watgate

In talking to a financially astute individual awhile ago he said that many chinese investors throughout Thaiand are acquiring properties utilizing a 30 year lease option. In fact a rundown boutique hotel in chiang mai which was in disarray and closed for many years was acquired by a chinese investor and was impressively renovated utilizing a 30 year lease. When now opened his customer base is almost exclusively Chinese tourists,

     Besides the chinese investor who holds a 30 year lease on this property, who else stands to gain financially?  From what I can ascertain this  boutique hotel was being utilized almost exclusively by chinese tourists either through tour groups or the occasional independent chinese tourist. Obviously business is  slow  now, as it is throughout Thailand due to the corona virus but I am wondering does the Thai government realize any substantial revenues  from this boutique hotel? It would seem that if this hotel was being used primarily by chinese tourists on packaged tours paid in China  that most of the revenue goes back to  China. 

     Lastly, this finance individual said that as more and more properties throughout Thailand are being taken over by chinese investors via 30 year leases and their clout grows, laws can change down the road and these properties which have been acquired by the chinese can potentially revert to ownership by the chinese.

     I am not a finance guy but this scenario does seem like a possible outcome. I would like to get some folks opinions who are well versed in financial matters. Yes I am sure there will be posters who will say I am a  racist for inquiring about what is currently going on but. nevertheless I would like to know if the trojan horse has been unleashed in Thailand and is Thailand on a fast track to becoming another country that will be taken over by the Chinese hegemony which is rapidly occurring throughout SE Asia.  

     I have serious concerns because profits and greed trump all in Thailand so I am not very optimistic about the future in Thailand. Hopefully I am wrong and someone can enlighten me.

My concern going forward is where I read recently where Prayut and his administration want to build an additional almost 30 more sugar cane factories throughout Thailand. This is maddening to me because, if built, I can just envison all the sugar cane burning that will be going on. Of course, the supposed mandate by the government that if any sugar cane was harvested by burning, the factories would not accept the shipment. I can see where that fell on deaf ears and the sugar cane burning has resumed in full force. 

     As another poster stated, if the government used the money they are planning to use to purchase a chinese sub was used instead to buy some harvesters for the sugar cane, that would significantly reduce the toxic smoke from all the sugar cane burning that is currently going on.

     It is pathetic, countless folks are getting gassed and the governments solution is to build more sugar cane factories. 

I need to get out of chiang mai and was wondering where is the best area or place to move to in thailand for the best overall air quality on a yearly basis? I think Phuket would be too expensive. I am considering Rayong but now the air quality index is more then 150 so I am perplexed as to how best to proceed. 

Scenario #1- Once a thai woman goes to the US with her American boyfriend on a fiancee visa and they wind up getting married within the 3 month time period, what kind of visa would the married thai woman need to apply for to make subsequent trips to the US? Another words, after they were married in the US the thai woman came back to Thailand to live and when she wants to go back to the US with her American husband what kind of a visa would she have to apply for?

Scenario #2-     In another scenario an American man gets married to a thai woman in Thailand and they are going to apply for a tourist visa for the married thai woman to visit the US with her husband for around 6 weeks. Since they were married in Thailand would this make obtaining a tourist visa any easier in Thailand to go to the US? They don't want to apply for a fiancee visa since they were already married in Thailand plus the thai woman does not want to live in the US, for various reasons, but would like to visit the US with her American husband for around 6 weeks.

I read the first page of replies but then stopped. I imagine the dog lovers have already spoken and have rationalized the killing of this innocent child by now. It is truly a pity and pathetic how nothing is ever done to try and minimize this continued brutal assaults and vicious attacks by these totally out of control dogs that lurk all over Thailand. Time and time you read about these vicious attacks and I am truly in disbelief that nothing is ever done to try and prevent this from happening again. I can't believe the authorities are that insensitive but sometimes I wonder if they are more concerned about these stray dogs then its citizens who are mauled and killed time and time again.

Lopburi3- I am having a hard time getting a handle on this whole procedure. When I do my income tax return each year I use my US address since I still have a condo in the US which I go back each year around the beginning of April to stay in for the 1- 1 1/2 months I am in the US. I go back to see some DR's and take care of some business. Would using my US address on my tax return cause any potential problem with obtaining a ITIN for my wife?  

     Can you possibly walk me through exactly what I need to submit to the IRS to obtain the ITIN for my wife. I guess I would have to mail any required info to the the IRS. Do you think it would be better to try and obtain the ITIN in Thailand or obtain it in the US? I guess I  would have to pay a firm in the US to apply for the ITIN whereas if I apply in Thailand I guess I can apply myself at no additional cost.

     Thanks for any input and if this doesn't kill me nothing will. 

I spoke with A tax specialist from the US who works in Bangkok, namely Thomas Carden, and he said his company use to obtain the ITIN from the IRS but they stopped doing it because their applications were being rejected 1 or more times. He said clients were very upset at the delays and it became a money loser for their company so they stopped offering this service. He said the IRS has gotten a lot stricter and has tightened up their processing procedures considerably and he recommended using a firm that specializes in obtaining the ITIN.

My understanding is that both spouses have to live in the US for 5 years in order for my wife to be able to collect from my social security when I die.

I am considering not getting a TIN from the IRS because my wife has no income or interest. Also I don't see us living for 5 or more years in the US so she would never be eligible to collect from my social security when I die. She never changed her name so I don't know if that would make a difference if I did decide to apply to the IRS for a TIN for my wife.

     My only big concern is that when I pass on she would be the beneficiary of my estate. I don't know if she would need a TIN in order to realize the proceeds of my estate when I pass on.

     I really need to find a good tax atty in the Chiang Mai area but there doesn't seem to be one around. I am a little reluctant to use an atty in Bangkok due to the distances involved but I guess I could if the need were to arise.

     I try and simplify my life and it seems like I am continually being thrown curve balls and making my life more stressful. 

I was wondering if any knowledgeable income tax individuals would know of any impact for getting married to a thai national and then having your US income taxes prepared? My wife obvious does not have a social security number and does not have any income to report so what ramifications are there when preparing your US income taxes as a married individual versus doing your income taxes in the past as a single person? Any clarification would be appreciated. Also, I  know there used to be a fellow from the US who prepared US income taxes in the Chiang Mai area but he passed away several years ago. Are their any US tax preparers in the Chiang Mai area that someone could recommend?

I'm onboard with CGW posting. It was very eloquent and i think you nailed it. Kudos for a great reply.

We would like to take a tour of Phang Nga Bay as well as take a tour of the Railay Beach area. I have never been to this part of Thailand so was wondering is their a suggested location to take in both sights or should we stay in 2 different areas to be closer to each area we would like to see? I realize Phang Nga Bay is quite expansive so would probably take a tour to see James Bond island and what ever else is typically included in the tour of the bay. We are interested in seeing how this Bay compares to Halong Bay in Vietnam. As for the Railay Beach area the scenery sounds great so we would like to take a boat tour of this area as well. My big question is are both places we want to see doable from one centrally located hotel or would it be better to maybe stay 2 nites in the Krabi area to see Phang Nga Bay and 2 nites in Ao Nang to see the Railay Beach area? Any info would be most appreciated to help me plan the trip.

Myself and my wife want to see Phang Nga Bay and primarily the area that encompasses the impressive karsts which it is famous for .I take it it is near where the James Bond island is located although we don't have to necessarily get off to see this island. I also realize Phang Nga Bay is very large so would like to get as best as possible a boat tour to see some of the scenery that it is known for. We want to see how the bay compares to Halong Bay in Vietnam which we recently visited. We would also like to see Railay which is also supposed to  have some very spectacular scenery. We are planning on flying into Krabi and would like to know where the best area to stay. If we stay in Krabi I take it there are boat tours you can take there to see Phang Nga Bay. I see where we can take a reasonably priced bus shuttle from Krabi airport to Krabi town. After exploring Phang Nga Bay we would like to stay 2 nites in Ao Nang and we can take a boat tour to see the Railay coast. It looks like you can catch a songtaew from Krabi town to Ao Nang. So, in summation any ideas about possible tours or suggestions or input about my proposed itinerary would be most appreciated. We can take a reasonably priced bus shuttle from Ao Nang back to Krabi airport. Thanks for any advice or input.

I am considering traveling by car from either Korat or Buriram to Krabi next February and am trying to get some info as to what it might entail. By bus I think it takes around 16-17 hours so it is obviously not a short trip. Some of the questions that come to mind is are their any mountains or high passes you have to travel on? My g/f will be doing most of the driving and does not like having to negotiate tricky roads at higher elevations. Also, can you hopefully avoid most of the Bangkok traffic when heading south to Krabi? It would be nice to be able to not have to contend with the Bangkok traffic if at all possible. Ideally, we would probably stop 1 night somewhere on the way down so any suggestions as to where the spend the nite before continuing our journey to Krabi would be appreciated. I take it most of the roads we would be traveling on would be main roads or highways. Is that correct? Any info would be most appreciated so  I can try to put together this trip.  Thanks

Captain Monday your point is well founded and obviously the authorities also thought so, thus the scaling back of the lantern releases. I don't think the authorities will ever totally eliminate the lantern releases at night in Chiang Mai. If they did, you can bet that all the commercial enterprises that have sprung up throughout Chiang Mai down to Lamphun holding Loy Kratong festivities to include lantern releases at nite would never be shut down for obvious reasons. Also, if lantern releases at nite were ever totally cancelled by the authorities in Chiang Mai tourists would stop coming here for the festivities since that was what Chiang Mai was famous for and why many tourists made the trek here for. All it would take would be for tourists to stop coming here for the Loy Kratong festivities since the lantern releases were discontinued and hotel occupancy rates would plummet. If that ever occurred you can bet your bottom dollar the Chiang Mai authorities would quickly reinstate the lantern releases due to the pressure from the hotel industry. So Captain Monday it looks like you might have to stand guard by your house with a hose and a bucket of water in case one of those firebombs hits your house.  Good luck.

El159 I think you should go back to enjoying yourself at the bottom of a beer bottle. You clearly are delusional. A widely distributed travel magazine handed out at the beginning of Loy Kratong stated "Hundreds of lanterns floating in the night sky and kratongs decorated with candlelight floating in the river, these are the symbols of the full moon festival (Yi Peng) " . It also stated that" the images of thousands of lanterns in the night sky above should be the first impressive picture that attracts you to visit Chiang Mai during this festival" So you see EL159, clearly many countless folks came to Chiang Mai to marvel at this spectacular spectacle of lit lanterns floating magically and majestically into the night sky. Enjoy your beer it is most likely the only pleasure  you have in your stale existence.

The mentality of the Thai government and its leaders never cease to amaze me. Chiang Mai has already been experiencing a poor tourist season and many businesses are already feeling the pain. So now Loy Kratong comes and what does the  Thai government do, they significantly scale back the Kom Loy lantern releases. This was probably the main reason why so many tourists came to Chiang Mai for Loy Kratong to experience the magical release of Kom Loy's into the night sky as they illuminated the sky as they floated upward in a breathtaking, almost surreal experience.  As word gets out that the Kom Loy releasings has been scaled back significantly it wouldn't surprise me if more and more tourists forgo the trek to Chiang Mai for the once very memorable and stirring Loy Kratong celebration which Chiang Mai was known for. With all the problems already with tourist numbers and the burning season going to start in the not too distant future, the businesses and folks who work so hard in Chiang Mai are going to have a much smaller window to earn enough money to last them through the long low season. I guess when you are a government worker who doesn't rely on the tourist dollar for their livelihood, it is easy to implement new policies that are detrimental to the masses who are dependent on the tourist dollar. I also wonder if all the commercial enterprises that have sprung up all over the Chiang Mai area offering expensive Loy Kratong festivities replete with the lantern releasings  has anything to do with the significant scaling back of the  Public's ability to release Kom Loy's in Chiang Mai. Lastly, I know the reason why the releasing of Kom Loys was scaled back, ostensibly for safety which is laudable but I really feel for the folks who have so little and work in Chiang Mai and the very real potential for less tourists in the future and less tourism dollars to go around.

There was an article in the Bangkok paper several days ago which stated that the mega rich Thai consortium named Central has invested more then 20 BILLION thai baht in real estate ventures oversea. Specifically Central, who is the owner of all the Central malls such as Central festival, Airport Central, as well as all the central dept stores,  is currently building a 15 Billion baht high end shopping plaza as well as a luxurious hotel in the middle of Vienna Austria in some of the most  prime real estate in Austria. Central Consortium also has projects in Italy as well Germany totaling more then 5 Billion baht. So you see with the strength of the baht the incredibly wealthy Thai companies are benefiting handsomely as they continue to build on their massive wealth by expanding to  other countries and reaping the vast profits from their development projects. 

I am interested to know what US military retirees would do if eventually ALL foreign retirees, including those with a Non-O retirement visa and annual extensions of stay for retirement  or marriage are forced to get medical insurance. Specifically for US military retirees, if the Thai government says their much better medical insurance (tricare overseas) is no good and they have to buy the Thai companies offerings of health insurance with undoubtedly exclusions for pre-existing conditions. what would US veterans do in this case? Would they buy the Thai health insurance offerings which, because of the pre-existing conditions exclusion would make these policies worthless because you wouldn't be covered for any pre-existing conditions and insurance companies are known for denying claims and attributing it to your pre-existing condition.

Sheryl- When I click on your link it says"This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action. Please install an app or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Apps Settings page".  I have no idea what they are referring to. I don't have Word so can that possibly be the reason why I can't open up your link? Any info would be appreciated.

Since I can not open up your link can you possibly add it to the pinned topics so one can just go there to look at the offerings of insurance companies. It would be most appreciated.

When I was in Isaan last year I saw a few farmers using a sugar harvester to collect their sugar cane crop to take to market. I saw a lot of farmers burning their sugar cane crop because they either couldn't afford the price to rent a harvester or their weren't enough machine harvesters to go around. It got me wondering since burning causes a lot of thick black smoke to spew into the air, why doesn't the government invest in some more harvesters for the farmers to cut down on all the acrid smoke from billowing into the sky and causing more pollution. The government says they want to address the burning which is causing a lot of serious pollution so why wouldn't they invest in some more machine harvesters for the farmers to significantly cut down on all the burning? I would like to think if the government can afford to purchase some very expensive military hardware that they could also afford to buy some more harvesters? Is  this wishful thinking on my part?

I read that the cold front that arrived in Thailand from China caused dust particles and other pollutants to be trapped in sort of an invisible ceiling which raised the numbers on the meters or gauges testing the air quality throughout Thailand. It kinda makes sense to me. Also today myself and my wife traveled north of Chiang Mai to farm country with many plantings and we only saw one smaller fire which told me the increase in pollution on the AQI Index is not being caused by any significant burning at this juncture.