55Jay

Sounds like a bad feng shui location. You better ask the monks for a lucky house number.

I'm sure she's very good at her job, but in this photo, all others dressed in dark business suits, she looks like your Aunt Margaret. Just finished cooking dinner in a hot kitchen, badly in need of a mid-life crisis make over.

I've read some threads that say fixed accounts are accepted by (some?) Immigration offices for annual extensions.

Your motivations are a bit muddled and mixed to me, but sounds like liquidity of the 2m is more important than higher returns.

On that assumption, and that you don't need the 2m Baht as your monthly pension takes care of routine living expenses, I would put 800k Immigration show money in a limited access account on higher interest, like Krungsi MTD for example. Then put the balance in the best fixed account term you can find, with a maturity date after you return to Thailand, or longer. In both cases, ensuring wife is beneficiary now as a contingency in the event you are killed or die while on your extended trip outside Thailand.

I also quit doing the income letter "fun" trips to embassy in BKK, now keep 2.5m Baht in a couple Krungsi MTD contingency accounts, and use either for the annual "show money" drill at Immigration. I also quit balloon chasing fixed accounts, so it just sits there in Krungsi, even with dwindling return rates as they are. Still better than a normal savings account.

Not deep Issan, but there is a Century 21 real estate office in Korat. http://century21korat.com/eng/contact.php

That one just sprung to mind, there are others, Google Issan Properties.

Agreed, things may not move enough to justify too many. But following the normal business acumen, if Thais see a new real estate office open and make a sale, that must be a "goot bid-ness", and will open their own real estate office right next door!

[quote name="55Jay" post="10572287" timestamp

It's a delicate balance. "Black Friday" shopping frenzy in the USA is a good example of momentary breakdown. Imminent threat of natural disaster likely to limit access to resources will flip the instinct switch, manifesting as panic buying/hoarding, pushing, shoving, playing tug-o-war for the last 1 gallon bottle of water on the shelf. In worst case scenarios, resources may be limited to centralized distribution points which may bring out the disgusting savage that resides in each one of us.

The Black Friday frenzy is a completely different deal.... It's organized chaos,... And everyone going into the stores, know exactly what is going to happen, so there are no horrified spectators to complain

The community, as a whole, knows this also, and can choose to do their shopping on a different day, if they don't want to be a part of the frenzy, which is encouraged by the store management.

Perhaps the management is at fault for encouraging this behavior, but as I said above, everyone knows what to expect and are prepared for it, and I believe it is only one day a year (???), so you don't have to worry about being suddenly swamped by a frenzied crowd

And you have to pay to play, unlike the feeding frenzy that has been posted (prepaid, yes)... Numbers of diners are known (or should be if the restaurant knows what they are doing) and there is generally sufficient foods to go around, but if some people miss out on their prawns, the appropriate response is that the tour company address the issue with the restaurant

Or am I mistaken, with getting an overload of prawns, being a life or death situation?

[quote name="55Jay" post="10572287" timestamp

Yes, you are mistaken. Not in the rationale behind your otherwise valid comments, but in interpreting the reason for mine.

I'm interested in the psychology of group dynamics, contrasted with the hierarchical rules which govern the non-human realm of our animal kingdom. WHY human animals react in this manner, not assigning blame to management for failing to anticipate and/or prevent the conditions in which this type of instinctual behaviour bubbles to the surface.

There certainly ARE people who choose not to participate in a Blk Friday events. Others that do may be inclined to back off in shock/horror when they sense "normal" good order and discipline is giving way to aggressive, competitive behaviour for limited, dwindling resources. Plenty of examples on Youtube.

I attended a Black Friday event (once!), it was borderline shocking at times. Mine was at a US Military base so while I had heard accounts of crazy BF events, I was confident my fellow military members would conduct themselves with disciplined restraint. I was right about them but man, some of the wives though! You could feel the intensifying competition, some of the 270lb "larger wife models" used their size and weight to aggressively jockey and elbow in to gain access to a particular dwindling resource - in one case, a small table of laptops for $99. It was fascinating to watch it play out and yes, when I saw a brief gap in the melee, I darted in, grabbed a chunk of meat off the carcass, then retreated to a safe distance.

My WD Desktop size Ext Hard Drive I bought outside Thailand, died a fairly quick death the first year I used it here. I chalked it up to frequent, momentary power outages, no UPS.

Don't know if it's relevant to your issue, but my Toshiba External is temperamental. Red X info box pops up saying USB device did not install properly. The LED light on the HD case is blueish in color. If I adjust the USB plug, pushing it to the left or right while plugged into the port, the computer will pick it up "Da Dump!", light turns white, good to go. Probably the cable, or the USB slot, dunno, thought I would mention it.

Edit: Flight Sim! Thought I was the only one!

Don't make too much of a joke about it. Maybe under the junta the day is not that far off when contributors to this forum will be summonsed (knock on the door) for "attitude adjustment".

I doubt they will knock.

Transparent if they get caught out, like trying to slip through the single gateway plan like a midnight Thaksin amnesty bill.

Then denying it in the face of criticism.

Then telling everyone the plan was dead, not gunna happen, so quit asking about it.

Then within days, announcing it was going to happen, and there's nothing you can do about it.

So here's a transparent lollipop. Suck it!

<snip In your shoes I'd consider splitting the 2 million across 2 different banks.

From August 2016 it's legislated under the deposit protection act (DPA) that the guarantee from the government on your Thai deposit may drop from 25 mn to 1 mn per person per bank.<snip>

I had forgotten about that, thanks for the reminder.

if they want less work.

give us 5yr.extensions and once a yr. report.

cost 10,000bht.

That would be great!

Additional benefit being fewer drives through DK pottery village, and the inevitable, "Honey, pull over, I want to look, it'll just take a minute".

Mate in E. Pattaya said Lake Maprachan levels were much improved in recent months. That's great news, hope ya'all get another good top up out of this. Things are a fairly bleak up in my neck of the woods.

Don't shoot the messenger.

At a barbecue in Jomtein and an extremely drunk Thai man approaches me having a cigarette out back,,"where you from?",,America I say,,"Peyton Manning!" He slurs out. I couldn't stop laughing.

German guy I know here was in the Army for several years and was sent to America for some exchange/training program, I think he said Texas. Said he and his buddies stopped at a small town diner and after a bit of initial trouble with their heavily accented English, the waitress asked, "Where ya'all from?".

"We are from Gerrrr-man."

Said she got really excited, "Oh, wait right here!", ran into the back, and were slightly unnerved when she returned a moment later brandishing a large kitchen knife...... pointing excitedly to the blade exclaiming, "See? Made in Germany!". Ya'all make really good knives, this one's our favorite!".

People are funny sometimes.

As a blood red moon is slowly rising in the east behind the hills of Cambodia, it is a cloudless, hot, sticky and humid night in Jomtien/Pattaya.

The breeze on Jomtien beach has a clammy feel on your skin.

The Tokays are calling into the darkness and Soi dogs are yapping and howling from afar.

A sense of foreboding rises up from every dark alley and seedy dens of eniquity.

Thai Visa waits for the bad news to arrive and it will....many more threads with carnage and bedlam on these streets will make their way through the ether that is the internet...

Beware the forecasters of doom, pestilence, plagues and storms....

But, the real forecast is all good, rose tinted and filled with good cheer.

The current Gov. would not have it any other way.....

"As a blood red moon is slowly rising in the east behind the hills of Cambodia, it is a cloudless, hot, sticky and humid night in Jomtien/Pattaya.

The breeze on Jomtien beach has a clammy feel on your skin.

The Tokays are calling into the darkness and Soi dogs are yapping and howling from afar.

A sense of foreboding rises up from every dark alley and seedy dens of eniquity <sic>."

"Jack lights a cheap cigarette with a match, leans forward on the rickety bamboo bar eyeing the distracted mamasan, "Meh, check bin".

He steps into the fluorescent night, greeted by a gust of wind and the quickening beat of rain on hot tin rooves. He contemplates a sliver of night sky through the tattered canopy of the noodle cart umbrella blocking his path, cynically tosses his cigarette into the putrid sewer drain, "&lt;deleted&gt;' Thais, can't get anything right".

"...Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima"

Oh boy everybody! We are going to Nakhon Ratchasima!

"Thailand would be disadvantaged, he said and added that therefore Thailand will invest by its own funds..."

Yes having a partner who wants to maintain the train properly, get a return on their investment and reinvest money for future expansion really can be a drag.

"...will need the Chinese technology, expertise and know-how to run the high speed train project in the initial stage"

Yes, right up to the first scheduled maintenance, which will never be done.

"OK Chinese man. I am bus driver from Korat. I watched you drive train for one hour. I can drive train now. You go home now."

Well, yeah, there is that too. Seems there's an occasional problem keeping even low speed trains on the track, and busses upright on wheels.

I wonder if, at the scene of the future, first high speed train crash, we'll read that the Engineer bailed out and ran away into the night.

If we wanted a night or two away from Korat, in BKK, or short flight down South/Region, the key being traveling light (carry on case/back pack only), then I would be inclined to take the train.

As a means to reach Swampy for int'l travel with a lot of suitcases, I'll stick with private taxi. Bags go in at my driveway, onto the trolley right at the departures curb, hand off the airline. Done.

Used the Amtrak train once, San Diego to Los Angeles (LAX), 4 big, heavy suitcases, 2 carry ons, back pack/purse, etc.. Also involves a 40 minute bus ride train sta. to terminal. Won't do that again, but the train ride itself was pleasant.

Interesting display of human instinct.

When food supply is satisfactory, humans (animals, et al) are less inclined to compete against one another.

When scarce, real or perceived, this triggers competition, which can result in injury - unintentional or otherwise.

The instinct trigger appears closer to the surface with this group, perhaps through conditioning of a densely populated country and the dynamics of a compressed schedule of a structured Asian tour group. Access to such beautiful looking, expensive prawns for "free" (as part of the inclusive tour package), adds the perceived value aspect involved in the "buffet dynamic".

Western standard of living, less dense population and sufficient, varied food supplies available virtually any time, results in calm satisfaction which in turn, represses the instinct to compete. We characterize this as orderly conduct of a civilized society. Manners. We are repulsed by "disgusting" displays of "savages" such as this. Most westerners would refuse to participate in the fray.

It's a delicate balance. "Black Friday" shopping frenzy in the USA is a good example of momentary breakdown. Imminent threat of natural disaster likely to limit access to resources will flip the instinct switch, manifesting as panic buying/hoarding, pushing, shoving, playing tug-o-war for the last 1 gallon bottle of water on the shelf. In worst case scenarios, resources may be limited to centralized distribution points which may bring out the disgusting savage that resides in each one of us.

Nakhon Ratchasima was much cooler yesterday, nice cool breeze last night. This morning is overcast and cool, very nice treat.

Nice photos of a couple in love taken in a rice field,, but really every couple in love has the same type of photos,,

maybe not in a rice field, but on the beach, somewhere ???? so what's the fuss..

Getting away from the photos, can anyone tell me what is the practical purpose of buffalos on a rice farm ??

Do they pull the rice to trucks, or are they milked, or provide manure or are they a status symbol with no real purpose ?

I guess there must be a reason for them, but I don't know what it is ???

Can someone explain please ?

Here's one purpose.

Doesn't the Gov still have loads of old rice in warehouses? Sell for 5 Baht a small bag and let people throw rice at each other as much as they want. Then the birds will swoop in and do a free clean up.

• Holiday is marked and celebrated in a responsible way given the situation.
• Water not wasted.
• Government sells some rice and reduces warehousing costs.
• Birds get fed.

Job done.

Interesting. Sure, maybe they were suggesting you get a TaxID so you could get a refund.

My bank took tax w/o my having a TaxID but they were helpful in telling me how to get one in order to file a tax refund return, which is what I did. Had I elected not to file the return, the Thai Gov would happily keep the money.

If I've got this right, Grab/Uber services deliver a higher degree of real time, convenient service to the customer..... at a lower price.

The Transport Ministry calls that "anti-competitive"?

Juxtaposed to the Ministry of Science offering a 300% tax break to CEOs that engage in research, development and innovation. Unless, of course, the result of that upsets someone else's rice bowl.

You're right, after reading your comments on this thread and the ones you made on the Englishman suicide article you linked to here, I'm leaning more toward bi-polar.

And which part of, ‘don’t bother to respond', didn't you understand? Rhetorical question.

And you’re right too, after reading your verbal abuse and that of others of a similar mind frame; it’s patently obvious that some people just need to suck the happiness out of others, as they simply have nothing going on for themselves!

Two people, obviously very much in love, share their pics with friends on Facebook, and they get ripped to shreds, and you and your little buddies consider this normal, acceptable behaviour? And again, rhetorical question!

And I might add, should you wish to come across as eloquent, a mammoth task no doubt, you may wish to phrase your insults correctly: Bi-polar? Sounds more like a sexually confused polar bear!

Tell you what, instead of leaning towards bipolar; why not lean off a tall building instead.

No doubt you’ll have further drivel to add, after all, it’s plain to see that you consider insulting people for your personal gratification as normal behaviour.

Well, it’s all yours, I no longer feel compelled to converse with someone as deeply unhappy as you. I actually pity you and suggest you seek help posthaste!

Hasta luego!

You might want to examine your own assumptions before you go flying off the handle. Report back when you're finished.

blistering blue barnacles, on 24 Mar 2016 - 16:30, said:

jamesbrock, on 24 Mar 2016 - 16:18, said:

blistering blue barnacles, on 24 Mar 2016 - 15:58, said:

At least he's big enough to man up and profess regret.

All those laughing about defamation might be laughing out of the other side of their faces now after the revelation that Christian is the son of Pandora founders Per and Winnie Enevoldsen. The Enevoldsen family sold 60% of Pandora to the Danish private equity company Axcel in 2008 for DKr1.1 billion (US$233 million), and made another US$580 million from Pandora's IPO a few years later. Christian continues to play a role in the running of the company, which made US$550 million profit in 2014.

Yes indeedy, there'll be some worried little key board warriors supping on their Changs around the stone tables tonight!

Might make them think twice next time, sitting all snug and safe in the security of their little looms, spawning their bitterness and negativity!

Sum Nam Na, kinda springs to mind.

Google Defamation of Character in Thailand…

Google sycophant.

Sycophant: A person who praises powerful people in order to get their approval.

Swallow a dictionary did we?

Be great if you could back up your accusations with a quote or two.

But you can’t can you, that’s why you take cheap shots at people behind the safety of your keyboard.

I’ve actually never heard of these people, I just felt compelled to question various peoples need to pull them to bits and insult them, just for the sake of it? How sad is that?

But one thing’s for sure, you better hope and pray they don’t decide to come after you, farang defaming a powerful Thai female, don’t think much of your chances!

Don’t bother to respond, I’m bored with communicating at your level…

You're right, after reading your comments on this thread and the ones you made on the Englishman suicide article you linked to here, I'm leaning more toward bi-polar.

Farang blustering about defamation lawsuits on internet.

Well done, Sailor! Your learned assimilation into the "Real Thailand" is complete.

Now on to post-graduate course work, which includes advanced skill sets such as tactical avoidance of eye contact with farang kii nok at the Tesco.

I see your eating your words now regarding your earlier Koko comment. I hope the young couple in question are recording every nasty thing that's been said on this thread. You may just be install for a big nasty surprise yourself.

It truly amazes me just how many people engage mouth before brain regarding defamation in Thailand. It just so happens there's a thread today about someone cutting their own throat in public due to an ongoing defamation case. See: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/905291-pattaya-locals-watch-in-horror-as-englishman-attempts-gruesome-suicide/

Great talking with you…

At least he's big enough to man up and profess regret.

All those laughing about defamation might be laughing out of the other side of their faces now after the revelation that Christian is the son of Pandora founders Per and Winnie Enevoldsen. The Enevoldsen family sold 60% of Pandora to the Danish private equity company Axcel in 2008 for DKr1.1 billion (US$233 million), and made another US$580 million from Pandora's IPO a few years later. Christian continues to play a role in the running of the company, which made US$550 million profit in 2014.

Yes indeedy, there'll be some worried little key board warriors supping on their Changs around the stone tables tonight!

Might make them think twice next time, sitting all snug and safe in the security of their little looms, spawning their bitterness and negativity!

Sum Nam Na, kinda springs to mind.

Google Defamation of Character in Thailand…

Google sycophant.