simon43

Is there a specific reason why the OP must stay in Thailand? (He mentioned perhaps going to the Philippines for 6 months). Why not live just over the Mekong in Laos. At the OP's age he could get an annual 'retirement' visa for about $450 through an agent and no money in the bank needed. If he stayed in Vientiane then even his Thai mobile SIMs would continue to work (if he is within say 2km of the river).

What was the language that the Maniq leader was speaking a minute into the video? It was neither Bangkok Thai nor Southern Thai. Yawi? (probably not). Anyone know?

lol, in a previous 'life' I used to run full page colour adverts in that newspaper...... I don't think any cucumbers were involved, but scantily-clad women definitely were 🙂

lol - I have some Jewish ancestors on my mother's side of the family, which I merely commented upon as a point of interest. My ancestors are English, Scottish, Romanian, Irish... If you want to live in Bourton-on-the-Water I hope you have deep pockets!

If true, not agonizing. The blood loss makes you weak, faint then unconscious. But messy for the room maid afterwards....

Topics like this always bring out 2 sides: Those who have a moral compass and recognise that this is stealing and those who have no moral compass and try to justify stealing

Is high altitude radiation a new thing? Of course NOT! What dumbass aircraft designer failed to take into consideration the effects of solar radiation on high altitude planes. Jeez.......

Yes, the demand for rented accommodation is indeed very high. In any case, the UK would no longer feel like 'home'. Too many immigrants (yep - I've said it), most of whom are only in the UK for the benefits....

According to my middle brother (who has done a lot of ancestry research), we are not only related to that guy, but also to Simon Luttrell, lord of Dublin, until he was stabbed to death in his sedan chair by the locals who were sick of him.... (my family ancestry does seem to include some 'ruffians'!) Actually- mea culpa - checking Mr Google suggests that they were the same person....

It's the same in the UK! The reason why I would get almost all my rent paid etc is because I don't have savings! These idiot governments reward feckless arses such as myself who spent all their hard-earned cash on booze and bar-girls! (There may be some exaggerations there as to where my money actually went....!)

Well, For a rent of say 800 quid a month, one can get a very nice small house in a village, with the local authority paying about 600 quid of that rent every month. Those villages would basically have few or zero immigrants or low-life, just oldies like me waiting to die 🙂 Update: For example - little cottage on Rightmove: 675 quid/month rent: So I would only have to pay about 100 quid/month out of my pension.... https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159422825#/?channel=RES_LET I don't think most immigrants are keen to move to rural Somerset, (although there are probably quite a few sheep and goats on the farms there...)

Having recently retired and now living in Laos, I did seriously consider returning to the retire in the UK, living in a quiet village in Somerset, close to my family home (that being Dunster Castle in the village of Dunster, home to the Luttrell family for centuries until inheritance tax screwed everything up!). So if I returned to the UK I would receive: - My index-linked UK state pension - About 600 pounds/month in rent assistance from the local authority, (because my savings are less than 10,000 pounds) - My council tax fully paid (because I am a single pensioner) - Free NHS of course, which also means free dental, free optician, free cancer checks, free flu jabs, free prescriptions etc - slightly reduced fees for utilities, internet etc - free public buses So as a single, 'poor' pensioner, I would be doing pretty well, able to go horse-riding on Exmoor (as I used to do 30 years ago), game-shooting on the moors (I always shot only 2 pheasant and plucked/ate them both, never shooting many that were destined for Harrods). I could visit the beach, volunteer at the castle (American tourists would be 'wowed' by a Luttrell telling them about Luttrell Castle!!). But..... I've lived in south-east Asia for so many years, I still can't persuade myself to return to 'blighty'.

Did anyone else noticed this statement from Rachel in her recent budget? "UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed in her Budget on Wednesday that from April 2026 people would now need to live in the UK for 10 years to meet the threshold for a full pension and when living outside the UK pay Class 3 contributions rather than Class 2" In other words, no longer will it be possible to pay NI at class 2 (about 182 pounds/year) rates, but must pay at class 3 (910 pounds/year). BBC link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9dgk2pzpo Luckily for me, I was able to pay my voluntary NI top-ups at class 2, and now draw my UK state pension. But not good news for those expats who are not yet at retirement age.

Or waiting for an orgasm...... seems to take hours nowadays!

If you're receiving a UK state pension, then the PI is the only country in the region where it is not 'frozen'. This is exact;y why I'm relocating from Laos to the PI.

If you live alone, how do you know if your mental health is going? Does needing to check that you have your clothes on before you go outside count as mental degradation? (I always check, just in case). I agree about different bank accounts and different ATM cards - never know when a hungry ATM will eat one! What is this strange word 'taxes'? I haven't seen that word for almost 25 years 🙂

Well, the Chinese have definitely moved in.. all-year round, thanks to the new train line from Yunnan. And yes, this is the season for 'western' tourists. So loads of western 'gals' wearing elephant pants etc. As for me, everybody just steers well clear of me. That's what happens when you wear a gimp suit to keep out the cold 🙂

"Ya, ya I'm gonna kill you and your mom and your dad and your pet kitten and... and......" I think I might have said this to a school chum when I was 6 years old. Should I hand myself in to the police??

It's a little nippy up here in the hills of Luang Prabang. I had to buy a little 1-bar electric heater to stop my toes getting cold at night 🙂

When it was ThaiVisa I spent more time on the forum. Now there are far too many trolls and idiots - I have more important things to 'waste my time' on 🙂

Hey! Happy Birthday!! 🙂

.. and that's just the women!

Yonks ago, I used to regularly take the speedboat from Phuket to Ao Nang. No life jackets provided - I brought my own and always wore it, much to the 'mirth' of the other passengers who apparently preferred to drown if there were an accident....

You don't have to cut out ALL sugars and starches - you need to reduce them to a low level that your body can control to avoid Diabetes. I eat a banana (fructose) each day, but I doubt that I'm about to get diabetes...

From an old post, did any forum members ever find a source of Fostair 100/6 inhalers? Trying to manage my Bronchiectasis, once aspect of it which has always troubled me is the sudden and uncontrolleable fits of explosive coughing, which physically exhaust me. The Bronchiectasis FB group suggest using a Fostair 100/6 inhaler Well, no chance of finding that here in Laos and from the old AN post in 2018, it seems that I won't be able to find it in Thailand. Do any pharmacies ship internationally? Otherwise, I could try to persuade my brother in the UK to claim this illness and get it delivered to his home address from a UK online pharmacy, and then try to ship it to Laos, (which often ends in 'parcel lost'.....)