Swiss1960

I don't drink or smoke, either do I womanize!

Definitely come (now); your money will last forever.

Question is... what fun does the OP have in life???

Personally, I would advise you to wait till 50 and augment your savings to minimum half a million$... specially if you want to buy something decent, you will need minimum $100K... if you will not live alone forever (which I assume you would not), then 50K Baht will not enough anymore... then your passive rent will be gone for living...

And finally all depends on the income you can generate from your semi retirement consulting job...

Personally, I think you would take high financial risks retiring already now... I will do the step not until I have 1 Million in savings, thus can deal with every emergency possible...

All very helpful answers to OP's problem.

Have you guys never heard of a woman scorned.

To OP offer some money to your local police for having a quiet talk with her.

Yermanee :jap:

Yes I have heard of a woman scorned.

I have also witnessed how Thai guys react, and it wasnt by offering money to the local police.

Not much use in the OPs position, but Thai guys dont stand for this nonsense.

Spot On...many falangs worrying about how to deal with there X GF in Thailand.... Thai men don't worry about that shit...they will warn them once maybe twice and if they will still not listen.

.well they wount be needing any warning a third time

So you wanna suggest to the OP to act the same as Thai???

Writing down card details might work for your e-banking system, but not for all... when I access my home e-banking, I need a CAP reader to put in my card and only then I get the passcode to access my account... no chance without having the card in my hands...

But basically, you should of course have two debit accounts (with sufficient funds), one at home and one in Thailand. Mine is also with SCB and I never had issues with my SCB or my home account card being eaten... and of course, having at least two credit cards from different banks would also allow you to withdraw cash in case of emergency, no matter the fees they will charge you... better some fees than no money...

And having two each of debit and credit cards enables you to store one each safely at home / hotel safe in case you loose them or get robbed...

The idea is nice... but people who want to be on the beach will go to Jomtien beach... I spend all my time there, it is more quiet, much less coconut tree girls, less scammers... and more friendly owners of beach chairs... best place I found for me is around Jomtien Soi 9 - <snip>

BR , what is shocking, that the world in general is racist, or that Thailand reflects what most peoples in the world think. Or that other peoples don't follow western PC ideas. Just because we are superior in our morals and enlightenment and treat all as equals, doesn't mean that the rest of the world has to follow . Jim

Who is we, Jim?

Superior morals and heightened enlightenment? :cheesy:

"We superior"?? If you're unlucky to look Eastern European / Ex-Jugoslavia... don't try to get into night clubs in Zurich... if you're "unlucky" to be African-American, don't come near some night clubs in Geneva or you might get shot...

So, lesson learned.

1: When I travel, I bring a backup card(s).

2: I make every effort to only use ATMs that let you swipe your cads and NOT the ATMs that digest your card. This way your card is never physically in the ATM. Granted these are not always easy to find, but I have never failed to find one somewhere.

3: Do try to use an ATM inside a bank because it is likely they have access to retrieve your card easier.

2: I have never seen a ATM that let you swipe the card, here in Sweden they are for sure non existing, can you give a location for one in Pattaya please.

Also never seen such ATM's any more... and worse: These ATM's are the EASIEST to be manipulated by fraudsters... and I am speaking of 15y experience working in the credit card area of a bank... same with POS to swipe: OMIT them whenever possible, as they only read the mag stripe of the card and not the chip and therefore security is limited (will take a fraudster approx. 40 seconds to make a good copy of the mag stripe of your card to another card and use it...

Cash transactions from non-EMV (i.e. not card swallowing and chip reading...) ATM's will normally be declined by European Credit Card processors...

No matter what the question whether serious or frivolous there are always some smart ass people giving smart ass answers on subjects they know nothing about.

Do you recall his initial question? No wonder I was playing smart ass...

I had a flight to Chang Mai leaving Monday (October 3) As everybody EXCEPT Air Asia knows, there is SEVERE FLOODING in Chang Mai. .... I requested a refund from Air Asia and the cheap chickenshit bastards said they would refund the TAX, but "fuc_k you" about the 4,000 baht I paid for the flight...

Did your flight leave for Chang Mai? If so, how can you expect them to refund your ticket? WHY the f*** should they refund your ticket if they fly there??? Because you're a farang and don't like the bad weather??? Ridicolous...

fly home once a year and collect it in cash.

Seems a bit excessive when return flights start around 40k baht ??

even worse... we banks have to pay him interest for the money all year round and can not charge fees... please forget about this option

the law is whatever the officer says it is and youd better learn that darned quick

Not if you know the officers boss...

Thanks for that its all new to me my bank wanted to charge me 30 to send it over

Of course your bank will charge you for a SWIFT transfer... we are not not-profit organisations... we want salary and bonuses... ;-)

You should be offered two options 1) transfer cost charged to the sender 2) transfer cost charged to the receiver

in option 1) your bank might charge you only 10$ but the Thai bank will take 500-1'000 Baht for booking the money to your account

in option 2) your bank might charge you 30$ but your Thai bank will only take 100-200 Baht for booking the money to your account.

I am always taking option 2, for me with the fees my bank takes, I get more money (and I send in Thai baht, as the exchange rate of my bank is better than the one of the Thai bank). That is another option you must try.

To find out, open an account on a Thai bank and then do 4 different transfers

- transfer in home currency, cost to the sender

- transfer in home currency, cost to the receiver

- transfer in Baht, cost to the sender

- transfer in Baht, cost to the receiver

and find out which option is best for your situation.

As a banker, we like the first way best (send in home currency, cost to sender)... gives all profit to us

Open a bank account in Thailand and send money through your home e-banking... what a stupid question...

or... actually... even a better alternative... send the money to my Swiss bank account and on my next visit, I might bring it with me

Just who in their right mind has sex with a Thai prostitute without wearing a condom ? &lt;deleted&gt; !!!!

Her being pregnant would be the least of my worries if I was in your shoes.

Going for an Aids and STD test would be my first move.

completely agree... another stupid falang bringing some STD's back home and infecting his wife...

The question of whether you are allowed to turn left on red was discussed here:

Now with regards to the accident, the following rules apply:

Theory: The Thai driver who turned left on red is guilty, as the red light indicates a warning to watch the traffic coming from right, as they have green lights and therefore have the right of way.

Reality: The Thai driver who knows somebody higher up the food chain than the other Thai driver will NOT be guilty :jap:

Simple as everything in Thailand

Where else can a lowlife, alcoholic, whore monger on a budget go on holiday?

Spain !!

Cancun for all America's; Rio for many Europeans...

Assume you wanted to send your mail to the condo owner... and not put a post in Thaivisa website??

Might be best to guide her to an organisation that cna help her, like the Prateep Foundation: http://www.dpf.or.th/eng/Projects.html

I think that is the only correct answer for such a situation. Giving her money is definitely a very bad idea...

Money will end up either for clothes / phones, in the hands of the parents, in the hands of a pimp... and she will be back in the bar soon later... and even more... she will learn that she can get lot's of money telling all farang that she is underage and has so many problems and is in such a need for some money... and if it did not happen yet, the day will come where she sells herself for the money...

That is a healthy attitude. If you want to enjoy the good in Thailand, you have to put up with the bad. Thankfully, for me, the former far far far exceeds the latter.

Completely agree with you, Richard!

Tea Money... Bribery.... Extortion... Corruption... it all exists not only in Thailand but in every country where salaries are too low for living... that is fact and can only be changed by having better economic situation for the poor... But two more thoughts:

First: Why bash on the poor policemen? He is only doing what he sees all the way up his food chain / chain of command... ending up in MP and government levels... so what is the incentive for a policeman not to do what everybody else does but on a much higher level? And did you read the story about the "dummy cops" in BKK? Did you read the statement of the police officer saying "they get lower salaries so I can stay within my budget"?? So they get lower salaries than normal cops... how the f*** shall they live without taking tea money... or do some small scale extortion by taking farang out for nothing??

Second: Countries with higher salary levels tend not to have tea money or extortion problems... but bribery and corruption exist on an even higher level, including government employees... want some examples?

- British MP's using the government accounts as their personal expense account... for gardeners, rental costs, furnitures, beauty treatments...

- Italien MP's getting everything for free from hair cut to health treatment to food to cars and drivers... not to speak of Berlusconi

- Greece with their huge problem with corruption called "Fakelaki" (small envelope)...

- German political parties receiving bribes from weapons dealers...

- the German company (name starts with S...) bribing the world in order to fill their order books...

- French president Sarkozy and his current problems with his past....

- US former vice president with his connections to the weapons industry and Blackwater...

So... where is the Thai way different from the rest of the world??

scummy tenants are now on the increase ( Farangs mainly) I have noticed in all the condos my wife runs many are now late paying and have been evicted, the howls of indignation are quite hilarious...............what do they think, its a frekin charity or what??

Can't directly comment on the situation of your wife's condos, but of course, when the exchange rate (i.e. for the Euro) drops 10-15% over the last months, then some of the farang with small money might get into trouble...

Well, I assume the survey was conducted BEFORE the full scale of the Greek debt crisis was know... Then the question is what is the average sample of error in the survey... must be big, otherwise Switzerland would of course be on top position...

And finally, as with all statistics: I don't believe in any statistics that i didn't fake myself :jap:

I don't know the specific of the U.K. but my understanding based on experience in different countries, is you have to inform as soon as possible your tax office that you're leaving the country and therefore you ask to be exempt of revenue declaration ... They will then explain you what you have to do. It's also important to do the same when your expat contract ends and you're leaving your country of expatriation. Usually in both case they the tax department will ask you to pay your tax in full before leaving. If you don't do it, you may be arrested at the border next time you visit the country, even for a short stop over.

I asked JurgenG about forty-twelve times if he could tell me which country practices the rule above, but regardless of his utter failure to come up with an example I'd say it's a good chance JurgenG knows the answer to OPs question as well.

We should ask JurgenG!

I can give you two examples:

Switzerland does this: If you want to emigrate, you go to the city council, they send you to the tax authority, they issue an invoice... and you don't get all your necessary emigration paperwork until you have paid the taxes in full... if you leave anyway (at the end, you have a passport) and don't pay the taxes, they will issue a warrant and on your next entry to Switzerland, the border police will very friendly take you in custody and not let you leave until you paid... taxes and fines and expenses...

France does it: I received a fine on a motorway and at that time, there were no contracts between Switzerland and France about assistance for the Swiss to collect the money for the French... on my next entry, I assume the border cameras scanned my licence, I was pulled over, my passport was checked... and I was "allowed" to enter the country once I paid the fine and the expenses...

Sure, you will find similar situations in every country....

Should we not differentiate between tea money and corruption?

Corruption = paying money to receive a service which you either would not be entitled to get OR paying for a service that you should get for free but will not get if you don't pay the bribes...

Tea Money (in this case) = paying small amounts to omit being held responsible for something you did wrong. Of course, their is a small step to extortion when they take you out for nothing just to get their tea money...

But is it not the main problem that these guys just don't get paid a living salary? When they get 10K a month but need 5K for the child's tuition and should be supporting the family back home... what else can they do? They can't work more than two jobs a day...

If you want to get rid of the tea money, then Thai authorities must start to pay their employees a wage for living...

BTW: If you look at the Transparency International List of corrupt countries, then Thailand is in the middle field, together with countries like Greece... and if you analyze the list, you will see that corruption is the higher as average salaries in the countries are lower...

Finally, someone with a brain joins the discussion.

Tea money is a totally optional convenience payment.

If it offends you, you don't have to pay it. Take a ticket, pay the official fine, and get a receipt.

Right...I wonder how many people actually opt to do that. Perhaps Rick can name a single "outraged" Thai who would gladly do so?

One more thing: Having travelled around the world, I can assure you that Thailand is not the only country where tea money helps... Mexico, Egypt, Ukraine, South Italy, Tunesia, Kenya, Poland (some years ago, not any more today)... always have enough small money in your passport in case you are pulled over... and don't wonder when the passport comes back empty...

Of course, try it in the North of Italy, in the US of A, in Germany, Switzerland... and it's a one-way ticket to jail...

And as was mentioned above: If you have the option to either pay 200 right away or go to the station to pay 500... which of you HONESTLY can say he will choose the 500 option???

Should we not differentiate between tea money and corruption?

Corruption = paying money to receive a service which you either would not be entitled to get OR paying for a service that you should get for free but will not get if you don't pay the bribes...

Tea Money (in this case) = paying small amounts to omit being held responsible for something you did wrong. Of course, their is a small step to extortion when they take you out for nothing just to get their tea money...

But is it not the main problem that these guys just don't get paid a living salary? When they get 10K a month but need 5K for the child's tuition and should be supporting the family back home... what else can they do? They can't work more than two jobs a day...

If you want to get rid of the tea money, then Thai authorities must start to pay their employees a wage for living...

BTW: If you look at the Transparency International List of corrupt countries, then Thailand is in the middle field, together with countries like Greece... and if you analyze the list, you will see that corruption is the higher as average salaries in the countries are lower...