The Dancer

Follow up, re the 90-day reporting I understand this has nothing to do with the visa but with Thai Govt. wanting to know what falang's been up to. Though I don't do that now that I am working at an NGO with a work permit, so I guess it may actually have something to do with said falang's  residential status. But it doesn't seem a big deal in any case.

Ok, that's clear then. I've been mulling TE for a while now.

Any time you come into the country you get to stay a year, no questions asked. After, well just before, a year you either need to (a) get the 'ell out and come back in or (b) go pay for an extension. In case (a) you're good for another year from the date of reentry. Case (b) you're good for 1 year from the day the extension was stamped.

And, of course, all these fun and games are permissible for the duration of the TE visa, or PE visa, or whatever it's called.

I stand to be corrected ... But be precise please based on published rules not anecdotes.

4 hours ago, Pib said:

Personally, since I'm sending money to my Thai bank account and assuming I'm in Thailand at the time I would not fund with my Debit Card since I have multiple debit cards that do not charge any foreign transaction fee and also reimburse the Thai ATM ripoff Bt220 foreign card fee. 

Curious, how do you get such a card? I avoid using my US credit union debit card except for emergencies because of that 220b. fee and I doubt I get a great exchange rate either (well, probably the bank rate you quote above).

But that fee really hurts because the cash withdrawal limit per transaction is about $500, at least for my CU, which means the fee works out to more than 1%.

If you know your specs you could order online at Lazada or AliExpress.

Best is to make a provisional patent first. Couple of years ago it was $100 at the USPTO site. A foolproof patent is a heckuva lot harder to write and you'll probably need help of patent lawyers, figure $5000 at least.

Recommended is to go with the provisional first, which gives you protection for a year, and then decide if to go full monty.

If I remember a patent in any one of the signatory countries (of the international patent org) is valid in all of them. But I have no idea how to apply for one in Thailand and I bet docs will be in Thai.

46 minutes ago, rijb said:

Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life by Donald J. Trump

Do I want to be like Buddha or Donald Trump? Easy decision.

Wait, maybe not. Donald gets to bang Ivanka, no? Does banging Ivanka count as making merit?

11 hours ago, meatboy said:

should we concerned? a serious disease in pigs [vietnamese pork] across the border, vietnam/camboadia will make its way into thailand.

as pork is the main food here it is worrying that this could happen.

i have not seen any report on the news channels.

How do you know then? Ain't nothing google brings up either.

Oh, I got it. Happened to me once too. Not a pig but a dying cow whispered in my ear "My kind has an incurable disease. Stop eating beef." But I was too smart to fall for that. Ain't no 4-legged critter gonna stop me from eating 4-legged critters.

The only job you might get fairly easily is with a language school as an English instructor. I believe TV has a separate forum for teachers plus there must be dozens of others on FB, etc.

I have never done this work though and it just struck me that a school might ask teaching qualifications, distinct from what you have in business. Still look into it. As posters above indicate other low-level jobs are simply not open to foreigners.

It takes 2 secs. to start reading a post and decide if it's worth continuing.  If not, move on to the next one, rinse and repeat. So, I would much rather err on the side of freedom than censorship.

Lighthearted and even off-topic contributions can spice up a thread  making it more fun to rappel down. A post by post learned discussion is  all good but sometimes after a hard day's work we crave a wee bit more spirit. And as I said it takes not more than a moment to sidestep the stupid and mean-spirited.

And at the end of the day we are all anonymous so who gives a rat's ass what anyone says of someone.

2 hours ago, malt25 said:

They are smart enough to know that we are smart enough to eventually challenge their grip on the kingdom if we, westerners, were permitted to become land & business owners outright.

So you're saying the English teachers might lead a revolution if only they could sink their roots here a bit and not have to worry about quarterly border runs? Yes, I see it now. A platoon of English teachers marching on Government house in their Chatuchak shoes, plastic briefcases full of sharp pencils, causing Thai soldiers to drop their weapons and flee.

Lord, what inflated self-farang-opinion. Wake up, kid. As far as most Thais are concerned every farang living here is still a tourist. Just sticking around a bit longer than the others. We are not looked at as co-citizens or apprentice citizens or whatever. We're tolerated but we're way too different in every way ever to be accepted.

As for the rulers being scared of us. You can't be serious. The highest level of officialdom in Thailand that's even aware of resident farangs are the cops in the Suk area who randomly pick on us and make us pee in a bottle. Above that they either don't know we exist or couldn't give a rat's ass if we do.

But life in the LOS is still good, wot?

4 hours ago, transam said:

You are talking out your ass.....My visa says.......NON IMMIGRANT.....

 

Explain why that is.........?

Language, trans, language. I am with Bodh though that you (and me and all the others) are immigrants. Effectively. If you shit, live, eat, fork here for most of the year then you are an immigrant and it don't matter what your visa says. Kind of like Mexicans in the US.

Now, to get back to the point. You seem to be implying that Thailand should have the same policy towards immigrants that the UK has. Why? Ain't no UN principle that says so. Every country has a right to a policy toward foreigners that puts their citizens'  interests first. Now, if the UK <deleted> up and is selling their own out, that ain't the Thai's problem. And no cause for Thailand to open its doors.

So Thais are smarter in dealing with foreigners than the US and UK. Fair play to them. It's their country.

2 hours ago, jgold said:

That's the same question I have for my government. I am not from a developed country, not US or EU. We are considered third world and still we offer Thais opportunities that are not offered to us here. 

Just because a few Thais can afford is not an excuse, they have a right and Thais don't offer the same rights to us.

I tell you if every british, US and Australian expat jam their embassy email and phone lines they would put pressure to loosen some policies here. 

I think you answered your own question there. Your home is a 3rd world rat hole while Thailand is a country which draws 30 million visitors a year and has millions more plotting single-mindedly in their respective countries how to move and make this place their home. Ain't no symmetry, buddy.

Ain't no symmetry even with first world rat holes like the US and UK. Make your money there and move here. Which I and thousands of others did. On the other hand, in my dozen years living here I haven't met a single Thai saving up to move to the US (study, yes, and then hotfoot it back).

Deal with it. It's not fair but it's the way the world is. The pretty girl gets to choose between the Tom Cruise lookalike and the kid who drives a Lamborghini, while plain Jane either stays home and reads a book or goes out with the pimply nerd who's going to spray spittle at her from between buck teeth while talking about equations and stuff.

1 minute ago, simple1 said:

Something I have tried to establish without success, though I know there are some connections with Malaysia.

Ok, that could be it. There's a large South Indian population in Malaysia - folks brought over by the Brits in the good old days of the Empire mainly to work on the rubber plantations.

5 minutes ago, simple1 said:

I know a large extended family of poor Thai Muslim Indians who were originally fishermen, living for generations in Pattaya. The family has members throughout Thailand.

Interesting. I would be curious as to their heritage. My guess would be South Indian fishermen via the Andamans.

3 hours ago, Naam said:

it is a state of India only since partition when the Maharajas were "deposed". and if you read the history of Tamil Nadu the adjective "ancient" does apply. but this is irrelevant as far as the nut selling Indians and their residence permits are concerned.

That's not correct. "Tamil Nadu" came out of the Madras Presidency way after partition. And, of course, "ancient" applies to all of India but then you have to start talking about dynasties (Cholas, Pandyas, Maurayas, etc.), the extents of their respective kingdoms, languages spoken and on and on.

So, to say "Tamil Nadu is an ancient country" is nonsensical. And neither is there evidence of "ancient" migration from the south of India to Thailand, not at this end at any rate. Buddhism came by another route.

39 minutes ago, Naam said:

About 65,000 Indian Thais have full Thai citizenship, but around 400,000 persons of Indian origin settled in Thailand mainly in the cities.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indians_in_Thailand

Normally, I like Wikipedia but when they say " Tamil Nadu is an ancient country" (it isn't, it's a state of India) and "Tamil people came during the Chola period" (which is more than 1000  years ago, before there was a recognizable Siam) I start to think the guy who wrote this particular article got the plot wrong.

So here's what I know from talking to local Indians:

(1) The Indian Thais, the rich ones in particular, are Punjabi Sikhs who've been here a few generations.

(2) The nut sellers and money-lenders are mostly from the town of Gorakhpur in the state of UP in India.

They're more recent than the Sikhs but now have a fairly large community settled here.

(3) The Indians shopkeepers in Panthip Plaza are from Myanmar.

Anecdotal I know but that's all I got.

33 minutes ago, overherebc said:

It only makes sense to people who know and make themselves aware of the circumstances. I have no problem staying here because I know how things are.

I speak a bit of Hindi from my days working in Mumbai and used to chat with a couple of nut sellers when they would come by my favorite Suk roadside watering hole before the army got it into their heads to shut all the stalls down. I didn't ask them their visa situation - wouldn't be kosher - but from talking to them it was clear they knew their way around. They weren't afraid of the cops at all, even those rounding up the Africans.

Come to think of it the Africans are often targeted but they're still on Suk in numbers. Like overherebc says, it's a matter of knowing how things work in this country. Plus the Indians and Africans have an advantage over us ruggedly individualistic Westerners - they rely on community and connections through the community. Which means what they lack in apparent wealth, they more than compensate with other resources.

32 minutes ago, roo860 said:

There used to be an Indian guy in Hua Hin, would come around to the roadside food stalls on a Friday collecting money for the bedding he sold on credit.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

No Big C or bank would extend credit to someone with an address in a slum and a roadside stall for income. The Indian guy is doing this so fair play to him. It's his business model taking the risk. I wouldn't call him a loan shark. 

20 minutes ago, seancbk said:

Now I have no debt although I am beginning to look at debt finance for my new business, so far I've not taken any outside finance or sought any debt/equity style deals, but I may do that at some point.    However I will only do it once I'm 100% sure that I can repay it without incurring any penalties etc.

Good luck with your business. To grow a business I guess you just have to take on financing at some point and therefore debt. But that's a good cause. Putting an iPhone 7 on a CC because it's shiny and Somchai's got one is not.

23 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

I do understand that some people need access to credit sometimes, but so many people get caught in the credit trap (like you and I did before we broke free).   

Schools should really teach better money management skills.  And people really should stop being driven by such rampant consumerism, unless they can actually afford it.

 

Interesting, I grew up fairly poor and without enough creditworthiness to get a card. And I learned to be terrified of debt because there was no way I could pay back much. So, when finally I got an education and a decent job and a card, I always paid it off at the end of the month. I just hated debt. And still do.

The CC companies haven't ever got a dime in interest from me. I guess they hate me. But I love them because they give me a free ride till the end of each month.

16 hours ago, seancbk said:

I think you'll find that Thais understand the difference between smart, well educated, wealthy Indians and the ones selling nuts and loan sharking.  

True. But I'll put in a word for the money lenders.

There's one pretty often at the end of my soi quietly sitting on his bike hanging with the motosai guys. Obviously, they do business with him and there seem to be no problems, not even loud words let alone fights. I asked a couple of the motosai guys about him. They said he lends them money and speaks perfect Thai. That's it. No rant about him extorting away their hard-earned cash or anything else.

I guess loans are just another necessity for low-income Thais living day to day. And this particular Indian community seems to have cornered the market on providing the service. If it wasn't them then it would have been some other group. So I doubt Thais hold it against Indians for money-lending and I say money-lending rather than loan-sharking because if their rates were extortionate, then Thais would go somewhere else. There are lots of people capable of giving microloans.

But, of course, people on general principle hate banks and such who have them by their balls and require them to part with an amount at the beginning of every month which they would rather spend on a happy ending.

Opal's gotten away from his caregiver again.

https://www.thailandvapers.com/threads/updated-public-vaping-may-no-longer-be-legal-fined-for-possessing-vape-gear.16359/

12 hours ago, KC 71 said:

Then i found true love

No, you didn't. You thought you did. But you are wrong. Because you are not the least bit lovable. Oh, don't be offended, I mean nothing personal. I am sure  you are a bang-up kind of guy and the bar doesn't come alive until you are parked on your stool.

What I mean is that you bring nothing to the table for a Thai woman to love. You look different,  don't speak her language, know nothing about the movies, music, religion, stories, celebrities, and on and on that she grew up with, your nose is too big and as the day wears on you begin to emit a distinctly farangy odor.

What was that you said? We look like Brad Pitt do we? Do me a favor and go watch a couple of lakorns on Channel 7. Do any of the guys look Mr. Pitt? No, because he is too big (buffalo-like), too muscled (reeking of labor class, rather than the lounge set) and too darned ugly (yep, it's relative, where Nadech's the epitome of good looks Brad Pitt is about as hot as Bill O'Reilly).

You spent 7 years learning Thai and now read, write and speak? Sorry but all your fluency in Thai does is make you a slightly odd Thai-wannabe farang who just might have other quirks, rather than an honest to goodness off-the-boat farang. In fact your knowing Thai gets you exactly to the point where Thais can see what you don't have a clue of, particularly, Thai culture, values, etc., etc. I am not knocking learning Thai. It's very useful. But it doesn't make you lovable.

But you found a well-educated English speaking hiso Thai lass who loves you for your Western self? BS. The guy she really was lusting after before you came into the picture was that kid from the XYZpong family studying to be a doctor, the skinny one, with the mildly feminine features, with a shade of a mustache and a hairy mole under his left cheek. And she almost had him until that total bitch from Korat, who dresses like a slut and was known once to have put out to a motosai guy after getting drunk, stole him. At that point you became the consolation prize.

You know what it is about consolation prizes right? Athletes train for years, end up third from last, make a nice speech about how just participating made it all worth it, and gracefully accept a consolation prize. Then when they get home they shut the door, fly into a rage, hurl the prize across the room, and stamp on it till it's a thousand pieces. Yep, that's you and little Miss Hiso.

Ah, you are rich? Now, we are talking. Not about true love but a true arrangement. You support her and mom and dad and the lazy brother, and buy a car and build a house and in return she cooks, cleans, and grits her teeth once a week through boom-boom.

True love? Just around the corner.

3 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

NOPE, it's Thailand which has to grow up and understand that also foreigners try to live here.

 

At the MacD. i ordered 3 hamburgers please, the silly girl had no idea what i was trying to say. She even didn't point on those pictures.

 

I also called the consumer protection board, first they didn't pick up at all, after some more trials got  a computer from which i couldn't understand a word of english, finally got some young girl who could barely understand me but didn't do anything at all with my complaint...i told her my packages from overseas got stolen often by Thailand post.

 

I called Samsung Thailand once, NOBODY could speak a word english.

 

Called Honda Thailand once, same story...finally one who could speak 2 words english.

 

Why do you expect us to learn Thai? What nonsense is that? My wife speaks fluent english and yes has a good job with it, makes good money.  She works in the IT and NONE of her male collegues can speak english...they all have university degree's...what a shame!

 

And you're telling us that's normal??

 

Never call a Thai helpdesk, Never ask the staff anything, Never speak Thai to a policeman...

In the time you pounded out this rant you could have learned 5 Thai words, their correct pronunciation and spelling. I see you have made more than a 1000 posts no doubt griping about other stuff. If instead you spent time with a Thai tutor my math tells me your  stock of words would be up to 5000, which would make you a fluent speaker, one whom Thais, including True reps, would delight in conversing with.

Not to mention that you would never have to pen another rant. Which is kind of Catch 22 if you think about it: if you read instead of rant then you never have to rant.