willyumiii

Maybe never?

I am also an American who has lived here for five years and I thought I had adjusted, until the current extended, record breaking heat wave!

I find that Thai people I know often complain about the heat when it doesn't really bother me, but lately, I think it is getting to everyone, Thai or not.

I love Thailand and never plan to return to America, but recently find myself my cool, foggy home town of San Francisco!

You are wrong.

Online 90 day reporting is available.

Maybe your computer skills need improvement.

You are also very wrong about Korat immigration.

I have gone to the Korat office for many years and they have always been very helpful and cooperative.

Some officers in the Korat office have gone way above their normal responsibilities to assist me with problems, even going into the office on their day off to assist me.

I suspect your arse has an attitude problem.

Up to you

Do you get along with the family ?

I built a house in my wife's village and am surrounded by many of her family.

They are all good people and are an asset to me.

They take care of things when we are gone, watch our child and help with almost everything I want to do. and never ask for a thing from me.

This has been the situation for almost 15 years now and I love it.

It all depends on you and your relationship with her family.

Evaluate your own situation and then decide.

As I said....up to you.

"What would your plans be if you reach a good age?"

I think we need to think about just what is a "good age".

I once asked my doctor how many years it would add to my life if tried to lead a "healthier life" no smoking, no drinking healthy diet and more exercise?

He asked me how many extra years of wearing a diaper I really wanted.

Just what is a good age if the quality of life sucks?

I expect to die somewhere between 70 and 90.

Then it's " up the chimney" for me!

When you see a video of drunk Thai men kicking in the head of an elderly female tourist and her family it's time to vacation somewhere else.

and when you see videos of police in America beating, shooting and killing innocent people, do you want to be there ?

I'm not sure how foreigners can possibly answer this question. As an American, if the OP were to ask me: USA - is it making real progress?....I would have to ask him his definition of "progress." For Thailand, yes there has been progress in Information Technology, medical advancement, infrastructure, globalization, etc. Not so much in terms of inequality, corruption, political divisiveness, the environment, etc. I will say that in the 10+ years I've been here, Thailand has improved for me personally.

If the guy has lived here for so long, of course he can answer the question from his perspective. People may not agree but its his perception. For me Thailand is more in the news than 15 years ago and has improved in some respects. some infrastructure has improved, in Bangkok and the rural areas. Most people have the internet and a mobile phone so communication has improved. more people have cars so personal transport is more prevalent, although the damage to the roads is questionable. I could go on but won't for now.

The point I was trying to make is even as an American, with intimate knowledge of the USA and its history, I would still have a difficult time answering that question pertaining to America. So I would imagine foreigners (anywhere) would have a difficult time answering that question, except in the most basic, superficial sense.

As an American who pays attention to what goes on in my home country, I have no problem telling you that the country is going into the toilet fast..

so, the puppy is a foreign teacher, the vendor a school administrator and the knife is your....whatever

have you considered counselin /

i spent years mining placer gold and having it made into jewelry before selling it.

i found that soaking the gold in a spray cleaner like fantastic or 409 for 24 hours removed all of the dirt and tarnish from it and made it beautiful.

Not sure why a witness is needed to get a passport renewed. But that must be a requirement from your home country.

Why is your wife reluctant to try the local police? They might do it.

The U.K. Requires a witness to confirm that the photos you submit with your application are actually you, the back of the photo is agh ed by the witness.

The witness must be a Policeman, Doctor(MD), Lawyer, Accountant or. JP

Same rules apply in Ireland

why does your country need to make life so difficult/

glad to not be from the uk.

it seems the op assumes that immigration does not monitor posts on the tv site.

they do.

he just gave them more reason to suspect we are all fakes and flakes.

thanks for that op

not

I look at Laos and Vietnam as very attractive places to live.

I would probably be there if it weren't for my Thai wife and her need to be close to her family and their need to have us close to them here in Thailand.

Life is not just about what you want, it is also about the people you love and their needs.

I love my wife.

That is why I married her almost 15 years ago.

It's strange.

I have heard about this requirement before.

But,when I was married to my Thai wife, in Thailand, 14 years ago I was never required to prove to anyone that I was not already married.

Could it be because I had never been married before,

or was I just lucky not be be asked for proof?

14 years later, it is still a very good marriage.

Get out of the city.

I buy my honey from the local farmers.

Cheap.

No problems.

hmong-market-honey-combs.jpg

Again and again....you are missing the point !

The point for him is that double pricing is the foreigners fault because they don't act Thai enough - that if one "respects the local culture," that people will reward that with equitable treatment. It's a delusion I used to have as well.

In fact, nobody cares if you wai really well or know all the right forms of address for different social station or volunteer at the temple to sweep up leaves. There's no scorecard to fill up, and once you fill it, you're just like a Thai.

In the Kingdom, you'll always be judged on your race.

My point is that if you choose to live in the westernized parts of Thailand, like Bangkok, Pattaya and the like, you are easy prey for people who make a living taking advantage of foreigners who do not understand the language, culture and value of things.

Avoid these areas and you will find yourself being treated like everyone else.

In some cases, in the north, foreigners are treated better than your average Thai.

Yes., I and others I know are actually given discounts in small markets that Thai people don't get.

For instance, I noticed that at my local store, I was being charged 3 baht less for a quart of beer than Thai people were and I asked why.

I was told " Thai guy comes and buy one beer every couple of weeks. You come here and buy two beer every day. I want you to come here every day and not go to other store."

Three baht is not a lot, but being treated as a prefered customer, keeps me coming back.

I don't think it is I missing the point benalibina

Get out of the city.

I buy my honey from the local farmers.

Cheap.

No problems.

Thailand is enforcing strict policies on overstayers. I would expect a blacklist is implemented.

Read the OP again.

His friend left and paid his fine before the new rules were implemented.

It seems you missed that part of his post..

Wow!

Twenty years ago, this would have been a valid question.

Tattos went mainstream world wide long ago.

Where have you been?

You have more holes in your bucket than you realize.

Your post is full of problems that only you yourself could and should remedy.

I will not waste time listing them.

I grew up in the greatest place, in the greatest country, at the greatest time the world has ever known. I don't think it will ever be that way again.

Cheers.

Yeah, the 50's were a great time for white Americans.

I doubt very much that these politicians the OP speaks of was speaking in English. Perhaps the Thai version of the word.

So what's Thainess from the farang perspective? It's exactly the same as being proud to be an American. Or being an Australian. Or being English. Or being French. Get it, OP?

You have found one right here.

I am American and proud of it.

I am sure there are many more out there and many proud English people too.

You have blinded yourself with your personal opinions.

I have no problem with you being proud to be an American (what country do you live in)

But if I read you correct you are saying there is some thing wrong with a Thai being proud to be a Thai.

I have reviewed my and found nothing that indicates that I feel anything is wrong with Thais being proud of being Thai.

That is not how I feel at all.

They have as much right and reason to be prous as anyone else does.

What is Thainess, it depends who you ask. Simply put it would be the characteristics of Thai culture that distinguish them from other cultures. Obviously there is an element of racism involved.

From the propagandist point of view these differences are beneficial. To many non Thais, they appear to be obstacles to progress. You can make up your own plus/minuses based on observations and decide for yourself if they are winning.

I agree, but must point out that the line between racism and nationalism is often blurred in Thailand.

If you go back in history, the Thai population consists of more than one race.

I think the term nationalism is more appropriate in this instance.

I doubt very much that these politicians the OP speaks of was speaking in English. Perhaps the Thai version of the word.

So what's Thainess from the farang perspective? It's exactly the same as being proud to be an American. Or being an Australian. Or being English. Or being French. Get it, OP?

You have found one right here.

I am American and proud of it.

I am sure there are many more out there and many proud English people too.

You have blinded yourself with your personal opinions.

This is what the immigration officer in Hua Hin was telling my wife in Thai, never mind I was there sitting next. He told her blatantly " we don't want people with just small money, we want them to keep big money (800K), it is better for Thailand." My wife was ready to spit on him and I was ready to piss on his desk.... Fortunately we both could contain ourselves.

My question:

What good does it do for Thailand for us to have 800K tied up in the bank?

Would it not be better for Thailand if we were out spending that money?

It is less work for them and can get stamped in one day......

That is Thailands own fault, they deliberately make you jump through more hoops to get the Marriage extensions.

Same old Thailand, never make things easier for you when they can make them harder.

But hey! We are "guests" in this country, are we not?

In my home, "guests" are people I invite to enter.

How many of us were invited to live in Thailand?