Kinnock

I don't believe in the 'making merit' philosophy, and as my Mother used to say "no good deed ever goes unpunished, - but I do get pleasure from helping others, although I don't expect a reward in return apart from my personal enjoyment and the big smiles. The most fun I had a few Christmases ago was dressing up as Santa's and taking a big sack of toys and food to Khlong Toey and handing things out to the kids. Providing meals at a local community school is also fun ... that's my birthday tradition. But the master of this is the Sunrise Taco's guy and the Bangkok Community Help Foundation. They add real value to the community.

Equaliser 3 is worth watching (saw it on Netflix) - good, slow build with sudden outbreaks of violent action, but a few cheesy scenes .... overall good though. For that type of movie, I think "Man on Fire" is the best. Just started watching 'Happy' (also on Netflix) - great fun series, like a cross between John Wick and My Little Pony. And for a series that's sheer mindless entertainment with action and naked boobies - 'Obliterated' is hard to beat.

Thai Lion Air had a big fanfare about receiving their new 737 Max. They were also listed in an FAA report post the Alaska Air incident as a Max user. They did stop using them after the Indonesia crash, but have started again. This may be why some sites do not list them. https://mgronline.com/onlinesection/detail/9620000025898

Thai Lion Air fly the Max 9 .... but it's the sardine seat plan with a door where the panel blew out. But all the 737 Max series are suspect in my view .... been modified too many times when a complete new design was needed.

Honda CRF 300 Rally or Enfield Himalayan in my view. .... but currently difficult or even impossible to ride solo into Myanmar or China. Can't ride into Vietnam either. So option for a long ride is to head South through Malaysia and to Singapore. But with so many great places to ride in Thailand, better to tour in Thailand now until borders open.

The Thai defamation law is archaic and the facts of the original issue are not relevant to the case. Looks like you'll need your own lawyer. Another option I've seen work for others is more negative social media to shame the 'guest' into withdrawing the case. You can't be critical of the guests, or you'll have another defamation case, but you can get factual reports about the case into the media. Airbnb may be able help with this? International media reports tend to cause more feelings of shame in people using this law.

There was a similar problem in Bangsaen, and after many complaints by local Thai residents and hotel owners, the police and the Tessabarn took action. Bangsaen has always had sellers of small fireworks on the beach, and the pop pop noise was not an issue. But a new firework 'mafia' moved in about a year ago, selling high powered Chinese fireworks that made the beach like the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan. This was not just a few firework shows for events, it was continuous loud explosions from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am every night. The loud fireworks from dawn to dusk, plus several injuries due to fireworks, caused complaints to the police and the mayor plus a social media campaign by Thai residents. I also heard Channel 3 news were involved. There were also negative reviews by guests on hotel booking sites about the constant noise. The problem is the illegal beach sellers, and after 5 were arrested and two were sent to jail, it stopped for a while. It started again after New Year (everyone expects fireworks at new year, but they kept going for a week), and after more arrests the sellers have again switched back to the small fireworks. There was also concerns about an illegal firework warehouse .... as a store large enough for the selling of over 100 large fireworks each night is a serious explosion risk. So it looks like a concerted campaign of social and news media and direct complaints may help. Perhaps join with local Thai business owners so it's not just those pesky foreigners?

We were having a romantic weekend in a 'pool villa' hotel in Phuket that had a private swimming pool, and after taking some nice photos of her skinny dipping, we tried. Not as sexy and romantic as we'd hoped due to critical lack of lubrication. Ended up making strategic use of the pool ladder to keep the moving parts out of the water.

Those are all really good portraits. Good light, nice narrow DOF and great use of black and white. And yes, it's sad that the Photography forum is so quiet.

This is my personal view based on experience over several years ..... The Labour Department is very employee focussed, and ex-pat workers have the same rights as Thai nationals (assuming you have a valid work permit). Unless you are dismissed for an illegal act or other serious issue, you should get 30 days notice plus a month per year of continuous service. On top of this you can claim several additional months pay based on the unfair dismissal and your personal situation. The officer will suggest a reasonable amount of compensation, and this will be communicated to your employer. If your employer does not agree, they will have to appear in person at the Labour Court for the hearing. In practice the employer will not want to go to Court, so there's a good chance of getting the agreed amount. It helps to show your monthly expenditure to indicate the financial impact. Hope it goes well for you.

Good suggestion. If not practical to have a large underground tank, you could have a smaller, low level tank and ball valve to collect the low pressure municipal water, then use a small pump to send this water to the large, high level tank that supplies the booster pump.

I'm an infrequent user of an Epson ink tank printer, and each time I want to use it the print head is blocked for at least one color. Fortunately Epson have a 'power clean' option buried in the maintenance menu, and this gets it working again. But next time I'll go for a laser printer.

I bet him/her/he/she/they is now rushing to B&M to buy a cheap tent and a pair of dungarees.

Nice! Ah yes, the project management. I forgot to mention that in my post. I was working out of Thailand during most the build phase (to pay for it 😀) - so the Missus had to spend 2 years sitting on a deckchair in the middle of a building site, micro managing the builders, architect, plumbers, electricians, painters, joiners, window contractors, vintage hardwood restorers, anti-termite pipe installers, AC engineers, WFI/CCTV installers, tilers, well pump contractor, painters and gardener. She also had to manage the site project manager. The workers (men and women) were from Myanmar and lived in huts on site, and one had a baby so my wife was also a part time childminder. After several mid-build redesigns, endless arguments, changes to sub contractors and disputes with suppliers - she delivered a perfect house with a unique style ..... and was left totally exhausted. The physical and mental effort required to ensure everyone does a good job is astronomical .... I was lucky that I only needed to generate the cash. So in answer to the original question .... the bigger the house, the bigger the challenge.

You've managed to foresee many of the potential issues. We built a large(ish) house on a plot we bought near the coast, and while we're happy with the place, we did encounter some challenges: 1. Unnecessary costs - We have more space than we need, but each room still needed furniture, AC and electrics etc ... so effectively it was wasted capital. Then there's the cleaning - unused rooms seem to be dustier than used ones. 2. Time spent walking - depending on the design, you may need to walk through unused rooms to get where you want to go. Sounds trivial, but the extra time and distances mount up when you forget where you left your phone 5 times a day, every damn day, and have to go on tour. 3. Raised wife expectations - status is everything in Thailand, and now your car(s), clothes, soft furnishings, pets etc will need to be upgraded to match the house. And don't forget the ginormous TV's and mega sound system needed for the bigger rooms. 4. Her family - their expectations of support from the 'rich falang' will rise in proportion to the house size. And if you don't deliver, their bitter resentment will rise on a logarithmic scale. Our house (yes I know it's hers, but I wanted that as I also have property in my home country) was only oversized by two large rooms and one excess bathroom - but the above principles still apply, and looking at what you're planning, your issues will be magnified. My advice .... just build what you need to live comfortably and don't show-off.

I had a Lenovo Yoga and the office used several IdeaPads. Very poor reliability and terrible service. I now avoid Lenovo. Asus is my brand of choice.

I've found it takes a lot of effort, determination and some luck to build up enough savings/assets and investments to provide a decent income in retirement. I have the funds from several company pensions which I was unfortunately convinced to move to an overseas QROPS ... lost a lot in collapsed investments and 'fees', so now not a viable pension. Fortunately I also bought two decent properties in the home country and paid for my home in Thailand, so have no debt. Add in some savings for future major purchases (like a new car or motorbike), and my government pension, and I'm OK, but still need to be careful with expenses. Although I've made some big investment errors, the two things I did do right was start early and buy property. But I've been surprised how much it does take to fund a retirement.

Yes, unless he has good health insurance.

Good point ..... that's the 'travel together' scheme, although Thai people need to apply for that discount via the official website, so not sure it was the reason in the OP. I've also seen Marriott offering 'Thai Resident Rates' which us evil foreigners can get if we have a resident book.

I understand dual pricing for national parks (although I think foreigners who pay tax in Thailand, which may be most of us residents now) should get the locals rate. But dual pricing for a hotel just seems wrong. But the epicenter of dual pricing is the Chaeng Wattana government offices, so I don't expect the practice to change soon. At the market shops in Chaeng Wattana Immigration Building B this week, I tried to buy a multitool (Chinese copy Leatherman) .... 800 THB for me, so walked away, sent the Mrs back 5 minutes later, 250 THB. Next I asked about a hat .... 790 THB for me, 300 THB for the her. Last test was a make-up brush my Mrs wanted to buy, I said let me ask the price first ..... 800 THB. When she went back later - 250 THB. Three different shops, all targeting foreigners for excessive pricing .... not a big issue, but makes you feel unwelcome.

I understand what you are saying, and for many people this will be the key issue, but I'm now retired and no longer have an income in my home country, so any funds I transfer from my 'home' bank account must have been earned before Jan 1st.

That sounds like you can still bring money into Thailand after 1st Jan 24 without a tax liability if you earned that money prior to 1st Jan 24? So if you had savings in a home country bank last year, you could claim that the money was earned prior to the new tax law?

The tax free earning allowances in my home country are much higher than in Thailand, and the taxation % levels are also higher - both due to the higher average salaries in my home country. So my pensions may not be taxable in UK, but will be above the much lower tax threshold in Thailand. So if I pay no tax in UK due to local tax laws, I may not be able claim zero tax in Thailand where the threshold is lower. I think this will be an issue for many.

You are using the Thai version of history. At the time Thailand extended into what is now Cambodia and Laos, and that region was colonised by the French as well as Chanthaburi. And it was in the 1940's that Thailand had its 'Victory' over the French. So we can disagree on scale and the dates, but Thailand has been colonised.

A gated falang community sounds like my idea of hell, but if you really want that, look at the mooban estates near to the main international schools. I'm referring to the international schools that mainly cater to ex-pat families. Bangkok Pattana, Shrewsbury, NIST etc. There's mooban gated estates close to those schools that are almost entirely occupied by foreigners.