SanukDii

The debate was a bit of a waste of time. Most Brits view the entire US political system and it's candidates with disbelief, bemusement or good fodder for satire. Incidentally I think viewing the Republican debate showed that the Donald is unfortunately much, much smarter than the other candidates. Ok, it was a very low bar.

I will preface this with the statement that I believe there are good, honest hard working Thai people in this country. Unfortunately none of them seem to be in positions where they can make a real difference to the way the country is run and educated.

Civil war? It's possible I suppose but far in the future.

We are also moving our operations back to the west for many of the reasons already mentioned here.

Lack of accountability is another one not mentioned and the relentless corruption and dishonesty.

Productivity, we've decided that it is better to pay western salaries and get things done at a higher quality in half the time, and base ourself in a country that has laws that are enforced and apply to the majority.

As others mentioned here the timeline of the political cycle makes basing serious money projects here a complete waste of time and resources.

So, we will take our highly paid jobs and projects that employ 100's of Thai's at above average salaries and give them to another country - which is disappointing but not entirely unforseen.

Failed again.

1. Within the time window.
2. Explorer being used.
3. Only filling in requested (red Asterisk) questions. (But tried lots of permutations after this failed)

Bit of a waste of time for me. Guess it's off to CW in Jan. No big deal but surely they can make it more user friendly than this. Note to self....must....not....apply.... logic...when....dealing...with...anything....in....Thailand.

MERRY XMAS

Bat

I take a couple of taxi's per day. 90% ok, 5% great, 5% absolute tw#ts.

As others have said, if you're in a tourist area or at one of the big hotels, Uber, Uber or...Uber.

The buildings don't really matter. The people do.

Broadly in agreement with that although in Bangkok the buildings have greatly contributed to making the city the one with the, globally, highest yearly average temperature by some estimates.

Living standards may have risen

but the quality of life has gone down in Bangkok at least IMHO.

It's hard to maintain perspective. I've lived in London, Madrid and New York (twice). Lots of the gripes I have about living in Bangkok could be levelled at those cities too. Big cities put a lot of pressure on the locals who are just earning enough to get by - that makes people irritable sometimes. New York is famous for it, so is Madrid although I still love both cities.

New York is very different from the rest of the USA just as Bangkok is very different to other areas of Thailand. However, as others have mentioned, there is a cycle of instability here that is always centered on Bangkok. That is not much fun when it happens. The heat makes enjoying the outdoors and walking around the city not much fun (unlike NYC or London).

So yes, inevitably, Bangkok and Thailand is changing but you can still find the things I first loved about the place 30 years ago - it just takes a lot more effort than it used to.

Thorgal: There is only one Kurdish group that has consistently and effectively battled ISIS in Syria, and that is the Y.P.G. They have 35,000 soldiers. Also the half dozen other kurdish groups do not seem to have a singular aim and so I would suggest they are less effective.

To win a guerilla style war you need 10 X the number that the Guerrillas have. So if ISIS have 35000 you need, by conventional wisdom, 350,000 regular soldiers to overcome them.

ISIS only have about 30,000 fighter's in Syria and other regions in the vicinity so I think 100,000 is far fetched. But they make a lot of noise (propaganda) and have a vast income (oil mostly). People have the impression there are considerably more of them. There are millions of Muslim people, only a small fraction of a percent are radical.

Aforek, congrats on learning to read that helps a lot. Actually being a musician was both a help and a hindrance in the beginning. High tones, as in "Naam" actually rise in pitch musically and rising tones such as "suay" fall in pitch before rising - that was hellaconfusing to begin with. But yes, having an "ear" does help overall

I can only comment on my own experiences. My native language is English. The second language I learnt was Spanish and having learnt Spanish, then went on to learn French, Portuguese and Italian all of which I found considerably easier no doubt because of the Spanish. In the late 90's I came to Thailand and learnt Thai which was much more difficult than all of the previous languages. After which I learnt Mandarin which seemed much easier than the Thai for a number of reasons, one of which I suspect was the previous exposure to the grammar and structure of Asian languages.

Incidentally I am also a musician. In the 80's and most of the 90s myself and several colleagues were amongst an elite group of session players that played on many of both decades biggest hit records on both sides of the Atlantic - all were self taught, so the previous posters assumptions that you need competent instruction to be competent is erroneous. Actually my Thai improved immensely when I stopped taking lessons and taught myself.

That's interesting to hear about the self-taught musicians. All the professional musicians I have known were formally trained, but it's a big world.

Did you learn to read and write Mandarin? I find it hard to believe that anyone would rate fully learning Mandarin (including literacy) is easier than Thai.

And how good is your Thai? Can you read and write? Do you read Thai books at university level? Do Thais understand you? Do you understand them? How large is your vocabulary? Passed the ป 6 exam?

I recognize that there are some people who can become fully fluent in Thai without formal study, but they would be few. Chris Baker, for instance, says that he never studied Thai formally, but he had already mastered several languages including Russian in university and then married a Thai academic. So, he both had resources and the skills to use them. But that's not most people.

The overwhelming fact is that most Western expats never get even to a basic level of competence in Thai. Thai is harder for us to learn than French, but the reason most Westerners fail is that they are not sufficiently motivated and they don't follow a course of study that is likely to be successful, i.e. university-level study or the equivalent. Attempting to teach yourself from books and tapes is a recipe for failure even if there is an occasional counter-example although I myself have not met any.

My post was in response to the previous poster who has evidently learned Japanese, but cannot master the Thai tones well enough to be understood. My point for him if he has failed to learn the Thai tones it is not because learning them is impossible. Nor is it because he lacks aptitude. So, it must be because he has gone about it in the wrong way. My guess is that he hasn't had competent correction and if he did he would get the tones down. If he sticks to whatever method he has been using to date he is likely to continue to fail.

I started learning the reading and writing of Mandarin as I was taking formal lessons to begin with. But to be honest I don't really like the Asian approach to language learning (the rote method). So I soon resorted to my own methods I have developed after many years of formal language training in a western univercity based system. I've found a way to accelerate my language learning so, I only need about a year before I am pretty fluent.

Perhaps I should clarify on my Thai language learning. Over a period of four years I completed every course I could find, took private lessons in vowel and tone pronunciation and pretty much refused to speak english - which I'm sure was amusing for the Thais on the recieving end! So, yes I can read and write although I really have no need to beyond the everyday uses...no univercity books for me thanks. Yes they understand me and yes (unfortunately) I understand them. Large vocab, not sure, but based on conversations I would guess somewhere between 3 to 4000 words - it's a guess ...don't hang me! As per your reference for Chris Baker I found that when I stopped the lessons and started teaching myself my language improved immensly both in complexity and the detail with which I could express myself, but I had a lot of language learning under my belt from IOL, and a degree in modern languages, and a masters (complete waste of time that was!) I think the reason I feel that the Mandarin was easier is that after probably 15 years of learning latin based languages the Thai felt SO alien! By the time I got to Mandarin I was prepared for the tones, classifiers (or measuring words as my teacher insisted on refering to them) and the fact that pinyin allows you to read a consistent transliteration is also more helpful than the many different versions that you encounter in Thai.

But don't missunderstand me, I am not putting down a comprehensive approach to learning a language and one of the "did I just do that?" moments in my life was being able to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's books in the original language . But most people will never need that kind of fluency in their everday life, or have the time to acquire it, and simple polite conversation will be enough - you don't need 4 years of Uni for that.

PS...I think I am done with languages for now. The more you speak the more revision there is

I can only comment on my own experiences. My native language is English. The second language I learnt was Spanish and having learnt Spanish, then went on to learn French, Portuguese and Italian all of which I found considerably easier no doubt because of the Spanish. In the late 90's I came to Thailand and learnt Thai which was much more difficult than all of the previous languages. After which I learnt Mandarin which seemed much easier than the Thai for a number of reasons, one of which I suspect was the previous exposure to the grammar and structure of Asian languages.

Incidentally I am also a musician. In the 80's and most of the 90s myself and several colleagues were amongst an elite group of session players that played on many of both decades biggest hit records on both sides of the Atlantic - all were self taught, so the previous posters assumptions that you need competent instruction to be competent is erroneous. Actually my Thai improved immensely when I stopped taking lessons and taught myself.

Just for clarification on the income method.

You do not need to show you are hitting the 65k every month. Your embassy, when they provide the confirmation of income, will take your yearly income and average it over the 12 months. So if, like me, sometimes you have no income for a couple of months this won't count against you as long as your 12 month average exceeds 65k per month.

I take money quarterly, and have just done my 3rd "retirement" visa so I can verify this is how it works at least from the British embassy.

P.S. - Don't forget your re-entry permit. Otherwise you will get a nasty surprise if you go out of the country and try to come back in.

Then why don't they issue traffic citations and generate billions of baht?

Actually enforcing laws is an untapped goldmine in Thailand.

Errrr.....they do. And it goes straight into the pocket of the officer or his precinct. Ask any college student who owns a motorbike. It's not untapped and yes you're right it is probably billions of baht.

No surprise here. The police in Thailand are not a security and intelligence gathering organisation. They are a rent collecting and revenue generating organisation.

Thanks again. So looks like 40% down which leaves me about a million baht or less to finance.

Thanks for the responses guys. Yes, I expected it to be easier if one had a work permit. All my earnings are offshore although I bring money in on an as needed basis. Still the earning are easily verifiable I guess we will see whether the Bank/Finance company will accept.

Hello all,

Does anybody have any experience of financing a car here in Thailand whilst on a retirement visa?

Possible? Level of deposits required? Finance rates?

Any info gratefully appreciated.

Thx

... My friend and I flew to Bangkok in the morning and found her in the Mcdonalds near Nana plaza in a shirt and bikini bottoms. We had to drive her back to CM because she refused to go back for her belongings. She cried for the entire journey.

...

Of course this is TV so I await the considered and measured response :-P

Why didn't you fly back with the poor girl?

Yes I remember the brothel fire a few years ago (near Khao San Rd if memory serves) Where the girls were chained to the beds and died.

For those members who claim the girls are mostly voluntary: there are many girls that would claim they are but are coerced by their families who put continual pressure on them to send money home.

Case in point: Whilst living in Chiang Mai my friend had a staff member, a seveteen year old girl, who he was paying 12,000 baht a month to. Not much, but the deal was she could go to school and he would cover her education too. This young lady was everything you would want in a member of staff: Honest, loyal and loved studying - in which she could see a future.

Her family in Isaan had a different view however. They put her under constant pressure to stop studying and join her two sisters and Aunty in Bangkok. The story was they worked in a pub and earned good money as waitresses. Eventually she agreed to go down to BKK just to see her Aunty. On arrival an 'Aunty' picked her up, drove straight to a gogo bar and during the course of the evening forced her to get up on stage wearing a bikini saying her mother had agreed she works here now.

We got the phonecall at 3am from a young girl completely traumatised by the experience. My friend and I flew to Bangkok in the morning and found her in the Mcdonalds near Nana plaza in a shirt and bikini bottoms. We had to drive her back to CM because she refused to go back for her belongings. She cried for the entire journey.

Not every girl is tough enough or lucky enough to get away that easily. My friends wife had a few choice words for her mother who really didn't care and was angry we had rescued her.

Of course it will be convenient for most to live in denial about the life trauma these girls endure, after all they are good actresses.

The acceptance of prostitution on the level it exists in this country is a serious indication of both the lack of parental care in Thailand at a fundamental level in the provinces (where most of these girls originate) and the sociopathic indifference that a certain section of expats and visitors display towards young women who wouldn't give them the time of day under normal circumstances.

Of course this is TV so I await the considered and measured response :-P

OK, my own tiny contribution.

Entered Thailand in mid April, am within the window they specify for online 90 day reporting.

Browsers.

Firefox - fail (can't succesfully input data)

Chrome - fail (can't progress past the captcha on Pg1)

Internet Explorer - fail (input data and hit submit to be met with the 'report to immigration officer' message on page 1)

Sure they will get it sorted eventually but it's a bit frustrating in my experience. Wish they would ensure cross browser compatibility (does anyone use IE anymore?)

Quite - but if someone was selling me a hyundai and telling me it was a Mazza, to follow your logic, I would have a legitimate complaint.

Don't do it. Nearly all tailors in Bkk are just salesmen....not tailors. They don't cut on premises, use fake material which they will claim comes from Zegna or other high end provider (I have two Zegna suits and believe me once you've owned one you can tell the difference) and send out all work to sweatshops where some unqualified pieceworker will do their best to interpret the measurements you gave in the shop. There are a couple of shops in the Silom area: Pearry"s and another one on Sala Daeng, but they won't fit in to your 5000 baht price point.

I've tried time and time again to get quality work done in Bangkok and always met with failure. Give them a shirt order first...if they can't do that (which they can't) then don't trust them with a suit.

Think about it. How could anyone use high end fabric and turn suits out for the prices they quote - impossible. My friends girlfriend sells suits for local thai weddings here, her price to the customer is less than 2000 baht. Imagine what the tailor is chatging her.

Better buy off the peg in the US

Tipping should be up to the individual, not mandatory. I know that when I lived in California it is a significant extra cost if you eat out a lot. Say menu items add up to 100 bucks: You have sales tax and a (15%) tip on top of that. NYC is worse. It has got totally out of control in the US.

But....the level of service in the USA cannot be compared to the appalling excuse for service here in Thailand. I do tip but if the service is terrible (the norm) then I generally won't. Incidentally I am not sure that servers get the service charge that's added to bills over here. Knowing Thailand I expect the owners pocket that.

And 8000 Baht... Decent restaurant, bottle of wine or two in Bkk and you'll easily hit that for 3-4 people.

Cycling all day in 35-45 degree heat and July humidity...... Brilliant idea. Do you think these TAT folk dress themselves in the morning?