maturebrit

well the police cheat in their qualification exams and pay good money for the answer sheet....so why does this not surprise me

best police force money can buy

yes you can own it.... same in malaysia too...The family in the phils are powerful but but above being vindictive...unless its politically generated...I have my own business interests but not in the Phils..

a serious lack of forethought. ... why go to a place where shellfish are a considerable part of the diet... ok plenty of pork and chicken but if additives contain shellfish or similar you could end up hospitalised.... tip... make sure you are medically insured

I think the general thread is that Thailand is far more expensive for the Brits today than it was five/six years ago.Thats why far more Brits are going to countries such as Cambodia as you get far more value there than Thailand.This is a discussion forum and people are entitled to their opinion.

Not so difficult to understand is it, when they get almost half the amount of Thai Baht for their Pound from what they got 5 years ago.

Oh by the way, I haven't followed the Cambodian exchange rates, but I guess overthere they get also almost half from what they might have received 5 years ago.

GBP high for past 5 years was 67 range but, last 3 years really never saw much over 50

Here is the Cambodian riel exchange rates for 5 years

Thanks for the information Mania.Unless actual graphs are shown its very easy for other contributors to talk without actual facts.It shows the the £ v Cambodian Riel has decreased far less these past 5 years than the £ has against the Thai Baht which proves my opening point that Thailand is far more expensive to visit than 5-6 years ago.Thanks again.

44.28 to the £ today...... bye bye Thailand. ... great exchange rate for buying pounds and invest in Indonesia

as one or more have stated yes they are a major problem but not just minivans... in all the time I lived I have witnessed so many incidents like this and also pick ups.... they seem to think minivans and pick ups are like sports cars but no road holding capability to match the speeds they get up to. I feel for the families of all those killed or injured but we all know it will never stop. the Thai mindset is "it wont happen to me" such is the myopic attitude to accident prevention

Just out of wild curiosity, without resorting to Google, how many here know which country has the largest economy in SEA ?

It must be Indonesia with a population of 180+ million.

Indonesia is over 230 million so I would go with them

I live in the Korat region and they are brilliant. ..polite efficient and quite willing to go out of their way to assist in problem solving

Keep it up ladies...... very few men working at Korat Imm

Romania recently passed a new law banning horse drawn carts on public roads. A lot of horses sudddenly became surplus to requirements. The BBC this morning reports that the meat was exported to France correctly labled as horse and that a french company then changed the labeling to beef before sending on to the food processing factories.

now we are getting to the real issue FRAUD.. the use of the word "contamination" gives the impression that horse meat is risky or worse. the real issue is that probably millions of people have consumed some degree of horse meat for decades without knowing or sold as beef..... Now who is going to take on the big companies for misrepresentation or fraud....I can see all beef products going sky high after all this media exposure

provided you have not commited any criminal offense. .no prob. just smile and state to the Imm Officer that you are happy to pay your overstay....I had over 100 days before and one girl I know overstayed 4 yrs... they IMM are ok as long as your polite and pay up

also the GBP is slipping....44.85 this morning so think long and hard about it...

looking at the exch rate 44.85 to the pound this morning its only going to attract people looking to buy pounds cut their losses and go elsewhere

How hard is it to learn Filipino??[/quote

if you have a basic knowledge of spanish its easier but Tagalog isnt as hard as Thai and its all roman alphabet which makes reading it much easier

The Us. ties with the Philippines is strong being that it was a us commenwealth in the past & #3 largest speaking english country in the world. Why not try to live a few months there , a few months in LOAS & a few months in Thailand see what you like & its cheap for travel inbetween.

visa is easy and cheap, business is possible as well. But go for it the girls will like you. I lived there for more then 7 years and its great. People actually understand you lol. Where do you plan to go? The Philippines are also much cheaper then LOS

Phils used to have strong ties with US till Phils Govt got greedy about the price of Subic and Clark.. also nursing staff had jobs processed in the US. ..now they have to process externally so many went to the UK instead...

I was in the phils when Subic and Clark were busy and then after they closed 200,000 had no jobs....that killed the special relationship

The US will reopen Subic and Clark, and move much of its naval forces to the S. Pacific. It's about China and to some degree, N. Korea.

They will not be able to open subic as base or clark as they are both money making operations.... Subic being a free port and Clark is an international airport....not like before... I lived in Balibago which was the strip along side Clark.... The local filipinos had to endure the abuse of the American forces similar to what is going on in Okinawa...

all this makes me smirk.... what about the many many suitcases of cash Thaksin took to Singapore after he was deposed...double standards to the max.....

in 2006 I bought a phone to put in the house.. when I got home it would not work....I took it back to Big C... their comment apart from refusing to exchange it was....why you complain? it only cost 600 baht.. no matter how much.. its useless if it wont work but they just refused....I bought so little from Big C in the next 5 yrs.... Thai sales logic is myopic to say the least

if they are truck, you slow, they go

driving not difficult here ... just different from where you from

yes simple.... just remember to drive like a thai not like a farang...farangs are cautious and thai drivers expect you to do something stupid....TIT

only visa but go go for it the girls will like you. I lived there for more then 7 years and its great. People actually understand you lol. Where you plan to go?

Don't know. Someplace clean and quiet. I'd like to build a small bungalow and own the land. Maybe later build a few and rent them as long-term rentals. I'm just tired of LOS.

What about the visa?

"...I'd like to build a small bungalow and own the land."

Ecuador? Can own land, easy visa, no retirement age limitation, lower financial requirements, similar cost of living, tropical, lots of beaches, land cheaper, good food but more Mexican, language much easier to learn than LOS.

Help yourself. I like Thailand.

i moved back to Malaysia....100% my own (second home) free residence visa after completing purchase formalities...KL isnt as cheap as Thailand but far fewer scams and they treasure investors instead of screwing them

yes I dont see thailand relaxing any border controls and or visa activities.... too many jobs would be lost by visa agents....as was mentioned its more likely just a free trade zone nothing more

Another thing, broadly connected with the topic, is the interruption from others. Perhaps it's because I'm speaking English but, when I'm talking with my wife, any local present will feel free to talk to her as if I wasn't there. On the other hand, perhaps they interrupt each other too.

Totally agree with this one. Why do they always interupt when im talking in English to my girlfriend? They never do it when the conversation is in Thai. Imagine this happening in a business meeting, they'd be asked to leave the room.

The other manifestation of this is interruptions while you are being served in a shop. I will be trying to keep up with the conversation my wife is having with the assistant and almost always someone leans past us and starts talking. I dexcuse myself and indicate that the person should wait behind us. Although I speak in English (must learn to deal with this in Thai), my gesticulations are understood and the person waits her turn. Always a woman, by the way.

I might try doing it back to them (interrupting in English) Do you think we would be considered as rude, or would it be excepted as normal?

Back on topic. Never ever ask a Thai for directions anywhere! Just a school boy error and a total waste of your time and theirs. Google maps everytime...

haha... make sure you use volume same as them and they will get the message....

as for directions.... you are 100 % bang on the money

This is a new model. There are two versions. One is a dual SIM the other is not. Something tells me that Dtac is NOT offering the dual SIM model.

If I wouldn't already have an S3, the dual SIM model is the one I would buy.

the dual sim version is a copy thats why

The Us. ties with the Philippines is strong being that it was a us commenwealth in the past & #3 largest speaking english country in the world. Why not try to live a few months there , a few months in LOAS & a few months in Thailand see what you like & its cheap for travel inbetween.

visa is easy and cheap, business is possible as well. But go for it the girls will like you. I lived there for more then 7 years and its great. People actually understand you lol. Where do you plan to go? The Philippines are also much cheaper then LOS

Phils used to have strong ties with US till Phils Govt got greedy about the price of Subic and Clark.. also nursing staff had jobs processed in the US. ..now they have to process externally so many went to the UK instead...

I was in the phils when Subic and Clark were busy and then after they closed 200,000 had no jobs....that killed the special relationship

why all the fuss? not uncommon.... the French and Belgians have been eating horses for a long long time.....

Next: Pheu Thai candidate Pol. General Pongsapat promises to crack down on police extortion when elected

sure..... and pigs will learn to fly

Yuk why do you want to eat those? I saw people eating this in philippines fried eggs with little fetus inside

Balut.

Served with a nice cuppa!

very nice they are too but Balut are ducks not chickens...not for those with a weak stomach