I simply won't be in Thailand for more than 180 days. Not a horrible thing, but it puts a damper on the worth of renting a place for a continuous year for the discount. Will see how things look next year

Oh I love it. The prisoner was such a cerebral show and I loved watching it when I was growing up

So MAGA will now stand for Make America Golden Again? Time will tell. The Stock Market DOW aversage in the USA was up over 1500 points today, mostly in the large company stocks.

crumple zone construction in the front of cars really didn't have head first crashes due to going over a garage railing,

This is nothing. Starting back in about 2005 or when Russia got a lot of relief on visas by Thailand the number of Russian women that worked on Walking Street handing out papers, and fliers for various clubs there really expanded. Once I asked one if she had a visa and a work permit. It drew a lot of attention from her "handlers" so I moved on.

Will I win the Mega Millions or powerball lottery if either of them wins? That is about as relevant a question.

why wear expensive jewelry there? Showing off? Vanity? I wear my 8 USD armitron digital watch I bought over a decade ago at Wal Mart and it keeps great time. Once one of the ladyboys did the old grope and distract attempt and as he/she got to my wrist and saw the cheap watch , the creature left me alone

Who or what says he is popular?

Put down the phone, pay attention when driving

yeah. Not rare over there for many balconies and so called walls. Really not much strength

Agreed 100 %.

So sad. Too many construction accidents over there. The mental image I had was from the old movie the Omen where the man got killed by large plates of glass sliding down and offing his head.

Those pesky jumping power poles just can't seem to stay out of the way of those cars.

I was hoping to do the exact or near exact thing right after the New year. But I would be sure I did NOT exceed a total of 180 days to avoid the mythical undocumented but sometimes enforced 6 month stay is too long without a long term visa and also to avoid any of the current or proposed tax implications if one is in country for more than 180 days in one year. So somewhere along the line I guess after the first 60 days and 30 day extension I would not stay those entire 90 days but would exit say on day 87 to be safer. Then I would expect that if I left and came back in on another 60 day visa exempt I would have no trouble getting in nor any trouble getting the 30 day extension if I wanted.

Trip is less than 90 minutes. First one is about 6 AM I think. Last one about 8 PM I think? The schedule is online somewhere

yes sir. I totally agree. Getting there is often more enjoyable than the destination itself. I go to Thailand to experience things. As you say take a baht bus. take a air con bus. Look out the window and see things you might not have noticed otherwise. The BTS is fine and used to be even a bit better when one could actually sit down and see the city sights as they go by.

Great link post. Thank you

why just threaten to call the police. Call em. Isn't 555 the number?

well good luck. The US medicare system is pretty good, not perfect but is pretty good and if your income is reasonable its cost is reasonable. Current minimum A and Supp B and even with a no cost advantage plan i.e. or Supp D for drugs and dental is 186 USD a month. And there is no denial due to age

And if using Bell bus service they send a mini van to your hotel and pick you up and take you to the North Pattaya bus station and there you take their bus to the airport. Or of course just hop on a moto taxi . I only have one carry on that is very portable and the bus works fine for me. It is part of the experience even after 15 visits

You proceed from a false assumption. Many do not travel that way just to save a pittance. Many just ravel that way for many reasons. In my case, I only have a light carry on and I enjoy a bus ride and looking out the window. The bus from pattaya north station to Ekamai is fine with me and gets me to a BTS station. I am never in a hurry when on vacation. I rarely have a hotel in mind and in advance and would always want to see the exact room first before I pay. Also, often I am just wanting to get to or near a BTS station as I then poke around Bangkok. And since the rail links opened and I am in no hurry I am quite content to take the bus then to the BTS and the rail link to the BKK airport. I of course have taken a taxi a few times from my Pattaya hotel to the BKK airport if my flight is an early one or a late one and the busses are not running. But the last 7 trips I plan ahead and book flights that arrive and depart during the daytime when busses are running

well having been 15 times since 2004 I always thought I would retire to Thailand or at least certainly spend much of each year there. Now at age 67 I am more than able financially to retire there and still maintain some USA home ties for emergencies. I almost bought the Thai elite visa a few years back just for convenience. Then they raised the price, lowered the number of years it was in effect etc. Now this latest tax reporting scheme is the nail in the coffin. I won't be staying 180 days in any year. That's ok. I can work around that. I do recall two trips when I was finishing the trips. was on the bus from pattaya back to Bangkok. I got off the bus at the airport (Bell travel I was using) and as I walked into the airport, sat in the Magic food court and said screw this! Cancel/changed my departure and arranged a visa run to cambodia and extended my stays. My engineering contract jobs are reasonably fulfilling so I continue those for the time being. Looking now at one last gig in Texas (No state income tax).

So what do you do for health care? You mention California so I assume you are a US citizen. I have been to Thailand many times and am well aware of the decent health care available as pay as you go or even with some Thai health insurance plans, but what age are you? Are you over 65 and eligible for US Medicare? If you don't start it you incur a 10 % increase in premiums each year you don't sign up but sign up later. Health insurance for aged foreigners in Thailand is very expensive and in many cases not even available. And how do you plan really significant health issues, surgery, cancer, etc.? Are you insured?

yes. I agree. My first thailand visit was in 2004. been over a dozen times