JAFO

1 hour ago, murraynz said:

Many of us dont choose to buy a new condo off a developer..but we still invest millions thb in thailand...

We should be treated equally..

I whole heartedly agree. What should happen is a complete review of the current rules. Like Murraynz says, I do not want a condo but I work and live here full time, pay Thai taxes and have for years, I built a nice house with my wife and invest daily in the Thai economy and will continue to do so . I fully respect and understand not allowing foreigners to buy and own the land because if they opened up that door, this place would be taken over by wealthy Chinese in a few years. It is really the only thing that keeps Thais in control.

But for me ( and likely others) I would like to stop the 90 day check in. Maybe make it after 5 years of living full time and married to a Thai. The way it sits now, I am sole owner of the house and my wife is sole owner of the land. She wanted it that way for various reasons. 

BTW, I do not think its that they do not respect us, I personally think in the big picture we are just to small of a population for them to review and consider changes. The "ranters" on this site that go on and one about how much they contribute to the Thai economy and if they left it would crush the Thai economy are mistaken. it would be a minor blip on the radar screen, me included.   

Selling my Tesla stock way to soon. I had a pretty good chunk and felt the company was just spinning in circles. Still made a good chunk of cash but could have enough if I sold it today to...well.... own a yacht and be living in Monaco sitting at a table now gambling.....???? 

2 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Why close the country off, yet allow 10,000's of protesters face to face?

Well when you do not have the Covid virus infecting your population, there is probably no or very limited risk plus in general Thai folks tend to adhere to wearing a mask as its not a problem for them. However letting tourists back in increases the risk significantly, especially western folks as they have a huge tendency to believe that wearing a mask and social distancing does not apply to them.  

2 hours ago, micmichd said:

The vast majority of Thai people don't want any Farangs to return to Thailand, either.

I think in general most people in any country do not really likes foreign tourists visiting but you only have to contend with them if you have chosen a "tourist destination" to live. Its not an exclusive Thai behavior. That said though, tourists generate revenue and afford families to have businesses that cater to them. I never cared for foreign tourists when I lived in the states for a variety of reasons but I understood the economic aspect of it all.    

In regards to Thailand, I think in general Thailand is quite comfortable not allowing foreign tourist back anytime soon. They simply do not want the risk of managing a pandemic. Where I live its pretty much business as normal and if you did not follow the news you almost wouldn't even know that there is a pandemic. I am very thankful for that as is my wife. I feel for my friends and families in the states. Its an utter mess and will be for quite sometime. 

But back to the OP, I am not sure why the Thai govt made a choice to try and get a groups of Chinese tourists here while ignoring the other domestic issues at hand. Sure we can all scream its for the money but in the end that small volume of tourists will bring an insignificant amount of revenue to the economy. I still struggle to understand why the folks who had standing VISA's are not allowed to return as long as they complete the 14 day quarantine. The current process is cumbersome but I know a few that have made it back already and a few business co workers that made it as well. It can be done.

1 hour ago, Blumpie said:

Other countries around the world are handling this much better than Thailand.  It has nothing to do with professionalism, it's the fact that they just don't care.  Everybody knows it.

While I cannot disagree that other countries are handling this better but for years I have read and heard a lot about "They do not care, all they want is your money".  I guess I would ask " Why should they care?"  I do not mean that in a harsh way but what do you really expect them to do?  I would never expect a country to care about me and the folks that go on and on about how much money they spend here shouldn't really matter and clearly doesn't.  I work and live here and pay Thai taxes, own a home etc and I do not expect special privileges. Same as when I lived in the states. Why would I expect special privileges?  I think many foreigners have a much higher opinion of their worth here.   

This is a mess and has brought out the worst in many people and governments.  I have a few friends in the states who had family members die due to C19 related complications and they could not attend their funeral. Does the country not care or are they holding fast to the C19 controls in place?

Again I feel for the folks and believe they should have a group reviewing requests submitted wanting to return back to family, friends and their homes. Clearly its not a priority.  

Tough times indeed. Thailand has taken a very strong approach to keeping the C 19 out but should have a task force to review cases based on the very things most of these folks are having to deal with. The people stories above show that they are not tourists.  I can see near term keeping the masses of tourists out but the property owners, folks with families etc should be allowed back in without question. They should comply with the 14 day quarantine then be on their way.

Sadly its a mess all over the world. Every country is trying to manage it as they see fit. While I will not point blame at Thailand's approach I do heavily question their lack of professionalism towards folks who have a stake here in some way and just want to return home.

5 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Those of us having been here 5 years or longer could be given an easy pathway to permanent residency forgoing all the immigration hoopla

I agree. I have been here working and living and paying Thai taxes for quite a few years. I contribute to the domestic sector frequently traveling with my wife.  I seldom ever complain about living here because quite frankly I enjoy my life. I do have to say as a married expat living and working here, having built a home, pay taxes etc it would be nice to be given some path to stop all the immigration reporting. You would think with an annual current work permit that checking in could be eliminated. I cannot understand why after all this time that they have not developed a system to identify those folks unless its to generate jobs in the govt sector to manage it. 

The company I work for that moved operations offshore to Thailand has generated over 1800 jobs for Thai folks. From high level Thai managers to operators. 

55 minutes ago, rumak said:

Very misleading post.    Chiangmai is a very large city,  and traffic everywhere but the old city is back to normal.  Lots of it.    All the businesses I frequent are operating as normal.  All schools and govt offices open.   

Great post Rumak and quite true. A lot of people also forget that a great majority of those restaurants /tourist type businesses are part of their homes which were paid for in full years ago. They pull down the front and just live at home and many find other ways to make cash. To Rumak's point the pictures show a very specific little area.  Most everywhere I travel around in Thailand has been pretty much getting back to normal. CM is pretty active and its quite nice without all the tourists and jammed packed roads with monster bus's. IMHO for us expats living and working here this has been exceptionally nice. My wife and I have enjoyed numerous resort hotel getaways at significantly reduced fees being they are offering domestic tourism incentives. The beaches are empty and quiet and I do not have to hold back "verps" witnessing obese Europeans in speedos who apparently have no shame. ????.

While I feel for the families that have been impacted here due to the covid situation, I do not think it is as bad as one wants to make it appear. Sure a segment of the industry has been significantly impacted but in the bigger picture it has been a good recovery period for the environment that was being abused and destroyed by over tourism. I could easily enjoy another year of this. 

I think the Triton is a nice truck. All the trucks offered here in Thailand are really good. 2Wd or 4Wd would be driven by personal need or use.  To me it boils down to style, features, ergonomics and service of which most are more personal expectation versus technical. Of course which one fits your budget is a key point as well

From a reliability point of view I would rate the trucks as follows;

1. Toyota Hilux
2. Isuzu Dmax
3. Mitsubishi Triton
4. Ford Ranger.

No idea on the MG truck out now. The Ford Raptor is a really nice off-road specific truck. I left Chevy out due to they exited the Thailand market

Good luck on your choice