phuketjock

2 minutes ago, Flustered said:

If you are only posting with NKM on a personal basis, you should use the PM and not a public forum.

 

We are all entitled to an opinion and I think the NKM's posts make far more sense than many others. He seems to have his finger on the pulse.

 

Just noticed, it looks like the kindergarten kids are home now.

How's the weather up North?

4 minutes ago, Flustered said:

Don't you think you should tone it down a bit?

 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and to be honest, NKM makes a lot of sense when he posts.

I don't believe I was addressing you, are you a digital bodyguard?

I have no problem with anyone giving their opinion but I take umbridge when they 

represent their opinion as facts when they have no experience whatsoever in the

subject they claim to be expressing their " opinion " on.

It is difficult to make sense when you don't know what you are talking about.

22 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"I have property and business here in Patong" - really?  I couldn't tell.   

 

Seriously though, and I have mentioned this in other threads, and I am not trolling or baiting.  Apart from cash at bank, if one was to leave a property and / or business to their spouse, and given their are so many properties for sale that aren't moving, and given the massive and rapid change of the tourist demographic, what would that individual actually be leaving?

 

I hear it a lot from expats, "When I die the missus gets the house."  Given houses are not selling here, even at fire sale prices, what would he be leaving her?  Even long term tenants are hard to find now. 

 

I ask this question because, whilst I can see a direct benefit to the widow if she is from Phuket, with family here, I would suggest the majority of wives are not Phuket natives, so their thoughts may be to sell and move home. 

 

I personally know a guy who has had his property on the market here for over 5 years, with many price reductions, so, given the current property market, when would the widow be able to turn their inheritance into a cash asset, rather than keeping a bricks and mortar liability, in the form of taxes and fees?

 

 

 

 

There you go again supposition, supposition to fit your case, who said anything about my missus selling up after I am gone.

I have just about exhausted the time I am willing to spend on your clown like behaviour. have a nice day.

2 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

LIK, I'm not dragging you into anything. 

 

There's no problem. I just remembered something along the lines of you decreasing business here and moving money offshore.  Information you volunteered, not information I dragged out of you. 

 

So, it sounds like you chose not to expand your business, due to a declining market, or harsher economic times. 

 

I have never suggested every expat here has, or will lose, money.  Some did quite well here in the boom years.

 

That said, Phuket is now a vastly different place, as we all know, and I am simply saying there is little to no money to be made in business and property here these days, given the way Phuket is currently being administrated. 

You, as usual, are talking nonsense.

You don't own anything here, you don't do any business here, in short everything 

you say is hearsay and secondhand info.

You, sir have no idea what you are talking about so until you do have some hard 

and fast experience about actually owning and doing business in Patong your 

opinion is nothing more than an opinion and supposition no facts involved.

14 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

Save your pity for those with property and / or a business here.  Unfortunately, they are along for the ride.  As stake holders, it's sad they are not allowed to have an input into the direction of Phuket / Patong. 

 

I've got nothing invested here, which wasn't just "luck" but an informed decision.  How many would like to wind back the clock and change their decision????  Perhaps a question for another thread, although pride does tend to get in the way of honesty here. 

 

I have a positive outlook on life, but I do have a laugh at some on here that refuse to face the economic realities of Phuket / Patong.  An economic reality that has no effect on me, for the time being.

 

Only time will tell, but I have never seen more "For Sale" signs on residential and commercial premises, not to mention closures, in the whole time I have been coming to Phuket, and then living here full time. 

 

I'm sure each sign and closure has a story. 

 

 

I have property and business here in Patong as it happens and apart from the usual annual

low season we are doing alright despite all the naysayers and their profoundly negative

outlooks. When I finally "shuffle off this mortal coil" the wife and her family will have nothing

to worry about, financially anyway. 

7 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"A Thai friend is the maintenance engineer on a resort just near beach road and it has 100 rooms of which ONE is currently occupied" - how long before this guy loses his full time job and the hotel starts using contractors on an hourly rate?

I feel sorry for you mate everything you say is doom and gloom all the way, why don't you go down

Bangla and drown your sorrows??

What happened to always look on the bright side of life?? 

8 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

Ahhh, Bangla Road is in Patong. 

 

Are you suggesting Bangla Road is dead but the rest of Patong is not? 

I will leave the suggesting to the likes of yourself, you seem to think you are good at it.

5 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

Patong / Bangla Road is Phuket's BIGGEST tourist attraction, and if it's "quiet" or "dead" then what does that say about tourism here?

 

You are embarrassing yourself now. 

Hmmm you think?

Once again the OP is about Patong not Bangla, not tourists or tourism.

No mention of either in the OP.

32 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"You dont seem to realize that the demographics have changed." - you're joking, right???? 

 

I am clearly saying the tourist numbers are up, but the money from them is down, way down.  I really can't be any clearer than that.  I know the demographics have changed.

 

"Just because "you" dont see westerners spending in bars doesn't mean money is not being spent." - sure, but is more or less being spent by the new tourist demographic?  This is crucial to Patong's future, is it not?

 

"have a look at restaurant No 6 , there will be a queue of Chinese stretching down the street" - I live in Patong.  I see it whenever I am out.  Once again, and I can't be any clearer, does ten Chinese tourist at a cheap Thai restaurant spend the same as a western couple eating at a mid to high end restaurant having steak and having a bottle of wine?  I would suggest you would need a lot more Chinese tourists to replace the lost western couples for the same amount of money to be injected into the local Phuket economy.

 

"Chinese, Russians etc spend money, they spend money at ground level, they eat in cheap Thai restaurants, They shop at Thai night markets" - once again, I don't disagree, but compare them to western tourists and I suggest they do not spend as much, despite their higher numbers.

 

"Maybe you need to get out more" - no, I don't.  I see it on a daily basis.  Do the math, how many Chinese equals one westerner for daily spend?

 

"The economy of Phuket is no longer westerners propping up bar stools in Bangla Rd" - I agree, but they were more lucrative than the current demographic.  This thread is "Patong is dead" and Bangla Road  is the main tourist strip in Patong.  So, by your comment, are you agreeing that "Patong is dead?" 

 

"My Condo block has 2 buses every morning taking Russian kids to school." - you are now talking about expats.  This thread is discussing tourists and tourism.  This comment is better suited on another thread currently running.

 

Once again, I know what TAT's business model is for the new demographic.  Basically, for example, they have said we need ten Chinese to come to Phuket to replace the one western tourist Phuket has lost.  (less profits per tourist but more tourists to keep the same profits)  Due to the fact they eat and shop on the cheap, I would suggest they need even more numbers to cover the losses from the western market.

 

I'll say it clearly, and feel free to quote me on it.  The tourist numbers are up, but the money from them in Patong is down. 

Wrong again. "This thread is discussing tourists and tourism."

No where in the OP is tourism or tourists even mentioned, this thread is about Patong,

and how quiet it is/was.

1 hour ago, NamKangMan said:

 

The thread is over 100 pages.  Simple question really. 

Simple answer to a simple question really.

I am pretty sure you need a non imm. "O" Visa to apply for an extension of your permission to stay

on the grounds of retirement. It is not a VISA , there is no retirement or marriage VISA. Or I believe

you can, at certain imm. offices convert a visa exempt or voa to a non "O", but you will need UJs

knowledge for that info.

For info VISAs cannot be extended.

18 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

i just do not understand this: i retired very early and all it took was 'i am retiring'; nothing formal; so why and how can we get a doc from us indicating this ? i get social security but even that is not technically any sort of 'retirement doc'; (people on SSC work all the time)

OR is all of this just another marginally logical thai requirement that our embassy just rubber stamps (and we have to pay a goodly amount for ?);

i can tell my embassy that i earn 10,000,000 baht/month in pensions and they will just smile , stamp and charge me

Apparently not anymore it seems, quite bizarrely, you are required to prove to the embassy that you are retired, how I 

don't know? it has been posted that it is the embassy that is making this a requirement. 

I may be wrong but that is how have read it.

On 5/5/2017 at 11:34 AM, Kwasaki said:

Well you may say that but when trying get my Mrs into the UK many moons back l wouldn't want to put her through that again, it's a disgrace the way they are treated.

 

Marriage extension was no sweat really if they require the 50 pages or more from the rain forest for me to stay with my wife in Thailand then no worries..

 

I have to say the Sukhothai immigration staff are very friendly and helpful the head lady use to be at the Maesot office.  

All the palaver they sort with you is the directive from the Thailand immigration head office and she said if we get something wrong it reflects on us badly.

They would like to cut down the work on long time stayers like me but  "no can".  

 

Just a small but important point K from a couple of years ago any extension will only run to the date of expiry of your 

Passport, so need to be aware of that. They used to give the full year no matter how long left on pp then when you got

new pp. you transferred the extension, not now you only get whats left on your pp.

2 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

Do I need the proof even if the income is deposited into a Thai bank account  directly from my company?

Yes

I assume you are on an extension of permission to stay, not a VISA,

on the grounds of marriage to a Thai national.

If you are working in Thailand you cannot get a retirement extension,

if you are working outside Thailand you can.

If you use the monthly income method for your extension you will need 

proof of same from your embassy/consulate.

17 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

"So all in 37 years experience of Thailand and yourself??" - your words, not mine.  

 

So, how many years of the 37 in Thailand have you lived on Phuket?

 

 

Read the thread and you will find the answer to your question o great one.     

Or should I say grasshopper.            

4 minutes ago, NamKangMan said:

 

This issue has been raise in this thread.

 

If you have been living here for years, is it possible you don't see the changes to Phuket.  The "boiling frog" term has been used to describe this.  Another term is, "can't see  the wood from the trees." 

 

I know since I have been living here full time I find it more difficult to see Phuket through a first time tourist's eyes.

 

You have been here for decades, is it possible you don't see Phuket in the same way as someone who has been here only for a few years?  Serious question.

Do you actually read anything properly before you blunder in with your nonsense.

I have not been here for " decades " and I don't wear blinkers like you seem to.

2 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

I thought you had to show 400,000 Bt for the extension due to marriage. Am I wrong?

You are correct KB, I avoided the requirements because individual imm. offices vary quite a lot

making it difficult to make an accurate list unless the ops office is known.

14 minutes ago, Flustered said:

A few years longer than you. First visit 1978. My first visit to Thailand to Bangkok was in 1976.

 

So you will remember Phuket Town as it was. the Thavon Hotel in Ratsada Road, the Siam tailors shop next to the On On Hotel, the Vijitt when it was a collection of small huts (stayed there for many a month), Nai Harn when there were no buildings at all, Surin beach - a pristine beach with absolutely no bars, cafes, hotels or anything and just one English/Thai lawyer on the whole island.

 

You do not have to be a permanent resident to know about Phuket. 

 

 

Sorry not really up for a stroll down memory lane .

I do feel you have to be living somewhere to be current and up to date with what's happening now,

which is what the thread is about.

2 hours ago, bstafford214 said:

Thanks Ubonjoe & Lopburi3 for the clarification.  I believe there was a little confusion with the 90 day reporting, which I did last year and up to April this year, now I think it is clear for the new 90 day permitted to stay and prepare for a new visa probably late July or early Aug, thanks again.

Hi bstafford214 You don't quite seem to be clear you will be applying for a 90 day non imm. "O" visa which will give

you permission to stay in Thailand for the duration of that visa, during the last 30 days or so you can apply for an

extension ( not a visa ) of that permission to stay on the grounds of retirement or marriage to a Thai national,

I have been on a renewable retirement extension for the last 9 years and ubonjoe has been on a renewable marriage

extension for 9 years, you need to decide which one you prefer.

Once you have obtained your initial extension you will have to meet the same requirements annually to renew your

extension every year.

You will not be required to leave the country but you will be required to do 90 day reports at your imm. office.

If you do wish to leave the country at any time you will need to obtain a re-entry permit to keep your extension alive.

Good luck. 

1 minute ago, Lamkyong said:

again yes i have a mate like that   lived here 12 years  and still uses whatever he conjurers 

to fit the situation

Frustrating isn't it?

4 minutes ago, Lamkyong said:

whilst i agree terminology  does certainly help    i think   not everyone  is up to date

so this is why TV is a successful  forum that it is versatile, via the posters, to accommodate

the less well informed in a kindly manner   and therefore the posters will learn all about the correct terminology for future use  

Why thank you Lamkyong unfortunately many times the problem is the people who are up to date who continue to

refuse to use the correct terminology which hinders the less well informed and perpetuates the confusion big time.

The above being an example of this, the op appears to have been incorrectly informed.

26 minutes ago, Flustered said:

I was probably visiting Phuket for long periods before you even knew it existed. You do not have to be a resident to comment on the island.

 

How long have you been living in Phuket?

I first came to Thailand in 1980 and have been living permanently in Phuket for 10 years 

previous to which I was based in Phuket working on an on off rotation for several years,

and you? Oh sorry you are not actually living in Phuket are you?

Previous to that I worked in Malaysia and had a house in Hatyai/Songkhla for 10 years.

So all in 37 years experience of Thailand and yourself??

21 minutes ago, Flustered said:

How many expats do you know who live in large housing estates? 

 

And I apologise for the magic mushroom remark.

 

NKM however, has been proved time and time again to be correct in his posts despite a few FMs who would try to rubbish him. He really does have a grip on reality in Phuket today.

I am not able to recall any time when NKM was proved correct but I can recall many times when 

he has been incorrect. NKM has about as much a grip on reality as you seem to have, living no where

near Phuket.

This appears to be another perfect example why using the correct terminology

regarding visas/extensions/permission to stay is imperative to avoid unending confusion!!!!

and in this case possibly massive fines.