Kinnock

..... and organisations that buy from farms, those that invest in farming, and potential new students are likely to be in Bangkok. I've been to a food technology exhibition at this university, and it was impressive. Thai education may lag in other areas, but in the food and farming sector they are quite advanced.

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.

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.

"We all know how proud Thais are at never being colonized by the west ... ". .... Ah, the old 'never colonised' myth. There's just the inconvenient period when France colonised a large area in the East of Thailand (Chanthaburi, Trat, parts of Rayong) and it was the Japanese who forced them out, with some help from the Nazis who put pressure on the Vichy French. Victory Monument was built to celebrate the end of the French rule, and Chanthaburi Cathedral is a remnant from the French era. Then after the Japanese were pushed out by the Americans and their allies, Britain managed Thailand for several years. I also think parts of what was Thailand are still occupied by the Burmese and Cambodia? So apart from the French, the Japanese, the Burmese, the Khmer and the Brits, Thailand has never been colonised.

Thai nations fall into one of two tax categories: 1. Earn too little to pay income tax 2. Earn too much to pay any tax So foreigners and foreign companies in Thailand are their only hope of getting any tax revenue.

We ended up buying the EM3 from Homepro. It was discounted to 18,000 THB. She never uses it 😁 But I found it surprisingly handy for short trips when it wouldn't be worth using the real motorbike. It's 0-10 KPH acceleration would rival a big bike, then it runs out of puff and eventually tops out at 30 KPH, which seems to be regulated, as even crouching low and riding down a very steep hill it will not go past 30 KPH. It has pedals, so I guess needs no licence, although I do have a bike licence anyway. The lithium battery has a claimed range of 40km .... but 20km seems more realistic (at max speed everywhere 😁) and the charge/fuel guage is useless as it shows full for 19.9km, then suddenly goes red and I have to pedal home. Suspension is supermarket bicycle pogo-stick quality, brakes are drum, but sufficient, LED lights are good, basket is handy - but it's really only good for very local trips and needs changing regularly.

We turned up for the VFS appointment armed with 3 months of bank statements for her and 1 month for me. Copies of her property blue book and car ownership book, plus a letter from me as her sponsor and a copy of my passport. We also included photos of us together at various events. I'd paid for the lounge and scanning service and for the express processing. I was not allowed into the lounge so waited outside while she went in alone to send selfies to me of her sipping coffee and eating biscuits ???? The young admin guy didn't want the photos or the car docs. He scanned the rest, took her photo, and she was out in 10 minutes. 5 days later her passport with 180 day multi entry visa arrived by courier. With hindsight I didn't need the 'VIP' service as uploading the docs on line looked simple. The online application asked for details of parents, income, costs etc and the scanned docs supported the financial details we provided. We also had to provide details of where we'd be staying in UK. In the application and in my letter I stated I would cover her costs in UK. I've booked the flights, but at the time I didn't have flight or hotel bookings.

I suffer from 04:00 am anxiety - major worries about finances, relationships etc, etc. I've found that regular excercise helps. I've found a few sports that I enjoy and can do at my age, and if I keep fit the impact of the anxiety is much less.

I've seen Pattaya Triumph arrange test ride days, Distinguished Gentlemen Charity Rides and support Biker Cafe events. They seem to very active. They also answered by query about the new 400 (arrives at end of year).

So sad to hear this news about a long time and very active member of this community. I always found his posts to be informative and thought provoking, and he came across as a great character and a true biker. I remember a post from years ago when he explained that his screen name was a spelling mistake when setting up his account - but it stuck. Take care out there all .... and have a ride in his honour.

Our trip was delayed, so I only submitted the documents this week and have booked a meeting at VFS for next week. So I can provide an update soon.

You really need to try one. I know from trying on a range helmets that I have an Arai shaped head, and I find Shoei too round so they put pressure on my forehead. In general I find the locally made helmets too round too.

Will never happen ..... we can only guess at the promises they've made to keep Thaksin out of jail, but I'm sure that not challenging the contitution and the laws protecting the 'establishment' will be part of the deal. Thaksin's very public display on arrival into Thailand was a bit if a giveaway too. But while I feel sympathy for all my Thai friends, I also understand there's some benefits from stability.

I think if you want 1TB memory you'll need a removable SD card so you can add the 500 GB card to top it up the 1TB? The Note 10 is the last one with a removable SD card. As for buying, I bought a new Note 9 for half price on Lazada after the Note 20 was launched. It was cheap because it was 2 generations behind the latest phone, and I added the SD card to get 1TB. You can now find new Note 10's on line at great prices. You obviously need to be careful, as there's some scams out there, but I bought from an on-line shop that looked to have good/genuine reviews. It turned out to be a Korean model, but was easy to swap to English/Thai, and who reads manuals anyway. Could the slowing of your Note 4 be related to RAM? Older models tended to have less RAM, and I think newer Apps run better with more memory. WiFI and cellular Internet speeds have also increased with newer phones.

Isn't that Lisa? Jennie is Korean.

You need to accept that laws in Thailand are there to enable the police to make money, not for the purpose of controlling hazardous behaviours. For Ploenchit BTS you can exit via the mall (7-11/Dean & Deluca/Hotel) and use mall's escalator to get to street level, or via Homepro mall if going to the other side. For other walkways you'll need to learn the Cambodian phrase for "get out my f-ing way".