Andrew65

It was only 10 years ago that Bangkok Bank wouldn't transfer my rent monthly because the receiving bank was Thanachart Bank rather than BBL. I used to take 2 month's rent in cash and pay it into the account at Thanachart..

I didn't know that. I've worked in Saudi, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Algeria. And there was me thinking that only Saudi was in the ME.???? Many people think that all of the ME is like Saudi, which it isn't.

Very true. Also, in a foreign country they're much less likely to have a 'support-network' of family & friends, to catch them when they fall

True in Saudi if you're on an 'igama' (work permit), but not on a business visa. I don't think they do in Oman.

Those kinds of businesses tend to have a lot of unsavoury characters involved in them, the same with illicit drugs.

No, that's not the point. Unlike us white folks, these people tend to be exploited when they go overseas to work. Small details like not being paid, having their passport taken off them, and being locked up and not being able to go out. I got a glimpse of this kind of thing when I worked in Saudi Arabia (at that time) where there's a kind of hierarchy according to where you come from.

I paid the airfare for my Thai ex girlfriend's (she was a hotel receptionist) mother to come back from Hungary many years ago. She had gone there to work as a Thai cook, but was so mistreated that she had to come back.

Of the 7 wealthy people who I knew in Thailand, they all came from wealthy backgrounds, usually had rich fathers, all good guys and good friends. You'll often find that people who're described as "self-made" came from wealthy backgrounds, they were born rich.

Yes, I lived in lower-Sukhumvit from 1998-2018. I think around 2006 they brought in the drinking hours laws, and they also banned special offers on alcohol. I remember Villa Market used to do a 2 for 1 offer on wine. I used to get two bottles of Penfold's or Hardy's wine for 400-500 Baht.

When I lived in Thailand I used to buy a 5 litre box of Mont Clair South African wine for 990 Baht. My theory being for it being so cheap is because it's not pure grape wine, it's made with other fruit juice as well.

He will be very lucky just to be deported, rather than several years in the monkey- house! (If he was involved in drugs).

Someone made a good point recently. People are scared sh*tless of the vaccine, "cos they don't know what's in it", but they're perfectly ok with taking pills/powder that they bought from a complete stranger in a nightclub!????

Some time ago around 30 out of 17 million (numbers like that) people had got a blood clot. (Also, how can we know if they would have got a blood clot or not if they hadn't been vaccinated?).

You can still catch COVID whichever vaccine you've had. However, having had the vaccine makes it less likely that you'll get seriously ill or die from COVID (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong!). Also, we're starting to see that if you can prove that you're jabbed/double-jabbed, you can go places where you can't otherwise.

Many years ago I paid the airfare for my fiance's mother to return to Thailand from Hungary. Basically she wasn't being paid, had her passport taken off her etc. I think she had gone over there to work as a cook/chef. Thai (and Indian etc) people's experiences overseas can be way less enjoyable than ours are in Thailand!

I think that in the UK there are strict rules on flying below 500 meters (?) over built-up areas? Also, I believe that the private ownership of helicopters is banned in Thailand, so there's still a long way to go on this!????

It does nothing for it's poor citizens, more like. Thailand's leaders promote "self-sustenance" for the poor, whilst living well on their taxes.

In my Bangkok Bank book it says "FTT", which I think means foreign telegraphic transfer.

A welfare society? In the UK, people have been on 'furlough', that's where the government pays them to do nothing.

I lived for many years in Thailand and have been living in the UK for 3 years now. As a price comparison, I get 18 X 440ml (7.92 litres) cans of Stella Artois for £15 in the UK. The last time I was in Thailand Marlboro cigarettes were heading for £5 a pack (Although I think this is partly the manufacturer's pricing). For very many years now they've been ramping-up 'sin taxes' in Thailand.

Indirect taxes (VAT etc) tend to impact poorer people more that wealthier people.

Meanwhile Philip Morris (Altrea?) imported cigarettes will still cost way more than other imported cigarettes.

The way things are in Thailand. 'The Elite', government, business etc can gorge on tax/public money. For very many ordinary Thais it's a 'self-sufficiency economy', in other words, they're on their own.

I don't believe that Thailand has ever executed a farang.

She's been on overstay since about 11 years before her husband died. So I don't really have any sympathy. Over many years, many of us go to lots of time, trouble and expense to keep our visas up to date, why couldn't she?