Kerryd

Got to love how they are "evaluating the 60-day exemption scheme due to concerns over misuse for illegal work or activities in neighboring countries." Like they think that it's the "60 day" stamp that's responsible for so much crime as though criminals weren't doing the exact same things when they could only get a 30 day stamp. "Oh Triad-san - Thailand has changed it's 30 day visa exemption stamp to 60 days ! Let us begin criminal activities in neighbouring countries right away now that we only half to do half as many border runs as before !" "Agreed Yakuza-san. Having to do border runs every 30 days was not profitable enough but now that we get 60 days, we shall commence criminal activities at once !" Seriously. And those "criminals" would likely have NO problem getting DTVs and staying 6 months at a time anyways. But you can go to Dubai (most countries at least) and get a 90 day stamp, no questions asked. And I recall in my time in Afghanistan, at the Dubai airport you could simply and easily apply for an "e-pass". They scan your passport and take your fingerprints and issue you a card that lets you skip the Immigration line completely. Scan the card at the "e-pass" gate, enter, press whichever finger the screen tells you onto the scanner, light goes green and the far gate opens and you walk to the luggage carousels. (The only issue I ever had was when I tried to leave the country one time just 5 hours after I'd arrived. They hadn't programmed their system to handle people that were catching connecting flights on other airlines (requiring you to leave the Arrival Area to check in for the next flight and then go through Immigration again) less than 6 hours after arriving. Luckily they have 1 Immigration officer that overseas the e-gates and he can stamp you out in a couple seconds.) Something like that would VASTLY decrease the workload for Immigration at the airports and land crossings - and even at the Immigration offices around the country. Walk into the local Immigration office, scan your "Immigration E-Pass" card, press "90 Day Report" and "click" - it spits out a little receipt with your next report date on it. Press "Visa Extension" and it spits out a queue number and the IO already has all your relevant information (passport images, prefilled forms, address verification) and just needs to scan your Bank Book and Bank Letter and collect the fee before stamping your passport with your new "Valid until......" stamp. Press "Residence Certificate" and get a ticket to the counter, pay your fee and collect your new Certificate of Residence in seconds. Press "Re-entry Permit", select single or Multi, get the ticket and go to the counter, pay the fee and get the stamp in your passport. Quick, simple, efficient. And if you get stopped by the Police anywhere, they could simply scan (using a phone app) your Immigration Card and find out instantly if you are on overstay or skipped your 90 day report or your passport is expired - or just find out your address so they can have a taxi take your drunk @ss home. (Yes I know, people who are on overstay or have expired passports wouldn't likely hand their card to the cops in the first place in which case the police would take them to their station and get the information the old fashioned way.) Would make like so much easier in so many ways.

Let us not forget the new (300+) baht "arrival" fee they are bringing in, which will also be hidden in the "taxes and surcharges" fine print of your future plane tickets. That was the "new" fee they decided they needed a few years ago because a report said "Thai Hospitals" had lost 300 mil baht from "foreigners" who received treatment and skipped out on paying their bills. At that time they could have added a 10 baht fee to the ticket price and easily recouped all that money. (Est. 39 million arrivals at 10 baht each = 390 mil baht). Then someone came up with the idea "why not gouge them even more ?" and a fee of 300 baht was suggested. (39 mil arrivals at 300 baht each = 11.7 BILLION baht !) And you can bet that not one satang will go towards those unpaid hospital bills or towards any kind of "medical insurance on arrival" scheme either. Pure profit going into someone's account. And then they cry because they are "losing tourists" to Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. And the baht gets stronger and they cry because they are losing tourists. And now they are going to increase the Departure Tax by another 390 baht on top of the 730 they were charging before. Which will bring in another 15.21 billion (based on 39 mil arrivals). So that will be over 26.9 billion in new revenue. And gee, I wonder what they will do when they see the "Arrivals" numbers drop - again ? Raise those fees even higher ? That does seem to be the common practise here for almost every (non-foreign owned) business. For most people (Westerners that is) who make a trip here once, they won't even notice. It's the "budget" and "package tour" travellers that will be affected the most. One will look for cheaper alternatives (gee, like maybe Vietnam or Cambodia perhaps) while the other will have their tour groups send them to other destinations to keep their package prices down - and profits up. Makes you wonder where all that money will end up though.

Most nudist resorts expect everyone to be nude so that they don't end up with loads of closeted perverts who just go there to perv on the nude women (usually). I remember the saunas and "FKK" quarries in Germany in the 80s. Same thing. They had some "family" saunas where people were clothed but in the "nude" saunas there was no "clothing optional if you just want to gawk at nude women" options. The nude quarries weren't regulated and sure enough, if you went to one you'd see (mostly) German families, from grandparents to grandkids, buck naked. And then groups of foreigners wearing shorts, blasting music and throwing empty beer cans around because they were just there to ogle the women and too pussy to go naked themselves. Just pathetic losers making a nuisance of themselves. I've heard of "clothing optional" resorts in Thailand years ago but they are (usually) very discreet - for legal reasons and to keep all those loser perverts away. I wasn't really surprised that there were such resorts in Thailand as a study in Germany showed that the (large) majority of Germans who travelled on holiday (domestically or internationally) looked for "FKK" (nudist) friendly destinations. Not to mention that many Scandinavians are also quite "free" when it comes to shedding their clothes in the sun (and saunas). But they are few and far between and not exactly well publicized of course.

What a JOKE ! For one - Cambodia is NOT an "oil exporter" so why would Trump give a crap ? For two - Cambodia is firmly in CHINA'S back pocket and I'm pretty sure they would not be happy about any attempt by the US to do "regime changes" in their back yard. And that applies to Myanmar, Zimbabwe and pretty much every other country in the world that is not an oil exporter or under the protection of China or Russia. Cambodia would be so far down Trump's list of targets that he'd need to be in office for another two terms before he got around to it - and he's not even allowed to run for one more term anyways.

20 years ago they were ALL good - mostly depending on the time of night you went there and how much you'd had to drink. So many wild times "back in the day" and so many HOT women working in EVERY club. It was RARE to see a "plump" girl working in any club, even the "show bars" (though the women in those clubs tended to be somewhat more "mature" than the dancers in the regular clubs). I remember when there was only 4-5 go-gos on Walking Street. In the early 2000s the number had grown a lot. I worked it out that if I started at one end of Walking Street when the clubs (just the go-go bars) opened and spent an hour in each one until closing, then went back the next night and picked up where I'd left off - it would have taken me a week to hit every club. And then there were MORE ! Clubs sprung up on Soi 16, and the little sois behind Walking Street. It was HUGE news (sort of) when the first go-go opened on Soi 7 as it was literally the first one outside of Walking Street. Soon there were go-gos on soi 13/4 (by the Penthouse Hotel - which is a story all by itself) and on Soi Buakhao. At one point there were - at least - 75 "registered" go-go bars and over 3,000 "registered" beer bars in Pattaya/Jomtien. And the good times rolled from early evening until sunrise the next day. We used to ride our Harleys to Soi Diamond and park them in from of The Sea A-Go-Go. Then stroll up and down Walking Street visiting different clubs and bars and friends until 3am when the bars "closed". Then we'd sit in front of the Sea Zone (the owner was the president of a motorcycle club) and a guy would park a mobile "bar cart" in the entrance and we'd keep drinking and watching all the girls/staff start wondering home and all the drunks staggering and puking in the streets until sunrise and then we'd ride home. And THAT was the "days" when so much money was flowing into Pattaya that they were able to plan, finance and build things like Central Festival, Terminal 21, Bali Hai, the highway 7 tollway - which was literally built specifically to get tourists to (and from) Pattaya and the airport. (Keep in mind that mega-projects like that are usually planned and financed up to a decade before construction actually starts.) They had plans to build a highspeed rail line between Bangkok and Pattaya and even started construction. You can still see the unused railbed and the stacks of concrete "ties" that were brought in for the project. And that was going to lead to a "Light Rapid Transit" system that would go from the Rail station to North Pattaya road and down to Beach road, along to Center Road and then back to the rail station. And countless condo projects, housing developments and "shophouse" blocks were springing up everywhere. People thought the "good times" were never going to end and there was a HUGE "trickle down" effect. My buddy's clubs were making money so he could hire more staff who were earning more money. And the staff were making good money on the side (tips or "other" activities") and they were spending it. (A lot of Thais didn't trust the banks so the money they didn't spend or send home often went to salons, Thai nightclubs, karaokes, restaurants, motorcycle shops and of course - gold shops.) And that meant all those businesses were also making money and so were their staff. And the more money those tourists were spending, the more plans everyone else was making. And then around 2010-2012 it changed. Thailand (the gov't) decided that the best way to get rid of the "sex trade" and Thailand's "seedy" image was to - get rid of all the "white" tourists as they seemed to be (to certain people in the gov't) the entire cause of all the problems (sound familiar ?). So they stopped promoting Thailand as a travel destination in Euro/North American/Australasian (i.e. "white" countries) and started heavily promoting tourism from India and China instead, It seems they thought tourists from those places would have no interest in sex and that millions of them might make up for the revenue lost by losing all the "farangs" Between '04-10, if you looked at all the faces on Walking Street (not including the locals of course) - 99.9% of them were "white". And the bars were full, The restaurants were full. The shopping malls were full. It was rare to see an "Indian" that wasn't trying to sell you a suit and Chinese tour groups being led around were unheard of. Even most of the "foreign" hookers were "white" women (mostly from Uzbekistan it seems). Even Beach road at the "darkest" time of the night was almost entirely girls, a few "not so sures" and - old white guys. I used to say that sitting in a beer bar on Walking Street or a bench on Beach Road at 2am was better than any of those lame "reality TV shows" that filled network TV channels. But around 2012 I started noticing a LOT more Indians and a LOT more "Chinese tour groups" on Walking Street and a lot FEWER people in the bars. In some cases that was just fine by me ! More to pick and choose from. And within a couple years, suddenly it was the "white" faces that were the rarity in the crowds as most of the (foreign) faces on Walking Street were Indians - or Arabs. When you looked into the bars and restaurants and shopping malls - it was still predominately "white" faces (aside from the locals of course) - but there were fewer of them. It's still like that now. I went to Makro today. Of the 100+ foreigners I saw, 98 were "white" (and 2 were Indians just there to buy one thing apparently). Couple weeks ago I went to Big C Extra on Pattaya Klang with a friend. We hit a phone shop, browsed some other shops, had a bite to eat. Of all the foreigners I saw in there over about an hour - every single one was "white". Despite all the Indians in the area between that mall and #2 road - it seems few, if any, go into that mall. Same for Foodland. Friendship. Tops. Big C (Pattaya Tai). And what else has changed ? Oh yeah. High speed rail project - cancelled. LRT project - also cancelled. Numerous condo and housing and "shop house" blocks either abandoned or cancelled. Clubs/bars are shutting down because of a lack of business. "Old timers" migrated to Soi Bukhao or the Dark Side. Fewer ladyboys and "Chinese tour groups" or "Indian" Nightclubs or "BB Gun arcades". (See those on Walking Street was like a kick to the nuts with a frozen mukaluk. How could they let the Street be so degraded that they'd allow "BB Gun" arcades where there used to be high quality go-go bars that played awesome music for old (and some young) farangs to enjoy a quiet drink while nubile young women entertained themselves by dancing on tables and stages in scanty clothing - or nothing at all. So shameful to see how low Walking Street has sunk in recent years.) And the saddest part is - all the gov't scheming hasn't really changed a thing as far as the sex trade is concerned or Thailand's image in the world. All it's done is cause a lot of businesses to close, a lot of projects to be cancelled, a lot of people to lose their jobs. And the "authorities" KNOW that those masses of tourists from India and China are NOT spending anywhere near as much as the "farangs" used to - but they're probably scared if they go back to promoting tourism in "farang" countries and stop promoting in places like India and China - their "arrival numbers" will drop. Nevermind if the economy suddenly takes a huge upswing and the money starts pouring in again. All they'll look at is the (possible) drop in "Arrivals" and they'll start panicking. But on the same token - no gov't wants to be seen "promoting" the sex trade, even indirectly, so it might be a long, long time before the "demographics" change again. If ever.

I've found that most of the items I'm shopping for in an "expat" shop are generally cheaper than the big box stores. For example, a 250gr block of Mainland Vintage Cheese in Tops or Big C will likely cost you 299 baht. While a 500gr block of the same cheese is the same price at an Expat store (one of them at least). And at Makro today, they were selling 470gr blocks of Mainland Vintage for 279 baht. While an Expat shop is selling 500gr blocks for 20 baht more. And it seems the Expats shops carry a variety of products the "big" stores don't even stock. But if you're that skint that you need to spend days going from store to store to find a "mass produced" cup-sized cheesecake that's 2 or 3 baht cheaper than at an Expat shop, the problem isn't with their pricing. And - O-M-G !!! I was at a "Big Box Shop" just this very afternoon and was shocked (!!!) to see the prices they were charging for Maasdam and other cheeses ! I can buy 150 gr Maasdam cheese slices for 69 baht at an Expat shop but the "big" store wanted over 250 baht for a 154gr wedge ! "My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim. I had to shop for the night !" But alas, a few moments later my sight returned and I shook my head, put the cheese back and continued shopping. And ! To make matters worse - they were charging 340 baht for a small bottle of Regency that I can get at 7-Eleven for just 340 baht !!! How is that even possible ?!??!?! I was going to fly home and jump on the internet to scream the news out to everyone that they could save FIVE WHOLE BAHT by buying Regency at a 7-Eleven !!! Sadly, I was on my scooter and had already made 2 stops before I got to that store so I didn't have room to buy a case of it. Now that I can buy booze in the afternoons though I may have to hit every 7-Eleven on the Darkside to save 5 baht on each bottle of Regency I buy !! With all those 5 baht savings - I might be able to put a liter of gas in my scooter as well ! Good times ahead !

Chaiyapreuk Sports Stadium. Huge segregated parking lot, small roads around the stadium to the East entrance and the small pathways around the "park" area. https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Pattaya+City+Park/@12.8846246,100.922363,17.5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31029445648fdf8d:0x2a6d579a7c96b018!8m2!3d12.8861432!4d100.9214152!16s%2Fg%2F12j4lc3q8?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTAxNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

The problem is the app itself, not your face. When I first tried to set up the app, we (bank clerk and I) tried a dozen times in the bank. She apologized and said it was because of the slow internet they had. I came home to try it on my faster internet but still had problems. Then I realized - it was because the app was telling you to "turn head to the left slowly" or "smile showing teeth" or "blink 3 times slowly" but what they really meant was do it "as fast as humanly possible "! Because that is how I finally got it to work. During one attempt (around attempt #15 at home) I was a bit frustrated and when it asked me to "blink 3 times slowly" I did it as fast as I could and then it said "turn head to the left slowly" and I almost gave myself whiplash snapping my head to the left and back and - BINGO ! It worked ! It seems there's an issue with the app telling you to do the movement slowly - but only giving you about 2 seconds to do the 2 different actions before registering it as a failed attempt because you took too long. So if you are still having problems with setting up the app, try doing whatever movements it asks for as fast as you can - while keeping your head in the "frame" of course. Best to set the phone on a solid surface and position yourself in front of it so that your head fits into the "frame" and then do the movements. That way the camera won't sway in your hand as you are trying to whip your head to the left (or right) at superhero speed.

Yes, this is the EXACT site of the failed Ocean One condo project that ripped off a whole lot of people and resulted in a lot of lawsuits. Even ThaiVisa stopped reporting on it for fear of being sued for defamation despite everything that did - or didn't - happen. (There's a thread from 2009 where the Admin issued a warning about posting anything that could be "defamatory".) https://aseannow.com/topic/305943-ocean-one-tower-pattayaof-all-places/ Like how the "project managers" were seen running around the city in $100,000 (US) luxury sports cars and were sponsoring a local racing team. Guess where all the money was coming from ? That project was supposed to start in 2006 and be finished by 2009 but people started noticing that the only thing happening was cement trucks were going to the site, filling up and taking the (wet) cement to other building sites. They even had a live webcam showing the "construction" and all you saw was those trucks arriving, filling up and leaving. Then the racing team went public after their "sponsors" hadn't paid any of their bills for something like 3+ months. That tipped the lid and suddenly everyone was looking at the project and noticing the complete lack of construction going on. And years later they were still trying to sell condos in the project even though it was cancelled/abandoned, leaving a lot of investors out of pocket. I just found an article that says the land was sold to a group of investors (6 different people with 3 different surnames) in March 2017. Seems it's been sold again. The Banyan Group is a large international hotel group. Most recently known from The White Lotus being film at their resort on Samui. They are a high-end group with deep pockets. Note the bit about condo prices "starting at 5.6 mil" - which means the lowest level studios facing away from the ocean. Yeah, don't think I'll be looking at buying something there, even if it had a covered walkway leading directly to the Immigration Office across the street. I wonder what the people in View Talay Residence 3 (the condo building in the corner of that site) will think when their view is cut off and they are in the shade for 2/3rds of the day ?

They could have ruled on this case weeks ago. I guess they need to let someone have time to try and "influence" the outcome (or tell them what the outcome will be).

Never had a problem with Lazada picking up a package I was returning. Only did that twice though over the last (8 years ?). Had a problem once when I took a return - with all the proper paperwork - to the drop off I was told to go to - and they wanted to charge me 100 baht to "return it" to Lazada ! I gave up trying to argue with them and gave them the 100 baht and then reported them to Lazada. (Never got the 100 baht back but I did get my refund.) Other than that - it's been all great service from Lazada.

For 13 years now I have used a Fixed Term account to hold my "Extension" money. The day before I plan on submitting my Extension application I go to the bank, get my "bank letter" and update my passbook. The update shows the last interest payment made and the current balance. No need to do any transactions. (This is at Jomtien.) The only requirement is that the bank letter and bank book have to be done within 3 days of submitting the Extension application. The only time you need to photocopy additional bank pages (if you are doing the "800k in an account" method) is if the current bankbook page doesn't show the account balance for the (full) previous year. In which case - assuming you weren't trying to scam Immigration - you simply photocopied the previous page and submitted that with your application. Had to do that once. And once I had to go home and get my previous bank book because when I went to do the update I was out of pages and had to get a new book - which didn't show the balance for the previous year of course. The rule about accounts is - the money has to be accessible "on demand". As in, you need to be able to go into the bank and take the cash out immediately if needed. You can do that with a Savings, Fixed Term or Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD) account. But NOT with "investments" and "RRSPs" and "401ks" which is why they are NOT acceptable. I'd love to be able to use some of my long-term GAIN investments as my "proof of finances" but the problem is - if I needed that money in a hurry (i.e. because of an accident or whatever) - I couldn't just walk into the bank and cash out the investment. It could take a week or more for them to calculate the current value of the investment, close it out and deposit the money into my account. And some people would try to scam Immigration by trying to claim the "end value" of the investment equals the financial requirement of the Extension - even if that "end value" won't be realized until 10+ years down the road. But many of those investments do not pay out the full amount if you close it out early. And of course - the money isn't immediately available if it was needed. And that is what a lot of scammers are hoping. For a way they can pretend they have the money to meet the requirement when they actually don't, by pretended they have "millions" in investments "back home" - yadda yadda yadda. Originally, the money was what Immigration had calculated (based on what they estimated the average "2 week millionaire" spent on his vacation) a foreigner would need to live for a full year in Thailand. (And the joke was - if you were married they figured you could live on half that amount because you wouldn't be in the bars every night and eating in restaurants everyday.) They expected you to show that you had the money and were actually using it to live on. Hence the requirement to show "transactions" on the account. I remember the first time I submitted an Extension application and the Immigration guy questioned me about it and I showed him I had a separate (Savings) account that I used for my living expenses. After that, they never questioned using a Fixed Term account as my "proof of finances". But as always - each Immigration office can have it's own rules about what they are willing to accept as proof of your finances. And those can change every time they get a new boss who decides he wants things done differently.

"For those residing in Thailand for 180 days or more in a tax year, the Resident Rule applies, making them liable for income tax on international earnings. This upcoming legislation aims to refine these rules, providing much-needed tax relief for many." NOTE - IF your country has a Tax Treaty with Thailand then it is more than likely it includes a clause to prevent double taxation, especially on Pension Income. HOWEVER -that does NOT mean you don't have to file a tax return if you've been "resident" in the country for over 180 days. And NO - the "clock" doesn't "reset" if you leave the country - unless it's for MORE than 185 days. It's based on how many days you were "resident" in Thailand during a Calendar (or Fiscal/Tax) year. And it is NOT dependent on the type of Visa you hold. So even if you are getting by using 60 Day Visa Exemption stamps and doing border runs every 2-3 months, you would STILL be considered "resident for tax purposes" if your total time in Thailand equals 180 days or more in the "year". IF your sole source of income is Pension and IF it is already taxed in your home country, then you have NOTHING to worry about. You would still be expected to do a tax return to show how much Pension money you received in the year, but as it wouldn't be taxable, it wouldn't matter the amount. But IF you are receiving Pension Income AND additional income from other sources - it would have to be reported on a tax return. And if they do what other gov'ts do, they would total ALL your income to determine which tax bracket you fit into. THEN they would deduct "non-taxable" income from the total (i.e. your Pension income) and THEN tax the remainder at whatever rate you were in. (Unless you could prove that other income was also already taxed back home.) So for most expats - this won't affect them at all. Assuming they are honest about their income that is. And most of your home countries do exactly the same thing as well. For example, when I was working in Afghanistan and had declared Thailand as my home address - I was still taxed (by Canada) as though I was living next door to the Canada Revenue Agency's head office. IF I had been in Thailand for more than 180 days in a year, I would have been expected to include the income earned in Afghanistan as well as my pension income on a Thai tax return. However, as both were already taxed in Canada, they wouldn't have been taxed again in Thailand (as per the Tax Treaty). IF you are unsure about whether or not your country has a tax treaty with Thailand - simply Google it. UK Tax Treaties. Australia Tax Treaties. Nigeria Tax Treaties. Your gov't's website should have a list of all the tax treaties in effect. Most of them are literally the exact same. Article 18 deals with Pensions. Article 11 deals with Interest. Article 10 is regarding Dividends. You should familiarize yourself with the details (they aren't that difficult once you get past the "contracting state" and "other contracting state" legalese. I'd suggest finding your country's tax treaty page and bookmarking it for future reference. For Canadians it's: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/tax-policy/tax-treaties/in-force.html#Thailand

It sounds like the airport (or flight) staff took the passports so they could fill out an Immigration form to allow those passengers to leave the airport without having to go through Immigration ("re-entering" Thailand) and then having to go through Immigration again (to "depart" Thailand) again. The passports would have accompanied the forms to an Immigration desk to be verified. Immigration probably kept the passports otherwise they'd have to stamp everyone back into the country and then back out again and that could cause problems with some travellers (i.e. those who don't qualify for the Visa exemption stamp). And they couldn't just hand the passports back and let those people out of the terminal - because most of them would probably be on "over-stay" and could be arrested even though it's not their fault. And note the story says all those passengers did make it to Sidney - but does NOT say when they were given their passports back. Pretty large gap in that story. For all we know, those passengers were given their passports back an hour later.

Sigh. Wake up people. This is NOT about "you" (old, fat, white-haired pensioners) being able to lease a home without worrying about "nominee companies" or putting the deed in the name of the "wife I met last week who definitely wasn't working in a bar at the time". This IS about setting things up for the hordes of Chinese businessmen that will be flooding into the country in the near future as China starts to take control. THAT is why the Thai gov't made those changes to the Visas and created things like the DTV. THAT is why they are trying to change the rules about how many foreigners can own a condo in a single building. (The proposal to allow condos in "certain designated areas" to be 100% owned by foreigners.) THAT is why they are pushing the 99 year lease proposal. Here's a clue. A few years ago China (through their "belt and road" initiative and puppet companies) "leased" nearly 20% of Cambodia's entire coastline on a 99 year lease. They then built a complete, self-contained airbase on that land and disguised it by calling it a "resort". (Google "wiki Dara Sakor". Quite an interesting read.) And think - who is really behind the proposed "land bridge" project in Ranong/Chumphon and the high-speed railway linking China to Thailand ? The Chinese. This is ALL about them and NOT about YOU. And YOU should consider - most of you won't be around in 30 years I suspect so why would you need a 99 year lease ? Do you really think that if you have a 99 year lease on some piece of former rice-paddy in Isaan that you will build a bigger, better house than if you only had a 30 year lease ? And there won't be any "peace of mind". If you think there will be then you haven't lived in Thailand very long. You can have a 99 year lease, wife, kids and business and you will still be considered a "tourist" and have ZERO rights. (Yeah yeah, wonk wonk - 1% of you (or less) have PR or actual citizenship that you think will protect you. Keep dreaming.) And you will STILL be subject to being arrested for the slightest infraction, jailed, deported and blacklisted with no appeal or compensation for everything you've just lost. And gee, you leased some land off of "Somchai" for 99 years and he immediately went to the city and blew it all on hookers and blow - and now wants his land back and sues you. Or his kids find out that "poppa" lost their "inheritance" and they'll be dead and their own kids will be old before that lease expires. Unless "something" happens before then of course. Rule #1 in Thailand - never be worth more dead than you are alive. The ONLY "peace of mind" would come from outright ownership of the land and actual citizenship (and rights). And that ain't likely to happen in the next 99 years either.

What did they say she was worth when she became PM ? Something like 22 billion (baht) or more ? And was the "CEO" of over 20 different companies as well. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

One has to remember that many of these monks may not be "life-long" monks but are only in the temples for 6-12 weeks "to earn merit". I've gone to a number of "ordination" ceremonies where people did the whole "becoming a monk" routine with the head shaving and parade to the temple and lots of donations and gifts. It's quite the party (and can be fairly expensive as well). And then three months (the normal length of time one is expected to stay in the temple) later, they take off their robes and go back to doing (whatever) they did in their normal lives. (It used to be tradition that all male members of a family did a 3 month stint as a monk at some point in their lives, either when they are young or after they have retired normally.) And some "monks" seem to treat the position as a job, not a "higher calling" and see it as an easy way to get free food, lodging and spending money. Way easier than digging ditches or collecting garbage all day. (Better food and accommodations and "gifts" as well for some of them.) It's probably more surprising that there aren't more problems being reported on a regular basis.

An "online account" with a foreign bank will NOT be accepted by Immigration. THINK about it. Immigration wants a Letter from the Bank verifying the account and balance AND they want photocopies of your updated bank book, including the page with your name and account number and the page(s) showing the current balance. I seriously doubt they'll accept a print out of a "screen capture" from your phone as proof of your supposed balance. They expect the money to be in a THAI bank so that if you need it (to live on or to pay hospital bills and such) you can access it literally immediately. Which is also why they do NOT accept "But, but, I've got more than 800k in my 401k or Social Security or (insert overseas investment plan here)" as proof of funds. People have been trying for years to scam Immigration by pretending they have the money to meet the requirements - but don't want to put it in a Thai bank because "waaaa - the bank clerk will steal it all" or "waaaa - I can make .25% more interest per year from my home bank". Sheesh, some years ago, some Immigration offices wouldn't even accept it if your money was in a Fixed Term savings account because they wanted to see transactions on your account to prove you were using the money to live on. (That was a dumb requirement and now places like Jomtien have no problem with the money being in a Fixed Term account as you can still access it almost immediately if the need arises.) But they will NOT accept things like "Gain 123" investments (from Bangkok Bank) as proof of funds even if you have more than the required amount because you can't access those funds immediately if the need arose. So if you aren't going to put the money in a Thai bank then you'll have to go the "agent" route and hope for the best.

They should be looking for CCTV images of when he got on the plane in Cambodia (after he spent some time with his good buddy Hun Sen) and when he got off the plane and when he arrived at the prison. Because if I recall, there was no problem with him then. And after he arrived in Thailand he was initially taken to the prison and barely an hour later complained he was having a problem trying to take a nap and that's why they took him to the hospital. He wasn't even at the prison long enough to be processed in, let alone had time to try and "take a nap". The whole thing was staged from the minute he arrived. And remember the kerfluffle when someone got photos of him in a swimming pool with his nephews ? While he was supposedly near death in the hospital ? So the prison/hospital officials quickly put Thaksin in a neck brace and on a guerny and had a photo of him being moved (somewhere) in the hospital to show how sick he was. And now the daughter is in hot water after calling "her uncle" (Hun Sen) about the border dispute. And now you can bet they are going to have a lot of trouble trying to get Yingluck back to the country without her having to do a lot of prison time. Good thing they were able to appoint a friend of Thaksin's to be the acting PM or they'd really be in trouble !

I have a Big C card - apparently it gives me a 5% discount on my purchases. The One Card collects points. It used to be at Tops the cashier would note how many points I had and ask if I wanted to exchange some and get a discount on my bill (it was a couple hundred baht discount) but I haven't done that in ages. It can also be used in other stores as well (HomePro and such). I have a Fascino card as well and it gives a 5% discount on any purchases. You can register for Villa Market online and then I guess you show them the number (or Q code or whatever) on your phone and get a discount there as well. I tried to get a 7-11 membership but - as mentioned elsewhere - they want a Thai ID card number. I collect the stamps when 7-11 hands them out. I have a bunch of stuff from the special promotions they've run in the past, like a complete, large set of "Doremon" tupperware containers, a "Doremon" wastebasket with hinged lid. A "Winnie the Pooh" waste basket with hinged lid and a couple other items somewhere I've forgotten about. The big stores used to have some awesome promotions where you'd get stickers for everything you bought (except alcohol) and then could trade them for special items like Vivo double-walled glass tumblers, special kitchen knife sets, cookware sets and so on. Usually high quality items that they don't sell in the store. That's how I got my fancy pots with glass lids, a large, deep frying pan (with glass lid), the double-walled glasses and a fancy "vegetable" knife. When the Tops store opened in The Chilled mall on Soi Khao Noi they had a lot of promotions. Buy your groceries then take your receipt to the customer service counter and get stuff like plastic laundry baskets or novelty insulated mugs and stuff. One promotion was crazy - for every pack of Fisherman's friends you bought - you got a free small (6oz ?) glass tumbler. I used to buy 6 packs of Fisherman's friends at a time because the glasses came packed 6 to a box. I think I've got 4 1/2 boxes of those glasses before that promotion ended. Got them stashed on a storage shelf. Give them out to people who move into a new house or apartment. The discounts and promotions aren't a huge savings at the time - but over time they can add up. I probably spend 10-12,000 a month on groceries alone so a 5% discount would equal 5-600 baht per month in savings. Over the course of a year that's about 6-7,200 baht in savings. Multiplied by the number of years I've been doing it. The promotions and 7-11 stickers are just a bit of fun. I'm buying stuff anyways so I toss the stickers into the little promotion card thingy and then one day paste them onto the card and see if I have enough to get something useful like a beach mat - or another waste basket. I didn't pay attention to the last one and had half a card worth of stickers. Bummer, a couple more trips for snacks and I could have gotten set of cheap plastic "Doremon" bowls with lids. Oh well, maybe next time.

Lol - there was a Facebook post just a few hours ago that said it was CHINA that put an end to the Casino bill by TELLING Thailand they did not approve it and it was "suggested" (in the article) that the recent very large drop in tourist arrivals from China was their way of saying "do things our way - or else". I suggested (on that article) that it seems that China is now dictating Thai law. The article mentions how much Cambodia makes from it's casinos and that they know if Thailand starts running their own, the Cambodians will lose huge amounts of revenue. Funny how China has NO problems with casinos in Cambodia though, isn't it ?

My dad told me a joke when I was but a wee lad of (15 or 16 I guess at the time). Man is at a fancy party and sees a drop dead gorgeous woman in a slinky black dress standing by herself. Man slides up to her and quietly asks if she'd sleep with him that night for $100,000. The woman instantly agrees as she grabs his hand and starts toward the door. The man holds up and says "Wait". She lets go of his hand and looks at him. He leans towards her and quietly asks if she'd sleep with him that night for $100. The woman is outraged ! She steps back and slaps the man and shouts "What kind of woman do you think I am ?" The man replies - "We've already established that. Now we are just negotiating the price." Wonder how that would go over on Beach Road if you asked a woman (?) to spend the night with you for 1,000 baht - and then tried to get her to go with you for just 100 baht. Might get a bit more than a slap !

I've bought tickets occasionally for over 20 years now. Won 2,000 once way back when and 2 years ago won 4,000 (2 x 2,000 baht tickets). Used to be a hoot when I was living in South Pattaya. Within minutes of the draw the neighbourhood would be full of people running around selling copies of the "winning numbers sheet" for 5 baht. It had all the winning numbers (there are more than just the 2, 3 and 6 digit numbers that can win prizes). These days you can just check online or download the number sheet yourself (https://www.glo.or.th/mission/reward-payment/check-reward) NEVER had a problem collecting the money. But whoever wrote that article mustn't really know much about the lottery. The LISTED price for the tickets is 80 baht - which gives the seller what, 10 baht (per ticket sold) as a commission ? But just try and find a vendor that will sell you a ticket for 80 baht. Most charge 100. In some "popular" areas, it's 120. Or more. Technically it's illegal for them to charge more than the printed price (80 baht) per ticket, regardless if you are buying single tickets or packages of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 tickets. About what, 5 years ago now, there was a "crack down" that lasted about 3 days where vendors were forced to sell tickets at the printed (80 baht) price. But like everything, within a couple days they were right back to charging whatever they think they can get away with. And the "two ticket" options are usually even more expensive. If a vendor is charging 100 baht for one ticket, they may charge 220 for 2 tickets - because YOU might win more money so THEY want more for selling you those tickets. And it's the same for the 3, 5 and 10 ticket "packages" where you can end up paying the equivalent of 150 baht per ticket (or more) - NOT because those numbers are "luckier" - but because you MIGHT win more money so the thinking is - you should also pay more for the tickets. And they charge more for all their tickets, not just the "lucky" ones - which are never "lucky" anyways. There are THREE banks were you can collect smaller prizes (Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Krung Thai Bank and Government Savings Bank). There are also "lottery shops" like the one on soi Nern Plerb Wan (left side if you cross the railway tracks heading towards Sukhumvit, just a few meters from that intersection). You can cash in smaller prizes there (they charge a fee of course). That's where I collected my last winnings. It is recommended that IF you win a large prize, immediately take photos of the tickets (maybe holding them against a computer screen showing the winning numbers) and sign the back of the tickets. Some people have gone to their local police station to "register" the tickets (in case someone tries to steal them I guess). If I won the "big" prize, I'd probably talk to my lawyer first to makes sure all my ducks are in a row before I try collecting the prize. And remember - This is THAILAND ! Where you do NOT want to be worth more dead than you are alive ! So get your money, get it safely into your bank. Transfer whatever amounts you want (don't leave it all in one account that your girlfriend and her boyfriend and her husband all have access to). Put some "mad money" into your regular account. And THEN decide who you want to tell and how many bars you want to ring the bell in. But keep in mind rule #2 - almost ever foreigner in the country - including your "trusted friends from your home country" - would MUCH rather see YOUR money in THEIR pockets. Spending YOUR money is oh so much more fun than spending what little they have left over from their meager pensions and alimony payments. Make sure they all know that you sent most of the money back home to (pay off debts, put it into the grandkids college fund, pay down a mortgage, pay for mom's retirement home costs, etc, etc). Do NOT brag that you've got 6 or 12 or (oh lordy lordy) 30 mil in (your savings account that you've given your ATM card and PIN number to half the service staff of every bar you've ever been in because you were too lazy to go to the ATM yourself). Sure, you'll be REAL popular - until they figure out how to get all that money into THEIR hands. One way or another. You'll find you suddenly have a lot of new friends and just by coincidence, they all have sick relatives that need new kidneys or they need a temporary loan because the bank didn't process their huge transfer before the weekend or (insert a thousand sob stories here). I often wonder how many people actually do win the big prizes. Once or twice a year I see a story of some farmer in Isaan or somewhere else winning 6 or 12 mil but that's it. And if a foreigner ever won ! Wow - headline news ! Probably followed immediately by demands to change the laws to exclude foreigners from winning of course. (They won't mind you buying tickets but won't want to pay out on any that win.) It would be very interesting to see the reaction if a foreigner won a 30 mil prize one day.

Uh huh. This story had a "smell" to it from the first moment it was reported - in WALES. NOT in Thailand for some odd, strange, inexplicable reason. He took a "spur of the moment" trip to Thailand. Was out clubbing in Bankok with friends. Supposedly was found "severely beaten" and taken to a hospital - in Chon Buri (not Pattaya) - almost 90 kms from where he'd supposedly been partying (around Khao San road according to one of the articles). But now wakes up in a hospital in Pattaya somehow. Which is funny because I wanted to find out which hospital so I could go say hi and drop off some flowers but of course - they won't say the name of the hospital, will they ? And all of it only made the news in Wales (and ASEAN Now of course) - with GoFundMe links already set up beforehand. Oh and the "arrest" ? Apparently only reported in "Wales Online" as well. "Now Ashton's grandmother Beverley Walker has told WalesOnline that Thai police have informed the family of an arrest. She said police gave no detail other than that the man is suspected of assaulting Ashton." Now think about this. Awhile ago the Brit who supposedly was hit in Phuket by a Russian. Within HOURS of the accident, the family (in England) was claiming the police had told them the (full) names of the Russian driver and his wife, and even the type of vehicle they were driving. But all the police will (supposedly) only tell the family of this guy is that they "arrested someone" ? Uh huh. ALL of these stories share the SAME generic details while avoiding specific details that could be fact checked for authenticity. And this case - guy goes out "partying" in Bangkok. Ends up in a Chonburi hospital with head injuries - and no insurance. What does that really sound like to you ? If you said - riding a motorcycle while drunk and not wearing a helmet - congratulations. But you aren't going to get much sympathy - or donations - from that, are you ? And seriously - a foreigner is "found" looking like he was severely beaten and is taken to a hospital - and it doesn't make the media ? The same media that reports on every foreigner that gets pick-pocketed on Beach Road, or gets drunk and goes nuts in a convenience store or gets beaten by people on the street, or is busted for being on 2 days of overstay - but doesn't report on a foreigner being found unconcious and "severely beaten". And it ONLY makes the media - in his HOME country - from a media site that PAYS people for their "vacation horror stories" ? Yeah, the smell is strong with this one. Lets see, there's what, 6 hospitals in Pattaya now, including gov't hospitals (Pattaya City and Banglamung) and 4 private hospitals. If I just knew which one he was in, I could go say hi right now !

I still lol. When the current PM took office I opined that she'd be lucky to last a year. But the media was suggesting she'd serve her full (4 year) term. A headline from a leading Thai media site - 27 Oct 2024: Most Thais think govt will survive until term ends: poll "Most Thai people are of the opinion that the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra will be able to last until the end of its mandate in four years' time, but some believe it will collapse before the year’s end, according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll. The survey sought to sample public opinion on the prospect of the government’s survival until the end of its four-year term in 2027. The answers were as follows: • 41.68% believed the government would survive political challenges ahead and be able to complete its term in 2027 • 19.08% thought it would last about two years (2026) • 16.87% thought it would last about a year (2025) • 11.99 believed it would last nearly until the end of its term • 9.77% thought it would collapse before the New Year • 0.61% had no answer or were not interested And the main reasons people thought the gov't might collapse sooner than later ? 34.43% failing to improve the country’s economy as promised and below the public's expectations 32.52% activists filing petitions against Thaksin Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party 29.47% crises due to Ms Paetongtarn’s mismanagement of national affairs 28.85% activists filing petitions against the premier and the Pheu Thai Party 19.77% corruption as a result of imprudent administration 17.25 conflicts among coalition parties 16.64% nothing would prevent the government from completing its four-year term 10.92% political turmoil caused by protest rallies 9.62% proposed amendments to constitutional provisions governing the ethics of holders of political positions 9.08% scrutiny by the opposition parties 8.24% proposing an amnesty bill on sensitive issues 8.09% the Tak Bai massacre case 6.95% a coup d'etat And now you've got the Thaksin medical/prison scandal. The Thaksin "lese majeste" accusations and upcoming trial(s). The border clash with Cambodia. Prawit suggesting she should resign. Hints that Anutin may table a Vote of Non-Confidence against the PM. Another party suggesting the Constitutional Court should disband the Pheu Thai Party. Or - as they say in Thailand - just another day like any other !